<p>I’m going to be a junior in highschool next year, and reading these threads it struck me as slightly perverse that so many parents of highschool students are discussing - perhaps bragging? - about their childrens’ futures. I mean, to be honest, it’s sickening to read that kind of crap when it’s posted by kids - never mind adults who have already gone through the process. </p>
<p>I think it’s fair to say that there are plenty of parents on CC who are genuinely interested, worried and overwhelmed by the college admission process. However it seems like there an equal number of you that are here to show off stats, extracurriculars and wide open options for the future.</p>
<p>Of course, I could be wrong. But I’d urge you to take a step back and look at what you’re doing here on CC.</p>
<p>Think of the CC parents thread as a pressure valve – if not here, where? If not at all there could be an explosion. You wouldn’t want THAT on your head . . . would you? Besides, do your parents know where you are? You shouldn’t be trespassing. Go study or start a non-profit!</p>
<p>OP, some of the stuff I read on my occasional forays onto the kids’ forums just about boggles my brain. When that happens, I retreat to “my side of the fence.” You might want to consider doing the same if we are annoying you.</p>
<p>I guess it’s better for people to get it out of their system on an anonymous forum than come off as an arrogant jerk in real life. Still I don’t doubt many are arrogant jerks in real life.</p>
<p>Actually, I for one think that you’re totally wrong. Almost all parents on this forum are worried about the college admission process. Can they afford to send their teenager to the college that he/she chooses? Is that college reachable? Etc. The bluster that comes through on occasions is understandable, in part because of the complex, unpredictable and sometimes irrational nature of the college application process. Think of it as a pressure valve.</p>
<p>I’m unsure of what constructive response you expect from your inflammatory post. There is a great deal of merit in assuming the “best” of a community rather than the worst.</p>
<p>It struck me that the the OP writes much better than most rising high school juniors. (Though here’s a tip: “High school” is two words.)</p>
<p>Periodically a self-identified high school student with a very low post count starts a thread on the Parents Forum decrying parents who talk about about their children/children’s futures/college admissions/stats/ECs, etc., in an online forum. I always think - it’s called the Parents Forum, on a website named College Confidential. So that’s who we are and what we’re going to be discussing. </p>
<p>Many CC newcomers are initially put off by the mention of high stats and amazing ECs. I for one found it more enlightening than anything I learned elsewhere about what kinds of students are competing for admission to certain schools. A clear reading of this forum should result in a much more realistic list of potential colleges.</p>
<p>^I think you’re right. I re-read post, and sentence structure, syntax, etc don’t ring true for a just-finished-soph-year…no matter how smart or good a writer. ■■■■■.</p>
<p>Sorry if I came off as “inflammatory”; through countless experiences on forums such as these I’ve found that controversy is conducive to discussion. And more then anything else, I’m just trying to elicit discussion. Now that I have your attention;</p>
<p>As parents and adults, I have to imagine that it’s impossible for you to ignore the obvious flaunting of stats and credentials - if not in the parents’ forums, then certainly in the students’ section of CC. Beyond the immediate implications that apply to this site - that perhaps people flock to these forums for the sake of being able to brag anonymously - the broader conclusion that is especially disconcerting for me, as a kid who is about to enter the vast, confusing process that you are all going through, is that getting into college is more about advertising your admissions and success stories then setting yourself up to recieve an education. </p>
<p>Take, for example, the “Chance Me” subforum. Everyone knows that the vast majority of threads there are not for the sake of becoming well informed. After all, who in their right mind would trust random people on the internet to provide accurate statistics as to whether or not they will get into college? </p>
<p>If you think that this pervasive attitude of fishing for compliments isn’t present in the parents’ forum, then so be it. (I personally, of course, disagree with that statement…but for the sake of discussion let’s leave it at that.) Then: how do you feel, as parents of children who are peers to the ultra-competitive frequenters of CC, about this “problem”?</p>
<p>Exactly which “problem” do you mean? The unreliable nature of self-reported statistics in some posts? Fishing for compliments? Or someone who obviously is not a rising high school junior claiming to be one? </p>
<p>It’s the internet. Most readers are wary of posts that seem “off” and have developed pretty accurate radar to determine which posters can be trusted and which can’t.</p>
<p>Just noticed that your profile reports your year of birth as 1985 - did you mean to say that you’re a rising college junior? Though that doesn’t really fit in with your complaint (or age), either. Perhaps we can have a more productive conversation if we know where you’re really coming from.</p>
<p>I was referring to the problem of people looking at the college admissions process as a way to show off their credentials, intelligence, hardword, etc. and the ways the CC facilitates that.</p>
<p>Complaining about members or posts on a forum when these are your first posts is a bit much. People put stock into posts over time by a member. To start off on this footing leaves the validity of your posts to be desired. Then, to claim you are a rising high school junior when your profile puts you at age 25 surely doesn’t make anyone take your posts as serious or having any merit. So, while you are putting down the posts of members on CC, please realize that your posts are not going to be taken seriously here given your post count, the manner in which you started off as a member, and your claim to be an age that doesn’t mesh with your own stated profile.</p>
<p>My profile says I was born in 1985 because it’s generally poor practice to make information such as birth date absolutely public - if someone wants to comb through all of my posts (3 so far…but I hope that soon it will make for a more difficult job) and see here that I was born in may of '93, that I am a rising highschool junior who goes to a private highschool in the district of columbia and that I get A’s in english but B’s in alot of other subjects, then by all means, go for it. I also don’t see how age is relevant to the conversation. I adressed the question in the parents cafe because I thought it would make for more interesting discussion, better informed participants and and a less “competitive atmosphere” (you tryna steal my spot at yale '16???).</p>
<p>Of course, if you don’t want to respond…don’t?</p>
<p>I guess I might repost the thoughts elsewhere as well.</p>