Why work with an IEC?
One of the benefits of working with an independent educational consultant (or IEC, or college admissions counselor) is to ensure that you’re developing both college awareness and college readiness at the same time. Students who spend ninth and tenth grade learning about college options won’t be college ready if they haven’t learned the study habits, perseverance, and collaborative skills the college experience requires. That said, students with great grades and impressive extracurricular activities may become overwhelmed by the college search if the first time they visit a college campus as a prospective student is fall semester of their senior year.
For these reasons, I spend time getting to know each student before I make a plan for how we should work together, especially if we have a limited number of sessions. That way, I can deliver a “curriculum” tailored to each student’s needs. Some students may already have great study habits and a clear sense of what they’re good at, but may have no idea which schools to visit and how to schedule an admissions tour. Others may know exactly which school they want to attend, but may need to ramp up their academic credentials in order to be a competitive applicant.
School counselors often are very helpful and knowledgeable. But they also have large case loads, and rarely have the time to work one-on-one with their students to help them identify and achieve their unique goals. As an independent college admissions counselor, I have the opportunity to have spacious conversations with my clients, which results in a rich and tailored college search, prep, and application process. While I do have a loose “curriculum” that I follow, I focus on the needs and personalities of my individual clients.
If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you with college awareness, college readiness, and college admission, schedule a free consultation with me today!
Interpreting financial offers
It’s now the time of year when many high school seniors are hearing back from colleges and universities about whether or not they’ve been accepted. They’re also receiving financial aid offers from schools and beginning to make final decisions about where they want to attend college. It’s an exciting time.
One of the biggest challenges for families at this time of year is interpreting what these offer letters mean. Every college has its own unique way of presenting financial aid offers, and these can range anywhere from very straightforward to very confusing.
To help you in your decision making, especially around finances, I suggest creating a spreadsheet (I have developed a template that I use with clients) that enables you to do side-by-side, apples-to-apples comparisons between schools. In the spreadsheet I recommend including all the costs associated with attending that school: not only tuition, but also room and board, books and supplies, transportation to and from school (including vacations), parking, and other miscellaneous expenses.
Then I recommend plugging in any grants you’ve been offered, separating need-based aid, merit-based grants, other scholarships (including those from outside the college or university), subsidized student loans, unsubsidized student loans, parent loans, and your family’s estimated contribution into different categories. It’s very important to understand which forms of “aid” are free money and which ones are not.
Some colleges are, in my opinion, sneaky about how they calculate “aid.” They’ll sometimes hide student loans among grants and scholarships you’ve received. This is significant because grants and scholarships don’t need to be repaid, whereas loans do. Often the offer letter will make it appear that your costs add up to $0, but this is incredibly misleading if you and your parents are responsible for $40,000 in loans each year for four years.
Would you know what "Fed Dir Unsub" means if you saw it on an award letter from a college where you’d just been accepted? My client, Urias, didn’t. Neither did his family. That’s where I, as his college counselor, was able to step in and explain.
If a line on your offer letter is unclear or confusing to you, or if you’re having trouble figuring out how much it’s going to cost for room, board, and other expenses, I strongly recommend calling the admissions office or financial aid office for clarification before you send in a deposit. Since attending college is such a huge life decision and financial commitment, it’s very important to make an informed decision. Being able to do a side-by-side comparison of offers between peer schools also may set you up to make a compelling appeal.
If you’d like to learn more about navigating offers from competing colleges, schedule your free consultation today!
How do I get into law school?
Today I attended a virtual roundtable event on law school admissions. While undergraduate admissions are my primary area of expertise, I do have two current clients (one college sophomore and one senior) who are either considering law school or currently applying to law school. I’ve learned a great deal from working with these two clients.
Probably the most common question I hear from my high school clients who are considering law school is whether or not you need to attend a prestigious college in order to attend a top law school. Having spoken with a number of law school admissions staff, and having read Ann Levine’s excellent book The Law School Admission Game, I can say that the answer is emphatically “no.” Law school admissions committees will look at your LSAT scores, your college GPA (which will be weighted if you attended a prestigious college), your letters of recommendation, and your personal statement. Where you went to college will factor only minimally, if at all.
If you’re considering law as a career, and if you’re not independently wealthy, I recommend taking out student loans strategically, if at all. I advise most students who are bound for law school to spend minimally on their undergraduate education, perform well there, study hard for the LSAT, and then, if they want to attend a top law school to propel themselves into a high-powered career, take out student loans only then. Or, if they want to practice law in a less competitive environment, apply to a slightly lower-tier law school and angle for a merit scholarship.
Successful law school admission does have a number of special considerations that make it quite different from undergraduate admissions. I highly recommend Ann Levine’s book (mentioned above), which is clear, succinct, and extremely helpful. If you’d like to learn more from me about law school admissions, please don’t hesitate to sign up for a free consultation! Just click the “contact” link from the main menu.
Can you guarantee college admission?
Once in a while, I’m contacted by a parent who hopes I can guarantee college admission for their student. Perhaps they’ve seen advertisements from other college admissions consultants who brag about their placement rate at Ivy League schools. Or they come to me with a college list that includes ten highly selective colleges, each with a 10% admissions rate, and insist that ten colleges times 10% equals a 100% chance that their student applicant will be accepted, at minimum, at one of these selective colleges.
