@CC_Jon , title.
Has it been renamed My admissions story? If so, can I suggest calling it just Admissions Stories? Many more parents post their kids’ admissions stories than do students. Calling it My admissions story makes it confusing to know where to post these updates.
Anyone else notice any sub-forums that seem to have disappeared?
Correct. I’ve changed the name based on your suggestion.
We did archive some sub-forums last month. These were very low activity. (Some hadn’t seen new activity in years.) I tagged threads so that we could recover the category if needed, but I doubt many people will notice given how few people used them.
As activity slows down for the summer, I have a few changes I’d like to make:
(I know you know this, @Lindagaf! Your feedback has been great and I haven’t forgotten about it. It’s just taking some time to get organized on my end.)
This might not be the right place to mention this but I think the “Is Chat GPT right” threads are annoying and distracting. They feel like clickbait.
On the same note, this is a really busy time with students and parents posting legitimate help-me-decide threads and asking for schools to be compared so that they can make a decision. The CC contest comparing schools feels like it gets in the way.
I don’t see the numbers so maybe I’m missing something. Are these threads (along with the "These students got into XYZ school) engaging new members? For the schools I look at (mostly CA schools), the Class of 20XX threads are more comprehensive.
Totally agree with this. chatgpt is not authoritative nor human. I get that it’s gathering its information from sources like Fiske or Niche or Princeton review. How about instead
Is the Fiske Guide Right?
Is Niche Right?
Is Princeton Review right?
@CC_Jon I get that these threads are designed to engage young people. The reality is that the young people will disappear once they’ve made their decision, and, if my experience both here and on Reddit is accurate, they rarely return. There will be a few returning CC stragglers, lamenting their choice, and then a brief flurry of transfer posts. Very occasionally, a student comes back to post about their experiences as a rising college sophomore, but hardly ever.
But the adults, we can be here for years. Many of us have been. We might be on CC for ten years as our multiple children make their way through college. We are the primary ones who spread the word about this site to our kids, and our friends, who tell their friends with kids.
Most importantly, we are the ones who give virtually all of the useful advice to the young people and their inexperienced parents who come here. Most people are here because they know they can get advice from those who have already done this.
Plus, we are the ones who have the money to spend on advertising.
There’s nothing wrong with gearing stuff towards youth, but I suggest CC pay attention to its bread and butter.
I’ll tag @mynameiswhatever who might have comments. As a “newer” user who has now spent a lot of time here, he might have some relevant observations. (I will revise the title of this thread.)
I have to agree with Linda that the bulk of the users and audience on CC are parents. I realize there is a push to broaden that to attract students but they are the minority here and I don’t think the competition and chat GPT type threads are what will bring kids over from other sites. I also agree that they are distracting and clog up the new and latest post feeds.
I would think that being “the” place for parents to talk about college admissions would be a great thing in itself.
Yes. And that’s what distinguishes CC from Reddit, which is primarily used by students.
I concur with the others on the is ChatGPT right? threads.
Thanks, @Lindagaf, for the tag allowing me to chime in.
Yes, I am an “older newer” member, having been here since 2018. And, as a parent of a student who just completed the admissions season, this site has been incredible. There is no doubt that this site has incredible value to parents and should have incredible value to students. But the parents are the key, and as noted above, that distinguishes CC from Reddit.
I totally understand the need to get more traffic, particularly from students. It probably would result in a positive feedback loop if you could get the right balance of content and things to attract and keep students here beyond the admissions season.
With respect, I don’t think the ChatGPT threads help at all. In fact, I am a bit turned off by them, TBH. On many other threads, we’re discussing the problems with ChatGPT and other AI generators. Of course, there is a huge need for AI, but I wonder if setting up college-specific threads is all that interesting. The kids can do this themselves if they want to.
I don’t know really know about the tournament, and I confess that I don’t quite understand what it’s about.
I think things like the live sessions with the AO folks from colleges are great. CC should do more of these if possible, and earlier in the admissions season. I think that will get a good deal of student traffic.
Also, I think the student ambassadors program was a good idea, but I would like to see more activity there.
Several months ago, there was a HUGE thread where many of us commented on things like updating the Chance Me templates etc. I don’t remember exactly what was mentioned there, but I do recall there were some great student-focused ideas.
The net point is to make sure that your solid base of viewers (i.e., parents) continues to have strong content and extremely well-moderated fora on CC. That shouldn’t be jeopardized. But attracting and keeping students is a worthy cause too, just not at the expense of the parental user base, IMO.
They are interesting, but IMO more of a PR opportunity for the schools. In any case, it would be nice to see a wider range of colleges represented instead of just a couple of tippy top schools.
What I find more insightful are the student originated “I’m a current student at _______. Ask me anything” threads. If we want to drive more students to CC, perhaps we should find a way to encourage more students to create such threads.
Yes, I agree that the AMA student threads are good.
Re the student ambassador program, I have seen no activity from them. Are they only active in one forum or have they just fizzled out? In the beginning, some of them were popping up on various threads. I can’t remember the last time I saw anything by one of them. Maybe they are hanging out in the precollege forum or student lounge?
Regarding "DECISION DAY POLLS,I " aren’t we discouraging users from putting titles in all caps (See Forum Champion Guidelines)? This thread was started in early April. Maybe it is just CA, but admitted student days are happening now and financial aid offers are still rolling in (see Parents Class of 2027 thread). 54% of your 76 responses haven’t made a decision yet. Are you trying to engage them before they leave?
Is the intent to drive viewers to the pages you are linking to - decision threads and resources to make a decision? If so, the title doesn’t indicate that.
I clicked through the link titled “Check them out!” and it brought me to a page with articles and resources. Virtually all of the articles and resource links direct me me back to the forums. Why are you grabbing users from the forum, redirecting them to a resource page which then directs them back to the forums? Additionally, the article titled “Choosing between dream school and free school” takes me to “20 Women’s Colleges to Consider”
As we near Decision Day on May 1, we put together some resources for you to consider if you still need to decide on a college. Check them out!
Also, make sure to let us know if you picked a college already and what factor weighs most in your decision. Take the poll below!
Agreed on the college AO sessions. The more that CC can host, the more interest it will get from students. I attended a couple of these, more of out interest about CC than relating to DD’s current admissions decisions. I would suggest that each such session have 5-6 questions in the hopper before the session begins. so that the AO can have a steady stream of questions in the allotted time of (usually) an hour. It keeps things humming. Also, AOs should write two or three sentences for responses rather than trying to definitively answer each question, IMO.
Agreed too on the AMA by current students. This is incredibly useful. Perhaps using the student ambassadors (and adding more) would be a way to staff these.
I’ve said this to Jon before, but I find Reddit to be incredibly tiring. Lots of LMAO and LOL and emoji posts, so perhaps I am demonstrating my advanced years. But the incredible asset that CC has its active user base and the mods who ensure that each thread sticks to the subject. As a parent, I cannot tell you how invaluable that is. For that reason alone, I am happy to endorse CC to any parent with a student applying to college or prep school.