Interview Series 2 - Ask the Right Questions

In our blog post last week, we talked about signing up for interviews and how to find out if the colleges on your list are offering interview opportunities in the summer, before you apply. 

This week, we’re continuing the conversation by discussing some of the different types of interviews that you may encounter during the college process!

Interview with an Admissions Officer

At some schools, you will be interviewed by an admissions officer - someone who works for the school reviewing applications and making admissions decisions. So naturally, you want to put your best foot forward - if you impress this person, they will be able to advocate for you to the rest of the admissions committee! 

If you are interviewing after you’ve applied for admission, the interviewer will likely have access to your application, so they may have been able to review the materials you’ve submitted. In this case, it is possible that the person will have specific questions for you about activities or experiences that you mentioned in your application. 

(PRO TIP: We all know that the hours per week/ weeks per year approximations in the activity section of your application can involve extensive calculations, since you can’t vary the time commitment from season to season or year to year.

Since you may not be able to just think back on the spot and remember the final calculation you put in your application, please re-review your activities list and familiarize yourself with this information before your interview.

Worst case, if the interviewer asks you about your time commitment and you freeze up, just explain that you don’t have the math in front of you and you can’t remember the final number, but explain your general thought process -> “Before Covid, I danced for 15 hours per week during spring and fall, but..”

Whatever you do, do not make a number up! One of the things I remember most about my time giving admissions interviews was that so many kids mentioned time estimates for activities that didn’t line up with what they put down on their applications, and discrepancies always set off red flags about possible deception.)

The other type of interview that admissions officers may offer is an “informational interview.” This is an interview that does not have a formal impact on your application - meaning that the interviewer probably will not fill out a report that is added to your file. However, do not assume this means that you do not need to prepare! You definitely do not want to make a negative impression on an admissions officer, even in a more informal, informational setting. And just think about human nature - if they like you, they might go to bat for you. If they don’t, well..

For either type of interview, make sure that you prepare questions for the interviewer. These shouldn’t be questions that you can easily find on the school’s website - you want at least one or two questions that show that you’ve done some research. Here are some good questions to ask an admissions officer:

1. I was [Insert Emotion Here] to read about [Insert Story Here] in the campus newspaper online. Can you tell me [Insert Follow-Up Question Here]? (For example: I was very impressed to read about the new alumni mentoring initiative in the campus newspaper online. Can you tell me if this will be available to all students or just upperclassmen?)

2. What do you think is the most important quality for a [Insert Name of College] student to have?

3. I really loved learning about [Insert Cool Thing Here]. Does [Insert Name of College] have any other unique offerings that you wish were available to you at the college you attended? (For example: I really loved learning about how students laminate their notes during exams so they can study in the amazing leisure pool! Does Miami have any other unique offerings that you wish were available to you at the college you attended? 

Interview with an Alumnus or Alumna

Many schools have an alumni interview program through which graduates of the college can volunteer to interview students in their area (or, increasingly during COVID, virtually). Unlike an admissions officer, the alumni interviewer will likely not have access to your application. They may have a list of your activities or request a copy of your resume, or they may not know anything about you at all! In this type of interview, you can draw on the stories that you told in your application to represent your positive qualities and experiences. You may need to do a bit more “explaining” of your classes and activities, as this person probably does not have the context of your grades or activity list that an admissions officer might. 

But don’t think that this is an informal interview just because you are not meeting directly with an admissions representative! These types of interviews can vary widely depending on the school and personality of the individual interviewer, so be prepared for a formal interview and be flexible when it comes to engaging in conversation with the interviewer. 

Alumni interviewers are usually passionate about their alma mater, so you can ask questions that draw on their experience as a student! Here are some ideas: 

1. What did you like best about being in [Insert Location Here] and how did you take advantage of what the city has to offer?

2. What quality did you develop as a result of your time at [Insert Name of College]? How did this quality help you after graduation? 

3. What is one thing you wish you had done while at [Insert Name of College], but didn’t have time?

Interview with a Current Student

Finally, you may be offered an interview with a current student - typically an upperclassman. These students may be volunteers with the admissions office, but like alumni interviewers, they probably won’t have access to your transcript or application materials, so you can help them get to know you by providing more context when you talk about your experiences. 

While an interview with a current student may seem less formal than an interview with an alumnus or admissions officer, keep in mind that this person is still evaluating you! You want to be personable and comfortable while still making a positive impression. And while this person may only be a few years older than you, please keep romance out of the equation (yes, this actually happens)!

Don’t forget - an interview with a student can be just as beneficial to you as it is to the school. You want to take advantage of the opportunity to ask the interviewer questions that only a current student could answer!

Here are some ideas for questions to ask a current student: 

1. What advice would you give to an incoming freshman? What would you encourage them to do or join to help integrate them into the school community?

2. What are your favorite courses you have taken at [Insert Name of College]? Are there any classes that are unique to the school?

3. I’ve been to an info session with an admissions officer, but I’m really interested in the student perspective as well. What’s something about [Insert Name of College] that I wouldn’t know from the info session and tour?

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No matter where you are interviewing or who you’re talking to, you can have a successful experience if you come prepared! Practice asking and answering questions at home with your parents or a trusted friend, or set up an interview session with us for extra help. Vault Members and current clients can also see a list of interview questions and best practices by referring to the “Interview Guide” in the Membership Vault. 

Good luck on those interviews!

Weekly Update: July 23

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

AP EXAM SCORES RELEASED

2021 AP Exam scores are out! Check out the full distributions - if you click on the exam name, you can see the year over year differences in pass rates. Overall, students did not perform as well on this year’s exams, but the differences varied substantially from test to test. The pass rate for AP Lit, for instance, plummeted over 16 percentage points from 2020!

PURDUE TURNS TWO-PERSON HOUSING INTO FOUR

If you’ve been reading the blog (or any college news!), you know that many colleges received record numbers of applicants last cycle. Purdue was one of those schools, and will be welcoming the largest freshman class in its history in 2022, bringing 10,000 freshmen to campus. 

In response to the unprecedented number of first year students, Purdue has made the controversial decision to house three or four students in dorm rooms originally meant for two. Purdue is not the only school to have these “forced triple” (or quadruple!) rooms (Villanova is one school that typically offers a housing discount to students willing to stay in forced triples), but students who were used to social distancing for the last year may have to get used to being very close to their roommate(s)! We encourage all class of 2022 students to read any housing information carefully and prepare for potentially overfilled dorm rooms next year.

YES, WILLIAM & MARY IS PUBLIC

William & Mark faced criticism this week after Education Reform Now released a report about equity issues in Virginia higher education funding. The report pointed out that William & Mary is one of the highest-funded public institutions in the state, based on 2019 funding per full-time student - yet it enrolled the lowest percentage of students under a certain income threshold.

W&M responded by saying they consider their peer schools to be private institutions. Ouch! And that may be true in terms of who they consider their peers to be (W&M does fit a certain niche in that it is a public school that feels private!) - but make no mistake, the school is not private.

This Twitter thread about their tone-deaf response and potential student confusion caught our eye. I’ve certainly seen students confused by the fact that schools like University of Miami, New York University and the University of Pennsylvania are private, but William & Mary is definitely a public institution and we are pretty confident that our in-state Virginia students are well aware of this :)

ACT WILL HONOR STUDENT ACCOMMODATIONS FROM 504 PLANS

The ACT announced this week that it will automatically approve students with IEP or 504 plans to receive the same accommodations on the test as they receive at school! We have always recommended that parents initiate the accommodations process for students with disabilities as early as possible, but this is even more reason to do so!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

We know that the cost of college is rising, and students, parents, and families pay for college through a variety of means: income, savings, scholarships, grants, work study, loans - it can be overwhelming! This CNBC article explores how many families are funding students’ college education today. The moral of the story? Apply for as many sources of funding as you can! For more insight on whether you should complete the FAFSA, check out our blog post on the topic. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a lot of changes in the job market, and we are seeing many low-wage workers looking for more fulfilling work (and shortages of restaurant and retail workers as a result). Two-thirds of these workers do not have a college degree. This Washington Post opinion piece argues that employers should stop requiring that employees have bachelor’s degrees, instead allowing non-college-educated workers to rely on their skills and experience during the hiring process. 

Also in the Post this week, an article about the impact of smartphones and social media on teens’ feelings of loneliness. Concerns about loneliness and mental health struggles in teenagers have only grown after the year these kids have had, but this report reveals that loneliness in teens has actually been on the rise for years - doubling between 2012 and 2018. Before 2012 - that is, before over 50% of Americans had smartphones - loneliness and depression levels were relatively stable for years and even decades around the world.

Many today believe that standardized testing in college admissions is discriminatory, and equity and inclusion advocates have celebrated the increase in test-optional admissions during COVID-19. But this Atlantic article paints a very different picture, arguing that issues of equity are much more prevalent in student GPA and the course load available in high school, and that standardized testing is in fact an equalizer, at least in the University of California system that he investigates. The difference, though, is that GPA and course load are contextualized, usually by a counselor letter - admissions officers are aware of how a student performs in the context of their high school. The SAT or ACT, by contrast, do not provide the same context. This is part of why it’s really important for students to provide their counselor with thoughtful material for this letter!

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Shannon held down the fort last week while I was on vacation in Italy - and in a really fun coincidence, I got to meet up with one of my all-time favorite clients in Venice after discovering that we were both there at the same time! We worked closely together for four years with two different children, but the family doesn't live in the DC area, so it was a real treat to be able to catch up face-to-face and reminisce!

And speaking of all-time favorite clients, we also released a very exciting announcement this week about our new pro bono program, in partnership with the Fieldstone Foundation! Thanks to the incredible generosity of an amazing family with daughters in both the Class of 2020 and 2021, we are now able to offer 100% FREE college counseling services to a select group of talented, ambitious students who might not have access to expert counseling. We are so grateful to them for making this possible!

Successful applicants will demonstrate commitment and a desire to succeed, as well as significant financial need. Check out https://www.dccollegecounseling.com/probono to learn more about this opportunity - and please share with anyone who might be interested in applying! We will have more to say about this program in the coming weeks :)

Have a great weekend, everyone! Exactly one month until school begins for our FCPS families. Hard to believe, right?!

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It's Time To Talk About Interviews - Yes, Really!

We always try to make sure that our blog posts are useful to you at the point in the cycle that you are at now - so why are we posting about interviews in July??

Many schools actually begin offering interviews to prospective students over the summer before they apply, and often this opportunity is not very well-publicized. But we highly recommend that students take advantage of interviews where possible! This is a great way to demonstrate your interest in the school as well as help admissions officers put a face to a name this fall when they are considering your application. 

If you already have your interviews scheduled, make sure that you check out our earlier blog posts with some key tips for interviews and some info on virtual interviewing. But if you are reading this and thinking, Interviews?? What interviews?? Oh my gosh, I’m so far behind! - take a deep breath and read on for some key questions to research and get ahead on interviews now!

Which of my schools offer interviews?

For our ongoing clients, we contact each and every school on their lists to determine their interview policy. Some schools require interviews for admission, and others do not offer them at all. Then, there are all those in the middle - interviews may be “optional,” “highly recommended,” “informational,” even required for certain programs and not others. 

 Your first step toward handling interviews like a pro is to search up the policies for each school on your list. There is no shame in contacting the main admissions office email, either, to ask about their interview policy - this just shows that you are proactive and interested in the school! Just make sure that before you do so, you put in the work of scouring the website for the information (as a general rule, don’t email the admissions office for any information that is easily accessible on their site, but do email with thoughtful questions!).

How are interviews arranged?

