Getting the Answers

A colleague wrote to ask me about using the topic of anorexia in a common app essay. Was it appropriate? Would it work against the student in the admissions office? I explained how this topic, like most others, can be structured to tell a powerful, positive story under certain circumstances. Her student was able to develop a strong essay that showed her commitment to her recovery, both emotionally and physically.

One reason I love being part of a network as a professional Independent Education Consultant is the support of my colleagues. Every day, we help each other with questions like these:

“My student only has three years of a foreign language, but he’s applying to ___ for CompSci. Most other applicants will have four or five. In your experience, will it matter? And is it better for him to apply to CompSci in the School of Language Arts or the School of Engineering?"

"My student visited ___ and loved the campus. But she is shy and prefers to have a small group of friends and I know the intense Greek culture will not be a fit for her. Have you had similar students attend ___? Any girls? Would they be willing to talk to my student?"

"Have you spoken to the NJ ___ rep? What's going on with engineering admit rates? How much did they drop last year?"

"Why is ___ running out of dorm space? Are they overenrolled? What's going on?"

How do we get the answers? We develop professional relationships with each other as well as admissions officers, who share information with us in webinars, on campus visits, or simply through emails and calls. We cannot “get students into colleges” because we subscribe to a code of ethics. But our valuable network means we can help them better.

Leadership: something you do and prove

Some of my students who apply to very selective colleges worry about how to “stand out.” We know that this group of colleges has grown much larger, and has many more applicants, today.

Everyone agrees that “leadership” matters, but what does it mean? Leading a school club or team?

A student can be president of a club or team and make little difference. Tens of thousands of students hold offices in school governments and clubs. Only those who build membership and have a visible impact, inside and outside school, may get attention.

No, you do not have to start a business or nonprofit.

Start something that didn’t exist before.

The ideas are endless.

It could be as simple as organizing a group of friends to pick up litter or shovel snow, and doing it regularly. Then try doing it where the need is greater.

• Start a tutoring company: make yours unique by focusing on one subject; connect with other tutors; create your own materials.

• Start a podcast: focus on an interest: a country, language or culture; nature (birds, insects, flowers, butterflies); give smart movie reviews; offer self-help/just to talk (connect with students in other areas of the country, or maybe internationally).

• Like a local business? Ask how you can help!

• Build an online art gallery; sell the art and donate the proceeds to a popular cause.

• Do research-it’s purely proactive even if it doesn’t change the world.

Start a blog to follow your project and use social media to spread news of your project outside your immediate area. Create a website that showcases your all efforts and interests.

The earlier you start, the better…it proves your commitment and shows you didn’t do the project just to start something. Starting late? Join an existing organization and do real work for it!

Leadership is marketing: demonstrate what you can do.

It’s the Student, not the College

That statement is my mantra when students and families have their hearts set on the big bumper sticker names only.

I often tell my students who are not eligible for federal financial aid that they will be successful even if they are denied from the most selective colleges. They have already built the skills to do well in college and have the benefits of connections (and will make more in college) that advantage them after graduation. I’m talking about earning potential.

As the article Revisiting the Value of Elite Colleges discussed, it has been found that, "A student with a 1400 SAT score who went to Penn State but applied to Penn earned as much, on average, as a student with a 1400 who went to Penn.”

It’s the opposite for students who qualify for financial aid. Attending highly selective colleges can be life-changing for them.

"It’s important to note that a few major groups did not fit the pattern: black students, Latino students, low-income students, and students whose parents did not graduate from college. “For them, attending a more selective school increased earnings significantly.”

That’s why we hope that colleges continue, despite the Supreme Court decision on Affirmative Action, to admit low income students so they have a chance to build income and work towards an equal footing with students of means.