College Decisions and Facebook

Hello Seniors!

As another admission season comes to a close, I wish you the best as you wait for your decision letters. In the meantime, enjoy the attached article about posting your college decisions on Facebook. The article raises some interesting points about how much you share in the internet and the impact that it has on others. There are no right or wrong answers but the article is good food for thought.

Take care and have a happy New Year!

~The Admissions Director

http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/facebook/

December 30, 2009, 10:20 AM

Accepted, Rejected or Deferred? Keep the Answer Off Facebook

By REBECCA REDDICLIFFE

It’s that time of year again. No, not the holiday season, but the time when many high school seniors are being accepted, rejected, or, anticlimactically, deferred.

I could feel the stress of those seniors in the five minutes I pulled into the high school parking lot to pick up a friend’s younger sister the other day. For some lucky Ivy League hopefuls, it was the day that their No. 1 choice had become their one and only choice. For others who were less fortunate, that dream choice became an impossibility.

I’ve tried to move on and forget the days when college decisions were all anyone talked about, but it seems that I can’t; Facebook won’t let me. Every time I log in, I feel as if I am thrown right back into the stress and anxiety of the college process. It seems as if every high school senior who applied early decision, early action, or rolling, feels the need to advertise the college’s decision on his or her Facebook page.

I’ve seen a number of profiles in which the status was described as “deferred.” Others simply have a frown-face emoticon indicating a rejection. Many who are accepted to their top colleges are bold in their status choice. For example, I’ve encountered many statuses that read, “(Insert elite liberal arts college here) Class of 2014! Go (corresponding mascot)!”

I know that the Internet has become one of my generation’s principle means of communication and that privacy rarely exists. But I think the status updates about college are crossing a line. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d like to think there is a certain etiquette when it comes to college decisions, one that should remain intact, even on Facebook.

This is how I look at it: An average student these days seems to have at least 300 Facebook ”friends,” at least judging by an informal headcount I did recently on about a dozen accounts. Realistically, the average person is only friendly with maybe 50 of them (that’s a stretch), and good friends with probably 15 of those 300 friends.

By announcing what college you got into, you are obnoxiously broadcasting personal information that probably only 20 of your Facebook friends actually care about. And then there’s that girl in your physics class who was just rejected from the same college; she had finally stopped crying, but the tears started right back up when she saw your status. It’s going to take another whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s to dry the second round of tears.

So, if you got into college, good for you. Go call your grandma and tell her the news. If you didn’t, don’t worry about it. Start those other applications and enjoy your senior year. Whatever you do, don’t alert the entire Facebook community. It’s just not cool.

To share your own thoughts on the etiquette of posting college decisions on Facebook, please use the comment box below.

Ms. Reddicliffe, a freshman at Northwestern, previously wrote for The Choice about being the last of triplets to be dropped off at college, andreviewed the book “Admission,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Her father, Steve Reddicliffe, is an editor at The Times.

More from the President of the National Association of College Admission Counseling

Hi Everyone-
Here is another installation of the NY Times series, "Answers from the President of NACAC- the National Association of College Admission Counseling.

Please enjoy and forward any questions you have about the college process anytime!
~The Admissions Director

