What To Do While You Wait To Hear

This is a rough time for high school seniors. (Don’t close this post yet, juniors. You’ll be here in exactly one year, and it’s good to know what to expect.)   There’s the flurry of panicked and pressured activity in the fall to get those early decision applications in.  Then there’s the second burst of activity for all those regular decision applications.  By now, you’ve probably heard from your early decision schools.  And you may have even heard from some rolling admission schools.

Now what? Now you wait.  While you’re waiting, read some advice I’ve collected over the years to pass on to students like you.

First of all, read this article from Forbes.com about what colleges look for in an application and how many really qualified kids don’t get in.

It’s important to know that if a college says “no,” it’s not saying that you aren’t an appropriate candidate for the school.  It’s not saying you’re not smart enough, or pretty enough, or athletic enough.  The “sorry to inform you” email merely means they’ve got enough smart, pretty, athletic kids from New York, or they wanted to round out their orchestra with a French horn player but you play the oboe, or they already have too many psychology majors.

According to this New York Times article, we should have pity on the poor colleges who have to choose.  Admissions counselors have too many qualified applicants for too few spots.  The author interviews admissions counselors who talk a little about their work load at this time of year and how they make decisions. (Juniors, pay attention!)

So when a college finally says yes, you can relax, right?

Not so fast.

First of all, the colleges that said yes want you to say yes back to them. As this New York Times article says, now is the time that colleges really turn on the charm.   Among the factors that determine which colleges are ranked close to the top and which are ranked farther down the list is a statistic called “yield,” the number of students who actually enroll from among the ranks of those who were accepted.  Harvard’s yield is very high — almost everyone who gets into Harvard goes there.  Your safety school probably has a lower yield — nearly everyone who applies will get in, but not many will wind up going to that school.  Yield makes a school look sought after, so now that the college said yes, it will do everything it can to get you to enroll.  That can make it hard to decide.  (If you need a little help sorting out the pros and cons of specific schools, feel free to email me with questions.)

With all those colleges wooing you, you might think you’ve really made it and you can finally relax. I don’t want to be a party-pooper or a buzz-kill, but you should read this LA Times article about how UCLA and other schools do withdraw acceptances from students whose grades slip too much.  And this New York Times article, entitled “Slackers, Beware” echoes the same warning.

If your grades had been all A’s and you drop down to a B+/A- , you’re probably fine.  But if your A’s are now C’s — or heaven forbid, D’s — you need to know that colleges can and do change their minds about letting you enroll.

But that won’t happen to any of MY students, right?  So take a deep breath, laugh at the juniors who are slaving away, and keep up the good work while you wait.

When you DO hear from schools, please don’t forget to let me know where you applied and which schools said no and which said yes.  I use that information to help next year’s students, just like I used the information from previous years to help you.  Thanks!

Wendy Segal

Last Minute Advice for Last Minute College Applications

I have just a few quick words of advice for those of you still finishing up the last of your college applications. Click here for a few tips by U.S. News and World Report that I wholeheartedly agree with to add to my own:

1. Have someone else look over the application before you hit send. Your eye can miss the same mistake over and over.  I always proofread these blog posts before I hit “publish,” but as I look back over them weeks later, I occasionally find a typo.  It’s hard to find your own mistakes, especially when you’ve been working on an essay for a while. But mistakes happen on the application part as well, so show it to someone before you submit.

2.  Make sure your email address works and reflects the mature side of yourself. The colleges can’t let you know if some form is missing if your mailbox is full.  Now isn’t the time for “sparkleprincess@aol” or “redsoxsuk@gmail.”  Use your name or initials.  Check your inbox often.

3.   Print out every application. Keep copies of all forms, resumes, transcripts, and score reports that you send.  If a college doesn’t receive something, you should have proof that you sent it by the deadline, and you can just fax the college another copy.

4.  Attach your user id and password to your application copy. I wish colleges would all agree on how many letters, numbers, and characters your user name and password should be, but they don’t.  If you don’t keep a copy, you’ll have trouble tracking your application through the system.

5.  Do a little research online before you write the supplement. Find out the exact name of the department or school you’re applying to within the college or university.  Don’t just call it “the business program” if you can call it “the W.J. Smithson-Frinkle School of Business.”  If you’re writing about how much you’d love to do research, look online to see if there’s a particular program or department or office you can reference.

6.  Have your SAT or ACT scores sent by the College Board or ACT directly to each school to which you apply.  It’s not good enough to have the scores on your application or transcript.  Sure it costs money.  Wait until you see how much college costs!

