Yes, and it’s annoying to write a post and have someone reiterate what I just said like it’s a fresh thought. Why?!?
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It’s not the OPs pushing back, and then posters repeating advice that’s an issue, it’s when OPs don’t push back but yet 10 people feel the need to tell them the same thing.
It’s one thing to have a conversation and another to have it all be a one way echo chamber.
Personally, I don’t include you in the “repetitive poster” category.
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Seems to be a trade-off between not creating a hostile environment for posters - both old and new - and being creative in letting them know when they are not reading the room. Personally, I think the mods do a good job (but don’t let this become a debate about the mods.) And, btw, count me as a big blossom fan.
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You are too kind. I DO repeat myself; sometimes because the message gets lost in the back and forth.
But I think I have a history of suggesting colleges which can get a kid to an “elite” result without necessarily being “elite”-- even when I know I’m being irritating. I am the president, VP membership and treasurer of the Missouri S&T fan club, for example. The U popped up on my radar back in the early 1990’s when I was focused on hiring for the aerospace industry-- and it’s only gotten better since then. So for the kid who isn’t getting into Cal Tech and whose parents are stretching to the max to pay for “Private Engineering U which is not as rigorous as S&T”-- I know I’m irritating. And have gotten PM’s explaining “Rolla MO is a dump and no credible company would recruit there”.
I got flamed big time when I tried-- diplomatically- to explain to a poster from Texas that paying full freight for Hofstra or Pace (it was a coin toss at the time) for a kid whose interest in college was only moderate-- was not an optimal plan. Yeah, got called an elitist. But I’ve got numerous friends and family members who are graduates (and faculty) at both. These institutions do a tremendous job fulfilling their particular missions. But flying halfway across the country, borrowing to the hilt, and then discovering that you’re at a suitcase school where the dorms empty out on Friday morning-- nah, you can do that for far less money and the same result.
But this is me zipping my mouth… 
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I think one thing that happens often is a parent/student will ask for suggestions for schools and there are immediately posts with USNews ranked top 50 schools listed [sometimes] without knowing stats/scores/budget for the student.
I wish, as a rule, there were more posts like @AustenNut @blossom and some others which zag when these questions come up rather than follow the same path. Most people have heard of the most well known, highest ranked schools. What they may not have known about are smaller schools, non-flagships state schools that offer amazing programs, underrated gems that you only learn about after a deep dive into college searches.
That is where I think a lot of potential value is lost. To be clear, I am not saying highly ranked schools aren’t amazing institutions, but I am saying that they don’t really need cheerleaders and/or character witnesses. The lesser known (and super amazing!) schools that aren’t always talked about are the ones that would actually be helpful to hear more about (and quite frankly are where more students by and large are going to end up). A parent or student who think the school names they recognize are the only ‘good’ ones is the parent/student who most needs to hear about the schools a layperson hasn’t heard of. Especially if the student isn’t a 5.0/Olympian/unlimited budget applicant.
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Yes and…
University of New Haven is a private institution. Folks who are out of the region don’t necessarily realize that. So they discover the fantastic program in Public Safety or Labor Relations or whatnot- and voila, they think they’ve struck gold.
But when the “hidden gems” folks explain “you need to run the NPC because it’s a not heavily endowed private U” the wisdom of the crowd on CC shouts them down.
This is just one example. I think most people contributing on CC try very hard to broaden the “schools you’ve never heard of” list, but when there’s pushback it gets exhausting. Not every hidden gem is going to make sense for every kid and every budget.
Or when a kid posts that their safety school is the Naval Academy if their merit awards don’t come through…
It’s not so much the misinformation that leads to repetitive posting. It’s the very big hole of “no information”.
But here I go repeating myself…
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Your posts always seem very helpful
I’d hate to see you post less often.
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I discovered CC when my oldest was applying to schools 3 years ago and hopped back on this fall for my current senior. I have found that some school forums are just more popular. Some of the smaller private schools really have no discussion going. My main reason for responding is I want to mention that the Penn State EA forum is one of the best. It’s very well moderated and stays on track. I feel that the way it is run makes it more supportive than others and keeps people engaged. Some of the other schools my son has applied to I don’t even bother looking at the forums anymore because it’s just people bragging and not giving any helpful information.
The issue I see is that with so many schools how do you moderate them all and get discussions going? How can CC attract more people to their site?
I definitely think this community should be for all students and not just those applying to “elite” schools. It just seems that that is the audience that is most responsive.
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This is not a publicly funded entity with a duty to portray info for the masses that is all inclusive. If you don’t want to read or engage with a post, don’t.
Agree that the individual college forums aren’t as lively as they once were. I think it has something to do with the way this latest revamp of the CC interface eliminated them from the first thing you see upon signing in. It’s unfortunate that Chance Me threads have become the default introduction to CC from the outside world.
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It saddens me to hear from parents that they “have” to spend 40k or more a years because that’s “how much schools cost.” Um, no, there are MANY schools aren’t there, your kid just isn’t applying to them. And don’t get me started on the prestige chasing requirement by many of the parents.
