STUDENT-CENTERED SOLUTIONS FOR COLLEGE PLANNING

If you are a college applicant waiting out the “Regular” admission process, mid-winter can be high anxiety time. Even if you may have experienced success with an Early Action application or two, it will be the admission decisions on open applications that finally define your range of options.

For now, though, all you can do is wait—and that isn’t easy. After months of deadlines, interviews, phone conversations, and campus visits, the chatter from the colleges has all but disappeared. Although momentarily welcome, the silence becomes more deafening by the day.

So, what happens to your application when it reaches the admission office? Who reads it? What do they think? How will they decide? Surprisingly, the answers aren’t that simple.

The credential review processes at colleges and universities vary widely according to applicant volume, levels of selectivity, and institutional agendas. For example, colleges that practice “rolling admission” make decisions on applications as they arrive in complete form. Starting September—and sometimes earlier—they admit qualified candidates until their classes are full, a process that can extend well into the following summer.

The type of review will vary across schools as well. Many state universities engage in an objective review of applicants that involves an initial screening based on a formula of test results and GPA. In some cases, a student’s ability to present credentials that meet or exceed the preset standard of the formula are admitted. In others, those students are simply passed along for a more subjective or “holistic” review by members of the admission committee.

The holistic review considers a variety of factors in addressing the question, “What do we gain by admitting this student?” Extracurricular profiles, letters of recommendation, essays and, where offered, personal interviews provide relevant insight. Out-of-state candidates at state universities as well as applicants to honors programs at those schools often face even greater levels of scrutiny as they compete with other, similarly qualified students for limited places in areas of restricted enrollment.

The holistic review is also common among selective, private schools. In these deadline-driven environments, admission committees are eager to see the breadth and depth of the competition before making fine distinctions about whom to admit. Again, the questions will be, “What do we get? Who among the qualified candidates will fit best into the community we are trying to build with this class? Who do we value most?”

In just about every admission process, the “committee” is where the more difficult decisions are often made. Consider the term “committee” loosely because committee members or “readers” may meet together in conference rooms or individually in their offices or the quiet comfort of their homes. Once in committee, applications are usually reviewed by at least two readers before any decisions are made. Readers can include part-time staff hired to participate in credential review, specialists in particular majors or subgroups of students (international students, for example) and members of the admission staff. The staff person who recruits in your area is almost certainly going to be an interested participant as well.

In some cases, faculty members are invited to read applications from students interested in their respective academic disciplines. This is more likely at universities that are comprised of “colleges” or “academic programs” to which you apply directly.

What follows in the review process is an attempt to arrive at consensus regarding your application. As readers review your credentials, they start with your transcript, noting both the strength of your academic program and your academic successes relative to other students in your school. In all likelihood, you will be regarded as qualified—you could do the work academically if given the opportunity.

Having been established as a viable candidate on their competitive “playing field,” readers begin to dig more deeply into your application. Driven by the “What do we get?” question, they look at extracurricular activities, test results and essays for “hooks” or points of distinction. As the research into your application continues, committee members probe for authenticity and sincerity of purpose in all your application materials.

Readers will also look for explanations that might shed light on any irregularities in your program and/or performance. Such explanations might be found in personal statements, interviews and letters of recommendation.

In a very short period of time, admission officers develop a bias — a sense of what you have to offer and where you fit in the competition. The more intense the competition the more important it is to have a decisive or “over the top” credential—and the more important it is for that credential to be authentic. This is when arguments on behalf of students with special talents, interests and perspectives begin to emerge.

Assuming the bias is favorable, readers quickly scan letters of recommendation to look for validation—evidence that supports the information on your application. Sometimes these letters provide an added dimension of understanding regarding your performance that can be very powerful.

As the selection process moves into March, the focus turns to the students who remain on the “bubble” or the margin of the competition. Questions such as “What is the likelihood that she will enroll if we take her?” and “How are his third marking period grades?” and “Are we sure we will get a good return on our investment if we give him that much financial aid?” While candidates at opposite ends of the competitive spectrum are sorted quickly and easily, those in the middle continue to get lots of attention as the process winds down.

