A College Guidance Blog
Students talk to me often about the stresses of college prep. The time spent searching, writing, self-exploring, talking about expectations, fielding questions from family members... The stress quickly snowballs for young people who are already dealing with the unyielding pressures of adolescence. Compounding this stress is the information world we are living in. Students can access the acceptance rates, rankings, who-got-in lists, and previously unavailable volumes of data. To say that the college process pushes the envelope of sanity for many students would not be an understatement.
Over the past ten weeks, I have been immersed in an exploration of technology tools in the college process. It's been a fruitful journey. I've learned about virtual campus visits, search tools, repositories for financial aid information, and means to explore scholarship opportunities. I've also engaged in an ongoing discussion with classmates about the positives/negatives of technology in process. One of the topics that emerged from these discussions is the prevalence of stress as a result of the technology students are using. While the transparency that has resulted in the grand pool of information available through the internet has indeed been positive, the stress byproduct is alarming. Knowing that this stress is likely on the docket for many young college-searching-students and, in fact, inevitable for many of them, I try to impart some sanity on the process. My major piece of advice for students is simply stated, but deeply challenging: Be Mindful Of The Hype. Being aware, keeping a positive outlook, and an open mind are key remedies to the stress. While easier said than done, here are some components of this mantra. Mind the Technology Hype With tools that range in use and price, the internet can be a treasure trove of stress for students. Certainly, there is no shortage of stress inducing college info - acceptance rates and rankings at the forefront. But, while this info is the bedrock of college hype - and must be considered carefully - there are plenty of tools available to reduce the hype. Some of these tools are chronicled in the resources section of this blog, but this is certainly not an exhaustive list. All of the tools have their strengths/weaknesses (including cost). Use the list to get you started, and select the ones that you like best. Mind the Numbers Hype With over 4,000 colleges/universities in the United States, there can be a college for every student. From UCLA and UT Austin, to Deep Springs College and Babson College, to Elmira College and Marlboro College, the options are varied and inclusive. Students who thrive in nearly every environment can find a postsecondary fit if they are open to the possibilities before them. Mind the Ivy Hype There are eight Ivy League schools - the hyped most prestigious schools in the country. But these schools are hardly the be-all, end-all list of options. In fact, Ivy League schools are not for every student, nor should they be. Searching for colleges is as much about learning about yourself as it is learning about schools, and it is perfectly acceptable for this process to not include Ivy League schools. There are more than 15 million undergraduate students in the United States, and around 60,000 of them attend Ivy League. That leaves a VAST majority of successful students who happily attend other colleges, and will, inevitably, do very well for themselves. Mind the Process Hype Another major component of student stress is the college process - the preparation, the search, the application, the admission/rejection letters, the financial aid, and the final decision. Without doubt, this process is daunting and it does not need a lot of help in making it more so. But the process can be managed with finesse and grace, greatly reducing the stress. Connecting with their high school college counselor is a great first step in this process. This person will gladly share resources to aid in all stages, while making themselves available throughout. Finally: Mind Your Own Hype A piece of the college hype that students most often struggle with is the pressure. Pressure from themselves, pressure from parents, pressure from family, pressure from friends. With these competing pressures it is no wonder student stress is so great. Be aware of your own biases that you place on your student, and students beware of your own biases.
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It goes without saying (but maybe it shouldn't), that the college process is stressful. From preparation and research, to tutoring and travel, to application, rejection, and decision, the weight of this seemingly life-altering undertaking on the shoulders of 17-year-olds is immense. For more than 50 years, standardized testing has been the scourge of the American college-going-student.
