Final Junior Year Meetings & Class of 2021 Supplemental Essays

We have been so busy this week with final junior year meetings!

Our goal is to have our students finished with the following by the end of 11th grade:

• Common Application

• Common Application Main Essay

• Teacher Recommendation Information #1

• Teacher Recommendation Information #2

• Counselor Recommendation Information (some schools have not released this yet)

• Generic Supplemental Essay Work (we prepare four separate pieces of writing to repurpose later)

We are obviously checking up on any outstanding tasks multiple times per week, but the final meeting of the year serves as a good checkpoint to measure what has been accomplished against our initial goals. I am happy to report that most of our students have been done with them for a while!

The main purpose of the meeting is to finalize the student’s college list based on final junior year grades, final test scores (not this year, haha) and all of the research that has been completed up to this point.

Once we finalize, we are able to jump right in and work on school-specific supplemental essays (as well as the Coalition Application, if needed). I do not like to begin any school-specific tasks until we know for sure what the list will look like because I don’t want to waste our time working on something that isn’t needed down the line.

We have developed a method that categories every supplemental prompt into one of the following categories:

• Why This School?

• Why This Field?

• Why This School and Field?

• Quirky Topic

• Meaningful Activity

We then work with our students to help them re-purpose material from the already-prepared pieces of generic supplemental writing to fit each school-specific prompt, but our approach to doing this differs depending on the category.

If you are interested, you can see some of this year’s supplemental topics here:

University of Georgia 2021 Supplement - DC College Counseling

University of Michigan 2021 Supplement - DC College Counseling

University of North Carolina 2021 Supplement - DC College Counseling

Villanova University 2021 Supplement - DC College Counseling

Our current clients will start to see these pop up in their google drive folders over this week and next. As soon as a topic is released, we like to start working on it to get it out of the way!

Last year, we did a ton of detective work and identified an incredible number of Class of 2020 essay topics in advance of the formal release date of August 1. This year, we’re going to stick most of this content into the membership vault (and of course our individual student folders, as always) - along with our guides and activities to help with each of the supplemental prompts above.

Weekly Update: May 29 (a little late!)

I’m a guest on a podcast this week and have to provide an answer to the question “What is one thing about you that may surprise people?”

Well, one thing that would probably surprise most people is that I spent a year in college interning as a Complaint Counselor at the ACLU of Eastern Missouri for fifteen hours per week. I then spent ten weeks during the following summer as an “intern investigator” for the Public Defender Service in DC, in the Parole division. I spent incredibly long days tracking down witnesses all around Southeast DC and PG County, meeting with our clients at the DC Jail, and so much more. I know people throw the words “life-changing experience” around a lot, but that’s exactly what these internships were.

The biggest thing I learned from both of these positions is that the justice system will only work if both sides do exactly what they are supposed to do. The minute someone goes rogue, the entire system collapses. In the Parole division at PDS, I was helping out convicted criminals who had done some really horrible things. But it was my job was to help make sure they had the best possible representation so that the system could operate as it was intended. And police misconduct is a very, very real thing.

If I’m being honest, I almost didn’t post this week. I felt silly writing a blog post with sections like “Biggest News of the Week” when the SAT registration debacle is clearly NOT the biggest news of the week - or anywhere close to it. I have been glued to CNN. Truly, though, I am horrified by this entire situation. And yet I am not surprised. So I will say this: my heart absolutely breaks for George Floyd and the thousands and thousands of other names I’ve never heard.

Without getting too personal, I have realized one thing for sure over the past few years: I have absolutely no clue what it’s like to be a person of color in America today. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I still don’t know. But I am trying to understand, and I am so very sorry that this has happened. I wish I had something more eloquent to say.

There is absolutely no good way to segue this, but here goes:

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

(Yes, changing the title on this..)

More test-optional announcements, including the University of Miami and Rutgers.

Tons more announcements about the shifting of academic calendars at various colleges and universities.

ACT

We did get some clarity on the June ACT on Friday. First of all, some sites will be offering the test. ACT is trying to source community-based test sites in certain geographic areas without other options (for example, if the local school districts will not offer it). Depending on how that goes, it’s possible that more test sites will be added as time goes on.

In case you were wondering:

• Test-takers will not be required to use PPE (i.e. masks), although they are encouraged to bring their own to use.

• Test-takers that do bring/wear their own PPE will need to remove it upon arrival for facial identification purposes.

• Test centers will be set up to adhere to social distancing guidelines. I assume that means six feet apart, but they may have left it vague on purpose.

• There are definitely test centers open within a reasonable drive of the DC area. If you are okay with the risks above, then you may be able to log in and adjust your registration to one of those centers (please note that I am not advocating doing this, but I wanted to at least share the information I have).

As of Friday morning, ACT hadn’t specified exactly how the lack of required PPE will work in states where PPE is legally required in public indoor spaces, like Virginia (although I am sorry to say that I have seen many people without masks in Virginia in public indoor spaces since the law went into effect on Friday.. so maybe no one is following this anyway?)

FAQ released early Friday indicated that all students registered for the June ACT would receive a personalized email update at some point that day regarding their options. I heard from a lot of students who did receive this email, so it sounds like that actually came to fruition.

For what it’s worth, ACT also announced that their CEO is stepping down (was fired? not sure) and their COO is stepping into the CEO role. This is pretty big news and was sort of swept under the rug.

SAT

Last week, the College Board was supposed to open their site up for August, September, and October registrations for students who met priority criteria:

• Students already registered for the June SAT or Subject Tests who didn’t cancel their registrations

• Students in the high school class of 2020 who don’t have SAT scores

• Students in the high school class of 2021 and don’t have SAT scores

It wasn’t clear whether the priority students were limited to one sitting or multiple, and to be honest, it’s still not fully clear. What we do know is that many students were able to register who did not meet the priority criteria at all. As a result, lots of students who should have had priority got shut out. Anecdotally, I found that families who were not registering for SSD (extra time) spots definitely had an easier time registering for multiple sittings.

Non-priority registration opens up June 3, but I’m sure the site will crash again.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

I liked this one from the New York Times - it compares the strategy that Washington University in St. Louis (my alma mater!) is taking with St. Louis University down the street. SLU’s approach is definitely the one that we’re seeing from a ton of different schools. I can’t decide if I think the people at Wash U are being really smart about this or the exact opposite, but I’m intrigued to see how this plays out.

I thought this piece, also from the New York Times, asked some important questions about standardized testing.

Nearly half of high school students who graduated in 2016 had at least an A- average, but an admissions officer may give an A- from a struggling public school in Mississippi less weight than one from Phillips Academy, even though grade inflation is worse at wealthier and whiter schools. Other application components — personal essays, recommendation letters from illustrious mentors, calls from well-connected college counselors — also favor students from richer families.

While I agree with the author’s point 100% that the alternative is worse because of grade inflation, what I completely disagree with is the part about how grade inflation is worse at wealthier and whiter schools. Some wealthy and white schools, sure. The grade inflation at some FCPS high schools is so wild I can’t even wrap my head around it.

But Phillips Academy and peer schools? Not a chance. No way. We work with a lot of boarding school kids and this is just plain wrong. These schools have deflated grades, not inflated grades. That being said, the author’s incorrect assumption indirectly proves his point: so much is subjective and we need some kind of standardized way to measure achievement.

I thought about that article a lot as I read the one that ended up being the most interesting of the week, a piece from the WSJ about revolutionizing admissions in the wake of the pandemic. To be honest, I found this one very puzzling. I agreed with everything for a while - there’s no question this will be an extremely different year. However, I did not agree with some of the assertions at the end. Like this:

The unavoidable shift in the admission process this year could help to address stubborn longer-term problems. It may, for instance, de-escalate the current arms race widely decried by colleges, high schools, students and their families.

I’m sorry, but I’m with the New York Times article on this one. I truly do not think that the holistic approach that de-emphasizes testing data will de-escalate the arms race. In fact, I think it will escalate the arms race. Trust me when I say it’s already happening; the people who have the means to pursue professional assistance are doing so right now in droves. Your jaw would drop if you saw what our numbers looked like for the month of May… despite the fact that we’re in an economic depression.

Any of the assessment methods mentioned in that article can be easily manipulated. The Bowdoin videos? Come on. We prepped several students for that exact exercise last year. It’s very easy for a consultant experienced in admissions interview prep to help a student showcase their best self in that kind of setting. Same with the Character Skills Snapshot (to which the authors refer as the “Character Snapshot.”

As I see it, “revolutionizing” admissions to make it more holistic is going to help the people who can afford assistance with the soft aspects of their application, like interviews, essays, and recommendation letters. I’m not in the test prep business, but I would imagine that it’s much harder to ensure that a student achieves a high score on the ACT than it is to provide content to help that student’s recommender write a fantastic letter.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Just another super busy week. All the ACT/SAT nonsense took up a lot of time.

We are working on something that I’m very excited about for our graduating seniors, although they don’t know about it yet. Soon!

Some of the schools have begun to release supplemental essay topics for the Class of 2021. Stay tuned for a post on those later this week!

That’s all for now. Here’s hoping we can turn 2020 around during the month of June, am I right?!

Summer Reading Choices During the College Admissions Process

Memorial Day weekend has passed and another summer is upon us!

I always tell rising seniors to make sure to fit in some time over the summer for summer reading. Some schools will ask in an interview setting about recent books read, and others ask about books in supplemental essays.

There are also schools that don’t ask about this at all, but it’s not like you have anything to lose by picking up a book, and trust me - you’ll be glad you got it out of the way. It’s terrible to be juggling a million different things and having to then squeeze in a random book to read. Just do it now while you have time!

You can’t just pick out any random text, though. It’s important to be mindful of the admissions process ahead and the manner in which you will ultimately need to use the information you gained.

