Archive for the ‘High School Parents’ Category
Waiting Lists: Lottery with No Guarantee of a Drawing
The papers have been filled with stories reporting students applying to ever- increasing numbers of colleges. It seemed only logical to those who consider such things (myself included) that students would therefore be declining acceptances in record numbers making the wait-lists all that more important to college admission offices. In fact, anticipating this eventuality some schools even increased the size of their wait-lists. “NOT!”
Instead, as reported by the Wall Street Journal (May 16, 2007) the percentages of students accepted to a school who ultimately decided to attend that school were unexpectedly high. Put simply, the predicted overlap of acceptances did not materialize. So the colleges are not looking for students to back-fill their freshman class numbers.
Further confounding predictions for wait-list acceptances comes from the fact that colleges have wait-lists not merely to assure a certain number of incoming freshmen, but even more important colleges use wait-lists to “balance” their freshman class. Therefore, even if you are lucky enough to be on a wait-list at a college that is admitting from the wait-list, you may not be what the college needs for a well-balanced freshman class. Most obvious example, the college is short of boys and you’re not. A good illustration of the unpredictability of wait-lists is Princeton. Last year Princeton accepted no students from its wait-list, this year Princeton accepted 30!
So what to do!? Select your favorite college from those who accepted you. Plan your housing and begin the mental and physical process of “going there to college”. If you can’t give up the dream of attending a school that has wait-listed you, remain on the wait-list fully aware that being on that wait-list is like buying a Mega Super Lotto ticket without even a guarantee of a drawing.
Remember…College: A Match to Be Made, Not a Prize to be Won. Perhaps the “Match” has already been made, but you’re hanging on in hopes of winning the “Prize”?
It’s not WHERE you go, but WHO you are.
Arlene Matthews has written a book entitled Getting In Without Freaking Out: 101 Stress-Free Secrets. Secret #4 suggests that a parent ask their student to name three people they admire and why. Afterwords ask the student where those people went to college. Odds are the student won’t have a clue. Illustrating once again, that it is not where you go to college, but who you are that will cause those around you to admire you.
Who YOU are should drive where you go to college, not who your friends and family think you are, or wish you were. Begin your college search by reflecting on who you are and who you want to be. Remember college is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.
Dreams Happen at Target and Safety Schools as Well
The most striking reality these final weeks of April is that the majority of high school seniors are choosing between two safety schools, or if fortunate ,between a safety and a target school. I’m sure you can list on one hand the number of seniors you know who are choosing between two of their reach schools.
Yes, it is true that gaining acceptance to college is getting tougher with every passing year, and is expected to continue this trend until at earliest 2013. For the unborn child that is good news. For the rest of aspiring students past the sixth grade, we need to focus our research and reflection not on those exciting “reach” colleges that fill our dreams, but instead on the runner-up “target” schools that are almost as good but not quite. Equally important is to understand your “safety” schools–there’s no safety in a school you learn in April doesn’t have the major you want.
Though I hesitate to quote Stanford’s Dean of Admissions, a school oft cited for “wacky” admissions decisions, Richard Shaw’s message to parents and students is to “celebrate what you have. The key here is for families to rally around options and move forward.” And to parents in particular he advises them to step back and make sure they’re not more upset than their son or daughter. Upon reflection families so often report, “It was all for the best. She couldn’t have been happier.” Dreams come in many packages–yes, they happen every day at target and safety schools as well.
Make the choice. Celebrate your senior’s accomplishments in high school. Prepare for a summer when you’re all in transition to this exciting new stage in life. Frequent hugs will help to get everyone through it. Even the family dog will need extra support as he/she loses a friend to college.
March Madness: Player or Fan It’s Fun!
Speaking from experience, participating in college sports can be one of the highlights of your college years. Though most college athletes never have the opportunity to participate in the NCAA’s March Madness, “March Madness” happens at thousands of colleges and universities across the country throughout the year. The “Madness” doesn’t just surround basketball and football, but it is just as likely to happen at a LaCrosse, Ice Hockey or Volleyball game.
The “Madness” I speak of is not the game itself, but instead its waiting in line to get a ticket, wearing your school colors, maybe painting your face (big games), getting there early to cheer before the team even arrives, cheering every point scored, challenging every “bad” call, and when its over win or lose singing the school’s alma mater, going back to your dorm or house to debate what happened and plan for your next big game. College sports…nothing matches the excitement or emotion.
For those of you considering participating as an athlete at your college or university there is an extensive set of rules governing Division I and Division II participation. These rules do not apply to Division III schools. if you go to the National Collegiate Athletic Association website[ www.ncaa.org. ] you can find out which NCAA Division the schools you are interested in belong to. Don’t be fooled, size and TV time are not the determining factors: University of Southern California and University of the Pacific are both NCAA Division I teams.
At the end of your junior year, potential collegiate athletes must complete the NCAA’s Initial Eligibility form along with the NCAA Amateurism Certificate. These forms and the NCAA’s recruiting rules can all be found on their website. You will also need to send to the NCAA Clearinghouse a transcript with six high school semester’s grades along with SAT and/or ACT test scores. The NCAA will then “clear” you to participate in college athletics. For this “service” you will need to send a check to the NCAA as well. Even if you believe you will participate in a Division III sport, I recommend that you go through this process to leave all other options open to you.
Happily fans are “clear to cheer” for their teams the day they set foot on the campus. What better than to have all the “March Madness” without those long practices the athletes have to go through? Wherever you go become a fan, it’s fun.
