Here's What Colleges Want From You!

Between SAT scores, extracurricular activities and GPAs, the process of deciphering what colleges are looking for can seem complex and daunting! Here’s a quick and easy to follow list of what many colleges are looking for in their prospective students to help make the process easier. While some of the items are old standbys, some things on the list may surprise you!

1. A great letter of recommendation. A good word from people you’ve worked with or for is a helpful source of insight into your character.

2. A challenging high school course load. This shows schools that you’re committed to
academics and that you used your time in high school wisely.

3. Good grades with an upward trend. Grades that show you’re working hard and are
consistently improving are very important to colleges.

4. Work and/or community service experience. Real world experience helps to show that
you’re a well-rounded person.

5. Involvement in extracurricular activities. Like work or community service, extracurricular involvement is a great way to show that you’re a well-rounded person with a passion for something. This can help you stand out.

6. Solid test scores. While the importance of these has dropped slightly over the years, they are still a crucial staple for many college admissions offices.

7. An outstanding essay. Essays allow college admissions offices to get a more personal look at the student behind the application. This is the time to show off your skills, insights, and talent for writing.

Knowing what’s important can be the key to getting into the school of your dreams or a college that’s a great fit socially, academically and financially. And who doesn’t want that?!

Preparing Your Student to Leave for College

Preparing to leave for college can be an exciting and nerve-wracking time for you and your child. Moving away from home for the first time with endless amounts of freedom can seem overwhelming, but talking to your child and preparing yourself to let go can make the transition easier.

Talk to your child about:

Drinking/Drugs

Openly discuss what your child should do when faced with the issue of drugs or alcohol. Role-play some responses with them to help ease the first encounter. Explain to them that all actions have ramifications, and if they choose to drink, stress that it should be done responsibly.

Organization

You will no longer be there to constantly remind your child to do this or that, so stress the importance of being organized and managing tasks in a time appropriate manner.

Communication

Set up expectations for communication. College students’ schedules can be hectic, so keeping in touch with them can be tough. Setting a time and a day several times a week for them to call will ease your mind, as well as theirs.

Prepare yourself to let go:

Friends

Be sure that you have someone to talk to about your feelings. It is even more helpful if your friend is experiencing, or has experienced, the same thing.

Outside interests

Find something you love to do (outside of your home). Get involved with the community, try yoga, or maybe go back to school. It’s helpful to have something new to throw yourself into to counterbalance those “empty nest” feelings.

Let them be

Before they leave home, progressively give your child more freedom and independence. This will make it easier for you because can rest easier knowing that he/she can handle being independent.

With a little thought and effort, your student’s transition will be easier for everyone!

Don’t Forget to Check the Status of Your College Applications

Some of you may have heard back from colleges, some may not.  Don’t get discouraged.

All colleges provide a timeline of when important documents are due.  Closely monitor the timeline so you don’t miss out on the little things.  As time goes on, remember to:

Make sure applications are complete

Check in with the colleges to ensure they have received all the necessary application documents.  Many colleges have online profiles for the applicants; log into your account and see the status of your application.

Send mid-year grades

Many colleges require mid-year grades.  Take the time to go to your guidance counselor and request having your transcripts sent.  Use this opportunity to update colleges about any information that may have changed.

Send SAT/ACT scores

Whether you are taking the SAT/ACT for the first time or are retaking the test, don’t forget to send your scores to all of the colleges to which you applied.

Keep all applications on file

Keep hard copies of all your applications on file.  You never know when you will have to refer back to them.

Be patient as you wait to hear from colleges.  I wish you the best of luck!

Senioritis... the Disease College-Bound Students Should Avoid

Already accepted to college? Beginning to lose interest and focus in school? Be careful not to catch senioritis!

Senioritis- a disease effecting high school seniors, especially during second semester; identified by laziness, lack of focus, repeated absences, and a strong desire to graduate.

Senioritis can sneak up on you faster than you think! Here are some tips we give students for avoiding this dread condition: 

Take a strong course load

Don’t take a relaxing course load just because you can. This is your time to shine!  Many high schools only require three years of all the basic subjects (math, science, history, etc.) and four years of English.  Go above and beyond and take a fourth year of the quality courses.  Try to avoid taking study hall or three different gym classes to get out of studying your senior year.  Admissions officers view the hard work and dedication you put forth late in the game as a good indicator of how you will perform in college.

Grades matter

Use your senior year effectively.  College acceptance is based on senior year performance. 

Colleges look at your grades for the first three years of high school.  What many students don’t realize is that grades during their senior year are just as important!  Colleges require you to submit your first quarter, mid-year, and end-of-year grades.  If you have a downward trend in your grades, colleges will notice and take that into account in determining your ultimate acceptance, your financial award, and whether you acceptance is rescinded.

The college application process is competitive and there are many students on a wait-list ready to take your spot.  Your grades senior year can make or break you.  Don’t become a red flag and give colleges a reason to revoke your acceptance.

Tired of high school classes?

Take a course at a local community college.  This is a perfect way to demonstrate your intellectual curiosity, plus you can earn college credits in the process.  Not a bad deal!

Time Magazine also has a great article about combatting senioritis: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1191831,00.html  

Planning for College: It's never too early!

Today's announcement by the Princeton Review that they are entering the educational consulting field is a terrific addition to the college planning landscape. I know that this view from an educational consultant like me may seem odd, but let me explain. I believe that the more information available to students and their families, the better prepared they are to make wise choices in the process.

