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“The Brief Guide to an Extraordinary College Experience” will help you get more out of college and help to position yourself for a successful career and a fulfilling life. College is about so much more than just trying to get the highest grade point average and partying as much as possible. Here are some easy tips to help you get more out of the experience and develop your skills, knowledge and network to create a path for a rewarding life after college.

College is a tremendous opportunity to develop as an individual. Those individuals that seize control and make the experience work for themselves will develop more fully and position themselves better for a fulfilling life.

Suppose you’re a college admissions officer at a very competitive/prestigious university.  You have thousands of applications to read through.  Most of your candidates have strong grade point averages, lots of extracurricular activities, and great test scores on the standardized tests.  Who do you want to push for?  Someone who’s a little different.  Maybe someone with a self-deprecating sense of humor, or an offbeat essay.  It’s already becoming cliche to write about working in El Salvador for a humanitarian cause or how cleaning up the barrio in Peru changed your life.

Think out of the box when writing essays.  Stretch yourself a little.  Go for it.  Take a risk.  Maybe try a few different ones, and solicit comments from friends and parents about what catches their attention.

Also, if you get the chance, try to get to know the admissions officers at the university(ies) you really want to get into.  You don’t want to be a pain in the butt, but it could help if you can get to know them personally–especially if you hit it off with them.  Show them that you really want to go to their school and let them know why you would be a perfect fit for them.

I think this is another indicator of how sensitive the college admissions process has become such that now it is becoming a subject of academic inquiry itself. Increasingly, colleges are shaping their entering classes to reach some kind of model population, rather than just focusing on grades and standardized test scores. What makes it even harder to understand, is that different colleges are trying to shape this model population in different ways. It will be very welcome to gain academic insight into the new patterns forming in admissions processes and to see whether the colleges themselves are achieving their self-professed goals.

Begin by trying to rate what is really important to you among the following factors:
1) Size – do you want a large campus feel like a Big Ten or Pac Ten university such as Michigan, Ohio State, University of Washington, etc? These universities have undergraduate populations in the tens of thousands of students and can fill large arenas with screaming fans for sporting events. Or maybe you prefer a quieter, more personal sized university such as Oberlin College or Swarthmore.

2) Location – do you want to be near home or in some specific geographic location such as the northeast or the northwest?

3) Urban/suburban/rural – colleges are located in areas with all sorts of different population densities; do you want to be in the middle of all the action or in a more serene location?

4) Student/faculty ratio – most people will feel the smaller the better for this number, but some students are better able to handle the demands of a larger, research-oriented institution which will usually do less “hand holding” and assume you can function very independently. Other students need or desire more individualized attention.

5) Academic program – do you already have a specific major in mind, or are you interested in a particular, specialized field of study? You will want to consider how prospective universities match up with your interests.

6) Ethnic diversity/cultural considerations – do you wish to attend a university with a diverse student population or are you interested in making sure that you won’t be the only person with your ethnic background attending a certain university? You will have to dig a little deeper to get some of the information you are looking for here; you may be able to track down the information you need online or you may wish to consider campus visits if you have a specific need related to this issue.

There are many other factors that may come to mind. Try to analyze which factors are the most important to you and then start to create a list of schools that may fit those needs. You will likely have to bend on some issues if the academic quality of the university and/or financial considerations come in to play in your ultimate decision, but you can start to narrow your school search by honestly considering which factors are most important to you.

At a meeting with the chief admissions officer from an Ivy League university, he mentioned that they look for students that are passionate about attending their university and can explain why they would be a great fit.  At this university, for example, legacy students (students with one/or more parents or close relatives who attended that university) are only given more favorable acceptance rates relative to non-legacy applicants when they apply through early admission.  Again, this shows that colleges want students who want them.

So, when you’re filling out your college applications, don’t forget to show the love!!!!

Is there a student athlete in your house? Don’t think he or she is going to be recruited to play basketball at Duke or Florida? Is academics a main focus for him or her?

Being a student-athlete can help to get your student into these competitive schools in some cases. Your high school coach can help give you insight into what type of school might be interested in your athlete, but in many cases sports can be a deciding factor in admissions. The academics still have to be there, but for the dedicated student-athlete, the right fit might be there.

The schools listed above are all going to focus primarily on academics. Although the student-athlete will still be very busy playing a sport and attending classes, the pressure will not be as intense as a NCAA Division I school.

Division III schools do not offer athletic scholarships, so athletics will not pay the bills generally. In some instances, “financial need” awards might be tilted more favorably toward student athletes though.

