Graduation is coming up soon. Even if you're not the one graduating, you're probably going to a graduation ceremony in the next six weeks.
And you probably already know this, but most graduation speeches suck. How could they not?
Whatever you were looking for, it's probably where you are
The odds are pretty good you're going to your "safety" school, and the odds are very high you're not going to your "dream" school. That's very normal; it has a lot more to do with the economics and logistics of admissions than you as a person. Just ask yourself how many times you've heard "my problems all began when I graduated from a university that wasn't my dream school." You're going to be fine.
Last-minute decisions
The deadline for most seniors to accept or decline most admissions offers is coming up soon--May 1. You may have already made that decision a while ago. If so, congratulations! (And thanks for continuing to read my blog!) But if you're still struggling to choose between two schools, or three schools, or seven schools or however many, then you may be looking for some help.
Here are some more exercises to help you make that final decision, ordered from most serious to most arbitrary.
Stop paying attention to acceptance rates!
A little Hamlet with your college application
Bear with me a moment while I talk about literary theory. I promise it's relevant to you.
In his 1921 essay "Hamlet and His Problems," T.S. Eliot uses the phrase "objective correlative." Eliot isn't the first to use the phrase, and certainly not the first to use the concept, but the term really stuck when Eliot used it and it's usually attributed to him. Eliot calls the play Hamlet an "artistic failure." (I don't advise you call Hamlet a failure, especially if your English teacher is within five miles.)
What does this have to do with you? This has everything to do with your college applications.
Thinking about debt
As seniors work through their final weeks of deciding where they'll go to college before the May 1 deadline, I want to acknowledge that money probably plays a big role in the decision and write some posts about financial matters.
Last week I talked about Return on Investment, and this week I want to talk about student loans. No matter where you go to college and how good a financial aid package you get, there's a really strong chance you'll be taking out some loans.
Thinking about Return on Investment
As seniors work through their final weeks of deciding where they'll go to college before the May 1 deadline, I want to acknowledge that money probably plays a big role in the decision and write some posts about financial matters.
First: Return On Investment, or ROI. ROI estimates how much money alumni from different schools earn compared to how much they paid to go to college. The idea is that some colleges can give you "more bang for your buck," and those types of comparisons are really compelling.
There are some things to know.
Bingo! I was accepted to all the...
As of this writing, it looks like five different high school seniors were accepted to all eight Ivy League schools this year.
And look, that's really impressive, I mean it. They should all be very proud. All the ivies are very selective. And these students were accepted to schools other than just those eight.
But...
On money and admissions
Are Advanced Placement classes a scam?
Watch out for "just"
Dealing with your family while you decide
What do you want from a college advisor?
I'm working on a six-week prep course for one-on-one coaching with students, and I'll also make it into a workbook. I'm thinking about it as "executive coaching for high school students." It's based on the Five Foundations, and is intended to be the counseling that gets students into the right mindset before all the other college advice starts pouring in.
The underlying theme is to treat college admissions like a relationship, to think honestly and intentionally about what you want and need, and to think honestly about what you have to offer.
So I'm asking for input. What do you want from a college advisor? What kind of help do you wish were out there? How can someone like me make things more effective and efficient for someone like you?
Leave a comment. Hit the "contact" button. Leave me a comment on Facebook or Twitter. Any way you want to reach me, let me know what you think I should include. I really appreciate your time--I know you have a lot of demands.
Thanks!
Photo by Angela Elisabeth Portraits
You've been caught cheating. Now what?
The College Board announced that they're reducing the number of times a year they'll administer SAT exams, mostly as a way to reduce cheating. They know that cheating is a problem they have to deal with.
Let me tell you about some of my favorite cheating stories. There's a point, I promise.
Big Data and your education
I wrote recently about a program the College Board is testing to use data about your school, neighborhood, and family to give you a sort of adversity score that colleges can use for admissions purposes. I originally titled the post "Big Data is coming to college admissions," but instead decided to focus on the personal implications.
But since then I've seen two more stories about algorithms--and people gaming the algorithms--that affect your K-12 education and college choices.
The university marketplace
One of the main things that gets us into the "Am I Worthy?" mindset about college is that we don't really understand colleges--especially admissions. When we're high school students, living among a bunch of other high school students, it's easy to see how unique and different each high school student is. Lumping them all together is really quite silly.
Starting a 529
Making meaning out of your adversity
A long time ago, over ten years ago, I had assigned a persuasive essay as a practice for the up-coming high stakes state exam. I don't remember the exact prompt, but it was from a previous year's test so it was probably pretty lame. "The Importance of Being True to Yourself" or something vague like that. And, as most anybody would predict, the vague and lame prompt generated a lot of vague and lame responses.
Where do I want my kids to go to college?
Accepted by mistake?
There's a story like this almost every year. Colleges, even dream colleges, make mistakes and send the fat envelope to people who are supposed to get the skinny envelope. It's so bad that you may still feel unsure of an acceptance even after you get the notice. Here's what to do if you get an acceptance notice but you're not sure if it's really time to celebrate yet.