College Admissions Q &A (Part I) Over the time that I have been an admissions officer and a college consultant, I have been asked many questions about the application process. Here, presented in two parts, are a few of the most commonly asked questions. Q: How far ahead of time should a student begin working on his or her college application? Stephanie: Start it too soon and you unnecessarily step into a pressure cooker. Wait and risk being at a disadvantage when your child’s application is read last and he has to make himself stand out against the last 5,000 applications an admissions officer just read. Unfortunately, when to start is one of the most difficult questions to answer. Arguably, a family could start the process before their first child is born. After all, paying for college can certainly take 18 years of saving. The reality is that the application process starts with a few small, seemingly inconsequential steps. Here are a few places to start: Talking: Parents are verbally preparing their children for college and even graduate school constantly. They sing old college songs and make statements like, “When you go to college…” Visiting: While noting what you like in your high school (size, location, teacher student ratio, etc.) can be important, visiting colleges enables a young person to envision him/herself on a college campus. Visits enable them to determine if they prefer rural/urban, large/small, warm/cold. Opportunities to visit college campuses include: -Your alma mater’s alumni weekend or homecoming can be a great way to give a young person a glimpse of college life. -Trips to local college campuses in your town or distant campuses while on vacation are instructive. -Overnights with an older cousin or family friend who is currently in college provide another good opportunity. Save: While some of the writing assignments high school teachers assign might seem annoying, save them. Why reinvent the wheel? If you’ve written something that might, with a few edits, satisfy an application‘s essay question, use it. SAT/ACT: One of the most onerous parts of the application process is the standardized testing. Many schools require the SAT/ACT with writing and at least two SAT/ACT subject tests. While most students wait until their junior year to take the tests, some students opt to start a little earlier. Sophomores should go to www.collegeboard.com and try working on the practice tests. If the tests prove easy, then keep studying and plan to take the exam(s) early. Bottom line: In a perfect world I would meet all of my students as freshman. We would discuss their classes and extracurricular activities beforehand. While that happens a lot, I see a number of rising seniors who need to start from scratch. Q: What are the best ways to go about selecting a terrific essay topic? Stephanie: Ask others! One of the best ways to differentiate yourself (the bottom line) is to ask your friends how they would describe you and tell them to give specific examples. It might surprise you to learn that they think you are so organized, that you have the oddest sense of humor, or that they admire the way you stand up for what you believe in, the combination of which could generate quite a few essays. Q: Are there any essay topics you get tired of seeing or would warn students to stay away from? Stephanie: While I hear “my mission trip” and “my sports injury” essays are overdone, the best way to get a GREAT answer to that question is to ask it at college fairs and on college visits. It is particularly smart to ask it at your top choice schools. I would discourage gimmicks. Your essays are meant to demonstrate your sense of sound judgment. I have spoken to admissions directors who have seen students write their essays in blood, on an old pair of jeans, in a made up Elfin language, and backwards, so the admissions officer would need a mirror to read it. Avoid gimmicks at all cost. Q: What is the biggest mistake a student can make on a college application? Stephanie: Making mistakes before the applications process begins! A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Dean James Miller, the head of Brown University Admissions, speak. One of the most surprising things he said was that every year a number of acceptances are rescinded due to an applicant’s poor judgment on a social media web site. It got me thinking about whether or not social media sites are a good thing or a bad thing with respect to the college admissions process. Then, of course, what about the internet as a whole? Not only will this impact kids as they try to jump the first of many hurdles in order to get into college, but more importantly, indiscretions on the web can follow a student or prospective employee for a long, long time. After all, when does correct, incorrect, and/or incomplete information on the internet expire? With respect to the admissions process, there are certainly shades of gray: The good: -Certain admissions officers allow prospective students to “friend” them on Facebook. That connection can provide prospective students with salient information about the admissions process. -Colleges have started Facebook groups for admitted students. -Many high school students use Facebook for appropriate fun, and have enabled their privacy settings and can control the content that is uploaded to their accounts. -The Common Application – certainly better than ordering applications from 12 schools via mail. -Tufts’ YouTube optional essay is one in which a student can demonstrate his/her superior equestrian skill. The bad: -“Frienemies” used to make an anonymous call or send a letter to alert an admissions office rep that “little Billy” did not deserve to be admitted because of inappropriate behavior; now they use Facebook to prove it. -Most schools do not have enough time to check their applicants’ Facebook accounts, but they do have a responsibility to check when they receive a tip. -Internet marketers have started bogus sites, marketing to, for example, college alums. -Email and texting may be an issue too. The BBC recently reported that Dr. Ari Juels, the Chief Scientist of the RSA, an Encryption and Network Security firm, has made clear that the internet is hardly anonymous (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/maggieshiels/2010/03/the_end_of_...). -Tufts’ optional video/YouTube style essay in which one student chose to rap about Tufts in her living room in front of her Christmas tree…I am not sure if it could hurt her chances, but I am pretty sure it did not help. One thing is clear: the Internet makes most of the college application process easier. However, many students may not have the foresight to know that their past, as far as the Internet is concerned, does not disappear. Parents who are not on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc., really should be. Stephanie Klein Wassink is Principal at Winning Applications. She has 15 years of experience in college consulting and holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. She is a member of IECA and NACAC. For more information, like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/winningapplicationsllc or visit our web site www.winningapplications.com