What are the different ways in which families can get information about the process and how do they differ? Keep in mind that this process is primarily the student's but it is important to teach the student  how to do the proper research. It is not just looking through college guides or making random visits to colleges whose names everyone knows. The college landscape is broad and there are many wonderful schools which might provide a better social, emotional, and academic fit for the student than the more well-known institutions. In some ways, this is comparable to randomly reading the multiple listing service lists of houses for sale and focusing only on one neighborhood in a city thereby losing the better deal on a more suitable home that is just around the corner. This is where independent educational consultants can provide more individualized services than can the more impersonal class that focuses on process which are offered by large firms.

The independent educational consultant takes the time to get to know the student and the family. S/he really listens to what both the parents and student want included in the consideration of a college. It is usual for consultants to have the student take one or more career assessments and to explain the results in an effort to increase the student's self-awareness which will lead to the ability to make better choices in the long term. Even if you, as a parent, are having difficulty recognizing that your student has the ability to develop self-awareness, I am sure you can see the benefit of exposing him or her to doing so.

Managing the process is also a part of what the educational consultant does with the student. It is often easier to have an adult other than the parent do this because the relationship is less emotionally laden than the parent/child relationship at this stage in the family's life. Most educational consultants have at least some background in family psychology and, although we are not therapists, we do know how to see all sides of an issue and to maximize the relationship.

Finally, and this is the most valuable part of the process which the independent educational consultant offers, knowledge of a wide range of colleges which might provide a good fit or match for the student. We get this knowledge by visiting colleges, attending professional conferences, and keeping our fingers on the pulse of the changes in higher education. All this comes at a price and it is this expertise for which you pay when you hire an educational consultant. In much the same way as a concierge doctor caters to the needs of individual patients, the educational consultant caters to the needs of a small group of clients at any one time. In the former scenario, the patient pays more for this service than does the patient who has an HMO; in the educational consulting world, individual service comes at a higher price than that offered by anonymous large companies. In the past, the high school counselor had the time to do some college counseling but that is becoming more difficult as counselor caseloads become increasingly more unmanageable as school districts continue to cut budgets. In addition, it is a rare Masters in School Counseling program that offers even one course in college counseling. The independent educational consultant has a variety of ways to learn how to effectively deliver services to families and the motivation to do so.

The bottom line is that you should find the help you need at whatever price point you can afford to help your student make informed choices. There is no need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to do this. Most independent educational consultants charge relatively modest fees and do a great deal of pro bono or sliding scale work in their practices. You never know until you ask.

PSAT is in: Now What

Many families have received or are about to receive the PSAT results for their 11th grade student . Most high schools present the results to students in their English classes and ask that the score report and booklet be taken home to parents. Unfortunately, most families will have no idea what to do with it. Read on for some suggestions.

1. Consider the score: Over my 15 years of practice with high school students, the most consistent response I get to "How did you do on your PSAT?" is "Awful!" No one explains to students that they still have almost two full years to go before the end of high school and that the number score is much less important than the percentile into which they fall.  For example, if a student sees a 58 on the Math section, he or she assumes that this is not a good harbinger for the SAT. If the student looked at the percentile for this score, 76%, she or he would have realized that this percentile puts him or her in the top 24% of the country. Further analysis of the section would show that the student completed all questions without using the strategy of leaving out questions for which at least one answer could not be eliminated. This lack of strategic approach to the PSAT made the student lose points for incorrect guesses.

2. Understand what to do with the booklet: The booklet is the actual test and the student can compare it to the right and wrong answers on the score report. By doing this, what was answered incorrectly can be examined to determine if it was a careless mistake or if the student does not understand a concept that is necessary to do better on the SAT. Once this analysis is done, the student should make a list of the missed questions that s/he does not understand and go to the appropriate teacher for an explanation of the concept so that there is an understanding of the concept or how to do the calculation.

3. Know that the PSAT is not identical to the SAT: The discrepancy between the two tests lies in the Writing section. There is no essay on the PSAT. The PSAT Writing section is simply a grammar test. Therefore, students who do not understand grammar will do quite poorly on this section of the PSAT. On the other hand, the student may have respectable essay writing skills in the sense that s/he can make a point and support it in a written argument, which will raise the Writing score on the SAT. This is not to say that grammar is unimportant; it is very important. Unfortunately, we have not stressed grammar in schools for many years and students are bearing the brunt of this decision. I advise students who want to do well to get a basic grammar book and study. Ask your English teacher to help you if you don't understand. Practice writing a standard five paragraph persuasive essay and apply this skill to the SAT.

4. Realize that if you don't read regularly, you will not do well on the Critical Reading section: Reading is a skill that must be developed over time. When students proudly announce to me that they "Hate reading" or "Never read," I suggest that they do 20 minutes of reading each night before bed and build up to at least 45 minutes of sustained reading in order to build the skill. I really don't care what is being read, just that the student is reading. Just as muscles will be weak without working out, reading will be weak without practice. Unless the student reads regularly, s/he will not be able to read quickly or with understanding and this will have a profound effect not only on the SAT score, but also on the likelihood of success in college where there is so much reading to be done often without feedback except for the test on the material.

The PSAT is a great tool but, like many tools, few understand how to properly use it for maximum effect. I hope that you will use it correctly and enhance your skills before the SAT.