Of course, that’s not how statistics work, and that’s not how college admissions works. Cornell University, for example, has a 9% acceptance rate. But that doesn’t mean that each applicant has an equal 9% chance of being accepted there. Cornell has a holistic admissions process that considers a range of factors, and assesses those in relation to the kinds of students they’re looking to bring into their student community.
If you’re a student with a 4.0 GPA, you’ll be in a different category compared to a student with a 2.9 GPA. If you’re a concert violinist who has performed in front of a thousand people, that experience will be looked upon favorably by the admissions committee and may help offset a slightly lower-than-average GPA for that college or university. If you have a compelling life experience—say, you lived in Tanzania with your family for two years as part of a mission trip—and can tell the story of how that experience changed your perspective beautifully in writing, it can sometimes move your application from “maybe” to “yes.”
Where I can help as a college admissions counselor has several components. First, I will help you figure out, based on your qualifications, whether a particular college is a “reach” school for you, a “target” or “match” school, or a “likely” or “safety” school. Then we’ll develop a list of colleges (for most students I recommend applying to 8 to 12) that represent a balance of these categories. This approach increases your odds that you’ll be accepted somewhere, and it also maximizes your potential for attractive financial aid offers. I will help you polish your application materials, including your personal statement and supplemental essays. And finally, I’ll help you get the best financial aid package possible at the school of your choice. I'm transparent about my process, and I don't make guarantees or empty promises.
Of course, there are colleges and universities that accept 100% of applicants who meet their admissions requirements. So there can be some predictability to the process as well.
To learn more about how I can help you plan your college admissions process successfully, schedule your free consultation today!
HBCUs and STEM education
In honor of Black History Month, I’d like to take this opportunity to discuss the role of HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) in advancing science, innovation, and technology. The increasing number of African Americans studying and working in STEM fields is revolutionary. Largely due to the efforts of the country’s HBCUs, African Americans are entering their STEM degrees better equipped to thrive in college, graduate, and find successful careers.
Despite recent progress, the statistics concerning African Americans in STEM fields show a clear need for growth. Black and white students across the country pursue STEM degrees at similar rates, but black students struggle to achieve comparable representation in degree attainment.
A large part of preparing first-generation, low-income black students for success in STEM is providing the resources and guidance that they often lack before enrollment in college. Many black high school students lack access to the educational resources needed to prepare them to earn STEM degrees. The U.S. Department of Education reports that, among public high schools serving predominantly African American students, less than one-third of schools offer calculus and only about 40% offer physics. African-American students represent 16% of the country’s high school students, yet only nine percent of them take an advanced placement course. It is for these reasons, among others, that many disadvantaged black students are not prepared to pursue and succeed in a STEM degree in college.
The nation’s HBCUs help to address this need. Twenty-five percent of African American graduates with STEM degrees come from HBCUs. Eight HBCUs are among the top 20 institutions to award the most science and engineering bachelor’s degrees to black graduates. HBCUs are the institution of origin among almost 30% of black graduates of science and engineering doctorate programs. The reason HBCUs have such success with their STEM majors is because they understand the unique needs of their students and dedicate resources to remediating skills students may not have learned in high school.
To take one example, Jackson State University in Mississippi features a special summer program called “Bridge to the Future” for incoming freshmen in the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology in order to help students prepare for a successful college career. In this program students have access to benefits such as housing, books, meals, field trips, and mentoring. They also have an initiative, “First in the World,” which aims to improve STEM graduation rates. They’re achieving this through more research opportunities for students and support throughout their studies if they’re struggling. In 2022, JSU was awarded a $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation in order to study the impact faculty perception has on student success in STEM fields.
Increasing the number of black STEM graduates is good for science, innovation, and technology in many ways. Many of these graduates return to their home communities and work to improve opportunities there for health care, information technology, and education. They contribute to their fields with new discoveries in scientific research and engineering. And they set an inspiring example for future generations of black Americans to follow.
If you are recruiting people for STEM-related careers, or if you are an African-American student looking for a college or university to help support your career goals, HBCUs are a great place to start. If you’d like to learn more, sign up for a free consultation with me today!
Do you dream of becoming an actuary?
Some students come to the college admissions process with a clear sense of what they want to study and what they want to do with their degree after graduation. The majority of my clients do not. Those who sign up for comprehensive packages have the option of using—at no additional cost—some helpful inventories and surveys to help them better understand their aptitudes, interests, possible majors, and potential careers.
One of my clients, Emma, is an extremely strong math student who is currently taking an advanced calculus course as a junior. Emma is curious about how businesses work, and she is a keen observer of human behavior. She loves skiing and other outdoor activities. She wants a career that offers a high salary, good job security, and a healthy work-life balance.
Emma sat down with me and took YouScience’s Brightpath, which brings together decades of proven data and advanced artificial intelligence to help students find their why, their purpose, and their path. This platform produces a report that identifies a student’s strengths and interests, and suggests some different college major and career options.
