Tag Archives: ivy league colleges

admissions, college guidance, college planning, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet

 

a rose by any other nameThose famous words from Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet (a rose by any other name would smell as sweet) aren’t just about romance. They can be applied to college—yes college. Go to any parents meeting (especially with senior parents) and the name dropping is everywhere. “My son got accepted to Stanford. My daughter is applying to Harvard. My son has been offered a scholarship to Princeton. It’s impossible to avoid it and it’s impossible to not let a little jealously and insecurity cross your mind as you hear about other children’s accomplishments.

But wait. Does it really matter WHERE your son goes to college? Some would argue with me. Is a big name college like Harvard or Yale able to offer a better education than say Mary Hardin Baylor (a small liberal arts college in Texas)? Is an Ivy League college going to ensure your son or daughter a starting salary above those who graduate from the University of Texas or Colorado State? Some would say yes.

Personally, as I’ve said multiple times: where your son or daughter goes to college is not as important as how they choose to take advantage of the education. When my daughter was in Boston, she knew many Harvard students that simply skated by in their classes and told her “the hardest thing about Harvard is getting in.” She took classes offering her hands-on experience in the business community and a senior level course that gave them actual real-life marketing experience helping startup companies. And this was from a small liberal arts college.

Bottom line: it’s not about the name, it’s about the amount of effort your son or daughter puts into the education. Your son can go to a big name college and if he doesn’t apply himself, the education is a waste of your money. With college, as in life, you get out of it what you put into it.

Read Wendy’s post: Savvy Shoppers Have an Advantage in the College Process

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Wendy and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from parentingforcollege to pocsmom.com and vice versa.

admissions, college guidance, college planning

WeGotIn.net–Editorial Opinion

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From a parent’s perspective, when I come across a college application “help” I look at it differently than most. I have several criteria I use to judge it’s effectiveness, but I came across a site the other day that made me question something more–is it ethically appropriate? My mind is always open to new ways to ease the complicated college admissions process, so I spent a few days reading about the site (on the site itself) to form my own opinion. I haven’t viewed any biased coverage from the colleges, or the College Board. I just spent some time thinking about whether or not, I, as a parent, would encourage my student to use the service.

According to the website, WeGotIn.net, their concept is simple:

Welcome to WeGotIn.Net where you will find copies of actual, accepted applications to Harvard, Yale, Penn, Cornell, Columbia and Brown. These applications contain the entire response to each question. They contain the college application essay as well as the answers to the often difficult short questions that are asked. They are NOT edited in any way (other than the removal of names, addresses, birth dates and social security numbers). Each of them was given to us in 2010 or 2011 directly by the student who submitted it, was accepted and is now a student at the college.

At first look it seems like a beneficial service. It provides students with “samples” of other college applications (helping them see what is expected of them when they complete their own applications). It targets highly selective colleges that are often on students “dream” list.

But is this ethical, or even fair? Is this another form of cheating? Do students really have to resort to this to get into these Ivy League colleges?

Here’s another more obvious question–with all the other colleges available to choose from, why would students even need to resort to this tactic? If competition is so fierce that you have to look at other accepted student’s applications to obtain admission why would you want to attend?

There are thousands of colleges in the United States, not to mention Canada and overseas that offer admission to students without having to stack the deck by viewing other accepted applications. And here’s another question: what are you teaching your student if you encourage them to use this service? It is so much more than a tool; it’s like cheating on a test. It’s like paying to see other tests in a class instead of studying for yourself.

What are we teaching our students if they use this service?

    • Take shortcuts and you’ll be successful.
    • If your own work isn’t good enough, use someone else’s work instead.
    • Achieving success sometimes means that you have to use any method possible to get it.
    • It’s not cheating if it gives you added insight into something you can’t do for yourself.

In an effort to defer the criticism they have received, WeGotIn.net is giving all their profits to the scholarship funds of the Ivy League colleges. Good for them. They also say their method is more effective than admissions coaching:

…instead of listening to someone else’s opinion, however well informed they may be, of what they think the committee is looking for. There are a lot of opinions as to what makes a good application – the only thing that really matters is what actually results in an acceptance letter.

I especially love that last line: the only thing that really matters is what actually results in an acceptance letter. I disagree. The only thing that really matters is that your student finds the school that “wants” them and that they completed the admissions process with integrity and honesty. Getting accepted to an Ivy League college isn’t the be all and end all of success.

As always, I welcome any comments, discussion or debate about this topic. I would love to hear from other parents and students.