Sending emails to strangers. At colleges. Asking for appointments.

Here’s one more reason why the college admissions process is so complicated for high school students:  at some point, after years of only emailing friends, family, and familiar teachers, your parents may insist that you sit down right now and send an email to strangers.

Right now, because this has likely been discussed a number of times over the past few weeks.

Mod Squad Mia, glad she doesn’t have to write emails.

Right now, because you need to request an appointment with someone in the department of interest while you’re visiting the college.

Right now, because the college visit is next week.

Yes, I know it would have been better if you had written last week, but it will be better if you write tonight instead of putting it off any longer.

No, you don’t know the specific person to ask — you need to look up the department and make your best guess.

Yes, it may be a different title in each department.

Yes, you may send a similar email to any number of people, but each needs to be sent to an individual, not to a group list.

Yes, it may happen that you don’t end up with any meetings.

Yes, you may end up meeting with someone in a department that ends up not being of interest to you.

Yes, you do need to write a few good things about yourself and what sort of student you are.

Yes, I do think you can figure out a way to say those good things without sounding like a braggart.

No, we will not write these for you, but we will read your drafts.

Yes, you can copy these and edit them to use again.

Yes, you do need also to write the Dean of Admissions who has sent you multiple emails, even though she has sent those emails to thousands of students. You can let her know you will be visiting and ask her advice about how best to spend your time while on campus.

Yes, you will have to do this again.

Yes, it gets easier with every email you write.

Just like this college thing gets a bit easier the second time around.

Why are college and scholarship applications so complicated?

 

What Happens When? The College Admissions Calendar.

For college admissions May 1st marks the New Year — the end of one college admissions year and the beginning of the next. This is a great time to look at what happens throughout the year for anyone on a path toward college. (Note:  I’m sure to have missed some vital elements in the timeline. I welcome your additions or corrections — email me or list them in comments below.)

May

• May 1 is the deadline for students to accept an offer from, and pay a deposit to, the college of their choice. Most, but not all colleges, that is. Here’s why (and no, it’s not for the benefit of the students): Random thoughts on May 1.
• First two full weeks of May:  AP exams. All HS students taking AP courses take the exams at the same time.
• SAT & SAT Subject tests (aka SAT IIs) offered. Typically SATs are offered every month except April, July, August, and September. SAT Subject tests are offered every time SATs are offered except March, but not all subjects are offered each time. Specific details on APs, SATS, and SAT Subject tests can be found at the College Board’s website, Big Future.
• Parents and college counselors urge HS juniors to request recommendation letters from teachers before school lets out. (Note: typically teachers write the letters in the fall and upload them to the Common App interface after the student has specified his or her colleges. However, many teachers appreciate the advance notice and the opportunity to prep for the letters during the summer.)

June

• Orientation for new college students begins, this usually includes help with registration. Parents are usually invited and are offered their own orientation track.
• Parents of HS students may want to visit campuses while on summer road-trips.

July

• AP scores are sent to exam-takers; exams are scored on a scale of 1 [low] to 5; 3 is considered a passing score. The more selective the college, the higher score required for credit. Some colleges do not provide credit, but may still use the scores for placement. See college websites for each college’s AP credit policy. Here’s what UVa accepts in the College of Arts & Sciences.
• Parents and college counselors urge rising seniors to start drafting essays. Some students do. Read: How to Write a College Essay (in 10 Steps).

August

• The Common App goes live for the new application season. Some students actually apply in August. (Nobody I know.) Bookmark this site:  Common Questions for the Common App.
• For new college students:  first tuition payment is required!

September

• Many HS guidance counselors provide detailed information to seniors, including how much time is required for transcript requests, recommendation letters, etc.
• Many HS guidance counselors will also provide guidelines on scholarship applications.

