Academic Access Now

March Madness: Who's in your bracket?

2010-04-03T11:10:00.001-04:00

Harvard, Princeton, and Penn are found in the headlines of the New York Times fairly frequently. But what about Butler, Gonzaga, or the Mountaineers of West Virginia?

The past March Madness month has been filled with names of schools you might not find in the headlines all that often. It has given dozens of schools a chance to be the featured story, and not just the usual suspects of Duke or UNC (which didn't even make it to the tournament!). This year's Final FOur involved a slew of upsets and surprises. Who would have thought Cornell would make it past the first round? And Butler... in the fairly unique position of being both host and participant in the Final Four tournament?

One thing's for sure, though. These campuses are on fire right now. Even if you're not a big sports fan, you're bound to be roped in by school spirit when your team is fighting its way to the Final Four. Or if your school isn't D-I, trust me, an intramural kickball game can also get pretty exciting.

This blogger is not lucky enough to be in Indianapolis this weekend, and I'm betting most of you aren't either. But to the seniors who have heard back from colleges, know that there are students and alumni from four different universities who are way more anxious than you this weekend than you were when you logged in to find your admissions decision. And maybe it wasn't even their first choice school however many years ago, but who remembers those kinds of things years later when you gather with fellow alumni to root for your school?

When it's right, it's right.

2010-03-20T17:03:00.002-04:00

March, April, and often May can be very tense months for high school seniors, so bear with me as I address them in particular in this entry. Though juniors and younger folks should certainly take heed!

Some things in life are just meant to be. Yes, bad things happen to everyone, and that doesn't mean we all deserve it. But things have a way of working out, right? Maybe you didn't make the soccer team freshman year, and that was pretty heartbreaking, until you discovered your hidden talent for rugby. Or you and your "soul mate" broke up after homecoming, and you thought you'd never love again, and what do you know? You're pretty psyched about asking that cute neighbor to senior prom. Bad things happen, and things might not end up like you expected. But it'll all work out. It always has before, right?

This is the most important thing to keep in mind with college decision letters looming. Some will say YES! and some will say "no thanks" (or you might get put on the hook-- "We might want you, just not right now"). That's life. Instead of dwelling on the disappointments, though, it's important to be excited about those acceptances. Those colleges saw something awesome in you, and they want to be a part of your life from here on out.

And as for that kid who is a quadruple-legacy, that kid who lied on his application, cheated on his SAT, slept through most of high school, and got into your top choice? Think about it. How long will his good luck last? Karma will catch up with him, whether it's in the form of academic probation in college or a dishonorable discharge from his first job.

Don't sweat it any more than you already have. You worked hard in high school, right? You wrote an essay about YOU, right? You were honest on your application, right? Well then each college looked at who you are and what you can do, and the ones who tell you YES! are just... meant to be.

In like a lamb, out like a lion?

2010-03-15T20:53:00.002-04:00

The month of March can be an interesting time for high school juniors and seniors.

For seniors, March begins with the calm relaxation of the last semester of high school and the last gasps of relief at finishing those college applications on time. But as the days pass, that calmness might fade as anxiety sets in for college decision letters. Maybe some of the colleges on your list even let you know a little earlier, so you hold your breath each time you check your email, or you race your parents to the mailbox as soon as you get home from school. That top choice is probably waiting until April, but it can't hurt to check, right?

The one thing that might make some seniors feel better is watching as their junior friends and classmates get their first taste of college panic. SAT, ACT, infosession, Common App? Seniors can say "been there, done that" and smile; waiting might seem hard, but it's probably the easiest part of the process. Meanwhile, juniors are swimming in a sea of brochures and vocab flash cards as they step onto college campuses as prospective students for the very first time. (Juniors: we highly recommend going to visit at least a few colleges over spring break!)

Seniors, take a deep breath. Just a few more weeks and all of your waiting will be over. And remember that once your letters come, you'll have some pretty big decisions to make! So enjoy the unknown while it lasts.

Juniors, this is the beginning of a very exciting time! Take this opportunity to chat up the seniors to get advice on how to get through the whole process. They'll love to impart their wisdom on you... plus, they need a distraction!

Technology in Admissions... Friend or Foe?

2010-03-01T20:20:00.003-05:00

YouTube.com has been around for several years now, hosting thousands of videos of skateboarders falling down, amateurs dancing to "Single Ladies," and baby pandas sneezing, but this year several colleges have entered the virtual media fray as part of the college admissions process.

This past application season, one of Tufts University's optional essays on the Common App supplement asked students to choose from a variety of unusual prompts; one option was to
share a one-minute video that says something about them and upload it to YouTube. About 6% of applicants actually took them up on the offer, and many of these videos have hit counts in the thousands (of course, articles in the Boston Globe and in the New York Times have probably helped those numbers).

