Don"t Panic There Are Wonderful Options for The Average Student

“My child is just average.” Have you ever said these words? They are often whispered by parents who feel that they are not living up to the expectations placed on them by their friends, relatives, community and maybe even society. Not too long ago it was okay to be average; it was not seen as a flaw. Today so much emphasis is placed on the rigor of a high school student’s curriculum, standardized test scores and extra-curricular activities parents and students are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress. Don’t panic there are wonderful options for your child.

If you say that your child is “average,” you probably mean that Jillian has average grades and/or standardized test scores. You know that your child’s grades approximate the arithmetic mean at your child’s high school and her GPA causes you to feel that she has moderate potential to learn and perform? But, is your assessment of her ability accurate? “Average” may mean something different depending upon where you are located and the high school your child attends. What is perceived as average at one high school may indeed be below average or above average at another high school. Grades only measure how your child in fact performed in high school. They may not necessarily measure how she will perform in college.

When you use the word “average” do you understand why your child performed they way he did in high school? Grades may be an imperfect measurement of your child’s ability. Only after you have fully assessed your child both as learner and as a person will you be ready to move on to finding colleges that fit your child academically and socially – if you and your child still think that college is the appropriate next step. For some students, a typical liberal arts education many not be the best use of their time and your money. Here are some things to think about:
Age - Each student is different and each student matures at his or her own rate. Maturity may be influenced by many factors including: heredity, sex and age. Your son may physically look like a man, but he may not have reached the same level of social or emotional growth. Your daughter’s reasoning skills and decision making skills may be better than they were in middle school, but she may not behave as responsibly as you may like. For some high school students, school work and learning take a backseat to physical, social and emotional maturation. Some students who begin slowly, due lack of maturation may perform better in their junior or senior year.
Intellectual Curiosity – Some students do not, or have not been taught, to enjoy hypothesizing or to draw inferences from what they read and hear. They do not think critically, nor do they enjoy problem solving. For them school work is a chore to be endured. Their talent and gratification may lie in other areas such as working with their hands or making beautiful music.
Learning Style – Some students learn differently than others. Some students may have a hard time doing one or two things, while other students may easily do many things concurrently. It may take one student twice as long as another to read a passage in a book, add a column of numbers or understand the chemistry experiment. It is important to understand how your son or daughter learns in order to find the right environment for continued learning, for those students who want to continue with traditional learning.
Expectations – Unfortunately students are often characterized as bright, average or slow learners in elementary school. This learning designation too often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When you use the word average, do you mean the way your child performed on standardized test scores? Most studies find that the correlation between these scores and the student’s performance in the first year of college are not overwhelming; there is no consensus from the many who have debated the predictive validity of these tests. A study performed by the University of California, found that the scores on the SAT II subject tests are indeed better indicators of how freshmen will perform in college than traditional SAT I scores. Also, standardized test scores unfortunately discriminate against economically disadvantaged students as well as students who are simply poor test takers.

Using the word “average” is an unreasonable simplification and does not serve the best interest of the student. Students whose grades and test scores cluster around the fiftieth percentile are vastly different in other ways. Your “average” child is not ordinary, typical or common. I strongly doubt that your child has no special qualities or that there are no areas in which Jimmy will shine. Juliet has her own strengths and talents and needs to be able to find the right environment for her to continue to develop her personality and strengths.

If your child is a B/B- student (it that is typical for your school system), if his standardized test scores hover around 1000, if he only made the junior varsity soccer team, if he is not particularly tall or short, if he has an occasional zit and if he thinks you’re a nag there is absolutely nothing wrong with him. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that he or she may ultimately be happier and more successful than the student with a higher GPA and test scores.

Not everyone is destined to be a stellar student in the classroom. Some students excel in other areas. This does not mean that college is the wrong option. Different people flourish in different environments. For the student who has not been academically stimulated in high school there are many, many colleges and universities where professors enjoy the challenge of motivating students with interesting course content, dialogue and hands-on experiences. Their goal is to make these students into lifelong learners and contributors to society. For the students who have real music, art or theatrical talent there are colleges and universities that will nurture these talents and help them prepare for a career in their chosen field. For students who have no idea what they want to study, courses such as The Science of Harry Potter (offered at Frostburg State University in Maryland), Maple Syrup – The Real Thing (offered at Alfred University in New York), Muppet Magic: Jim Henson’s Art (offered at the University of California – Santa Cruz) and the Art of Walking (offered at Center College in Kentucky) might spark their interest.