Guidance Office: Answers From the President of Nacac, Part 3
By Bill McClintick
Guidance Office
Questions for the President of Nacac
Bill McClintick, director of college counseling at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and the president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, a membership group, answers reader questions.
All Guidance Office Posts »
The Choice at Nacac
Beginning Thursday, The Choice takes readers backstage as nearly 5,000 admissions officers and counselors gather in Baltimore.
On Thursday, nearly 5,000 college admissions officers and high school counselors will gather for the 65th annual convention of the National Association of College Admission Counseling.
Presiding over this gathering will be Bill McClintick, the director of college counseling at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania. Mr. McClintick worked previously in admissions at Hartwick College in New York and Kalamazoo College in Michigan.
Below, he answers reader questions on the calculus of withholding some SAT scores from colleges, and on the “marketing” of applicants (as well as of colleges.)
Mr. McClintick’s answers to select reader questions will conclude later this week.
Meanwhile, be sure to visit The Choice on Thursday and Friday, for regular blog posts from the conference floor. — Jacques Steinberg
Q.
Could you address Score Choice regarding SATs and how to enter it on the Common Application. If there is choice, what is the point, when all scores need to be listed on the Common Application. Is this the same process for the Universal Application?
—sandy
Q.
How would the colleges feel if counselors advised their students to leave the standardized test page of the Common Application blank in order to preserve flexibility and allow customizing?
—Alan Haas
A.
There have been several questions posted about how to report test scores and how the College Board’s new Score Choice policy will impact the admissions process that I would like to address.
First, it is important to understand that whatever scores a student self-reports on his/her application are not considered “official” scores. Whether a student includes those scores on the application or leaves them blank is not going to have an impact on his/her chances for admission. If a student does include scores, the admissions office will still look to verify the scores from either a high-school transcript or an official score report from the testing agency.
No decision will be made based solely on self-reported scores.
The cause for concern within the profession surrounding the implementation of the College Board’s Score Choice policy centers on the fact that students now have the ability to “hide” scores from colleges.
In addition, many have expressed the concern that this will further enable students with greater financial resources to keep taking the tests over and over again until they achieve the scores they want, while students from less-advantaged backgrounds who do not know how to “game the system” will continue to take the test only one or two times.
While students have always been able to take the tests as often as they wanted, now they can do it without a college knowing that it took them four, five, or even six sittings to earn those scores.
There are a number of the most selective colleges that will ask students to report all of their scores and not use the Score Choice option, but the student has the ability to “override” this request if they so choose.
What is interesting about this is that if students employ the Score Choice option, they can choose their best scores from one particular date, but not mix and match results from different dates. Those of us in the profession know that for students taking the exam two or three times, it is rare for them to achieve all of their best scores on the same date.
Typically, colleges have employed a “mix and match” policy where they will combine students’ best scores from the SAT sections to arrive at each student’s best combined scores.
It is important to note that many colleges do not employ this same method when evaluating the ACT. They tend to simply take the best composite score. However, it is interesting to note that the ACT has had a score-choice option of its own for years which allows a student to report the scores from a single test date, but that policy does not seem to have caused the same furor as the new College Board policy.
The most important thing to bear in mind is that if a student chooses to use the College Board Score Choice option, that decision will take away the college’s ability to mix and match to get that student’s best scores.
I know many may be skeptical that colleges truly disregard the lower scores, but the reality is that it is in the college’s best interest to use the student’s best scores because it simply makes the school’s own profile that much stronger in all of the external guides and rankings.
Q.
Students are often discouraged from “polishing” their applications by using expensive admissions consultants who help them write essays and supplemental materials. In effect, they are told to be authentic and not market themselves for the sake of “getting in.” Can you comment on why most colleges spend millions of dollars on marketing consultants, brochures, web sites, email campaigns, and the like? This seems to be an example of “do as we say, not as we do.”
—DS
A.
Our writer raises a legitimate question when stating that there seems to be a disconnect between what colleges say and what they do when it comes to the topic of marketing. There are several topics embedded within your comment that I would like to address.
First, it is important to understand that 20 to 30 years ago colleges were far less concerned about “marketing” themselves than they are today. While we would openly talk about “recruiting” prospective students, we were not overly concerned with market positioning and national rankings. In fact, during the good old days we would focus on “fit” and whether a student could thrive at our institution.
There are certainly some schools that still operate under this model, but all of this began to change with the advent of the national rankings. Now, it is not at all uncommon to see colleges hiring presidents (and stacking their Boards) with individuals from corporate backgrounds who are more obsessed with moving up in the national rankings than delivering the finest educational experience possible. We speak at times in the profession of the “arms race” to build the fanciest dorms and fitness centers while faculty salaries continue to languish at low levels for most undergraduate professors.
To be candid, I share your concern. I think some institutions have lost their way and do not have their priorities straight. They are far more interested in the glitz than the substance. That being said, I feel that most of us who work in the admissions and counseling profession still view education as a means to lift students up. Therein lies the contradiction; a good admissions officer will still gladly steer a student towards another institution that may offer a better fit for their needs. One who works for an institution that is simply trying to drive up the number applications in order to increase selectivity so their school can move up in the rankings will not.
When it comes to the individual student “marketing” themselves to a college, there are also a wide variety of opinions. Again, it is important to remember that twenty to thirty years ago, very few of the cottage industries that have sprung up around the college admissions process existed. Individual consultants who help polish up applications and resumes, test prep firms, and the plethora of “How to” guides were a rarity. Now, these firms have many families convinced that if they don’t “market” their child to colleges, they are putting them at a disadvantage in this competitive market.
The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of colleges and universities don’t really care how “polished” your child is. If they are qualified; they will be admitted. If they are not qualified; they won’t get in. It is really a very small sector of the higher education world that people obsess about getting their child into — and it is the same names of colleges that you see in the press all the time — that drives this frenzy.
While some schools may say: “Sure, put your best foot forward. We’ll look at whatever you send us,” others will say that they are still looking for that good fit in their applicants and that the well-polished applicant has no advantage over the less-sophisticated but more earnest applicant.
As I have noted in several other responses, there is no uniformity in terms of how colleges will respond to the “packaged” applicant vs. the “normal kid.”
All of this being said, there are many of us in the profession who share your concerns that perhaps there is too much emphasis on beauty, and not enough on substance in higher education today.

