Andy Dean
After all those years of helping with homework, science fair projects and the like, university applications are one of the last chores on a parent's lists. Or are they?
In addition to, say, proof-reading an essay or helping out at the post office, some parents are actually writing letters of recommendation for their offspring.
Yes, just when you thought the message was out that helicopter parenting was passé comes a story about how parents are pointing out little Ashley's commitment to academia or little Jasper's top-notch research skills.
But before you berate them for their non-stop spoiling, a key piece of information: Some schools are actually asking for such letters.
Smith College in Northampton, Mass., is one of those schools -- which include nearby Mt. Holyoke and Holy Cross in Massachusetts, St. Anselm in New Hampshire, and the University of Richmond -- that invite parents to submit letters either as part of the application, or in a follow-up invitation after the application is received, according to the San Francisco Gate.
Just under half of the 4,300 applications for the 640 spots at Smith, an all-girl school, included a parental letter, reports the Gate.
Although the colleges did have to impose a single-page limit on the letters of praise a few years ago, they otherwise believe in the benefits of the seemingly indulgent process.
Smith's director of admission, Deb Shaver, says parents offer insights beyond what grades or school reports deliver.
"You might think they do nothing but brag," Ms. Shaver told the Gate. "But parents really nail their kids. They really get to the essence of what their daughter is about in a way we can't get anywhere else.
"Who knows a kid better than their mother and father?"
Ms. Shaver says the practice has not been embraced only by the wealthy and educated. She says it's often lower-income parents who make the most impassioned pleas for their kids.
One dad, for instance, drove several hours to Ms. Shaver's office instead of writing a letter:
"He said, 'I don't know English very well and you asked for this recommendation, so I'm going to talk it to you,' " she told the Gate.
Do you think parents' recommendations should be a valid part of a university or college application?