We’ve Got You!
We know this may be an uncertain time for you and your family, and we want to make sure that you know we are here to support you as you await your admission decisions, decide where you want to enroll, and try to figure out the rest of the school year.
If you are already working with us, please know that you can reach out at any time.
If you are not working with us and you need support as you navigate enrollment options or the transfer application process, please reach out. We are happy to answer questions at no charge, as appropriate (be mindful there are limits as to what we can advise on at this time), if you can no longer receive support from your in-school counseling staff and teachers. You can reach us through the contact form or via social media.
If you know a student without support at this time, please have them reach out.
Keep checking back as we post about important admissions-related updates. A few include:
ACT & SAT Testing Updates
The College Board and ACT are canceling and rescheduling some spring test dates. ACT updates are here and SAT updates are here. Students should plan to check for updates regularly, as things have changed very recently.
NACAC College Admission Status Update
NACAC has developed a tool that compiles updates from colleges and universities about how they are adapting to the impact of COVID-19. Many colleges are changing policies around school visits, deadlines for replying to offers and submitting enrollment deposits, and sharing other ways to get in contact. Please find the tool here.
Stay healthy and positive!
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Campus Visit Canceled? How to Get to Know Colleges Online
The in-person campus tour is not the only or even the single best way to get to know a school, which is a good thing considering COVID-19 is causing most schools to cancel their on-campus visits programs. Neither is that gigantic Fiske guide, College Confidential (that site is stress-inducing, please stay away from it, same with Reddit), or what your older sibling or cousin told you based on findings from their college search process.
Meaningful college research should take place in several different ways, and luckily, it can take place from the comfort of your own home.
Here are five ways you can continue your college research and get to know schools while on-campus visits are on hold.
College/University Websites
Read the websites of the schools on your list, and not just the admissions and financial aid pages. I would read those—but to understand how to apply, not why to apply…unless it is one of the admissions office/officer’s blogs that I talk about here, as those might help you see why you’d want to attend.
I suggest starting with the pages of the department in which you hope to study (or think you might hope to study). What does the curriculum look like? How many and what types of classes are offered? Are there affiliated clubs, events, other special programs of interest? Find a faculty member who is undertaking research in your area of interest and reach out to them with three or four questions you have about the program or their research that you can’t find answers to online. If they are unable to speak to you, ask if they can suggest someone else who might be able to help. Can’t get through to any faculty members? Contact the department’s administrative assistant or department coordinator and see if they can help you make an initial connection. For example, here you can find the contact info for the program coordinator of Penn’s Department of Psychology. If not, ask your regional rep to help you get this information.
I also suggest pinpointing two or three clubs you might want to join. See if you can connect with a current student or faculty lead within each to learn more. Most club’s general admin contact info is posted online. Here is the contact info for Fordham’s Finance Society, as well as a zillion contacts for USC student clubs.
Lastly, you might want to get a sense of what the campus looks like and can do so via a virtual tour if you can’t go in person. Many colleges provide virtual tour options now. For example, here is one created by Santa Clara University in California.
CampusReel
Speaking of tours, whether you can get to campus in person or not, you will want to check out CampusReel for an insider look at the colleges and universities on your list. Real college students submit video clips that take you through a day in the life, dorms, dining halls, classrooms, and so on. For example, I enjoyed this video from a UC Santa Barbara student on what she wished she knew before she started. You will also get a pretty good sense of what the campus looks like in reality as the guides are not employees of the admissions office, and what you see is probably closer to what you will get compared to the virtual tour created by the school.