Emma and I got a good laugh because the top career YouScience suggested for her was “actuary,” which we’d both heard of, but neither of us knew quite what it is. As I learned more about what actuaries do, I began to understand why YouScience recommended this career for Emma. Actuaries need advanced mathematical skills, which Emma already possesses. An effective actuary can help businesses be successful, and they can help individuals and organizations manage different kinds of risk, financial and otherwise. They can have a significant impact on the world, which is something Emma has expressed is important to her. And it’s a well-compensated profession that checks a lot of lifestyle-related boxes for Emma.
Does this mean that I’m now pushing Emma to become an actuary? Of course not. But what it does accomplish is generate conversation between Emma, Emma’s family, and myself. We now have another data point that helps us to understand what Emma’s values are, what kind of educational environment will help her thrive, and what abilities she has that will be assets to her as she pursues a career. Ideally, we’ll plan together in a way that aligns her interests with her aptitudes. To me that’s the benefit of a tool such as YouScience.
Want to learn more about what’s included in my comprehensive packages? Sign up for a free consultation today!
Falling in “like” with colleges
When students are in the midst of researching and visiting colleges, it’s always nice to hear them report that they’ve fallen in love with a particular school. Visiting a college, you can get a good feel for the personality and atmosphere at that school, and as a visiting prospective student you may immediately feel welcome and at home there.
While it’s great when this happens, I caution students about developing tunnel vision and focusing on a single school. If it’s a selective school, there’s always the chance you’ll get rejected there—even if your application materials are strong. There’s also the possibility the school will offer less financial aid than you were expecting, or none at all. For these reasons, I encourage my clients to “fall in like” with multiple schools.
Let’s take a look at Jacob’s journey. Jacob is a senior in high school. Jacob is thoughtful, kind, and well-liked by his teachers and peers. He loves backcountry activities such as backpacking and whitewater paddling, and he hopes one day to pursue a career in wilderness therapy. Jacob has a GPA of 2.8, and he chose not to take any standardized tests such as the ACT or SAT. Jacob’s personal statement for the Common App is compelling to read but still a little rough around the edges, even after multiple revisions with me. The organization, mechanics, and sentence variety are much improved from his initial draft, but there are still a few clumsy transitions and odd turns of phrase. The voice in the essay is unmistakably his, and he reports it’s the piece of writing he’s most proud of.
Jacob toured a number of colleges last spring and summer, and his top two schools were CU Boulder and the University of Vermont. Although we agreed that these were “reach” schools for Jacob, I think Jacob was secretly hoping that his teacher recommendations (which I’m sure were very positive) and his essay would be enough to get him accepted to at least one of these schools. Unfortunately, he didn’t get accepted at either one.
But there’s good news. Jacob applied to several other schools, including some where we felt more confident that he’d be accepted. One of these was Prescott College in Arizona. Prescott follows a block plan, in which students take one course at a time in four-week blocks. I believe Jacob will thrive academically in small classes where he can immersive himself deeply in one subject at a time. And he will appreciate Prescott’s commitment to environmental studies, sustainability, and social justice—not to mention the opportunity to spend a block in the backcountry of Baja California or rafting down the Colorado River. In all honesty, I believe it’s the best fit school for him. I think even he has come around to this point of view.
A few takeaways:
While it is true that a great personal statement or letter of recommendation can make a difference on a college application, most colleges and universities default to “measurables” such as GPA and test scores. If these are well below the average of the school’s most recent freshman class, your likelihood of being accepted is low.
Being rejected or waitlisted is part of the process. Most students who apply to at least one “reach” school experience this. Do not attach your sense of self-worth to the outcome of a college application.
It’s okay to fall in love with a “reach” school or two, so long as you “fall in like” with some safer schools. As the process unfolds, you may discover that a school you thought was a backup turns out to be the one that’s the best fit.
Try to maintain a flexible mindset. This will serve you well not only during the college application process, but in life.
If your high school grades are low, your options will be more limited. That’s okay. Consider attending a “safety” school or a community college. Once you demonstrate you can perform well academically, you can potentially transfer later on to one of the schools that was higher on your list. But you might not want to, once you’ve started building relationships with faculty and peers.
And finally, working with an independent college admissions consultant isn’t something that’s only beneficial to students applying to Ivy League schools. Even if you weren’t a star athlete or an academic wizard in high school, there’s probably a great school out there for you—and I’d love to help you find it. To learn more, schedule your free consultation today!
Can I appeal an admissions decision?
In the annual cycle of college admissions, we’re now at the stage where most high school seniors considering college have submitted some or all of their college applications. Those who applied Early Decision or Early Action, and even some who applied Regular Decision, have begun hearing back from schools about whether they’ve been accepted, rejected, or waitlisted.
Most students who apply to at least one “reach” school experience at least one rejection. As nearly all adults can attest, rejection is unpleasant. Applicants who get rejected—especially when it happens at their “dream” school where they thought they had a good shot at admission—may feel frustrated, angry, sad, misunderstood, and/or unappreciated. These feelings are to be expected, and are a natural part of the learning and maturation process.
Once an applicant navigates these feelings and is in a position to begin planning next steps, it may be natural to wonder: Is there anything I can do? Can I appeal an admissions decision?