If you pick something that you read in school, it will look like you aren’t intellectually curious and don’t read on your own time. It’s also pretty hard to hide which books you read on your own time vs. which you read for school. I remember I had to read Brideshead Revisited during the summer going into my senior year. Worst book ever. Not a chance that could have been passed off as my choice!

Instead, I always advise selecting a book that (a) does not sound like it was something that would have been read in the classroom, and (b) is relevant - both to your interests in some way and also to society as a whole.

Selections that fit the above criteria will not only seem more authentic, but they will also be more enjoyable to read and will make for engaging conversation in an interview setting. This is not the time for obscure books.

Here are some of my top picks for Summer 2020:

The Art of Showing Up: How to be There for Yourself and Your People by Rachel Miller

This book examines what is at the root of creating and maintaining meaningful, close relationships in adulthood: showing up for yourself and for those you love. Students interested in the social sciences or anyone interested in learning more about how to grow and maintain relationships, especially now, would be interested in this book. Check out the author’s recent segment on NPR - it does not actually start until 2:30.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss

Written by a former FBI international hostage negotiator, this book shares a practical guide to helping us become more persuasive in our professional and personal lives. Students interested in business, psychology, sociology, and education should definitely pick up this book this summer - or really any student interested in interpersonal interactions! This book was written several years ago but has gained popularity recently because of Chris Voss’ Masterclass on negotiating (it seems like every person in America is on Masterclass right now!). One of my students recommended this to me after taking the Masterclass and I am about halfway through it. I highly recommend it! I have learned a TON and am enjoying practicing on my family members ;-)

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

What if Hillary Rodham hadn’t married Bill Clinton? From a New York Times bestselling author, this book looks back at the life of the 2016 Democratic Presidential Nominee and considers how her determined path to a political career may have shifted if she had not said yes to the charismatic law student from Arkansas in 1975. A student interested in political science, women and gender studies, or history would definitely enjoy this summer read! I also absolutely love this author (sorry, my inner English teacher is coming out)! Here’s a recent review from the Washington Post.

Where to pick up the books:

Did you know we have a great independent bookseller right here in Vienna called Bard’s Alley? I am all about shopping small these days!

You can go directly to their website’s ordering page, which offers a number of different ordering methods. Word on the street is that you can even get your books delivered to your house via bicycle along with yummy snacks. How cool is that?! You can also order from them through Bookshop.org, an online service run by The American Booksellers Association; Libro.fm, which offers a wide selection of audiobooks; and Hummingbird for e-book editions. 

At the same time, you can submit email requests to them directly using this form.  

Want more suggestions?

Our full summer reading guide has already been uploaded to our new membership vault! If you’re a current client and want the guide now before the site launches, shoot Donna an email and she’ll send you a copy.

Weekly Update and Exciting News to Share: May 22

Another very busy week in our office with some exciting news at the end of this post!

BIGGEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

A number of schools went test-optional, including Elon, UConn, RIT and more.. but all anyone is talking about is California!!

The University of California Board of Regents approved some incredible changes yesterday - including a shift to a test-blind (!!!) approach for in-state applicants in the Class of 2023 and 2024. Crazy! And they finally got rid of that writing section requirement! If you are interested in all of the details, I would highly recommend reading straight from the source as linked above; I read a few different articles in the mainstream media that contained errors regarding the impact on out-of-state students.

We also learned more admissions statistics from this year’s senior class - College Kickstart did a great job of sharing it!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We saw many more colleges and universities share their plans for fall, and I enjoyed reading coverage from a New York Times reporter who was able to listen in on COVID-19 discussions at the University of Kentucky. I also really liked this piece from the Chronicle of Higher Ed (which I imagine most of you cannot access due to the paywall). You can see the first line, though, and that’s probably all you really need to get the point!

Along the same lines, this piece from a public school teacher in California provides an incredibly in-depth depiction of what the fall will look like if K-12 schools open. From a parental perspective, I am DYING (DYING!!!!) to get my kids out of the house, but I also spent nine years of my career working in school-based settings - including a year in a New York City public school.. and the professional side of me knows that this guy is right. I would rather school systems just focus their efforts on improving virtual instruction.

This blog post on writing from Brad Schiller was actually written a week ago, but I didn’t read it until last night so it’s fair game, right?

Students don’t realize they’re bad at writing. Grade inflation and limited feedback make students believe they’re good. They receive little feedback on their Structured Thinking – i.e., the higher-order aspects of writing (content, structure, and clarity). The problem compounds year over year throughout K-12 and higher ed until students become unprepared job seekers.

Oh my gosh YES! I see this constantly. I am always surprised by the poor quality of the written work that students produce, and am even more puzzled when they have a straight-A transcript to go along with it. I really do believe that our process helps students become better writers, which is one silver lining of all of the essay work in the college admissions process. Still, it doesn’t make up for the lack of proper instruction in most K-12 settings.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

This has been such a hard secret to keep!

We launched pre-orders for a brand new offering today: the DC College Counseling Membership Vault! This has actually been in the works since April of 2019, but COVID-19 reinforced the idea that there is an incredible need right now for college admissions assistance at a lower price point. While I wish we could provide individualized help to everyone, this offering provides an amazing alternative.

Current clients will gain automatic access when we launch one month from today.. and we’ll be sharing more details throughout the month to come!

Weekly Update: May 15

I have struggled with how best to share all of the ever-changing news relating to the college admissions process throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, I was trying to update our Coronavirus Page every day, but it became too time-consuming. Still, the links on that page should provide the most up-to-date information regarding a situation that is constantly changing.

Instead, I’m going to try publishing a weekly update each Friday with the biggest news and best articles of the week, plus anything interesting that’s been happening in our office!

Here goes:

Biggest News of the Week

• AP Exams did not start out so well, to put it mildly. In addition to thousands of students having to choose between no credit vs. retaking their exams in June, cheating was rampant (see screen shot!). So frustrating for everyone involved. Most of the complaints we heard were about three exams: AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Calculus AB, and AP U.S. History.

• William & Mary announced a shift to a test-optional pilot program that will last three years (Classes of 2021-2023 will be impacted). By the way, William & Mary was the big shocker of the 2019-2020 application cycle for Virginia residents before all hell broke loose in March with the virus. They waitlisted so. many. qualified. candidates. It was insane and felt very different from previous years. ED is the way to go there, no question (like basically every other school!).

• Villanova will be test-optional for the Class of 2021 and also added an EDII option. I think we are going to see many more schools move to EDII. Which is awesome because I LOVE EDII. It’s still relatively under-utilized as a strategy. We were 4/4 for EDII acceptances this year with the Class of 2020, and were also 100% with the Class of 2019, although I can’t remember offhand how many we had - around 3-5, I believe. The right EDII strategy can be huge for a candidate.

• The Cal State system announced that it will not provide in-person instruction this fall and the UC System has indicated that they will likely follow suit. Remember that the UC and Cal State systems were some of the first to announce a switch to test-optional admissions - UC made the decision all the way back on April 1.

• FCPS just announced this afternoon (Friday, May 15) that school buildings will remain closed in July. Students in grades 7-12 will be able to pursue daily synchronous instruction through Online Campus coursework for a reduced price. Be careful - this is not for everyone. The grades count - if it doesn’t go well, they will be on the transcript regardless. If you haven’t looked at our Guide to Virtual Instruction Alternatives for FCPS Students, check that out.

• Speaking of, everybody is talking about MISC. I personally think this is the final nail in the coffin for in-person K-12 instruction this fall.

Best Articles of the Week

• Loved, loved, loved this article from the Atlantic. I think that our society needs to open our eyes more to the idea of college students starting at home through online learning. I know it stinks, believe me. But this too shall pass and no matter what happens over the next four years or where the classes take place, the students will have degrees from the schools in question. That’s what’s most important at the end of the day in my personal opinion.

“We must ask ourselves: What would make leaders gamble with human life this way? The answer is twofold: fear and acquiescence—both of which, when left unchecked, lead down a path to moral damnation. The fear of the fiscal damage associated with empty campuses in the fall is the primary reason that schools are exploring every option to avoid that possibility … The other reason higher-education leaders may be forced into questionable decisions is their refusal to stand up to the unrealistic expectations of many faculty and staff members, students, alumni, and other stakeholders. If you are a college president right now, not everyone is not going to like what you do. But if you are fair, honest, and transparent, you will be respected; and it is always better to be respected than liked.”

• An interesting piece from New York magazine about what the future of higher education may look like (side note: wow, the BC stuff, ha!). Not sure If I agree with the prediction but it was interesting to consider.

• This piece from Forbes considers the future of K-12 education through four separate models. I haven’t heard too many others discussing microschools - but maybe they should be!

Office Happenings

• After just over ten months, our trademark was approved this week! So exciting.

• During the last several weeks, we have had an incredible amount of 10th graders sign up for ongoing services. I don’t know that we have ever had this many 10th graders sign up in such a short period of time… but I’m glad because starting early makes it so much easier in the long run! So much easier to do things right the first time than have to backtrack later and fix mistakes. Right now, we are helping many of these students strategically map out their summer experiences and target their test prep.

• Most of the 11th graders have been done with their Common App essays for a while and the focus over the last few weeks has shifted to teacher and counselor recommendation work. We have an extensive process that I referenced on the blog last year.

• Our July calendar should be live by the beginning of next week. Two months in and (knock on wood) our pivot to 100% virtual services has gone exceptionally well, even though I’m getting lonely here all alone. All of our students are Zoom experts now!

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Ten Years!

It’s incredible that today is our tenth anniversary. So many emotions!

In all honesty, I’m not as excited today as I would have expected. I have reflected a lot over the past week or two about what I’ve accomplished over the last decade and the many sacrifices I have made along the way to get where I am today. Some have been small and some have been enormous (hello second child with zero maternity leave, and I do mean ZERO).

