7%...or, a little college essay inspiration?

So Erik Qualman tweeted out this link last week and it is just chock full of good advice. It's a column from the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, written by a 92 year-old. The list is 45 life lessons long, and you can read the whole thing here, but these are my favorites:

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

Good stuff, isn't it? If you haven't started on the essay yet, it's really time to get down to it. What's inspired you lately?

Why hire a college consultant? I'll tell you

I've seen a few articles lately that question whether it's worth it for families to hire an independent educational consultant. To me, it's simple: if you need help and you're not getting it, hire a college consultant. 

I know the value of objective help when it comes to figuring out college plans. I was fortunate to attend a school that had dedicated college counselors, but I know this is not typical. In most schools the person responsible for guiding the process is the school counselor, who is also responsible for one hundred different things-- administrative tasks, conflict resolution, and whatever else is needed. They’re a valuable, necessary resource and the demands placed on them are increasing.

On average, a single school counselor is responsible for over 300 students. I earned my master’s degree in secondary school counseling, so I’ve seen what these wonderful professionals are expected to achieve with increasingly limited resources. College planning falls down the list because there are simply more important things that need immediate attention. In 2003, a National Center for Educational Statistics study found that “43 percent of all public high schools reported that more than 20 percent of their counselors’ time is spent on college advising, which meant that 57 percent of school counselors spend 0-19 percent of their time on college advising. Using NCES’s ratio of 315 students per counselor in public high schools and the estimate of hours the average counselor spends on college counseling, ”counselors are spending 38 minutes per year per student for college advising" (p 9, NACAC Fundamentals of College Advising). 

Back to School!

Back-to-school ads always seem to start a little earlier every year. I no longer have a need for a new backpack or notebooks every August, but those ads always make me frown just a little because it means summer is inevitably winding down. And I hate to see it go. If you're gearing up for your Junior or Senior year, college is getting awfully close. But if you're a Sophomore or even a Freshman, it's not too early to think about college too. So, in honor of new colored pens, I have one tip for each year.

Freshman Year: Sign up for some activities.
Start to get an idea of what you’re interested in and what activities you’d want to see through to Senior year. It’s ok to sign up for a bunch of different things now because the whole point is try.

Sophomore Year: Test Prep. Yes, those tests.

As a sophomore, you can take a practice PSAT or the PLAN, which is the pre-ACT. If you do well, then that’s fantastic! If you don’t, then you’ll know where to focus your energy. And remember, it’s only practice so even if you do well on the practice PSAT you’ll still need to take it again as a Junior. If you don’t want to take any actual tests, then get yourself some prep books. Just make sure they contain actual test material.

Junior Year: Lead

By now you should be involved in activities you care about. This is the year to start to take a leadership position. Go after an editor position if you're on the school paper or chair a committee.

Senior Year: GRADES

Don't think for a minute that once your applications are in you can go easy on your work. Colleges have the option to rescind, and believe me they'll do it. You've worked hard for three years; don't let it all be for naught.

One more way to take advantage of summer

One of my goals when working with students is to simplify the process as best I can, and I find that a little organization goes along way. With that in mind, in my last post I offered up a few tips on things to do this summer that could give you a jump start on the college process before the school year really gets going. I have one more: fill out an application.

The Common Application is used by 456 schools and for many students it's a great time saver. Others think it's why acceptance rates appear to be shrinking. But I digress.

The 2012-13 version will be released on August 1, but a paper copy is available right this minute. Print it out.

For our purposes here the beauty of the common app is that it also contains questions you'll see on other college applications out there. If your parents went to college, do you know where? Do you know what they majored in? Get some of these answers now and when you sit down to fill out your "official" applications, you can fly through these easy questions. Write it all down and file it away in a safe place (but not so safe you can't find it again. I think we've all done that.) This will become your reference sheet.
If you're feeling really bold, go ahead and take a crack at one of the six essay questions. I know the back-to-school ads have already started but there's still plenty of summer left and plenty of time to take of advantage of it.

3 Ways to Take Advantage of Summer

Summer is probably my favorite time of year. I love that it stays light late in the day, I love the warmth, and I especially love the beach. Here is the Northeast, summer is our reward for winter. Take a break; you've earned it.


Just not for the WHOLE summer.


Savvy students will take advantage of these next few months and set themselves up for the coming school year. So what can you do? Here are the things I'd put on top of my to-do list.


1. Do Something 
I'm trying to be open-ended here, not vague. Did you land an internship? Are you working retail? Baby-sitting for some kids in the neighborhood? Fantastic. An experience is only as good as you make it. (Yes, it could be a potential college essay topic but don't get hung up on that.) Any job you have can teach you something if you let it. Don't discount summer work!


2. Speaking of the college essay...
Summer is the perfect time to work on it! You don't have the pressure of the school year and you can devote more time to the process. Brainstorm. Write about the topic you've got in mind. If it doesn't work you'll either realize that now and move on, or you'll have the time you need to fix it. Fall seems like a long way off right about now, but you'll be way ahead of the game once September rolls around.


