Improve your chances of getting into college,

Short Answer:

Seasoned admissions officers who have spent years working at colleges in the same state will know your hometown and/or high school fairly well. However, this can cause them to prejudge your application.

Detailed Answer:

There is a great deal of prejudice in college admissions – as many different attitudes as there are counselors -- so the fact that an admissions officer knows your school can work both for or against you.

Hometown and/or high schools that are in socioeconomically challenged areas are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to college admissions. Counselors who have personal prejudices against certain ethnicities or economic backgrounds will lean toward not admitting students from those hometown and/or high schools.

I remember a student from a high school in Jersey City, a famously poor, urban, multi-ethnic area. Her academic record was straight As in a strong academic program. She had maxed out everything she could take. She was Valedictorian. However, her hometown and/or high school did not offer SAT prep courses, and clearly her family could not afford to pay for individual coaching. Her combined SAT verbal and math score was 900, well below minimum admissibility. I pushed her file up the line and said to the associate director, “YOU be the one who can’t sleep at night for denying this student.” Eventually we admitted her, but the discussions about it revealed the deeply held prejudices of individual staff members.

Conversely, students from high income communities are expected to have benefited from all the privileges and advantages afforded to their high school students. This can make it difficult for a student whose academic record is weak. The assumption is that the student is either 1) too dumb to make it at the college, or 2) lazy.

The fact is that any number of issues can play into the failure of a student’s academic record. These factors can make it difficult to see the student’s real talent – hidden traumas, family or personal illnesses, divorce, abuse, romantic disappointments, late-blooming maturity, etc. The counselor may assume that the student had all the advantages in the world, so there must be something wrong with this student to not have achieved at a level similar to his/her peers.

The bottom line is this: Admissions counselors that know your high school and community may base their opinion of YOU on past students who have applied from your school – which has very little to do with who you are or who you will be.

A final story: At the NACAC conference this past September, the Princeton rep on the College Interview seminar panel blurted out that Princeton simply “never takes students from West Virginia.” Then she stumbled all over herself trying to take back her words. It would have been funny had it not been so smug and disturbing. Talk about your entire home STATE working against you…

Sure! Unless you are headed for Yale. I met with a counselor at Yale in the spring and asked about their gap year policy. In return, I was met with horror at the suggestion. In her words, “We only want the top students.” Since when did a student who has an interest in the world and life and something other than the classroom become something less than a “top student?”

There are wonderful opportunities out there for students who want a break to give them perspective on their challenges (personal and otherwise), explore their interests, and learn more about themselves before jumping into their studies in a more directed and meaningful way. Community service in the U.S. or abroad; wilderness exploration; academic-subject focused; travel; work; and many more opportunities for personal, spiritual, intellectual, and social growth are available to students who seek a way of moving forward that is meaningful to them and not to an institution.

I worked with a student once who came to my office mid-senior year of high school. He told me that he would like a deferral so he could backpack around Europe for a year. This student had straight As in a strong college program and outstanding SATs. He was admissible just about everywhere.

Now, after some conversation, I discovered that his girlfriend had just dumped him. Basically his desire was to escape the possibility of running into her.

I told him to go for it. “It will be the best learning experience you’ve ever had, and you will no doubt encounter many more girls who will get your mind off of her. Just don’t do anything stupid or dangerous. And keep in touch.”

So off to Europe he went. No overly scheduled first-year experience programs desperate for his attention and making him nuts. No confusing campus social interaction. No academic pressure cooker. And what an experience he had. Great kid. Great success.

Why not?

Short Answer: Do your homework and be purposeful.

Detailed Answer:

Before you spend boatloads of money and time to actually visit colleges, you should have done enough research to be able to know which of the questions below have not been answered to your satisfaction.

In addition to these questions, I always encourage students to do some stream of consciousness writing at the end of the day when they are by themselves. This kind of expression reveals a great deal in terms of intuition and their emotional reaction to the visit, their comfort level, their concerns, etc. Not a bad idea for parents to do this, too. (But do it separately!) If you are visiting lots of colleges, this helps you document an important, non-quantifiable experience for future reference when comparing institutions.

Admissions and or Financial Aid Counselor Meeting

1. What are the application options? Online app, institutional only, The Common App?

2. Are there separate parts of the application for Honors College, Arts or Theater performance components, athletes, scholarships?

3. Is there an Early Action, Early Decision or only regular admissions application processes? What are the specific requirements of each? If you choose EA or ED are you automatically rolled over to the regular admissions process or do you need to request it?

4. Is there an appeal process for EA or ED? Is there a general admissions decision appear process?

5. What is the application fee? Is there a discount for applying online, during the summer visit, for economically disadvantaged students?

6. Come prepared for this meeting with your income tax information from the previous year so they can give you a fair idea of how much you might be responsible for paying out of pocket. FA: How much of each students need is met by the college? How much does tuition increase on a yearly basis? How much debt does the typical student incur after four years? What is the job placement average for graduating students? Is there any guarantee for job or grad school placement? (Check out the NYTimes FA section: http://topics.nytimes.com/your-money/loans/student-loans/index.html)

7. Complete the college cost calculator with the college’s information http://www.nytimes.com//interactive/2009/04/14/your-money/20090415-college-calculator.html?ref=payingforcollege:

Class Visit

8. What was student participation like? Did the students seem smart and engaged? Did you feel a desire to participate in the class discussion?

9. Did the students appear to respect the professor? Did he appear to have expertise in his academic discipline?

10. Did the professor treat her/his students respectfully?

11. Did the class teach you something new? Did you find the class challenging? Did the professor answer student questions to your (and the student’s) satisfaction?

12. How does the college incorporate new technology into the classroom setting? Skype? IM? FB? Twitter? Is it embraced and to what degree?

Academic Department Visit

1. What was your impression of the rigor of the department? Did it seem challenging and energetic? Were they trying to sell you on their department, or were they trying to sell you on their field of study? Are they truly excited by what they are doing?

2. Is the academic department nationally ranked? By what ranking agency? Does this matter for your field?

3. Did the faculty and students appear to have positive and respectful interaction?

4. What are some of the independent projects that students are working on and how is faculty assisting them?

5. What does the department do to assist students in becoming connected with the work world post-graduation? How connected are they with professionals in their area of expertise outside the college/university? Where have students interned? Where have students gotten jobs?

6. What does the department do to assist students who are interested in continuing on to grad school? What grad schools have their students attended?

7. What is their academic advising like? Are they proactive in their interaction with students whose grades and homework show struggle? Or are students expected to succeed or fail on their own? Do students start off with faculty for advising or is there an advising center? Do students get assigned to a faculty member once they declare a major? Can a student select an advisor or is it assigned to them? How available are the advisors? Can you only see them during office hours or can you make an appointment? Do they give you their home phone number?

8. How easy or hard is it to get the classes you need to progress toward graduation in a timely manner? Do they guarantee four year graduation? If not, what % students graduate in four years?

9. Can you double major?

10. Many students discover interesting ways of combining different concepts and areas of interest within their degree program. What is the interdisciplinary work like within the major? How open is the department to helping you achieve your needs academically as you progress? How supportive are they of creative thinking?

11. Is the department equipped sufficiently and currently? Is there enough staff and department funding to maintain the equipment or space in such a way that there will be no deterioration within the time that you are a student?

12. What are the faculty office hours? Do the students in the program feel they have adequate access to faculty outside of the classroom?

13. What is the reality of the student/faculty ratio?

14. What projects/research is the faculty in the department working on? Is this of interest to you or is there enough diversity in the work going on with the faculty that you are confident that you would find a mentor?

15. How does the department interact with and support the activities of any associated clubs or organizations?

16. Is there a clear path to graduation? Is academic advising readily available and how accurate is it? How does the department work with the registrar’s office to ensure seamless and accurate academic progress and course choices?

17. Will you have to pay extra to receive academic credit for your internship(s)?

Student Life

1. What is their orientation program like? Is there a first-year experience office or program at the college? What is the structure of the program? (common reading material, learning community, first-year seminar) What are the expected outcomes from this experience? How is it supposed to help you? Is it new or has it been in place for some time? What have been the results of their students having gone through the selected experience? Do you think it is comprehensive enough that you would be able to manage your first year or know where to go to seek the necessary help?

2. Do you see enough activities available that you would find a some activity in which to be involved? What are the ways that the college/university gives you the opportunity to learn about these activities/organizations?

3. What is the size of the college/university total? Are they going to grow in size in the coming years? If so, by how many students? Does it appear they could handle this growth and still service you as you would expect them to? If the college is large, how do they make it seem smaller/more manageable for you personally as a student?

4. Should you need emotional help or counseling, is there a safe and welcoming environment for this help on campus?

5. What is the college’s health system like? How many doctors and psychologists are available to assist the student body? Is there a decent hospital nearby? How close? Does the college provide health care coverage for their students? What does it cover? When does the parent health care kick in after the college/university provided care? ? What is the EMT response time? What is the relationship between campus health organizations and their comparable organizations in the town/city?

6. What is their judicial and community approach to binge drinking and/or drugs? What is the judicial approach to drug and alcohol abuse on campus?

7. What is their judicial and community approach to sexual assault issues on campus? What is the mechanism by which students report sexual assault and how does the college work with the town/city law enforcement operations and hospitals to combat and deal with sexual assault?

8. What is their judicial and community approach to bullying? Is there a mechanism for students to report bullying?

9. Do they assist in mediating roommate disputes? How easy is it to change roommates, rooms, or residence halls?

10. How easy or difficult is it to get to and from class? Is there a bus or shuttle system? Does the climate and/or campus size make getting to class or campus events easy or difficult?

11. How readily available is transportation to get you off campus to doctor’s appointments, community events, shopping, etc.?

12. How accessible is public transportation to and from airports and trains for travel home? Will the distance of the college from public transportation to major transportation options negatively impact your ability to get home for holidays or to see family? Will the cost of this transportation be prohibitive?

13. What do current students say about their college? What does their body language say when you ask them about their college?

14. What’s on the bulletin boards? What events are being announced? What kind of activism is present on campus? Does the club you are interested appear to be active?

15. What does the student newspaper report about the college? Does the newspaper reflect a concern about college fiscal issues, social problems, etc.? Does it celebrate student and faculty achievement? Does it give you a positive or negative impression of the college? (Remember to consider this information with caution. This gives you a flavor of the campus but sometimes the student newspaper can be very one sided. Use this as one source of many to understand the climate of the campus).

16. If you plan on using the fitness center, does it appear to be well maintained and clean? Is the equipment current? How crowded is the fitness center and at what times of day? Do they have on-site managers and trainers to ensure safety and appropriate etiquette?

17. Does the college provide opportunities to participate in activities off-campus such as visiting the local mall, city, sports events, out-door activities such as skiing, rock-climbing etc.?

18. Is the dining hall clean, well maintained, and well run? Does the staff seem polite and happy? Do the students eating in the dining hall seem happy? Do they serve healthy options? Do they offer a variety of meal options for students with special dietary needs, such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, Kosher etc.?

19. Does the student center seem orderly and well maintained? Does it have all the amenities you would need, such as toiletries (in the student store)?

20. Does the library meet your academic and personal needs? Are there quiet areas for studying? Are there areas for group study? Are their media collections and equipment well maintained and current? What are the library’s hours? Is there sufficient transportation or an escort program to ensure that you are able to travel safely to and from the library at all hours?

21. Is there a security team or police force presence on campus? How does the campus security team work with town/city law enforcement agencies? What is the response time to assaults or crises?

22. What is the college’s response to the current national trend of increased mental illness among first-year students? What mechanisms are in place to handle concerns of friends, roommates, etc. Would you be able to make a confidential request for help for a friend or a roommate? Would your concerns for your own mental and emotional health (perhaps stressed induced) be respected and responded to by the RHDs, RAs, administration, and health service?

23. Are there clearly articulated steps and authorities for handling crises of any kind? Are these steps made clear to all students, faculty, staff, and administration, and if these steps are taken by a student, is that student’s concerns respected?

24. Does the college present safety training exercises?

25. What are the details about the college’s cell campus-wide crisis alert system? Do they have a text message alert system?

26. What is the campus like on the weekends? Are there enough students that remain on campus to keep it interesting and fun?

27. Does the career center offer guidance regarding internships? Will they continue to work with students after they graduate?

28. What will the climate be during the time you will be on campus during the school year (August/September through April/May)? Does the climate/geographical location of the college suit your personal desires?

29. Do they offer support services and/or groups for other students with your particular personal needs (LGBT, therapy, learning disabilities, etc.)?

College Infrastructure

1. Are student services all located in a central place? Do you have to travel to distant parts of campus to deal with financial issues, registrar, parking tickets, etc.?

2. What is the demeanor of the staff? Do they seem to have a positive attitude? Do they appear to respect and like the students?

3. If you had occasion to interact with staff, were they welcoming to you? Do they seem patient with the students they interact with, or are they impatient?

4. Is the college’s Internet and computer technology current? Do they have enough funding and staff to maintain and support students’ tech needs? If a student has trouble with a computer or the Internet, what is the response time for repair? What is the IT staff like? Are they respectful and eager to help, or are they difficult to deal with? What is the mechanism for reporting a difficulty?

5. How many students each year are unable to graduate because they are missing one or two credits (when they were consistently advised otherwise)? How does the college ensure that this does not happen?

When you are done with these questions, jot down general notes, such as the following: Positives; Negatives & Concerns; What matters to you and does this college meet those requirements?; What do you need to learn more about?

Short Answer:

Ignore the "song and dance routine" being presented to you by the admissions office, as it has been specifically crafted to engage you. Be an astute observer, critical thinker, and question asker.

Detailed Answer:

Your college search is one of the first steps you will take to more fully become the person you will be throughout your life. So your college visits are a great place to begin developing the critical thinking and observation skills that will serve you well in every aspect of living. Be a smart consumer of higher education. Do your homework before you go, and be an astute observer and critical thinker when you visit.

First, listen critically to everything that is told to you. Traditionally, admissions counselors have been caring, knowledgeable individuals. However, many admissions counselors attitudes today are being driven by pressure from the administration to bring in students, which equals tuition and room and board money. Admissions counselors are selling you their college, because their jobs depend upon the numbers of students they recruit. So, unfortunately, you can no longer believe them any more than you would believe a used car salesman, despite everyone's good intentions. (BTW, the term "used car salesman" is one I hear often now, used by admissions counselors weary of the pressure to recruit students who are not a good fit.)

I have attended and participated in many, many info sessions over the years. In the past several years, it is astonishing how similar these sessions have become. They are almost interchangeable. The truth is that admissions departments everywhere have deeply researched your generation and know exactly what to say to attract you -- from diversity, to community service, to safety, to anything and everything.

Honestly, visiting a college is much more about considering the details that will affect your day to day life and sussing out the truth behind the marketing and reputation.

1. Observe the way that professors and administrators behave around students. Are the employees respectful of the students? Do they seem to enjoy interacting with them? Do they seem helpful and not dismissive of students with questions?

2. Consider the situations at Penn State and Rutgers. Consider your own ethics and then think about what questions you need to ask to learn about the ethics of the institution. For example, what is their student judicial system like? How have they handled bullying in the past? Do they have campus-wide programs in effect to increase inter-human sensitivity? How do they handle substance abuse issues? How do they deal with student conflict? What is their approach to handling student mental and emotional health issues? If a student is in crisis, and that crisis may reflect poorly on the institution, will the institution act on behalf of the student or will it cover up the crisis in order to protect the institution? Does the institution seem punitive or does it seem to approach jurisprudence as a learning opportunity? Don't just ask them open ended questions, ask for specific examples.

3. Ask about their first-year student intake program. How are they going to ensure that you are socially integrated and academically supported? What are the mechanisms for students to confidentially express their fears and anxieties? Do they have an Early Alert system? If they don't, what is their process for ensuring that no student falls through the cracks? If they do, is it one that is designed to truly help students who are struggling, or is it intended to seek out struggling students and punish them for buckling to the high pressures of college life?

4. Look at the "bricks and mortar." Does the campus look well-cared for? Does it look safe? Lights in alleyways and hallways, etc. That stuff matters. But college is a place to learn. It's not supposed to be the Golden Door Spa. Be aware that fancy, expensive residence hall facilities should make you question where your tuition and room and board money will be going -- especially if it is an institution that is charging higher tuition and it has little or no endowment. It should be going to ensure that the academic facilities and equipment will prepare you to enter your profession. That's what you're going to college for.

5. Before you go, read the local newspapers online and see what's mentioned about the college or university. Does the institution have a good reputation within the community? What is the relationship of the college to the surrounding community -- "town and gown"? Is the college genuinely invested in the people and community that surround it, or are they simply taking up space, creating a universe of their own with no interest in bettering the world around them? Some institutions, such as Indiana University -- Bloomington, are fully integrated into the community in every way, ethnically, socially, and economically. This integration creates a rich personal and professional experience with lots of real world possibilities for building a resume aimed at gaining employment upon graduating.

6. Listen closely and think critically. Make sure that the institution you are visiting is marketing itself HONESTLY through its tours and info sessions. For example,Tulane University is in New Orleans, which in its admissions tours touts its diversity. However, look around you on campus and you see virtually no evidence of varied ethnicities. Then drive to the other side of town and see a completely different, devastated community. Then remember the admissions officer telling you that their football team plays in the Superdome, which had housed all the people from the Ninth Ward. They have an almost billion dollar endowment, yet they accepted $135 million from FEMA post-Katrina to upgrade their data systems, yet the city is still devastated. Again, institutional ethics and truth in marketing -- pay attention to what they are telling you, then pay closer attention to anything that supports or denies what they have said.

7. Before you go on your tour, research safety statistics and everything that's been in the general news about the college. And when you are there, pick up a copy of the student newspaper -- that's where you will see what's really going on. And learn about what's being discussed at the Student Government Association meetings. Pay attention to what you find out about efforts students and student groups make to express their concerns to the college's administration. What are the concerns being expressed and how are those concerns being responded to.

8. Ask where your tuition money and room and board goes. Better yet, ask to be directed to published information that details where your money will go.

9. Don't ask what their average SAT score is, or their graduation rate, or their student/faculty ratio. You can find all that info online, even though it's not very important. The fact is, you learn more from astute observation and research than you do from asking questions.

10. Four-to-five years is a long time to be someplace. Before you leave for your visits, you should read online the college's Strategic Plan. When you visit the campus, check to see if there is evidence that the institution is moving actively in the direction its Strategic Plan indicates it wants to go.

11. Also research online where funding cuts are being made. If it's a public institution you are looking at, research what kinds of funding cuts are being made to make up for reduced state funding. Many, many institutions around the country are being faced with having to pull back on programs or eliminate them completely. When you visit, talk to a professor or students and find out what the continued funding outlook is for their department. You don't want to end up in a program that cannot keep up with it's needs for educating you, or worse, in a program that is in danger of being eliminated. And make sure you research what they tell you -- they may be trying to save their department by recruiting anyone and everyone. That doesn't mean the department isn't good, it just means they are struggling and you want to make certain that you understand the truth and possible outcomes of their struggles, because they will affect you.

12. Ask if tuition money is being spent to attract international students or if it is being used to help students such as yourself pay for college. How much money is being spent to recruit international students? Where is that money coming from? The latest statistics show that colleges are now spending more money on general marketing and marketing to international students than they are on scholarships for talented, low income students. Colleges claim that they recruit internationally because they want the diversity, but it's just about the money. The fact is that there is plenty of diversity in this country that is not being served by our institutions of higher learning.

