Collegewise

Use process of elimination for your college search

It seems appropriate that the same company that produces the SAT and AP tests also offers a way for students to use process of elimination for colleges. Collegeboard.com has a fairly comprehensive college search function that lets you select the attributes you want in a college (e.g., size, location, majors, selectivity, etc.) and see a complete list of those schools that match your chosen criteria.

So if you’re wondering, for example, which small colleges on the East Coast have fraternities, intramural lacrosse, on-campus housing, and a major in music industry management, you can search Collegeboard.com and find the 13 schools that have what you’re looking for.

Don’t plug imaginary leaks

“If I take a summer class at community college I can raise my GPA over 4.0.”

“With another round of tutoring, I might break 2100 on the SAT.”

“I don’t have enough leadership, so I’m going to start a club this fall.”

That’s how some students approach college planning. They try to fix what they think are imperfections instead of doing something remarkable with their strengths. That’s like spending all your time plugging imaginary leaks on a boat without sailing anywhere.

If that sounds like your current college planning, slow down and ask yourself—are you fixing real weaknesses or plugging imaginary leaks?  A “D” in trig, test-taking troubles that are hurting your grades and SAT scores, or a high school career with no activities are weaknesses that need to be addressed.  But trying to fix every little imperfection? That’s no way to stand out and it certainly isn’t any fun.

That doesn’t sound right

When a student relays a situation to us like,

“A college is telling me I can stay on the waitlist, but I have to promise to go there if they admit me later,” or, “A college told me that if I wait until May 1 to accept the offer of admission, the spot may not still be available,” or anything that sounds unethical or just not right, we do two things.

1. Ask to see the letter/email.
If the confusing message came in writing, we want to see it.  Some colleges’ written communications are confusing.  Sometimes kids garble the message.  Either way, we want to see the piece before we make a counseling judgment.

2. Consult the “Statement of Principles and Good Policies” (SPGP)
The National Association of College Admissions Counseling publishes a Statement of Principles of Good Practice.  Colleges that are members of NACAC (most are) agree to adhere to the guidelines. 

Usually, #1 clears up any confusion.  We’ve yet to see a case where an otherwise reputable college blatantly violated the principles, but we have seen cases where the wording of their communication could have been interpreted that way.  If it’s not clear to us, we’ll do #2. 

If it appears the school is suggesting something they shouldn’t be, we’ll ask the student to call the college and ask for clarification about the key issue.  Our student can then be specific, like, “Am I understanding this email correctly that I need to promise to accept a future offer of admission if I stay on the waitlist?”

The outcome of that call almost always clears it up for the student and for us.

Did Harvard make Conan O’Brien successful?

Conan O’Brien is a Harvard graduate (and the architect of one of education’s best commencement speeches).  He’s written for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, and he's been a successful host of late night television since 1993.

CNN released snippets of Piers Morgan’s interview with O’Brien airing on Monday.  A few tidbits for the college-bound:

On his high school years:
"I was always a very hard-working student and wanted to go to a good school and worked really hard to go to a good school.”

On finding comedy in college:
“Comedy was something that I stumbled into when I was in college.  Getting into comedy was a very beautiful accident, because I worked very hard at everything, and I tried really hard.  It was like falling off a log and discovering what it is that I was meant to do.  I loved it. I absolutely loved it."

(Note: While at Harvard, O’Brien was elected as president of the revered parody magazine, The Harvard Lampoon, twice.) 

What the transcript doesn’t reveal is that O’Brien also majored in history, wrote a thesis arguing that the weary, prematurely aged children in the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor were actually metaphors for both the South’s poverty and its defeat in the Civil War, and graduated magna cum laude.

I notice several themes in O’Brien’s biography typical of many successful people, none of which involve attending a prestigious college:

1. O’Brien worked hard while he was in high school.  Whether or not your hard work earns you an acceptance to a prestigious college is less important than whether you care enough about your education and your future to work hard in the first place.

2. Conan didn’t ease off once he was in college.  He kept working just as hard in and out of class.  College isn’t a finish line, especially in today’s job market.  You’re going to need to carve out a remarkable college career wherever you go.    

3. He didn’t have a career goal when he entered college; he discovered what he loved to do while he was there.  If you already have a career goal and are choosing colleges based on their ability to prepare you for that career, that’s fine.  But if not, remember that plenty of successful people can’t draw a straight line from their career today back to their college major.

4. Conan took advantage of the opportunities his college offered him.  Writing for the Harvard Lampoon, serving as its president, developing his critical thinking in his history classes--he channeled his work ethic into those opportunities.  He didn’t coast for four years, wave a Harvard degree at the world, and wait for a job to role in.

So, did Harvard make Conan O’Brien successful?  Sure, it played a role (it is the Harvard Lampoon, after all).

But, like most successful people, O’Brien—not his college—deserves most of the credit for his success.  What he did while he was in college was more important than where he did it.

Which colleges offer better earning power?

Zac Bissonnette’s Debt-Free U comes out and takes a stand.  He argues that kids should be the major contributors to their educational expenses, that student loans are unnecessary and financially unsound, and that families should look at college as a rational investment, not a coming-of-age ritual where money is no object.  Agree with his take or not, he’s done a lot of research and found the facts to back his book up, which makes me that much happier when he comes out and says…

DO NOT let anyone tell you that one college will provide better earning power than others.  There is no evidence of this.  What will determine your child’s success will be his talent, determination, and work ethic, and the career path he elects to pursue." 

As both the price of college and the debt from student loans continue to rise, it’s natural for families to wonder just how much return they’ll get on their collegiate investment.  Going to college is important, but going to a prestigious (and expensive) college is not.  It’s what a student does in college that matters.

