<p>I am posting again to iterate that I made this thread to give back to the CC community. I was active on these forums a year ago (under another username), and the warmhearted parents here steered me to many of the colleges I applied to. Having emerged from that process, I came to give advice that can hopefully help someone who is now in the shoes I was in a year ago.</p>
<p>I know that all the responses on this thread have been well-meaning, but many have been very judgmental. This is not the atmosphere I had grown to expect from CC, and I am ready to admit that I may very well have done something wrong to have caused such an uproar. But I have a strong suspicion that the culture here oppresses any criticism of colleges, and my original post was lightly critical.</p>
<p>I say “lightly critical” because even though I advised a tiny fraction of students–one percent of the nation–not to apply to Grinnell, three of my four points were meant to encourage applications. I said that “Grinnell is lovely,” and told readers that it might be “the perfect place” for some of them. The theory that I am suffering from “sour grapes” is wholly contradicted by my praise for Grinnell College, and those who accuse me of it may be letting their prejudice toward critics cloud out their ability to see the amicable intentions behind my post.</p>
<p>That I have been painted as flawed while Grinnell has gotten off scot-free perplexes me. Maybe others don’t see it this way, but I find it downright immoral to draw kids in with a lure of selectivity, let those kids spend their money applying and visiting, and reject those on top because that way they can cast a more selective lure to next year’s applicants. It’s a cycle where children are a means to the college’s end of rising in the rankings, and I do not think kids’ hopes should be gamed for any institution’s benefit.</p>
<p>These conclusions are not based on my experience alone. Tuft’s Syndrome is an observable and replicable phenomenon widely acknowledged here on CC. Yet even though its existence is undeniable, its reach is suppressed because students like me who speak about it from personal experience are censured for their apparent arrogance. At some point, however, the student is not arrogant; he or she is simply pointing out a real and observable effect.</p>
<p>It’s an effect that genuinely harms children. My best friend is too submissive to talk about it, but he was a victim and a big part of the reason I have posted here. He was co-valedictorian at my school and scored a 34 on the ACT. His application funds were severely limited, so he could not apply to more than six schools. Lamentably, two of these six schools, Grinnell and Kenyon, did not accept him in spite of the fact–no, because of the fact–that he was significantly beyond their 75th percentile of admitted students.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s not nearly as ruinous for wealthy families (though I believe strongly that no child should be taken advantage of in this way). For families in poverty, however, it’s absolutely harmful. We don’t have the money to hire a college counselor who will tell us what hoops we must jump through to show interest, and we can hardly afford for two of our shots at college to be wasted like this. Sometimes we’re beating the odds simply by going to college in the first place.</p>
<p>Had my friend known that Grinnell and Kenyon would throw his application in their furnace to stoke their selectivity flame, he could have applied to two other schools, where he could possibly have been accepted on a better aid package than he’s getting at his college now. That would have been a huge relief on him and his family, who have had to take on debt. And had I known that Grinnell and Kenyon would do the same to me, I could have saved the $700 I spent traveling to Kenyon for an interview and put it toward, I don’t know, rent. (I do have to pay our rent from time to time, and that money would have gotten us through a couple months.)</p>
<p>That the members of this forum defend these devastating practices is deplorable, and the fact that they sling mud at anyone who dares to criticize them is even worse. I sincerely hope that these are isolated cases of a few good souls having bad days. I would really like to think that we as a community have children’s best interest in mind. Even if that doesn’t include protecting these kids from colleges who will take advantage of them (and I think it should), it most certainly includes treating those brave enough to share their story and give help with civility and respect. I can acknowledge when I’ve done something wrong, and that is why I apologized and gave context in my last post on this thread. Bu I have not been arrogant or sour in trying to help impoverished high school students, and those who think otherwise are making sweeping generalizations about a teenager based on their narrow judgments of me.</p>
<p>Sometimes my word choice on this thread has been poor. I should have been clearer, @intparent, that the title was click bait. I did not mean to apply the “great mind” title to myself any more than I meant to deny it from others. Instead I meant to get eyeballs on this thread because that is necessary if I am to help anyone, and helping people has been my goal from the start. For my poor word choice, I am sorry, and I am sorry for any offense students took to those poorly chosen words.</p>
<p>I am not sorry, however, for advising students on avoiding yield protection at Grinnell. As a person who is more interested in helping children than helping colleges to the detriment of children, I am happy to stand my ground here. Especially if application funds are limited for you, be aware that Grinnell habitually denies admittance to applicants who exceed the normal qualifications for entry. If you still choose to apply, great. You were informed and that’s what matters.</p>
<p>Again, good luck to all the students applying this year. I have faith in you.</p>