Sharpening their No. 2 pencils, students across the country sit for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Test (now just the ACT). The taking and scoring of these tests has become a rite of passage for many students looking to attend major universities. Despite little correlation between standardized tests and actual college success, many colleges have continued to require scores as part of their admissions considerations. Thus, young people have stressed and prepped for these tests with their futures seemingly riding on resulting scores. Fortunately, many universities have noted the volume of student stress and the questionable correlation between scores and success, and have moved toward making score submission option. According to FairTest.org, 185 colleges and universities have moved toward test-optional and test-flexible admissions plans. These schools offer students to submit supplemental application materials while omitting submission of their scores. For the students who struggle with standardized tests, have serious test anxiety, or whose scores do not represent their academic skills, test optional schools are ideal considerations. For students looking at colleges that continue to require testing, there are an ever growing number of services that specialize in preparation and test stress management. Here are a few options for students posed with the this daunting task. 1-on-1 Tutoring In the Philadelphia area, there are countless options for students who thrive with in-person instruction. Katherine Miller, Dann Fauria, and MJ Test Prep are three examples of the types of preparation available. There are plenty of other options, and a simple Google search will yield results in your area. Although costly, in-person preparation is often the most fruitful for students. Tutors can address the inherent stresses in the testing process, helping students understand their results and manage expectations for official test sittings. Online Free Tools For students who don't necessarily need in-person instruction, or are working on a budget, there has been a rise in online test preparation tools -- particularly free ones. The most no-nonsense and straight-forward sources of free preparation are provided by the test creators themselves. College Board (providers of the SAT) and ACT's Student page are full of resources to help prospective test takers. A trove of third party resources also exist for free preparation. PrepFactory, a small start-up company, has committed to providing free preparation for students. Its interface is user-friendly, and preparation tools solid. Union Test Prep, a team of five test prep professionals, offers a great collection of resources for students. Online Fee-Based Tools In addition to the growth in in-person tutoring services and free online services, there are also plenty of fee-based online services looking to capitalize on student stress. For students looking for budget options, both of the major testing companies publish affordable test prep books (SAT book; ACT book). Shmoop, a company claiming that it "speaks student" offers prep at a very affordable rate, as does Magoosh, a company who's made their name in the GRE prep world, offers inexpensive options. Options like books, Shmoop, and Magoosh require that students be diligent pursuers of their preparation schedule, and are great for those who are independent in their learning. For the student who needs a bit more guidance, or who experience intense testing anxiety there are other options, although they are quite a bit more expensive. Companies such as Kaplan, one of the biggest names in prep, and IvyBound, out of Connecticut, offer expansive packages to meet the needs of nearly every type of student. Something to Remember Because test prep is indeed a burgeoning industry, students and families must keep in mind the work of these companies in appealing to the intensity of testing. Be sure to approach testing with a measured understanding of what the tests will produce: A score. Although this score may weigh into a student's application at certain colleges, it is still just a number. In fact, in a study out of Bates College (test-optional since 1984) researchers demonstrate the lack of correlation between test scores and college success. Key Message: While beneficial for some students, prep tools must be considered carefully. Know the test; Know your student; Know what you're paying for. In 2013, Forbes Magazine published a crippling announcement that college graduates in the U.S. had borrowed over $1.2 trillion in loans to finance their education. While this number seems astronomical and rather unbelievable, when you add up the dollars, it makes a lot of sense. According to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), the average undergrad owes $28,400 in loans after their graduation. Couple this with likely graduate school costs -- the average MBA program costs $80,000 for tuition alone -- and the numbers add up quickly.