Don’t Be Misled At Your Mailbox By Colleges
What does it really mean if I check the little box on the PSAT and SAT registration forms releasing my contact information? Put simply, it allows College Board to sell your information to colleges who may purchase all types of different lists-lists based on scores, ethnic background, address. Soon you will be receiving almost daily letters from admissions offices, viewbooks and more.
For example, both Duke and Harvard annually send mail to over 70,000 high school students who have either expressed an interest in the school or released their information to the College Board. Each targetted student will receive multiple mailings. Many of the colleges know little about the students they contact, not your GPA, not your SAT’s, they just want you to apply to their school. Guttentag, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Duke University, explains that receiving a mailing from a college doesn’t guarantee admission or even preferential treatment.
Far from discouraging the checking of the little box on PSAT or SAT registration, I encourage you to check the box, to look through the college materials that will follow, to keep those that might be of interest and to discard the others… just as you would any other catalog you receive in the mail.
College “Wrong Carrot” for Some?
In an article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal entitled “What’s Wrong With Vocational School” Charles Murray argues that too many high school graduates are going to four-year colleges. Getting past Murray’s troubling reliance on an IQ of 100 as a cut-off of sorts for students going to a four-year college, Murray should cause parents and educators to pause and consider both the personal and societal value of alternatives to a college education. Assuming value in a vocational education is found, the obvious first step is to expose high school students (or even middle school students) to classes that expose them to the various vocations, just as high schools currently expose their students to the sciences, math, music etc. But how can we expect high schools to offer vocational classes if their success is judged both locally and nationally by student performance on standardized tests in math, science and english to say nothing of the reality that parents often select their child’s high school based on how many graduates go on to a four-year colleges? Murray’s article correctly focuses attention on the symptom–“wrong kids” going to college, but readers should recognize the source of the problem is not the kid or the parent, but is state and federally mandated curriculum that dangles the “wrong carrot”–college for all. In fact , a large percentage of high school students might be better off in their adult lives if they were “left behind” from college and attended vocational school.
Scholarships in a nutshell.
What to ask about scholarships.
Keep these questions in mind:Â Â Â Â
- What is the maximum scholarship award?
- Is the scholarship one-time or can it be renewed?
- What’s required for renewal?
- Is the scholarship based on merit or need, or a combination?
- How does the scholarship define merit?
- Does the scholarship require admission to a certain college program?
- Is full-time enrollment required to get and keep the scholarship?
- What are the other requirements, if any?
- Is an essay required?
- Are recommendation letters required?
- What is the deadline?
- How does the college treat “outside” scholarships? Some schools let students combine outside scholarships with financial aid from the college with no impact on a student’s financial-aid package. Others will reduce the package if you get outside scholarships. Check with the college.
A thought for today…and tomorrow!
When dealing with kids…”believe in them and help them believe in themselves”. (source unknown)
Be a parent who opens college “paths” for your high school student.
- Assume your student will attend college.
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- Expose your student to positive aspects of attending college.
- Share anecdotes about fun you had in college.
- Identify long-time friends from college.
- Suggest that your student visit overnight a cousin or friend to experience first-hand college life.
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- Develop self-confidence/independence in your student.
- Encourage your student to go away from home to camp or other program.
- Expose your student to a low- risk, new activity of interest where their abilities are untested.
- Gradually increase independence and responsibility around home.
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- Give your student tangible goals.
- Expose your student to a variety of colleges through formal and informal visits. Research the high school classes and grades earned by students who attend the college and share them with your student. Be factual. This is not the time to motivate your student with exaggerated GPA’s or SAT’s.
- Know how your student is doing in high school between report cards. Few opportunities can top a daily dinner conversation, but much can be learned from the impromptu conversation in the car or at the refrigerator. Don’t discount value of Back-to-School Night or Open House just because it’s high school.
- Support your student through application process. Successfully completing 10-12 applications is is a logistical marathon for students and parents. Work as a team monitoring deadlines, keeping track of status of each application. This is not, for example, the time to “prove†your student is a procrastinator.
- Reach consensus. It’s a stressful time. Students need to know their parents support their college choices.
Martin Luther King Day: UC Riverside Most Diverse UC Campus
According to statistics quoted in Los Angeles Times article (January 15, 2007), “Diversity works at UC Riverside”, UC Riverside has the highest percentage of African Americans of any of the 10 campuses and highest percentage of Latinos of any campus with the exception of the new Merced campus which has slightly more Latinos. UCLA and Berkeley continue to struggle to attract minorities while UC Riverside stands as one of the most ethnically diverse research universities in the country.
UC Riverside Chancellor France A. Cordova, hailed as the first Latina chancellor of UC system, leads the university reaching out to minority applicants, giving financial aid packages to promising students, offering summer programs to give high school students a chance to experience life on campus and creating race based programs to assist minority students.
As quoted in the LA Times article:
“We are not UC rejects,” says Samantha Wilson, 19, a white student who chose Riverside because of its diversity. “We are UC on the rise.”
Despite these successes there are challenges to overcome. Some students report that the school could do more to bring students of various ethnic backgrounds together. Others suggest there is too much emphasis on racial identity and not enough on integration. Even if true, hats off to UC Riverside, Chancellor Cordova, staff and students at UC Riverside for taking important first steps to attract college student-bodies that reflect the diversity of our state.
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