Well, not really. I've encountered great applicants on CC and would admit those without hesitation. But for many on here, I'm as discouraged as an old person can get ("Back in my day...."). Except I'd have to admit that back in my day, it was the same.
I'm amazed by the lack of research applicants might do, rather coming directly to CC for answers and advice, asking the same questions over and over (I'm sure Hobsons doesn't mind). For example, I look frequently at the College Essays forum on CC, and have given lots of advice. But I can't help but notice that the majority of those applicants posting make it absolutely apparent that they do not look at previous posts on that forum to see if any can be of help. For a more specific example (there are many to chose from), students are always asking, "Should I talk about overcoming depression/alcohol use/eating disorders/drugs/etc?" The answers are all clear and loud: "NO!" And those answers are posted over and over and over, sometimes only a few threads below the current question.
Another example: Questions about financial aid, wondering how much merit money they might get from elite institutions (short answer: Not enough to bring the COA down to a manageable level). Go to the websites of these schools and get the answer to that question and others you might have.
Is this a non-topic (probably)? Am I becoming more and more of a curmudgeon (probably)?
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