If you’re taking the SAT this weekend: Read this

In the last week, I’ve received several calls from parents who are worried about their son’s or daughter’s preparation for the SAT. My first response is to allay their fears that this one test will doom their teen’s future admission to college. While it’s true that these standardized test are reviewed in the college admissions process, it is only one of several factors considered. (Sigh! Thank goodness it’s not the only one, right?)

There is a growing number of test-optional colleges. If you don’t test well but you do write well, those colleges should be considered.

If you’re still reading this post, you’re probably already registered for Saturday’s SAT exam, so I’d like to offer you this invitation:

Please join me on BlogTalkRadio this Thursday, December 1 at 9 pm EST

We’re hosting the first segment of our two-part series on standardized tests, which will focus on Last Minute Tips and Strategies for the SAT. My guest will be Jim Meany of Insight Tutors in Greenwich, CT. Jim has over 25 years of tutoring experience. He is a graduate of Stanford University and University of Southern California.

If you have any questions for Jim, you are welcomed to send those to radio at compasseducationstrategies.com.

 

P.S. Jim will join us again next week to discuss the ACT!

 

SMU reaches beyond ‘Southern’ and beyond ‘Methodist’

Southern Methodist University is a college campus located in the heart of Dallas. I don’t refer to it as an urban campus because the city surrounds an academic culture, spirited athletics, and a thriving social life. Likewise, Dallas is more a business and residential town, than a college town. Beyond having ‘Southern” in its name, SMU boasts a student body from around the US and world. (SMU’s student body is less Texan than other Christian colleges in the state.)

The academic core of SMU focuses on liberal arts and sciences. Students can also major in programs across SMU’s five colleges:

  • Arts
  • Business
  • Education and Human Development
  • Engineering
  • Humanities

Two additional colleges offer post-graduate courses only – Law School and School of Theology. However, undergraduates can study in the law library…nice perk for pre-law students!

Student Life features Greek and Athletics

An active Greek life with over third participation and numerous student clubs keep students busy. SMU has a strong sports culture as does the surrounding Dallas metropolitan area. The sports museum at the stadium features the Heisman Trophy won by SMU graduate, Doak Walker in 1948. Students provided input to the fitness center and it’s quite an impressive facility with a rock climbing wall, billiards, basketball courts, and even a tanning pool! The tour guide stated that “the girls are happy about the tanning pool and the guys are glad that they’re happy.” 🙂

Although the university was founded by Methodists, there are no required religion courses, no required chapel attendance. With the exception of an on-campus chapel (where the most weddings in Dallas are held), there is no semblance of religious affiliation. Just as Federal Express became FedEx, perhaps Southern Methodist University may consider SMU as its official name!

SMU also has a satellite campus in Taos, New Mexico. I look forward to visiting there in the upcoming years.

Anonymity not allowed at Austin College

austin-college

“We admit more students than we deny!” rang like music to the ears of high school seniors visiting Austin College. As one of the 40 colleges featured in Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College likely gets a lot of visitors throughout the year who decide to apply. When students self-select into the Austin College application process, it’s likely that they may have read about the special features of this liberal arts college in north Texas.

There are 3 features that bring a unique flavor to Austin College:

  1. Faculty mentors – Each student is matched with a faculty mentor that remains with them for their four years. The faculty mentor supports the student through all aspects of navigating the academic and social life of college. In order to register each term, the student must meet with faculty. This ensures that you speak with your mentor each term, but many students are meeting with their mentors much more frequently than that.These strong faculty-student relationships then support the high rates of graduate school admissions for Austin undergraduates. Despite its small student body of 1,300, each year Austin ranks highly for its number of Fulbright scholars.
  2. International experiences – A majority of Austin students study abroad for at least one term during college. Austin makes these opportunities available to its students through an office dedicated to international study and the January Term. During the month of January, students devote their studies to 1 course which can be offered anywhere in the world. The faculty designs this intensive course which is only taught during January Term.Recent January term courses have included a “Kilts and Castles” tour of Scotland, environmental research in Brazil, plus volunteerism and non-profits in South Africa. What exciting opportunities for Austin students!
  3. Career services – The career service offerings begin in freshman year for Austin College students. You may be surprised that many colleges do not start this process until Junior or Senior year. The admissions officer noted that “Starting early is key to figuring out what you want to do!”Starting early with internships also positions Austin College students to get engaged with its community and strong alumni network during this exploratory phase.

