In the wake of the Varsity Blues scandal (and frankly, always!), we are thinking a lot about ethics and what to look for when seeking support for applications. When seeking college counseling services, it's important to identify counselors who will truly help you in your admission process, rather than those who may try to exploit your lack of understanding of the US education system (if you are less familiar with the system) or preying on already stressed out families. To avoid falling prey to misleading counselors, here are some red flags to watch out for:
How High School Students Can Make the Most of Their Free Time
There is no hidden agenda or secret list of extra-curricular activities you *have* to do in order to be accepted by any particular college. It’s also impossible to imitate the successes of previous applicants: don’t run to pick-up the tuba because you heard “that’s what I got so-and-so into X University.” It just doesn’t work that way.
More than anything, how you spend your time is a clear demonstration of what you value and care about, and what you’ll bring to a campus. Your activities and time spent outside the classroom should be authentic and genuine and reflect your real interests and passions. Colleges can sniff out when students are merely getting involved to pad their resume but then can’t piece together the why and the how an activity fits into your overall self-narrative.
College Admissions Forecasts: Yield Inches Upward for Top Schools, Waitlists Surge
Harvard's yield this year is the second highest in the university's history. While that's great news for Harvard, it sadly means that those students patiently hoping for the best on Harvard's waitlist have very little chance of going crimson in May or later into the summer. For the most competitive universities, the waitlist has become a backup measure that's rarely resorted to because most students who are accepted to Harvard decide to enroll.
In an era when students continue to apply to more and more colleges to "hedge their bets" about where they will get in and how much financial aid will be offered, colleges are responding in kind by increasing their waitlists. Adding students to the waitlist has become the answer for colleges and universities that have no clue how many students will decide to enroll. We like you, but will you actually come? We have no clue.
After months of waiting, and years of preparation, a waitlist can feel like an anti-climactic mega frustration. It might feel like these colleges are holding all of the cards, but we help students to see that actually, when you are clear with your goals for college, demonstrate interest properly and in timely ways, you don't need to hedge, or play too many games, and instead can get into one of your top choice schools way before May. Get in touch to start working with us to learn how.
Seth Godin on College Rankings
Seth Godin, a consummate author, marketer, and creative social commentator offers his "Godin-ian" views on college rankings. Not surprisingly, that they are linear, simplistic, and forced.
The problem...
With College Rankings