This is also a time when institutional agendas can dictate outcomes. Special talents, legacy connections, leadership and diverse perspectives can become hooks that make all the difference in a tight competition.

The final weeks of the Regular Decision selection process are typically a “settling period” for the class in waiting. Further arguments are heard from special interest groups about special cases, grades are checked—again—and adjustments are made based on yield (on offers of admission) forecasts to make sure the group of admitted students will generate the needed revenue to balance the budget in the coming year.

Before long—as early as the middle of March for some deadline-driven schools—letters will be mailed and decisions will be posted on institutional websites. If you focused on “fit” and were able to prove your value to the schools where you applied, happy outcomes will soon find you.

Be sure to check future blogs for more tips and suggestions regarding next steps in the enrollment process.

Periodically, I use this space to respond to questions I have received via email or during programs. My intent in sharing both questions and answers is to provide insight into the college-going process and stimulate conversation that leads to informed decision-making with regard to educational futures. As always, your comments are very much valued. To submit a question, contact me directly at Peter@TheAdmissionGame.com.

Dear Peter,
What is the best way to alert the colleges to which my son has applied (for enrollment Fall 2012) that I have recently become unemployed? We submitted our FAFSA for 2011 that reports a family income of $175,000 for the year. However, my position, which accounted for more than half of that total, was eliminated in December.

My son has received some notifications for financial aid already, mostly subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans (very low amounts). He has also received partial scholarships awards prior to submitting the FAFSA.

Should I send a written letter, an email, or call each school so that they can place this information in his record folder?
Jack L.

Dear Jack,
Documentation is the key whenever circumstances change with regard to personal finances and college costs. You need to provide written documentation of the loss of work/income directly to the financial aid offices where your son has applied as soon as possible. In addition to reporting the loss of your job, you’ll need to acknowledge any severance package that might be involved. While this development is not likely to effect any merit scholarships your son has been awarded, it may well change the calculation of your “expected family contribution” (EFC—out-of-pocket coverage of college costs) and, potentially, the amount of need-based aid for which he is eligible.

When your son is in possession of decision letters and financial aid awards from all of his schools, compare the amounts of EFC (subtract the total of grants/scholarships from the total cost of attendance) for each. If he is strongly considering any colleges for which the EFC is much higher, then an “appeal” is in order. Call the financial aid offices at those schools to make sure the new information about your employment has been considered. You might also need to schedule an appointment at which time you can further interpret the situation in person.
Peter

Dear Peter,
My daughter has been talking Spanish since Middle School and is now in Honors Spanish 5. She just held onto a B average for the first and second marking periods, however, she failed the mid-term exam. We are thinking about having her drop out of Spanish and picking up another elective for the second half of the year to relieve some of the stress level for the remainder of the school year. The other option is to continue with Spanish but we are concerned about the impact on her GPA (weighted is 3.8) and her well-being.

The question—will admission officers view the dropped course as a wise decision realizing the student is “in over her head” OR will they assume “she gave up and quit.”
Paula M.

Dear Paula,
Generally speaking, admission officers want to see how students respond to adversity. What do they do next? Do they shrink from the challenge or do they re-double their efforts to meet a reasonable challenge?

Ultimately, the selectivity of the schools to which she applies will determine the degree to which the “blip” on her record affects the outcome. The most highly selective schools are less likely to be sympathetic in their assessments than are those that are afforded a greater measure of latitude in their decision-making. Rest assured that she will find a happy home at a college that values her for her efforts as well as the promise for achieving even greater success on its campus.
Peter

Dear Peter,
In your presentation, you talked about how colleges now operate as businesses. Your point about the impact of ROI (return on investment) as considered by decision makers in the admission process was particularly well taken. Assuming this is the case, then, I have two questions related to “need blind” admission. 1) Is a college that claims to be “need blind” truly taking the financial aspect out of the admission equation? And, 2) Are colleges lying about being “need blind”?
Alan B.

Dear Alan,
By definition, a “need blind” admission process absolutely removes any consideration of financial need (or ability to pay) from its deliberations. As an absolute concept, it would apply to every candidate in every aspect of the admission process. When there are exceptions—for any reason—a college is no longer “need blind.”