Among the schools that do offer interviews, there are many different ways that they work. The two most important questions to ask are:

1. Do students or the school initiate the interview?

2. Can I interview before I apply?

Some schools do not allow students to sign up to interview - the school will contact applicants with interview offers after applicants click submit. Offers may be extended to students that they want to admit, or those that they are not sure would be a good fit and want to learn more about.

That said, don’t read into it. What’s more common is that the school offers the opportunity to every single applicant, or every applicant from certain geographic areas where alumni are present to handle the interviews. If the school is invitation-only and you are in contact with the admissions office, you can always express your interest in being asked to interview. If you do so early enough, some schools will take this preference into account!

At other schools, you will need to be the one to initiate the interview, whether through an applicant portal or other forms of online sign-ups. This is where you need to be very clear about each school’s policy - you don’t want to miss your opportunity!

Regarding the timeline, some schools require students to wait for interviews after applying, but others allow interviews as early as the summer before senior year. Yes, if you’re a member of the Class of 2022, that means right now!

If the school does offer interviews to students before applying, it is very possible that they will run out of interview slots quickly. Make sure that you sign up as soon as you can, in these circumstances, to take advantage of the opportunity (William & Mary, for example, is a school where it is very beneficial to interview over the summer). Wake Forest is a school that has historically encouraged students to self-initiate an interview before applying, but they have changed their policy beginning this application cycle.

So, should I interview?

This is the question that we hear most often - so, this school offers interviews, should I sign up? Nine times out of ten, the answer is yes! An interview lets you demonstrate your interest in the school, helps the admissions office get to know you, and helps you get to ask questions and get to know the school a bit better. Generally, it is a win-win for everyone, provided that you have time to prepare and put your best foot forward. 

That said, there are definite caveats to this rule of thumb. If you are particularly shy or have real trouble speaking to strangers, or know that there is no way you’d present well in an interview setting (and would not be able to do so no matter how much you practice) an interview may not be the best choice. Be honest with yourself, and ask a parent, family member, or trustworthy advisor if you need help deciding whether an interview is the right choice. 

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Still not sure you’re ready to tackle an interview? Current clients and Vault Members can book interview prep sessions with us now!

Keep an eye out for next week’s post, where we’ll cover different types of interviews that you may be offered and some frequently asked questions!

Weekly Update: July 16

Colleen is out of the office, so it’s Shannon here again with this week’s update!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITIES LATEST TO CONSOLIDATE

Following in the footsteps of other state university systems like Connecticut, the Pennsylvania state system will be consolidating 6 different schools into just 2 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students and faculty have continued to protest for their schools, but unfortunately I expect that we will see more changes like this as universities consider the best way to move forward after such a difficult year.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SYSTEM TO REQUIRE COVID-19 VACCINE

While the University of California system initially planned to require vaccines only once they were fully FDA-approved, the system announced a policy change yesterday that will require all students and faculty to be vaccinated before returning to campuses in the fall. The change was prompted by an increase in cases in California, and the UCs are now the largest state system in the country that will require vaccination. At the moment, nearly 500 schools will be requiring vaccines next year. Class of 2021, make sure you know the requirements for your campus before moving in this fall!

CDC URGES SCHOOLS TOWARD FULL REOPENING

Even with those rising cases in some parts of the country, the CDC is still encouraging K-12 schools to fully reopen in the fall. This new guidance recognizes the challenges that students, parents, and teachers have faced with fully virtual learning, what the former CDC director calls the “real costs” of keeping children at home.

Large school systems are coming up with their own guidance for students and families. The New York City school system does not intend to even offer an online option next fall, while here in Virginia schools are proceeding cautiously by still requiring mask-wearing. Meanwhile, eight states including Vermont, South Carolina, and Texas have banned schools from instituting these types of mask requirements.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Community college has really come into the forefront recently with Biden unveiling a proposal this week that would provide tuition-free community college to all young adults. After community college enrollment plummeted during the pandemic, this plan may help more students attend college.

Here in Virginia, UVA’s Guaranteed Transfer Admission program makes attending community college a really attractive (and less expensive!) option. For students who meet the academic requirements at a college in the Virginia Community College System, there is a guaranteed spot at UVA waiting for them after two years! This article from the Wall Street Journal is a great read for anyone who wants to learn more about the pros of attending a community college.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Colleen will be back in the office next week - in the meantime, I am holding down the fort with the essay coaches as we work with students on their supplemental essays! I love being able to read students’ work and get to know them even better. I always discover something new about students in these essays, which is so much fun!

If you are not a client, but still want a sneak peek into what we do when we work on these essays, check out our post from last week: Supplemental Essay Secrets Revealed!

Have a great weekend!

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Weekly Update: July 9

Colleen is out of the office today, so it’s Shannon here with this week’s update!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

COLLEGE PERSISTENCE RATES SEE PANDEMIC DROP

As you have probably read already this year, on this blog and elsewhere, the number of students enrolling at colleges during COVID-19 dropped dramatically, particularly at community colleges. Now, statistics are showing an alarming drop in college persistence rates as well - the largest single-year fall since 2009. The college persistence rate (not to be confused with the retention rate) measures the percentage of students entering college in fall 2019 who returned to school in fall 2020 - this year, 73.9%. Like enrollment, persistence and retention rates declined most at community colleges.

IS YOUR COLLEGE REQUIRING THE COVID-19 VACCINE?

With vaccine requirements changing by the day, it can be difficult to keep track of what you need for next year! This helpful graphic tracks the rules that states have when it comes to vaccinations (colleges in Florida and Texas, for example, are legally prohibited from requiring vaccinations), as well as providing a comprehensive list of colleges that will require the vaccine next year.

2021-2022 SAT REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Seats for the SAT are filling up fast, so make sure that you register now! Many local schools are already full (Madison filled up the first day!) so getting a seat could be challenging if you plan to take the test this fall. We recommend completing your registration as soon as you can.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Discussions about student loan debt often focus on undergraduate students, but many young adults are in debt due to a graduate or professional degree - particularly one that did not lead to higher income to pay down the loans. This Wall Street Journal article explores “the elite master’s degrees that don’t pay off,” including programs at Columbia like film, history, social work, and architecture. The same held true at other top colleges and universities, like NYU, Northwestern, and USC, where students with six-figure loan debt from their master’s programs were making low five-figure salaries two years after graduation. Unlike undergraduate loans, there are no limits on the loans that graduate students can take out, making them very profitable for these universities.

For students who are touring colleges this summer and fall, make sure to check out this list of places you should explore on a college tour! Some of my favorites include “facilities associated with your desired major” - these are the building where you’ll be spending most of your time, and it is easy to go the entire tour seeing only the most renovated buildings on campus. Great if you’ll be studying in one of them, but not if your department is housed in that unairconditioned building all the way across campus! Same goes for any facilities related to your hobbies or extracurriculars you’d like to try. The article also recommends keeping an eye on the bulletin boards, which is a great way to see what types of activities are happening around campus.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We have continued to be extremely busy working with students on their supplemental essays (and researching to ensure that our supplemental essay prompts list remains up to date!). We love working with our students on essays - reading their writing really helps us get to know them even better!

We also have a big announcement coming up next week about a project that I have been working really hard on with one of our client parents - stay tuned!

Enjoy the weekend!

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Supplemental Essay Secrets Revealed!

Are you hoping to write some amazing supplemental essays during the 2021-2022 admissions cycle? You’re in the right place.. because we are the supplemental essay gurus!

Here at DC College Counseling, nearly all of our Class of 2022 students have already begun work on their 2021-2022 supplemental essays. In fact, most of them started this work before any schools had released their supplemental essay prompts!

Our process allows our students to finish their (amazing) essays with the least amount of stress, and we are definitely not submitting anything the night before the deadline. Students who begin working with us before the end of their junior year complete and submit their college applications by September - yes, 2-4 months in advance!

If you’re wondering why we submit so early, there are a few reasons:

• Students are able to do their best work when they are not rushed and stressed

• The home environment is much more pleasant when parents don’t need to nag

• Even before opening their files, admissions officers will jump to lots of conclusions about the types of 17-year-olds that turn their application materials in far before the deadlines. Spoiler alert: they are good conclusions :) That may not be fair, but it’s human nature and we’ll take it!

Keep reading for a sneak peek into our process and how we get it done:

1. Common App ® comes first.

Even though some of our students start their supplemental essays as early as April, we make sure that every student completes their main essay for the Common Application ® first. That way, when we approach the supplemental essays, we know what the college will already know from the student’s main essay - and where the gaps are! This order is essential, because the Common App ® essay will go to nearly every school on the student’s list, and we need to avoid overlap with the supplemental essays in order to show as many different aspects of the student’s background and personality as possible. 

2. Getting a head start.

Before our students even look at the school-specific supplemental essay prompts, they complete four different “generic supplemental essays,” as we call them. Even though no school will see these exact essays, they still put in 4-6 hours of work with our essay coaches to make sure every line is perfect. Why? Because we’ve identified four themes that come up again and again in the supplemental essay process, and it makes sense to start there. Once the generic essays are complete, students have a strong base of options and can repurpose language they’ve already written - considerably speeding up the essay writing process!

3. Moving to school-specific essay prompts. 

Yes, schools have until August 1 to release their supplemental essay prompts for the coming year. However, many schools do release prompts early, and others do not publicly release the prompts, but are able to confirm them over the phone. We do the work of sifting through to ensure that our students begin the prompts soon after they are released over the summer, freeing up their time in August to tackle those later essays. Want to get the same head start? Check out our listing of supplemental essay prompts for the class of 2022, which we update every week as new prompts come out! 

4. Revision, revision, revision.

A college essay will typically have at least two readers, if not more, who bring different perspectives and biases to the process. We try our best to mimic that process, ensuring that every single essay is not only approved by a coach, but also by Colleen or Shannon as the secondary reader, to make sure we catch any potential issues! The essays are also reviewed by the parents and family, and then Colleen and Shannon again, before they are added to the application. 

5. Finish by September

Senior fall grades can be vitally important in the college admissions process, especially for students who are deferred from their dream school during the early rounds and need to provide grades at the end of the semester. Plus, often students are taking their most challenging high school courses this year! Thanks to our process, they can often put the supplemental essays behind them as early as September and spend the rest of the fall focusing on their grades and excelling in their last year of high school. 

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Questions about the supplemental essay process? Comment below and we’ll answer in a future blog post! Want some more help moving through the process outlined above? All of our materials, as well as our generic supplemental essay prompts and method, are laid out for you in our DIY Membership Vault! 

Colleen, Shannon and Tyler's Best Tips for Freshman Year

This past weekend, I (Colleen) came across an article in Northern Virginia Magazine entitled 19 Tips Every [College] Freshman Should Know. I very much agreed with most of them* and thought we could do our own spin-off for this week’s mid-week blog post!

*While I do not agree with all of them, I vehemently disagree with #13. Study abroad is fantastic but by all means, do NOT take out a loan to do it!!!

If you do opt out of studying abroad, you can still get a mini-abroad experience by visiting friends! I studied abroad in the UK but here I am meeting up with my friend in Paris during his study abroad in Padova! A year earlier I visited other friends in Madrid during their summer study abroad, and we went to Amsterdam together too. So much fun!

Academic Tips

Go to class (Colleen)

There’s a reason why this piece of advice made the number one slot both here and in Northern Virginia Magazine’s article. It is so, so, so much easier to do well in college if you go to class. Ironically, this is also the tip that most students have trouble fully understanding before they get to college - from a high school student’s perspective, of course you’d go to class. Is that even an option?