Common questions about the application process

Hello-
I hope everyone is doing well and adjusting to the busyness of the fall season. This week, I am preparing to go with other admissions officers and college counselors to the national conference for the National Association of College Admission Counseling ( NACAC). This conference is a wonderful opportunity for admission staff and counselors to get together and talk about programs and practices and best suit the needs of our students. I look forward to bringing back some wonderful information to share with you.

In the meantime, today's blog is a four part series from the President of NACAC, who is a Director of College Guidance and a former admission officer. He's answering some common questions that students and families have about the college process and I hope you find his answers helpful.

Of course, as always, if you have any questions or opinions about the article, or the college process in general, feel free to respond to this post or you can send me a message on our Facebook fan page.

Enjoy the article and have a great week!
~The Admissions Director

Guidance Office: Answers From the President of NACAC
By Bill McClintick
Guidance Office
Questions for the President of Nacac
Bill McClintick, director of college counseling at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania and the president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, a membership group, answers reader questions.
Submit a Question »
All Guidance Office Posts »
The Choice at Nacac
Beginning Thursday, The Choice takes readers backstage as nearly 5,000 admissions officers and counselors gather in Baltimore.
On Thursday, nearly 5,000 college admissions officers and high school counselors will gather for the 65th annual convention of the National Association of College Admission Counseling.
Presiding over this gathering will be Bill McClintick, the director of college counseling at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania. Mr. McClintick worked previously in admissions at Hartwick College in New York and Kalamazoo College in Michigan.
Below, he answers reader questions on common mistakes in applications, and on colleges that he considers liberal-arts gems. (Some questions have been edited.) He also emphasizes the importance of the high-school transcript, something, he believes, parents and applicants often overlook.
Mr. McClintick’s answers to select reader questions will conclude Wednesday.
Meanwhile, be sure to visit The Choice on Thursday and Friday, for regular blog posts from the conference floor. — Jacques Steinberg
Q.
What is the one universal mistake applicants make in completing the form or working through the process? In other words, what truly matters most for the administrator who has to process tens of thousands of applications?
Separately, as a matter of commentary, I believe the process has gotten out of hand. It is amazing children and parents alike can cope with the stress. Surely, we can do better.
—Eric Jaeger
A.
In response to the question of what are the most common mistakes that students tend to make on their applications, I have several observations. After reviewing applications for more than 20 years, the most common error I see is that students do not always correctly prioritize their activities. While this is not a huge factor in the decision-making process, it is interesting to see how often students put what they think colleges want to see as their top activity, as opposed to what they are truly passionate about.
I often tell students to think in terms of how they spend their time; whatever they spend the most time on should probably rise to the top of the list. The club that meets for one hour a month is not going to impress anyone. What is more important is to convey what a student is most passionate about.
We often say in the business that it is not the length of the extracurricular list that matters, but the depth of the commitment to a particular activity. Don’t try to build a lengthy resume by the age of 17. Rather, find one, two, or maybe three activities that are important to you and go as far as you can with them.
I’d also like to follow-up on your comment that the “process has gotten out of hand.” While I do agree with you to some extent (see some of my previous replies), I actually feel that for the most part the system by which applicants are evaluated works pretty well.
What most people fail to grasp is that the most important variable by far in the admissions process is the high-school transcript. You can hire all the consultants and test-prep tutors you want, but unless the high-school transcript is within the parameters of what a college is looking for, the rest really doesn’t matter.
While it is certainly true that test scores are an important piece of the puzzle, they never trump the high-school record. Too many people get wrapped up in what are relatively minor variables in the process — how they interview, how good the essay is, third-party recommendations, how many activities they have, etc. — and somehow think that these can override a mediocre transcript. I always try to stress this with my students — it is the transcript, the transcript, and the transcript that is the most important variable in this process by far.
Granted, in borderline cases—and at the most selective schools—the other variables become more important, but in the vast majority of cases, if you are qualified you are admitted; if you are not, you are denied.
Q.
My son is voraciously scholarly above and beyond the demands of his highly-competitive high school (His current bedtime reading is Milton). Although we had originally encouraged him to apply to a liberal arts school (my background), I am now wondering if he would be sacrificing scholarship for community. I am wondering your thoughts – either generally or specifically, where would you send a kid like this?
—js
A.
I think that there are a number of wonderful places around for the truly intellectual kid, but you do have to look for them. I actually would tend to agree with you that many of the small liberal-arts colleges might be a great place for someone like your son—and there are a number that still have their priorities straight when it comes to scholarly pursuits.
These would allow him more interaction with the faculty and greater flexibility as an undergraduate. Given what you have shared, he may very well end up in graduate school anyway, and that would be the time when a larger university with a more specialized program of study would be a better fit.
If he is willing to consider the liberal-arts path, I would suggest places like Swarthmore, Pomona, Reed, Grinnell, Carleton, Wesleyan, Oberlin, or even Deep Springs in California. He might also find a school like St. John’s (Annapolis, Md., or Santa Fe), which still offers the Great Books curriculum, of interest.
If he longs for something bigger, he might want to look at the University of Chicago, Brown, or Rice.