The Austin College community has a lot to offer for the right student. In fact, here are the students who would NOT fit well here:

  • Students who want to be anonymous – the strong faculty-student-peer-administrator relationships will out you! There are no auditorium classrooms, either.
  • Students who want do class only – you’re limited to 4 classes per semester and there are numerous activities for expanded involvement
  • Students who want a 24/7 “big city” life  – the Sherman community is approximately 40K and about 118K with surrounding community. Dallas is about an hour away so you’re not far!

As another sign of the campus community, my information session and tour actually started a few minutes later so that we could wait on another family to arrive. That’s never happened during any visit I’ve joined. Cheers to Austin College hospitality!

 

What if you change your mind about attending/applying to Penn State

If you’re like me, you’re deeply disturbed by the recent arrest at Penn State. The media reports have been alarming and unsettling. Although I’ve heard about the 23-page indictment report, I can’t bring myself to read it. Some things are just better left to the imagination, without all the sordid details. In other words, I don’t want it in my spirit.

A few weeks ago, when I was visiting schools, a young man mentioned that he would be attending Penn State next year. When the news broke days later, my heart sank for this young man and his family. Is he really going to attend? The campus vibrancy and its culture is forever altered. The only good news is that the news broke in early November and there are still many colleges that this young man could still consider.

Given the horrendous nature of these accusations and the fact that the president of the university is out, this family should strongly question whether Penn State is a place where their son should attend college for the next 4-6 years. (Graduation rate: 84.6%) If families are having second thoughts about Penn State, they should contact the university immediately if the student is a committed athlete. You should know whether you are obligated to still attend. Although, it’s hard to imagine that you would still be bound to matriculate.

Once the university’s admissions team learns of your decision, they can offer a spot to another student who may be still eager to attend. About a year ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article about the hiring and placement records of Penn State. There may be a large number of students who may want to attend Penn State for this reason alone.

As for me and my firm . . . it will be a long time before I can include Penn State on any of my students’ college lists.

Are you a fit for Southwestern University, near Austin TX?

Southwestern University

As one of two colleges in Texas included in the book, “Colleges That Change Lives,” Southwestern University

thrives on small classes sizes and offering a rich, diverse learning experience for its 1,350 undergraduates. There are no master’s or doctoral programs at Southwestern, so all attention is on the undergraduate experience. With this undergraduate emphasis, there are numerous research opportunities for students.

The most popular majors at southwestern include business, psychology, and communications. Another impressive offering of the campus is the multitude of fine arts and music programs. Students can even minor in architecture.

Southwestern is primarily a residential campus with 80% of students living on-campus. Although 90% of students have cars, there are plenty of activities to keep students on campus. The campus is located about 30 minutes from Austin, which gives students endless activities to explore nearby.

If you are interested in this campus, consider whether you are a good match with this profile of students who thrive at Southwestern:

  • Intellectually curious
  • Socially conscious – Southwestern will soon have a social justice requirement
  • Active learner
  • Believes in a 24/7 experience of college

How to Meet the 500-word count on College Application Essay

It’s much more difficult to write a short essay than a long essay. Each year, my students struggle with cutting their college application essays to meet the 100- or 500-word count prescribed by the colleges, particularly on the Common Application. In fairness to the admissions readers and the other applicants, students should make every effort to stay within those guidelines as a recent post from the NY Times suggests:

Unlike other parts of the application, which, in its online version, cuts students off midword if they exceed character limits, the personal statement will not be truncated, raising the question in school corridors: Does 500 really mean 500?In a word, no. In two words, kind of.

“If a student uploaded a 500,000-word essay, there’s nothing we could do,” said Rob Killion, executive director of Common Application, which is accepted by more than 400 colleges and universities. “However, we do ask that all students follow the same rules their peers are following.”Mr. Killion said the limit was reinstated after feedback that essays had grown too long. But colleges are not told if essays exceed the limit. Jon Reider, director of college counseling at San Francisco University High School, agreed that concise writing was laudable but said the implication of a strict limit was misleading. “I worry about that kid who’s written 530 and thinks he has to cut 30 words,” he said. “It just puts another stage of anxiety in front of these kids.” Jeffrey Brenzel, dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale, said he did not stop reading if an essay ran long, but “if they go over the limit, the stakes go up.”

via College Application Essay as Haiku? For Some, 500 Words Aren’t Enough – NYTimes.com.

