August 07, 2006
How Many Colleges Will You Apply To?
I have to admit, my mind is totally blown by the trend of applying to dozens of colleges (see In New Twist on College Search, a First Choice, and 20 Backups). Perhaps because back in the day, I applied to only 3 colleges. Literally. 1. The school I wanted. 2. The school my mother recommended. 3. The safety school.
Intellectually, I know that people do this to try to get into the most prestigious institution they can, but on a visceral level, I don't really understand why anyone would actually want to submit that many applications. My mind keeps returning to the downsides: the time, energy and money it takes; the lack of focus it implies; and the distraction it creates from experiencing one's senior year of high school.
Or am I missing something? How many college do you plan on applying to? What do you think of the practice of applying to a whole herd of colleges?
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January 05, 2006
Application Essays - the Agony and the Ecstasy
As a writer, former English teacher and student of psychology, one of my favorite parts of application review is reading each applicant's writing sample, or as they are more commonly called, "the application essay". When I speak with prospective students and families about what we are looking for in this piece, I always say that the essay is an opportunity to share something about yourself with the reviewer or reviewers. Here are some tips:
1) The essay should sound like you, not like you on some kind of crazy Thesaurus steroids. Those essays are painful to read, as the multisyllabic words used "almost" correctly are strewn about without mercy like thumbtacks on a locker room floor. Nobody sounds like that!
2) Remember your audience. Let's say that again together: "REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE." Presumably you would like to be admitted to the university for which you are writing the essay. So when you select a topic, know that the reader will not be familiar with your somewhat macabre sense of humor and refrain from writing about a cat being run over by a car - written from the cat's perspective. I know you think I made that up - but you would be wrong.
3)Don't take yourself too seriously. Yes, the application is a time to highlight all of your achievements and we provide many opportunities within the application for you to list your activities and awards. We also offer you the opportunity to attach a resume. We actually read all of those pages so when we get to the essay and you have written a paragraph detailing each extracurricular activity, we feel a bit let down. We were hoping to learn something else about you! We understand that it was a huge honor to be inducted/admitted/appointed/elected/crowned or to make the goal/finish the race/lead the piece/design the website, but tell us MORE. How did you feel? What did your best friend say to you about it? Did the experience live up to your expectations? Did you learn anything surprising in the process? Was there a pet involved? (Preferably one that wasn't run over....) Try writing something for yourself to capture a memory and then edit it a bit for mainstream consumption. You may find that "the essay" is not as dreadful as you thought!
4) Be funny. I could just kiss the applicants who inject some humor into their writing! I promise I won't, but instead I will do things like write in my notes, "Eureka! An applicant with a sense of humor. Great essay about lessons learned from having canker sores." This really happened.
I have read as many as 50 essays in a day and in a review season I read portions of thousands of them. I recognize that writing is not everyone's strength and that everyone is not Jon Stewart (even he has professional writers to assist him.) But we all have stories to share, and the best essays are simply that - stories about the authors, their trials and their triumphs and yes, their canker sores.
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December 14, 2005
It's all worth it...
Counselors are now hunkering down to review applications and it can be a time of late nights with big pots of coffee right by our side. When reviewing applications, it can be nice when you have had an opportunity to meet the student (and their family) either on campus or on the road. It is especially nice when you are able to remember that interaction when reviewing the student's application. These personal connections are valuable because they can add so much more depth to that student and their application. I experienced such an instance this fall.
I recruit in Connecticut and New York City so I often have to provide descriptions regarding the weather in Cleveland, what the midwest is like, the campus environment, etc. and sometimes it can be challenging to find the right words. This particular student(I will call him Michael) had a sincere interest in Case as his mother had grown up in Cleveland and still had siblings and family living in the area. Michael and his mother live in CT and made a visit to the campus this past spring. They did a group information session and tour on campus and I believe they also visited the Cleveland Museum of Art. I just happened to be the counselor conducting the group session on that day and informed them that I worked with students from CT. At the end of their visit, they told me that they loved what they had learned so far and the campus was just goregous. It also happened to be a sunny day so that worked in our favor as well. They inquired about the possibility of an interview (which isn't required for admission but recommended) and I told them I would be visiting CT in the fall and information would be posted regarding hometown interviews on our website by September.