Short Answer:

A lot.

Detailed Answer:

Well I’m not a college student, but I do know what I wish I’d done differently in high school:

1. I wish I had taken calculus and physics. Math and physics of any kind enables you to exercise mental abilities that can be exercised in no other way. I have discovered that I use math and physics every day – whether it is in understanding the meaning of statistics in an article that I am reading; or driving a car and understanding why the car can’t go around that curve that fast; or measuring a room to determine how much wallpaper to buy; or looking up at the night sky and understanding the expanse of the universe and how small my personal concerns are in relation to it.

2. I wish I’d taken Latin. It would have helped my vocabulary by helping me to understand word origins. It also would have helped me be a better writer, by helping me to understand sentence structure. I would have started my college years much more confidently, and I would have gotten a lot more out of those years – faster and cheaper.

3. I wish I’d taken Classics – anything that was offered – literature, mythology, etc. Classic literature helps you to understand history and the world, even if that world is the one that surrounds you every day. I would have understood more about people and how their life experiences affected them. The choices of characters and their resulting successes and failures would have helped me to make better choices of my own – whether those choices were romantic, financial, family-related, or career-related. I would also have understood at an earlier age more about people who are different from me, socioeconomically, ethnically, religiously, and culturally, which is important for anyone planning to be part of a diverse college community.

4. I wish I’d taken Philosophy –anything that was offered. Philosophy teaches you how to think critically, which means being able to take what you experience and process it in a logical way with effective reasoning. Frankly, I would have gotten into fewer scrapes along the way!

Short Answer:

A perfect student (or as close to perfect as it is possible to get)

Detailed Answer:

As I mentioned in a previous post, when I visited Yale in the Spring, the counselor I spoke with told me in no uncertain terms, “We only take the top students.”

As it happens, I was there to see her about a student I am working with who is brilliant -- AND the family has legacy. I did not tell her I was a consultant; I could have been the parent – and a wealthy one, at that. At the very least, in this instance, I was representing one.

So what did this counselor do? She blew me off. Like, totally. She made it quite clear to me that students considering Yale must have:

1. An academic record that is consistently As and A+s in as many AP courses as possible

2. Exhausted all the academic options at their school and pursued college courses if there were no more academic challenges at their school

3. Perfect SATs (or squeakingly close)

4. No break in the academic flow and no grade dips of any kind

5. No gap year

And that’s it – for Yale.

Needless to say, I am encouraging this student to seek entrance to a college that is more worthy of not only his brilliance, but of his spirit and his mental adventurousness. When I experience a dehumanizing experience such as that in an admissions office, I am pretty sure that is the experience the college or university promotes throughout its ranks, and that is unacceptable.

That’s why I like visiting colleges incognito – I want to experience first-hand the way they treat people. If I don’t like the way they treat me, then I’m not going to like the way they treat the young people I have the privilege of helping find success and fulfillment in their lives.

Now, other similarly selective colleges have more of an interest in who you are as a human being and whether or not your personal philosophies and academic interests fit their community. They, too, are seeking the top academic students, but their definition of a “top student” has more range and flexibility than simply a set of numbers.

For example, an Oberlin or a Swarthmore is highly selective – they look for top students, as well, but you have to have more going for you than simply a great academic record. You don’t have to dig too far into information about these types of colleges to see that they value character and integrity. A visit to these colleges conveys this even more.

One more thing: If you are a low income student seeking entrance to a selective college, if your numbers are fantastic, and your character and interests fit the spirit of the college, they will probably try to find money for you to attend. But even the elite colleges are worried about their budgets these days, so they may be leaning toward admitting students who can pay out of pocket, even though they may state in their marketing materials that they have a “need blind” as regards admissions.

Short Answer:

Look outside of your high school to find classes that 1) will challenge you, and 2) you will excel in. But the bottom line is to make sure your primary efforts are made toward excelling in the courses that are available to you in your high school. Colleges will take into consideration the fact that your courses are limited, but they will want to see that you have exceled in the courses that were available to you.

Detailed Answer:

If you have exhausted all of your academic college prep, honors, and AP options at your high school, check into taking a strong academic course at the local/regional community college or four-year college/university. This looks great on your application – assuming you receive a grade of B- or better (unless you are only applying to highly selective colleges, in which case it should be an A).

Colleges want to see that students have challenged themselves – reasonably. In other words, if you sign up for a ton of extracurriculars, and your grades suffer as a result, you will probably be denied admission.

Likewise, if you take challenging classes at a college in order to bolster your application, approach that challenge with a realistic attitude. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you able and willing to put in the time-per-week that a college course requires for success?

2. Will you have to take the college course over again when you get to college? Many college curriculums require that certain fundamental courses be taken within that department – they won’t accept the credit from another institution. So would you be better off taking a different course that would actually count for credit?

3. Will the course you want to take enhance your application? In other words, is it a strong academic course, such as a 100 level math, English, science, or language course? Is it a course that builds on learning you have already received in such courses in high school? Is it a natural progression in a strong area of interest?

4. Be careful about taking college arts courses as extras in high school. If you are an arts major and you feel you are headed for a conservatory program in college, they most likely will not accept the transfer credits. They may accept music theory or something fundamental like that, however, most conservatories have their own departmental philosophies and training structures that they want you to be immersed in from day one.

Another option for students seeking a greater challenge than is offered within their high school is working at a part-time job in an interest area they wish to pursue in college. High school cooperative internships, externships, and volunteer opportunities in professional areas are a great way to learn as you are assisting professionals within fields such as pharmacy, veterinary medicine, industry, etc . This can count for a lot in an application.

But I cannot stress enough the importance of achieving great grades in the courses that you have available to you at your high school. If you are a student who pushes him or herself beyond your capability in terms of grades in order to “overachieve” and impress an admissions office, but this self-pressure results in average or poor grades, it won’t matter if you have taken college courses in addition to your high school academics.

Short Answer: It’s all smoke and mirrors. You gotta dig deeper to get to what’s real.

Detailed Answer:

In my first days as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Rutgers University in New Jersey, I was responsible for collecting and calculating much of the data that was submitted to the federal government (via IPEDS) and the various rankings publications, such as U.S. News and World Report, Peterson’s, etc.

It was so very clear to all of us involved in this process of data collection and analysis how easily this information could be manipulated by an institution to improve its placement on the rankings lists. We were quite sure that other institutions were manipulating this data in this way, and it’s beginning to come out that in certain cases, this is exactly what has been happening. (Google “Iona College Data Falsified.”)

How might that work? Here ya go:

As an institution, in the data you submit to the rankings publications (and the federal government, via IPEDS) do you want your SAT scores to appear higher? Lop off the SAT scores of your typically underperforming groups – athletes, first-generation/low-income, legacy, etc. – and you present much higher median and average SAT scores. (That’s why admissions counselors snicker when you ask them “What’s your average SAT.” There’s no such thing as an average SAT. You want to be taken seriously by an admissions professional? Don’t ask that question.

Want to increase the appearance of selectivity in the rankings (the idea that the institution is harder to get into than others)? That’s simple: Make the application easy. Remove or reduce the essay component; accept the Common App; reduce or remove the application fee; send out pre-completed application forms to “top students” (don’t be flattered if you receive one of these); don’t require letters of recommendation; market to tons of inadmissible students, raise their hopes, then deny them. The latter is one of the tactics the Ivies use – that’s one of the ways they maintain their reputation as elite institutions. Actually, most institutions use some or all of these strategies.

When I was Dean of Admissions at one of the Vermont State Colleges, this conversation was held every year, driven by a panicky president: How can we increase the numbers of applications? (In fact, this conversation happens in almost every single admissions office in the world.) The president of the college wanted the application to be as simple as possible, with no letters of recommendation, no essay, no fee, in short, nothing to slow down the application from being submitted and reviewed, because the president wanted the numbers higher.

This is the type of manipulative behavior that drives rankings.

Here's a story that stems directly from that situation: We received a complaint one day from an applicant. This student had received a phone call from one of the counselors congratulating that student on being admitted, and the student (a very, very smart student) challenged that counselor by saying, “How can your college be any good if you received my application online yesterday and you are already calling me to tell me I have been accepted?” Bingo. The fact is that the college had several outstanding faculty members and students that deserved to be part of a process that was more conscientious than the president of the college was capable of.

Those are just a couple of examples. There are many others. Why this type of anxiety and manipulation?

The institution’s trustees and Board of Governors and alumni want their institution to be as high in the rankings as possible because the foundation can leverage that information to attract donations from alumni and corporations and because their Office of Admissions can use it in their marketing publications to set them apart from other institutions.

It’s a funny thing that happens: If an institution ranks high on a list, they suddenly think rankings are a great idea (while saying privately that they know it’s all bunk.) If they rank low on a list, they agree that the rankings are nonsense.

This is why so many colleges and universities have stopped submitting their information to the rankings publications, and why you see U.S. News and World Report fumbling around in the news trying to push their agenda and changing their research methodology. They are being challenged as to the validity of their data and the use of their data. U.S News (and other similar publications) makes a ton of money off of prospective students and their families, just like you. It’s a corporation. They are manipulating you to create anxiety and make money based on your fear of not being at the “best” college. They are in silent collusion with colleges and universities that buy into the rankings) because they rank high enough to be able to leverage that power), cheering you on when they overhear you at high school events bragging about the highly ranked institution to which you are applying. It’s a competition based on nothing meaningful.

So how do you get real, unadulterated data? The federal government via IPEDS – the College Navigator tool. But, oops! Even they don’t have it (again, Google Iona College Data Falsified.) Although they do try hard. To be honest, it’s only a handful of people in that office. How do I know? I’ve met them. Great people trying hard to be a great watchdog over institutions both massive and small whose inner workings and conversations they can’t see and hear.

So if you ask me, a family that talks about rankings in their college search is not doing their search right. Do your own homework, beginning with getting to the heart of needs and wants and hopes and dreams and realities. There are great colleges, faculty, and outcomes everywhere. You’re not going to find that information in a rankings guide.

Like I said, you gotta dig deeper to get to what’s real.

Short Answer:

Be an astute observer and a critical thinker when visiting a college and listening to an admissions counselor.

Detailed Answer:

Your college search is one of the first steps you will take to more fully become the person you will be throughout your life. So your college visits are a great place to begin developing the critical thinking and observation skills that will serve you well in every aspect of living. Be a smart consumer of higher education. Do your homework before you go, and be an astute observer and critical thinker when you visit.

First, listen critically to everything that is told to you. Traditionally, admissions counselors have been caring, knowledgeable individuals. However, many admissions counselors attitudes today are being driven by pressure from the administration to bring in students, which equals tuition and room and board money. Admissions counselors are selling you their college, because their jobs depend upon the numbers of students they recruit. So, unfortunately, you can no longer believe them any more than you would believe a used car salesman, despite everyone's good intentions. (BTW, the term "used car salesman" is one I hear often now, used by admissions counselors weary of the pressure to recruit students who are not a good fit.)

I have attended and participated in many, many info sessions over the years. In the past several years, it is astonishing how similar these sessions have become. They are almost interchangeable. The truth is that admissions departments everywhere have deeply researched your generation and know exactly what to say to attract you -- from diversity, to community service, to safety, to anything and everything.

Honestly, visiting a college is much more about considering the details that will affect your day to day life and sussing out the truth behind the marketing and reputation.

1. Observe the way that professors and administrators behave around students. Are the employees respectful of the students? Do they seem to enjoy interacting with them? Do they seem helpful and not dismissive of students with questions?

2. Consider the situations at Penn State and Rutgers. Consider your own ethics and then think about what questions you need to ask to learn about the ethics of the institution. For example, what is their student judicial system like? How have they handled bullying in the past? Do they have campus-wide programs in effect to increase inter-human sensitivity? How do they handle substance abuse issues? How do they deal with student conflict? What is their approach to handling student mental and emotional health issues? If a student is in crisis, and that crisis may reflect poorly on the institution, will the institution act on behalf of the student or will it cover up the crisis in order to protect the institution? Does the institution seem punitive or does it seem to approach jurisprudence as a learning opportunity? Don't just ask them open ended questions, ask for specific examples.

3. Ask about their first-year student intake program. How are they going to ensure that you are socially integrated and academically supported? What are the mechanisms for students to confidentially express their fears and anxieties? Do they have an Early Alert system? If they don't, what is their process for ensuring that no student falls through the cracks? If they do, is it one that is designed to truly help students who are struggling, or is it intended to seek out struggling students and punish them for buckling to the high pressures of college life?

4. Look at the "bricks and mortar." Does the campus look well-cared for? Does it look safe? Lights in alleyways and hallways, etc. That stuff matters. But college is a place to learn. It's not supposed to be the Golden Door Spa. Be aware that fancy, expensive residence hall facilities should make you question where your tuition and room and board money will be going -- especially if it is an institution that is charging higher tuition and it has little or no endowment. It should be going to ensure that the academic facilities and equipment will prepare you to enter your profession. That's what you're going to college for.

5. Before you go, read the local newspapers online and see what's mentioned about the college or university. Does the institution have a good reputation within the community? What is the relationship of the college to the surrounding community -- "town and gown"? Is the college genuinely invested in the people and community that surround it, or are they simply taking up space, creating a universe of their own with no interest in bettering the world around them? Some institutions, such as Indiana University -- Bloomington, are fully integrated into the community in every way, ethnically, socially, and economically. This integration creates a rich personal and professional experience with lots of real world possibilities for building a resume aimed at gaining employment upon graduating.

6. Listen closely and think critically. Make sure that the institution you are visiting is marketing itself HONESTLY through its tours and info sessions. For example,Tulane University is in New Orleans, which in its admissions tours touts its diversity. However, look around you on campus and you see virtually no evidence of varied ethnicities. Then drive to the other side of town and see a completely different, devastated community. Then remember the admissions officer telling you that their football team plays in the Superdome, which had housed all the people from the Ninth Ward. They have an almost billion dollar endowment, yet they accepted $135 million from FEMA post-Katrina to upgrade their data systems, yet the city is still devastated. Again, institutional ethics and truth in marketing -- pay attention to what they are telling you, then pay closer attention to anything that supports or denies what they have said.

7. Before you go on your tour, research safety statistics and everything that's been in the general news about the college. And when you are there, pick up a copy of the student newspaper -- that's where you will see what's really going on. And learn about what's being discussed at the Student Government Association meetings. Pay attention to what you find out about efforts students and student groups make to express their concerns to the college's administration. What are the concerns being expressed and how are those concerns being responded to.

8. Ask where your tuition money and room and board goes. Better yet, ask to be directed to published information that details where your money will go.

9. Don't ask what their average SAT score is, or their graduation rate, or their student/faculty ratio. You can find all that info online, even though it's not very important. The fact is, you learn more from astute observation and research than you do from asking questions.

10. Four-to-five years is a long time to be someplace. Before you leave for your visits, you should read online the college's Strategic Plan. When you visit the campus, check to see if there is evidence that the institution is moving actively in the direction its Strategic Plan indicates it wants to go.

11. Also research online where funding cuts are being made. If it's a public institution you are looking at, research what kinds of funding cuts are being made to make up for reduced state funding. Many, many institutions around the country are being faced with having to pull back on programs or eliminate them completely. When you visit, talk to a professor or students and find out what the continued funding outlook is for their department. You don't want to end up in a program that cannot keep up with it's needs for educating you, or worse, in a program that is in danger of being eliminated. And make sure you research what they tell you -- they may be trying to save their department by recruiting anyone and everyone. That doesn't mean the department isn't good, it just means they are struggling and you want to make certain that you understand the truth and possible outcomes of their struggles, because they will affect you.

12. Ask if tuition money is being spent to attract international students or if it is being used to help students such as yourself pay for college. How much money is being spent to recruit international students? Where is that money coming from? The latest statistics show that colleges are now spending more money on general marketing and marketing to international students than they are on scholarships for talented, low income students. Colleges claim that they recruit internationally because they want the diversity, but it's just about the money. The fact is that there is plenty of diversity in this country that is not being served by our institutions of higher learning.

Short Answer:

Great grades.

Detailed Answer:

Great grades. (And don’t plan on getting Senioritis in your senior year. If you do get it and your grades tank, the college that accepted you based on those great junior year grades will rescind their offer of admission; you will probably cry and make excuses; but no one will feel bad for you.)

Short answer:

Extracurriculars show how good you are at extracurriculars; good grades show how dedicated you are as a student.

Detailed answer:

Admissions departments would rather see an outstanding academic record with no extracurriculars than a weak or average academic record filled with extracurriculars. We are quite disheartened when we see a two page resume of extracurricular activities accompanying an average transcript. The extracurriculars won't get you in; great grades will.

Don’t spread your energy too thin. As far as extracurriculars go, choose one or two areas on which to focus and achieve leadership. It shows an ability to commit your energies in a meaningful way and still excel in the classroom.

Short Answer:

Sixteen, off the top of my head…

Detailed Answer:

1. Making assumptions, about anything and everything

2. Believing that because you receive unsolicited information from a college, it means they want you: The fact is, they want your application, so they can count it and reject you so it appears that they are more selective; this is one of the variables that enhances their position in the rankings

3. A lack of understanding of what a “competitive” academic record looks like

4. Blowing off senior year (getting senioritis) because you were already admitted to the college you wanted and “everyone knows senior year grades don’t matter”: If you don’t know what the word “rescind” means, look it up

5. Bullying admissions officers

6. Believing you can “game” the college admissions system at any given institution: The fact is no one but the individuals within the actual meetings that determine the entrance parameters for the cycle each year has any idea what –or why – certain changes are being made to the admissions process; you can’t base your approach to the process this year on what you understand happened last year

7. Broadcasting to your friends that you are applying to the Ivies – then lying and saying you got in, when in fact you were rejected: If you do this, it just makes the end of your senior year embarrassing and painful

8. Relying on parents or high school guidance counselors for information about getting into college: The fact is, they’ve never worked in admissions, so they can’t really help you; guidance counselors mean well, but unless they are in the minority of those who are truly connected to higher ed, then you are out of luck

9. Believing what admissions counselors say who work for the college(s) you are interested in: They are sales people with quotas to meet

10. Believing what your friends tell you – about anything: I've witnessed some egregious lying between "BFFs" when it comes to SAT scores and what colleges they got into -- ugh. And parents, this goes for you, too, because parents can be just as competitive as the kids.

11. Basing your college search on what your friends or relatives tell you

12. Believing that you will receive scholarship money if you are a low income student: Colleges today spend more on marketing to international students than the amount they provide in aid to low income, non-privileged students

13. Private colleges provide a better education than public colleges: The fact is, many public institutions provide a better education and better connections to internships and careers than private colleges do

14. Public colleges are less expensive than private colleges: Private colleges usually have ginormous endowments, a portion of which is spent on aid; if you do a net price comparison between public and private institutions, as I have, you notice immediately that if you subtract the amount of money from the cost of tuition/room&board, the cost levels off, and publics aren’t that much less money than privates

15. They read all your materials: Some do; most don’t.

16. You can submit the same essay with all applications: That’s one sure way to get tossed out of the pile; read the instructions regarding the essay, and submit what they are requesting of you

Short Answer: There is no short answer to this question, because the myths are countless.

Detailed Answer:

Here are my top seven myths.

Myth #1: Admissions counselors care.

