College Confidential Etiquette

[Nhatrang]

@lookingforward said: There’s a lot that that original OP thread stated that, to me, shows some incomplete understanding. Eg, the idea that, as long as there are safeties, one can defend applying to hundreds of reaches. Or that this is all about what the kid likes and wants, without regard to what he’s qualified for, in those targets’ minds. “His preferences dictated.” Very common on CC, as if a badge of honor. But while you can choose any targets you wish and knead them any way that makes them seem reasonable, in the end, it is the colleges which choose their admits. Not how much you want them, you approve of them, but the reverse: how much you get them to want you. That takes a lot of understanding. More than the limited info in the CDS.

@ChangeTheGame

I have talked to the OP directly and he probably understands more than most on CC about college admissions. He knows the conventional wisdom on College Admissions that is spouted on a daily basis on CC and wanted an unconventional plan built around his child’s wants and needs. Sadly, I am not sure if any of us will see the final results of that plan.

I completely agree with you, @ChangeTheGame

For some reason, some people think that their way of approaching college the the right way and everyone else with a different approach is having incomplete understanding of the process, despite proven positive result for the OP’s son.

And, at the end of the day, running a college is like running a business. They want you (the student) as much as you want them. It’s a 2 way street. Reading many skeptical and discouraged comments on here, I feel so relieved that I didn’t share my journey or asking for advise on here BEFORE D19 applied. Looking at D19’s list i am sure they would be telling me we approached college process the wrong way. The attitude/comment along the line of “go ahead and apply but you won’t get in” is asinine.