Weekly Update: December 11

A big week as we start to see some decision come out for our students! And a busy week for us as we continue working hard on transfer and graduate school applications before the holidays.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

UVA CLASS OF 2025 EARLY DECISION STATISTICS RELEASED

Dean J provided a very helpful update yesterday about UVA’s early decision statistics from this past application cycle. My initial thoughts: while applications increased substantially (by 36% if my math is correct!), the actual number of students accepted through ED increased as well - by about 29%. This resulted in an ED acceptance rate that only decreased by a couple of percentage points from last year, despite the huge increase in applications. This is great news for ED applicants. However, unless UVA plans to increase the size of their freshman class, which I do not believe is the case, EA and RD applicants will likely feel an impact. The additional slots allocated to ED applicants will have to come from somewhere, and I anticipate that EA and RD will be a little more competitive as a result.

OTHER SCHOOLS RELEASE STATISTICS FOR THIS CYCLE

UVA is not the only school that we’ve been watching for early statistics. Emory published that their Early Decision I applications were up 8% from last year, UNC up 10%, and Duke saw an even larger increase of nearly 18%, and as a result is expecting an early admit rate of only 16 to 17% when decisions are released later this month. While we don’t know the stats yet for Virginia Tech, they have received more applications so far this cycle than in all of last cycle - and a 35% increase in EA applications! This record increase is not particularly promising for applicants. We should have more to share about ED and EA statistics next week.

CONFLICTING REPORTS ON WHAT WILL HAPPEN THIS SPRING

While we are excited at the new COVID-19 vaccine developments, cases are still rising and leaving colleges with a difficult decision to make about what will happen during the spring semester. Some schools, like Georgetown and Princeton, plan to invite students back to campus after a nearly entirely virtual first semester, while other schools view reopening in person as a financial necessity. But college-age students are not likely to receive a vaccine anytime soon, so the revenue losses in higher education are likely to continue throughout the spring.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

The Wall Street Journal published an article this week about students who chose to take a gap year rather than commit to remote learning during the pandemic. As we’ve noted before, while there are more students deferring this year than in the past, the numbers have not shifted drastically - the vast majority of students chose to continue with their education virtually. This is in part because many traditional gap year pursuits, like working and traveling, are not available to students right now. Many students who chose to interrupt their studies were doing either remote work or pursuing a passion project. The article stresses the need for students who are considering a gap year to focus on improving their skills and maturity, and making sure to have a structure to their days in the absence of classes.

The Washington Post also published an interesting look back on the first semester of pandemic college, reporting that it was not during classes that coronavirus spread on campus, but rather in dorms and at social events off campus. We’ll echo the article and say that if colleges want to provide in-person instruction for students, they also need to provide safe ways to socialize - it is just not realistic to expect every student to hunker down in their dorm room when not in class. We hope that increases in testing and a vaccine on the horizon will make the spring semester safer for students, as colleges learn from looking back on the fall.

This NPR segment on applying to college during the pandemic provides some great insight on how it feels to be a high school senior right now, and reminds all of us to cut the students in our lives some slack at this very stressful time! This has been a difficult year for students and school counselors to connect and receive necessary resources, and made an already challenging process even more difficult on kids and their families.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Oh my gosh - what an exciting but nerve-wracking week with all of the ED/EA decision releases! We’ve been refreshing College Kickstart’s Class of 2025 Early Decision and Early Action Notification Dates post nonstop, and this evening is going to be extra crazy with decisions from UVA and Virginia Tech coming in! Not to mention Amherst, Williams, Stanford, Richmond and others.

While the college admissions process is uncertain by nature, this year has been absolutely brutal from the unpredictability standpoint. We have a whole crop of kids who are expecting decisions in the next four days and I know everyone is on edge. With that in mind, here are some quick thoughts that seniors (and their parents) can keep in mind over the next few days:

• Like the late, great Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part. Emotions are running high right now and the build-up to decision day can make even the most rational among us feel not-so-rational after all. Know that this is temporary, though - everyone will snap back to their normal selves when acceptances or denials come around. Obviously, we always hope for good news, but bad news can also provide a welcome sense of closure.

• Unfortunately, there are many kids out there who will not learn their final decision for a few months yet, because they will be deferred into the regular decision pool. Instead of dwelling on the situation, move forward and become familiar with the many actionable steps that can be taken right now to turn things around. Check out our post from last year: How to Turn a Deferral into an Acceptance: Everything You Need to Know!

• Whatever the decision, know that it will all work out in the long term. I swear. It ALWAYS does! I completely understand that this process can feel devastating in the moment. It’s been 18 years since my own college rejection experience and I can vividly remember how crushing it was - but I am so grateful that things ultimately worked out the way they did.

• If you are a client and learn a decision, please email us! We try to give everyone space in case the news isn’t positive, so we won’t bug you unless it’s been a few days… but rest assured everyone in our office is holding their breath and waiting for your update :) If the news is not positive and you’d like to schedule a session to discuss a possible change in strategy or anything else, go ahead and book one here to take place next week.

• If you are not a client but recognize that you need help, we have a few emergency strategy sessions available over the break while our office is closed, and can offer emergency essay help over the holidays as well for an additional fee. It is NOT too late, and this kind of help can be such a game-changer. See the review below from one of our emergency help families from last year! You can email Donna if you have any questions or need more information.

Good luck - we are rooting so hard for each and every one of you!

Should I Apply to Transfer?

As we finish up work with our seniors, we have started to get busier with transfer applications in advance of the March deadlines. In this particularly tumultuous year, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about transferring during the 2020-2021 transfer admissions cycle.

Here are some considerations if you are thinking about making a switch next year:

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1. COVID-19 Won’t Last Forever

This is not the first semester of college that anyone was hoping for - and it made what can already be a difficult transition even more challenging. But if you are thinking about transferring just to attend a school with a different learning model (going from virtual to hybrid, for instance), think again. Individual schools’ responses to the pandemic can change quickly, and just because a college or university was in person this semester does not mean it will stay that way. 

And if you are feeling like you haven’t quite met ‘your people’ yet, that’s okay too! Clubs, sports, and other social activities are limited, so it can be even more difficult to find your niche than it would be during a normal year. But if there are other things that you love about your school, it may be worth sticking out this challenging time and becoming more involved when campus opens up to normal operations. Remember why you chose the school in the first place!

2. Neither Will Homesickness

Even in a typical year, the first semester away from home can be tough for some students. If missing your own bedroom and a home-cooked meal is making college challenging, you are not alone. Just keep in mind that homesickness may not be solved by a change of scenery - you may be better off allowing yourself to get more comfortable with your current campus and social circle before you jump ship.

3. You Need Time to Prepare

This is true of every type of application, but transfers especially have a lot going on as they adjust to a new college schedule and workload. If you are thinking about applying to transfer in the spring, the time to start working is now! The holiday break is a great opportunity to spend some time becoming familiar with the transfer requirements for different schools and working on applications. If you haven’t chosen second semester classes yet, this is also a great time to see what the course and credit requirements are for the schools that interest you. And whether you’re ready to begin the transfer process now or are just starting to discover the overwhelming range of different requirements, it is a great time to book a Transfer Strategy Session.

4. ThIs Is an Especially Unpredictable Cycle

We all know by now that this is, wait for it, an unprecedented time (I hope I never hear that phrase again!). While some students are banking on the increased number of deferrals this year to give them a second shot at their dream schools, this is not necessarily going to be the case. Most of the schools we’ve heard from this cycle say that they are not making up for deferrals with transfer students - instead, they will admit the usual number of freshmen and will limit the number of transfers to keep the size of the student body consistent. Good news for our first-year applicants, but not as promising for transfers! Assume that your chance of being admitted to a school is the same or lower than in previous years, and ask yourself if you truly want to go to school elsewhere. 

5. Get involved

If you do decide that transferring is the right decision for you, you may feel like you want to pull away from the social life on your current campus. Resist the temptation! Now is actually the time to become even more involved. Why? Because schools are looking for someone who is going to be an asset to their community, and as a transfer student, you will be able to provide a direct comparison with how involved you are at your first school. Prove to the schools that interest you that you will be a valuable member of their community by getting involved now. 

6. Pay attention

As we’ve mentioned before, transfer applications are not at all like first-year applications, even though students can and should still apply through the Common App. Take our word for it - it’s not the Common App you grew to know well as a high school senior! Beyond the fact that the application components are completely different, transfer requirements vary substantially from school to school. If you thought it was confusing to track requirements the first time around, you haven’t seen anything yet! It’s absolutely essential to be sure that you are keeping track of all of the different pieces of the applications to set yourself up for success during this process.

7. Keep it to yourself

Keep in mind that there is a chance you will return to your current campus next year, so you want to be careful not to burn any bridges before you go. While you will need to ask professors for recommendations, make it clear that it is not about any failing of your current school, but rather your desire to find a better fit for you. When it comes to friends, it is better to keep quiet about your transfer plans - otherwise, you may find that other students don’t want to invest in a friendship with someone who isn’t sticking around. Again, this is not the time to disconnect or pull away from your academics or social life - grades and involvement matter.

8. Stay out of trouble

We’ve encountered a number of situations recently where our students are facing disciplinary action for violating Covid restrictions. This will make the transfer process infinitely more difficult, so please try to abide by the rules on your campus. As a judge ruled earlier this week, you probably won’t be able to escalate the issue into the legal system if you do get into trouble!

9. Take a deep breath 

Remember to stay present in the moment and enjoy your year, whether you already have one foot out the door or are just testing the waters. For better or worse, the current academic year will represent a quarter of your time in college; you should try each day to look for the good in your experience and make the best of where you are. You never know - you may find that your school is a better fit than you thought!

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Thinking of transferring this cycle, or have questions that we didn’t answer here? Comment to let us know!

Weekly Update: December 4

December already! We are excited to have heard some good news from our early applicants already and are busy wrapping things up with the last of our late-late-start seniors. 

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

EARLY ACTION/EARLY DECISION RELEASE DATES

All early applicants may want to bookmark this page - this running list of decision release dates for EA and ED is updated nearly every day. It’s going to be a busy week ahead! And remember to keep an eye on your application portal for each given school regularly regardless of the listed release date. This is the only way to ensure that you don’t miss any important updates. 

PARENT PLUS LOAN DATA RELEASED

We wrote two weeks ago about how parents should be wary of Parent Plus loans, which can often be included in what seem like “full ride” financial aid packages. For the first time on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education provided data on these exact loans. This new data gives a more thorough picture of how students are paying for college, and reveals that parents of students at art schools, HBCUs, and small private colleges are most likely to take out these high-interest loans to help support their students. 

UVM ELIMINATES 23 PROGRAMS

Also on Wednesday, the University of Vermont announced proposed cuts to 23 programs in the College of Arts and Sciences. The university cites declining enrollment as the reason for budget shortfalls. Among the cuts will be the elimination of the geology, religion, and classics departments. Thousands of students and faculty have petitioned to protest the cuts. This story reveals a broader worry for other universities, making it clear that economic budget cuts aren’t just impacting small schools - we may start to see the effects everywhere. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

There have been debates for years about the inability of NCAA Division I athletes to profit off of their skill - today, strict NCAA rules prohibit basketball and football stars from making money, even as their likenesses are used in advertising and video games. But one group of athletes is able to take advantage of lucrative sponsorship opportunities: cheerleaders. NCAA rules about amateurism do not apply to cheerleaders, as this New York Times article reveals, and top cheerleaders can make as much as $5,000 a post doing sponsored social media advertising in uniform. It will be interesting to see whether other athletes will be able to follow in these cheerleaders’ footsteps when the new NCAA rules are adopted in January.

We know that a lot of our students have been stressed about SAT and ACT testing being cancelled - and with good reason! But this article put our stress in perspective when we learned about the nine hour college entrance examination that South Korean high schoolers must complete. Students begin preparing for this exam as early as kindergarten, and though it was postponed due to COVID, precautions ensured that even students who tested positive for coronavirus would be able to take the test in specially-prepared negative-pressure hospital chambers, accompanied by exam administrators in protective suits. YIKES. And South Korean students don’t need to worry about running late - all banks, businesses, and government offices delayed opening to lessen traffic, and police on motorcycles were deployed to escort late students to the testing sites! 

Countries like South Korea are known for prioritizing education, and many of these students would likely have attended college in the U.S. But international student enrollment during the pandemic is plummeting, dropping 43% this fall. Racial bias in the U.S. and stricter immigration policies have also contributed to the drop. The decline in international enrollment means a budget deficit at many schools, where international students often pay full tuition or more, and it also means a less diverse learning environment for domestic students at U.S. colleges. 