Parents of 12th Graders, it's on!

Hello all! Welcome back to the fall season. I hope you enjoyed the lazy days of summer and you're all "charged up" for a wonderful school year.

Todays' article is from www.Collegeboard.com, a website that all college bound students should visit regularly. You can sign up for the SAT word of the day and it also offers wonderful tips and timelines that will help keep you on track from freshman to senior year.

This article offers parents tips on how to manage the changes that will occur in your children during senior year. It's an interesting read that will help parents understand how the pressure and anxiety of senior year can impact the entire family and the time you have left before your seniors leave. Any thoughts? Send me an email.

In the meantime, take care and enjoy the week!

~The Admissions Director

Preparing for Your Child's Move to College

On Your Mark. Get Set. Go.

Who is that child? Beginning in spring of senior year, you may notice your child behaving in ways that surprise you. Suddenly, he seems to lose interest in everything: turning an English paper in late for the first time, procrastinating about getting paperwork filled out for college, maybe even shirking responsibilities at home or getting in trouble at school. The only facial expressions he seems capable of are the condescending sneer or the blank stare. Experts say senioritis is a very real phenomenon. Seniors are testing their independence, and acting out anxieties over separating from home, friends, and family.

Deadlines, Deadlines!

This behavior can be particularly frustrating for parents anxious to usher their child successfully into life beyond high school. Now is exactly the time when your child should be getting organized. Unfortunately, teens can also be extremely sensitive to criticism or even encouragement at this time. They want to live out their carefree final months as seniors. Yet they, too, are worried about not getting everything right.

So what can you do during this anxious period to help? First, recognize this is a difficult time for you also. No doubt you are having your own mixed feelings. Despite the fact that he's behaving like a Neanderthal, try giving your child a measure of the independence he craves. Your confidence in his abilities will help ease his own misgivings. If he expresses worries about the future, let him know these feelings are normal and you have faith he'll get through just fine. Make a list of your own worries and what you can do to ease them; suggest your child do the same.

According to expert Charles J. Shields, author of The College Guide for Parents, spring of senior year is also a good time to start teaching your child new skills for college. If you haven't already done so, teach him how to balance a check book and keep track of credit card and other bills. Show him how to do the laundry and provide him with some basic housecleaning tips. Teach him a few simple recipes. These activities can help both you and your child feel you are working constructively toward college.

Free and Easy!

