College Admission Process

A Guide for Students

And Possibly Panicked

Parents/Guardians

Where to start?

• The questionnaire for parents and kids in

Panicked Parents Guide to College Admissions

is a great starting place

• Parents and kids fill it out separately, plus

the kids complete “What are your goals?”

• Talk about it together - including how much

parents will contribute financially

• Start early in hs, and feel free to repeat, since

kids’ ideas change over time

Other Questions from Admission Matters

• What are your academic interests?

• What kind of student are you? (need to be #1?)

• How do you learn best? (large/small class)

• What activities outside of class matter the most to you?

• How important is prestige to you?

• Do you want a diverse college?

• What kind of social/cultural environment would you like best?

• Where do you want to live the next few years?

The two sides to choosing a college

Practical

• Cost/financial aid

• Distance/location

• Field of study

• Job opportunities

• Career opportunities

• Can you get in?

Personal

• “Fit”

• “feels right”

• School culture

• Comfort level

Choosing a type of college

• 2 year program

• Start at 2 year school, transfer to 4 year

• 4 year college

– Liberal arts

– Pre-professional

• University – undergrad and graduate

school

Gather possibilities

• Check with your guidance counselor and

teachers you are comfortable with

• Books such as Fiske Guide to Colleges &

Insider’s Guide to the Colleges

• College Fairs

• Online sites

Online sites

• www.collegeboard.com

Finding the Right College

• Peterson's StudentEdge college

compatibility tool

www.petersons.com/college-

search/college-compatibility-tool.aspx

• www.collegeconfidential.com

Make a list

• Start with schools that seem to fit

• Pare down by using www.collegedata.com

to find schools that are affordable and

where you fit with freshman profile

• Some schools have financial aid

calculators to estimate costs on their sites

Final list

1 or 2 long-shot /dream colleges

2 or 3 possible colleges (at least a 50% chance

of acceptance)

1 or 2 good bets/safety schools

Plan for Final List

• Visit during the school year (info session

and tour)

• Sit in on a class in your area, if allowed

• Read the campus paper

• Stay overnight fall of sr. year

• Decide which schools you want to apply to

Applying to College

Different schools ask for different things,

which may include:

• an application form, possibly with essays

• standardized tests (not required by all)

• letters of recommendation

• transcript

• financial aid info

Applying to College with the

Common Application

• Many schools accept the Common

Application, which can be filled out once

and submitted online to a number of

schools.

• Some schools also require a separate,

school specific essay.

– Use details specific to the school (learned

during a visit or online) to show why you are a

match

Early Decision

Early decision is for those who have a definite #1

– Apply to only one school in Nov.

– Find out early (Dec 15)

– Pros

• larger % admitted than thru regular decision

• pay fewer application fees (which can be up to $75 per

school)

– Cons

• Binding decision, except if financial aid offer isn’t ok

• Can’t compare financial aid offers

• If you don’t get in, regular apps due in 2 weeks

Early Action

• Can apply early to more than one school

• Find out early

• Is not binding

What tests are required?

• PSAT is used for National Merit and other

scholarships, not admissions

• PSAT is given in school in October

• Some students take the PSAT in their

sophomore year for practice

• Junior year scores are used for

scholarships

Most colleges require the SAT or ACT

SAT includes: • Critical reading

• Math

• Writing (multiple choice grammar and usage, hand-written essay in response to a prompt)

• Good to take in March or May of jr. year

• Can take again in Oct or Nov of sr. year

• Students can take early – 7th grade – take in Dec of 7th grade after prepping

SET (Students w/Exceptional Talent – score 700)

– 8th grade – Johns Hopkins CTY – programs and scholarships (J)

Prepping for the SAT I

• The Official SAT Study Guide contains 10 actual

SAT tests. Do a timed Saturday morning test,

see what you miss, study those areas

• Solution manuals can help (Tutor Ted)

• Self motivated students can prep on their own

(Kaplan cd)

• Some may need the structure of a course

• Courses at SG, local colleges, online

• A tutor can help (Sam W @ York College)

The ACT is an SAT alternative

• Math counts for 25%

• Has a science section

• Some colleges accept the ACT in lieu of

both the SAT and SAT Subject Tests.

Selective colleges require the SAT ll

• SAT II is a subject test (eg. physics, econ,

languages with listening component)

• Some colleges require 2 or 3 subject tests

• It’s good to take them right after the

subject is taken at school (even after 10th

grade, if that’s when the subject is taught)

• It’s better not to take 3 tests on one day!

• Prep books on each subject are available

Applying to a selective college Admission Matters: What students and parents

need to know about getting into college says it’s harder to get into a selective school (< 50% acceptance rate) because

• Demographically there are a larger number of high school age students

• More hs grads are going to college, and the Common App makes it easier to apply online

• Selective schools offer excellent financial aid, which causes more competition during hard financial times.

• Yale – 72% accepted in 1932, 6.7% in 2013

What do selective colleges look for?