A lot of admissions counselors love their jobs. But look around a college fair a half an hour before it’s over. Note how many tables are empty. Many admissions counselors don’t want to be there. In fact, it’s amazing how many admissions counselors just leave their materials on the tables and take off for the entire event. If you are there and the representative for the school you are interested is not there, call that college's admissions office and tell them.

Myth #2: Admissions counselors know what they are talking about.

I once sat next to a fellow counselor at an Open House who told a student our college accepted the Common App. That counselor had worked at the institution for 15 years. I had been there 2 years. Even I knew we didn’t accept the Common App.

Myth #3: Your application will be reviewed closely.

Nonsense. That would take time. Many institutions are now moving to an algorithm on the back end of their data system that makes decisions on applications solely based on numbers. No human being ever sees any part of the application.

At one institution I worked at, they were so concerned about increasing the speed of application reading, we were told to shred essays and letters of recommendations to keep the paper down to a minimum, so we wouldn’t be tempted to take the time to read them.

This is an excellent question to ask the admissions office of any college you are considering: How will my application be reviewed? Unfortunately, the ones who won’t ever see it will tell you that it was carefully reviewed. And there is no way to verify any information you are given regarding this part of the process.

Myth #4: The buzz words in college marketing materials are true.

“Student centered.” “Academic excellence.” “Small classes.” “Diversity.” Just like any big business, their marketing and communications group has researched your generation and come up with the marketing phrases they believe will attract your interest. That’s why everything you receive in the mail looks the same. That’s why you want them to turn off their messages to your email (that have been coming in huge quantities since your PSAT scores became available to them in your Sophomore year.)

Colleges are desperately competitive with one another and equally desperate to convey that there is something special about them…but somehow they all end up looking and sounding the same. Your job is to see behind the words to ascertain who they really are. (Want to visit a college that puts forth an admissions message that is completely contrary to the truth of who and where they are? Check out Tulane University, New Orleans. )

Myth #5: If you begin your degree at your community college, your life is over.

Don’t be ridiculous. The fact is that approximately 40% of students entering college today require some type of remedial coursework. Even the top students coming out of high school these days are weak writers and non-critical thinkers, no matter the results of their SATs and ACTs.

Many, many students simply are not prepared for the rigor of higher level academic work. So why would you put yourself and/or your parents into financial peril by shelling out big bucks for coursework that won’t even count for credit? Because you want to party on a big campus? Because you want freedom from home? Because your friends are going away to school?

These are all reasonable, emotional answers, but in the long run, none of them is as valuable as sound financial and academic decisions. Unless you brag about your lack of student loan debt, no one in the job market will know that you started out at community college (by the way, there are just as many fabulous instructors at community colleges as there are terrible professors at elite colleges; want an example? Google poet Stephen Dunn, who was teaching at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize). The fact is, future employers will only know where you received your undergraduate degree.

What people will recognize about the community college choice is 1) financial intelligence, which will be evident by the fact that you have less student loan debt than students who did all four (usually five) years at a major four-year institution, and 2) a determination to nail your upper level coursework and be ready for the job market and/or grad school. Sure you won’t have had the social experience of a traditional, over-programmed, anxiety producing, first-year college program. But that first-year experience often turns out to be a liability for many students that is hard to recover from.

Myth #6: Net Price Calculators are accurate.

Nope. This is a huge topic and one I won’t go into too deeply here.

Suffice to say, colleges are under a great deal of pressure from the federal government to provide families with an accurate idea of how much it is going to cost them to attend College X and College Y.

At the NACAC conference in September of this year, I attended a seminar where Diane Cheng of the California non-profit organization Institute for College Access & Success spoke about the development of these net price calculators. Dr. Cheng stated that institutions appeared to be developing their calculators in a non-uniform manner in order to meet their marketing needs. That tells you everything you need to know about how much faith to place in them. Not much.

Myth #7. The college that rejects you defines you as a loser. Forever.

Many of the most interesting, accomplished, creative, deep and innovative thinkers in our world (indeed, in the history of the world) didn't go to college, didn't get into college, bailed on the college they got into, or failed out of the college they got into. If your college admissions process doesn't go as well as you'd hoped, roll with it. Maybe life has something a lot more meaningful and productive in store for you.

Short Answer:

Sometimes no one sees it.

Detailed Answer:

One of the ways admissions directors are judged in their performance evaluation is by the increase in applications every year. If there is not an increase in applications, it is a black mark against them.

In an economic crisis where budgets and staffing in every department are being slashed, colleges must do more with fewer people. There are two ways in which they do this:

1. Each admissions counselor is under pressure to make a certain number of application decisions each day. With fewer admissions staff to “read” applications, less reading actually gets done in the process of making a decision.

In one situation I am aware of, the institution kept track of the numbers of applications read each day (it was all electronic – students were simply a bunch of numbers and calculations on a screen), and supervisors were required to monitor this output. My own “personal best” in terms of “applications read in a day” was 100. Yes: ONE HUNDRED. [Usually it was 50-80.] I can tell you this: Reaching one hundred decisions in a day did not allow time for reading essays or letters of recommendation.

2. Certain institutions with high volumes of applications are now using algorithms that make the decision on applications without anyone ever seeing the application. The same machine that generated all those marketing messages and letters to you from the time your PSAT information became available is now making the decision on your application. No human being ever touches or sees your file.

3. Some colleges – usually the small, private ones -- still use faculty committees and an individualized approach to application review. Many of these small colleges have a specific combination of characteristics in mind when looking for students. In some cases, it is very much a matter of outstanding grades, and grades only. But often, they will take more time with your application and discuss it with others.

Short Answer:

Great grades and maturity.

Detailed Answer:

1. Great grades.

2. Strong academic classes, including AP and honors (Ivies want to see that you have exhausted your coursework at your high school and achieved consistent excellence).

3. Maturity. If you have done poorly in a semester or two, admissions officers want to see you take responsibility for it without placing blame on various people or situations.

4. They want to see that you have not sacrificed your grades for too many extracurriculars.

5. They want to see that you have settled on one or two extracurricular interests and have pursued leadership opportunities.

6. Excellent writing and thinking skills. The fact is, anyone’s Mom can write the essay, and it can be just as readily purchased off the Internet. So admissions may or may not formally count the SAT writing score in the application process, but they will definitely take note of how well you did.

7. They want to see that you followed their instructions.

Short Answer:

Many admissions counselors really, really, REALLY don't want to hear from you; other counselors want to be helpful in any way they can. The problem is, when you call or stop by, you get what you get. You won't know whether they care or not until they have1) blown you off and made you feel worthless, or 2) smiled and made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Detailed Answer:

Contacting an admissions officer can work both for you and against you.

I’ve known many, many admissions counselors who consider students and parents a pest. They believe that your application is your application, your academic record is your academic record, and any questions you wish to ask simply have no importance.

I’ve also known admissions counselors who automatically believe the student or parent is lying about paperwork they claim to have submitted, or fees they claim to have paid. Every single time I have had someone tell me that they submitted paperwork that can’t be found, I discovered (after doing my own investigation) that the individual was telling me the truth: The document was stuffed into some pile, or scanned into someone else’s file, and the other admissions counselors just couldn’t be bothered to seek it out.

But know this: If you are calling to challenge the decision on your application, the fact is that admissions counselors often cannot affect it. In particular, they cannot help you to get off the Wait List. What they CAN do is allow you to request reconsideration of your admissions decision based on senior year outcomes or trends. But that is something they may have no interest in, as well.

If you are going to draw attention to yourself by contacting admissions and speaking to a counselor, you will help your cause if you 1) are succinct in the way you ask your question, 2) don’t make excuses, and 3) don’t make threats. An office I worked in installed an alarm system so that we counselors had a way of alerting our colleagues in the back that we felt threatened by a parent or student. So don’t pester anyone to the point that they call Campus Security to escort you off campus.

If you truly believe your cause is important and you feel you are being blown off by a counselor, then ask to speak to their supervisor. That still may not get you anywhere – the fact is, no one really wants to talk to you, they’re too busy – but at least you will have had the self-respect and dignity of knowing you gave it your best shot.

The bottom line is this: If you have a legitimate reason for calling to ask a question, then be a pest. But remember the old adage, You catch more flies with honey. Be nice, be respectful. Let THEM err on the side of rude and unkind behavior.

Short Answer:

The biggest myth is that the college that markets to you, actually WANTS you.

Detailed Answer:

There are many myths, but here are my top six.

Myth #1: Admissions counselors care.

A lot of admissions counselors love their jobs. But look around a college fair a half an hour before it’s over. Note how many tables are empty. Admissions counselors don’t want to be there. In fact, it’s amazing how many admissions counselors just leave their materials on the tables and take off for the entire event.

Myth #2: Admissions counselors know what they are talking about.

I once sat next to a fellow counselor at an Open House who told a student our college accepted the Common App. That counselor had worked at the institution for 15 years. I had been there 2 years. Even I knew we didn’t accept the Common App.

Myth #3: Your application will be reviewed closely.

Nonsense. That would take time. Many institutions are now moving to an algorithm on the back end of their data system that makes decisions on applications solely based on numbers. No human being ever sees any part of the application.

At one institution I worked at, they were so concerned about increasing the speed of application reading, we were told to shred essays and letters of recommendations to keep the paper down to a minimum, so we wouldn’t be tempted to take the time to read them.

This is an excellent question to ask the admissions office of any college you are considering: How will my application be reviewed? Unfortunately, the ones who won’t ever see it will tell you that it was carefully reviewed. And there is no way to verify any information you are given regarding this part of the process.

Myth #4: The buzz words in college marketing materials are true.

“Student centered.” “Academic excellence.” “Small classes.” “Diversity.” Just like any big business, their marketing and communications group has researched your generation and come up with the marketing phrases they believe will attract your interest. That’s why everything you receive in the mail looks the same. That’s why you want them to turn off their messages to your email (that have been coming in huge quantities since your PSAT scores became available to them in your Sophomore year.) Colleges are desperately competitive with one another and equally desperate to convey that there is something special about them…but somehow they all end up looking and sounding the same. Your job is to see behind the words to ascertain who they really are. (Want to visit a college that puts forth an admissions message that is completely contrary to the truth of who and where they are? Check out Tulane University, New Orleans. )

Myth #5: If you begin your degree at your community college, your life is over.

Don’t be ridiculous. The fact is that approximately 40% of students entering college today require some type of remedial coursework. Even the top students coming out of high school these days are weak writers and non-critical thinkers, no matter the results of their SATs and ACTs.

Many, many students simply are not prepared for the rigor of higher level academic work. So why would you put yourself and/or your parents into financial peril by shelling out big bucks for coursework that won’t even count for credit? Because you want to party on a big campus? Because you want freedom from home? Because your friends are going away to school?

These are all reasonable, emotional answers, but in the long run, none of them is as valuable as sound financial and academic decisions. Unless you brag about your lack of student loan debt, no one in the job market will know that you started out at community college (by the way, there are just as many fabulous instructors at community colleges as there are terrible professors at elite colleges; want an example? Google poet Stephen Dunn, who was teaching at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize). The fact is, future employers will only know where you received your undergraduate degree.

What people will recognize about the community college choice is 1) financial intelligence, which will be evident by the fact that you have less student loan debt than students who did all four (usually five) years at a major four-year institution, and 2) a determination to nail your upper level coursework and be ready for the job market and/or grad school. Sure you won’t have had the social experience of a traditional, over-programmed, anxiety producing, first-year college program. But that first-year experience often turns out to be a liability for many students that is hard to recover from.

Myth #6: Net Price Calculators are accurate.

Nope. This is a huge topic and one I won’t go into too deeply here. Suffice to say, colleges are under a great deal of pressure to provide families with an accurate idea of how much it is going to cost them to attend College X and College Y.

At the NACAC conference in September of this year, I attended a seminar where Diane Cheng of the California non-profit organization Institute for College Access & Success spoke about the development of these net price calculators.

Dr. Cheng stated that institutions appeared to be developing their calculators in a non-uniform manner in order to meet their marketing needs. That tells you everything you need to know about how much faith to place in them. Nada.

Short Answer:

I've rarely seen gender bias in admissions. But once a student is on campus, one sees gender bias (and discrimination) all over the place – in the classroom, in the residence halls, in athletics, in the staff, in the administration, in student activities.

Detailed Answer:

Every institution has occasional instances of gender bias and abuse. What you want to know is, How pervasive is it? If you want to know if a college supports an environment of gender equality (whether it’s male/female, LGBT, etc.), look carefully at the following:

1. Does the college have student groups that are active in their fight for gender equality? You will find this information in the student newspaper or online. If the group is active, it will appear as meetings on a calendar or in articles. Ask to speak with the President of the club. You can also ask the director of student life, but he/she may give you the politically correct answer that makes the institution look good.

At Oberlin it is clear that the institution has a mission to support gender equality; when you walk around campus, you see evidence as to this fact. Another example is Tulane, which has bathrooms that are strictly for transgendered students.

On the other side of the concern, Yale has recently been in the news regarding an alleged "hostile sexual environment." And Rutgers experienced the suicide of Tyler Clementi, despite the recent implementation of a campus-wide program intended to promote a civilized college environment. This is an example of how the news about an institution can affect your decision to attend.

2. Whether or not an institution actively promotes a college-wide acceptance of gender sensitivity (as opposed to a superficial representation of such) can only be determined by your closer examination of the college.

This is an area where making your college-of-interest one of your Google alerts can be very useful (meaning that you will receive in your email everything appearing in the news anywhere about any particular college.) If something happens on a certain campus regarding the areas in which you have concern, you will know about it.

3. Pay close attention to the attitude that is promoted during discussions about the first-year, including orientation and registration programs. Ask how the orientation program supports gender sensitivity and equality. Ask what the judicial mechanisms are for reporting incidents of gender bias or harassment. If they tell you they have a Tunnel of Oppression or some other gender and ethnic abuse game in which they require students to participate (as one college in New England had), you should consider this a warning sign. In this case, the college is more interested in appearing to promote tolerance than they are in protecting the recognized or unrecognized emotional and psychological traumas of its incoming students, young people about whom they truly know very little.

Short Answer:

Seasoned admissions officers who have spent years working at colleges in the same state will know your high school fairly well. However, this can cause them to prejudge your application.

Detailed Answer:

There is a great deal of prejudice in college admissions – as many different attitudes as there are counselors -- so the fact that an admissions officer knows your school can work both for or against you.

High schools that are in socioeconomically challenged areas are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to college admissions. Counselors who have personal prejudices against certain ethnicities or economic backgrounds will lean toward not admitting students from those high schools.

I remember a student from a high school in Jersey City, a famously poor, urban, multi-ethnic area. Her academic record was straight As in a strong academic program. She had maxed out everything she could take. She was Valedictorian. However, her high school did not offer SAT prep courses, and clearly her family could not afford to pay for individual coaching. Her combined SAT verbal and math score was 900, well below minimum admissibility. I pushed her file up the line and said to the associate director, “YOU be the one who can’t sleep at night for denying this student.” Eventually we admitted her, but the discussions about it revealed the deeply held prejudices of individual staff members.

Conversely, students from high income communities are expected to have benefited from all the privileges and advantages afforded to their high school students. This can make it difficult for a student whose academic record is weak. The assumption is that the student is either 1) too dumb to make it at the college, or 2) lazy.

The fact is that any number of issues can play into the failure of a student’s academic record. These factors can make it difficult to see the student’s real talent – hidden traumas, family or personal illnesses, divorce, abuse, romantic disappointments, late-blooming maturity, etc. The counselor may assume that the student had all the advantages in the world, so there must be something wrong with this student to not have achieved at a level similar to his/her peers.

The bottom line is this: Admissions counselors that know your high school and community may base their opinion of YOU on past students who have applied from your school – which has very little to do with who you are or who you will be.

A final story: At the NACAC conference this past September, the Princeton rep on the College Interview seminar panel blurted out that Princeton simply “never takes students from West Virginia.” Then she stumbled all over herself trying to take back her words. It would have been funny had it not been so smug and disturbing.

Short answer:

If you are acting like an idiot on FB, stop acting like an idiot on FB. Seriously.

Detailed answer:

It doesn't have to be something someone finds on FB. If someone Googles you, FB posts and comments can appear without anyone even looking for you in FB.

Admissions officers are usually too busy to search for you online; however, if something in your application makes them wonder about you, they may indeed do a search. If they do a search, they are not supposed to use any information they find about you in their decision on your application. But that doesn't mean they won't use it.

The fact is, anything that you post on a social media site or send in an email is permanent and can be used in any way, shape, or form by anyone who wants to know more about you -- admissions officers, employers, the government, the law. If your FB posts make you look like a jerk, knock it off. It may very well come back to haunt you in some way, but you probably won't ever know that someone saw it and made a determination about you based on what they discovered.

In addition,the information you post can be misconstrued by someone who has no idea the context for your postings. Friends on FB are not necessarily your friends, especially those who might use against you the information they find there.

If you leave your laptop on when you're not in your room and your friends or siblings post to your page pretending to be you, it doesn't matter if you protest that it's not you (I know someone this happened to who was applying to grad schools.) The fact is that you didn't protect yourself and your future by guarding your identity, including your personal character and your political/social ideologies. That alone speaks volumes about your maturity and judgement, as well as your ability to be a positive addition to a community of any kind.

So, here's a good rule of thumb: If you don't want what you post on FB to show you in a negative light to future employers or college admissions departments, then only post comments, status updates, and photos that you would allow your grandparents to see.

Short Answer:

You will rarely know if they have or not read your materials. Sadly, often admissions officers don't read them -- or worse, they aren't allowed to read them or take them into consideration if they do read them.

Detailed Answer:

Honestly, every institution approaches supplemental materials differently. You can tell a great deal about a college by the way they deal with supplemental materials and the application, i.e., are they personal or bureaucratic, do they view you as a person or tuition dollars.

Some institutions have specific ideologies and they want to make sure that the person you are – outside of a set of numbers – will be an asset to their community. In those cases, yes, they will review your supplemental materials carefully. The fact is, if you are applying to one of those institutions, you had better be very aware of their ideology and be able to make it clear to them (via creative essay, personal statement, etc., or however they request this information from you) that 1) you know all about the college and 2) you would thrive there.

Aside from these exceptions, in general, many admissions offices are under tremendous pressure to function with fewer people and grow enrollment, so they manipulate the use (or non-use) of supplemental materials to meet their needs.

I am aware of a major research university that several years ago not only told their admissions staff to stop reading essays and letters of recommendation, the staff was made to shred all those documents so that staff wouldn’t be tempted to read them. The thought was, if they read the documents, it would slow down the decision-making process.

The type of supplemental materials “requested” by an institution is the result of hours of meetings trying to glean how to manage your attention (indeed, the design of the application and all its parts is intended to manipulate you.) The comments in such meetings may be similar to the following:

1. “If we request an essay from applicants, it will reduce the numbers of applications we receive, because students won’t want to do the essay, instead of applying to us they will apply to schools that don’t require that of them.”

2. “Maybe if we just make it a short personal statement instead of an actual essay, maybe that will encourage more students to apply.”

3. “If we ask them for 2-3 letters of recommendation, that’s more work for the student, so maybe we should just request 1 letter of recommendation – or none.”

4. “We need more applications and a longer wait list, so that we have a deeper pool of students to choose from if we don’t get enough tuition deposits. If we require essays, statements and recommendations, we might not get enough applicants to choose from if we need to admit weaker students to ensure our numbers and tuition revenue.”