It kills me to think about the many other small business owners out there who have worked just as hard as I have - and their entire livelihoods have been destroyed because of factors that (a) came out of nowhere and (b) were entirely out of their control. It’s just heartbreaking and so completely, unbelievably unfair. I read this letter last week and can’t get it out of my head. It honestly takes my breath away to think of how someone like that must feel. I can’t entirely wrap my head around it, nor do I have any kind of solution to make things better, but all of this certainly diminishes any excitement I feel today.

On a more positive note, it really has been a great ten years and I do feel so lucky to spend every day doing what I love with amazing people. We all have our moments, but I truly enjoy 95% of what I do. My husband yells at me every night for coming home too late but the minutes just go by so quickly. How many people get to say that? I don’t really think I’ve ever taken it for granted, but I can tell you for sure that after these past two months I will never take anything for granted again.

So, upon reflection, here are the top ten things I’ve learned over the past decade, in no particular order. Some are directly about college admissions and some are just about life!

1. So many aspects of the admissions process change from year to year and are unpredictable. It’s very important to stay on top of what’s going on so that you can strategize accordingly. For example, the Class of 2021 will need to look very closely at individual schools’ deferral policies for the Class of 2020 when prioritizing their list and choosing an ED option. Unfortunately, we don’t have this information yet and we will not know it until later this summer or perhaps even early fall. (I am certain that 95% of the policies in place right now will not be the ones in place when it counts, so don’t waste time stressing about this yet.)

2. At the same time, there are aspects of the admissions process that have never changed and will never change: (1) Make the best grades possible in the most difficult courses possible. (2) Achieve the highest test scores possible. (3) Differentiate yourself from the competition as much as possible in terms of everything else.

3. There is literally nothing more painful in the world than watching your child suffer - regardless of what the suffering entails or how minor the issue may appear to a third party. I didn’t fully understand this until I became a parent myself. From failing to make the sports team, to opening the rejection letter, to getting dumped by the loser boyfriend - it’s an emotional rollercoaster. As an observer, I think it’s much harder on the parents than the kids at the end of the day. You desperately want to be able to protect them and sometimes that’s just not possible.

4. Along the same lines, there is NOTHING more infuriating than watching your child make a poor decision, especially when you know better. So. unbelievably. frustrating.

5. The college admissions process can turn the most amazing, grounded people into CRAZY people thanks to #3 on this list (think: those involved in Varsity Blues). This is normal. It will pass. No one in our office will judge you for being a little crazy at times. Just please don’t do anything illegal or unethical in the meantime, as tempting as it might feel, or the consequences of those decisions will not pass.

6. Every single choice a person makes has a consequence, whether large or small (hence #4 on this list), and as a result, we have much more control over our own lives than we realize. It’s just about recognizing the consequences of our actions and also recognizing that inaction is a form of action as well. I’m kind of obsessed with this book that I actually believe my mom purchased for my kids - thanks, Mom! I think someone needs to write a teen version and an adult version. It’s a children’s book, but I have honestly found myself changing my own behavior because of it.

7. By and large, most kids do not listen to their parents, so don’t beat yourself up if yours fall into this category. There are definitely some that do, and their parents are very lucky. For everyone else’s kids, you are not alone, and the good news is that 95% of them will listen when presented with the same information from a neutral third party.

8. The vast majority of kids who think they are bad test-takers just haven’t committed themselves to studying or didn’t have the right preparation. This is NOT the case for everyone. There are some people who truly struggle with standardized tests, especially if there are learning differences involved. But there’s also a heck of a lot of kids who expect to make a 35 on the ACT with an hour or two of studying every week for two months. Not happening.

9. You can’t make assumptions about others’ college admissions results - there is a heck of a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people aren’t publicizing. If someone has surprisingly good (or bad) results, there’s probably a reason for it that they didn’t share with you. Kids with straight Bs don’t get into UVA “because they’re lucky”, and kids with straight As don’t get rejected from all of their colleges “because they’re unlucky.”

10. Everybody has a story. I guess this comes full circle with the beginning of my post. I have heard so many heartbreaking stories over the years - life is just not easy for anyone. Families who look like they belong in a commercial are struggling and families who look like they are struggling to keep it together are the happiest people you’d ever meet. Always give other people the benefit of the doubt.

To any current or former clients reading: thank you from the bottom of my heart for an amazing ten years. My whole team and I are so grateful to have the privilege of not only working with your families but also for your very generous referrals. Over 70% of our clients each year are siblings or close friends of former clients, which means so much! I’m excited to see what the next ten years have in store (just no more global pandemics, please!).

The year the testing came to a halt

These days, every time I finish a string of back-to-back meetings I open my email to find out that another school has shifted to a test-optional policy for the Class of 2021. Today, there were four: Haverford, Tulane, Colgate, Middlebury - these are good schools! They join a group of institutions ranging from small liberal arts colleges, such as Amherst and Williams, to the entire University of California system.

So what does this mean? I have had so many questions about this over the last week. Kids with good scores are concerned that they won’t matter, and kids without good scores are already packing their bags for UCLA. Not so fast!

let’s talk about the difference between Test-Optional and Test-Blind. This is really important.

Test-Blind:

The school will not consider tests at all when considering an applicant’s candidacy.

At a test-blind school, your amazing test score is about as important as that amazing chocolate cake you just baked for dessert tonight. It’s really awesome that you baked it and I’m sure your family enjoyed it, but it has absolutely zero bearing on whether or not you will be admitted to a given college. Zero.

MIT just shifted to a test-blind policy for subject tests and this is how their website explains the policy in their Frequently Asked Questions section:

I took the subject tests. Can I submit my scores for your consideration?

No: in fairness to all applicants, we won’t consider them for anyone. We think it would be unfair to consider scores only from those who have scored well and therefore choose to send them to us. They are neither recommended nor optional; they are simply not a part of our process anymore.

Just like chocolate cakes are not part of the admissions process!

Test-Optional:

The school will consider any test scores sent as part of the admissions process (usually a major part), but will not hold it against an applicant for applying without test scores. Basically, it serves as another data point; if the score is high, it will only help an applicant.

And what does that mean for the other applicants?

Let’s pretend you’re buying a house, and you think about the factors you need: however many bedrooms, bathrooms, maybe you want newer construction and a big yard. Great! So you are looking at a bunch of McCraftsmen that all more or less look the same and then all of a sudden a Redfin alert pops up on your phone. A house that meets every single one of your criteria hit the market - but this one also has an incredible pool with the most amazing hardscaping you’ve ever seen! All of a sudden your mind goes to entertaining around the fire pit during the summer and, wow, it’s the same exact price as the other houses down the street that also had everything you wanted.

You certainly didn’t need a house with a pool; in fact, you would have called yourself a “pool-optional” buyer. But now that you have five great options and one just happens to have this mini resort in the backyard - is this really a question?

Obviously you’re going to take the house with a pool.

And obviously, if two applicants are exactly the same, and it’s a highly competitive institution, the applicant with the high test score is going to be admitted over the applicant without test scores. No question.

Nearly all of these COVID-19 changes are about schools becoming test-optional, not test-blind.

So, it’s not time to buy the UCLA sweatshirt yet…that being said, it’s not all doom and gloom.

First of all, not all institutions are highly competitive.

There are many that are moderately selective - ones where good kids with lower test scores can have a huge advantage applying as test-optional candidates, particularly when paired with an ED or ED II app and the ability to pay in full. (The ability to pay doesn’t really matter for the highly competitive schools, because there are plenty of qualified applicants willing to pay for a certain sub-set of schools.)

This type of situation is where the right strategy is going to be critical.

Second, not all applicants are exactly the same.

Not even close!

This is important to consider and it’s why students cannot write about “How experiencing COVID-19 changed my life” for their college essays. Truly, they aren’t the same - they come from a variety of different backgrounds, with different goals for the future, and different personal stories.

You might have a kid who is just all-around amazing with an incredibly compelling essay, outstanding recommendations, etc - now that student may very well be admitted test-optional to a highly competitive school over the one who has high test scores but is “not sparkly enough,” as a Duke admissions officer once described a straight-A student to me in a counselor advocacy call (true story!).

SO HERE’S MY ADVICE:

1. Control what you can control - I have said it before and I will say it again: you can’t waste time being upset over what happened this year. It’s just out of your control. And if you don’t have a high test score, the reality is that you may not have the opportunity to retake the SAT or ACT in time… but you also might. We just don’t know yet. So don’t worry too much about this.

2. STUDY!!! If I was in this situation and wanted to go to a highly competitive school, I would study, study, and study some more for your test of choice over the next couple of months and hope for the best. David Coleman announced earlier this week that the College Board is attempting to roll out an at-home version of the SAT. And if that doesn’t work out, a deferred student could theoretically take a standardized test well into their senior year - even the February ACT will be back early enough that a college might give it some consideration during RD, particularly for a class that has been impacted so heavily. The good news is that very few students in the Class of 2021 are going to end up with high test scores, so the ones that do have them will really stand apart.

3. Differentiate the heck out of yourself - You have to make up for that lost data point. Blending in with the other upper-middle class suburban applicants with good grades and the same set of activities is not going to be enough here. You need a compelling personal story and a niche. An amazing essay, killer recommendations, you get the idea.

4. Earn the best grades and AP scores possible - They are literally all you have at this point in terms of data, so make them as high as you can. This is probably obvious, but just in case!

5. Consider early decision and be very strategic about your choice - If your grades are not 100% perfect and you were not able to differentiate yourself in some incredible way, consider a private school that’s very competitive but not a no-brainer over a substantially less expensive top-tier option like UVA. Those are the schools that may be the ones to choose. For example, Boston University, Tulane, and so forth.

Remember: you have a lot of time on your hands to work on this stuff!