Here is a question to ponder: “If ‘need blind’ colleges are committed to access for academically able, but economically disadvantaged students, why are their student populations not more closely proportionate to the general population in terms of financial means?” Is “need blind” truly reflective of actual practice or is it simply a matter of posturing around the morality of access?
Peter

The college admission process can produce some interesting personal dilemmas. One such quandary was brought to my attention in a phone call from a young man who was trying to sort out an Early Decision opportunity. A competitive athlete, he had been approached by a recruiting coach from an NCAA Division III (non-scholarship) school with the suggestion that he convert his application for admission from Regular Decision to Early Decision (ED). Moreover, the coach had assured the young man that if his application for financial aid did not produce the desired assistance from this institution, he would not be held to his commitment to enroll if accepted ED.

The student was understandably excited and confused by this development. While he liked the school very much, he couldn’t say for sure that it was his first choice. This is largely due to his need of financial aid. In fact, the uncertainty of his financial aid situation had led him to actively consider other schools as well. Moreover, he understood the underlying premise of the unconditional commitment to enroll if accepted that is assumed of ED candidates. As a result, he was skeptical of the pitch he had been given by this coach.

My advice to the young man was simple: “If you need to make sure you get the best financial aid possible—and there is a chance other schools might admit you and give you better offers—then don’t give up your right to see those offers by converting your application to ED at one school.”

I pointed out that the coach is behaving unethically in making this suggestion and suggested that he (the student) not compound the problem by heading down that road with him. I’m not sure I told this young man anything he didn’t already suspect to be true, but our chat gave him the confidence to respond to the coach’s overtures.

Whether or not you are a recruited athlete, you need to be vigilant about the ethics of the admission process. This can be especially challenging when you see evidence that others—on both sides of the negotiation—are pushing the ethical “envelope.” Where there are clearly articulated rules, you need to observe them. The desire to get into favored schools should never put you in a place where you compromise your integrity.

Unfortunately, the coach in question was crossing the ethical “line” by asking the applicant to consider an Early Decision application when he knew the young man could only do so conditionally due to his financial situation—clearly a breach of rules governing the ED process. The good news is the young man had the presence of mind to step back and assess the situation objectively.

Now, in case you’re checking the calendar and wondering how this conversation between the coach and the applicant could be taking place as the “round two” deadlines for ED have passed at most schools, welcome to the world of college admission in 2012! These are the days when selective colleges do what they can to pump up their yields on offers of admission while looking for opportunities to reduce the overall number of students they need to admit and, hence, become more selective. For example, each additional ED enrollment reduces the number of low-yielding Regular Decision candidates by four or five at most colleges.

Consider the impact of such a strategy on a larger scale. A college or university that can attract 50 more ED enrollments over the previous year reduces by as many as 250 Regular Decision students it would otherwise need to admit to fill those places in the class. As a result, the more ED enrollments a school can stockpile, the more selective it becomes.

Add to the mix the dynamics of athletic recruitment—even at the NCAA Division III non-scholarship level—and the opportunity for late-season Early Decision conversations emerges. A few other observations are worth noting here.

One, the NCAA forbids Division III athletic recruiters from having any conversation about family finances with the financial aid officers at their respective institutions. In short, an athlete’s potential involvement in an NCAA Division III program may NOT have any bearing on the disposition of his/her financial aid status.

Two, each institution employs slightly different criterion in assessing a student’s financial “need” and then recognizing the comparative strength of her academic credential within the context of its financial aid program. It is not only possible, then, that a recruit’s financial “need” could be read differently from one school to the next, but the strength of her academic credential could also result in differences in the composition of the financial aid awards she receives. Whereas a student athlete may qualify for special consideration academically at one school, at others she may not.

Finally, the late season ED phenomenon is not limited to recruited athletes. Admission officers at many selective schools will keep the application “door” open past formal deadlines as they troll for high-yielding ED conversions well into February of the admission process. Should you be confronted with such an opportunity, just remember—the rules remain the same. If you convert your application to ED, you are making an unconditional commitment to enroll if accepted.

