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.