<p>I am becoming increasingly concerned about statements being made as if the person posting is a true authority when in fact, they are a student who has not even started at boarding school. </p>
<p>I think this is potentially dangerous, and I think posters should identify what their background is when posting. </p>
<p>I am sure many of you will disagree with this, but I have been concerned about this for quite some time.</p>
<p>All right then.</p>
<p>Alright... I'm a middle school student applying to boarding school in addition to a day school or two for the '08-'09 school year. In no way do I ever try to look like I know more than I do. I give advice based on what I've seen/heard about schools, but I don't lie about personal experiences, or try to act like my opinions are definitive.</p>
<p>What behavior do you find so alarming?</p>
<p>It makes a difference whether someone is a professional (such as edconsultant )versus whether someone is a kid who has not even attended a specific school- yet is giving feedback about what ssat scores, grades etc are needed to gain admission, or what the character of a school is etc. Newcomers are trying to sort out the legitimacy of this information.</p>
<p>I agree with you. There's students on here that haven't even started boarding school yet that think they know everything about boarding school. They're giving out incredibly biased information that can convince people on here not to apply to schools just because of what they said.</p>
<p>I'm a student, BTW.</p>
<p>That is why I am asking for identification- so that the people reading can know more about the source when they are evaluating what is being said.</p>
<p>This is a great idea. It ought to be part of the system and built into user profiles, like gender. It's much more useful information than gender (imo).</p>
<p>I'd like to propose this to the site administrators. What options should there be for users to select in their profiles?</p>
<p>Point of View:</p>
<p>HS Student
College Student
Graduate Student
Recent Graduate
Parent of Applicant/Student
Educator
Education Administration
Admissions Office
Educational Consultant
Flamethrower
Mostly Lurking
Not Saying</p>
<p>I agree, D'yer. You should PM that to an administrator.</p>
<p>I think that is a good point. I am a consultant, work at a school, and I'm a parent of small children. As adults, we do have some wisdom to pass on. And we do learn from you students as well. You give us all good information on what it is like at the schools, how the admissions process went for you, etc.</p>
<p>I do think there is a lot of mis-information about the SSAT score. There certainly is no cut off. Most of the A- students who I see have a 50-70% SSAT and get into wonderful schools. Top schools often have a concern with a student who scores below 50%, as they might not be able to handle the work. All schools, in my experience, have a concern with a student scoring below 10%, as they have are likely to have special needs which the school might not be able to meet. Those are the only "Cut offs" that I know about, but they are really more of a show of concern for the student and finding a right fit. </p>
<p>good idea Dr. Nancie; it's nice to see who the info is coming from, I agree!</p>
<p>What about Prospective Student, or Accepted Student? (and then they move on to HS/college student)</p>
<p>I just tried to send this to the webmaster. </p>
<p>we should probably send it to Roger, but I don't know how to do that other than to report a problem post.</p>
<p>Hmm... it's a good idea, but it still doesn't guarantee any truth... it might help clarify issues where someone innocently suggests something, and the reader wants to know if it's a parent/student/consultant opinion, but I suppose it would be easy enough to label yourself under a different category.</p>
<p>Good luck! I really hope this becomes a feature on the CC.</p>
<p>Yes, cinnamon, you are completely right- one could of course present as whomever one pleases. How do we contact Roger?</p>
<p>drnancie, try this: go to the Prep School Admissions page. You'll see Roger Dooley's name near the top. Click on it, then select "Send a private message to Roger_Dooley". I hope this works.</p>
<p>My reasoning for this is not about accuracy of data. It's about how I relate to people. Sometimes, I might reply to someone and not realize it's a 13- or 14-year old. Sometimes, I read a post from a parent and assume it's a kid. If someone lies about their "status" then that's their problem.</p>
<p>As for the idea of "accepted" and "prospective" categories, I think those concepts have some limited usefulness on this board -- but this is a college site. Maybe a "Pre-High School" level should be added, but "accepted" and "prospective" are very fine distinctions and applicable only for this one forum.</p>
<p>Oh, I forgot. For fun is fun there should be a category called "Troll."</p>
<p>-- Flamethrower D'yer</p>
<p>The only official category (other than mods/admins) we have is "College Rep" - we actually verify these. The problem with any self-professed category is that people can misrepresent themselves. If a 15-year old student checks off "parent", that might be even more misleading to other members.</p>
<p>As in any online community, the best indication of quality for any advice or comment is the history of the member. If the member has a long history of balanced commentary and intelligent posting, the advice is likely better than a new or clearly biased member.</p>
<p>I agree with dr. nancie....some of the opinions are so biased, and strongly stated, that they could easily sway a decision. However, that is what messageboards are like. Maybe a disclaimer at the top of the page?</p>
<p>I agreed with Roger_Dooley. Once you are on the forum a while. You basically know who is who. As everything trust and verify. You make your decsion according to what you feel. It is hard to keep updating the status.</p>
<p>I picked my name to make it clear that I am a parent. I don't mind clarifying who I am every now and again, but it will become too cumbersome to do it every time I post.</p>