Send those SATs, Seniors! (Plus considering a timetable for underclassmen)

Perhaps you caught Notes From Peabody recently about how long it takes for SAT scores to be sent to colleges . Even in this day and age when you would think they could be sent electronically in an instant, it appears to take as long as two weeks after you hit the “send” button. That number jumps to FIVE weeks if you’re applying internationally.

If your child is a senior and has not sent his/her SAT scores, stop what you’re doing and get that done now. It takes a few minutes, but it’s not difficult. This is not a gray area – schools do not accept self-reported scores.  And most schools want you to send them all (some require it) – it’s quite common for schools to only take into account your best score on each part of the test or “superscore.” As you select each school on the College Board website, you’ll see a description about that school’s SAT policy. For instance, if you are applying to the College of William & Mary, you’ll see this message when you go to choose your scores:

COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY has indicated that it considers your highest section scores across all SAT test dates that you submit. Only your highest section scores will be considered as part of the final admissions decision. Each time you submit scores, COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY will update your record with any new high scores.

COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY strongly encourages you to submit your scores each time you take the SAT. Sending your scores each time you take the SAT can benefit you by allowing COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY to consider you for all available enrollment-related opportunities.

It takes a while for schools to get each student's credentials all together - the application matched up with the transcript, any recommendations, and test scores. Unless you're desperate for another chance to improve your scores or waiting for better grades to make it onto your transcript, it makes sense to get these things sent along to your schools in plenty of time.

While we are talking about the SAT, all of you who are NOT seniors should consider a game plan for when your student will take these tests. The SAT is offered in October, November, December, January, March, May and June. Discuss with your student the following:

• How many times do you think you're willing (or can we afford) to take the SAT?
• Do you want to take an SAT prep class before you try the SAT or wait and see how you perform the first time?
• If you're not taking a prep class, are you the kind of student with the discipline to prepare on your own with an SAT prep book?
• Are you interested in any schools that require or suggest taking the SAT Subject tests?
• Is there a time of year that would be overly difficult to subject yourself to the test (maybe June feels nice because schoolwork is waning or May sounds stressful because of SOL and AP testing -- it will be different for every student/family!)

Seven times a year sounds like a lot, but most testing dates after October of senior year are too late. If you don't start thinking about them until Junior year after you've taken the PSAT for the second time, you may find yourself scrambling. 

College Applications and Mistakes to Avoid: Twitter Chat today at 4

If you're in the middle of getting those applications done, you may find this Twitter conversation today at 4pm helpful. Some people who really know what they are talking about will be on a panel tweeting about application mistakes to avoid -- including UVA's own Dean J.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/10/23/us-news-twitter-chat-top-college-application-mistakes-to-avoid #CollegeAppTips

How Common IS The Common App?

“I Thought This Was Supposed to Be Easy Because of the Common App!”

A friend recently asked me to address this notion – just how many schools use an application other than the Common Application? According to the website, the Common App began in 1975 for 15 private colleges, and over five hundred institutions participate now. That’s a lot of schools, but the Fiske Guide to Colleges reports that there are over 2,200 4-year colleges in the United States.

Hopefully you’ve created that spreadsheet that I suggested. One of the column headings was for whether a school uses the Common App. The reason this matters is because for each school that does NOT use the Common App, your student will need to complete a separate online application. That involves typing names, addresses, honors, activities, essays, etc... over and again. You can’t overlook the time that takes and how some of these systems go into overload when too many students are trying to use them at the last minute.

Take a certain student I know who is considering applying to 10 different schools. Only FOUR of those schools use the Common App – less than half. So while the idea of the Common App is helpful, the reality is that she will be spending a lot of time entering and re-entering her personal statistics. One of these separate applications required her to add each class she took in high school and the grade she received – talk about time-consuming!

Here in Virginia, the Common App will cover many of your in-state choices including UVA, VCU, William & Mary, Mary Washington, Christopher Newport, GWU, Washington & Lee, and the University of Richmond. Some notable Virginia schools that require their own unique online application include JMU, Virginia Tech, George Mason, Longwood and VMI.

