“You provide the pictures; I’ll provide the war,” legendary newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst often reminded his reporters.
College admissions isn’t war; but it certainly feels darn close to parents and kids living through it. Maybe that’s why over the past few weeks, college admissions trends seemed to dominate the front pages of our (few remaining) newspapers. Pegged to the traditional April 1st notification date – which is becoming less and less traditional – editors seemed to be capitalizing on parents’ and students’ anxiety about college decisions.
As parents of juniors, you have probably been introduced to the first high-anxiety element of the college admissions process: the SAT’s. Perhaps you’ve had – or were recently invited to – a college night by your child’s guidance counselor. Or your kids may have relayed some tale-of-woe about a senior who was a “sure thing” at a particular college and yet was denied admission. In short, whether you’re ready or not, you are about to be immersed in the college admissions craziness.
And while it doesn’t have to be so intense, high-stakes, or personal, that you think of it in military terms, it sometimes is. So we want to give you a brief overview of what you really have to know. Then, over the next six months – as your child enters his or her senior year – we’ll give you much more detail about how to navigate the system, make better choices, and improve your student’s chances of admission.
5 Must-Know Facts of College Admission
- Truth #1 – Every kid will get in. – OK, so every kid won’t get into Harvard Yale, Princeton, or Stanford. But they really shouldn’t. Because Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Stanford, while terrific places for some kids, really, really can be pretty miserable places for most others. We’ll address “prestigious” schools in depth later. But for the moment, it is very important to remember two critically important facts:
(1) There are about 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States. Many of them – no, take that back – most of them are pretty darn good. Obviously that doesn’t mean that your child will find what she is looking for, or fit in at even a majority of those schools. But it does mean that there are probably far more choices – where your child has a good chance of getting in – that will also be a very good fit.
(2) It is a buyer’s market. With 4,000 colleges and universities all competing for about 3 million graduating high school seniors, your child’s odds of admission are pretty good. In fact, only about 75 of those schools reject one more applicant than they accept. That means a kid’s chances of admission are better than his chances of being rejected.
So, the most important thing you can do is not go crazy. Your child will get in. And if you make the effort — and we’ll help you — to really figure out what is right for your kid and then investigate colleges, it can be a happy fit. - Truth #2 – Colleges are Looking for the Well-Rounded Class; Not the Well-Rounded Kid – Remember all that advice someone (not you, heaven forbid) gave your kid about joining clubs or sports because it would “look good on their college application?” Well, we hope your son really enjoyed himself. Because participation in the activity is really the reward. Colleges – for the most part – are not looking for kids who have participated in lots of different activities. They are not looking for the “well rounded” kid. They are looking for the well-rounded class.
What that means is that colleges are looking to put together an entering class that includes a certain number of athletes for each time; a few musicians for the orchestra and swing band; a few actors; some writers for the newspaper; a couple wealthy kids whose parents can build a new library; and enough scholars to fill each academic department – even the most obscure.
What this means for your child is simple: by understanding what colleges are looking for – and what they’re not – your child can improve his/her odds of admission. Concentrate on a few activities. Let them find their passion. Excel at something, anything. Don’t encourage your child to spread herself too thin. Leadership in one activity is much more important (impressive) than participation in four. When it comes time to actually apply to colleges, we’ll give you tips on how to “package and position” your child’s application. But in the meantime, encourage your daughter to really focus on what she loves.
- Truth #3 — SAT Scores Count; Grades Matter More – More and more colleges – more than 800 as of spring, 2009 — are making the SAT test optional for admission. Here is a link for the full list: http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional
That said, the SAT is still an important component in admissions to most of the most prestigious colleges and universities. In fact, at some very fine universities, a good SAT score (despite mediocre grades) will guarantee admission.
But on balance, high school grades are far more important than SAT scores.
The question we most often hear is: “Is it better to get a “B” in an advanced or AP course or an “A” in a regular course?” (When Mike Muska was in Admissions at Brown, he was often asked that question. His regular answer was pretty direct: Get an A in an advanced class.)While the “A in an advanced class” is the “right” answer for the Ivies and other highly selective colleges, the advice for other good schools is a bit less daunting. The short answer is higher grades are better. Yes, colleges love to see kids take difficult or advanced placement courses. But they really want to see a kid do well in the courses she takes. Some colleges weight Honors or AP courses on the transcript; some don’t.
