Be Careful Who You Wish For

Be Careful Who You Wish For

High school juniors must carefully weigh their choice of teachers for written recommendations. You often are allowed two, and most inexperienced juniors go for the "warm and fuzzy"--the teacher who seemed to like you. This is a mistake. Colleges do not want to read about how pleasant you were in Biology class. Think more like a job-seeking professional. The business executive doesn't ask her mom to write a job recommendation. She picks the person who challenged her to do the very best job and could relate actual work decisions that resulted in a successfully completed project. 

The best recommendations are a result of a collaborative effort between the student and recommending teacher. The student should proactively share with the teacher the vision of what needs to be conveyed to the college, while the teacher merges this information into a compelling and personalized statement. Don't settle for sweet; talk to your teachers who really pushed you, applauded your out-of-the-box solution to a difficult problem or genuinely appreciated a semester-long dialogue that kept a classroom on its toes rather than allow it to stare at the clock with 10 minutes left to go. 

A longtime Yale University dean said, "We look to see whether teachers incline toward calling each bright student 'one of the best I have ever taught,' or instead try to distinguish the really extraordinary individual from those who are strong in the usual ways."

You want to stand out before your college acceptance committee. Warm or fuzzy is for kittens; colleges want to hear from tigers who will rule the jungle.

-Mike Ryan

PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF ACADEMIA

You and your daughter may have passed her on a campus tour on the way to check out the student union restaurant offerings.

You didn’t recognize her, but she is one of those behind-the-scenes experts who can crunch the metadata to assess the probability of your daughter being admitted, and importantly, successfully hitting the finish line—graduation day.

Enter the Strategic Enrollment Manager.

While you are mulling whether the school is a good fit for your offspring—academic options, financial aid, teacher-student ratios and that campus food--the Strategic Enrollment Manager has taken taking a much more holistic approach.

"When applied astutely and ethically, [Strategic Enrollment Management] recruits students for success, links them to faculty and other mentors and helps them become college graduates and lifelong achievers,” said Paul Orehovec, consultant and longtime enrollment management officer.

Colleges need to balance such factors as academic program development, recruitment policies, faculty, student-living programs with special attention on retention plans and procedures.  Indeed, the SEM is weighing dozens and dozens of factors, from socioeconomic status to high-school extracurricular activities to where mom and dad went to college.  The enrollment team develops a strategic model that maximizes success—not only for the incoming four-year student, but for the stature and financial well-being of the university itself.

The SEM thrives on the concept of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)—Recruitment KPIs such as diversity, Retention KPIs such as probabilities of at-risk students and Operational KPIs such as total incoming revenue and social-media marketing expenditures.

And from the pool of potential students the SEM can parse “market niches,”--probable nursing students or STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)  majors or Citizen Club aspirants.

So while connecting with the regional recruiter and financial-aid officer is crucial, also consider finding the SEM, by email at least. Ask about the shifting number of declared majors, how the school parses urban from rural candidates, etc. Make sure your daughter is active on social media…Follow on Facebook and keep your profile clear of questionable activity; include the college on her RSS Feed; download the college’s student app; follow and be active on the university’s Twitter accounts; post an Instagram picture from your campus tour...

Success breeds more success. Your needs as a student/parent overlap more than you think with your top school choices….Just do the math. The SEM already has.

Recommendations for College Applications

It's not too early to begin organizing the supplemental components to college applications. This includes high school guidance counselor and teacher recommendations.

There is no better time than the present to reach out and get in touch with individuals who have agreed to provide a college recommendation letter. If the recommender has not received a copy of the student's most current resume, the student should make a concerted effort to get a copy to them as soon as possible. The resume gives the recommender an expanded overview of who the student is while also providing a document to reference when they begin to plan what to write.

As the most compelling recommendation letters are personal, specific, and insightful, it is a good idea for the student and recommending individual to meet and have a discussion. This discussion provides the recommender with an opportunity to ask questions while giving the student the opportunity to share any strategic plan for the college(s). Proactively discussing which elements are critical to share, and the preference for how that content should best be presented, is beneficial to all parties.

Rising High School Seniors Getting Busy!

If you are a rising high school senior you should be immersed in preparing for your college applications. If you have not finalized your list of schools for application by now, then a concerted effort toward establishing the colleges that will comprise that list should be a top priority.

Determining the application format (options include specific college website online forms, Common Application, Universal Application) that will be used to apply is an important step. It is not recommended to submit a paper application as the colleges prefer electronic submissions. Once the application format has been determined you can then begin to build a plan to create and submit the required elements.

