<p>I have noticed several instances lately where students -- and to a lesser extent parents -- are posting questions on CC that I would have thought they would pose directly to the admissions offices of the various colleges. For example, testing requirements, how the GPA is recalculated, whether SAT's taken on a certain date will be considered for Early Decision, etc.</p>
<p>Are people using this forum as a supplement to information they are getting directly from the colleges, or as a shortcut?</p>
<p>Don't forget that contacting the schools is not only a better source of information in any cases, but many of them track your number of contacts as a sign of "interest." Also remember that free advice from an anonymous website is not necessarily the best source of information. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Are people using this forum as a supplement to information they are getting directly from the colleges, or as a shortcut?</p>
<p>Don't forget that contacting the schools is not only a better source of information in any cases, but many of them track your number of contacts as a sign of "interest." Also remember that free advice from an anonymous website is not necessarily the best source of information. </p>
<p>Just my 2 cents.
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</p>
<p>Well, Nervousmommy, some of the success of this site can be directly attributed to the conclusion that if "free advice from an anonymous website is not necessarily the best source of information", the information obtained directly from the source might not be .. better or more precise. </p>
<p>I believe that the consensus and "typical" advice is to view both the direct sources AND the opinion/advice of people who are going or have gone through the process as complementary. Spend enough time on this site, and you'll find out that the information one obtains from the school can be ... wrong, especially when obtained from one of the traveling adcoms at a high school assembly. In a way, this is not very different from calling the IRS for information. The correct information can be found on the website or in the Code, but hoping that the PERSON who answers your question is correct requires a leap of faith. </p>
<p>Also, while schools do keep "some" tracks of "expression of interest" this is far from being unversal. In the category that DOES track this type of thing, you won't find "many" of the very competitive schools that are frequently discussed on CC. </p>
<p>My personal two cents is that this site does a wonderful job in dissecting the truth from the large amount of erroneous and misleading information that trickles down from the ... normal channels in education. </p>
<p>I think there are different issues at play here. For certain information about a college, it is better to go directly to the source and not rely on what people on a message board tell you. For instance, factual information such as you mention as to the testing requirements or last test date that will be considered for the ED deadline, or anything of that nature, is best to check directly with the school. </p>
<p>However, CC is MUCH MUCH more than factual information about particular colleges that you can get from the college. For one thing, the message boards also deal with the process of college selection and admissions, not simply specific colleges. I'd say this is a huge part of the discussion forums. You can't get that sort of thing from the colleges, unless it is specific to their college. As far as information about each college, CC's specific college forums are a way to get subjective information from alum or current students or those who have visited or applied, which you can't necessarily get from the source or a book. Therefore, direct information from a school, along with college directory books are complimented by the discussion forums that go way beyond basic information about specific colleges. </p>
<p>I will also say that the discussion forums are a support system for many, and a way of sharing experiences with others going through the same process. The help you find here, you don't get from the source. CC CANNOT replace information from the source, a college website, or a visit, but it can supplement it a GREAT deal. As well, again, CC deals with the PROCESS, not just information about certain schools.</p>
<p>I hope you find CC to be the wonderful resource that many parents and students have found it to be, by virtue of its success. Better yet, it is FREE.</p>
<p>My problem with the admissions personnel's answers to questions was that frequently I'd get a watered down version version of the real answer. God bless them, but they are limited by their jobs as to what they could tell me. </p>
<p>Also, sometimes I just needed another opinion of something I'd seen, and I needed a disinterested party tell me I was right (or wrong). I'd rather go directly to someone who has knows the school, has already has the experience, and will give me an honest answer, not what they <em>think</em> I'd want to hear.</p>
<p>What must drive admissions personnel nuts are the phone calls that they get from kids who didn't even parse through the website to find answers, like which tests are required for the college.</p>
<p>Obviously the college or university has the LAST word on any particular topic. The problem is knowing whether you're getting something besides the LAST word each time you ask. Case in point: At Freshman orientation an official of the college asked parents to encourage their children to utilize the Winter Session. "The International Studies group will have a table downstairs. They can tell you everything about studying abroad during Winter Session." So I go downstairs and ask what's available. "Everything you need is in these sheets" I was told. Well, that information didn't look right so I walked a few blocks to the offices of the International Studies group where I got a WHOLE different set of study abroad options. At this point I'm not sure I have the LAST word on this topic. But I know for sure that the first response was incompetent.</p>
<p>I agree that the best first place to look for college-specific information is the college's Web site. But some colleges have Web sites that are very hard to navigate, and then it's not a bad idea to come here to ask for links. Anyway, where College Confidential really shines is its interactivity. There can be a much more nuanced discussion here about the implications of what the college says in its official information, because not everyone here comes from the same region, or comes from the same alma mater, or pursues the same occupation, or has the same life goals. Not everyone here is a partisan of the college in the way that an admission officer is expected to be. So it's good to do some preliminary research, and then come here to discuss it.</p>
<p>As much as I applaud the collective wisdom of our CC community, there's no better place than the school's admissions office for "What's the due date for _<strong><em>?" or "Must I submit _</em></strong> with my app?" I often see questions like those here, and always suggest contacting the school. Even very knowledgeable CC members may not be up on things that just changed at a particular institution.</p>
