Collegewise

Mars and Venus Have No Place in College Admissions

 

 

 

 

Mars and Venus might work in relationships, but in college admissions, it’s time for some good old fashioned problem solving.

 

 

Eight years ago, I read Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus during a cross country flight.  I actually removed the book’s jacket so nobody could tell what I was reading (no need to announce to everyone on United Flight 236 that I didn’t understand women at all).

 

 

One of the author’s theories is that when a woman talks about a problem, she wants to be listened to and acknowledged.  She’s not asking her partner for solutions.  Men, of course, don’t know this (unless they’ve read the book).  Our response is usually to interrupt the woman mid-sentence and blurt out, “OK, I’ve got the perfect solution to your problem!  Now, I need to talk fast because the Yankee game’s about to start.”

The book really could have just been called “Men Are Such Idiots.”

 

 

 

When the Best Isn't Good Enough

This article, by Paula Marantz Cohen, appeared in last Sunday's Education Supplement in the New York Times.

It borders on understatement that many (but not all) parents are significantly invested in where their child will eventually attend college.

This article examines why there's such investment, and I'd consider this article a must read for independent, public school & private school counselors; indeed, the entire admissions community.

But attending certain colleges these days is not just conspicuous consumption; it is also conspicuous achievement — accomplishments displayed as a sign of social status. And children are the favored vehicles. If Johnny is proficient in American sign language, contract bridge and ice dancing, Janie must play the harp, collect prom dresses for the needy and be a member of the Olympic equestrian team. To fail at landing a seat in an elite college is to fall behind in the race that began with potty training.

The potty training talk really hits home -- if my daughter Livia did hers so fast, it's clear she should be in A.P. Everything when she's a high school junior in the year 2019 (!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/education/edlife/NOTEBOOK.html

-AW-

Good Surprises

Google is really a fantastic tool.  Did you know that you can have them email you every time a certain phrase comes up in the news?  Upon discovering this tool, I thought of a few things I’d like to have on my “Google Alert.”  The first thing, of course, was my name (just in case!).  I also thought “college admissions” would be an interesting one.  I filled out the form and waited for emails from Google.

That day I received seven emails from Google, all about college admissions (as far as my name, I’m hoping no news means good news).  The next day, I received eight, and the third day, I received eleven.  The majority of them were pieces about this year’s unpredictable admissions season.  One article even called it “the Perfect Storm" of college admissions decisions.

I admit that at first I bought into it a little.  There were quite a few surprises this year.  It’s hard to understand the process when a student gets accepted at Williams and rejected from Pitzer.  At times, it makes you want to throw your hands up and bow to the college admissions gods.

However, I think the biggest thing people forget when reading (and writing) these articles is that this process is much bigger than them.  It’s easy to be befuddled by the fact that the valedictorian was rejected by Penn.  It’s easy to say that USC must only be looking for minorities since a Hispanic kid in your class got in this year.  What’s harder is to realize that admissions officers are looking at a bigger picture than your high school, your town, or even your state.

The college admissions process is a human one, and its patterns and trends are hard to understand.  But let’s not make that our excuse to throw up our hands and play the college admissions lottery and apply to 20 schools.  Instead, let’s work even harder to make college lists that help students take appropriate chances while setting themselves up for lots of success.  And while there may be surprises every year, this way of approaching college admissions will ensure that most of them are good surprises.

When Kevin is right, he is right

Greetings and Salutations:

For those of you who are not in the know, Kevin is the fellow who started Collegewise and I've had the distinct pleasure of listening to him speak more than any other person who didn't actually give birth to the lad.  Recently Kevin was holding court at a high school and he pointed out something so resoundingly obvious that it just stuck with me.

Kevin said, "Do you ever hear good news about getting into college?"

And the room stopped dead.  If you've scanned the papers, or picked up the US News guide or even watched the telly, the data is unflaggingly painful.  It seems that nobody gets in anywhere these days. 

"Leading off tonight's newscast is the tale of the 2 foot 3 inch badminton champion, class valedictorian who breeds and trains guide dogs for the decrepit and raised her conjoined twin sisters after mum was kidnapped by UPS and red labelled to the

Belgian Congo

.  She was rejected by both Harvard and Stanford."

Bad news sells beer folks.  It gets people to turn to page 2 of the USA Today.  It's what draws eyeballs.  It is also not at all what college admissions is about.  If you pick your schools with something other than a dartboard and your ego, you are going to spend 4, 5 or 6 of the greatest years of your undergraduate life in an amazing place doing incredible stuff. 

Now, that may not sell papers but it's still the truth.

Paul K.