<p>College application is a very complex process, as we all know. In order to educate myself of the process so I could offer some assistance to our two kids, I have spent a lot of time on CC. Typically, I came with questions, not because I dont know the subject but to confirm what I got from my own researches. Typically, I dont offer to many opinions on others' situations because my way of thinking is atypical of CC main stream.</p>
<p>I would say the most useful information I got from CC is timelines and action items. If I saw 20 questions on FAFSA; or 5 kids on the same school talk about a particular essay, etc. I would then do my own research on that subject, form my ideas, and sometimes, post a question or two to see if I got it right. </p>
<p>The biggest lesson I learnt from my time on CC is that my personality is not suitable for online forums. I like to brag and I dont lie (most of the time). With those two characters, I tend to give out way too much personal information. With internet, the world is much smaller than you think. Even if you post something using a different language on a local forum thousand miles away, there is always a chance someone could put two and two together. The worst thing was that I sometimes talk about my colleagues, our childrens friend etc on the forums. </p>
<p>So, I take this opportunity to offer my most sincere apologize to those I have offended in any way. With all due respect, I hope some of you could now understand why I am not answering your questions about my children.</p>
<p>Many thanks to those who offer me their kind, friendly, and useful inputs. Best luck to all parents and students.</p>
<p>One of the many things I have appreciated about CC is how civil, friendly and helpful people who post here are. Sometimes people here get a little cranky but the nastiness NEVER reaches the level of what you see on many forums.</p>
<p>There’s always someone here (usually several) who knows the answer, and is willing to share it.</p>
<p>Dad II, I get the feeling you are doing some introspection. Thank you for your contributions. Don’t eliminate your bookmark just yet; you may need CC for something in the future. And you may be able to help someone else.</p>
<p>Before I discovered CC I was clueless about the college search and admission process. I shudder to think where my kids might be headed if it weren’t for the helpful information exchanged here.</p>
<p>The most important thing I’ve learned from CC is that I am Ivy-caliber. I never knew that my grades and SAT scores (which are far from perfect) could warrant me a top school acceptance. A top school in and of itself isn’t important to me, but the financial aid is. That knowledge, coupled with an introduction to QuestBridge, led me to a full ride from Stanford. I would be at the University of Pittsburgh or GW - both great schools and great fits for me - had I not discovered CC. I’d have been head over heels in debt with no chance for grad school or beyond. CC has saved me an awful lot of money.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, CC has also tuned me in to some more negative things. First of all, I had no idea just how crappy my crappy high school was. I knew there were kids who just cared about prestige and making a lot of money, but I didn’t even know it was common enough to fill an entire busy discussion board. I didn’t realize how far helicopter parents could go. Worst of all, though, I didn’t know that racism and classism were so alive and present. I knew racism existed, but occasionally, it really rears its head on these boards. I also laugh when someone calls anything in excess of $150,000 per year “middle class.” Middle income in this country is under $60,000, and there are people making three to five times that much claiming to be middle class. That was really an eye opener.</p>
<p>This is a nice place to go to find broadly intelligent people along with experts in a variety of areas. There is a lot of collective experience in a variety of issues related to general living and lots of practical wisdom.</p>
<p>I discovered a bunch of schools that I wouldn’t have known about before, and to look for schools in different regions of the country.</p>
<p>I learned that some kids do better on the ACT that the SAT, and hence encouraged my S to give the ACT a shot. </p>
<p>I learned some of the tradeoffs of applying ED.</p>
<p>I learned that different HS’s have very different GPA ranges.</p>
<p>I learned about the existence of scattergrams, and how they could be useful in evaluating if a school would be a safety, match or reach.</p>
<p>I’ve actually learned a lot more than these things here on CC, but these are the ones that I think had the biggest positive impact on my S’s college selection and application process.</p>
<p>DadII- keep up your CC browsing- you now can offer advice and encouragement to newbies from the perspective of knowing little then and having learned much- you know where these people are coming from and won’t make assumptions. You will be able to contribute to the specific college sites with the specific knowledge gained in how things work there.</p>
