How has College Confidential helped you or your kid or has been NOT helpful?

Parents Forum
41

I have only been on CC for 3 month. I can’t overstate the value I already feel reading this forum has provided. I might feel my dd19 is a superstar in her school, but across the country she is just one of a sea of great kids that all deserve their seat at the table. Just a short list of specific great tips:

  1. Avoid having a dream school and using terms like lesser or safety school when you talk with your child.
  2. Make sure there are at least a few very highly likelies on your list and make sure all are real options that your child will attend if accepted.
  3. The common data sets of each school provides a wealth of accurate information on each school
  4. A wait list at many schools means rejection (see #3)
  5. There are merit colleges within colleges
  6. Importance of making a EC's, Recommendations, Courses tell a consistent story.
  7. To identify a safety that has rolling admission and apply early so you can reduce anxiety and get school counselors and teachers to get recommendations done early.
  8. The difference and benefit between ED1, ED2, EA, and SCEA.
  9. Importance of not being a "stealth" applicant and let the campuses know you are interested in them.
  10. That publics do give some OOS students merit scholarships.
  11. That there is still a huge luck factor that you may never why school "A" and not school "B" rejected or accepted your child.
  12. That all it takes is one.
42

Invaluable.

I don’t think I could have gotten me or my daughter through this journey, especially since we get little to no help from the high school. Whether it was questions or just venting, I appreciated having a virtual shoulder to lean on.

Thank you all - and I’m trying to pay it back by paying it forward. :x

43

When I initially found CC nearly 4 years ago, when my eldest was a HS junior, it scared the heck out of me. It seemed to me that my B/B+, middle of the range test score students appeared to be “screwed”. I have since learned they weren’t! I was introduced to a plethora of schools that fit their needs just from someone else posting about them. Perhaps the most important thing I discovered on CC was the existence of The Common Data Set. The CC sounding wall has been invaluable, the diversity of opinion being both helpful and alarming at the same time! Little tricks of the trade gleaned on CC were also gems of information when our public HS guidance counselor was useless. The opportunity to kvetch AND celebrate with others in a similar boat…priceless! I waffle in my desire to let the whole world know how useful and helpful it is to wanting to keep it a secret so others don’t get the competitive edge too! My youngest will matriculate this fall. I will miss being in the thick of it.

44

I’ve found College Confidential to be very helpful. We will need differing strategies with our three children. Our oldest is a good candidate for the automatic merit scholarships offered at some of the schools in the South. The great news is that is where he really wanted to go to school in the first place - he loves being able to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible, and he wanted to get away from the long, gray Midwest winters. We went on a campus visit to Ole Miss, and he absolutely fell in love with it. We have a few more schools to visit, but he knows that he could be very happy there - Ole Miss will be the school to beat.

I also really LOVE the B students forum. I have two younger kids who may or may not get the grades or test scores that their older brother has. I love seeing that all is NOT lost if you are not at the top of the pile. There are colleges who want you.

I sometimes read the chance me forums - they are interesting. I don’t know why people bother to post on them, as the answers are meaningless. The critical piece of information that nobody on this forum has, or will ever have, is what puzzle piece is the admission officer looking for? You will either fit in the spot, or you don’t. Nobody here knows that shape will fit for that particular freshman class. You might as well say, "Chance me for my flight leaving on time six months from now. " You’ll basically get the same spiel. “Statistics say the weather in that month is XXX.” “That airline has XXX% on-time flight on average.” “You bought XXX class of ticket, so you likely won’t be bumped for an oversold situation.” The answer should be, “Plan on a delay so whatever event you are attending is not ruined by a late flight.” or “Plan on being rejected and apply to schools where you have a good chance on getting in so that you are assured of going to college.”

45

I’ve learned so much from this site:

  • Reach, match, and safety: the basics.
  • The different types of financial aid and which schools offer them
  • The different application rounds
  • Countless details about schools
  • The concept of fit (I forget where i first encountered this idea, years ago, but i've been a proponent ever since)

I started reading and posting some seven years ago because I was curious about the differences among Harvard, Yale and Princeton. I had read an article and I had some ideas based on that article, and I was looking to see if the article was right.

