STUDENT-CENTERED SOLUTIONS FOR COLLEGE PLANNING

College applicants seeking to make an impression in the admission process have a new means of expression at their disposal. According to recent news reports, a growing number of colleges and universities are inviting applicants to include YouTube submissions with their credentials. This follows the rapid growth of social media as a popular meeting place for prospective students and representatives at the colleges that interest them.

The move to include social media as an active component in the admission process has drawn mixed reviews among college access professionals. Many see the logic in reaching out to young people in the media where they spend much of their time. They also acknowledge the potential value to some students of having alternate means of expressing themselves as candidates. Students have been submitting non-performance related CDs, DVDs and videos with their applications for years. Now, with YouTube, any student can record and submit a personal statement at no cost.

On the other side of the argument, counselors urge caution for reasons both practical and philosophical. They question the use of YouTube submissions by those in the decision-making process and fear that encouraging such submissions simply opens the door to senseless voyeurism. They warn that visual presentations may reveal physical characteristics that play to the inherent biases of viewers and detract from the objective assessment of the student’s credentials. Moreover, they see privacy threats and the potential for professional coaching and editing that could tilt the playing field in favor of those with means.

Here are a few thoughts for those of you who are tempted to engage in social media as you apply to college.

1. Submit directly to the school, not to/through an open forum. When you apply for admission, you are engaging in a confidential process. No one outside of the admission committee needs to or should see the information you submit. Just as your grades, essays and letters of recommendation are confidential, your video submission should remain private as well. If you can’t figure out how to submit confidentially through YouTube, then don’t use that medium.
2. Don’t let your video/YouTube submission detract from who you are. Cameras can have a funny effect on people—they tend not to be themselves. When you hit the “record” button, be yourself. Give the viewer a sense of who you are. Tell your story. You will be most successful when the details of your physical presentation are secondary to the quality of the content.
3. Be sincere. By that, I mean you should consider the person who will be viewing your submission. If you throw something together that is frivolous or doesn’t make sense to someone who is not in the room with you, the viewer will lose interest immediately. Think about the message you want to convey. Just remember—when you hit the “send” button you can’t take it back.
4. Don’t allow yourself to be held hostage. I have yet to see that YouTube or video submissions are mandatory anywhere. You don’t have to submit them. If you are not comfortable in front of a camera, then this is not the medium for you. If the medium is a natural for you and you feel creative impulses that can be articulated well this way, then go for it.� Otherwise, don’t submit yourself to the angst and worry (and potential cost) associated with putting something together in a manner that is uncomfortable for you. It’s certainly not worth the expense that comes with coaching and production time. Focus instead on the elements of the application with which you are most comfortable.

On a related note, social networking sites have become hot locations for students (and many parents) who want to stay on top of the latest in the college application process. Such sites are the source of the latest insights (gossip) about who is getting in where and they frequently are sources of erroneous information about how the selection process works at different schools. If you frequent such sites, just remember that the sources of information are typically other applicants and/or their parents! Call me a cynic, but this is where urban legends originate around the college-going process.

Emerging technologies are rapidly changing every aspect of our lives including the college-going process. While much of the change is healthy and positive, you need to remain focused on who you are, what you want to accomplish educationally and how you can best convey these messages to the colleges of your choice.

In my last posting, I introduced Jean and her growing concern about her competitiveness at the colleges to which she had applied. She had applied Early Action to one of them and a subsequent deferral letter had shaken her confidence. This led to an examination of the factors or potential landmines that may have influenced the admission decision and could, if not corrected, prove to be problematic with her other applications as well.

In Jean’s case, when the admission officers asked, “If we admit her, what do we get,” nothing jumped out at them. They saw a good student with solid involvement outside of the classroom who didn’t present a compelling reason to be admitted into the class. She had failed to project herself as a potential contributor to the athletic program or make a convincing statement about the relevance of her leadership.