3. Visit some colleges
College campuses will be emptier that during the school year, but there's still plenty of information to soak up. (The tour schedules might be a little different, so make sure you plan ahead.) Approach it like you would any other time of year. Do your research--what are you looking to gain from the visit? Hang back when the tour is over and talk to the student guide. There's someone who was in your shoes recently and is a wealth of information. Another potential bonus for summer visits is the admissions representative from your area might have more time to talk to you. 


There's a lot to take advantage of in the summer. Recharge those batteries, but don't lost momentum. 

So the answer is no. Can you do anything about it?

Didn't get the answer you wanted?

Everytime I read about some high-profile lawsuit the article always ends with one party expecting to appeal. It's understandable to be disappointed when we don't get what we want, and sometimes there is something we can do about it. Poor customer service? Sure, write an email or talk to a manager. It might change what happened, it might not, but there's something about taking action that makes us feel a bit better. But what if that disappointing outcome is getting rejected from your dream school?  You can't help but wonder if there's more you can do. 

First of all, there's a good chance your dream school has an appeals policy. Go on the website or call admissions. If it's against policy to even consider appeals, well, there's your answer. This is just one of those "life isn't fair" moments. If it really means that much to you, there's always the transfer option. But, you know how I feel about transferring. 

If the school will entertain appeals, and you really, truly feel you have a case then by all means. But ask yourself these questions first:

1. Is it because you got in to "better" schools?

2. Is it because your friend got in and you feel you have similar stats?

3. Is it because a distant relative went there and, as a legacy, you should have some standing?

4. Can you not imagine going anywhere else?

5. Was there a serious clerical error in your application or do you have significant new information (like decidely higher test scores) that admissions should know about?

6. Do you see where I'm going with this?

If you can answer question #5, then you might have a legitimate case on your hands. If you just want them to give you a second look, I hate to say it, but that's just not enough. Multiple people read each application and they really do look at everything you have to offer. It's not that you weren't good enough; you just didn't get in. That's all. I've said it before and I'll say it a million times more: admission is not a prize to be won. Being denied admission hurts, absolutely, but you're not being denied the opportunity to go to college. We all have to deal with disappointment eventually, but it's how you handle it that's most important.

6 Questions about transferring

A new study released this week showed that one-third of all students transfer at least once as they work towards a degree. (Students who earned an associate's degree and then moved to a four-year institution were not counted as transfers). The study followed nearly 2.8 million full and part-time students from 2006-2011. What's most interesting about this data is that 51.9% of students transferring from four-year public institutions transferred to two-year public institutions. Why this was the case isn't something the study examined, but I would think that the economy played a big role, at least for some of those students. Community college is becoming an increasingly popular option, especially amongst families with annual incomes over $100,000. A Sallie Mae study found a six percent increase over the last four years, from 16 percent to 22 percent. Community colleges can be fantastic options. They tend to have smaller class sizes and it could be a quicker path, depending on your career aspirations.

But plenty of students still transfer from one four-year institution to another. How do you know if it's the right move? A lot goes into a decision like this, but unless it's really, truly awful, don't transfer in your freshman year. Try to see your first year through instead of just one semester.

Ask yourself these questions:
1. Is it social? Are you putting yourself out there? Much of what makes college a great experience is your own devotion to it. Are you getting involved in clubs or other activities?
2. Is it because you aren't attending your first choice? Again, college is what you make it. If you never got over the fact you didn't get into your first choice, then maybe you aren't giving your current school a fair shake. For the sake of the tuition bill, make the effort.

Take transferring as seriously as you (hopefully) took applying to college the first time around. Be thoughtful about this. If you don't think you can make your current college the place you want to be, then you really need to think about what didn't go well. This might be made easier if you have a college in mind that you want to transfer to. If you know that transferring is what you need to do, consider these questions: 

3. Did you do your research? Simply put, if you know why you're transferring then you should know why you want to go to the school you're transferring to. Have you looked at the transfer admission rate at your targeted school? Some college make room for transfer students and some really don't, so it could be even harder to get in than at the incoming freshman level.
4. How many credits do you have? Make sure you know where you'll stand as a transfer student. If you're changing majors, will you lose credits at your new school? Will you be ok with that? Credits will also be important for how your new school will see you. Too few and you'll be seen as a freshman. Talk to an admissions counselor at your desired school to see how they handle things. And make sure you keep those grades up!
5. How does the school handle transfers? Are there any orientation programs or other activities to welcome transfer students? Maybe that's a big deal to you, maybe it's not. But what about housing? Ideally, you want a school that's as welcoming to transfer student as it is to incoming freshman.

Transferring can be tough. You've got to make a plan and stick to it, same as when you were a senior in high school. They're going to have deadlines and expectations too, so don't think that the application process for a transfer is totally different from that of incoming freshman. So, the sixth question I have for you: are you ready?

I can actually speak from experience on this one. I spent my freshman year at a school in Boston (my first choice school), wasn't happy, and transferred to a school in Philadelphia. These were the two schools I couldn't decide between when I was a senior in high school. I don't regret my decision for a minute. I changed majors, added a minor, and still graduated in the traditional four-year timeline. I made some wonderful friends who welcomed me just as though I'd been there with them the previous year. It can be very discouraging to go away to college and be completely disappointed after a multi-year build up to what are supposed to be some of the best years of your life. Take some of the pressure off yourself. Be thoughtful, weigh your options, and chances are it will all work out in the end.