Coursera and edX
If you can’t get to campus and glimpsing a school’s academics firsthand is important to you (it should be!), then head over to Coursera and edX and sign up for a class. They are free, informative, and you might learn something, not to mention they give you an extra talking point (or ten) for application materials and interviews. You will get a sense of what college-level courses entail, and I also see it as a way to demonstrate interest. A few classes I like and have had students take include:
- Case Studies in Personalized Medicine
- Introduction to Data Science
- Introduction to Networking
- The Science of Wellbeing
- A Law Student’s Toolkit
Network with Local Alumni Groups
Don’t know anyone who went to your dream school? Look no further than your local alumni group. If you are not sure if your area has an alumni group, ask Google. I entered “NYU alumni club NJ” and got the link to info on the NJ group right away. You will be sending a cold email but I don’t see anything wrong with that. You are showing interest in their alma mater. If someone is a member of their alumni group, they probably like to connect with people like you. You are demonstrating a desire above and beyond other prospective students to get to know the school, and they love their school! That is never a bad look. And if no one replies to you, at least you know you tried. If there is no local or regional group where you live, try to locate one closest to you. Again, there is really no downside to trying to connect with alumni to learn more about their school.
Social Media
Not the best way to get to know a school well, but some college accounts are not half bad. I follow a few schools on Instagram, and the “takeover” stories by admissions office staff and students can be insightful. I particularly like the UChicago and Barnard pages.
If you believe in finding a school that is best matched with your goals for college (not just a school with a certain brand, good sports team, etc.), the above outreach will help you figure out which school that might be—so use this time to get researching!
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Kids Don’t Need to Stay ‘On Track’ to Succeed
When parents portray success as a linear progression of SAT scores, acceptance to selective colleges, and high-powered internships, they set kids up for disappointment.
An important article by Madeline Levine (for parents and students!) that you can read here via The Atlantic.
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Regular Decision Notification Dates
Colleges and universities are releasing regular decision results this month and into April. Schools often post results in advance of their “official” notification dates.
My favorite college-admissions-related data site, College Kickstart, has compiled release dates along with the notification dates from last year, which might help you predict when a school will release early. Bookmark this page, as they post updates often.
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Call for Applications: Experimental Study Program for Teens
Cool program alert!
Experimental Study Program
Spring 2020 Season
February 26–April 29
Applications due February 9
This spring, the New Museum offers its free semester-long program for young people aged fifteen to nineteen. Participants will meet from 4 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday from February 26 to April 29 (excluding April 15). Now in its fourteenth season, this program provides youth the chance to learn about contemporary art and engage in intimate, critical discussions about culture.
Through a series of workshops, young people will have the opportunity to collaborate meaningfully with peers and guest artists. This season, the Experimental Study Program (ESP) will explore contemporary portraiture and figuration. The program will take as its starting point the work of Jordan Casteel, whose exhibition “Within Reach” includes large-scale paintings of people she encounters in various settings, including individuals from her neighborhood of Harlem and, more recently, her students at Rutgers University-Newark. Participants will meet Casteel and discuss ideas and approaches to portraiture with her. Throughout the remainder of the season, we will consider the variety of ways that she and other artists use the figure—from expressive and intimate to wildly satirical, abstract, and surreal depictions of the human form—experiment with their own, and reflect on how these choices intersect with identity, representation, social histories, and imaginations.
The Museum seeks applications from people between ages fifteen and nineteen who are curious about contemporary art and enthusiastic about connecting with their peers.
The Experimental Study Program is free.How to Apply:
- Click here to apply
- Fill out the application and respond to the prompts
- Include the contact information of a teacher, counselor, or supervisor who can provide a reference
- Submit the completed application by February 9, 2020
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Career Counseling
Did you know that we offer 1:1 career coaching—guidance on crafting a killer resume and cover letter, networking, getting noticed on LinkedIn, identifying best-fit companies and roles, and preparing for interviews—for individuals in high school, college, and early in their careers who want to get strategic about meeting their professional goals?
Current offerings include:
- 30-minute Career Q&A
- Job Search Strategy Session
- Interview Preparation Session
- Resume/LinkedIn Review & Editing Package
- Cover Letter Review & Editing Package
- Hourly Ad-Hoc Services
We work with internship and job-seekers locally in New York City, as well as around the country and globe. If you are interested in learning more contact us.
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New Year, New Website!
Happy 2020!
You might have noticed that our website was down for maintenance recently. Behind the scenes, we were building a brand new one! Like the old site, we kept the design pretty simple. We hope you like the new look and feel.
