Feedback Needed: College Confidential Premium Subscription

AustenNut
Wed, 21 Feb 2024 14:47:10 +0000

I know that one of the points that’s been made in the thread is to get more eyeballs (and participation) on the site so that ad revenue might be increased. In doing so, I think about who we’re not getting to post.

According to the Census Bureau, this is what racial demographics look like right now in the U.S.:

Black: 13.6%

American Indian and Alaska Native: 1.3%

Asian: 6.3%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.3%

2+ races: 3%

Hispanic or Latino: 19.1%

White: 58.9%

Obviously we’re anonymous posters on a forum and there’s no race box to check. But my definite sense is that there are very few Black, Native Americans, 2+ races, or Hispanics who regularly participate in this board. Perhaps people might want to think about why that is.

Additionally, this board is filled with parents/kids where the students are overachievers. 95% of the time before reading the first post of a chance me/match me, I know that it’s going to be a kid with superlative accomplishments that’s looking for a college. These students/parents also post about their “low” 3.7 GPA or how the kid only got a 1510 on the SAT and needs to study so they can do better on a retake. That environment can be extremely intimidating for parents and students where the student does not have that kind of stats. We get some folks like that, but 95% of our population is of the superlative type when in real life, there’s maybe 5% of the nation’s high schoolers who are like that.

So I guess my question is, what does CC want to be?

1. Does CC prefer to be the place for superlative students and their families? I suspect that their incomes are higher and so perhaps it’s more desirable for advertising purposes.

2. If CC desires to be a welcoming place for all college-bound students, what do we need to do to get there?

If the answer is #1, then I don’t have that many suggestions, as it already seems to have that niche. If the answer is #2, then I think we may want to brainstorm on that topic.