The College Admissions Scoop: Tough Breaks and Silver Linings

By Marilyn G.S. Emerson, M.S.W., CEP

For some high school students and their parents the perceived risk of failing to get into the schools of their choice can be very stressful.  For new or soon to be college graduates, the risk of rejection by a graduate school or a potential employer can be similarly stressful.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  Take a deep breath, and then tell yourself that failing to get into the school you want to attend or landing the job you thought perfect, can become a good thing -  especially when you use “failing” as the spark to ignite your strength and resilience.  "Failure is not the opposite of success, it is the stone to success," Arianna Huffington told the Sarah Lawrence class of ’11 in her graduation speech. And, Conan O’Brien told the Dartmouth Class of “11 that “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique. It's not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound re-invention.”

Watch Conan O'Brien's speech here :

Watch Arianna Huffington's speech here:

2011-2012 Common Application Update

 By Marilyn G.S. Emerson, M.S.W., CEP

The Common Application lets students fill out one application online for all of their member colleges and universities.   While this saves some time, students need to be aware that about 2/3 of the member schools require additional information in the form of Supplements.

Yesterday, Scott Anderson, Director of Outreach at the Common Application, spoke about The Common Application for 2011-2012.  He began with some interesting statistics from this past year (2010-2011):

•          575,000 unique applicants
•          2.4 million Common Applications filed
•          70% of the applications were from public high schools
•          4.5 is the average number* of applications filed by applicants (* number is low for the northeast where the average is  up to 7.7)

Then, Scott went on to talk about enhancements to the application for this coming year:

•          There are 49 new participating schools, bringing the total number to 461 colleges and universities.  New members include University of Kentucky, UNC-Chapel Hill and the University of Southern California.  You can see the full list at www.commonapp.org and then click on news.
•          The new layout for listing foreign languages will help students’ better capture proficiency levels.
•          The “activities” section is reduced from 12 to 10, providing more room to write about each activity. Students will also be able to reorder their activities without redoing the entire section.
•          250-500 words are suggested for the personal statement.
•          There is a standard Early Decision (ED) agreement accepted by almost all members.
•          Students will be able to review application progress using their smart phones.

Rising seniors, please note that The Common Application will go live for the 2011-2012 school year on August 1^st.  

The College Admissions Scoop: Don't Obsess!

By Marilyn G.S. Emerson, M.S.W., CEP

Early this week the print and TV news media ran with the story of a mom who is suing her child’s pre-school for damaging her daughter’s chances of gaining an Ivy League education.  Why are some people are so obsessed with a small group of schools that they don’t want or allow their children a normal childhood?  Who or what factors create an environment where both parents and students think the value of education is in a name and will pursue actions that lead many to question their sanity?  In some instances, this parental obsession gets passed down to their children who also do - dare I say it – stupid things.  Take, for example, the teenagers in a suburb of New York City who allegedly hired others to take the SAT’s for them.  

As an independent educational consultant I visit between 30 and 50 colleges each year, all over the United States, as well as some international schools.  My visits have reinforced what I knew to be true – there are many, many wonderful institutions of higher learning.  These colleges and universities have professors invested in teaching undergraduates, interesting and unique course offerings and spirited campuses. Most importantly, the students who attend these schools are happy to be there because they found the right environment for them to be successful academically and happy socially.  So, instead of obsessing about a few schools, keep an open mind and help your child broaden his or her college search. 

Tips for parents:

·         Don’t believe everything you read or hear about college admissions.

·         Don’t compare your child to your neighbor’s child or any other child.

·         Don’t make your child’s college admission your hobby or your job.

·         You are there for parental support, not parental interference.

Traps to Avoid When Visiting Colleges

By Marilyn G.S. Emerson, M.S.W., CEP

Assuming that one student represents the entire student body - When your son or daughter goes on a college tour, generally their tour guide will be a student. At some schools, the tour guides are employees of the admissions office. While tour guides can be a great resource for information about the academics and social life on campus, it is a good idea to get the opinions of other students on campus too. Hearing others’ opinions and gathering information from different sources will allow your son or daughter to better decide whether or not the environment on campus is right for them.

Rushing to judgment - Give your child time to internalize what he or she has seen and heard. Give your child time to think about the school before asking for their opinion. Remember that each school is a new experience and they will need time and space to put what they have seen and heard into perspective. Teenagers might not be able to express their thoughts as clearly as you might like.

