Thank you, thank you… to the parents and counseling staffs of Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois, and Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois, where College Admission spoke last night.
Thank you to Karen Berkowitz of Highland Park's Pioneer Press for the great article on our appearance tomorrow night, speaking with the parents of Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools. We'll be talking about grades, courses, essays, financial aid, what colleges are looking for and why and, most important, how to approach the college admission process with calm and purpose. You can read the Pioneer Press feature here.
Juniors, start the year off right by giving your best effort in all your classes. The 10th annual State of College Admission 2012 report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that "academic performance in college prep courses" has been consistently rated as the top factor by colleges in admission decisions for the past decade. In 2011, 84 percent of colleges reported grades in college prep courses as decisive. One more time for emphasis: the grades you earn and the classes you take are important -- and grades in your junior year can be critical.
So focus your efforts in the classroom. Take a strong academic courseload and challenge yourself. If you are doing less than three hours of homework each day, talk with your counselor about enrolling in more advanced classes. First and foremost, what colleges will want to know about you is what you are like as a learner. Show them that.
We are pleased to welcome Jane Kulow today as a regular guest, writing on parenting through the college admission process. Kulow's personal blog, Dr. StrangeCollege or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Journey, covers the ebb and flow of the path to college for her three children, dubbed the Mod Squad. As Jane describes it, "this is what we did, what we saw, what we laughed about, and what I’ve read (and asked others in the house to read) along the way." We're delighted she will be an eloquent fellow traveler here, sharing adventures and insights as her -- and your -- children head off toward the higher halls of academe.
We are parents of a high school senior and we are in the midst of college application season.
Our oldest child worked his way through applications two years ago, acquainting us with the rhythms of deadlines and the components of transcripts, tests, essays, and recommendations.
Yet, even within one household, each student’s specific experience—in college prep coursework and activities and in his or her approach to the application itself—makes this process as singular as the student.
My husband describes the application process as complex project management. The student bears the responsibility for the content of the application; we can teach project management and help make sure not a single element of the project gets missed.
Most private colleges -- and more and more public universities -- require letters of recommendation from one or two classroom teachers of academic subjects and the high school guidance or college counselor. Make the job easier for the teachers and counselor who will write your recommendations by providing them with a list of the colleges to which you are applying, deadlines for the recommendations and any required forms. In order to get the best result, it may also be helpful to provide the teachers who are writing your recommendations with an updated list of activities and any honors you have received, as well as a note telling them why you have chosen them to write for you.
If you have not requested these letters of recommendation, do so immediately by speaking in person with your teachers and counselor. And don’t forget to check the policies and guidelines for recommendations of both your high school and the colleges to which you're applying to be sure all requirements are being met.
And don't forget to say thank you!
CollegeWeekLive, which sponsors virtual college fairs online, is hosting a Service Academy Day this Wednesday, September 25th. For students interested in earning a college degree while serving their country, admission representatives and current cadets from the service academies for five branches of the military will be virtually on hand to answer questions between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET. Students can learn more about the admission requirements and application process at:
* The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado
* The U.S. Coast Guard Academy in London, Connecticut
* The U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York
* The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland
* The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, New York
Interested students can sign up here now.
At NACAC's 69th National Conference in Toronto last week, representatives for the Common Application -- in two sessions to meet overflow demand -- answered many of the concerns that have arisen since the new platform debuted in August. Most of the information shared will soon be available on the Help Center where, as of October 1, there will be staffing 24/7. The biggest issue, according to counselor Jan Williams who was our eyes and ears there, seemed to be that students have to click on "submit" before they can see "print preview" -- causing "all kinds of confusion and angst." College Admission staff said they intend to address the problem. Scott Anderson of the Common Application has told us that as more and more people interact with the application, they will be making adjustments and refining the interface.
College Admission will be in Toronto for the rest of the week for the 2013 NACAC National Conference. Hope to see many of you there...
Lee Coffin, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment Management at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, is having a George Plimpton moment. Plimpton was a writer famous for his "participatory journalism" which included suiting up for the preseason with the Detroit Lions. Coffin, along with Assistant Director of Admissions Justin Pike, followed suit and donned a full set of gear -- with his bowtie peeking out -- to join the Jumbos for a preseason practice session.
Read the entire post -- Oh, Snap! -- here about his brief tenure as part of the offensive line, special teams and sprint training. "My sanity wasn't tested so much as my stamina! I had no idea that football players needed so much aerobic capacity!" said the 167-pound Coffin.
Juniors, although most of you won't begin the college application process in earnest until later this semester, there are some things you can do right now to get on track for a great college application process.
And here's an important one: Get to know your high school counselor. A high school counselor can be a powerful advocate for you and have a significant impact on your aspirations, achievements and admission results. So counselors can do a lot for you during the application process, but they can't do it well if they don't know you.
Whenever possible, students should be proactive. Make an appointment with your counselor, introduce yourself, find out when would be a good time to meet and ask how he or she would like you to stay in touch. If you take the initiative, you will make a strong and positive first impression.
For more information about college counselors and advisors, including what they will -- and will not! -- do in the college application process and how colleges interact with them, see Chapter 4, "College Counselors and Advisors," in College Admission: From Application to Acceptance Step by Step.