Productivity Tips for All Ages: Family Kanban Boards

Well, it’s week four of quarantine and I think the reality has started to set in for most families that we are in this for the long haul. I’m trying not to complain but wow, this has just been very hard for everyone! When we’re not stressing about the things we can’t control, like the economy, we’re stressing about the things we theoretically can control, like accidentally letting a microscopic germ inside the house from a cereal box that wasn’t sanitized enough!

One common theme I keep hearing from a lot of parents - whether my friends with young kids or my clients with teenagers - is that motivations are dwindling, everyone has cabin fever, and nobody wants to sit down and do what they are supposed to be doing. This is excellent timing (just kidding) given that FCPS is about to re-start next week after a month off!

I know from my work life that parental nagging is usually ineffective and most often just results in everyone fighting with each other. Children (and even teenagers, I promise!) naturally want to please, but it usually turns into a power struggle at home. So the more that parents can distance themselves from the “taskmaster” role, the more likely it is that the tasks will actually be completed… as long as there’s a different type of accountability structure in place. This is exactly where my team and I shine in the college admissions process and why we are so big on the constant follow-up.

So, I decided to practice what I preach to everyone else and stop with the power struggles. Keep in mind, my kids are very young, so it’s not like I really care whether they are formally learning or not. I am not sitting here and pretending we are formally homeschooling - we are definitely not. I have bigger fish to fry, like running a business in the middle of a global pandemic! But I do want them to have a structured day with as little screen time as possible.

Enter Kanban boards!

These can be used by anyone of any age. For adults (see mine below for today) - I use a very simplified version. If you use Trello or the boards setup in Asana, this will look familiar.

Starting out, I put my to-do list in the backlog section to the left. Note that I have chosen only to include one-time tasks, for my purposes. I don’t include things like “responding to email” or “following up after essay coach meetings,” since I do those all day long.

Then I move the tasks that absolutely needed to be completed today to the “To Do” section. I move a task into “Doing” while it’s in the process of completion and “Done” after it’s finished. I personally LOVE the visual reminder of what I’ve accomplished - or what I haven’t accomplished!

I handled it a little bit differently with my kids and attempted to color-code their tasks while giving them some choice. Everything orange (for my daughter) and yellow (for my son) was non-negotiable and needed to be completed. In the morning, they were able to select six of the pink/blue tasks of their choice to add to the agenda for the day. Some of the tasks didn’t apply to today - for example, there’s no girl scout meeting or sewing class. So we skipped that.

My son is only three and can’t read, so if I had more time I would probably have drawn a little picture or something on his tasks for him to understand what they mean instead of having to rely on an adult.

The idea is that THEY get to decide when and how they want to do everything, as long as everything is done properly and according to the task (so 30 min of independent reading really does need to be 30 min), but it can happen whenever. And once the tasks are done - screen time!

For my kids, I will move all the post-its back to the backlog for tomorrow - but for me, I will have a totally different set of tasks, so I just throw mine out at the end of the day and start fresh.

Note: While this is useful for anyone, it can be especially helpful for kids with ADHD or anxiety who need to know what’s ahead and/or have trouble completing tasks and/or focusing on an end goal.

If you are inspired to step on the Kanban bandwagon, the large post-its that stick to the wall are available for curbside pickup at the Office Depot in Reston - that was the only place anywhere near Vienna that had them in stock.

Stay healthy!

Let's not forget about the juniors

On the morning of September 9, 2001, I woke up as my flight from New York was landing in London. I was a junior in high school and my best friends and I had finally arrived to start our “term abroad.” We were SO excited for everything ahead. I’ll never forget excitedly rushing to aol.com to sign in two days later when our group finally got internet access. I was the first one to make it to a computer. Before I could even enter my screen name (ha), there it was: a photo of the planes hitting the WTC.

BOOM! Life changed. In an instant. Forever.

Junior year is a tough time for anyone; that was true twenty years ago and it will be true twenty years from now. Your grades are all of the sudden incredibly important, you’re struggling with test prep, you’re trying to squeeze in college visits, you might be managing a handful of AP classes - it’s just so incredibly stressful in the best of circumstances.

Now, add a global crisis as the cherry on top of the pre-existing stress. That’s just a really, really difficult situation. I’ve been there. I get it.

So, as I see post upon post on social media about how sad it is that seniors are losing all of their end-of-high-school milestones - and don’t get me wrong, I feel terrible for the seniors too - I also think we need to remind ourselves: let’s not forget about the juniors. The seniors were already mentally checked out on high school well before this happened. But when the juniors look back in twenty years, these are the months they will remember. COVID-19 will probably define their high school experience, just as 9/11 defined mine.

Most of our seniors were admitted ED - so with school out, we’ve essentially spent the last couple of weeks with juniors, all day long. I can tell you firsthand that most of these kids are incredibly worried and scared about what the future will hold. They don’t know when they’re going to get to take the standardized tests that are hanging over their heads; they don’t know what’s going to happen to the coveted summer internships they worked so hard to land back in January and February; they don’t know if their schools will be back in session next fall. But they do know that their actions during this time will be judged by college admissions officers in less than a year - and the clock is ticking.

All of this on top of the fact that the “teenage brain is wired with an enhanced capacity for fear and anxiety, but is relatively underdeveloped when it comes to calm reasoning.” YIKES.

Here is some advice to help parents of juniors support their kids right now:

Try to be open and honest about any concerns with which your family is struggling, from finances to illnesses. Teenage imaginations will almost always create situations that are far worse than reality, so look at this as an opportunity to build trust that will come in handy during the college years ahead.

Watch for signs of depression and serious anxiety. When we meet with students on a regular basis, we can see shifts that might not be obvious to parents who see their children every day and aren’t actively looking out for this type of thing. Obviously, we share concerns when appropriate but every parent should be paying attention right now as well.

Pick your battles. Avoid power struggles. Cut them slack in all the areas that don’t really matter - but at the same time, set non-negotiable rules that emphasize health and wellness. Everyone needs to be getting an adequate amount of sleep right now to keep their immune systems functioning as well as possible, and it’s totally unacceptable for kids to be leaving the house to socialize.

Remind them about the silver linings of this situation. As terrible as this is, there are also a number of unexpected advantages. Kids who have been working like crazy all year can relax a little bit without worrying about messing up their perfect GPAs. Kids who haven’t been working like crazy can take advantage of a rare opportunity to positively influence their grades for the year. There are a million cool courses they can take online to explore different fields and now they actually have time to pursue them!

Celebrate their successes and accomplishments. We have a whole bunch of kids who just finished their Common App essays or are about to finish them within the next week. They are also making incredible headway on their teacher and counselor recommendation prep work, they finished their Common Applications long ago - we even have one girl who has written five supplemental essays already in addition to her main Common App essay! We are so proud! It’s important to recognize your kids’ hard work - and remind them how the upcoming months will be so. much. easier. as a result of buckling down now (here’s our list of suggestions for spending this time productively in case you haven’t read it yet).

And on a lighter (but totally serious!) note -

We at DC College Counseling are taking the official stance of no pandemic essays for the Class of 2021.

So, please don’t encourage this - NOT a good idea, Mom and Dad, NOT A GOOD IDEA AT ALL! This is going to sound terribly morbid, but if an immediate family member passes away, we will find a way to work that in. Otherwise, we need to show the admissions committee that there is more to your student than a pandemic that every single kid on the planet (literally!) is dealing with right now. Wasting valuable essay space on a topic that will not differentiate your student from any other student is not a good idea, no matter how life-altering this period of time will be for all of us.

More like 12,500th. 125,000th? Seriously, I would not be surprised if 75% of applicants write about this.

NOT UNDER OUR WATCH, PLEASE!

P.S. While it kills me to admit this, I actually did write the 9/11 version of the above for my college essay. Ughhhh. I know, I know. And my mom thought it was fantastic. Of course she did. It probably had two spaces after the periods, too. What can I say, we live and learn, right?!

Coronavirus: What You Need to Know

Whether you are more of the “doomsday prepper” type or think this is all overblown, there’s no denying that Coronavirus is a hot topic right now. We decided it was probably a good time to revisit our cancellation policy to ensure that we are providing the best possible service in the best possible environment!

Client Cancellation Policy

As our clients know from their contracts, we have a strict 48-hour cancellation policy - for any reason. However, we’re not doing this to be mean; in fact, we actually this policy in place to help our students.

Since we are dealing with teenagers (who often-times have 123,352 better things to be doing than writing their college essays), we can’t make it too easy to call in sick. This is particularly the case because so much of our strategy involves helping our students complete excellent work on a specific timeline.

Not only does this help each incentivize each individual student to uphold their commitments, it also helps the client base as a whole. Imagine if we had 5-10 students canceling meetings each week at the last minute for social obligations or other completely avoidable reasons. This would mean that 5-10 other students were blocked from booking those meetings.

Truly, this impacts everyone. After a decade of running a business with a high-school-age client base, we are 100% confident that this type of policy is best for everyone.

This Doesn’t Mean Show Up Sick!

It is fine to come with a cold, but students who are contagious cannot attend in-person meetings. We mostly follow Fairfax County Public Schools’ sick policy. If you have a fever, you are contagious and you should not be here.

One exception where we do NOT follow FCPS policy is with head lice. Knock on wood, I don’t think any of our clients have had head lice before while working with us, but just in case - do not come here with head lice!

Additionally, if CDC recommendations are more stringent than FCPS recommendations, we will follow those. For example, as of today (March 5), the CDC recommends 14 days of self-quarantine after traveling from Italy. FCPS does not; we will go with the CDC. Please let us know immediately if you have been to any of the countries on the CDC list or have had contact with anyone that has.

No Wasted Time

Students who are contagious or quarantined but still fine to complete work should simply switch their in-person meetings to remote ones. We hold remote meetings via Zoom, which is a video chat tool that also allows for super-easy screen sharing when working on essays, applications, and other documents. It’s like skype, but better! If you would prefer to switch a planned in-person meeting to a remote meeting for any reason, just email Rebeccah and she’ll take care of it for you. Please CC Colleen and your coach (if applicable) as well so that we can make sure that very-last-minute requests are not missed.