Well, the reality is that when you get to college, skipping class may be more of an option than you realize. This is especially the case if you attend a mid-sized or larger school; my own school had about 5500 undergrads when I attended and I would say that approximately half of my professors did not take attendance. It’s so easy to rationalize skipping when the professor just reads off slides that are available online, but the reality is that you will miss information that’s not on the slides. Not to mention, are you actually going to review those slides the same day you missed class, or will you be cramming in several weeks’ worth of them the night before the exam?

My best advice would be to never miss a single one if you can help it, because it becomes like a gateway drug of sorts. You skip one at the beginning of the semester and you realize how nice it was to be able to sleep in. Then you start missing one each week. Then two. Then the next thing you know, it’s final exam time and you haven’t been to class since mid-terms. I see this all the time with our students - it’s so easy to fall into a spiral from which you can’t easily extricate yourself. So GO TO CLASS!

Ask for help (Shannon)

Many college students do not even begin to scratch the surface of all of the incredible resources available on campus! You can likely get a tutor in any subject, work on organization, meet with an academic advisor, attend extra study sessions, go to professor’s office hours… the list is truly endless, but these extra opportunities are only available to students who seek them out.

Make sure you don’t miss the career center, either - this isn’t obvious for most freshmen. They have exceptional resources, but again, they won’t (typically) come looking for you if you don’t proactively make an appointment - which I recommend doing during your first semester on campus.

Their career specialists can help you put together a four year plan to employment (or grad school) broken down into chunks, semester by semester. Remember: just like all four years of high school are important for college admissions, all four years of college are important for the job search or graduate school admissions. The students who have strong grades from the beginning and meaningful internships each summer are much more likely to be happy about their choices post-graduation.

I think that many students who were very successful in high school feel awkward and embarrassed when it comes to asking for help in college, but truthfully, those resources are there for a reason! You are making a BIG academic and social transition, so don’t be afraid to ask for what you need on campus.

Map it out (Tyler)

During your first couple days, take the time to walk around the campus! Not only will it help you to know where all of your classes are, but you will also feel more comfortable if you know the lay of the land. Plus, you may run into other curious students!

Tyler’s parents helping him move into his new campus home!

Social Tips

Do live on campus, don’t live with a friend (Colleen)

Northern Virginia Magazine noted (and I absolutely, 100% agree) that it’s so much better to live on campus than off during your freshman year. Typically we don’t see students opting out of that because most are very excited about living on campus!

What we DO see is that a number choose to room with friends from high school, summer camp, etc. Particularly with girls, this rarely ends well. There are exceptions, but our students who are most satisfied with their freshman year residential life experience have typically chosen to live with someone that they did not know before arriving on campus. And definitely don’t be afraid that you won’t be best friends with your roommate! For me personally, my favorite roommates over the years were girls who I enjoyed, but were not in my core social group.

Don’t Worry if You haven’t found “Your People” by Day One (Shannon)

You might get to college and find that your roommate or the person sitting next to you in your freshman seminar is your new best friend. They might be! But I think that freshman year especially, it is easy to feel like everyone on campus is fitting in except for you.

College campuses are diverse places with all different kinds of people, so just because you don’t click with your forever friends right off the bat, don’t give up! Join clubs and take part in extracurricular activities that interest you, put yourself out there by attending social events, and you will find your niche - even if it’s not right away!

[Note from Colleen - you should TOTALLY check out this video that went viral a few years ago! I have sent this to so many kids because I love it!]

LEave YOur Door Open (Tyler)

Yes, literally! Other students who pass by will be able to see that you are open to making friends and talking to others on your hall. If you are feeling bold, you can also just walk around the hall and knock on doors to meet people. Freshman year, everyone is interested in making friends, and they will appreciate your confidence and remember you!

Also, talk with your roommate. You two might not click as best friends, but living with someone else all the time can be hard, so being on the same page and getting comfortable with them from the beginning is a lifesaver.

Try not to attach yourself to a significant other (Colleen)

Whether it’s your high school girlfriend who you’re calling every night, or the cute guy to whom you became attached at the hip during orientation, a serious relationship in college often leads to a less enjoyable experience than you might otherwise have had. Sure, there are some exceptions, but these relationships just don’t typically last. Do you want to look back one day and think about how your college years revolved around someone you don’t even talk to anymore? That’s so depressing!

Get out there and have fun, and if you meet the perfect person, keep it light! We aren’t in 1960 anymore and most people do not get married to the person they met in college. If it’s meant to be, they will still be around after graduation!

Luckily, Shannon and her roommate DID click as best friends (bonding over a mutual love of country music) and are still close today!

Campus Opportunities Tips

Consider Going Greek (Colleen)

I realize this sort of borders with social, but joining a sorority was one of the best things I did in college. I was not someone who came from a long line of sorority women, and this was definitely not a given for me the way it is for some other girls. But it was such a wonderful opportunity for me to find my niche and have a smaller group within a larger community. From Thursday nights in the suite watching the OC (may it rest in peace!) to late-night study sessions to crush parties, there was always something going on and a group to do it with.

I didn’t click with every single girl, but the repeated exposure I did have to the same group of faces led to a lot of long-term friendships. Sororities also provide a lot of chances to develop real-world skills - I know it sounds sort of silly but I’m serious! From event planning during recruitment to leadership skills on the exec board, there were so many opportunities to step up and try out something new.

And it really expanded my network! One of the most surprising parts of joining a sorority for me was how grateful I’d be for it AFTER college. When I moved to NYC and knew nobody, I randomly ran into a girl from my chapter in Columbus Circle who also knew nobody. Three years later, we were in each others’ weddings! I have so many stories like this, and met some of my closest friends in both NYC and DC through my sorority affiliation.

Seek Out Mentors (Shannon)

For many of you, you haven’t had to work at building relationships with the adults in your life. Maybe you had a teacher or coach who you grew close with, but it is easy to let these types of mentors disappear from your life when you graduate from high school.

The interesting people that you will meet on campus aren’t only your fellow students - faculty, staff, and coaches have a lot of wisdom to share, but you won’t know unless you seek them out! So make sure that you go to office hours, take the time to chat with professors and advisors, and let them know that their help and guidance is appreciated.

Bonus: having these relationships in college make it much easier if you need to ask for a grad school or job recommendation or connection down the line!

Go to the Club Fair (Tyler)

The club fair, which usually takes place during the first few days of school, can definitely seem intimidating, with representatives from all the different student clubs trying to get you on their sign-up sheets! But it is definitely worth it to attend and sign up for anything that interests you, and then actually check out a meeting! This is a great way to get involved on campus and connect with more people, especially upperclassmen who you may not be running into every day.

Sorority Recruitment 2006

So much more!

This isn’t an exhaustive list, by any means, and we could have written a book on the subject (maybe we will!). Here are a few more random tips to consider while starting this journey:

• Always look up your professors on ratemyprofessors.com before registering for classes. If they aren’t on there, start googling. Pro tip: you can learn a lot about someone from their twitter feed!

• When you have the choice to pick between what appears to be an interesting class or a good professor, pick the professor. A good one will make any class interesting and then you’ll have both!

• You didn’t hear it from us, but there are usually ways to get around the “no cars on campus for freshmen” rule if your school has it.

• If you do decide to join a sorority, send recommendations to each chapter in advance. You will not regret this, even if your school and the panhellenic council say it’s not necessary. These are not needed for fraternities but a few well-placed phone calls wouldn’t hurt.

• Explore the surrounding area - this may be the only time in your life you’ll live in that city and you’ll have so many fun memories of getting off campus and discovering a new place!

• Try tons of new things! I had never eaten guacamole before my freshman year, which sounds kind of hard to believe, but it’s true. By the time I graduated I was eating all kinds of unfamiliar foods!

• ENJOY! College is amazing. And if you don’t love it, you can transfer!

Attending events freshman year is a great way to bond with new people - Shannon’s friend took this photo at a talk by the Dalai Lama at W&M!

Want to maximize your freshman year?

Whether you’re hoping to play your cards right for a selective undergraduate program like UVA’s McIntire or Batten Schools or W&M’s Mason School; are trying to put together the best possible schedule for yourself; are about to go through fall sorority recruitment and don’t know what to wear or how to prepare (yes, really, this is a thing); or just want to make sure you know all the ins and outs of the school you select, email us to learn more about college experience coaching and how we can help!

Weekly Update: June 25

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF STUDENTS AGAINST NCAA

On Monday, the Supreme Court decided in a rare unanimous vote that the NCAA could not limit the educational perks offered to student athletes. These perks can include everything from scholarships and paid internships to free computers or textbooks. The ruling could lead to further action against the NCAA’s stance on compensating its players, especially in light of many new state laws that will allow athletes to make money off of their name or image, beginning July 1. 

YES, YOU CAN NEGOTIATE FOR COLLEGE AID!

Many students and families don’t even realize that they do have some power to negotiate for more financial assistance from colleges after admission. But this family’s successful appeal to Fairfield University led to a scholarship increase, as do around one-third of funding appeals each year. Of course, the effect of an appeal depends greatly on the school, as well as the reason for the additional funding, but if you are a student whose ability to go to your dream school is dependent on more aid, don’t be afraid to go ahead and ask!

FLORIDA GOVERNOR SIGNS CONTROVERSIAL COLLEGE LEGISLATION

Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation this week that will require students and faculty at state colleges and universities to take annual surveys about their beliefs. The surveys are intended to determine whether a diversity of perspectives are taught at the institution and whether students feel safe to express their beliefs. 

INDIANA STUDENTS SUE OVER COVID-19 VACCINE REQUIREMENT

The Indiana University system is one of a small number of schools in red states that will require students to have the COVID-19 vaccine in order to return to campus in the fall. Eight students filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that the requirement violates their 14th amendment right to personal autonomy. The outcome of this lawsuit could have an effect on the hundreds of other campuses that will also require the vaccine this fall.   

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Duke Professor John Rose published an interesting opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, sharing the classroom principles he uses to encourage open debates in often-controversial classes like “Political Polarization” and “Conservatism.” Professor Rose says that his commitment to open conversation in a non-judgmental setting allows students to share a variety of opinions and viewpoints, and improves his class discussions. 

Speaking of Supreme Court decisions, this week also saw the Court agree with a fourteen-year-old high school student that an inappropriate Snapchat post taken outside of school should not have consequences in school. There is no doubt that the ubiquity of technology has blurred the lines between what schools can control and what they can’t, and this Washington Post article dives further into the topic, considering whether teens’ social media posts should be temporary, disappearing as they age. This is especially important to us in the admissions process - we always advise students to be careful about what they post on social media, since 36% of admissions officers say that they use social media to help make admissions decisions, and over half of those say that social media has a negative impact on the decision! 

Since the Israel-Palestine conflict worsened this spring, many schools are seeing a rise in anti-Semitism on campus. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Matthew Bronfman, chairman of Hillel International, argues that schools have to do more to protect Jewish students, while still allowing for debate about the conflict in Israel. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Shannon attended a great webinar this week about preparing students for college success. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I love Julie Lythcott-Haims’ book How to Raise an Adult (so much so that we bought the companion book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult for all of our graduating seniors!). And this slide from the presentation really sums it up - high school parenting vs. college parenting: 

This summer is also a great time for students to learn the important skills that they’re going to need in college, and here is a list to choose from (though, let’s be real, we don’t expect many students to learn how to iron!): 

If you are worried about your student’s organizational skills heading off to college, and you don’t want to be on call for those daily reminders, why not try out academic coaching? It is a great way for students to gain some of these skills and have a head start when they arrive at school in the fall!

Some of our current class of 2022 students have already moved on to their school-specific supplemental essays! Even though the schools are not required to release their essay topics until August 1, many release earlier, and our seniors usually have around half of their essays DONE even before the beginning of August! If you are not a current client, but you want to get ahead on your essays, check out our Supplemental Essay Prompts page, which we are updating every week as we find out new prompts have been released. Happy writing!