5. “But if we don’t require the essay, it sends a message that we aren’t a serious academic institution. If we don’t require the essay, we may end up attracting thousands of weak applications.”

6. “That’s OK because the more applications we bring in, the more students we can deny or place on a wait list, and the more selective we appear, and the higher our ranking.”

7. “We don’t have enough staff to read supplemental materials, so let’s just not accept or ask for them.”

As a result of budgetary cutbacks that reduce staff and increase workload, many institutions have ramped up their reliance upon automation in the application read/review process. This is intended to automatically admit the stronger students and keep the weaker applications separated out for deeper analysis if the institution believes they may not make their enrollment goals with only the top students.

How does this work? There is an algorithm on the backend (crunching the same data that enabled the college to automatically begin communicating with you as soon as your PSAT scores became available) that crunches your numbers – SAT/ACT, GPA, RIC) and decides whether you are in or out. This means that your entire relationship with a college may have been via a machine; no one knows who you are or that you even exist – except as a number the institution can manipulate to its financial advantage.

Now, if the machine says you are “out,” the admissions staff may begin to look more closely at the eliminated applications and admit/deny these students until the admissions department reaches its enrollment goals. At that point, the admissions officers may begin searching for more information about you, such as explanations of grade anomalies. They may find this information in your essay or in your letters or recommendation, or in a letter that you include with your application if they have requested those materials from you.

Here’s an aside: If you are required to submit an essay, the most important point to remember is this: If the institution stresses an essay or a personal statement, pay VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to what they request of that essay or personal statement.

In other words, if you write a generic essay to send to all your college search choices, and it is clear to the admissions officer reading your essay that you have not paid attention to what they wanted to see in the essay (subject, length, structure, etc.), your application will be denied simply because it is clear that 1) you cannot follow instructions or 2) you didn’t care enough about applying to their institution to follow their instructions. And they will be right on both counts.

For example, if you look at the Purdue application this year, they offer three choices of essay topics, each one carefully considered to allow different types of students to write something that matters to them. This presentation of their essay request shows that they DO value the essay, and if you want to get into Purdue – and especially if your grades and board scores aren’t stellar – then you’d better pay attention to this part of the application.

Other institutions, such as Indiana University-Bloomington, specifically state that they do not want to receive essays – so if you submit an essay, this also shows that you cannot follow directions. Again, the major reason for an institution to not request an essay is that essay-reading slows down the application review process. They don’t want admissions officers reading essays when those officers can simply be crunching through the numbers on applications and making their decisions based solely upon a student’s past successes or challenges

Here is an excerpt from the Indiana University-Bloomington denial email (IU-Bloomington does not accept essays):

“We admit students whose previous academic performance meets the standards and enrollment goals set by our faculty and Board of Trustees. While we also consider documentation of extenuating circumstances, personal statements, recommendations and family history, decisions are made individually and based primarily on overall academic performance, standardized test scores, and the competitiveness of our applicant pool.”

This is why it’s so important to do well in high school from 9th grade through 11th grade. The fact is that most admissions decisions are based on 8th-11th grade trends; they only look to senior grades at the end to ensure that you continued strongly and didn’t get “Senioritis.”

So bottom line, in most cases, it’s kind of a moot question as to whether or not they review your supplemental materials. If they ask for materials, or you simply supply them without being asked, your grades and board scores will be what gets their attention. If they DO request them, make sure you pay very close attention to what they are asking of you and that everything you submit has been carefully written and proofread.

Short Answer:

Sometimes no one sees it.

Detailed Answer:

One of the ways admissions directors are judged in their performance evaluation is by the increase in applications every year. If there is not an increase in applications, it is a black mark against them.

In an economic crisis where budgets and staffing in every department are being slashed, colleges must do more with fewer people. There are two ways in which they do this:

1. Each admissions counselor is under pressure to make a certain number of application decisions each day. With fewer admissions staff to “read” applications, less reading actually gets done in the process of making a decision.

In one situation I am aware of, the institution kept track of the numbers of applications read each day (it was all electronic – students were simply a bunch of numbers and calculations on a screen), and supervisors were required to monitor this output. My own “personal best” in terms of “applications read in a day” was 100. Yes: ONE HUNDRED. [Usually it was 50-80.] I can tell you this: Reaching one hundred decisions in a day did not allow time for reading essays or letters of recommendation.

2. Certain institutions with high volumes of applications are now using algorithms that make the decision on applications without anyone ever seeing the application. The same machine that generated all those marketing messages and letters to you from the time your PSAT information became available is now making the decision on your application. No human being ever touches or sees your file.

3. Some colleges – usually the small, private ones -- still use faculty committees and an individualized approach to application review. Many of these small colleges have a specific combination of characteristics in mind when looking for students. In some cases, it is very much a matter of outstanding grades, and grades only. But often, they will take more time with your application and discuss it with others.

Short Answer:

Sometimes no one sees it.

Detailed Answer:

One of the ways admissions directors are judged in their performance evaluation is by the increase in applications every year. If there is not an increase in applications, it is a black mark against them.

In an economic crisis where budgets and staffing in every department are being slashed, colleges must do more with fewer people. There are two ways in which they do this:

1. Each admissions counselor is under pressure to make a certain number of application decisions each day. With fewer admissions staff to “read” applications, less reading actually gets done in the process of making a decision.

In one situation I am aware of, the institution kept track of the numbers of applications read each day (it was all electronic – students were simply a bunch of numbers and calculations on a screen), and supervisors were required to monitor this output. My own “personal best” in terms of “applications read in a day” was 100. Yes: ONE HUNDRED. [Usually it was 50-80.] I can tell you this: Reaching one hundred decisions in a day did not allow time for reading essays or letters of recommendation.

2. Certain institutions with high volumes of applications are now using algorithms that make the decision on applications without anyone ever seeing the application. The same machine that generated all those marketing messages and letters to you from the time your PSAT information became available is now making the decision on your application. No human being ever touches or sees your file.

3. Some colleges – usually the small, private ones -- still use faculty committees and an individualized approach to application review. Many of these small colleges have a specific combination of characteristics in mind when looking for students. In some cases, it is very much a matter of outstanding grades, and grades only. But often, they will take more time with your application and discuss it with others.

Short Answer:

It used to be about people. Now it’s all about the money. And it doesn't stop at admissions...

Detailed Answer:

There are many trends, most of them negative, and they may very well affect you and your college experience.

1. Technology has rendered moot most personal interaction between colleges and prospective students.

2. College administrations are placing enormous pressure on admissions departments to admit students whose families can pay out-of-pocket.

3. Low income and middle class families are expected to come up with more and more money to fund their child’s education. A few years ago the average yearly EFC was around $3-5,000.Now it is around $10-15,000.

4. Institutions are spending more on marketing to international students (who pay out-of-pocket and often receive thousands of dollars of tuition discounts) than they do on scholarships to support low income American students. They talk about international students as being desirable because they create diversity on campus. However, the truth is that they bring a great influx of money to institutions. If colleges were truly looking for diversity, there is plenty of it in this country to draw from and support.

5. Facebook is being used by colleges to connect accepted students to one another before they arrive on campus in the fall. This trend is seen by the public as a means of connecting people socially; however, to the college, creating a feeling of community online is a means of ensuring that students 1) won’t be wooed away by another college and, 2) will actually arrive on campus and matriculate.

This has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, students feel less alone with the idea of coming to college. By the time they arrive for orientation, they already “know” a few fellow students, which can make the transition easier. But this can backfire, too. Students may have a false sense that these people are their “friends,” and as such they may place too much trust in individuals they don’t really know at all.

6. Private colleges with big endowments can often afford to give large scholarships. Public colleges, on the other hand, generally can’t.

Short Answer:

Because they are interested in knowing more –and specific—information about you than the Common App provides.

Detailed Answer:

The Common App makes it very easy for students to apply to several colleges without doing much research about the colleges. While it is true that most colleges view the ease of the Common App as a means for increasing their application numbers, it is also true that many colleges value details that may help them to differentiate between equally strong candidates.

So they will allow you the freedom and ease of submitting the Common App, but then they may request that you submit other, very specific documentation separately from the application.

Short Answer:

If you don’t want to be treated like a number, don’t behave like a number.

Detailed Answer:

It’s your life, and it matters, so be conscientious and purposeful about your college search. If you complete the Common App and submit it to several colleges without really knowing those colleges, you are simply a part of their numbers game. If that’s good enough for you, then it doesn’t matter where you go to college.

One of the ways you will be judged by an admissions officer is whether or not you understand and follow their application instructions.

1. Research what makes the college unique and do some deep thinking about why it interests you. Colleges with a specific ideology or philosophy want students that will contribute meaningfully to their community and thrive, so you should read their mission statement and strategic plan on their web site. Those will tell you volumes about whether or not you will be a good fit for the college and whether or not the college is a good fit for you.

2. If they don’t request an essay or personal statement, do not submit one.

3. If they request an essay, do not submit a generic essay. Anyone can buy an essay off the Internet or let their Mom write it for them. Seasoned admissions counselors can tell from a mile away if you did either of these things. If the college requests an essay, do some digging to discover exactly what they are looking for in the essay and write specifically to that.

Short Answer:

Of course.

Detailed Answer:

They prefer that you apply online, because it's less paper handling and fewer mistakes on the inputting of your data. And often colleges will charge less (or zero) for an online application and charge more for one submitted on paper. Sometimes you get your decision faster, too, if you apply online.

Short Answer:

Yes.

Detailed Answer:

There are two very different ways in which all the pieces of the application need to reference each other:

1. The ideal admissions candidate presents an organic identity. By “organic” I mean that the spirit of the student is similarly evident throughout the application, in the coursework, the extracurriculars, the academic passions, the interests, etc. For example, if you are a student who loves the environment and wants to be involved in climate research, your academic and personal background should reflect this passion, via your work history, grades in preparatory classes, essay or personal statement, and extracurricular activities (such as Recycling Club, Weather Bug, or something similar.) This shows an admissions counselor that this truly is the area in which you intend to achieve at a high level. Especially in professional programs, counselors and/or faculty committees may look to extracurriculars or personal statements and letters of recommendation to determine if you have the passion it takes to excel in that program, so it is important that you approach your high school years with a determination to “connect the dots” within your area of interest.

2. Each piece of your application MUST have the same identifying information on it as every other piece included with your complete application.

If you are an American high school student, many other students may share your name, so it is important that all identification numbers and name clarifiers (middle name, etc.) be consistent between documents and reflect the name on your birth certificate.

If there are identification complications because of divorce, adoption, or parental issues, do everything you can to make it as clear as possible to the college that your documents indeed all belong to the same person – you. If it’s particularly complicated, write a letter to accompany your file that explains all the identifying info that may be associated with you.

If you are married or divorced, it is imperative that your documents show clearly all names that may be associated with your identity. If you are a transfer student who is married, the college to which you are applying must be able to understand that transcripts and other documents that may arrive with your maiden name are connected to your current name.

Certain cultures around the world have different naming traditions, which can make it easy for an admissions office to not connect certain documents to the same student. Therefore, it is critical that every piece of information you submit – whether it be test scores from the testing agency, FAFSA info, transcripts, letters of recommendation, essays, personal statements, etc. – have the exact name on it as your passport, visa, and other legal documents.

Short Answer:

Basically, yes.

Detailed Answer:

They prefer that you apply online, because it's less paper handling and fewer mistakes on the inputting of your data. And often colleges will charge less (or zero) for an online application and charge more for one submitted on paper. Sometimes you get your decision faster, too, if you apply online.

Short Answer:

Sometimes it helps, but usually only if the college specifically asks for the materials, and you will rarely know if they have or not read documents that you submit. If you have a grade or grade trend anomaly that has a legitimate reason, it can sometimes help to submit a letter of explanation. But often, that is not even read or considered.

Detailed Answer:

Honestly, every institution approaches supplemental materials differently. You can tell a great deal about a college by the way they deal with supplemental materials and the application, i.e., are they personal or bureaucratic, do they view you as a person or tuition dollars.

Some institutions have specific ideologies and they want to make sure that the person you are – outside of a set of numbers – will be an asset to their community. In those cases, yes, they will review your supplemental materials carefully. The fact is, if you are applying to one of those institutions, you had better be very aware of their ideology and be able to make it clear to them (via creative essay, personal statement, extracurricular resume, etc., or however they request this information from you) that 1) you know all about the college and 2) you would thrive there.

Aside from these exceptions, in general, many admissions offices are under tremendous pressure to function with fewer people and grow enrollment, so they manipulate the use (or non-use) of supplemental materials to meet their needs.

I am aware of a major research university that several years ago not only told their admissions staff to stop reading essays and letters of recommendation, the staff was made to shred all those documents so that staff wouldn’t be tempted to read them. The thought was, if they read the documents, it would slow down the decision-making process.

The type of supplemental materials “requested” by an institution is the result of hours of meetings trying to glean how to manage your attention (indeed, the design of the application and all its parts is intended to manipulate you.) The comments in such meetings may be similar to the following:

1. “If we request an essay from applicants, it will reduce the numbers of applications we receive, because students won’t want to do the essay, instead of applying to us they will apply to schools that don’t require that of them.”

2. “Maybe if we just make it a short personal statement instead of an actual essay, maybe that will encourage more students to apply.”

3. “If we ask them for 2-3 letters of recommendation, that’s more work for the student, so maybe we should just request 1 letter of recommendation – or none.”

4. “We need more applications and a longer wait list, so that we have a deeper pool of students to choose from if we don’t get enough tuition deposits. If we require essays, statements and recommendations, we might not get enough applicants to choose from if we need to admit weaker students to ensure our numbers and tuition revenue.”

5. “But if we don’t require the essay, it sends a message that we aren’t a serious academic institution. If we don’t require the essay, we may end up attracting thousands of weak applications.”

6. “That’s OK because the more applications we bring in, the more students we can deny or place on a wait list, and the more selective we appear, and the higher our ranking.”

7. “We don’t have enough staff to read supplemental materials, so let’s just not accept or ask for them.”

As a result of budgetary cutbacks that reduce staff and increase workload, many institutions have ramped up their reliance upon automation in the application read/review process. This is intended to automatically admit the stronger students and keep the weaker applications separated out for deeper analysis if the institution believes they may not make their enrollment goals with only the top students.

How does this work? There is an algorithm on the backend (crunching the same data that enabled the college to automatically begin communicating with you as soon as your PSAT scores became available) that crunches your numbers – SAT/ACT, GPA, RIC) and decides whether you are in or out. This means that your entire relationship with a college may have been via a machine; no one knows who you are or that you even exist – except as a number the institution can manipulate to its financial advantage.

Now, if the machine says you are “out,” the admissions staff may begin to look more closely at the eliminated applications and admit/deny these students until the admissions department reaches its enrollment goals. At that point, the admissions officers may begin searching for more information about you, such as explanations of grade anomalies. They may find this information in your essay or in your letters or recommendation, or in a letter that you include with your application if they have requested those materials from you.

Here’s an aside: If you are required to submit an essay, the most important point to remember is this: If the institution stresses an essay or a personal statement, pay VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to what they request of that essay or personal statement.

In other words, if you write a generic essay to send to all your college search choices, and it is clear to the admissions officer reading your essay that you have not paid attention to what they wanted to see in the essay (subject, length, structure, etc.), your application will be denied simply because it is clear that 1) you cannot follow instructions or 2) you didn’t care enough about applying to their institution to follow their instructions. And they will be right on both counts.

For example, if you look at the Purdue application this year, they offer three choices of essay topics, each one carefully considered to allow different types of students to write something that matters to them. This presentation of their essay request shows that they DO value the essay, and if you want to get into Purdue – and especially if your grades and board scores aren’t stellar – then you’d better pay attention to this part of the application.

Other institutions, such as Indiana University-Bloomington, specifically state that they do not want to receive essays – so if you submit an essay, this also shows that you cannot follow directions. Again, the major reason for an institution to not request an essay is that essay-reading slows down the application review process. They don’t want admissions officers reading essays when those officers can simply be crunching through the numbers on applications and making their decisions based solely upon a student’s past successes or challenges.

Here is an excerpt from the Indiana University-Bloomington denial email (IU-Bloomington does not accept essays):

“We admit students whose previous academic performance meets the standards and enrollment goals set by our faculty and Board of Trustees. While we also consider documentation of extenuating circumstances, personal statements, recommendations and family history, decisions are made individually and based primarily on overall academic performance, standardized test scores, and the competitiveness of our applicant pool.”

This is why it’s so important to do well in high school from 9th grade through 11th grade. The fact is that most admissions decisions are based on 8th-11th grade trends; they only look to senior grades at the end to ensure that you continued strongly and didn’t get “Senioritis.”

So bottom line, it’s kind of a moot question as to whether or not they review any supplemental materials you submit. If they ask for materials, or you simply supply them without being asked, your grades and board scores will be what gets their attention. If they do request them, make sure you pay very close attention to what they are asking of you.

Short Answer:

Not really.

Detailed Answer:

Admissions offices work fast and furiously. Often the entrance guidelines (all those numbers that represent who will get in and who won't) aren't even established until well into the fall semester.

In addition, admissions counselors who make the decisions (if a machine isn’t making them) aren’t off the road from recruiting at high schools until the middle to the end of October – sometimes even into the first week of November. With first-year application deadlines ranging from November 1 to December 15, that doesn’t give a limited admissions staff much time to review all the applications they have received – in many cases into the 10s of thousands.

What is astonishing to me this cycle is how quickly these decisions are being generated this year. I am advising students who literally submitted their applications the day before (or the day of) the deadline this fall and who received their decisions within a week. In some cases the letters and emails announcing the decisions are poorly written, missing information that is promised (such as links), and just downright cold and cruel – unforgivably sloppy, no matter if it's good news or bad.

This tells me that these institutions are either 1) mechanizing all their application decisions (no counselors see the actual files) or 2) they aren’t looking at any of the information that accompanies the application.

So clearly, it doesn’t matter if you get your application in earlier. The fact is, they want to be able to tell their administration that their numbers look great this year, and be able to predict student life and academic needs for the next year, which is why they push for the apps to be in so early. But most institutions will continue to accept students on a “space available basis” long after their published deadlines.

However, my advise, as always, is this: Don’t try to game the system. If they publish a deadline, try to stick to it or get your application in before it is due – particularly for a college you really, really want to get into.

Regarding the FAFSA deadlines? Now THAT matters. Get your PINs now, and submit your FAFSA the beginning of January, using your estimated taxes to complete it (you can change that info later when you have the real figures.) That is a pipeline that you want to be in from the word “Go.”

Short Answer:

Not every red flag is a deal breaker, and some colleges will take any student because 1) the college is an “access” institution, or 2) the college needs the tuition money. But why take the chance of not getting into the more selective college you really, really want?

Detailed Answer:

The following are a few of the red flags that drive admissions officers nuts:

1. Low grades

2. Inconsistent grades from year to year

3. Non-college track courses, i.e. consumer math instead of calc/trig

4. Too many extracurriculars combined with average or weak grades

5. Too many extracurriculars with no leadership positions

6. A hastily written essay that has not been proofread (spell check isn’t good enough for something that is potentially as important as the essay)

7. An essay that is not focused on the topic requested by the college

8. A sloppy application with no attention to detail

9. Forceful, interfering parents that make excuses for low grades

10. Lack of knowledge about the college and why the applicant believes he or she is a good fit

11. A lack of understanding of the academic strengths required by the college

12. Not following directions

13. Excellent SAT scores and average or poor grades; this tells the admissions officer that the student may be talented, but he/she does not work hard in the classroom and on homework, which is what makes a successful college student

Short Answer:

A “resume” is a great idea. But make sure your extracurricular activities and achievements do not outshine your academic achievements. One or two extracurriculars in your area(s) of interest with strong leadership involvement, coupled with great grades and board scores, makes you a wonderful candidate for admission to most colleges.

