<p>I wrote about this on my blog yesterday, but thought I'd share it here as well. Yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had one of the best articles I've ever seen on college admissions, entitlted "Getting In." The newspaper surveyed over 30 college admissions officers for their advice on choosing colleges, writing essays, and preparing effective applications. The advice is priceless, probably better than any book on the subject, and a "must read" for future applicants and students. Here's the link:</p>
<p>Thank you Carolyn!!!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>A ton of great stuff there. Wow--what an article!</p>
<p>Carolyn, Absolutely fabulous! Very concise, to the point, and full of advice from the source.</p>
<p>Thanks for the article, that has a ton of great stuff. I find it interesting in how the advice reflects what the college is centered about and what kinds of people it is looking to accept.</p>
<p>Good article, but I was struck by this advice:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Be a Bother. We are bombarded with so many applications (especially during travel season in the fall), it is overwhelming to determine who the serious candidates are. My best advice is to "be a bother" and make yourself known. Call the school you are interested in until you can determine who will be reviewing your application. Don't be afraid to leave messages multiple times until all of your questions are answered. </p>
<p>I had one student who called me at least three times a week until she was admitted. As soon as I would hear "hello" on the other line, I knew it was her. Even though I was busy with other applicants, I was eager to help her because she was very proactive. She showed me that she would not stop until she reached her goal. She proved she had the drive to become a success at whatever she wants to do in life.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That really goes against the grain of what I have heard and read from other admissions officers. Proactive is one thing, but "be a bother" "call 3 times a week"?</p>
<p>Yes, I was struck by that too....However, Carlow University was not one that I'd ever heard of (nor is it in any of my guide books). So I checked their web site. It's a Catholic school for girls (actively religious), run by the Sisters of Mercy, and I would think that the importance of "demonstrated interest" might be different from other schools. <a href="http://www.carlow.edu/aboutcarlow/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.carlow.edu/aboutcarlow/index.html</a></p>
<p>Yeah, I did a filter as I read the article, separating what I regarded as the meaningful from the non-meaningful colleges. </p>
<p>One of the things the article did for me was make me relive parts of the application process and realize how I stressed over things that were a pimple on an elephant's butt in the cosmic scheme of things, e.g., D's supplemental CD's & DVD's of her music and dance performance EC's. As I see now, it's dubuious how many admissions officers would take the time to play either. What could they show? That she's plays an instrument with some degree of decency or is a fair to middlin' good dancer? That's already demonstrated in the app. Could have saved the stress of putting those together, saved the postage. It just illustrates my oft-repeated observation that some things that seem to be of near-monumental consequence at the time recede into near-trivial six months after the student is accepted.</p>
<p>I did make clear when, if I had to call admissions for any reason, it was due to time zones and scheduling problems, not D's lack of interest, maturity, or competence to do so.</p>
<p>I was also struck by the advice from one school to take the SAT/ACT
"at least three times." I had always heard "no more than" three times.
Seems like overkill to me, but then my kids fall into the other extreme of taking it only once and having no interest in retaking. I would conclude from this comment that being comfortable that the scores are a true representation of your ability is probably more important than the number of times you take it.
Funny how many people must make the mistake of sending the colleges essays etc. bearing another college's name, as this was mentioned many times.
Thanks, Carolyn - very interesting reading.</p>
<p>It's interesting to look at the areas of agreement and disagreement between the admissions officers. The consensus is completely in favor of professional sounding email addresses, and against dropping in the name of the wrong college ("I've always wanted to go to X", when the application is going to Y).</p>
<p>But one person said an overnight visit is a great idea, and other one says, don't do it.</p>
<p>Darn, I'll have to start admitting that Pittsburgh knows a thing or two about football and ... college admissions. It is indeed a very solid article. For Jay Matthew's sake, I hope the Post does not subscribe to the Gazette ... but that is another subject. </p>
<p>Regarding, "I was also struck by the advice from one school to take the SAT/ACT "at least three times." I had always heard "no more than" three times." it is important to keep the comments in the right perspective. As everything in college admissions, it is important to take a generic comment or advice and eliminate the common denominator. When dealing with individual applicants and individual schools, the "correct" answer takes many forms. </p>
<p>My take is still that a student should take the SAT -or ACT- as many times as it takes to earn the score that matches his or her ability -or aptitude, if you prefer. The overwhelming majority of the schools go through EXTREME measures to reward multiple sittings. As examples, schools openly advertise that they allow the mix and match of different administrations to define the "correct" score, and some of our most prestigious and selective school still accept old SAT scores as potential best individual scores. </p>
<p>On the other hand, what they do NOT do is handicapping multiple scores through averaging scores or imposing penalties on repeated scores. The "worst" limitations -known to date- is the use of the best scores from the SAME test date, which happens to ALSO reward multiple sittings. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, the number of SAT a student takes is absolutely trivial in the larger scheme of things. Except for cases that defy common sense by a wide margin, only the score matters.</p>
<p>
[quote]
For e-mail addresses: Keep it G rated. For example, <a href="mailto:Sexydiva69@yahoo.com">Sexydiva69@yahoo.com</a> makes a bad first impression when the first contact with the student is what is on the application. You can still be creative with it, but, if you have to, create one specifically for college applications. The address speaks volumes about the student.
