College Application

I've been helping the elder daughter with her college application. And I have to say: I find it rather gratifying to see that, even with all the giant leaps in technological interactivity, admissions bureaucracy remains as bafflingly arcane and in need of direct human-to-human communication as it did in my day.

Much -- much -- has changed, of course. As late as 1989, getting admissions applications ready was a matter of physically pulling your file from a filing cabinet and assuring not just the admissions officers but yourself that the requisite paperwork had been satisfactorily completed and received.

Nearly the entire process is digital, by now. However, the concern remains the same -- and so the applicant and the officer once again "pull up your file," only this time on a screen. And face-to-face gets things done faster and with greater assurance than p2p, or over the phone.

"Hit 'Enter'! Again, again!"

For the kid, it's just an early lesson in how post-secondary works. Get used to being the final word in Quality Control -- 'cos that's just how it's going to be, for the rest of your life.