1NJParent:
I find AOs who are candid to be more refreshing. Do we really need AOs to be salespersons for their colleges? Besides, a student would probably never deal with an AO once enrolled in the college. As long as the college has good professors in the areas your kids are interested in and a student body that’s collaborative and can challenge them as peers, should you care about what a single AO’s opinion on a subject that may not be relevant to or beyond the college application itself?
D19 had an AO tell her once not to bother applying because her scores were too low. We then knew that school’s priorities and she didn’t apply. Easy peasy decision.