Juniors: Schedule At Least One Interview This Spring

Posted on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 11:18

Juniors, we recommend you do at least one interview, if possible, in the spring of junior year in high school. As you visit colleges over spring break, go through the process of interviewing or if there is a college near where you live, schedule an interview there if offered.

You should not interview at your first- choice college at this time. Save the most important interviews— those at schools high on your list— for over the summer or early in senior year. But you can get a sense of what an interview is like only by doing one and it’s better to feel more comfortable with the process before senior year. Check the website of every school on your list to see when the admission office begins interviewing prospective students. Each college has its own policy. Some colleges do not interview students before the senior year while others will interview juniors beginning in spring of junior year.

For more information about interviews, including admission office etiquette and questions to ask, see Chapter 11, “College Interviews” in College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step.

The Transition from High School to College: Before Students Leave Home

Posted on Wed, 02/20/2013 - 10:00

The transition from high school to college, particularly for students who leave home and live in campus residence halls, is a challenge for nearly all students. However, some students find it more daunting than others.  Experienced counselors, both in high schools and on college campuses, have learned to recognize the stages that most students go through, beginning at the end of senior year, through the summer after graduation, and continuing through freshman year of college.  But most students have only a vague idea of what this transition will be like and are therefore stunned by the challenges they encounter.  First generation students, in particular, are likely to encounter surprises because their parents, having not attended college, haven’t had discussions with them about what to expect.

Today, educational psychologist Jane McClure begins a series that will walk students and parents through what the future may hold.

 

Focusing Freshmen on the "Big Picture"

Posted on Tue, 02/19/2013 - 12:48

In a guest post today, Jennifer Karan, Executive Director of the SAT Program at The College Board, discusses the steps high school freshmen can take to plan ahead for a college education -- a key to success. This article originally appeared on The College Board website.

 

As a former English teacher and high school dean of students, I know that there are few things as daunting, mysterious and exciting to a teenager than freshman year of high school. It’s a whole new world: the hallways are foreign and at larger schools, students sometimes feel as though they need a GPS to get from class to class; the upperclassmen seem so much older and are brimming with a glowing confidence; teacher expectations and homework may require substantial adjustment. And college seems like a distant point on the horizon.

Part of the trepidation may be what adults understand as not being able to see the forest for the trees. However, when students are able to envision how the various academic courses and opportunities in arts, athletics and other programs that develop interests (the school paper, community service or a part-time job) form the "Big Picture," they are able to navigate this terrain successfully, with greater purpose and enjoyment.

University of Virginia's Jeannine Lalonde on "Hearing the Student's Voice" and the New Common App Essay Prompts

Posted on Mon, 02/18/2013 - 12:20

In the final installment of our series on the changes to the writing section of the Common Application, Jeannine Lalonde, Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at the University of Virginia -- and the force behind one of our favorite admission blogs "Notes from Peabody" -- joins us to talk about the new essay prompts and the role that the essay plays in admission decisions.

What are your thoughts about the new essay prompts?

I’m on the Common Application’s Apps Advisory Committee and the Outreach Committee shared the questions with us a few months ago. I was impressed with how the questions were defined, yet give the applicants freedom to go in whatever direction feels right to them.

I can still remember sitting in front of a blank piece of paper and being uncertain about how to start a personal statement for my college applications. These questions would have given me a nice jumping off point.

What impact, if any, do you see the new essay prompts having – on both college admission offices and applicants?

Advice for Students on Topics for the New Common App Essays

Posted on Fri, 02/15/2013 - 07:13

College advisor Alice Kleeman joins us today in our ongoing series on the changes to the Common Application with some excellent guidance for students and how to think about the new essay prompts and an entertaining look back on some of the essays that have been favorites in her twenty years advising students.

 

The five prompts that will appear on the “new” Common Application should allow for nearly any topic you might choose. Below are some suggestions for academic, extracurricular, and personal topics that might fit neatly into a response for each prompt. Of course, these are just suggestions, designed to jumpstart your thinking, provide a gentle nudge if you feel stumped, and to help you decide which prompt might provide the best opportunity for you to show the admission office who you are. Your response to any college-essay prompt should be entirely personal and one that only you could write; these examples are just to get your essay juices flowing!