<p>applicannot- the middle class encompasses the vast majority of Americans. You can’t use an average income level. There are lower and upper middle class income levels. There is also the middle class lifestyle- you can have middle class values and spending habits regardless of whether or not your income exceeds a monetary level. A strength of our country is that most people identify with being in the middle, even if it means a large disparity in the quantity and quality of goods and services purchased. Even those in the upper levels of middle class incomes still need to think about how to spend the money- on a grander scale than most perhaps, but not at the unthinking level of the rich. Our society is best off with a huge middle class identity instead of a more stratified one.</p>
<p>In some ways I agree with you, but I would never consider a family in the top ten or bottom ten percent to be middle class - and eighty percent is a prety big swath of America, wouldn’t you say?</p>
<p>People making $150,000 or more is only 5.84%. Why on earth would I consider those people middle-income - and by extension, middle class? Sorry. Not buying it.</p>
<p>With great respect to wis75 and applicannot (posts #8 and #9), I’m sure this thread will stay in better shape if people reply to the main question presented in the Thread Title. </p>
<p>Start a new thread to debate individual sub-topics of interest.</p>
<p>I learned how unsophisticated my understanding of the college preparation and application process was, and how underprepared our first child was compared to what he could have been given his abilities. Many people on CC have spent a lot of time educating themselves about how the admissions game works and have learned how to set up action plans to help their children achieve high educational goals. While we certainly had plans in place too, I concluded that we aimed at targets which weren’t always the most important or the most appropriate in S’s case. Two examples are the principle of GPA maximization and planning for SAT II’s. S definitely did not select his high school classes with these objectives in mind, which cost him class rank, some scholarships, and some subject test points, but luckily didn’t hurt him as much as it could have. With S’s help, D made some different scheduling choices which enabled her to achieve a higher GPA than she would have following S’s footsteps, while not seriously detracting from educational quality.</p>
<p>Regrettably, we didn’t discover the CC forum until S’s applications were already submitted but I do believe we were much better informed the second time around and that greatly helped our D. Topics regarding athletic recruiting were invaluable in her case, as we’d received no guidance on that process at all from our school or coaches.</p>
<p>The most important lesson I’ve learned is to love and welcome the offspring who’s on the couch instead of dreaming about the kid whom I thought I had and wished that I had had.</p>
<p>I have learned that a lot of people have the same questions and concerns that I have.
I have learned that there are a lot of different situations and points of view.
I have learned that there are a lot of variances in high schools.
I have learned that there are a lot of people on cc who can make me laugh.
I have learned that there are a lot of wise people here.
I have learned that when I was upset about something there were people who were kind to me.</p>
<p>I have learned that there are many different personalities out there. Many helpful, kind knowledgeable posters. There are those who give of their time, energy and knowledge, and those who take.</p>
<p>I’ve had my eyes open to many possibilities not only for my children but also for me. I only wish I had found this site when my eldest was looking for schools. It may not have made a difference as she is very opinionated but I might have been able to guide her better. That being said, I learn many things especially over at the cafe. Dad II , I have always appreciated your posts. I hope you don’t leave completely. My two daughters are almost done with undergrad but I plan to hang on here as this forum has been the most interesting one that I have found yet.</p>
<p>I’ve learned to apply early to at least some college so we can all breath easier. I learned to apply to a financial safety(and not just a safety).
BTW, aren’t you plan to hang around CC for your future grandchildren? Ok, just kidding, I am thinking of quitting CC when my second child is in college, either that or when I reach 10,000 posts.</p>
<p>I have learned a lot about colleges I had never heard of before.</p>
<p>I learned to love the kid on the counch, but I also learned a lot about how to advise my kid to sell himself via the application process so that he didn’t look like a couch potato.</p>
<p>I learned there are some colleges that seem to cause a lot of arguments. (U of Chicago isn’t the only one.)</p>
<p>I learned that there are a lot of people with the same taste in books and and movies.</p>
<p>I learned a bunch of acronyms which are of no use anywhere but here.</p>
--It’s always interesting.</p>
to love the kid on the couch. This is a really important, but difficult, thing for me.</p>