When trying to find the optimum learning and social environment for your child regardless of academic strata you need to ask the questions that will help you find the right fit.

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

WSJ/Unigo Webcast - Paying for College

The WSJ On Campus/Unigo invites you to join them on Tuesday, April 6th at 7 p.m. EDT for an exclusive, live and interactive webcast covering everything you need to know about paying for college. Topics may include:

How can you take advantage of new government student aid programs?
What's the best way to win college scholarships?
What are student loan forgiveness programs?
How can you get the best interest rates and benefits?
How do the FAFSA and CSS work?
What are 529 plans, Stafford loans, Pell Grants, and PLUS loans?

The panel of experts:

Martha Holler, Vice President, Sallie Mae
Mark Kantrowitz, Publisher, Fastweb.com
James Boyle, President, College Parents of America
Randy Deike, Vice President of Enrollment Management, New York University
Jennifer Garratt Lawton, Director of Financial Aid, Wesleyan University
Melissa Kunes, Senior Director, Office of Student Aid, Pennsylvania State University

Denied Admission: It's Their Loss!

Colleges and universities have made their decisions. By this evening, most high school seniors will have heard whether their applications were accepted or denied. Some high school seniors will have big smiles; others will experience rejection, maybe for the first time. For those denied, rejection hurts! There is little that parents, friends, guidance counselors and educational consultants can say that will take away the initial sting.

On March 29, Jeff Brenzel, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale University posted the following: "If you receive some rejections, you will tend to dwell on them. It's only natural -- what we can't have suddenly seems far more valuable of interesting than what we can have. You will be tempted to revisit every step of your high school career and your application process, pondering what you might have done differently. But there is one and only one good answer to any rejection letter you receive, dream school or not 'Your loss, baby.' Then move on."

Dean Brenzel's advice is sound. Don't let someone, or a committee of someones, color the way you think about yourself. You can, and you should, hold your head high because you put yourself on the line by applying to schools that are at best unpredictable.

College should be less about where you go and, ultimately is more about what you do with the four years you spend there. Do well, and the world can be yours!

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

Question: How important is it to attend a college that my friends and family have heard of?

Answer: To many parents and students, the name of the school, is more important than the actual quality of the education and the social experience of the college. For some, the focus on "brand" is sufficiently great that parents may direct their child towards schools that are unrealistic, or even inappropriate, or may exclude from consideration schools that offer equal , or perhaps better, experiences than the "name brands" that are at the top of their lists. For many, all they can think about is "getting in." But, the reality is the acceptance letter is really just the beginning, and it is the actual college experience that will lead to either success or failure.

Some parents firmly believe that merely attending a brand name institution will guarantee professional success and a high paying career. The simple fact is that it doesn't. More important than the name of the school is what actually happens there. A successful undergraduate experience fosters intellectual growth and exploration. Colleges and universities do not interview for jobs, the graduate does. Good grades and, in many cases, good performance on graduate admissions tests are what really count when it comes to getting hired or getting into graduate school. Without these, having attended a brand name offers little. The wise student will place the greatest emphasis on choosing a school that matches their academic and social needs.

There are over three thousand colleges and universities in the United States; students should choose those that offer the best academic and social fit. Parents need to be open-minded.

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

What Families Need to Know About Financial Aid Award Letters

Question: How and when can I expect to hear if my child has been awarded financial aid?

Answer: Financial aid award letters, as they are called, are typically sent out between mid-March and mid-April each year. Families have until May 1st to evaluate their offered aid packages and commit to a school by sending in a deposit. Don't assume that the school with the lowest tuition or the one offering the most grant money is the most affordable. The real measure of an aid package is how much you end up paying in the end.

Question: How do I determine which college is the most financially viable for my child?

Answer: First determine what the major costs are to attend each school. It is imperative that all directly and indirectly billed expenses (travel, books, meals, etc.) are included whether or not they are reflected in the financial aid award letter. Then group the major aid components together and compare them. Aid comes in three forms, loans which have to be repaid with or without interest, gift aid which consists of grants and merit aid which do not have to be repaid and work-study where a student is paid to work part time either on or off campus. In the latter case, the award letter doesn't typically indicate what the work will be. Comparing components is sometimes easier said than done. There is no standard form of financial aid letter. Schools can have cryptic acronyms to identify components without indicating which are grants and which are loans.

