Bite Your Tongue!

Another wonderful article written about why we need to allow our students to be themselves in their college essay.  I recently worked with a student on an essay.  She wrote about how she tried to bring a sense of school spirit to her classmates even when their football team had never won a game. The essay perfectly captured who she is and what makes her the most proud. A few days later she came to me and said that her parents wanted her to write about her academics because that is what colleges want to hear. NO! They want to hear what makes an applicant tick, who they are, and what values they will bring to campus.  Kimberly Lifton captures this same sentiment in the [...]

Bite Your Tongue!2018-10-16T01:04:48+00:00

Are Colleges Pushing Students to Do Too Much in High School?

I love Jaschik’s  article (see below)  as it speaks to so many issues that are facing our young students, and it is time for colleges to step up and take some ownership. This past week I sat in on two college rep visits and the emphasis put  on what they call "rigor of curriculum" left the students feeling anxious and quite honestly confused. In order to show rigor, do they need to take every AP offered to them? If that is the case, then something will need to give- a student will have to sacrifice time spent doing things that they are passionate about.   Are Colleges Pushing Students to Do Too Much in High School? Demands over number of college-level courses are distorting students' [...]

Are Colleges Pushing Students to Do Too Much in High School?2018-10-10T20:35:47+00:00

Manufactured Activities, Is It Worth It?

I belong to a Facebook group called College Admission Counselors. It’s a platform where counselors, those who work for a high school, independent counselors, and those on the college side can reach out for support, ask advice, and talk about the most current issues in the college admissions world.  I recently read a post where a counselor leans in to his colleagues for advice. He describes his student who is a straight A student with excellent scores, but has few to no awards and a limited activities list. The counselor was seeking out organizations where this said student could apply for awards and perhaps receive one or two in order to pad his application.  I breathed a huge sigh. Is this what we want for [...]

Manufactured Activities, Is It Worth It?2018-05-23T00:54:20+00:00

Why college admissions waitlists are getting longer?

Each day the EAB, the Education Advisory Board, puts out a daily briefing of news in higher education. Here is the posting from May 16.  This article speaks to the surge in applications and the rise in waitlist decisions that universities make. At the end of the day, the combination of the increase in application numbers and the number of applicants universities accept in the early decision round forces these long waitlists.    Why college admissions waitlists are getting longer?May 16, 2018. Published by the EAB Daily Briefing Enrollment is a delicate calculus; minor changes in application numbers can have a big impact on the number of students colleges admit and waitlist. High-school students today are applying to more and more colleges, and schools have [...]

Why college admissions waitlists are getting longer?2018-05-17T19:32:27+00:00

Waitlist Row

Waitlisted, Now What? Opening an email with news that you have been placed on a waitlist, potentially at your dream school, can be painful and disheartening.  Take the time you need to process all the emotions you are feeling- you may feel jealous of your best friend who was admitted to her first choice or you can feel angry and hurt. Once you have allowed yourself time to grieve, you need to put yourself into gear and make some decisions. The first thing you need to do is decide if you would like to remain on the school’s waitlist. If that is what you decide it means that you would choose that school over other options. Because schools oftentimes rank their lists, you need to [...]

Waitlist Row2018-03-22T17:30:47+00:00

Spring Decisions

It’s that time of year.  Decisions are beginning to be released and will continue to be released until the beginning of April. Some seniors will be opening disappointing emails with denies or waitlists while others are going to be thrilled with their admittance. It is,to say the least, a challenging time for both the student and the family;it’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions.  Trying to unpack why one college has admitted a student and why another has accepted is tempting, but it is a puzzle that is impossible to solve. It is more important to focus energy on schools that have offered admittance to the student and determine what the best fit keeping in mind that all decisions need to be made by May 1. [...]

Spring Decisions2018-03-15T01:34:36+00:00

#NeverAgain-If I Protest What Will Colleges Think?

Colleges across the country are taking to Twitter and Facebook assuring admitted and prospective students that if they partake in peaceful protests for stricter gun control, such actions will not impact their admission.  In the days and weeks following the massacre in Parkland, FL, demonstrations and walk-outs are being planned by student activists across the country. Ordinarily these protests would be followed by disciplinary action from their high schools, but the current message from several universities and colleges is that not only will your admission not be impacted, but these schools applaud the students’ passion and civic engagement. Schools from the East Coast to Seattle including but not limited to  SUNY Binghamton, Brown University, Northeastern,Boston University, University of Puget Sound,and Bucknell have been tweeting and [...]

#NeverAgain-If I Protest What Will Colleges Think?2018-02-27T14:09:43+00:00

Rankings: Beware and Don’t Be Fooled!

  Since 1983 US News and World Report has published an annual rankings of colleges and universities. These rankings became all the rage that soon the report outgrew the magazine and became a separate annual reference called Best Colleges.  Even though the magazine is now defunct and no longer exists in print, the rankings live on and have taken on a life of their own. American media devotes considerable attention to the annual publication and families with children about to embark on the college admissions process turn to these reports and rankings as a way to guide them through the process. Afterall, rankings guide consumers when it comes to assessing washing machines, hospitals and even movies.  Why not use rankings when it comes to colleges? [...]

Rankings: Beware and Don’t Be Fooled!2018-02-24T18:50:15+00:00

Campus Visits

One of the most important aspects of the college application process is visiting college campuses. Information sessions provide a wealth of information about the academic program. They will give you facts about the different majors that offered, the student teacher ratio, and other details that make the program unique. Touring the university’s campus with a current student as a guide is invaluable. Prospective students will have the opportunity to visit a dorm room, walk through the library and other buildings around campus. Critically important is what is not said but noticed.  As you walk around the campus, make observations. What kind of posters hang in the student center? On the bulletin board in the dorm hallway? Grab the school newspaper and read some of the [...]

Campus Visits2018-02-21T01:24:25+00:00

Deferred? Now What?

Whether this is your first time being rejected in your lifetime or your tenth (remember that time you didn’t make the team or you did not get invited to the Homecoming dance?) it hurts. It is a stinging kind of pain.  One that hits you at your very core and makes you wallow in self doubt. These are all natural reactions.  Allow yourself time to grieve, to be upset, to ask why me and not him? Eat that ice cream sundae with another friend who is in the same boat, and then wipe off your pants because you have some work to do and bigger fish to fry. Resist the urge to contact the school and ask them what went wrong. You will have an [...]

Deferred? Now What?2018-01-12T00:13:33+00:00
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