Handling College Admission Decisions: A Sidecar Parent’s Guide
Sharing some wisdom for families navigating college admission decisions compiled by Brennan Barnard! A great read for parents and students.
Enjoy!
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News of the Week!
Through mid-November, applications are up, the Common Application finds. For early applicants, there is only a modest increase in submitting test scores.
Ohio State U. Unveils a Plan for All Students to Graduate Debt-Free
Admission to University of California campuses will from now on be done without standardized tests. When the board voted to eliminate SAT and ACT scores from its considerations, it left open the possibility of using another test. But faculty members did not believe such a test existed or could be created.
Schools are starting to release their testing policies for the 2022-2023 admissions season. Stanford is one of the first, going test-optional for a third year in a row.
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Summer 2022 & Pre-College Programs
Summer program apps are opening up for summer 2022!
Did you know that Columbia’s largest high school program raked in $20 million during the pandemic?
If you are targeting highly selective/highly rejective schools, we’ve noticed they’d rather see a rising senior undertake something a bit more self-directed. For underclassmen, sometimes paid programs are a good idea; it depends on the student and their goals.
It can be hard to find summer programs, and CU’s programs—like Harvard, Georgetown, Penn, and Brown—always rank high in Google searches and have a vast array of curricular offerings, formats, and timelines. They simply just work for many families who can afford them because they are easy! But, easy is not always best…
Posting this article with the hope that folks will think beyond these programs, especially if they are rising seniors, or plan to target highly selective (top 30 or so) schools. There is more you can do, for less!
But BMC, you’ve posted some of these programs in the past—what gives? Yes, we do post about paid summer programs but provide information on those that are free, low-cost, or those that offer substantial scholarships. For example (we will be updating these in the coming months, too!):
Best Summer Programs for High School Students: Computer Science
Best Summer Programs for High School Students: Leadership
Best Summer Programs for High School Students: Sports/Sport Management
Best Summer Programs for High School Students: Engineering
Best Summer Programs for High School Students: Business
Summer Programs for Female Identifying High School Students
Annual Camp Pride Summer Leadership Academy
Always an option, always free: Pursue a passion or purpose project. Create an independent study with your favorite teachers. Cold call/mail profs until you find your way into a lab. Max out edX and Coursera.
There’s also no need to wait until summer to engage in and explore your interests. Start now!
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Are You Putting Too Much Pressure on Your Child During the College Admission Process?
Intense achievement pressure, particularly in affluent communities, can generate high levels of stress, anxiety, and/or depression in young people. We are sharing this from MCC, and hope you give it a read!
The questions and short quiz created by the team at Making Caring Common can help parents and caregivers (and even counselors like us!) be alert to red flags that they may be putting too much pressure on their student in the college admissions process.
College Admissions Red Flags: Quiz and questions for consideration
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During dinner conversations, do you often talk about your child’s grades and college applications, forgetting to ask your child what they find interesting and fun about school?
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When you meet with or contact your child’s teacher, do you ask primarily about grades and test scores? Do grades and test scores tend to crowd out discussions of whether your child seems to be enjoying school, is a good friend to others, and contributes to the classroom?
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Do you email or call your child’s teacher about assignments or grades more than once a month, even when your child is not having any problems (e.g., trouble completing homework, absence due to illness, etc.)?
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Does your child sometimes not eat or sleep well because he or she is worried about not performing at a high level in school?
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Do you press your child to take certain courses or participate in extracurricular activities in which they have little interest, or which are stressful for them, for the sake of college applications?
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Do you encourage your child to do certain community service projects that they are not interested in because you think these projects will be helpful for their college application?
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Do you sometimes allow your child to exaggerate or lie about the extent of their community service because it will help them get into a selective college?
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Do you ever encourage your child to apply to selective high schools or colleges based on prestige or commercial rankings, such as the U.S. News & World Report ranking, without considering whether the school is a good fit for your child’s personality and interests?
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Do you ever see your child’s peers as competition in the college application process—for example, telling your child not to let others know where they are applying to college because others might apply to the same school and hurt your child’s chances of getting into the same college?
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Do you sometimes pressure your child to engage in substantial college preparation while they are on vacation (e.g., intensively studying vocabulary cards or math problems), instead of ensuring that they have ample time to relax or play?
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Did you or do you plan to hire an SAT/ACT tutor or have your child take an SAT/ACT preparatory course before junior year of high school?
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When you visit colleges with your child, do you sometimes ask more questions than your child does on the tour or at the info session?
