1.    Open with a snappy sentence. Admissions counselors read hundreds of essays this time of year. Make yours stand out from the first sentence. Then, carry that energy through to the bottom. When you proof read, eliminate any bits that go off topic or might allow the reader to doze!

2.    Show your good character. Write like you’re trying to tell a good story. After you write your essay, proof read for any negative words. Turn your weaknesses into strengths. Admissions counselors would love to know that they are admitting students who have good values, are honest, hardworking, and eager to help others.

3.    Show your passions. If there is something in your life that drives you to excel, talk about it. If you have a hobby, talk about it.  If there is something in society that angers you to want to change the world, tell the story. Admissions counselors are looking for students who care because those are the students who will use their college education to make our world better.

4.    Use specific examples full of colorful detail. Admissions counselors love to see your world. Show a scene from your garage, your dinner table, or a moment on the trail where you run every day. These examples are often what sway Admissions Counselor in your favor. If you show them your world, they feel that they know you.

Just a few days ago, (July 2013) my brother left aboard Medicine Man on his 8^th Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii. The secret to winning, he says, is to strengthen yourself, your crew, and your ship. In addition, you’ve got to play the winds and set the best course to the finish line. I liken my brother’s formula to the whole college process. And most important, we both agree, is building yourself for the finish.

If you’re beginning the college process or just thinking about it, let’s consider how to strengthen yourself, so that your teachers and school can help you set a winning course to the right college. First, let’s find your personal areas of strength. Some students might think they have only have a few of the following talents, but if you look at the list carefully, you might find that you can bolster your appeal by developing strengths in other areas.  Here the ones that I think are most important for academic success and college acceptances:

·      Academic Strength: The most important information you send to colleges is your transcript. (Your essays are second, followed by recommendations and test scores.) To improve your standing, increase your intellectual curiosity. The more you want to know something, the better you’ll do in the subject.  Read, visit museums, and talk to smart people to find areas that you want to know more about.  Then take action.  Now is the time!

These days, we hear a lot about the importance of class size and the benefits of teacher-student ratios on campus.  If there is such an advantage, why would anyone choose to attend a large university? 

People talk about the 300 student lecture halls at the University of California and what it’s like to sneak in late and sit in the back of the class, or sleep in late and never get to class!  Stephen Pastis, the comic writer of “Pearls Before Swine,” says,  “When I was at the University of California at Berkeley, I went to some classes that must have had more than four hundred students in them. I almost always sat in the far back of the auditorium so I could read the newspaper. I remember that I stayed late one day to ask the professor a question, and when I got up to him, all I could think to myself was, 'So this is what the professor looks like.’”   

I laugh every time I read that quote. It illustrates the point so nicely.  In recent years, however, I have become a big believer in the large university for some students. One particular student, Heather, had a perfect high school record with a transcript full of AP classes. She had stellar ACT scores, outstanding community service and leadership and her pick of almost any school in the nation.

May 1st was the deadline for students to choose their future colleges from the list of schools that accepted them. Through their own successes and mistakes, our students have a lot to teach next year’s applicants. Now, as future seniors and their families begin to worry about finances and college choices, it’s a good time to learn from others.

Here are four Case Studies from our students from the class of 2013 (all names have been changed and the stories disguised for the sake of student privacy):

·      Paul came to us early with great enthusiasm, a 3.7, strong SATs and some financial considerations. We noticed right away that he didn’t have a history of strong community service, but that his leadership in school clubs had been very strong. We helped him bolster his leadership and reflect on a few difficulties in his family life. He ended up writing a terrific essay about an encounter with his estranged father, a story that made us both cry and laugh. Paul was accepted to Willamette, Boston College, Lewis and Clark, and LMU. He will be attending Lewis and Clark College (Oregon) with financial aid that includes 70% grants and 30% loans. We think money made a huge difference in his final college decision, but so did the campus. He had a chance to visit and loved the small classes and the proximity to Portland.  “Best of all,” he says, “at Lewis and Clark you can see nature out of every window on campus!”

With college acceptances fanned out like travel brochures, students now need to accept just one school by May 1^st. Offers of financial aid are often a deciding factor for both the student and the family. Students who have applied wisely, should have at least one affordable choice. A good selection of college options should include schools that ask you to pay: 1) the full price, 2) the full price less merit scholarships, or 3) much less with financial aid.  Let’s talk about each of these.