The short answer to this question, in most cases, is yes. Most colleges do have a process by which your application can be reviewed a second time. You can contact the admissions office to find out why your application was rejected, and you can ask what their appeals process is. Normally the process involves writing a letter to the admissions committee, and including a letter of support from the college counselor at your high school that corroborates your reasons for appeal.
Before you get too excited, though, let me offer a few words of caution. First, most appeals do not result in a reversal of the college’s original decision. Second, if you were rejected in the first place, you may find that the school is not a great fit for you—which was likely the reason your application was denied in the first place. You may struggle academically and/or socially, and you may end up not graduating from that school. Third, do you really want to set yourself up for the pain of another round of rejection?
That said, there could be good cause for appeal. Let’s say you re-took the SAT in the fall and raised your score by 80 points, and now your score is above the average score of admitted freshmen. That could be enough to nudge your application from “borderline” to “admitted.” The same could be true if you significantly raised your GPA during fall semester of your senior year, or if you led your cross-country team to a state championship. That is to say, there is new information that wasn’t in your original application that has a strong possibility of swaying the admissions committee.
In my role as college admissions counselor, rather than pushing applicants to appeal admissions decisions, I gently encourage them to move their #2 choice into the #1 slot if they can see their way to doing it. Students are more likely to receive a competitive merit scholarship from a “target” or “match” school than from a “reach” school. And they are more likely to feel a sense of inclusion and belonging at a school that wanted them in the first place. College admissions isn’t about getting accepted at the most competitive school possible—it’s about setting you up for success both academically and socially, at the college level and beyond.
How do I find scholarships?
A great way to bring down the cost of a college education is to supplement your family college fund, financial aid package, and/or student loans with scholarships. Scholarships (sometimes called grants) are free money—so you never have to pay them back! How do you get scholarship money to help pay for your college education? Well, there are several ways:
First, there’s need-based financial aid. This is an amount of money that a college or university might give once you’ve filled out your FAFSA and/or CSS forms to determine your EFC (estimated family contribution). Some colleges will then award scholarships in the amount of the gap between your EFC and the college’s tuition sticker price, or some amount in between. A number of the nation’s top colleges—most of the Ivy League schools, plus Bowdoin, Colby, Washington and Lee, Davidson, Vanderbilt, and a smattering of others—meet 100% of a student’s financial need as determined by FAFSA.
If you don’t qualify for significant financial aid, another pathway to an affordable college education is merit-based aid. See my post on merit-based aid for advice on how to find schools that are generous with this type of financial support.
Scholarships are another way. There are lots of different kinds of scholarships out there, so let’s review a few of these:
Drawings. I’m thinking, for example, of those offered by College Board. You fill out your name and information, use their system for planning for college, and you may be selected at random for a scholarship of $500 to $40,000. It’s a bit like winning the lottery, but it’s free to apply and a nice-sized chunk of money that you don’t have to work very hard for.
National and regional scholarships. These are usually given to students with particular strength in, and aptitude for, a particular interest, academic subject area, or career path. Often the application involves either a short essay or a letter of recommendation, or both. Two resources I like for finding these are the Ultimate Scholarship Book, which has a new edition each year, and Going Merry, a free online database of scholarship resources that has a student-friendly user interface.
Local scholarships. Talk with your local college or guidance counselor about these. Local businesses, nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, and athletic clubs often award scholarships. These scholarships can be small ($250 to $2000), but they add up (five $500 scholarships is $2500). Depending on the scholarship, you may find there is less competition for these than there is for one you find through an Internet database.
High school and college students. Some scholarships are designated specifically for high school students, while others are earmarked for students already in college. It is worth returning to your scholarship databases each year to see what you are eligible for. $500 here, $1000 there can add up to some great savings for you and your family. Deadlines can be anytime, but January and February are common months for these to be due.
If you know of a great scholarship opportunity, especially for students in the greater Gallatin Valley region, I’d love to know about it! And if you’d like to work one-on-one with an admissions counselor to find scholarships for yourself or your student, schedule a free consultation with me today!
Should I take a gap year?
Taking a “gap year” between high school and college is as popular as it’s ever been. Some students use this year to gain work and/or life experience. Others use it to take a NOLS course, travel the globe, pursue an athletic goal in a serious way, or go on a Kerouacesque #vanlife adventure. Is this something you should consider?
As with many things, my answer is “it depends.” Research suggests that there are some excellent reasons why a student might choose to take a gap year. Students who take a gap year perform better academically in college than those who transition straight from high school to college. They have higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates. They are less likely to be placed on academic or disciplinary probation. They report lower rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
That said, many students do well in college without needing to take a gap year. These students have a better chance at completing their degree at a younger age, and their academic skills and knowledge from high school will feel fresh in their minds because they’ve been using them continuously.
In general, I tend to be encouraging with students who choose to take a gap year, since I believe that they are buying themselves an extra year of brain development to help them be more successful once they’re in college. Having a year of work or internship experience can provide valuable skills and perspective. My caveat is that the gap year is most beneficial when it is purposeful. That doesn’t mean that gap year students need to plan every minute of every day ahead of time, but it does mean doing more than playing video games behind a locked door. I suggest a healthy balance of work, travel, pursuing a passion or hobby, and physical activity.
