#the univ makes so many promises and a good chunk of them are followed thru on

[the-acer-scientist]

is it morally correct to refute the absolute propaganda that the college recruiters are telling the prospective students? follow-up question, do i care?

because listen. yes, tell them about the amazing amenities we have (because we really do) and tell them about the incredible resources the school has (because certain departments really do), but also be honest. tell them that for their first two years, unless they talk to a prof outside of class, they won't see those resources and even after that it's a little iffy. tell them that our univ has made tons of incredibly important chemical and biological discoveries, but also tell them that there's one undergrad lab in the whole school where all the equipment works consistently. out of two building's worth. yes, tell them that univ will push you to your limits so that you can succeed, but also tell them that the mental health services are as good as they are out of necessity. there's a reason all the upper floor windows don't open. i get it, advertise, make your employers money. and to a point, i accept my univ's faults. i couldnt have picked a better school for what i want to do, but that's because my department gets 60% of the funding for the whole school. the point where it grinds my gears is actively lying to high schoolers and telling them that our chemistry department is razor's edge when my ochem lab hasn't had all of the reactants to do the experiment for the last three experiments. don't tell them that we have a 15 to 1 ratio of students-prof and then neglect to mention that that's only for your first year and that your second year will be 35-40 people. which still is incredibly small for a university this big but don't lie and say that applies to every class. don't promise them housing for all four years when you know every senior except for 45 of them ended up off campus. i guarantee had i known what i know now, i'd still have ended up here but i wouldn't have been blindsided when the academic advisor i was promised who would only have 20 students to take care of and thus would almost always be available ended up being responsible for the entire marine biology department (1000-odd students) and be on intermittent leave for two straight years.

tell them all of the good things you have to offer, but don't lie. not when you've been through it.