The Washington Post’s picks for holiday reading are always exciting for me, and this year’s list includes an admissions-related novel! Admission, by Julie Buxbaum, is a fictional take on the Varsity Blues scandal. Have you read any of the books on this list? Leave us a comment with any of your recommendations! 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Shannon has been attending a lot of school sessions for updates on their early admissions pools and information for our upcoming school profiles, which will be available to all of our clients and members of our vault! If you follow us on instagram, you saw that we loved the “breakfast” treats package that Newman University sent in advance of their session yesterday!

Also, speaking of treats, did you know that today is National Cookie Day? Basically right up there with Christmas in my book in terms of important holidays.

Delicious cookies from our neighbors at Crumbl down the street!

I have heard of a whole bunch of outbreaks at various schools over the last several days - including my son’s preschool, which caused me to panic a little bit! In case this helps anyone else who is worried about having been exposed, AllCare Family Medicine will give rapid and PCR tests at the same time. It was surprisingly hard to find a place to do both! I had to drive to their Alexandria location after meeting with a doctor from the Tysons location, but it was definitely worth it for peace of mind that my household is Covid-free.

Stay safe, everyone, and have a nice weekend!

Approaching the College Admissions Process with a Growth Mindset

Our team at DC College Counseling is full of current and former teachers. And as educators, it is really important to us that students do more than slog through their college applications. We want this process to be fun and exciting, and we also want to help students begin to adopt a growth mindset when faced with tasks that may seem unpleasant at first glance.

Can applying to college be frustrating and tedious? No doubt about it. But this period in time also presents a unique opportunity for students to be able to develop skills that will benefit them in college and beyond. Best of all, they don’t even have to try or focus on building those skills - it will happen authentically, a positive bonus of sorts!

By approaching each task with a positive outlook and active appreciation for the personal and academic growth that occurs during this time, the entire process will feel much more pleasant. Here are just a few of the skills with which DC College Counseling students will walk away after they’ve finished this process!

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1. Writing Multiple Drafts

Those of us who have taught college freshmen know that the most common thing we hear in a first-year writing class is, “In high school, I just wrote it the night before.” This strategy just isn’t going to cut it in college! Our students get a head start on their college-level writing because they definitely go through multiple essay drafts in this process. In the course of writing a Common App or supplemental essay, students learn important writing skills like brainstorming and pre-writing, outlining, and getting content down on paper before going back and correcting for syntax and structure. We hear from so many parents that their students become better writers through this process - and that is our goal!

2. Time Management

This is why a lot of students and families come to us in the first place - the process has them feeling overwhelmed and wondering how they could possibly complete their applications by the deadlines. We step in and help kids learn strategies for making (and sticking to!) a schedule, by breaking each task down into manageable parts and ensuring that they are prepared for success each step of the way. College is a much less structured place than high school, so the ability to set aside time to make a schedule is essential for helping our students perform to the best of their abilities, long after they have submitted their applications.

3. Self-Advocacy

There is no doubt about it - self-advocacy is an essential skill to have as a college student and later in life as an adult. Our students practice it early, and with help! From writing emails to admissions offices to preparing for stellar interviews, we help students learn the most appropriate way to reach out to an adult and advocate for themselves. Students can head off to college confident in their ability to write a succinct, polite, and appropriate email to a professor to set up a meeting or ask for help in a class. And again, take it from current and former college-level instructors - this is a skill that most college freshmen need to work on! 

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We love working with our students because we get to see them grow throughout the process and finish with skills that they can use far beyond application submission! To learn more about all that we do, you can book a Meet & Greet with us. 

Weekly Update: November 27

I know that this Thanksgiving wasn’t quite typical, but we hope that our students were able to enjoy the time with their families and take some much-deserved rest!

As for us in the office- not to sound sappy, but we’re incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to work with all of you. I’ve been asking everyone in my life to tell me their six words of gratitude and mine, as they relate to my professional life, are “Love coming to work each day.” And I think all of us really feel that way! So truly - thank you for entrusting us with such an important time in your lives. It is such a privilege to be able to partner with such wonderful families, not only through the college process but also through the laughter and tears of adolescence itself. We don’t take it for granted for a minute!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

FEWER STUDENTS, MORE COLLEGES

As our students know, applying for college this cycle is even more stressful than in previous years, and since many early application deadlines have passed, we are learning more and more about what the application pool will really look like. Fewer students are applying to colleges, particularly low-income and first generation students, but the ones who are applying are applying to more colleges, on average - and test-optional schools are seeing the majority of this increase.

STUDENTS DEBATE TRAVELING FOR THE HOLIDAY

Many schools have already ended in-person classes, intending for students to finish out the year at home after returning for Thanksgiving break. But with the CDC guidance advising Americans to stay put for the holiday, students were left to decide whether they should risk traveling home, or remain on campus even after the semester had ended. Some chose to take precautions and fly home, while others remained on campus to celebrate with friends. We are still waiting to see whether Thanksgiving travel has put more students and families at risk.

SCHOOLS REVIEW PANDEMIC SAFETY PROTOCOLS

As coronavirus cases rise around the country, schools are left to consider how best to safely reopen in the spring. Some are introducing new testing and screening protocols, and as we’ve covered before, many are cancelling spring break to keep students on campus. We expect more schools to announce changes to their spring reopening plans as we move into December.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

College students, just like the country as a whole, have been hit hard by economic uncertainty during the pandemic. This article from the New York Times illuminates how students have created mutual aid networks to help each other cope with financial insecurity. How cool! These aid networks collect small donations, which at some schools have totaled tens of thousands of dollars, and then redistribute the funds to peers who need help covering housing, food, or medical costs. These networks are entirely student-run, often operating independently from formal administration initiatives, and they illuminate the generosity of students and donors in helping their peers during a difficult time. 

We have never been the biggest fans of using numbered rankings to make decisions about undergraduate programs - there is so, so much more that goes into finding the right fit for each student, and not every student and family values the same metrics when it comes to a school. That’s why we liked this list, which includes the top-ranked schools in fifty different categories based on student reviews, so prospective applicants can seek out the characteristics or specializations most important to them. It was interesting to see how many schools were given multiple “best” designations, some of which were unrelated. For example, MIT really cleaned up - they had five out of the fifty! “Best private college,” “Best academics,” and some of the others weren’t surprising, but did you know that Newsweek considers them the “Best college for veterans”? Also, I am in full agreement on their pick for the “Best college in the midwest,” just saying ;)

“Of all the great schools in the Midwest, Washington University stands out because it checks off so many of the boxes that most students care about.” Yes!!!!

While UNC notably sent students home after just a week of in-person instruction this fall, Duke served as an excellent example of an institution that reopened safely and basically did everything right. It did so by using pooled testing and contact tracing to identify infected students and stop major outbreaks from happening on campus or in the surrounding areas. I had never heard of pooled testing before, so this was fascinating to me. The CDC recently published an in-depth report on Duke’s efforts, and we hope that other schools will learn from their example when they bring students back in the spring. 

Jeff Selingo’s newsletter from this past week covered some interesting trends emerging in the current application cycle. In the midst of the pandemic, students are rethinking the desire to attend college far from home and instead applying to more institutions within driving distance. If this trend continues into next year, we may see some acceptance rates increase, especially at schools in the Northeast and Midwest that will see fewer applicants from around the country. 

Jeff also weighed in on the testing question, and says that the most selective private institutions have received test scores from over 70% of applicants this cycle, making them most likely to reinstate a testing requirement after the pandemic is over. But for most schools, test-optional admissions has been a great way to increase the diversity of the applicant pool; unless they receive an overwhelming number of applications, he believes they are more likely than not to remain test-optional.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We’ve been busy with deadlines coming up for UC schools next Monday, as well as a few last scholarship and EA applications on December 1! We were able to enjoy a break yesterday and are helping with some last minute questions today, particularly with the UC application.

While this year is atypical in terms of holiday gatherings, I always like to give a friendly reminder to the well-meaning adults out there that under no circumstances should you ever ask seniors about the college admissions process at this time of year! I know, believe me, it is so tempting. But if students end up with good news to share and want to share it down the line, they will. Or you’ll learn from someone else through the grapevine. But please don’t initiate that conversation! :)

We hear about this so much on the back end - all of the well-meaning inquiries (most of which are grounded in genuine interest and care) end up causing so much anxiety for these kids. Dealing with a college rejection is bad enough, as for some it’s truly their first major life disappointment. But what makes everything so much worse is a rejected student’s (often misplaced) assumption that they will ultimately have to update all the random adults who have asked them over the previous several months about their college plans. This situation ends up creating additional feelings of shame and embarrassment that are completely avoidable if the conversations had never taken place.

So, try as hard as you can not to mention anything related to college admissions to any high school senior in your life, unless you are their parent - no matter how excited you are for them or how much of a shoo-in you think they are for a given school. And even if you are their parent, try to hold back! The less emphasis you place on admission to a specific school, the less of a crisis it will be if the student is not admitted.

Enjoy what is hopefully a long weekend for everyone - happy Black Friday shopping!

Weekly Update: November 20

We hope that all of our students are looking forward to a relaxing Thanksgiving break!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RELEASES EARLY ACTION DECISIONS

Yes, UGA is releasing its 2021 EA decisions TODAY - so check those portals! We’re keeping our fingers crossed for some good news for our students going into Thanksgiving break. As we have seen with other large public universities, UGA has seen an increase in applications. They are up 27% over last year’s early action pool. Their average ACT was 32, average SAT was 1404, and average unweighted GPA was 3.91. That’s pretty intense! Keep an eye out for our upcoming post about early action decisions, what they mean, and what to do next!

DECEMBER STANDARDIZED TEST CANCELLATIONS

While we’ve been excited by the good news about potential coronavirus vaccines, cases are still increasing throughout Virginia, and with those increases come SAT and ACT cancellations. McLean High School and Yorktown High School both cancelled the December SAT, and Annandale High School has cancelled the December ACT. While these links can be helpful, we continue to highly recommend that families call to check in with individual testing centers about December tests - this list is not always up to date, and we anticipate more cancellations to come. 

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY OFFERS FREE MOCK CLASSES

The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse is offering free mock classes in December. This is a great opportunity for high school students to get a sense of the (virtual) college classroom, and connect with Syracuse professors. We recommend that students who choose to attend these classes keep their camera and microphone on, so they can engage with the professor during and after the class. We’re especially excited for the Introduction to Aerospace Engineering class on December 10, taught by the Director of the Aerospace Engineering program.  

TERRIFIC TEN COLLEGE EXPLORATION SERIES

Ten top public research universities - including Clemson, Penn State, UT Austin, UC Boulder, and UGA - are offering joint virtual sessions to discuss every aspect of the college admissions process, from finding your fit to financial aid. Register for one or more of their upcoming sessions on December 2nd and 3rd for a one-stop shop to learn more about these excellent schools.  

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

The New York Times published an interesting article this week about so-called “weed out” classes in STEM education. Most universities have that introductory science class that upperclassmen tell warning tales about, but the practice of weeding out students from a subject due to an introductory class is an outdated one, left over from the days where STEM programs simply could not support a large number of students. This article emphasizes the importance of students building relationships and connecting with their values in making it through these notorious classes. In short, weed out classes are less about a student’s academic ability and more about his or her mindset and the social connections they make in the classroom. 

This NBC News report gives an unsettling perspective on Parent Plus loans, a program that allows parents to take out loans to help their children pay for college. The 3.5 million parents that have taken out these additional loans now collectively owe nearly 100 billion dollars - and these parent numbers are not included in the data that the government releases about student loan debt. While parents, like students, were granted a reprieve from making payments during the pandemic, this provision is set to expire at the end of the year, a deadline that is looming closer for parents who are struggling to make payments. For our parents and students beginning to contemplate financial aid packages, let this serve as a reminder to read them extremely carefully! Many that appear to meet full need may in fact include Parent Plus or other high-interest loans. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

This week, I attended several conference sessions with the Independent Educational Consultants Association. I was especially excited to have the opportunity to present on Monday with a group of other educational consultants from around the country.

Some of my favorite sessions from the IECA conference included a virtual UVA session with admissions officer Tom McGovern, where I learned about the new Data Science major that UVA will be adding over the next few years.

Shannon and I also made sure to tune into “Unprecedented: Admissions Advice during a Pandemic” with admissions representatives from the University of Rochester, Ohio Wesleyan University, UT Austin, and Northern Arizona University. Here are our main takeaways for students and families:

Demonstrated interest WILL still be a factor in the admissions process at many schools, both this cycle and next cycle. Students who are unable to visit schools in person should be opening and clicking on emails, attending virtual visits, interacting on social media, reaching out to admissions counselors, and otherwise interacting with the colleges on their lists. If you are wondering whether demonstrated interest is a factor at a particular school, you can also reach out to the admissions office directly (no need to give your name!) and ask whether they consider demonstrated interest in admissions. (This was not in the session and reflects only my own opinion, but I am positive that some of the schools that do not consider demonstrated interest actually do. Sort of like demonstrated need. I wish everyone could just be up front!)

