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My Weekly Reads: Top 5

College Kickstart is one of my favorite “college admissions” websites. They are my go-to resource for all things data related to admit rates, decision deadlines, etc.. Recently, they have been updating their Class of 2021 Regular Decision Notification Dates page, which I am now checking daily. (College Kickstart)

As Atticus Finch famously said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” how do we get our students to do that? Powerful videos that I suggest watching. (New York Times)

Adam Grant talks with Angela Duckworth about the science of creativity, purpose, and motivation. This is a must read, especially if you are interested in learning more about developing passions (yes, developing, not magically finding them!). Make sure you read to the end so you can get Duckworth’s feedback on a question I often get, “How do I get my kids into Harvard.” (Heleo)

Getting into college does not mean a student is ready to go. I wrote a short post on this, here! (New York Times)

The Science and Politics of the GMO is a course stumbled upon on Coursera being offered by Cornell, so not a typical “read” I would post, but this class looks so cool I am adding it here anyway. Description: Learn the basics of genetic engineering and biotechnology and examine why the GMO is politically contentious. Participants will gain an understanding of how science works, its limits, and how the interaction of these factors leads to decision making. (Coursera)

Focused College Applicants Beat Well-Rounded College Applicants Any Day

 

Being well-rounded is nice generally, but colleges are looking for students with something unique, a specific talent, skill, or interest to add to their next class. Students who drill down on their interests early on in high school will be better positioned to tell a clear, focused story in their college applications. By doing so, you hand the reader of your file exactly what they are looking for—you make it easy to see your value add.

You may love all five clubs you are in and the three sports you play, but how much can you meaningfully contribute to all eight activities? Suggestion: try to narrow down your interests and corresponding activities by the end of 10th grade, and think about how you can engage more meaningfully and at a higher level in the one or two things you love the most. It’s a bonus if these activities relate to your potential college major, or support it in some way!

Drilling down on your interests to develop a clear story or narrative for your college apps will go a long way in the admissions process, and is one of the focus areas of our college counseling work with high school students!

Remember, colleges seek to build a well-rounded class comprised of students with unique talents and skills, not a class full of generalists.

Getting in to college is not the same as good to go to college

Lisa Damour’s NYT’s article “Getting In to College Doesn’t Mean Students Are Ready to Go” is a must read for parents of high school students. It points out some sad and scary truths about high school and college students today, but I see it more positively as a call to action.

I love that most of the students I work with are well-prepared for college life—academic and otherwise—but there are always a few that I fear for as they start freshmen year. They are the ones that end up contacting me near the end of their first semester.  Some of them need more academic support, which is easy to provide. Others are just unable to find their way socially and settle into living on their own for the first time. This second bunch also often thinks this means the college or university they attend is not the best fit; I tend to disagree. Although there are some students who for one reason or another are strong candidates for transfer, the problem is usually not the school—it’s them. Issues lingering beneath the surface throughout high school emerge and often result, sadly, in situations like Damour explains in her article.

What Damour describes is just one of the reasons I am a huge fan of gap years, but as she notes, and I have seen in my work with college applicants, getting students to think about delaying the start of college is not easy:

“Of course, the biggest barrier may well be the teenager’s own resistance to delaying enrollment. High school seniors who have secured and celebrated college admission are rarely eager to push the pause button. The drive for autonomy practically defines adolescence and it’s no small feat to bar that door.”

For the reluctant student (and often parents, too), I do see some alternatives to delaying the start of college. Recently, I have been working alongside mental health professionals and mindfulness educators on how best to get information out to students and parents on the importance of pre-college counseling, post-admission. Typically, once a student has decided where they are going to college, I do not hear much from them, except around early summer, when I (hopefully, because I love cards!) get a graduation announcement or thank you note in the mail. Today, I know that needs to change. The benefit of continuing the counseling relationship and providing services up until students leave for college, and even into the start of their freshmen year, is just too important to overlook.

I see pre-college counseling in the form of mindfulness and resilience training as a vital step in ensuring students about to head off to college are equipped with the tools they need to successfully navigate the transition to and thrive in college. And, if a student is really not ready to leave home in the fall, it is often uncovered or made very clear during targeted pre-college counseling activities (if not already brought to light through the college application process). Taking steps to gear up for college post-admission may reveal a student is not good to go. Those that are will only be better prepared to face the challenges that come with the high school-college transition, armed with the tools and mindset they need to thrive during the next phase of their educational journey.

Updated SAT Subject Test Policies

From Compass, updated SAT Subject test (SAT II) requirements and recommendations for the Class of 2018. Not many changes here, but worth reviewing now as it is time to sign up for May and June exams, and think ahead as you create your testing plan. Thanks, Compass!

Class of 2021 Regular Decision Notification Dates

My favorite site for college admissions-related data, College Kickstart, has compiled a list of upcoming regular decision deadlines for the Class of 2021. Schools often post results in advance of their “official” notification dates, so they’ve compiled the most recently updated dates for you, along with the notification dates from last year. Bookmark this page, as they will post updates often.