7.  Check with each school about a week after you apply to make sure it has your application. Usually you can check online.  Don’t skip this step – you wouldn’t believe how many students’ applications get trapped somewhere in outer space.  The time to find out whether or not your application made it is before the deadline, not afterwards.

8.  Give your guidance department enough time to process your transcript request. All of your papers and forms and scores need to reach the colleges well before the deadline.  The guidance department has to deal with college applications, PSAT concerns, scheduling problems, students’ issues at home and at school all at the same time.  Give them a break and get your application requests in as early as you can.  Fill out the guidance forms clearly, correctly, and completely.

9.  Don’t wait until the last minute to submit your application online. Read what the New York Times wrote last year on December 31st about the Common App website which got clogged during the end-of-year application crunch.  I don’t want to say ”I told you so” to you, too.

Good luck!  If you have any last-minute questions, I’ll be home all week.  Send me a message on this blog and I’ll get back to you.

Wendy Segal

10 Dumbest SAT and College Questions

Remember that teacher who said, “There are no dumb questions”? Well, she was wrong.  I occasionally answer questions on Yahoo Answers just to be a nice person in case there’s anything to that karma notion, but sometimes the questions are so foolish that I can’t believe someone asked.  I politely answer but then the next day, someone else asks.  I answer, a bit more tersely.  Then a week later, someone else asks that same question.  So I’m writing the answers here in the hope that they google the question and find the answer.

Here are a few of the dumber questions, with the answers:

1. Are these PSAT scores good?

Questioners on Yahoo Answers ask that every day — actually, several times a day.  My answer is always, “Are they good for Harvard? No.  Are they good for community college?  Sure.  Are they good if you’re an honors student getting A+ in everything?  Nope.  Are they good if you’re flunking out of high school?  Probably.”  The question really means, “Can I take the SATs without doing any more prep?”  And the answer is get out a prep book and start working, you lazy bum!

2. I missed the deadline for sending my SAT scores to colleges.  Can I still send them?

The answer is a deadline is a deadline.  That’s why they call it a deadline.  You didn’t do it – now you’re dead.  Figuratively speaking.

3.  My PSATs are really bad.  Can I improve?

Haven’t you seen all those ads for SAT prep classes?  Do you think they’d offer them if people couldn’t improve?  One complaint that academicians have against the SATs is that rich people have a huge advantage because to a small degree classes help but to a greater degree private tutoring helps.  I’ve tutored kids who have gone up 250 points in one category alone.  More common are increases of 50 -100 points in each category.  So yes, read some suggestions on this blog, go to a class, hire a tutor and you can and will improve.

4.  How do I send my scores to colleges?

If you can’t read the instructions on the website, you’re probably not ready for college.  Both the SAT website and the ACT website give very clear directions on how to order official copies of your scores to send to colleges.  You need a credit card and the name of each school or program that you want to get your scores.  They send all previous scores unless you block specific dates or tests.

5.  The college admissions website says I need to have the College Board send my scores, but they’re on my application.  Do I still need to pay to have the College Board send them?

Yup, that’s why the website says to have the College Board send them.  The first college test is if you can follow the application directions.  And you could put anything on that application.  Your guidance department might put the wrong scores on your transcript.  It’s going to cost a fortune to get through college.  It will cost less than $100 to send your scores to your schools.  Just do it.

6. Are the SATs harder than the PSATs?

Why not take a practice SAT and find out, you lazy bum?  There is a free SAT on the College Board website. Sit down and take it timed and you’ll have a reasonable idea if the SATs are harder than the PSATs.  People are different, but most consider the SATs much harder than the PSATs, so don’t get too excited by your decent PSAT scores.  The SATs are longer.  There’s an extra year of math.  The reading selections are longer and more boring.  There’s more difficult vocabulary, both in the sentence completion questions and embedded in the reading selections.  And don’t forget that there’s an essay on the SATs.

7.  I’m a senior and I’m taking my SATs for the first time next week.  What can I do to prepare?

No, I’m not kidding.  Before every SAT, this question is asked by several people, usually followed by a growing string of exclamation and question marks as the test gets closer.  If the test is a day or two away, I usually suggest they look for schools that don’t require any standardized tests.   I also recommend they read the March 2009 entries to this blog (this one and this one) which contain last-minute hints, like bringing plenty of candy and iced tea to the test, changing the calculator batteries, and wearing a watch.  Hey, you too can read all the suggestions — why am I repeating them here?