1. I have written about test-optional before, but it is worth repeating that a test-optional policy means that students who do submit test scores will have those scores considered as part of the application. If you have doubts about the test-optional policy at a particular school, make sure to check the website or ask an admissions officer to clarify. Some schools have additional requirements for students who do not submit test scores or are test-optional for admission but require test scores from students who enroll, so it is important to read carefully and make sure that you have all of the information. 

2. We have been hearing from a lot of our juniors as we work to put together their activity lists that some activities have been shortened or canceled due to the pandemic - and that is okay! Admissions officers understand that this is not a typical school year, so my advice to students is to continue to focus on things you are passionate about, but don’t worry too much if your extracurricular involvement looks a bit different this year than it has in the past. 

3. In addition to “official” virtual visits and tours on the school’s website, look out for Instagram Live or Facebook Live videos, webinars on YouTube, and other ways to get to know schools virtually (and check out our tips to make the most of your virtual visit). 

Our office will be closed next Thursday - wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

Weekly Update: November 13

We have been busy helping our late-late-start seniors submit for the November 15 early deadline. Good luck to everyone submitting this weekend!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

LATEST AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LAWSUIT HITS UNC

The anti-affirmative-action group Students for Fair Admissions, which has previously brought litigation against Harvard and the University of Texas, is currently arguing against UNC in the Winston-Salem federal court. The group claims that UNC discriminates against white and Asian-American students in admissions, while the university argues that its use of race in admissions is just one factor that is considered holistically in the context of the application. Just yesterday, a federal appeals court upheld the 2018 ruling in Harvard’s favor on this same issue. We will be watching closely to see if any of these affirmative action cases, including this most recent one, make their way to the Supreme Court. 

FLORIDA PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES SEE APPLICATIONS DECLINE

We have written before about the State University System of Florida’s refusal to go test-optional this cycle. This makes Florida the only state in the US (aside from Wyoming) to require students to test. As we expected, the controversial decision has resulted in a decline in applications - applications to Florida public universities are down a whopping 50% this cycle! 

USNA NAMES FIRST BLACK FEMALE BRIGADE COMMANDER

Midshipman 1st Class Sydney Barber (a senior at the Naval Academy, for those unfamiliar with the lingo!) has been named brigade commander for the spring semester. This is the university’s highest student leadership position, and is the first black woman and the sixteenth woman to serve as brigade commander in USNA’s history. She will be responsible for the day-to-day activities and professional training for the nearly 5,000 Naval Academy midshipmen.  

FCPS ATHLETICS AND RETURN TO SCHOOL UPDATE

As Fairfax County Public Schools continues with the phased-in approach to in-person learning after last night’s heated school board work session, they have also released an update on school sports. FCPS athletes will be allowed to return to the Virginia High School League competition in December, with basketball practices beginning on December 7 and all other winter sports practices on December 14. Loudoun County will also be competing this winter, and Arlington gave in to the pressure and reversed their previous decision - so they will too!

IVY LEAGUE SPORTS WILL NOT COMPETE IN WINTER SEASON

In another sports update this week, the Ivy League Council of Presidents released a unanimous decision yesterday to suspend intercollegiate competitions for winter sports. Students will still be allowed to practice and train on campus, and will not lose a season of NCAA-eligibility.

APPLICATIONS ARE DOWN OVERALL - BUT THAT MAY NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

As we mentioned last week after Shannon’s “Coffee with the Carnegie Mellon Deans” conversation, applications to college are down overall this cycle as a result of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Fewer students this year have applied early or filled out the FAFSA compared to previous years. However, for many of our students, that may not have as much of an impact as you might think - applications to highly selective schools, especially those that are newly test-optional, are UP this cycle. The number of highly selective schools in the US represents a very tiny fraction of the whole - everyone is trying to get in to the same 50 (or so) schools when there are over 4,000 four-year colleges and universities in the United States. While we did expect numbers to rise at the selective institutions, particularly at the public schools with lower tuition thresholds, I don't think any of us thought that UVA would have a 35% year over year increase in early decision applicants! That’s incredible.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Harvard and Columbia have introduced new certificate and “lifelong learning” programs to their business schools, a move that could change the way we think about business education. The idea behind these programs is that rather than completing a business degree in two years and graduating with an MBA, students will return to their education over a lifetime, through online re-education and certification. We have been busy with business school applications this cycle, and so far our students remain interested in traditional, two-year MBAs - but we’re interested to see how these programs change the landscape of MBA admissions. 

Georgetown University Law Center has debuted a new “Lawyers as Leaders” course to celebrate its 150th anniversary and respond to the political and cultural events of 2020. The course focuses on social justice and is the largest class in the Law Center’s history, enrolling over 300 students. During this course, Dean William M. Treanor interviews Georgetown Law faculty about pressing issues for young lawyers. Videos of these conversations are also available on Georgetown’s website, a great resource for any aspiring lawyers or any students interested in social justice! 

We wrote last week about how schools are preparing for students to leave for a long break this Thanksgiving, but parents also have to prepare to have their students home. This New York Times article offers tips for parents during this unusual time. From practical points about scheduling travel and quarantine, to checking in on your student’s emotional state, this is a must-read for any parent feeling apprehensive about welcoming their children home for the holidays. 

Also last week, we mentioned that we would be paying close attention to how the outcome of the election will impact higher education. This article gives some big-picture ideas of how higher education policies might change, particularly in response to a Vice President who is an HBCU graduate and a First Lady who is a community college instructor. We know that information about higher education policies will continue to develop, so keep an eye out for further updates!

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

As we wrap up early applications with our late-late-start seniors, many of our juniors are just starting to research and put together their college lists. We have had a lot of questions about how to get a feel for the school when the student is unable to visit in person. If you are in the same boat, check out our post from earlier this week for some tips to help really get to know a school during virtual visits.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the search process, find out more about how we can help by booking a Meet & Greet!

Tips for Virtual Visits

Now that 11/1 is behind us, our focus has shifted to the Class of 2022!

The upcoming 2021-2022 admissions cycle has so many unknowns, but we’re doing our best to embrace this new normal so that our students are as minimally impacted as possible by all things Covid!

One of the major concerns we’ve heard over and over again relates to the difficulty of finding a “best fit” college without the opportunity for traditional college visits. No, it’s not ideal, but it’s not the end of the world, either.

As promised, Shannon is joining us today to share some tips about the virtual college search!

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At this point, nearly every school has a variety of virtual options, whether a live guided tour with a current student or a virtual information session on YouTube (I even saw a Minecraft tour option during a meeting with a student this week!). But when opportunities to travel are limited, it can be even more challenging to get a feel for each school on your list, because the official representatives from the admissions office can only tell you so much about the feeling on campus. Eventually, you want to find out for yourself! Here are a few tips to make the most out of virtual visits and find your best fit.

1. Meet with current students

Talking with students at a school you’re considering may be the most important action you can take to gain a better understanding of the community. If you choose to apply to this school, there is a chance that these people will be your classmates, teammates, and roommates, and talking with them can give you a real sense for the culture on campus. Reach out to the admissions office and see if they can put you in touch with students for a one-on-one Zoom call or FaceTime, or connect you with young alumni in your area for a physically-distanced walk or coffee.  

The Princeton Review has a good list of general questions for current students, but when you can’t get to campus, you can focus your questions on the physical aspects of the school: Do students stick around campus, or go into town on the weekends? When you walk through campus, do you see students studying or playing games on the quad? Where do you go when you’re tired of dining hall food? If close proximity to a Starbucks or a community park is important to you, ask!  

2. Use social media

Sure, you’ve been following your dream school’s official Twitter account throughout the process, but social media is a great place to find more informal information as well, which can give you deeper insight into the college or university. Look for Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok accounts run by teams or student groups, and see if there is an admitted students Facebook group that you can join. These resources will let you have the kind of casual conversations that you might have during a run-in at the dining hall, virtually. 

And remember that if you do choose to use social media during your college search, make sure that your own page is cleaned up! Interacting with a school on social media is a great way to demonstrate interest, especially virtually, but make sure that there is nothing on your page you wouldn’t want to share with the admissions office. On the other hand, don’t go over the top in the opposite direction either. It will be very obvious (and will appear inauthentic) if you try to create a fake profile to impress college admissions officers.

3. Take notes and dig deep

As you learn more about different institutions through virtual visit days, conversations with students, and social media, jot down your impressions. When every school visit takes place on Zoom, it is even easier for different schools to blend together, so you want to have notes to review once you’ve finished your research.  

Write down not only important facts about academic programs, but also your feelings and reactions to each school. It is good to know if a school will accept AP or IB credits, but it is also easy to double-check online. Instead, think about how your conversations with students, faculty and staff made you feel, or how excited you were to see a busy campus coffee shop on the virtual tour. It’s vital to write down those emotional reactions when you may not be able to experience the “feels like home” sentiment in person.

We ask all of our students to make a list of six new things they learned about each school during their virtual visit - three positive and three negative. This helps them and us begin to gain a sense of what they are seeking in a college, and we can take that information and use it to make recommendations and tailor the list. Sometimes they end up being surprised by their reactions! Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the search process - so many schools to consider! - book a Meet & Greet with us to learn more about how we can help. 

Weekly Update: November 6

Happy Friday at the end of a crazy week! We’re keeping a close eye on the election results and learning about how they may impact higher education.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

THE ATLANTIC NICHE SPORTS STORY TAKES A TURN

You may have seen that we covered a story on our blog last week that discussed the world of niche sports in college admissions. Since that story was released, the Atlantic has made significant changes after discovering that both the author of the piece and its main subject had deceived fact-checkers about several important details. These allegations cast doubt on the entire piece, particularly as the author has had previous instances of journalistic misconduct - “Ruth S. Barrett” is in fact Ruth Shalit, who left DC years ago as a young journalist due to a plagiarism scandal. We are waiting to see if the Atlantic allows the now-edited story to stand, or if more will come to light that necessitates the retraction of the whole story. 

HAVERFORD STUDENTS GO ON STRIKE

Last week, the president and dean of Haverford College sent out an email to dissuade students from participating in the Philadelphia protests following the police shooting of Walter Wallace, Jr. Students responded by going on strike. The strike has continued or over a week, with some students refusing to work, attend classes, or complete assignments until the school provides more support and aid to first-generation students, students of color, and LGBTQ+ students. Many students at Bryn Mawr, which has a close relationship with Haverford, have joined the strike in solidarity. Some faculty have also canceled classes.

COLLEGES RAMP UP PRE-THANKSGIVING TESTING

As we’ve discussed before, many colleges have chosen to send students home before Thanksgiving and keep them at home until January or February. This widespread strategy will hopefully minimize COVID risk from students’ frequent travel. But they are still headed home soon, and it is possible that students who have contracted the virus on campus will be bringing it home to their families during the holiday. To combat this potential outcome, many colleges are ramping up testing in advance of Thanksgiving. UVA is one of a number of schools that will give every student a chance to test shortly before they leave campus. Some schools, like the SUNY system, are taking it a step further by requiring students to test negative before they can head home.  

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

So many of the students with whom we work are budding entrepreneurs! I love hearing their creative ideas, and as a small business owner myself, it’s been exciting to see how so many colleges have created programs specifically related to entrepreneurship. From Carnegie Mellon’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship to the new Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation minor at Lewis & Clark College, these are popping up left and right. The Wall Street Journal published an article this week that all entrepreneurial students should definitely check out - a list of college courses that business owners wish they had taken. I certainly wish I had been able to take some of these in college!  

Especially right now, so much attention has been on the national media - and on the void created by the collapse of many local newspapers. The New York Times published an interesting article this week about how this void is being filled by undergraduate reporters. In some college towns, the university newspaper is the only local newspaper available and college students are stepping up to cover major stories during the pandemic. Many student papers, including The Michigan Daily and The Indiana Daily Student, have been the first to break the news of outbreaks of coronavirus on campus. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We've noticed some concerning shifts this week regarding the impact of COVID-19 at local schools. We work with a lot of kids at one particular independent school that made the decision to shut down for a period of time because a teacher was diagnosed earlier this week. Arlington Public Schools actually reversed course a few days ago to postpone in-person learning indefinitely, and yesterday they made the (rather unpopular! sorry guys) decision to cancel winter sports. FCPS is still rolling out their phased return-to-school plan but we will see what happens. You can track FCPS cases here, as some students are already back and others have students and teachers coming in and out of the building for various reasons.

