| What Ms. Seipp said, in both of these articles, needed to be said. My thanks to her.
CC helpful? Yes, in some cases. However, what I see more is that it drives a very unhealthy obsession with the college admissions process. The fact that there is an entire forum dedicated to "What Are My Chances" is the first bit of evidence for this. CC is filled with people looking for any way possible to get a boost in the admissions game, whether it's some form of gaming the system, ridiculous amounts of test prep, joining clubs/ECs just to get it on your application, etc. The attitude I see, to a first approximation, is that the day decisions come out is the most important day of your life. Espousing this attitude is a sure way to make your high school years a living, well, you know what.
I, for one, discovered CC around my sophomore year in high school, I think (I could be way off). Until recently, I only visited the site occasionally, and even then as a curiosity. I might even say that I visited CC to remind myself of what sort of attitudes and behaviors I ought to avoid when navigating college admissions. I didn't actually visit frequently or post at all until I started college.
In high school, I did pretty much the exact opposite of what I see encouraged here (though not for the reason that CC recommended the opposite). I didn't do any test prep whatsoever, save the few review sessions my teachers offered for AP tests. I didn't pack my schedule with APs. I didn't spend weeks on my applications. I only applied to three schools, and no EA or ED. I was in very few ECs, unless you count five different variations on "Band" separately. I did what I enjoyed, and I did my best at it.
The result? I had the time of my life in high school. I'm now having the time of my life at Stanford. |