8.  My grades are really awful.  Can good SATs or ACTs overcome a bad GPA?

No.  Let me say that another way:  NO.  Unless you have a very unusual and serious reason for low grades (a hospitalized parent, frequent moves to different high schools, a documented mental or physical health issue), colleges care more about how you do in your classes over a period of time and the rigor of those classes (you know that photography isn’t as impressive as honors physics, right?) than they do about how you did on your SATs.  Get off the internet and start studying for that U.S. history exam!

9.  Can I get into [name of college] with these SATs?

Why are you asking random strangers?  Go to princetonreview.com and see what the average SATs are for colleges you’re interested in.  Understand, though, that colleges are looking for much, much more than a good SAT score.  They want kids who will fit in with their school’s atmosphere, who will add to what they already have at the school.  They want kids with intelligence, ambition, concern for the wider world, an upbeat attitude, an interest in sports, a willingness to volunteer, an ability to lead — you  have all that, right?

10. A college I’m interested in is coming to my high school.  Do I have to go to that meeting?

My, you are lazy!  If you have a school or two or ten that you’d like to check out, the more contacts you make with that school, the better.  Sign up for information on their website.  See their reps at college fairs.  Talk to their admissions counselors when they show up at your school.  Call the admissions office to ask questions for which you can’t find answers on their website.  Take advantage of the opportunity to visit the campus.

———-

Do you have a dumb question you want to ask? Go ahead. I’ll try to answer without being snide.  And I promise I won’t put your name on a future edition of “Dumbest Questions.”

Wendy Segal

First Rant: What’s the Matter with Kids Today

Usually, I write carefully worded advice for high school and occasionally middle school or college kids on some topic having to do with succeeding in high school or college.  When I work with kids each week, I am usually the model of patience and optimism.

Inside, I am often seething.

Kids can’t write.  Kids can’t read.  Kids have no idea how to construct a sentence and often aren’t quite sure what a complete sentence consists of.  Kids have an alarmingly truncated vocabulary.  (Yeah, like they would even know what “truncated” means.) When I talk to kids, I modify my speech so I don’t appear threatening by using big words.  And these are kids who have grown up with educated parents in a middle-to-upper-middle-class suburb with a highly-regarded school system who are headed for college and professional careers.

I’ve been tutoring high school kids in my town for about 22 years now. I’ve decided it’s not all the kids’ fault.

Sure, they could read more than the two books assigned for summer reading in their spare time. Of course they could read the whole assigned book rather than read Spark Notes for the chapter summaries. But if the teachers are going to gauge student compliance with the reading assignments by giving quizzes which ask the kids to regurgitate those summaries, the students would be foolish not to give up reading and go to the Spark Notes when time is tight.  I’ve asked nearly every student I’ve had over the past five years or so why their teachers are assigning literature to read, and not one of them has been able to articulate a reason.

So my first rant is about English teachers. Not all English teachers, mind you, deserve censure. Some are good (I like to think I’m pretty good).  Some are GREAT (thank you, Mrs. Joyce Garvin of River Dell Regional High School, the best English teacher in the world, as far as I’m concerned).

But I know an English teacher whose assignments so regularly contained grammar errors that my students had a find-the-error competition going on.  I know an English teacher who was surprised to hear me say that most Elizabethans didn’t speak in iambic pentameter.  I know an English teacher who told a student that “between you and I” was correct.

I’ve never heard of an English teacher who said, “Everyone should clear his desk.”  Or “Did each student bring his assignment pad?”  It only sounds odd because you’re not used to hearing it.

Even worse, most of the students I know can’t imagine reading for pleasure because they’ve never been given anything pleasurable to read.  Reading comes with chapter quizzes, outlines, skits, posters, but not with a purpose.  Books like A Tale of Two Cities and The Good Earth were taken out of the curriculum, I suppose because the teachers weren’t able to help the students understand them.  Instead, they were replaced by books written in the first person.  Even good books written in the first person, like Catcher in the Rye or To Kill A Mockingbird or The Great Gatsby don’t have complex vocabulary or sentence structure because they are trying to use colloquial speech to sound natural and realistic.

Where I’m from, English teachers generally don’t assign plays unless they were written by Shakespeare or Arthur Miller.  English teachers don’t assign novels or short stories written by authors from any country other than America or England. English teachers (with one notable exception in a nearby town) don’t assign essays or speeches. And English teachers never, ever assign anything humorous.

