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OT: Connecticut College

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Paraphrasing the summary from our college counselor for this year and what to expect next year:

Early Action applications continued to increase. Lots and lots of deferrals to Regular Decision. Push to get deferred EA applicants to commit to ED II at some schools.

Early Decision yielded good results as long as the choice was realistic.

Demonstrated Interest was very important (i.e., visit in person or virtually; open emails and portals; interview).

STEM, computer science, health, and business programs, larger schools and urban schools, the University of California system, and public flagship universities were all harder than ever.

Increased value on extracurricular involvement, especially activities that demonstrate initiative, involvement, impact, and influence.

More schools are using Committee Based Evaluation, and the essay is being given even more weight.

Recap of last year's numbers (so far):



The best guess for high school class of 2023 is that colleges and universities will try to secure more of their class through Early Decision.

Colleges will be more need-aware than ever before.

Large increases in GPA for many students because of changes in school grading policies during COVID, making colleges likely continue to place more emphasis on junior year and first quarter or mid-mester grades from the senior year.

Highly selective institutions will continue to be as selective as ever, if not more so as their applications skyrocket.

Standardized testing will continue to be in flux, with many institutions (particularly large publics) returning to requiring testing.
College presidents put such an unholy emphasis on USNWR rankings — knowingly hollowing out their own schools academic strengths — that I would seriously doubt that any school outside of the most powerful (ie MIT) are ever going to return to testing. The whole reason for being for those presidents is the rankings. I can’t even imagine one of them thinking a return to testing requirements is in the cards.
 

BlueandOG

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Genuine, not snarky question... how do you letter in 4 sports? There's only 3 seasons?
He played soccer (fall), indoor track (winter), and track (spring). COVID hit and he ran cross country rather than play soccer.
 
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I had a side piece at Conn College when I was in my mid 20s, sigh, Betsy..

(This was not 1957)

I have not met anyone named Betsy since
Stephen Colbert Idk GIF by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
 

HuskyHawk

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I had a side piece at Conn College when I was in my mid 20s, sigh, Betsy..

(This was not 1957)

I have not met anyone named Betsy since
Stephen Colbert Idk GIF by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
I worked with a young woman named Betsy some years ago. The only one I've met, and yes, she was very attractive.
 
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Fishy and anyone else dropping their child off for their first year of college should read this. The examples of questions from parents in the article are real because I've seen them on a parents Facebook page of the college my son attends. Pretty funny because I'm always shaking my head at the stupid questions that parents post.

 
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The kid is in the last stages of decoding where she will go to college…

She’s basically going to choose from a pair of current Big East schools, (thankfully, she’s tossed Providence), a former Big East school and Connecticut College/Holy Cross/union as small school picks.

I didn’t go to Conn College when she visited, so have no insight into the place. I am a little concerned that a kid who goes to a high school with 4,500 kids is going to be out of place at a college of 1800 kids.

Anyone familiar with the place?
If your daughter got accepted there you should be very proud, very tough school to get into. Nice campus, my niece graduated from there. Played field hockey, majored in Government. A very good friend of mine, her granddaughter, goes there, sophomore, plays girls lacrosse.
 

HuskyHawk

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Fishy and anyone else dropping their child off for their first year of college should read this. The examples of questions from parents in the article are real because I've seen them on a parents Facebook page of the college my son attends. Pretty funny because I'm always shaking my head at the stupid questions that parents post.

There was a parents Facebook group for all the NUiN kids last fall. Admittedly, it was an odd situation, with the pandemic stuff and kids living in a hotel 15-20 minutes from campus (no mail for example). Northeastern gets loads of kids from far away, who's parents had real questions about the area. That said, it was cringeworthy as often as not. "Where can I buy a bunch of boutique cupcakes for my daughter's birthday?". I do think Gen Z is less independent, and the smothering doesn't help. They need to figure it out.