Encourage your student to at least get started on each of the online applications. Even getting through the simple steps will save time later. In addition, some applications require you to get through a certain number of steps before sending email notifications to teachers and guidance counselors for their recommendations. Give them the courtesy of NOT getting that notification at the very last minute.  It’s also helpful to cut and paste responses from one application to another document so that some of it can be re-used on other applications (taking care to change relevant school information, of course!)

Getting Your High School Senior Organized

For seniors in high school, it's time to move from thinking about potential schools to getting those applications started. Every school has a different application process, and all those dates and requirements can get complicated.

Now is a good time to start some kind of chart or spreadsheet to keep the information you need handy to refer to quickly. Include all the schools where your student is planning to submit applications. Across the top, here are some headings I recommend from our own spreadsheet:

• Early Action (yes or no)
• Due Date
• Recommendations (yes or no, and if yes, how many)
• Common App (yes or no)
• Program
• Supplement (yes or no)
• Portfolio/Audition/Interview
• Notes
• Mid-Year Report (yes or no)
• SAT II (yes or no)
• Fee
• Date of Completed Application
• Expected Notification

While many parents think that applying to college is the time that their student should step up and take charge of their lives and show some responsibility, I'm not in this camp. Applications take a lot of time, there's a lot of information to organize, and for many seniors who are trying to maintain a high level of rigor, their schoolwork hasn't gotten any easier. Creating this spreadsheet for them is a huge help, and it can really cut down on the potential for misunderstandings and disappointment. You'll find that you can go to each school's website and look up all of this information under their admissions tab. A few hours now could save a lot of last-minute scrambling later.

The due date is a critical piece of information for staying organized. Each college offers choices like Early Action, Early Decision and/or Regular Decision. If your student can swing it, and the school offers it, the Early Action option can be a great way to get the whole process taken care of earlier in the school year with no obligation to the school. You'll get that acceptance news earlier as well - sometimes before Winter Break. If you shoot for the Early Action deadline, even if you miss it, you should be in better shape for the Regular Decision deadline. It can also take the pressure off everyone in the family and your Winter Break. We put our schools in order by due date so that the one with the first deadline is at the top of the spreadsheet.

Not every school requires recommendations, so this is another important piece. Your student needs to request recommendations in plenty of time AND leave time to follow up to make sure the recommendations were submitted. 

Does this school use the Common App? You'll find that you can knock out quite a few schools rather quickly if they are Common App schools, but many schools use their own online application instead.

Cal was interested in broadcasting and production, and it was interesting how every school seemed to call this something different. Knowing the program your student is considering is imperative! Sometimes applications are to the school in general, but other schools expect you to have a program or intended major chosen or even a back-up second choice.

Does this school require a supplement to the Common App? Often there is another essay specific to that particular college or university. If your student is interested in the arts or music, they may be required to submit a portfolio or audition tape or perhaps schedule an interview. Use this box to indicate this and include any deadlines.

Use the notes box to remind your student about anything that comes up as you comb the admissions website. A school may have unique deadlines for merit scholarships, special scholarships you can apply for separately, housing applications that need to go in as soon as you apply, etc...

Does this school require a mid-year report to be sent as soon as it's available? Do they hope to see SAT II scores?

How much is the fee required with this application?

When did you get the application submitted?

Does the school give a date you can expect to hear a response?

Finally, you can add as many boxes to this chart as you find helpful. Some other things you might find handy are student population, distance from home, and cost for tuition and fees.

We store this spreadsheet in Google drive so that Mark, Bailey and I all have access to it. I can't tell you how many times Cal and I used his last year, and it really helped Cal meet all those deadlines. Let me know if I can help you get started!

Some Homework For The Parents

Are you spending these lovely summer days wishing your rising senior would do some of the things on that check list I posted recently? It's time for you to put that energy into some homework of your own! 

