Unfortunately
Nope unless they are going to a college where you can phone it in. How can you write a paper from primary sources via google alone?
If your primary sources are published research, then you just need the right journal subscriptions. Itâs all online in many fields.
Google scholar fills a lot of needs. Primary sources for many things may be news accounts. All available online.
In the beginning of my college search, I was averse to schools that called their math degrees âB.Aâ rather than âB.S.â It doesnât usually mean anything if they only have one degree program, though.
And I wouldnât apply to Miami in Ohio because they are way too obsessed with the âPublic Ivyâ status conferred on them by some book in the 1980s. It is a good school, but thereâs no way itâs objectively better than Ohio State.
A B.A. and a B.S. are different degrees. When I was in school, a math degree was in issued by the College of Arts and Sciences, and you had to meet the other requirements of that school to get a BA (foreign language, 4 science classes, etc). B.S degrees were issued by other colleges within the university (business, engineering, journalism, recreation). I think there is currently a BS for computer science if issued by the engineering school, and a B.A. if issued by the College of Arts and sciences because there are different requirements.
^ That can depend on the school. At my alma mater (at least back in the day) the liberal arts majors received a B.A regardless of major thus my B.A in Biology.
Back to the title of the thread, my D refused to look at a great college thirty minutes away because it is thirty minutes away.
@Lindagaf Mine refused to look at colleges in the same state where they or their relatives lived. This eliminated such states as Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Virginia! (Of course, back in the day, I wouldnât consider Dartmouth because my Aunt lived an hour away. Drive for independence is strong here.)
I donât know if this is stupid or not; I think itâs pretty justified.
I was planning to apply to USC, had it on my Common App and everything, but their hashtag question aggravated me so much that I deleted it from my dashboard then and there. I didnât want to come up with a hashtag that described who I am or whatever. I just thought it was kind of stupid, and it made me think the school was trying to hard to be ârelatableâ.
1 Like
@mf37101 I think thatâs a great reason. It would turn me off as well as my kids. It seems kind of anti-intellectual.
My kid refused to consider a school because a neighbor had gone there 30 years ago and hated it. The thing is: the school is well known for STEM, kiddo plans to major in math and/or physics, neighbor was a history major, neighbor has expressed dislike for that entire region of the country and her primary objection to the college seems to be where it was located and that it wasnât good for history majors, kiddo isnât especially close to neighbor. arrrghh
Back in the day I refused to apply to Radcliffe because I got their application and I considered it to be obnoxious and arrogant.
Actually, that was probably a good reason. 
@Lindagaf Apparently that 30-minute rule is fairly popular. Not only do we have a great LAC 30 minutes away, but it meets 100% need for in-state residents with a certain ACT score that DD made in 7th grade Duke.
@mf37101 The year my daughter was applying, there was a USC question something like, âWhich are you: a nerd or a geek?â I donât think she completed the application.
I kind of feel that way about the UChicago essay questions now. I thought they were so cool when I applied, but some of them (e.g. âFind xâ or âWhere is Waldo, really?â or the one that relates string theory to âthe concept of stringing someone alongâ) are pretty gimmicky.
To be fair, I avoided a lot of schools for having supplemental essays in the first place. It kept me away from applying to schools I didnât really care about.
@Lindagaf had we known then what we know now though lol. A thirty minute ride to console an unhappy freshman sure would have made this Mom happy. The five hour ride made being there in person difficult at best.
Honestly, in the case of an unhappy freshman, I think 30 minutes away would be the worst for achieving longer term happiness at the school. Too easy to run home and not engage in the campus environment. I think some distance is a good thing - it forces growth and independence.
1 Like
@ciervo Geez, thatâs even worse. Maybe this is a outdated stereotype, but I was under the impression that a lot of would-be Trojans donât consider themselves either one. #universityofspoiledchildren (Crap, that shoulda been my hashtag.)
@halcyonheather I agree. I never really considered applying to UChicago but those essay questions didnât make me any more interested. Itâs a great way for some types of people to show off their personality, but it definitely favors nerdy writer types who know enough about string theory to come up with a cool essay about how it pertains to their lives.