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Weekly Update: June 18

We hope that everyone is enjoying our brand-new federal holiday - Happy Juneteenth!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

SUPREME COURT PUTS OFF HARVARD AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CASE

The case against Harvard’s race-conscious admissions policy has made its way all the way up to the Supreme Court, but the Court declined to review the case, asking the Biden administration to weigh in first. The delay does not necessarily mean that the case will not be heard, but it is now likely to have to wait until the next Supreme Court session in October. Harvard has asked the Court not to take the case. 

ARE STUDENTS LEARNING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS?

One of the most persuasive arguments for a classical liberal arts education has always been that it teaches students how to think - not just knowledge, but the ability to use and analyze it. But according to Jeff Selingo’s latest newsletter, colleges may not actually help students gain the critical thinking skills they need to be successful in the workplace. In an analysis of 2,500 college students, natural sciences students had the most gains in critical thinking skills - while business majors had the lowest! 

If you want to dive deeper into learning about how to think critically and how it benefits students in the long run, we love Range by David Epstein - this book about the importance of general skills over specialized knowledge is just one of many on our Summer 2021 Reading Guide, available to all Membership Vault subscribers! 

LAW SCHOOLS OVERBOOKED FOR THE FALL

While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a lot of unexpected events this year, the rise in students attending graduate and professional school was easy to anticipate. During a recession, many adults who would otherwise be working often choose to return to or continue with school, hoping to graduate into a better job market. 

But what was unexpected was the change in testing procedures - it turns out, students taking a shortened version of the LSAT at home are much less stressed than those taking the traditional test! The number of students scoring 175-180 doubled last year, leading to many more highly qualified applicants in the pool and the danger of over enrollment at almost all of the top 200 law schools. The larger class sizes are expected to lead to an extremely competitive job market for law school graduates in three years. 

There is also the consideration of what the impact will be on students applying this cycle, given the larger cohort above them. Duke, for example, offered students a $5,000 scholarship to accept a binding deferral to next year - a move that may lead to even fewer accepted students than typical for a highly selective school when it comes to this year’s applicants. 

NORTHEASTERN ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH MILLS COLLEGE

We covered here on this blog the shuttering of Mills College, a small liberal arts college in Oakland, California. Mills was just one of several smaller schools closing its doors in response to lost enrollment and revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Northeastern University has now established an historic partnership with Mills College, bringing the school into its global network. We will be interested to see how this alliance develops, and whether other large, selective institutions follow suit when it comes to these struggling smaller campuses.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

The Wall Street Journal published an article last week that is providing a lot of food for thought for us and other education professionals. The author, R.R. Reno, writes that he won’t hire Ivy League graduates - because students at selective, typically liberal colleges are not prepared to speak out against prevailing opinion, students he calls “thin-skinned.” Reno acknowledges that his organization speaks for “religious and social conservatives,” and so looks for employees that share these views. 

This Slate article, “The Real College Admissions Scandal,” attempts to shine the spotlight on private schools, arguing that the real advantage in college admissions is not athletics, legacy status, alumni donations, or race - the real advantage is attending a private school. 

This is a common misconception that we hear from students and parents, but I think the writer is conflating correlation with causation here. The article does not mention that it is typically a self-selecting group of high-achieving, ambitious students who choose to attend private schools in the first place, and that students who do so are also more likely to pursue opportunities that lead to admission at selective colleges. 

One important thing the article does mention, though, is the counselor call. We’ve talked about this on the blog before, but one of the most important things a school counselor can do to help students understand their admissions decisions is to make a counselor call, and counselors at private schools are more likely to take advantage of this than those at public schools, who often have a larger caseload and less time to make calls.

We always encourage our students, especially those who receive a defer or waitlist decision, to ask their counselor to make a call to get more information! This advocacy can definitely be important in the admissions process.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

For high school students looking for a volunteer opportunity this coming year, Vienna Youth Cheerleading is looking for cheer coaches (18+) and assistant cheer coaches (16+) to teach cheerleading skills to young students and attend games and practices. Interested students should email the VYI cheer commissioner at melissa.pechulis@gmail.com. This is a great organization!

I have been out of the office (but still working, somewhat!) for most of the past two weeks and today I took my first steps on a college campus since Covid began! My daughter and I toured Penn, which I just love.

I have mentioned before that if I could go to any school today, Penn would probably be it. I really admire the way they seek to provide ALL students with the perfect mix of pre-professional career skills and a liberal arts background. I also love the city of Philadelphia and the way it is so integrated into all things Penn, yet the campus is green and leafy with a vibrant sense of community that most other city schools are missing. Plus, students have the opportunity to become involved in athletics and/or Greek life without it overtaking the undergraduate experience .. and it goes without saying that the academic opportunities and career outcomes are phenomenal.

I will be back in the office next week, and I’m excited to jump into some more Rising Senior Meetings with the Class of 2022! Things are speeding up around here for sure and we are LOVING reading all of the supplemental essays - such a good way to learn more about all of our amazing students.

Enjoy the weekend! 

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LGBTQ-Friendly Campuses!

We are proud to both employ and serve members of the LGBTQ+ community, and wanted to take this opportunity during Pride Month to spotlight a few of the most unexpectedly LGBTQ-friendly college campuses in the country. While there are a number of schools that are widely known to come in strong in this category, such as Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan, Vassar, and Brown, we wanted to share a few others whose amazing LGBTQ+ offerings and resources are not quite as well-known to the general public.

Check them out:

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Lehigh University

Lehigh’s Pride Center for Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity is dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ students on campus. Some of the Center’s signature programs include a mentorship program to match first-year students with upperclassmen, graduate students, faculty, or staff to serve as mentors. The Pride Center also maintains a public Out List of LGBTQ+ faculty and staff to allow for networking and mentorship opportunities. Trans students who are considering LU can find all of the support the school offers through Trans@LU. 

In addition to LGBTQ issues, the Pride Center focuses on intersectional justice, with themes that in past years have included racial justice, disability justice, and prison abolition. For students who do not identify as LGBTQ+, the Center also offers LU Allyship training to help all students become better allies to the community on campus! 

Indiana University

Indiana’s LGBTQ+ Culture Center also offers mentorship opportunities for incoming first-year students, in addition to LGBTQ-specific scholarships. The Center also offers free counseling for students, free HIV testing, and free safer sex supplies, as well as resources and guidance for students who are transitioning at IU and allyship training for all students. IU also has many student groups available for LGBTQ+ students: the Ace/Aro Group, Black & Bold, for Black LGBTQ+ students, Connections, for LBGTQ+ women and non-binary people, Men Like Us, for GBQ+ men, and the Transgender Union for Students. 

Housing at IU allows trans students to live in spaces that align with their gender identity, as well as gender-inclusive restrooms. There is also a dedicated LGBTQ+ living-learning community, called Spectrum. 

Macalester College

The Gender & Sexuality Commons at Mac offers many different events for students to celebrate and build community, including the Lavender Reception and Lavender Graduation, GSRC weekly Tea Time, and Pride Month celebrations. The center also keeps an Out & Proud list of faculty and staff, offers allyship training, and provides dedicated resources for trans students. 

Mac also provides all-gender housing for students beginning in fall 2023.

CU Boulder

CU Boulder’s Pride Office provides weekly check-ins (virtual during COVID-19) for students to attend when seeking support or community. Boulder also offers gender-neutral housing in addition to a dedicated Spectrum living-learning community with gender-neutral bathroom facilities. 

Medical Services at CU Boulder provide a variety of healthcare services for LGBTQ+ students, including identity-affirming care, identify-affirming hormone therapy, the use of preferred names and pronouns, PrEP for HIV prevention, insurance and billing support, and identity-affirming surgical options. 

University of Washington

The Q Center at the University of Washington has worked hard to offer virtual services to students during COVID-19, including a Discord group, an online Gender Discussion Group, and a QTBIPOC Discussion Group, as well as drop-in hours and a mentorship program. The Center also offers educational services, like allyship training and Queer 101, as well as events like Lavender Graduation. 

The Center also allows students to rent space and spend time building community!

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Need more ideas? Check out the Campus Pride Index for more information: it measures a number of factors to help LGBTQ+ students and families find their best fit! We would also recommend looking at Princeton Review’s LGBTQ-Unfriendly list - it’s really sad that this has to exist in 2021, but here we are, so it’s better to stay informed.

Finally, if you came upon this post as an LGBTQ+ student who is embarking on the college admissions process without parental support because of your sexual orientation, our hearts go out to you. Please reach out to us - you DO have options, even if you don’t know they exist, and we would be happy to discuss them with you and get you the help you need at no charge.

While we can definitely be more useful if you contact us earlier in the process, please email us at admin at dccollegecounseling dot com at any time and one of my colleagues or I will get back to you ASAP.

Happy Pride!

Weekly Update: June 11

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

Happy Pride Week! We have so loved seeing all of the rainbow art around town, and are proud to be allies. Keep an eye out next week for more on LGBTQ-friendly colleges, and in the meantime check out the Princeton Review’s list of Top LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges.

ANNANDALE HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

Mario Ramos, an immigrant from El Salvador who came to Fairfax County in 2007, gave an inspirational commencement speech at Annandale High School last week. He gave the speech in English and Spanish, in a powerful message of inclusion for graduates. After graduating with his high school diploma, Ramos became a “classroom monitor,” helping Annandale open up to students in-person during the pandemic. 

WILLIAM AND MARY WILL NOT REQUIRE COVID-19 VACCINE IN THE FALL

In a session that Shannon attended on Thursday, William & Mary’s President Rowe confirmed that the school will not be requiring students to get the COVID-19 vaccine. W&M does not plan to require the vaccine until it has been approved by the FDA (it is currently under emergency use authorization), but does intend to eventually require it for students as well as faculty and staff once it receives full FDA approval. 

COMMON APP® CHANGES ARE AHEAD

The Common Application® held a webinar earlier this week which shared some important information about ongoing and future changes. I was glad to have been able to attend! Here’s what I learned:

• The organization embarked on a pilot program between March 2020 - February 2021 called “Evolving the App,” a project which sought to ensure that all questions on the core part of the application are inclusive and do not present barriers to any applicants

  • The project was broken into five distinct stages, beginning with the identification of sections to examine and concluding with the delivery of final revisions to the Common App® technology team and member schools

  • The process was considered to be a success and will now be completed annually

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be!

The process of transferring pre-completed information from the 2020-2021 application to the 2021-2022 application is called rollover - we work with all of our rising seniors to complete the 2020-2021 application to spread out the work involved and take advantage of this rollover option!

• As most of them know, we will create a step-by-step guide to the rollover process by the end of the day on August 3, at which point they will hear from us with instructions to complete the Common Application® and Coalition Application Rollover processes in advance of their first August college counseling meeting.

• They will also be asked to complete all non-essay application supplement questions at that time, along with an additional supplement guide that we will send.

• Then, our rising seniors will have three separate college counseling meetings with Shannon and me.

  • At the first meeting, we will help them submit recommendation requests to their teachers and counselor, and we will also review/edit all of their work to make sure that you completed the rollover process and all non-essay application supplemental questions correctly.

  • At the second meeting, they will work with us to go through and finish anything that remained outstanding from the first meeting (they will typically have a list of action items from the first meeting).

  • At the last meeting, they will meet with one of us again to perform a detailed, line-by-line, final review of all applications and supplements before submission. We will discuss how the status chart and tracking process will work and will give you them final all-clear to submit! 

  • Some students prefer to submit applications with us in real time; others can do so at home with their parents. If they would like to submit together, we ask them to schedule a separate meeting to do this. 