I was proud yesterday. Daughter got off the wait list for a class. She wanted it so she could drop an 8:00 class, but realized it would unbalance her schedule (in terms of types of classes for her hybrid major). She saw the problem herself, talked with me and decided to drop a different class. So she now has 8:00 - 9:00 - 10:00 three days a week. Not fun for a kid who sleeps past noon most days, but the mature decision.
 
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There was a parents Facebook group for all the NUiN kids last fall. Admittedly, it was an odd situation, with the pandemic stuff and kids living in a hotel 15-20 minutes from campus (no mail for example). Northeastern gets loads of kids from far away, who's parents had real questions about the area. That said, it was cringeworthy as often as not. "Where can I buy a bunch of boutique cupcakes for my daughter's birthday?". I do think Gen Z is less independent, and the smothering doesn't help. They need to figure it out.

I was proud yesterday. Daughter got off the wait list for a class. She wanted it so she could drop an 8:00 class, but realized it would unbalance her schedule (in terms of types of classes for her hybrid major). She saw the problem herself, talked with me and decided to drop a different class. So she now has 8:00 - 9:00 - 10:00 three days a week. Not fun for a kid who sleeps past noon most days, but the mature decision.
Now let’s hope she actually shows up for those classes. Lol. Morning classes never bothered me as I rarely attended.
 

Fishy

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Fishy and anyone else dropping their child off for their first year of college should read this. The examples of questions from parents in the article are real because I've seen them on a parents Facebook page of the college my son attends. Pretty funny because I'm always shaking my head at the stupid questions that parents post.

Holy cow, yes.

We had an online parents‘ orientation via Zoom and thank God our camera was off because my wife and I were rolling our eyes at every question.(“My son has two bikes…can he bring them? Where does he put them?”)

For our part, our daughter is just ready. Even if we were the helicopter types, she would not welcome the intrusion. You fly the airplane for them for a long time and then you co-fly it for a short period of time until they signal that they’re ready for you to just be a passenger. We’ve seen the signal….still going to sit near the front of the plane, though.
If your daughter got accepted there you should be very proud, very tough school to get into. Nice campus, my niece graduated from there. Played field hockey, majored in Government. A very good friend of mine, her granddaughter, goes there, sophomore, plays girls lacrosse.

Thank you. She did and she will be there a week from tomorrow.
 

HuskyHawk

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Now let’s hope she actually shows up for those classes. Lol. Morning classes never bothered me as I rarely attended.
Next year she's got Co-op. Will probably need to get up very early and go to an office somewhere. Going to have to prepare for that eventually. I skipped a few classes in Arjona and Monteith early on.
 
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Fishy and anyone else dropping their child off for their first year of college should read this. The examples of questions from parents in the article are real because I've seen them on a parents Facebook page of the college my son attends. Pretty funny because I'm always shaking my head at the stupid questions that parents post.

Ona campus visit to U Toronto, an American parent -- and we were the only other ones -- asked the guide, "Are there nearby clubs?" The guide of course responds that they have a variety of clubs, sports, language, theater, etc. etc. And the father of course says he meant "dance clubs."
 
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The older one graduated from there in 2020. He loved it. The younger one is a sophomore there. It was between Colgate (50% more students and D1 sports) and Hamilton for the younger one and his older brother and his friends convinced him to apply ED to Hamilton. He loves it also. I generally think Hamilton does a great job with everything. They are very attentive to the needs of the students.

He visits his friend who goes to Michigan when he wants a taste of big time sports. The last time he came back from there he said after talking to a bunch of kids at Michigan he thinks he made the right decision to go to a small school. Pros and cons to both.
My son graduated from Hamilton in May. What a wonderful place. The graduation speaker is a vice president of the Los Angeles Clippers and she stressed reaching out to your network. She all but invited my son to contact her as he will be attending law school at USC starting next Monday. From the day we moved him into his freshman dorm through graduation, the recurring theme is we are here to help you. I just could not get over how much they looked out for the students. A very special place with a very unique feel in my opinion.
 

Edward Sargent

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Fish, we are a couple of years away from our Grandkids picking out colleges!! My daughter however took a job at a Catholic girls school as the Director of College Admissions in the guidance department. Oh the stories she has!
 