Detailed Answer:

For those colleges that look for something other than numbers in their admissions process, a resume is a terrific opportunity to show that your personal passions reflect your college search. In other words, if you are applying to vet programs, your resume should reflect an interest in the welfare of animals, i.e. involvement in 4H, working for a veterinarian, etc.

Likewise, if you are pursuing a very competitive Pharm.D. program, and you have great grades and board scores, pharmacy or pharmaceutical company experience (via a coop program, or part-time work) will set you apart from other top students.

In other words, you want to make it clear to any college that you are serious about the major you wish to pursue.

But here’s the problem: We see too many college applications that have a lengthy list of extracurriculars, but the grades have clearly suffered as a result of misplaced focus. You usually won’t be rejected by most colleges if you have great grades and board scores and few or no extracurriculars; however, you WILL be denied if your grades are low but you have a long list of extracurriculars.

It’s more important to have one or two strong areas of extracurricular interest and pursue leadership positions within those areas, than to over extend your energies into many areas and not have any leadership examples on your applications.

Short Answer:

The most important parts of the application are the parts that the college(s) to which you are applying stress in their application information.

Detailed Answer:

One of the important jobs of the application process is to make it clear that you can – or cannot – follow directions. So follow their directions.

NOTE: Some colleges do a rotten job of explaining their application requirements on their web site, and their admissions counselors may assume you are dumb if you ask to have the instructions clarified.

Pay no attention to their attitude: If you are confused by the instructions, it means their information is indeed confusing, so don’t be shy. Your life and dreams are important, which means they are important enough to get right, so go ahead and call the college to ask for clarification.

Aside from that, these are the important parts of the application:

1. All colleges want to see excellent grades in a strong academic program and good-to-excellent board (and/or TOEFL) scores.

2. Many colleges also want to see evidence of leadership in an applicant’s extracurricular activities.

3. However, if the college you are applying to places emphasis on the essay and/or letters of recommendation, you should pay very close attention to what they want to see in the essay and the letters of recommendation.

4. You may also include a letter with your application that provides an honest and legitimate explanation for weaknesses or inconsistencies in your academic record; don’t include this information in your essay

5. Any clarifications of identity (names, similar social security numbers such as twins might have, etc.)

Short Answer:

Parents should begin saving for each child's college degree the moment each child is born. Better yet, BEFORE each child is born. A little bit put away every paycheck can add up hugely over eighteen years. But if, like most people, you haven't done that, then you should begin saving as soon as possible. But there are other "savings" strategies that can help you save money in the long run.

Detailed Answer:

Ideally, you should be working with a financial adviser at your bank or an independent adviser to begin adopting long-term and short- term financial strategies. In addition, from 7th grade on, parents should be maximizing their child's academic scholarship opportunities, via tutoring, summer courses at the community college, etc.

This may not sound like a savings strategy, but consider this:

Upwards of 40% of students entering college are required to take remedial courses to ready them for meeting the rigor of traditional college coursework. These are courses for which you will be paying a huge amount of money, but these courses will not count towards credit and a degree.

Worse, often these courses force students to take an extra semester or two to complete their degree, adding thousands and thousands of dollars to an already exorbitant expenditure.

In addition, if your children are maximizing their academic opportunities, they have a greater chance of being offered precious scholarship money.

Another "savings" strategy is encouraging -- or insisting -- on your child beginning their college education at the local community college, or living at home and attending classes at the nearest public university.

I know, I know, this is a hard one for families, because kids want to get away from home, and parents want their kids out of the house. But the benefits of this option greatly outweigh the challenges.

The benefits include:

1. Much, much, much lower cost of attendance, and no cost of room and board (costs that are also rising astronomically)

2. Save your money to contribute to grad school costs; an undergraduate degree is just the beginning; employers now expect to see grad school on a resume

3. Often a couple of years spent at the community college allows for the kind of maturity it takes to succeed in a four-year college; too often we see even the top students entering college who blow it completely, failing classes that have to be repeated (for extra cost) or getting poor grades that will affect their ability to move into the upper levels of their degree program in a timely manner (it also affects their ability to transfer to another college); this is where the new five-year norm enters the picture -- students now must expect to spend five years pursuing their college program instead of just four

4. By attending a college closer to home the first couple of years -- or all four years -- families save an enormous amount of money in travel, lodging, and meal costs.

Often working with a college consultant can help you to make this argument to your child, because they will sometimes listen to the consultant before they will listen to the parent. And some of us with actual college experience understand curricula issues -- how a student needs to track academically to make the transition from high school, into college, and into the upper levels.

Want to get an idea of how much EACH child's education will cost? This link will give you a good idea of how much you can expect to pay by the time your children enter college: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/costprojector.phtml.

Short Answer:

A 529 plan is a savings plan specifically created to assist families in saving for college. Talk to your bank or a financial adviser about pursuing this option.

Detailed Answer:

This is complicated stuff, so I have copied (below) the information directly from the government's Security and Exchange Commission web site (http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/intro529.htm). I feel that this information explains these plans clearly, and goes into important detail should you want to know more.

An Introduction to 529 Plans

What is a 529 plan?

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future college costs. 529 plans, legally known as “qualified tuition plans,” are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.

There are two types of 529 plans: pre-paid tuition plans and college savings plans. All fifty states and the District of Columbia sponsor at least one type of 529 plan. In addition, a group of private colleges and universities sponsor a pre-paid tuition plan.

What are the differences between pre-paid tuition plans and college savings plans?

Pre-paid tuition plans generally allow college savers to purchase units or credits at participating colleges and universities for future tuition and, in some cases, room and board. Most prepaid tuition plans are sponsored by state governments and have residency requirements. Many state governments guarantee investments in pre-paid tuition plans that they sponsor.

College savings plans generally permit a college saver (also called the “account holder”) to establish an account for a student (the “beneficiary”) for the purpose of paying the beneficiary’s eligible college expenses. An account holder may typically choose among several investment options for his or her contributions, which the college savings plan invests on behalf of the account holder. Investment options often include stock mutual funds, bond mutual funds, and money market funds, as well as, age-based portfolios that automatically shift toward more conservative investments as the beneficiary gets closer to college age. Withdrawals from college savings plans can generally be used at any college or university. Investments in college savings plans that invest in mutual funds are not guaranteed by state governments and are not federally insured.

How does investing in a 529 plan affect federal and state income taxes?

Investing in a 529 plan may offer college savers special tax benefits. Earnings in 529 plans are not subject to federal tax, and in most cases, state tax, so long as you use withdrawals for eligible college expenses, such as tuition and room and board.

However, if you withdraw money from a 529 plan and do not use it on an eligible college expense, you generally will be subject to income tax and an additional 10% federal tax penalty on earnings. Many states offer state income tax or other benefits, such as matching grants, for investing in a 529 plan. But you may only be eligible for these benefits if you participate in a 529 plan sponsored by your state of residence. Just a few states allow residents to deduct contributions to any 529 plan from state income tax returns.

If you receive state tax benefits for investing in a 529 plan, make sure you review your plan’s offering circular before you complete a transaction, such as rolling money out of your home state’s plan into another state’s plan. Some transactions may have state tax consequences for residents of certain states.

What fees and expenses will I pay if I invest in a 529 plan?

It is important to understand the fees and expenses associated with 529 plans because they lower your returns. Fees and expenses will vary based on the type of plan. Prepaid tuition plans typically charge enrollment and administrative fees. In addition to “loads” for broker-sold plans, college savings plans may charge enrollment fees, annual maintenance fees, and asset management fees. Some of these fees are collected by the state sponsor of the plan, and some are collected by the financial services firms that the state sponsor typically hires to manage its 529 program. Some college savings plans will waive or reduce some of these fees if you maintain a large account balance or participate in an automatic contribution plan, or if you are a resident of the state sponsoring the 529 plan. Your asset management fees will depend on the investment option you select. Each investment option will typically bear a portfolio-weighted average of the fees and expenses of the mutual funds and other investments in which it invests. You should carefully review the fees of the underlying investments because they are likely to be different for each investment option.

Investors that purchase a college savings plan from a broker are typically subject to additional fees. If you invest in a broker-sold plan, you may pay a “load.” Broadly speaking, the load is paid to your broker as a commission for selling the college savings plan to you. Broker-sold plans also charge an annual distribution fee (similar to the “12b 1 fee” charged by some mutual funds) of between 0.25% and 1.00% of your investment. Your broker typically receives all or most of these annual distribution fees for selling your 529 plan to you.

Many broker-sold 529 plans offer more than one class of shares, which impose different fees and expenses. Here are some key characteristics of the most common 529 plan share classes sold by brokers to their customers:

* Class A shares typically impose a front-end sales load. Front-end sales loads reduce the amount of your investment. For example, let’s say you have $1,000 and want to invest in a college savings plan with a 5% front-end load. The $50 sales load you must pay is deducted from your $1,000, and the remaining $950 is invested in the college savings plan. Class A shares usually have a lower annual distribution fee and lower overall annual expenses than other 529 share classes. In addition, your front-end load may be reduced if you invest above certain threshold amounts – this is known as a breakpoint discount. These discounts do not apply to investments in Class B or Class C shares.

* Class B shares typically do not have a front-end sales load. Instead, they may charge a fee when you withdraw money from an investment option, known as a deferred sales charge or “back-end load.” A common back-end load is the “contingent deferred sales charge” or “contingent deferred sales load” (also known as a “CDSC” or “CDSL”). The amount of this load will depend on how long you hold your investment and typically decreases to zero if you hold your investment long enough. Class B shares typically impose a higher annual distribution fee and higher overall annual expenses than Class A shares. Class B shares usually convert automatically to Class A shares if you hold your shares long enough.

Be careful when investing in Class B shares. If the beneficiary uses the money within a few years after purchasing Class B shares, you will almost always pay a contingent deferred sales charge or load in addition to higher annual fees and expenses.

* Class C shares might have an annual distribution fee, other annual expenses, and either a front- or back-end sales load. But the front- or back-end load for Class C shares tends to be lower than for Class A or Class B shares, respectively. Class C shares typically impose a higher annual distribution fee and higher overall annual expenses than Class A shares, but, unlike Class B shares, generally do not convert to another class over time. If you are a long-term investor, Class C shares may be more expensive than investing in Class A or Class B shares.

Is there any way to purchase a 529 plan but avoid some of the extra fees?

Direct-Sold College Savings Plans. States offer college savings plans through which residents and, in many cases, non-residents can invest without paying a "load," or sales fee. This type of plan, which you can buy directly from the plan's sponsor or program manager without the assistance of a broker, is generally less expensive because it waives or does not charge sales fees that may apply to broker-sold plans.

You can generally find information on a direct-sold plan by contacting the plan’s sponsor or program manager or visiting the plan’s website. Websites such as the one maintained by the College Savings Plan Network, as well as a number of commercial websites, provide links to most 529 plan websites.

Broker-Sold College Savings Plans. If you prefer to purchase a broker-sold plan, you may be able to reduce the front-end load for purchasing Class A shares if you invest or plan to invest above certain threshold amounts. Ask your broker how to qualify for these “breakpoint discounts.”

What restrictions apply to an investment in a 529 plan?

Withdrawal restrictions apply to both college savings plans and pre-paid tuition plans. With limited exceptions, you can only withdraw money that you invest in a 529 plan for eligible college expenses without incurring taxes and penalties. In addition, participants in college savings plans have limited investment options and are not permitted to switch freely among available investment options.

Under current tax law, an account holder is only permitted to change his or her investment option one time per year. Additional limitations will likely apply to any 529 plan you may be considering. Before you invest in a 529 plan, you should read the plan’s offering circular to make sure that you understand and are comfortable with any plan limitations.

Does investing in a 529 plan impact financial aid eligibility?

While each educational institution may treat assets held in a 529 plan differently, investing in a 529 plan will generally reduce a student’s eligibility to participate in need-based financial aid. Beginning July 1, 2006, assets held in pre-paid tuition plans and college savings plans will be treated similarly for federal financial aid purposes. Both will be treated as parental assets in the calculation of the expected family contribution toward college costs.

Previously, benefits from pre-paid tuition plans were not treated as parental assets and typically reduced need-based financial aid on a dollar for dollar basis, while assets held in college savings plans received more favorable financial aid treatment.

Is investing in a 529 plan right for me?

Before you start saving specifically for college, you should consider your overall financial situation. Instead of saving for college, you may want to focus on other financial goals like buying a home, saving for retirement, or paying off high interest credit card bills.

Remember that you may face penalties or lose benefits if you do not use the money in a 529 account for higher education expenses. If you decide that saving specifically for college is right for you, then the next step is to determine whether investing in a 529 plan is your best college saving option. Investing in a 529 plan is only one of several ways to save for college.

Other tax-advantaged ways to save for college include Coverdell education savings accounts, Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (“UGMA”) accounts, Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (“UTMA”) accounts, tax-exempt municipal securities, and savings bonds. Saving for college in a taxable account is another option.

Each college saving option has advantages and disadvantages, and may have a different impact on your eligibility for financial aid, so you should evaluate each option carefully. If you need help determining which options work best for your circumstances, you should consult with your financial professional or tax advisor before you start saving.

What questions should I ask before I invest in a 529 plan?

Knowing the answers to these questions may help you decide which 529 plan is best for you.

* Is the plan available directly from the state or plan sponsor?

* What fees are charged by the plan? How much of my investment goes to compensating my broker? Under what circumstances does the plan waive or reduce certain fees?

* What are the plan’s withdrawal restrictions? What types of college expenses are covered by the plan? Which colleges and universities participate in the plan?

* What types of investment options are offered by the plan? How long are contributions held before being invested?

* Does the plan offer special benefits for state residents? Would I be better off investing in my state’s plan or another plan? Does my state’s plan offer tax advantages or other benefits for investment in the plan it sponsors? If my state’s plan charges higher fees than another state’s plan, do the tax advantages or other benefits offered by my state outweigh the benefit of investing in another state’s less expensive plan?

* What limitations apply to the plan? When can an account holder change investment options, switch beneficiaries, or transfer ownership of the account to another account holder?

* Who is the program manager? When does the program manager’s current management contract expire? How has the plan performed in the past?

Where can I find more information?

Offering Circulars for 529 Plans. You can find out more about a particular 529 plan by reading its offering circular. Often called a “disclosure statement,” “disclosure document,” or “program description,” the offering circular will have detailed information about investment options, tax benefits and consequences, fees and expenses, financial aid, limitations, risks, and other specific information relating to the 529 plan. Most 529 plans post their offering circulars on publicly available websites. The National Association of State Treasurers created the College Savings Plan Network which provides links to most 529 plan websites.

Additional Information About Underlying Mutual Funds. You may want to find more about a mutual fund included in a college savings plan investment option. Additional information about a mutual fund is available in its prospectus, statement of additional information, and semiannual and annual report. Offering circulars for college savings plans often indicate how you can obtain these documents from the plan manager for no charge. You can also review these documents on the SEC’s EDGAR database.

Investment Adviser Public Disclosure Website. Many college savings plans’ program managers are registered investment advisers. You can find more about investment advisers through the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. On the website, you can search for an investment adviser and view the Form ADV of the adviser. Form ADV contains information about an investment adviser and its business operations as well as disclosure about certain disciplinary events involving the adviser and its key personnel.

Broker-Dealer Public Disclosure Website. You can find more about a broker through FINRA’s BrokerCheck website. On the website, you can search for any disciplinary sanctions against your broker, as well as information about his or her professional background and registration and licensing status.

Other Online Resources. You can learn more about 529 plans and other college saving options on FINRA’s Smart Saving for College website. The website contains links to other helpful sites, including the College Savings Plan Network and the Internal Revenue Service’s Publication 970 (Tax Benefits for Higher Education). FINRA’s investor alert on 529 plans also provides valuable information for investors.

Short Answer:

Yes!

Detailed Answer:

Unless you can afford to simply write a check every year to cover the cost of your education, you should complete and submit the FAFSA. The FAFSA is an important mechanism that colleges use to determine scholarships.

The fact is, the college financial aid picture changes every year, so to ensure that you are in the pipeline for anything you may be eligible for, make sure to submit your FAFSA -- and submit it in January with estimated tax information. You can change it later.

Short Answer:

It becoming less and less important, but most institution still require the SAT. The more interesting question is, How important is it to you to accept being part of this machine that doesn't view you as a person, but only accepts or rejects you as a set of numbers.

Detailed Answer:

Does the SAT Accurately Predict Success? The following is from fairtest.org:

"Validity research at individual institutions illustrates the weak predictive ability of the SAT. One study (J. Baron & M. F. Norman in Educational and Psychology Measurement) at the University of Pennsylvania looked at the power of high school class rank, SAT I, and SAT II in predicting cumulative college GPAs.

"Researchers found that the SAT I was by far the weakest predictor, explaining only 4% of the variation in college grades, while SAT II scores accounted for 6.8% of the differences in academic performance. By far the most useful tool proved to be class rank, which predicted 9.3% of the changes in cumulative GPAs. Combining SAT I scores and class rank inched this figure up to 11.3%, leaving almost 90% of the variation in grades unexplained."

from FairTest.org

There are some trends and truths regarding standardized testing and college admissions that may help students and families manage the high-stakes anxiety surrounding performance on the SATs:

There is a great deal of controversy about the ability of the SATs to predict accurately first-year college success; repeatedly it has been determined that the best indicator of success in the classroom is past success in the classroom; therefore, many colleges are returning to a holistic approach to admissions, focusing on academic achievement as reflected in grades, GPA, rigor of academic coursework, etc.;

As a result of this, many of the top colleges and universities nationwide have made a decision to make optional the submission of standardized test scores such as the SAT and ACT; many of those that have not yet decided to make them optional are seriously considering doing so.

Almost 850 colleges and universities in the U.S. no longer require submission of SAT or ACT scores for the application process (many of them are top colleges), and more and more colleges and universities are moving in that direction

Students often perform better on the ACT than on the SAT (particularly students with learning disabilities and students whose knowledge is more contextual than multiple choice); because most institutions accept scores from both tests (see the ACT/SAT Concordance for the comparison between scores), many students hedge their bets by taking both tests

Important Note About the Use of Standardized Test Scores in College Marketing

Even colleges that no longer require the submission of standardized test scores during the admission process buy names of students from the College Board.

In other words, the mail that you receive from various colleges is being sent to you because the colleges have purchased your name from the College Board (or ACT) at the earliest time it becomes available to the testing organizations to sell, usually when the student has taken the PSAT. (Where does the money go, including your SAT fees? See College Board Leader Paid More Than Harvard's)

Your name was chosen for purchase for many reasons in addition to a certain type of test score, including your willingness to move out of state (in-state tuition does not cover the cost of a student's education, so colleges and universities must attract out-of-state students.)

Colleges purchase the names of test takers in an attempt to reach out to students at the first date possible, usually in January of the sophomore year of high school, which is when the PSAT names become available.

This is why your sophomore student may suddenly receive (literally overnight) emails and mailings from many colleges: the colleges have their messages prepared and automated to be sent to students the moment the email data is received by their computer systems.