If you have any comments, thoughts, or feedback, please let us know!
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Columbia SHAPE Engineering Summer Program
Columbia’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science Summer High School Academic Program for Engineers (SHAPE) application for summer 2020 will open to students on December 16, 2019. We want you to be aware of this opportunity for engineering exposure and enrichment at the high school level.
SHAPE is a selective summer program for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors geared toward local students who have demonstrated an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). SHAPE consists of two, three-week summer sessions and students may apply for one or both. We offer college-level courses taught by full-time engineering professors in robotics, computer science, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, and innovation and design. These courses are complemented by electives and workshops. They have need-based scholarships available and encourage applications from all students.
The priority deadline is March 2, 2020; those applying for need-based scholarships must meet this priority deadline in order to be eligible. All applicants that meet the March 2, 2020 priority/scholarship deadline will have their application fee waived. For more information please refer to their website and stay tuned for additional details.
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What to do if you’ve been deferred to regular decision
Some colleges and universities can’t admit all of the students they would like to via early decision or early action (“ED” or “EA”), so they defer some and evaluate them again during regular decision (“RD”). These candidates have a shot (albeit small at many top schools) at getting admitted RD. However, some schools just defer everyone or almost everyone! A not so nice practice. Most students that fall into this category should move on and focus on other schools.
A few notes before doing anything to “work” a deferral:
1. Stay positive for RD, or preferably, early decision II (“ED II”), and keep moving forward!
2. Consider ED II if you are currently not. Not all schools have ED II; check your Common App to see if ED II is offered at any schools on your list. Why? because….
3. The RD round is tough and this year’s early numbers demonstrate it might be even tougher than before; it is smart to get familiar with the ED I and RD numbers and understand why ED II can present a significant advantage over RD. Read this chart. Pay particular attention to the percentage of the class filled by early plans.
4. Don’t make the same mistakes again (or again, and again…). You should be very open to doing a thorough evaluation of what might have gone wrong with your early app(s). With fresh eyes, you might find a few things you would change. Or, with the feedback from someone else, see that you missed the mark. If you’d like an expert evaluation of your deferred app, contact us.
Other Tips:
–Get your guidance counselor’s support. Have your guidance counselor advocate for you.
-Make sure updated grades/transcript are sent promptly. Your grades should have remained the same or improved, not dipped.
–Get an extra letter of recommendation*. This letter could be written by a teacher, coach, or someone else close to you who can speak to your background, performance, and potential.
*Side note on alumni letters and letters from well-known or famous people. Many students ask if these are helpful to send, and the answer is no unless the person really knows you or they have a solid connection to admissions.
–Make contacts locally and talk to students and alumni. Reach out to local alumni chapters and ask if there is anyone willing to meet with you for an informal informational interview. Use this meeting as an opportunity to learn more about the school, and demonstrate your interest in attending. Information learned in these meetings are beneficial to include in your deferral letter.
-Connect with your regional rep and consider sending a deferral letter. You should have connected with them prior to applying, so this email won’t be out of the blue. Ask if they have any specific advice for deferred candidates. Are reasons for the deferral that you can address in the coming months (grades, test scores, lack of interest or understanding the mission and values of the school)? If you had an interview and established a good relationship with your interviewer, you can also reach out to them to see if they have any tips. A deferral letter should contain information updating the school on what you’ve been up to both inside and outside of the classroom since the time you applied as a way to show your fit for the school, how you will add value, etc. It should not be a list of your accomplishments or a brag sheet. Contact us if you would like some help with your deferral letter.
Secondary Efforts:
-Visit the school and swing by admissions to reiterate interest. Sit in on a class and take advantage of any admissions events and/or programming you may not have the first time around. Keep in mind that if you already visited and the school is more than a drive or train ride away, this might seem extravagant.
-Use social media to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to follow your top choice schools on Facebook, Instagram, Snap or other social channels. Most schools also have LinkedIn pages you can follow. These touchpoints likely won’t help significantly, but can’t hurt as a way to demonstrate interest.
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