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.
In case you missed it, February
Thank you so much for visiting Apply with Sanity.
I'd love to hear from you. What has been useful to you? What would you like to see in the future? What should I never attempt again? Here's a quick rundown of blog posts from February, just in case you weren't checking in every Monday and Thursday. But surely you're checking in every Monday and Thursday, right?
I gave some advice on looking for the best school for your intended major, assuming you know your intended major.
I explained both the rational and emotional approaches to dealing with being waitlisted.
I gave some insight on a case from the news about a teacher who took back a student's rec letter.
I went over the new prompts for the 2017-18 Common Application.
I gave you the magical formula for writing a college mission statement, and I speculated about why you might have difficulty sharing your mission statement with people.
I calmed your anxiety about your acceptance being a clerical mistake.
I shared some good tips from College Vine.
I told you where I want my own kids to go to college and why.
Photo by David Leggett Photography
Where do I want my kids to go to college?
Giving credit (and sharing) where it's due
I follow College Vine, but rarely actually read the posts. There are too many of them (usually several a day), and they're too specific ("How to organize a high school study session," for example, or "Community service projects for music majors").
Each post in itself is to the point and well-meaning, but when added up they even make me nervous that nobody's doing enough in high school. In several ways College Vine is the opposite of Apply with Sanity.
But you know what? Yesterday's "Eight Tips to Use Your Time Efficiently and Stay Organized in High School" is really good. I sincerely encourage you to read it.
But "Leading your school's chapter of UNICEF club"? There's a very tiny chance you need to read that one.
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.
Writing your college mission statement
I normally hate mission statements. Ideally, a mission statement is honest, written well, to the point, helpful, and something that directs the group on a daily basis. As far as I can tell, no mission statement actually meets all those criteria. Personal, as opposed to organization, mission statements are even worse. They're usually so grandiose and vague that there's no way they can actually direct a person's energy and actions toward a better future. To my thinking, a feasible and actionable to-do list for tomorrow is almost always going to be better than a big fuzzy mission statement that covers the next three years.
But the thing is, college admissions season is actually a pretty good time to write a mission statement.
Preparing to talk about college
My friend's daughter has already done a lot of thinking about school, and she's been smart about it: "she wants it to be relatively small, in an urban area, have great science facilities and opportunities to work directly with professors. She's thinking biology, likely pre-med, but also acknowledges that she might abandon that entirely when she gets to school in favor of something more like politics or public policy. If you ask her casually, she's pretty articulate about her thought process." So why did her daughter, when asked about her plans by a professional who wants to help her, just shrug and say "I don't know"?
The new Common Application essay prompts
The Common Application has released the essay prompts for the 2017-2018 year. You can find the official announcement on their official site here.
Two of them are exactly the same as last year--the one about your "background, identity, interest, or talent," and the one about "the problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve"--and the other three from the previous year got some tweaks and revisions but are basically the same.
What's really interesting, though, are two new and additional prompts, bringing the number of prompts up to seven.
On swastikas and rec letters
Can a teacher take back a recommendation letter? Sure. Recommendation letters are personal statements that a teacher chooses to make about a student's character. They are not mandated or regulated by high schools, and they should be thought of as personal favors. So if a teacher speaks to your outstanding character and then sees evidence that maybe it's not so outstanding, then a teacher can take the recommendation back. This is very, very rare.
Two approaches to getting waitlisted
You can't refuse to make other plans hoping that you'll hear back from the school that waitlisted you. Depending on the college and the year (even if you look up their statistics from last year, they may be wildly different this year), your chances of hearing good news later are either slim, very slim, or maddeningly slim. You have to move on.
Somewhere in your mind, though, you'll keep wondering what to do if it turns out you actually are one of the rare few who gets a spot later. Let's go over two different approaches to dealing with that possibility so it doesn't add anxiety to all your days between now and September.
Picking the right school for your major
I have students ask me--though maybe in not these exact words--how to go to the right for school for "that competitive edge in the marketplace" if you are really sure of your intended major and career and you're not one of those less-driven, wishy-washy people who will change their mind.
Sigh.
Fine, let's talk about that.
In case you missed it, December and January
Thanks for visiting Apply with Sanity. Now that you're back in the groove with the second half of the school year, here's a peek at what you may have missed over the winter.
I interviewed a college student about her path to becoming a double major.
I recommended two books by one of my favorite nonfiction writers.
I gave some tips for what to do over the winter break, as well as updating the What Should I Be Doing Now? section for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.
I talked about some of the emotions your family might be going through right now as you're getting ready to leave high school.
I advised you on how to ask a college for a larger financial aid package.
I reminded you that your career path will likely involve more than one career, with examples of people who have made some big changes.
I revealed what I learned from talking to a college Dean of Admission and Enrollment.
I put out a call for seniors to share their wisdom.
I told you how to say Thank You.
I'll continue updating the site several times a week, so please let me know your thoughts, questions, and suggestions.
Photo by David Leggett Photography