True enough when I looked over the list of students that I would be interviewing in CT Michael's name was there and I was really impressed. Not only was I impressed that he was taking the time to interview with me but his school (he attends a boarding school) was at least an hour away from the location in which I was interviewing. I later found out that his mother drove from their house, which was about 15 minutes from the hotel, to pick him up at school and after the interview drove him back to school, and THEN she returned home. That's at least a 2 hour drive roundtrip!
When we had a chance to meet, I was truly impressed with him as a person and I thought he would be a great addition to Case. He applied early action and was offered admission. We are currently in the process of notifying students that have applied early action and in addition to letter notification students can check their status online. Before the ink was dry on his admission letter, he had checked his status online. He was ecstatic! He was so happy that he sent me an email and let me know his thoughts. He was honored to be offered a place in the class at Case, he liked the programs, the campus - he feels that it is a great place where he can grow and develop as a person. He liked the fact that he knows about his decision now in December even though he is still waiting to hear from some other schools who won't notify him until April. We are "tops" on his list and according to Michael "I will simply continue to replay all the wonderful things about Case and try not to think about how difficult it will be to chose among schools (if I'm so lucky) as great as Case."
I was left speechless. It all makes sense now. This is why we do what we do.
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October 31, 2005
Standardized Anxiety Test (SAT)
I just came back from a meeting with the College Board; the folks who help to bring you the SAT. And of course, with anxieties riding high this time of year about whether one's scores are "good enough" to get into your top-choice college, I was reminded of a passage I had copied a while ago, and it's been stewing in the back of my mind since:
From CNN.com:
The only bigger bummer than getting up and spending a Saturday morning to take the SAT? Getting up and not taking it. Dylan Ottman showed up at Westboro High School, in Westboro, Massachusetts, only to discover it was one of about 50 testing centers, mostly in New England, where the test was postponed because of inclement weather. Adding insult, the makeup date is April 2 -- her birthday."It's really stressful, because my whole life is the SAT," said Ottman, who had taken a prep course and said that now she'll probably spend more time preparing.
The thing that strikes me is the idea that one's whole life can be the SAT. I can understand how one might adopt this point of view, but it's incredibly sad that this is the state of affairs. One's "whole life" should be family and friends, new and exciting experiences, challenges to the mind and mindset, dressing up for Halloween, etc., not a standardized test.
When we read applications, it's pretty easy to sort and prioritize applications on different critera, including SAT scores. As you would expect, students with higher scores tend to have a better shot than those with lower scores. However, not every high scoring applicant is going to get admitted. And not every low scoring applicant is going to be denied.
I remember encountering an applicant toward the end of last year with an SAT score of more than 300 points (on the 1600 scale) below the median for our admitted class. Just based on that, I was already thinking in my mind that this student is going to have a tough time getting admitted. But when I started to actually READ the application, my perspective shifted dramatically.
The first thing that drew me in was how involved this student was in her school and community. Not only did she list a number of teams, organizations, clubs, etc. on her activities, but she was a leader in nearly all of them. Her personal story was also compelling--dad was completely out of the picture, and mom was working at a pretty low-paying job.
What most impressed me, however, was the progress that she made academically. As a freshman, this student was placed in the lower track of classes--no advanced, honors, or even college prep classes on the horizon. However, through sheer determination and force of will, she managed to claw her way through her unfortunate starting place to where she was taking AP courses in her senior year. That would be like having the absolute worst seeding in a race and somehow making it all the way through the pack to break the tape and come in first.
Oh, one other thing: the student came to campus and had a stellar interview with one of the admission counselors.
Now, in isolation, the SAT looked bad. But compared to everything else this student had accomplished, it started to look pretty darn meaningless.
So what's the moral of the story? Let's ask in an SAT-inspired way.
Poor standardized test scores can be overcome by:
A) A good sob story
B) Outstanding extracurriculars
C) A strong interview
D) Solid performance in challenging courses
E) All of the above
The answer is probably closest to E. A, B, or C by themselves likely won't cut the mustard, (although D stands a chance.) Had the student not pulled down As and took on AP classes, this post probably wouldn't exist. Think of it like a see-saw: when you throw A, B, C, and D on one side and the SAT on the other side, the see-saw is going to be quite lopsided (although D carries the most weight.)
The other lesson to learn here: guess what? We really do read your application. We're human, and as humans, we're going to form quick impressions and have internal biases. It's part of the game. But we also dig beneath the surface and don't judge you by numbers alone. If you have some unique personal circumstances, come to campus and talk to us. It can definitely help.
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