If you’re thinking of taking a gap year, it can be advantageous to apply to colleges while you are in high school, since it will be much easier to track down transcripts and letters of recommendations, and write personal statements and supplemental essays. Talk with someone in the admissions office for each college to find out what their policy is. Some colleges actively support students who choose to take a gap year, while others may want you to reapply for admission, scholarships, and other sources of financial aid. This is information you’ll want to have before making a decision.
If you’re considering taking a gap year, I encourage you to sit down with a professional college counselor to weigh all your options before settling on your plan. I’m here to help! Sign up for a free consultation today.
How do I qualify for merit aid?
Here at Confluence College Admissions Consulting, most of the clients I work with come from families whose incomes are too high to qualify them for federal need-based financial aid. At the same, most of these families do not have incomes high enough to comfortably pay the full cost of tuition and fees at, say, the University of Chicago, where one year of college can cost more than $79,000. Because of this financial landscape, our conversations inevitably turn toward affordability, and how to pay for college education.
Scholarships are one way to help defray the cost—and they are great because they are free money! Students with particular strength in an academic subject area or intercollegiate sport may qualify for some great scholarships. Another way is federal loans, which are not so great because they have to be repaid. Worst of all are private loans, which can have high interest rates and limited options for deferral or forgiveness.
If you’re looking for a way to save not just thousands, but tens of thousands of dollars on college education, consider schools that offer generous merit aid awards to incoming freshmen. Alas, most of the best known and most prestigious schools offer little to no merit-based aid. Why? Because these schools don’t need to offer merit-based financial aid in order to attract top students. As a result, even if you are accepted to Harvard, Yale, or Amherst, they’re not going to offer merit-based financial aid (although these colleges do tend to be quite generous with need-based aid).
If you’re curious about schools that offer generous merit-based financial aid, you’re not alone! This data can be difficult to track down, and some schools are reluctant to make data about their merit aid practices public. As a member of IECA, however, I have access to databases compiled by independent educational consultants that can help to demystify this process for students and their families.
So let me just give you a little data on a college I happen to like. (There are many others, which we can discuss in more depth when you sign up for one of my comprehensive or fundamentals packages.) Let’s take Goucher College in Maryland as one example. Total cost of attendance at Goucher is estimated at about $68,000. But 95% of their students not qualifying for need-based financial aid receive merit-based aid of some sort, with those students receiving an average of $24,000. This brings the cost of attending Goucher into the affordability range for many families.
The amount of merit-based aid you’re offered by a particular school may boil down to how you compare academically to their overall student population, or how you might contribute to their student culture, or how you may add to their geographical diversity, or all of the above. For this reason it can be advantageous to apply to one or more schools where you might be a “big fish in a small pond,” so you can see how your finances there might stack up, for example, against in-state tuition at a public university. Sometimes small liberal arts colleges will surprise you. Sometimes they might even offer a full-ride scholarship.
The financial picture in the college admissions process is complex, and I am constantly learning more. I am eager to share with you what I know to help you make the most informed possible decision about where to attend college, and how to pay for it. Schedule a free consultation today!
Should I take standardized tests?
If you are a sophomore or a junior in high school, you are probably deciding, or will soon decide, whether or not you’ll take a standardized test such as the PSAT, SAT, or ACT for your college applications. A lot has changed in the past few years, so let me take you through some of the basics. (If you sign up for one of my comprehensive or fundamentals packages, we’ll walk through all this in more depth.)
Let’s get one thing out of the way: I don’t like standardized tests. I think they put students through a lot of unnecessary stress, and I am not persuaded that they are a particularly good measure of a student’s intellectual ability or college readiness. They give an advantage to students who are good test takers to begin with, as well as students with the financial resources to make use of test prep courses and private tutors. In life, I have not found that my ability to fill out bubbles with a #2 pencil has had much practical value.
The good news is that after decades of research, and thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities have begun to move away from standardized test scores in their admissions process. Many colleges temporarily did away with requiring SAT or ACT scores in 2020 because many of the testing dates were canceled due to COVID-19. After a couple of years of going without test scores, most schools have chosen to stick with a test-optional or test-blind admissions policy. The University of California system now doesn’t even accept test scores. Test scores are optional at all the Ivy League schools and most top liberal arts colleges. Of all the colleges and universities my clients are applying to this year, only the University of Georgia requires either the ACT or SAT.
What does this mean? It means that if taking standardized tests is unduly stressful for a student, or if it seems like a waste of time and/or money, there are plenty of schools that are test optional, and thus lots of great options for every student. That said, if you have your heart set on the University of Florida or another school that requires standardized tests, you’ll need to take the SAT or ACT at least once.
What’s my advice? For most students, especially those who are undecided about where they want to attend college or at least want to keep their options open, I suggest taking the PSAT in the spring of sophomore year, and then either the SAT or ACT (or both) in fall of junior year. If you want to improve your score(s), you can retake the test in spring of junior year and/or fall of senior year. Since most schools are test optional, test scores in most cases will only help your applications.
Should you submit your score? It depends. With test optional schools, I recommend submitting test scores if your score is at or above the average test scores of students the school admits. So if you’re applying to DePauw University, where the average composite SAT score among first-year students is 1260, and your composite score is 1280, I recommend submitting.
