5 Rules of the College Admissions Game

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:19:09 +0000

Published in the Jamaica Observer, May 8 2011

AS college decisions hit mailboxes across the world, we take this opportunity to remind you of five rules you should keep at the forefront of your mind before you enter the fray.

Rule 1: It’s not fair

Life isn’t fair, and neither is the college admissions process. The sooner you accept this unfortunate, yet irrevocable truth, the better. Better because an early quest to learn the other rules of the game, and how to use them, can mean the difference between success and failure for a student with dreams of studying at a US college or university.

Rule 2: The earlier the better

Some students were born ready. They are inherently driven academic superstars, deeply involved in various activities or nationally recognised athletes with great grades who happen to be great standardised test takers.

Let’s face it, the majority of college-bound students will not naturally fit into the category of the highly recruited candidate. For these students, it is of utmost importance to start planning for college early. Students and parents must view the admissions process as a four-year one, something you can’t adequately prepare for in three or four months.

Selective colleges look for students who demonstrate consistency, commitment, initiative, and passion. These characteristics must be reflected by the pattern of the student’s performance both inside and outside of the classroom — not to mention the almighty scholastic aptitude test score.

Standardised testing requirements vary by school and should be planned and prepped for carefully, given their importance in the admission decision. Strong profiles and scores are also important for attracting scholarships and financial aid — the student who starts to build a competitive profile years before applying to college will save himself disappointment and his parents a lot of money.

Rule 3: Forgo the financial aid — if you can afford to

A few years ago I might have been singing a whole different tune, but these days money, or the lack of it, talks. In the years leading up to the financial crisis, many schools expanded their financial aid budgets in order to attract a more
diverse student population. However,
today, with dwindling endowments, alumni contributions down and tighter budgets the world over, colleges are feeling the economic pinch.

The result? A quest for more full-pay students and less financially needy ones. It’s not all gloom and doom for a student seeking financial aid, however, the process is more competitive for a financial aid applicant versus a non-applicant. If your child is not a highly recruited applicant for a selective school and you can afford to forgo applying for financial aid, do it! Ceteris paribus (all things being equal), this will boost the chances of acceptance at most colleges. We told you college admissions were not fair.

Rule 4: Cast a wide net

College admissions are more competitive than ever. The number of international student applicants to Harvard has grown by 50 per cent in the past 10 years, while overall applications have doubled since 1994. The trend at Harvard is reflective of a general pattern experienced among selective colleges in the US: a growing number of domestic college-bound seniors and a veritable explosion of international applicants, mostly from China and India (dubbed the ‘Chindia’ effect in admissions circles) are vying for spots at top colleges. As a result, the number of applicants is up and overall admissions rates are down. As a result, college admissions are increasingly difficult to predict and students are advised to cast a wide net in terms of the type of schools they apply to.

Rule 5: Develop a realistic, balanced college list

When we said cast a wide net, we didn’t mean a wide net of Ivy League schools! It’s hard for parents to be objective in terms of assessing their child’s strengths and weaknesses. Given the plethora of factors to consider, it’s often even harder for parents to realistically assess their child’s chance of admission to selective colleges.

However, a realistic, objective assessment is the key to success in the admissions process. We have heard unfortunate stories of students who did not heed rules four and five only to end up with 12 rejection or wait-list decisions this month. No matter how talented you think your child is, it is almost never a great idea to load your list with highly competitive colleges. Educate yourself and seek a professional opinion. Sure, students can reach for the stars — just not 12 of them.

Nicole McLaren is an educational consultant and director of Kingston-based firm AIM Educational Services Ltd. She may be contacted at nmclaren@aimeduservices.com.

COLLEGE BOUND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: How to Best Utilize the Summer ‘Vacation’

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:53:34 +0000

Summers are strategically important because of the opportunity to get a leg up in the college admissions process.

For rising 9^th (4^th form), 10^th (5^th form), and 11^th (lower 6^th form) graders we recommend that you:

1) READ, READ, READ
2) Start a Vocabulary Notebook
3) Start PSAT / SAT prep – especially if you are a rising 10^th or 11^th grade student since this is the ideal time to prep for the PSAT in October and the SATs in November/December/January. Email us (info@aimeduservices.com) for more information on Private Tutoring and Test Prep Courses.
4) Pursue an interest / passion in depth
OR
5) Get a job!

