If you mean his desire to learn new things, I believe that indeed shows in his essay.
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Thank you! 
Our HS DE courses with the University of Pittsburgh take the same exams/Final as the on-campus course. They receive a grade and Pitt transcript based on the same grading rubric/calculation as on-campus students (which may different from the HS grade), so I donât see how this is âpretty differentâ.
What puzzles me is just taking a college course, with the high school not providing any recognition on the HS transcript, and calling it DE. Donât you need to be âenrolledâ in two (âdualâ) locations, by definition? My D may take MVC/LA at a local college, online. Our HS is supportive, but wonât recognize it in any way. I just call this taking a college course.
Yours sounds more like the latter/4 year university version than the pretty different version I was mentioning where people say the rigor is less than an AP course. I think it really varies from what I have read.
Thatâs exactly what I meant!
Has anyone done interviews yet? How did your student prepare? Is there a difference between the preparation between alumni/admissions officer/senior student? If you have an option, is there a preference on which to choose?
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Mine has done a few. Theyâve all been with students. We did a bit of role play (less than 1/2 hour) so she had answers to the standard questions (I think we googled standard college interview questions) and she did the first one with a school she had chosen not to apply to as practice. Since she had been interested in it previously she had enough knowledge to make it a successful practice interview. Sheâs pretty shy, but seemed to feel they all went well - it sounds like some of the student interviewers were pretty awkward as well!
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When my D applied a few cycles back she had two interviews with admissions officers and then a bunch with alumni. The AO interviews were much more structured and was them asking her questions. The meetings with alumni were more informal and about information sharing about the schools.
Many schools are no longer using alumni meetings in any kind of evaluative way, other than to maybe demonstrate interest. The admissions officer meetings were evaluative.
We did a bit of role playing with our D before the AO meetings and just made sure she could articulate why she was applying to their school and why her major. Also had her come up with a few questions to ask that couldnât be found on their websites.
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Thanks for asking this question. Lot of good info.
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My D21 had a some that were more bonding and connecting and others that were more interview-like.
I thought the most interesting question was from an alumnae who asked really specific questions about my Dâs main EC. She was looking for how challenging it was and what my Dâs leadership role was and level of responsibility. It was an opportunity for my D to show how meaningful that was to her so she really liked that.
So I think interviews are a great time to show depth of skills and experience.
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I did alumni interviewing for over two decades. Some of the standard questions students should be prepared to answer -
Why did you choose to apply to ______ (fill in the name of the school)?
hint: âbecause itâs a great schoolâ is not a good answer ; )
What was your favorite class in HS and why?
What was your favorite EC?
What major are you interested in studying?
What do you hope to experience outside the classroom in college?
And then the student should come prepared to ask the interviewer questions too. I was often asked about my favorite class or memory, and what I would go back to change about my university experience.
The most memorable question D was asked was how she would explain engineering to a 5 year old. (This was asked by an Ad Com).
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I used to be an alumni interviewer too. I would also ask What three words would your closest friends use to describe you?
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Definitely not done here!
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S22 now admitted to Iowa State and Arizona State.
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First day of school for D22 today and it went well. She likes her teachers and has first period off, and is looking forward to the school year. Yesterday, she was part of the upperclassmen group that helped welcome freshman to the school and guide them around and answer questions. Today she helped a few more with finding classrooms because her schoolâs room numbering system is insane - like having a 1xx room on the 2nd floor when all the other rooms up there start with a 2. And Room 2003 sandwiched between 2001 and 2002. Itâs so bizarre.
With first period off (but no lunch period) she doesnât start school until 9:30 most days which is really great for sleeping in a little in the mornings. Sheâll need to brown bag lunch every day now since sheâll only have time to eat when there are work times in her later classes; sheâll just gobble something down while sitting in the hallway. Itâs ok, probably safer actually than eating in the cafeteria with all the other kids eating and talking without masks.
Hoping this year in-person actually works. Our school district has a mask mandate and she said everyone she saw was good about it today (except a couple freshmen she recognized from yesterday). Fingers crossed.
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In case you missed this articleâŠ.hoping the link works!
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Thanks for sharing. Some interesting insights. Sometimes I wonder how different the actual academic quality is among schools or if rankings really reflect how much has been spent attracting the ârightâ students and surrounding them with fantastic facilities and extras.
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Duke will be similar: do not expect DE transfer credit there either, but starting/placing into a higher level is doable
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Paywalled, at least for me.
I expect the âUSNews Rankings coming soonâ release to come any day now - maybe today. To be released around the 13th. And we can start the discussion cycle again.
Surprisingly, because the Post usually locks me out, I got in to read it.
What surprised me about the article itself is how much blame the author heaped specifically onto USNWR. From the âperfectly timedâ introduction of the ranking list in 1983, to impugning the motives of USNWR throughout, to blaming USNWR for college admissionsâ over-reliance of test scores.
One potential source to blame was briefly touched upon: â{College presidents} eventually realized that rankings could boost status and market share ⊠fueled toxic competition among universities and inflated the cost of degrees 1,000 percent since 1980.â IMO, thatâs where a large portion of the blame lies, not with any specific ranking, but with the colleges that made the decisions to engage in this sort of arms race. Unfortunately, the article went in another direction looking for blame.
Somehow, none of the blame found itâs way to the parents and students. Itâs as if the author gives no credit to parents/students to be able to research schools according to the familiesâ metrics, and determine which schools are best for their student and family situation. Instead, families/students are apparently deemed naive, gullible and unable to make intelligent decisions for themselves, easy prey for USNWR rankings.
I agree with the articleâs gist that the rankings are flawed. I disagree that all families are sheep who must blindly follow along. I also disagree with the implied-but-largely-unsaid assumption that there are only a small number of institutions where students can receive a quality education and an enjoyable college experience. There are fine colleges from Walla Walla WA to Deland FL that annually prepare tens of thousands of students for work and a successful life. By ignoring the Whitmans & Stetsons of America, the articleâs author is committing the exact same sin she charges USNWR - she implies admission to one of few highly-ranked schools is the only thing that matters.
Then the author completely goes off the rails with faulty reasoning: âGreater accessibility combined with skyrocketing tuition made rankings more important as families sought ways to calculate returns on their investment.â This implies that it is important to get into one of the highest ranked schools to insure ROI.
It is illogical to say the rankings are flawed, strongly implying the order of the rankings is invalid; to also imply that some schools gamed the survey to ensure much-higher-than-deserved-rankings which means they arenât any âbetterâ than colleges ranked far below them; and also imply the only way to guarantee ROI is to attend one of the colleges ranked highly. These are only a few of the ways the author fails to achieve logic with the article.
In the end, while I like what I hope the author was trying to say, I think the article is little more than a refined form of clickbait. It has the sheen of being erudite but is unfocused, erroneous, and provides bad guidance.
PS: The article touched upon something great. It implies CTCL arose as a way to combat the rise in popularity of the rankings arm race, championed by educators and colleges either removed from the arms race or who chose to remove themselves from it. I think a stronger, more helpful article could be born from that paragraph.
As the author said, some families are seeking, above all else, âhigh-status brandsâ. Once a family identifies its top goal, quality education or high-status brand, it might become easier to separate the two. For families seeking both, prepare for a bumpy ride.
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