Even University Presidents Lose Their Minds When Their Teens Apply to College

Melissa Korn:

Though many university administrators earn high salaries, they still often submit aid forms so their children can be considered for merit scholarships, or if they have multiple children in school simultaneously.

University of Utah President Taylor Randall filled out the Fafsa for his four children, though in one case his daughter only reminded him about the deadline at the last minute—when he was traveling.

“It’s 11:30 at night. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I haven’t done this in a few years!’” Dr. Randall recalls. “I’m in a hotel room trying to get someone to grab my tax returns.”

As vice president for enrollment management at Bentley University in Massachusetts, Carolina Figueroa would grow concerned when parents went overboard with prep. She saw little need for hiring private college counselors, or signing children up for multiple SAT test dates.

Then, guiding her teen EJ toward college, she observed the frenzy among her own peers. “It was hard not to get caught up in it,” she recalls. She wondered: “Am I making a mistake?”

Ms. Figueroa did give in to temptation when it came to deploying her baloney detector. Some colleges “mentioned nonexistent rankings to make themselves sound more prestigious,” she says. “I would find myself on the phone fact-checking claims.”