If the word count is over the limit by about 10% in words, that’s not so bad. However, when students add an additional 50% or more, it shows a lack of judgment and an arrogant pen.

To determine the interest of your essay and where to delete:

  1. Read your essay aloud for any redundancies. Delete any and all redundancies, which includes information that is repeated from other parts of your application.
  2. Focus on showing, instead of telling. When you “show,” your essay is more engaging to read.
  3. Picture an admissions officer lying in the bed at 1 am, after reading 50 applications that night. Then ask yourself if your essay will be compelling enough to keep them awake or put them sleep.
  4. Read your essay aloud again. It may feel uncomfortable, but think about it this way. If your essay isn’t interesting enough for you to read aloud, how do you think it will “sound” to the admissions readers?

Please let me know what other tips/tricks have worked for you in streamlining your college application essay!

 

What Applicants to Brown University Must Know

Brown University Graduation Rate: 94.3%

For students applying to Brown University, it’s worth taking note that the current president, Ruth Simmons, is retiring at the end of this academic year, after being in that role for 10 years. It’s worth taking note because the president shapes the campus culture in numerous ways. Although, as a student, I rarely saw Stanford’s then-president, Donald Kennedy, his leadership left an indelible mark on the research agenda, faculty focus, and even student life.

Ruth Simmons had a successful tenure at Brown. In this excerpt from NPR’s Talk of the Nation, she discusses her proud legacy:

 

CONAN: We’re talking with Ruth Simmons, the president at Brown, at least until the end of this academic year. You’re listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. And let’s get Payton on the line. Payton with us from Fayetteville in Arkansas.

PAYTON: Yes. Hi. My question was about – actually, I heard on NPR today a report about the rising cost of tuition. And my question that I want to pose is just how the cost has change since you started as president at Brown and what you see is the future for making college more affordable across the board for everyone.

SIMMONS: Well, this is a huge national issue, as you know, and one that we obviously are struggling to address. The fact is the internal rate of inflation within the higher education is very costly because of all the things that we’re trying to do, the laboratories that we have to build, the resources that students need for highly technical fields today. All of these things create costs that must be met.

At Brown, we are very fortunate to be in a position to be need-blind. This is a change that I implemented after I came to Brown, and it’s probably the thing that I’m proudest of in my time at Brown. That is to say, to make sure that no student, no matter their economic circumstances is prevented from coming to Brown because of their family circumstances. We guarantee enough financial aid for them to come to Brown. They are admitted without our knowing their actual financial need, so that’s why it’s called need-blind. And once we admit the student, we discover what need – the financial need they have, and then we meet that need.

So we are obviously proponents of raising funds to support financial aid so that no student will be denied matriculating because they happen to be poor. That’s not a solution for all institutions, and so obviously we need to moderate the rate of increase of tuition, to reduce the costs internally to make sure that college education will be affordable in the future.

CONAN: Ruth Simmons, thanks so much for your time, and, again, congratulations on highly successful term as the president of Brown University.

via Brown University President Simmons Steps Down : NPR.

Applicants take heed

The new class of students who attend Brown in the Fall of 2012 will have new experiences that may not necessarily match with their interests. As students are visiting the campus, they should be sure to ask about how students will be involved in selecting the next president of Brown University and what measures of student participation will figure into the new president’s transition. If a student is admitted, I highly urge them to visit Brown again in the spring, either for an Admit weekend or alternative period in April to learn more about the next President. Prospective students should learn as much as they can about the leadership before hand to inform their decision. Keep in mind that the next president will have an enormous influence of the campus culture.

Can’t forget Admissions

The other campus administrative role that plays a huge role in campus culture is the admissions director. In my own undergraduate experience, Dean Fred Hargeddon admitted a class of students that was markedly different from the subsequent classes admitted by Dean Jean Fetter. Quite frankly, I’m not so sure that the students who were admitted under Dean Fred would have been admitted under the admissions leadership of Dean Jean. The cohorts of students admitted by Dean Jean’s leadership brought a new level of intensity, deepened specialties.

If you attended college during an administrative leadership change, please let us know what differences you noticed.

