College Application Tips

The activities list. The section of the Common App where you tout your involvement in athletics, clubs, volunteering opportunities, and extracurricular activities. I'll admit that when I applied to college having a few things on the list was sufficient. Maybe it's because all of my friends had afterschool jobs that left only so much time for extracurricular activities (and if I'm honest most of those activities were sports), but my recollection is that my activity list had my

Letters of recommendation. I remember the ease with which high-school-me assumed a teacher could whip out a letter of recommendation. I never realized the sheer number of recommendations a teacher is asked to write for their students. This is especially true for high school teachers who teach juniors and seniors. And it wasn't until I became a college professor that I realized the effort and time that goes into writing a good letter of recommendation. Think about how many stu

Did you know that when you apply to college, the counseling center at your high school submits a school profile as part of your application? In a previous post, I explained that during holistic review, colleges look at the rigor of classes you took, as well as the context of your high school experience. The question is: how does the admissions committee know the context of your high school? This information comes from the school profile submitted by your high school counselor

It's an objective fact that in recent decades GPAs of high school graduates have trended upward. Currently, the most common grade in both high school and colleges classes is an A. The causes and effects of grade inflation are constantly the subjects of discussion. Therefore it should be no surprise that the average GPA for high school graduates is on the rise. "About half of American teenagers now graduate high school with an A average, compared with fewer than 40 percent in

I usually try to offer objective advice in my blogs; every person and applicant is different. I am aware that something that might seem like the obvious or right decision to me, might not be the right or obvious decision for someone else. However, reeeeeealy struggle to remain objective about legacy admissions (and if I'm honest I don't think any one is objective about it—it either benefits you or it doesn't). I continue to be surprised that it is still a thing. It feels like

You only get one shot at your personal statement. One opportunity to step off the page and into the room with the admissions committee. And most students don't realize they've wasted it until it's too late. It's not about being the best writer in your class. It's about telling your story in a way no one else can. After reading hundreds of personal statements, I haves seen exactly where students go wrong. And it a almost always comes down to six mistakes.

I've mentioned in previous blogs that the mantra everyone my age heard when applying to college was that the best students are "well-rounded." Well-rounded? What does that mean? When trying to envision what I understand "well-rounded" to mean, I often picture a publicity photo that was used in advertising by my college. It captured a student (yes, I attended college with him and did know him personally) in a football uniform standing proudly on the football field while playin

The myriad of application deadline options can be dizzying and confusing. Many colleges have up to five different application dates. For students and families encountering the many options for the first time, it can be hard to know which application deadline to choose. This series of blogs describes the different types of application deadlines and the advantages, drawbacks, and important things to note for each type. This blog is the fourth in a series describing the differen

The myriad of application deadline options can be dizzying and confusing. Many colleges have up to five different application dates. For students and families encountering the many options for the first time, it can be hard to know which application deadline to choose. This series of blogs describes the different types of application deadlines and the advantages, drawbacks, and important things to note for each type. This blog is the third in a series describing the different

Why might a student choose to apply early action, and who might be better waiting for a different application deadline? To make that decision, I suggest considering the advantages and drawbacks of early action.

The myriad of application deadline options can be dizzying and confusing. Many colleges can have up to five different application dates. For students and families encountering the many options for the first time, it can be hard to know which application deadline to choose. This series of blogs describes the different types of application deadlines and the advantages, drawbacks, and important things to note for each type. Types of deadlines covered in this series include: Earl

This blog is the first in a series describing the different types of application deadlines. The myriad of application deadline options can be dizzying and confusing. Many colleges can have up to five different application dates. For students and families encountering the many options for the first time, it can be hard to know which application deadline to choose. This series of blogs describes the different types of application deadlines and the advantages, drawbacks, and imp

13 years is a lot of post-secondary education. That is how long I spent in "college" after high school. First, four years of college (Um Yah Yah), followed by two years for my master's degree, and finally seven (grueling) years of doctoral studies. Yet, to the best of my memory, I don't think anyone asked me during all of those years why I was going to college (though I certainly asked myself that many times during those last seven years). Instead, most people asked me where

There was a time when getting into the college was basically a numbers game—GPA + test scores = your answer. Clean, simple… almost predictable. That kind of certainty is gone at many colleges. Colleges have traded spreadsheets for stories, formulas for context. Today’s admissions process asks a different question: not just how did you perform, but who are you in context? In this post, I break down formulaic vs. holistic admissions, why it’s happening, and what it actually mea

I love a good statistic. My friends and family joke that if there is an opportunity to win an argument using a statistic, I can recall the most obscure facts from memory. So I find it disconcerting when a statistic that seems clear, actually isn't. What I'm talking about here are admissions rates for public universities. Turns out those straightforward numbers aren't so straightforward when there can be wildly different admit rates depending on specific demographics (e.g. the

Three colleges, I applied to three colleges. (I guess four if you include the college I applied to simply to not break beloved grandpa's heart, even though I had no intention of going.*) It felt like a lot, but enough at the same time. Many of my high school classmates applied to one, maybe two schools. That is no longer the shape of the college application landscape. This past application season, marked another increase in both total applications and applications per student

I remember the college visit tour I went on with my dad the fall of my senior year. The excitement, the anticipation, the anxiety. I had selected five colleges to visit, and there were certain campuses I was more eager to see than others. The college I believed was my top choice was the first stop on the trip. I am so grateful I visited before making my final college decision. After spending a full day there, including an overnight stay in the dorms, my perception changed co

Specialization seems to be trending right now, but recently questions have arisen regarding whether the drawbacks of early specialization outweigh the benefits.

Spiky student? I've known plenty of spiky people in life and most aren't people with whom I want to spend a lot of time. However, in recent years the term "spiky student" has emerged as something that some have advocated as giving a student an edge in admissions. When I first heard the term "spiky student" I assumed it was a negative thing. To me a spiky student was perhaps unfriendly or sharp, but it has emerged as a term, as it relates to college admissions, that refers to

The other day while talking with a friend I mentioned that studies by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center have found that roughly 30% of students will transfer schools at some point during their college career. They were astounded (and a bit skeptical). That feels high! Why are so many students transferring? Each person is unique and there are many reasons why students transfer (as will be discussed below), but to me it highlights the importance of thinking abo