Now is also your chance to plan for how you'll spend all that luxurious free time you'll have once your teenager is off to college. You could take up an activity, such as golf, you've always been interested in but never had the time for. Dr. Andrea Van Steenhouse, author of Empty Nest ... Full Heart, the Journey from Home to Collegesuggests parents talk with friends who've been through the same transition and learn how they coped. This is also a tough time for siblings anticipating a new family order. They will need to say good-bye to the college student in their own ways, and they'll need your attention and reassurances, too.

Before the departure day comes, negotiate expectations for getting to college and staying connected once there. Does your child want you to accompany him on the trip to school? If so, how long should you stay? Should you help him unpack and move in? Setting up a call schedule is also important. You might expect to hear from your child every week; he may think every two weeks is adequate. Be sure to clarify these expectations in advance.

The Hardest Word

Finally, the day will arrive when it's time to say goodbye. You may be surprised by your strong reactions, given all the months you've had to prepare. Some parents worry about expressing this sadness, afraid to overburden their child. It's okay to show these emotions. It's important to let your child know that though you'll miss him, you're happy about his new adventure. This can reassure your child of strong home ties, and help him deal with her own feelings. Despite the difficulties, you should all be proud. After all, this is the moment you've been working toward—when your child begins life on his own.

Making your College Choice Make Sense!

In today's difficult economy, our children are graduating from high school under very different circumstances than many of their older siblings and counterparts from five years ago. Today's high schooler may need to rethink the concept of the "dream school" and become more strategic about attaining a college degree with fewer resources.

More and more families are taking advantage of the excellent value offered by the community college. While some seniors are spending their first two years there to save money, other students are taking advantage of the oppotunity to enroll in special honors programs that are often fully funded and attractive to highly competitive colleges during the transfer admission process. Some community colleges like Hudson Valley Community College in upstate New York have housing, allowing students to have the traditional residential undergraduate experience.

High school kids are also enjoying the benefits of enrolling in local community colleges. Some students are experimenting with community college coursework to reduce their future tuition bills and by the time these students are seniors, the completion of these classes make them more competitive in the college admission process (when taken in addition to required high school courses). With a minimum age requirement of 16, many families are taking advantage of the opportunity to acclimate their students to the rigor of college work and, in turn, some parents report that this exposure has made their students approach high school coursework more seriously.

With benefits such as reduced tuition bills, exposure to rigorous work, and even teacher recommendations for freshman and transfer admissions, it makes more sense than ever to consider the options in your own back yard for college!

Enjoy the article below (and let me know what you think)!

~The Admissions Director

Community Colleges Get Student Influx In Bad Times

By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 31, 2009

The troubled U.S. economy is driving more students than ever to Washington area community colleges and prompting some private four-year schools to dip into their waiting lists to meet fall enrollment targets, according to school officials.

Tens of thousands of students here and across the country are choosing community colleges for the first time. One-quarter of the enrollment growth at all two- and four-year colleges in Virginia over the past year occurred at Northern Virginia Community College, officials said.

Across the country, students are rethinking plans to attend expensive private colleges and universities. High unemployment rates and decimated stock portfolios have driven families to find less-expensive alternatives.

"Anybody who says the economy is not having an impact is kidding you or themselves," said Charles Deacon, Georgetown University admissions dean.

Erica Espinosa, 18, who is graduating from Northwest High School in Germantown, was accepted at the University of Maryland at College Park, which costs $21,163 for tuition, fees and housing. She also got into several other four-year schools.

But she chose a full scholarship honors program at Montgomery College, where she can attend for free and live at home. Twin sister Ivone will study there, too.

"It's a way to save money and have money to pay for the next two years and not come out with a big debt," she said. "It's too risky now to try anything else."

More students are asking schools for financial aid -- and colleges and universities are increasing its availability. A survey of several hundred schools across the country by the nonprofit National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities showed an average 9.2 percent boost in aid for 2009-10, with 92 percent of schools saying they would increase financial aid budgets.

At some schools, including highly selective universities, fewer students are deciding to attend.

Georgetown, for example, has accepted 120 students from its waiting list for a freshman class of 1,580 and expects to admit about 150 as families reassess their financial situations over the summer. (In a normal year, as many as 100 may come off the waiting list, Deacon said.) Catholic University also found its rate of acceptance slightly lower than usual, and officials there said they believe it is because of the economy.

