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?
In case you missed it, April
On or around April 15--Tax Day--everyone loves to quote the beginning of T. S. Eliot's The Wasteland: "April is the cruelest month." Even for high school seniors who aren't yet part of the working world, and many of them are, April can seem at least a little difficult. Before May 1st deadlines, students have to sort through their acceptances, make hard decisions about financial aid packages, and choose where they're going to be next year. Most of my April posts had this in mind.
I used the example of a semi-scandal at UVa to show how money matters when it comes to admissions, but not necessarily how you may think it does.
I passed along a cool project from a performance artist and suggested it can help you understand yourself and your goals better.
I grumbled about the national obsession with students who are accepted to all the Ivy League colleges.
I gave some insight for thinking about Return on Investment and thinking about debt.
Keeping with the T.S. Eliot theme, I explained what Eliot, Hamlet, and something called "the objective correlative" have to do with your college applications.
I begged everyone to stop making such a big deal out of low acceptance rates.
I gave some last-minute advice for seniors still struggling to make last-minute decisions.
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Photo by David Leggett Photography
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...
Learning to Love You More
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.
March Madness redux
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!
On money and admissions
In case you missed it, March
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
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.