I know kids who’ve gone through high school taking Regents English classes who NEVER had a take-home essay to do. Well, I shouldn’t say never.  Perhaps they had one in four years, but they couldn’t remember it.  That’s shameful.  All the essays are in-class so the students can practice for the Regents exam.

My son got to college and had to take a freshman writing class.  After his first assignment, on which he got a less than stellar grade, he called me to say that he couldn’t imagine why his college writing teacher hadn’t asked them to do a poster or a presentation or a skit since he had become so proficient at them in high school.  Why, he even learned how to write in bubble letters and how to use a glitter pen!

So maybe the problem isn’t with kids after all.

I’m sure I’ll have to duck some harsh criticism about this rant, reminding me how television and computers have made it all but impossible for English teachers to teach reading and writing to kids today, but I can’t hold it in any longer.

What can parents and school districts and English teachers do to improve the situation?  Here’s what I’d love to see:

• Introduce students to works of literature from different periods of time and from different cultures.  How about a Russian short story or a play from the 1920’s?
• Offer students reading that’s slightly above their comfort level.  That’s how they’ll grow.  A juicy Agatha Christie is fun and challenging for most students.
• Try humor.  Have you ever read P.G. Wodehouse or James Thurber and kept a straight face?  How about Dave Barry or Ephraim Kishon?
• Tell students about why the work is considered worthwhile before you read it, not afterward. Maybe then they’ll start the book with a sense of purpose.
• Read for pleasure.  Have your kids read for pleasure.  No tests, no papers, no essays, no posters, no bubble letters.  Just pleasure.  Have “reading time” in school just like they do in second grade. Let the kids sit on the floor and eat a snack while they read.
• Don’t be afraid of a little controversy.  Read and discuss TIME or Newsweek’s back page essays with kids.  Read the letters to the editor of those magazines, too, and figure out why the writer is really writing.
• Ask kids to share their favorite authors with each other.  Some kids do read because they want to, and other kids should see that.

There.  I feel better now.

Do you have something to rant about when it comes to education and kids?

Wendy Segal

I Need Help with the SATs: More Questions and Answers

If you search back in the previous posts to this blog, you’ll find the answers to most of your SAT, ACT, and college application questions.

But I’ve been collecting questions that have come up from students and parents since that blog, and I think it’s time to do another HELP question and answer.  Here goes:

Question: I’m a high school junior.  I know my PSAT scores will be available by around Christmas break.  But when should I take the SATs?

Answer: I recommend that most of my students take the March and May SATs in their junior year. Most but not all?  If you have a commitment when the March or May test is scheduled (March 13, 2010 and May 1, 2010), you can take the January test (1/23/2010) or June test (6/5/2010), but the January test is often difficult and is too soon after the PSATs come back for you to use that info to prepare for the next test.  And the June test conflicts with finals and SATIIs.  So for most kids, March and May SATs are just right.

Question: What about SATIIs?  When do I take them?

Answer: SATIIs, or SAT Subject Tests, are one-hour multiple choice tests that are given in a variety of subjects, like math, science, foreign language and history.  The most selective schools require two or more SAT Subject tests.  The fairly selective schools like to see two or more.  The less selective schools don’t much care.  You can take up to three in a day, but DON’T!  Don’t take more than two in a day.  You’ll be wiped out. Most kids take those either in June of junior year (6/5/2010) or October or November of senior year. They’re given the same day as SATs (except no SATIIs are given in March), so you can’t take both SATs and SAT Subject tests on the same day.

Question: I’ve heard about the ACTs.  Do I have to take those, too?

Answer: The ACTs used to be popular only for kids attending school in the mid-west.  Now nearly 100% of my students take the ACTs.  Some kids do substantially better on the ACTs, some do better on the SATs, and some score pretty much the same on both.  The ACTs are shorter and less stressful, and that’s reason enough for some kids to take them. Bonus: If you take the ACTs and score well, you don’t have to take SATIIs — and if you score really well, you don’t even have to take the SATs.  I’d recommend juniors take the ACTs in April (4/10/2010).  They also give the ACTs in June, but why not take them in April?  That way, you’ll have your scores back in time to decide whether you have to take June SATIIs.

Question: I’m not even in my junior year yet, but I want to get started early.  What should I do to prepare for the SATs?