This marketing process is designed to attract as many responses as possible. Their hope is that as you pursue your college search, they will have been able to gain your undivided attention from the beginning.

In turn, they hope that they will eventually receive an application from you and an application fee, because:

The more applications they attract, the more students they can deny;

The more students they deny, the more selective they appear to the college rankings publications, such as U.S. News;

The more selective they appear, the higher they climb in the rankings;

The higher they climb in the rankings, the more desirable they appear to future prospective students -- and to their Board of Trustees, Board of Governors, and alumni who give money to their alma mater

So the answer to this question is, many colleges still rely on these scores as part of their algorithm in determining your admissibility. But many colleges are no longer requiring them.

Short Answer:

No, not every essay is read, even if it has been requested as part of your application...but you probably will never know whether or not they have read it.

Detailed Answer:

Institutions that are interested in an essay will specifically state that they require the essay. But the fact is, if your grades and board scores are excellent, they probably won’t look at your essay or letters of recommendation. Sometimes they don't even look at the essay no matter what your academic record looks like.

Certain colleges, especially the small private institutions, will have faculty and admissions committees read the entire application, including the essay. But this is not common.

Many institutions are moving toward automatic “review” of applications. In other words, there is an algorithm on the backend (the same data that enabled the college to automatically begin communicating with you as soon as your PSAT scores became available) that crunches your numbers – SAT/ACT, GPA, RIC) and decides whether you are in or out. This means that your entire relationship with a college has been via a machine; no one knows who you are or that you even exist – except as a number the institution can manipulate to its advantage.

Now, if the machine says you are “out,” the admissions staff will begin to look more closely at the eliminated applications and admit/deny these students until the admissions department reaches its enrollment goals. At that point, the admissions officers may be searching for more information about you, such as explanations of grade anomalies. They may find this information in your essay or in your letters or recommendation, or in a letter that you include with your application.

The most important point to remember is this: If the institution stresses an essay or a personal statement, pay VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to what they request of that essay or personal statement.

In other words, if you write a generic essay to send to all your college search choices, and it is clear to the admissions officer reading your essay that you have not paid attention to what they wanted to see in the essay (subject, length, structure, etc.), your application will be denied simply because it is clear that 1) you cannot follow instructions or 2) you didn’t care enough about applying to their institution to follow their instructions. And they will be right on both counts.

For example, if you look at the Purdue application this year, they offer three choices of essay topics, each one carefully considered to allow different types of students to write something that matters to them. This presentation of their essay request shows that they DO value the essay, and if you want to get into Purdue – and especially if your grades and board scores aren’t stellar – then you’d better pay attention to this part of the application.

Other institutions, such as Indiana University-Bloomington, specifically state that they do not want to receive essays – so if you submit an essay, this also shows that you cannot follow directions. The major reason for an institution to not request an essay is that essay-reading slows down the application review process. They don’t want admissions officers reading essays when those officers can simply be crunching through the numbers on applications and making their decisions based solely on a student’s past successes or challenges – which is why it’s so important to do well in high school from 9th grade through 11th grade. The fact is that most admissions decisions are based on 8th-11th grade trends; they only look to senior grades at the end to ensure that you continued strongly and didn’t get “senioritis.”

One more point about essays: A seasoned admissions officer can tell if you’ve written the essay yourself; if your Mom or Dad wrote it; or if you bought it off the Internet. We’d rather see errors in the writing of a wonderful and unique essay than perfect writing in a boring, uninformative essay (or in an essay that does not pertain to what has been requested.) But you would be wise to have whatever you’ve written be proofread: Spell check won’t cut it; it has to be a human being.

Short Answer:

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have someone read anything important that you are submitting anywhere. Spell check is not nuanced enough in finding errors of usage, structure, or spelling. And the more you read it over, the more chance you have in missing an error. You need a set of eyes that are unfamiliar with the essay.

Detailed Answer:

Just don't let Mom and Dad write the essay. And don't buy it off the Internet. Admissions counselors can always tell when you didn't write it yourself, especially if it doesn't even address the topic the college has requested you write about.

Short Answer:

Definitely. They can help you work out your thinking about the topic and give you pointers about where you can strengthen it. However...

Detailed Answer:

Don't let Mom and Dad actually WRITE the essay. And don't buy it off the Internet. Admissions counselors can always tell when you didn't write it yourself, especially if it doesn't even address the topic the college has requested you write about.

Short Answer:

It’s only important if the institution stresses the importance of it. The fact is, if your grades and board scores are good-to-excellent, they probably won’t look at your essay or letters of recommendation.

Detailed Answer:

Many institutions are moving toward automatic “review” of applications. In other words, there is an algorithm on the backend (the same data that enabled the college to automatically begin communicating with you as soon as your PSAT scores became available) that crunches your numbers – SAT/ACT, GPA, RIC) and decides whether you are in or out. This means that your entire relationship with a college has been via a machine; no one knows who you are or that you even exist – except as a number the institution can manipulate to its advantage.

Now, if the machine says you are “out,” the admissions staff will begin to look more closely at the eliminated applications and admit/deny these students until the admissions department reaches its enrollment goals. At that point, the admissions officers may be searching for more information about you, such as explanations of grade anomalies. They may find this information in your essay or in your letters or recommendation, or in a letter that you include with your application.

The most important point to remember is this: If the institution stresses an essay or a personal statement, pay VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to what they request of that essay or personal statement .

In other words, if you write a generic essay to send to all your college search choices, and it is clear to the admissions officer reading your essay that you have not paid attention to what they wanted to see in the essay (subject, length, structure, etc.), your application will be denied simply because it is clear that 1) you cannot follow instructions or 2) you didn’t care enough about applying to their institution to follow their instructions. And they will be right on both counts.

For example, if you look at the Purdue application this year, they offer three choices of essay topics, each one carefully considered to allow different types of students to write something that matters to them. This presentation of their essay request shows that they DO value the essay, and if you want to get into Purdue – and especially if your grades and board scores aren’t stellar – then you’d better pay attention to this part of the application.

Other institutions, such as Indiana University-Bloomington, specifically state that they do not want to receive essays – so if you submit an essay, this also shows that you cannot follow directions. The major reason for an institution to not request an essay is that essay-reading slows down the application review process. Colleges don’t want admissions officers reading essays when those officers can simply be crunching through the numbers on applications and making their decisions based solely on a student’s past successes or challenges – which is why it’s so important to do well in high school from 9th grade through 11th grade. The fact is that most admissions decisions are based on 8th-11th grade trends; they only look to senior grades at the end to ensure that you continued strongly and didn’t get “senioritis.”

One more point about essays: A seasoned admissions officer can tell if you’ve written the essay yourself; if your Mom or Dad wrote it; or if you bought it off the Internet. We’d rather see errors in the writing of a wonderful and unique essay than perfect writing in a boring, uninformative essay (or in an essay that does not pertain to what has been requested.)

But you would be wise to have whatever you’ve written be proofread: Spell check won’t cut it; it has to be a human being.

According to Oxford, yes. According to Tufts and Princeton, no.

At the NACAC conference in New Orleans in September, Tufts and Princeton were represented on the dais of a seminar regarding the Admissions Interview. Both institutions stated that the interview will not tip in one direction or the other an applicant's chances of being admitted.

Oxford University disagreed vehemently, stating that in their admissions process, the interview is the most important part of the application process. After the applicant’s academic record has been reviewed and is determined to be sound, an interviewed is scheduled. They conduct 22,000 interviews over 10 days, and the interviews are conducted by faculty.

Oxford made it very clear that they do not approve of the American use of alumni in the interview process. The reason they do not approve of this strategy is that no one should ever allow a young person to meet in private with a stranger, even in a public place. In addition, they stressed that alums do not necessarily understand what is needed from the interview, even if they have been prepped.

So my opinion is this: If you are going to aim for the Ivies, or other schools that require interviews, play their game and play it well.

Note that some institutions, such as Swarthmore, have specific ideologies that they look for in students in addition to academic excellence. But the fact is, if you share their ideology, that information should be apparent already from the academic and interests/activities you have presented with your application. It should be apparent from everything that you submit with your application that you and the institution are a good fit.

But never, ever be intimidated and agree to meet with an alum for an interview. And don't believe that the interview will make or break your application.

A college admissions interview is not Facebook. It’s not a place to talk about lyrics that resonate with you. If lyrics help you to focus your thoughts, fine. But don’t talk about a song unless you are asked.

Want to impress a college admissions interviewer? Express yourself like a grownup; accept responsibility for anomalies in your academic record (no excuses); make it clear you have done your research on the college, including its social scene, location, faculty, and academic programs (do this by asking carefully considered questions based on your research, connecting your interests and needs to what you believe the college may offer you); express articulately why you would be a good fit for their student body; behave with good manners when you arrive, while you are there, and when you leave; and send a handwritten thank you note to the individual that interviewed you.

That is how you ace an interview. Not sure you can pull that off? I'll bet you can. Practice with someone who loves you enough to want to see you succeed.

Short Answer:

Anything and everything. Just be smart about your electives and your minor.

Detailed Answer:

Arts majors – dance, theater, music, visual arts – can provide some of the best overall education and preparation for life and other professions. The arts teach you:

1. How to follow directions, which is necessary in business; it helps you understand how to complete complex tasks that are assigned to you

2. How to think creatively, which is necessary in business and in life to make you able to think around obstacles and boundaries; it helps you to find solutions where others see brick walls

3. How to work in a team towards a goal, which is critical for understanding how to work collectively toward success in any business environment

4. How to communicate, which is necessary in all professional environments; it teaches you how to convey ideas and express difficulties

5. Dexterity and flexibility, both physical and mental, which are a requirement of many, many professions, in labor-oriented positions and conceptually oriented professional positions

6. Literature, which provides you with basic knowledge about the human condition and history, which helps you to help businesses and people (and yourself) not make the same mistakes that have been made throughout history

7. Languages and cultures, which are required for anyone working in any profession related to the global economy

8. Passion, drive, and commitment, which will help to propel you and your colleagues in any area of work

And many more…

What most businesses bemoan today is the lack of potential employees who can do much of the above. If you have all of this on your resume, and you add to it the following, you will be in great shape to enter the job market in either the arts or something else (while you polish your star!):

1. Business courses: Be prepared to enter any business environment (including your own non-profit arts entity!) by taking fundamental business classes, such as Business Technology, accounting, Intro to Business, finance, etc. These skills will help you no matter what you do or where you go. Even if you end up a star in your area of creative expression, you will understand the fundamentals of what it takes to run the business that surrounds you, and you will be able to participate intelligently in the business decisions that are being made on your behalf

2. Logic and Reasoning: Employers (in fact any business entity, including, again, your non-profit) want employees that can think clearly and critically; courses in Philosophy enable you to think through problems and conflicts (of which there are a plethora in the arts communities)

3. English Literature: The arts are, in many ways, about story telling; English literature provides an abundance of information about history, costume, language, culture, social strategies that fail and succeed, the human condition (which exists in the world today much the same as it did in the time of Dickens and Trollope, Van Gogh and Caravaggio, Verdi and Mahler, etc.), poverty, wealth, love and passion and pain and joy.

4. If you have all of this, in addition to your major, you will own the world. You will be able to support yourself while you pursue your artistic passion, and you will be well-prepared to succeed in and contribute to the “work” and “prosperity” aspect of your art.

Very few people graduate from arts programs and find success right away. In fact, most people don’t. They work hard for years. Those individuals who appear to be an overnight success are truly not that at all – they have been working very, very hard for years. And that is the true test of your commitment to your art form. Are you willing to work hard at it for years, knowing that it may take that long to find success? Will it fulfill you while you live your life and work in a more traditional setting (or in a business aspect of the arts) to keep a roof over your head?

I have an MFA in playwriting. I work very, very, VERY hard at my craft and struggle to keep going against all obstacles – for years. I’ve placed in competitions and had prominent readings in London and New York. I’ve met movie stars and playwrights whose work you perform onstage. I've had a top agent and fired her. I’ve met famous visual artists and musicans. I applaud their success from hard work, and soldier on toward my own. College admissions is simply what I do to keep a roof over my head.

Why college admissions advising? Meeting with and talking to students and parents just like you is an important education for me – and a great joy -- every day. You are how I keep in touch with the “real” world. Your life touches mine and enriches me in the most important way: As a human being. And that’s what the arts are about, touching people and enriching their lives as human beings -- whether it's on a stage, in a studio, or in an office.

Short answer:

If you are acting like an idiot on FB, stop acting like an idiot on FB. Seriously.

Detailed answer:

It doesn't have to be something someone finds on FB. If someone Googles you, FB posts and comments can appear without anyone even looking for you in FB.

Admissions officers are usually too busy to search for you online; however, if something in your application makes them wonder about you, they may indeed do a search. If they do a search, they are not supposed to use any information they find about you in their decision on your application. But that doesn't mean they won't use it.

The fact is, anything that you post on a social media site or send in an email is permanent and can be used in any way, shape, or form by anyone who wants to know more about you -- admissions officers, employers, the government, the law. If your FB posts make you look like a jerk, knock it off. It may very well come back to haunt you in some way, but you probably won't ever know that someone saw it and made a determination about you based on what they discovered.

In addition,the information you post can be misconstrued by someone who has no idea the context for your postings. Friends on FB are not necessarily your friends, especially those who might use against you the information they find there.

If you leave your laptop on when you're not in your room and your friends or siblings post to your page pretending to be you, it doesn't matter if you protest that it's not you (I know someone this happened to who was applying to grad schools.) The fact is that you didn't protect yourself and your future by guarding your identity, including your personal character and your political/social ideologies. That alone speaks volumes about your maturity and judgement, as well as your ability to be a positive addition to a community of any kind.

So, here's a good rule of thumb: If you don't want what you post on FB to show you in a negative light to future employers or college admissions departments, then only post comments, status updates, and photos that you would allow your grandparents to see.

Short Answer:

If you make a mess of your senior year, a college absolutely will revoke an offer of admission. It’s called “rescinding the offer.”

Detailed Answer:

The last thing an admissions office wants to do is rescind an offer of admission. It is an enormous disappointment to have to reject a student after all the work a student put into his/her application and all the excitement that was generated by the offer of admission.

But here’s the point: Colleges only rescind an offer of admission if the applicant’s final high school transcript shows evidence of “senioritis.”

I have spent hours in the summers with rescinded students/families in my office crying about how “everyone gets senioritis!” No. Not everyone gets senioritis, and colleges do not buy into that nonsense. The fact is that most students don’t get senioritis, so why should a college continue to hold a space for those few students who succumb to laziness and fun in the senior year simply because “that’s what everyone does.”

Colleges want to see that the applicant is serious about his/her academics and that they will be able to continue on an increasingly challenging academic path straight through high school and into college.

SO DON’T GET SENIORITIS!!!!!

(NOTE: If you have a legitimate reason for a serious grade downtrend in your senior year – and you have solid evidence in the form of documentation to support that reason – you should approach the admissions office with that information before the end of the school year to see if you can affect a potential rescind decision.)

Short Answer:

There are lots of good reasons for both close and far away.

Detailed Answer:

Here are a few reasons you may want to attend college far away from home…

1. You’re sick of your hometown – like, totally

2. You love your parents but you’re sick of ‘em, and you don’t want them to be able to visit you easily

3. You want to get away from everyone you know in high school (and perhaps a regrettable reputation) and reinvent yourself completely, give yourself another chance to succeed (I knew a student who gave this very reason for going far away to college)

4. You live in the South, but you want to be able to ski

5. You live in the North, but you want to be able to hit the beach

6. You live in the East, but you’re sick of the traffic and too many people

7. You live in the West, but you want the excitement of the East

8. You live anywhere in the U.S., but you want to experience cultural and language immersion somewhere else in the world

9. Your family has the money to be able to get you back home for holiday and semester breaks

10. Your girlfriend/boyfriend is going to a college far away from home

11. You want a whole new experience some place unfamiliar

Here are a few (very good) reasons you may want to be closer to home…

1. Your family is close-knit, and it would be upsetting to you to be too far away

2. Your family is dealing with a challenge that requires your attention, i.e. a parent is ill, your grandparents raised you and they are becoming fragile, etc.

3. You have physical, emotional, or mental health issues that need the support of your family (this is nothing to feel uncomfortable about; I know from experience how many students come to college with all types of hidden conditions that cause them to struggle)

4. Your family cannot afford the tremendous out-of-pocket costs that traveling between a long distance college and home incurs; most families today simply cannot afford these extras

5. You would rather save your money for a master’s degree program that is out of state than blow it all on a glamorous college far away that won’t give you a better education than the one right where you live now

6. You are worried that spending your first year at a college far away from home may expose you to challenges you may be too weak to resist without the support of your family and/or your counselor, i.e. addictions, including alcohol, drugs, online gambling, etc.

7. Your girlfriend/boyfriend may be the love of your life, and you don’t want to move away and risk losing her/him

8. You prefer the familiar to the unfamiliar

Definition of Freshman Retention Rates: How many showed up again; how many didn’t.

Why do they matter?: They don't.

The “Freshman Retention Rate” is the percentage of first-year students who continue to matriculate at an institution, from fall to spring of the first-year, and from spring to fall of the sophomore year. In other words, these figures reflect the numbers of students who showed up for the next semester and the number who didn’t.

As with any statistic, there are many sides to the data and the way it is framed for use by the institution. For the very reason that it is so multi-sided and easily manipulated by institutional marketing folks, it is not particularly useful to prospective students.

Any number of circumstances can play into why a student does not continue at the institution they started at, any of which may or may not pertain to you: 1) It’s too far from home; 2) it’s too close to home; 3) the student has been treated poorly by staff members who hold his/her matriculation hostage because of parking fees or unpaid library fines; 4) the family cannot manage the costs of tuition or travel; 5) the student can’t get the classes he/she needs; 6) it’s too cold; 7) it’s too hot; 8) the student can’t make friends; 9) it’s too big; 10) it’s too small; 11) there are no malls; 12) the athletic teams stink; 13) his girlfriend/her boyfriend transferred; 14) his girlfriend/her boyfriend dumped him/her; 15) family illnesses; 16) student illness; 17) family deaths; 18) addiction issues; 19) academic atmosphere is not rigorous enough; 20) academic atmosphere is too rigorous; 21) emotional trauma that will forever be held in secret; 22) and that’s just the first 21 reasons.

I’ve heard them all. Anyone who bases their college comparisons on statistical data is “barking up the wrong tree.” All that data is manipulated for marketing purposes, and even when it is accurate, there is a great deal of background that informs the numbers that most people outside of the industry aren’t aware of.

Want data as real as you can get it, with no spin? Visit IPEDS at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/

Want more information on how colleges use data and why you should be wary of how much credence you give it? Google “Iona College Falsfied Data.”

Short Answer:

You should approach it in such a way as to get answers to every, single question on your pre-accept visit list that wasn't answered during that first visit.

Detailed Answer:

Sit in on a class. Speak to a professor in your major. Meet with financial aid. Find out what the orientation program is like. Dig deep and leave no stone unturned.

Visiting a college is much more about considering the details that will affect your day to day life and sussing out the truth behind the marketing and reputation.

Here is my original visit list from other answers here on Unigo. Make sure you have answered ALL of these questions to your satisfaction...

1. Observe the way that professors and administrators behave around students. Are the employees respectful of the students? Do they seem to enjoy interacting with them? Do they seem helpful and not dismissive of students with questions?

