<p>Most of the athletes have already committed by the time the ED and EA decisions come out in mid December so I always think of them as a separate group. The recruiting process really starts in Spring of junior year so you pretty much know who is courting who. The surprises for the athletes seem to come when a top 8 school is expressing heavy interest and then drops them if someone they wanted more is willing to sign. But by November most of the Division 1 athletes have already committed, after that you are pretty much relying on super high stats, legacy or development for those schools.</p>
<p>
GMTson has decided not to apply to this school. He figures that if this classmate got deferred, what chance does he have?</p>
<p>I hear you, @GMTplus7 . I don’t know what’s worse: That or returning to campus for senior year and finding out (from the CC) that your kid’s first choice is the “Hot” school this year. ( It’s wicked stomach turning pass the bucket and hold my hair fun- isn’t it? ) </p>
<p>Happy New Year 
</p>
Interesting article: http://origin-www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-09/colleges-fill-more-seats-early-favoring-richer-u-s-students.html
Wow this thread is on life support.
PhotographerMom: I tend to agree with this comment posted in response to the bloomberg.com article:
“The theory that early decision programs favor the wealthy is
oversimplified. All of the top universities that the article discusses are need
blind. Admissions officers not have access to financial aid information. However,
they all offer students the option of applying for financial aid as part of the
early decision process and provide students with a financial aid package
simultaneous with their early admission decision. In addition, even the binding early decision
programs give students an out if the financial aid package is not sufficient
and students and families can appeal financial aid decisions as well. The
notion that lower income applicants are disfavored by the universities in the
early admissions process is really not correct.However, early admission programs do favor the prepared. To
apply early to a top university, students and their families need to have their
act together. Standardized testing needs to be completed early, preferably by
the end of Junior year. Essays and applications need to be substantially
completed during the summer before Senior year. Since Senior year grades are
not generally available, students need to have a strong academic and extracurricular
records with no holes or weak spots that might benefit from a stronger Senior
year. Parents need to get the financial aid forms completed early. Moreover,
choosing a single school as a first choice is a big decision that generally
requires a lot of research, campus visits and soul searching. The bottom line
is that a high school student has to be extremely qualified and well prepared
in order to be successful in the early application process.”
That’s a well-thought out response to the article. Thanks for sharing it, @TheStig2.
The final applications are all in, and everyone is waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting…
Yeah. ^ We’re pretty much comatose over here. Although visitors (mostly alumni interviewers) pop in every once in a while. Doctors say that there is indeed brain activity so no need to pull the plug yet…give it about two more months.
@TheStig2 - I completely agree with that comment. Especially:
" Moreover, choosing a single school as a first choice is a big decision that generally requires a lot of research, campus visits and soul searching. The bottom line is that a high school student has to be extremely qualified and well prepared in order to be successful in the early application process."
Not feeling disenchanted enough about college and the admissions race/facilities “arms war” yet?
This should help:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/education/edlife/how-to-raise-a-universitys-profile-pricing-and-packaging.html
@Seven, that NYT article brought to mind the movie “Ivory Tower”. I watched it on a recent flight. It was grouped in the movie genre “documentary”, but arguably it should have been grouped in “horror” genre.
Another interesting piece on the wide gap between college counseling at private and public schools:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/02/09/382122276/rich-school-poor-school
Yeehaw. PelicanChild is going to college!
Now that college decisions are rolling in at a more rapid pace, I’ll share some great advice a very wise person gave me after our first child was accepted :
After you’ve mailed the deposit check, book the hotel room(s) ASAP (if you need to) for Orientation and Family/ Homecoming Weekend. Most colleges block rooms ( at the more popular/convenient hotel(s) ) for these two events a year in advance and they fill up REALLY fast!
Planning for these two events now will save you a lot of grief later on. Exciting times!
@PelicanDad - Congrats!!!
What are people racing towards?
http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/02/17/report-penn-must-fight-destructive-perfectionism/
A QUOTE: “…the drive for academic excellence along with the perception that in order to be successful one needs to hold leadership roles in multiple realms contributes to the amount of stress and distress experienced by Penn students”.
I’m going to sort of call BS/“You can’t have it both ways” on selective universities like Penn. I’m CONFIDENT that “academic excellence” and “leadership roles in multiple realms” are factors in who these schools admit. So how can you choose a student body based on these factors then be like “oh, it’s a problem”.
IT’S A PROBLEM PENN AND ALL THE OTHER SELECTIVE SCHOOLS [AND THE MEDIA AND THE PARENTS] ARE HELPING CREATE!!!
Because parents/students think that “the only way to get into the uber-selectives is to demonstrate ‘academic excellence’ and ‘leadership roles in multiple realms’”, they pursue those ends. Not to mention the fact that MANY feel that only a handful of more selective colleges (and BS) like Penn are “worth” going to anyway.
Argh. I’m fired up this AM.
A reminder/disclaimer that I am a Penn grad, so it’s not like I’m slinging rocks from afar here. I don’t think Penn is alone in contributing to this culture, either.
Oh, sevendad. You’re just trying to get everything off your chest by the end of the day. 
@SevenDad, hear hear. All the selective schools are guilty of this. They select for these qualities and then wring their hands that their students are stressed out/burned out/not willing to take intellectual risks.
Are you saying selective colleges are now bemoaning the fact that it’s practically impossible to separate the cleverly crafted /manufactured candidate from the genuine/ real deal ?
Heavens- I didn’t see that coming at all.
Young people are killing themselves on campus and many more are in harms way. The highly selective schools need to examine how their culture, of standards and expectations, plays a role in this “destructive perfectionism”. Institutions naturally have a hard time acknowledging these connections when responsibility is shared so widely and their own reputations are at stake. UPenn initiated the study, true, but its prescriptions are more reactive than proactive, imho. The conversation about how destructive perfectionism operates needs more depth and exposure. That it can take place at home is worth mentioning here.