What’s worse, because she had not visited the school’s campus, admission officers could find no evidence of her interest in their school when they asked, “What is the likelihood that she will come?” Uncertain of her level of interest and likely contributions, it is reasonable to assume that the next question of Jean—should she demonstrate need as a financial aid candidate—would be, “Is this someone in whom we are prepared to make a financial investment?”

By the way, I need to clarify a comment made in my last post. In assessing the manner in which Jean presented her application, I intimated that indicating an interest in financial aid on the application for admission could be prejudicial to the outcome of the application. Checking “Yes” to the question, “Do you intend to apply for financial aid?” should not hurt students in the admission process as that response alone is not an accurate indicator of the student’s financial need. If and when colleges discriminate on matters of family contribution and/or financial need, they do it at the back end of the process when they can compare the academic and financial credentials for all potentially admitted students.

It wasn’t long before Jean and her parents began to see the logic of the decision-making process at the selective schools to which she was applying. They could now rationalize the EA decision. More importantly, the despair that had hovered over the start of the conversation gave way to an excited sense of possibility as she began to develop a new “To Do” list. Even at this time of the year, Jean realized that it is not too late to get on the radar screens of the schools to which she had applied. Specifically, she saw the need to eliminate the perception that her interest in a given school is random while conveying a sense of the passion and talent within her that would set her apart from the rest of the competition.

Jean made immediate plans to visit the campuses of the “high priority” schools on her list and to attempt to introduce herself to the person(s) responsible for recruiting in her region. Moreover, she is making sure they have her most recent grades as well as documentation of a couple of honors that have come her way since she submitted her applications. She also took heart in the possibility that she could still contact the coaches at some of the smaller colleges on her list and make sure they got the DVDs of her athletic performance.

I admire Jean for her response to the situation. Rather than feeling that all is lost with regard to her college future, she is taking steps to affect the outcomes. Realizing that applying to college is a process and not an event, she is asserting herself. In doing so, she will eliminate the randomness that might otherwise be associated with her application.

Will this new-found self-advocacy assure Jean admission to her favorite schools? Not necessarily. It will, however, give her the chance to compete that she deserves. At the very least, the schools on her list now have reason to pause in considering her possible contributions to the communities they are building. Now, they will have a better idea of what they get should they admit Jean—and they’ll have more confidence that hers is a serious interest that could result in her enrollment if accepted. And, if they value her for what she has to offer, they will be more likely to invest in her with financial aid and/or scholarships.

Like Jean, you need to be honest with yourself about the nature of the competition as you apply for admission and take charge of the process. Don’t assume that because your credentials might match those on the academic profiles of the colleges to which you are applying that your admission is assured. Rather, reach out (appropriately) to decision-makers (admission officers) at the schools that are important to you and be sure to tell your story. Give the admission officers every reason to want to include you in the communities they are building as they admit their entering classes!

Two days ago I found myself talking with Jean and her parents about her college future. Jean had submitted six applications including one for Early Action consideration. Now, however, a deferral letter from the EA school had shaken her confidence. While she wasn’t hysterical, it was clear that Jean was questioning herself. Would she get in? Could she get in? And what about her chances of finding admission to the other, equally selective universities to which she had applied?

These were all good questions. While Jean possesses the academic credentials to be competitive for admission at any college or university in the country, the deferral letter had left her wondering what it would take to get in and had she done all she could do. I couldn’t find fault with the schools she had chosen nor the process she had followed in choosing them. On the surface, they all made sense for her—they were good fits. Digging deeper, however, I was able to uncover potential landmines or factors that might have influenced the outcome of her EA application. If not addressed, they would certainly have an impact on the outcomes of her other applications.

First, although Jean and her parents had been evaluating college options since her 9th grade year, she hadn’t visited any of the campuses in the last eighteen months. More specifically, she had never formally visited the school to which she applied EA. Despite her passion for the place, its admission officers had no way of knowing about her interest.