If you are truly too sick to work over Zoom, we will take the hour of time that you reserved and put it towards something else beneficial! We will never bill you for twiddling our thumbs during a missed appointment! Instead, we’ll take your reserved time and spend it doing something useful that doesn’t require direct student interaction. Maybe it’s plotting out a strategy and outline for repurposing specific essay content for individual school prompts; maybe it’s reviewing work that has already been completed; maybe it’s performing research for program-specific questions to ask an interviewer.. there are typically quite a few things we can do!

Snow Day Policy = Public Health Risk Policy

If for some reason Fairfax County Public Schools needs to close because of a public health risk, we’ll just jump right to our snow day policy. All meetings will be automatically canceled and we’ll contact you to reschedule. We may decide it’s fine for our office to remain open on a case by case basis, and we’ll contact you to give you the option to come in if you desire in that scenario. If you choose not to come, there will not be a cancellation penalty.

Upholding Our Own Standards

We’d also like to share an update to our team member sick policy, given the current landscape. We absolutely hate canceling meetings, because we know what an impact it has on our clients. Even though we try as hard as possible to avoid this, sometimes there’s just no way around it if we want to maintain a healthy office environment. So, not only will we hold our staff to the same health guidelines as students, but we’ll also hold ourselves to the same cancellation penalty if we have to be the ones to cancel.

If Fairfax County Public Schools are open but a member of our staff is contagious or quarantined with less than 48-hours notice, here’s what will happen:

1. We’ll first try to switch to a Zoom meeting, if the team member can meet remotely.

2. If that’s not possible, we’ll try to find a different team member to step in. This may require switching to a Zoom meeting, but we’ll do our absolute best to find a different coach to substitute if the meeting involves a coach. We will not assign substitutes for meetings with Colleen.

3. If we can’t offer a remote meeting or a substitute, your next hour of work with us will be free. One catch: you do have to spend that initial time block doing something productive relating to the college admissions process :)

Double-Check Spring Break College Trip Plans

This isn’t about our own office, but given what may be ahead, it’s wise to start thinking now about what will happen if colleges close as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, but you still need to try to squeeze in those visits. You will likely have to identify a few other days this spring to be able to visit while schools are in session.

Double-Check Standardized Test Cancellations

It’s possible that the College Board or ACT will need to cancel upcoming SAT or ACT administrations, as they have already done in other countries, as a result of Coronavirus. Typically, when tests are canceled in the United States, makeup dates are provided. Please monitor your email carefully in case you are impacted by a cancellation.

WASH YOUR HANDS!

Please, please, please!

A long-awaited FAFSA update: Why you shouldn't apply just to apply - and how to get help if you DO need to apply!!

Don’t “Apply just to Apply”

If you are 100% positive that there is absolutely no way that your family will qualify for financial aid, submitting the FAFSA will result in the following:

• Sharing personally identifiable information unnecessarily

• Providing information that could potentially bias the admissions committee against providing merit aid to the admitted student because of a higher-than-average household income and a perception that the additional money “isn’t needed”

• Providing information that could potentially make it more difficult to gain admission in the first place.

That last one is an especially important consideration: while a lack of financial need doesn’t really give anyone an advantage anymore (there are plenty of full-pay students, especially in the DC area), having financial need can still represent a disadvantage… whether the school claims to be need-blind or not.

Remember: many admissions officers do not have access to the numbers on financial aid forms when making the admissions decision, so other than context clues, they don’t know whether the student is applying for financial aid with a $50k HHI or a $500k HHI. They just know that the student applied for financial aid.. and BOOM! There goes any benefit associated with being a full-pay student!

Still: If you need to apply, you need to apply.

If there is ANY question that you might be eligible for need-based financial aid, please disregard the above information and go ahead and apply. You need to fill out the FAFSA; in all likelihood, the CSS Profile, as well; and any other forms required for the financial aid process. Many schools also have institutional forms, so please make sure to check individual financial aid websites. Don’t waste one minute thinking about whether to apply or not or worrying about a disadvantage. Control what you can control!

How to know?

Go ahead and visit FAFSA4caster to get a better estimate of your eligibility for financial aid before filling out a FAFSA. If your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is less than the expected cost of attendance at the highest-priced college(s) your student(s) may attend - you may qualify. Don’t forget to add the cost of attendance numbers together with multiple students in college - this is calculated per family, not per student.

• For example, let’s say your EFC is $100,000 and your son is a high school senior during the 2019-2020 academic year. You visited the schools’ websites and found that the cost of attendance at the pricest school on his list is Boston College, with an estimated cost of attendance of $76,161 (ouch) for the 2019-2020 academic year.

• Your first step should be to re-calculate the possible estimated cost of attendance for the 2020-2021 academic year. Boston College has had price increases of just under 4% (3.9%, 3.97%, etc) in recent years - let’s give them some wiggle room and re-calculate assuming a 5% cost increase to be safe. Your new estimate is $79,969. In this case, STOP! Don’t apply for financial aid. (Note: BC claims to be need-blind, and they very well may be, but why risk it? Many schools claim things that aren’t the case, or change policies mid-way through the admissions cycle.)

• However, let’s take that same scenario (EFC is $100,000 and the expected cost of attendance at your senior son’s highest-priced school is $79,969) and pretend that you already have an older child in college already. She will be entering her second year at UVA’s School of Engineering (that in-state tuition never looked so good, huh!) and the estimated cost of attendance is $38,210. Allow for a 4% increase based on UVA’s past data, which would come to be $39,738. Add the two numbers together: you’re now at $119,707. YES- you should apply for financial aid!

One issue I didn’t cover here, for simplicity’s sake - the way that schools present costs are slightly different from school to school and are not particularly straightforward. Some include allowances for items like living expenses, for example. Since it’s not a perfect calculation, if your EFC is anywhere near the expected cost of attendance, I would go ahead and apply just in case. On the other hand, if your EFC is $100,000 and your student is attending a school with a $70,000 cost of attendance, you should not apply. This will do you no favors.

YAY! WE WILL LIKELY QUALIFY! HOW DO I FILL THIS THING OUT?

If you do decide to fill out a FAFSA and apply for aid,  the good news is that there is a local organization that provides 1:1 assistance for free. College Access Fairfax will provide 1:1 assistance at their FAFSA completion workshops, as long as you show up with the documents they require in hand (don’t worry, there aren’t too many documents to gather).  Students do not have to be enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools and do not even have to live in Fairfax County. This is such a great service! There is still one workshop left on April 1 for Class of 2020 seniors who are filling it out on the later side, and you can register for that here.

They also provide programming for younger students that is absolutely worth attending if you believe you will apply for financial aid or would just like to learn more about the process. Events in March include Paying for College/Scholarship 101 (I would recommend this for families with students in 9th-11th grade) and several Middle School Financial Awareness seminars.

A FEW LAST TIPS

Believe me, I understand that it’s stressful to think about paying for college. Whether you qualify for financial aid or not, this is a source of stress for MANY families across income levels. Here are a few more tips concerning finances:

• Set a budget from the beginning and stick to it. Do not allow emotion to be a factor in your decision-making process; desperate people make bad choices. NO school is worth your retirement savings or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

• Try not to feel badly if you can’t afford to send your student where she wants to go (or can, but have chosen not to spend your money that way). I have seen so many parents beat themselves up about this over the years, which is crazy. Accepting that you can’t give your child everything is the worst part of parenting and 100% unavoidable. You can put it off, sure, but not forever.

• Bernie Sanders is NOT the answer. Sorry, had to stick that in there :) Don’t forget to vote on Super Tuesday tomorrow!

Good luck!

To FAFSA or not to FAFSA... that is the question!

Few things bother me more than processes that aren’t transparent.

As a result, I try to do whatever I can to be honest and direct with my clients. I do not believe in hiding the truth from people - it only causes problems in the long run, even if it seems like a good idea or “the right thing to do” at the time. (Side note: if you haven’t read the book Lying, I highly recommend it. Life-changing!)

One college admissions-related issue where transparency is seriously lacking has to do with filling out the FAFSA, and whether families without financial need should fill it out anyway.

Around this time of year, every year, questions about this issue roll in nonstop. On one hand, colleges and school counselors seem to be insisting that the FAFSA is required for everyone, financial need or not… but many families report that their accountants have advised them that it’s not required, and that they shouldn’t fill it out.

I’m with the accountants. NO! Don’t fill it out if you don’t have financial need.

But my school counselor said to fill it out!

The long and short of it is that school counselors often-times encourage all families to fill out the FAFSA to make sure that no families accidentally bypass it because of a mistaken belief that they aren’t eligible.

While I agree in theory that it’s better to have a hundred ineligible families apply for no reason than to have one eligible family miss out on financial aid… I feel like the whole thing gets tricky when gentle “encouragement” turns into “bombarding families with scare tactics” about how their students will not be eligible for merit-based scholarships if their parents do not apply for financial aid.

And it’s not just counselors, it’s entire school systems and even STATES! Some states have actually begun to force all graduating public school students to complete the form!

As a result, many families truly believe that filling out the FAFSA is just another necessary step in the college application process and they fill it out without questioning anything.

Even though I am not a fan of spreading inaccurate information to scare people into doing something, I think the school counselors that perpetuate this myth have their hearts in the right place.

Moreover, based on the outright arguments I have seen on college admissions list-serves, I am pretty confident that a good number of these counselors actually do believe it’s required and just don’t know any better. Which is sort of concerning, to be honest, but I digress!

But the colleges said to fill it out too!

Colleges, in my opinion, aren’t perpetuating the idea that the FAFSA is required for the same reason as the counselors. Instead, they want the data! If more students fill out the FAFSA, that just means that the colleges and universities have more information to use in sophisticated mathematical models that influence admissions decisions and scholarships.

