The children of the baby boomers are flooding colleges with applications, making the process more competitive than ever.
Comment: A good editorial http://www.socyberty.com/Education/College-Admissions-for-the-Middle-Class.108615
Comment: http://www.socyberty.com/Education/College-Admissions-for-the-Middle-Class.108615
Comment: I think it's sad that colleges are becoming picker with each passing year. It's hard enough for poor kids and lower middle class kids to afford college, much less high school. Scholarships and even Fasfa have intrest on them so you gotta pay back all that money you borrowed after you graduate college and get a job. Teaching for example now requires a master degree which means you can teach with a bachelor's but you gotta go to school for 4 more years to get the "required" degree. Even with a master degree teachers are paid virtually little money for all the work they have to do and putting up with smart aleck kids. I know me for example can't go to college since my religion forbids using intrests which means I can't take out a loan or fafsa to go to college. I do think kids need to realize that they can't get into all the colleges they choose and it's important for parents to make their kids see that it's virtually impossible unless your rich or upper middle class to afford the full tuition for 4 years without taking out loans.
Comment: I think it's sad that colleges are becoming picker with each passing year. It's hard enough for poor kids and lower middle class kids to afford college, much less high school. Scholarships and even Fasfa have intrest on them so you gotta pay back all that money you borrowed after you graduate college and get a job. Teaching for example now requires a master degree which means you can teach with a bachelor's but you gotta go to school for 4 more years to get the "required" degree. Even with a master degree teachers are paid virtually little money for all the work they have to do and putting up with smart aleck kids. I know me for example can't go to college since my religion forbids using intrests which means I can't take out a loan or fafsa to go to college. I do think kids need to realize that they can't get into all the colleges they choose and it's important for parents to make their kids see that it's virtually impossible unless your rich or upper middle class to afford the full tuition for 4 years without taking out loans.
Comment: I think it's sad that colleges are becoming picker with each passing year. It's hard enough for poor kids and lower middle class kids to afford college, much less high school. Scholarships and even Fasfa have intrest on them so you gotta pay back all that money you borrowed after you graduate college and get a job. Teaching for example now requires a master degree which means you can teach with a bachelor's but you gotta go to school for 4 more years to get the "required" degree. Even with a master degree teachers are paid virtually little money for all the work they have to do and putting up with smart aleck kids. I know me for example can't go to college since my religion forbids using intrests which means I can't take out a loan or fafsa to go to college. I do think kids need to realize that they can't get into all the colleges they choose and it's important for parents to make their kids see that it's virtually impossible unless your rich or upper middle class to afford the full tuition for 4 years without taking out loans.
Comment: I don't understand all of this crying over university admissions when there is such a shortage of skilled tradespeople. My husband is a master electrician...he owns his own business which handles million dollar contracts. Why aren' some of these kids trying to become electricians, plumbers, carpenters, mill-wrights etc. God knows we don't need anymore lawyers!!!!
Comment: Enter Your CommentI think it's sad that colleges are becoming picker with each passing year. It's hard enough for poor kids and lower middle class kids to afford college, much less high school. Scholarships and even Fasfa have intrest on them so you gotta pay back all that money you borrowed after you graduate college and get a job. Teaching for example now requires a master degree which means you can teach with a bachelor's but you gotta go to school for 4 more years to get the "required" degree. Even with a master degree teachers are paid virtually little money for all the work they have to do and putting up with smart aleck kids. I know me for example can't go to college since my religion forbids using intrests which means I can't take out a loan or fafsa to go to college. I do think kids need to realize that they can't get into all the colleges they choose and it's important for parents to make their kids see that it's virtually impossible unless your rich or upper middle class to afford the full tuition for 4 years without taking out loans.
Comment: Unfortunately, as a private tutor and a mom,I disagree that going to college is just an exercise in learning how to live with-in a budget and a place to learn from your mistakes. College life today is way different than when I attended. It's not suffiecient for any student to graduate with just a BA or a BS. Most students know that they have to go to a compettive graduate institution and getting into good graduate programs require more than life experience enhancement in college.