In the meantime, we had a very insightful question from a Class of 2022 student asking about how signing up for in-person vs. virtual learning at FCPS next semester will affect the college admissions process. Such a smart question, right? I told her that I was surprised that she was the only student who asked.

So in case you were wondering - my opinion is that the decision about in-person vs. virtual learning won’t really matter too much from the admissions standpoint. FCPS has been communicating all along that the quality of education will be the same across both platforms, and that is what they will likely communicate to colleges as well if asked - though I would be surprised if FCPS shared a student’s choice in the first place! 

My advice for any FCPS student is to choose the option that you think will give you the best chance of academic success and the highest quality of life. If you are happy and successful, that will have a much greater impact on your overall chance of success in the admissions process than the choice itself.

Switching gears a bit, we have seen a lot of speculation about how schools will consider test-optional applications this cycle. Shannon attended a “Coffee with the Carnegie Mellon Deans” event just this morning and learned that applications this cycle are down across the board for Common App schools. However, don’t get too excited - Carnegie Mellon and other highly selective schools like it that have traditionally been very dependent on test scores have received more applications since going test-optional. This shows that students who would potentially have felt that more selective institutions were “reaches” based on test scores are now deciding to apply. We are really interested to see how Carnegie Mellon and peer schools navigate this new normal - and whether all of these test-optional policies will continue during the 2021-2022 admissions cycle!

It is a GORGEOUS day outside - have a great weekend!

Election Day Blog: Schools for Politically-Minded Students

Living in the DC area, we don’t have to look far to find colleges that offer exciting opportunities for politically-minded students. We all know that American, GW, and Georgetown offer great programs for the future politicians among us - and you can’t beat the exposure to the DC political scene (in both good and bad ways!).

Today, though, we want to spotlight a few others that may have fallen under your radar!

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Hillsdale College

Hillsdale hosted Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos just last week, and has also had visits from prominent speakers like Attorney General Barr. Hillsdale is a nonsectarian Christian institution, and according to its mission statement, “considers itself a trustee of our Western philosophical and theological inheritance tracing to Athens and Jerusalem, a heritage finding its clearest expression in the American experiment of self-government under law.” One of the only colleges in the country that does not accept any form of state or federal aid, Hillsdale is very appealing for ultra-conservative students with an interest in politics. The interdisciplinary Political Economy major combines economics, politics, and history, and students of all majors report positive experiences participating in WHIP, the Washington-Hillsdale Internship Program based at the school’s D.C. campus.

Claremont Colleges

The Claremont Colleges include Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Pomona, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd. The Consortium offers several unique programs for students interested in politics through a more philosophical lens, including majors in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), and well as Philosophy and Public Affairs (PPA). The PPE major uses the Oxford tutorial style to provide students with the opportunity to learn in small group discussions and seminars. Students can apply for this highly selective major in their sophomore year.  For students interested in current political issues, the interdisciplinary Environment, Economics, and Politics major prepares them for a career in many environmental fields. While activism is popular at all of the Claremont Colleges, Pitzer stands out in particular, with core values including Social Responsibility and Student Engagement. Graduation requirements at Pitzer even include coursework in Social Justice Theory and Social Responsibility! All Consortium students can take advantage of the many resources at Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center, including funding to support individual projects.

Syracuse University

Syracuse made international headlines several years ago after student protests led the university to remove fossil fuel stocks from its endowment several years back, and the administration has continued to demonstrated its commitment to student activism by establishing a dedicated Student Activism Engagement Team. More recently, the university sponsored dozens of informational sessions and conversations about voting for students in the lead-up to the election. Academically, they also offer a Citizenship and Civic Engagement (CCE) program, in which students combine the CCE major with a second, related major of their choice and finish their senior year by creating a workable Action Plan around a social issue. Environmentally-minded students may choose to combine CCE with a major in Environment, Sustainability, and Policy. Both majors are housed in Syracuse’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Maxwell is also home to nine different research centers, where interested undergraduates can complete research on a variety of political topics. However, students from a variety of different majors can take advantage of the DC campus and all of its offerings!

Texas Christian University

TCU’s Political Science department offers a variety of opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom, including an internship program in Washington, D.C. and the ability to participate in Model United Nations and Moot Court. Whether students pursue the BA Program in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies or the signature TCU Justice Journey program that actually takes students on a bus tour to sites that were significant in the civil rights movement, there is no question that the Interdisciplinary Department of Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies provides opportunities that cannot be found at other schools. TCU is also home to a number of politically active student groups, including chapters of the College Republicans and College Democrats. The Community Engagement Programming division works hard to keeps students active, and has even pivoted to sharing virtual engagement opportunities during Covid!

Washington University St. Louis

Wash U in St. Louis has always been known for its politically active campus community. The university has hosted four presidential debates (and one VP debate!) through which students were able to volunteer and gain real-world experience behind the scenes of a presidential election. The school also offers a unique “religion and politics” minor that offers the chance to delve deeper into niche issues. Another appealing option can be found in the distinctive, in-depth civil engagement leadership training program for juniors and seniors called the Civic Scholars Program. Lastly, future artists might enjoy the Civic and Community Arts Residency initiative, which offers the option for undergrads to blend an interest in civic engagement with a passion for arts. 

Hampden-Sydney College

Located right here in Virginia, Hampden-Sydney is the country’s oldest traditional all-male college and one of the most conservative schools in the country. The Government and Foreign Affairs department at Hampden-Sydney offers two distinctive minors through the Wilson Center for Leadership: National Security Studies and Leadership in the Public Interest. Hampden-Sydney is also home to the Center for the Study of Political Economy, a co-curricular center that sponsors lecture series and reading groups. The Center’s mission is “to motivate undergraduate students to create a more just and prosperous world through entrepreneurship and scholarship in classical liberal political economy.”

Columbia University

Columbia has always had a well-known reputation for political activism on campus, including the Butler Banner Project in recent years. While the majority of students are liberal, the school also has a large conservative population and a diversity of political thought on campus. Students can publish political commentary in two journals, The Columbia Political Review and The Current. The World Leaders Forum allows students to hear from political leaders all over the world, and undergrads can join a wide variety of political organizations on campus. The dedicated Task Force on Inclusion and Belonging proactively identifies issues and solutions, including the Campus Conversations intiative that encourages students to engage in dialogue. Columbia has graduated three Presidents, eight Attorneys General, and ten Supreme Court Justices, as well as numerous other political actors in recent years, and hosts many notable speakers in its political speaker series. 

Remember to get out and vote today!

I was pleasantly surprised at the non-existent lines after hearing so many cautionary warnings!

If you’re already thinking about tonight’s dinner-table discussion, I really liked this piece from NPR for parents of teenagers and younger children alike!

Weekly Update: October 30

Happy Halloween!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

ACT SETTLES CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT

The ACT had to pay out $16 million to students in California this week. The students sued ACT because the organization indicated on score reports when the students had received extra time on the test or had another documented disability (it is worth noting that the SAT does not include disability status on score reports). Thankfully, the ACT stopped this practice in 2018 as a result of the pending lawsuit and the settlement forbids them from restarting this practice in the future. 

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON FRESHMAN DIES OF COVID-19

This week saw another tragic death of a college student due to complications from COVID-19. 18-year-old Michael Lang died after a long hospitalization in LaGrange, Illinois. It is not clear if Lang caught the coronavirus on campus, where he was living until switching to remote learning on September 13. Every time I read a story like this, I’m heartbroken - as a parent and as an educator, I can’t even imagine such a devastating loss. It underscores the stakes involved in keeping young people, particularly college students, safe and healthy during this time. 

Michael Lang, a first-year student at the University of Dayton (PC: University of Dayton)

FCPS RETURNING TO SCHOOL! (AND SCHEDULE CHANGES)

It’s official - almost 11 months after COVID-19 began, Dr. Brabrand announced that FCPS high school students will be heading back for in-person instruction on January 26. Many parents have expressed frustration that the return will only involve two days of in-person instruction (augmented by two days of virtual instruction). Fingers crossed that we can keep the cases low enough in our area that the plan actually comes to fruition in January! On another note, Dr. Brabrand also extended the first quarter of the current school year. Students will now have until Monday, November 2nd at 5 p.m. to complete missing assignments.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

The New York Times published an article this week recounting the drastic budget cuts that schools are having to make as a result of the pandemic. Even Harvard University, with its nearly $42 billion endowment, reported a deficit this year. The temporary hiring freezes, furloughs, and early retirements that colleges implemented at the start of the pandemic are giving way to more permanent measures, including cuts to programs and faculty. Other school systems, like those in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, are merging multiple schools or campuses to create single operating units with centralized administrations as a way to cut costs. The article notes that many of the changes happening now on college campuses are likely to outlast the pandemic and will change higher education for this entire generation.

This Forbes article details the potential impact of the election on college admissions. The impact is not limited to the presidential election - it could be a result of state and local elections as well. These effects include a shortage of counselors at public schools. (As an aside: did you know that the average school counselor handles a caseload of 480 students?! That’s why it’s so important to provide your counselor with lots of content for the recommendation letter!) The election may also dictate whether or not schools are permitted to take race into account for admissions, as well as their ability to accept international students. Funding for higher education institutions could also be dependent on potential federal stimulus. 

This is a great article from Dr. Lisa Damour, author of Untangled. You may have seen her book on my bookshelf in my office! It’s an absolute must-read for parents, teachers, and other adults in the lives of teenage girls. In this article, she tackles the lack of motivation that some teenagers are experiencing during the pandemic. We have definitely noticed this for some of our students - it is so hard to stay motivated when studying virtually. Damour covers the two forms of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic, and discusses how students can use both in a balanced way. This is such an important point! I think a lot of times as parents we want our students to learn because they love the material or are intellectually curious. But sometimes there is a late-night study session or a difficult class, and the promise of ice cream at the end is what gets the student through it - and that’s okay too! Keeping up the balance is how we can really help our students stay motivated over the long term. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Shannon had the opportunity on Wednesday to speak at a College Selection webinar through the office of the DC Student Loan Ombudsman. The Ombudsman’s role is to help make higher education available and affordable for all DC residents, and Shannon was really excited to participate and talk to students about what they should consider when selecting a college, essay preparation, and application timelines. The shift to virtual events has been a challenge for a lot of organizations during COVID-19, but we’ve loved participating in these types of events this cycle! If you have a group that would like us to come speak at an event, please reach out and we’ll do our best to fit you into our calendar. 

Our students already know how to avoid these common admissions misconceptions!

The office of the Student Loan Ombudsman is an excellent resource for DC families with questions about paying for college. College Access Fairfax provides resources for Northern Virginia families as well - if you need help with the FAFSA, CSS Profile, or other financial aid forms, I really recommend attending one of their free virtual seminars. These events are open to anyone and can be really helpful in figuring out financial aid questions. They will literally walk you through the forms line by line. Class of 2021 seniors and their parents can also set up individual appointments to complete the FAFSA with 1:1 help. Such an amazing organization!

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our seniors who have submitted their early applications! We are so proud of all of you (and so beyond relieved to have hit this milestone, let’s be honest!). If you’d like to get a head start on post-submission emails, check out Wednesday’s blog post for instructions. Otherwise, enjoy the Halloween weekend and stay safe!

Post-Submission Emails and Grade Updates

We are so excited to be nearly DONE with submitting all of our early applications! But as our clients know by now, the work does not stop when you click “submit!” Not only is the post-submission portal tracking extremely important, as we have mentioned before, but some students may also want to consider sending follow-up communication to the various admissions representatives to share first quarter grade updates.

Let me start by mentioning that this is not a one-size fits all approach. Some schools specifically indicate that they do not want follow-up emails with grades. If that’s the case, don’t send them! While schools that track demonstrated interest are generally the ones to whom these emails should be directed, it’s important to note that there’s a fine line between an enthusiastic update and over-the-top bombarding.

We do not recommend sending repeated emails. Down the line in a deferral or waitlist situation, depending on the school - possibly. But definitely not at this point in the admissions cycle. You do not want to annoy anyone, and repeated emails will be annoying - no two ways about it.

With that warning out of the way, we suggest that if you do have new grades to report that reflect positively on your candidacy, you take the initiative to reach out to the admissions office and let your assigned admissions officer know. A handful of high schools will send out first-quarter grades as a matter of course, but most will not do so unless asked - especially this year, when school counselors are already overburdened. So if you believe your first-quarter grades will improve your application, it is up to you to take on the responsibility of sharing them with the admissions office!

One more note of caution: while I would not recommend proactively sharing poor first-quarter grades, it’s also important to recognize that it’s not necessarily possible to hide them, either. I think that many applicants believe that admissions offices are too busy to follow up on particular aspects of a single application - but this is not necessarily the case! For a student who has had a shaky math score in 11th grade, the admissions officer is definitely going to want to see how that student is doing in math at the beginning of 12th grade. 