Answer: One thing NOT to do is take the 10th grade PSATs.  What a waste of time and money!  There’s no value in taking that test, and it might do you harm, because if you don’t do well, you won’t be able to take the 11th grade PSATs with confidence.  Another thing NOT to do is take practice tests given by testing organizations.  I’ve found the difficulty of the tests is unreliable. Either the tests are too easy to build your confidence, or they’re too hard so the testing organization can get you to sign up for a course of prep sessions.  Don’t do it. The best thing you can do to prepare early is pay attention in math class, asking for extra help if there are concepts you don’t understand, and read.  Read.  READ.  It’s especially useful to read TIME magazine or Newsweek, especially the letters to the editor (“inbox” in TIME) and the back page essay.  The more you read essays, the better you’ll be at reading essays. Makes sense.  If you think your vocabulary is particularly weak, try SAT Vocabulary for Dummies.  I hate the name of that book, but it’s very useful.

Question: Do I really have to take the SATs more than once?  How many times can I/ should I take them?

Answer: Don’t stop at once, even with score choice, unless you get something spectacular the first time, like above 730 on each section.  This isn’t a good time to be lazy.  And don’t take them more than three times.  After three times, your score isn’t likely to improve so significantly that it would be worth the extra time and effort.  So, take the SATs twice or three times, usually twice in junior year and once in senior year.

Question: Should I send my scores to schools when I sign up for the SATs to take advantage of the four free score reports?

Answer: I used to insist that my students send their scores to different schools each time they took the test, but now that they’ve instituted score choice (you can hide entire seatings of SATs if you want), there’s not enough benefit to sending scores now.  Wait until ALL of your tests are done, which means the fall of senior year for most students, then decide which SATs, which SAT Subject tests, and/or which ACTs to send.  Don’t send anything anywhere until then.

Do you have more questions? Please do ask by posting a comment to this blog.  And feel free to tell your friends and guidance counselors about my blog.  It’s the teacher in me — I just like answering questions!

Wendy Segal

There IS Life After College

You survived middle school.  You managed to finish high school, complete with extracurricular activities and community service.  You mastered the college application process with its amorphous topics of your choice, quirky application websites and all those SATs.  Some colleges flirted with you via glossy viewbooks, and you flirted back with interviews and tours.  Finally, a college (or two) proposed, and you accepted.  Congratulations, you’re in college.

What next? As I see it, you have a few choices:  work, more school, or bum.  Let’s presume you don’t want to be a bum.  Let’s presume you want to make a valuable contribution either to your own world or to the wider community.  That means school or work.

School means deciding what you want to study next. Most people continue on the same path they were on in college, but you don’t necessarily have to.  My son graduated with a degree in economics and math, but realized as his senior year began that he would be much happier and more successful in the field of computers.  He scrambled around, took a bunch of additional computer classes, and got himself into grad school for computer science.

School means doing the same investigative work you did to get into college, but this time without so much help from mom.  This time, you’ll have to research schools on your own.  Here’s a great site (they charge for the premium edition, but it’s worth the $20 to get the online AND print versions:

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools

Research early and often!  You know what to do — visit schools, send for brochures, click on websites.

You also have to investigate graduate standardized exams.  Yes, more SATs (or at least more tests like them)!  This time, you’ll be taking GMATs for business school, or MCATs for medical school, or LSATs for law school, or GREs for nearly everything else.  (Yes, I do tutor for the GREs.  Thanks for asking!)  The GREs have sub-tests for different specialties and are taken at computer testing sites pretty much at your convenience.

Remember college application essays? The ones they made you write in English class senior year of high school?  Well, you’ll need another one (it may be called a “statement of purpose” for graduate school).  (Yes, I do help with “statement of purpose” essays.  But you guessed that, right?)

Competition for grad schools is particularly fierce now since not only graduating college students but adults who are out of work are going back to school, but it can be done.  Financing can be tricky (see this NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/education/edlife/26spending-t.html?_r=1&emc=eta1 ) but there are plenty of loans out there for grad school.

If you can’t bear the thought of another few years of school, or if your chosen profession doesn’t require grad school, or if you’re eager to get out there, there’s always work.

Having an internship during college is an excellent way to sample the world of work.  If you like where you’re interning and if they like you, you might be set for a while at least.  But not everyone gets an internship.

You’ve paid quite a bit to your college.  Now is the time for them to pay you back.  Most decent schools have an office which tries to find you work – or at least leads.  Get your money’s worth.  Get resume help.  Get interviewing skills help.  Let them hook you up with an interview or two or three.  Don’t be afraid to have them make a contact for you with an alumnus.  It’s part of what your parents paid for every time they paid your tuition.