Attending college, like living life is extremely competitive and a laissez faire attitude won't help.
Comment: Getting into college is easy.
Getting into a "good" college is harder.
It is this notion of a "good" college that is the problem.
When my daughter and the rest of her friends were applying to colleges, I told them it doesn't matter where you go to college. I doesn't even really matter much what you major in - the majority of people I know ended up in careers that had little or nothing to do with what they majored in.
it doesn't matter where you get your degree, or what you get it in. What matters is that you recognize college for what it is - a 4-year learning lab for adulthood.
We think we are sending our kids to college for an academic education, and yes, they usually end up with one. But the real reason we send them is to learn to become a grown-up - to learn to live within a budget, to learn to get along with others who don't look or think like them, to learn about cause and effect, and most important, to become responsible for one's self and one's actions.
In other words, we send them to college to make mistakes, and learn from them.
If we can help our kids understand what the real goal of going to college is - to learn to live lfe on life's terms - we'll go a long way towards relieving a lot of anxiety that shouldn't be there in the first place.
Don't worry so much about getting into a "good" college. Concentrate on finding the college that is "good" for you.
Comment: This article joins the slew of others that are intended to hype up the anxiety of wealthy applicants in order to support the cottage industry associated with reducing the distress--tutors/coaches, books and articles on how to get into college. Newsweek itslef is highly motivated to increase the angst because the angst propells the wealthy to buy their college guides and the magazine tiself, that has multiple rankings associaed with colleges. The more hype the more Newsweeks fly off the shelves. In fact, there are plenty of terrific schools that are not part of the hype and that are accessible to students. Also, studies have shown that it is the students that the hyped schools attract,, rather than the education that they provide, that accounts for subsequent success of the Ivy graduates. Studies comparing students who got offers but turned down Harvard in favor of other less expensive less hyped schools, did just as well post graduate as those that went. Yes, these schools produce students who are successful but those students would be successful if you kept them in a box for 4 years and taught them nothing.
Comment: What's ironic about all this is that I make more than many people with Bachelor degrees my age (30) and I have a GED.
Why is this? It's because the education system is antiquated and ridiculously expensive.
During the 4+ years these kids are at school NOT working or gaining useable work experience they're running up a huge bill they have to pay later...unless mom and dad or a full scholarship is paying for it.
That's not to mention the fact that the education system has been dumbing itself down in order to make test scores look decent or the fact that most schools are consistently about 10 years behind with what they're teaching in most career-related fields.
Now add the fact that few people ever make a career out of the field they majored in during college.
What does this mean? It means it's turned itself into a joke. I'm multilingual (Portuguese, Spanish, coming up on Japanese, and English of course) with almost no official schooling in any of my languages. I have a bigger vocabulary, better grammar and higher reading comprehension than most graduates my age. All this despite doing relatively poorly in school as a kid.
Why? It's not because I'm particularly gifted or intelligent. It's because these people are relying on a broken system to get a free ride to their dream job with a piece of paper. Unfortunately the job market is much more competative than it was in the late 90s during the dot com bubble and pretend booming economy. A Bachelor's Degree is the new High School Diploma...but actual experience and a solid resume trumps that in many cases.
The very system that should be warning us about the problems we're about to face as a crumbling empire is broken itself.
Comment:
Actually, that system IS warning Americans. But of course, if you aren't actually present in class to actually receive that particular emergency broadcast, you aren't necessarily going to make for the best 'receptor' then, are you? The PROBLEM is that all college-bound prospectives,whether young or old, are generally seeking to attend the U.S. educational sytem for all the wrong reasons. Far from actually taking in knowledge for knowledges own sake to then, I don't know... maybe APPLY the knowledge, if any, that they receive, their brief relationship and encounter with the educational system is only, and I repeat, ONLY done so that they can eventually command higher capital. Though, I guess, you don't have to actually have been present in class to see that 'capitalism' in its present form ain't not the answer.
