Oh yay time to vent!
Standardized testing; I got a good ACT score but I had to work my *** off to do so. I didn’t learn anything and I had to spend countless hours of my life on this one test.
The pressure to inflate resumes and do things “just for college”.
It also doesn’t make sense why the admissions process isn’t solely based on grades. I don’t understand how having some random talent/winning some arbitrary awards can “trump” good grades and strong academic credentials, after all, isn’t college about education?
I’m also scared that the people reading my application are going to be having a bad day/suffering from a sickness/undergoing some circumstance that might tip my application out of my favor. I acknowledge that I can’t do anything to prevent this, but it doesn’t keep me from worrying.
I also hate the pressure to share everywhere I’m applying; what if I don’t want to tell you where I’m applying because I don’t want to feel like you’re judging me? Unfortunately, at my school it’s deemed acceptable to openly share that information, and I feel like I’m socially in the outs when I decline to do so.
.
I am in the complete same situation @letmethink
I have not told anyone, and am finding it difficult not to do so because people expect me to openly share that info. This prevents me from being able to relate to people, and I feel socially excluded as a result
That 1-2 rolling admissions applications sent in, by 9/1 haven’t gotten the high five yet.
@letmethink That is my biggest fear! What if my application is the last one they have to read for they day. They are pissed off and everything I’ve written and all my hardwork is written off as being “cliched” or something along those lines. Also I fear that adcoms will laugh and make fun of parts of my application, even though there isn’t anything to make fun of. WHY DO I HAVE SO MUCH STRESS OVER COLLEGE WHEN I AM NOT IN COLLEGE YET!!
Not at all. As educators, they know that there is a wide range of students, from the mediocre to the superstars.
I’m mad that I’ve worked hard and done well for years. Signed up for a college class being taught in our highschool but I was absent for the exam and now the lady is giving me a D with no chance to make it up. So all a’s and now I have a d. I don’t know what to do. She is refusing to give me a chance to take it. Even with a doctors note and everything.
@clnation you should def talk to school administrators about that… that’s not ok
phooey - school administrators didn’t care
I hate how flawed the education system is in the US, yet college admissions choose to ignore this… I know it isn’t their problem, but still… lots of talented and smart kids fall through the cracks due to bullying and alienation. Most students don’t want to have a textbook plopped in front of them and be told to learn it, nor is that unlocking their potential. Industrializing education is always a bad idea. I bet you if no one’s parents punished kids for bad grades, most kids would be slacking off.
Whenever I excitedly tell someone where I’m going, they go “Oh…” in this disgusted way. tOSU is amazing! I’m going to graduate with minimal debt! Just because it doesn’t begin with a B and end with Erkeley doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world…
My son had a good shot for admissions to a few other colleges with good financial aid, but they required that the non-custodial parent complete CSS and submit documentation. That parent would not cooperate. That meant that St Olaf, C of the H.C., Dickinson, Lawrence and others were eliminated as options. I felt angry at the jerk and about the requirement.
But in the long run, the college chosen is a really good fit and will open doors . So all is well
The fact that by the time many students really realize how important their classwork & grades are for college applications until it’s too late for them to do much to fix it.
That they hurt my baby’s feelings!!
(He, of course, just takes it on the chin, but I still would like to kick a few folks…don’t poke the mamma bear!! Lol)
I hate that colleges have a date when they post notification results. Why is there a date?!?!?
Just post all the responses on the date that you got all your results done.
Plenty, if not all schools, will not post their notification results even though they have completed the entire process. They will wait around with their full completed list until a predetermined date for no other reason than to rub their thumb right down into your eyeball socket.
What makes me angry is that in just 10 years the number of foreign students in US went from 250,000 to over a Million. College admissions know that Fraud (of all kind) exists in foreign nations in the college application process. For example, students in South Korea had answers to SATs two year in a row. In China there is a firm that specializes in faking transcripts, etc, etc, etc. Anybody who was born in Asia, Africa and the Middle East (and other parts of the world) knows very well that in many parts of the world you can buy grades, transcripts or somebody to take SAT for you, as long as you have lots of money.
The belief that a kid has to take the SAT/ACT multiple times, no matter what he/she scored. Those tests take time and cost money, and the chances of much improvement go way down after taking a test more than twice.
My D took the ACT once (she didn’t like the SAT). To bring her score up from a 31 to a 32, it would have taken a total 4-point jump between all of the different sections. We asked her if she had the bandwidth to put in additional time and resources beyond the prep class, books and self study she’d done the first time around to eke out those extra points. (If you cannot or choose not to do more/different prep the next time around, you shouldn’t expect to do better.) She said “no” and chose to focus on her grades and EC’s. I’m sure people thought she was nuts, but we supported her decision. Graduated valedictorian and is now attending UC Berkeley.
@Undercrackers I believe the more times you can afford/ tolerate taking the SAT’s / ACT, the higher the probability you have of experiencing a random jump (or decline) in a score.
It happened with both my D’s. Older D went from a 660/670 to a 780 on the writing section of the SAT for one sitting . She also randomly went down to a 24 on reading in one ACT sitting (all the other times scoring a 30 or the equivalent.) She also scored MUCH better in ACT math. 35 vs 650.
Younger D went up from a 650 verbal to a 720 on her final sitting for the SAT.
In all of these cases, there was no additional test preparation involved. In my opinion, the tests are flawed and the more times you take them, the more you might get the opportunity to do better.
That schools tell students what is REQUIRED to apply, but then after they apply, they send innumerable follow-up emails:
“get another recommendation from a family or community member”
“sign up for an alumni interview”
“contact your admissions officer”
All OPTIONAL of course, but then the student wonders if in actuality it is REQUIRED if they expect to be seriously considered. Enough already. Tell the students what you want from them, and then stop with the requests.
“don’t forget to check your portal daily for updates”. UGH. No. You know you have submitted everything. There is really no reason for a student to be encouraged to obsessively check a portal daily or weekly to find out what step their application is at. Why would a school suggest that they do that? Just do your job and let her know when you have a decision, will you? These kids have better things to do than obsess over what is out of their hands.
Also, having to TELL a school, sometimes with a separate form, that you are interested in being considered for merit scholarships. REALLY??!? Student has indicated they plan to apply for financial aid. How 'bout you just consider all accepted applicants for the Merit you have available?
ah. that feels better.