How To Get A Good College Degree

Transcription

1 The Top Ten Things that Parents Should Remember About the College Search Process As Recommended by Middlebury College It is good, of course, that students and parents approach the process jointly, but we all know that at its best, the process itself can prepare students for the independence that they will experience in college. The following list contains some possible symptoms of parental over involvement. 10. Remember that this process in not about you. No matter how similar your children may be to you, they need to make their own decisions and observations. 9. Support and encouragement are more appropriate than pressure and unsolicited advice. Allow your children to seek you out and restrain yourself from imposing your viewpoint upon them. 8. Do not use the words we or our when referring to your children s application process. Those little pronouns are surefire indicators that you have become too involved. 7. Help them prepare but let them perform. Encourage them to sleep well and put thought into a college visit, but once on campus, step back and let them drive the experience. This is good practice for the next phase of their lives adulthood. 6. Encourage your children to make their own college appointments, phone calls, and s. When a family arrives at an admissions office, it s important that the student approach the front desk, not the parents. We notice! Having control over those details gives them a sense of ownership. Don t be tempted by the excuse that I m just saving them time or They are too busy students will learn to appreciate all the steps it takes to make big things happen if they do them. 5. Allow your children to ask the questions. They have their own set of issues that are important to them. 4. Prepare your children for disappointment. For many students this is the first time they could face bad news. Remind them there is no perfect school and those admissions decisions do not reflect on their worth as people or your worth as parents. 3. Never complete any portion of the college application yes, even if it is just busy work. That also goes for friends, siblings, counselors, and secretaries. For many colleges, that overstep would be viewed as a violation of the honor policy at the school. 2. Do not let stereotypes or outdated information steer your children away from schools in which they would otherwise have an interest. Times have changed and so have colleges. And the #1 Thing for Parents to Remember about the College Search Process is: 1. Never, ever, during a college visit buy a sweatshirt or t-shirt from the bookstore in your size it s a dead giveaway!

2 Quick Notes about the College Process Getting in and Staying in College The first rule to remember is that there are no hard and fast rules. It is critical to understand the process so that you can help your children make informed decisions. That your child goes to college is more important than where he goes. Fifty-four percent of U.S. students entering college obtain a degree within six years. Over 30% of students drop out in their first year and over 50% never graduate. This makes choosing a college that fits critical. Selectivity Research universities that have great reputations and extensive graduate programs. However, top research faculty members do not have to teach. The Carnegie Commission reports that 75% of all college faculty place teaching as their third or lower priority. The single most important trait contributing to undergraduate student success is accessibility to faculty. Many of the large state schools are extremely selective for out of state applicants. For example, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last year admitted only 17% (597) of its freshman class from out of state. That 597 competed with a total of 17,000 applicants. They are one of the Public Ivies. Rankings and the Business of College The U.S. News and World Report rankings have created an ethical dilemma for some colleges. It is their swimsuit issue. Often the magazine s rankings criterion drives colleges admission policies and/or data reporting. Students and parents who are comparison shopping for colleges are limited to information that focuses almost exclusively on a school s reputation, defined by such measures as average SAT or ACT scores, selectivity (the percentage of applicants offered admission) and yield (the percentage of admitted students who enroll). A college s bond rating (ability to borrow) is a function of rankings, SAT scores, quality of incoming class, etc.