If despite your best efforts you can’t find a job, consider unpaid work. A great place to start is http://www.serve.gov/ , a volunteer clearinghouse begun by President Obama’s administration to encourage giving back to communities.  If you want to work abroad, there’s the Peace Corps, and if you want to stay in the U.S. , there’s AmeriCorps.  Just google “volunteer,” and you’ll have thousands of opportunites to suit every interest and needy population.

If you volunteer, at least you’ll be doing some good for the world while you build your resume, refine your interests, and wait out the recession.

But don’t wait until graduation to decide. Just like in high school, you have to get started even if you don’t feel terribly motivated.  But in high school, you had your guidance counselor and your parents and the momentum of  your peers propelling you to action.

Now it’s all up to you.  ”Bum” doesn’t look good on a resume.  Think, plan, and do something now to create your own future now.

Wendy Segal

When the College Visits You

Dear 11th and 12th graders (and parents),

I must apologize on a few counts.

First, I apologize for the frequency of these posts.  I don’t mean to overwhelm you, but it is that time of year when college admission essays are written, college tours are undertaken, and early decision and early action deadlines loom.  It’s also the time of year that people email me with just one more question.

I apologize that the advice in this post will be tailored to those in Yorktown Heights, NY, and surrounding districts.  I’m fairly sure college visits work the same throughout the country based on books and articles I’ve read – but I don’t know for sure based on first hand experience.

I apologize, too, that I didn’t get this post out sooner.  I’m about four days late.  College visits have already begun!

You might not know (because most kids and parents I talk to don’t) that colleges send representatives to high schools every fall. On most school days, one to three college reps come at different times.  Students have the opportunity to meet with these representatives in small groups.  Students can ask questions, hear the questions that other kids ask, get some brochures, and get a sense of the personality of each school.

In Yorktown (and I presume at other schools), the kids sign up in the guidance department for these college admissions visits in the guidance department and then on the day the rep comes, the kids miss a class or two (fun!) to meet with the reps.  The recruiters make note of who came to these sessions and their initial impressions of these kids.  They inform the admissions office to look out for these kids’ applications.

I strongly recommend you go to a few of these college visits.

You should be looking at the schools that are coming and sign up for a few meetings.  For Yorktown students, the list of which colleges are coming is on the school website

http://www.yorktowncsd.org/calendar/Postcalendar/html.  Students from other schools should check with their guidance counselors.  Students in Yorktown have already missed Boston University, Union College, SUNY Cobleskill, University of Vermont, and Lafayette.  Coming up are St. Thomas Aquinas, Mt. Holyoke, Johnson & Wales, SUNY Binghamton, and many, many more.

Students should go to at least one or two college visits in the high school even if you are only mildly interested in a particular college not only because it’s interesting to hear what the school is most proud of, but because you’ll hear what other kids want to know.  You’ll hear questions you never thought to ask, like does this school house freshman together, or what percent of students are involved in sports, or how many kids stay on campus on the weekends.  It’s a great way to find out what you like and what you don’t like.  And since the reps do take note of the kids’ questions and demeanor, it’s a great way to practice interviewing techniques and develop poise.

You should go to the Northern Westchester/Putnam College Fair at Yorktown High on Tuesday, October 20th from 6:30 till about 8:30 (more about that in a subsequent post), but don’t miss the opportunity to check out colleges you’ve heard of – and colleges you’ve never heard of – by meeting with the college reps who have saved you a trip by coming to your high school.

Go on www.princetonreview.com and www.collegeboard.com to check out the basics of ALL of the colleges that are coming to visit your high school. Meet the admissions rep from a “reach” school or two.  Meet the reps from schools that are right on target for your interests and abilities, and even meet with the reps from schools that would be thrilled to have you apply (more scholarship money there).

Remember, the more positive contacts you have with a school, the more interested they know you are.  They DO write down who goes to these meetings and you want to give as many schools as you can a good impression of your sincerity.

Wendy Segal

New Ruling: Common Ap and Score Choice

One reason I dislike the Common Ap, designed to let a student apply to several schools without having to enter the same information repeatedly, is that you can’t tailor the application to the school.  This year, the Common Ap is allowing students to change the essay for each school — a big improvement over last year.  It’s not easy to accomplish, but it can be done.

But what if you want to send all of your SAT scores to one school but only some scores to another school? Not many schools require ALL scores, but a few do, mostly the most selective schools.  Yet the Common Ap asks you to self-report scores.

Do you report some or all of your test scores on the Common Ap?

