Sometimes the headlines write themselves.
We live in amazing times.
http://www.mrctv.org/blog/videostudents-sign-petition-boycott-racist-song-white-christmas
↧
Students Sign Petition to Ban Playing "White Christmas" Because of Racism!
↧
Should I quit college ?
I don't know where to start but I can start off by saying that I want to quit college because I am too stupid and just want to start working and focus on moving out of my parents home. On the other hand I have this chance of getting my whole tuition paid for by the Department of Rehab. I am considered "disabled" because of something that happened to my eye and I want to go to college but I just don't feel like I can hack it and because my parents sometimes belittle me because I still live at home. I never ask my parents for money but I also don't pay rent or do more to help them. I am leaving out a lot of details but I hope you guys can give me some advice. Thank you.
↧
↧
Do the colleges on the common app know what other schools you're applying to?
I'm just wondering because D has a lot of schools and I'm wondering if she looks like a less serious candidate if she applies to so many.
↧
Harvard's Holiday Placemat for Social Justice
The Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Harvard University distributed what it is calling “Holiday Placemats for Social Justice” on campus to help freshmen students navigate difficult conversations when they return home for Christmas break.
http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7093
The placemat, a copy of which was obtained by Campus Reform, offers students tips for talking to their family members about controversial topics such as “Black Murders in the Street,” “House Master Title,” and “Islamophobia/Refugees.” The placemat, divided into four possible topics of conversation, provides students with a series of sample questions they may encounter when they return home to their families along with an acceptable response to each question.
"The project... was intended to provide a framework to help first-year students with potentially difficult conversations during their first visits back home.” Under the topic “Black Murders in the Street,” students are advised to prepare answers to the question: “Why didn’t they just listen to the officer? If they had just obeyed the law this wouldn’t have happened.”
Students are advised to say to their families: “Do you think the response would be the same if it was a white person being pulled over? In many incidents that result in the death of a black body in the street, these victims are not breaking the law and are unarmed.”
“Why are Black students complaining? Shouldn’t they be happy to be in college?” the placemat puts forward as a possible question.
When answering, the placemat recommends students acknowledge their privilege rather than criticize the experience of students of color.
↧
Tree fell on tour at Vanderbilt
This may not have made national news, but a large hackberry tree fell on a group of prospective students touring at Vanderbilt today. 10 hurt, 4 in hospital, but none seriously (from what I've heard so far.) I'm curious as to what the university may (or may not) try to do for these kids. It was an "act of God" I guess, but they have got to be sweating in the Admissions Department right now. I remember during our tour last year how they were very proud of their arboretum - and rightly so; many fine large trees on campus. Not sure what my question is here, just thought it was an interesting, weird, sad thing that happened, and I'm glad none of the students was hurt badly.
↧
↧
Weird interviewer?
DD had the oddest experience last week. It's only just occurring to me to wonder if it was even real. Are there people out there pretending to be college interviewers who are not?
I just emailed the following to the school and I really wonder whether this was a scam. I delayed contacting the school well first, because I was busy but also because doing so puts one at significant jeopardy I imagine. Parents complaining cannot possibly be a good thing for one's kid's application. But as I think more and more on it - and this interviewer never did respond after failing to appear or after learning that "rescheduling" was not possible - I think this was off-color. I am glad I did not let the kid drive to the meeting place alone (at least).
So how badly is kid hurt, either by the non-happening interview or nosey-parent's letter?:
I am the parent of an applicant. I would like to note a rather unusual event, one that makes me not a little bit uneasy about your school, its reputation notwithstanding, quite frankly.
My child was contacted by a local interviewer. This representative arranged with my child to meet alone. My child was told it was important that this meeting be sooner than later, before the New Year or else it was unlikely her application would be considered. It was said she would be "at a significant disadvantage" if this interview were not conducted immediately.
My child arranged (all without my knowledge) to meet this interviewer, though the arrangements were difficult between juggling her commitments as a competitive swimmer and also her finals schedule. Agreeing in advance to scratch her swimming finals (not a good thing to do from her coach's perspective), a meeting was setup at a local McDonald's. On the day of this interview after significantly impacting her schedule and mine, too, she texted the interviewer simply to confirm the appointment. An hour before the appointment the interviewer inquired, vaguely, by text as to whether it might be "possible to reschedule for next week".
