The road to college admissions workshop December 6, 2014
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This presentation is from a workshop to learn about the road to college admission and the timeline to get there. What do you need to do and when should you do it? For all high school parents...and students are invited too. You probably have lots of questions: What grade should you start planning? How do you find the right schools to fit your child? What is the college application process all about? What do the colleges look for? When should my child take the standardized tests? How much does it really cost and where can I find financial assistance? This presentation takes you through the timeline, answers those questions and more. The workshop is conducted by: Christine Luksza-Paravicini: a private college admissions counselor handling all students but with particular expertise for student-athletes and those in the visual and performing arts. She previously taught high school, middle school, and elementary school students at both public and private schools and is a member of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling. Josh Ackerman: a private college admissions counselor who is a graduate of Yale. He also worked in the Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions for 4 years, reviewing thousands of applications. The combination of student and admissions officer at an Ivy League school gives him a rare expertise. Christine and Josh are both advisors for SpanOne, helping high school students find the college that’s best for them. We do it by matching your child with an admissions expert from our network of consultants. Together they work one-on-one every step of the way to plan for, prepare, and pursue college.
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The road to college admissions workshop December 6, 2014
- 1. The Road to College Admissions December 6, 2014
- 2. Thank you for joining us for today’s session! Josh Ackerman SpanOne College Admissions Advisor Welcome Chris Taylor SpanOne Christine Paravicini SpanOne College Admissions Advisor SpanOne, VP Client Services
- 3. It’s a brave new college admissions world
- 4. It’s a brave new college admissions world
- 5. It’s a brave new college admissions world
- 6. It’s a brave new college admissions world
- 7. It’s a brave new college admissions world
- 9. Stanford acceptance rate 5.07%
- 10. These numbers don’t tell the full story Colleges and universities don’t admit 2400s or 36s. They admit .real students. with .real experiences. and .real stories.. You are one of those students.
- 11. Goal You will walk away from this more empowered and informed than ever before about the college admissions journey.
- 12. Goal You will walk away from this more empowered and informed than ever before about the college admissions journey.
- 13. The College Admissions Journey Application component s The final decision Absorb everything Informatio n gathering The art of the college essay Academics come first SAT vs. ACT Next level strategy Getting involved Freshman Sophomor e Junior Senior
- 14. 1. Absorb everything, start early, set goals College planning can begin in 7th grade, but it’s never too late to start Parents: Be partners in your child’s success - support them ● Junior High: Passions, exploration, academics ● Freshmen: Game plan, goals, challenge yourself ● Sophomores: Reach goals, summer plan, explore ● Juniors: Focus, evaluate plan, determine likes/dislikes
- 15. 2. Academics come first Your transcript is the most important part of your ● Past success = Future success ● The importance of .AP. and .IB. courses ● Challenge yourself ○ Be competitive with yourself, not your classmates application
- 16. 3. Getting involved, athletics, special talents Follow your passion, be proactive, stay engaged ● Time spent outside of the classroom ● Work? Volunteer? Play a sport or an instrument? ● How many hours per week? How many years? 1. Dedication 2. Persistence 3. Personal growth 4. Leadership
- 17. 3. Athletic recruiting Be proactive, persistent, and know the rules ● Academically: support, desire and ability to succeed? ● Athletically: Can I contribute and improve? ● Socially: Will I be comfortable and grow as a person? Know NCAA rules: www.ncaa.org Good grades = more opportunity The reality of athletic scholarships
- 18. 4. Information gathering The science behind building your college list ● Explore. Know thyself. Like/dislike, weather, school size... ● Name brands and looking for the “best fit” ● Research. More knowledge = more opportunity ● Parent research, net price calculators ● “Colleges That Change Lives” - www.ctcl.org ● 10 schools on the list: Reach schools, Competitive, Probable
- 19. 5. SAT vs. ACT It’s all about your personal preference .SAT. 2400 Reading, Math, Writing 25-min sections x 10 + SAT IIs .ACT. 36 English, Math, Science, Reading 60-min sections x 4 + optional Writing section
- 20. 5. SAT vs. ACT It’s all about your personal preference .SAT. 2400 Reading, Math, Writing 25-min sections x 10 + SAT IIs .ACT. 36 English, Math, Science, Reading 60-min sections x 4 + optional Writing section .Score choice? Super score?.
