@Curiosa2 My S was accepted to Skidmore but we didn’t get the chance to visit. Would you mind describing your visit, impressions, vibe, good, not so good, any lingering questions?
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‘the before times’
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@srparent15 WSJ should also list out incremental amount of $ these colleges are getting from the increased apps.
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I would love to read a no holds barred look at the economics of college apps. Do colleges make money, break even, or take a loss? How much time per app? etc.
I can’t help but think the app growth this year has caused colleges massive headaches and maybe they want to change the system. I’m sure NYU liked bragging about the 100k apps until they had to figure out how to read them…
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Our counselor told us last year that UCLA made $5,367,190 in revenue from declined applications. Berkeley $4,590,110, Standfor #3,632,120…so yeah, a LOT
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Does make you wonder if they actually read all of them.
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In my mind, the real problem with the whole system is our willingness to accept that the Ivies and near-Ivies are superior. To really increase opportunity and equity, we should attack that notion at the level of employment and grad school admissions. It is mostly just laziness and tradition that leads top finance and consulting firms to only recruit Ivy grads. Same thing for clerkships, grad school admissions, and so forth.
Sort of like how the NFL implemented rules that teams have to interview beyond the usual middle aged white guy suspects for coaching positions. What would that look like? I have no idea. But if top employers were incentivized to spread their recruitment out more broadly it would be a game changer in some ways.
As long as the Ivies are seen as the golden ticket then nothing really is ever going to change. And it will always be a zero-sum game. The University or Texas or TAMU systems probably each educate far more students per year than all the Ivy league schools combined. It is just not sustainable for the growing population of this enormous country to continue to try to squeeze into those 8 small legacy schools.
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@Picklenut6 And this year UCLA got 139k apps. For the incremental funds (you take 10% off the app fees for overhead expenses like AOs, server data…readers are alums and I’m thinking they’re not paid. I don’t think my cousin is paid as a Cal reader), it’s worth the headache. For the money, they’d figure it out.
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Could not agree more!
Our school tried really hard to sway families away from incurring huge amounts of debt for “big name” undergraduate degrees and that if you want to invest in your future, it’s better to spend that money at the graduate level with name recognition. Carrying huge amounts of debt for several decades sounds absolutely paralyzing to me, and I want nothing to do with it. I don’t want my child to carry that burden either.
It’s a complete racket these days with parents being obsessed with trying to get their kids into a “good school” and I equate good with some fancy name that anyone recognizes. The obsession with it is toxic. If you go to college and work hard and earn a degree there are doors open to you. They might not be the same doors right off the bat, but you can get after it.
How much higher can our kid’s GPA’s get? When is the bubble going to burst?
No one has ever heard of where I went to college. Not one employer ever asked me. I got every job I ever applied to. I had my dream career and it had nothing to do with what college I went to. Heck, my career was not even remotely related to my major.
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I don’t believe all readers are alums. At least for UCSD, I know someone who is a reader and is definitely not an alum. I don’t know if this person is paid or not but if I had to guess I would say yes. This is just a guess on my part, of course. Perhaps the UCs have a mix of alums and non-alums, with the former being unpaid and the latter paid.
Sure! We spent a full day at Skidmore. It was my son’s first campus visit and I was afraid we were overdoing it but it worked out great. We did a science tour in the morning… the girl was an environmental science major, I think that’s a strength of theirs. She talked about her study abroad experience and showed off some amazing piece of equipment they were very proud of. (They have a new science building that’s opening in stages; it wasn’t built yet when we were there.)
Then we did a regular tour and information session. They had all the tour guides describe their backgrounds (where they were from, what major, what extracurriculars) and then let you choose which one to follow. Without going into details, my son picked someone with an unusual background; he really values diversity/tolerance and wanted to hear what this kid’s experience had been. We got the impression it was a warm, accepting, supportive place. There were cheerful affirmations on the sidewalk written in chalk, and in the cafeteria there was a bulletin board where the kids had pinned napkins with written suggestions / comments / thank yous. Just little things like that gave off a casual, not-too-intense, not-too-full-of-themselves vibe. IIRC they have a big improv festival every year where they host improv groups from a bunch of different campuses.
We saw some dorms. The hallways were a little claustrophobic but the rooms themselves seemed fine. Not gorgeous or glamorous but I don’t think that’s a high priority for my kid.
The information session was an entertaining AO and a couple of students who talked about life on campus. I think the guy joined the Ultimate Frisbee team and the girl may have talked about an internship or another study abroad experience – something along those lines. (It’s been a while!)
Then we did a performing arts tour (my son is a dancer). The dance opportunities seemed very flexible, you could be as involved as you wanted to be. Our tour guide had been a BFA major elsewhere and transferred in because he wanted more flexibility than that. There were clubs, classes, majors/minors, individual performances you could audition for… whatever level you wanted to participate.
On the downside it rained on and off most of the day, and they were blunt with us that it’s cold and snowy there most of the school year. I know I couldn’t handle that, not sure how my son feels about it. And it’s far away from home. But if he could adjust to that it felt like it might be a good spot for him.
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Is there a thread to post where our 21 grads will be attending next year? If not, it would be nice to see where chosen, others considered (maybe even merit offered?) and quick stats of student to pay it forward to pay it forward to future graduating classes…maybe limit it to one post per person to prevent a lot of conversation and congrats…just the facts. It would be fun to see a list all in one location.
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Start one!
I’d suggest a single post with the following information, which should answer most questions:
ACCEPTED ADMISSIONS TO:
SHORT SUMMARY OF STATS:
ALSO APPLIED TO:
REASON(S) FOR DECISION:
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You could even add more info-- accepted/denied (for the ‘also applied’)
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Great idea! Post a link in this thread if you do it. 
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@Curiosa2 Thanks so much! My S is already in the northeast so he is accustomed to the climate. From what you described, Skidmore sounds a lot like what he is seeking. What kind of dance? My D dances, ballet and contemp, but she has a few more years before college.
We might not know until July 
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It looks like the remaining EA UGA scholarships are being released ahead of their RD decisions. My daughter said she just received an email and was awarded the Classic Scholarship.
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He’s a ballet dancer. Apparently, Saratoga Springs is the summer home of the NYCB, so Skidmore has lots of connections to dancers in the area and they get them to come in to teach master classes, etc.
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Good news for those planning on school visits.
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