Here's a sample video that has been particularly popular. Do you see the charm?

Applicants are forced to wonder whether they'll be at an advantage for going out on a limb to make a mediocre video (at least I tried to be different!) or whether they should just stick to the familiar territory of Microsoft Word. Will admissions officers appreciate your step into the unknown, or will some shudder at the thought of having to watch another minute of off-key singing or thinly veiled boasting? As there are thousands of kids out there without webcams or the desire to broadcast their faces to the all-knowing (and all-archiving) World Wide Web, I'm betting you'll be just fine if you go for a fun and creative one-pager instead.

The Tufts Admissions Office isn't the only college getting in on the YouTube action. In January Yale released a video entitled "That's why I chose Yale" on the popular video site. The video features an infosession-gone-broadway as a Yalie begins to sing in response to a student's question, "Why did you choose Yale?" The video has been immensely popular with enthusiastic Yale applicants, students and alumni (those already predisposed to the university), but what effect has it had on the uninitiated?

Check it out for yourself:

Reactions certainly range from rolling eyes to memorizing lyrics. Will the video be a gamechanger in swaying undecided applicants towards Yale? In the opinion of this blogger, probably not. Will the video prompt other admissions offices to come up with new ways to strut their stuff online? Only next year's application season will tell.

PhillyGoes2College!

2010-02-23T21:20:00.003-05:00

Have you heard about Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's new educational initiative? It's called "PhillyGoes2College," and here at Academic Access, we think it's a great idea.

As a way to increase the education level of the average Philadelphian, Mayor Nutter has created a new office, PhillyGoes2College. The office will be a resource for high school students (or anyone else who may be interested) to get information on the ins and outs of going to college, like how to obtain and fill out an application, or how to figure out those tricky financial aid forms. The initiative was announced in early January, and the office opened today during a press conference and ribbon-cutting with the mayor himself. It is located in City Hall and now officially open for business, so feel free to stop on by and see for yourself!

The office:

Mayor Nutter cuts the ribbon:

Contact the office:

For more photos of today's exciting launch event, check out our photo album on the Academic Access Facebook page.

It's exciting to see a great idea become a reality, huh? A very exciting part for us is that Academic Access' own Joan Koven has volunteered her time and expertise to help out with the initiative. Along with others from the educational consulting field in the Philadelphia area, Joan will be helping staff the office and provide services to Philadelphia's aspiring college students.

We're all looking forward to seeing PhillyGoes2College become a great success!

The New and Improved Academic Access

2010-02-02T05:52:00.001-05:00

Those high school seniors who were working on applications in our office in December got to experience the beginnings of a transformation. Of course, there was the transformation from stressed high school kid to excited college applicant, but more superficially, they saw Academic Access take some big steps into the 21st century with the addition of our new Technology Center and some general revamping of the office.

For those who know the office well, you may remember a closet in which we kept files and student paperwork. Not much to look at, but functional.

Before:

So, how can we make it better? The answer: a little bit of vision, and a lot of renovation. So in came a construction crew to turn a closet into a room.

Don't forget the wiring for some new technological additions to the Academic Access family...

And at last, after a few finishing touches (which included new paint and carpet for the whole office and some serious tech upgrades), we had a Technology Center and an upgraded office to match.

The Technology Center is equipped with a flatscreen TV as well as a laptop and hi-def webcam. This will serve as a private room for meetings and/or video-conferencing for those clients who live further away or whose schedules don't allow for regular trips to the office.

On a more basic level, it's one more table and four more chairs (plus a door that can be closed) that will give more space and privacy to our clients.

As mentioned above, the rest of the office got a few upgrades too. Like we finally got rid of the old tube TV and upgraded with a new flatscreen, which has already proven useful in our meetings with juniors and their families.

Can you believe that next to that water bottle used to be just a closet?

We're looking forward to sharing Academic Access' increased accessibility with you for many college application seasons to come!

College applications are in... Now what?

2010-01-14T12:08:00.001-05:00

While some colleges accept applications well in to March, April, May, and even June, many deadlines have already passed and we hope that, for your own sanity, you are finished or close to finished the college application process. So once you have put that last application in the mail (or clicked that last “Submit” button), what do you do? It’s time to breathe a sigh of relief and wait for those thick envelopes (or enthusiastic emails) to come rolling in… right?

Contrary to popular belief, your senior spring is no time to slack off. Don't drop your hardest course because you'd rather sleep in, don't procrastinate on your papers because "the grades don't matter," and keep giving your school assignments and extracurriculars 100% effort.

Why?

First off, many colleges request midyear reports. They'll see what courses you've been taking and what grades you've been getting. If you are on the cusp of acceptance, a bad midyear report might push you right into the "reject" pile. So study hard for those midterms or finals... they definitely still matter.