You can read more about how data is used in the admissions process in a New York Times article that I shared on social media this past fall. It was one of the best college admissions-related reads of last year, in my opinion! You can find it here - but I took the liberty of copying and pasting a selection below, as well:

If you pick any two freshmen at the same college, they are very likely to be paying completely different tuition rates. Those rates are based not on the true value of the service the college is offering or even on the ability of the student’s family to pay. Instead, they are based on a complex calculation, using sophisticated predictive algorithms, of what the student is worth to the college and what the college is worth to the student.

The consultants many colleges hire to perform those calculations — known in the trade as “financial-aid optimization” — are the hidden geniuses of enrollment management, the quants with advanced math degrees who spend hours behind closed doors, parsing student decision-making patterns, carefully adjusting their econometric models, calculating for admissions directors precisely how many dollars they would need to cut from their list price to persuade each specific Chloe or Josh to choose their college. Outside the ranks of enrollment management, the work done by the companies that employ these back-room prodigies is almost entirely unknown. But collectively, they play as big a role as anyone in shaping American college admissions today.

Of course they try to suggest that families have to fill out the FAFSA. Come on - those algorithms won’t run without data!

The Actual Truth

Colleges provide three different types of scholarships, or “free money", “grants,” etc:

• Merit-based

• Need-based

• A combination of merit-and-need based

It is exceptionally, exceptionally rare for a school to require the FAFSA for a scholarship in the first category - one where financial need does not play a role in the selection process.

If you hear an admissions officer say that the FAFSA is required for scholarships, or if you read it on a college website, you need to delve deeper to determine if any of the schools on your list fall under one of those rare exceptions.

NOTE: Since many of my blog readers are Virginia residents, I want to point out that Virginia Tech is one of the schools that does show up on the exception list. Still, the reason for the exception won’t apply to 99% of the VT applicants with whom I work. Most of their “merit-based scholarships” do have a need-based component - which obviously requires the FAFSA - but some of their military scholarships require the FAFSA even though they don’t take financial need into consideration:

So, if you know that you will be applying for a military scholarship at VT: yes, you’re going to have to file the FAFSA regardless of need.

If there is any question whatsoever about whether a FAFSA might be required at a certain school for merit applicants without financial need, make sure to do your due diligence; after all, policies change. Give their financial aid office a call. Ask: “What kinds of scholarships require the FAFSA? Does your institution have a single scholarship that is merit-based only, with no financial need component whatsoever, that requires the FAFSA?”

Be warned: the person may very well tell you at first that merit-based scholarships do require the FAFSA at their institution. But once you start pressing about whether those “merit” scholarships incorporate financial need, you will learn that it is incredibly rare for a college to require the FAFSA for a scholarship that is truly based on merit alone.

Think about it - why would you need to share your financial information for a scholarship that has nothing to do with financial need? That would make no sense.

So why not just submit it anyway, just in case? Can that really hurt?

It sure can!

More on that in my next post..

(And just to be clear - families with financial need should fill it out. No debate there.)

#UVA24: An Analysis

2/5/2021 Update: This page is getting a ton of hits with the release of the #UVA25 Early Action decisions this evening. I just wanted to make sure that readers are aware that this was posted last year. Check out today’s blog post for some initial thoughts on the decision release. We’ll have more to come later after we can spend some time with the data!

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I originally said that I’d wait to post an overall impression of this year’s early round until I learned all of the EA and ED II decisions. Still not quite there yet (looking at you for EA, Virginia Tech - and while 3 out of our 4 ED II applicants have been accepted to their respective schools (YAY!), we are still waiting on the 4th).

I decided to go ahead and share my interpretations of UVA’s early results, anyway, since we had some uncharted territory this year with the return of ED.

March 2019 - I was (coincidentally) on campus the day after the RD decisions were released!

If you weren’t aware, UVA re-introduced a binding early decision option this cycle to supplement their non-binding early action process, after almost fifteen years with no binding application plan).

Most everyone had no clue what to expect this year as a result. Would it become easier for applicants who were willing to commit? Would it become more difficult for everyone else? We all know that ED makes a huge difference in outcomes for William & Mary applicants (as is typical at most institutions), but UVA staff kept reiterating that this type of situation would not necessarily be the case there.

Well, both the ED and EA results are now in, and here’s what I have to offer after a few hours playing with the numbers:

• The number of early decision applicants this year turned out to be quite small. When UVA first decided to stop offering an early decision plan in 2006, they received about 2,500 ED applications each year, representing approximately 15-17% of an overall applicant pool numbering between 14,500-16,000. This year, with the re-introduction of ED, there were only 2,159 ED applications - but the overall applicant pool has steadily increased to one that now exceeds the 40,000 mark. Therefore, the percentage of ED applicants only represented about 5% of the overall pool this year. That’s significant. There are so many explanations for why this could be - perhaps Class of 2021 students had already mentally committed to applying ED elsewhere before the option to apply ED to UVA was announced in the spring of their junior year. Or maybe it’s just that UVA has always been a relatively predictable school in terms of admissions, and qualified applicants didn’t feel like they needed to apply ED to be admitted.

• At least when it comes to the limited information we have (i.e. we have no data about the qualifications of the admitted students), it does not appear that in-state students who applied early decision had much of a statistical advantage over the ones who applied early action. The ED acceptance rate for this year’s pool was about 40% for Virginia residents, compared to a 35% (ish) acceptance rate for Virginia residents who applied EA. When you consider that many schools have ED rates that are triple the size of their EA rates, this is really interesting.

• On the other hand, there was a very significant advantage for out-of-state students applying early decision. The acceptance rate was about 28% for ED out-of-state students, compared to 15% for EA out-of-state students. Applications to top public universities have skyrocketed in recent years as a result of all of the restrictive and single-choice early action policies, and the landscape has created a situation where it’s nearly impossible for these admissions committees to determine who wants to come and who is actually just mass-applying to all of the top public schools in the United States. This has resulted in what I like to call the “Michigan Effect” - with mass out-of-state deferrals across the board that don’t even really seem to correlate with candidate qualifications. So, the decision to prioritize out-of-state students who apply ED (vs. out-of-state students who apply EA) feels very fair to me.

• The EA acceptance rate for in-state students went from 43.4% last year to 35% this year, which represents a 19% drop from year to year (don’t forget that the rate is statewide and is not representative of the Northern Virginia applicant pool - I highly doubt that NOVA students are admitted at a 35% rate). That means that 1 out of every 5 in-state students not admitted early action to UVA this year would have been admitted last year.

• But if we compare the total number of applications from last year (RD + EA) to the total number from this year (RD + EA + ED), they are REMARKABLY similar. So even though more kids applied early this year, less applied regular.

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Here’s what I think happened this year - I feel like a bit of a conspiracy theorist, but hear me out!

-UVA may have been particularly conservative with their decisions, particularly in the ED pool. At the time the ED decisions were released, the RD deadline hadn’t passed and so much was still unknown in terms of the overall number of applicants. Especially in the wake of the Virginia Tech enrollment debacles of the last several years, I could certainly see UVA deciding that a conservative approach in the face of change would be much better than an over-enrollment situation.

-Perhaps more applicants who might have initially applied RD chose to apply EA instead after ED was added. This makes sense given that some other schools have started to indicate that students need to either apply EA or ED to be competitive applicants when both options are offered; RD has almost turned into an afterthought in those situations. Of course, this is not the case at UVA, but it’s very possible that applicants didn’t realize this. So that would explain why the combination EA/ED numbers were greater than EA alone during the 2018-2019 cycle, while the RD numbers were down.

If I’m right in terms of the intentionally conservative approach, I think that this may extend through RD because the overall yield may be hard to predict. For example, if all the people with UVA as their #1 choice applied ED, the EA/RD pool should have a lower yield since that “#1 choice group” is no longer part of it. But how much lower? It’s so hard to say. Ultimately, I think that since there’s still so much uncertainty, we may see more waitlist movement than in past years.

I can’t help but wonder about two things:

1. Given that ED acceptances were released before RD applications were due (in other words - the committee had to make the ED decisions when it looked like the total number of applications was trending upwards, before it normalized).. and given that the situation this year was unpredictable for everyone - including the UVA admissions committee - maybe UVA will be a bit more generous in the ED round next year?

2. Given the same issue, it will be very interesting to see if deferred ED students are admitted this spring at the same rate as the deferred EA students. Or even admitted from the waitlist, for that matter! It would not surprise me if we saw a greater ED advantage emerge down the line, either in RD or from the waitlist.

Only time will tell!

2020-2021 Common Application® Essay Prompts Released for the Class of 2021

Yay! I have been waiting for this day in eager anticipation for a while!

The Common Application® organization performed a study to determine whether the current essay prompt choices were effective, and I am VERY happy to report that they just announced the decision to stick with last year’s prompts for the Class of 2021!

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right?

Here are the 2020-2021 Common App® Prompts:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma — anything of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

A few pieces of advice to all HS Class of 2021 students beginning this process:

Focus on the message, not the story. The #1 concern I hear from students and parents is that they just don’t know what to write about. This is especially the case from students in Northern Virginia, who have often just lived a normal, suburban lifestyle - no huge tragedies or adversity to overcome. The good news is that with a few exceptions (we’ll get to those), it honestly doesn’t matter what you write about. I swear. An amazing topic is not what makes an amazing essay.

What will make an amazing essay will be an authentic snapshot into your personality - a characteristic that you can share about yourself that really captures who you are. Maybe it’s a cool way you think, an odd quirk, or an interesting habit you have. If you are working on this alone without our help, talk to your parents, siblings, friends, and teachers about characteristics that make you unique. What are you “known for”? It doesn’t have to be fancy or impressive!