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My son graduated from Hamilton in May. What a wonderful place. The graduation speaker is a vice president of the Los Angeles Clippers and she stressed reaching out to your network. She all but invited my son to contact her as he will be attending law school at USC starting next Monday. From the day we moved him into his freshman dorm through graduation, the recurring theme is we are here to help you. I just could not get over how much they looked out for the students. A very special place with a very unique feel in my opinion.
Yes, we watched the speech from her online. My 2024 son wants to work in sports so he is going to contact her. We were there 2 weeks later for the Class of 2020 graduation. The founder of Netflix, a Hamilton grad, spoke at that one. His message was follow your passion and your career is not linear so don't worry about where you start.
 
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Holy cow, yes.

We had an online parents‘ orientation via Zoom and thank God our camera was off because my wife and I were rolling our eyes at every question.(“My son has two bikes…can he bring them? Where does he put them?”)

For our part, our daughter is just ready. Even if we were the helicopter types, she would not welcome the intrusion. You fly the airplane for them for a long time and then you co-fly it for a short period of time until they signal that they’re ready for you to just be a passenger. We’ve seen the signal….still going to sit near the front of the plane, though.


Thank you. She did and she will be there a week from tomorrow.
Just wait until she graduates. By then you'll be in the last row of coach. And that's if she even lets you on the plane.

I got that example question from a parent beat. Here's one from last year on the Hamilton parents Facebook page.

My son is an incoming freshman. He is 6’2”. Anyone else have a very tall child? Curious as to any issues he may face in the dorms, especially the height of the showerhead in the bathroom.

After laughing for a few seconds I did respond that I'm sure he will be fine and 6-2 isn't very tall these days anyway.
 
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Just wait until she graduates. By then you'll be in the last row of coach. And that's if she even lets you on the plane.

I got that example question from a parent beat. Here's one from last year on the Hamilton parents Facebook page.

My son is an incoming freshman. He is 6’2”. Anyone else have a very tall child? Curious as to any issues he may face in the dorms, especially the height of the showerhead in the bathroom.

After laughing for a few seconds I did respond that I'm sure he will be fine and 6-2 isn't very tall these days anyway.

But what if he son can't bend over slightly to wash his hair? Sounds like a dangerous inequity. I'm sure the president of the college would be willing to look into it. Being slightly taller than average should never handicap ones ability to comfortably wash hair.
 
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My son graduated from Hamilton in May. What a wonderful place. The graduation speaker is a vice president of the Los Angeles Clippers and she stressed reaching out to your network. She all but invited my son to contact her as he will be attending law school at USC starting next Monday. From the day we moved him into his freshman dorm through graduation, the recurring theme is we are here to help you. I just could not get over how much they looked out for the students. A very special place with a very unique feel in my opinion.
Do they still do the summer project?

I remember students and parents telling me they got paid like $2k to do a summer project with a faculty member. Faculty got a small payment as well for it.

This is one of the best ideas I've ever heard from any school anywhere.
 

8893

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But what if he son can't bend over slightly to wash his hair? Sounds like a dangerous inequity. I'm sure the president of the college would be willing to look into it. Being slightly taller than average should never handicap ones ability to comfortably wash hair.
I’m 6’2”. Don’t get me started.

I am still traumatized by my college experience.
 
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I have nothing but good things to say about the NESCACs. I honestly think they get most things right in terms of the college experience. When we dropped our daughter off at Colby 10 years ago, they did this nice trick at around 5 pm. They told the kids they had a meeting with their dorm advisors and the parents that the President wanted to meet them in the Art Museum. After going through the line with the President, you came out and your kid was nowhere to be seen. They were off having dinner with new roommates, dorm mates and such. We were directed to the parking lot! They had breakfast the next morning for parents who couldn’t deal with leaving their kids. The college staff we found out later referred to it as the loser breakfast. We weren’t there, thoug. We were in Camden.
 

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