STUDENT-CENTERED SOLUTIONS FOR COLLEGE PLANNING

October is a time of reckoning for students as they prepare college applications. The senior year of high school is in full swing with new academic challenges and a sense of nostalgia as students wistfully embrace events and relationships for the “last time” in their high school experience. And, for many, preparing half a dozen or so college application represents another layer of activity on top of an already busy schedule.

As a result, the excitement and allure associated with going to college begins to wane, as the process of applying becomes an onerous imposition. With pending deadlines and mounting requirements, there simply isn’t enough time in the day to get it all done! As a result, there is a tendency to choose the course of least resistance—to only do what is “good enough.”

I would like to offer a word to the wise if you find yourself in this situation. Make this year your best! Now is the time to push hard to achieve your goals, even though doing so may mean making compromises in your social life. You can’t “will” great grades. Essays don’t become excellent overnight. Compelling college applications don’t materialize out of thin air.

Keep in mind the competition for admission. Colleges continue to be inundated by applications from more, well-qualified candidates than they can admit. As a result, admission officers will be forced to make fine distinctions between deserving candidates. At highly selective colleges, the pressure to make these distinctions is incredibly intense as only a fraction of the students who apply—in some cases as few as 5-15%—can be admitted.

So what does this mean for you—the applicant? It means that admission officers will be looking at seemingly obscure factors as they evaluate your application. In particular, they will be interested in the choices you make as you press ahead in your senior year to see how you handle the pressure. Will you wilt under the weight of the added expectations? Will you find the easiest path to the “finish line? Or will you step up to the challenge?

Quite frankly, they want to see what you do when you don’t think you have to do anything. When a “B” seems good enough, will you continue to push for the “A?”

They will also be able to gauge your investment in your application immediately. Have you been thoughtful about conveying key messages? How have you told your “story”? What does your essay say about you? I can tell you from experience that applications and, in particular, essays that are pulled together at the last minute have that “good enough” look about them. It should not come as any surprise that “good enough” does not inspire much interest on the part of the person reviewing your credentials.

As a high school senior and an applicant to college, you are still in a position to control the manner in which your application is presented. Don’t give admission officers a reason to say “no” to your candidacy. Resist the temptation to put things off or go into “cruise control.” Now is the time to accelerate! Stay focused and finish strong! You must commit to doing so, however. As one young woman observed after hearing this message at a recent program, “If nothing else, I have learned that good enough is never enough if I want to reach my goals.”

In my last posting, I reviewed the relevance of letters of recommendation in the college application process. The following are five tips for securing letters of recommendation that can help strengthen the overall presentation of your applications.

1. Choose teachers who know what you can do—the teachers who push you and don’t let you settle for “good enough.” They are the folks who are more likely to be invested in your long-term success. Contrary to popular belief, your most insightful supporter may not be the teacher regarded as the most popular. Generally speaking, at least one of your recommenders should be someone who is familiar with your critical thinking and communication skills.
2. Give your counselor and teachers the courtesy of time to think about and prepare a letter of recommendation for you. If you are a high school Senior and still have not asked folks to write on your behalf, do it now! Extend the same consideration (time, access to information) you would want if confronted by a writing assignment that accounts for most of your grade in a class.
3. Meet with your recommenders. Talk with them about why college is important to you. Share your dreams and ambitions. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. If there are factors beyond your control that have influenced your ability to perform as you would have liked, make sure your recommenders are sufficiently informed so they can help you tell your “story.” In short, give them the necessary information and insight so they can write well-balanced letters on your behalf.
4. Share a resume of your activities and achievements. Don’t assume that they know the important details of your life experiences. Help them “connect the dots.” While your teachers know you well from your work in their respective classrooms, they may not have the benefit of the “big picture” that defines you.
5. Provide stories and anecdotes. Give your recommenders the “color commentary” as it relates to your academic and relevant life experiences that will enable them to give depth and energy to their assessments. Just as you want your essays to be engaging and “readable,” you should do what you can to ensure that the letters of recommendation submitted on your behalf engage the reader with the essence of your personality.
6. Provide a list of your application deadlines and the forms (either the hard copies or the links to online forms) used by each of your colleges for letters of recommendation. While your recommenders may elect to produce letters on their own stationery, they will still benefit by being able to respond to the guidelines and information requests provided by the colleges to which you are applying. As a courtesy, provide pre-addressed and stamped envelopes to those who intend to submit their letters via snail mail.

When you ask a teacher or counselor to write on your behalf, you will be able to waive your right of access to that letter. Do it. Your recommenders need to be able to provide complete and balanced perspectives without having to worry about how you or your parents will react to what they have written. If your recommenders are concerned about being second-guessed in any way, they will be less inclined to share the kind of information that is useful to admission officers in the credential review.
Give them some space and trust they will act in your best interests. The people you have chosen for this task are your strongest supporters and want to see you do well.

As students begin focusing on the details of their college applications, it seems many have unresolved questions regarding strategies for selecting the “right” teachers for the task of writing recommendations. Quite a few also want to know the potential benefit of securing letters from personalities outside of the school to write letters on their behalf.

First, let’s take a look at how and where letters of recommendation fit in the admission process. They are important to admission officers because they provide contextual interpretation for your academic performance. Writers share critical insight into your work habits and learning style as well as your ability to respond to challenges or setbacks. They can help explain irregularities in your academic program and/or performance and shed light into key factors that define your learning environment.

So, who should you choose to write your letters? The people best positioned to support your application are those who know you well from your recent work in the classroom. They are familiar with your intellectual abilities and academic skills. They have watched you respond to a range of challenges academically and understand your capacity and desire to learn. They are your teachers, counselors and advisors—they are your champions.

It is important to remember that teachers have vested interests in your success. Over the course of their careers, they take great satisfaction in seeing their students do well beyond high school. They truly want to see you achieve your goals. It is your job, then, to engage them in a manner that allows them to help you to find that success. Let them help you tell your story.

In approaching people for letters of support, you need to remember that, despite their daily interactions with you in class or at practice, they possess little knowledge about your life beyond. You do them a big favor by providing anecdotes and insights they can use to flesh out their letters on your behalf. I’ll talk more about this in next week’s blog.

Finally, you may find it useful to involve as recommenders people from the community who provide perspectives that validate your out-of-classroom experiences. For example, a letter from a private music teacher who attests to your diligent preparation, ability to perform under pressure, and determination to compete at a certain level will cast your private music study in more substantive light. Similarly, the coordinator of a local homeless shelter can testify to your selflessness and generosity and an employer can attest to your responsibility on the job.

Resist the temptation, however, to collect letters of recommendation from important people in the community whose sole contribution will be to say nice things about you and your family. Before asking clergy, politicians, well-connected family friends, or other prominent citizens for recommendations, ask yourself, “What is it that this person can say about me that my teachers and counselor will not already have said?” If the individual can shed personal insight into the way you approach your work, interact with others, or react to setbacks, the letter might be helpful. Otherwise, it just adds to the weight of your file.