October

• Earliest Early Admission and Early Decision deadlines occur. (Note: the 2012-13 Common App listed October 30 as the earliest application deadline. However, many college counselors will advise students to submit at least two weeks prior to the published deadline.)
• Many high schools offer PSAT/NMSQTs to sophomores (mostly for practice) and juniors (for National Merit Scholarship qualification).
• The October SAT date is typically the latest that will get scores reported to colleges for Early deadlines.
• Parents need to check financial aid requirements for early applications. Some will require an application in the fall.

November

• Early application reading season for admissions officers, extends into January.
• Parents and college counselors may urge seniors to finish essays over Thanksgiving break. Some students do.

December

• The December SAT date is typically the latest that will get scores reported for regular deadlines.
• Early decisions start to be received in December. Some HS students face rejection for the first time. (Deal with it and move on.)
• Important:  many college decisions will be provided via the college’s SIS, requiring the student to log-in. Keep a file of the log-in IDs used for different colleges.
• Important:  now is when HS seniors need to check email regularly. See Calling All Texters: Read Your Email!
• December 31 is the deadline for the majority of regular admission applications.

January

• The new FAFSA goes live January 1st. Some families actually submit that day. (Nobody I know.) Read: Catch-22: How and When to Complete the FAFSA and Your Tax Returns.
• Regular application reading season for admissions officers, extends through March.
• Sophomores and juniors receive PSAT scores. Approximately three hours later they start to receive emails and marketing mailers from colleges.
• HS course registration may begin for the next school year.
• Summer enrichment opportunities often require applications by January or February. See a very long list our local school division provides here.

February

• Many colleges require the FAFSA submission by the end of February. Parents need to prepare preliminary, or draft, tax returns in order to submit the FAFSA. Bookmark this site: FAFSA FAQs.

March

• Regular admission decisions should be received by the end of March.
• Once parents file finished tax returns, they must change the FAFSA and/or link it to the return via the FAFSA/IRS interface.

April

• HS juniors may want to spend their spring break visiting campuses.
• HS seniors may want to attend admitted day programs for specific questions, to help aid their final decisions. Read: Who should attend an admitted student event?
• Many communities hold college fairs, bringing a large number of campus reps to one location.
• Financial aid letters, in all their confusing glory, may be received through the month of April.
• HS juniors who have qualified for National Merit recognition are notified.
• Last two weeks of April:  many HS students put life on hold to prep for AP exams in early May. Except for Prom, spring sports, part-time jobs, and, like, hanging out with friends.
• Last two weeks of April:  many HS senior families square up to the college decision.

What did I miss? Write in comments below. Thanks!

Related articles

• Scary trend shows more colleges requesting SAT Subject Tests
• Why are college and scholarship applications so complicated?
• The Choice Blog: April College Checklist for Seniors

College decision month: Virtual visits?

Mod Squad Pete. And a tee shirt to be named later.

As I wrote earlier, we’re going back to a couple of college campuses this week to attend Admitted Student events, take a second (or third) look around, and ask questions.

One of Mod Squad Pete’s colleges is too far away to revisit. He’s been there twice: 1) prior to his junior year, for the full admissions tour; 2) two months ago for an audition. (He’s been accepted into one program there; awaits word from another). That school has invited Pete to attend a midweek evening event (about 120 miles away, but 600 miles closer than campus).  Here’s what’s on offer:

The event begins with a presentation on everything that  ___ U. has to offer. Topics include: housing, course selection and registration, campus life, work and extracurricular opportunities, and living in ___. Following the presentation, recent graduates will share their  ___ U. stories. The event will wrap up with a Question & Answer period.

Will that event, lasting around 90 minutes, be worth the five-hour round trip? More important to Pete, is it worth missing a track meet?

If this is the school, I’d say yes, especially given the distance. We’ll see.

If this event weren’t available, we could — and yes, even with this event, we may — avail ourselves of virtual tours and social media connections. Throughout the entire admissions process we’ve learned a great deal via blogs and tweets from colleges.