There are literally hundreds of NCAA Division III schools. Not all are as academically competitive as the names listed above, but there are many quality institutions in this category. If you have a student-athlete that wants to continue to play his/her sport in college and, especially, if they are willing to consider attending a smaller school, Division III may be the way to go.

If you think about it, it kind of makes sense. Schools are looking for that creative mix of students that will lead to a cohort of high-achieving alumni. Colleges love to brag about the success stories of their alumni and personality definitely plays a roll in ultimate success in the real world.

The non-profit institutions that administer the entrance and achievement tests such as College Board, Educational Testing Service and ACT Inc. are gearing up for new tests in this area. ETS, the group that administers the Graduate Record Exams (GRE) has already developed a “personal potential index” that colleges may use someday to replace the traditional recommendation letters that are currently in place.

Some fear that such testing, which theoretically could make sense, may create a gaming of the system if students learn how to answer the questions in the way the colleges would like to hear. The tests may need to be recalibrated over the years, but for the time being the experts believe these tests can provide insight into the personalities of students.

Examples of questions that might appear on personality tests are “describe a goal you have set for yourself and how you plan to achieve it” and “describe what sets you apart from others in terms of educational interests and goals.”

The other issue that may get touchy if these tests begin to proliferate and become the norm for college applications is how they are applied to majority and minority students. The interest groups on both sides are already gearing up for the fight!

1) The student is the author of the college admissions documents.  The ethical college consultant does not write essays, fill out documents for students, or otherwise take away the authorship of admissions materials from students.  The ethical college consultant can help brainstorm essay ideas, give the students materials and sample essays to look at, review essays and documents for mistakes and suggest items to look at for improvement, but the student is responsible for completion of all application materials.

2) The ethical college consultant does not imply that he/she can get any student into any college or university.   It is completely unethical to interfere with the admissions process.  The college or university will accept or reject the student applicant based on his/her qualifications, experience, characteristics and achievements, and will not tolerate interference from any college consultant.  Do not hire a college consultant based on their so-called connections with admissions officers.  If anything, a college consultant making inappropriate phone calls could poison the student’s college application.  It won’t get you in.

3)  Do not hire a consultant who preys on your admissions fears and anxieties and tells you that you need to hire him to get your kid in.  The ethical college consultant should help to relieve stress and anxiety for both parents and students.  There is an appropriate college for every high school graduate.  The truth is there are many, many colleges where students can get a great education and have a great experience.  What is important is to identify the most likely “best fit” institutions and to work on maximizing the possibility of a great college experience by applying to the appropriate colleges for each individual student.  Harvard is obviously not accessible to every college applicant, but it would also not be appropriate for every college applicant either.  There are many schools now where students can have an outstanding experience and get a terrific education; no one school should be considered do or die for a student.

4)  Empowering the student to make informed choices is the mandate of the ethical college admissions consultant.   The college admissions process can be a very stressful time for students and their families.  However, the student can feel less stressed as he or she asserts control over the admissions process.  We feel stressed when events beyond our control are buffeting us about. However, when we seize control over our own destinies and make informed choices, we regain our sense of balance that enables us to develop to our fullest as individuals.

I just got back from a fantastic six day trip to Swarthmore College and to visit colleges/universities around Philadelphia. The Independent Educational Consultants Association Conference I attended was the best conference I’ve ever attended. I learned a tremendous amount about college admissions advising and was able to network with a fabulous group of interesting and talented college admissions consultants. Most of these individuals have an advanced degree beyond the bachelors including several PhDs, but also JDs, MBAs, etc. Swarthmore was a very inspiring location and a college that is definitely on the map for me now in my advising career.  The campus is beautiful, it is a short train ride to downtown Philly, the student/faculty ratio is low and the emphasis on the love of learning is inspiring.  I would love to enroll myself if I could!!!  It is very competitive to get admitted and some students might find it to be too small, but I think the easy access to Philadelphia as well as its presence in the Quaker Consortium (Univ. of Penn., Bryn Mawr College, Swarthmore and Haverford College) where students can take classes at other members is a big plus.

I learned so much at this conference and was very inspired by the other attendees.  For one, I learned about the needs of learning differenced students in the college environment.  It inspired me to visit the learning center at the University of Miami, where I teach economics and finance, so I can learn more about these students.  It is my intention to carve out a niche specialization in helping learning differenced students with their college admissions process.

That’s all for now.  I intend to update this blog frequently so please stay tuned!!!