Comment: Yeah, that sounds very nice indeed, but if you need a license for your career, then you can pretty much kiss your "experience" idealism away. That pretty much only works in the business world, and even then, not always. And for good reason--no offense, but I wouldn't want a dr with just a GED to perform surgery on me.
Although I do agree with much of what you said, I also agree that the problem tends to be that people tend to go to college for the wrong reasons.
Comment:
This article may have left readers with an inaccurate impression about Washington and Lee University. The institution is, in fact, one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the U.S.
Since 1994, the average high school percentile rank of Washington and Lee's first-year students has been 90 percent or higher, meaning that the average first-year student then was in the top 10 percent or higher of his or her high school class. Recent years have seen that number climb to the 92nd and 93rd percentiles.
Over the same period, Washington and Lee admitted only 36 percent maximum of applicants. The last two years were the most competitive in our 259-year history, when we admitted only 27 percent both years.
Further facts can be found at the Washington and Lee Web site, with all the statistics on first-year admission trends: http://ir.wlu.edu/factbook/admissions/trends.htm.
Comment: Don't we just need more elite colleges?
Comment: Well, too bad. Boo-who! You didn't think getting into college was a "right" did ya? College is not for everyone and not everyone was meant for the academy. I'm actually glad this is a happening, as it will mean higher standards for diploma recipients. When I was attending undergrad I was amazed at the kind of people they'd even let in there. With increased competition maybe we can stop the dumbing down of the academy.
Comment: You know... never mind.
Comment: Bravo Rayanne1! If they can't grasp the most simple aspects of grammer what makes them think they can write a college English paper?
Comment: Or grammar, even.
Comment: The focus of this article represents what???s wrong with America. For the rich white kids or the kids in the upper middle class, the results are ginger peachy. What about the non-rich and the non-white? Colleges are getting more expensive. We???re cutting back on financial aid to needy students. Inner city schools are over-crowded and crumbling. But a solution is in sight. Just send military recruiters to inner city high schools and promise college scholarships. Military recruiters even promise automatic citizenship for children of the undocumented. Of course the military does not tell its inner city recruits that they will not get full college tuition. Many Iraq war veterans are finding this out the hard way when they return. Furthermore, if poor kids do manage to get into college, they frequently find themselves saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student debt - something children from well-heeled families don???t face Something is wrong here. First of all the rich in this country should send their kids over to Iraq to fight - this would reduce the college crunch. Secondly we need to tax the rich so more of the poor can go to college instead going to Iraq. We need to equalize the playing field.
Comment: I think she should recieve joint custody of her kids. I think this proves to much attention is bad for someone. I think that maybe she does not know how to be a mother and We should have more resources to poeple like this not someone going to her home and taking care of her kids but someone teaching her how to love and care for someone and to help boost her self esteem as a woman not treat her like a child and do it for her. That is what is wrong with alot of poeple no one every loved them and never taught them anything and when they become adults they will automatically screw up because they do not know the right way of how to do it and it is not just with celeberties this happens to alot of people and i feel it is a unfair system that everyone deserves the same chance in life.....same medical....same schooling....some choices.......I feel we should be more focussed on helping the people rather than lable them............Not everyone has some one to love them and show them....how to be a adult....some people are not even shown daily living skills.....
Comment: continued......
anyways I think the AGE of boomers is also in questioin here. I have children ALREADY thru college.
I now have then if GRADE school (many boomers have 2 families) The actual ages of boomers and
their children are in question here .
Comment: If MY information is correct 1957 was the peak of the baby boom. I am now 50. (born in 57")
The idea that the BOOMERS kids are in HIGH SCHOOL graduating and going to college sounds
good but I believe as others here have also said that the increase in admissions is due to OTHER
factors. One of these is the much greater need for education for the workplace. There was a day that
you could work at a gas station and eventually OWN it. I am not saying those days are gone but, Most
families need 2 incomes just to survive.. Higher education is now becoming a must. and the students
in high school are intellegent enough to understand this..........
