Head College Process Strategist, Colin Garretson, discusses summer programs for high schoolers looking to make the best impressions possible on their college applications. No matter what your young scholar is interested in academically, there’s an amazing summer program for them to highlight their curiosity and involvement.
Read moreFocus On Fit
As the school year winds down, college admissions season is ramping up. The Common App might not open until August, but once your APs are over, it’s time to start figuring out your college list. To do so, it’s more important than ever to see beyond the rankings and focus on fit. Test-optional policies have driven application numbers to new heights, while available spots have decreased due to Zoom-ed out admits taking gap years. Acceptance rates should rebound—at least a little—from last year’s historic lows, but the best way to make your case to admissions officers is to show how you and the college of your dreams are the perfect match.
Fit can be hard to fathom, though, especially if you’re not sure what you want from your college experience—besides, you know, actually being able to show up in person. Maybe you already have a color-coded spreadsheet comparing the merits of every engineering school with gourmet dorm food and a competitive gaming club. But maybe it’s still murky. So let’s break it down.
The first thing to consider is geography. Excited by the idea of being buried under feet of snow from December to March? Can’t live without Texas BBQ? Want to be on a subway line, or at least the Metro-North? Answers to questions like these can help narrow your choices—as can considerations of size. If knowing everyone in your class—and maybe the whole campus—sounds appealing, a small liberal arts college might be the best bet. On the other hand, if you want a student body that can fill an entire stadium, the flagship state schools could be in your future.
The next circle in the Venn diagram is academics. For those with a major in mind, be sure to explore what classes are offered, who’s teaching them, and how many students are signing up. Are there opportunities to work closely with professors? Do most majors engage in research or write senior theses? For the undecided, bear in mind that knowing what you don’t want to study can be just as helpful as already having mapped out your next four years. If math + you = never again or you want to consign history to its proverbial dustbin, consider schools with open curriculums, where you’ll have the most freedom to explore your interests.
Of course, college is about much more than papers and problem sets. If you’re STEM-oriented, explore the labs you could join to do the kind of paradigm-shifting research that, after graduation, could help you land a job or entry into a PhD program. If your goal is to drop out by sophomore year to run your own start-up, make sure your dream school has an incubator to get you going (and a generous leave-of-absence policy in case your funding dries up). To get credit for gaining real-world experience, consider schools with strong co-op programs, where you can burnish your transcript while building your resume.
Perhaps the most important aspect of college—and the aspect that’s hardest to get a handle on—is culture. Do you want an atmosphere that’s preppy, hipster, nerdy, sporty? Are you down for deep philosophical conversations in the dorm? Are you more excited for kick-off than Kierkegaard? Do you want to not just join the political protest, but organize it? To get a sense for campus life, check out student newspapers, humor magazines, student club websites, and the endless YouTube videos. Also take a look at sites like Unigo that feature student surveys and reviews. Thankfully, campuses are starting to reopen, so you should be able to visit in person this summer and fall. When you do, be sure to talk to current students. Most of them will be more than happy to tell you about their experiences—and if they aren’t, well, that will tell you something, too.
Navigating through all the information out there can be daunting, but the more you learn about what’s available, the more you’ll recognize what you want. So as school comes to an end, start thinking about where you’d love to be eighteen months from now. The perfect fit is out there—just waiting for you to discover it.
— Colin G.
Colin is Head College Process Strategist at Intelligentsia. He received his BA in English and History from the University of Pennsylvania, his MA in History and MA in Humanities from Stanford University, and his MFA in Fiction from the University of Houston. He specializes in College Process, History, Literature, Writing, German, and Standardized Tests with 20 years of experience tutoring and teaching at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
From BPS: An Open Letter to Parents Navigating the College Application Process →
Our friends at Behavioral Psych Studio have an amazing blog where they share their wisdom on navigating many issues relating to children and teenagers. Laura Miller, LMSW recently penned this spot-on open letter to parents navigating the college application process and we want to share it with you. Students applying to college absolutely need support, but it should be aimed at making them independent and truer versions of themselves. “Remember, proofreading and grammar checking is okay, but colleges want to hear your child’s unique student perspective, not yours.“ Exactly!
Jargon U: A College Application Glossary
The college application process is daunting in its breadth and challenging in its specificities. While working through the process with personalized help is ideal, there’s a certain amount of clarity that can help long before you sit down to brainstorm essay topics. Some of the most basic things to learn before you even search “how to apply to college” online is the terminology surrounding the process. If you learn the language, you’ll be better equipped to study and master the subject.