Once you have something in mind, back into a story that clearly showcases the characteristic. Again, it’s not really about the story itself (caveat to come!); instead, it’s about how well the story showcases the characteristic… how authentic it sounds!

That said, try as hard as you can to try to avoid cliche, overused, and/or inappropriate topics. If you feel like you HAVE to write about a cliche story, write about one that is loosely related to it (so you are able to reference or mention whatever it is without having your whole essay revolve around it).

End by considering how you will be able to apply that characteristic in the short-term and/or long-term future, to be able to make a difference in a positive way.

What does the prompt release mean for DC College Counseling students in the Class of 2021?

All Class of 2021 students will receive their WOW Writing Workshop login information at some point in the next week, and then our essay writing process will officially begin! Every student and parent will also receive an email containing instructions and next steps from me (Colleen). Get excited!!!

Since all of our work is individualized and customizable, we have set alternate schedules with some students for various reasons; however, most of our students will have their main essay 100% complete by/around spring break. Yep, you read that right! And it is going to feel AWESOME to have this done so early. Bonus: Juniors enrolled in AP English Language typically have to write their “college essay” as an end-of-year assignment. So you can cross that off the to-do list as well. You’re welcome :)

Most of you have heard us rave about the WOW system already: this is now our third season as WOW partners and we use a slightly modified version of their approach, so that we can incorporate our in-person meetings and high-touch project management work. All students will have three assigned meetings at pre-determined stages and ongoing coaching and editing work in between. They will conclude the process with a fourth “meeting,” a final polish from our self-described “Rumpelstiltskin of editing” who specializes in performing the best final edits you’ll ever see! Then, of course, I will weigh in one last time.

If you’re not a DC College Counseling student (yet) but are interested in working together:

It’s not too late to sign up for an ongoing package; we just started with two new Class of 2021 students this week alone! Start with a no-obligation Meet & Greet to learn about how my fabulous team and I can help a student achieve their goals with very little stress along the way.

For students who need less help overall and are primarily concerned with the main essay, we have the new hybrid Strategy & Planning Plus option.

Last but not least - a cool opportunity! If you’re not a DC College Counseling student (yet) and aren’t able to contract for services:

We’re expensive - I get it! This spring, we have three pro bono (yes - free!) spots available for high school juniors who would like to complete their Common Application® Essay before April 1. The students must have parental permission and the ability to attend in-person sessions, and must also allow us to publicly chronicle their experiences throughout the writing process. To be clear, no actual essay material will be shared, just more about the process itself.

We’d prefer to extend this opportunity to students with demonstrated financial need or are underserved in some way, although it’s not a hard and fast requirement. If you are this student, please shoot me an email with a little bit about yourself and why you’d like to be considered! And if you are a third party who knows of a deserving student that might be able to benefit from this, let us know.

Welcome to Miami / Bienvenidos a Miami

Am I the only one who automatically starts singing the Will Smith song in my head when I think about Miami? (It just occurred to me that anyone applying to college today was born years after that song came out.. yikes!)

I visit 30-40 schools per year to be able to stay on top of all of the new trends and recommend schools to students, but hardly any of my trip reports make it to this blog. One of my goals for 2020 is to change that!

I decided that my recent visit to the University of Miami was a perfect place to start, because it has a very wide appeal for many different types of students.

The school wasn’t always as well-regarded as it is now, and a lot of where it is today is because of former president Donna Shalala. I probably wouldn’t have said it this way myself, but I agree with the Miami Herald’s characterization that Shalala “transformed the university from a beer-and-party-school to one with a global reach, raising billions of dollars in the process.”

UM’s most recent Common Data Set statistics show a score average range of 1250-1430 for enrolled first-year students (or 29-32 on the ACT). If my calculations are correct, it also shows a 31.27% acceptance rates for students who applied via non-binding plans (early action and regular decision combined) and 55.6% acceptance rate for students applying via early decision.

Okay, enough on the statistics. Here are my thoughts!

WHAT TO LOVE:

• THE WEATHER! I mean, really. It was so depressing to fly back to DC!

• THE CITY! Miami is just booming right now. I stayed downtown near the new (ish) Brickell City Centre complex and it was beautiful. So much to do. It’s really a great city.

• Along those lines, it’s awesome that students get to experience the “city life” when they want, the “beach life” when they want, and a fully residential, closed campus when they want. Definitely a best-of-all-worlds kind of situation.

• It’s one of the few schools that has a ton of school spirit despite being both private and mid-size (11,000+ undergraduates). Typically we see this kind of school spirit at a much larger public school. This almost always correlates with a loyal alumni network and that’s definitely the case here as well.

• Sought-after majors that aren’t offered everywhere - from engineering to business to communication to nursing to architecture - to very highly regarded niche programs like meteorology, marine science, music, and sport administration. There are really a lot of options, especially when considering the size of the student body. UM does a lot, and does a lot well.

• It’s selective while still being possible for a “normal” (i.e. you don’t have to cure cancer) student with good grades and test scores to get in.

• There’s an incredibly active Jewish community (but it’s not the kind of thing where students who are not Jewish will feel left out - I do not get that sense at all).

• Generous merit aid to qualified students, especially those with high test scores.

• No essay on the Common App supplement - it basically takes five minutes to apply!

WHAT TO THINK MORE ABOUT:

• The surrounding neighborhood is not amazing. Coral Gables itself definitely does have some nice aspects - I had lunch at Bachour, which was soooo delicious, and I also went shopping at Merrick Park, which was very nice and upscale. But the immediate area surrounding campus is not exactly a bragging point.

• Students that do not speak Spanish might feel a little out of place. I am actually from Miami originally, but I do not speak Spanish - and whenever I am in Miami I am reminded that I wish I did!

• The campus itself has a lot of concrete, which makes sense given the hurricane situation. The school is beautiful in a lush, tropical sort of way, but it’s not beautiful in the “classic college campus” sort of way.

• Back to the whole “city life” thing - there’s a higher percentage of students that go out clubbing on the weekend than one will find at most schools. Some students appreciate this, some don’t.

All in all, it gets a thumbs-up in my book and I can see why it appeals to so many different kinds of students. Pro tip: if you decide to visit (and you should!), a lot of hotels in Miami have great discounts for those visiting the school. I stayed at the W for something like $249/night when the website was showing rates of $800+/night. Make sure to take advantage of that!

Summer Internship and Job Application Prep

We’ve gotten SO much positive feedback from our new internship database - keep watching for more listings each week, because we have a whole bunch of great ones on the pipeline! So far, you can see our January 14 listings here and our January 7 listings here.

Several families have asked whether resume and interview preparation for the college application process can also carry over to the internship and job application process. Is it basically the same?

Great question, and the answer is “yes and no.” Here’s a breakdown for you:

Creating a Resume

College Admissions

The resume must be one page long at the absolute max and should have a clean format that is easy to read (and easy to skim!). It should provide a general overview of the student’s greatest accomplishments and other need-to-know information, grouped into sections with headings. All of our clients have a sample template in their Google Drive folders, and non-clients can purchase a low-cost editable instant download of the same template here.

Job/Internship

The format should be very similar to the admissions resume in that it should not exceed one page and should be easy to read and skim. It should also be grouped into sections and headings. However, it should not be general in nature - it should be tailored to the position as much as possible and should highlight experiences that coincide with the job duties.

BRINGING a Resume

College Admissions

It’s not absolutely necessary for students to bring a resume to a college interview if they don’t have one prepared already. Most of the interviewers will not read the resume; however, if students have one prepared or are willing to put some time into creating one, they should go ahead and take it with them. It will only help project a positive impression!

Job/Internship

Students must always, always, always bring a resume with them to a job interview--even if they have emailed it to the employer ahead of time! No way around this. They should bring several copies in a portfolio or folder to ensure that they do not become dirty or crumpled en route to the interview.

Interview Preparation

College Admissions

As many of our students know, interview preparation for a college admissions interview is essential! A few of the tasks we cover in our interview prep sessions include developing answers to common interview questions, writing questions to ask the interviewer that show research and interest, perfecting a handshake, and practicing eye contact. We also advise several practice rounds with one of our staff members or a parent; this will help students learn to answer questions on the spot while maintaining a professional approach (it will also help to eliminate fillers like “um” and “like”).

Job/Internship

Just like college interviews, job interviews require preparation. Many of the skills from college interview work will help with job and internship interviews, such as sustained eye contact, a strong handshake, and a professional approach. It’s also critical to practice answers to common questions and arrive to the interview with questions that show research and interest; however, the nature of all of these questions will be completely different.

Interview Attire

College Admissions

College interviews usually require business casual attire. This can mean a nice dress or pants with a blazer or sweater for girls, or nice pants with a button-down shirt for boys. No leggings, athletic wear, or jeans! Girls should pay attention to their shoes to make sure that they are able to walk comfortably and that they are not wearing a heel that is too high. All clothes should be clean and pressed, and fit well. Nothing too tight or too baggy, and certainly nothing that could be considered even remotely objectionable. Boys should make sure to have had a haircut recently and girls should have their hair styled away from their face in a polished way. No heavy makeup, perfume, or cologne. When in doubt, students should ask themselves it their outfit would be appropriate to attend a religious service at a grandparent’s retirement home. If the answer is yes, that’s a good sign!

Job/Internship

Job and internship interviews are a little trickier because it very much depends on the job. It would be strange to walk into Starbucks in a suit for an interview, but it would also be inappropriate to walk into a corporate internship full of men and women in suits while wearing a pair of khakis. Regardless, however, it’s always best to look your best for a first impression. We recommend trying to get a sense of the typical office attire of the workplace and going for one or two notches above that, if it’s more of a casual setting. All grooming-related tips from the college interview still apply.