Meanwhile, less-expensive public four-year universities are having no difficulty meeting their enrollment goals. Shannon Gundy, admissions director at the University of Maryland at College Park, said anyone still hoping to move off the freshman waiting list for fall should give up.

Community colleges, especially those that have honors programs and that are considered steppingstones to four-year colleges, are seeing an unprecedented boom in applications and enrollments, school officials said. They cost much less than a four-year school.

"We are predicting a student tsunami for next fall," said Robert Templin, president of Northern Virginia Community College.

Community colleges do not get the public attention of Ivy League schools, but they educate nearly half of the undergraduate students in the United States, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. The majority of black and Hispanic undergraduates study at these schools, and the overall student population is majority female.

"We are often so focused with four-year institutions that we don't look to community colleges, but they are getting a tremendous flow of people," said American University Provost Scott A. Bass. "They keep doing the job day in and day out, educating the generation of students who have the most trouble affording four-year private colleges."

At Northern Virginia Community College, enrollment last fall was up 4 percent from the previous year. In the spring, it was 6 percent higher than it was a year ago, and this summer it has increased 10 percent over the previous year. School officials are expecting a huge jump in fall. Annual enrollment is 67,000, but Templin said officials are expecting more than 70,000 students next year.

Even in the face of budget cuts -- the school receives about 45 percent of its funding from the state, compared with 60 percent four years ago -- NOVA is hiring full- and part-time faculty. An open-admissions school, it takes all students who want to attend.

At Montgomery College, fall 2008 credit enrollment was 24,452 students, up more than 2 percent from the previous fall, and spring 2009 enrollment was more than 5 percent higher than it was a year ago. Twenty new sections of math courses have been added at the Rockville campus for summer sessions, an increase of nearly 50 percent from past summer sessions.

"We purposely added classes in the upper levels, because we know we are attracting students who normally would have gone to four-year colleges but turned to Montgomery College because of our affordability," said media relations director Elizabeth Homan.

For fall, Montgomery County residents will pay $102 per credit hour in tuition. The costs are similar at other community colleges -- and contrast sharply with four-year colleges, especially private schools.

Tuition alone for incoming freshmen at George Washington University is $41,610 (total cost more than $52,000); at Georgetown, it is $38,616 (total cost more than $51,000). At the University of Maryland at College Park, tuition is a little more than $8,000.

Enrollment at Prince George's Community College -- where county residents will pay nearly $100 per credit hour -- has increased 5 percent from fall 2008 to spring 2009, which a spokesman described as an unusual jump. The numbers for this fall are expected to be even higher.

Experts say more students are looking for training that community colleges offer at a time when the changing economy is forcing many people into new industries.

But cost remains the central factor for many families. Although average tuition increases for four-year schools are at near-historic lows -- one survey by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities puts it at 4.2 percent, the lowest in at least 37 years -- the cost at some places is still staggering for many families.

A growing number of Americans are more worried than ever that their children will be priced out of the college experience. A new nationwide poll by Oppenheimer Funds found that nine in 10 Americans agree that if tuition costs keep rising, college will be unaffordable for most families. It also showed that 43 percent of Americans have saved less than $5,000 for college.

Financial aid applications at Montgomery College are up 20 percent for 2009-10 over a year earlier, with more than 10,000 already submitted for fall. The Maryland Higher Education Commission experienced growth in applications as well, and ran out of need-based grants faster this year than in the past, Homan said.

The Admissions Director will be on WVOX- Live!

***New Date and Time!!****** Look out for "The Admissions Director" on WVOX 1460 AM, "The Greenburgh Report with Paul Feiner" this Friday, May 15th at 10:30AM. I look forward to speaking with Mr. Feiner and answering listeners' questions about Ivy Educational Consulting and the college application process!

