Beating Application Anxiety

You can already feel the tension growing for many of next year's seniors -- they've read the media hype about this year's admissions season, and they're convinced next year will be even worse. Relax, says Jay Matthews, education reporter for the Washington Post in 10 Antidotes to College-Application Anxiety. Matthews lists ten tips for keeping stress under control as you enter your senior year. Among them: Get off the resume-building treadmill and do something normal and look for a place that fits you while remembering that many colleges can meet your needs. Most important, says Matthews: if you're planning on aiming at a highly competitive college - like one of the Ivy League schools - understand that getting in will be a game of chance, even if you have perfect credentials so don't worry so much. I'd add to Matthew's tips: Make sure your college list includes a mix of great schools at all levels of selectivity.

Great Info. from New York Times

The New York Times' periodic special education section, often provides a gold mine of information for college seekers. This Sunday's editon of EducationLife is a case in point.

For starters, there's an excellent article on paying back student loans, It’s Payback Time that all current and future college students (and their parents)who need financial aid should read. "Student loans are two-edged: the more money a student can borrow, the more schooling falls within reach," the article begins. "But of course, the more debt a student has, the more painful repayment becomes."

Some of the myths of what it takes to get in are busted by admissions officers in Taming the Monster. My personal favorite in this article is the high school guidance counselor from Bronx Science High School who notes that applying to more schools is not necessarily better. "It's a lot of work, and it's a lot of money, and in the end they generally get into the schools we assumed they'd get into," she says in the article. "When students start applying to 21 schools, most of them are dream schools, and so most of those will be a rejection."


With growing attention being focused on the gender gap - both in terms of males going on to college and graduating from college, the article on the remaining four all-male colleges, The Final Four is an interesting read.

And, some parents might find themselves squirming while reading When the Best Isn’t Good Enough", an opinion piece written by Paula Marantz Cohen, a professor of English at Drexel University and a parent who's been through the college admissions process herself. Marantz Cohen asks parents to consider why they have made getting their children into an elite college a matter of life or death when it so clearly isn't. "It used to be that getting an education was the goal; now, it is getting a brand-name education," she writes. "...Attending certain colleges these days is not just consipicuous consumption; it is also about conspicuous achievement - accomplishments displayed as a sign of social status... And children are the favored vehicles...To fall at landing a seat in an elite college is to fall behind in the race that began with potty training."

Proving that getting in may not be all it's cracked up to be, there's also a great article on the growing number of students who end up transferring (sometimes more than once), College, My Way

Dealing with the Sting of Rejection

There's an excellent opinion piece in today's Chicago Tribune, Thin Envelopes and Angst which discusses the sting some seniors may be still feeling about not getting into their top choice schools this past admissions season. "...rejection leaves many kids, many bright promising kids, asking a wrenching question: What's wrong with me?," says the article. "The answer: Absolutely nothing." It makes for good reading for next year's seniors as well because it underlines the importance of developing a solid list that has a mix of well-chosen colleges as well as those "dream schools."

Making Your Final Choice

If you're torn between your college acceptances, struggling to pick the school you'll be attending next year, you might want to read High School Students Make College Decisions, a handy little article that discusses the factors some students are weighing as May 1 approaches. The article's sidebar gives some great tips on how to make the final choice, among them: "Take a minute to jot down the top five things you want out of the college experience. What do the classes look like? What do you envision yourself doing on the weekends? What interests do you plan to puruse, either academic or otherwise?" Good luck!

Inside the College Admissions Office

Wonder what really goes on when a college admissions committee sits down and reads applications? Wonder no more. Admission by Design gives you an inside peek at how admissions decisions are made at a highly selective liberal arts college, Claremont McKenna College in California. The article is worth reading, even if Claremont McKenna isn't on your radar, because it casts a clear light on how admissions decisions are made at many colleges, not just Claremont McKenna. Each year, the admissions committee at Claremont McKenna sorts through over 3,500 applications, eventually admitting around 786 applicants for a class of 265 to 270. As at most highly selective schools, Claremont McKenna applicants tend to have impressive credentials and accomplishments - but those alone are not enough to insure a spot in the freshman class. Each applicants personal characteristics and talents are measured against Claremont McKenna's institutional needs and goals. "In different years, different scenarios could unfold depending on the insitutional need at that point in time," explains Richard Vos, Claremont McKenna's vice president and dean of admission and financial aid, in the article . "There is a lot of internal logic to it, but it's hard to define that logic because it changes as the College's need changes." If you're curious how your application will be evaluated, and how its individual parts will be used to make your case, this article is a must read.

Don't Fall for Media Hype

I've watched with growing alarm the increasing number of media reports indicating that this was the worst year for college admissions ever. "Applications up!" "Rejections up!" "You can't get in anywhere!" scream the headlines.