While many families are indeed taking out a second mortgage to finance their young person's education, many also are unaware of the amount of aid available to alternatively offset educational expenditures. The truth is that the landscape surrounding financial aid (scholarships, grants, and loans) is a mess, leaving students and families swimming in a sea of confusion rather than firmly planting their financial futures on the ground. Furthermore, according to a research study by Public Agenda published by the NYTimes, financial hardship is one of the top reasons students do not matriculate at their postsecondary institution. Wherever you are in the college process, it is never too early to start considering how to finance college, and here are some tips to guide your considerations… Community College While many high school students view community college as an underwhelming option for their postsecondary matriculation, it is often a very practical choice. Community colleges are inexpensive, offer a broad range of specialties, and often have pipeline relationships with larger institutions that all-but-guarantee admission for students who take their academics seriously. Overcoming the community college stigma may be a bit of work, but worth it when a student is considering buying a new house at 33 instead of 43. Private Scholarships The myth: My student will be able to finance their entire education through private scholarships. The truth: There are only about 250 private scholarships in the entire United States that offer the mythical full-ride. In reality, private scholarships fund less than 3% of all educational financing and often require hours of work for amounts of money that students see a pennies compared to their overall expenditures. Still, if a student is able to secure a $1,000 scholarship or an application that requires two hours worth of work, the rate of $500/hour seems like a worthwhile endeavor. Beware: Apps and Internet Search Tools While the internet does indeed provide a plentiful bounty of tools to aid in your search for scholarships and financing options, the most popular tools are often the most daunting and questionably useful. Tools like Fastweb or Scholarships.com provide vast databases of scholarship opportunities, but are challenging to navigate, leading often to dead-end options, and fill your inbox with overwhelming amounts of junk. This being said, some tools have some worth and two that I have found to be very useful are Scholly and SALT Money. Both have navigable interfaces, rich databases, and do not load your inbox with junk. Untapped Resources Of course, private and non-profit organizations provide sizable amounts of resources regarding financial aid, but one resource (ironically) often goes untapped: The Department of Education. Both the U.S. Dept. of Ed. and state Depts. of Ed. offer great pools of resources for students and families at all stages of the college process. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Association (PHEAA), for example, offers free seminars, booklets, videos, and tools for understanding aid. The U.S. Dept. of Ed. has terrific YouTube series on college finances. Also, the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) is no slouch in its offerings of resources for students. Although financing college can seem like an insurmountable task, it is one that young people must be prepared for. Start early, and use the resources available to ensure that talks about the second mortgage continue to remain just talks.
As technology continues to become a ubiquitous part of society and the lives of its young people, possibilities continue to unfold. In the short time since the internet's inception, dramatic changes have occurred in the way people consume knowledge, share their lives, engage in commerce, and interact with one another. Technology has also acted as a tool for leveling the playingfield in many aspects of life. For some that has resulted in access to books through easily available tools such as Learning Ally, for others it has opened up doors for composition or speech, and still for others it has provided access to a virtually limitless bounty of information.
In the world of college admissions and counseling, technology has similarly revolutionized processes, information, and access. College professionals will tell you that a crucial part of discerning the "best-fit" college is stepping foot on campuses of interest. Unfortunately, this prospect is simply not an option for many students. Visiting college campuses involves taking time away from school, money for travel expenditures, and means to plan such visits. This makes the campus visit a non-starter for a vast majority of students, despite being lauded as a critical step in the process. Realizing this truth, colleges, marketing professionals, and technology companies have responded with a host of tools that allow students to "visit" campuses from the comforts of their own home. The product: Virtual College Tours (VCTs). Simply put, VCTs are collections of photos, videos, audio, and other information that place the viewer in the midst of the college's campus. I will use the Savanna College of Art and Design's (SCAD) VCT as an example. Using a tool called YouVisit, SCAD begins the viewer at its most iconic building in beautiful Savanna. The tour is hosted by Gabrielle, a pleasant student of the college, who provides a very human aspect of the tour. There are links to other buildings, videos, 360-degree photos, and options to schedule an actual visit. Check it out for yourself...
Using tools such as YouVisit, VCTs are becoming an increasingly popular means of encouraging student interaction with campuses, while luring students for actual visits. Outside of purely a marketing ploy, VCTs offer unique opportunities for students to gain a nearly first-hand campus experience. They can visit libraries, see buildings, quads, dorms, and other facilities that give them a sense of what colleges value.