On Smart College Visit, Z. Kelly Queijo offers 8 Easy Steps to Create Your Own Virtual College Visit. Here are a few:

• College Newspaper. Read it online or even subscribe for a while. You’ll definitely find out more about campus life.
• College/University Blogs. If not immediately obvious from the school’s web site, use the search tool to find admissions or student blogs. There may even be a college/university president’s blog.
• College Twitter Accounts. News, admissions, sports, events, professors, student organizations…follow the accounts representing what you think will be important to you if enrolled. You can always unfollow later.

All great ideas.

Meanwhile, our hometown University has been making social connections on Pinterest. See Pinterest 101 Courtesy of the University of Virginia for a glimpse of boards they’ve created to connect with students, alumni and — I’d bet — prospective students.

That’s a much better resource than the Fake [college president] Twitter accounts Jenna Johnson wrote about in the Washington Post!

Related articles

• College presidents think you want high tuition. Really. (drstrangecollege.wordpress.com)
• College decision month: time to revisit campuses (drstrangecollege.wordpress.com)

How many colleges should a high school student visit?

In case you missed it in Friday’s paper, the creators of Zits comic — Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman — provide the high school student’s perspective on college visits.

See the full strip here.

[Hat-tip to Monica Pawinski-Pericak, who has now visited 22 colleges with two of their three children. Not that anyone's keeping track.]

Related articles

• Is college worth it? Doonesbury weighs in.

Every college talk is a tough talk.

I delude myself. I always think we’ll sit down, the three of us — Mod Squad Pete and two parents, go over questions and topics that need attention, and we’ll each walk away with a to do list and a feeling of some movement forward. The conversation started with whether we’d visit two more colleges in August and moved quickly to the current short list. No attributions needed for the quotes that follow, I’m guessing.

Dear College: Your name could go here!

“I don’t want to go to College ABC.”

“You liked it when we attended the open house; you came away loving it.”

“But I don’t want to go there.”

“You’re the one that didn’t like DEF University; I liked their campus.”

“Ok, put them on the list.”

“I liked their campus, but I don’t want to go there.”

“How about University of GHI? I’m concerned we’re cutting the list too much.”

“Do they need a supplementary app essay?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Do I have to apply to JKL University?”

“NO! You’re the one that put it on the list.”

“Well, I’m taking it off now.”

“MNO College is a better school than Univ of PQR.”

“Really, you think? What’s their selectivity rating?”

“96. I told you, PQR is 92!”

Around and around we went, none of us enjoying it much. Although I do remember laughing and, by the end, we all three had a clearer picture of what’s important to M.S. Pete and what he’s most interested in going after.

What we know so far:  Pete wrote up a potential list in January when he met with his [terrific] HS guidance counselor. She made a few recommendations when we met with her and the list continued to evolve as he visited colleges during Spring Break. Now it’s changed again; I wouldn’t be surprised if it changes further before the final deadlines for early and regular applications.

Thank goodness Pete keeps us laughing. Most of the time. And, oh yes, he ended up adding that extra University even though that put one more supplementary application question on his list.

More tough talks to come, I’m sure.

Related articles

• New Best Colleges Rankings Are Coming Soon (usnews.com)
• How do I compare colleges? (drstrangecollege.wordpress.com)

6 Reasons to Re-Visit a Campus

Mod Squad Pete started revisiting campuses. Here’s where we are, August 1:

• three months away from Pete’s first Early Action deadline,
• three weeks or so away from the start of his senior year in high school, and
• two weeks away from a road-trip to New England for a family reunion.

Right now we need to decide if Pete should see any more colleges and, of those he’s already seen, which he should revisit. The discussion launched on that topic could fill two or three blog posts, so I’ll just stick to why it makes sense for him to go back to a few colleges.

