| @somemom - thanks for the update. My comments below are not directed to you, but the general Cal Alum population.
All I can say is the Cal Alumni have to look at how committed the "legacy" is in private colleges. The private Alum also have "lives and jobs", but they do conduct interviews on a regional basis (for the admit phase) in a timely manner with 1000s of applicants. They also pour a lot of money into endowments to get the best kids. If the Cal Alum are interested in recruiting the "best", they have do this in a timely manner and then sway the kid with such gifts. Commitment by the students, faculty and Alum is what defines how great a school is. Even if one of these three do a half job, it will reflect on the school. I am not doubting the networking that the Cal Alum. offer, but this whole process with the Alum. Scholarship leaves a bad taste. Yes, it's a public institution, but it has room for improvement to get the best students into Cal. It somehow feels that this process is disorganized and not managed well. We can learn a lot from the way private alum funnels their funds into "merit" grants and help sway student's decision towards their school. I can't imagine a private saying "sorry, your grant letter will come in the next week to 10 days after you have filed your SIR" |