But, students must approach VCTs with a careful eye. While indeed provide an insider's perspective, many VCTs are sanitized by the colleges themselves. To look deeper within the college of their choice, students can choose to employ another tool to accompany their VCT: the on-campus student interview. Using tools such as Youtube and Vimeo, students can easily unearth interviews with students on many campuses (like these from SCAD). Students can also tap into resources such as CollegeClickTV, a collective of interviews with college students. CCTV's productions are candid, unscripted, and insightful. Consider this interview with an Ithaca College student...
Combining a YouVisit VCT with some interviews from CCTV can be a powerful experience for a student, and open a young person's eyes to some of the truths about colleges that they don't always hear from an admissions brochure. As technology in the college process continues to develop, be sure to remain on the lookout for similar tools that can increase campus accessibility and lead to students finding their "best-fit" option for the future.
Beginning earlier each year high schoolers from around the nation buy books, access google, check out the College Board's Big Future, SuperMatch, CollegeNavigator, or the Princeton Review in hopes of finding their "dream" college. They sift through data, making snap adolescent judgements about the importance of attributes such as campus diversity, size, and academic rigor. Beginning with a pool of around 4,500 options they narrow and narrow with a new found tenacity that some parents hardly new existed before this moment in their young person's life.
While in many ways this surge in adolescent-sleuth-like behavior is indeed admiring (and astonishing), it is also troubling. Many young people are feeling the pressure to begin preparing for college or their career as early as middle school. Gone are the days of swimming in the lake at summer camp, as they are replaced with intensive internships, volunteering, and building of the pre-pre-college resume. But the truth of this situation is much more detrimental than it seems. On the surface it makes sense that young people should be interning, volunteering, and preparing themselves for the rigors of postsecondary learning. After all, their futures depend on a college degree and what better time to start than now. The ruth remains, however, that all of this college preparation has overshadowed students' preparation of themselves. In place of adventuresome summers of self-exploration and fun commitments to extracurricular clubs and teams we have put unnecessarily intensive, high-stress activities that do not allow students to figure out who they are. While using technology to narrow down their search to one "dream" school, our young people are less certain about their futures than they ever have been. So, as you prepare for your intensive college search, here a few things to help guide you in the earliest stages; both for students and for parents... For Students Tip #1- Begin your search with two questions: (1) Who am I? No really: who ARE you? Not the simple "I am me..." answer. Dig deep and fish around for some answers. What are the ideas and things that make up your identity? Colleges want authentic, confident young people who have a sense of self. This is a good question to start with. (2) What do I care about? This question is much easier than it looks. Under the surface of these five words, it is all about values. Okay, so you care about your younger sister... what does that mean you value? Family? So, what does that say about who you are? Who is a person that values their family? Tip #2- Get outside your comfort zone. Start small by taking a trip to a park outside your neighborhood with a friend. Read a book that you might not have read before - here's a suggestion. Make a new friend, write in a journal, try a few new restaurants, go on a road trip with your family. Most importantly: Explore yourself through something new. Get to know you a bit more. For Parents Tip #1- There are no shortages of books, guides, online tutorials, Youtube videos, and experts who will gladly charge you for access to a treasure trove of information about the college search. But the best place to start (and often the most cost-aware) is with your student's secondary counselor. Nevermind that there are only two at your student's 1,200 person school, the individuals in this profession are dedicated to help students navigate their futures and often are overrun with resources to aide in this process. Also, your student's secondary counselor is sure to provide you with a manageable timeline for all things college-preparatory in nature. Tip #2- An essential piece of the college search is not actually about finding colleges, but about helping your student figure some things out about themselves. Take them on a road trip, encourage them to explore, and read new books (maybe a parent/child summer read? Here's a suggestion). Most importantly, your young person is going to have to grapple with some pretty tough questions in the not-too-distant future, so them help build up some experiences to make it a bit easier to self-reflect. Finally, remember to keep in mind that the college frenzy is largely a veil. In truth, young people who have some sense of who they are realize that where they go is not who they will be. There are thousands of terrific colleges out there that are great for a variety of students. The actual search is much deeper. |