Voicing your opinion first - As a parent, you want what you think is best for your child. This may be in conflict with what your child thinks is best for him or her. Do not, either with words or body language, tell your child your thoughts before he voices his opinion.

Not listening to your child - It is very important to respect what your child tells you, even if it sounds ridiculous. Often teenagers have a hard time articulating their feelings and they may draw seemingly peculiar conclusions. Do not get annoyed. Think about what your child is trying to say. One young woman told her parents that she didn’t like a particular campus because the students weren’t wearing shoes. What she really meant was that the campus felt a bit “alternative” and the students were not the type of students she wanted to go to school with.

Not allowing your child to change his or her mind. Do not be so quick to agree or disagree. This is the time for you to listen. As students continue to visit colleges, learn about colleges and mature, their thoughts and opinions might change. They need to feel secure enough to say so.

What High School Students Should Consider When Visiting Colleges

By Marilyn G.S. Emerson, M.S.W., CEP and Jana Jett Loeb

A high school student’s view of whether a college campus is the right place for them can be influenced by many factors:

Academic Offerings – Does the college or university offer the types of courses and programs the student is interested in? While it is not necessary for students to know specifically what they want to study, it is important that the school offer courses and programs the student feels are intriguing and want to learn more about. Students also need to think about how they learn best. Is it in small or large classes? Students can get a sense of academic offerings and size of classes by sitting in on a class. Sometimes, admission offices post a list of approved classes students may visit. If this list is not available students need to contact the admissions office directly to determine which classes allow visitors and how to be approved to visit a class. Students should be sure to observe the students in the class as carefully as they do the professor; how the students interact with one another in a seminar or ask questions in a lecture can reveal a good deal about the intellectual motivations of the student body.

Extracurricular Activities – As students tour campuses, they will likely pass bulletin boards and posts with flyers and notices about upcoming events. Students should be sure to examine these. It is one thing to hear in an information session that a school has 400 clubs, but seeing these boards is a glimpse of how student life actually takes shape on campus.

Distance from Home – Whether they drive or fly to visit a college campus can make a difference in a student’s view of being far away from home. Traveling from the East Coast to the Midwest can be a two hour flight or an 8 -10 hour drive. It is important for students to understand the differences between flying and driving as they formulate their thoughts about what it will mean to be living away from home.

Campus Living Arrangements – For some students, where they will live will heavily influence whether they choose to attend a particular college. Students need to think about which living conditions are important to them and ask direct questions about residential life. A few questions that they might want to consider asking are:

• · Are all students required to live on campus for four years?
• · What housing options are available?
• · How are roommates assigned?
• · Are there any restrictions in the dorms?

The Area’s Culture – Specific customs, weather patterns, the pace of life, and even language and speech patterns contribute to the culture in different parts of the country. Students should consider their personal comfort level – are they open to differences or do they prefer the familiar?

Juniors: Plan Visits Wisely

By Marilyn G.S. Emerson and Jana Jett Loeb

It can seem overwhelming to plan visits to colleges when there are so many types of schools to see. There are only so many days of vacation or long weekends, and overloading them with college visits may do more harm than good. If you visit too many schools, especially in too short of a time, they will often run together and it will be difficult to get much out of the visits. So, at the beginning, it is important to choose schools that are different in significant ways in order to maximize the value of visiting.

Some important factors to consider are size, location, academic offerings, and selectivity. If students are unsure whether they would be happy at a large university with a bustling environment, or a small liberal arts college in a rural area, then it is important to visit both of these types of schools as well as schools that fall in-between. Be sure that each school has something a bit different to add to the mix.

Students should not get too caught up in what they assume they want before they have an opportunity to experience different types of environments. It is much better to be able to say that you don’t like something than to say that you wish you had known this type of school existed. Even if a student is convinced he only wants to attend College X, it isn’t advisable to only visit College X and schools exactly like College X. It is crucial to push the boundaries of one’s expectations, and visiting can help students narrow their interests and options. Even if students return from visits just as committed to attending College X or schools like it, that commitment is now more informed by the experience of seeing what such schools—and others—are actually like.

Once you have determined which schools to visit, there are a number of things that students and parents can do to make the most of the visiting experience. Our next post will provide tips for how to make visiting colleges exciting, fun and informative.