Don't fall for the hype. I have yet to come across an article that uses hard data to support the theory that applications - and rejections - have risen across the board for ALL students and at ALL colleges this year. For the most part, these articles are filled with ancedotal reports based on the experiences of a few students or a few colleges.

Have applications and rejections risen at some colleges this year? Yes, certainly, especially at the most well-known colleges and universities. But have applications and rejections risen at all colleges and universities, as the media reports and a panicked public seem to imply? I've heard plenty of horror stories this year - but I've heard plenty in past years as well. I've also heard plenty of great stories this year from students who are very pleased with their results, and are, in fact, having a difficult time choosing between all of their great options. But, that's just the point -- those are all ancedotal stories, not hard data. They don't prove or disprove anything except that certain students had vastly different experiences. The truth not only lies somewhere in between both extremes, but it's also important to bear in mind that your individual mileage is likely to vary from the ancedotal reports of others.

The media reports are filled with ancedotal reports being presented as hard evidence. Just because Yale received more applications this year and rejected more people, no one should assume that every school in America received more applications or rejected more people. In fact, that is highly unlikely. Don't make broad assumptions based on the experiences of a handful of colleges or a handful of stories you hear or read. And, don't assume that just because the valedictorian of your school was rejected this year at College XYZ, you also will be rejected next year. This is a game of individual circumstances, individual planning, and individual choices. Those who are in panic-mode tend to make poor decisions when evaluating possible options and their own individual strengths and weaknesses.

So, the bottom line is that one thing about admissions certainly is out of control this year --- and that's all the hype surrounding it. Continue to follow the good college planning principles we've talked about here at AdmissionsAdvice.com: build a solid list with good options at varying levels of selectivity, worry about fit not prestige, try to determine the specific needs and desires of the colleges on your list, and put together an application that presents a coherent picture of what you have to offer. In short, don't fall for the media hype.

If you'd like to read more about the media hype surrounding this year's admissions season, read Out of Control Admissions Hype in today's Inside Higher Education.

Top Students Trust Mom's College Judgement

When it comes to deciding where to apply to college, top students trust mom's judgement, according to a study released today by Lipman Hearne, a consulting firm specializing in college marketing. The firm surveyed 600 students who scored over 1100 on the SAT, half of whom scored over 1300, about the sources of information which influenced their college list. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed listed their mother as influential in their choice of where to apply. Fathers were listed by 49 percent.

A campus visit, however, was the most important information source for 74 percent of students, as were talking to current students (mentioned by 59 percent)and college brochures (54%).

When asked to rate specific factors they considered in making the choice about where to employ, rankings, such as those compiled by the US News & World Report, were listed towards the bottom of a list of 16 factors by these students. The number one reason mentioned for why they enrolled at a particular school was financial assitance from the school, followed by a strong reputation in the student's attended major and a rigorous academic environment.

Link: New Study Finds that High-Achieving Teens Choose Colleges More on Quality of Specific Majors Than Institutional Reputation (Adobe Acrobat reader required).

Wise Advice for Parents

Dan Lundquist, dean of admissions at Union College and Kathy Giles, director of college counseling at Groton School, understand that the college search and admissions process can be just as stressful for parents as it is for students. They've written a very wise and important Primer aimed at helping parents to understand what they can do to help their children that should be required reading for all parents of high school students. Chief among Lundquist and Giles' suggestions: Understand that the college admissions landscape has changed and is continuing to evolve. "Colleges are paying attention to the ratings game, and many are making important strategic decisions withrankings as a priority," they write. "So it is not all about good kids and making the match anymore; institutions have very significant agendas that spearate from the kind of merit-based, human process that students hope and parents assume happens."
Lundquist and Giles note that parents must help their children understand both the scope and risks of admissions numbers, and help them be realistic in developing a college list. They also caution parents against using their child's college admissions as a way to affirm their own success as a parent. All in all, it's an excellent primer, and a very important message that more parents need to hear. Read Lunquist and Giles' full Primer In Change, here

Colleges for Students in Recovery

Students who have overcome addictions to drugs and alcohol often face a new challenge when it's time to go to college: finding a supportive environment. While most colleges and universities have substance free dorms - dorms where the use of drugs or alcohol is prohibited - often students in recovery need more support than that. A handful of schools have risen to the occaision, offering programs specifically for the needs of college students in recovery. Case Western's Recovery Program includes counseling and a special dorm, Recovery House, just for students in recovery. Rutgers University and Augsburg College in Minnesota are two other schools with special dorms for recovering students. The Association of Recovery Schools maintains a list of the other schools offering specific programs.
To learn more about programs on college campuses for recovering students, I recommend reading this article from USA Today