Stop by your high school guidance office (the staff there would probably LOVE to see a fresh face in the quiet halls) and pick up copies of all the helpful resources they provide for the college application process. Most of these forms are for your student, and it wouldn't hurt to have an extra copy in case your student hasn't seen them. But one in particular happens to be for the parents. At Monticello, it's labeled the Monticello High School Parent Recommendation, but I'm sure all the high schools have their own version.

This form is an invaluable resource for your guidance counselor as they write a recommendation for your student. While not every college requires teacher recommendations for admission, the vast majority DO want some sort of counselor recommendation or counselor evaluation form. With each counselor having to write MANY this fall (our counselor told us last year that he had 75 seniors!), they can't be expected to know every characteristic of each one. This form gives them a quick reference so that they can create a recommendation that is thorough and detailed.

This is the information requested on the form:

• List 5 adjectives which best describe your son or daughter. Explain when necessary; give a supportive anecdote when appropriate.
• Assess your son or daughter in terms of academics.
• What personal characteristics are significant for your son or daughter?
• What do you see as your son or daughter's greatest achievement? What makes him or her unique to you?
• What do you think will be your son or daughter's greatest challenge in college, and what way do you think he or she will meet the challenge?
• Is there anything else that is important for us to know in order to understand clearly your son or daughter? (Medical background, family history, educational interest...)
• What special characteristics are you looking for in a college? (Geographic area, public, private, size, single sex, coed, military, religious affiliation...)
• Feel free to write anything else that you would say in a personal recommendation for your son or daughter. Include anything that you would want a college admissions office to know about your student.

This is not the time to be modest about your student's accomplishments and activities! This form is not very long, but it does require some time and attention. The more detail you give, the better your counselor can capture the essence of your student and convey it to the admissions people.

By the way, Jane Kulow has a blog post over at Dr. StrangeCollege today with some links to great resources for writing college application essays. You should check it out!
http://drstrangecollege.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/who-writes-the-essay-doonesbury-weighs-in/

Checklist for Rising Seniors

I mentioned the other day that The New York Times has archives of a helpful blog called The Choice.  One post that caught my eye included a great checklist for rising seniors: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/counselors-calendar-june-juniors-2/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

I'll summarize the major points here, but take a look at the archives when you have the chance. 

• Finalize your senior schedule and try to maintain the highest rigor possible including a foreign language
• Ask for teacher recommendations
• Do something this summer that will be worth adding to your college application
• Standardized testing review: Have you taken what you need? Do you need SAT II's or to try the ACT?
• Start those essays! The prompts for the Common App are available here: https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1694/2014-15-Common-Application-Essay-Prompts and the prompts for the University of Virginia are available here: http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2014/06/2014-2015-first-year-essay-questions.html
• Check on extra requirements for athletes and artists
• Visit college campuses
• Have family discussions about how you're going to pay for college tuition
• Read! I've seen this mentioned in a lot of brochures coming through our house the past few weeks. Summer reading will help you with testing, vocabulary, essays, interviews, general intelligence, and more, so grab a book!

Admissions Blogs

I love that Melody had questions about my post Middle School Students Taking High School Courses and spoke to admissions people to get more information.

In my first post, I mentioned that Dean J in UVA Admissions has a fantastic blog that you should follow called Notes from Peabody. You'll find that blog here: http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/.

Just yesterday, Dean J's post recommended reaching out to her office with admissions questions, and she pointed out the importance of consulting someone who is an "insider" vs. an "observer." She told readers that they shouldn't hesitate to call or email when they've been unable to find the answers to their questions.  As she puts it, until the reading season starts and the admissions people get crazy busy, their job is to help students get the most current information they need.

Many schools have their own blogs, and I recommend you subscribe to all the ones that your student is considering submitting an application. Go to the schools website, click on admissions, and you will usually see an opportunity to sign up for a blog or follow them on Twitter. You can also google the school along with the words "admissions blog", and if they have one, it should pop right up.

