As someone who cannot resist laughing (loudly) at her own jokes, I regret to inform you of the following truth: Cute and funny does not cut it when it comes to getting in to college!

If you're drawing tips from Legally Blonde or any of the National Lampoon movies- stop and rewind now! Perfumed stationery and confessions of hilarious pranks are not going to translate well to an admissions committee that is trying to determine how you are going to positively contribute to their campus for the next four years. Remember my previous blog post “Get Up Close and Personal for a Great Essay”? The purpose of your college essay is to show admissions that you are an applicant with character and life experiences that have prepared you to become a successful graduate of their institution.

Andrew Flagel, Dean of Admissions at George Mason University, wrote a great blog article entitled “College Admission Essays: Can Funny Get You an Admission” with horror stories of applicant essays gone wrong- the culprit: a misguided sense of humor. 

Listen up! There's a new blog in town called “The Choice” and it's designed just for you…and your parents… and your high school guidance counselor… and your college admissions officer.  “The Choice” is a 360° view of college admissions with advice that is right on target for every player in the admissions game.  Jacque Steinberg, the blog's lead writer, says the goal of the new project is "to demystify and illuminate an American rite of passage that typically occurs behind closed doors, whether it’s the doors to the university admissions office, or those of the homes of the applicants themselves.”

In reading “The Choice”, you'll gain much-needed perspective, instead of scary headlines and insider details, instead of sensational statistics. For instance, Steinberg goes against the grain to discuss how admissions is super competitive, but only at the nation’s top “four dozen” colleges and universities. He points out that there are literally thousands of colleges that admit more students than they reject and some of them admit nearly everyone that applies.

I'm so excited to have a new kind of resource to share- one that promises well-rounded advice from students like you, parents like yours, and admissions experts who present facts behind the statistics.

What’s in it for you and your family?

• “The Envelope, Please”: Six real college applicants share their college selection experiences from acceptances to rejections to waitlists. You'll see how each of these students makes their big decision. If you want to share too, you are invited to post a comment or email your story for a chance to have your post published on “The Choice."
• “Your Money”: Students and parents learn how to plan for the costs of tuition and receive timely articles related to paying for college in the “Student Loan Guide” drawn from the “Times Topics” business section.
• A “Question and Answer” section: You and your parents can submit your burning college admissions questions to an expert panel. Get your questions ready about financial aid, the college selection process, how to improve your chances of getting off the waitlist and popular college admission advice and tactics. The expert panel will also talk about recent college admissions headlines and the latest news in higher education.

I hope you are as into “The Choice” as I am. Check it out and let me know your thoughts! 

Everyone wants to do well on standardized tests, but what's considered a "good" test score can vary dramatically from person to person. If you're wondering, "What is a good score on my ACT or SAT?", there is no hard and fast answer to the question. The notion of good depends on what you want to accomplish and, in the case of college admissions, getting in to the college that is right for you is good.

A good score is pretty much defined as the score that puts you in the top 25 percent of the incoming class and a not-good score places you in the bottom 25 percent of the applicant pool. Remember, not all colleges rely on the score much (or at all) in deciding who gets in. College admissions counselor Todd Johnson recently wrote a great article addressing the question: “What is a good ACT score?” Here are a few points from his blog:

• Private colleges tend to take educational background into account when deciphering test score strength. Johnson says that kids from small rural high schools might have their scores viewed with a little more lenience than kids from top private schools whose privileged backgrounds give them an edge on the ACT in general.
• Public colleges tend to just evaluate the ACT scores without considering educational background.
• To find out how your test score fits within your top college choice’s admission range, Johnson recommends using College Navigator, a tool developed by the US Department of Education, to find the published ACT/SAT score ranges for the top 25 percent of enrolled students and the bottom 25 percent as well.

I took Johnson’s advice about using College Navigator to find the score ranges from my alma mater.