So the bottom line is encourage your child to take the toughest courses possible and do well. They should take the most rigorous schedule they can be successful at. And remember, you don’t major in high school – you do that in college. What this means for your child’s senior year of high school is that he shouldn’t abandon that fourth year of a foreign language under the guise of, “Well, I’m really interested in math or science.” Top colleges really do like to see a broad, rigorous academic schedule right through the senior year.
- Truth #4 – Your Child’s Essays, Recommendations & Interview Can Make the Critical Difference – Next fall, your child will be immersed in writing admissions essays, securing teacher recommendations, and on occasion, being interviewed by admissions officers or alumni. Each can make a real difference in your child’s chances of admission.
Don’t start obsessing about them – not now and, believe it or not, not later. We’ll help you with some very practical advice next fall. But what you have to remember can be summed up in three pieces of advice:(1) The work – and in particular the essays – has to be your child’s, not yours. That might seem obvious, but you would be shocked by the number of parents – or hired, independent admissions counselors — who (ahem) “polish” or just “check” their kid’s essay. It rarely fools anyone in the admissions office.
(2) Let Jane be Jane. (Our apologies for paraphrasing this Reagan-era mantra.) Don’t try to force-fit your daughter’s application – or more importantly, your daughter – into some application “niche” or positioning because you think it will help her chances of admission. Over the next few months you will hear lots of advice about how to “package and position” your daughter’s application. As long as that “positioning” is backed up by real interests and accomplishments, the strategy makes sense. As soon as you stray into shady areas of embellishment, you’re flirting with serious trouble. No teacher or school counselor will write a recommendation that isn’t based on fact. So, be strategic, but be honest.
(3) Seek Recommendations Early — Think about junior (or, if necessary, sophomore) teachers your daughter has bonded with; or who knows your daughter well. You should approach those teachers this spring about writing your daughter’s recommendation during the summer. Lots of teachers like to write their recommendations during the summer when their workload is lighter and the memory of the student fresher.
For now, don’t worry too much about essays, recommendations or interviews. - Truth #5 – Money Talks – And There Is More of it Around (For Your Child) Than You Realize. – Sorry, life’s unfair. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s understand the role that money plays in college admissions.
There are three things you need to understand:(1) For the very few families that are well-off, money can make a real difference in a kid’s admissions prospects. But we’re talking about serious money and that affects maybe 1% of us. Every college wants – and will admit – a few “development prospects.” What constitutes a “development prospect” differs from college to college. (Some colleges are thrilled to get a $25,000 donation while others will guarantee little more than a wall plaque on a campus building for less than a million.) But if you think you fall into that category, talk to your child’s high school guidance counselor. Most guidance counselors generally know how to make a college aware that an applicant is a development prospect. And if a counselor isn’t experienced in this area, e-mail us, and we’ll tell you how to proceed. Obviously this advice isn’t relevant to the vast majority of us. But we thought we had to include it. And as we said, life ain’t fair.
(2) Applying (or not applying) for financial aid can make a difference in the admissions decision at many schools. A few years ago, when the economy was booming and university endowments were flush, top colleges were competing to see who could be the most generous with financial aid and “need blind” admissions decisions. Those days, unfortunately, are no longer with us. University budgets everywhere – and we mean everywhere – are being slashed. Consequently, there is less financial aid available to award to entering students.
The impact of that aid cutback is that most admissions offices are somewhat more likely to admit a student who doesn’t need financial aid. Thus, if you don’t really need financial aid, don’t apply for it.
(3) There is more financial aid available than you might realize. If you are going to need financial aid, apply for it when your child applied for admission. Many schools will not consider a candidate for aid after the fact of admission. This might seem a direct contradiction of the previous paragraph. Generally it is not. Not applying for financial aid can improve the chances of admission. Applying for aid rarely hurts a kid’s chances of getting in. The rub, however, is that financial aid in tough times will most likely include a larger proportion of loans, not scholarships or grants.
Yes, loans mean that either your child or you – and probably both – will incur substantial debt which must be repaid upon graduation. And that is not pleasant or easy. But it does ensure that your child can go to college.
We’ll address financial aid – where it is and how to get it – in great detail over the next few months. So for now our advice is not to worry – too much – about paying for college. In fact, it is strongly recommended that you not think about “paying” for college at all. Rather, you should treat it as an investment. And that, in turn will influence how you look at – and choose whether to apply to – various schools. But more on that later.
