College Planning Blog

STRATEGIES TO MAKE YOUR APPLICATION COUNT Series
I have had a number of conversations recently about letters of recommendation and, specifically, who should be enlisted to write them. It seems that, as students begin focusing on the details of their college applications, they have unresolved questions regarding strategies for selecting the “right” teachers for the task of writing recommendations. Some students also want to know the potential benefit of having personalities from outside of the school write letters on their behalf. This blog will address both questions.

First, let’s take a look at how/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/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 in the classroom and understand your capacity/desire to learn. They are your teachers, counselors and advisors—they are your champions. Let them help you.

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. Talk with your recommenders 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.” Give them the necessary information and insight so they can write well-balanced letters on your behalf.

4. Share a brief resume of your activities and achievements. 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 a list of your application deadlines and the forms (the appropriate pre-addressed, pre-posted envelopes) used by each of your colleges for letters of recommendation. While your recommenders may elect to use their own forms, they will still benefit by being able to respond to the guidelines and information requests provided by the colleges to which you are applying.

When you ask someone to write on your behalf, you will have the option 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.

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.

For more assistance in preparing your college application, check out Chapter 12 (“Time to Apply”) in Winning the College Admission Game: Strategies for Students.

STRATEGIES TO MAKE YOUR APPLICATION COUNT series
Producing a college application essay is one of the most daunting tasks facing students in the senior year of high school—and for good reason. Add to the high stakes nature of the admission process itself the fact that the essay is the one credential yet to be created—most of the student’s relevant personal and academic history has already been recorded—the prospect of having to create a statement that might tip the competitive scales brings with it enormous pressure.

Multiply that dynamic by the number of original essays required to complete applications for all of the colleges on a student’s “short list” and you get the picture — you’ve got your work cut out for you!

That said, most students submit essays that do little more than satisfy requirements. For all intents and purposes, their essays are worthless. Ouch! I didn’t say they were bad essays or technically flawed. I am simply observing that, from my experience, a vast majority of essays fail to make a difference in the applications of the students who submitted them.

For the students who submit them, such essays represent solid efforts but that’s it. The essays may be “good enough” to meet the requirements, but they fail to elevate the applicants above the competition.

Writing a winning essay isn’t easy. However, if you can pull it off, you will have introduced a highly competitive element to your application.

Producing an essay that will grab the attention of the reader requires time, reflection and a bit of inspiration. It won’t materialize out of thin air. In other words, to create a compelling statement, you need to invest in its development. You can’t rely on the adrenaline rush or the sense of urgency that comes with deadline writing. Rather, you need to engage in a systematic drafting and editing process that could go on for a month or two.

Time can be your greatest ally if you use it wisely. You see, time can be an editorial tool that allows you to gain valuable perspective as you draft and edit your essays. Given time, you can step back from your working drafts and edit effectively. Conversely, if you are prone to “one-draft” writing, you deny yourself the opportunity to make a good essay great.

Consider the following tips as you prepare your college essays.

• Resist the temptation to look for examples of great college essays for ideas and/or inspiration. They will only confuse you more. Besides, those ideas have already been taken.
• Don’t give up ownership. You will find lots of opportunities to let other people (i.e. friends, parents and essay writing services) “help” you. Colleges want to hear your voice—it’s like your DNA. Authenticity is big here. While others can help with reflective editing, make sure the words you use are your own.
• Think about the messages/impressions you want to convey. What do you want the reader to know about you that won’t be apparent anywhere else in the application?
• Choose a topic about which you are an expert. The topic should give you a platform or perspective from which you are comfortable delivering the message.
• Answer the “why” questions. Why is the topic important to you? Why do you care about it? Why has it affected the way you see yourself in the world? As you answer the “why” questions, you give the reader insight into your soul. That might seem intimidating, but if you can pull it off your essay will make a difference.
• Be careful not to reframe information that is already presented on your application.
• Make sure you tell your story. If little-known circumstances have affected your academic performance or your life experience in general, you need to use a personal statement to address them.