SPRING COLLEGE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS DROP

Many schools were hoping that the drop in enrollment during COVID-19 would be limited to the fall semester, but that does not seem to be the case - while fall numbers declined 3.6% from last year, spring enrollment numbers declined 5%. 65% of total enrollment losses were felt by community colleges. 

Graduate school enrollment, on the other hand, actually increased in the uncertain job market caused by COVID-19. This means that while some students will not have college degrees, others who already have degrees are receiving more education. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

The big news in college sports this week is the expansion of the college football playoffs to include twelve teams rather than the usual four. The expanded bracket likely won’t come to pass until at least 2023, but 24 teams rather than eight are likely to see playoff games. This also means that college football players may be playing 16 or even 17 football games, increasing the potential for injury and potentially overworking athletes during a time when college athletics has been under increasing scrutiny for its treatment of college players. 

As we all know, rates of anxiety and depression for college students, which were growing over the past several years, skyrocketed during the pandemic. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be dropping now that vaccinations are widely available and campuses are opening up again for the fall. Researchers at Dartmouth discovered a correlation between students’ mental health and the prevalence of phone searches for terms like “covid fatigue” on campus. Four student deaths on Dartmouth’s 4,400 student campus this year have prompted students to call for mental health reforms, and the school has vowed to create more support for students.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

There are still plenty of summer opportunities available for students who don’t yet have their summer plans in place! If you are looking for an opportunity that starts later in the summer or fall, consider applying to work as an usher or ranger at Wolf Trap National Park. The position is open to all current high school students and will run from August 1 to October 2 during the park’s performance season. Interested candidates should email Sam Swersky, House Manager at sam_swersky@nps.gov.

Shannon attended a session yesterday with the admissions offices at Barnard and Stanford to discuss selective school admissions for the coming year. We always try to emphasize to our students that no matter what, it is important to apply to a balanced list of schools. As Michael Devlin from Stanford put it, “There are more valedictorians in the United States than spots in the class at Stanford.” 

"Sometimes when students email me afterward and ask what they could have done better, there is no answer. There's nothing they could have done better." 

Yes, really! Even students who do every single thing right might be denied from an extremely selective school. “Holistic” admissions does not just mean that the admissions office reviews the student holistically, but also that they need to take into account the needs of the school and the student body as a whole, in addition to the individual applicant. 

And for those still keeping fingers crossed on the waitlist, Barnard announced that unfortunately they are done pulling from their waitlist for the year, and Stanford expects to be done as well (though this is not confirmed). This should be a reminder to everyone to submit letters of continued interest early - Barnard was done pulling from their waitlist on May 1!

As some of you saw on social media, I was quoted this week in Forbes about whether the pandemic may have permanently boosted private school enrollment - and it was perfect timing because yesterday was my daughter's last day of school at Our Lady of Good Counsel here in Vienna after transferring from FCPS!

Those of you who have been reading since last year will remember that I was really in tune with the issue of instructional equity last spring and summer. Because I had an up-front view of the differences that my clients in public and private schools were experiencing, and also saw it myself as an FCPS parent, I was approached a lot by the media - you can read a little bit about that here.

But anyway.. here we are a year later, and as someone who literally assesses schools for a living, I can't say enough about how AMAZING our experience has been at OLGC. I honestly feel like nothing I could write would adequately express my admiration and appreciation for the administration and teachers, and the impact that their hard work had on my daughter’s life this year - not just academically, but also socially and emotionally during what was an incredibly turbulent time.

I came in just hoping she'd be able to attend in-person school - like I said in the Time piece, she just wanted to get out of the house! But what we got was so much more. I cannot tell you how much I would recommend OLGC for a family seeking a K-8 alternative to FCPS in our area (and for what it’s worth, we are an interfaith family and this was not an issue at all whatsoever).

Back to the point of the Forbes article, I feel beyond fortunate to be able to keep her there. I know that many other families all over the country are making similar decisions, and it will definitely be interesting to see the impact on private school enrollment in the long term.

Have a good weekend, stay cool, and stay dry!

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Tyler's University of Richmond Experience

Tyler is joining us on the blog today to share his perspective on the University of Richmond!

While he’s discussing Richmond in particular, this is useful for anyone applying anywhere. pay attention to the characteristics that kept Tyler happy this year in the midst of what could have been a much worse situation, and consider asking related questions at interviews and visits (see the very end for a few ideas!).

Keep reading to learn about his freshman year, and if you do want to learn even more about Richmond in particular, check out our profile - a sneak peek of the dozens of college profiles available in our Membership Vault!

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Hello everyone! It’s Tyler, and today I wanted to share my thoughts about why University of Richmond was the best college fit for me, even amidst a global pandemic. I will be discussing why I believe that the University of Richmond can support and satisfy all career paths, why they handled COVID-19 so well, and how the school is helping me pursue my ultimate career path with all of my unique interests.

Student and Career Support

One of the first and most exciting aspects of University of Richmond that I encountered during my freshman year was the faculty and staff’s commitment to making sure that my University of Richmond experience was exactly what was promised during the application process - even though the world was in a very different place!

The first thing I noticed was how outgoing the professors were and how willing they were to walk around the room, or talk with you on Zoom, looking to help students and work with them to understand the material being presented. Every single professor I had this year was enthusiastic about getting to know what made each of their students unique and special. For example, my first year seminar professor would stay back after class and encourage students to go up and ask questions about assignments, or even just chit chat.

In addition, the professors at University of Richmond were very much invested in the mental health of the students they were teaching, and would ask students halfway through the semester if they needed more time on particularly challenging topics or assignments, or even give us a day off to catch our breaths. This level of support, on top of making every student feel known and cared for, is what made every class I have had so far at Richmond truly special.

Career Services and Charting a Path to the Future at Richmond

At the beginning of the first semester, every student at Richmond was assigned an academic advisor to help tailor students’ curriculum to their respective interests and passions. I simply had no idea just how much this academic support, as well as the friendship I made with my academic advisor, would help me throughout this truly bizarre year.

The first months of my freshman year were exciting and new, meeting friends and getting to know my roommate, as well as acclimating to all of the COVID guidelines and procedures. However, as time passed, I noticed there was a problem with one of my classes.

I had signed up for an Intermediate Intensive Spanish course to fulfill my language requirement, and soon decided that I had no business being in it - my Spanish language skills were not advanced enough. I needed help, was struggling to keep up, and could sense that I was falling behind. I decided to get back in touch with my academic advisor, which ended up being the single most valuable decision of my freshman year of college.

I assumed that my advisor would tell me to drop the class and take an easier level of Spanish, but that’s not what happened at all. Instead, we formulated a plan during our meeting as to how I could focus more of my time on Spanish over other less intensive classes. She also showed me how to search for one of the many on-campus tutors that Richmond has available, so that I would have this extra resource.

This meeting not only allowed me to develop an actionable plan to later succeed in this Spanish class, but my advisor cleared my head of worry and doubt, and was able to give me the confidence I needed to finish the semester strong. In a school environment, I have never had someone more invested in my personal success and well-being than she was.

In addition to helping me with this challenge I had in Spanish, my advisor also spent hours over the semester meeting with me about my interests and getting to know me on a personal level in order to help me chart my career path. As a student, I am interested in entrepreneurship, science, and leadership studies, and hope to blend the three in some form at Richmond.

Although this seems like a rather odd combination of interests, at Richmond this is just another one of the many combinations of interests that they will work into a unique curriculum for you. My advisor showed me the robotics projects and classes available, and explained what I needed to know in order to double major and minor in anything I wanted! I could major in Leadership Studies and Business, and minor in Computer Science and Art History if that is what I wanted to do!

The endless possibilities of classes to take and paths to go down at Richmond make it the perfect place for anybody who wants to dive into new and interesting fields, and who wants to discover new and exciting passions.

How Richmond Handled COVID-!9

So, I know what is on everyone’s mind right now. You’re most likely saying to yourself, “Yeah Tyler, all this sounds wonderful, but does it really matter if you are spending the whole semester in your room or in quarantine?” This is a valid question, but Richmond, in my opinion, did a superb job of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.

A lot of schools in Virginia, as well as across the country, decided that they would only have classes online and have students be confined to their rooms for the majority of their experience at school. While this seemed like the safest option, what schools did not realize was the willingness for their students to break the rules. The whole semester long, I would hear my friends talking about how they would sneak out and break the rules, because the rules were too harsh and restrictive on new freshman. More restraints on students and their freedom on campus tended to breed more rule-breaking and inevitably, more cases of COVID on their college campuses. (Note from Colleen: we heard many, many reports of the same!).

However, this is not what Richmond had in mind. Yes, we could not eat together in the dining hall or gather in large places as a community, but we could have people in our rooms to socialize, and bond freely with our dorm-mates. What Richmond did so well was finding a perfect middle ground. They realized the inevitability of rule-breaking due to excessive restrictions, and allowed students reasonable social opportunities that would limit the number of people to a safe amount while allowing for the students to have somewhat of a normal college experience.

From what I can remember, the most cases we had on campus at a single time was 30, which is considerably less than other schools around the country. I am not saying that the school year wasn’t difficult and that COVID did not put a damper on my college experience, because it definitely did. What I am saying is that Richmond tried their best to preserve the mental health of their student body through socializing at a safe and respectable level, which ultimately made my experience much more bearable during such a difficult and frustrating year.

In Conclusion

I think most college students this year would agree with the statement that going to school, feeling motivated and making friends was very hard. I was lucky because I was able to make some great friends in the form of my hall-mates and my roommate, however, not every student was as lucky as me, and I realize that. No school in the country knew the best way to combat this pandemic, and everyone was simply trying to do their best with what they thought would keep their students and faculty safe.

However, despite all of the hardships faced this year, the University of Richmond did their best to maintain the happiness and mental health of their student population, while continuing their engaging and captivating education through attentive professors and caring faculty members.

The University of Richmond is a special place, and although I have yet to see its full potential in the presence of a normal school year, from what I experienced so far, I can already tell you that Richmond will continue to inspire me to chart my own path and push me to become a greater version of myself. I cannot wait to see what the next three years have in store for me at the University of Richmond!

key takeaways

Juniors may want to reflect on Tyler’s experience and whether it prompts questions of their own for the schools on their list - whether Richmond is in that group or not! We always recommend that students prepare 3-5 questions to ask during admissions interviews or high school visits, so this is a great time to jot some notes down.

Here are a few potential questions that relate to the topics he mentioned:

• How did your institution handle academic instruction and student life during the Covid-19 pandemic? OR In your opinion, what were the best and worst decisions your institution made during the Covid-19 pandemic? This question would not be appropriate for an alumni interview, but could be great for an interview held by an upperclassman or admissions officer. While Covid will likely be long gone by the time rising seniors arrive on campus in Fall 2022, the answer may provide insight on the school’s priorities in the midst of a crisis - or perhaps on an ongoing basis!

• What is the role of an academic advisor at your institution? How often do academic advisors meet with students? Do students meet with their advisor one-on-one or in small groups? It always baffles me that many medium-to-large schools do not provide one-on-one advising; instead, they have small groups of students meeting with their advisor at once. This is generally not a fact that is advertised to prospective students, so make sure to ask! The answers to these questions will give you an idea of what to expect in terms of individualized attention.

• Your institution claims that students can easily double-major or double-minor, but how exactly would that work? Would I have to stay for five years in order to do this? Would someone help me put my schedule together to make sure that I am approaching my course planning in as efficient of a manner as possible? As someone who is working with a number of graduating seniors on their freshman year course registration, I can promise you that this can be a challenge at most schools. There’s a lot to consider, and if it feels easy, you probably aren’t doing it right. So wouldn’t it be great to have help?