·      Full Pay:  Students who apply to highly competitive schools will not be offered any kind of merit aid. The philosophy at Wellesley College and other high-end schools is that all accepted students deserve merit aid, so none is offered. At these schools, families are expected to pay the full price of education or qualify for financial aid. If they qualify for financial aid, their needs will be fully met.

·      Merit Scholarships: Students who offer a lot of passion, talent and diversity, despite their financial situation, may be offered a merit scholarship to entice them to accept a second choice school. These can be very attractive offers to families who might not qualify for financial aid, but still feel that the full cost of education is too high. Remember that for a student who is full of potential, a great education can be found at any school. Why not accept the one that offers a generous merit scholarship?

After years of planning, May 1^st is Decision Day for high school students hoping to attend college in the fall. Let me give you a checklist so that this most important decision is done as well as the rest of your work!

·      Send in Your Deposit for the right amount, to the right school, on time, and for all the right reasons.

·      Review Your List one more time.  Make a spreadsheet, a list, or just talk it over once more before making the commitment.  Knowing your priorities is essential for a no-regrets decision.

·      Value vs. Price Tag is sometimes hard to figure. There are many ways to assess the value of your school—quality of professors, program, internships, chances for employment, distance from home, and connections. Make sure that your school choice will allow you to graduate in 4 years.  Any longer, and the price goes up!

·      The Wait List may still hold your favorite school. Go ahead and deposit at your second choice. Devote your emotional energy to that school. If you hear from your WL school, you’ll have a chance to reconsider then.  Relax, pay, and be confident in your decision.

          Just the other day, one of our clients was recounting his high school experience thus far.  He said, “I’ve been working my tail off so that I can get into a great college and then work even harder!"  Laughter burst from him as caught the irony of his words.  "Please explain the logic of this to me.”

         This student, who is actually a hard-working, college-bound, young man, brings up an interesting point.  Junior year is the time to assess a student’s readiness for college.  While we’d like to see the perfect fit for every high school student, sometimes the perfect fit is not college.  Making that decision means coming up with an alternative choice for employment or service right out of high school. (Also, see our Blog on “The Gap Year.”)

         No one likes to throw money away and college is a big expense.  But let’s not jump ship yet. The “maybe” student might actually be a “yes” student if we ask the right questions. Before we begin the college process, we’d love to know that the student has a passion for something that the college experience will provide. Sometimes, we meet with students who are a little tired of the whole thing.  If the student seems unmotivated, our question to him/her is, “What do you think you need to know in order to live a satisfying life?”

     The infamous Gap Year –it worked for Prince William and Prince Harry, but will it work for me?  That’s a question best answered by your circumstances.  Let’s say you didn’t get into any of your top schools – after all, 2011 has been the hardest year ever for admissions – and you want to up your “irresistibility factor” so that you can apply again next year.  Now is the time to make that year count – which in no way resembles “taking a breather on the couch.”

       It may be a time to consider deeply what you really want from college, or dare we say it, life?  Since college is a huge investment of both time and money, sometimes a year off is just what is needed to put your education goals in perspective.  Your extra year of maturity and self-reflection will serve you well when you become a freshman the following year.

     The Gap Year is your perfect opportunity to find a career-related job, internship or volunteer work.  It’s your chance to study up to re-take your SAT or GRE test, while you supplement your extra credit by taking related classes at your city college.  If you’re creative, it’s a golden window for writing that play or novel, expanding your art portfolio, or practicing for that cello audition.  Look upon the year as a chance to enhance your potential and increase your self-confidence.  When application season rolls around again, you’ll be ready to meet it head-on.  –JS

            There is a growing epidemic among college freshman – a sense of dissatisfaction with their college choice and an overwhelming homesickness, that is causing more students than ever to jump ship and go home.  Whether they tough it out for a year, a semester, or even a few weeks, the end result is that these students find themselves awash on the shores of home – alienated from their friends who are still in college and too “grown-up” to enjoy living with mom and dad again.  Because their choices leave them feeling adrift, this group has been called “swirl students.”  

            The swirl student believes that any option is better than their current one when they’re faced with the typical challenges of freshman year.  They have trouble fitting in with the student body, they miss their friends back home and sometimes they just hate the weather.  They believe that they’ll have many better options when they get home – i.e. a simple transfer to another college, or a gap year at a city college while they decide on their next move.  The problem with this reasoning is that they are not the only students with this game plan.  City colleges are overwhelmed with students just like them, and their budget cuts have made them more selective than ever.  Many of them find that transferring to other 4-year colleges is more difficult than ever, and are forced to take a year off while they wait for the next admission deadline to roll around.  They find themselves wasting valuable time until their new options open up.