One of the first—and most important—exercises in the college planning process involves course selections for the coming year of high school. Your high school academic record determines whether you make it onto the “competitive playing fields” at the schools to which you apply. Moreover, the strength of your record positions you as a candidate among other candidates who are vying for consideration.

The level of selectivity experienced at a given college provides an important contextual framework for this discussion. For example, the harder it is to get into a college, the more magnified are the decisions you make in all aspects of your life, especially those that relate to your academic development. Colleges that are less selective tend to be more forgiving of choices/outcomes that might not reflect as positively on your application. Keeping in mind, then, that the choices you make will be regarded differently according to the pressure a given institution feels to make fine distinctions between great candidates, the following are tips for making course selections that will serve you well going forward.

• When in doubt, err on the side of rigor. The degree to which you expose yourself to rigor or challenge in the high school classroom speaks volumes with regard to the likelihood that you can perform well in college level courses. As a result, admission officers are watching to see how you use the curriculum available to you to “step up” each year. Each year of high school should reflect advancement through progressively rigorous coursework in each discipline.
• Know your capacity to do the work. In contemplating rigor in course options, it is easy to get drawn into the presumptive logic that taking the highest level will be most impressive to colleges. While there is some truth in that assessment, you need to be able to function at a high level in the course. Barely passing an inordinately “hard” course produces the double whammy of a low grade in that course and the ripple effect of lower grades in other courses as you spend a disproportionate amount of time making it through the hard course. The bottom line: While it is important to stretch yourself, don’t over-reach in taking courses for the purpose of impressing admission officers.
• Breadth matters. In other words, keep your bases covered. In each year of high school, you should take courses in the five core discipline areas: math, science, social science, foreign language and communication arts (a.k.a. English). Do this regardless of your career interests. Why? Admission officers, especially at selective colleges, want to see that you have developed skills of critical thinking and analysis across disciplines. Having such an experience gives them greater confidence that you will be able to handle distribution requirements and cross-disciplinary courses you are likely to encounter in college.
• Substitute value for value. It is not uncommon for students entering the Junior or Senior year to rationalize course selections (e.g. “I don’t like Spanish…” “I want to double up in sciences…”). Generally speaking, dropping a course in one discipline for a course in another is acceptable if you are substituting value for value. For example, dropping an Honors or AP French in order to take AP Biochemistry is acceptable. On the other hand, dropping it for a survey course in Economics or Psychology would be a bad move within the context of competition at selective institutions.

If you think you want to take courses that relate to your possible major in college, keep in mind that the first order of business is competing for admission. While in high school, focus on breadth and depth of curricular development. If your schedule allows you to take courses related to your career interest in addition to the core group of five (referenced above), go for it. Otherwise, wait until college to start your major.

• Don’t settle for “good enough.” It is common for students to chart their progress through high school by working only to the level of their graduation requirements or to the course “requirements” posted by colleges. The problem is that selective colleges want to see what you will do when you have seemingly satisfied your “requirements”—when you don’t think you have to do anything. Be careful, then, not to settle for the minimum or that which is good enough. If you want to increase your range of options as a college applicant, push past that which is good enough to that which will make you a better candidate.

A common question from students regarding course selections sounds like this: “Is it better for me to take an easier course where I know I can get an “A” or should I take a harder course where I’ll probably get a lower grade?” While it is tempting to assert that one should take the hard course and get the “A,” I would like to offer a slightly different, three-part response that should apply to any course selection.

1. Choose courses that make sense to you—not to your friends or your parents. The courses you choose in each discipline should provide a new level of challenge and opportunity for growth.
2. Do as well as you can in these courses—good enough is never enough.
3. Select colleges that will value you for what you have to offer.

Finally, it may not be possible, for a variety of reasons, to schedule all of the courses that make sense to you. When that happens—when there are irregularities in your academic program—you have a story to tell in your application. And that is a topic for another day!

To learn more about “Course Selections,” check out these resources from Peter Van Buskirk:

• The College Planning Workbook, Part II, Chapter Six, #4. “Present a Compelling Academic Record” (Available in the TAG Bookstore; $20)
• Best College Fit™ Videos: “February – Course Selections: What Do Your Choices Say About You?” Not a subscriber? Visit “Introduction to BCF.”