I follow the admissions blog for the University of Georgia (http://ugaadmissions.blogspot.com), and today the post was all about the essay. Not only did they post all of the essay questions for this year so that you could get an early start, but they also posted an actual essay from a 2014 incoming freshman's application that they consider strong. Reading this short, creative piece is helpful for any student no matter where they plan to apply. (Hint: if you apply to UGA early action, you don't have to write any essays!)

Roaming around the internet, I discovered that The New York Times had a helpful blog called The Choice: Getting Into College and Paying For It.  I say "had" because it is no longer an active blog with new posts. The online archives, still exist, though, and it looks like a great resource for advice on the college application process. You'll find it here: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/.

Loving a School You Can't Afford

Sasha Noble brought up a good point yesterday: North Carolina is full of great schools to visit. In fact, we started our tours there almost two years ago when we visited Elon, Davidson and Wake Forest. But I think North Carolina is also the perfect example of why you need to be prudent about your college visits. Schools like UNC, Duke and Wake Forest are first-tier, highly competitive and EXPENSIVE. 

A lot of my perspective on this comes from that book I recommended called Debt-Free U. Some important points from Zac Bissonnette:  

• It's more important that you ATTEND college than you attend a CERTAIN college
• How much work you put into school matters more than where you go to school
• It doesn't matter as much where you START college as it matters where you FINISH with a college degree 
• Parents shouldn't go into debt over college costs, and students should avoid loans as much as possible

UNC costs $45,806 in tuition, fees, room, board, etc...and to get a good perspective on the competition to get in, Fiske says "admission is next to impossible for out-of-staters who aren't 6'9" with a 43-inch vertical jump." Wake Forest is $58,260 and Duke is $61,404, and they both have enough highly competitive students getting in to make merit scholarships beyond the reach of your average student.

These are fantastic schools and deserve their excellent reputations. But if you're an average family who can't afford $50,000+ for college each year or you have multiple kids to send, and you don't want them drowning in loans, make sure you've got reasonable schools in your sights. This is especially true for Virginians who have many excellent schools available for reasonable tuition rates. 

Consider state schools that are known to waive out-of-state tuition rates for competitive candidates. The Universities of S. Carolina, Georgia, Connecticut and Florida all offer this incentive, just to name a few. NC State lists many opportunities for merit money on their site, and our admissions counselor at the information session there recommended that every student apply for three such scholarships the day they receive their acceptance. Don't assume expensive private schools are out of reach - those that are a little less competitive often have lots of scholarship money to give to good students (Elon and Miami of Ohio are eager to offer at least some merit money). 

While it's helpful to see as many schools as you can, consider the cost factor when you go. I've heard from many parents that it's hard on everyone when your student falls in love with a school that your family really can't afford.

An Out-of-State Campus Tour

It's summertime, and maybe you've realized that you have a few days in a row with nothing really scheduled. Consider making a quick trip with your high schooler to take in a couple of campus tours. 

I like to visit locations where I can get the most bang for my buck -- see several schools in a small geographical area. We've made it a policy to only visit one school per day, however, so we can keep schools straight in our minds. Try taking just a few notes in your phone while you're there. You don't need a lot of details; most of those you will find on the school's website. But take note of some things that really struck you as a huge PRO (i.e. tuition includes free laundry service!) or a huge CON (you have to keep your belongings locked up at all times) -- things that seem unique to that particular school.

A great city for getting your college tours started is Greenville, SC. We checked out Furman University in Greenville, Clemson University in Clemson (about 32 miles from Furman), and the University of South Carolina in Columbia (about 110 miles from Furman).  The nice thing about these three universities is they represent three very different kinds of schools.  Furman is a small, private school of about 2,000 students with a beautiful secluded campus that has easy access to the city of Greenville. Clemson is a medium-sized, public university with about 15,000 undergraduates located in a small, rural town. The University of South Carolina is in the capital of South Carolina and has 24,000 undergraduates. While the campus itself is lovely and park-like, it is smack in the middle of the city, which comes with pros and cons.

A trip like this may help your student realize that a small school makes them feel really comfortable or that they want to be one of 80,000 people cheering on their team. While they may not like one of these schools in particular, it will give you more information about the kind of school you should check out next.