Second, interviews. Many colleges have alumni interviews or on-campus interviews. Let's say you meet with one of these campus reps and they ask you what you've been doing in school. What classes are you taking? ("Oh, um, just four-- French was just taking up too much time.") What's an interesting book you've read for class this semester? ("Well, I liked the beginning of Brave New World, but actually never got to the end.") What extracurricular activity is most important to you? ("I played on the soccer team last year...")

Third, think about what might happen a few months down the line. What if you get waitlisted at your top choice? What if you find out you're up for a scholarship? Keeping your GPA on track (or even pushing it up a few decimals) and giving school the same energy you have since freshman year can work wonders when you’re being compared to your senioritis-afflicted peers.

But go ahead and breathe that sigh of relief anyway. After all, you only have one semester left of that unique experience known as high school. Just hang in there until June!

Don't Underestimate the Value of Courtesy

2009-12-03T15:22:00.006-05:00

In case you haven't seen the New York Times blog called "The Choice: Demystifying College Admissions & Aid," maybe you should check it out. Especially if you are applying to college (or the parent of a college applicant).

Recently an admissions officer from Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, wrote a blog entry in The Choice about what colleges really want to see on your high school transcript. It includes some solid basic advice; challenge yourself with respect to the courses you choose (don't just take easy classes to get good grades), and know that the situations of every student and every high school can be different (so what if your neighbor who went to private school didn't get in? You might be different). But the blog also includes a picture of an actual sheet that Holy Cross admissions officers use to boil down a student's transcript and high school profile into just a few facts and figures. If you don't follow any other links in this blog, at least follow this one to the student academic summary sheet.

There aren't a lot of surprises on this sheet-- but many college applicants may not expect that little box in the lower left hand corner. This box indicates all the ways that you have (or could have) made contact with the university. Did you visit campus? Did you take a tour? Did you have an interview? Did you send a thank-you note? Visiting campus may seem like a no-brainer, but how many people remember to be polite in this crazy admissions process?

You've studied hard for the SAT, spent hours on your essays, and paid those exorbitant application fees. Remember to send a quick thanks to your recommendation-writers, guidance counselors, interviewers, and anyone you may have contacted in the admissions office. After all, if they bother to include it on the one-page summary of your application, it has to count for something.

Toying around with college

2009-11-23T16:06:00.001-05:00

Alli, longtime member of the Academic Access staff, has revealed to us a special talent... on the Etch-a-Sketch! Last week during some downtime, Alli graced the office with her unique gift:

Of course, she chose something topical for the business:

And soon enough, the project was complete.

It may not pay the bills, but Etch-a-Sketching has been a fun and fruitful hobby for Alli. It was the topic of her Common Application essay (years ago), and Alli went to her first-choice college. To those who are still in high school, you may not need a trip to Africa or a varsity letter to get into college... just a creative and open mind.

An Educational Consultant's View: Offbeat College Essays

2009-11-19T15:47:00.001-05:00

Write a haiku, limerick, or short poem that best represents you. (NYU, 2009)
Oh please, NYU

College essays are stressful

Don't make me do this.

I came across this article on CNN.com from a Mental Floss blog entry. It mentions some of the most unusual college essay topics from different applications over the years. The author is witty in her criticism and confusion over these essay questions; I decided to offer my more serious take on these questions from my point of view as an Educational Consultant.

Most college essays revolve around "Why X college?" or "Describe an experience/person/thing that is meaningful to you." Though certainly helpful for admissions officers to get a sense of students (and helpful for students who can copy-paste the same essay into every application), these standard essay questions have become very routine for me and their outcomes often seem uninspired. These eleven topics (and many others like them), on the other hand, actually force students to think.

When discussing these essays with students here at Academic Access, we encounter thoughts and emotions that would remain untouched in most AP English essays. It is much more exciting to explore how kids think and feel when challenged with an essay of "What is college for?" or "Are we alone?". Parents may try to have these deeper conversations during drives home from school or those "alone moments" over a sashimi appetizer, but they never seem to turn into anything.

When a university forces such a topic of conversation, however, it provides an opportunity to engage with students and tackle questions more important than "What did you do last summer and why?" Obviously each university having its own unique (and un-reuseable) set of essays can be a pain for students applying to college, but is it so wrong to set aside some time to think seriously (or humorously?) about where you will be in 2050, or how you really do feel about Wednesdays?

Crack the Code of College Interviews

2009-11-16T17:11:00.001-05:00

We're offering this workshop tomorrow night. Space is limited. Register now, before it's too late!

(Click image to make it larger.)

We're online!

2009-11-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

Email, website, facebook, and now a blog. Academic Access is wired (and wireless) to help you succeed!

Look forward to a blog filled with fun and information on the college application process.