Anyways I think the
Comment: Your comment that the sudden increase in college applications is due to simple demographics of a baby boomlet is way off. The increase in California, our largest state, is due to huge numbers of Asian students whose parents immigrated to the US within the past two decades. The number of Asians at University of California campuses in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Irvine and San Diego now nears 50%, whereas 2 decades ago it was less than 10%. Don[t blame the Baby Boomers kids for that, blame out of control immigration.
Comment: After attending a large university, I've come to learn an imoportant lessong that I wish I knew when I was applying. Large means just that, LARGE! With a large campus and a large student body, there is nothing personal about the help you get while you're there. I thougth I graduated from a large high school with over 800 students in my graduating class and over 3000 in the entire school. Nothing could have possibly prepared me for the absence of help I would find at college. Aside from the fact that the school switched registration systems (renaming many of their courses in the process), not a SINGLE advisor could give me a complete and knowledgable answer. In fact, I had to go an extra semester because between the 3 advisors I was seeing at the time of my graduation, not one of them was able to tell me that I was shy 3 credit hours due to duplicate credit hours. I even checked online at a number of websites and it was listed nowhere. Bottom Line: If you go to a large university, there is just too much information for one person (your advisor) to know regarding courses and requirements (unless you are in a very small, very specialized program). Fully expect that most of the administrators don't really understand their own systems and requirements. Find a college that is a good fit. Bigger (and fancier, more expensive, ect...)isn't always better!
Comment: Children of Baby boomers are in high school and junior high? Are you serious? Lets look at the facts. The baby boomers were born between 1946-1965. Currently, they would be 42-62 years old. The age of students in question is between 12-18 (grades 7-12). This means that baby boomers would have had to have given birth between the ages of 24-50. The average age American mothers had their first child was around 21 during that period. The average age that the mothers in question would have had to have given birth is 37. Now, we are looking at a difference in age of 21 and 37!!! The baby-boomers children have almost all already graduated from college. Most baby boomers are becoming grandparents right now. The percentage of baby boomers with children still in high school and junior high is very small. Granted, there are some, but the vast majority have already seen their kids finish college. To blame this surge on baby boomers is retardedly ignorant. The only baby boomers with kids this age are going to be those born in mid-60s who gave birth later in life. This surge is due to something else entirely, namely the fact that a greater percentage of high school students want to go to college. It used to be that only the smart kdis went to college. Now, unless you went to a vocational high school, college has just become 13th grade - it's the next step - it's what you do after high school - if you don't go, everyone will make fun of you. Also, a far greater percentage of women are going to college now. This is not due to the fact that there are more students. This is due to the fact that more students want to go and the fact that people are applying to more college. Whoever wrote this article needs to send in an application and join the ranks of these students in question, because he/she obviously didn't finish the first time.
Comment: I am a member of the second- "Baby Boom" generation, called "Echo Boomers" by generationalist specialists. We are the grandchildren of the original Baby Boomers, born in the mid-80's and early 90's. Maybe the author got these two confused. And yes, admission is hard, but I don't have a problem with that. Competition is healthy for the academy and college is not a "right" but a privilege that must be earned.
Comment: Good for you! I'd like to see YOU compete these days. Even if you've 'earned' the privilege, that doesn't mean that you'll get it. Competition is important but what is happening today is equivalent to 'enie menie minie mo' because you see hundreds of students who look equally good and selection becomes arbitrary. Getting in is very often beyond one's influence. Getting into college should be about merit, not luck.
Comment: I was born in 1956 and have an 11 and a 15 year old. There are lots of boomer men who became fathers in their 40s and even 50s. Most women who went to college and graduate school had kids between 29 and 40. I think the average age that women get married is about 23. They usually need to save for a few years for a down payment, so lots of women didn't have kids until their late 20s or early 20s.