Finally, be honest about your effort. One of the most effective collaborators on my early writing projects was my dad. He would look over an essay and hand it back to me with the simple observation, “You’re not going to hand it in that way, are you?” While he was happy to go over things I had written with me, he wouldn’t do the thinking or writing for me. He knew that I knew I could do a better job and he was willing to help me if I was truly interested in helping myself!

Help yourself—don’t settle for “good enough.” Rather, invest the extra time and effort it takes to produce great results. For more tips about writing a great college essay, check out Chapter 11, “Make A Difference with Your Essay,” in Winning the College Admission Game: Strategies for Students. The book is available in bookstores and online (www.Amazon.com; http://www.theadmissiongame.com/products.php).

STRATEGIES TO MAKE YOUR APPLICATION COUNT Series
As the college application process picks up steam, no credential sparks more consternation among applicants than standardized testing. I wrote about the role of testing in the admission process earlier this summer (check out my July 24 and August 1 blogs). Now, I would like to use this space to offer a few tips as you get ready to apply for admission.

1. You have options! Review your testing experience to determine which scores (SAT, ACT or both) you want to send to each school. Colleges will receive both the SAT and the ACT, so submit the set of results that puts you in the most competitive light.

2. Decide which tests you will take this fall. If you have already taken the SAT two times and are disappointed by the results, you may be facing a point of diminishing returns. You might be better off turning your attention to the ACT. Achieving a respectable score on the ACT means that admission officers have options with regard to the test results they might use to rationalize offering you a place in their respective classes.

3. Colleges strongly prefer to receive test results (SAT, ACT) directly from the testing services. Make arrangements with the appropriate testing service to have your results sent directly to the colleges to which you are applying.

4. If you are taking tests this fall, you may want to wait until you have seen the results before deciding to have official score reports sent to colleges.

5. Remember that admission officers will look at the best combination of scores. If you have taken the SAT 2-3 times, your best Critical Reading score might have come on your third test while your best math might have come on your second test. In order for colleges to pull results from different test administrations, you will need to submit scores from each.

6. Don’t hold off on submitting your applications for admission until you have all of your results from tests taken this fall or to be taken this winter. You shouldn’t have to report actual scores on your applications. As long as you register with the testing service to have your scores sent to the colleges in question, the results will be forwarded automatically within 3-4 weeks.

7. Consider the “test optional” opportunities that might exist among the colleges to which you are applying. Compare your results with the range of scores reported for each test optional college. If your scores fall in the bottom 50% of the score ranges, logic would suggest that you elect not to submit your scores, as they will do nothing to enhance your application. A complete list of test optional colleges can be found at http://www.FairTest.org.

8. Make sure you are choosing colleges at which your testing profile is a good fit. Remember, colleges are fond of reporting high scores for their entering classes. The further your scores fall below the mid-point of the reported range of scores at a college, the less likely you will be admitted at that college.

I have written chapters for both students and parents in my book, Winning the College Admission Game, that provide insight into how/where testing fits in the admission process. In addition, my Straight Talk About College Admission conversation, “The Role of Testing and the Value of Test Prep,” with testing expert, Rusty Haynes, adds excellent perspective into what tests measure and how they should be factored into the application process. The book and my conversation with Rusty (mp3 download) are available at the TAG Bookstore.

The following is the testing schedule through December 2008. For more information about test registration and score submission, go to www.collegeboard.com and www.ACT.org.

Test                        Test Date          Registration Date
SAT                          10/4/08               9/19/08*   (late deadline has been extended)
SAT Subject Tests   10/4/08               9/19/08*    (late deadline has been extended)
ACT                         10/25/08             9/19/08
SAT                          11/1/08               9/26/08
SAT Subject Tests   11/1/08               9/26/08
SAT                          12/6/08              11/5/08
SAT Subject Tests   12/6/08              11/5/08
ACT                         12/13/08            11/7/08

STRATEGIES TO MAKE YOUR APPLICATION COUNT Series
The stage is set in the college application process. After months, if not years, of research and preparation, you are ready to apply.

Before you actually begin to fill out any applications, take a quick look at the blank forms within the context of the admission process you are about to enter. In order to really gain perspective, imagine conducting this exercise from “30,000 feet”—a vantage point that will give you a sense of the big picture around the application process. In searching for colleges and arriving at a short list (6-8 schools), you identified your priorities and focused on defining a good fit. You have also come to understand some of the complexities of the decision-making process from the college’s point of view while learning what they want as they use the admission process to build new communities.