So, now that you know why to send a post-submission email, here’s how:

1. If you can, address your email to your regional admissions officer. At many schools, you can find this information on the website with just a bit of research. Your email is more likely to be read by the right person if you address it directly. You can also ask your school counselor if you’re not sure.

2. Identify yourself by name and indicate that you have applied to the school already.

3. Show that you have done your homework. This is a place to address any questions that you have that were not answered by the school’s website. You can also ask if the representative is planning a virtual visit to your school this semester, or reference a previous visit if you have met them before. 

4. Report your grades. Tell the admissions officer that you want to update your application with your first-quarter grades, and provide them in a clear way that is easy to read. 

5. Close your email by thanking the admissions officer for their time and reiterating your interest in attending their school. If this is your top-choice school, make sure to let them know!

Remember: keep it concise and simple. Here is a sample:

Congratulations to all of the students who have submitted their remaining early applications this week! Comment to let us know if you will be following up with your first-quarter grades! 

Weekly Update: October 23

Another week, another Friday update!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

STATE SCHOOL APPLICATION NUMBERS RISE

Applications are predicted to rise at a lot of state schools this cycle, and we are already seeing this play out at the University of Georgia. UGA’s Early Action deadline was October 15, and the school received over 20,000 applications - a huge 25% increase. We will be paying close attention to these numbers at other public schools as we come upon the November 1 deadline.

RETURN OF BIG TEN FOOTBALL

College towns across the Midwest are preparing for the return of Big Ten football this weekend. Though the rules prohibit even the players’ families from entering the stadiums to watch the games, the mayors of these towns are still concerned that they will turn into COVID-19 test cases with the return of alumni and fans who will follow the team to the towns’ restaurants and bars, even if they can’t attend the game. It will definitely be interesting to see whether the weekend ahead brings about an increase in cases, or if students, fans, and alumni can celebrate safely. 

DUKE’S TEST-OPTIONAL ADMISSIONS PLAN

It’s the question that everyone has been asking - how will highly selective schools read applications fairly when some applicants submit test scores and others don’t? Many admissions officers have told us that they have no clue, which is not particularly surprising but concerning nonetheless. Christoph Guttentag, Duke’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, shared an interesting approach recently and I wonder if more schools are going to follow his lead.

One way he hopes to ensure fairness to applicants is by “ensuring that the percentage of accepted students who applied with test scores will roughly equal the percentage of students who applied without.” In other words, the office will be working to make sure that the admissions rate is roughly the same for test-optional and non-test-optional students.

I will admit that I have spent far too long wrapping my mind around how this could play out in terms of strategy. Anecdotally, I think that the likelihood of a student having taken the SAT or ACT a couple of times before March of their junior year also correlates with higher levels of achievement on paper (or at least higher levels of motivation) across the board. Many of these students were hardcore about test prep during the summer after their sophomore year, and that’s the same personality type that finishes essays early, has straight As, and so forth.

Yes, there are some outliers. But by and large, I think that this will be a more qualified group of applicants simply because the ones who prepared and took these tests earlier than their peers are more academically driven in general. So how will it play out if an admissions committee is committed to equal percentages? Could it end up that kids in the group with scores will actually face some discrimination, in a sense? Maybe it’s actually a better idea for a strong candidate to withhold scores to be placed in the pool with less competition? It’s just so hard to say because we don’t know if other schools will follow this route or if Duke will stick to the plan. I’m so intrigued!!!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We all know by now that the COVID-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the debate surrounding the use of standardized testing during the college application process, and I’ve talked before about how some schools that go test-optional this cycle may never go back. This Huffington Post article by a Class of 2021 applicant from Arlington provides some more insight into the testing system from a student who is going through the process right now. It is definitely worth a read, and I hope that colleges and universities take note of all that our students can accomplish when they aren’t spending time on test prep! 

The Washington Post published an article this week written by one of Shannon’s favorite Boston College professors! For an office like ours, full of English majors, the need for college literature classes is obvious. But for those who are more skeptical about study in the humanities, this is definitely worth a read. Learning how to read and analyze texts is, as Professor Rotella puts it, essential “equipment for living.” We notice how our own students improve as they work with us on their college essays through the Wow Writing Workshop, and we’re excited to be able to provide them with skills that they can use in their college writing and literature classes. Despite the emphasis that many students, families, and schools place on STEM subjects, there is always a reason to learn how to read and write well as part of a good education. 

The specter of the Varsity Blues scandal is still haunting elite college admissions. This article from the Atlantic covers the latest casualty of the scandal - high-stakes niche sports. While most parents don’t go as far as photoshopping pictures of their children playing a sport they’ve never played, there is still a culture in wealthier districts of students competing in sports like squash, crew, and fencing in the hopes that they will be able to enter top schools as athletic recruits. 

On its face, this extreme strategy seems like it could work - almost 18% of Princeton students are athletic recruits (compare that to only 2% at a state school like the University of Alabama!). But as this article suggests, niche sports are on the chopping block at many schools, and the financial strain from COVID-19 may mean that even more schools consider cutting the squash or fencing program. 

Another article from The Atlantic this week - they are on a roll - explores the real reason that students choose to go to college. No one knows it better than we do, as we hear from our students and families: college is about more than the classes. Sure, our students are looking for strong academic programs and career preparation, but they are really excited about the campus experience. There has been a lot of debate about whether schools should discount tuition if students are learning online, and this article speaks to the reason for that. Even if students are able to attend classes and learn the material (whether that is possible for some students online is a whole different debate!), they are certainly missing something essential about the college experience.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

I mentioned in last week's blog post that I find it very gratifying to work with last-minute students because we are able to restore order in their lives so quickly. Here's some completely unsolicited feedback I received this past week from one of their parents!

To give context, this student's parents signed their contract on October 5 and she submitted her first early application on October 21! This particular application required two supplemental essays plus her main Common App essay, so we've been busy with her but we made it happen! We have been working with a lot of students who are just beginning the process, and it was nice to hear this positive feedback. I’d like to agree that we are really good at what we do :)

If you are interested in working with us for those regular decision deadlines (they are coming up faster than you think!), please book a Meet & Greet.

Enjoy the weekend! Such amazing weather today!

Should I Apply Early?

We have been so busy that it feels like the admissions cycle is flying by, and early deadlines are right around the corner. While some schools had their deadlines as early as October 15, the big date to watch out for is November 1, and we have been submitting applications with our students all week long.

For us, it is really important that applications are submitted well before the deadlines to give students peace of mind and to make sure that there is plenty of time to deal with any last-minute requirements, especially this cycle when schools are adding them left and right! We actually prefer to submit in late August or early September, but this year presented challenges upon challenges upon challenges relating to standardized testing delays.

Our original cohort or seniors finished up a little while ago and many of our late start seniors are done too! However, we’re still hearing from a lot of panicked senior parents whose students haven’t really started the process in earnest yet. They almost always reach out with the same first question:

How important are early applications?

Families who feel rushed by the November deadline start to wonder if it would be better to apply early at all costs, or to spend some more time on the application and submit a polished product by the regular decision deadline.

If you are a bit on the late side and find yourself asking these same questions too, read on for some considerations.

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1. Know that applying early decision - yes, the binding one - does have a measurable strategic impact. This is especially the case during the current admissions cycle.

Understanding the reason for the advantage might help you decide whether ED is right for you. Colleges are concerned about a factor called yield, or the percentage of accepted students that enroll. Since ED forces students to accept admissions offers, colleges favor ED applicants because the large number of students bound to attend will inflate their yield numbers. This, in turn, will improve the institutions’ reputations and boost their rankings. Slick, right?

Early decision can provide a major competitive advantage in the application process in exchange for the binding commitment; however, applying ED only really increases your chances of acceptance at schools where you are “admissible.” You can get away with having qualifications that are slightly below-average for that school, but you can’t be much further off than that. 

If you’re in the sweet spot, though? You’re golden. In some cases, early decision applicants are two or three times as likely to be admitted than a regular decision applicant. As we’ve said before, these factors present a strong case for applying in the early decision pool.

Some students are initially scared off by the so-called “binding commitment,” but you will make a binding commitment to any school when you choose to attend. Early decision is simply a case of making that commitment sooner rather than later, so you can spend the rest of your senior year focused on school, extracurriculars, and planning your dorm room décor. 

And yes - you’ve heard all of this from us before. But this year, early decision may have an even greater impact for applicants. Colleges are all dealing with new uncertainties due to the pandemic, and the certainty that an applicant will attend if admitted is extremely valuable to institutions concerned about enrollment. 

So if you’re on the fence between submitting an early decision application vs. regular decision application to your top choice school, it’s worth putting your social life on hold for a little bit to maximize the rest of October.

2. Early action requires some more thought.

The truth is that it’s very school dependent, and we can see an example of the different institutional approaches right here in Virginia with our state universities! At UVa, there is no question that applicants are better off waiting to apply in the regular decision round if they will be more qualified at that point. So if you’re on the fence between an EA or RD app at UVa but could an extra few weeks or months to perfect your essays, RD is a no-brainer.

At Virginia Tech, however, that’s not the case at all. In fact, VT encourages all students to apply early decision or early action, and clearly states on their website that regular decision “will have less open spots available” because of the “large population” of EA applicants.

Make sure to do your research and know which kind of school you’re dealing with while making this decision. And if you aren’t sure? Pick up the phone and call the admissions office to ask! You don’t even have to give your name.

3. Be strategic (and realistic!) about your plans to improve your test scores and grades.

In previous years there may have been a case for holding off on an early application for a student who was hoping to retake a standardized test and submit a higher score, or a student who expected that their GPA from the first semester of senior year would elevate their overall transcript. 

This year, though, that gamble is very different. As our friends over at McLean High School are learning the hard way, there is no guarantee that students will even be able to retest as planned. Even if testing occurs smoothly, you can’t bank on a markedly higher score without a markedly higher level of commitment to test preparation.

We are also seeing that students have reported more challenges with virtual learning this year in terms of course difficulty. Last spring’s “Easy As” are no longer happening at most schools. And BC Calc over Zoom is a challenge!

4. Traditional campus visits may simply not be possible this cycle.

Yes, we know it is difficult to tell if you are willing to commit to a school without the chance to visit campus. But will this really improve in the short term? While we wouldn’t necessarily recommend a binding application to a school far away in a city with which you are completely unfamiliar, a few more months in the middle of cold and flu season isn’t going to open up too many doors for you in terms of campus visits. It might be time to accept that your postponed April 2020 spring break college tour is not going to happen anytime soon after all.

Did you visit the campus a few years ago, but remember that you had a good feeling about it? Do you have friends or family in the city who could drive over and walk around for you and share their feedback? Can you take a virtual tour of the campus and the surrounding area? Keep an eye out for our future blog post about how to get to know a campus virtually - it is not impossible! 

5. There’s rushing and then there’s rushing. Make sure you can still realistically put together a strong application.

So you’re convinced that an early application may be the right choice for you. This doesn’t mean that you should scramble to put together your application the day before the deadline. It does mean, however, that the hard work begins NOW!

If you have already filled out the Common Application and made some progress on your main essay, you want to focus on your supplemental essays and make sure you have a chance to ask your parents and school counselor for edits before you submit.

Reviewing Staci’s post-meeting essays at the Galleria on Black Friday 2019!

A sloppy, rushed application with noticeable errors or missing components will not help you get into the school of your dreams, and there’s a big difference between starting a week in advance vs. starting a night in advance. If you do not have time to focus on your application over the course of the next two weeks, this is a case where it is best to wait and apply before the regular decision deadline. 

If you do bypass the early deadlines and want some guidance on getting your application in “17-year-old perfect” shape by December, I heard a rumor that one of our favorite essay coaches is willing to pitch in again over Thanksgiving week if needed!

Go ahead and book a Meet & Greet now to learn about how we can help!

Weekly Update: October 16

As more and more of our traditional seniors submit, we’ve been able to accept additional late start seniors! We had so many begin this past week. I’ve written about this before - that even though the work is condensed and it can be rushed (not my ideal timeline for sure), it’s very gratifying to work with these families. They come in so stressed and pulling their hair out, and we are able to basically restore calm and order to their lives within a few days :)

We’re now full for early November deadlines but still have a few spots left for December, January, and possibly mid-November deadlines. Late start families should start the process by signing up for a Meet & Greet here.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

SAT RESULTS RETURNED

The results of the September 23 School Day SAT came back yesterday (October 15), and the results from the October 3 SAT came back this morning. Anecdotally, we have seen many students disappointed with their scores. Now everyone is waiting on ACT scores, and there is still a lot of uncertainty about whether they will be released before the November 1 early deadline, as conflicting information has been released. These close-call score reports have definitely been stressing me out and making it difficult for students to submit applications early! I literally helped people submit applications on the day of the deadline yesterday, which I don’t think I’ve ever done in my whole career.