Mary Mac
Comment: I agree atomicatomic.........As I stated in my posted comment here I believe 57" was the peak of the BOOMERS birth rate in this nation. and YES my kids are already thru college and I am a grandfather.
You may have been a bit strong on the retarded IGNORANCE of the author of this but your RIGHT ON
with the logic behind your comment . In a way WE as boomers fought for jobs and housing and many
other NEEDS because of our numbers overwhelming the SYSTEM.......................
Comment: I was born in 1959 and have two children in middle school -- and am not in the least atypical. Can you please cite your source for your statistics?
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Comment: Yes. Many families of prospective college students may be enamored with "name brand" colleges, e.g. Ivys, Sub-Ivys, etc. Yet, what's the big deal... the name???? Students are much better served finding a college that concentrates in their areas of interest, and will provide quality instructors, and learning experiences in these fields. Folks should double check that undergraduates are taught by full professors and the like and NOT by graduate students. They should also ensure that the instructors are commited to TEACHING and not only to research. For this, you've got to ask around, ask your tour guide pointed questions (beyond the 'script' he/she will so successfully present)... talk to any/all students you encounter on your visit. Get the REAL story. Next, make a couple of cold calls to the departments in which your child is interested... see if they 'give you the time of day' or 'blow you off'., same with student health services, etc., etc. Give the school a real test drive so to speak.......
Comment: While it is great to see so many intelligent, hard-working good students continuing to apply to American universities some of these kids have really developed such a grandiose sense of entitlement to them. The question I have to them is why do you HAVE to attend a specific brand-name private university? Why should you be so upset if a place like Northwestern or an Ivy League school doesn't accept you? What was your real motivation in going there to begin with (rigor or name-recognition)? Did you work so hard just for a name?
Unless there is a specific program that only one university can offer (in which case the talent pool you're competing with is much smaller) there is no point in whining about not getting into a particular university. There are so many great institutions around the country and if you don't get into one place there are numerous good alternatives to choose from. For example if you go to a good state school you???ll save you and your parents tremendously on the costs and loans and might even discover that you have a better experience there. Besides, at most universities it???s easier to get admitted in as a transfer student if you still want to get your degree at your first choice school.
Kids who are strong enough students to consider these schools are usually also strong enough and have enough support to quickly move on if it doesn???t work out. The young woman in the article was a good example of it. What can be disheartening is when so much of their energy and talent is focused on feeding the same few elitist private schools. Most other countries have their state universities as their best universities. Oxford, Cambridge, McGill and the Sorbonne are just a few international examples of public schools funded by and accountable to the larger society. Private universities are inherently less open, less accountable to the public, less accessible, more expensive and help reinforce class distinctions and differences over generations. It would be great to see Miss Wally open her eyes to the many quality public university options available to her as well.
Learning to deal with rejection (even if you worked hard and believe it???s unwarranted) and still moving forward is one of the most important lessons in life. It either forces you to find ways around it to make your dreams come true or opens you up to new skills, talents and options you wouldn???t have seen otherwise. Either way it builds character. To quote the old Rolling Stones song, ???You can???t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need."
Comment: Rich or better prepared. Me thinks the schools are looking at both with more emphisis on being better prepared. Look at the many students who work their tails off taking the tough courses offered at their high schools, only to find out they need remidial courses at the college level to surrive or even stay enrolled.
Parents need to look at the root of the problem and not blame the universities.
Comment: SOON ENOUGH IF THIS COUNTRY KEEPS GOING THE WAY IT HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST 7 LONG DISGUSTING YEARS COLLEGE WILL BE A DREAM UNLESS YOU ARE FILTHY RICH
Comment: AMEN!
