Archive for the ‘College Corner’ Category

I’m Back from Vacation – Just in time for College Admissions!

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

Over vacation, I read Piero Ferrucci’s The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life, a wonderfully written reminder for the mental, physical and emotional benefits of appreciating the simple gifts we have been given and not trying to control events or outcomes for which we have no direct control.

Much of this book reminded me of the college counseling process, and how nervous parents and students become about the whole college application process. I recently talked to parents who convinced themselves that it would be okay to behave unethically in their quest to get their child into the “best” college – because where their child went to college would be paramount in setting the course for the child’s entire future. Unfortunately, these parents, well-intentioned as they were, failed to realize the disastrous message their actions would send their child in the long-run.

At Green Ivy, our college counseling students have been very fortunate, and will be attending schools including Princeton, Brown, Stanford, Notre Dame, American U, Villanova, LMU, Santa Clara, Texas, Colorado and Cal Poly next year – to name a few.  More important than the name of the school, however, is how we work together to find the right school that matches the interests, personality and learning style of the individual student. To us, It is only a success if students come home from school and visit me to say that they are educationally engaged, socially stimulated and generally happy with their college choice.

Please, parents, don’t worry – it really does all work out in the end!

Numbers-wise, this was a tough year in admissions – and some schools saw record numbers of applicants and record low admissions rate – this chart from the NY Times is really revealing….I included this to be informative, not stressful. Ultimately, there is the right school out there for every student, and the most important thing is for parents to be supportive, realistic and informed about their child’s options given their academic, athletic and extracurricular abilities.

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Tuesday Tip – Why Some Colleges Waive Application Fees

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Every fall, I have a few students who come into my office super excited because they have been designated a “Preferential Applicant” or member of a “Selective” Group that has been invited to apply to College X. They get their application fee waived, they may not have to even write the typically required college essay, and they get their decision in a mere week from applying. Kids feel really pumped about this sort of thing, because feeling special as a teenager is paramount.

Except…its a marketing technique at best, ploy at worst. As chronicled in today’s New York Times article, schools have these sorts of programs to increase application numbers. After all, if its free to apply AND you don’t have to write an essay, its no big deal to many kids. When a college gets more applicants, it typically rejects more students (assuming it wants the class size to remain the same) and so, its acceptance rate goes goes down, making it appear more selective. And increased selectivity leads to higher rankings – even if the only way it became more selective was to hand out free applications.

The worst part, is that these kids who thought they were “Preferred Scholars” often get rejected, because schools do have to reject students to get to their ideal class size. But the way some schools write the literature, it sounds like the kid is already in and has to simply sign on the dotted line. As I like to think of colleges and universities as institutions of higher learning, this marketing technique is like pulling a fast one. Granted, not all schools do it (by any stretch) but those that do should really think about the message they are sending to students, parents and college counselors.

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Monday Rec – Bill Mayher’s The College Admissions Mystique

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Parents often ask me what books I recommend to help them get to know more about the College Admissions Process. Today’s Monday Rec is a great read, and is a wonderful early entry point into the college admissions process. Bill Mayher’s The College Admissions Mystique has over 27 years of experience as a college counselor. He weaves his stories in an enjoyable manner, and offers parents practical advice and an approach in a manner that is calming, amusing and informative all at once.

In my work as a college counselor, I work with each student individually to create a list of schools that is appropriate for them given their strengths, interests, and abilities. My philosophy is to have students apply to schools that they would actually go to – rather than simply create a list full of schools that they would definitely get into but might not be all that interested in, or may not be a good fit for them given their individual traits and interests. Bill Mayher is a counselor who subscribes to a similar philosophy, and he really cares to learn about the whole student – not just the grades and numbers – to help students on their journey through college and their next steps in life.

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College Corner – Deadlines Are Closer than They Appear

Friday, January 1st, 2010

This week, the NY Times published this piece on a University of Chicago Dean of Admissions who sent out a successful college essay to other applicants. Some students and adults complained about the sultry tone of the essay, but mostly, I think kids found that reading others essays so close to the deadline left them second-guessing their own abilities.

As deadlines loom (and there are still quite a few schools whose applications are due in the next few days!) students sometimes find themselves doubting themselves or feeling overwhelmed when they read the work of others. After all, most people on a tight deadline would second-guess themselves as it is, and teenagers probably fare far worse.

My advice to my students is generally to start early (in the early fall), come up with a several potential topics, and then read a few sample essays from a book like Edward Fiske’s Real College Essays That Work. I like Fiske’s book because students tend to find the essays approachable and real.

Some of the best essays I’ve read have been on seemingly small, slice-of-life or moment-in-time pieces – a conversation at a Day Worker’s Center, thoughts on driving one’s sister to ballet class and the challenges of listening to a tone-deaf brother play the drums. I can’t say there is no wrong topic, but there are many more right ones than students (and parents) tend to realize.

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