Last minute application advice…just in case you need it

Posted on December 23, 2009 by deanflagel

The end of the year (and the decade) always lead to a plethora of top ten lists, and since that terminus falls right in the midst of many application deadlines, my own top ten list of things to keep in mind for your last minute applications follows.

1. Advocate (within reason) – Many applicants have already learned that it’s not all that difficult to contact admissions offices to find out which lucky counselor is reviewing the applications for any particular high school. From there, it’s a short leap to trying to “friend” that same admissions officer in hopes that he or she will look more favorably upon applicants that said admissions officer remembers/knows/enjoys learning about through status updates. There is, however, a reasonable version of this – trying to (briefly!) meet the appropriate admissions counselor when you visit campus or maybe sending a personal note about how much you REALLY want to go that school. Maybe even friend them IF you are very very (very very) careful about your privacy settings and have some confidence that your knuckle-headed friends won’t post something problematic. This week I reached a new level of invasiveness when I received a call from an anxious mother AT HOME. Apparently, and I learn something new every day, I am more accessible than I thought. Bear in mind, there is a fine line between advocacy and stalking – and many of you have already crossed that line and are now flailing in the deep canyon beyond. Yes, I mean you.

2. Quality over quantity – Since you’re already bumping up against the deadline, I’m sure you’ll be happy to be reminded that you are not judged by how MUCH you submit with your application. Actually, in many admissions offices, submitting an over-abundance of support materials is considered a negative. Better one or two really good recommendations, for instance, than a dozen form letters, no matter how impressive the signers.

3. Timing can be everything – Don’t miss the deadline! Get your application in even if other materials are on the way. Admissions offices are used to mail delays, and you may be at some disadvantage if materials are delayed too long, but you can most significantly decrease your admission potential by missing the deadline (Shameless plug: don’t forget – Mason’s deadline is January 15!)

4. Make your list and check it twice (or even three times) – No matter how silly the questions may seem, answer all of them. Every bit as important, EDIT your responses. If the system will let you save an application in process, save it before you submit and get a really good proofreader to look over your work. (Shameless plug – a holiday shout out to Brydin, my tireless, chipper elf who is saddled with editing my musings for this blog – thanks B!).

5. Explanations and not excuses – If your record shows some period of weak performance, explain what happened, but take responsibility for your actions and let the admissions office know why they should believe you will do better. By the way, the worst excuse possible is that the teacher hated you. It leads, even if only in the back of our minds, to the suspicion that the teacher may be right.

6. Still time to show improvement – The best way to show that you can do better is…to do better! If you think you are on an upward trajectory, whether you think your next quarter/semester grades will be much better or your next take of the SAT/ACT is far improved, mention those issues in your application. Ask them to wait for updated records. Many schools do so routinely in any event – so now is the time to REALLY shine.

7. When to stand out and when to sit down – Some of the more bizarre advice I find in other (clearly less honest/accurate) blogs and web sites is that applicants should try to make themselves “stand out.” Have we learned nothing from the geniuses that brought us “High School Musical?” Of course, anyone in high school can tell you that the only safe reason to stand out is some kind of incredible sports or arts success. Standing out for anything else is likely to get your stuffed in a locker, or worse. The same can be said for the admissions process. If you have to TRY to be funny, get noticed, do something outrageously different with your application, you are just as likely to hurt your chances of admission as you are to help. There’s just no way to know if the person reviewing your application has any sense of humor at all (or taste, good judgment, fashion sense…you get the idea). Unless you’re trying to get into a school you consider a total long shot, I’d consider whether standing out is as outstanding as it sounds.

8. Make it personal – Don’t forget to mention how much you want to enroll at the school to which you apply. If that college or university is your first choice, by all means make sure you let them know. Even better, personalize your essay/supplemental statement to tell them (briefly!) why you think you would be a great match at that institution. Be careful, however, when cutting and pasting. As in previous years I have already gotten a couple of applicants with essays detailing how very much they want to go to Cornell University – you can imagine my reaction to such information.