College Tours

A great way to get started on your college search is to go on an official tour. We started doing this the summer before Cal's junior year, and it definitely wasn't too early.
You don't have to spend money on a fancy trip to some exotic college or faraway locale. Living in Virginia, we have lots of choices close to home that make a great day trip. You can get to UVA, Washington & Lee, JMU, VCU or Mary Washington in an hour or less from Charlottesville. Try to plan ahead by visiting the school's website to sign up for a tour and information session, but if you get a last-minute chance to go, it's unlikely that they will turn you away.
These visits usually always yield some fruit. Even if your student comes away from the school thinking they don't like it at all, you will know a little more about the criteria they think are important and how to choose the next school to tour. Visit schools that represent a variety in size, cost, public/private, urban/rural campus, etc..., and you'll see a picture of the school with the right fit start to emerge.
Taking a college tour can help your student to understand why they are doing all of this hard work in high school. They may start to see that campus life can offer much more than four more years of classes and schoolwork. A close-up view of life at a university may be exactly what they need to invest them in the college application process.

Unscheduled time is good!

This article is a nice reminder from The Atlantic that our kids need free time. I'm sure I could find five contrasting articles about how my children are falling behind this summer while they're out of school, but since this advice requires me to do NOTHING, I'm going with this one.  http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/06/for-better-school-results-clear-the-schedule-and-let-kids-play/373144/

Middle School Students Taking High School Courses

I don't want this to be a forum for panicky conversations and worrying about college before your student is even in high school. And keep in mind that I am no expert - always consult your guidance counselor.

That said, I need to point out that if you have a rising 9th grader in ACPS who took high school classes in middle school, you should have received a form in the mail this week. It's the kind of form that if you do nothing, everything is likely to go just fine. And if your child received all A's in those high school classes, you can and should do nothing at all.

If your child received less than an A in any of those classes, and this concerns you, you need to do something with that form before June 30th. Grades from high school courses in middle school DO go on your transcript and DO count toward your GPA. The counselors at the middle school are the people to consult for guidance - that is where you will submit the form. You have the option to NOT transfer the grade to your student's high school transcript, but complications can arise with regard to verified credits toward the Advanced Studies Diploma.

The turn-around time on this is obviously pretty quick. The form arrived this week and is due a week from Monday. If you have questions or doubts, be sure to get the answers you need before you find you've made a choice you didn't intend to make.

A little help for my friends...

Recently, I've had several friends ask me lots of questions about how we found the right school for Cal. We have a population sample of only one so far, but we've made more than 20 visits to schools up and down the east coast. We've read books, taken notes, created spreadsheets and followed some fantastic blogs on the topic. With three more student/college matches left to be made in this family, there will be many more visits, observations and discoveries over the next few years. I'll use this forum to share some resources, describe our college visits and update you on our successes and mistakes. I don't have a lot of blog experience, so we'll see how it goes, but hopefully friends will be able to read our updates, post questions, and add experiences and advice of their own.

A few things that are really helpful in getting started:

• The Fiske Guide to Colleges by Edward B. Fiske is an invaluable resource throughout the college search process. You can start searching for the ideal college right at home by reading about the best schools by major, cost, location, size, etc...
• Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents by Zac Bissonnette and Andrew Tobias and Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College by Andrew Ferguson were two books that revealed to me how much an open mind will matter in this process. MANY schools have the potential to be a good fit for your student, and you don't have to break the bank to send him/her to a great school.
• My friend Jane Kulow has an excellent blog you should explore. Jane is a couple years ahead of me in this pursuit and got me started with the books mentioned above. She has insight to most of your questions like "How close is too close to home?" and "How long should college take?" and she's visited more colleges than we have. She often posts college-related pieces gleaned from the pages of current periodicals. Go to drstrangecollege.wordpress.com.
• Does your student have schools in mind already? Check out their websites and sign up for their admissions blogs. UVA has an excellent one filled with important updates about the application process, tools for improving the likelihood of creating a successful application, and reminders about looming deadlines. Go to http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/.