Acceptance/Admission Rate: The rate at which applicants are accepted relative to the total number of applicants that applied.
Admissions Tests: Also known as college entrance exams, these are standardized tests designed to measure students’ academic aptitude and give colleges guidance on their readiness for university. They are widely required by many, but not all, universities. The most common tests are the SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and the ACT.
Application: The materials collected and created in order to submit to college. Most applications include a section by section breakdown of what information the school needs from you. Other materials include: high school transcript, recommendation letters, admissions test scores, AP test scores, personal statement, and any auditions/portfolios (if applicable for your program). There is typically a cost to submit your application, between $35 and $70. There may also be supplemental essays and if you are applying for financial aid, you’ll need to submit a completed FAFSA.
Application Deadline: The date by which your application is due. There are different deadlines depending on whether you’re applying regular decision (RD), early action (EA/EAII), early decision (ED/EDII), and/or rolling admissions (RA). All of these are defined in our glossary.
Campus Interview: Less like a job interview and more of a one-on-one information gathering session between an applicant and a representative from the school, like an admissions officer, alumnus, or faculty member. These are rarely required, but often helpful for determining best fit.
Read moreTouring in the Time of Coronavirus
In a world without COVID-19, spring would be the perfect time to visit colleges—the sun is shining, the frisbees are flying, and there’s buzz and excitement in the air. But now that campuses are closed and a significant portion of the country is sheltering in place, how can you get a sense for what a school is actually like, without physically being there? In this post, we’ll offer some tips for exploring what colleges have to offer—all without breaking quarantine.
First up is You Visit, a popular site that features virtual campus tours in both “360 degrees” and VR formats. You can explore the Dartmouth Green or take a stroll down Locust Walk, led by the same student tour guides you’d encounter IRL. Some schools even offer different itineraries based on your interests. For example, after you’ve soaked up the highlights of the Johns Hopkins campus, you can take detours into Athletics & Recreation and Student Life.
Once you’ve gotten a feel for the campuses, it’s time to dig into the numbers. At most schools, admissions pages link to facts and figures about size, student-faculty ratios, and the scores and grades you need to get in. They also tell you something that’s harder to quantify: the values of the institution. Take Michigan, for instance. Based on the stats, the Wolverines are clearly serious about research, affordability, and athletics—not to mention being a top ten college town. After running the numbers at Tulane, however, the best data scientists all agree: nothing much gets done during Mardi Gras.
Beyond the 1s and 0s, there’s a lot of online content that will help you explore what it’s like to attend classes. MOOC platforms like Coursera and EdX offer courses taught by the same faculty you’ll encounter in the classrooms of the top schools in the country, including BU and Berkeley, Georgetown and Duke. Looking for even more? Visit departmental websites to check out course lists, download faculty CVs, and explore undergraduate research opportunities. Got a (newly developed) interest in epidemiology? Tufts has got you covered. Suddenly inspired to build a social simulation video game? Don’t miss out on USC.
Outside the classroom, be sure to dive into student clubs and organizations. There’s everything from MIT’s Assassin’s Guild to Columbia’s Gosh Yarn It. To dig even deeper into campus culture, take a look at student-run newspapers. The Stanford Daily will give you the lowdown on all things Cardinal, connect you to student podcasts, and even give you 19 things to do during self-quarantine. Similarly, the articles, podcasts, and videos at The Daily Northwestern give insight into social life, the opinions of student Op-Ed writers, and events around Evanston. No subscription required.
Of course, the best way to get to know a school is to talk to those who have actually experienced it. So, if you know any current students or recent alumni, reach out! Even if they’re only acquaintances, friends of friends, cousins of neighbors, &c., they’ll probably be more than happy to give you their take. After all, most people love repping their alma maters—and these days, they’ll probably be extra eager for some social un-distancing.
Happy (virtual) visiting and stay safe.
— Colin G.
Sign up for our College Application Crash Course, in which Colin breaks down the college application process into its four main categories: Search & Selection; Tests; Recommendations & Transcripts; and Essays, Activities & Portfolios. Click for more information.
Colin is Head College Process Strategist at Intelligentsia. He received his BA in English and History from the University of Pennsylvania, his MA in History and MA in Humanities from Stanford University, and his MFA in Fiction from the University of Houston. He specializes in College Process, History, Literature, Writing, German, and Standardized Tests with 20 years of experience tutoring and teaching at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