9. But don’t take it personally – Even as I advise you to personalize your reasons for wanted to enroll, try to keep your perspective on the process. The people reading your application probably never met you, and if they did, they barely know you. Their evaluation will largely be based on the materials you submit but mostly your academic record. Once you realize that it’s not about YOU, that the process is designed to focus on a bunch of materials, you may, I hope, be able to take some of the stress out of waiting for the results.

10. Oh the places you’ll go – Most importantly is that the admissions process does NOT, no matter what may hear from admissions officers emails, letters, texts and Facebook pages, determine your success. There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the country, and the evidence says which one you attend has very little to do with how successful you will be. Wherever you are admitted and eventually enroll, it is your talent and effort that will determine your future success.

Finally, my New Years/holiday wish for all of you: I hope you get in everywhere you apply, I hope you get every scholarship you want…and I hope you come to Mason (Shameless plug – application deadline still January 15!!!). Be seeing you!

Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, College Search Process, Deadlines, Education, Essays, GPA, George Mason University, Grades, High School, Life, Parents, Recommendations, University | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

More humbug – admit letters CAUSE stress

Posted on December 16, 2009 by deanflagel

Most of you probably assume that getting your applications submitted and receiving your admission letters will relieve all that overwhelming stress you’ve been feeling. That’s definitely the way it should be (and I’m sure is, if you were lucky enough to be admitted to Mason). Unfortunately an increasing number of colleges have found new and inventive ways to screw that up. To explain, a holiday parable:

Once upon a time, college and university admissions officers had a great idea. These wonderful caring individuals thought students should have the crucial information they need to make up their minds about which college or university to attend before any decision deadline. These fine, upstanding admissions leaders felt that those students should have a reasonable amount of time to do so, and should be able to do so without risking losing money or the best dorm room or being threatened by letters that sound like they were drafted by former mafia goons who have gone to work for creditor services.

And so, in a fit of compassion and reason, the colleges and universities agreed on the May 1 deadline – an agreement that, no matter when colleges and univeristies admitted freshmen, the students would have until May 1 to make up their minds. This was particularly important since most colleges and universities can’t get out financial aid information until late March or early April, and a month seemed fair.

Ah, the good old days. Then…or so the story goes…a few admissions officers had an idea. They had an awful idea. (With respect to Dr. Seuss) They had a wonderful, awful idea. The colleges and universities would SAY that students could use the May 1 deadline, but at the same time send very threatening letters. These sneaky admissions officers would claim that they just MIGHT not have ENOUGH space so that they just HAVE to force students to choose sooner. Sure, they know that this is especially unfair to the students inexperienced with the process, with the lowest income and overcoming the most challenges – but hey, they have budgets to meet. So off they went, asking students to commit earlier and earlier, and then refusing to refund deposits when they were sent in haste in response to their threats.

They’d even, I suspect, keep the last can of Who Hash.

Yes, I’m calling them Grinches. Too subtle?

Here’s where I send out a challenge. I’m sticking to the May 1 deadline. I’m so convinced that Mason is the right place for a lot of you and that you can make a good decision given time and good information that I’m willing to take that risk. Some colleges will send you an admit letter that reads like a chain letter, “you’d better send us money RIGHT NOW or else bad things will happen…Elmira Jones of Paducah, Kentucky failed to send in her deposit. She ended up with no room on campus, early Friday morning classes, and her cat died the next day. Don’t let this happen to you.” If you follow my logic, institutions that put on this pressure probably, while I can’t be one hundred percent sure, suck. They suck the life right out of you. That’s right – colleges that break the May 1 deadline could, just possibly, be entirely populated by soulless vampires. I realize that will be incredibly appealing to the Twi-hards in the audience.

For the rest of you, however, I encourage you to stand up for yourselves. If and when a college puts on this kind of pressure, push back. Tell them you want to be guaranteed you won’t lose a good spot if you wait for May 1 to get a chance to compare your options and see your aid packages. And if they won’t, tell them their hearts must be, at least, two sizes too small. And then come to Mason. Be seeing you.