There’s a lot to consider here—and lots more to discuss when it comes to actual test-taking strategy and preparation. If you’d like assistance from a professional college counselor at any stage of the college readiness process, starting with freshman year, that’s what I’m here for! Schedule your free one-hour consultation today.
Is a college with a block plan the right fit for me?
Earlier this week, I attended a webinar hosted by Colorado College, a highly selective and well-regarded liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It’s a college that comes up often in my conversations with students I consult with, and it’s a popular choice for students in the Bozeman area because it’s one of the few liberal arts colleges of its kind in the Rocky Mountain West.
The most distinctive and best-known feature of Colorado College’s curriculum is their signature Block Plan, in which students take one class at a time in 18-day blocks. The Block Plan allows students to create flexibility in their schedule, pursue their own unique course of study, and leave ample time each day for their passions outside of class. It also allows for deep immersion into coursework through field trips and other experiences that might be impossible within a more traditional class schedule.
For the right student, Colorado College is a fantastic choice. It is worth noting, however, that their acceptance rate is under 14%, and annual tuition is over $62,000. Like many top colleges, they offer generous need-based financial aid packages, but not much merit-based aid.
If you love the flexibility and deep immersion of the Block Plan, but Colorado College feels out of reach financially or academically, have you looked into other colleges that offer block plans? Turns out there are some good, affordable options. Two in particular that I like are Cornell College in Iowa and Prescott College in Arizona. Closer to home here in Montana is the University of Montana Western. Others include Tusculum College in Tennessee, Keiser University in Florida, and Spalding University in Kentucky.
It’s always a good idea to approach the college search with an open mind, and with a realistic perspective on both selectivity and affordability. A good college counselor will provide strategy and encouragement if your goal is to apply to a highly selective college or university. At the same time, we’d be missing a golden opportunity if we didn’t also educate you about schools where you might get an equally great education and finish your degree debt free. At Confluence College Admissions Consulting, we pay attention to your needs and help you along your unique and personal educational journey.
How can I get help with the Common App?
Last year, over 700,000 students in the United States started the Common App to apply to colleges and wound up never completing their applications. The process can be quite confusing to students, especially those who don’t have a college counselor or admissions consultant to walk them through the steps.
This week at the IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association) conference in San Diego, I learned about an exciting new tool that can help students work their way through the Common App. It’s called the AXS Companion, and it was designed by professional educational consultants to be used side-by-side with the Common App as students work on their applications. Each section includes explanatory videos, a glossary of application terms, and links to resources mentioned in the videos. It’s pitched to all students, but I think it will be especially valuable for students at under-resourced schools and those who cannot afford to work with an independent consultant. It covers everything from FERPA waivers to financial aid, and everything in between.
Many thanks to the folks at IECA and Oregon State University for putting together this helpful resource.
Check it out here!
How much should I help my teen with homework?
The simple answer to this question: not very much. A slightly more elaborated version: only as much as your teen wants you to help.
To be clear, what we’re talking about here is not whether or not you should do your child’s homework for them. If that is your question, then the answer is “never.” It is unethical for your child to submit for credit any work they did not do themselves. It also robs them of an opportunity to learn the material if someone else does the work for them. Most parents understand this.
Where many parents become tripped up is when their child seems unmotivated to do their schoolwork, or when teachers reach out to let them know that their teen isn’t completing their assignments. Many parents then feel under pressure to do something about it. So they resort to nagging their child, or forcing them to sit at a desk until their work is done, or punishing them by withholding privileges.
If, as a parent, you’ve ever found yourself in this situation, I’m going to bet these strategies didn’t have much long-term effect. Teenagers roll their eyes at nagging parents, and they can even become hostile and resistant to doing homework—even if they know it’s in their long-term best interest to do it. Some teens shut down completely. Others will comply in the short term, but then come to rely on their parents to nag them, and will even blame the parent if the parent forgets to nag them. None of these results is desirable. What every parent wants for their child is for them to become self-reliant and self-motivated.
For this to be possible, the most effective thing you can do as a parent is to back off. This does not mean adopting an entirely laissez-faire parenting style. What it does mean is making it clear to your teen that they are responsible for their own academic success, and that you are there to support them, coach them (if they want coaching), and provide a quiet space in your home that is conducive for studying.
Memorize this phrase: “I love you too much to fight with you about your homework.” If you commit to this mantra and stick to it—even if your child struggles at first to stay on top of their assignments—you will likely experience several shifts. One is that time spent with your teen will be less tense and more enjoyable for both of you. Another is that they will come to understand that their school work is their responsibility. They won’t be perfect at it, especially if they’ve learned previously to think of school work as something that’s more important to their parents than themselves. But most teens do want to do well in school, and they understand that their current academic success can translate into opportunities later on. Most of the time they will eventually rise to the occasion.
For more detail on how to help teens to become more in control of their own lives, I highly recommend William Stixrud and Ned Johnson’s best-selling book The Self-Driven Child.