Stay in the know! Subscribe for college admissions news, tips, and advice.

What’s Worse Than Waiting to Hear From Colleges?

….getting asked about it!

Later this month and throughout April, colleges and universities will notify students about their regular decision applications. Students will either be admitted, denied, or placed on the dreaded waitlist (although we have helped quite a few student get off the WL and into their dream school, ask us how!). Needless to say, it is a stressful time for all seniors who did not commit to a school after the release of early round results.

As we approach decision dates, consider giving this post (with video) from the Wall Street Journal a read!

University of California Seeks Cap on Out-of-State Students

 

From Inside Higher Ed: The University of California System on Monday announced a proposal to limit undergraduate enrollment from out of state, systemwide, to 20 percent, The Los Angeles Times reported. The proposal would allow the three campuses already over 20 percent—Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego—to keep their out-of-state levels. The remaining campuses would be allowed to grow to 20 percent but not exceed it, but only if the proposed systemwide cap is not hit. The university system has significantly increased out-of-state enrollment in the last decade, to 16.5 percent across the system, citing state appropriations cuts that have increased the need for other sources of revenue, such as the higher tuition rates paid by non-Californians.

The Times reported that faculty leaders oppose the university plan and fear that such limits could result in the system losing both top students and revenue that it needs.

The UC Board of Regents will take up the proposal next week.

My Weekly Reads: Top 5

 

Awkward teens (and 20- and 30-somethings) rejoice. Study finds that it might take 63 years, but you will, eventually, shed all traces of your awkward middle-school self. (Fast Company)

Adderall usage by individuals without attention deficit is out of control. Fast Company reminds us we have the power to control our brains, sans meds. (Fast Company)

Diverse Hollywood, in NYC? Steiner Studio lot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is surprisingly under the radar. It costs a third of most other film schools—$18,400 a year—and part of its mission is to admit women and minorities whose stories aren’t usually told. (New York Times)

And the award for the most unsatisfying industry to work in post-college goes to anything in finance (kind of). Meanwhile, in self-reported data from more than 13,000 recently graduated college students, such industries as technology, biotechnology, consulting, and arts, media, and entertainment top a list of “job satisfaction” ratings. Consulting -> we agree! (Poets & Quants)

Depression strikes today’s teen girls especially hard, and I see this firsthand in my work with high school students as they prepare and apply to college. Brains constantly “on-tech,” and in particular social media, may not be helping, but talking about it and identifying symptoms of depression early on can help teens get back on the right track. (NPR)

These Business Schools Produce the Most Billion-Dollar Startup Founders

When it comes to making what Sage refers to as “unicorns,” one business school is making everyone else look bad. As a recent Fortune article reports:

Founders of the meal delivery service Blue Apron, health insurance startup Oscar, and content delivery network CloudFlare all pursued business degrees at Harvard Business School. Altogether, 23 HBS grads have founded a private company valued at $1 billion or more, according to research by Sage.

With 19 unicorn founders, the Stanford Graduate School of Business comes in second, followed by Wharton, with nine.

It’s important to note, however, that for undergrads, Harvard and Stanford swap places: Stanford’s undergraduate program has produced 51 founders of billion-dollar startups, followed by Harvard with 37.

Below are the top business schools, ranked by how many of their students and alumni went on to found billion-dollar companies.

  • Harvard Business School: 23
  • Stanford Graduate School of Business: 19
  • University of Pennsylvania, Wharton: 9
  • INSEAD: 5
  • WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management: 5
  • University of Southern California: Marshall: 4
  • University of California at Berkeley: Haas: 3
  • Columbia Business School: 3
  • HEC Paris: 3
  • Indian Institute of Management: Calcutta: 3
  • UCLA Anderson School of Management: 2
  • Brigham Young University: Marriott: 2
  • George Washington University: 2
  • London Business School: 2
  • Northwestern University: Kellogg: 2
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business: 2

Note: Founders are classified based on their highest level of education. (For instance, if they received a Master’s degree at Harvard University and a PhD at Stanford Business School, they would be placed in the latter category.) The list also includes founders who didn’t graduate. For more information, see a breakdown of the research here.

 

MOOCs for Potential Business Majors

As I have said before, MOOCs are a no-brainer for high school students who want to explore their academics interests and possible college majors. And for those of you who have not started exploring your interests outside of school, you should; it is not terribly time-consuming, especially with online options you can access 24/7, and colleges look favorably upon applicants who explore outside of school. These are also applicable to pre-MBA applicants!

The four below are from Coursera, and are available now for sign-up:

Creativity, Innovation, and Change, The Pennsylvania State University

Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence, Case Western Reserve University

Creating a Startup from an Idea, Israel Institute of Technology

Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills, University of Michigan