College Admissions 2009: The Rules and Goals are Changing in Your Favor

Thursday, 23 April 2009 15:32 by Melissa
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.
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Congrats to You, Condolences to Your Friends: Surviving College Acceptance Guilt

Thursday, 16 April 2009 16:13 by Barbara
 Congratulations, you’ve been accepted by your first-choice college! What’s the only thing that could possibly rain on your parade? The sobering fact that some of your friends just got rejected from their own dream schools.  

In the working world, they call it survivor’s guilt—the emotion people feel when they get to keep their jobs as colleagues are laid off from theirs. Acceptance guilt is quite similar—you may indeed feel uncomfortable or even downright guilty that your hard work paid off while your friends must now scramble for Plan B.

Although it might be hard to celebrate your own good news when your friends are feeling so lousy, it is easier to lend an ear or a shoulder to cry on. Here are some ways that you can be a sympathetic friend:

1. Be a good listener. Once the initial shock of rejection wears off, your friend might be ready to vent. Let him or her guide the conversation. Remember, although you can sympathize, you can’t empathize—you’ve got your plans mapped out already. You know all too well how much time and energy you’ve focused on college lately, and it turned out well for you. It’s the flip side for your friend, so be sensitive. Don’t offer advice, just listen.  

2. Be supportive of other college options. There are many people whose so-called “safety schools” turned into their dream schools in the end. College will be what you and your friends make of it, no matter where that happens to be. Not getting into a first-choice school is not the shattering of a life dream, although it certainly must feel like that for your friends at this point in time. Keep in mind that this is a setback, but not a failure. Your friends will still go on to become the doctors, lawyers, actors, politicians, etc. that they want to be because of their hard work and discipline, not because of where they will spend the next four years. Help them to focus on aspects of college that will be the same no matter where they go, like living in dorms, choosing classes, and making new friends.  

3. Pick a new topic of conversation. Your friend might very well prefer to talk about anything else but college. Surely there’s something else you can talk about; after all, you were friends long before you went on your first campus tour, right? Whether it’s gossiping about celebrities, discussing starting lineups, or simply commenting on the weather, a new conversation topic will allow your friend’s brain a much needed break from the question, “What do I do now?”

This is not to say that you should stifle your own inclination to rejoice in your college acceptance. If perhaps this is a better time to celebrate with your family, then hold off on a festivity with friends until your circle has a better handle on their plans for the fall.

Image by Carlo Nicora and used under a Creative Commons license.

How to Pass the Time While Waiting for Admissions News

Monday, 23 February 2009 14:37 by Emily
You've sent in all your college applications, but you're still waiting to hear back as to whether you are accepted or rejected. It's a difficult time, full of anxiety and curiosity, and it's hard to stay focused on school and other activities. After all, a simple "yes" or "no" will determine how you live the next four years of your life.    

The Professor's Guide at US News and World Report has recently created a list of 10 tips for staying sane while you're waiting to hear back from your prospective schools. Here is a summary of the excellent advice.

1. Check on the status of your application to ensure all the necessary components were received. Many schools allow you to look online and make sure they received everything, or contact the admissions office if you can't find out online. I can personally attest to the importance of double-checking; I didn't get into one college because they never received my transcript, and I didn't find out until too late since I never bothered to check.

2. Don't worry that you could have written a better essay or worked harder in a certain class. Instead of beating yourself up about what you've done so far, just relax and know that the ball is no longer in your court.  

3. Don't call the admissions office to find out if you were accepted or to ask why you haven't heard back yet; they won't be able to give you any information you don't already know.

4. Think about what will need to happen once you are accepted or rejected and plan ahead. Create a plan in case you don't get into your school of choice, and remember to get started on your FAFSA.  

5. Write notes or emails to personally thank everyone who helped you in the application process, including guidance counselors, teachers who gave you recommendations, and friends who proofread your essays.  

6. Prepare yourself emotionally in case you are not accepted to your first choice school.

7. Write down all the positive things about the schools that are not your first choice. This way, if you don't get into your number one, you can easily recognize the pros of the other schools.  

8. Don't have a "poor me" attitude, and don't assume that the decision process is taking a long time because you didn't get in. It's also important to stay supportive of friends who find out they are accepted to schools before you do.  

9. Don't stress out over college admissions so much that you can't enjoy other exciting senior-year moments, such as prom and graduation parties.

10. Remember that transferring schools is always an option, so if you don't get into your school of choice right away, it doesn't mean that you will never have another chance to attend.

Tip-Off: Get Up Close and Personal for a Great Essay

Wednesday, 10 December 2008 15:51 by Melissa
If your college application were a body, your admissions essay would be the face. The essay is your chance to distinguish yourself from other prospective students with a similar bone structure (GPA, academic course history, test scores, etc). As you think about your appearance, remember that you are writing for an audience:  the college admissions officers. They have posed a question and they are looking for a well-formed answer colored by your personality and voice.

Now that you know your essay is an up close shot of your personality, take a moment and identify your angle. Don't just copy and paste the same essay into each college application. Remember, this is a personal communication between you and a unique college admissions department. Pay very close attention to how individual schools phrase the essay question(s), this is the biggest hint that you are going to get! They are reading for a thorough answer with follow-through examples of real life experiences.

Common college essay questions:

Significant Experience- College admissions officers want you to identify an experience that demonstrates your "real life" ability to learn and grow. Be specific and tell a complete story:

  • What led up to the opportunity/event (set the scene)
  • What happened (describe main characters namely yourself and event)
  • What you learned/how you grew (outcome).

Important Issue- College admissions officers are asking you to take a position and think through an issue. Here is your chance to show that you can develop a stance and remain tolerant of the opposing view. It is important to briefly identify the issue and supporting facts then discuss possible viewpoints. Own your viewpoint and recognize any compelling, opposing arguments with rational reasons for why you disagree or only agree in part.

Hint: You may want to steer clear of volatile, high profile social issues that everyone else is likely to discuss. Choose an aspect of an issue that you can own and try to avoid universal issues that may lead to fatal universal statements! 

EssayEdge, a division of Peterson's, provides an excellent essay guide. Just remember that the sample essay structures with fill-in blanks are just that: examples! This is not a Mad-Lib exercise; it is your chance to show your unique face to the people who have the power to accept or deny your application.
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