Untold stories: College Waitlists

As a former admissions director, I couldn't agree with this article more. If you have a teen (or know of a teen) going through this difficult situation, please she these helpful tips!
~The Admissions Director


Dirty Secrets of College Waitlists
by Kathleen Kingsbury
March 30, 2009 6:01am
As acceptance letters hit mailboxes, record numbers of students could be stuck in waitlist limbo. In a Daily Beast exclusive, admissions officers dish about the tricks of getting in off the list—and why you shouldn’t send cookies.The waitlist. It’s the fate that awaits hundreds of thousands of high school seniors this week as they open college admissions letters. The bad news? As few as 15 percent will make it off the waitlist at the most selective schools, and waitlists are likely to be longer this spring than ever before.“We always have the parents who want to buy us a Mercedes or pay our mortgages. Usually we’d laugh them off, but money is tight this year. I’m telling my staff: Send them directly to the development office.”The prospect of waiting even longer for a final answer can drive students—and their parents—to desperate acts. “I had one mother last year who called me every single day for two months, sometimes multiple times a day,” says an admissions officer at an Ivy League school. “I finally had to say, ‘Your son is not getting in and you may wish to seek psychiatric help for yourself.’” (Jump to the next page for more quotes and stories from admissions officers)But this may also be the year that waitlisted students have the best shot ever of getting in… if they’re smart about it, because more students may turn down their top choices. As the economy continues to spiral downward, admissions officers say they have little sense of what to expect in terms of waitlist activity over the next two months.That’s because this waitlist season appears to be shaping up to mimic last year’s—a spring that totally baffled admissions departments nationwide. Several factors made the admissions cycle volatile: the high school class of 2008 numbered nearly 3.4 million, the largest in U.S. history; there was a swell of kids submitting eight or more college applications; and Princeton, the University of Virginia and Harvard got rid of early admissions. Add in the precarious economy, and dozens of colleges overestimated their “yield”— the percentage of admitted students who ultimately enrolled.“It got harder to separate the very committed from the applicants just window-shopping,” Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. “Schools hedged their bets by upping the number of applicants they put on the waitlist.”Certain schools suddenly found themselves in an unprecedented position: selling their programs to talented applicants. Harvard ended up taking some 200 students from its waitlist, up from 50 the previous year. Princeton and Boston College both doubled their number of waitlist offers; the University of Pennsylvania let in one-third more. Swarthmore College’s Dean of Admissions Jim Bock tells the story of one girl who wrote a letter exuding her deepest desire to attend Swarthmore and promising it was her first choice. But when he offered her a spot off the waitlist, she turned him down. "She said, 'Why didn't you just take me in April?’” Bock says.So what's the secret to getting in off the waitlist? The Daily Beast spoke with high school guidance counselors, college consultants, and current and former admissions officers around the country about the best strategies for getting out of limbo and into your first choice.Be persistent “Write the school, call, follow up, update your grades and send an extra teacher recommendation letter. Let them know it's your first choice and where else you got in. You can't just sit around and wait for a miracle.” — Michele Hernandez, former admissions officer at Dartmouth College and author of A is Admissions: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges But don’t pester “I had one mother last year who called me every single day for two months, sometimes multiple times a day. She couldn’t help herself. I finally had to say, ‘Your son is not getting in and you may wish to seek psychiatric help for yourself.’” — Ivy League admissions officerFollow the rules “We tell students: Send additional academic information only. Still, students will send us seven additional recommendations, email us endlessly or have everyone they know call us. It doesn’t help. We know the affluent students from Long Island and California will fly here to tell how much they want to come, but we want a level playing field for the northwestern Indiana students who don’t have the gas money in their pocket to visit.” — Terry Knaus, senior associate director of admissions at Indiana University at Bloomington Work the system “Washington University in St. Louis has notoriously huge waitlists— they won’t even tell you how long. My bet is they put over 10,000 kids on the waitlist every year for a class of 1,350. The thing is, though, they don’t count you on the waitlist until you tell them it’s your first choice. It’s a despicable practice, but it’s a popular place and they can get away with it.” — Jon Reider, director of college counseling at San Francisco University High School Let schools know you can pay “It never hurts to remind schools know you will be a full-paying student, especially this year. The rules even change at need-blind schools when it comes to the waitlist. It’s not an official practice, but admissions officers are human. They know endowments are down and cost-cutting is essential. If a full-paying student says he’ll definitely come, letting him in can be a relief.” — Karen Crowley, consultant for College Coach, a national education-consulting firm, and