SWARTHMORE DISCONTINUES COUNSELOR ADVOCACY CALLS

Swarthmore sent out an email to counselors this week stating that they are discontinuing their practice of holding school counselor calls before decisions are released. The email stated, “After conducting internal analysis, we found that counselor calls were requested disproportionately by private and independent school counselors and rarely by public school counselors and college access advisors."

The point that they are making here is completely correct, and there is certainly room for improvement in the equity of who receives the opportunity to advocate for their students. But this is still a hard pill to swallow for those families at independent schools during a year in which additional context and advocacy would have been particularly useful. While I recognize that it would require more work from staff, I wish that Swarthmore had offered to reach out to more public school counselors as well, rather than discontinuing the calls entirely. This is a year when our students need more context shared with admissions officers, not less. We will be watching closely to see if other schools follow suit after this announcement. 

SPRING CALENDAR CHANGES AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Many schools have already begun to shift their Spring 2021 academic calendars to provide a safer experience for students during the pandemic. Lehigh and Fordham are among the colleges pushing back the start of classes and eliminating spring break to try to limit student travel and, hopefully, coronavirus spread. Texas A&M is also eliminating spring break, starting the semester on time and ending early, with a single-day break in March. Davidson gave students a surprise, single-day break last Friday, and plans to replace Spring Break with two shorter breaks, during which students are encouraged not to travel away from campus.  

UVA RELEASES CLASS OF 2024 DATA

UVa has finally released more information about its most recent incoming class. The Class of 2024 is the smallest class UVa has seen since the Class of 2016, and it is also the most diverse in the institution’s history. Though the class is smaller, it is still over the University’s enrollment target. This article also states that the return of the early decision option is not the reason for the decline in the acceptance rate last cycle, according to the university, as only 10% of the class was admitted early decision. The stats also show some COVID impact - twice the usual amount of UVa applicants chose to take a gap year rather than enroll in the Class of 2024. 

ENROLLMENT DOWN NATIONALLY DURING COVID-19

UVA is not the only school that is seeing an enrollment decline during the pandemic. This study out of the National Student Clearinghouse in Herndon, reveals that first-year enrollment is down by 14% at public four-year universities and down by 12% at private institutions. Graduate enrollment, however, is up throughout most of the country (see our post from earlier in the week for more about the pros and cons of applying to graduate school this cycle). 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

This New York Times interview with Jeff Selingo contains so many great tips for students and parents, and I really encourage you to read the whole thing! But if you take anything away, I want to emphasize his answer to a question about whether students should apply early decision this year:

Selective colleges with already robust early decision pools are likely to accept more students that way. As I point out in my book, that’s exactly what they did in the wake of the 2008 recession. They didn’t want to take a chance that they’d struggle to fill seats in the spring. Schools that traditionally filled maybe a quarter to one-third of their classes through early decision boosted that proportion to upward of half in the fall of 2008.

I expect the same this year. They don’t have much room to grow that part of the incoming class — after all, they likely won’t admit 75 percent early — but they’ll up the numbers where they can.

While I know it can be difficult to choose to commit to a school in a year when students may have been unable to tour the campus, this reinforces my advice that early decision can be a great choice for students who do know where they want to go to school - and more so this year than ever!

I always tell students who are waffling about making a binding commitment that they need to reframe their thought process. The question should not be “Binding commitment or not?” because they have to make a binding commitment at some point regardless of where and how they enroll. Instead, the question should be “Is it worth making the commitment a few months early to increase the chances of admission at my top-choice school?” The answer is usually yes.

The New York Times has published a lot on the admissions process this week, and I also recommend this article that contains advice from a range of college admissions officers. I particularly want to point out the answers from Seth Allen at Pomona and Zaire McCoy at Rollins about the impact of deferrals on this cycle’s applicants. I have fielded so many questions about how deferrals will affect applicants (I wrote a detailed post about this back in July), so I was glad to see that Allen and McCoy also felt that deferrals would not have a huge impact on this year’s class. Shannon has been attending a lot of counselor information sessions that emphasize the same thing - colleges are working to mitigate the effects of deferred enrollment, so this shouldn’t be something that has current seniors overly concerned, at least for right now.   

I don’t know if this is quite as simple as it sounds, but it is worth reading this study out of Georgetown, which found that Joe Biden’s free public college plan would pay for itself within ten years. The study results indicate that even though Biden’s plan would cost $73 billion a year, it would be offset by a $186.8 billion increase in tax revenue from workers who would earn more money because of their advanced education. I always approach these “free college” plans with a little bit of skepticism from the taxpayer standpoint, but if it really is that simple it sounds good to me!

Finally, if you are a podcast lover like me, check out this NPR podcast episode which explores the coronavirus testing protocol at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The campus has seventeen testing centers and tests all students and staff on campus every few days. Students are required to have a negative result in order to enter campus buildings and attend classes.

Because the school does its own testing in-house, there are days when 2% of all coronavirus testing in the U.S. is done on that particular campus! It was interesting to hear about the impact of this aggressive testing model, especially considering that Illinois still saw coronavirus spikes from students socializing even after knowing they had received a positive test result.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Submitting is most seniors’ favorite part of this process (at least until the acceptances roll in!), but as we keep repeating and over and over and over again….submitting an application DOES NOT mean that the work is done.

After submitting, students need to continue checking email daily and keep track of the status portal login information for each school. These portals are essential because they will show if information or application components are missing. Applicants can then take care of any missing pieces (which often involves following up with recommenders) and can ultimately make sure all materials have been received.

Some schools will also use the portal to request additional information or outline next steps.. and this can come as a surprise! Below is an example of a form that appears on the University of South Carolina portal. All applicants applying to the school have to fill out this form in order to complete their applications. Students must indicate which “one supplemental material” they are providing for review (SAT/ACT scores, three alternative test scores, or a graded paper).

This is a great example of a portal situation that could go wrong quickly if ignored. Interestingly enough, the USC application doesn’t indicate that this form exists on the portal or that the student is required to fill it out.

So if a student didn’t log in to the portal, he would naturally assume that his requirements had been met - particularly if he had already submitted his SAT scores. However, that’s not enough - without the completed form by November 2, USC would consider his application incomplete and would not review it. All of the student’s hard work would go down the drain! And if you’ve had the “pleasure” of writing those USC Honors College essays this fall, you can understand exactly how frustrating that would be!

Finally, some of the emails with portal access can time out quickly (within 24-48 hours), so if students miss these emails, they will have to follow up with the admissions offices to explain why they aren’t checking their email each day as requested - not a great impression to give off!

Have a great weekend and check those portals!

Should I Apply To Graduate School?

While most of our blog readers are interested in assistance with undergraduate admissions to a four-year college, we also work with younger students applying to private high schools and older students/young professionals who are interested in a graduate degree.

In a typical application cycle we will generally work with four types of graduate school applicants:

• Those seeking a more traditional path to a professional degree, such as an MBA or JD (we do not work with MD applicants).

• Those seeking a specialized master’s degree program for an early-career jumpstart in the business world - some popular options include UVa (McIntire)'s MS Commerce, Vanderbilt (Owen)’s MS Finance, and Georgetown (McDonough)'s MS Management.

• Those seeking a specialized professional master’s degree for an early-ish career jumpstart or boost in a non-business industry - for example, MPH programs, MEM programs, or MPA programs.

• Those seeking an academic master’s or doctoral degree in a liberal arts field.

Not surprisingly, interest in our graduate school admissions consulting has risen substantially this year given the economy and increased competition, but sometimes the hardest decision is whether to pursue the degree now or wait a few years. It’s not like applying to college, where an undergraduate education is the obvious next step for a high school student.

Keep reading to learn more about whether graduate school is the right choice - and if you decide that you might need more targeted guidance, book a Graduate School Strategy Session!

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1. Why now?

As previously mentioned, applications to graduate and professional schools are on the rise this cycle. This is often the case during an economic downturn, when students and professionals turn to continued education to combat layoffs or pivot to a new career. There will also be more deferrals in next cycle’s class, as some students chose not to pursue remote learning this fall. 

The big caveat here is that just because there are more graduate school applications, that doesn’t mean that they are better. Applicants who are just looking for a place to wait out the pandemic will have rushed applications that don’t clearly articulate why they want to attend graduate school. 

So, think about why you are applying to graduate school now. Is this a dream of yours, and a good time in your career to make a change? Have you thought through your reasons clearly, and worked with a consultant or trusted mentor to articulate your ambitions? Great! Your application is going to stand out. Are you applying to graduate school simply because you don’t know what else to do? Skip this cycle, and focus on defining your goals. 

This matrix helps to condense some of our advice about applying to graduate or professional schools this cycle. As you can see, a lot depends on your industry and the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Where am I heading?

If you weren’t scared off by #1, you probably have some idea of why you want a graduate degree. Having clear goals, whether for a business proposal or an academic manuscript, is essential to forming a successful graduate school application. Don’t lose sight of your goals, but do think critically about how you can best serve them. 

If you are on a career path that excites you, and you still have room for upward mobility during COVID, you may choose to stay at a well-paying job and gain experience that will strengthen your application in the future. This is particularly true for younger applicants, who need more time to develop career experience. If the pandemic limits your upward mobility or your ability to pivot to a new career, graduate school may be your best option for progressing toward your goals. 

If you’ve decided that applying is the right path for you, keep reading, and keep those goals in mind!

3. Articulate your story.

For most postgraduate degrees (with the exception of many law schools), you will be asked to write a statement of purpose that discusses your experience and future plans. You should use this opportunity to tell a cohesive story about yourself. Make sure that you demonstrate how your previous experience in school, extracurricular activities, and any work experience you have align with your future goals, and include specific information from your research about how the program you are choosing will help you achieve those goals. 

At this point in your academic and professional career, schools do not want to hear about how you will be able to explore a lot of different topics. They want to know that you are focused on your next steps, and you’ve thought about exactly how their school will help you get there.

4. Polish your resume.

At this point in your career, you probably have a resume that you’ve used before, either for college applications or for the job or internship search. But that resume is likely not going to help you apply to graduate school. Specific programs are going to want to see very different things - a business school resume should look very different from the resume for a Ph.D. program. We help our clients tailor their resumes directly to their programs, but even on your own, make sure you highlight the skills and experience that will be most relevant to your desired program. Also, familiarize yourself with the conventions of resumes in your field. Are they usually a page, or can they be longer? How are they ordered? What type of aesthetic is most common? 

5. Find your best fit (but keep rankings in mind!)

There are plenty of issues with U.S. News rankings for undergraduate institutions, and my general advice is to explore a college based on best fit, not based on rankings. This is true for graduate schools as well - but only to a point. You absolutely should not attend a school that will make you miserable just for a higher ranking. But particularly for graduate and professional schools, rankings can mean a lot. 

BUT - another caveat! - it’s important to pay attention to the fact that exceptional programs in individual fields of study can outweigh an institution’s overall ranking. For example, UT Austin and Duke are (just) outside of the top-ten ranked MBA programs. But if you’re interested in oil and gas, UT Austin might be the best possible choice - far better than even the #1 ranked program. Same would go for Duke if you have an interest in energy or the environment. Do your research to see which schools are most highly regarded in your area of interest, so you can apply to the best possible programs for you.

All this to say, don’t settle for a school that isn’t the right fit. You can always reapply with more work experience, or with help from us! 

There are a TON of variables when it comes to a graduate school application, but that is part of why we enjoy the process. And from a selfish perspective - it is so much fun to reconnect with former students. Last night I got to meet with one of my all-time favorite “kids” (he is definitely not a kid anymore) who I hadn’t seen since probably 2014 or 2015 - it all blends together. So rewarding!!

Have topics or questions that you’d like to see us address in a future blog post? Comment and let us know! 

Weekly Update: October 11

Even as we continue to be busy with seniors submitting their applications (so much fun!), we are also starting to work with a lot of juniors on big-picture strategy for the next two years.

The cyclical nature of admissions means there are always new students starting with us, and we love getting to know them! If you are a Class of 2022, Class of 2023 or Class of 2024 student interested in working with us, you can book a Meet & Greet to talk more about your goals.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

FAIRFAX COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS VIRTUAL COLLEGE WEEK

Fairfax County Public Schools are pivoting to a virtual approach instead of their traditional College Fair and College Night. They will have live virtual sessions from Monday, October 19 - Friday, October 23. There will be two sessions each evening, and students should take a look at the schedule to see which sessions they may be interested in attending, because many of the sessions are for populations with particular interests, including Attending College in Europe, Applying to a Military Academy, and Dual Enrollment. 

