I would be ok with them sharing that information (FAFSA ranking) AFTER the decisions are made to estimate yield, but not as part of the decision-making process.
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Iām thinking about all of you in Texas, what a scary week. When we lose power for days in Florida we only have to worry about heat, I canāt imagine what it is like in the cold. 
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Jon is a fan of the old FAFSA system, and Iām struggling to see why he would be.
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Because it made kids show their hand to the colleges, benefitting the colleges (they knew who to skip over).
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I can see how the colleges themselves would like that old system. For the sake of my kids, Iām glad it isnāt that way anymore!
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I am a parent in California. I think a ranking system like this would be such a benefit to the kids here. Itās very popular for kids to apply to all of the UCās. As hard as it is for some people to believe, sometimes the very tippy top students would rather attend a UC that is closer to home or has a certain vibe than one that is higher ranked. The fact that kids canāt state their preferred UC and that the essays have to be shared due to a single application makes it really hard for a kid to express which one they would prefer. I am not saying that there is yield protection, but I can say that kids worry about it. Schools having this information would benefit both the schools and the kids. It just seems like an efficient thing.
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S19ās college requires all students to install ProctorU test monitoring software.
Maybe the UCs could do that on their own, within their own app system, but to have it done universally by FAFSA seems inappropriate. Especially when the wealthiest applicants donāt even file FAFSA by and large. It would be too burdensome for less wealthy applicants.
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Thatās a very good point.
I think my experience is so California focused that I can get too focused on and traumatized by the California schools and process.
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No kidding! I hear you. Iām not a fan of how the UCs do their applications. I guess itās a good thing that kids only need to do one app for the whole system. It still leaves a lot to be desired, though.
We have been without water since Saturday morning. I woke up to frozen pipes. All faucets, and washer ZERO water. Turned off water at meter (keep the key in garage) and opened all faucets and just waiting it out. My parents live 3 miles so we fill up milk jugs with water and take showers. Dad thinks my main water pipe from the meter is not buried deep enough. Praying no pipes burst when water turned back onā¦EDIT: I am so dumb for falling asleep on the couch Friday night and forgetting to drip the faucets.
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Thank you for cutting and pasting this for us! This is helpful but the insights are pointing me to assuming there will just be long waitlists. And kids could continue to be in limbo. Good grief. This year has been so punishing on 2021 kids as it is.
I like the FAFSA idea and even if we wouldnāt qualify for anything, Iād invest the time to fill out a FAFSA and do the ranking. Similar to how med school residency peeps do their match ranking.
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The problem with ranking is that the low match and safety schools then see that they are, in fact, low priority, and itās deferral/denial city. Knowing the applicantās other schools and priority is problematic for the applicant, good for the colleges.
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I think the other problem with the ranking system is the merit piece. Your school might be 6th on my kidās list but if you give her a large award, you might jump to first.
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Starting next yr, Texas will require all seniors to fill out FAFSA to graduate.
I donāt like the idea of other schools knowing where else a student applies, they already have the upper hand on most of the process.
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I donāt believe the FAFSA lets the schools know where a student applies, do they? It looks like they may have in the past, though.
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Right, I am disagreeing with some posters that say they would like it to show this info to schools.
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Right, they used to though, thatās what people are referring to. I remember reading something about years ago how you entered the schools into FAFSA was very important, and your state public needed to be in one of the two top spots, etc. etcā¦ Like we need any more ridiculous strategizing in addition to all of the āunwritten rulesā that are already floating around!
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ProctorU was terrible when my son was taking a dual enrollment class last year and had some troubles getting the system to work. Several āproctorsā just hung up on him when he tried to describe the issue. It was incredibly stressful, and needless to say he didnāt test well. He had read bad reviews of the program when he paid to sign up for it (as required), and he had just as many issues. It seems like there should be enough demand for such a system that better ones would win out!
The low acceptance rates started when they ceased the system where you could only apply to one UC and then rank the rest.
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