BRITTANY MASCHAL CONSULTING

Princeton Review: Why You Need a College Counselor

By Brittany MaschalMar 02, 2016

According to the Princeton Review, a college counselor should be a strategy consultant, coach, and cheerleader all rolled into one. I couldn’t agree more! Here are a few of their thoughts on why you need a college counselor and how your counselor fits into your overall application timeline.

Lower your college stress

Applications are stressful. 73% of respondents to the 2015 College Hopes & Worries survey gauged their stress levels as “high” or “very high.” Knowing that there are college experts in your corner can make all the difference. At The Princeton Review, our college counselors are available face-to-face whenever you have a question (or just need some encouragement).

Make a wish list

Talking with a college counselor about your dreams and goals can help you figure out what you really want out of college. Does your best-fit college run a popular co-operative education program? Are you looking for a politically active student body? Conversations with your counselor about what’s important to you in terms of academics, campus culture, and financial aid will help guide your overall college search.

Find and compare colleges

There are hundreds of colleges out there, and the right school for your unique personality and goals may be an Ivy League or it might be a school you haven’t heard of (yet!). College counselors are pros at helping you research schools and then narrowing your list to the colleges you should focus on.

Help you rise to the top

In a competitive applicant pool, a stellar college application is about more than just grades and SAT/ACT scores. Your college counselor will help you position the rest of your application to tell the story of who you are through your essays, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation. Counselors know which essay topics are overdone, how to make good use of supplementary materials, and how to explain an uncharacteristic bad grade to admissions committees.

Choose the right school for you

Your college counselors will help you craft your list of dream, match, and safety schools and craft the right application strategy for your college wishlist. And when those acceptances roll in, your counselors help you compare programs and financial aid packages so that you make the right decision for you.

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Newsadmissions, college, college admissions, college application, college counseling, college essay, college essay brainstorming, Common Application, counselors, essay writing, essays, high school, personal statement

The End of Average

By Brittany MaschalFeb 29, 2016

Todd Rose teaches educational neuroscience at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He’s also the co-founder of The Center for Individual Opportunity, a new organization devoted to “the science of the individual and its implications for education, the workforce, and society.” And, a new book on my to-read list, The End Of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness.

What’s unique about Todd is his past: he dropped out of high school with D- grades, and at 21, he was trying to support a wife and two sons on welfare and minimum wage jobs. Not your typical path to Harvard, right?

In the book, he argues that absolutely no one is precisely average—and that’s a big problem.

“We’ve come to embrace a way of thinking about ourselves as people that was intentionally designed to ignore all individuality and force everything in reference to an average person.”

Offices of admission, in particular, make life-changing decisions based on averages, which is a horrible way to try to understand an individual. Read more in his interview with NPR here, as well as the book review from the New York Times here.

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Books, Newsadmissions, be different, college, college admissions, college application, college counseling, counselors, creativity, EQ, high school, intelligence, underachievers

Brown alumni interview gone wrong…

By Brittany MaschalFeb 26, 2016

From the Brown Herald:

A YouTube video in which high school senior Matt Sarafa claims that his Brown alumni interviewer used racist and homophobic language during his interview has gone viral. Sarafa said that during his alumni interview in Southern California, the alum told him Brown was “not very accepting of your kind,” implying that Brown students would discriminate against him because he is gay. Sarafa said that Leora Johnson ’01, assistant director of alumni interviewing and admission, told him in a phone call that the alum had admitted to using homophobic and racist language but that there wasn’t enough evidence to remove him as an interviewer. Sarafa withdrew his application to the Class of 2020 following his experience.

Not a good move Brown!

Newsadmissions, alumni interview, be different, Brown University, college admissions, college application, college counseling, college interview, interview, Matt Sarafa

Student-Counselor Ratios Only Getting Worse

By Brittany MaschalFeb 22, 2016

The National Center for Education Statistics has released the latest student-to-school-counselor ratio data, showing the nationwide average student-to-school-counselor ratio increasing to 491-to-1, from 482-to-1 the previous year. Only three states, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Vermont have an average student to counselor ratio falling within the recommended 250 to 1 by the American School Counselor Association. Three. Three states. Given the uproar over the findings, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) took an even deeper dive into the data, which I will provide below.

NACAC has compiled a by-state document containing student-to-counselor ratios for each state and school district in the United States. Within this document, states are in alphabetical order in the tabs at the bottom. Within each state, school districts are listed in alphabetical order.

Student-to-Counselor Ratios, by district

The information comes from the Common Core of Data at the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education.

NOTE:
The following states did not report district-level data to the Department of Education:

Alabama

Kentucky

Maine

Michigan

New Jersey

New York

Texas

Washington, DC

Many states reported partial data, enabling us to calculate ratios for only some school districts within those states. NACAC is working to fill in those gaps. In the meantime, access NACAC’s Student-to-Counselor Ratios by state.