UVA Rotunda. Image via Wikipedia

1. To indicate interest.  Some colleges track his points of contact: visits, email responses, conversations with admissions counselors, meetings with professors, etc. CollegeData’s Admissions details provide that information for each college. In our state, Virginia, you could look at UVA‘s ‘Selection of Students’ here and see that the ‘Level of Applicant’s Interest’ is not considered. American University, just a bit further up the road in DC, indicates the the ‘Level of Applicant’s Interest’ is very important to them.

2. To attend an open house or preview day.  Many of Pete’s college visits were booked around our schedule, not that of the college. If he visited a college for the standard admissions information session and tour during Spring Break (and he did many then), he may have the opportunity to learn more, see more, and meet more people at a formal prospective student event.

3. To talk with a professor.  He was able to book a few meetings with professors during some initial visits. We paid much closer attention to this ahead of long-distance visits last summer. Now it’s time for Pete to make contact with professors in his area(s) of interest and find out if a particular college and what he might study there fits with their impression of the college and of Pete.

College of William & Mary. Image via Wikipedia

4.  To talk with a current student. Some colleges offer interviews with current students — the College of William & Mary provides that opportunity to rising HS seniors. Here’s why, and here’s the Washington Post‘s story about it.

5.  To allow the second parent an opportunity to see the school.  It may seem as if our entire household is consumed with this college stuff, but — like most households with school-age children — there are many other school, extracurricular, work, and life activities competing for attention. We’ve visited a number of colleges on family road-trips, but most of the formal admission visits have been made with one parent and M. S. Pete. Colleges that maintain a lock on his short-list deserve a look from parent number two.

6.  To repair, if possible, a bad first impression.  I know we should not dismiss a college based upon a bad tour guide experience, but it’s hard to get past that. Pete and I toured a school on his HS guidance counselor’s recommendation. She had good reasons:  it fit the profile Pete had in mind, she’d been impressed on a recent visit, she thought the student-prof connections Pete values could be made there, it’s a beautiful campus, and more.

We booked a visit, asked questions at the info session, and set off with a current student tour guide who simpered, giggled, apologized, and giggled some more. She was a very nice young woman, she loved her school, she gave a good tour, and I could not wait to get away. I know better than to think the entire school is as naive as this one student. Should we go back and give it another try? Probably.

Help me out here. Why else should Pete revisit a college? Please keep in mind: he needs a very good argument to add anything to his college to do list at this point.

Wednesday Weekly Reader: 5 Stories

Recent news from the college admissions / search / finance front.

1.  Since prospective students are always online and anything they post online is not private… why not turn that into an advantage? See this advice from Scholarship America, via The Scholarship Coach (usnews.com).

Start by thinking of your social sites as more than social. Social networking sites are a communication tool you can use to showcase your talent, your volunteering, your interests, and your work. And yes, you can do this without looking like a big, fat narcissist.

2.  A behind the scenes report on innovation in higher education, from Jefferey Selingo, editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Consumers are not the only ones concerned about the education bubble. Well worth reading if college is in your future.

The bottom line is that we’re likely to face a future where students and their families pay a lot more of the cost of a college education out of pocket. Without grants and loans as a safety net, students are probably going to make different choices than they do now (read: less expensive choices). We’re likely headed toward a future where smaller, struggling colleges need to move to new models of doing business, while elite, wealthy colleges continue to support the current model.

3.  Here are 7 Apps to Use on Your College Visits This Summer. Hat tip to @SuzanneShaffer who blogs at Parents Countdown to College Coach.

Many [families] will visit up to 10 colleges, along with checking out the localities, and cities and towns around the institutions. Organizing multiple visits (or even one or two) can be a nightmare! Why not use the technology we have in our homes and pockets to make the task easier?

4. This timeline for high school students provides a year-by-year plan to help students (and their parents) avoid panicking once junior and senior years hit. Our sophomore, Mod Squad Julie, could be thinking about what she wants to study. Our senior, M.S. Pete, has made it past junior year crunch time and is on the home stretch. This via Leanne Italie at CNBC.