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If your child was not accepted at a selective high school or college, would you be embarrassed? Would it affect your self-esteem?
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If your child received a bad grade on a test or assignment, would you feel responsible or like a failure?
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Do you primarily visit and talk about highly selective colleges with your child, rather than a wide variety of colleges, including less-selective ones?
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Do you frequently think about whether your child is performing at a high level or will be accepted at a high-status college?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it may be time to take a look at the messages you may be inadvertently sending your child, and to talk with those you respect and trust about how you might reduce college admission pressure. Learn more about our Turning the Tide Initiative and use our tips for dialing down achievement pressure and raising caring kids.
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On Celebrating What Really Matters
To all our seniors: just submitting applications is a huge accomplishment!!!
Take 7 minutes to listen to Kelly Corrigan’s case for celebrating the litany of accomplishments that a completed college application represents.
There’s so much more to applying to college than where you get in or don’t. Listen here!
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Four Mini Guides to Navigating Your College Search from UPenn!
Penn Admissions has shared four great informative guides to help students with their college application process—and they are NOT Penn specific (although the samples they provide are)!
Narrowing Down Your List
Fill out a worksheet for each school on your list while visiting school websites, exploring virtual tours, and attending information sessions. Compare worksheets and see which schools match your must-haves. Download Guide 1
Curriculum & Majors
This second guide will help you narrow down which colleges will be the best fit for you based on academics offered. Use this worksheet to learn more about a school’s curriculum, majors, and learning opportunities. Download Guide 2
Tracking Application Requirements & Deadlines
There’s a lot to keep track of when you’re applying to multiple colleges. Use this worksheet to stay organized and take some of the stress out of the application process. Download Guide 3
Highlighting Your Extracurriculars & Activities
This worksheet will prepare you for the activities section of your college applications. Think of this guide as a way to brainstorm what you’ve been involved in through high school, what your commitment looked like, and how things may have changed in the past year. Download Guide 4
Bonus: Watch this video for even more tips on activities!
Thanks, Penn! Pair this advice with The Complete College Essay Handbook and get ready to apply!
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Merit Money Deadlines for ’21-’22 App Cycle
College Kickstart helps you track those merits $$ deadlines. Students: yet another reason to get apps in EARLY! We suggest submitting as many RD apps as you can by 12/1.
To help you stay on top of free money opportunities for your students, they’ve compiled a list of popular schools with hard merit deadlines for the 2021-22 cycle.
For each school listed, they’ve included the stated deadline, as well as the percentage of students receiving merit aid, the average amount of aid awarded and a link back to the school’s merit scholarship page.
Get there now!
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News of the Week!
Bringing back some higher-ed/admissions news shares—each week if we have time!
No more legacy admissions at Amherst (a win!)
UC faculty shut down idea for state-wide admissions exam (they are currently test-blind)
Having a professor, adviser or other mentor can greatly help in navigating college and launching a career, but many students aren’t seeking out such relationships
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“Best of the Best” Colleges & Universities for LGBTQ Students
Campus Pride’s 2021 BEST OF THE BEST Colleges & Universities is online at https://campuspride.org/
Campus Pride, the preeminent resource for LGBTQ leadership development, diversity inclusion and advocacy within higher education, recently announced the annual Best of the Best Colleges and Universities for LGBTQ students in the United States.
“More than ever colleges today want to be viewed as LGBTQ-friendly and a welcoming place for all students. LGBTQ students and their safety impacts the recruitment efforts of the entire campus,” said Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride Executive Director. “Upper-level administrators are now understanding how LGBTQ-friendliness is key to academic success of students and the future institutional success of the campus.”
The announcement features 30 four-year campuses from across the country that have shown themselves to be deeply committed to LGBTQ students, earning a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars on the Campus Pride Index, the definitive national benchmarking tool tracking LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices.
This year, Campus Pride is putting a spotlight on two-year colleges and religious schools with two separate lists focused on community colleges that are leading the way on LGBTQ inclusivity, and religious schools living up to LGBTQ-inclusive values. These campuses were selected by the Campus Pride Index team showcasing campuses with inclusive policy, program and practice and who scored 3.5 or higher stars in their respective categories.
“Seeing the representation of schools from every corner of the country, and highlighting the efforts of community colleges and even religious institutions really underlines the successes Campus Pride has had over our 20 years,” said Tom Elliott, Campus Pride Board Chair. “The work we’ve done with student leaders, and the resources Campus Pride continues to provide them, is making the higher education experience safer and more welcoming to LGBTQ students nationwide.”