Read this ruling as reported in Inside Higher Ed just two days ago:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/01/qt#209545

If any of you try this method (leaving your scores off the Common Ap and only submitting them directly through the College Board), please let me know if you are able to apply this way.

Sound complicated? Yes, it is.  Once again, I strongly encourage students to apply to colleges well before your high school’s deadline, which is probably three weeks before the college deadline to allow your guidance department to process all the paperwork.

And once again, I suggest you use a school’s own application if one is available.  Sure, you’ll have to type in your name and address all over again, but you can handle it.  You’re nearly a college student!

Wendy Segal

How to Avoid a College Application Meltdown

It’s not as easy as you might think.

You’ve filled out your share of forms over the years.  You finished your essay and you’re ready to start filling out college applications.  Should be a snap, right?

Not so fast! Here are a few suggestions to make the whole process a little more orderly.

I’ve got to give you this most important piece of advice right now up front before I forget and before you lose interest.  It’s not obvious but you need to know:  Don’t send in the application for your favorite school first. Even if you are applying to only one school early action or early decision, don’t send it in first.

After you send in your first application, you’ll notice an error.  I promise.  You’ll find a typo, or you’ll realize you should have put your afterschool activities in a different order.  You’ll decide to use your other email address or you’ll hear from a friend that colleges really don’t like when you go over 500 words and yours is 525.  It has been my experience over the past 22 years that you’ll want to change or fix or adjust SOMETHING on your application as soon as you hit “send.”

So don’t send your first application to your favorite school! (Don’t make me say it again.) Send your first application to a safety school, even if the deadline isn’t for several months.  Send your next application to another school you don’t have your heart set on.

Now, you have my permission to send your third application to the school of your dreams.

Now that I got that out of the way, here are some step-by-step instructions:

Go to https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx and click on “download forms.”  Print out the application (student form).

1. Complete the entire common ap in pencil first. The website has a timeout feature, and while you’re looking up your guidance counselor’s fax number, the website will time out on you.  It’s much easier to manage if you  have all the answers (where and when did your parents get their college degrees?  what’s your school’s CEEB number?  what’s your social security number?  what’s your father’s email address?) right in front of you when you sit down to type in the application.  Whether you use the common ap or a college’s own application, you’ll need the answers to those same questions.
2. Print out blank copies of any applications you might be completing. What are those essays?  Can you use your common ap essay for all of them or do you have to write another essay?
3. Write supplemental essays. If you don’t have any, you’re unusually lucky, but most kids have to write supplemental essays.  If you’re submitting the common ap for a school, don’t forget to check if that school has a supplement.  They’ll want to know why you want to go there (save their brochures and praise what they’re already proud of), or what you can bring to the school (thirst for learning and sharing experiences with others who aren’t like you) or why you consider their school a good choice (gee, if they need a 17-year old to tell them why their school is good…).
4. Write your activities essay. The common ap requires an essay of no more than 150 words (a medium-sized paragraph) about an activity you do after school.  They’re really asking which of the activities, sports, jobs, or clubs is most meaningful to you – and why.  Don’t tell them you love baseball (or football or hockey or lacrosse) because you get to show your stuff while learning teamwork.  They know that already.  Think of a different angle if you can.  Or pick a different activity.  Community service activities are great to highlight here.
5. Fill out the activities section carefully. Include everything you can think of and put them in the order that matters to you most.  Actually, although that’s what the application says, you should put them in the order that will most interest the admissions people.  They love activities that you’ve participated in for years.  If you’re a black belt at a martial art, say that early!  If you are an eagle or gold star scout, say that early!  If you’ve been dancing since you were four, say that early!  And where they ask if you’d like to continue that activity in college, the answer should almost always be “yes,” even if you’re not sure.  Warning: if you list an activity you never really did, they will find out.  And if they find out after you’ve been accepted, they will pull your admission.  Don’t lie or even exaggerate.
6. Complete the application on line. Save after every page you complete.  Print after every page.  I know, it’s a waste of paper.  Too bad.  You can reuse those papers once you get into college, but right now you need a copy of everything you submit. Print every page and have someone (moms and dads are good for this job) look it over before you click “send.” If they say they didn’t get it, you can fax in your copy.  And then print out the entire completed application in the end.  Save each application at least until you get online confirmation that they got it all.
7. Don’t forget to print out blank teacher recommendation forms. Find out from your guidance department if they want you to deal with them yourself or they can manage that part for you.  If you’re on your own, make sure you give the teachers who are doing your applications a stamped envelope addressed to each school and the form with a sticky note on it with the deadline.
8. If you don’t need financial aid, your application will be looked on more favorably.  Even if the school says it’s need blind, they need to take kids who can pay their own way.  If you need financial aid, don’t be afraid to say so, but if you won’t be applying for financial aid (merit aid is different), that’s a plus.  Read this:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/education/31college.html?_r=2&hp

These are just the basics. If you have specific questions, feel free to post a comment to this blog and I’ll try to answer as clearly as I can.

