Met with 8 colleges in one hour and learned way too much for one post! Here’s what admissions reps shared about the first 4 schools:
University of Pittsburgh: #1 in NIH grants, ranked #3 for student outcomes! Submit early for guaranteed consideration for merit awards and honors. The School of Nursing, College of Business Administration, and Swanson School of Engineering are full, with the School of Computing and Information and Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences nearly full. The School of Public Health, the newest college, is still open. It's a great direction for students interested in community and medicine/health. Visit and connect with your reps! Use the counselor portal to reach out.
Class of 2028 stats: Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences: 3.91-4.42 GPA, 1290-1430 SAT, 28-33 ACT.
Penn State: Many of my students apply, so I communicate with our rep regularly. Nursing, Smeal College of Business, and Engineering are the most competitive schools, and are enrollment capped. The main campus is very full and students are encouraged to enroll at satellite campuses. PSU does not use midyear grades.
Class of 2028 stats: 3.50-3.93 GPA, 1270-1450 SAT, 28-33 ACT.
Rutgers: Three alumni are playing in the Super Bowl! Received over 100,000 applications, a 66% increase since joining the Common Application. Growing OOS and international population: admitted 131% more New England applicants! Unlikely to go to the waitlist. Direct admit programs all require Calculus as seniors. A tip: Take Calculus, not Statistics, as a senior to be prepared for college Calculus. Math placement test is given twice. Nursing and engineering are the most competitive programs. Odds of admissions are better for Business Analytics and Info Technology majors than Computer Science.
Class of 2028 Stats: 4.05 average GPA, 1380-1500 School of Arts and Science.
University of Connecticut: 56K applications this year (7K more than last year). Admits directly to major. Unlike many colleges, UConn's School of Nursing is growing, as is the Engineering major. Merit aid is offered to all students. The Stamford location has become more popular.
Class of 2028 Stats: 3.7 average GPA, 1260-1410 SAT, 29-33 ACT.
Colleges will not receive FAFSA info until mid-March:
Most financial packages will be sent out in mid-April.
Many students feel pressure to present a complete version of themselves. They view their application like a presentation at a science fair, illustrating the outcome of an experiment:
“I have a hypothesis about who I am, I have experimented, I have data, I have an analysis, and a conclusion.”
While some of that might be true, the end of the scientific method is never the conclusion. Science requires us to keep going, to investigate the next phase of whatever it is you need to discover.
What colleges really want to know is “what's next?”
When I work with a 17 year old student who wants to study business to become an investment banker–more specifically–a private equity manager, I am sure he means to impress me. Does he really understand what that means and what the path will entail? He has likely been fed messages from school and influenced by adults. Being a complete package may seem advantageous, especially to parents who imagine they are helping smooth the path for their kids, who will then slide into a job they enjoy with minimal effort, direction, and training.
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But the truth is that a student with such a specific goal needs to be able to backtrack and show the actual steps he took on his own to arrive at that conclusion.
The same applies when a student underestimates the incredibly arduous journey of getting to medical school. When my sophomore says that she wants to be a pediatric cardiologist and can’t articulate why beyond “wanting to help people,” that's a red flag. I see her desire to present herself as more special than other applicants. But it’s only authentic and meaningful if she can explain what drove her, both externally and internally, to arrive at that conclusion. And will she keep exploring and build what's required to make that dream happen for the remaining two years of high school, four years of college, and beyond?
What’s better than being complete? Expressing to admissions that you have unanswered questions that were sparked by something you learned in class, heard on a podcast, and watched in a movie is far more powerful because that shows your excitement about the next steps in your journey.
In last week’s Professional Forum, I learned that many of my colleagues across the US are full to capacity with 8th and 9th graders. Each year, more 8th graders and and first year high school students sign on for my support. How does that fit into my goal to manage stress and expectations, to "De-Stress the College Process?" A healthy high school>college journey for every student and family matters most to me.
Starting early can help high school freshmen and their families:
Think about students' academic interests/strengths (which shift through high school) and recommend ways to develop them.
Discuss extracurricular activities/strengths (what they love now, being open to broadening interests, and understanding what matters later).
Get reliable answers about the evolving college landscape rather than depending on the "buzz," which is generally misleading and incorrect. If I don't know the answer, I'll get it through my professional networks.
Open my LCS system to access a wide range of educational resources, including the Fiske Guide.
When the time is right:
Learn the most recent data on ED/EA/RD admit rates to help us build a smart college list.
Make informed choices about the SAT and ACT that suit your student best.
Stretch out four payments, beginning with the contract signing until the fall of senior year.
Reduce stress later by having a clear and realistic 3 or 4 year plan.
Is starting early necessary for every student? Of course not. But having professional educational support throughout high school can offer a sense of structure and control throughout those busy years.