Comment: Diversity should mean diversity of ideas not how much melanin content one has. What a meaningless word
Comment: So I noticed that many college applicants who's parents have paid taxes in this country porobably for generations,and have helped build up the university institutions in this country are rejected, while universities actively recruit foreign students. What a croc.
Comment: Well wolfie672, maybe the nice white kids don't get into college because they don't know how to use the English language properly. In the mere two sentances you wrote, you have used "who's" incorrectly (it should be "whose") and misspelled "croc" (should be "crock" since it's short for a crock of sh*t, crock being a type of container in case you weren't aware). Y'all need to go back to middle school and study before you apply to college.
Comment: LOL! English major? Even I didn't know that a "crock" was some kind of container! :)
Comment: I couldn't help but notice that all the schools this student is applying to are the ones that are classified as "most selective" in most college guides. Any good college counselor will advise you to make sure you apply to a good mix that includes not only "long reach" schools like Ivy League ones, but also colleges whose admission criteria suggest "a 50-50 chance", and those whose standards you clearly exceed and are "very likely" to get into. Once thing they should all have in common as that they are places that are likely to be good "fits" for you. In the end, most people end up liking wherever they end up going when they use this formula.
You should definitely check out Loren Pope's book, COLLEGES THAT CHANGE LIVES. I graduated from one of one of these colleges and let me tell you something, if I had to do it over again, I would pick the same school without hesitation. Along with meeting interesting people and making life-long friends, I grew intellectually, learned to analyze and solve problems effectively, and developed excellent writing skills. I now have a master's degree, I work in a dynamic and fascinating profession (school psychology), and thanks to the fact that this private school had a good financial package, I am not burdened with loans that I will have to wait an eternity to pay off.
Another thing I noticed in the 12 years since I've been out in the real world: there is virtually NO DIFFERENCE in the caliber of students in graduate school and in employment settings between Ivy League college graduates and those who attended obscure, but excellent colleges. Whether you are successful or not will depend on your effort, not the selectivity (or "prestige" according to guide books) of the college you attend.
Comment: Being a student at Yale, I can say this with some degree of confidence and assurity-- College is a small impetus towards who you will become or where you want to be. Its not the place but it is what the students who make of the place. An institutution like Yale became one because its students were committed to excellence.
For those who do not get into the colleges of their choice, do not get diheartened. Your time is now. Grab any opportunity you get, make the most of it, follow your dreams and strive towards excellence. Give in your best shot, so that after graduating you don't regret not having made the most of it
Comment: EVERYONE GIVES IT THEIR BEST SHOT ''BUT'' YALE, HARVARD AND THEM OTHER IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS ARE OUT OF TOUCH UNLESS YOU ARE FILTHY RICH OR POLITICALLY CONNECTED LIKE THAT BLOOMING IDIOT IN THE WHITE HOUSE - AS WE ALL KNOW.
Comment: Bush didn't "graduate" from Yale. He was "socially promoted". :)
Comment: Getting into desired colleges may also be tougher as a result of overly-competitive parents who are known to employ college-coaches, essay writing "helpers" and a host of other people and methods to gain their child an edge. The entire process has been subverted into a win-at-all-costs game, rather than an active process in which the student diligently attempts to put his best foot forward and show each school his/her essential self and then make a choice as to which college might be the best fit for him/her. Terribly sad, with the end result in an increase in college depression, drop-outs, and academic plateau, as opposed to flourishing.
jlconsultants
www.joannaleigh.com
Comment: @beentheredonethat
I think you have confused admissions agents with actual educators. I am a grad student and work with professors, and most of them are extremely dismayed by the "business" aspect of the universities in which they work. Like educators everywhere they are most interested in engaging the minds of young people, working with ideas and furthering their respective fields of study. So let's not get too cynical and conflate professors with administrators; neither group would appreciate it.
Comment: Don't pay attention to the slick marketing and manipulation by the so-called "highly selective" colleges. You stand no better a chance at success than someone who goes to a good State University. These colleges are no longer interested in your education. They are only interested in your money. This is big business. They are not educators anymore, they are marketers who will say or do just about anything to get your money.
