The Perplexing College Admissions Process

Learning from other individuals experiences is probably the most readily useful techniques to avoid problems and mistakes when undertaking a brand new undertaking. One of the most complex endeavors these days could be the college admissions process. You can find so variables that are many possibilities for apparently random results that obtaining the advantage of other candidates’ war tales is key to working for you avoid pitfalls. If you will likely be signing up to university this fall, the following information could possibly be quite helpful to you.

There is an intriguing — and very long — thread regarding the College Confidential discussion forum that details some ‘applicants’ war tales.’ why is you ridiculously mad in regards to the college admissions procedure? explores, across 520 posts, the presssing problems that perplex and also possibly enrage college applicants and their moms and dads. Even though the qualifier ‘ridiculously’ in the thread’s title might be a bit on the top, there are truly aspects of the school procedure that have reached annoying that is least, infuriating and perhaps, at worst, temper-tantrum inducing.

Fulfilling Deadlines Presents Challenges

From our viewpoint, having experienced the college process cycle with a daughter and son, i will remember having to counsel and ‘encourage’ my son to meet up with a deadline that is short-fuse publishing his EA application to 1 college. This is back the Stone chronilogical age of paper applications, but points out of the kinds of dilemmas candidates can encounter, also whenever things be seemingly going efficiently. Thus, my brief war tale:

A publishing mistake caused the institution to delay sending its paper applications (it was back the mid-’90s) until the first week of October. The deadline ended up being Nov. 1 and no extensions got towards the applicants that are early. That was an aggravating and experience that is angst-inducing both my son and his parents. Things were different in the past, before the advent regarding the access that is electronic enjoy today.

Getting back to today, there is apparently lots of discomfort dwelling beneath and at the outer lining of these who are going into the application sweepstakes. I’d like to select some comments that are especially pertinent this ‘angry’ thread and add some commentary from my perspective, where I have something substantive to state. Maybe you’ll find one thing here which will press your hot button. Ideally, however, you’ll find some knowledge that will help you avoid problems this autumn whenever you will likely be conducting your college that is own procedure.

The originator of this thread posits: ‘With university season coming up, wanted to hear some rants concerning the admissions process. Myself, we hate the fact you have to pay such fees that are expensive just apply to college!’

That prompted some responses that are interesting

– I really dislike how it forces kids to start shaping their life to fit applications so early in life. After your very early teenagers, all you do is evaluated by just how valuable it is on an app.

We completely agree with this comment. I never gave a thought to how what I may have been doing would ‘look’ to a prospective college admissions committee when I was a teenager. Like Popeye, my mindset was really, ‘I am the things I have always been,’ and just about ‘we gotta be me.’ These days, some teenagers (and their moms and dads) examine adolescence as one thing of the exercise that is scripted ‘becoming’ some kind of stereotyped young individual who will score big within the admissions lottery. Which could perhaps not make me personally ridiculously angry, but I am made by it sad.

– The actual fact that elite schools don’t use similar supplemental writing prompts, basically requiring students to create a distinctive essay for every single application. This is exceedingly nerve-wracking for the entire family members.

I am aware that elite schools can use these supplements to filter random applications from students that are underqualified or otherwise not genuinely interested — but OP just desired to understand if it made me personally angry — plus it did.

The side that is supplemental of popular Application irritates me, too. My position is: Why can not the Common Application be comprehensive enough on its own to get rid of the necessity for all the supplemental information needed by different universities? Provided, this might simply take some unification that is coordinated those schools (possibly beyond the alleged ‘elites’), but that would be time well spent, in my own view. a detailed study of these supplemental demands reveals overlap in the information needed. I might greatly prefer every thing to be covered within the typical App itself, eliminating a complete lot of additional time and angst for the applicants.

Just How Are Later Bloomers Viewed?

– It annoys me that more advanced level subject knowledge (as demonstrated by AP and SATIIs) is respected less in admissions than the fundamental generic material and particular test taking abilities (as demonstrated by ACT and SAT). The universities (especially general public) are simply plain stating ‘ We don’t care how much you like or know your future industry of study! Simply get the very best grades and test that is generic and have a long enough directory of ECs.’

Overemphasis on GPA is playing a task, too. I think it is absurd that 13-14-15 yr-olds are expected to be concerned about university ‘resume’ by having straight As as to have that ‘perfect’ GPA. Just imagine how many brilliant ‘late bloomers’ the Ivys and such are lacking!