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Weekly Update: June 4

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

COLLEGE WHISPERER DOCU-SERIES COMING SOON

With Operation Varsity Blues dominating headlines, the independent educational consulting profession has gotten a lot of scrutiny in the last few years! The College Whisperer is being advertised as the antidote to that. The new series will follow Perry Kalmus, a consultant in Alaska who was featured in the Operation Varsity Blues documentary on Netflix, as he counsels eight students through the process. The goal of the series is to show what it looks like to work with ethical independent consultants and the ups and downs inherent to an honest admissions process. Fun fact: I was contacted by a film crew to do the same thing about six years ago. I turned it down because I was pretty confident that none of my clients would be up for having their confidential information shared on national TV :)

VACCINE REQUIREMENTS ARE MORE DIFFICULT FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

We’ve been following the lengthening list of schools that are requiring vaccines for the upcoming school year. These requirements will not pose a problem for most of our students, who have easy access to vaccines this summer. However, it is a different scenario for international students, many of whom may not have access to WHO-approved vaccines. 

One Columbia student who received the Covavaxin shot in India has been told that she will need to be re-vaccinated with an US-approved vaccine once she arrives on campus - a potential health risk that has not been explored. India sends the second-largest number of international college students to the US (after China), so this issue is not an isolated one - we are likely to see many students who have received Covavaxin struggling with US vaccine requirements. 

WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY ERASES GRADUATES’ STUDENT DEBT

Wilberforce, an HBCU in Ohio, forgave all student debt for students in the classes of 2020 and 2021 in a surprise graduation announcement on Saturday. The funding to erase the debt was secured through various nonprofit organizations. Students were excited for the fresh start that they received from the university. 

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY WILL KEEP ITS NAME

The Board of Trustees at Washington and Lee voted today in favor of the university maintaining its name, after nearly a year of investigation into the name, symbols, and other issues related to the university’s history. The board decided that it will expand diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in addition to retaining the name. The college, originally called Augusta Academy, adopted the current name in 1870. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

This is an important article from the New Yorker that gets to the heart of why students and families experience so much stress from the college admissions process - the feeling that colleges are judging applicants, in a fair environment, and finding the “best” ones. But we want to remind students and families - a college admission or rejection is NOT a personal judgment!! We do our absolute best to help colleges get to know you, but at the end of the day, there are a TON of factors that affect admissions that are completely out of your control. At the end of the day, where you go to college is part of your story, but not a value judgment on you as an individual.

We shared our recommended summer reading for high school students last week. It is super important for high schoolers to be able to talk about books, articles, and current events that interest them, especially for admissions essays and interviews! Students who don’t yet read the news regularly may be interested in participating in the New York Times’ Summer Reading Contest - where 13-19 year olds can enter to win prizes by reading an article every week this summer. 

If you are a current client looking for some good reads, don’t forget to check out our Summer 2021 Reading Guide in the Membership Vault! 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Shannon attended a testing update webinar this week to get some more information on this cycle of standardized testing! We learned that there is a good reason the College Board decided to drop SAT Subject Tests in favor of AP tests - students who took APs over the last few weeks probably won’t be surprised to learn that revenue from the AP test accounts for 60% of the company’s revenue. 

Despite all of the anticipation for digital versions of the SAT and ACT, we are unlikely to see digital versions of either test until 2022. The ACT is also putting plans on hold to let students retake individual sections to incorporate into their superscore - though we are hopeful that this will happen sometime in the next few years! Students using the ACT superscore should be aware, though, that schools will also receive their highest composite from a single test date along with the superscore. 

Over 4 million students have taken standardized tests this year - about half have taken the ACT and half the SAT, so as we always tell students, take the test that works for you! Colleges truly do not have a preference. And for those still waiting on a test date, keep an eye out in July for registration to open again for both tests.

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While this won’t apply to families, I know that there are a lot of other educational consultants who read our blog, and I wanted to provide an update on the videos I mentioned from a few weeks back:

It can be challenging to stay on top of all the key components necessary for developing and operating an independent educational consulting business. To provide peer-to-peer training and share expertise, the IECA Business Practices Committee has created a new pilot series of videos to help you learn from fellow IECA members about topics that have been core to the growth of their practice. The video topics include: Networking 101, Project Management 101, Accounting Systems, Email Newsletters, Budgeting 101, Sales: Part of Your IEC Toolkit, Time Tracking 101, and Using Evernote. Learn more and watch the videos here (scroll down to IECA Business Training Videos icon).

Have a great weekend!

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Weekly Update: May 28

Now that summer is almost here, we’ve got a lot going on this week - graduation gifts, rising senior meetings, and summer reading lists coming your way! 

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

COLORADO BANS LEGACY COLLEGE ADMISSIONS

On Tuesday, Colorado became the first state in the country to ban state colleges from using legacy as a factor in admissions. This is a BIG DEAL, because it sets a precedent for other state university systems, such as Virginia (which does consider legacy as a factor) to follow suit. The move is aimed at making higher education access more equitable. 

STUDENTS WITHOUT HELP ARE DISADVANTAGED BY THE INCREASED IMPORTANCE OF ESSAYS

Speaking of factors that lead to certain admissions decisions - a recent study found that college essays are “‘the most important “soft factor’ and the fourth-most important overall factor — after grades, curriculum strength and standardized test scores.” Not surprisingly, it also found that students’ essays are influenced by their social class; wealthy students are more likely to have help with their essays, whether from their parents or a paid professional. This is an important reminder that class continues to be a factor in the admissions process despite the fact that standardized test scores have lessened in importance during the pandemic.

We encourage all students to get a second set of eyes on their essays - whether you work with professionals like us or not! We saw this for the Class of 2021 and will see it again for the Class of 2022 - so-called “soft” factors like the essay, recommendations, and extracurricular activities have become more important than ever. 

COLLEGES IN BLUE STATES MORE LIKELY TO REQUIRE VACCINATIONS

We’ve been keeping track here as more and more colleges and universities announce that they will require students to be vaccinated in order to return to campus in the fall. Now, over 400 institutions are requiring vaccines. But whether or not a student needs to be vaccinated likely depends on whether the state where they will attend college is red or blue - nearly all of the colleges requiring vaccines are in states that voted for Biden. A major exception is the Indiana state system, which announced last Friday that vaccines would be required for students. 

COVID-19’S IMPACT ON HEART DAMAGE IN STUDENT ATHLETES

A recent study of Big 10 athletes who suffered from COVID-19 revealed that heart damage may be more prevalent than originally thought, especially in students that have not exhibited symptoms. The researchers’ recommendations of cardiac MRIs for students may cause the NCAA to rethink its guidelines when it comes to the treatment and monitoring of student athletes who have contracted COVID-19. 

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

This beautiful New York Times article really captures the joy of “summer reading” - something that we certainly did a lot more of during the pandemic lockdowns! We encourage any students looking for a summer reading book to drop the plans to read books that you THINK would impress admissions officers and look for books that actually help you discover more about your passions! That way, you will be more likely to enjoy the reading AND be able to speak about it more genuinely, in a way that reflects your interests. 

And to be honest - that authenticity is what actually will impress the admissions officers. If you tell them that you’re reading War and Peace or The Fountainhead, they won’t think you’re smart - they’ll think (a) you’re lying and (b) since you had to lie, you probably aren’t reading anything at all. Not the message you want to convey in an interview!

Since many colleges will ask for reading lists, essays discussing a recent read, or mention books during the interview stage, so it is smart to have a few good ones ready to discuss. We want to particularly highlight Shape, by Jordan Ellenberg, because sometimes it’s hard for students interested in math or quantitative fields to find a book that interests them - but even future mathematicians should try to fit in some summer reading! This would be a perfect book for a math student to mention in an interview or application.

If you are a current client looking for some good reads, don’t forget to check out our Summer 2021 Reading Guide in the Membership Vault! 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

A few private schools are already out for the summer and we have started family meetings with our rising seniors, working to finalize their college lists, make sure they are where they need to be in the process, and set a plan to finish up all of their remaining tasks in the admissions process over the summer. At this point we ideally like students to be finished with their standardized testing; to have their Common Application activities section, main essay, and four generic supplemental essays completely edited and ready to go; to have turned in the final drafts of their recommendation prep work to two teachers and their school counselor; and to have gathered all of their state residency information to prepare for any in-state applications to come.

After every meeting with students or families, we send detailed meeting recaps with what was done in the meeting as well as a list of action items for the student. Here is an example of part of a recap from a recent meeting with a rising senior:

In addition to rising senior meetings, we are already celebrating some private school graduations! Shannon has been busy packaging up gifts for our graduating seniors with some help from Tyler! 

Tyler actually went to pick up a gift for a GMU-bound student this week and was very impressed with a coffee shop near campus, Gathering Grounds. Tyler is a coffee buff (his unique approach to building community at a particular coffee shop here in Vienna even made it into his Common App essay), so you can trust his review! 

Hello everyone, this is Tyler! I just went to the Gathering Grounds Coffee Shop near George Mason University and it is incredible! They build your own coffee with tons of flavors such as blackberry, Coconut, and Lavender. I got the Coconut Latte and trust me, Starbucks has nothing on this coffee! The staff is lively and sociable, and get your coffee out in a snap, and the vibe of the shop is cozy and perfect for study breaks. If you attend George Mason and want a good hangout spot, I would highly recommend Gathering Grounds, and trust me, there's a good chance you'll become a regular. 

YUM! After a long few weeks of ordering coffee gift cards from all over the country, Shannon was THRILLED to get her own from a happy student who will be headed to a top west-coast university in the fall! We are so appreciative of our clients :) 

Our office will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday - we hope everyone enjoys the long weekend, but also takes some time to remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. If you’re looking for a good cause to support, check out The Honor Project, which I read about last night in this inspirational Washington Post piece. It really goes to show that anyone with a good idea and a passion for helping others can make a true difference in the world!

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Thinking about applying for a high school internship? Don't make these mistakes!

It can be TOUGH to find high school internships in the DC area (or anywhere else for that matter), so it’s no surprise that our Summer 2021 Internship Database has become so popular! We curate a list like this each year and offer access to the greater community as well as our own clients.

That being said, I didn’t know quite how popular it was with the general public until I sat down for lunch a month or so ago with Brittany Kirk, the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Sunlight Retreats and the for-profit social enterprise Sunlight U. As one of our community partners, Brittany graciously allowed us to include an internship opportunity at her organization as part of our database, and I knew that several of our students pursued this position!

Brittany Catton Kirk - Social Entrepreneur Extraordinaire!

What I did NOT know before chatting with Brittany that day was that a ton of other blog readers with no DC College Counseling affiliation also pursued the internship listing after reading about it on our site. So many, in fact, that we actually had to remove the posting because Sunlight was getting absolutely flooded with applications! I was thrilled to learn that so many students in the greater community are finding our database useful, and decided to share some tips from Brittany that I thought might be helpful for students applying to internships on their own without our assistance.

Project a Professional Image

There are definitely some generational differences that don’t have a clear “right answer,” like the side part and skinny jeans debate of late. Even though I personally feel that middle parts and boyfriend jeans are never a good choice for anyone, I can admit that there’s no real long-term harm in dressing like you stepped out of a Friends episode from 1995.

That said, there are certain societal norms that do NOT change with each generation. For example, it is never, ever acceptable for anyone, of any age, to use emojis in a cover letter. God, no. Along the same lines, remember that you are applying for a professional role, not emailing your best friend. Don’t sign the email with “Love, ___” under any circumstances whatsoever! Swap that out for “Best regards” or “Sincerely.” I was quite alarmed that some of the Sunlight internship applicants actually made both of these mistakes!