- 21. 6. Common application components The majority of your application is already crafted ● Personal Information ● Academic Information ● Transcript ● Extracurricular Information ● Essay ● Letters of recommendation ○ 1 guidance counselor ○ 2 teachers
- 22. 6. Additional application components The majority of your application is already crafted College-specific supplement ● Essay On-campus / Alumni Interviews Scholarships Financial Aid
- 23. 7. The art of the college essay
- 24. 7. The art of the college essay The “tip factor” that brings YOU off the page ● Essay can be the “swaying factor” ● Essays and short answers provide an interview on paper ● Illustrate your personality, humor, eloquence, and writing ability ● Tips: answer the question, edit, proofread, be yourself, be concise, be accurate, be vivid
- 25. 8. Next level strategy - Early, rolling, regular The timeline is in your hands. But is there a competitive advantage? Early Action Early Decision Regular Decision Rolling Admissions
- 26. 8. Next level strategy - Early, rolling, regular The timeline is in your hands. But is there a competitive advantage? .NOV. Early Action Not binding .NOV. Early Decision Binding .JAN. Regular Decision Not binding
- 27. 8. Next level strategy - Early, rolling, regular The timeline is in your hands. But is there a competitive advantage? .NOV. Early Action Apply to multiple .NOV. Early Decision Apply to one .JAN. Regular Decision Apply to
- 28. 8. Next level strategy - Early, rolling, regular The timeline is in your hands. But is there a competitive advantage? .NOV. Early Action Hear by mid- December .NOV. Early Decision Hear by mid- December .JAN. Regular Decision Hear by April 1
- 29. 8. Next level strategy - Early, rolling, regular Who should apply early action / early decision? A student who... ● Researched colleges extensively ● Absolutely sure that the college is the first choice ● Meets or exceeds the admission profile for college ● Consistent academic record of success
- 30. 8. Next level strategy - Scholarships and financial aid Don’t let the price tag of a great education ever deter you What’s the true cost of college? Scholarships ● Local to national ● School specific ● Follows application season Financial aid ● FAFSA ● CSS profile ● Follows calendar year (Jan to Dec of junior / senior yr) Aid: Need-based Admissions: Need-blind
- 31. 9. The final decision Choice: a good problem to have ● Go with your gut ● Does it feel like home- visiting is imperative ● Campus life ● Long range goals ● Location, weather, school size, cost
- 32. What does success look like?
- 34. Even professional athletes need coaches.
- 35. Each bullet point is a full presentation on its own.
- 36. Success is within reach. YOU CAN DO THIS.
- 37. Who’s Guiding Your Child to College? ● College Admissions Advisors - former teachers, counselors, college admissions staff, professors ● Work 1-on-1 with your expert advisor the ENTIRE journey ● Complete guidance from finding passion to acceptance ● Expanding the possibilities while giving peace of mind ● Finding the best fit for your child ● Start now!
- 38. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- Welcome and thanks for joining us. We greatly appreciate your time this morning. My name is Chris Taylor. I’m with a company called SpanOne. We are your host this morning. SpanOne provides 1 on 1 college admissions consulting for students and their parents. Our experts work one on one with your child from discussing what they want to major in all the way through evaluating those acceptance letters. Enough of the commercial. Question - How many of you are here learning for a student who’s pre-high school? How many of you have 9th or 10th graders? How many have Juniors in the house? How many of you have Seniors?
- So let me say one more word about myself and then our experts will introduce themselves. They’re the ones you really want to hear from. Outside of SpanOne, I’m a dad with 3 kids, 2 of which have gone through the college admissions journey. A sophomore in college and a senior at Silver Creek High School. I’m in your shoes! Let me have Christine and Josh introduce themselves.