Sometimes I think they make the applications so difficult so they can make sure you’re really ready for all the forms and procedures you’ll be responsible for in college.

Good luck!

Wendy Segal

8 Quick Answers to Questions About the PSATs

Although I’ve written in my blog about the PSATs before, here are most of the answers you need in one place.

Question: Should I take the PSATs before 11th grade?

Answer: NO! There’s no good reason to take the PSATs before 11th grade. The PSATs are given once a year on a Saturday morning in October (this year, they are given on October 17, 2009).  Save your money for the PSATs in October of 11th grade when they count. If you must take a practice PSAT, do it in the privacy of your own home.   Too often, kids take the PSATs in 10th grade – and they naturally do poorly because they’re too young.  They haven’t had all the math and their reading skills aren’t good enough.   They mean to do some prep before the PSATs in 11th grade, but most don’t.  Then they take the 11th grade PSATs with the self-defeating attitude that they’re just no good on the PSATs.

Question: Does it make sense to hire a tutor or take a course to prep for the PSATs?

Answer: No! (And I get paid for PSAT tutoring, so you know I’m not telling you this for any self-serving reason.)  There are only two exceptions:  kids who do so well on standardized tests that they may indeed get a scholarship from the PSATS/National Merit, and kids who are such nervous test takers that, without practice, the PSAT would be a traumatic event for them.

Question: Is the PSAT easier or harder than the SAT?

Answer: The SAT is harder than the PSAT in almost every respect. The math is much harder on the SATs, the reading selections are longer, the vocab is harder, the test is longer, and there’s an essay on the SATs but not on the PSATs.  There’s no getting around it – the PSATs are easier than the SATs.  That means if you do okay on the PSATs, don’t get too optimistic.  And if you are disappointed in your PSAT score, don’t wait to get help!

Question: Can I take the PSAT again if I don’t like my score?

Answer: No. If you took it in 11th grade, you can’t take it again.  Concentrate on the SAT and the ACT.  No one but you, your parents, and your guidance counselor gets to see your PSAT score anyway unless it’s amazing.

Question: Is the PSAT a good predicter of how I’ll do on my SATs?

Answer: Not necessarily.  Most kids do a bit worse on their SATs than PSATs — unless they get tutoring.  Many kids do go up from their PSATs to SATs in math because each year you take more math in school, but most kids don’t go up on the writing or critical reading part without a lot of work either on their own or with a tutor.

Question: When do I get my PSAT scores back?

Answer: Your SAT results are reported to you via the internet and are sent to your home, usually less than three weeks after you take the test.  The PSAT results, however, go first to your high school’s guidance department.  There the guidance department will separate the two copies they get.  One copy goes home to you; the other copy stays in your file in the guidance department.  Your PSAT scores will be sent to you sometime in December, anywhere from the second to the fourth week depending on your high school.

Question: How can I prepare for the PSATs?

Answer: First of all, get and read the free PSAT booklet by the College Board that your guidance department has available (you may have to ask for it, or they may be stacked up somewhere ).  Take the practice test in that booklet in a quiet room under timed conditions.  After you take and score that test, if you want to do more practice, get the Princeton Review SAT book (save the College Board book for prepping for the SATs).  Do a few practice tests in the Princeton Review book.  Get a good vocabulary book like SAT Vocabulary For Dummies from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  Keep it in your backpack for down time, like when you have a sub or a fire drill.  Or keep a copy in your bathroom with a pencil.  And most of all, READ!  Read anything you like, but read!

Question: I heard you get penalized for wrong answers on the PSAT.  Is that true?

Answer: Yes.  But don’t take that too seriously. If you can eliminate two of the five possible answers, you’re probably better off guessing.  Too often, kids leave out too many questions because they don’t think they’re 100% sure of the answer.  You don’t have to be sure – but you shouldn’t guess wildly, either.

Any other questions?  Just send me a comment to this blog and I’ll answer any questions you might have.

Wendy Segal