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...
Not too long ago a friend and former student emailed me about the author and artist Miranda July. Specifically, she wanted to make sure I'd seen this School of Life event that July hosted about strangers.
There's a project that July and Harrell Fletcher did a few years ago called Learning to Love You More that has relevance for ambitious high school students. While it doesn't have a direct correlation to applying for college, it's all about getting to know yourself better, engaging more with people around you, and taking creative risks. Those are all good things for college-bound people.
Whether you're cheering for Gonzaga or the other team tonight, you can enjoy what The Equality of Opportunity Project did with their March Madness bracket--they redid it to reflect not winning basketball games but how well the schools boost social mobility. UCLA for the win!
Maybe you're new to Apply with Sanity. Maybe you were busy. Maybe you put your head down for just a 20-minute power nap and missed all of March. Don't worry. Here's a quick list of what you missed.
Are Advanced Placement classes a scam? I say no, but I explain why some people say yes, and I explain the pros and cons of taking an AP course.
Watch out for "just." I alert you to one word that may be signaling that you're making the wrong decision.
Dealing with family while you decide. You've got until May 1 to make a decision about where to go, but your family is bugging you daily. Here are some links to send them to let them know they should back off.
What do you want from a college advisor? I ask the question, because I'm genuinely seeking your answers.
You've been caught cheating. Now what? Cheating is more common than we like to believe. Handling yourself well when you're caught is not.
Big data and your education. Two stories about the way people manipulate the algorithms to change your perception of schools.
The university marketplace. Thinking about colleges as a capitalist market isn't a metaphor--it's how things really work in the US.
Starting a 529. A 529 is an account that lets you save for college and save on taxes. Check it out.
Making meaning our of adversity. One of my most popular blog posts yet. I explain how the College Board is trying to quantify your daily challenges, and how they might get it wrong.
Thanks for reading! Please share Apply with Sanity with someone who would like to see it, and remember that there's a lot more to it than the blog.
Photo by David Leggett Photography
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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"?