Remember Who’s in Charge

Yes, you may have lots of great options on the pipeline for the summer, but there’s a fine line between self-advocacy and self-centeredness. A cover letter or job/internship application is NOT the time to play hard to get. Instead, it’s the time for you to sell yourself to the person doing the hiring. Brittany advised the following:

• Come up with a genuine explanation for why you are interested in the role and carefully express that. Yes, you want to bulk up your college apps too, and you also need experience, but those are not the kinds of details you share with a potential employer!

• Since you’re the one asking the employer to hire you, you need to sell yourself. Include something about the value add that you would bring to the organization. Why YOU over the other 100 high school kids who applied?

• Do not ask the person to do something for you, i.e. respond to your email with detailed information about a certain aspect of the internship. While this may be a question that a student could ask with the best of intentions, it takes a lot of time to respond to emails like that and creates more work for the employer. Save it for the interview, if you get that far!

Follow Directions

I was shocked to learn that many students seemed to have difficulty following basic directions... and then I thought about it more and recognized that the idea of teenagers not paying attention to directions is not really all that surprising after all, is it? :)

Trust me on this, employers do not want to hire someone who doesn’t follow directions. Many of them actually require applicants to take extra steps or do seemingly strange things just to see if the person is ABLE to do so! Personally, I ask job applicants to use a very specific, slightly complex subject line just to see if they can get it right. If they can’t, no matter how much I like them otherwise, I do not move forward in the hiring process.

Brittany noted that her posting asked applicants to submit a resume, but some did not. Others received a message asking them to fill out a form with follow-up information, but they never did! She suggested, “Make it very simple for the person to review what you sent and get back to you.”

Last words of wisdom

We know that some of this is not intuitive, and I truly hope that it ends up to be helpful for those of you who are reading the listings and applying on your own. And for those who decide they WOULD benefit from some extra help, we’ve got you covered!

DC COLLEGE COUNSELING CLIENTS CAN SCHEDULE:

• Virtual interview preparation sessions here

• Virtual resume, cover letter, and internship application assistance here

NON-CLIENTS CAN SCHEDULE:

• Virtual interview preparation sessions here

• Virtual resume, cover letter, and internship application assistance here

Good luck! Our entire team is rooting for your success :)

Weekly Update: May 21

I think that today is the first graduation for a few of our seniors and we have a whole bunch following next week and the week after! Such a perfect day for a graduation and I hope that the sunshine holds for everyone else :)

June 1, 2003 - A very IMPERFECT day for a graduation but a happy one nonetheless :)

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

WAITLIST MOVEMENT THIS CYCLE

If you have been placed on a waitlist this cycle, make sure to bookmark College Kickstart’s Class of 2025 Waitlist Statistics. They keep the page updated with 2020 statistics at a long list of schools, as well as the notification dates by which students should expect to hear about waitlist movement. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for all of you!  

FCPS OFFERS COVID-19 VACCINES

If you are a student over 12 who has not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, take note of the upcoming vaccinations at four different high school locations. FCPS is also offering transportation from the students’ base schools to the vaccination sites. 

DIFFICULTY WITH COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY VACCINE PLANS

On the college end, there’s not much consistency between the vaccine mandates from school to school - and with all of the various exemptions, rules, and laws involved, it’s no surprise that people are confused. If you are heading off to college this fall, make absolutely sure that you know what’s required of you from a vaccination standpoint so that there are no unhappy surprises during freshman orientation!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Even with many students getting vaccinated over the summer, colleges and universities are still looking for ways to manage the virus on campus. At Colorado Mesa University, a comprehensive app tracking program developed in conjunction with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has helped the school to track and control COVID-19 outbreaks. Hopefully the sophisticated system in place at Colorado Mesa will become accessible to more schools, who can help to manage the coronavirus on campus when students return in the fall. 

The debate about how colleges should allocate their resources has been particularly salient in light of COVID-19, when even highly selective colleges have been struggling with budget deficits. This article argues that colleges should focus more on retention of current students than on recruitment. There is an inherent tension in higher education between the institutions’ need to make money and the desire to serve low-income and underserved student populations who can’t afford to pay full tuition. The article argues that serving the students who are already on campus, rather than working to recruit more full-pay students, would actually help to increase the institution’s bottom line by attracting more gifts from donors in support of their mission. By delivering a high-quality education to current students, schools won’t need to pay large amounts of money for the purposes of recruitment. Seems like a win-win for everyone!

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

The hot weather lately definitely reminds us that summer is coming! We are still adding to our Summer Opportunities Database every week. Most recently, we featured Fairfax County’s Teen Police Academy and Future Women Leaders in Law Enforcement, both week-long camps for teenagers interested in careers in policing, law enforcement, public policy, or criminal justice. Read more about these and other camps in the Other Educational Opportunities section of the database!

We’ve been hearing from a lot of students and families this cycle that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of gaps in their education - particularly when it comes to writing. In response, we added small group writing instruction, 1:1 writing tutoring, and academic coaching to our offerings this past school year - all of which were very successful!

Please take the time to fill out this survey to let us know whether you might be interested in this offering. Whether you want to be prepared for a first-year writing seminar in college, gear up for AP Language or Literature classes next year, or get a head start on college essays, Staci and our other coaches will help you get there!

We are also working hard in our office on a little gift for our seniors - we don’t want to ruin the surprise, but we did post a sneak peek on Instagram:

And then lastly I was asked by a professional organization to create tutorials for my fellow educational consultants on time tracking and project management - two areas in which our practice excels! I finished those this week, and they were a lot of fun to make! We are really proud of all of the systems and processes we use to make our client experience as seamless as possible :)

Have a great weekend, stay cool and AVOID THE CICADAS!! :)

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Greetings From Tyler!

All about tyler

Hello everyone! My name is Tyler Pallotta and I am the new intern here at DC College Counseling!

Just like our current clients, I too was a high school student working with Colleen and her team. Before graduating from Flint Hill School in the summer of 2020, I worked with Colleen to find the college that was the best fit for me, with my personal strengths and interests.

So, where did my story begin and what brought me here writing to you all today?

MY college admissions STORY

I came from a small private school called Flint Hill and fell in love with the smaller class sizes and more personalized learning style that Flint Hill gave me, which was a must-have for my future college. My interests were vast, but Colleen helped me simplify them into categories that made the most sense for me. From there, I knew I needed a small school that ideally had some form of an entrepreneurship major or minor, a business school, and some STEM related fields to pursue my unique educational path.

I worked extensively with Colleen and essay coaches to craft my story and represent myself in the best light to the schools I was applying to. The essay coaches, by asking questions about me and getting to know me on a personal level, were able to help me perfectly capture what I wanted to show a college admissions committee.

After a long search, the team at DC College Counseling was able to help me decide on the University of Richmond, where I just completed my freshman year. Although there were a lot of small schools with personalized educational experiences, the University of Richmond was the one for me because it has everything I wanted in a school. It’s close to a city, has a big and open college campus, the kids are generally relaxed but work hard, there are majors and minors specifically focused on entrepreneurship and STEM, and I was able to find that same level of personal connection with my professors at Richmond that I loved at Flint Hill. For me, Richmond is the perfect fit, and without DC College Counseling, I would have never realized that. 

WRAPPING UP

Because I felt so strongly that DC College Counseling offered such an important service to their students, and because I want to learn more about how to run a business, I sought out Colleen and offered to help out around DC College Counseling for the summer!

Over the next few months, I’m excited to meet prospective and current clients and offer my perspective on college decision-making and strategy, since I went through the same DC College Counseling process. If you have afternoon essay coaching sessions, you will also see me at the front desk welcoming you and greeting you before your meeting!

Lastly, I know how difficult it is to start your college search journey or application process. Before DC College Counseling, I had a very minimal idea of what it takes to succeed in the application and search process. However, being able to create your unique story to share and make yourself stand out from the crowd is invaluable, and after it is all said and done, you will find a place that best suits you, just like University of Richmond best suits me. 

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If you have any questions for me, please contact me at tyler@dccollegecounseling.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Weekly Update: May 14

Good luck to all the juniors and seniors taking AP exams this month! We’re keeping our fingers crossed for you.

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL MERIT COMMENDED STUDENT CUTOFF RELEASED

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the new Commended Student cutoff this year - 207. The score is two marks points than last year, making it the lowest cutoff in a decade. An estimated one quarter or more of students were not able to take the PSAT last year, which may have contributed to the drop. 

We will have to wait on the Semifinalist cutoffs, which are determined by the individual state scores rather than national scores, so we may see a big variety of cutoffs depending on how available the test was to students in each state. Compass Prep predicts a cutoff in the 218 - 223 range in Virginia - we will likely see the actual numbers leaked once schools are notified in late August. 

SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS ARE COMING

Our first juniors have finished up their Common App essays and are starting to work on supplemental essays. Our unique process helps students prepare information that they can use across multiple essays, saving them a lot of time and energy once the specific prompts are released! 

Some schools have already released their prompts for 2021-2022, announcing that their prompts will remain the same. The UC system and the University of Miami, in particular, have both already announced that their prompts will not change from the 2020-2021 choices. Don’t be tempted to make sweeping generalizations about other schools based on this news, though! We always remind our students that they should ALWAYS wait to begin a specific essay until the school confirms its use, whether it’s a change or a continuation.

CHEATING SCANDAL AT DARTMOUTH MEDICAL SCHOOL

We know already that cheating has increased at all educational levels due to the online environment this school year. But it is particularly frightening when those cheating charges come from adult students who will soon have a lot of important responsibility - like medical students at Dartmouth! The accusations leveled against 17 students have prompted protests from students and faculty on campus who feel that those students were unfairly treated, especially given the unique challenges that they faced while testing remotely. The controversy centers on the fact that the school used the online Canvas system to retroactively track student’s computer activity during the tests, what some see as an unacceptable level of surveillance. 

Many different high schools and colleges also use Canvas or similar systems that enable this type of tracking, so this story should also serve as a warning to all students to avoid even the appearance of misconduct while testing or completing assignments online.

FCPS GRADING OPTIONS UPDATE

FCPS has extended the deadline for high school and middle school students to request to have a class switched to pass/fail rather than a letter grade. Seniors will need to designate a class as pass/fail by May 17, while all other students will have until June 1 to make this decision. If you are a current client wondering how to report your grades, let us know and we are happy to help!

GEORGIA PUBLICS REQUIRE TEST SCORES

Public universities in Florida received a lot of pushback this past cycle for being the only state university system besides Wyoming to require test scores from students. However, now that young people are able to receive vaccines and things are slowly returning to normal, more state schools may follow suit. The University System of Georgia announced this week that test scores will be required for applicants in the class of 2022. They also announced that USG campuses will return to normal in-person operations this fall, though have not yet required students to be vaccinated to return to campus (Emory, as a private institution in Georgia, does have a vaccine requirement - and will also remain test-optional in the fall).  

So if you have your heart set on UGA or Georgia Tech next year, make sure that you are taking the time to study for those tests!

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Our corner of the internet has been buzzing this week about this New York Times opinion piece about the college essay. The author makes a really strong and difficult point about how many students feel that they have to “sell” their trauma, trying to outdo each other with stories of hardship that are going to pull on the heartstrings of admissions officers.

I was so struck by what the author reports her teacher asking her when she questioned this idea:

“Who are you?”

YES! The very first thing we do with any student working on their college essay is ask them to speak with family and friends and write down adjectives that those people would use to describe them. Students often think they have to have the best story, but that isn’t the case at all - it is MUCH more important to demonstrate a specific personal characteristic, and the story is just the vehicle for that! Colleges want to know who you are, where you’re going, and how you’ll contribute to their community. 