For rising Seniors / Upper 6^th form students NOW is the time to work on your college applications (plus 1-5 above, or some combination thereof!):

Your Essays
Think carefully about what you are going to write about. Be mindful of the 500-word limit imposed for your main essay on the Common Application. Prepare rough drafts of your college essays and have them reviewed so that you know what needs work. However, do not have your essay edited to the point where it loses your authentic voice – colleges often cross-check your writing sample from the SAT with the college essay you submit.

Your College List
By now you should have a set of SAT Reasoning Test Scores and expect to have Subject Test Scores and final junior year grades in a few weeks. Armed with these crucial numbers, students should use the summer to narrow down / revise the college list. A suitable, realistic, balanced college list is the cornerstone of success in the admissions process.

College Visits
If time allows, it’s a great idea to visit your top two or three college choices in the early fall / end of summer – preferably when classes are in session. Demonstrated interest is important to many colleges admissions offices so if you are able to, make your presence known on campus!

Let Nicole help you to maximize your summer with personalized recommendations and essay assistance. Contact her at nmclaren@aimeduservices.com today.

Getting In: College Admissions in 2010 – published in the Jamaica Observer

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:20:01 +0000

By Nicole McLaren

The Jamaica Observer, Sunday, August 15, 2010

EACH year, Harvard University hosts a gathering of senior admissions officers from America’s leading colleges and college counsellors from the best prep/boarding schools in the world to talk about the topic on every parent’s mind: getting into college.

Recently, the Harvard Institute on College Admissions was led by Deans of Admission from Harvard, Princeton, Spelman, Brown, Wellesley, the University of Miami and the University of Michigan, to name a few.

The ‘gate-keepers’ addressed various issues in admissions but one message was communicated clearly to us college advisors — college admissions in the US is as competitive as it has ever been. Chances are if you’ve got your eyes on a spot at a US college, so do tens of thousands of parents and students all over the world.

Why has it become so competitive? And how do parents and students navigate the often murky, increasingly confusing world of college admissions? The explanation for the competitive admissions environment involves an interaction of factors.

There are more US college bound seniors graduating these days than ever. Before the 1950s, 20 per cent of high school graduates went on to college; today it is 65 per cent. Then there’s what the Dean of Admissions at Princeton University, Janet Rapleye, calls the “Chindia effect” — an explosion of applications from China and India. While applications have been on the rise, the number of spaces students are vying for has remained relatively unchanged. The result – competition, student stress levels and parent hysteria has reached a fever pitch. Misinformation on the admissions process is pervasive, leaving students confused and parents anxious. Where should you start?

* Think about who you are.

Students should begin the process by thinking about what their strengths, interests and needs are. This evaluation should form the basis of the college list. Unfortunately, here is where many parents and students make the biggest mistake. An inappropriate or otherwise unrealistic college list can be the kiss of death in the admissions process.

* Be realistic.

Many parents are unrealistic in their goals and must realise that while their child may be involved in multiple extra-curricular activities, at the top of his class with great SAT scores, so do thousands of students all over the world. That is just not enough to get him into Harvard, Princeton or Brown these days. This year, Harvard rejected about 2/3 of its applicants with perfect SAT scores.

* Balance.

The college list should include schools for which the student has probable, highly likely and less likely chances of admission. Again, parents and students are advised to be realistic. Take a look at the profiles of admitted students — what are the SAT scores and GPAs of admitted students? Scores and grades count, but for many schools those aren’t enough. Princeton just doesn’t have enough beds to admit all 13,000 of its applicants who had perfect SAT scores. Parents must figure out what kind of student the college is looking for and determine whether their child is a good fit. With over 3,000 colleges in the US alone, there are many great schools that deliver quality education and are not highly competitive.

* Start Early. Work Hard.

I start working with students as early as third form or grade nine. Why? It is critical for parents and students to have college on their radar when many key variables — selection of subjects for Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, grades, extra-curricular activities — are still in their control. Again, knowledge is power. Parents should understand what general college requirements are and plan accordingly.