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Urgent deadlines and other holiday humbug

Posted on December 3, 2009 by deanflagel

I realize that the holiday time should be filled with good cheer, but somehow marketing efforts during this period always manage to Grinch up my mood. I’m already, for instance, completely sick of the Best Buy ad with holiday carolers singing some wretched holiday ditty with the words replaced by excruciatingly cheery descriptions of the wonderful bargains available.

College and university recruitment are sadly not immune to this vandalization of holiday sentiment. Most of you will likely receive scads (a technical term meaning, “lots”) of holiday cards, postcards, emails, text, voicemails, and, possibly, carrier pigeons letting you know how very very deeply XYZ college and ABC University feel about you having a merry outlook.

Bah.

Of course, to make sure you know just where our thoughts REALLY are, nearly all of these lovely missives (technical term meaning, “junk mail”) will remind you of an UPCOMING APPLICATION DEADLINE that YOU SHOULD NOT MISS. Also, BE VERY AFRAID of missing THIS URGENT DEADLINE because all of your friends, enemies, frenemies, and acquaintances have already applied because everyone (EVERYONE) wants to come to OUR school and you may be missing your ONLY CHANCE if you don’t ACT NOW.

Humbug.

Not that deadlines aren’t important…they are. And yes, I’ll insert the requisite shameless plug here that Mason’s final application deadline is January 15th. It’s not the deadline reminders that snuff my menorah – it’s the constant effort to elicit some level of panic in a process already chock full (technical term for, “very full”) of stress.

This is supported by media stories with bizarre statements like, “the admissions landscape is more unsure than ever before,” or, “competition for space will be tougher than ever this year.” In twenty years in admissions I have yet to get through this season without seeing these phrases used over and over again. I have no idea what the “admissions landscape” is (I picture a nice pastoral print), but I can tell you that competition is pretty much what it is every year – competition at many schools, less so others, and really easy at a bunch. Of course, you may not know which one is which, but why spoil all of the surprises?

In the spirit of the season, I’m going to try to forgive all my colleagues in admissions and the media who feed this frenzy, even the ones that send out really annoying holiday cards. In the meantime, I’m headed to Best Buy – I hear they have a great deal on Festivus poles, and I NEED to air my grievances…possibly while I’m in the store, and potentially in the form of a rewritten holiday carol. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Be seeing you.

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Thanks and the SAT Rap

Posted on November 27, 2009 by deanflagel

Happy Thanksgiving! You know what this holiday means, of course…that’s right, college application deadlines. Most of the country is busy trying to re-create the quality intellectual experience of Big Brother by gathering numerous family members into the same small space for extended periods, offering endless opportunities for nerve fraying drama. High school seniors, however, know that the emotional impact of these interactions pales compared to the stress of trying to get your essays drafted and your applications submitted in between answering endless questions from grandma about, “what you’re going to do with your life.”

Shameless plug: As your stress levels mount, don’t forget that December 1 is Mason’s deadline for application submission if you want to be considered for our Honors program and/or scholarships!

Before I give in to a turkey induced semi-comatose state, from which I plan to awaken only to eat pie and grumble about some sports team, I wanted to pass along my annual reminders for the season to try to keep the stress in check, and to give thanks to the people helping you through this process.

High school guidance and college counselors, take very little time to enjoy the holiday. They are busy making lists and checking the twice – for transcript submission, for letters of recommendation, and for dozens and dozens of forms that must be submitted, all with various deadlines. No matter their caseload or their school, they work long hours, generally with little recognition from the school or students as to how crucial their role is in the process. Please – let them know how much you appreciate what they are doing for you…and, of course, there’s no better time to suck up to the people who are writing your recommendations…

My other holiday wish for all of you is to keep this process in perspective. Don’t let the cranky deans of admission grinch up your holiday season. Just keep reminding yourself that there are LOTS of wonderful colleges and universities, and LOTS of paths to success. This process, despite the messages often conveyed by our marketing, does NOT decide the rest of your life – you do.