You might have a difficult story that can do all of that, and that’s great! But just writing about personal tragedy for tragedy’s sake, in a way that doesn’t demonstrate personality or growth, is not the key to a strong college essay.

I thought this was so interesting when one of my sorority sisters posted it on her social media this week! She is a professor at USF and is researching the impact of COVID-19 on undergraduate STEM education. This video on her early findings is available for online viewing until May 18.

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams are teaming up to offer group info sessions and events for prospective students - a great opportunity for any juniors interested in small, liberal arts colleges. As you work on your college search, we really recommend seeking out sessions like these that go beyond the traditional info session. Reed, for example, is offering a variety of sessions including a Case Study of a College Application session. These case studies can be super helpful for some inside info on how the admissions office is evaluating applications. 

In more exciting news, we are so excited to welcome (back) Tyler! As we mentioned last week, Tyler was a client of ours who just finished up his freshman year at the University of Richmond! He is back in our office as our summer intern, learning more about entrepreneurship and what it’s like to run a small business. We often work with past clients on graduate school applications and we love seeing them in a different context, but this is the first time we’ve had one working alongside us!

Tyler will be taking over the midweek blog next week to share more about himself and his experience with DC College Counseling, so keep an eye out for that. He is excited to talk with both prospective and current clients about the DCCC process and the college transition, so don’t hesitate reach out to him with any questions or words of welcome!

Lastly, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to attend a Zoom on Thursday morning with admissions officers from Brandeis, University of Rochester, Case Western and our own neighbor across the Potomac, George Washington. Shannon and I have both been attending a ton of these sessions lately, but I really enjoyed this one in particular. Here are some takeaways I thought were interesting:

• One of the schools mentioned that they look at actual interactions within prospective student online chats in order to determine demonstrated interest. So if you think that just signing into the chat is enough, think again! Make sure to come up with some well thought-out questions that show that you have done your research.

• On that note, another school’s representative noted, “Before you demonstrate interest, you have to develop interest.” So obvious, but at the same time so wise! His point was that showing up on campus once to check off a box isn’t enough. Take your time, read your emails, do your research, maybe start a dialogue, and THEN start to demonstrate interest if you authentically have it - whether that involves showing up on campus or not.

• Several of the schools reported some interesting observations on waitlist activity that may lead to more waitlist movement later in the summer than ever before. These fascinated me.

  • The numbers are not in alignment between the number of accepted students nationwide and the number of deposits that schools have received from the students. So there is a theory that many students have actually double OR TRIPLE (omg!) deposited this year… (like we have said, this an absolutely terrible idea). And if that’s what’s going on, we’re going to see a ton of activity right around the time when tuition payments are due. At some schools, that’s just two weeks before the start of the semester.

  • Many enrollment management offices are concerned about the travel bans in place with foreign countries and the impact that this could have on international student visas. These students were accepted and have enrolled, but if their visas don’t come through, there are going to be a lot of spots opening up at the end of the summer as a result. When Shannon and I were talking about this yesterday, she made a particularly insightful comment about how waitlisted students who didn’t apply for financial aid are the ones who will really see a huge benefit from this. This is because international students are nearly always full-pay and most schools won’t replace a full-pay student with one that has financial need, so I think she’s absolutely correct. And this, my friends, is why you don’t apply for financial aid just to apply!

Enjoy the weekend!

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General Education Curriculum Series 5: Brown

For the final post of our General Education Curriculum Series, we’re tackling Brown University. 

Why? Because Brown is the best example of the complete opposite approach to Columbia’s. At Brown, there is no such thing as a core class - they have an open curriculum, and students have a ton of freedom and flexibility. Forget a core curriculum, Brown doesn’t even have traditional “majors” - instead, students choose a “concentration” or “focus area” to anchor their undergraduate program. 

During Brown’s “shopping period” at the start of the semester, students can try out classes that may interest them and discuss them with their peers, as well as academic advisors and faculty. Students may choose to create a liberal arts course of study that explores a variety of different subjects, or they may delve deeply into one or two - Brown puts the creation of the curriculum fully into the hands of students. 

Okay, so what are the takeaways from this non-curriculum curriculum? Here are a few:

1. You’ve got options

Really, a lot of them. Want to explore ten different subjects before you choose your concentration? You got it. Know what you want to do and just ready to dive deeper? Go ahead. Brown’s open curriculum is student-centered, meaning that you are the one who decides how your college experience will look. 

2. You need to be decisive

The flip side of all that choice is that there is no guidance laid out by the school as to what you should take. Particularly if you want to continue your education after college, you might need to do your own digging into recommended pre-med or pre-professional courses to ensure that your transcript is up to par with students who have received more of a measured curriculum approach. 

Even for those who don’t intend to head to graduate school or begin a career that requires certain coursework, the fully flexible curriculum can seem overwhelming. Some students may feel as if they need some guidance on the classes that will best prepare them for life after Brown. 

3. You’re on your own

Well, not entirely. Brown has both peer and faculty advisors available to help and support you as you design your curriculum. But the system is set up so that you may not have one single class in common with everyone else in your freshman dorm. The complete flexibility of the curriculum means that there are no common courses for everyone to bond over, and you could go through the curriculum without connecting to your peers in the classroom. You may care about this, you may not.

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There you have it: four very different schools with very different undergraduate curriculum options! So whether you are a sophomore just beginning your search or a senior jumping into course registration for your freshman year in college, make sure you read up on the curriculum options available to you and talk with us if you need help. This is particularly the case for graduating seniors - it can be very overwhelming to plan out a four-year course of study when you haven’t even arrived on campus yet, but that’s often the right approach to make sure that you’re able to achieve your goals while graduating on time!

Not a current client? Book a strategy session and we can help you work through the confusing curricula that you are considering. And don’t forget to check out the previous posts in this series down below!

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Weekly Update: May 7

Congratulations to all of the seniors who sent in their deposits last weekend - we are so proud of you!

BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

REMOTE WORK CONTINUES AT MANY COLLEGES

With all the focus on whether or not students and faculty can safely interact in-person on campus, many people have overlooked the other major population on college campuses - staff! At some universities, staff are overwhelmingly in favor of continuing to work remotely. At Duke, for example, three-quarters of staff want to work remotely three to five days per week. Colleges and universities, which often pay less in salary than private companies, are considering remote work as a potential benefit to attract top employees. Georgetown, for example, is planning to indicate in job descriptions going forward which positions can be done remotely. It will be interesting to see how colleges, especially those with a high value on a residential campus community, respond to the increasing push for remote work. 

CORNELL ROCK CLIMBING CLASS CAUSES CONTROVERSY

Cornell’s spring BIPOC Rock Climbing course has caused some outrage from those who see this type of course offerings as in violation of Title IV, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in education programs. Cornell says that all students on campus have access to rich opportunities, and that this course is intended for students who are traditionally underrepresented in the sport of rock climbing. 

CHOOSING A COLLEGE

Decision Day has passed, but for juniors who are still working on putting together a college list, we recommend giving this Forbes article a read - a professor and parent of a college senior provides some interesting considerations as you think about which college would be the best fit for you! We want to emphasize:

“There are amazing universities across the spectrum. Pick one that fits individual needs not ‘name’ or ‘reputation’ metrics alone.”

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

Several great articles this week that focus on equity in the college admissions process. This one from the Atlantic is a must-read! It delves deeper into the issues referenced in the above quote, discussing the chicken-or-the-egg relationship between college admissions, elitism and social status.

“Today, schooling is how elites secure income and pass their privilege down to their children. The U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges Rankings are our Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage. And it is a truth universally acknowledged,” it reads, in a satirical take on the first line of Pride and Prejudice, “that elite parents, in possession of excellent jobs, want to get their kids into college.”

Can’t argue with that, and some of the statistics mentioned in the piece were staggering, including a study quoted by Ron Lieber which found that “nearly 50 percent of America’s corporate leaders, 60 percent of its financial leaders, and 50 percent of its highest government officials attended only 12 universities.” In this type of landscape, it’s not surprising that many students and families feel so much pressure to keep rankings at the forefront of their college search.

Varsity Blues demonstrated the dangers that arise when students and families become hyper-focused on admission to a big-name school, but schools also have issues with this system, going as far as to hire expensive “rankings consultants” to help them increase their ranking (or even, as with the Temple University business school dean we discussed two weeks ago, falsifying the numbers to beat the ranking system!). 

And we recognize that the role of private college consulting companies is often considered alongside these considerations, as discussed in this Yale Daily News article. Here at DC College Counseling, we pride ourselves in working hard to discover students’ true passions and best-fit schools, rather than focusing on the rankings alone, but we recognize that not all students and families are able to afford our services (though, keep an eye out for an exciting announcement about that coming your way soon!).

However, we believe that students and families deserve robust support during this challenging time, and that school counselors do not always have enough resources to be able to provide that support to each student. We are proud to be part of the educational support network that our clients have built! We are educators first, and that is the attitude that we want to bring to all of our students and families. This is a nuanced article with a lot of information about the work that independent counselors do, for those looking for more information about these considerations.

Speaking of equity and rankings, I am always excited to read work from Angel Perez, CEO of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling. In his most recent article, he explores the issues driving people away from the admissions profession. This is a tension that so many admissions officers experience (including Shannon and I!) - entering the profession with the goal of helping young people get a great education. Angel offers several different ideas for colleges to step away from a focus on the bottom line, like diversifying revenue streams, so admissions and enrollment professionals don’t feel that pressure to meet the budget, and creating a more flexible culture in higher education as a whole. 

Jeff Selingo, in a LinkedIn article this week, also offered some ideas for how higher education can view emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for a reset. Some changes include:

• Students watching pre-recorded lectures at home, but using class time for discussions and group work. 

• Changes in grading, particularly grades based on participation, given the challenges that students and teachers faced with this issue during online learning. 

• More flexibility for students with class assignments, including major exams and papers, after a year that has required professors to become a lot more comfortable with flexibility! 

• An emphasis on human connection and campus community - something college students have really missed this past year. 

Jeff’s article also gives some more interesting insight into test optional admissions this cycle. We’ve written before about how it does seem that testing had some effect on admissions this year, and this is particularly true in STEM subjects - students applying for STEM majors were much more advantaged by submitting test scores than those who applied for majors in the humanities or social sciences. At schools like Emory, Colgate, Georgia Tech, and Vanderbilt, students who submitted test scores were more likely to be admitted than those who did not - so if you have the opportunity to take a test this cycle, take advantage of it! You can always decide whether or not to submit the scores later. 

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

We are so impressed with the determination and perseverance of our juniors, who continue to finish up their beautiful Common ApplicationⓇ essays as they juggle school work and preparing for AP exams, which started this week at many schools! 

We’ve also had several strategy sessions with younger students who are planning ahead, and as we tell them, this is the perfect time to start thinking about your four-year plan for high school and how the next four years can help you develop your passions.

Lastly, we’ve been busy getting ready for the newest member of our team.. our summer intern and former student, Tyler! A future entrepreneur himself, Tyler will be spending the summer with us learning about what it’s like to run a small business. You’ll hear from him periodically with his perspective on a variety of different topics: the college search and admissions process, the transition from high school to college, attending college during Covid, and more!

Finally, Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

If you’re tired of reminding everyone about everything and carrying the burden of the mental load - the “mostly invisible combination of anxiety and planning that is part of parenting,” (a) I can relate and (b) our team can help! Book a Meet & Greet and get the college admissions-related reminders, worrying and stress off your plate!

Now can someone please invent a way to outsource reminders about keeping kids’ hands off the walls?! My four-year-old son and I will be your first clients :) Have a great weekend!

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