[/quote]
That sounds like great advice. I hope poor Sexydiva69 hasn't gotten too many unwanted emails due to that article. :)</p>
<p>I was struck by the number of names I didn't know, despite being a resident of the article's subject area. There were forty schools quoted in that article....I had heard of only 11 of them. Most of them are not included in the college guides that most of us use. And yet, the admissions folks sounded uniformly serious in articulating what they look for. Very interesting. I think it demonstrates how fortunate we are in the US, to have so many options in higher education.</p>
<p>Regarding overnights, I recall from the piece that one of the AOs recommended that overnights with people you know are more likely to give you a feeling of what a school is really like. I tend to think that's pretty good advice, although it's obviously not going to be possible at every school. In our experience, overnights with people with whom there was some connection--from HS, or through sports or other interests--were more beneficial than those arranged through the admissions offices.</p>
<p>I had the chance to chat briefly via email with the author of the article. She told me that she's been writing on education topics for close to 10 years, and that even she felt she learned some new twists and turns when reading through what the admissions officers had responded. She also pointed out how some of the admissions reps said contradictory things. </p>
<p>Aneol was VERY astute and wise when she pointed out above:</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>I find it interesting in how the advice reflects what the college is centered about and what kinds of people it is looking to accept.<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>This is the entire crux of the matter, and why it is so important to research each college you're considering, be it a "name brand" school or a lesser known school like Carlow (which is, by the way, a very nice little school with much to recommend it), and target your relationship with each school accordingly. Just because ONE Admissions Officer at one school says something, doesn't mean EVERY Admissions Office will say the same.</p>
<p>Regarding changing your e-mail address: This is something my daughter's voice teacher/mentor mentioned to her when she started auditioning for professional jobs and/or internships. She no longer uses "broadwaybound@" or "spacemoneymafia @", but instead uses her college e-mail address for business. And I've noticed that since she has started seriously applying for internships, her voice mail is no longer her boyfriend talking and making jokes. Now it is her voice, sounding very professional.</p>
<p>There is hope for her yet!</p>
<p>P.S. While she was going through the application process, she (and now her brother) both gave my e-mail address. She was so busy that she didn't have time to check her e-mail often, and I was able to sort through what was important and what wasn't.</p>
<p>I kinda like spacemoneymafia . I have not idea what it means, but it sure sounds cool.</p>
<p>"One of the things the article did for me was make me relive parts of the application process and realize how I stressed over things that were a pimple on an elephant's butt in the cosmic scheme of things, e.g., D's supplemental CD's & DVD's of her music and dance performance EC's. As I see now, it's dubuious how many admissions officers would take the time to play either. What could they show?"</p>
<p>You know - I expect in many cases they don't. And I'm also convinced that perhaps it would not be worth attending a school where they are so cavalier about about what is important to the student?</p>
<p>For the record (it would be a long story), I happen to know that the president of the college which my d. attends (not the admissions officer or not only the admissions officer) not only looked at the stuff, not only the read the 22-page essay that accompanied the material, but actually called my d. up to talk about it. (She happened not to be in at the time, and I took the call.)</p>
<p>"And I'm also convinced that perhaps it would not be worth attending a school where they are so cavalier about about what is important to the student?"</p>
<p>Mini, -- I think you owe every kid who attends a State University an apology. It's not like you to be so elitist. Do you really think that the admissions staff of U. Michigan or SUNY Binghamton or U. Illinois are being cavalier about what's important to a student by not watching the recital of every damn ballerina in the states of Michigan, NY and Illinois? Not everyone is lucky enough to win the merit lottery like your daughter, and to describe the experience at State Schools as somehow "not worth it" just because they lack the staff to wade through the DVD's is extremely obnoxious.</p>
<p>Maybe we could amend Mini's comment to a let colleges without the resources to provide personal attention off the hook:</p>
<p>"And I'm also convinced that perhaps it would not be worth attending a [$40,000 per year] school where they are so cavalier about about what is important to the student?"</p>
<p>If every student submitted a 22 page essay and supplemental CDs or DVDs, colleges would either need many more admissons staff or else it would take a year to process applications! Of course, for performing arts, a CD/DVD may be necessary. But even elite schools have a word limit on essays. I may have steered my son wrong, but I suggested adhering to the given directions and only sending in what was required and optional. Not 22 page essays, not copies of concerts, not 10 recommendations when 3 were required. Do they really want this much extraneous information? Not sending it didn't seem to have an adverse effect on admissions.</p>
<p>Oy! We don't need a fight here that takes the thread off-track.</p>
<p>I wanted to add one bit of advice that Ted O'Neill gave about applications: The adcom often learns more about the applicants from what they write in those little boxes (favorite books, why Chicago, etc.) than in the longer essays. Reason? I suspect it's because the big essays are often overworked and overseen by too many eyes, and perhaps too stylized to reveal the applicant's personality.</p>
<p>To me this advice translates into: Use those little boxes well.</p>