A post to the national admissions e-list reminded me of both why I so appreciate my colleagues on the high school side, and that this process works best when not taken TOO seriously. The students of Williamsburg Charter High School in Brookyln, NY have produced their own rap video about the SAT…among my least favorite parts of the process, and the one that unreasonably causes the most stress. Give it a listen, let them know what you think of it…then go back in, tell grandma you’re going to be a huge success, and have another helping of family, friends, and food. Be seeing you.

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2012: predicting the end of the world or admissions: whichever comes first

Posted on November 24, 2009 by deanflagel

The web (and even Southpark) seems abuzz with “news”, based very scientifically on the promotional efforts of the movie, 2012, that the Mayans predicted the end of the world. I realize this seems rather gloomy news for Thanksgiving week, but fortunately I don’t believe that it’s all that easy to predict the future. I get reminded of this every year when I hear from educators and families convinced that they KNOW who will get into particular colleges.

Horse. Hockey.

The belief that admissions is predictable is just one of the three great myths of the college admissions process (I covered the other two, that admissions is fair and that admissions is simple a while back), but it may be the most persistent.

One of the main sources of this confusion is that there is a ton of data you can find that LOOKS like it will help you predict admission. This is true to some degree – it’s unlikely you’ll be getting into the most competitive school with failing grades and lousy scores. The data, however, is often misleading, suggesting that you can make very specific correlations between particular grades and/or scores and admission decisions. Unfortunately, you won’t ever have all of the information you need. Colleges don’t explain, in any useful way for predictive purposes, how they weigh grades, compare scores with grades, weigh essays and recommendations, etc. If you just see a range of grades, for instance, you don’t know how those compare to scores (did the one low score correspond with a valedictorian level GPA; was the low GPA tied to a perfect score?). And then, of course, there are different schools, different courses, different grading scales…and colleges just don’t tell you how they handle any of that.

Of course even if you did have all of that data on how any institution handled those matters in prior years, you still wouldn’t have everything you need to predict admission. You don’t know which of their applicants were children of alumni, had their family name on a building, or were athletes, class leaders, or world class dancers.

Speaking of dance, shameless plug time. Despite my tremendous lack of artistic talent I periodically get invited to parties with our arts faculty, who I presume invite me largely out of pity (I’ll take it). As a result, on Saturday I went to a fabulous party hosted by Mason faculty member Susan Shields, one of my all time favorite dance/choreographers. Her husband is now one of my all time favorite cooks, but that’s beside the point. At the event I met another Mason faculty member, Boris Willis. Boris teaches in the dance department AND our program in computer Game Design (what a combination!) and blogged a dance a day last year. I think he and I could be friends if it wasn’t for this blinding jealousy that threatens to consume my soul…

So where was I?
Even if you did know all the ways colleges use admissions data AND knew which applicants were special cases, you also have to bear in mind that the needs of institutions change from year-to-year. I might really need more players of double-reeded instruments, more women in my engineering program, or more students from the west coast. Those issues aren’t published anywhere, but are critical aspects of how colleges shape their classes.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, applications are evaluated by people. This may come as a shock to those of you who assumed that admissions offices were populated by soulless demons intent on your personal misery, but mostly these are people who care a great deal about students. These very caring individuals will each have their own perspectives, ideas, quirks, and, possibly, mental instabilities, so naturally their interpretations of your scholastic record, not to mention your essays, may vary widely.

This lack of predictability is, I suspect, one of the main reasons why students submit so many more applications now then they did just a couple of years ago, which makes admission rates look lower, which makes students apply to more colleges, which lowers admissions rates, which…well, you get the picture.

I realize that this uncertainty causes more stress. The best advice I can give hasn’t changed much in all the time I’ve been writing this blog – don’t take this process personally, and don’t get too focused on one school (unless, of course, it’s Mason). There are lots of great schools out there for you (some almost as great as Mason) and your success will depend much more on how you do in school than which one you attend. Try not to worry about the Mayans’ predictions either – just relax and have another helping of turkey. Be seeing you.