So for me, it was a completely unimportant thing that brought me here. My involvement here has brought so much more than I could have hoped, planned, etc. And every time a kid says thanks, or we find out that a kid got into a school that he or she likes and is affordable (because we drilled into them that every app should be to such a school), I know all these years have been worth it.

And even if there were no thanks and zero advice heeded, there would still be the benefits of knowledge gained and some meaningful time spent chatting and chuckling with you fine people.

On a more personal note, when I joined I was with a different partner. Breaking up was very hard, and this place helped get me through it. (I didn’t mention it then… but anyway, this place helped me get my mind off it and apply my spare time more beneficially than by doing things like drinking, bawling and feeling sorry for myself…)

Thank you.

46

I found CC back when my oldest was applying to college. He graduated (from college) in 2014. CC was really only minimally useful since he insisted upon wanting a Christian college and there’s not a whole lot of movement on that board. (He ended up at Covenant - an essentially unheard of school on here.)

I’ve since used it to find recommendations for my middle and youngest sons to consider and both ended up going to colleges we found out about on this site (U Rochester and Eckerd respectively). My youngest graduates next month (middle is currently in med school), so I’ll have aged out totally.

I visited less often once youngest started college, but picked it up more recently because I’ve contemplated assisting in my school’s guidance office as a volunteer helping students with the whole college experience. This site is super useful for finding out info on a ton of those thousands of schools I’ve never visited myself and haven’t heard about via other students at my school. I’m still unsure I want to head that direction, but if I do, the info I’m gleaning will prove worthwhile. It already has with suggestions I’ve made to some students I know better from my own classes. So many in our area have very little experience with college. I enjoy helping students. It’s quite possibly a path I’ll pursue.

47

Life-changing!

Junior year of HS, D told me the dedicated college counselor at her private HS told her she was named National Hispanic Scholar. D said the counselor told her it was good to put on applications, but there wasn’t any money associated with the nomination.

This could’ve been an error on the college counselor’s part, or a mis-understanding on D’s part, IDK. But, being the curious creature that I am, I Googled and found a thread on CC pointing out schools that were handing big scholarships to NMFs and NHSs.

In the end, we had several full tuition options and one full ride option on the table. I am still pinching myself re: our good fortune — we had $0 saved for college and are still recovering from 2008 --shudder–.

When this same D was accepted to an unaffordable “dream school”, reading posts about finances was immeasurably helpful and gave me the strength and determination to rip the bandaid off and firmly say no to D.

Some of those financial posts have been called harsh or blunt, but that is exactly what I needed to read as I momentarily contemplated selling an organ to see my girl happy. CC broke that fever.

Thank you CC! Saving lives everyday! :wink:

I now stick around for book recommendations and other threads in the Parent Cafe. You all keep me company.

48

With schools:
CC helped make the list of schools for CS
CountingDown’s older son shared in detail his experience from visting CMU
The posters on the MIT forum
AdmissionsDan at the Tufts forum - I wish he were still around - he was relate-able and a voice of calm and reason
Great suggestions for my all over the map slightly slackerish younger son - he ended up figuring out how to present himself in the best light thanks to CC.

And then the other stuff
Our trips to wine country in CA have been immeasurably enriched by suggestions of places to hike and places to see art as well as the obvious where to eat and what to drink.
My favorite thread which has provided laughs for eight years: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/923318-worst-dressed-when-ugly-and-expensive-meet.html
Speaking of laughs - who could forget http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/470497-clam-fart-oh-my-god-what-did-i-do.html (probably the only worthwhile thing in the “What are my chances forum”

49

Joined last summer but found it overwhelming so took a step back at first before later diving in. Overall, I guess as you begin this process “you don’t know what you don’t know.” So much of what has become really important I learned somewhat by chance. Now that I realize how much vital info is out there I probably spend a little too much time on here researching, etc.