Which application deadline options are offered at each college you are considering? The range includes Early Decision 1and Early Decision 2 (these are binding admissions contracts), Early Action 1 and 2, Restrictive Early Action (this is a restrictive admission process in certain circumstances), Regular Decision and Rolling Admissions. Rank your prospective colleges in order of importance to you. Use a calendar to plot your specific college application deadlines, backing into each deadline with the required and supplemental elements necessary in order to submit each application component in a timely fashion. A prospective candidate's file is not considered "complete" until all required documents have been received by the college admissions office.

There are other things to determine and add into the application completion mix. Do any of your prospective colleges require and recommend an interview? Are you able or encouraged to submit supplemental documents for consideration by admissions? How many letters of recommendation or reference are required or allowed? Determine which ACT, SAT, SAT Subject test scores you will be submitting, if your college requires they be submitted.

Staying organized and on-task is the name of the game!

Social Media Is A Powerful College Admissions Tool

Colleges care that a prospective student demonstrates interest in them and many go to great lengths to measure interest. FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram, to name a few, are programs that allow easy access to information promoted by the college in order for a prospective student to stay updated on current events. Following any variety of academic or extra-curricular offerings a college may provide also enables a student to demonstrate interest in ways that are highly valued and tracked by many colleges.

The admission process is all about determining "fit" from both the college's and prospective student's perspective. Students who use social media tools to promote their passions can have a big leg-up on their competition. Tactfully sharing one's passions and experiences allows followers to better understand who you are and how you may be uniquely qualified for a particular college environment.

A Few Summer To-Do's - Rising High School Seniors

With summer in full swing and the school year behind, rising high school seniors should be fully engaging in preparing for college applications and narrowing down your list of prospective colleges. Since you will soon be a college student you need to start thinking like one!

Visit college campuses. Although the best possible scenario would be to visit a college when classes are in session, making the most of your summer campus visit just takes some planning and proactive coordination with the college. For many, summer is the last opportunity to visit a campus and evaluate things like the setting (urban, suburban or rural), geographic proximity (to airports, grocery stores, urban areas, home), Greek life community, academic learning environment and whether you will flounder or flourish.

"Needs vs. Wants". Evaluate what you "need" to have at your target schools and what you "want". For instance, colleges offer cafeterias and meal plans. Do you have a health or dietary need that must be accommodated? Are you the kind of student that "needs" to drive through your preferred coffee vendor in order for the gears to get moving in the morning? Are you on the fence regarding your major and, for now, "undecided" will suffice or do you require that your future college have a specific accredited undergrad program in your specific specialty area?

Use your summer time wisely and begin to familiarize yourself with the Common Application or other college specific applications. Additionally, many colleges have made their essay prompts available. Starting your essay prep work early in the summer allows time for the important pre-work of brainstorming your topics and thinking through life events or elements to support the points you want to convey about yourself or your subject matter. Multiple rough drafts and honing your message takes time but is critical to a quality end product. Most important is to revisit the prompt request often to ensure your essay response is on-point.

Conservatory Considerations

While many high school students transitioning to college follow the traditional four-year path, many have a passion in the performing arts or music realm and choose to follow the more unique conservatory experience.

When considering pursuing a conservatory education experience, it is prudent to consider the following:


1. Admission is competitive! The better schools have more difficult audition requirements as well as more applicants per available position.

2. A student who did not perform well in a particular high school class can avoid these subjects at the conservatory. Having said this, if the conservatory requires any liberal arts credits be taken, these courses can be taken at a local college with the additional benefit of not being forced into, for example, a math or science class to fulfill requirements.

3. You are surrounded by an exceptional talent pool of people who are like-minded.  Leave your ego at home. There is a lot to learn from them as you grow in your craft.

4. Your alumni network will be strong. Conservatories are proud to promote the names of famous individuals that graduated from their programs. Checking the list to see what names you recognize and admire gives you a sense of the kind of contacts one would gain after graduating - not to mention an automatic incentive to succeed.

5. A big draw-back is that if your 'Plan A' does not pan out, there is no 'Plan B'. A traditional four-year college allows one to double major or change majors, provided you can coordinate schedules. It is not uncommon for people who do not "make it" in their craft to return to a more traditional college education in order to get a degree that transitions in the business world.

6. "Expensive" is the best term to describe conservatory educations. They rank among the schools with the highest PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) loan debt in the U.S. Generally speaking, the endowments at conservatory schools are smaller, so scholarships are negligible at best.