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Twihards, Gleesters, and Senior Stress

Posted on November 19, 2009 by deanflagel

Thanks to the strange convergence of Glee and Twilight/Vampire Diaries mania, the incredible pressure of high school is clearer than ever (would it KILL Bella to think a little more seriously about college? Well maybe, but even so…). And if the danger of Slushies-in-the-face and the undead aren’t enough, you seniors have the added exasperation of the admissions process.

First, of course, you are all but required to agonize over where you will apply. Unfortunately, getting your applications submitted doesn’t usually ease your burden in the least. Apart from the stress about whether or not you’ll get admitted (more on that soon) you have the awful, gut-wrenching torture of messages from colleges about your applications – messages seemingly designed for the express purpose of driving you into therapy (or possibly a relationship with the undead).

A recent discussion on the e-list of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling focused on one perennial source of this exasperation, commonly referred to as “lack letters.” These are messages, sent through the postal mail along with email, text and, quite possibly, directly into your brain letting you know that materials MIGHT be MISSING from your application.

A good friend, Patrick O’Conner, guidance counselor at the Roeper School in Michigan and former president of the admissions association posted a breakdown of one such message and the explanations he provides to his students. It is so good (and translatable to pretty much any high school) that I asked his permission to include it for your enjoyment. Sample message excerpts from the college/university are in italics, with Pat’s response below:

*******************************
“Our Records Indicate…”

It seems pretty amazing at first. You just sent your application in last week, and the day after you hit “submit”, you gave your counselor the form they need to mail in to complete your application. Now there’s a letter from the admissions office waiting for you at home. Did they say yes? Did they say no? It’s a thin envelope, and people say that’s usually bad news from a college, right?

Yes, but in this case, it’s not the bad news you think it is.

“Thank you for your application. Our records indicate we have not received your high school transcript. Please contact your high school counselor and have them submit a transcript just as soon as possible.”

You’re confused at first-you did that already.

Then you’re really confused-you did that already.

Then you’re angry-you did that already! What’s going on here?

What’s going on is you’re part of a large number of students who are getting these letters needlessly. There are three reasons why:

1. When you submit your application electronically, the admissions computer checks to see if your transcript has been “checked in”-in other words, if the transcript has been sent, opened, and entered in the computer. When does this check happen? About the same time you give the paper form to me-so of course it’s not there. The computer then generates the letter, and it’s nightmare on your street.

2. If you sent your application by snail mail, it’s part of a mountain of letters in the admissions office (remember, everyone tends to apply at the same time) that can take the college up to a month to open. Your transcript is in that mound of mail, as well – it’s just that they happened to open your application first, and it may take another 3 weeks before they happen to open the letter from me.

3. With 49 other seniors applying to between 6-8 colleges per person, you may be number 30 or 35 in line for transcript requests. Since most colleges want me to answer some questions as well as send the transcript, this can take time, along with the other duties I have– like hosting the college reps that visit Roeper, so I can tell them in person how great you are. As the College Counseling Web site states, transcript requests will generally be sent out in 10 school days after they are received. It might be that yours goes out the next day-but at this time of year, it’s more likely to go out on day 9 or 10.

So what do you do? If it’s been less than a week since you sent in your application, wait a week, then call the college (or check online) to see if your transcript is there. If the letter says “We must have your transcript in the next 3 days”, call the college immediately to see if the transcript was checked in after the letter was mailed. Either way, if it’s still not there when you call, bring the letter to me…

…and don’t go crazy. 95% of the time, the transcript is there in Mount O’Mail waiting to be opened. The rest of the time, the college will gladly wait for a second copy to be mailed or faxed. In any case, I’ve never had a student’s decision impacted by a transcript that wasn’t checked in-so it’s still important to get the information in, but it’s not a deal breaker, no matter what their well-meaning records indicate.
********************

Great advice, and my thanks to Pat (and a shout-out for checking out the website for his book, www.collegeisyours.com). With that in mind you can go back to your regularly scheduled stress – wondering whether Bella will manage to date Finn and whether they’ll win the regional show choir competition or get eaten by werewolves…or both (now THAT’S a show I’d like to see!).