Once you know what your costs are and how much, and in what form of aid your child will be receiving, you can determine what your out-of-pocket costs will be. The difference between the cost of attendance and the amount of grant money and work study that your child is offered is ultimately what the family will owe. Offered loans may defer some the cost initially, but will have to be repaid with or without interest, depending upon the type of loan it is. Interest on some loans have to be repaid during the course of undergraduate studies. Others defer repayment until after graduation. Typically loans carry interest charges and fees which should be included in your calculations.

Question: Is help available to compare financial aid awards?

Answer: There are websites, some of which are more reliable than others, to assist families in comparing award packages. They also require a certain level of understanding the financial aid process. The college's financial aid office is always a resource to be called upon to clarify and explain inconsistencies or ambiguities. Also, be aware that aid packages aren't necessarily automatically renewable from year to year. Educate yourself early about the process so you will be in a position to evaluate financial aid letters in a timely fashion.

Carolyn Cohen, Esq. Educational Consultant at College Planning Services, Inc.

Choose Your High School Coursework with Care

Question: My son and daughter are a rising junior and senior. They'll be meeting with their guidance counselor soon to pick courses for next year. What should they be thinking about?

Answer: by Joseph J. O'Brien Jr (Educational Consultant)

First, it is always advisable to have a tentative four year plan when choosing your freshman year courses. That puts the student on a path that enables him to anticipate future courses while also allowing for changes to satisfy new interests. Having such a plan also makes it easier to decide on the next year's course selection.

But whether or not your sophomore son has a plan in place, he should be thinking about whether any colleges he's considering have particular course and test requirements. For example, some colleges or majors within a college might require two lab sciences or recommend a particular SAT subject test.

If there are no special requirements to meet, your son should be thinking about the courses that logically follow from the courses he's already taken, the courses he will enjoy and the courses that put him in a position to compete for a place in all of the colleges he will eventually apply to. Of courses, the courses needed to make a strong college applicant aren't always the most enjoyable courses, and that's where hard choices must be made.

Recently, when asked a similar question to yours, the President of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, Bill McClintick, said that most experienced admission officers would say, "We want to see if they have taken the most rigorous courses available to them at their particular school and how they have performed in those classes."

This adage will also serve your daughter well. Senior year is no time to take it easy. College will notice any drop off in the level of courses selected for senior year, and they won't like it. This is a time for her to continue to take as demanding course load as she can reasonably expect to succeed in. In fact, this should be every student's guiding principle in selecting next year's courses.

College Admissions: Post it With Care - If it is in Their Face it is Hard to Ignore

What students advice would you give students about using the Internet for college admissions?

In light of the recent spate of articles and blogs about Tufts University welcoming student videos as part of a student's college application, I want to share with my readers the advice I give the students I work with about using the Internet:

• Students should set up a separate e-mail account for the college admission process, so important information is not lost among regular e-mail. The e-mail address should be some form of the student's name; it should not be funny, cute or off-color. Students should make a folder for each college they are applying to and put all e-mails in the appropriate folder.

• Posting too much personal information, off-color comments or anything else you would not want college admission officers to see on blogs or away messages may come back to haunt you.

• Blogs and other Internet postings can be fun and interesting, but remember that what someone posts may be viewed by anyone and everyone. "If you can't say anything nice about a person, don't say anything at all" is an old, but very good rule that is quite applicable to the Internet - on web pages, blogs, e-mail, videos and IM.

• Students, and others, should reread their blog or video script a second, and even a third time to make sure they feel comfortable sharing everything they posted with the world. Admission counselors, and, later, potential employers may examine these posts. Information that is posted on the Internet becomes public information about the person posting. Be aware that even postings that have been removed may be viewable at later dates by savvy Internet users. If you are not sure, do not post it.

• Sometimes when students contact admission counselors through the college's blog and/or message boards, the information may become part of the formal correspondence and it may be factored into the admission decision.

Thomas D. Reason, Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Wisconsin - Madison said, "neither my staff nor I have the time to Google or Facebook every application. By the same token, if something ends up in 'My Face' it would be hard to ignore."

Marilyn Emerson, MSW, CEP