3 Strategies Many schools have begun giving weight to the interest shown by applicants. Some schools are now requiring a demonstration of interest as a condition of acceptance even for the best students. When asked, What other schools are you applying, students should list a few of the same type of school, with no reaches and try to make a case for this being their first choice school. Be aware of yield colleges reject top applicants, taking only those likely to enroll. Colleges want to be sure they are not a student s safety school. Some colleges accept more relatives of alumni, not just to please prospective donors, but also because legacies enroll at a 5% to 10% higher rate than other students. All things being equal, colleges like applicant diversity (high school, geographic, ethnic, etc.). There are now better odds for boys. Schools are admitting between 3 and 12% more male applicants than female. Colleges like to fill majors that have a short supply of applicants with certain demographic characteristics (e.g. female engineers). One could get rejected at a school when applying as a major in a very competitive field... and get accepted to that same school as an undeclared major. Liberal Arts may be the best major if applicants are unsure. Many corporations have indicated that they would take a good Liberal Arts graduate over a business major. Remember, employers usually train their employees. Have students apply as early as possible. Admission officers are human. If they have extra time, they may go the extra mile in reviewing the application. Early applicants at schools with rolling admissions have a definite edge. Applying early shows that you really want that school. Therefore, the college may dip deeper into the early applicant pool since they know these students will attend. The early admit acceptance rate is approximately 46%. The overall acceptance rate is approximately 20%. Although you may have a better chance of admission by applying Early Decision, you will be unable to compare aid packages. As a result, schools do not release as much aid in the first round of admissions. Colleges are not looking for the well-rounded student; they are looking for the well-rounded class. The most overrated quality is the sense on the part of many applicants that the number of extracurricular activities is more important than simply having stuck with one or two interests. A demonstrated passion, rare talent, athletic pursuit or long fought endeavor that bodes well for future contributions is now sought. If a student is applying to a program such as music, art or design, he/she may have to document prior work by auditioning on campus or submitting an audiotape, slides, or some other sample of work to demonstrate his/her ability.

4 Online Tips Be careful with unknowing impressions students may create with the use of technology. MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. can show evidence of partying and/or inappropriate behavior. This has led to denials of admission and rejection from honor/scholarship programs. Screen names like Beachbabe and inappropriate passwords created when logging onto college websites will influence admissions officers. Be careful of a new form of reputation-maligning: online posting with offensive content and personal attacks can be stored forever and are easily accessible through a Google search. Be careful of scam websites like Commonap.org (missing the second p ). Commonap.org is owned by Informtion.com which is owned by a marketing company named Oversee.net. They are in the business of advertising (in a very misleading way) on misspelled or mistakenly hit sites. A simple way to learn the origin of any site is to look at the SOURCE information which you will find on your browser s View menu. College searches seem to be particularly ripe for these scams. Financial Aid Tips Fill out the FAFSA financial aid form and submit it as soon as possible after January 1 of the senior year. Make sure your high school senior does not have any money in his or her name. Need Blind and Merit scholarships are not always one and the same. Sometimes Need Blind are given simply to get warm bodies in. Less elite schools are discounting seats and calling it merit aid. Wiggle room. Financial Aid packages are negotiable. Approximately 15% of families appeal to Amherst University and about two-thirds of them get an improved aid package. Average boost: $2,000. Some Ideas to Consider Canadian colleges are academically excellent and relatively reasonable. The most expensive of these cost approximately $14,000 U.S. a year in tuition, room and board. Schools like McGill University, The University of Toronto, and The University of British Columbia in Queens are frequently compared to the finest American schools. See MacLeans magazine for Canadian school rankings. Schools with internship programs may be a valuable consideration. The recruiting patterns for 43 Fortune 500 companies showed hiring interns rather than recruiting on campus saved them an average of about $7,000 per hire. Two-year colleges are the best way to become certified for certain occupations. They are a cost effective way to complete the first two years of college. It also allows students the opportunity to prove they are serious about performing at the college level.

5 Strategies that Colleges Use Colleges look at methods of lowering acceptance rate (as opposed to increasing yield), where students are courted to apply then rejected. If students are getting a lot of mail from colleges, it is because they checked a box on their SAT or PSAT registration permitting the College Board to sell lists of student names to colleges. Congratulatory letters that arrive in the mail boxes of high school juniors with impressive PSAT and SAT scores are from the marketing executives for some of our nation s finest colleges. They seem to be making promises that their admissions offers cannot keep. When a student receives congratulatory letters, it is difficult for even the most strong willed high school student to accept the notion that a wait-list or rejection letter is still possible.