Shameless Plug: Speaking of Glee (sort of…indirectly…not really) I attended one of our phenomenal student dance concerts last week, with some amazing choreography by our own students (way to go Caroline!!), which again confirmed for me that Mason is THE premier dance program in the D.C. region!

Be seeing you.

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Parent involvement: a fowl affair

Posted on November 12, 2009 by deanflagel

I was up late last night dressing a turkey. Unfortunately consumption of said turkey will not be an option, as the fowl in question is on poster-board, a second grade assignment for my son, which we’ve left to the last minute. The task sheet that came home with poster-board specifically asked this to a “family” project, and so there I was debating with a seven-year-old the most appropriate material to accurately approximate a turkey’s wattle. I, by the way, lost.

This intensive involvement in such a trivial school task may help explain the volume of calls admissions offices receive this time of year from parents. We’ve been trained by the schools to BE INVOLVED. Not surpsingly, this leads to repeated questions wondering just how involved parents should be in the admissions process.

Very.

My colleagues in admissions are probably already rolling their eyes, since the conventional wisdom is that parents are already “over-involved” in the admissions process. I hear routinely the complaints about so-called “helicopter” parents – those who hover around their students. Most of you have probably heard the whack-a-doo stories, like the college graduate who brought his mom on job interviews. Along those lines, I’ll admit that my concern gets raised when parents feel the need to speak for their students. One of the more uncomfortable situations are applicant interviews where the parent won’t let the student get a word in edgewise.

Those extreme cases, however, do a real disservice to the vast majority of families trying to work their way through a complex, stressful process with tremendous financial implications. I welcome the shift, still completely bizarre to me, that has prospective students WANTING their parents involved in the process. My colleagues that whine and moan when parents call them asking questions, queries that these admissions officers feel should be left to the applicants, may be (and I say this with a great deal of affection and respect for my peers) ding dongs. Every survey of prospective students I’ve seen finds that the parents have more influence over this process than any other source. No amount of media attention, athletic success, or guidance counselor relations will have the weight in an enrollment decision as mom or dad.

There are, of course, limits. I encourage parents to join students during college visits, edit application essays, and nag about deadlines. [NOTE/shameless plug: Mason’s fall prospective student event is this Saturday, November 14!). I discourage parents from conducting their own tour of campuses without bringing a student along, writing application essays, or submitting applications for the student. This is a vital issue, as the vast majority of complaints I receive each year about problems with the application process are from parents. It appears, for reasons that science so far is at a loss to explain, that being a parent makes the application submission process entirely bewildering. I work with thousands of adult students who have no problems with the process, so I don’t think this is age issue. Instead I’m increasingly convinced that being a parent of a student at a particular time in their educational career (applying to college, for instance) causes a chemical to be released in the body that has a particularly negative impact on the brains neuro-receptors causing the parent to lose the ability to follow basic instructions.

Unfortunately, I suspect that this chemical reaction is not limited to the college application process time period, and may appear first in early elementary school, but that’s just a suspicion. You’ll have to excuse me now – I apparently need to go glue some kind of feathers on a poster-board turkey. Be seeing you.

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Essay advice from a high profile guest

Posted on November 3, 2009 by deanflagel

Trying something a little different, below is a special guest post from my colleague, Jon Reider, Director of College Counseling at San Francisco High School and former associate director of admissions at Stanford University. It may be a wee bit confusing as I have infused his article with some points (mostly counterpoints) with some notes from yours truly:

Five Traits That Matter in College Admissions
By Jon Reider

College admissions becomes more competitive every year,
Geez, I couldn’t even wait to let him finish his first sentence! Much as I respect Jon, the idea that college admissions is much more competitive isn’t supported by the data. There are a lot more applications, but not so many more applicants compared to the number of spaces available. A small handful of schools have gotten more competitive, but others less so. Of course, Mason is WAY more competitive, but that’s just because we’re so popular. Now, what were you saying?

…and high grades and test scores can no longer make an applicant stand out.
What?! Of course they make you stand out! It’s MOSTLY about the grades!