2. Consider the situations at Penn State and Rutgers. Consider your own ethics and then think about what questions you need to ask to learn about the ethics of the institution. For example, what is their student judicial system like? How have they handled bullying in the past? Do they have campus-wide programs in effect to increase inter-human sensitivity? How do they handle substance abuse issues? How do they deal with student conflict? What is their approach to handling student mental and emotional health issues? If a student is in crisis, and that crisis may reflect poorly on the institution, will the institution act on behalf of the student or will it cover up the crisis in order to protect the institution? Does the institution seem punitive or does it seem to approach jurisprudence as a learning opportunity? Don't just ask them open ended questions, ask for specific examples.

3. Ask about their first-year student intake program. How are they going to ensure that you are socially integrated and academically supported? What are the mechanisms for students to confidentially express their fears and anxieties? Do they have an Early Alert system? If they don't, what is their process for ensuring that no student falls through the cracks? If they do, is it one that is designed to truly help students who are struggling, or is it intended to seek out struggling students and punish them for buckling to the high pressures of college life?

4. Look at the "bricks and mortar." Does the campus look well-cared for? Does it look safe? Lights in alleyways and hallways, etc. That stuff matters. But college is a place to learn. It's not supposed to be the Golden Door Spa. Be aware that fancy, expensive residence hall facilities should make you question where your tuition and room and board money will be going -- especially if it is an institution that is charging higher tuition and it has little or no endowment. It should be going to ensure that the academic facilities and equipment will prepare you to enter your profession. That's what you're going to college for.

5. Before you go, read the local newspapers online and see what's mentioned about the college or university. Does the institution have a good reputation within the community? What is the relationship of the college to the surrounding community -- "town and gown"? Is the college genuinely invested in the people and community that surround it, or are they simply taking up space, creating a universe of their own with no interest in bettering the world around them? Some institutions, such as Indiana University -- Bloomington, are fully integrated into the community in every way, ethnically, socially, and economically. This integration creates a rich personal and professional experience with lots of real world possibilities for building a resume aimed at gaining employment upon graduating.

6. Listen closely and think critically. Make sure that the institution you are visiting is marketing itself HONESTLY through its tours and info sessions. For example,Tulane University is in New Orleans, which in its admissions tours touts its diversity. However, look around you on campus and you see virtually no evidence of varied ethnicities. Then drive to the other side of town and see a completely different, devastated community. Then remember the admissions officer telling you that their football team plays in the Superdome, which had housed all the people from the Ninth Ward. They have an almost billion dollar endowment, yet they accepted $135 million from FEMA post-Katrina to upgrade their data systems, yet the city is still devastated. Again, institutional ethics and truth in marketing -- pay attention to what they are telling you, then pay closer attention to anything that supports or denies what they have said.

7. Before you go on your tour, research safety statistics and everything that's been in the general news about the college. And when you are there, pick up a copy of the student newspaper -- that's where you will see what's really going on. And learn about what's being discussed at the Student Government Association meetings. Pay attention to what you find out about efforts students and student groups make to express their concerns to the college's administration. What are the concerns being expressed and how are those concerns being responded to.

8. Ask where your tuition money and room and board goes. Better yet, ask to be directed to published information that details where your money will go.

9. Don't ask what their average SAT score is, or their graduation rate, or their student/faculty ratio. You can find all that info online, even though it's not very important. The fact is, you learn more from astute observation and research than you do from asking questions.

10. Four-to-five years is a long time to be someplace. Before you leave for your visits, you should read online the college's Strategic Plan. When you visit the campus, check to see if there is evidence that the institution is moving actively in the direction its Strategic Plan indicates it wants to go.

11. Also research online where funding cuts are being made. If it's a public institution you are looking at, research what kinds of funding cuts are being made to make up for reduced state funding. Many, many institutions around the country are being faced with having to pull back on programs or eliminate them completely. When you visit, talk to a professor or students and find out what the continued funding outlook is for their department. You don't want to end up in a program that cannot keep up with it's needs for educating you, or worse, in a program that is in danger of being eliminated. And make sure you research what they tell you -- they may be trying to save their department by recruiting anyone and everyone. That doesn't mean the department isn't good, it just means they are struggling and you want to make certain that you understand the truth and possible outcomes of their struggles, because they will affect you.

12. Ask if tuition money is being spent to attract international students or if it is being used to help students such as yourself pay for college. How much money is being spent to recruit international students? Where is that money coming from? The latest statistics show that colleges are now spending more money on general marketing and marketing to international students than they are on scholarships for talented, low income students. Colleges claim that they recruit internationally because they want the diversity, but it's just about the money. The fact is that there is plenty of diversity in this country that is not being served by our institutions of higher learning.

Short Answer:

Not really.

Detailed Answer:

There is usually an underlying reason that drives parents to be ove-rinvolved, and that reason is usually low grades in general, or decent grades and a determination to get their child into an elite college. So it will be the grades that will hurt your chances, not your parents’ over-involvement.

The over-involvement generally becomes acutely apparent to us after a student has been denied. I have dealt with some extremely pushy, borderline abusive parents. I’ve been hung up on. I’ve been threatened with lawsuits. One time I even felt as though the parent might lunge at me from across the desk. This incident caused us to install a security system in the lobby.

Students can be very shy, and often the parents push and push their student to take action on their own behalf, but the student won’t budge. For some reason, this generation has had difficulty learning to advocate for – and speak for -- themselves. The parent is the one that calls with questions about completing or submitting the application. Or perhaps the high school guidance counselor reveals that their umpteenth call to us is at the parent’s continued urging. And we can always tell when the parent has written the essay.

My sympathy is always for the student, who usually is kept in the background while the parent won’t stop pushing. Who knows what hidden fears are preventing a young person from acting on his/her own behalf? I know from teaching first-year seminar how intensely anxiety-laden the idea of college is for every single student. There is an element of the college application process that is terrifying for these kids.

My advice to students is to begin taking responsibility. That’s what colleges are looking for: Students who can enter the hallowed halls, hit the ground running, and handle their own issues. If you can’t or simply don’t feel you are ready, then it’s time to consider a gap year – do something fabulous and meaningful, then go to college. It will always be there.

Your parents want you out of the house and thriving on your own. It’s your life, not your parents. Be purposeful. This is your opportunity to grab your dreams and run with them. If they don’t want to pay for you to do what you want to do, then figure out a way to pay for it yourself.

If you want your parents to be less involved, if you feel they may be hurting your chances, then step up and start taking action yourself. If you don’t do that, then you must expect that they will continue to interfere, and you will deserve it.

Make an action plan with timelines and stick to it. If you approach everything in your life in this manner, you will have a greater chance at getting where you want to be, not where someone else thinks you should be.

A word to the wise:

What really gives me pause is when I see a student has adopted the bullying techniques of the parent(s). That is when I begin to imagine what it will be like for the college’s staff, faculty, student body, roommates, resident hall directors, etc., if this student (and his/her parent) is allowed to be part of the community.

I never denied a student because of this. But I wanted to. Which means someone out there has done exactly that.

Short answer:

No. Google Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): "FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are 'eligible students.'"

Detailed answer:

Once students enter college, it is their responsibility to communicate with their parents. By law, unless the student signs a FERPA waiver, the college cannot legally reveal anything to the parents. This is not just in terms of academics, but also in terms of any social difficulties.

The following is information from the government FERPA web site:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

School officials with legitimate educational interest;

Other schools to which a student is transferring;

Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;

Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;

Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;

Accrediting organizations;

To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;

Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and

State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

For additional information, you may call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327) (voice). Individuals who use TDD may call 1-800-437-0833.

Or you may contact us at the following address:

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20202-8520

Short Answer:

Your child is probably going to be excited/terrified about the college visit experience. His/her reactions may be more visceral and emotional than intellectual. So take notes and keep track of all of my usual advice for families doing college visits.

Detailed Answer:

Be an astute observer and a critical thinker when visiting a college and listening to an admissions counselor. Do your homework before you go.

First, listen critically to everything that is told to you. Traditionally, admissions counselors have been caring, knowledgeable individuals. However, many admissions counselors attitudes today are being driven by pressure from the administration to bring in students, which equals tuition and room and board money. Admissions counselors are selling you their college, because their jobs depend upon the numbers of students they recruit. So, unfortunately, you can no longer believe them any more than you would believe a used car salesman, despite everyone's good intentions. (BTW, the term "used car salesman" is one I hear often now, used by admissions counselors weary of the pressure to recruit students who are not a good fit.)

I have attended and participated in many, many info sessions over the years. In the past several years, it is astonishing how similar these sessions have become. They are almost interchangeable. The truth is that admissions departments everywhere have deeply researched your child's generation and know exactly what to say to attract him/her-- from diversity, to community service, to safety, to student-focused, to anything and everything.

Honestly, visiting a college is much more about considering the details that will affect your child's day to day life and sussing out the truth behind the marketing and reputation.

1. Observe the way that professors and administrators behave around students. Are the employees respectful of the students? Do they seem to enjoy interacting with them? Do they seem helpful and not dismissive of students with questions?

2. Consider the situations at Penn State and Rutgers. Consider your own ethics and then think about what questions you need to ask to learn about the ethics of the institution. For example, what is their student judicial system like? How have they handled bullying in the past? Do they have campus-wide programs in effect to increase inter-human sensitivity? How do they handle substance abuse issues? How do they deal with student conflict? What is their approach to handling student mental and emotional health issues? If a student is in crisis, and that crisis may reflect poorly on the institution, will the institution act on behalf of the student or will it cover up the crisis in order to protect the institution? Does the institution seem punitive or does it seem to approach jurisprudence as a learning opportunity? Don't just ask them open ended questions, ask for specific examples.

3. Ask about their first-year student intake program. How are they going to ensure that you are socially integrated and academically supported? What are the mechanisms for students to confidentially express their fears and anxieties? Do they have an Early Alert system? If they don't, what is their process for ensuring that no student falls through the cracks? If they do, is it one that is designed to truly help students who are struggling, or is it intended to seek out struggling students and punish them for buckling to the high pressures of college life?

4. Look at the "bricks and mortar." Does the campus look well-cared for? Does it look safe? Lights in alleyways and hallways, etc. That stuff matters. But college is a place to learn. It's not supposed to be the Golden Door Spa. Be aware that fancy, expensive residence hall facilities should make you question where your tuition and room and board money will be going -- especially if it is an institution that is charging higher tuition and it has little or no endowment. It should be going to ensure that the academic facilities and equipment will prepare you to enter your profession. That's what you're going to college for.

5. Before you go, read the local newspapers online and see what's mentioned about the college or university. Does the institution have a good reputation within the community? What is the relationship of the college to the surrounding community -- "town and gown"? Is the college genuinely invested in the people and community that surround it, or are they simply taking up space, creating a universe of their own with no interest in bettering the world around them? Some institutions, such as Indiana University -- Bloomington, are fully integrated into the community in every way, ethnically, socially, and economically. This integration creates a rich personal and professional experience with lots of real world possibilities for building a resume aimed at gaining employment upon graduating.

6. Listen closely and think critically. Make sure that the institution you are visiting is marketing itself HONESTLY through its tours and info sessions. For example,Tulane University is in New Orleans, which in its admissions tours touts its diversity. However, look around you on campus and you see virtually no evidence of varied ethnicities. Then drive to the other side of town and see a completely different, devastated community. Then remember the admissions officer telling you that their football team plays in the Superdome, which had housed all the people from the Ninth Ward. They have an almost billion dollar endowment, yet they accepted $135 million from FEMA post-Katrina to upgrade their data systems, yet the city is still devastated. Again, institutional ethics and truth in marketing -- pay attention to what they are telling you, then pay closer attention to anything that supports or denies what they have said.

7. Before you go on your tour, research safety statistics and everything that's been in the general news about the college. And when you are there, pick up a copy of the student newspaper -- that's where you will see what's really going on. And learn about what's being discussed at the Student Government Association meetings. Pay attention to what you find out about efforts students and student groups make to express their concerns to the college's administration. What are the concerns being expressed and how are those concerns being responded to.

8. Ask where your tuition money and room and board goes. Better yet, ask to be directed to published information that details where your money will go.

9. Don't ask what their average SAT score is, or their graduation rate, or their student/faculty ratio. You can find all that info online, even though it's not very important. The fact is, you learn more from astute observation and research than you do from asking questions.

10. Four-to-five years is a long time to be someplace. Before you leave for your visits, you should read online the college's Strategic Plan. When you visit the campus, check to see if there is evidence that the institution is moving actively in the direction its Strategic Plan indicates it wants to go.

11. Also research online where funding cuts are being made. If it's a public institution you are looking at, research what kinds of funding cuts are being made to make up for reduced state funding. Many, many institutions around the country are being faced with having to pull back on programs or eliminate them completely. When you visit, talk to a professor or students and find out what the continued funding outlook is for their department. You don't want to end up in a program that cannot keep up with it's needs for educating you, or worse, in a program that is in danger of being eliminated. And make sure you research what they tell you -- they may be trying to save their department by recruiting anyone and everyone. That doesn't mean the department isn't good, it just means they are struggling and you want to make certain that you understand the truth and possible outcomes of their struggles, because they will affect you.

12. Ask if tuition money is being spent to attract international students or if it is being used to help students such as yourself pay for college. How much money is being spent to recruit international students? Where is that money coming from? The latest statistics show that colleges are now spending more money on general marketing and marketing to international students than they are on scholarships for talented, low income students. Colleges claim that they recruit internationally because they want the diversity, but it's just about the money. The fact is that there is plenty of diversity in this country that is not being served by our institutions of higher learning.

Short Answer:

They’re your parents. It’s their job to stress out. Especially about money. If you want to lessen the pressure their stress creates, create a college search action plan and take control of your own college search process – then all they have to worry about is the money.

Detailed Answer:

There is usually an underlying reason that drives parents to be over-involved, and that reason is usually low grades in general, or decent grades and a determination to get you into an elite college. But mostly, they wonder how they are going to pay for it.

My advice to you is to begin taking responsibility. That’s what colleges are looking for: Students who can enter the hallowed halls, hit the ground running, and handle their own issues. If you can’t or simply don’t feel you are ready, then it’s time to consider a gap year – do something fabulous and meaningful, then go to college. It will always be there.

The fact is, your parents want you out of the house and thriving on your own. But it’s your life, not your parents. Be purposeful. This is your opportunity to grab your dreams and run with them. If they can’t or don’t want to pay for you to do what you want to do, then figure out a way to pay for it yourself.

Don’t have them make the action plan and then beg you to participate in what is your OWN process. Make your own action plan with appropriate timelines and stick to it, then invite them into the process when the time is right. If you approach everything in your life in this manner, you will have a greater chance at getting where YOU want to be, not where someone else thinks you should be. (BTW, this works even if you don’t know where you want to be, because in doing this on your own, you find out a lot about your wants and needs.)

The bottom line: If you want your parents to be less stressed or less involved, then step up and start taking action yourself. If you don’t do that, then you must expect that they will continue to stress out.

Short Answer:

Money+Time+ScrewedUpCredits=Debt+Debt+Debt+Debt+Debt+MaybeNotEvenFinishing.

Transferring is potentially (likely) an expensive can of worms. If you open it without being prepared for what comes out, you can’t complain. But if you are utterly, completely, miserably miserable where you are, or you have explored enough of academia to understand the degree program (and career) you want (in other words, it’s no longer a fantasy and you are prepared to do the hard work required of the collegiate upper level), go ahead and transfer. Just understand that there will probably be many roadblocks along the way.

Detailed Answer:

Here’s a load of info you need to know about transferring…

1. Colleges don’t want any more dings in their grad rate stats than they already have. More than two former colleges listed on your applications to other colleges make you look like a bad bet. If you can’t commit to completing a degree where you’ve been, chances are you won’t finish up at any other college, either. Moving around from college to college makes you appear to be aimless and/or trouble. You make a lot of extra work for the registrar who must try to finesse your messy credit history – and you don’t want to be a pain and make an enemy of the registrar. In addition, admissions staff may think that there are hidden concerns (addictions or illegal activity) you have not dealt with appropriately, issues that may negatively affect the college social community.

2. There is a code of honor among colleges and universities: If you have not settled your entire bill at your previous institution– and I mean “paid in full” -- you will not be admitted to another college. In fact, the college from which you trying to transfer will not release your transcript to another college until the bill is paid. And colleges will not admit you without an “official” transcript sent directly from the registrar’s office.

Here’s an example: A family I worked with a few years ago was trying to transfer their son from a Midwest institution to a college out East. The son and his roommate had trashed their dorm room, damage to the walls, furniture, etc. Turns out the son had a serous – but previously unrecognized -- addiction issue which blossomed fully when he got to campus.

The original college would not release the student’s transcript until the cost of the damage had been paid, and the college to which he was applying could not – would not -- admit him until they had the official transcript. The other roommate would not accept his part of the blame for the damage, although the son I was working with owned up to his addiction and was already in recovery.

It took a year for the student and his family to work out the problem and get his transcript released. In the meantime, the student was in limbo. His freshman college work, not surprisingly, had been poor, so because he had no way to matriculate at another institution, the academic damage lingered, also. The behavior of this student added at least a year of college to his degree-completion time and cost his family dearly -- costs they will be paying off for a looooooong time. The great part of this story is that a few years later, out of the blue I received an email from the father telling me that his son had graduated with honors and was accepted to grad school – AND he is still sober.

The moral to this story from a college’s point of view is, “If they don’t want you, we don’t want you.” But what a happy ending! He grew up fast and is a huge success story. But there was a lot of pain getting there.

3. Transferring credits is a headache – for everyone, including you.

Transferring from college to college costs money and time. The average number of times an undergraduate student changes his/her major is 3-4. The average number of times a college-degree holding individual changes jobs in a lifetime is 10. Unless you are one of those rare individuals who knew at the age of 4 that they want to be an astrophysicist, you need a college that will offer you a solid grounding in the liberal arts combined with enough variety in “majors” to enable you to switch majors and concentrations seamlessly…and you need a guarantee of the “seamless” part.

Each academic department believes they are special, therefore they insist you take the fundamental discipline-related courses they offer at their own institution. In some cases, this is understandable, particularly when an upper-level program features a specific approach to research, generation of knowledge, and contribution to the field. But unless you enter a college having a savvy understanding of curriculum and how it relates to your education and career goals, you won’t have a clue.

The fact is, curriculums are incredibly complicated things to read and understand. Meet with a registrar sometime and try to get straight talk – despite their best intentions to try to help you, they struggle and often get it wrong, because it’s just too complicated, and often the departments have a completely different idea of what is expected of a student. In all the years I have tried to work with registrars and academic departments and advisers to get a solid answer on what my families can expect when they transfer, it has been a nightmare every time.

The general rule is that the catalog is the final word on graduation requirements. The problem is that every department writes their own catalog text and curriculum, and sometimes it’s incomprehensible. Get the registrar and the department to agree on paper to what it is that is required of you if you transfer. And never mind what the academic/transfer adviser says. They try, but often they have the wrong information. You are paying/going to pay a lot of money for this education. They owe it to you to make it clear what you need to do to get their degree.