Next week was not possible as it happens, because our family was traveling for the holidays.
Contacting an interviewee so close to the appointed time, and with such an indefinite statement - the meeting was never specifically canceled, just inquired as to whether it was "possible" to reschedule it - is simply unfair. It was not even clear whether the meeting was being canceled and no further clarification was sent in this regard.
On reviewing the whole situation then, my husband even suggested the entire meeting sounded suspicious (we live in a big city after all). I therefore accompanied my child in the driving rain to this ill-fated meeting, not to hover over an interview but because it had suddenly started to sound quite illegitimate.
The interviewer did not appear.
Indeed I am left now wondering whether in fact this contact was even from one of your staff.
At the very least it seems improper to conduct a business interview in the space of another, unrelated and uncompensated business. Does McDonald's approve of conducting ... interviews in their dining room? Was the interviewee expected to purchase a Big Mac in exchange for the use of their facilities? As a rule our family does not visit McDonalds although it is true that we ate at one once in response to my kid's direct request to sample this iconic staple. My distaste for the chain does not extend to believing they deserve to be turned into an interviewing locale for an unrelated commercial concern unbeknownst to them.
I would appreciate a response at least assuring me that this interviewer is known to you. If not, then perhaps the security of your application system is compromised? It had never occurred to me to worry about all this but arranging strange, inconvenient meetings in slightly "sketch", if public, places just doesn't seem like the sort of relationship you would condone among incipient students. I suppose it is possible this process could be destabilized and you would surely wish to know this. Perhaps it is important for all of us to warn our students to be wary of arranging a meeting with unverified "interviewers"?
I can be contacted ...
Thank you.
↧
The Wild Rumpus Ends! Puget Sound Wins!
Within a couple of hours of my child Sasha’s setting foot on its stunning campus in Tacoma, Washington, Sasha’s first choice for college was the University of Puget Sound. The UPS students we met were bright, engaged, diverse, and just plain nice. The college’s academic offerings appeared to be robust. The music offerings were outstanding. The campus was lush, green and peaceful, yet conveniently located between two nice commercial areas in a surprisingly interesting medium-sized city, with Seattle only a short drive away. The surrounding region was almost intoxicatingly beautiful. We visited several other wonderful colleges, but all of our family’s subsequent college-comparison discussions focused on where Sasha should go if UPS said “no.” Happily for us, after Sasha applied “early decision,” UPS said “yes” (as did the three colleges to which Sasha applied “early action”).
In the next few posts, I’ll describe UPS in more detail and then talk about some of the alternatives Sasha considered. My hope is that at least a few people perusing College Confidential in the future will find Sasha’s and my observations useful in deciding which colleges to visit, etc. Every kid is unique, but I suspect that quite a few families look for similar schools every year and would have similar reactions to ours. These posts are basically revised versions of notes that I wrote to myself over the past year. As I revised them, I was surprised by how much I learned through the process and how much my views on different subjects changed over time.
When we started the college application process in earnest during Sasha’s junior year, Sasha decided to search for a small liberal arts college located in a major city. Sasha is an urban kid who rides public transportation and likes to explore different neighborhoods. Sasha is fairly studious, musically talented and a good but not spectacular high school athlete. When our quest began, Sasha was especially interested in Occidental and Macalester. By the end, those colleges had fallen down Sasha’s list, behind not only UPS (which gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship) but also Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin (which also gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship and probably was Sasha’s second choice), Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin (a real hidden gem that also gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship), and Willamette University in Salem, Oregon (which also gave Sasha a huge merit scholarship and might well have surpassed Beloit and become Sasha’s second choice if we had visited it).
This week seems like a good one for me to post these observations. Our family is ecstatic at how the college admissions process has turned out. Other families we know are feeling pretty dejected right now, as many kids got deferred or rejected from their first choice colleges. If any of those families asked for my advice, it would be that they should keep in mind the fact that there are actually a lot more terrific options out there than most people discuss. Many applicants are making the college admissions process far more stressful than it needs to be. If Sasha had done what most of the kids in our community do—and applied early only to the most selective college that conceivably might say “yes”—then our family also would probably be gearing up for another two weeks of essay writing and form completing, to be followed by three-an-a-half months of anxious waiting. But Sasha concluded a while ago that “more selective” did not necessarily mean “better,” at least for Sasha.