Save your money, go to a less expensive school and show these phony "educators" that we all can see through the hype!
Comment: Actually, what you are paying for in these ultra-selective schools is a key to the upper echelons of the social strata. People kill themselves over getting such degrees because it means that they'll have the possibility of establishing a wider network of the "It's who you know" category with prestigious alumni (U.S. Senators, presidents, lawyers, etc.) . Whether or not a person properly takes advantage of this is another story.
Comment: Don't pay attention to the slick marketing of the so called elite schools. They are nothing more than a business. Big business. As such, they are only really inetrested in getting your money, not in your education and success after school. The expensive (selective) colleges are actually no better than the mid-pack colleges. They are just better at marketing and setting the misperception that they are superior. Save your money!
Comment: Selectivity might be an indication of quality, but there are many v ariables: Rather than just try for the most selective school, high school students should try to determine the best "fit" between themselves and the school. They should definitely visit the schools they are most interested in, and talk to some of the key faculty.
The truth is that students can get a great education at many places, and should not "put all of their eggs in one basket", namely, the most selective, prestigious college or university.
Harry Toder, Springfield, Ky.
Comment: This is so true. Many high school students don't want to go to community colleges because they have a bad rap. However, there are also many high school students who have no clue what they want to do with their lives and a community college would ultimately be the best fit for them. I watched many of my friends with to career ambition apply to and attend a 4 year university only to drop out when they realized it wasn't right for them. Only then, did they realize that they needed to start a the beginning and figure out a general direction in which wished to go, and then create a plan that included an advanced degree.
Comment: The whole anti-community college thing is crazy. I transferred to a selective school after attending a community college. I thought it would be stigmatizing. In fact, I was perceived by peers as more diverse and smarter. And, funny thing is that I transfered alongside rich kids. Two of the students I transfered in with during my junior year were children of celebrities. The other's dad was the CEO of the Salvation Army.
Comment: i think the focus is all wrong- ithink the degree yuo get should be what youo focus on rather than a school name.
its pure snobbery!
iwent to a sstate school and had my loans paid off in a cocupel years.
My art major friend who went to NYU and theliberal arts major who went to a private and expensive womens college weren't so luck.
its themajor tht actually counts- unless you plan soome sort of international career andneed contacts- andhow many peoplereally do that.
I saw a girl in usa today who owed 80,000 for a photography degree at a big name school- needless to say she had to waitress etc ....
I don't see a mention ofa major in the article- but i dont think there is very good career counseling going on in general.
Comment: I went to a top public high school back in the day with the expectation that I would get into the school of my choice, which happened to be UC Berkeley. I had good statistics, and tracked well as I had been at a top school, namely Lowell H.S. in San Francisco. I got rejected from Cal, but didn't give up because I felt I belonged. It was very competitive and many others who I had felt were deservant to get in also did not, and resorted to going to other schools. I did not give up. I wrote a letter to the Dean of Admissions, with a portfolio of why I felt I belonged at UC Berkeley, and next thing you know I received an acceptance letter. And here I am now with a successful career. I totally think that you ought to not give up on your hopes, and at times, if you can make a successful argument, it is possible to get in even after rejection. Just my two cents since it did work for me. I say, if you don't get in the first time, at least write a letter demonstrating your passion and justifying why you believe that you belong and it might just resonate with someone on the other end that is empowered.
Comment: The international students being sought seems a bit unfair but I think it has many positives. If domestic students need financial aid, hopefully the college can grant it. But colleges are sort of businesses too; they need money to run everything and a reputation to keep attracting students. There is definitely a squeeze cause by int'l students, but they foster a broadening mind, in my opinion. Most colleges keep their international student level below 9%. Now what about legacies and sports applicants? I'd like to know just out of curiosity. It's curious that the article mentioned students from Asia and Latin America. Oftentimes, these students have had a much more rigorous high school curriculum than many Americans, so they are perfectly qualified.