former admissions officer at the University of Pennsylvania It’s probably too late for bribes… “Anyone using the development angle successfully has started much earlier, probably last fall at the latest. And families who can build buildings don’t just pop a check in the mail. They are much more tasteful, major gifts officers seek them out. If only to spare the child the stigma that they’ve paid their way in.” — private college counselor Nina Marks, formerly director of college guidance at Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral School…except perhaps this year “We always have the parents who want to buy us a Mercedes or pay our mortgages. Usually we’d laugh them off, but money is tight this year. I’m telling my staff: Send them directly to the development office.” — Director of admissions at a small New York liberal arts college It pays to be coy “Last year was basically a total [mess]. Admissions folks’ biggest fear is not filling their class, and we were about 100 students short. Students flaunted their five other offers, even at state schools or schools not in our tier. I was on the phone begging some of our most-sought-after kids to come. I never have to do that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to do it again this year.” — Admissions officer at an elite Midwestern private universityLeverage your offers “Vanderbilt will probably end up the hottest school this year. They can offer a lot of good merit aid. We already had kids last year turning down Duke, Georgetown and Penn to go to Vanderbilt with lots of money. So why not use a more lucrative offer to try to get off the waitlist? Then again, with financial things so bad, Vanderbilt’s admit rate could go below 20% this year.” — Gavin Bradley, college counselor at Atlanta’s Pace Academy and former admissions officer at Columbia University Sweets don’t work “We always have people bringing us cookies and cakes. It’s terrible for my waistline and it doesn’t work. One young woman sent a box of red and gray M&Ms, some stamped with her name, some with ‘Wants UGA.’ They’re still on my desk, but I don’t even remember her name…We did let her into our January class, but she was not too pleased about that. Her mother called to complain.” — Nancy McDuff, director of admissions at the University of Georgia Neither do pineapples "We get the pineapples from Hawaii and the cookies and candy. One girl had a petition signed by the mayor and everyone in her town. She even had the dean of Swarthmore sign it when she came on a campus tour. It was clever. Those things don't get you in, but they put you on our radar.“But they can backfire. We heard about one guy who was writing [online] about how badly he wanted to go to Swarthmore, but he was waitlisted. He was saying some pretty nasty things about us. He also said we shouldn't have listened to his teachers' recommendations, which were, in fact, glowing. It was anonymous, but he said where he lived and we'd only put one boy on the waitlist from that state, so we knew who it was. So we just didn't want to go there. You have to be careful what you put on the Internet. We don't go looking, but we can't ignore it when we hear about it." – Jim Bock, Swarthmore College Pen a tune “I always tell students that, at this stage of the game, a gimmick won't hurt. It's go-for-broke time. I know one student who sent admissions folks a photo of himself in front of the gates of a rival college, adding a clever caption about what his fate would be if he moldered on the waitlist. An aspiring composer [could] write an ‘Ode to Oberlin’ or a budding poet pen ‘The Ballad of Barnard.’ Yet you have to be aware that what tickles the fancy of one admissions officer may make a colleague barf.” — College Confidential counselor Sally Rubenstone, a former admissions officer at Smith CollegeNo, really, pen a tune “We had a student years ago who used the music of our alma mater and wrote new words telling us why we should admit them. Creative and cute, but not over the top.” — Jean Jordan, director of admissions at Emory University Don’t repeat yourself “One of our applicants when I was at Penn wrote his essay on baking popovers, and one day he showed up at the office with a batch of freshly baked popovers. We all thought it was fairly ingenious— until we heard through the grapevine he did the same thing at Princeton.” — Karen Crowley, consultant for College Coach, a national education-consulting firm, and former admissions officer at the University of Pennsylvania Make up your mind “We offered a spot to a student off the waitlist a few years ago only to find he’d made deposits at two other Ivy League schools before May 1 as placeholders. Before May 1, double deposits are unethical and illegal. It’s also stupid. We ended up rescinding our offer, and I heard the other schools did as well.” — former Ivy League admissions officer Get psyched about where you did get in “For day one, I tell kids to be excited about the schools they did get into. They applied to those schools for some reason in the first place, and that school thought they’d be a good fit. It also puts you in a better bargaining position if another offer does come around.” — Brad MacGowan, college counselor at Massachusetts’ Newton North High SchoolAnd don’t count on the waitlist “I can’t stress this enough to families: Put a deposit in at some school before May 1. Yes, more and more are willing to walk away from that money if a better offer comes in, but we hear terrible stories all the time about kids who ended up with nowhere to go in the fall.” — Brian Hazlett, director of recruitment at Binghamton University Kathleen Kingsbury is a writer based in New York. She's a contributor to Time magazine, where she has covered business, health and education since 2005