Best tips for Acing the ACT or SAT

There’s a great quote which states (paraphrased): “If you think you are, you are.” Research on test-taking confirms this statement. If you are nervous about your test performance (read, telling yourself “I’m not going to do well”), then it actually impairs your test performance. To ease their anxiety, students can follow these tips:

1. . . . teaching yourself in advance to think differently about the test, Dr. Driscoll says. Envision yourself in a situation you find challenging and invigorating; a soccer player might imagine scoring a goal, or a mountain climber might envision herself topping a ridge, he says. Then switch your mental image to the testing room and imagine yourself feeling the same way. With practice, you’ll be able to summon up more confidence on test day.

2. . . . reducing “novelty and stress on the day of the exam” can prevent choking under pressure, says Sian Beilock, a researcher and author on cognitive performance. If you are taking the exam in an unfamiliar place, visit the room in advance.

3. . . . setting aside 10 minutes beforehand to write down your worries, says Dr. Beilock, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Chicago. She and a fellow researcher tested 106 ninth-graders for anxiety before their first high-pressure exam, then asked half of them to spend 10 minutes writing down their thoughts right before the test. The anxious kids who did the writing exercise performed as well on the test as the students who had been calm all along. But anxious students who didn’t do the writing performed more poorly. Expressing one’s worries in writing, Dr. Beilock says, unburdens the brain.

via Toughest Exam Question: What Is the Best Way to Study? – WSJ.com.

Two additional pre-test tips that I constantly share with my students are getting a full-night’s rest before the test. So many teens have become accustomed to staying up late, that they don’t even realize the sub-optimal performance of doing so. My own teen is a great example of that! Secondly, eating oatmeal on the morning of the test also improves your performance. Even when my children were in elementary school, I would make oatmeal each morning of the testing period for achievement tests. I read about the research on oatmeal several years ago  and it still holds true.

University of Chicago returns to The Education Doctor Radio Show

Please remember to catch our special show on Thursday, October 13 at 7:30 CST with University of Chicago Admissions.

Several weeks ago, University of Chicago Admissions visited The Education Doctor® Radio Show to discuss the selective college admissions process. There’s high anxiety for many students and parents during this application season. The show focused on specific tips that students could use to calm the frenzy.

Due to the popularity of that show, Colin Johnson, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions, will return to the show to discuss how to write a winning essay. University of Chicago is well-known for its provocative essay questions. For example, here’s a question for 2011-12 applicants:

  • “What does Play-Doh™ have to do with Plato?”

A past question included:

  • How do you feel about Wednesday?

Whether you’re responding to an unusual question or the more common, “Why this college?” our guest will have some great tips to share!

This is the link to listen live at 7:30 pm CST, October 13

For all live listeners, our chat room will be open for real-time questions. Any advance questions may be emailed to radio@compasseducationstrategies.com.

 

 

Myers-Briggs, UPenn, Brown and You!

When I worked in the private sector, there were a number of inventories, assessments, and other instruments to determine career choices. I actually used those tools to inform my positions within a company as well as consider career transitions.  Much of my firm’s research interests have evolved around educational transitions, whether it’s middle school to high school or high school to college.

For students in middle school and high school, there are inventories, assessments, and the like to determine educational options. Interestingly, a tool that I used in the corporate setting is available has been adapted for teenagers to use. That instrument is the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator. My firm administers the MBTI to students in my practice because it is reliable, well-researched, and has applications to professional careers as well as education. So my students may learn at age 16 that they’re an ENTJ and that can help them with the colleges they select or the careers they later pursue after college. It’s an instrument with long-term relevance.

Our guest today on The Education Doctor Radio show was Claire Law, author of Find the Perfect College for You, Claire Law. She joined us to discuss her research on Meyers-Briggs and how students can use this tool to inform the range of colleges they have on their list. Our discussion is so timely because many high school seniors are now refining and finalizing the list of colleges where they will apply. Claire gave us her insight and practical tips that students can apply immediately to their list.

During the show, we discussed the four scales of MBTI

  • Extrovert – Introvert (where you get your energy)
  • Sensing – Intuition (how you take in information)
  • Thinking – Feeling (how you make decisions)
  • Judging – Perceiving (how you relate to the outer world)
Brown’s curriculum is more open than that of other Ivies.

In the second half of the show, we discussed the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University and the reasons that, as Claire states, there is a “predominance of sensing learners at Penn.” The mission and curriculum of Penn lie in its history, founded by Benjamin Franklin. Although Penn and Brown are both Ivy League institutions, their curriculum, culture, and, therefore, the students that would fit well with the respective colleges are different.