I’ve been thinking of some admissions platitudes that I keep hearing all over the place that annoy me, and am curious of what admissions platitudes annoy others and why. Here are the three that made me post this thread:
“You should take the most rigorous courses available” - this one can lead students at schools that have a ridiculous amount of rigor available (20+ APs for example), or kids at intensive high schools who may not be in the “most rigorous” math or language class available, but are still in highly rigorous (a student who will hit Calculus BC for example, in a school where some kids are taking even higher math), to feel like they have to be excessive to have a shot at the most selective schools, or have no shot at all because they haven’t done everything possible. Students have to show high rigor for their school context, but that is not always “the most rigorous” possible. I find this platitude unhealthy for students well being.
You need to apply to a “balanced list of schools.” This is not true! Nobody needs X number of reaches, or any reaches at all. Students need solid, affordable “safeties” on their list that they would be excited to attend or a school or schools they get into early that they would be excited about (say an EA target or reach that they are admitted to by early/mid-December). None of the other schools are necessary for a good list. If a kid has a list of 5 affordable safeties, two targets, and zero reaches with their top 3 choices being safeties that they would love to go to, that is a great list. Even if they cut the targets, it would still be a great list with zero “balance.” Every student needs affordable options they are confident they can get into and that they would be happy to attend. Everything else is optional. This platitude can make students feel something is wrong with their list if they are not reaching for schools, even if they do not want to attend a reach.
“Most highly selective schools are basically a lottery” - this one is less ubiquitous in my experience, but suggests that just about anyone who applies has an equal chance. While it is true that amongst the highly qualified applicants there is some randomness and unpredictability in who gets in, it is not a lottery. Some applicants have virtually no shot. Others chances are way better than the admissions rates would indicate.
What are some admissions platitudes that annoy you?
And yet the things that annoy you are good advice:
State flagships are mostly substitutional - and many can’t get into or afford the ones they want to - so should they be told, sorry, you’ll have to apply to the neighboring loser school? Is a Poli Sci or sociology degree that much more impactful from U Texas than U Oklahoma, etc. or a bio degree that much more impactful at UMD than U Del? Or the marketing degree from IU so beneficial vs. one at KU?
Telling someone to apply to Alabama and it’s often multiple schools - is actually telling someone, here’s schools that can meet your budget. And many schools are typically listed.
You can all back hand slap other people (my comments) but I’m trying to be helpful to others. I’m very sorry it bothers you, but you aren’t the one applying to colleges with limited budgets and/or not able to get into the school of choice.
To be clear, I did not start this thread to be critical of anyone here on CC. The examples I gave were things I have heard frequently elsewhere, podcasts, articles, other parents, etc. This thread was not intended to be about things anyone has heard from one person, and I have not taken any of the responses so far as such. It is trying to get at things that are frequently said, by various sources, as if universal truths, that can be harmful or at a minimum not helpful to a lot of students.
The idea that the state flagship is always a good affordable option for strong students. Depending on the state, for many families that can expect need based aid, a meets need private school will be cheaper and is often a better fit academically and socially.
The idea that students should “choose the type of school they like” and the disbelief that sometimes follows on CC when students present a range of rural/urban/big/small schools on their list. Some kids, like my younger one, literally do not care about those factors - they care about the programs offered, and the vibe and various specifics available on campus regardless of physical or location factors.
To add to this, we have found that (even for full pay families) some out of state publics (and not only the couple always mentioned here on CC) offer enough merit to basically make their cost of attendance comparable to our instate options.
Remember. There are some families who really are willing and able to be full pay at just about any college. That’s for real. Some parents aren’t looking for the lowest or even a lower price college.
The Thumper parents and kids agreed on the list of colleges before applications were sent. The parents knew what their costs would be. Once acceptances came in, we allowed our kids to make the choice, and neither chose the least expensive option (by a lot). It was fine with us…we knew we would be paying a lot for college.
Respect the families who say that cost isn’t a defining factor for them…because for some families, cost is not the defining factor for college choices.
To add further to this, we have found that, some privates offer enough merit to make their cost of attendance less than our instate options for us as a full pay family who will get no need based aid.
I have several family members who can easily afford any tuition. I also have kids who attended 5 different public universities, and I’ve read many posts on Facebook college pages from parents who ask for help with loan options because they have no idea how they’re supposed to pay the college bills. It’s quite a range.
platitude: If you are looking for internships just throw out as many apps as possible on <<< fill in the blank social media job site>>>. There are many other approaches that can be more highly effective. We just had this conversation last night. Nuanced use of a school’s placement office, faculty contacts, college job fairs, personal connections (wherever possible) etc are generally far more effective and less of a waste of time, morale and energy than blasting resumes, even if they are tweaked with the right “buzzwords” to try to get past the initial AI screener. Heard yesterday that Coca Cola posted 17 IT internship opportunities and got 17,000 responses in 2 days. They turned off (maybe took down? not sure) the post after the 2 days. Probably have a better chance of winning some lottery.
Generally agree, but nuanced is the operative word. Many college placement centers are less than capable in helping find jobs/internships, IMO most career center peeps don’t see that as their role…help writing resumes, interview prep and the like yes, not so much for connecting students to internships and jobs.
College job fairs are often mob scenes with 30+ min long waits to talk to someone at the more desirable companies (and many colleges don’t even have in person job fairs anymore.)
A resounding yes to using personal connections including faculty to help with internships and jobs. (Pet peeve that some seem to look down upon this method when a HSer is looking for research opportunities.)
I know one public company in NYC that doesn’t post any internships, because they get plenty of resumes from internal referrals. So each summer the whole group of 10-20 interns came from an internal connection. The head of HR said it saves them so much time, money, and energy to do things this way.
Maybe that should be an additional criteria for selecting a college rather than reading the problematic outcome self reports. Wonder if they list HOW an employed person found their job.
Add that to the “what to look for when applying to colleges”. Agree that they can have long lines, but getting a face-to-face conversation with someone from the company will, IMO likely have a far better chance of making a difference than blasting resumes into a black hole wall to see what sticks. What’s a 30 min wait compared to hours of wasted resume blasts? JMO
