Anne/Ankara Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Lately I've been looking over the College Confidential message boards, which are a *very* illuminating look into some high school/college search activities. When I first started reading that board, I was somewhat shocked at what seemed like an extraordinary level of achievement in many of the posters-- kids who took 20 AP courses in high school, perfect SAT scores, etc. Gave me a case of the anxiety-jitters about our homeschool! But then I settled down a bit and read a bit deeper, and lots of the posts were actually quite interesting and informative, about various colleges and programs, and such... anyway, just wanted to share... http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Hello Anne, Yes, I browse those boards from time to time; if you wanted to read it all you would need to be on line for 24 hours per day! There is a lot of useful information there but I admit that the tone of many of the student posts can get to me sometimes. A board I much prefer is AdmissionsAdvice.com which is hosted by a professional counselor who is also working as a public high school counselor this year. See the site at: http://admissionsadvice.mywowbb.com/ Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in MD Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I haven't really had time to look at this yet, but it certainly looks promising. I too have been a bit overwhelmed by Collegeconfidential.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I do occasionally but you are right it can eat up your day! Kareni's suggested site looks really appealing; am checking it out. Thanks! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coloradostef Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I am on the college confidential website far too often -- but I have learned quite a bit over the past three years of perusing the board, and I have made some changes in our strategy because of what we learned. I post as hsmomstef (for "homeschool mom stef") which seems to confuse some people, but I post quite a bit. One of the best things I have learned from collegeconfidential comes from reading the "chances" threads -- I like to look at what some of these kids have done and if it is something that one of my sons might be interested in, I look into it. For example, I had never heard of a high school kid "interning" at a professional's office before. I had heard of assisting when doing research or volunteering, but never an internship. Some kids listed internships in very diverse areas -- psychology, archeaology, historic restoration, etc. My older son's passion is world religions -- so after reading about these different "internships", I talked to my son about it and he asked a local college chaplain if he could be an "intern". The answer was yes -- and the experience was fantastic! Other things I have learned about have been summer opportunities, financial aid -- and probably the most important thing our family has learned (which most of the kids that read College Confidential have not learned) is that following your passions is important, depth over breadth is respected and that just being a nice person who did everything they were told to do doesn't win awards or get you into top schools. They are looking for out-of-the-box thinkers who are willing to take a stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 Thanks, Kareni, that does look like an interesting link. I will definitely check it out. Thanks for posting it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in IL Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I learned a bunch about Financial Aid things a few years ago. The Parents area was informative and like someone else said, about opportunites or ideas about passions. Some of the college visit reviews are interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I visit there sometimes. In the past I've visited mainly the PSAT & SAT & ACT threads for tips about those tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I have read the College Confidential boards off and on for the last couple of years and read more of the forums last year when my 2nd daughter was in the college admissions cycle. The music major forum has some very knowledgeable, experienced parents who post, so I would recommend it for any family with a potential music major. Other than the application & audition process for music, of which I am most indebted to the parents of that forum for posting their insights, I read the forums for the schools of interest to my daughter. That was helpful for getting some visit and application tips. Reading the Parents Cafe has opened my eyes to the thought processes of people who I wouldn't normally spend much time with in real life, though it gets to be a bit much sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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