NOTRE DAME’S PRESIDENT RETURNS TO CAMPUS WITH COVID-19

As you may have seen on the news this week, Notre Dame’s president Rev. John I. Jenkins was infected with the coronavirus at the White House reception for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a former Notre Dame Law professor. Students have petitioned for his resignation for violating his own mask mandate at the event, and his infection has sparked faculty debate on campus as well. Father Jenkins is perhaps the most high-profile case of a school president being infected with COVID-19, but I anticipate that as the school year goes on, we will continue to hear debate about the responsibility of administrators and schools officials to set an example for the rules enforced on their campuses. 

CANCELLATION OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PROGRAMMING

The White House’s recent executive order against “divisive concepts” in federally-funded programs has some schools scrambling to cancel diversity, equity, and inclusion programming or risk losing federal funding. The University of Iowa has paused DEI programming entirely for two weeks, and some military academies are cancelling or postponing a planned showing of the film Malcolm X. Other schools, like the University of Michigan, are reaffirming their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion work. 

DEADLINE SHIFTS KEEP COMING

Colleges have been changing deadlines and requirements nonstop. We've posted about this before, but it continues to happen left and right. Some of the recent deadline shifts have included Penn State, Michigan, and Duke. This past week, Tufts and Villanova joined the group. I anticipate we will see more of this over the next week. We will be keeping a close eye on deadlines for our students, and we recommend that everyone watch closely for continued changes during this tumultuous year. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

TJ has been in the news again recently for its latest attempt at diversifying the student body. At this nationally-renowned public high school, only 1.7% of the student body is low-income, and only 5% is made up of students of color. TJ has previously tried other strategies to increase the diversity of the student body, including revisions to admissions essays and tests and the hiring of a full-time outreach specialist, but the school was largely unsuccessful. Now, it plans to raise the GPA necessary for admission to a 3.5, and then admit students based on a random lottery system.

I found this Washington Post article in support of the lottery plan to be really interesting, particularly because of the implications for college admissions. It is actually more difficult to be admitted to a highly selective college from a magnet school like TJ than it is from other Nova high schools. This is one reason, as the article says, why many smart students from Northern Virginia may not be interested in attending TJ - and why, for the lottery, students who sign up are clearly motivated to take on a challenging STEM education in high school. 

Jeff Selingo, who wrote my top college admissions article of the year, has written another Washington Post article about “feeder” schools for top colleges. The term always makes me think of an old-fashioned idea of New England prep schools, but even in 2020, 18% of the nation’s high schools are responsible for a full 79% of admitted students! This happens in part because admissions readers who are familiar with the rigor of certain high schools can be confident that students from those schools are prepared to succeed in college coursework. 

Because COVID-19 means that some students won’t have test scores or spring semester grades to measure academic ability, admissions officers may lean harder than ever on high schools that are familiar to them. In our area, this applies particularly to our nationally-recognized Fairfax County and Montgomery County schools. The reputation of our local schools could be a plus in the admissions process more than ever this cycle! 

This New York Times article really speaks to the feelings of loneliness that we’ve been hearing about from our Class of 2020 students. Even for the students who are happy to be on campus for (at least partial) in-person instruction, coronavirus precautions have completely transformed their college experience. Students are telling us that it is hard to get a break from school work, with all the social activities that they would normally use to unwind being cancelled or put on hold. This serves as a good reminder to our students (and to all of us!) that while focusing on work is important, we need to be conscious of making time for ourselves right now too.

I love the idea from two students in this article to shut down computers by 10:00 or 11:00 pm and focus on some face-to-face time with the people around you! 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

I snuck out of the office on Friday to head to Annapolis! I’ve mentioned a few times that we are working on a lot of service academy nomination applications this year and I am thrilled to say that every last one of those nomination applications is DONE! Now we are working on the actual academy applications, but those are a breeze compared to the nomination apps. The process was always complex pre-COVID, but this year has just been a complete nightmare from a logistical standpoint.

If you aren’t familiar, students seeking appointments to service academies need to not only be admitted to the academy itself but also receive a nomination. These nominations are incredibly, incredibly competitive. For example, Tim Kaine receives 500-600 per year and picks 10! The goal is to pursue as many nominations as possible to increase the chances of getting one - but every nomination application is different. The one commonality is that each senator and/or representative typically wants the student to mail every single component together in a packet, which makes it a little tougher from a logistical standpoint in terms of tracking everything and collecting the materials from the various recommenders - of which there are MANY!

In COVID times, all of the different senators and representatives have made different modifications to their process. Some want scores, some don’t. Some want certain evidence of attempted testing registration, some don’t. Some want everything in the packets, some don’t. I won’t even get into the situation that occurred when one of the offices was closed during the week of the deadline and hundreds of nomination packets were stuck in FedEx tracking limbo. It’s no one’s fault, and we are masters of organization with this stuff, but it’s a LOT. Shannon has been a total rockstar in managing all of it!

Anyway, with all of this going on over the past couple of weeks, I couldn’t help looking at all the midshipmen I saw in Annapolis and wondering to myself about where their nominations came from and what their secret sauce was! There is no question that a USNA appointment would be such an amazing opportunity for the right student. However, it’s really important to know what you’re getting into. If you’re in the Class of 2022 and think you may be interested, we highly recommend applying to Summer Seminar! Not only will this give you a taste of USNA life, but attending will also improve your chances of nomination and admission. Applications are due January 4, but you really need to get them in by mid-December at the latest.

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Changing gears entirely - I have been a big fan of Dr. Dan Shapiro for many years and recently saw that he put some of his courses online for parents to follow at their own pace. I am personally really excited to take this course, as soon as I have a free minute, and I thought I would share it here as well because I know that it would be useful to a number of our parents.

As an aside, I would also highly recommend his most recent book, Parent Child Excursions: ADHD, Anxiety, and Autism, which is enormously helpful for anyone whose child struggles with any of the three or a combination.

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One last thought from the past week - as our rising seniors have been learning the results of their recent SAT and ACT exams, we've continued to field questions left and right about applying test-optional. I have started suggesting that students email the admissions reps directly to ask their advice - nothing beats going right to the source, after all!

I have to say, the results of these emails have exceeded my expectations. While most of them quote a party line about not being able to advise students one way or the other, nearly all of them still add some commentary that makes it pretty darn clear what they think the student should do. So if you have questions - don’t hesitate to reach out!

Enjoy the weekend!

Zoom College Interview Tips and Tricks

Now that we are approaching interview season for many of our Class of 2021 seniors (interviews for early applicants often start in November), it seems like a good time to provide you with some tips and tricks for interviewing via Zoom. Our new digital world has given us a whole host of potential issues that can crop up during interviews, and the process is stressful enough for students as it is! Follow our tips for a smooth, stress-free interviewing experience. For our current clients, you can also book an Interview Prep session with us to hone your skills and make sure your Zoom presence is as strong as possible. 

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1. Pay attention to your background. 

This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it is important to point out: before your interview, make sure that your space is clean and clutter-free. Your background should be neutral and professional. A bookshelf, a few understated decorations, or a plain wall are all good options. Please, please do NOT have your bed behind you during the interview - I know that it can be a struggle to find a space when everyone is working and learning from home, but if you absolutely must conduct the interview in your bedroom, angle the camera away from your bed or use a Zoom background. 

Check out the angle of my monitor - it is set up that way intentionally so that the bookcase is in the background instead of the windows behind me.

Also, make sure that you set up your space in a less-trafficked area of your household, and put a sign on the door to warn family members and other people in the house to steer clear. You don’t want the interviewer to hear dogs barking or siblings and other family members moving and talking in the background, and the noise may interrupt your concentration as well. 

Finally, don’t forget to put your phone on silent in advance of the meeting!

2. Set up your lighting in advance.

It is easy not to think about your lighting until the day of the interview, but please make sure your space is set up ahead of time, and use your webcam to check exactly what the interviewer will see during your Zoom session. One good option is to do the interview while facing a window, or to move a lamp just behind your computer or webcam, to ensure your face is lit evenly. Check the lighting around the same time of day as you will have your eventual interview - a room that is bright with morning sun at 8:00 am may be dark and shadowy by the afternoon! 

3. Work your angles.

If you are using a laptop placed on a desk in front of you for the interview, the webcam will be lower than your face, creating an awkward angle for the interviewer. In order to present yourself head-on, use books, boxes, or a lap desk underneath your laptop, so that your webcam is at eye level and you can speak into the camera. 

The Container Store offers some inexpensive options for monitor stands, if you’d like to up your game a little bit. This is the one I bought for myself and I like this one too.

I know it is hard to resist, but try not to watch yourself during the interview. If you’ve followed these tips, you’ve already tested your camera and lighting, so you know what you look like! Pin the interviewer’s video to your screen, and look into or just below your webcam when speaking, so the interviewer can see that you are focused and engaged in the conversation. 

4. Keep parents out of it.

No, not out of the interview process entirely - parents are a great resource to help you plan an appropriate background, test your camera and sound system, and even help you with a practice interview. But once you are in front of the interviewer, it is time for parents to step away. It is obvious to interviewers when a parent is in the room with you, even if they are offscreen. You want the interviewer to know that you can be independent and self-reliant in college, so politely ask parents to wait outside. 

A similar point about notes: it is great to be prepared with interview notes and questions. I recommend pulling them up on your computer screen ahead of time, so you can refer to them without looking away from the interviewer, if necessary. That said, you want to spend most of your interview time focused on your conversation, so make sure to spend time getting familiar with the school and going over your materials in advance.

5. Troubleshoot your tech.

Well before your interview (no, not five minutes before),  check your camera, speakers, and microphone. Make sure that your internet connection is strong, and your image and sound quality are clear. You should also check that you have your Zoom or Skype password and login information readily available, so you don’t keep the interviewer waiting with any account issues. You should do these checks in the same space you intend to conduct the interview if at all possible. 

You will also want to make sure that you have downloaded the Zoom or Skype apps to your computer; both programs will run more efficiently that way. While both Zoom and Skype can technically be accessed through your browser, they will not run at optimal speeds and your screen may freeze as a result.

Of course, even if you do all of these checks, tech issues may occur during an interview. Don’t panic! Your interviewer likely has experience working over Zoom and knows that these types of problems arise. If you can’t resolve the issue, try asking the interviewer if you can hang up and restart the call. Once you are back online, apologize quickly and move on with the interview - don’t spend valuable time over-apologizing when you want to be talking about your interest in their school! 

6. Sit still.

Fidgeting can be a challenge for many students during interviews, but during virtual interviews in particular, fidgeting can be a real issue. If you move your hands or touch your face and hair, these gestures are ultra-visible on-screen. Try to eliminate the potential for fidgeting by sitting in a chair that does not swivel, so you’re not tempted to move back and forth during the interview. Keep your hair away from your face and don’t wear jewelry or other clothing items that you may play with unconsciously. 

7. Rules still apply.

All of the normal rules for interviewing still apply over Zoom. You should dress in appropriate business casual attire, just as if you are interviewing on-campus - yes, even though the interviewer won’t see your legs. Not only will this make you feel more confident during the interview, it will also be important should you need to stand up or move around at any time while you are online. 

You should also be early. With virtual appointments, it can be easy to get caught up in other things and lose track of time. Aim to be online 5-10 minutes early, if possible, and waiting in the Zoom room for your interviewer. This plan will also give you some padding if you have any issues logging on or connecting to the video, and enable you to test your technology again if necessary. 

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Whether you are a Class of 2021 student about to begin interviewing, or you’re an underclassman just starting to attend information sessions and meet with counselors to learn more about your college choices, you can use these tips to put your best (virtual) foot forward. Good luck to all of our students with November interviews - we can’t wait for the admissions officers and alumni interviewers to meet you! 

Have topics or questions that you’d like to see us address in a future blog post? Comment and let us know! 

Weekly Update: October 2

And.. October it is! With our first deadlines less than two weeks away, everyone has been very busy! It’s kind of killing me that the results of the 9/23 school-based SAT are released THE SAME DAY as the first round of deadlines (10/15). Yet in order to submit an application to at least one of those schools, students have to answer a question about whether or not they are submitting test scores for consideration. So stressful on everyone involved. The idea of submitting an application the day it is due literally gives me heart palpitations, yet at the same time it’s unavoidable if students are waiting on that round of scores to decide!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

THE FAFSA IS OPEN

Finally, the moment some of you have been waiting for… the FAFSA opened yesterday, and if you intend to complete the form, I encourage you to do it as soon as possible. It is more important than ever this year to complete this form promptly!