All that aside, I agree that the whole process is hectic - but only if you're applying to top schools. As a senior going through the app process, I am a bit anxious about getting in, but I think I'm mature enough to handle rejection too. It's a fact of life. By the way, applying to top schools like Northwestern and assuming you will get in is the wrong mindset.
Comment: As a student myself at a respected, large University, I believe I've seen first-hand how this call for diversity has in some ways backlashed on the college admissions process. Although diversity creates a wonderful environment for academics as well as acquiring much needed 'soft-skills' for a globally competitive job environment, forcing diversity can often create its own problems. Sometimes it almost feels like reverse discrimination against the average middle-class, suburban, yet intelligent student. This I feel is not exactly fair, since we have very little control over our backgrounds, ethnicities, and places of origin. Being as diverse as a country as we are however, I feel that college admissions should trust in the fact that when picking that top pool of applicants based solely on credentials and merit, the diversity will naturally follow. Enforcing and advertising diversity is the problem, and I think it's time that college realize recruiting it isn't the answer, when they should instead be focusing on the already existant diversity at hand from the American applicant pool.
Comment: Buried at the end of the article is a large part of the reason why U.S. kids are having as much trouble as they are - International students. The diversity reason given by universities doesn't cut it - the U.S. population is the most diverse country in the world and there are plenty of "diverse" kids in the U. S. that could be recruited. The universtities are simply making the international students pay "full boat" for their education to get the increased revenue. It is reverse nationality descrimination based purely on greed and should be prohibited for any university recieving any state or federal funds.
Comment: It seems that American youth increasingly perceive college as "post-high-school high-school school," to paraphrase the "The Onion"--the taken-for-granted stage of education succeeding high school, to which even mediocre students feel entitled. It's no longer reserved for the most motivated and the best prepared. It's just what everybody does. How often do you drive through the fraternity ghettos of a big state school and wonder how this gutterball element of the population could possibly be affiliated with an institution of "higher learning?" So it's good to see colleges becoming more selective, re-asserting their rigor and purpose amid this flood of schlubs invested in it merely for the social experience, for the prospects of higher-paying jobs, or because Mama wants 'em to go.
Comment: It's good to know that you're so sophisticated and refined that that going to college in hopes of a getting a better job is far beyond your idea of what's acceptable. And as far as those ghettos go, what you said could not possibly be further from the truth. In fact, you must not have gone anywhere near a university! The housing markets aren't determined by the students. They are determined by the slum lords who know that students are forced to rent any available apartment in such an overcrowded environment. So if you have such a problem with such "ghettos" being affiliated with such wonder higher institution of learning, then please feel free to donate your money to fix this problem. The problem isn't the students. It's close minded idiots who don't understand a thing about the real estate market or supply and demand. Maybe you should go to college and educate yourself.
Comment: It seems that American youth increasingly perceive college as "post-high-school high-school school," to paraphrase from "The Onion"--the taken-for-granted stage of education succeeding high school, to which even mediocre students feel entitled. It's no longer reserved for the most motivated and the best prepared. It's just what everybody does. How often do you drive through the fraternity ghettos of a big state school and wonder how this gutterball element of the population could possibly be affiliated with an institution of "higher learning?" So it's good to see colleges becoming more selective, re-asserting their rigor and purpose amid this flood of schlubs invested in it merely for the social experience, for the prospects of higher-paying jobs, or because Mama wants 'em to go. -Carl Willis
Comment: While the jist of the article is correct, it has a major error. To categorize Washington and Lee Univeristy as a "school not usually considered highly selective" is flat out WRONG. It is one of the most selective colleges in the country. Out of 1500+ four year collegs and univiersities, there are only about 20 with lower acceptance rates and higher SAT's than Washington and Lee. While Colorado College and Ball State are good schools, they are not in the same ballpark (no pun intended). Get it right!
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