I’m trying to get an idea of who participates in this site. It’s not a very formal poll. I just want to get an idea of who’s out there so we can figure out how to serve you better. (I’m also interested in trying out a new polling feature on the forums that admins have access to.)
Please pick the option below that best describes you now. If more than one applies, flip a coin. (As I said, not exactly scientific!)
If you want to tell me more, feel free to use the replies below. Thank you!
I also worked for 10 years at a high school and had a number of students in my speech and language program who needed my intervention to get HS classes that worked with their disabilities to get into colleges (i.e. Deaf & Hard of Hearing students who needed teachers with deep voices and good enunciation/visual lip movements).
I worked with the HS counselors to help them put together good letters of recommendation for my students (Hard of hearing, stutterers, social disorders, etc.)
Nice to meet you, @“aunt bea”! My son went to an elementary school that was a magnet for deaf and hard of hearing students. Even though he hears well, he learned to sign in order to communicate with friends and is considering going to CSUN, which has a good sign language program. Thank you for serving that and other communities that could use a hand from time to time.
Northridge has a good network, for all areas in speech pathology and communicative disorders. They had good presenters in assistive technology. I had a friend who did her graduate work there.
I came to CC on finding the Athletic Recruiting forum, as I had no idea of how it worked and had a potential recruit. I must tell you that it is the single best resource I’ve ever found, anywhere (and I’ve looked many places). Once I spent a little time on that forum, I branched out, especially to others where I have some expertise, e.g. boarding schools and learning differences. I value CC because for the most part the community is made up of very intelligent, thoughtful people who value education – just the sort of people I like to hang out with in real life.
I have been active in the college admissions process ever since I applied my self 50 years ago doing research that got me a full ride+ at what is now a T20 college instead of going tuition free at a satellite state school whose program my father was affiliated. The intricacies of aollegevadmisdions intrigued me enough that I was active in application processes for a number of student including my siblings, kids, DH, cousins, friends, more times than not getting far better results than the original direction would have gotten. I worked in admissions for a short while many many years ago.
Upon graduation I worked on and co-authored a two year, interdisciplinary Federal environmental impact study and loved it! My educational background was a mix of engineering, economics and languages.
Traveled the US and SA for ten years to explain a new, experimental college program. Loved the job, but pay was not great. Switched to tax law sales during the Tax Reform Act of 87. Took a job as an insurance agent for a large company so my wife and I could live our dream of true country living with our own small farm.
Vietnam era military sent me to DLI for an outstanding language education and gave me the GI education bill after three years of service and one year of civilian clothing duty in Germany. Evidently, I have had a charmed life!
Never lost my interest in education. It is the life blood of culture regardless of an individual’s chosen major.
As the parent of a high school student, 3 college students, and 3 who graduated from college in the 1990’s, I think your survey should have the option to select more than one choice.
I’m just hiding out from the government.
Figured that they would never look for me here–especially since what one does on the internet is untraceable.
P.S. On a more serious note, I did not enjoy my college experience other than the study abroad. I attended prior to US News ratings & rankings. Went to a school that was inappropriate for me–even though seemingly perfect on paper and after a visit.
A decade after my undergraduate “career” ended, I read two books about colleges that had a significant impact on me & confirmed what I had experienced during my undergraduate years, grad school & during a summer session at another university.
In short, I craved diversity in all of its forms which was something lacking in my preppy, rich kid, very athletic, Greek-system dominated LAC.
One of the two influential books was a college guide book written by two men who did not enjoy their undergraduate experiences. The other was about public state school honors colleges.
The first college guide described my undergraduate school perfectly although not in a diplomatic fashion. The second book taught me that students could have it all–diversity, personal attention & advising, small classes, D-I athletics and a big college experience while enjoying a small college community in a large university setting.
Looking back over the decades, US colleges & universities have changed for the better due in large part to a focus on increasing diversity, in my opinion.
I feel compelled to share my knowledge about elite prep schools, colleges & universities, MBA programs, & law schools because I want folks to make informed decisions.
@CCadmin_Jon , might I suggest you post this on the College Admissions page? I think that’s where you might find the broadest cross section of users.
Great idea! Will do.
I chose parent of college student but of college student in post grad studies (veterinary college). Hope that was the correct choice in your poll.
Stumbled on this site when I was Googling for recommendations on SAT2 prep books for S. Saw some other insightful posts (and some IMO uninformed ones). The college admissions process has gotten incredibly complicated and stressful as we saw with D and S, so I figured I’d try to contribute some practical advice and hopefully helpful opinions based on my experience as a Yale interviewer of over 25 years and our most recent experiences with both kids who had gone through (or were going through) the admissions and athletic recruiting process.
Joined as immigrant parent of HS student trying to figure out this strangest of all college admissions processes. She’s now in college, but I’ll probably hang out here until her younger sibling gets through HS too. (Big age gap so it’ll be a while)
I agree with @kidzncatz, your original poll needs to allow more than one option to choose. Many of us parents have been here through HS, College and Grad School admissions with our kids. Not just one.
I’ve been on here since high school. I had a similar experience to @Publisher at my first college. I was extremely shy, and came
from a low-income background, so I struggled with making friends. After my freshman year, I transferred home and had a child.
Despite the odds, I finished at my local community college, and will be starting Rutgers-Newark in the fall. I’m so grateful for all the advice I’ve received here over the years!
I started on the site when my D was in HS but she’s half way through college and I’m still here.
I’m a parent of a high school student. a college student, and a graduate student. I came here looking for information about the PSAT and was blown a way to learn about National Merit - No one in the school here talks about this amazing opportunity !
I came here when DS was in high school (BS) trying to understand what a deferral in the ED round REALLY meant. He’s now finished college. In spite of having a number of professional ties to colleges and BS (many of which provide an insider’s view), I regularly felt like there must have been a memo I didn’t get! CC definitely helped fill in some of the missing bits.
I still learn here and have stuck around to help others with the bits of the memo I have that they may be missing. And there are some great folks here… (you know who you are!)