If you are unsure whether or not you should complete the FAFSA, you can check out my earlier posts here and here to help make the best decision for you and your family. There are a lot of myths about the FAFSA that circle around every year, so if any of our current clients have questions about the process, make sure to reach out to us! We will help you decide how to proceed.

MORE VIRTUAL VISITS

We are working hard to keep our list of virtual college fairs, tours, and information sessions updated, as more and more schools open up registration for virtual events. Some upcoming events that we’re excited about are the Virtual College Exploration fair for Atlanta-area colleges, the Six Colleges events hosted by Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams, and the NWHE special topics sessions that Notre Dame, Wash U, Johns Hopkins, and Emory have put together. 

COMMON APP REMOVES DISCIPLINARY DISCLOSURE FOR CLASS OF 2022

After finding that the disclosure of disciplinary history disproportionately impacts low-income students and students of color, the Common App has decided to remove the question beginning with the Class of 2022. Students who recorded a disciplinary incident were also nearly twice as likely as others to leave their applications incomplete, choosing not to apply to college at all. The Common App will no longer ask students or their counselors to disclose disciplinary information.

But before we get too excited, I should also note that schools will still be able to ask about disciplinary history on their supplements, and it is likely that many will continue to do so.

It was through pressure from schools that the Common App chose to add this question in the first place in 2006, and Common App schools can continue to require it going forward. So while this is definitely a step in the right direction, it is not a guarantee that Class of 2022 students will not have to report disciplinary action. The right choice is always to avoid disciplinary incidents, but in the event that you do have to report, check out my recent video for some tips!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

As my current clients know, I find transparency in college admissions to be incredibly important! So I really enjoyed this article about econometric modeling as it relates to the admissions process. We always emphasize the necessity of demonstrating interest in your school of choice by attending information sessions and (virtual) tours, but this article highlights additional ways to engage without the ability to see a college in person. Some tips I want to emphasize are:

1. Visit the college’s website and click “request more information” - this will enter you into the college’s enrollment management system. 

2. Once you are on that list, you will likely receive a lot of emails, but if you can, click on the links within the email and explore more about the college. Many colleges track this type of engagement, so taking the time to read and learn more is a great way to demonstrate interest. 

3. Like, share, and comment on the college’s social media posts. This kind of engagement may also be tracked. 

The key to any of this engagement is to make sure you have ONE email address that you use for all interactions with colleges (including social media accounts linked to this address). We encourage many of our clients to set up a gmail account just for this purpose. And of course, if you interact with any college on social media, be very careful of what they will see if they click on your profile! 

This Forbes Investigation into the SAT is long, but a worthwhile read. There has been a long-running conversation about the value of the SAT in college admissions, but the change in testing policies due to COVID-19 has sparked a renewal of that conversation. In my opinion, many of the schools who are going test-optional this cycle are likely to remain so, even after the pandemic has passed. That said, I do have my doubts as to whether that will be the case for the most highly selective schools - I’m just not sure how they would be able to assess academic performance without that data point - but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Either way, I’m very interested to see how next cycle will look, and I hope that we will see more and more schools focus on students’ academic progress over the course of four years, rather than their preparation for a single test day. What do you think of the potential shift toward test-blind admissions? Has your student been impacted by SAT difficulties this cycle? Comment and let us know! 

We have continued to field a ton of questions this year about how deferrals and changes in class size relating to COVID-19 will impact that Class of 2021. But this article also shows that the pandemic will have a positive impact for transfer applicants, at least in the short term. Over three-quarters of colleges anticipate having a higher admit rate for transfers this year! However, this may be short-lived; I expect that transferring will become more difficult in the long term. COVID-related deferrals mean that many schools may welcome a larger-than-usual first year class in 2021, and be less likely to admit transfer applicants in future cycles. We are already well underway in our work with prospective transfer applicants, and if you are considering transferring, now is the time to book a transfer strategy session!   

It seems like every time I post this Friday blog post, I see something come out right afterwards that I wish I had been able to include. This New York Times article from last Friday notes that one of the major reasons students are still putting in so much effort to take standardized tests in a year when most schools are test-optional is because they hope to receive merit aid. Merit aid can be one of the most opaque parts of the college admissions process, so I was excited to see this article shed some light.

The article also points out that some schools, like the College of Wooster in Ohio and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, are offering pre-application financial estimates so that prospective students can assess how much college will cost before they apply. If anyone hears of other schools offering this service, let us know in the comments - we’ll be keeping an eye on how this impacts the admissions process. 

We have worked with so many students this year who care deeply about the commitment to “going green” that college and universities demonstrate, and I think this trend will only continue as high schoolers become more and more environmentally-conscious. The Sierra Club’s “Cool Schools” list ranks colleges based on their environmental commitments, and it is a “cool” alternative to more traditional college rankings.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We’ve begun to spend a lot of time helping our students with post-submission follow-up, and I had a question from a student this week that I thought would be helpful to share as I did not find the answer to be intuitive. Hopefully this will clear things up for anyone else in the same boat!

Many schools require students to submit their self-reported grades and test scores after their applications are submitted. The form through which this takes place is known as a Self-Reported Academic Record, or SRAR. Virginia Tech is one of those schools, and has introduced a test-optional question this year that allows students to decide whether or not they want the SAT and/or ACT to be considered.

Our student wasn't sure how to indicate that she wanted to share her AP scores, but not her SAT/ACT scores. On the Common App, this is very straightforward and easy to do. However, the language that VT used in their question confused both of us.

As you can see, it reads "To allow Virginia Tech access to your self-reported test scores, select Yes below."

However, it turns out that students who want to self-report their AP scores only should actually go ahead and answer NO to this question but should enter their AP scores anyway through the drop-down box under "Add New Exams." The same goes for students who want to share IB or CLEP scores. I honestly would not have thought to do it that way! Thankfully, our VT rep is very helpful and emailed me back to explain, and I was able to pass the information on to our student.

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I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how it works to submit over Zoom, so one of my seniors yesterday allowed me to share a screen shot of our submission session with all of you (she’s blocked out, obviously). It really does feel just like the real thing! Ignore my goofy smile - I get really excited to click submit and she was equally excited too!

I love each and every one of our seniors but have to brag for a minute about the particular girl - it occurred to me during our session that I literally have not seen or spoken to either one of her parents since I met her mom at our consultation, which took place probably 15 months ago. I mean not ONCE! How cool is that? I truly would not know these people if I saw them on the street :) We have emailed back and forth a few times and my team and I always CC them on everything, so they are always informed, but she’s worked with us independently the entire way. We helped advise her on every single detail - from college tours, to standardized test approaches, to writing amazing essays, to perfecting and submitting every application! And she was so on the ball that she actually finished her testing and most of her college visits pre-COVID!

While that example is a little extreme, and some parents prefer to be actively involved in each step (don’t worry, we love you guys too and welcome as much or as little involvement as each family wants!), on average we probably have less parent contact than most would guess. When families choose to hand us the reins, they always end up to really appreciate the outcome - not only because it reduces stress in the home and they are able to focus on their own lives knowing that their kids are in good hands, but also because of the life skills that their children gain through the process.

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT!

It’s important to be able to know how to communicate and interact with adults without using parents as intermediaries. It’s also important to be able to take ownership over tasks - we try as much as possible to use careful scaffolding and constant reminders to help our students step out of their comfort zones and truly become ready for college - not just to get in, but also to succeed when they get there!

Have a great weekend!

William & Mary: #4 for College with the Happiest Students

NOTE FROM COLLEEN:

SHANNON IS TAKING OVER TODAY WITH A TOPIC THAT I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT FOR YEARS. I’M ALWAYS FASCINATED BY THE FEEDBACK I HEAR ABOUT WILLIAM & MARY FROM KIDS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA. I HONESTLY DON’T UNDERSTAND IT!

SO MANY STUDENTS HAVE SOMETHING NEGATIVE TO SAY BEFORE THEY HAVE EVER SET FOOT ON CAMPUS, YET THE ONES WHO END UP ACTUALLY GOING THERE JUST LOVE IT - I HAVE MULTIPLE STUDENTS THERE NOW AND THEY COULDN’T BE HAPPIER.

AND WHEN I ATTENDED A COUNSELOR DAY ON CAMPUS A FEW YEARS BACK, I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE IMPRESSED. SO I WAS GENUINELY CURIOUS TO GET THE REAL SCOOP FROM SHANNON! HOPE YOU FIND IT INTERESTING TOO :)

HERE IT IS…

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As a proud College of William & Mary alumna, I’m always excited when I hear good news about my alma mater. And last week brought some fantastic accolades for W&M from the Princeton Review - we are now ranked #4 for Happiest Students and #15 for Best Quality of Life! 

When I first learned about William & Mary, I was just beginning my own college search process at my New England prep school - I probably googled something like “medium-sized colleges East Coast” and went from there.

I was drawn to the gorgeous campus and the warmer Virginia weather, but what sealed the deal for me was the feeling, from the moment I stepped on William & Mary’s campus, that it was a place where I could be the “real me.”

So much of my application process felt disingenuous to who I was as a person (hence my passion at DC College Counseling for making sure each application is authentic and unique to the student!) that it was a relief to walk into a place that seemed accepting of every part of me, not just the skills I tried to emphasize on my application. 

I still remember meeting everyone at orientation, listening as student after student introduced themselves and said they were from “Nova.” Wow, I thought, how are all these kids from the same town?

It wasn’t until after I had moved in, met my (still) best friends and hallmates, and discovered that Nova wasn’t just a single town that I learned about the rumors that plagued William & Mary from the in-state students - students at William & Mary are terrible overachievers, the quality of life is horrible, no one is having any fun.

I was completely shocked by the rumors because they were so far outside of my William & Mary experience. I don’t want to dwell on “suicide rates” in this post, because I don’t want to reduce a widespread mental health issue to a statistic, but rates for students at William & Mary, while deeply tragic, are the same as the national average.

I think that W&M has come to bear the brunt of rumors that speak more to a general concern for the mental health and well-being of high school and college-age students than to any particular aspect of the William & Mary community.

I don’t mean to diminish the problem - it is essential that W&M, like every higher education institution, put more emphasis on mental health resources for students. I am hopeful that the campus’s new McLeod Tyler Wellness Center, home to mental health services including the new Center for Mindfulness & Authentic Excellence, is a step in the right direction by a school that is committed to caring for its students.

I met my best friends in this dorm freshman year, so we had to come back and take a photo before graduation!

The new Princeton Review rankings are much more representative of my time at William & Mary than any rumors I have heard. The idea of “Authentic Excellence” is a way of life for the Tribe, and throughout my four years of college, I was never dissuaded from the knowledge that my authentic self was accepted at W&M.

That sense so many students experience in high school, of feeling “uncool”? You will never feel it in Williamsburg. W&M students are unabashedly uncool. Everyone is nerdy about something: pop music production, marine biology, obscure 18th century literature, MLB statistics, you name it and someone on campus is willing to geek out with you about it. The tight group of friends I made during college have a wide variety of interests and experiences, and I love hearing about their passions because I never fail to learn something new. And I promise - we had a lot of fun too! 

Even though COVID-19 means that I have to miss homecoming this year, I will always consider William & Mary my home, and I’m counting down to the day when I can step back onto campus and visit all of my favorite Williamsburg places.  

In our William & Mary gear, making sure Thomas Jefferson is ready for Mardi Gras!

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COLLEEN AGAIN! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN W&M, CHECK OUT THIS INCREDIBLY HELPFUL SLIDE FROM THE COUNSELOR DAY I ATTENDED:

I KNOW IT’S A LITTLE HARD TO READ, BUT HERE GOES - IT’S ABOUT QUESTIONS THAT W&M ADMISSIONS STAFF CONSIDER WHILE REVIEWING APPLICATIONS:

• IS THE STUDENT PREPARED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN OUR ACADEMIC COMMUNITY?

• HOW DOES HE OR SHE COMPARE TO OTHERS IN OUR POOL?

• HAS THE STUDENT GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND TO PURSUE A RIGOROUS CURRICULUM IN A WAY THAT DEMONSTRATES AN INTEREST IN DOING SO IN COLLEGE?

• DOES THE STUDENT HAVE A MATURE WRITING VOICE?

• IS THE STUDENT INTERESTING WITH A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ABOUT THE WORLD?

• DOES HE OR SHE HAVE SPUNK, ZEST, OR AN INTERESTING ATTITUDE THAT WOULD ADD A NEW DIMENSION TO CAMPUS LIFE?

• WHAT IS THIS PERSON GOING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY?

• WOULD HE OR SHE BE AN INTERESTING ROOMMATE, CLASSMATE, LAB PARTNER?