 

Essay Prompt One:

 

 Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete  without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

 

Key Words:

 

“background,” “story,” “identity,” “incomplete without”

 

Possible topics:

 

ACADEMIC:

 

Seniors: Check the Colleges' "Outside Scholarship Policies"

Posted on Thu, 02/14/2013 - 09:26

Seniors, you should still be applying for scholarships at this time. But, as you do, please check with the colleges to which you’ve applied about how they handle scholarships from private groups and organizations— known as “outside awards”—in the calculation of their financial aid award. Different colleges calculate their impact differently.

Colleges are legally prohibited from overawarding federal aid. In other words, the total amount of aid a student receives cannot be greater than a college’s cost, and usually not more than a student’s overall calculated financial need. Some colleges count half an outside award toward grant aid and half toward student self- help, lowering the student’s work- study or loan amount by the equivalent of half the outside award. Others count the entire outside award against loans and work- study, and only lower the institutional grant portion of an aid award if self- help is brought down to zero. Still others count the entire outside award against institutional gift aid. Best advice: always apply for a scholarship, but check with every college and university on your list about their *outside scholarship policy* so you can understand what happens to your need-based financial aid package when you win a merit scholarship.

 

Vanderbilt Dean of Admissions Christiansen on the New Common App Essay Prompts

Posted on Thu, 02/14/2013 - 09:09

In our continuing series on the new changes to the Common Application, Douglas L. Christiansen,  Vanderbilt University's vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions, joins us today to share his thoughts about the role of the essay in the admission decision as well as the impact of the new essay prompts and length limits.

 

What are your thoughts about the new Common Application prompts?

 

The Common Application’s new prompts were devised after months (indeed, years) of input from member institutions. To that end, I am confident that the prompts contain wisdom from colleagues who collectively have read hundreds of thousands of college essays. The array of topics is deliberately broad, in order to appeal to as wide a range of college-going seniors as possible. Each topic asks the student to hone in on one area of their experience and let the admissions officer get to know them through this particular experience. The new prompts are meant to elicit stories full of interesting details and experiences and  I am looking forward to reading these essays. I believe the prompts will help applicants write more personal stories, allowing my colleagues to get to know many applicants a little bit better than they might have been able to in the past.

Juniors: Start your Planning for College Visits

Posted on Wed, 02/13/2013 - 12:01

Juniors, now is the time when you and your family should sit down and plan when and where college trips are going to occur. This is another element of approaching the application process wisely by being organized enough so that you and your parents are not constantly nagged by doubts and concerns.

With some dates in mind for visits, then check the website of each of the colleges you plan to visit to obtain dates and times for tours, information sessions, interview availability, and other opportunities. Make a reservation if required. Do this as far in advance as possible so you can get a spot on a date that works for your family. Some schools may not require you to reserve a space for info sessions or tours but ask you to let them know in advance that you’re attending. Do this.

If the college requires or strongly suggests an applicant interview, arrange an appointment for when you are on campus. There are usually a limited number of time slots for interviews, available on a first- come, first- served basis. We’ll have more advice about interviewing next week.

 

University of Connecticut Admissions on the Role of the Essay and the Common App Changes

Posted on Wed, 02/13/2013 - 10:56

In our continuing series on the changes in the writing section of the Common Application, today the University of Connecticut’s Wayne Locust, Vice President of Enrollment Planning and Management, and Nathan Fuerst, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, contribute their thoughts on the role of the essay in the admission decision as well as the new essay prompts and longer length.

 

How would you characterize the importance of the essay in the admission decision?

 

The University of Connecticut values greatly the insights the essay questions provide as part of the admissions evaluation process. Although not an over-riding factor, the essay is indeed a substantial consideration and will likely become even more so as competition for freshman seats in the class increases.

 

What impact do you foresee the changes to the Common Application writing section having?

 

Ralph Figueroa on the New Essay Prompts: Room for Every Story

Posted on Tue, 02/12/2013 - 09:24

Ralph Figueroa is Dean of College Guidance at New Mexico’s Albuquerque Academy. Figueroa was one of 15 counselors who served on the Outreach Advisory Committee for the Common Application, advising the organization about the role that writing plays in an holistic selection process.

He joins us here today to talk about the new essay prompts, the process that resulted in the changes and the issues the committee grappled with to arrive at the new guidelines for students.

 

 What impact do you foresee the changes in the writing prompts having?

 

I hope that these changes will make students, families, and teachers think about these essays and talk about them in a new way. Change can be scary, but I am confident that when they read the prompts and the guidelines, they will realize that we have given them real freedom to find the best way to convey information about themselves that will give colleges a better idea of who they really are --beyond the numbers of the admission process.

 

What impact, if any, do you foresee for students?