Having said all that, good or bad, the operational system can there be and all the youngsters are left to do is play along. The only hope is that Einstein is going to be Einstein even in the event he undergoes a community college at first.

Amen, especially to your ‘late bloomers’ reference. Exactly how many school that is high have a clear image of what their futures hold? How many have locked onto a real passion … about such a thing? I didn’t commence to appear centered on anything particular until I became in my 30s that are later. That was when I finally decoded the impact that is cumulative of liberal arts education and discovered my real calling. One has to wonder exactly how many ‘difference makers’ are turned away at ‘elite’ ( and other) schools simply because they would not have the appropriate numerical pages.

This subject reminds me of Princeton University’s belated and Dean that is legendary of Fred Hargadon, whom, each admissions season, would reserve a small number of slots for the people he thought had been diamonds into the rough. They did not have the luster of all of the other Princeton admits, but Dean Fred inferred their gave and potential them a shot at Old Nassau. There could be other admission deans nowadays willing to allocate ‘chance’ admits, however if there are, i am unaware of them.

– How secretive colleges that are selective about their admission process and making use of bs terms like ‘holistic’. …

I’ve discussing holistic admissions before. For me personally, that process (if, indeed, it could be deemed a ‘process’) is really a two-edged blade. Regarding the one hand, it gives the admissions committee latitude to check beyond the strict numerical elements of an applicant’s profile and search for subjective aspects that may be of value to a particular year’s course. The holistic approach lends itself to obfuscation arrange the steps for selecting a topic for a literary analysis essay on the other hand.

The credibility of a applicant that is certain admission can always be relegated to ‘holistic’ factors. Sometimes I can not help but think about holistic admissions into the same feeling of that saying about hot dogs: that you do not desire to observe how they are made. Whenever we knew the reason why behind some holistic admissions, we may find ourselves, just like the title with this forum thread, ‘ridiculously frustrated.’

– It’s stupid how much work that is busy made me do in senior high school, which together with my extracurricular tasks and my nearly nonexistent social life, provided me with almost no sleep throughout all four many years of senior school to create me personally a ‘competitive applicant.’

This reminds me of Paul Simon’s song Kodachrome, where he states:

When I think straight back

On all of the crap I discovered in highschool

It’s a wonder

I will think at all

And though my not enough education

Hasn’t hurt me none

I could see the writing regarding the wall

Demonstrably, there needs to be some sort of framework and curriculum preparation in senior school, however the pressure of the college procedure tends to backfire straight down through the device, thwarting some aspects of teenagers’s life. Luckily, i’ve were able to suppress the majority of the ‘crap’ we learned in highschool ( plus a lot of crucial material, too), so my psychological hard disk drive has freed up lots of space for just what really matters, such as catching all of the good new movies for March on Netflix or Amazon.

Financial Obligation Is Another Problem

Now, if I can include an added ongoing issue which makes me mad about the college admissions procedure, it will be the ‘ridiculously’ high quantity of loans university students need certainly to acquire so that you can complete their levels. You may already know, I’m perhaps not afraid to jump through to my soapbox and preach in regards to the perils of loan debt.

This brings me personally to your problem of effects. Just I saw this news article today:

Florida Board of Health suspends hundreds of medical care licenses over student loan defaults — That headline alone must certanly be sufficient to sober up any scholar that is considering tossing care towards the wind about dealing with loans, thinking, ‘There’s no real penalty for blowing off payments.’ Check always this out, through the article:

Nearly 1,000 medical care workers have lost their permit to practice in Florida because they can’t repay their figuratively speaking a crackdown that is new term paper service writing placing hundreds out of work, the I-Team discovered.

The move to suspend medical care licenses uses federal education loan businesses invested years lobbying states to adopt rules to discipline those who default on student education loans by firmly taking away their licenses that are professional. …

Yikes. Now that’s a consequence … of blowing off loan payments. What makes me furious about loan financial obligation is it’s very easy to fall into. I will not rehash my previous sermons about this. Just be aware of the old saying: There’s no such thing being a free lunch [or student loan].

To put a cap on all of this, we’ll offer this parting advice to vexed high schoolers and their parents about preparing to enter the faculty procedure: Try to be who you are, regardless of the pressures that are negative. In many situations, then things turn out for the best if you do!