Students have one shot to personally impress admissions officers – the essays.
And recommendations. And lists of extracurriculars. And at Mason you can submit a YouTube video…

Colleges want to see depth in your personality. A strong essay that harnesses your voice and shows the ‘true you’ often can make a difference in your evaluation.
Unless we don’t really like the true you…

When writing your application essay, consider these five traits that admissions officers usually look for:

Vulnerability
Don’t pretend you are a superhero! Through your essay, you need to address the admissions officer who reads it – an adult with their own life experiences, who does not know you but wants to get to know you better. Colleges want students who know they are human and who have developed through challenging themselves.
Hmmm. I see what you mean, but if I could enroll a superhero, I have to admit I’d be tempted. I mean, not Hulk or Wolverine – too much damage to campus. Green Lantern would be a good Mason fit – already has the right colors…

Reflectiveness/Insight
Have you grown with your experiences? Do you look inward and learn from both your successes and failures? Admissions officers look for students who take every opportunity to mature. It is one thing to simply write about what has happened to you, and another to show how you have changed because of these events.
No argument here – insightful seems better than not insightful.

Brevity
Admissions officers have long days. They might be reading your application at 9am over a cup of coffee or at 11PM before going to sleep. The phones might be ringing in the background. It should not take 110% of their focus to get through your essays. Be succinct and clear. Is that string of 10-letter adjectives really necessary to express yourself, or are you just trying to show off your vocabulary?
yes – short good.

Likeability
A college is a community, and admissions officers want to know how you interact with others. When writing an essay, try to work in an example of a time in which you brought people together. Perhaps it was with humor, or good-will, or sincerity. The person reading your essay should want to be your friend and not just on facebook.
Unless the admissions officer is an unlikable introvert who really hates the popular people. No really, it happens.

Intellectuality
Tell the truth, Jon, is that a word?

If your transcript shows you know how to take a test, you may be tempted to think you don’t need to write about academics. More than grades, however, admissions officers want to know how ideas move you. Will you go to class because you have to, or will you go because you truly love learning? Try to illustrate a time when you were motivated by learning itself, and not just by a high grade.

Jon Reider is the former Senior Associate Director of Admission for Stanford University. He has created curriculum for developing application essays and is the principal advisor to iAdmissions, a unique essay counseling service.
That being said, Jon’s a pretty smart guy, and his points are well taken. And, fortunately, he has a good sense of humor, I hope. Do me a favor and check out his new book, Admissions Matters, just in case he isn’t thrilled with my commentary. Be seeing you.

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Early admission…trick or treat?

Posted on October 29, 2009 by deanflagel

It is entirely possible that I am not one of the world’s more patient people. I find myself fuming in line at the grocery store, building up serious resentment for customers in front of me who insist on paying by check (making notes in their checkbook worthy of a novella). I’m even worse when some poor soul is paying with old fashioned cash, usually while trying to include a wide variety of coins from various pockets/purse compartments.

So while I glare at the microwave for making my popcorn FAR too slowly, there are a handful of things I’d like to last a bit longer. My favorite holiday, for instance, is Halloween. Costumes – good. Candy – good. What’s not to love? I don’t expect my favorite Holiday to last forever, but you’d think we could at least get to the day of the holiday before we dump into the Hana-ramadana-mus/Chrismakah rush. So there I was yesterday, strolling (rushing) through the grocery store “promotions” aisle looking for a few more bags of candy (and maybe just one more 8 foot inflatable light up mummy) when I realize I have a far better chance of getting a singing Rudolph (with Menorah for antlers) than finding a shred of celebratory material for my beloved.

Bah. Humbug.

This may explain, to some small extent, why I find the discussion of early admission programs so aggravating. I sympathize with those of you who just want the process done and your decision made leaving you free to enjoy your senior year. At the same time, I think that many of you underestimate the potential of actually ENJOYING picking a school – of getting more than one admission and being able to take some time, compare your choices, and make an informed decision, rather than rushing the process. Would you, for instance, be willing to, absolutely and without hesitation, commit by November 1 to a prom date?