Now, you need to compete with hundreds if not thousands of other qualified candidates who are vying for limited places at the same colleges that interest you. The outcomes will rest less on who is most qualified and more on whom among the qualified candidates are most desirable. In order to succeed in this competition, though, you need to pull your credentials together into a compelling statement on your behalf.

Indeed, your application must be your personal statement, a statement that thoughtfully and carefully weaves together each element of your recent life experience. Rather than a random collection of information, it should be a cohesive statement that says to an admission committee: “Here I am. Take me!”

So, go to 30,000 feet. Think through each element of the application to understand why and how it is considered by admission committees. What thoughts and feelings will be elicited by the information you provide? How are your passions and interests being revealed? As you develop insight into what the sum of your credentials has to say about the person you are becoming, you also gain perspective into how your talents, interests and achievements need to come together to shape the theme of your application.

As you descend from 30,000 feet, you are better prepared to make your statement. Take stock of your “hooks” (points of distinction). Consider the manner in which they might be best communicated in the various “hotspots” (places admission officers look first for key information) on your application? Then put together an application that tells your story.

The content of this blog posting is taken from The College Planning Workbook. You can learn more about “Hotspots and Hooks” as well as the view from 30,000 feet on pages 75-78 of the Workbook (http://www.theadmissiongame.com/products.php).

STRATEGIES TO MAKE YOUR APPLICATION COUNT Series

The college admission process is right around the corner. For many would-be college applicants, the next three months represent a critical staging period as they prepare their applications for admission. For the next eight weeks I will share with you strategies to make your application count. My objective is to give you the tools and insight necessary to compete for admission at the schools that fit you best.

The first thing we need to talk about is ownership. Whose job is it to complete the application process? There is a lot of confusion about the roles and responsibilities of students and parents as college looms on the horizon. In order for this process to work well and for the student to feel good about the outcomes, s/he must be the one investing in the preparation—not the parents.

I say this because I see a lot of evidence that the committee of “we” has taken over the planning process.  “When are we going to start the applications?”  “We need to start planning college visits.” “We just got more mail from XYZ college.” “What should we be thinking about in pulling together letters of recommendation?’ After a while, you begin to wonder, “just who is going to college?!”

Frankly, there shouldn’t be any doubt about who is going to college and that ownership for the process must rest with that person. For better or worse, though, we live in an age of the “helicopter” parent—the parent who constantly, and almost obsessively, hovers over just about any process of consequence involving his/her student to make sure it is completed well.

I know what this is all about because I have been a helicopter parent myself! After all, I was dean of admission when my own kids applied to college and I wanted them to benefit from all that I knew about the process. As a result, I instinctively tried to clear the path of the obstacles that only I could see while pushing, poking and prodding them forward in the process.

I thought I was doing the right thing until my daughter, Jennifer, finally suggested (gently) that I back off.  “How am I ever going to know what it’s like to pick myself up if you never let me fall?” she asked, finally growing weary of my well-intended interference. And she was right. She needed to find her own way—to own the process, including all of the potential frustrations and disappointments—if she was to find satisfaction in the successes.

Given the high-stakes nature of college admission these days, the phenomena of the “helicopter” parent and the committees of “we” are to be expected. That doesn’t mean they or the behaviors they embody should be accepted, though. Take it from me — I learned to back off and my kids are just fine.

To learn more about roles and responsibilities in a student-center college planning process, check out my College Planning Workbook at http://www.theadmissiongame.com/products.php. On page 7, you will find a chart entitled “Whose Job Is It Anyway?” The Workbook ($12) is an interactive guide that walks students through the application process with a range of hands-on exercises. In addition, my book, Winning the College Admission Game, Strategies for Students and Parents, provides guidelines needed for everyone in the family to better understand their respective roles in the college admission process.

Are you a “helicopter” parent? Write to me at Peter@theadmissiongame.com for a free copy (pdf) of “You know you are a helicopter parent when…”