- I won’t ask anyone’s age but...how many of you, when you applied to your first college as an undergrad, actually filled out a paper form? Yep, things have changed just a little bit since we went to school! A lot more to know and a whole new way to do it.
- Things have also changed in how competitive it is. The enrollment in undergrad and graduate school has risent dramatically in recent years and decades. Many reasons for this but two key ones - a higher percentage of high school students are pursuing college and a record number of international students are also competing for those acceptance letters.
- At the same time, unfortunately supply hasn’t kept up with demand. Here you can see the acceptance rates at some of the elite schools dropping significantly. In general it’s fair to say that it’s more competitive than ever.
- Unfortunately just when we as parents and our children need more help to do all they can to compete, the resources to help are in some cases more stretched than ever. Public school counselors are stretched so thin and deal with so many things that their ability to provide meaningful college admissions advice is very limited and typically very generic. Now it’s definitely better from the perspective of private school counselors...but still there’s a limit to the depth of support they can provide any single student. That means we as parents need to be more involved than ever and really our children should be more involved too.
- Unfortunately just when we as parents and our children need more help to do all they can to compete, the resources to help are in some cases more stretched than ever. Public school counselors are stretched so thin and deal with so many things that their ability to provide meaningful college admissions advice is very limited and typically very generic. Now it’s definitely better from the perspective of private school counselors...but still there’s a limit to the depth of support they can provide any single student. That means we as parents need to be more involved than ever and really our children should be more involved too.
- But you might say - hey, who cares? I just want my kid to get great grades and great test scores and everything will be fine. Unfortunately it’s not that easy. Whether your child excels, is above average, average, or perhaps struggling based on their grades and test scores, there are a lot of other students at that same level. So the colleges and universities incorporate other factors into the selection process to help differentiate and separate candidates. For example, in a recent study of college admissions officers (which we’ll provide a link to at the end), 60% said that essays are moderately to significantly important in the selection process at their schools. So that means there’s so much to learn, so much to understand. Ultimately what you want to do is have your child do as well as possible with each of these factors and give themselves the greatest number of opportunities possible. My daughter has already received one acceptance letter. That’s exciting. But what if that’s the only acceptance letter? Then her options are limited. Obviously my hope is she gets more acceptance letters and we can choose from multiple opportunities to find the best fit for her. WIth that, let me turn it over to the experts on this process so they can take you through the timeline and talk about the key elements along the journey. Josh.
- This is the current acceptance rate at Stanford, the lowest in their history.
- The classes you choose in junior high affect your course schedule in high school. The junior high years may also be a time to begin specializing in your favorite activity or sport. Did you know that students can take the PSAT as early as 7th grade? Parents would be wise to learn about how colleges evaluate their assets and financial needs. The sooner you know how the system works, the better prepared you will be during the critical junior-senior period.
- College admissions officers are interested in your activities outside of the classroom. They value work, passion and dedication to an art or sport, curiosity, and leadership. They want to see if you have challenged yourself in different ways.
- While it feels so early to start thinking about college in your freshman year, it’s never too early to tour a campus and get your name on a mailing list. The more information you gather before senior year, the better prepared you will be to successfully complete your application process.
- All things being equal, the essay is your opportunity to captivate the reader and truly stand out. However, there is an art to the process and having a good editor is key. Last minute efforts typically fall short and readers can spot a unauthentic piece of writing in a flash. So, start early, take your time, ponder and edit.
- All things being equal, the essay is your opportunity to captivate the reader and truly stand out. However, there is an art to the process and having a good editor is key. Last minute efforts typically fall short and readers can spot a unauthentic piece of writing in a flash. So, start early, take your time, ponder and edit.
- Visit every school. Talk with students about work load, class size, campus life, number of hours people sleep, etc. Consider the cost. Compare offers. What are your long range goals? Still hard to decide? Go with your gut.