Common Application Woes

It has been a while since I posted anything, since this fall has been filled with making some sort of sense of the "new and improved" Common Application. Like the Obamacare website fiasco, the problems Common App has experienced, as well as caused to numerous students and universities, have become increasingly frustrating.
Although we seem to be through most of the growing pains--after all, I am only getting weekly updates on the fixes instead of daily ones like earlier this fall!--there are still a few things to remember.
1) Do NOT wait until the deadline to submit your Common App. Although colleges have been understanding of the problems students have been having, they still have to get certain things done in a reasonable time frame, and they may not want to extend a great deal of time for you to get your things together. After all, it certainly isn't their fault you waited till 11 pm the night of the due date to try to enter your application. I would aim for a week or two before the deadline, which, if the system totally fails, as it did for one of my students, still gives time to get the application to the college by the due date. Print out a copy of the pdf that is generated when you hit submit, just in case it doesn't go through to the college.
2) Be sure to contact your admission representative if there are issues to let them know what you are doing. If you don't let them know the problems, they can't help or allow extra time for every part of the application to get there. They are aware of the problems and willing to work with you to get your application done. Once again, though, it is not their problem if you wait till the last minute.
3) Pay close attention to what you have to do to get counselor and teacher recommendation invitations sent to those doing the recommendations. For some weird reason, Common App has made this a 2 step process, where you invite or assign the individuals, and then you must assign or invite (see, even I am confused about this!) them specifically for the college involved. This, of course, enables you to choose which recommendations go to which college, but it does mean that you may think it is all wrapped up when it isn't. Check the help menu on Common App if you have questions. Although the whole process has been the stuff of which nightmares are made, they have worked quickly to post solutions to the most common problems.
4) Don't forget to check for supplements--many colleges have writing supplements or want extra information, and until that is completed, your application is not complete. Checking with the college website or the admissions rep may help you to find out what their requirements are.
5) And lastly, make sure  you have actually submitted the thing. Some students are assuming because they have paid and received acknowledgement that payment has been made that they are done. But you must hit submit, which will generate a pdf of the application for your final approval. You must then sign and submit the whole thing for it go through.
And, thankfully, the application season is almost over, and we can all move on the more exciting part--getting those acceptances and making the final decision of which college you will be attending. Not necessarily less anxiety-inducing, but much more fun!

Common Application Woes

As if college applications aren't stressful enough, this year students and counselors alike are battling the baffling new Common Application. Things have gotten so bad the CA has been sending out daily emails about problems and fixes. Unfortunately, the former seem to outnumber the latter.
However, there is some help available, and lots of advice for those struggling with the whole process. The first suggestion is true no matter what--don't try to submit on the day before a big deadline. If the site crashes (and it has already done that on October 14), then you may have a big problem. Work on the application way ahead of schedule and click the submit button well ahead of the deadlines to be sure things work.
Second suggestion: browse around the web for suggestions! Here is one site that may help:
http://drstrangecollege.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/got-common-app-problems-heres-what-were-trying/
It has a handy link to a downloadable guide to the Common App that may save you some headaches. There are some little tricks people have found that may help you avoid difficulties, so scout around and keep ahead of what's happening.
Keep up with news from the colleges you are applying to, as well. Several have changed their deadlines for early decision, some have offered the opportunity to turn in a paper copy of your application, and all are as concerned about getting your application as you are to get it to them. Take advantage of the links to the college, such as facebook pages and twitter, so you can find out the latest news from their admissions departments.
Make sure to check for supplements for each college--not all of them have one, but with the new interface having so many problems, you don't want to miss it. Here is a site that gives a handy chart including whether a college has a supplement, as well as how many recommendations and when the deadlines are. Check it out: https://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/common_app_colleges.jhtml
And don't forget to inform me of the colleges you are applying to well ahead of time, so I can get your documents to the school on time. Although the colleges are adjusting to this unexpected snafu with Common App, they will only be so patient for your application to be completed by school documents.