Here is how you can find out too:

1. Go to College Navigator.

2. Type in the name of the college that you are considering.

3. Click on the college title link in the results.

4. Find "Admissions" in the options.

Under “Admissions Considerations”, you will find the 25th percentile scores which are the average scores for the top 25 percent of the freshman enrollments. You will also find the 75th percentile that reflects the score averages for the bottom 25 percent of enrolled students.

So, what is a good ACT or SAT test score? If your scores are the same or higher than the 25th percentile, then you have favorable odds of getting in. If your scores are comparable or lower than the 75th percentile, then you have a lower chance of being accepted to a college that relies heavily on test scores to determine admissions. Keep in mind, however, that it all depends on how much individual institutions emphasize test scores.

 

If you're singing the thin envelope blues, it might be time to change your tune. A rejection letter isn't always the end of the road. For students who play their transfer cards right, what seems like an absolute NO can be turned into a not right now. But if you want to trade up and attend a better college later, then you are going to have to step it up for the next few years.

Lately, the New York Times has been chock full of great college admissions advice so let me share yet another must read article that gives you great strategies for getting a second shot at your dream school:  

Make sure future transfer is an option. At some elite colleges like Harvard, Princeton and Stanford, students admitted as freshmen typically don't leave the school, so there are very few openings for transfers to fill their seats.  Check into the transfer opportunities at the colleges that you are considering and make sure that your goals are realistic. Transfer admissions, just like freshmen college admissions, can be super competitive. Think of it like the Olympic tryouts: if you didn’t make the team in 2009, you need to continue to train and perform better the next time around. You need a stellar GPA and relevant courses in order to successfully transfer. Hint: Bowling 101 might not be your ticket to your dream college.

Colleges often hope their transfer students will bring diversity, maturity and experience to their campus culture. As you are deciding how you are going to build a competitive transfer application for admission, keep in mind that you are more than a great GPA and course transcript. Colleges will want you for your work and character inside and outside of the classroom. Chances are your dream college has enrolled students who know how to party and maintain a good GPA. As a transfer candidate, you need to show that you are going to bring qualities that the college values to the table.

If you want to jumpstart your transfer plan, check out http://www.collegetransfer.net for awesome tools that will help you determine if your dream college is transfer-friendly and how to choose courses that will be a good fit for transfer credit.
 

My advice: There are many paths to success in all facets of life. The key to finding the right path is a commitment to personal progress and defined goals. If you thought that an acceptance or rejection letter was a final verdict, you are delightfully mistaken. You will succeed with either if you are determined to set and achieve your goals.

 

Good news! According to a recent article in The New York Times, determined student applicants have a significant advantage this year in gaining admission to historically picky colleges. Why? Simply put, the economy stinks and many colleges are worried that you won’t choose to spend your tuition dollars with them.

Here's how this works to your advantage:

• Colleges are changing the way that they consider who to accept by paying more attention to signs that students are likely to enroll. In other words, the ball that they used to control is now in your court.
• Colleges are nervous that many of the students who have applied will turn them down for colleges that are closer to home. They are worried about whether you will accept their offer in April or May and enroll in classes in the fall.
• Colleges used to be able to charge more because there was more demand from applicants for limited spots and families were more financially confident (i.e. willing to pay for higher tuition with less aid). This year, financial aid offers from private colleges, especially, are expected to be more generous to turn student applications into “bargain hunter” enrollments.
• Show your top college choices that you are genuinely interested. Because many of us are spending less money on travel, you may have not been able to make a campus visit. Contact an admissions officer to let them know you are seriously interested in enrolling, so you can be added to their “most likely to enroll” list.

Remember my previous blog post about how getting accepted begins with getting noticed? The article in The New York Times reminds us that admissions officers do pay attention to students who pay attention to them. Here are a few signs that show you are enrollment material:

• How many times did you call?
• How many times did you visit their college website?
• Did you visit the campus once, multiple times, at all?
• Did you apply early?

My advice: Run with this ball- hard! You have a unique advantage. For the first time in a long time, the rules of admission decisions are bending in favor of the students who show that they are most likely to enroll. If you show you are serious about achieving your college goals, you will find that the college admissions officers are serious about enrolling students like you.