Parents, Read This if Your Child Is Applying to College
USA News December 09, 2009 02:33 PM ET Lynn F. Jacobs, Jeremy S. Hyman
Holiday time is family time. And family time, in many families, is apply-to-college time. Many parents, despite their best intentions, do more harm than good to their collegebound children during this anxiety-ridden time. So we invited visiting blogger Marilee Jones, former dean of admissions at MIT and coauthor of the book, Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond, to offer some advice to parents of children caught up in the college application maze. Here are her eight "guiding principles":
1. Understand the college admissions process for what it is. Many parents think of college admissions as a competitive battle to be won. But, in truth, it is a key developmental phase to be experienced. This is your child's initiation into adulthood and, at the same time, an important moment in parenting. Your job now is to become your child's "grounding cord"—the calm and confident adult who keeps things safe as your child is exposed to the judgment and serendipity of college admissions officers.
[For more on the process, see the Complete Guide to College Admissions.]
2. Realize it isn't happening to you. We are so connected to our children that we sometimes lose the boundaries between our own issues and theirs. You are not applying to college; your child is. Being clear about this affords you the distance to help him or her calm down when he or she is most scared. When your own anxiety spikes, walk away and firmly remind yourself that the college admission process is not happening to you.
3. Watch those pronouns! Think carefully about the messages you are sending your child. You may think it's OK to refer to your child's application as "our application." But chances are your child will hear something like, "You aren't mature enough to get into college on your own, so I have to help you." This is your child's initiation into adulthood. Your job is to lift your child up, not bring him or her down.
4. Keep your anxiety to yourself. Parents of college applicants have much to worry about, such as, "How can we afford this?" "What if my son or daughter gets rejected?" "How can I be old enough to have a child going to college?" While your worries are real, it's important that you do not share them with your child. Your fears will only amplify his or her own. Keeping a peaceful household is the goal now, so share your feelings with a trusted friend or peer. And if you're really at your wits' end and have no trusted friend, buy one: Now could be the perfect time to get professional short-term counseling.
5. Work with your team. Never act as your child's one and only adviser. The most effective parents team up with their child's guidance counselor and follow his or her lead. Even if that counselor is a 20- or 30-something, he or she still knows more about college admissions than you do.
6. Teach self-soothing. Sometimes we collect information because it helps us feel more in control. We ask our child such questions as "What did you get on that test last week?" or "How do your SAT scores compare with your classmates'?" These questions imply judgment to our child, something that teachers, school administrators, college admissions officers, and peers might already be offering in large amounts. When your child is expressing anxiety, offer reassuring responses—"Don't worry, things always work out for you," "Everything is going to be OK," "It seems scary now, but better days are ahead."
7. Look for the grief—yours. It may surprise you to know that some of the upset you feel about the college application experience may actually be grief over your child's leaving home soon. Because grief is about loss, it's more comfortable for many people to turn it into another emotion that's easier to feel, such as anger. Rather than create more turmoil for you and your family, it is best to recognize the grief for what it is, feel it, and then move on.
8. Develop Plan B. It's not surprising that the main source of anxiety in the college admissions process comes from being unable to control the result. So here's a secret: In order to maintain an inner sense of calm, prepare yourself in advance for your worst case scenario—e.g., your child gets rejected or wait-listed everywhere—and work out a plan to deal with that. Then file the plan away somewhere and get back to focusing on success. Knowing that you have a backup plan in place will keep you more relaxed throughout the process so you can be that positive, steady influence for your child during the anxious moments ahead.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
A New Look for Graduate Entrance Test
(By Tamar Lewin, New York Times, December 5, 2009)
After two false starts, the Graduate Record Exam, the graduate school entrance test, will be revamped and slightly lengthened in 2011 and graded on a new scale of 130 to 170.
Skip to next paragraph The Educational Testing Service, which administers the G.R.E., described its plans Friday at the annual meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools in San Francisco, calling the changes “the largest revisions” in the history of the test.
Although the exam will still include sections on verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing, each section is being revised. The new verbal section, for example, will eliminate questions on antonyms and analogies. On the quantitative section, the biggest change will be the addition of an online calculator. The writing section will still have two parts, one asking for a logical analysis and the other seeking an expression of the student’s own views.
“The biggest difference is that the prompts the students will receive will be more focused, meaning that our human raters will know unambiguously that the answer was written in response to the question, not memorized,” said David G. Payne, who heads the G.R.E. program for the testing service.
For security reasons, he said, new content would be introduced and the sequence of questions scrambled every two hours. The new test will be three and a half hours.
The G.R.E., required for admission to a range of graduate programs, is a “computer adaptive” test, so that a correct answer to one question leads to a more difficult subsequent question, while a wrong answer leads to a simpler one. Another change is that the computer adaptively will no longer be question by question but section by section, so that, within a section, students can skip a question and return to it.
“That’s going to be a real boon to test takers because once you see a question wrong, it’s almost impossible to unsee it, but if you skip and come back a few questions later, it’s more likely that you’ll get it right,” said Neill Seltzer, who is in charge of G.R.E. for Princeton Review.
Generally, Mr. Seltzer said he saw the changes mostly as a marketing effort, to compete with the GMAT test, used for admission to business schools. The Educational Testing Service lost the contract for administering the GMAT in 2006 to Pearson. Since then, E.T.S. has been increasingly successful marketing the G.R.E. to business schools as an alternative admissions test.
The current G.R.E. scoring scale runs from 200 to 800, with 10-point increments that may represent only one additional correct answer. The new scoring scale will have one-point increments.
“We know that some faculty saw a 20- or 30-point difference on the 200-800 scale as more significant than it really was, and we hope that the new scale will make things clearer,” Dr. Payne said.
