Getting In Gets Harder

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.....

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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 .

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

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.

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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.......

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."

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.

Diversity should mean diversity of ideas not how much melanin content one has. What a meaningless word

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.

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.
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www.joannaleigh.com

@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.

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!

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.

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.