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Just wanted to loop back after reading my initial and hasty reply to say that I did not mean to imply I don’t value the folks who have been hanging around here for years! I VERY much appreciate the great advice I’ve received and the time and wisdom that countless posters share.
And count me in as another @blossom fan… 
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First, let me say that people such as you, @AustenNut , are why this site is invaluable, if people are lucky enough to find it. I remember the lovely mynameiswhatever (we miss him) saying that there is nowhere else like CC on the internet. He is still right about that. With great respect, my opinion is that in terms of why people come to this site, not much is different now than to 2014.
What’s the same, and the primary reason people use CC?
- A LOT of new users here are parents who are helping their kids aim high. That has always been true.
- Parents are looking for help with affordable college lists for their average, or “average” excellent, or excellent students. There are still posts about lesser known colleges, public universities, etc… Scroll through the last couple of days of Latest posts. College Confidential Forums
- A increasing number of old timers who are very active in the parent cafe. That’s a great thing. It means despite the fact that their kids are long out of college, they still like being here. They have a lot of wisdom to share.
What’s different?
- More angst about finances, testing, how many apps.
- More kids now go to Reddit. If you look at A2C, savvy kids will say things like “I go to CC when I want the cold, hard truth.” I do get tired of their claims of CC being “toxic.” If the truth is toxic, wait until they are rejected because they were misguided. Teens go to Reddit because they hear what they want to hear. There is some good advice there, but it’s harder to get. Kids still find their way here, but sometimes it’s too late to get the advice they really need.
- More international students.
- More activity in the prep school forum since 2020, as far as I can tell.
I think CC is fulfilling its core purpose.
From the About Us section: “We uniquely bring people and college knowledge purposefully together.” This is still true.
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Thank you for your kind comment, @Lindagaf. I’ve never been on A2C, but are the kids posting similar to those who post here (i.e. they’re “aiming high”)? Or do they have more “average” kids who post?
Maybe I’m naive (I’ve certainly been accused of being so IRL), but I would think that more kids than those with excellent grades and scores would be interested in getting college advice online. If so, we’re missing a big segment of that population. But perhaps more “average” kids just apply to their state schools and call it a day and they aren’t posting anywhere online about their college needs.
I post here because I like the community, but also because I want to help students and families. If “average” kids aren’t posting anywhere online, then that’s fine. But if there’s something within the CC community that is making “average” kids/families feel unwelcome, then I find that problematic. I want to be a part of an inclusive community, not an exclusive one.
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The reality is that the large majority of students who attend college do so within 50 miles of their home, so those coming to sites like cc are a self selected group.
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@skieurope will probably have some insight on A2C.
There are average kids who post here, but maybe we don’t notice them as much. Have a look at the posts in the Chances Forum, which is reasonably active. Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums
There are average students there. At this time of year though, I think there are a lot more high stats kids getting anxious, especially now that the holidays are over, they were maybe rejected or deferred from tippy tops, and they are listening to their friends at school.
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FWIW, I’ve found that Facebook groups seem to have more of the average* student. Still all parents, but there does seem to be greater variety of students.
That said, I do note that discussions do seem to be dominated by long time members who also can sound gruff at times. And also a case of many people repeating comments. Reminds me of classes that have a participation grade, so everyone wants to say something!
- By average, I still mean B average and higher kids, so maybe not really “average”. But not everyone is gunning for T20s.
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I dont think the posters are gruff, they’re just very straight forward because they’ve seen the same fact pattern a million times.
Personally, I think it would be more interesting for students/parents to share insight on specific schools that prospective students would find helpful.
Which schools are known for grade deflation
Which schools have a collaborative culture
What companies recruit at which schools
What are the career outcomes (oustide of what’s published)
How competitive is it to join school clubs
How good are the restaurants near campus
Is the campus safe
How nice are the dorms
How easy it it get the classes you want
What are the weed out classes
People always talk about “fit” and “vibe” but most posts say they’re important witrhout mentioning what they are.
There are snippits but you have to read through 20 responses to get to the one or two nuggets outside of the usual - can your parents afford it, your application is strong but these are reaches, you need more safeties.
Sometimes people will say, USC is much different than UCLA. How?
What are some non academic differences between Univ Alabama vs Univ Kentucky.
An example that I’ve mentioned before: My niece and nephew went to Amherst. D24 was very interested in Amherst. They both told us that at Amherst, the athletes organize the parties and if you’re interested in attending the best parties, you should be friends with an athlete. On our tour, the tour guide said the exact same thing.
D24 immediately crossed it off her list.
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That’s true. While there are average kids on the chance me threads, it seems oftentimes the forum is more of a game for the stronger students to get some encouragement and support for the low admit schools. Maybe a different name for that forum might attract a different kind of post?After all, it’s not Often that one would see a “chance me for university of Pikeville” or the like.
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