UPDATE: Here is a link to the interview where I talk about college admissions.
I was recently interviewed by a reporter for the K-LOVE Radio Network and wanted to let my readers know that this is being broadcast nationally on Sunday, August 8, 2010. The show will air at 5:00 PM Pacific Time.
In the interview we talked about some general topics related to the college admissions process and paying for college.
Here is a list of the radio stations that carry the K-LOVE network. The interview will also air on the AIR 1 Radio Network. Here are the radio stations that carry the AIR 1 network.
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With students starting to work on their college applications in the next few months, I thought this would be a good time to look at the college application resume. What is it, what needs to be included and how long should it be? Most importantly, do you even need a supplemental resume?
Before discussing the resume, I want to discuss the question of whether you even need to have a resume included with your application. The answer, for most students, is NO.
Yes, I recognize that this is heresy. Everyone you know is putting together a resume. It would be application suicide for you not to do so. But, let’s forget for a minute what everyone else is doing and look at this logically.
The vast majority of the most selective colleges use the common application as the application to their college. Colleges don’t have to use the common application; they choose to do so. The common application has a place to list up to 12 of your extracurricular activities. This list allows students to provide information as to which years they participated in each activity as well as the number of weeks per year and hours per week for each activity. Finally, students can list the positions held and honors won for each activity.
By submitting a supplemental resume, you are saying to the college that your activities are so extraordinary that they can not be listed in the form that the college themselves have approved. Do you really think that everyone you know who is submitting that supplemental resume has qualifications that are so far beyond the normal applicant to the most selective colleges that they can’t use the form provided by the college?
Remember that the average application reader will spend 15 to 20 minutes reading your application. That includes reviewing your grades, classes taken and test scores as well as your application and all of the essays. Do you really think they have time to review a 5 or 10 page detailed resume?
Does that mean that no one should submit a supplemental resume? No, there are a few students whose accomplishments really can not be adequately listed on the outline resume of the common application. It is not that there are too many activities, but rather that the involvement in each of a limited number of activities is so extensive that it can only be listed on a supplemental resume.
I know, you are still worried that not completing a supplemental resume will make you look less accomplished than your peers. I can tell you that the vast majority of the students with whom I work are applying to, and getting admitted to, some of the most selective colleges in the country. Rarely, do my students submit a supplemental resume.
Still think you are one of the extraordinary students who require a supplemental resume? In my next post, I will give more detail about what to do with a supplemental resume to make it enhance your application rather than distract from it.
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Just a quick note to let my readers know that the Common Application for the 2010-2011 application year is now open. Here is the link to the 2010-2011 Common App.
I recommend that students applying to colleges using the Common Application start working on the application at this time if you haven’t already started. You should be able to complete the biographical portion of the common application very quickly but you will want to spend some time on the essays of the common application. The more you can complete before returning for your senior year, the more pleasant your senior year will be.
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I was recently asked if I provided a premium package of college admissions counseling. The answer, very simply, was yes, every student that I work with gets the best college counseling I can give.
I treat every student that I am working with as if they were my only student. I don’t give better service to one student than another. I use my best effort with all of my students. My goal is to help each student be admitted to the best college for their needs.
I try to provide “premium” college admissions counseling to every student I work with. I just don’t charge extra for it.
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I often get referrals from families that are happy with the help I provided. I love getting referrals. Oftentimes, these referrals are for students that are in the same school as my clients. And, once in a while, the issue of who else I am working with comes up.
I do not disclose who else I am working with unless the families specifically permit it. Period. The reason is simple. I believe that families have a right to have their private matters be private. Now, students and parents will often talk and learn that I may be working with more than one student from a particular high school. Even then, I will not discuss the credentials of a particular student or what colleges that student is considering.
It does not hurt any particular student to have me, or another counselor, working with more than one student at a particular school. Each student is different and a good counselor will treat each student as an individual. My goal is to get every one of my students admitted into their top choice colleges. Even if students are looking at the same types of colleges, colleges do not hesitate to admit more than one student from a particular high school as long as each student meets the criteria that the college is looking for in a student.
Bottom line: my belief in the confidentiality of the process keeps me from disclosing information about other students with whom I work. Still have questions about confidentiality? Drop me a line.
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Articles on writing the college essay often tell students that they need to maintain their own “voice” in the essay. Great, but what do they mean. Why does it matter?
“Voice” is how the essay sounds when you read it. Think of it this way. When you read something, does it sound like someone you know? Some people talk, and write, very formally. Some talk informally while others may have a bit of sarcasm or a bit of humor in their normal speech. We all have a certain sound to the way we talk.
Similarly, there is a certain sound to writing. You want to strive to have your writing sound like you talk. Don’t get me wrong here. If you like, you know, like, talk, like your friends, you know, that is not something you want to follow in your writing. Poor speech does not make for great writing.
