Archive for the ‘Senior’ 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.
But I Don’t Qualify for Financial Aid…You Might Be Surprised!
Southern California, April 12…sunny skies, breezy and 70 degrees…perfect weather for staying inside, completing your taxes, waiting in line at the Post Office AND coming straight home to complete your son or daughter’s FAFSA!?!…Free Application for Federal Student Aid: the form required to be completed by all applicants for federal student aid and sufficient for most states and private colleges to establish eligibility for non-federally sponsored aid programs.
The FAFSA can be completed entirely on line in little over an hour using data from your current 1040 forms. What is considered when calculating student need? Annual income and value of investments are the two major factors. NOT considered is the value of your primary residence! [Note I recommend that you sign your student’s FAFSA electronically by requesting a pin. It will take a day or so now, but save you a lot of time in future years.And remember even if you are denied aid this year, reapply in future years.]
You will be asked to enter the code for the school(s) your son/daughter plans to attend next year. …DON’T wait for a final decision.
Every day that passes the line is forming for financial aid at each college and university.
The individual colleges and universities may ask you to provide them with additional information to complete the application. In my experience satisfying these requests takes mimimal time.
It is hard to predict whether or not your son/daughter qualifies for financial aid. It depends on you, them, other students applying, their parents and the financial aid at the discretion of the college or university. So stay inside one more hour and complete your FAFSA. Good luck!
P.S. The sooner the better for submitting a FAFSA, but it’s never too late…summer or even during the school year. The size of the pot of available moneys is just shrinking. But we all know circumstances don’t always change according to schedule, so never hesitate to approach the Office of Financial Aid at your son or daughter’s college at any time throughout the years. They want your son/daughter to have the opportunity to graduate from their college.
UCLA BREAKS THE UC MOLD: Looking to Learn Who the Applicant Is and What He/She Cares About
As reported in today’s Los Angeles Times (B-1), UCLA is trying an all new (for them) “holistic” approach to reviewing applications for admissions. The change at least in part was motivated by UCLA’s lagging diversity, while at the same time being forbidden to consider ethnicity when making admission decisions. It will be interesting to see what if any impact it has on the make-up of the graduating class of 2011. “We’re looking for all kinds of students at UCLA.” No other UC has reported similar changes to its review procedures. The UCLA approach continues to give more weight to grades and test scores, but promises that each admissions reader will read the entire application prior to rating it on a 1 to 5 scale with 1. being “Emphatically recommend for admission” and 5.being “Recommend deny”. Each application will be scored by two readers.
UCLA admissions readers offered some important insight into their criteria: “Be wary of sob stories, but try to recognize when a student has genuine difficulties. Look for ‘passion’ in an applicant’s file, as well as evidence of values and ethics. Look for leadership, but know that not every student could be first in everything.” The article also criticized a hypothetical application because the student focused his essays on his parents, and not enough on “who he was and what he cared about.”
Only time will tell the impact that this holistic approach will have on who gains acceptance to UCLA, and who does not. But any movement toward looking beyond grades and test scores should be encouraged.
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 Wait to be Accepted. Find the Money Now!
Just as important as completing a persuasive and complete application for admission is completing a persuasive and complete application for financial aid. Don’t wait until your student is accepted to try to figure out how you will pay the college bill. If you wait for the acceptance letter it will be too late. Now is the time in order to give colleges the opportunity to put together a financial aid package.
Most important first step is to go to the website of every college to which your student applied and read it carefully and thoroughly. Each college has different aid forms and deadlines. Dont hesitate to call the financial aid office if you have questions.
To follow is a list of terms you will encounter as you research the financial aid requirements of each college:
Financial Aid: A general term used to refer to all types of money awarded to student based on financial need. It can include grants, loans, work-study and scholarships.
FAFSA (Free application for federal student aid): Completing the online (or paper) FAFSA is the first step toward applying for federal financial aid at any college. Dont wait until your 2006 taxes are complete, you can begin completing it now. The site walks you through step by step and even the technically challenged like myself can get through it.
CSS Profile (College Scholarship Service): some colleges that award non-federal funds require that this profile be completed. It is a division of the College Board who charges a family $5 registration fee and $18 to submit to each college. AGAIN check each college’s web site to see if this is necessary.
SAR (Student Aid Report): The Department of Education will send a SAR to the applicant and the colleges selected by applicant based on information provided in the FAFSA. The SAR will contain a dollar amount, EFC(Expected Family Contribution) that the family is expected to contribute to college expenses that year.
Demonstrated Need: The difference between the EFC and real cost of attending college.Some colleges are committed to meeting this difference and others are not.
Grants and Scholarships: Federal government and states have systems for granting or giving money to students with demonstrated financial need. It can be used for public or private colleges. Scholarships can also be awarded by colleges or outside sources for achievement, special talents or other particular reasons. These do not need to be repaid.
Loans: Loans must be repaid by students and/or parents and can come from federally funded loans, colleges themselves or banks. Watch the terms carefully and be proactive whenever possible to improve them.
Merit aid: Merit scholarships are awarded to students to entice them to attend the college. They do not have to be repaid.
Work-study: The federal work-study program is a way for students to earn money to help pay for college expenses. Jobs can be on or off campus, though off-campus jobs are usually related to community service. Even if your student does not qualify for work study have them seek work opportunities organized through the college as they are often more understanding of college testing schedules and vacations.
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.
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