Where are you and why do you keep coming here!?

starbright · 10-26-2009, 11:26 PM

I am curious about the posters on this board. Where are you when you are on CC? Home? Office? While dinner is cooking? Waking up to your first coffee?

And why do you keep coming here? Is it useful? Just fun? Are your friends here?

I know I came originally to CC by google search, for the answer to some question- I can't remember it now- and well, one thing led to another and I enjoy it immensely. Hard to articulate why, but I find the whole college thing interesting, and probably will even after it's no longer relevant to my family.

For me, CC is a nice diversion for 'between times': like when I'm waking up with coffee and none of the news headlines grab me, while I've got five minutes before a meeting or when I need a good excuse to procrastinate, like when I can't possibly grade another essay.

esobay · 10-26-2009, 11:55 PM

^^ what she said (mostly).
At Home, just for a break, because the people are generally SO helpful (I don't go to the political forums), because it gives me a peek into other areas, because I don't feel like I am the only one with a slacker son ... and because Slugbug wrote the funniest stuff ever over in the Alley.

Oh, yeah, and I've picked up quite a few college app tips for DS .. (I started when DD was looking, she is a soph now.)

owlice · 10-27-2009, 12:09 AM

I got here via Google, too, when my S was a high school freshman. I was trying to find the cut-off for NMSF; I had his PSAT scores in hand. It was late at night, I was sitting on one of the sofas... oh, I remember it so well!

I'm at home in a comfy chair at the moment, the previously-mentioned sofa gone with the not-quite-ex, and am still here because esobay totally rocks the world wide web. Plus, I'm ignorant and have a lot still to learn. This site has been very helpful; I would not have wanted to go through the financial aid gauntlet without it!

hops_scout · 10-27-2009, 12:09 AM

I originally found this site looking for "Service Academy Message Boards." While the academies still mean a great deal to me, I no longer have any interest in attending one. But they will always hold a special place in my heart.

I keep coming back because some of the conversations are pretty interesting. Sometimes I jump into the politics, and other times I don't. I just find this whole thing kind of interesting..

kelsmom · 10-27-2009, 12:34 AM

I started coming here when my D scored well on her PSAT. I wondered what score she would need for NMF, and I stumbled on CC when I did my search for info. I quickly was hooked. Lo these 4 or 5 years later, I am still here. My D ended up at a great school that we can afford, I was interviewed for a nationally syndicated article about parents writing recommendation letters for their kids, I have shared in some very real life experiences (and I have shared my own). I even got a job in financial aid.

I post at home, generally, while in front of the tv. I sometimes check things out at lunch, since I have an hour for lunch & that is just too darn long for me. I am weaning myself a bit at a time, since S is a senior & he pretty much knows what he wants to do/where he wants to go to school. I have made some nice friends, though, so I won't leave anytime soon!

P.S. Georgiatwins, if you are reading this ... I owe you an email (speaking of making friends on CC!).

icedragon · 10-27-2009, 01:09 AM

When i'm bored or need help with something nn

intparent · 10-27-2009, 01:57 AM

Found the Parent Cafe when I was in CC withdrawal after D1 started college (D2 has a few years to go in HS yet). Spent some time on the politics thread, but it so nasty and partisan that I stopped reading it after the election. It is part of my normal "internet rotation" of sites I visit a few times a day. Currently up late for an IT deployment, sitting in my kitchen and waiting for people to test and report in

pugmadkate · 10-27-2009, 02:57 AM

I found this board because my son's guidance counselor was excited about his PSAT score and I had no clue why. I ran a google search and the rest is history!

CC fills a real need for me. We were among the first of our sibilings and friends to have a child, so we've always kind of blazed the way. We were just totally stumped on how to help our son chose a college as when we went through the process, we just did what our guidance counselors/parents told us to do.

CC has changed our lives for the better. I really do appreciate stopping by here. These days, sometimes I'm even able to help someone else!

thumper1 · 10-27-2009, 07:36 AM

I found this board after a certain other college information board became intolerable. I know I'm not the only one who came here from there

For me, it's a diversion. I hope that the information (and opinions) I express are not offensive and help someone else along the way...as the posts I read helped my kids and me.

Post from home.

2boysima · 10-27-2009, 07:45 AM

Well....that's 3 of 9 for wanting to do some research after a good PSAT score....which could be one of the reasons this site is so heavily concentrated with high achievers! (Probably too soon in this thread to make that observation, though!)

franglish · 10-27-2009, 07:47 AM

I fell on this board quite by accident, by searching for something else, three years ago, when D was beginning The Process. Since then, I have found it to be extremely helpful, both emotionally and factually, many times. Now, I feel, as another poster (whom I met recently in real life

) said, it's time for us to Pay it Forward. She was exactly spot on when she said why we old timers keep posting. The Process is hard, and if we can do anything to help, it's really almost an obligation.

CBBBlinker · 10-27-2009, 07:51 AM

I, unfortunately, found this discussion site when I was trying to find out more info about what happened to a friend of D's at Duke, who had died suddenly. D was a college freshman at the time. Since then I've been hooked, and now, even though S (our youngest) is firmly established as a college freshman, I have no intention of leaving! I haven't been on too many forums, but I can honestly say this is the best I've found. People are so friendly and helpful, and (almost) always civilized.

As long as I have computer access, I usually check in a couple times a day. The number of near misses for ruining the keyboard from spitting coffee all over because of a totally hysterical post is pretty high.

Youdon'tsay · 10-27-2009, 08:02 AM

I was head of a parent organization whose members had concerns about school's lack of college counseling, going unranked, etc., and a friend suggested I look at this site. What was intended to be a little research for others turned into the obsession it is today, now that ds1 is a senior. I saw how much we didn't know about the process. I am grateful to have found this site and remain, in part, to help others.

I leave cc up on my home computer most of the day and check in regularly between errands and chores and other stuff. Ds2 is a freshman so I fear I'll be here a while. Oh, and I tend to find one web obsession at a time. This is the only website I look at regularly, besides my local newspaper.

FallGirl · 10-27-2009, 08:18 AM

I found this site when D was applying ED last year, however I was really only looking at the CC "Ask the Dean" q & a and didn't really get onto the discussion area until a few months later. At that time, our local school district was in a debate over grade scales and I came to the site as part of my research on that topic. I wish I had found it sooner.

I check this site in the AM before work and then usually late afternoon/evening. It is pretty addicting though.

momof3sons · 10-27-2009, 08:34 AM

Like thumper, I moved here after that "certain other" college discussion forum became intolerable. I have always been interested in the college process, and I have no idea why.
I have one in graduate school and two seniors in high school and I am tearing my hair out with them. I post from home and pretty much have this site up all day.