<p>As tokenadult states, where the CC community shines is its ability to provide nuanced discussion of the official line, not to mention diverse (and sometimes conflicting) viewpoints on it.</p>
<p>I agree, nervousmommy. Repeatedly, I've told posters asking questions about things like individual colleges' financial aid policies, colleges' policies about giving credit for APs, and whether supplemental info is accepted for applications, they should ask the college directly, not rely on info by well intentioned, but possibly uninformed strangers. I will never understand why otherwise thoughtful parents, and students smart enough to be applying to some top colleges will seek that kind of important info here.</p>
<p>There are plenty of good reasons to use CC for the type of info that one can't get from reading a college's web site or contacting an admissions officer, guidance counselor or financial aid officer.</p>
<p>Check the websites of the first 50 universities on the USNews for this simple and most factual question"</p>
<p>"Should I RUSH my SAT scores for the test taken in November or December. Same for January"</p>
<p>Now, call the admission offices, and compare the answers. Oh. I'll save you a lot of time. You'd be lucky to have fewer that 15 wrong answers from the real people on a strictly factual piece of information.</p>
<p>Then comes the time of asking yourself WHY NYU or Harvard "say" that rushing the scores serves NO PURPOSE whatsoever since regular and rush scores are reported to them on a daily basis via electronic delivery, all the while others do request to use the RUSH option? Are those equally prestigious schools really treated differently by the big mean College Board and denied the benefit of electronic delivery? </p>
<p>And, again, this is about a factual question that also happens to be quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. How about trying the same exercise with a few more questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>Does your school take a negative view on repeated SAT scores? How many is too many?</li>
<li>What do you do with the "new" Writing score.<br></li>
<li>Your school requires 2 Subject Tests. What happens if I have 5?</li>
<li>I live in Boston and I want to send ONLY the ACT. Is that recommendable?</li>
</ol>
<p>While the collective wisdom of many might NOT be better for factual questions, one still has to wonder if the party who was polled was also "up on things that just changed at HIS or HER particular institution." </p>
<p>I do understand the difference between rushing to this site INSTEAD of doing a modicum of individual research. As many others on this site, I routinely tell people to check directly with the schools, but I also add the less typical: ask them to confirm it in WRITING! Ensuring that your interlocutor is a knowledgeable officer does not sound like such a bad idea.</p>
<p>I think some people seem to regard the admissions offices as the living equivalent of God, which makes calling them up very intimidating. You see people who have a question, but worry it will be seen as a stupid question and the admissions people will remember them and deny them admission solely based on that. Of course, anyone can tell them that it will not work like that, but when people don't have a lot of experience of dealing with people in authority and are already worried about the whole admission process, they don't always have that perspective.</p>
<p>I don't know why people don't check the websites, I guess some people are just lazy and it's a lot easier just to post a question here!</p>
<p>I've found that sometimes posting here can help me to refine my confusion into questions that can be articulated clearly to the college and, therefore, answered. It's a matter of sometimes not knowing what you don't know and having other people help provide context can be very helpful.</p>
<p>I agree with the comments above, esp. xiggi's. CC is great for digging up information about a school that is hidden between the lines, or is found completely outside the official presentations, literature or website communication. In particular, CC is helpful for discovering what may be the potential downsides of a particular college's atmosphere or offerings, or the disadvantages of certain administrative policies. This is helpful because admissions officers and tour guides will not usually stand up in front of a group of prospective students and highlight the school's weaknesses. So, it's good to hear from people who have had first hand experience with programs, academic depts., dorm life, etc. I wish we had asked a few more questions on here about the disadvantages of certain aspects of the college, because our impressions were formed only by the official information, which was only positive.</p>
<p>I agree that CC should not be the prime source, and will concur with what others have said about it being very helpful in getting down to the nitty gritty about personal experiences.</p>
<p>This is particularly true in the performing arts, where you are potentially committing to four years of individualized private instruction within extremely specialized programs. </p>
<p>In addition to the actual admissions process, there is normally a seperate performance audition to pass as well. Policy and philosophical differences within performance concentrations are not easily identified from the schools information sources. Quality of program across specific instruments or studio teachers can vary widely even within an institution. These nuances are often difficult to indentify through the "official" channels.</p>
<p>The Music Major and Music Theater forums are invaluable in this regard.</p>
<p>I do think that people could easily find the [correct] answers to many of their questions directly from the source, rather than on this site. While I think there's some good information to be found here, much of what people post is often just plain incorrect. I honestly feel that every university or college in the country, at least the ones discussed here frequently, ought to hire one person to scan this site everyday to correct misinformation about his/her particular university. Some probably already do, but it would sure be a smart move to do so.</p>
<p>Personally, I find CC valuable for links to the right sources, but much less so for the "opinions" given all too often as answers.</p>
<p>All too frequently, I've seen misleading or false answers to critical questions here, which is too bad. So, the old saying "trust but verify" applies here!</p>
<p>Agreed.^ I would also be very wary of (often biased) information and opinions given out by people who claim to be college counselors, who never tell you what their trained formal education or background is-- or if they learned how to be "college counselors" via the same route as most parents. A few may actually be trained, but when someone states he/she is a college counselor and proceeds to give out a bunch of information, posters need to ask about his/her background in that area. Otherwise, take the information with a grain of salt.</p>