When helicopter parents get in on the applications act
Somehow it still seems odd to me that students would bother applying to 8, 10, 12 or more colleges -- unless they think it'll be hard to get into any institution, or need to field multiple financial aid offers.
But a quick talk today with Minnetonka High School college counselor Phil Trout revealed another possible reason for application inflation:
"Sometimes the list (of colleges to apply to) gets expanded because of others in their life – a parent or a sister, for example."
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Sure, sounds like the old problem of wedding-list creep. Gotta invite Mom's and Dad's friends, right?
But Trout goes on:
"Even at my school, we have kids who don’t know they applied to a college, because the parent did it. There's that "fast app" in the mail that's all filled in. They just have to sign it and send it in."
Wow. OK. But ... don't the students need to sign the forms themselves?
"Oh, c’mon, please -- You know the answer to that one."