Second, she had not sufficiently established her “hook”—the credential that might set her apart from her peers in a tight competition. A student leader and two-sport athlete with aspirations for playing in college, Jean had not made contact with college athletic recruiters in her sports.

Finally, Jean had indicated on her application for admission that she would be a candidate for financial aid—a factor that could complicate things even at an institution that is reputedly “need blind” in the admission process.

As I talked with Jean, I wanted her to understand how the EA university might have reacted to her application. While she is a great candidate academically, admission officers at the schools she is considering can afford to look for more as she competes with thousands of others who look just like her. In making its decisions, the admission committee is rarely asking: “Is she good enough?” Rather it makes a series of value judgments: “Who among these great candidates do we value most? What does this candidate bring us as we attempt to build a new community?”

In my next posting, I will reveal the steps Jean took to make sure these questions were adequately addressed in her applications.

A critical element of just about every application is the student’s ability to bring clarity to the interpretation of his/her academic record. In other words, when there are irregularities in a student’s program and/or performance, s/he has a “story” to tell. The context for such stories, or explanations, often rests in factors that are beyond the student’s control i.e. injury, illness, family moves, parental difficulties, etc. In the absence of explanations, though, admission officers must guess about the circumstances—and that rarely bodes well for the candidate as admission folks are more often cynical than charitable in their estimations!

A circumstance frequently raised in this regard is that relating to a student’s documented learning difference. Specifically, families often wonder if or how the presence of “Individual Educational Plans” (IEPs) in the student’s academic experience should be conveyed in the application for admission without prejudicing the candidacy. While there are few solutions that fit every situation, it is important to consider the manner in which information is shared with the institution, first, with regard to the student’s candidacy for admission and, then, as it relates to securing necessary support for the student once enrolled.

In terms of admission, I would err on the side of meaningful disclosure. Give the admission committee the full picture so it can make a balanced evaluation of your credentials. Places that value you for what you do well will try to find ways to admit and support you. Providing an awareness of a learning difference for which you are compensating may give them greater confidence in their respective abilities to help you find success. On the other hand, you can’t worry about schools that might not admit you. The odds are that they would not have been good fits for you in the long run anyway.

That said, you cannot count on the admission office to pass along the documentation of academic support needs to folks in the academic program. While such information might indeed be passed along on a “need to know” basis, it is routinely purged from applicant files (in the spirit of confidentiality) after a student makes the decision to enroll. Regardless, plan to present documentation of your learning difference and need for support to the counseling center/disability office after you have enrolled. Don’t assume they will have gotten the information from the admission office.

According to educational consultant, Allen Tinkler, in a note to colleagues on the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) listserve, “one of the biggest errors kids/ families make…is the assumption that just because the documentation was sent, whether to admissions or to disability support services, the college will provide accommodations and services. This is not true. The student must…self-identify and go through some kind of intake interview, discuss accommodations requested, sometimes negotiate, and learn the procedures at the college. This is done with CURRENT, COMPLETE and APPROPRIATE documentation.”

Allen further observes, and I agree wholeheartedly, that students need to learn to be “strong self-advocates.” At his former school, “each student with an IEP or 504 plan was given a complete set of documentation…at a final meeting with parents present (and) instructed that it was now up to them to take the responsibility of receiving accommodations at college. They were instructed that sometime between the distribution of those papers and the beginning of classes at college they needed to contact the disability coordinator, present themselves and their papers. We were literally passing the baton over to them.”

Ownership and the assumption of personal responsibility are vital to your success in all aspects of life. So seize the opportunity! During the senior year, and certainly by the time you graduate, step forward and accept responsibility. Make a difference with regard to the direction you will take during your college years and beyond!

To further explore this topic, join us in our next live Web-Side Chat webcast, “Addressing Learning Differences in Your Application,” November 23, 2009, at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. Visit BCF Resources to register.