Interview Scheduling and Timing

College Admissions

Students should plan interviews far ahead of time--this ensures appropriate preparation and it also shows interest in the school! Plus, some schools’ interview slots that fill up relatively quickly - like William & Mary’s summer interview schedule. On the day of the interview, it’s best to arrive no earlier than 15-20 minutes in advance and no later than 5 minutes in advance.

Job/Internship

Timeliness is equally important for job and internship interviews. Unlike college interviews, however, students don’t just “sign up” and interviews aren’t extended to all applicants. It actually plays out in the opposite manner! Instead, students first need to submit an application if one exists (typically this is the case for internships) and/or submit a resume and cover letter. Students should be sure to read the specific instructions in the listing, which may be very different from position to position.

Whether it is a job or an internship, interviews are typically only granted after the organization has reviewed the student’s materials and decided that the student meets the position’s initial qualifications. If the organization is interested in interviewing a student, a representative will typically invite the student to come in and may suggest a set of times. On the day of the interview, follow the same advice regarding timing - no more than 15-20 minutes in advance and no later than 5 minutes in advance.

Interview Questions

College Admissions

Admissions officers or alums will certainly ask students questions about their academic history and plans for the future, extracurricular activities (volunteer, arts, sports, etc.), and their interest in attending that particular school. Some interviewers may ask students to describe themselves or how others would describe them. They’re trying to get an overall sense of the student’s work ethic, their dedication to things outside of school, and their overall personality - as well as their likelihood of attending the school if admitted. A lot of that will come out through the rapport the student has with the interviewer, but it’s extremely helpful to prepare for questions so that students have answers in mind for every possible question!  Anyone needing more help with this can pick up our College Interview Guide. Current clients can download this from our shared documents site (see your passwords document for login access).

Job/Internship

Job and internship interview questions are typically not as focused on extracurriculars and academics, although this can vary depending on the position. Instead, most questions typically revolve around student experience with the duties that the position entails. One of our coaches, Megan, was recently sharing a story with a student about how she had unsuccessfully applied for a job at Anthropologie while she was in high school. She had a great academic history and plenty of experience in childcare, but nothing in retail.

In retrospect, she explained, she should have pulled from what she had and tried to connect the skills that made her successful in school and babysitting to skills that would make her a great employee at Anthropologie. This would have been much more effective than talking about how she was a great babysitter. Even students starting from a place with no work experience can try to connect what they have learned from academic and extracurricular experiences to the day-to-day duties of the position at hand.

Lastly, just like preparing for the “Why this school?” college interview question, students need to have well-researched and thought-out answers regarding why the particular job and internship is appealing to them.

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As you can see, there’s a lot of overlap between the college application process and the job/internship application process, but not enough to bypass dedicated preparation for the latter. Remember that parents can often provide great support in helping to segue from interviews and resumes geared towards the college admissions process to those geared towards jobs and internships.

If you’d rather come in to work with a team member, we have options available for both current clients and those who are not working with us on an ongoing basis but just need a little help in this area.

BRAND NEW: DC AREA SUMMER 2020 HIGH SCHOOL INTERNSHIP DATABASE

This is the season during which I speak to freshmen, sophomores and juniors about their summer plans, and every year I hear students complaining about the lack of high school internship opportunities. Everyone wants a summer activity that is related to their area of academic interest (because that’s what I recommend ;) ) and they can be pretty hard to come by!

It kills me to see so many great high school students (who have so much to offer!!) who are desperate to work for free and I know there are definitely organizations and companies - especially nonprofits and small businesses - who could benefit from their help.

As a result, I have helped match up high school students with opportunities throughout the years via my own personal connections, but I decided to take it one step further this year.

I put together this page of Summer 2020 High School Internships in the Greater Washington DC Area using curated posts and listings I found myself. I will continue to update it regularly over the months ahead.

However, my main objective is to use the page to match up local organizations without publicly-listed formal internship programs with high school students who are ready and willing to work. There is a link on the site where employers can enter information about any kind of academic or career-related volunteer or internship opportunity.

Please know that this does NOT need to be formal! Most of these students would be so grateful for any chance to work in an industry that’s remotely related to what they want to study - even if it’s filing or collecting mail. And they are all social media gurus, so don’t forget about that!

Each week, we will update the site and send out the updated listings to our clients and anyone else that signs up on the page. I want this to be accessible to every high school student in our area, whether they are clients of ours or not. I have no idea if this will be successful, but I’m game for trying!

If you are an adult reading this, would you consider sharing the page with your network or community group - or adding an internship listing for your own organization? The more listings we have, the more students we can help!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, friends!

I hope that everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable break. Those who follow me on social media have seen all of my posts about our big move over these last two weeks! We had a few snafus, like when the Ikea delivery people no-showed (!) but we got through it.. even when it meant renting a U-Haul and dragging my whole family to College Park since it was my au pair’s day off and I was that desperate!!

You can read directions to our new office here - we are not 100% up and running yet but will be by Wednesday (minus some small things we’re still waiting on like blinds and frames..and some big things like our outside sign!).

I’ll post pictures when we are finished but here’s a sneak peak of how things look right now.

Something else that might even be MORE exciting (actually I think it’s a lot more exciting) is a cool new initiative I’m trying for the first time this year!

Stay tuned for an announcement tomorrow when we’re back in the office for real!

How to Turn a Deferral into an Acceptance: Everything You Need to Know!

Students are beginning the college admissions process earlier and earlier, and it’s not rare anymore for my work with a student to begin in middle school. There are certain parts of the journey that I enjoy more than others, of course. But throughout all of our time together, I think that my absolute favorite part (or at least the most fulfilling) is working with deferred applicants - and especially those of the “Hail Mary” sort that I referenced in my last post.

If you’ve been deferred and are hoping to turn things around, I highly recommend following the steps below:

Step #1: Ask your school counselor to call your regional admissions representative to learn more information about why you were deferred.

This is critical. CRITICAL!

And you calling the school yourself is NOT a substitute for your counselor making the phone call. Admissions officers will generally not share detailed information with an applicant. However, school counselors can typically get lots of inside knowledge about the decision and why it occurred. This is extremely valuable information.

Moving forward without it is basically the equivalent of trying to overcome an objection without knowing what the objection is! Sure, maybe you’ll get lucky and hit the right part of the dartboard, but in all likelihood, it’s going to be an uphill battle.

NOTE: Unfortunately, some counselors do not realize that they are able to do this or don’t know what to say. In the last week alone I’ve guided a number of school counselors through this process and am happy to do that for any of my clients. For those of you following along at home, reinforce to your counselor that this type of advocacy is a completely acceptable practice. It even has a term - a “counselor call.”

Step #2: Based on the information your counselor provides, determine which deferral category you’re in.

I find that deferrals typically fall into one of three categories.

Category #1: The student has a decent shot of getting in regular IF .... (fill in the blank with a tangible objective). The admissions committee might be waiting to see if the student ends up with higher test scores, higher senior year grades, different recommendations, or so forth. This is the best-case scenario, and you need to know what you're working with ASAP so you can solve the problem.

Category #2: The normal "too many competitive candidates, the student looked good, nothing specific" blah blah - these can be frustrating because there’s less of a clear path, but you can still forge ahead with a plan. Sometimes we might have a variation on #2 with a smidge of #1 mixed in.

Category #3: Short of a well-timed discovery of a cure for cancer, the student has absolutely no chance of getting in RD and was deferred (a) because the school defers every single person and doesn’t deny a single applicant - looking at you, Georgetown - or (b) as a courtesy to any connections who were supporting the application. This is very helpful to know so you're not banking on something that could never happen.

Step #3: Strategize and formulate a PLAN!

Plot out the next several months with a step-by-step plan of attack. The details will depend on your specific situation, but will likely involve expressing a ton of demonstrated interest, a clear indication that you will enroll if admitted despite the fact that you are no longer legally bound to do so, more recommendations, and so forth.

Some applicants should retest, others need to buckle down hardcore to make sure their grades are their absolute best yet.. and so on and so on. But the key is creating this plan in advance - I would even assign due dates for each portion of it.

One part of the plan will definitely involve writing and submitting a Letter of Continued Interest. We wrote a very detailed post on how to write these letters last year - check it out!

Step #4: Follow the plan to completion.

This is pretty obvious, right? Unfortunately, it’s not as obvious as you’d think. SO many times, students are energized and excited about the initial idea of a plan but don’t take the steps needed to follow through on it. Things come up, senior year gets busy, and managing these details can feel overwhelming. It’s easy to tell yourself that one fewer recommendation than planned won’t be a big deal, or that you don’t really need to write that extra letter to the admissions officer - don’t fall into this trap, though!

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Good luck - and stay positive!

2019-2020 Early Decision Aftermath

It’s that time of year again and our students are hearing decisions by the day! Five years ago, anyone applying in the early round could expect to learn all of their early application results before the holidays. Now, the timeline has shifted a bit due to increases in application volume. With so many more applicants, the admissions officers just don’t have time to finish reading applications as early as they could. Each year, more and more schools shift to release EA decisions later and later.

Fortunately, schools are still generally following the model of a pre-holiday ED release, and we had a LOT of ED applicants this year. While I have always been very pro-ED in terms of strategy, this year I was a bit more aggressive in pushing every single family to give serious consideration to the option (as long as it made sense from a financial perspective) because of the trends I observed last year.

We had a huge number of students accepted to their top choice schools ED with only one decision that I was really bummed about. We also had a couple of others deferred from schools that were gigantic, “Hail Mary” type reaches. This year was without a doubt our most successful yet.

Our last student waiting to hear back from ED learned her decision on Tuesday (another acceptance! yay!) and I would say about half of the early action students have received notification thus far. These will continue rolling in throughout the next couple of days. The rest of the early action news will come in January or February, and regular decision results will follow in late March.

As much as I’d love to go into a deeper analysis of 2019-2020 trends from the early round, I’m going to save that until I have a more complete picture after the rest of the EA news comes in this winter - and the ED II news as well!