Several years ago I worked with a young man whose father was a professional writer. They sent me a copy of the essay written by the student and I knew right away that this was not the product of a high school student. I work with many students who are great writers but high school students and older adults talk, and write, in different ways. The words are different and the syntax is different. When I asked, it turned out that dad had done an edit on the essay which made it sound like a 50 year old man. The voice of the student had been lost.
Why is this important? Because the purposes of the essay is to communicate something about you and how you write. If the essay doesn’t sound like your voice you are not communicating “you” to the college. After reading thousands of essays, college admissions officers are very aware of what an authentic voice sounds like.
How do you make sure your “voice” is coming through. Read your essay out loud. Does it sound like you? Not sure? Read it out loud to someone who knows you well. They will be able to easily tell if your writing sounds like you.
If you make sure that your “voice” comes through in your essay, you will be one step closer to being the strongest possible candidate for admission to that special college.
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You’ve worked hard, you’ve done your homework and you know what colleges you want to apply to. Now, how do you complete the college application in such a way as to maximize your chance of admission?
This time of year I receive many questions from seniors asking for help on completing the college application. So, I thought I would give you some background on the type of help I provide for students like you.
College applications appear easy to complete. Provide some basic biographical information and you are almost done. I help with the parts of the application that really count in the admissions process.
First, I help students make sure that there are no mistakes on the application. Seems easy enough but I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen very bright students make mistakes on the most basic information. Your phone number? Your parent’s names? I have seen both listed incorrectly by students applying to the most selective colleges.
Second, I help students provide the best description of their activities. Part of this involves evaluating whether the use of the common application activities list is best or whether to use a separate resume. If the student uses a separate resume, what information should be provided on that resume.
Third, I work with students to understand what makes a good college admissions essay. I help student brainstorm essay topics and help edit those essays after the student has written the essay. This is one of the most critical parts of the college application because most of the students applying to selective colleges have good grades and test scores. The essay allows you to distinguish yourself from the rest of the applicants.
Fourth, it is critical to make sure that there is integration of all parts of the application. What does this mean? It means that you want to have the application showcase who you are to make you the strongest possible candidate. You want the college to understand what your passions are and how they have made you the person you are.
Do you want help with the application to make you the strongest applicant? Give me a call.
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American University in Washington D.C. has announced that they will be going test optional for all students who apply to the college by November 1. Last year they were test optional for students applying early decision so this is an expansion of last year’s policy.
Students wishing to have their admission decisions made without considering their test scores need to simply submit a test-optional form along with the rest of their admission materials. If a student wishes to have their test scores considered, then they do not have to submit this form.
I noticed that American clearly says in their notice that using the test optional program will not affect a student’s consideration for merit awards or for their honors program.
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What are my chances? This is one of the most common questions I get. The students asking this question are almost always discussing one of the very selective colleges in this country. Websites like College Confidential answer that question all of the time so it should be easy for me to answer it also, right?
Yes, it is easy to answer the question of what a student’s chances are at a particular college given their GPA and test scores. And in most cases, the person answering the question has no idea what they are talking about.
Here is the problem. Most selective colleges make admissions decisions based on a variety of factors. Let’s take two examples; Big Public U and Competitive Private College.
Big Public U looks primarily at grades and test scores. But, they are also looking at issues like what classes did you take to get that GPA. AP Calculus and Honors Biology=Good. Wood shop and band=Bad. (Note-there is nothing wrong with taking wood shop and band as long as those are not the primary classes you are relying on for a good GPA)
Competitive Private College looks at the grades and classes taken for those grades also. But they may also consider your standardized test scores, your writing ability from the essays, your extracurricular activities, your leadership potential, where you live, what interest you have shown in the college, what hooks you have such as athletic ability or legacy status and on and on.
Yes, there are a few colleges that make admissions decision based solely on your GPA and test scores. But those are almost always the least selective colleges. The vast majority of selective colleges have a much more sophisticated approach to deciding who to admit. I think that is a good thing.
If a student is looking at relatively non-competitive colleges for admissions, then it is easier to make a prediction of who might be admitted. When dealing with the very competitive colleges, however, don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you are guaranteed admission based on your grades and test scores alone. They don’t know what they are talking about.
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When visiting a college campus everyone says you need to visit the college library. But why? You are a study in your room kind of person so who cares what the library is like.
While you might not be a person who wants to study in a library, the library is an important part of any college campus. You will need to use the library to research assignments given by your professors and many professors put required course material on reserve in the library. And when you have a big test the next day and your roommate decides to host “reggae night” for the floor, you might not think the library is such a bad place.
The library also can give you a window to the academic soul of a campus. No one in the library after 4:00 in the afternoon? This is not an academically focused college. What are the hours of the college. If the library closes at 10:00 at night this is also not a college where academics are paramount.
U.S. News recently wrote about the “4 Reasons Why the Library Should Affect Your College Choice.” There are some good points made in the article and I would recommend that you read it before your next college visit.
The college library is one more thing for you to consider in the search for the right college for you.
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