This is why many colleges and universities (like Mason!) offer early action. Early action let’s you apply and (usually) get your admission decision early, but with NO COMMITMENT. You have, at nearly every college and university, until May 1 of your senior year to make up your mind! How relaxing! NOTE/Shameless plug: Mason’s early action deadline is Monday, November 2nd, so stop relaxing and apply now!

A few colleges have figured out that they can look nice by not having Early Decision (see last post) but still (sort of) forcing you to commit. These are the (at times completely inexplicable) “restricted” or “single-choice” or “bizarre” Early Action plans. These institutions offer you “Early Action” as long as you are not applying through any other restricted early process. Did that make sense? No? I sympathize, I really do. Go have a nice candy cane or chocolate dreidel to make yourself feel better. Happy Halloween! Be seeing you.

Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, Deadlines, Education, Life, University | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Who gets the worm?

Posted on October 21, 2009 by deanflagel

Early can be good: first in line, best seat at the concert, first to start an incredibly cool new trend. It can also be bad: awkwardly early to a party; waiting hours for an event to start; or first to start what you hoped would be a trend, but turns out to be a huge embarrassment about which your so-called friends, when they stumble upon your profile years later, will make epic and humiliating Facebook posts (and yes, I am grateful for the ability to delete tags from pictures, particularly pictures from the 80’s).

As in life, being early has plusses and minuses in the admissions process. Fortunately the colleges and universities all got together many years ago to create a series of terms and policies to clarify all of these issues. When that got too confusing, we came together again and re-clarified, adding new and more wonderful terminology. As with most of college admissions, this has left the process clear as mud.

For the detailed terminology, I recommend the website of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling. They break the kinds of admissions processes down into “restrictive” and “non restrictive”, which I think is helpful. Those of you who are high school seniors, however, will likely think “early” and “not as early”, since this time of year your life is dominated by deadlines, so I’ll just focus on the early options.

Disclosure note: George Mason University has an Early Action program, and not early decision.

The big grand daddy of early admissions processes is called, “EARLY DECISION.” I write it all in caps to make it appear appropriately ominous. The theory is that you pick just one school to apply “ED”, and if that school offers you admission you are committed to attend.

Colleges and universities largely rely on high schools to enforce this commitment, so high schools are only supposed to send a transcript for one ED application. If you receive an ED acceptance you’re supposed to withdraw any other applications you’ve submitted.

ED was designed, I’m told, for all of you super, hyper-achieving students who already know for sure where you want to go, thereby reducing the long stressful wait for admission decisions in the spring. I have to admit, however, that I suspect it was (or at least is) really designed to allow colleges and universities to lock in you super, hyper-achieving students without giving you as much time to consider your options.

As you might have guessed, I’m not a fan of ED. Most of you can’t even decide who you want to date from day to day let alone having less time to decide which school to pick. You should also note that you won’t have any chance to compare financial aid packages, although in theory you can drop your ED if the financial aid ends up being “insufficient”.

Every admissions officer I’ve met HATES when admissions is compared to buying a car. I understand – this is an educational decision, and car sales have a bad reputation, and we try not to upsell you on the satellite radio package and rust-proofing when you select a college. That being said, I see ED as kind of like walking into a car dealership and saying, “I definitely want THIS car from THIS dealer – no worries, I’m not going to look anywhere else!” I mean, who does that?

Of course, that would make sense if that really was the ONE car you really wanted and that dealer really was the only one that had that car, and they had a limited number, and your chances of getting your hands on that model improved somewhat if you made such a declaration. But remember – the college selection process is NOT like buying a car.

Simply put – early decision means early commitment. It is true that for many schools with ED applying in that process improves your admission chances to some degree, so I can’t tell you it’s a bad idea for you. I can, however, remind you that there are over 4,000 colleges and universities out there and that it’s very likely more than one is a great fit for you. Next up – the OTHER early options. Be seeing you.

Editor’s note – Dean Flagel asked that I note that he managed to use dominated, restrictive, ED, and early all in the same article and still kept the tone appropriate. So noted.

Author’s note – not even ONE reference to a little blue pill!

Filed under: Admissions, Applications, College, College Admissions, Deadlines, Education, Family, Life, University | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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