From resume building and campus tours to test prep and essay writing, there’s a lot for kids to contend with, and a lot for parents who may not have gone through the process themselves. College admissions officials and paid helpers urge families to stretch the application process over all four years of high school to make it less of a mad dash and more of a marathon. Try this timeline to break down the to-do list.

Image via Wikipedia

5.  Augustana College offers up a College Questions page, including a timeline (one for students and one for parents), a statement on the purpose of the Liberal Arts, and the list of questions you should ask about college. Straightforward format and great list of questions.

One of the best ways to work through these questions is to visit schools you are considering.  A college’s website can tell you a lot about the school’s academic programs, recreational activities, or admissions process, but, in the end, you will be learning (and maybe living) on the college’s campus, not its website.

Any of this useful? Please let me know. What have you read?

Wednesday Weekly Reader: 5 Stories

Recent news from the college admissions / search / finance front.

1. Choose carefully, allow enough time, and more from 5 Tips for Securing Recommendation Letters, from The College Admissions Insider at usnews.com.

Contrary to popular belief, your most insightful supporter may not be the teacher regarded as the most popular.

2.  According to Daniel de Vise, who blogs at Post Local on washingtonpost.com, colleges are replacing loans with no-pay grants for their neediest students. 

More than 70 colleges have replaced loans with grants in financial aid awards, at least for their neediest students, a wave of largess that spread nationwide in 2007 and 2008. Now, some of the first students to benefit are graduating, often debt-free.

3.  A midsummer update from the financial aid front:  This Year’s “Summer Melt” May Be Worth Thousands of Dollars to College-Bound Students. This via My College Admissions Blog at MyCollegeCalendar.org.

During the next few weeks, students interested in obtaining money (or additional money) for college should call their college’s financial aid office to politely ask if any additional scholarship money has recently become available and express how they (the student) wish to be considered for any of the newly available scholarships.

University of Rochester. Image via Wikipedia

4.  Here’s some interesting data from the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Rochester on how their merit aid stacked up according to a variety of factors. As financial advisors always remind us, past performance does not predict future results — the same goes for financial aid from the University of Rochester or any other college. However, looking at the factors that made a difference in UR’s aid packages can yield valuable information. See it here.

12 steps that mattered for earning merit scholarships in the UR Class of 2015

Academic excellence:

1. Taking AP, IB, honors, and/or advanced courses (when available at the school) mattered. Rule of thumb: Merit awards increased on average $400 per rigorous course.
2. Grades. Rule of thumb: Each semester academic course “A” grade translated into $62 more in merit. And—ahem—grades other than “A” reduced eligibility.
3. Tests. Rule of thumb: In effect (not by design), UR awarded $115 more in merit on average for every 10 points higher on the SAT, or $425 for each 1 point higher ACT composite. So (for example), a student with three 750s on the SAT on average received $1,725 more in scholarship than a student with three 700s. That’s nice, but note that time and money spent prepping for and taking tests has a limited return-on-investment.

5.  Finally, Social Media seems to be helping fix the age-old problem of a bad roommate match. Apparently, students (and their parents) have used Facebook to scope out the new roommate. Some colleges have helped facilitate this by offering SM matching tools. This positive results report came from a RoomSync client at a Housing Officers conference this week.

…University of Florida’s TJ Logan shared what the institution’s experience has been with roommate matching on Facebook.

Here are some highlights:

• Over 1,400 (>25%) incoming students used the network in 2010
• Pairing led to an increase in diversity, with less Caucasians assigned together compared to recent years
• 65% of hall staff surveyed reported a decrease in roommate conflicts
• When conflicts did occur, 48% of hall staff said the conflicts were less severe
• Students reported that even if they didn’t find a roommate, the roommate matching process provided them an opportunity to make friends before arriving on campus

Any of this useful? Please let me know. What have you read?