Demographics

Parents Social Lounge
1

<p>Who out there knows where we can find some info that summarizes demographics relative to college applications, admissions, population attending college relative to the overall population and so forth?</p>

<p>We would love to help DS put this year's search in perspective by considering the big world around us at this moment in time and comparing it to the world in parents' day.</p>

<p>I'm thinking bar graphs of population, bar graphs of young folks per overall population, same for folks applying and admissions. All of this over, oh, say, the last 50 years. I think we would learn a ton. I know it is so easy to see oneself in terms of the current context, without noting that context or understanding that context changes over time. I also know that kids judge themselves harshly, and tend to have blinders on when it comes to understanding and accepting (!) who they are in today's world.</p>

<p>For example - it's so easy to want to be thin and "beautiful." Well for my grandparents, who had lived through world war II as adults, the mantra was, "Don't worry when you can eat. Worry when you can't." So much for judging your pudginess by Twiggie standards. It's helpful to be mindful of our place in history.</p>

<p>So I think it's important for our kids to have a very strong sense of time and place. I'm telling DS that every match is a reach, not because of anything having to do with him, but because there are so many qualified kids out there looking for spots at school. He gets it in his head, but I think his gut doesn't yet.</p>

<p>Anyone have some info to share or links to such?</p>

2

<p>Here ya go:</p>

<p>Click the first linked graph, then you can simply click "next" to step through the entire stack of demographics data:</p>

<p>Higher</a> Education Landscape</p>

3

<p>"I know it is so easy to see oneself in terms of the current context, without noting that context or understanding that context changes over time."</p>

<p>Um, let's see. There are just under 3 million HS seniors (leaving out the Asians, Europeans, etc. for the moment) and there are 1,200 slots at Princeton. Well those odds are ridiculously long. Um, well Princeton gets 14,000 applicants annually for those 1,200 slots. Still pretty long odds. Honestly HugCheck, I don't know how to put that level of competitiveness into language a teenager can grasp. Or ... is that the problem you're having right now?</p>

4

<p>Your world is irrelevent to your son- he is living in the here and now, regardless of his IQ et al. One can manipulate statistics to show many things. Evaluating the demographic data over time well would require considering multitudes of variables to mean anything. Unless your son expresses an interest I would forgo the project and concentrate on the recent parameters, they are the ones that affect him. Years from now you can do the comparison, looking back and comparing your experiences. Right now he is in the middle of it and certainly doesn't need any more "when I was your age" information.</p>