The Campus Pride Index, cataloging more than 430 LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities, is available at https://www.
10 Do’s and Don’ts for Writing The Common Application Essay
Our essay experts know best!
Check out these 10 tips from Emma, co-author of The Complete College Essay Handbook, that will help you write the most effective personal statement.
If you are a senior, the time to write is NOW!
- Don’t worry about the prompts. It’s helpful to read through the prompts to see if doing so sparks any ideas; however, there is no need to stress about writing an essay that exactly “answers” a prompt. Your goal is to write the best essay you can about whatever you decide is best to write about. Working with students 1:1, we totally disregard the prompts and usually find that their essay still easily fits under one of the questions. And, if not, there is often an open-ended prompt such as: “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.”
- Do open with a scene. A strong opening scene draws the reader into your essay. Admissions officers and their first-round readers have hundreds of applications to get through—make yours stand out from the first sentence. Intrigue them or scare them or make them laugh. Make them want to keep reading.
- Do focus on a single story. You only have 650 words. Perhaps that sounds like a lot to you: it’s not. There is no reason you should worry about filling it up. Through our process, you will find out how to generate enough detail to write an essay about any story. Nor should you worry about cramming as much as possible into the personal statement. Remember that colleges have all of your application data and that trying to do too much in the essay will only end up making your essay feel rushed and scattered.
- Do make sure that your story has a clear beginning, middle, and end. You can tell your story out of order—for instance, opening with a scene from a stressful moment in order to build suspense before jumping back into chronology—but you always want to make sure your story has each of these elements. Skipping any single one will confuse your reader and make your story feel incomplete (because it is!).
- And yet don’t get bogged down in detail. We usually find students have trouble generating enough detail. But sometimes we get a student who is unable to summarize effectively, too. Having too much detail can make your story confusing and also mean that your reader will have trouble understanding what the most significant elements are. It usually also means you don’t have room for reflection—the most important element in the essay!
- Do present yourself in a positive light. We actively encourage you to tell a story that showcases your vulnerabilities, failures, weaknesses, and mistakes. However, either your narrative or your reflection (or some combination of the two), needs to ultimately redeem you so that your essay, in the end, shows you to be someone who is actively working to improve—to rectify mistakes, move past failures, or strengthen weakness. Your essay should be honest, but its main purpose is to make you seem like someone admissions officers want to see at their colleges! Make sure you come off well.
- Don’t use huge thesaurus words. Again: you aren’t trying to impress the admissions officers! You are trying to show them who you are—and you are trying to make them like you. Using big words can mean using words you don’t quite know how to use, and that will show. Even if you do know how to use them, unless your essay is about how much you love long words or languages, using the big, 25-cent words can make you sound pretentious and overly formal. The language should sound like you and be relatively casual—not curse-word, talking-with-friends casual, but maybe talking-with-your-grandmother casual.
- Do use vivid, interesting words and varied sentence structure. Being casual doesn’t mean the writing shouldn’t be good or interesting! Do push yourself to use words you might not use in your everyday speech, and do mix up the sentence structure to keep the writing varied and exciting. Do feel free to include words from your personal vocabulary—words from the language you speak at home or from a regional dialect or words you’ve made up. That can add a lot of texture and personality to an essay. Just make sure you define the words for your reader if the meaning isn’t clear from the context.
- But don’t use emotional language: I was happy; I was sad. Instead, let an action depict the emotional state. That is, instead of saying “I was happy,” you might write, “I couldn’t help skipping a few steps down the street after hearing the news.” And, instead of saying “She was sad,” you might write, “Her shoulders slumped, and she cradled her head in her hands.” You can’t see an emotion, and you always want to give the reader something to see.
- And don’t use cliche—i.e. common, predictable, overused—language. Cliche language includes (but is definitely not limited to!) phrases like:
- I need to be true to myself.
- Time heals all wounds.
- Every cloud has a silver lining.
- Good things come to those who wait.
- I learned more from them than they did from me.
- Every rose has its thorn.
- You win some, you lose some.
- Little did I know.
Of course, your essay might have one of these messages at its heart. Maybe you did learn more from the kid you tutored than they learned from you. Maybe you did find the “silver lining” in a terrible situation. Both of these could make for great essays. But you want to verbalize that realization in your own unique and surprising way.
Interested in working with Emma? Contact us.
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