It is heartbreaking when a transfer student (and this can happen even when you remain at an institution) gets to the end of their degree program, is promised a graduation date, then finds out in the middle of their “final” semester that they are missing a mere two credits or they won’t get credit for their internship after all, but “maybe” they will be allowed to walk (which means they can go through the graduation ceremony, but they won’t get their degree until they have completed their credits.) It is shocking the number of students who decide in the middle of their senior year that they can’t complete their degree program, either because they’ve run out of money, or it’s just too frustrating to get it done. Senior year is the second highest dropout rate after freshman year.

If you transfer under these circumstances, you will likely be faced with a semester or two – or worse, a year or two – of lost credits, which means astronomical frustration and wasted money.

Now, I am of the attitude that there is no such thing as a lost credit. Knowledge and education is useful throughout life. You never know when that Science for Artists class in Dinosaurs is going to matter – such as when you have kids and they think you are the bombdiggity because you know all about dinosaurs.

But you need to know that if you decide to transfer, that Dinosaur class might only count as an elective – or nothing. If you have too many electives, they end up being extra courses that are that – just extra. Extra time, extra money. And unless you are in the approximately 18% of the population that can pay out-of-pocket, you will be paying that off for decades.

4. Sometimes transferring is a relief and a joy. I worked with a brilliant student who had attended a major New England research university in the coolest, most happenin’, hippest college town ever. His high school grades had been all AP, all A+, and his SATs were as close to perfect as you can get without being perfect. But he was so shy, he felt completely alone, couldn’t make friends, and failed almost every class because he was so depressed. He transferred to a small college in a rural area and blossomed. He was prepared to take his entire first-year over again, just to be happy.

5. If you decide to attend community college first because at a community college you can get a solid core education without the cost of a major institution, keep in mind that many colleges and universities will accept your Associate’s degree whole, without picking apart your credits. They will accept you as a college Junior. If you go this route, make sure the college you are transferring into tells you exactly what will be expected of you to receive the degree you are seeking.

So the bottom line on time and money for transfers is this: Get it in writing. If you are transferring to another institution, and you are transferring a substantial number of credits, get in writing exactly what will be expected of you in order to get your degree.

Then determine the long-term cost of transferring. Then decide if it’s better to transfer as an undergrad, or finish up where you are with a solid liberal arts or degree program and save your money and time for a Master’s degree.

Cost is everything these days, and the fact is there are many ways to achieve your dreams, and not all of them involve traditional, expensive colleges.

The first advice students and parents should take is to stop thinking about the glamorous Ivies. They don't want you, so don't waste your hopes and money on the app fees. They want your application so they can appear more selective to the rankings publications. It may sound cool to your friends and classmates to say you are applying to an Ivy, but the fact is the Ivies know who they are accepting and it's probably not you.

But you don't need them, because there are many institutions out there that will provide you with what you need, which is to achieve a degree that will prove to employers (investors? your community? grad schools? your future children?) throughout your life that you can think, write, analyze, calculate, and be an ethical, productive member of society.

That said, be aware of the games institutions play with you and your emotions. College is big business, and it is you they are manipulating toward their own goals. That admissions counselor who is telling you yes to everything you ask? They have recruitment goals; to their college administration, you represent application numbers and tuition and room and board dollars; that is who counselors answer to, and they are protecting their jobs by telling you what you want to hear (and they've done enough research on you and your generation to know exactly what buzz words you will appreciate.) Take responsibility for your college choices, and -- like any smart consumer -- do some digging to discover if their "walk" reflects their "talk." And if you need help doing that, find someone to talk to who knows admissions from the inside out.

So go ahead and dream, but get realistic about how you will achieve your dreams. You should consider four types of college pathways (and honestly, any number of college application choices should be able to provide you with the same attributes I mention below):

1) Your dream school that offers your dream major -- any country, any cost

2) A college that meets realistic expectations about costs and loan repayment over time (and that means possibly until well after you have your own children and are saving for their college and your retirement at the same time -- not to mention potential lack of employment at various times.)

3) One with a solid liberal arts core. The most important and employment-transferable education over time is a liberal arts education. The truth is you will not succeed in any major or profession unless you know how to think critically and creatively, write well, and know how to work with figures. So if your high school academic record is not strong (and even if it is), the third type of college you should apply to is one that will provide you with strong academic support in core credits that will be transferable. Ideally, these credits should be be in the form of an Associate's degree, because should you decide to begin your undergraduate studies at a cost-sensitive institution, many colleges will transfer-in the Associate's degree as whole, which can reduce the cost of your education overall. This type of study can be taken at a traditional four-year college or your local community college. The amount of money you save by living at home (no matter how badly you want to get away) and attending two years of community college can save you and your parents from decades of unmanageable debt, not to mention the out of pocket costs of travel associated with attending a non-local college. The choice of a local college or community college shows financial intelligence and emotional maturity, so don't be a snob. All employers out there will be seeing is where you got your degree from, not where you completed your first one or two years.

4) Your public state university; many students look down upon their state universities, but the fact is that most of these institutions offer an incredible education in many, many areas of study. Again, don't be a snob.

In short, apply to cost-sensitive colleges that will provide you with a solid liberal arts core. Save your big money for grad school and a specialization after you've been working for a few years. A Master's degree is the bottom line now for long-term professional employment.

Short Answer:

Yes and no.

Detailed Answer:

At institutions that offer Early Decision, such as colleges in the highly competitive Ivy League, it can be of great benefit to you to apply Early Decision. Admissions offices are under tremendous pressure to show strong numbers early in the admissions cycle, so they are a little more able to admit students that don’t quite meet their demand for perfection. So whether you are a strong student or a “mostly strong” student, if they want you and you want them, you should lock it in so someone else doesn’t take your place (but they have to really, really want you.)

However, most other institutions are so anxious to admit international students that can pay the tuition without substantial aid that Early Decision and Early Action become meaningless. Colleges will go well past the application deadline in admitting international students.

Short Answer:

The best test for college admissions is the rest requested by the specific college(s) to which you are applying.

Detailed Answer:

TOEFL is the most common; however, IELTS is gaining in popularity because it tests the ability to communicate via speaking as opposed to writing.

One of the most common issues in higher education in working with international students whose native language is not English is that the student may be able to write well, but their ability to communicate verbally is weak. This can cause difficulties in the classroom and socially. As a result, many institutions are accepting the IELTS as an alternative to the TOEFL.

Students also are interested in knowing if one test is easier than the other. It isn't necessarily that one test is "easier" than the other, it's that one test may reveal your skills in one are or another area. If your speaking skills are excellent, and the institution accepts those scores, then you would be at an advantage to take the IELTS. If your speaking skills are not very strong, but your writing and reading skills are great, then the TOEFL may reveal those strengths.

But the bottom line is this: Take the test that the college you are applying to wants you to take. If your verbal communications skills are excellent, take both tests. Most institutions will accept the strongest of the scores.

Short Answer:

The same way an American student should write an effective college admissions essay: Pay attention to what the college or university wants to see in your essay...and don't submit one if they don't want one.

Detailed Answer:

Here’s some background before I get to the answer you are looking for…

They are looking at your grades and your language skills. The essay tells them nothing about your language skills, because any student -- international or American -- can have someone else write their essay, or they can purchase it from someone off the Internet, so they know that the essay may not be a very good means of learning about your ability to perform academically.

The essay is important only if the institution stresses the importance of it. The fact is, if your grades and board scores are excellent, they probably won’t even look at your essay or letters of recommendation.

As a result of this fact and because of financial pressure, many institutions are moving toward automatic “review” of applications. In other words, there is an algorithm on the backend (the same data that enabled the college to automatically begin communicating with you as soon as your PSAT scores became available) that crunches your numbers – SAT/ACT, GPA, RIC) and decides whether you are in or out. This means that your entire relationship with a college has been via a machine; no one knows who you are or that you even exist – except as a number the institution can manipulate to its advantage.

Now, if the machine says you are “out,” the admissions staff will begin to look more closely at the eliminated applications and admit/deny these students until the admissions department reaches its enrollment goals. At that point, the admissions officers may be searching for more information about you, such as explanations of grade anomalies. They may find this information in your essay or in your letters or recommendation, or in a letter that you include with your application.

The most important point to remember is this: If the institution stresses an essay or a personal statement, pay VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to what they request of that essay or personal statement.

In other words, if you write a generic essay to send to all your college search choices, and it is clear to the admissions officer reading your essay that you have not paid attention to what they wanted to see in the essay (subject, length, structure, etc.), your application will be denied simply because it is clear that 1) you cannot follow instructions or 2) you didn’t care enough about applying to their institution to follow their instructions. And they will be right on both counts.

For example, if you look at the Purdue application this year, they offer three choices of essay topics, each one carefully considered to allow different types of students to write something that matters to them. This presentation of their essay request shows that they DO value the essay, and if you want to get into Purdue – and especially if your grades and board scores aren’t stellar – then you’d better pay attention to this part of the application.

Other institutions, such as Indiana University-Bloomington (which has one of the largest international student bodies in the U.S.), specifically state that they do not want to receive essays – so if you submit an essay, this also shows that you cannot follow directions.

The major reason for an institution to not request an essay is that essay-reading slows down the application review process. They don’t want admissions officers reading essays when those officers can simply be crunching through the numbers on applications and making their decisions based solely on a student’s past successes or challenges – which is why it’s so important to do well in high school from 9th grade through 11th grade. The fact is that most admissions decisions are based on 8th-11th grade trends; they only look to senior grades at the end to ensure that you continued strongly and didn’t get “senioritis.”

One more point about essays: A seasoned admissions officer can tell if you’ve written the essay yourself; if your Mom or Dad wrote it; or if you bought it off the Internet. We’d rather see errors in the writing of a wonderful and unique essay than perfect writing in a boring, uninformative essay (or in an essay that does not pertain to what has been requested.) But you would be wise to have whatever you’ve written be proofread: Spell check won’t cut it; it has to be a human being.

Short Answer:

It’s only necessary if they ask for it, and most colleges and universities don’t require interviews.

Detailed Answer:

Colleges and universities are looking at grades and language/communication skills. If they require an interview, they will state the instructions clearly on their web site.

To see an excellent example of this, visit Harvard’s undergraduate “International Interview” page, at http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/interviews.html

Short Answer:

Financial aid is not offered to international students through the U.S. federal government; however, many colleges and universities give “scholarships” in the form of tuition discounting to international students to encourage them to attend (NOTE: These scholarships may only be for the first year.) This means they simply reduce the cost of attendance by making your tuition lower than an American student who is asked to pay full tuition. Often this discounting will be called an "academic scholarship." But, hey, it's money, right?

Detailed Answer:

If the college does not offer you a scholarship, and you really want to attend that institution, ask them if they can offer you some money to attend. (NOTE: Most colleges generate their scholarship award via the admissions office, which means any notice of scholarships will come via your letter of acceptance or in the spring as a separate notice.

U.S. colleges are increasing their competition to get you to attend their college or university. They will say it’s because they welcome the diversity that you might bring, and certainly that's a wonderful contribution you can make to our colleges. But the bottom line is that all almost all American colleges and universities are in financial crisis, and they believe you can pay for the education without much financial assistance from them.

They know that many of their competitors are offering prospective international students substantial tuition discounts (which they are calling “scholarships.”) So if the institution you are interested in does not offer you a “scholarship,” you can either 1) agree to pay the full amount of tuition, 2) pressure them for money, or 3) you can tell them you will attend another college that is offering you a “scholarship.” Then see if the college you really want to go to will decide to offer you money.

If you do receive a scholarship, make sure it is renewable over the four years of your undergraduate degree. Many, many colleges use scholarships (or tuition discounting) as bait to get students to attend the college the first year. They hope that the student will become emotionally and socially integrated to the point that they will do anything to pay the full amount to continue attending, even without a scholarship. This can place undo hardship on the international student’s family (it certainly makes it very difficult for American students.)

To see which colleges (by state) in the U.S. offer scholarships to international students, visit http://www.internationalstudent.com/schools_awarding_aid/ [Keep in mind that the list of institutions mentioned on this page specifically are EXTREMELY difficult to get into, even for top students. But many, many other colleges and universities in the U.S. offer outstanding, prestigious degree programs.]

Short Answer:

At most U.S. colleges and universities, you don’t have to select your major until the Spring semester of your Sophomore (2nd) year. This gives you plenty of time to 1) explore your options and strengths, and 2) work with an academic adviser and/or professor who will help you make the right choice of major.

Detailed Answer:

Many international students pursue their degree in the U.S. in the areas of math, engineering, pharmacy, medicine, and the sciences. These areas of study are interrelated, and each has many different specialties in which you might major. The fact is you probably won’t know which major truly interests you until you explore these programs in your first years of college. The great thing about American colleges and universities is – unlike international universities that focus solely on the major -- they usually allow you the option to explore.

However, it can cost more to explore. If you decide to explore majors and not dive in right away, you must expect to attend college for one or two more years in order to gain the full academic program.

Professional degree majors are different, however. If you are a top student seeking a highly competitive professional program, such as a 6-year Pharmacy degree or Engineering, many of those programs have specific academic progressions which you must follow from the day you arrive on campus. That means you must to declare that major on your application. In certain institutions, you may enter the college you desire as a general studies student, complete your first year or two as “exploratory,” and then elect to apply to the professional school within that same college.

Many international students whose communication and math skills are not strong opt to begin their studies at a smaller, outstanding college or university. These students find that they can receive more one-on-one attention in a less high pressure academic environment that allows them to blossom socially and academically and gain confidence and skill. They also are able to hone their English skills because they are not in an environment with large numbers of similar Asian students. At a point at which they are comfortable, they may decide to transfer to a stronger, more elite institution and program.

I know of several Chinese and Japanese students that attended a small public colleges in Vermont so they could be immersed in American culture and language and improve their academic record. One of these students studied Math and English, then was accepted as a transfer student to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York State, one of the most elite engineering programs in the country.

Short Answer:

Financial aid is not offered to international students through the U.S. federal government; however, many colleges and universities give “scholarships” in the form of tuition discounting to international students to encourage them to attend (NOTE: These scholarships may only be for the first year.) This means they simply reduce the cost of attendance by making your tuition lower than an American student who is asked to pay full tuition. Often this discounting will be called an "academic scholarship." But, hey, it's money, right?

Detailed Answer:

If the college does not offer you a scholarship, and you really want to attend that institution, ask them if they can offer you some money to attend. (NOTE: Most colleges generate their scholarship award via the admissions office, which means any notice of scholarships will come via your letter of acceptance or in the spring as a separate notice.

U.S. colleges are increasing their competition to get you to attend their college or university. They will say it’s because they welcome the diversity that you might bring, and certainly that's a wonderful contribution you can make to our colleges. But the bottom line is that all almost all American colleges and universities are in financial crisis, and they believe you can pay for the education without much financial assistance from them.

They know that many of their competitors are offering prospective international students substantial tuition discounts (which they are calling “scholarships.”) So if the institution you are interested in does not offer you a “scholarship,” you can either 1) agree to pay the full amount of tuition, 2) pressure them for money, or 3) you can tell them you will attend another college that is offering you a “scholarship.” Then see if the college you really want to go to will decide to offer you money.

If you do receive a scholarship, make sure it is renewable over the four years of your undergraduate degree. Many, many colleges use scholarships (or tuition discounting) as bait to get students to attend the college the first year. They hope that the student will become emotionally and socially integrated to the point that they will do anything to pay the full amount to continue attending, even without a scholarship. This can place undo hardship on the international student’s family (it certainly makes it very difficult for American students.)

To see which colleges (by state) in the U.S. offer scholarships to international students, visit http://www.internationalstudent.com/schools_awarding_aid/ [Keep in mind that the list of institutions mentioned on this page specifically are EXTREMELY difficult to get into, even for top students. But many, many other colleges and universities in the U.S. offer outstanding, prestigious degree programs.]

Short Answer:

If the college does not offer you a scholarship, and you really want to attend that institution, ask them if they can offer you some money to attend. (NOTE: Most colleges generate their scholarship award via the admissions office, which means any notice of scholarships will come via your letter of acceptance or in the spring as a separate notice.

Financial aid is not offered to international students through the U.S. federal government; however, many colleges and universities give “scholarships” in the form of tuition discounting to international students to encourage them to attend (NOTE: These scholarships may only be for the first year.) This means they simply reduce the cost of attendance by making your tuition lower than an American student who is asked to pay full tuition. Often this discounting will be called an "academic scholarship." But, hey, it's money, right?

Detailed Answer:

If the college does not offer you a scholarship, and you really want to attend that institution, ask them if they can offer you some money to attend. (NOTE: Most colleges generate their scholarship award via the admissions office, which means any notice of scholarships will come via your letter of acceptance or in the spring as a separate notice.

U.S. colleges are increasing their competition to get you to attend their college or university. They will say it’s because they welcome the diversity that you might bring, and certainly that's a wonderful contribution you can make to our colleges. But the bottom line is that all almost all American colleges and universities are in financial crisis, and they believe you can pay for the education without much financial assistance from them.

They know that many of their competitors are offering prospective international students substantial tuition discounts (which they are calling “scholarships.”) So if the institution you are interested in does not offer you a “scholarship,” you can either 1) agree to pay the full amount of tuition, 2) pressure them for money, or 3) you can tell them you will attend another college that is offering you a “scholarship.” Then see if the college you really want to go to will decide to offer you money.

If you do receive a scholarship, make sure it is renewable over the four years of your undergraduate degree. Many, many colleges use scholarships (or tuition discounting) as bait to get students to attend the college the first year. They hope that the student will become emotionally and socially integrated to the point that they will do anything to pay the full amount to continue attending, even without a scholarship. This can place undo hardship on the international student’s family (it certainly makes it very difficult for American students.)

To see which colleges (by state) in the U.S. offer scholarships to international students, visit http://www.internationalstudent.com/schools_awarding_aid/ [Keep in mind that the list of institutions mentioned on this page specifically are EXTREMELY difficult to get into, even for top students. But many, many other colleges and universities in the U.S. offer outstanding, prestigious degree programs.]

Short Answer:

International students are evaluated the same way American students are evaluated: by the strength of their academic record and test scores.

Detailed Answer:

Most major colleges and universities have individuals in the admissions office who are experts at analyzing international transcripts and test scores – whether it’s TOEFL or IELTS, or O-Levels, etc. We have a saying here: The best predictor of success is past success. This means that if you did well on your academics before, you will probably do well in the future. So we look to see past academic success.

What admissions counselors often see are students who present very strong math scores on tests, but their English language skills are weak. Students whose academic work is strong and who present strong scores on the TOEFL will be considered good candidates for admission. However, an increasing topic of concern at colleges is the difficulty that international students have with verbal communication –in other words, they often don’t understand what is being communicated in the classroom by the professor. The professor may use idiomatic expressions that are unknown to international students, or speak too quickly, or their fellow students may communicate in a shorthand manner of speaking that is mystifying. This is something that the IELTS evaluates, and why these scores are sometimes requested. An interview via Skype or phone may be requested, as well.

This is why many international students opt to begin their studies at a smaller, less pressure American college. At a smaller college with fewer international students, they may have as many opportunities for language and cultural immersion as they would at an elite institution, but they will have the more relaxed challenge of improving their English skills via one-on-one interaction with their professors.

In addition, I want to make sure you know the following: If you do opt to begin your studies at a small college, make sure they have adequate academic and social support programs for their international students. Many American colleges are beginning to actively recruit international students, but they do not have the infrastructure and student life programs to support you in a strange new culture. It is important that wherever you decide to attend college in the U.S., make sure they don’t just want your money: They want YOU, and they care enough about you to take care of your needs once you arrive on campus.