College Admissions

Wow, time sure flies, and I have obviously not lived up to my goal to post at least once a month. It has been a really busy college application/scholarship search time with this year's seniors, and they are all ready to move on in their college and career plans. But now, it is time to move on to the Class of 2014!
I read some interesting articles today that might shed some light on the whole admissions process.
The first was at http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/selecting-high-school-courses/ about selecting high school courses. Every year students come in to schedule their courses, and sometimes their number one concern seems to be choosing courses that are easy. Not all feel that way, but when those students also tell me that they want to go to a more selective school, red flags go up. Schools look carefully at your academic record, and they are not interested in students who are not interested in learning. A high GPA based on A's in classes like gym or choir will not get you very far at schools with a lot more applicants than freshman spaces.
The second was related: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/30/education/20091130choiceStudentCard.html. This gives a look at how a college collates all that information that they receive. Some of it sheds some light on my job as counselor. When I fill out a Secondary School Report, sometimes called the Counselor's Report, they ask me a variety of questions about your academic record. They ask me about:

• your class rank, which is where you stand among your fellow students by GPA, stated as x/y, with x being your standing and y the total number of students in your class. For example, HGCS's Class of 2014 has 45 members. If your GPA put you at #10, you would be 10/45. Because we are a small school, you can pretty quickly be out of the top 10%, or even top 25%, but college admissions officers understand that smaller groups will require a closer look at grades and test scores. If the class is highly competitive, you can be 10/45 with pretty close to a 4.0 GPA. These are things I will discuss on your report, particularly if your rank is a bit low for your GPA.
• the high school program based on my knowledge about the classes available to you. A student who has taken all or most of our advanced placement and honors classes will have had our Most Demanding level of classes, someone who just took a few may have a Demanding level, those who took none of the advanced classes (including a 3rd year of language) will receive an Average rating. The more selective the college, the more they are going to want to see a higher rating on this one.
• colleges also ask me to send a school profile along with the form, which tells them what courses we offer, and whether we have Honors or AP level courses. It also has statistics on SAT scores and college attendance. This information is considered important; students who have access to only a few AP courses won't be penalized for not taking as many as a student who had access to a lot of AP courses. Of course, another way to improve your application is to show that you pursued other options, such as internships, dual enrollment classes, online classes, summer college credit classes, etc. Colleges are looking for students who are interested in learning, who are engaged in actively pursuing opportunities for that learning. It isn't a requirement, but in an age of increasing numbers of applicants for college spaces, it can make a difference. If this is impossible due to financial issues, having a job is also helpful. You may think serving ice cream at the local ice cream store is not very educational, but holding a job tells the college a lot about your initiative and work ethic.
• information about the other students in the class: they want to know what the highest GPA in the graduating class is. Again, this gives them some information about the competition in your class; if you have a 3.99 GPA and are 12/40, seeing how close your GPA is to the top gives them some perspective. They are also interested in how many of our students go to 4 year schools. This also tells them something about the school environment in which you have spent your 4 years.
• whether you have been disciplined by a suspension: this is limited to the years from 9-12th grade, and should you receive a suspension after you have applied, I am expected to let them know of the change. This doesn't mean that you are doomed as far as admission to your first choice school, but it does mean you need to be proactive if this is the case. You should address this somewhere on the application, and if there is no place to discuss it, you need to type up a short explanation of what happened and what you learned or how you have changed since then. Ignoring it is not a wise choice. And they will be asking me about it, as well, so being accurate is important.

Also on the form shown on the second site I mentioned is your contact with the college. If you have a first choice school, you should be contacting them. Visit the school, and make sure you at least say hello to your admissions representative. Email with questions. If you have an interview with someone, send a thank you. If you never contact them, they will not know you are definitely interested in their school.

Financial decisions

Just when you thought you were finished--seniors, there is a lot more work ahead. Your applications may be done, your acceptances may be in hand, but now comes the hard work--how do I afford this wonderful college I want to attend?

One often overlooked resource when attempting to determine affordability is the Net Price Calculator now included by law on college websites. This feature will let you enter information and it will give you an idea of what the net price of the college after aid is given will be. It isn't a guarantee, but it gives a ballpark figure for comparison. And it can be surprising. With the reduction in state money given to the state universities, and the increased competition for a smaller applicant pool causing smaller private schools to offer more aid, the difference between a state university's cost and a private school's cost may be considerably less than you think, and may even, in some cases, be reversed, with the private school being cheaper than the state school.

