<p>As a Wagstaff U alumni, it’s simply not true. Eons ago I was a work study student employed in the dining halls. Cats, stray or otherwise, were expressly prohibited from being placed on the menu. Liability issues arising from a prior incident involving what was mistaken as a stray which was in reality a neighborhood pet involved a long and arduous lawsuit. The negative publicity wreaked havoc with yields for a decade. We were specifically instructed to limit the menu supplements to small mammals and birds, and they were referenced against the endangered species act prior to being dispatched.</p>
<p>I hope I’ve cleared that up.</p>
<p>Now, to address your specific question, it all depends. There is plenty of useful information, but as with any source needs to be sifted and verified. pierre0913 nails it.</p>
<p>The discipline specific forums are extremely useful, particularly those involved with the performance and creative arts. As shennie has said, the music major forum is probably the single best place for information typically not found anywhere else.</p>
<p>This site was recommended to me by a parent, and I have recommended this site to parents, but I would never recommend this site to a student. I don’t think “chance me” and “will i get revoked” threads are very productive for most students. There are useful bits of information for students, but the time and energy costs to find them are too great.</p>
<p>NONONONONO.
There are much, much better ways for any rising senior to spend his time and emotional energy. I’d say mom/dad, stay on it and convey the small amount of truly useful information as a consultant to the kiddo.</p>
<p>Possible exceptions: Discipline-specific forums, a glance or two at relevant college-specific forums, and the occasional thread suggested by mom or dad.</p>
<p>I’ve told D’s about it, and suggested to them that they did NOT want to get involved. I’ve passed along gems of info, as geek_mom suggested. D1 was in the position of being in the uber-competitive world in the college admit process and she was already freaking out herself, without comparing herself to the others on CC. It was an eye-opening experience for me, the mom, to realize that there was no such thing as a “sure-admit,” even for a math-science mature young woman with social skills, perfect gpa, great ECs, and stellar SATs. I still pass along gems of wisdom to both daughters, who usually accept them as they <em>roll their eyes</em>.</p>
<p>It’s interesting to see how many parents believe themselves so much more mature concerning college than their kids, the ones who will ultimately make a choice. I don’t doubt that age and experience confers maturity, but I think the possible benefits outweigh the downsides. Let your kid decide for himself whether to do his/her own research. (Although 99% of CC-addicts’ kids will be uninterested, by the law of conservation.) Personally, my parents are far more prestige-obsessed and overconfident than I am–and I owe most of my knowledge to CC.</p>
<p>No, your student should be busy with ECs, homework, and reading college brochures or websites, not becoming neurotic over hundredths of a GPA, or 20 SAT points. </p>
<p>Maybe for the comraderie of fellow wait listers, CC can provide a nurturing therapeutic environment. Until that season arrives, sleep is probably more beneficial.</p>
<p>“Every once in a while I tell my son, “CC has some good discussions about colleges. You should check it out.” Then I wait for him to check it out, which he never does. I don’t mind, because he has better things to do. But obviously I don’t’”</p>
<p>Ditto. Either your kid is a CC kid (and they found it first) or they’re not!</p>
<p>"Law of CC (College Conservation), which decrees that of a parent and a child in one family, only one may become addicted to CC. "</p>
<p>How funny that so few of us would recommend this site to our high schoolers, yet we spend (waste) a lot of time here! My son was the one who told me about CC, but he found it too late to be of much help to him. I’m reading to benefit his sister.</p>
<p>I agree that it makes sense to skim the forums ourselves and then pass on the nuggets applicable to our kids. </p>
<p>But for the very smart kid who lacks a CC-addicted parent or other guidance in the college application and selection process, I think this site can be valuable. CC is best if perused in freshman or sophomore year, though, when it can provide information, motivation and even a wake-up call regarding how one stacks up to other bright and ambitious kids. Reading this site later, such as after junior year, could be depressing and worrisome since there’s less that can be done that late in the game to build a resume or improve one’s academic qualifications. Why torture yourself?</p>
<p>And since so many of you mention the proverbial “grain of salt”, do you all think the threads in which kids list their stats and test scores are mostly truthful? I’m amazed at how many super intelligent and accomplished kids there are. The ones that really get me are the kids that self-study for AP’s and then get 5’s!</p>
<p>My mother was the one who first introduced me to this site, and I’ve found it extremely helpful in trying to narrow down my list of colleges. Almost any teenager can navigate through all of the prestige hunger, the catty SAT listings, and the insecurity one feels when being confronted with those college application gods and goddesses in order to get to the truly invaluable information. After a while, all college websites start to look the same; they all have most of the same platitudes. </p>
<p>This is going to sound odd, but perhaps your son doesn’t want to infringe on your territory (this is similar to the law of college conservation). For a while, I didn’t mess with CC simply because my mother was here - not because I didn’t want to associate with her or anything like that (and I’m not just saying that because she might read this) but because I figured this site belonged to her and I’d feel awkward trespassing. It’s hard to explain. What I’m trying to say is, maybe your son is already on this site. Either way, he’ll do fine with it, and I think you should trust him.</p>
<p>All of you parents here say you found the site helpful. Why do you assume that any (to stereotype) cynical teenager will not be able to find the good information hidden in all the muck?</p>
<p>You make a great point about territorialism, Avalanche. </p>
<p>I think it is protectiveness. And a worry that our teens will become addicted to CC (like we are.) We’ve seen kids with 3,000 posts and know that can’t be good for the homework schedule, or the psyche.</p>
<p>"All of you parents here say you found the site helpful. Why do you assume that any (to stereotype) cynical teenager will not be able to find the good information hidden in all the muck? "</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s about ability, it’s about disinterest. Just not that into it. You gotta’ admit, this is a fairly unique population of kids.</p>
<p>I was glad I read about students who self-study for APs and then get 5s; that’s what made me suggest self-studying for an AP to my kid, who did and then got a 5!</p>
<p>To the couple of students who seem to be offended by the thought that we think our kids are too immature for CC – that wasn’t my thought process at all. Frankly, I sort of considered CC too immature for my son, and spending time here would definitely not have been a good use of his time. His schedule was packed to the brim with other, better pursuits – the things that contributed to his growth as an individual and, yes, made him attractive to his target college.</p>
<p>It’s mostly about opportunity cost. During his senior year, his time was scarcer and more valuable than mine. I could spend time here sorting out the good information from the silliness. OTOH, with everything he had going on during the school year, and usually being short on sleep, he didn’t need the distraction of CC. I think this is true for many, many more seniors out there.</p>