Liberating yourself from “expert” advice
High school students receive a lot of advice about the college admissions process from a wide range of people in their lives: parents, teachers, college counselors, peers, the Internet, and more. Much of this advice is sound, or at least well intentioned. But it can create a lot of noise, and therefore, considerable stress.
In addition, some of this well-intentioned advice is, in my opinion, wrong. Nowhere is this more evident than with the Common App personal statement. Several of my clients report being told a series of “don’ts” by teachers and other adults in their lives: don’t write about anything that’s too personal; don’t write about traumatic events; don’t write about experiences that are too common. Rightly so, my clients come to me bewildered. “I can’t think of anything to write about,” they report. “I’ve been told that all my ideas are bad.”
What I tell them is simple: be yourself. Write about something that is genuinely important to you. The prompts on the Common App are framed in a way that is intentionally broad, so that any student can find a story to tell that meets the requirements. I encourage my clients not to try to guess what admission committees want, but rather, to write a compelling story that reflects who they truly are. That way, once they are accepted to a college, they’ll know that the college really wants them, and not the person they were pretending to be.
Some of my competitors have their clients write thousands of words in preparation for the Common App personal statement, and then work with the student to shape these multiple essays into something they think admissions committees will like. My approach is different. I work with my clients through one-on-one conversation to help them discover their own stories. Then they write multiple drafts, with my role being that of questioner and respondent. This isn’t boot camp. This is a journey of joyful self discovery and storytelling. My clients leave our sessions feeling energized and excited to work on their essays—not demoralized.
Seniors across the country are working on their personal statements, supplemental essays, Common App activity pages, and other quirky elements of the college application process. If you already know where you’re applying, but want help refining and polishing your applications, consider my Essay and Application package for seniors! You’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’ve put forward the best version of yourself for colleges to see, and that the ideas in your essays are yours alone.
Have fun learning about colleges!
As a college admissions consultant, one of the most fun things I get to do is learn about many different colleges and universities, and the unique aspects of their academic programs, student communities, campus facilities, and off-campus opportunities. The more I learn about individual schools, the more I am convinced that there is a great college or university out there for nearly every student who wants to go to college.
This week I had the opportunity to attend a web event through IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association) focusing on the University of Rochester. Their Director of Admissions talked with us about the university’s emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, their search for applicants who exhibit strong academic character, and the many opportunities for students in the city of Rochester and the surrounding area. I had known previously that the University of Rochester was known for its excellent school of medicine—but little else. I now have a much better understanding of the breadth of what the university has to offer.
This ever-growing body of knowledge, aided by my involvement in professional organizations such as IECA, is one of the things I offer as a college counselor, and one reason why working with me can make a real difference for my clients. Here are a few simple tools I use that can aid you with your own college search:
Edward Fiske puts together an annual Fiske Guide to Colleges that goes beyond the traditional rankings-style approach used by the likes of U.S. News and World Report and Princeton Review. I like all these resources, but I prefer Fiske’s more personalized approach. I get a better feel from Fiske for each school’s unique personality.
Frederick Rugg has now written 35 editions of his quirky PDF-only “Rugg’s Recommendations” guides. Rumor has it he’s retiring from this work, but I still reference his most recent guide before I make a confident claim that a college or university has a particularly strong program in any specific subject area.
Niche.com has a detailed, searchable database of colleges and universities that can help you locate schools by size, geographical location, selectivity, and more.
Regional open houses for prospective college students are often well attended by many colleges and universities. They are a great way to speak directly with a representative from the college (usually their regional admissions recruiter) and get to know them. This is helpful both for helping you to get a sense of the school and vice-versa.
Friends and family who have attended a particular college or university can offer behind-the-scenes insight into what it’s actually like to attend a particular school.
Most of all, visit schools! You will begin to gain a strong sense of what kinds of schools feel like home to you and which ones don’t. Remember that you’re not after perfection—but what you are after is a place where you can imagine yourself living, working, and learning for the next four years.
Should I apply Early Decision?
Many colleges and universities have Early Decision and Early Action deadlines coming up in November. As a college counselor, one of the strategic decisions I often help students with is deciding whether or not to apply early, and how to navigate this process. Here are a few general thoughts I share with my clients on the different options:
Early Decision: This is a binding agreement with the college where you agree to attend that school if you are accepted during the Early Decision process. You may only apply Early Decision to one college or university at a time—although some schools now have multiple Early Decision deadlines. Applying Early Decision can increase your odds of being accepted at that school, so it can be a great option for students who have a clear first choice.
Early Action: Early Action is a non-binding way to get an admissions decision back from schools long before the regular admission pool. This may help you to eliminate schools from your college list, and it can also provide peace of mind knowing you have been accepted to one or more schools that you like.
Regular admission: This is usually the best option for students who want to weigh acceptance offers from multiple schools before deciding which school they want to attend. If you want to wait and see what your financial aid offers are, and if you want to know whether or not you’re eligible for merit-based grants, it can be best to enter the regular admission pools at multiple colleges.
Rolling admission: Some schools do not have a specific deadline for admission. It can be nice to have a rolling admission school as a backup option in case you are not granted admission to one of your top schools.