Pros: When S19 was disappointed in his ACT test prep course we both found incredibly useful tip threads on CC. Those tips really took his score to the next level and he made a 36. He has tried to pay that forward with his own thread describing his process

Learning more about schools that provide automatic merit.
Great tips for college visits.
Great visit reports for those schools we will not manage to get to ourselves.
Gathering info on merit decisions at schools without automatic merit - I am mean as I show my son how incredible the students are that DON’T gain admission or get merit at certain schools. (Just keeping it real!)
Getting details about schools and their programs beyond what the numbers on college data tell us

Cons: Biggest one - making the mistake of reading the thread on ACT cancelling scores. Until S19 is admitted that thread will stress me out! Thank goodness he also took the SAT so I can at least sleep at night! :wink:

My family thinks I am little bonkers with CC but have acknowledged that CC has thus provided truly game changing info for our crew.

50

Newbie here. Been lurking for a couple of months now. DD is an incoming HS freshman. I came across CC while searching for a private college consultant. With everything I learned from this site, I opted to hold off hiring one. So right off the bat CC has probably saved me thousands of dollars. I’ll reconsider hiring one down the line to help her with interview prep and essay reviews, but thanks to CC, I can help her more than I thought on my own.

51

To be honest, if I would have found CC prior to my son’s college search which began two summers ago, we may not have applied to UChicago, even though he is an UW 4.0 1510 SAT 34 ACT kid with decent ECs. To read all the posts today that say “unless you have a big time hook, or have won a national award, chances are you won’t get accepted…” threads, we may have steered clear, even though he was “sort of a recruited athlete.” I say that because we did the recruiting and to be honest most of the responses from the coach were “pulled” from him. Finally, it took us point blank asking “will you advocate for me in the admissions process?” before he decided to use his ED1 there.

If I would have had that type of response on top of what I’ve read here, I may have advised against using his ED1 bullet there and chose instead his second choice “Colgate” or third choice “Washington & Lee”, both of which seemed to be much more interested in my son the student athlete.

However, since I hadn’t read CC posts until after we decided to shoot for UChicago, he applied and was accepted and is really excited about that opportunity. So, the moral of the story, go ahead an apply if you think you’re close regardless of the doom and gloom you might see here. However, do it with a proper sense of perspective that even perfect seeming CC kids often get disappointed. There are still those who do get in.

52

I’ve gotten a lot of great recipes from
CC. :slight_smile: And made some IRL friends, too.

53

It has been very helpful to me.

It really helped our family get a feel for the distinct “culture” of each college community. My son built a nice list of colleges based on his own research plus what I learned on CC. He had reaches, matches, and safeties he would have loved, no matter where he was admitted, although he had the joy of being admitted early decision to his first choice.

It also helped me manage my own anxiety without driving my son crazy. I could obsess on CC and not be talking colleges at him day and night!

It helped me understand, and then speak with my son about, the concept of preparing an application in a way that would tell the story of the wonderful and interesting person my son already was at the time of his application and how he would contribute to the college in the future.

CC helps people connect. It was on CC that I saw one poster offer a GroupMe the day after my son had been admitted early decision to his college. Before CC took that kid’s post down (CC does not approve of GroupMe), my son contacted him, and, as a result, my son has been communicating with some of his future classmates on GroupMe for months. Right now, he is having an amazing time at Admitted Students’ Days, which has included meeting up with some people he was communicating with from the GroupMe.

On the negative side, I have found that some of the most commonly accepted collective wisdom of CC is inaccurate, based on the experience of my family, our friends and colleagues, and people with whom we have interacted during college visits. All of the following does not reflect the reality we and/or those we know have experienced:

  1. SAT scores have to be in the top 25% for a student to be accepted, unless they have a “hook” (a word used on CC to refer to recruited athletes, legacies, and members of underrepresented groups). No.
  2. Only “hooked” applicants (recruited athletes, legacies, and members of under-represented groups) get admitted early decision. No!
  3. Applying early decision is only for the wealthy, and may result in a less-than-ideal financial aid package. Er, it might affect merit aid, but when it comes to the top colleges that give need-based aid and meet full demonstrated need, we have communicated with so many early decision applicants/families who were pleased with their need-based aid packages.
  4. Finally, I think that the “chance me” threads are really stupid. The people answering them are fellow high school students, parents, etc.— not admissions officers. They know nothing you yourself don’t know if you look at the college’s admitted students statistics on their web site.

So, overall, it has been a very positive and helpful resource. One just has to remember that most of us posting here are high school or college students, parents, and alumni, with our own limited perspectives, and that what we post is not gospel. I will highly recommend it to others!