We need more funding for counselors. No art, no music, no gym, no counselors. It is just no good.

Newscollege admissions, college application, college counseling, Common Application, counselors, education reform, high school counseling, NACAC

Regarding the “New” SAT

By Brittany MaschalFeb 18, 2016

Thank you, Bob Schaeffer, for pointing out what may not be obvious to the masses: The “new” SAT, and let’s not forget the ACT, will remain a weak predictor of undergraduate success. High school grades will continue to provide more accurate forecasts of college graduation.

Read his letter in The Opinion Pages here.

NewsACT, admissions, college, college admissions, college application, college counseling, SAT, Test Optional, testing

The Feds’ Best-Value Schools

By Brittany MaschalFeb 09, 2016

See the full list (23 colleges and universities total) here. Unfortunately, you will not find many lesser-known schools on this less. Nice to see Trinity on there (I considered it during my college search, was admitted as a transfer but stayed in Burlington), but would have liked to see a wider variety of schools represented.

Newsbest value schools, college, college admissions, college application, college cost, ROI, tuition

2016-2017 Common Application Essay Prompts

By Brittany MaschalJan 29, 2016

No changes to the CA essay prompts for the upcoming admissions cycle; yay!

Most of my students disregard the prompt when thinking about their essay, but when it comes time to submit end up categorizing it as #1. See all five options below. Time for juniors to start brainstorming!

2016-2017 Essay Prompts
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

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Newscollege admissions, college application, college essay, college essay brainstorming, Common Application, essay writing, essays, personal statement

Geographic Diversity as an Admissions Priority?

By Brittany MaschalJan 29, 2016

Penn’s admitted student pool has for some time now represented all 50 states and is ~10% international. What would be interesting and insightful to publish would be the socio-economic diversity within the pool per state. This recent article attempts to highlight that Penn is diversifying their class by admitting more students from previously underrepresented states, but does it really make a difference if they are from the same socio-economic backgrounds as those from the east coast, Texas and California? I also wonder what the admit pool per state would look like if legacy admits were taken out? The world may never know!

Newsadmissions, college admissions, college admit rates, college counseling, legacy, Penn

Don’t Believe The Hype

By Brittany MaschalJan 28, 2016

No, this post is not about the famed Public Enemy jam (but if you’ve forgotten it, sit back, relax and take a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vQaVIoEjOM). It is about the onslaught of “college admission revolution” talk/projects/reports of late. Remember a few months ago when 80 colleges and universities joined “The Coalition” for access, affordability and success, and everyone freaked out? Well, the hype train has left the station again with “Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions,” a report who authors hope to inspire a more caring and authentic generation of young people. But, these hyped coalitions and reports are just that. As Sarah Harberson’s HuffPost College article aptly points out:

“Turning the Tide” beckons our youth to focus on quality and authenticity. What’s missing is a call to action for colleges who have been complicit and damaging to the “common good” of youth and opportunity. If colleges want to encourage caring, authentic and ethically-sound students, they need to make sure they are living by the same mantra. It is time to rebuild the playing field of college admissions. It should not only be a level playing field, it should be hallowed ground. To do that, colleges need to come clean about who really gets admitted before students believe that being authentic is more valued than being privileged.”

I won’t be holding my breath for colleges to change, but it could happen. Maybe, hopefully, someday.

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Newscollege admissions, college admit rate, college application, college counseling, hype

Class of 2020 Early Admission Results

By Brittany MaschalDec 18, 2015

Class of 2020 Early Admission Results

The institution (Plan)	Applied	Admitted	Rate	Link
Brown (ED)	3,030	669	22%	Link
Columbia (ED)	3,520			Link
Dartmouth (ED)	1,927	494	26%	Link
Dickinson (ED1)	251	220	88%	Link
Duke (ED)	3,455	813	24%	Link
Georgetown (REA)	7,027	892	13%	Link
Harvard (SCEA)	6,173	918	15%	Link
Johns Hopkins (ED)	1,929	584	30%	Link
Middlebury (ED1)	636	338	53%	Link
MIT (EA)	7,767	656	8%	Link
Northwestern (ED)	3,022	1,061	35%	Link
Princeton (SCEA)	4,229	767	18%	Link
Stanford (REA)	7,822	745	10%	Link
University of Georgia (EA)	14,516	7,500	52%	Link
UPenn (ED)	5,762	1,335	23%	Link
Williams (ED)	585	246	42%	Link
Yale (SCEA)	4,662	795	17%	Link

Source: College Kickstart

Newscollege admissions, college admit rate, college application