The Old College Try - This American Life

This post is on Act One of the This American Life episode "How I Got Into College."

After high school, the next major step for many students is college. For some, getting into college is a no-brainer. For others, the admittance process is a little more difficult. Then there are some who try anything in desperate attempts to ensure their enrollment. In this segment, host Ira Glass talks with Rick Clark, director of undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech to discuss what he has seen students (and their parents) try.

Clark has seen emails from parent's email addresses signed as their child. When impersonating their high schooler, parents tend to use the words "awesome" and "cool" to try to sound young.

"Almost ironically I never see those words from a high school student." - Rick Clark

This parental involvement could be due to "demonstrated interest," a factor many schools are taking into account. Are students visiting the campus? Do they show an active interest in the school? Some parents who are worried their child isn't taking this initiative take measures into their own hands.

Things go awry in college essays too. Students often send the same essay to multiple schools, and forget to change the name of the school. Clark, who works for Georgia Tech, has read essays where students say they are excited to be attending Duke University. Whoops.

The college admittance process can be challenging and a lot of work. When parents intervene to the extent in the podcast, that helps no one. My parents helped me find schools and took tours with me. Parents should take an active role in the admittance process, but obviously impersonating a student is crossing the line.

To get into my school, an essay was not needed. I have written mock college essays for classes in high school, and the prompts were really vague. An example was "Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea?" Who knows what kind of response an admittance worker could be looking for? Should I be as vague as the prompt? Should I suck up and incorporate my great qualities? Maybe I'm fine as long as I get the name of the school right.