When we looked at the stats for the colleges Sasha liked the most, we saw that they accepted a very wide range of applicants, including students with far lower grades and test scores than Sasha had as well as students with far higher grades and test scores (i.e., grades and test scores that potentially would qualify an applicant for admission to some of the country’s most selective colleges). A lot of high school seniors who are enduring miserable Decembers may have much happier Aprils if they expand their horizons a bit, and look for colleges that attract plenty of smart kids but also attract plenty of kids with only average credentials. Some of those colleges may actually be better fits.
I’ll give fairly detailed descriptions of UPS as well as Occidental, Macalester, Beloit, Lawrence and Willamette. Then I’ll comment in less detail about Wooster, Kalamazoo, Knox and Earlham (all of interest to Sasha, but of less interest than UPS, Beloit, Lawrence and Willamette); Reed and Lewis & Clark (intriguing because they are in Portland but not on Sasha’s list in the end), Grinnell, Kenyon, Oberlin, and Whitman (eliminated from contention early in the process, primarily because of their small-town locations), Skidmore, Vassar, Wesleyan, Connecticut College, Bard, Bates, Swarthmore and Haverford (eliminated even earlier in the process because Sasha did not want to attend college on the East Coast, where Sasha has lived since birth), Pitzer and the Claremont Colleges (eliminated for a variety of reasons), and the University of Michigan Residential College (eliminated because, though it has many great features, the “liberal arts college within a Big Ten university” isn’t really a liberal arts college). The last comment is not a criticism of huge research universities—they’re great for many people, just not Sasha.
Incidentally, “Sasha” is not my child’s real name. As I wrote this post, the sound of “Sasha” resonated with me more than “Ashanti,” “Ming,” “Pat,” “Peyton,” “Skyler” and all the other gender-neutral names that came to mind.
↧
Need a parents advice on my commonapp essay?
Hi! So I'm submitting applications soon, and I need a second opinion on my essays. I'd rather ask an adult to look them over than other highschoolers currently applying to colleges, so can I PM any of you my essay? Thanks! :)
↧
Tuition Exchange
My husband works at a college and we are counting on the tuition exchange program to help pay for our son's school. He has applied to Syracuse and already received a letter from Syracuse that he has been awarded the scholarship there. He is still waiting to hear if he will be accepted there. It is one of his top choices. Apparently Syracuse is the only schools in the program that sends out letters to prospective students notifying them that they are receiving the award before an admission decision has been made. Does anyone have any idea if it is easier for a child who is participating in this program to be accepted to the school? My son is an average student and I can't help but wonder if he is more likely to be accepted so the college can balance their import/export ratio. Thoughts?
↧
↧
Debrief on Residence Hall Experiences?
For those who've had a S or D just finish their first (or later) semester living on-campus:
What kind of arrangement did they have (traditional, suite, single/double/triple/quad, newer or older building) and how happy were they with their dorm overall? Things they liked or disliked that couldn't have been predicted when they moved in? Things you as a parent were impressed or disappointed with?
Was it a school that guarantees residence hall capacity for 2, 3, or 4 years, or were dorm availability and choice tight and competitive? Were/are they in an LLP? Do they have imminent plans to move off campus?
We'll probably be in the thick of this in a couple of months. With 9 schools in play (probably 5 or 6 seriously) and all the RH choices at each, there are an awful lot of permutations, especially taking Honors and other LLP's into account. I envision we'll very likely be putting down more than one housing deposit waiting for final aid packages (interested in your experiences with that process as well). So I feel like this is a good time to gather insights.
Thanks in advance!
↧
Moved: Screwed up Highschool
This discussion has been moved.
↧
Mid year grades not great...
Basically my mid year grade report isn't looking too great right now. I had almost a 4.0 gpa since freshman year and through fall term, but second term isn't going well.
