College applications back in the old days

[TriDeltaSallie]

I know I'll probably be in the minority in this, but the entire higher education situation is just ridiculous. And I fully realize how much I've benefited from higher education.

Higher ed is hopefully the next big bubble to pop. Young kids today are being saddle with ridiculous amounts of college debt that stay with them to the grave. It isn't acceptable and it can't continue on this trajectory indefinitely. My daughter is in kindergarten so we are a long way off from these decisions. But there is no way things can continue at the same pace for the next ten plus years. What will happen... I have no idea.

I know people are playing the game because they feel they have to and I don't mean this post as a criticism of anyone. I just see it as an entire aspect of life today that is completely ridiculous.

[WCsweet<3]

In 2007, I applied to eight colleges. I believe two or three used the common application so I got away with a couple easy apps. I went to a college prep school and many of the others in my class applied to more. My college advisor didn't really know what to do with me because I was looking for dance programs and I was the first person in my high school to every want to only major in dance. The others had dance as a second major and wanted to concentrate more on their first so they looked for programs that were strong in their first major.

Originally Posted by TriDeltaSallie

I know I'll probably be in the minority in this, but the entire higher education situation is just ridiculous. And I fully realize how much I've benefited from higher education.

Higher ed is hopefully the next big bubble to pop. Young kids today are being saddle with ridiculous amounts of college debt that stay with them to the grave. It isn't acceptable and it can't continue on this trajectory indefinitely. My daughter is in kindergarten so we are a long way off from these decisions. But there is no way things can continue at the same pace for the next ten plus years. What will happen... I have no idea.

I know people are playing the game because they feel they have to and I don't mean this post as a criticism of anyone. I just see it as an entire aspect of life today that is completely ridiculous.

Being someone in their first year of grad school, I fully agree with you. I feel like everyone feels as though they need to go to college. There are just some people who are not made out for it and practically kill themselves trying to get through. I'm not saying they are unintelligent, they are just not made out for what is expected in college. There is too much pressure to go to college and graduate. It seems like anymore all jobs require you to have at least a bachelors degree. I wish it wasn't so.

[DGTess]

In 1973 I applied to Carnegie Mellon and no other. I want to say UMass was my backup, but I don't recall actually applying. Perhaps the deadline was later.

No one in our family had ever gone to college, and had it not been for scholarships and loans, I wouldn't either. I want to say tuition and room and board were around $7500 per year, but then, our house only cost $12000.

I think my chapter dues were around $10-$15/month; our dorm floor was school-owned housing.

[Munchkin03]

This isn't really an issue of being "old" or what have you. Most of the application frenzy is related to getting into about 30 different colleges, if even that many. Kids who don't have those schools on their radar are still applying to only 2-3 schools.

I think the major exception to this is the Northeast Corridor, where there are just so many students, coupled with the higher interest in those 30 colleges, that you really have to hedge your bets. I was the only kid in my class who applied to my first choice--meanwhile, my best friend from college grew up in NYC, where 100 kids from her school applied. The odds are wonky up here.

Some states have auto-admit programs for students at the top of their classes or who have taken a certain number of college credits. So, those kids may end up applying to only one school, or maybe two if they are comparing scholarship offers. So, the "frenzy" is really a limited phenomenon and doesn't reflect reality for the vast majority of high schoolers today.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Some states have auto-admit programs for students at the top of their classes. So, those kids may end up applying to only one school, or maybe two if they are comparing scholarship offers.

This = me. My university offered guaranteed admission + significant scholarships for students in the top 10 of their grad class (trying to keep good students in Ohio.)

No college admissions frenzy for me.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

This = me. My university offered guaranteed admission + significant scholarships for students in the top 10 of their grad class (trying to keep good students in Ohio.)

No college admissions frenzy for me.

Same thing happens in Texas.

I was in the top 10% of my class, so I was guaranteed admission at any Texas public. In the first round, though, I applied at Michigan (#1) and Rice (back up) and got into both. I still remember getting extremely excited when the Michigan packet came. Count me as one of the people who enjoys the fancy packaging.

Dad didn't want me attending school out of state, so I had to go through another round of applications. I skipped out on UT (it was too close to my HS town -- I wish I would've applied now), but got admitted to the other 3 universities I applied to.

I was torn between UTA and UTSA, but because of the San Antonio flooding in 2002, UTA won out. I'm happy with my alma mater.