Here is what my counselor has to say about that:
Was the college or university on your radar list to begin? The reality is that this is a fishing expedition on the part of the college. Think of this as an ad in a magazine, a commercial on TV. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but hundreds, thousands of these applications go out each year and the number of them being disseminated is growing geometrically. My counselor says this is really about colleges acting as businesses–making sure that posteriors are in desks when the following fall rolls around.
Bad reason to apply to a college–you know nothing about the school, but the application is free.
Good reason to apply to a college–you’ve done your homework, researched the college in terms of size, programs available, personal fit quotient–you know a lot and it seems like a good match.
DUH! This isn’t a gift.
The old-fashioned kind that comes in the mailbox or the electronic version that comes via your computer is just that–mail. Getting mail from a school doesn’t mean you will get in AND getting a free application doesn’t mean a school is a good fit for you or that you can get in that school.
Get the picture! See those darts in the middle of the page? Dart throwers gum up the works for every applicant. Do your homework. Apply to places that are a good fit for you. Ignore they hype–do it right. Otherwise, you might end up like feeling all caged up like my friend Zeus.
Talking about all this application stuff is making me tired. I need a rest.
CYA,
Clyde