Not to make excuses (though here is where I make excuses): after I got deferred from my top choice EA school I basically spent most of my time refining RD essays, because I had to get my applications out around 2 weeks early because of family commitments. I also am captain of my winter sport this year and I am a starter/essential to the team and I can't be slacking off there. This is especially annoying because my co captains committed ED so they're just focusing on the team, and it would be unfair of me to do any less. To put the cherry on top, I missed a few days of school this term due to illness and a family vacation (which was extremely important to my parents and non negotiable). I am currently still on vacation but thinking about the pile of tests I have to get back to is stopping me from having any fun. Once I get back it's a whirlwind of trying to not miss practice, make up tests on material I don't really understand, and prepping for midyears. I will obviously do my best but I don't think it will end with great second term grades. Will this absolutely kill my chances at reaches (HYS etc)?
↧
YAY- as of 2016-17 FAFSA will no longer send a student's college list to the schools!
I posted this in the FA forum but though, if it wasn't here in the parent's forum yet, that it was worth sharing here too:
This is great news! It had been previously recommended to list alphabetically so the schools didn't assume the order listed was order of preference (as it commonly was!)
http://www.financialaidtoolkit.ed.gov/tk/announcement-detail.jsp?id=fafsa-comments#list-of-schools All of the information you included on your FAFSA, with the exception of the list of colleges, will be sent to each of the colleges you listed.
↧
↧
Better to be the big fish in a small Pond?
My son has just been accepted EA to UChicago, which is an awesome accomplishment. However, he is also interested in medical school. We are worried that the rigors of UC might push him off the science track, or that a "B" average from UC might not be recognized by medical schools as equivalent to a higher GPA from somewhere else. So, the question is, would he better better off going to an "easier" school like Wooster or Rhodes where (presumably) he would be a star with a higher GPA and stellar recommendations? Or, will medical schools evaluate GPAs based on the rigor of the college/university? There's a fine line between wanting your kid to challenge himself vs. setting him/her up for failure. Overall, we think UC is a good fit, but it is VERY challenging from what I can tell, with very little grade inflation.
BTW, lets take the money factor out of the equation for now although I recognize merit money will be there for Wooster et al
↧
What do you wish your DC had asked before accepting?
DS is going back for a 3rd visit to campus with a generous scholarship offer in hand. He plans to meet with study abroad, co-op office, financial aid, and tour an upper class dorm. Any other tips about what he should ask before he commits?
↧
Rising Sophomore selective summer programs?
Does anyone know of any summer programs that are slightly selective (think TASS, NSLI-Y etc.), but are for the summer after 9th grade. This is also for a 9th grader with a September 2001 birthday, so they won't turn 15 until after the summer, which eliminates them from the NSLI-Y and state department programs which have a June 2001 deadline. Free is best, but around $1000-3000 is doable. Thanks!
Also they are interested in a lot of things including international relations, exchange, but also math and science, so any suggestions for a broad range of programs would be appreciated.
↧
Fake petition at Yale: repeal the First Amendment
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/16/yale-fail-ivy-leaguers-caught-on-video-clamoring-to-kill-first-amendment/
Unbelievable.
↧
↧
At what point does GPA start to hurt your medical school applications?
If you go to a top 20 school, a common belief is that while you will probably not get a 4.0 like you could at a state school/flagship, getting at least a certain GPA will not adversely affect your medical school application (at least at my school).
Assuming you're interested in a top medical program, at what point does having a lower GPA have a neutral/harmful effect (ie a 3.X is basically a 4.0, at what point is this not true?)
How low should your GPA be for you to consider transferring to either a state flagship or a school known for grade inflation (like Brown)?
What about switching majors? How helpful is a STEM major vs something like econ (I hear major difficulty is not very helpful)
↧
And reality hits...
"Mom, can you BELIEVE I have to work Christmas Eve???"
"Well, honey, you DO work for a supermarket. They close at six on Christmas Eve, so no huge deal."
So he'll miss 4 pm mass with the family, but we'll wait an hour for him to finish before we head off to my sister's.
I don't think he ever quite grasped before that there are people in the world who don't follow a school schedule. Sure, he knew things were open, but never really understood that people were missing other events to staff those stores and restaurants and gas stations. Living in a house with 2 teachers and 3 students, I get it. But it was still kind of a rude awakening for him.
↧
Taking 10 credits In the Summer Semester
Would it be wise to take 10 credits in the summer (Calculus as well as Physics with a lab)? Do you think ill be able to get A's? Will I be able to work part time? Would it be too much?
↧