This is also the time that scholarship applications are being filled out and sent in, in hopes of making the  way easier for affording the college of your dreams. However, it is important to recognize that scholarship money can often reduce the amount of aid you are offered by the same amount. Colleges have only so much aid money, and a lot of students who are in need of some help, so if you can get scholarship money, they are inclined to spread that money a little farther. It all has to do with the FAFSA calculation of need, and college financial aid offices use the information in a variety of ways. It might be a good idea to talk with the financial aid office of your school and find out what their policy is on external sources of aid, so you aren't surprised when the bill comes due.

Another way to prepare for the financial decisions is to take a very close look at what you can afford to take on in the way of debt. There are a variety of loan types available, from the very affordable federal subsidized loans to the very expensive parent loans from private banks. It is important to remember that, while many of them don't require payment during your college days, they will require it after you graduate, and the repayment can take a pretty significant chunk of your paycheck. It helps to think about what is a realistic estimate of post graduate income, and see what should be your borrowing limit in light of that probable amount. It is recommended that the amount of your monthly repayment should be around 10% of your income, which really limits the amount that you should borrow to fund your education. Most of us don't make nearly what we would like to make in the first few years out of college. To get an idea of what the numbers are, google college loan calculator; you will find a variety of websites that provide information on the topic. 

And a reminder--get your FAFSA done before March 1 to qualify for Virginia or Maryland state aid. Wor Wic is providing FAFSA help on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in February (hours and location can be found by calling the financial aid office there).

Tests, tests, tests

Sharpen those number two pencils--testing season is upon us. Unfortunately, these days it seems like testing season is always upon us. In junior year it begins with PSATs and ends with SATs, ACTs and AP exams, and in senior year more tests in the fall or AP exams in spring. These are the most common times and tests, but there are other tests that families should consider, depending on a student's goals and interests.

The first is the SAT II. These are subject specific tests that students should consider taking in the spring of sophomore or junior year, or possibly late fall of senior year. Subjects include Literature, US or World History, Mathematics Levels 1 or 2, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and various world languages. Some colleges require SAT 2 testing, while others suggest them--and if suggested, it will give students who do take them an advantage. The complete list of schools that require SAT 2 tests can be found at http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx; notice that UVA is one school suggesting 2. Some schools also require them for admission to certain majors, such as engineering or nursing. SAT 2's are obviously best taken in late spring of the year the subject is taken, so some of these can begin as early as sophomore year. 

Another type of test available but seldom taken is the CLEP (College Level Examination Program). Students can take these tests in a variety of subjects (list available at http://clep.collegeboard.org/exams/offered) for a cost of less than $100 (exact amount varies according to testing center). This is a great deal if the student gets a high enough score to get credit for a particular college course, since costs for a college course generally start at about $1,200. It is a bit of a gamble, since the score might not be high enough to qualify, but if you succeed it is well worth the effort. And with the cost of college these days, anything that can reduce the total is a good thing. The policies for accepting CLEP credit vary with different colleges, with the information usually available on the college's website. Like the SAT II, these are best taken directly after taking the exam it tests, so they can be taken at any time during high school.

One question I am often asked is if students have to take the AP exam for AP courses they take. This is a good question, since they aren't cheap, and if a student doesn't get a high enough score to qualify for credit (scores required vary according to college), then it seems like a waste of money. On the other hand, if a college sees that a student has taken an AP course and not opted for the test, there might be a question in the admissions officer's mind as to why that might be. I don't want to say that it would adversely affect the admission, but there is a possibility. On the other hand, if a student has really struggled with the course, there might be little likelihood of getting a good score, which can also affect the decision.

And for the SAT, here is an interesting article on myths concerning the SAT: http://www.golocalprov.com/lifestyle/college-admissions-sat-myths-busted1/

So sharpen those pencils and get ready--testing season has arrived.