Above all else, recognize that your situation is unique! You don’t have to apply Early Decision just because your friends are all doing it. Conversely, it can be kind of nice to have your college decisions for next year made before the winter holiday break—if that’s the right choice for you. This is a great discussion to have with your college admissions counselor. At Confluence College Admissions Consulting, we can help you think these decisions through with your unique situation in mind.
Seniors!
High school seniors across the country are in the thick of their college application process: visiting colleges, writing personal statements, filling out their Common Apps, researching scholarships and grants, requesting teacher recommendations, and of course, juggling all these things in addition to being a full-time student, participating in clubs and sports, and trying to find time for food, sleep, and socializing.
It’s a lot. And Confluence College Admissions Consulting is here to help. Now is a great time to sign up for one of our packages and build a relationship with your own independent college counselor. It can be a huge relief having another person to help you double-check and make sure you’re getting everything done on time and not overlooking some important detail.
Right now a number of my clients are taking advantage of the long holiday weekend to visit colleges. These visits can make a huge difference for you as you narrow down your list of schools to the ones you actually end up applying to, and it may help you decide whether or not you wish to apply Early Decision or Early Action. There is something about setting foot on an actual campus that can be so much more meaningful than doing a virtual tour or a Zoom call with an admissions representative.
If you’re going to physically visit schools, here are Jim’s top 5 suggestions for preparing for these visits:
1. Find out who your regional admissions counselor is. Most colleges and universities have a member of their admissions team designated for your region of the country. This is the person who’ll be your strongest advocate when it comes time for the admissions committee to review your application. It’s great if you can get to know this person a little bit—by email, Zoom, or in person.
2. Participate in an on-campus tour, information session, or open house. This will give you a good sense of what the college believes its own strengths and selling points are.
3. Schedule a personal interview. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started, many colleges have moved away from doing in-person admissions interviews. But some schools still do them, either in person or via Zoom. If this is an option, do it! It’s a great way to learn more about the school, and it will almost certainly make your application stand out (in a good way).
4. Leave time for exploration. Take a self-guided tour of the campus. This is a good way to visit the studio art spaces if that is an interest of yours, and it’s also nice to sample the food at the school cafeteria or check out the library. You’ll learn more about the school from this informal walking tour beyond what you were able to experience as part of an official tour.
5. Visit multiple schools. Ideally, visit different kinds of schools. Visit both large and small schools. Both highly selective schools and less selective schools. Private liberal arts colleges and state universities. Through your multiple school visits, you’ll develop a sense of what kind of school feels most like the kind of place you want to spend the next four years.
If you’re looking for support with any aspect of your college process, please contact us today for a free consultation!
Eleventh grade: a year for wish lists
The junior year of high school is the time I recommend for most students to begin their college search process in earnest. By eleventh grade, students are generally well settled into high school socially, and they have identified sports, extracurricular activities, and academic subjects that interest them. Now it’s time to begin looking ahead to get a head start thinking about college.
Think about your current school community. Do you attend a large high school? If so, do you like the size of your school? Or do you wish you could walk the halls of your school and know the names of everyone you see? Does your school offer a wide range of honors and AP classes? If not, do you wish it did? Take stock of all the things you like and dislike about your current school.
Now consider the type of college you think you might like to attend. Are you seeking an experience similar to the one you had in high school, or do you want to expand your perspective socially, geographically, and/or academically? Do you want to be in the middle of a big city? Or do you prefer a small campus in a rural area? Do you thrive in small classes where your teachers know you well, or do you prefer the anonymity of large lecture-style classes?
For high school juniors and their parents, here are Jim’s top 5 tips for high school juniors wanting to get ready for college:
1. Do well in school. If you’re applying to selective colleges, doing well academically is always important. But it’s especially important to rise to the challenge during your junior year. Eleventh grade is the year colleges examine most closely when they look at your application. Be sure to shore up your study habits, take care of your health, and ask your teachers for extra help when you need it.
2. Begin drafting a college list. This can begin with thinking about your high school. What do you like and dislike about your high school’s community? Do you like a small school or a large school? Do you want the option of taking honors classes? Do you like sports teams and a strong sense of school spirit? Do you prefer urban or rural? Then make plans to visit schools, either as part of family travel or as a college-specific trip.
3. Study for, and take, the SAT and/or ACT. Many colleges and universities are now test optional, but some still require standardized testing. In general, I suggest taking at least one of these tests during your junior year. If you took the PSAT as a sophomore, review your results and study the areas where you can most stand to improve. Khan Academy has a good test prep course you can take online for free. Once you get your results back, then you can decide whether to take the test again, send your results to colleges, or omit sending scores.
4. Practice kind, respectful self talk. You may experience pressure from parents, teachers, coaches, and peers to get good grades and also perform well in sports and other extracurricular activities. This can be stressful. Remind yourself that you are doing your best, be proud of your achievements, and offer yourself words of affirmation and positivity. You deserve it.
5. Make use of your college counselor. Whether this person is an employee of your high school or an independent college admissions consultant, this person knows the process inside and out and is there to support you.
Most of all, think of the college admissions process as a learning and growth opportunity, and have fun with it! I often advise my clients just to take a breath and remember that we’ll eventually find an opportunity that’s a great fit for them. It doesn’t need to be nerve-wracking—it actually can be quite joyful!