• Transcript

– Grades

– Difficulty of classes

– Class rank

• Tests

– SAT l (or ACT)

– SAT ll or subject tests

Academic Index calculator

Ivy League colleges use a tool called the Academic Index to summarize the academic performance of applicants. The Academic Index combines numeric values based on a student's SAT I and SAT II scores plus his/her class rank or GPA. Calculators are found at:

www.collegeconfidential.com/academic_index3.htm

www.hernandezcollegeconsulting.com/resources/calculator.html

What else do selective colleges look for? • Essay - theme/why you are a good match

– Editing (English teacher, Essay edge)

• Teacher recommendations

– Ask early, give an info sheet with theme (Admission

Matters, p. 273-276)

– Colleges want to know what you’re like in class

• Extracurricular activities (start list in 9th gr)

– Depth in a few areas vs. lots of little stuff

• Hooks and non-teenage activity (NTA)

• Each college ranks the importance of different items at

www.collegedata.com

Example of an Activity List

Honors

• Lenfest Scholarship

• One-course college scholarship from

Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth

• National Merit Commended Student

• Scholastic Art and Writing Award (Gold

and Silver Keys for Writing at Regional

Level)

Extracurricular Activities

• National Honor Society President

• Recycling Club President

• Varsity swim team and tennis team

• Trumpet (school band, symphonic orchestra,

jazz ensemble, and district jazz band)

• Quiz bowl (states) and Brain Busters (captain)

• Model UN

• School representative to HOBY (Hugh O'Brian

Youth Leadership)

Church Activities

• Sunday School teacher, Vacation Bible School Crew

Leader

• Brass Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble

• Synodical Youth Leadership Camp Counselor

• National Youth Gathering Participant (New Orleans

2012)

• Crossroads (week-long social and advocacy ministries

program in NYC - 2011)

Employment

• Lifeguard and swim instructor – Spring Grove HS (2013)

• Genova's Family Restaurant - Helper and Dishwasher

(summer and fall 2012)

Volunteering

• Bread for the World Hunger Advocate, Washington DC

• Democratic Committee of Hanover (2012 Election

Canvassing)

• Football Stadium Cleanup

• Informal Tutoring

• Painted School Affected by Hurricane Katrina (2012)

Other

• MMLA (Middlebury Monterey Language Academy) - 4

week Spanish immersion at Green Mountain College, VT

(summer 2010)

Hooks A hook is a special characteristic a college deems

desirable, over and above the qualities it is generally seeking in its students.1

• Legacy – family members graduated from school

• Significant donors

• Underrepresented students

• Recruited athletes

• Socioeconomic and geographic diversity

• Special talents

Also • Non-teenage activity (NTA)

• First in family to attend college

1 Admission Matters, p. 36

Socioeconomic diversity

For families with income under $60,000:

• Many selective colleges charge nothing!

• QuestBridge is a non-profit program that links bright, motivated students with educational and scholarship opportunities at some of the nation's best colleges. (family of 4 income $60k or less)

Socioeconomic diversity

• The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Scholars Program offers financial help and academic resources to qualified 8th grade students, and continues to provide services through their remaining pre-college years. The Program builds a pipeline for high potential students from diverse backgrounds that leads from middle school, to college, to careers and into key leadership roles.

• The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Young Scholars Program annually selects 50 - 75 exceptional 7th grade applicants from across the country as Young Scholars. Each receives ongoing individualized academic services designed to cover the costs of CTY and other educational programs.

Helping your child identify a passion

The most important secret to motivating a

teenager is to establish a set of goals and dreams

– and a game plan to make those goals

reachable.1

• Ask your teenager to choose 3 or more goals from

the “What Are Your Goals?” list2

• Design a plan together that includes summer

programs in their areas of interest

1What High Schools Don’t Tell You p. 5 2 “ pp. 13-14

Summer programs

What skills would they like to pick up during the summer?

Courses/programs – see What High Schools Don’t Tell You for a great listing by subject

• Middlebury Monterey Language Academy (MMLA) – 4-week language immersion (J tested out of 2 years of Spanish)

• Middlebury (after sr. year) 7-week language immersion

• Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) – based on SAT performance

– summer programs at F&M, Dickinson, and Johns Hopkins

Other Summer Programs

• Telluride Association Summer Programs (TASP) – free 6-week humanities program for 64 hs juniors (1000

applicants,107 interviews)

– stipends for travel and to replace work earnings are available

– application includes 6 essays

• Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar (TASS) – 36 sophomores focus on history and cultural experiences of

people of African descent

• Research Science Institute (RSI) for juniors at MIT – MITES for minority students

• Summer Science Program (SSP) at Ojai, CA – Astronomy, physics, calculus, and programming

Other summer options

Internships – www.VolunteerMatch.org

Jobs – try to help them get a job that is

relevant to their ultimate goals

Day trips

Vacations

Applying for Financial Aid

• FAFSA – available Jan. 1 – calculates

Estimated Family Contribution (EFC)

• Some schools require the PROFILE, which

includes home value and retirement account info

• Cost of attending – EFC = financial need

• Different schools meet different % of need (see

www.collegedata.com)

• Fin aid packages may include grants, loans, and

work-study

Financial decisions

• When comparing financial aid packages, figure

out the bottom line – What is the bill going to be?

• Are loans a part of the package? Some colleges

have a no-loan policy, replacing loans with

grants (CJ/Swarthmore, MB/Columbia)

• 2013 grads average $35,200 in total debt

($26,000 in fed. loans, plus state and private

loans and credit card debt)

• How is the financial aid package affected by

scholarships?

Final thoughts

• Private schools can cost less than public schools

due to more financial aid

• It is possible to graduate without loans (see Debt

Free U by Zac Bissonnette)

• There are great scholarships out there!

Lenfest, Local, Coke, etc.

• Don’t sacrifice your retirement savings. You can

get loans for college but not for retirement.

• Students should not take out loans more than

their estimated starting salary

Comparing Penn State and Princeton

• http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/colleg

e/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=59

• http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/colleg

e/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=111

Discussion

• Questions?

• Comments?