54

CC has been very helpful to our family in several ways. For D1, I got lots of good recommendations on prep books for the SAT, SAT subject tests and AP exams, and D1 had great results (this was for the old SAT). We also connected with a recent grad of her college who has provided very helpful advice specific to her college.

For D2, we found out thru a CC poster about a change in policy by the College Board regarding testing accommodations tracking 504 plans. D2 had been turned down for audio accommodations (she is dyslexic but not profoundly so). Thanks to CC she reapplied, got the accommodation, and this made a huge difference in her test results which in turn has been a huge confidence boost and will be a big help with seeking merit awards. The GC’s at her HS were totally unaware of this change in policy and we would not have found out about it but for a helpful CC poster.

55

I started when S1 was in high school Class of 2007. I learned so much about the realities of financial aid (not getting any) and that schools look for geographic diversity. Learning about the Common Data sets was a life saver. I had never heard of weighted GPAs as our district did not weight and our district doesn’t use Naviance so I felt perplexed how S1 would be viewed. S2 was easy peasy as a second time through. I stayed and appreciated the info on smaller engineering unis as we moved to S3…although S3 picked huge and ultimately transferred to s smaller tech school for several reasons. But I stay for the lively discussions and to add a Midwest perspective.

56

@intparent post reminded me that I learned about the Instant Pot from CC! Now I’m an Instant Pot fan.

57

College Confidential has been a lifesaver for our family.

We attended a college application and financial aid workshop during the fall of D18’s junior year at her school and luckily found CC shortly after. Much of the information presented was wrong and there was so much that was left out.

What information has been most helpful:

-Financial aid, merit aid and perhaps most important, NPCs.

-The CSS profile (our school didn’t even mention it at the financial aid meeting).

-The common data set.

-The importance of fit.

-The nuances of ED.

-Information about individual schools.

Our daughter was accepted ED at a school that we learned about on CC that is perfect for her. Her guidance counselor had never heard of ED! CC gave us the information and confidence that we needed to make the decision.

I am already starting a college list for D22….

58

I only wish I had found CC a year earlier. We first started thinking about colleges when the kiddo was starting sophomore year, and I had a lot of old assumptions and prejudices that are completely WRONG in today’s world. Our state flagship is nobody’s safety any more. Ivies don’t give merit scholarships so they may be a big financial strain for middle class parents. The way my father set up the kid’s college fund means there is less money available than I though there would be.

But I’ve also learned some good and hopeful things, ways to ease the process, colleges I should consider even though I had never heard of them. Tips for testing and winnowing down the lists. Ways to feel better about the odds. The nuances of ED, oh yes.

Kiddo is a high school junior, we have the big stressful year ahead. He’s already brainstormed essay topics and is asking his teachers for recommendations, six months earlier than the rest of the kids at his school. The application process is still ahead and big and scary, but I have hope that we have smiles and a big future ahead.

59

I came on to this site a little late. I was a bit obsessive about the college process, and this helped channel it away from home. Went through athletics recruiting process without CC, and we did it right for us, though there were a few enlightening discussions that enlightened after the fact and would have been helpful earlier!

Common Data Sets - Heard about it here and wish I had known earlier. I will pass along to a friend with a D20 and think it will be a tremendous help to her, though will let her discover CC on her own…

60

As much as I enjoy the back and forth on CC I would be lying if it hasn’t soured me on the the US college admissions system, especially this year which has me head scratching more than ever. I have a background in the UK where the university admissions is straight forward, cheap and where university admittance is on academic ability alone. The US system is so needlessly convoluted it reminds me of the hunger games with kids and parents battling for places and where the universities are deliberately opaque and misleading. The other unsavory aspect is that the US system seems to be all about money, whether it is ED applications boosting admittance chances, OOS and internationals crowding out the natives for affordable places, and don’t get me started on application fees. I find it absurd that middling academic institutions seem to think $70k+ a year is fair value, and as a donut family it is something we are expected to pay. D3 is an above average student but not off the charts, her grades are well above the minimum for McGill and Edinburgh. Why go through all the nonsense with US admissions, especially since I do not believe the US has a monopoly on world class university education. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me but some of my points must resonate with some folks here.