How to praise kids effectively

Daniel Pink's Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us argues that incentives like money and recognition may lead to short-term motivation, but the carrot-and-stick approach doesn’t lead to long-term motivation.  The end of the book offers some specific advice for different audiences, including these tips for parents about the most effective ways to praise kids.

Praise effort and strategy, not intelligence. 
Students who are praised for being smart may avoid challenges and choose easier paths.  Kids who are praised for their effort are more willing to take on new and difficult tasks.

Make praise specific.
Instead of heaping generalities on kids, parents should give them useful information and tell them specifically want they’ve done that’s noteworthy.

Praise in private
Pink says that praise should be feedback, not an awards ceremony.  That’s why praise is often best delivered in private.

Offer up praise only when there’s a good reason for it.
Kids can see through face praise.  Kids see it as dishonest and unearned.  Be sincere, or be quiet. 

Here’s Pink’s Ted talk discussing his ideas about the science behind motivation.

Discuss the handoff

I never made my own appointments with the dentist while I was in high school.  I knew when I had soccer practice, meetings for the school newspaper, and big plans for Saturday night.  But unless it was extra-curricular or social, my mother arranged and booked it…until I applied to college.

The college admissions process can be an awkward handoff of responsibility in some families, even those with the most independent students.  A student who has relied on his parents to handle life’s administrative tasks might reasonably assume that when it comes to booking college tours, accessing applications and managing deadlines, ol’ Mom and Dad have it covered.   

So talk about the handoff.  I don’t care who brings it up first.  Whether it’s the parents making it clear they’ll be stepping back or the student asserting that he’ll be stepping up, discuss the handoff now.  Be clear about who will be in charge of which parts of the process. 

My suggested roles for parents include supporter, sounding board, cheerleader and maybe completing the financial aid forms.  My suggested roles for students include everything else.

Real beats perfect

It's hard to relate to perfect.  It’s why people prefer live flowers that wilt instead of plastic ones that last forever.  It’s why music fans buy versions of their favorite songs recorded live. It’s why chef Jamie Oliver advises when rolling out homemade bread: Don’t fuss around with perfection. It’s supposed to be rough and rustic. The imperfections are what make them real. 

When you’re applying to college, be proud of your accomplishments, but be a real human being, too. Sound like yourself in your essays. Don’t try to inflate your activities with fancy-sounding titles. If an essay prompt or an interviewer asks you about a time you failed or made a mistake, tell the truth. The students who present themselves as perfect never seem as interesting as those who aren’t afraid to be real.

The Cold War approach to college admissions

Some students try to improve their chances of admission to their chosen colleges by emulating what their fellow students at school are doing.  If someone else takes a summer class in calculus, they enroll in one, too.  If someone else breaks 2000 on the SAT, they sign up for another round of test prep and try to match the score.  If someone else does a hundred community service hours, they set a goal to break triple digits in number-of-hours-volunteered, too. 

Continuously focusing on what other people are doing and then trying to one-up them is a Cold War approach to college admissions, and it’s not effective for a couple of reasons. 

First, copying someone else is no way to stand out.  Someone’s already done it.  And if you can copy it, there’s nothing to stop others from copying, too.

When you’re following other people, it’s hard to keep up.  You’re chasing instead of leading, and you’ll almost always be behind.  

But the worst part of the Cold War approach is that it’s not rewarding.  Spending your time chasing other peoples’ accomplishments is a lot less fulfilling than chasing your own goals and ambitions.    

If you’ve fallen into the Cold War approach, stop focusing on what the competition is doing.  Instead of one-upping the competition, set your own goals and work to achieve them. You might get copied, but that’s a lot better than being a copier.

Five paths to frustration

Some parents are so worried about their student receiving an offer of admission from a prestigious college that they’ll consider any course of action rumored to help.  Here are five common paths I’ve seen parents take that lead to frustration and disappointment almost every time.

1. “We have a connection…”
The reported value of connections in college admissions is grossly exaggerated.  The 24-year-old admissions officer reading your student's file doesn’t care that you have a close personal family friend who’s a graduate of the school.  Unless your connection is the person reading the file (or someone who will halt funding for the new science building if your student gets rejected), don’t count on the relationship leading to an offer of admission.

2. Repeated rounds of expensive test prep
Test scores make some families feel more control over their admissions destiny because they can compare a student’s scores to the published averages for each school’s admitted students.  And test preparation certainly has its place for some students.  But the law of diminishing returns applies to score improvements gained through test preparation, and I hate to see an otherwise accomplished kid sacrifice time preparing for a third or fourth try at the SAT that’s not likely to pay off.

3. Searching for a back-door to admission, like applying under an odd major
Yes, some majors are more open than others. But if everyone who applied as a forestry or soil science major got into a particular college, word would have gotten out by now, and everybody would be doing it.   And just because a student is admitted into a less popular major doesn’t mean he can necessarily change his mind at will once he enrolls.  Unless your student is ready to study trees or dirt for four years, don’t go the route of applying to get into a less popular major.

4.  Expressing interest for the sake of appearing interested
A student who is sincerely interested in a college wants to chat with the rep at the college fair, attend the information session at the high school, and even visit the campus if scheduling and geography allow.  But a student who’s advised to do these things by a parent in the hopes it will influence the admissions decision never seems legitimately happy to be there.  Genuine expressions of interest are good.  Expressions of interest as a strategy are not.

5. Filling out the applications, writing the essays, or otherwise hijacking the process from your student
Most parents who do this are well-meaning.  But when a parent has gotten too involved in the process, it’s almost always apparent to an admissions officer.  The more students do for themselves, the more successful they tend to be at getting into the colleges that fit them.