The service first announced in 2005 that it would revise the G.R.E. and lengthen it to four hours, to take effect in October 2006. In early 2006, it put off the changes until the fall of 2007 because of delays in setting up enough Internet-based test centers. Then in 2007, it canceled the planned changes.
More than 600,000 students take the G.R.E. each year. In areas of the world where Internet-based testing is easily available, the G.R.E. lasts three hours. A paper version of the test, lasting about 3 hours 45 minutes, is offered in other places.
(By Tamar Lewin, New York Times, December 5, 2009)
After two false starts, the Graduate Record Exam, the graduate school entrance test, will be revamped and slightly lengthened in 2011 and graded on a new scale of 130 to 170.
Skip to next paragraph The Educational Testing Service, which administers the G.R.E., described its plans Friday at the annual meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools in San Francisco, calling the changes “the largest revisions” in the history of the test.
Although the exam will still include sections on verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing, each section is being revised. The new verbal section, for example, will eliminate questions on antonyms and analogies. On the quantitative section, the biggest change will be the addition of an online calculator. The writing section will still have two parts, one asking for a logical analysis and the other seeking an expression of the student’s own views.
“The biggest difference is that the prompts the students will receive will be more focused, meaning that our human raters will know unambiguously that the answer was written in response to the question, not memorized,” said David G. Payne, who heads the G.R.E. program for the testing service.
For security reasons, he said, new content would be introduced and the sequence of questions scrambled every two hours. The new test will be three and a half hours.
The G.R.E., required for admission to a range of graduate programs, is a “computer adaptive” test, so that a correct answer to one question leads to a more difficult subsequent question, while a wrong answer leads to a simpler one. Another change is that the computer adaptively will no longer be question by question but section by section, so that, within a section, students can skip a question and return to it.
“That’s going to be a real boon to test takers because once you see a question wrong, it’s almost impossible to unsee it, but if you skip and come back a few questions later, it’s more likely that you’ll get it right,” said Neill Seltzer, who is in charge of G.R.E. for Princeton Review.
Generally, Mr. Seltzer said he saw the changes mostly as a marketing effort, to compete with the GMAT test, used for admission to business schools. The Educational Testing Service lost the contract for administering the GMAT in 2006 to Pearson. Since then, E.T.S. has been increasingly successful marketing the G.R.E. to business schools as an alternative admissions test.
The current G.R.E. scoring scale runs from 200 to 800, with 10-point increments that may represent only one additional correct answer. The new scoring scale will have one-point increments.
“We know that some faculty saw a 20- or 30-point difference on the 200-800 scale as more significant than it really was, and we hope that the new scale will make things clearer,” Dr. Payne said.
The service first announced in 2005 that it would revise the G.R.E. and lengthen it to four hours, to take effect in October 2006. In early 2006, it put off the changes until the fall of 2007 because of delays in setting up enough Internet-based test centers. Then in 2007, it canceled the planned changes.
More than 600,000 students take the G.R.E. each year. In areas of the world where Internet-based testing is easily available, the G.R.E. lasts three hours. A paper version of the test, lasting about 3 hours 45 minutes, is offered in other places.
Monday, December 7, 2009
To Disclose or Not: Dealing with Learning Differences
A critical element of just about every application is the student’s ability to bring clarity to the interpretation of his/her academic record. In other words, when there are irregularities in a student’s program and/or performance, s/he has a “story” to tell. The context for such stories, or explanations, often rests in factors that are beyond the student’s control i.e. injury, illness, family moves, parental difficulties, etc. In the absence of explanations, though, admission officers must guess about the circumstances—and that rarely bodes well for the candidate as admission folks are more often cynical than charitable in their estimations!
A circumstance frequently raised in this regard is that relating to a student’s documented learning difference. Specifically, families often wonder if or how the presence of “Individual Educational Plans” (IEPs) in the student’s academic experience should be conveyed in the application for admission without prejudicing the candidacy. While there are few solutions that fit every situation, it is important to consider the manner in which information is shared with the institution, first, with regard to the student’s candidacy for admission and, then, as it relates to securing necessary support for the student once enrolled.
In terms of admission, I would err on the side of meaningful disclosure. Give the admission committee the full picture so it can make a balanced evaluation of your credentials. Places that value you for what you do well will try to find ways to admit and support you. Providing an awareness of a learning difference for which you are compensating may give them greater confidence in their respective abilities to help you find success. On the other hand, you can’t worry about schools that might not admit you. The odds are that they would not have been good fits for you in the long run anyway.
That said, you cannot count on the admission office to pass along the documentation of academic support needs to folks in the academic program. While such information might indeed be passed along on a “need to know” basis, it is routinely purged from applicant files (in the spirit of confidentiality) after a student makes the decision to enroll. Regardless, plan to present documentation of your learning difference and need for support to the counseling center/disability office after you have enrolled. Don’t assume they will have gotten the information from the admission office.
According to educational consultant, Allen Tinkler, in a note to colleagues on the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) listserve, “one of the biggest errors kids/ families make…is the assumption that just because the documentation was sent, whether to admissions or to disability support services, the college will provide accommodations and services. This is not true. The student must…self-identify and go through some kind of intake interview, discuss accommodations requested, sometimes negotiate, and learn the procedures at the college. This is done with CURRENT, COMPLETE and APPROPRIATE documentation.”
Allen further observes, and I agree wholeheartedly, that students need to learn to be “strong self-advocates.” At his former school, “each student with an IEP or 504 plan was given a complete set of documentation…at a final meeting with parents present (and) instructed that it was now up to them to take the responsibility of receiving accommodations at college. They were instructed that sometime between the distribution of those papers and the beginning of classes at college they needed to contact the disability coordinator, present themselves and their papers. We were literally passing the baton over to them.”
Ownership and the assumption of personal responsibility are vital to your success in all aspects of life. So seize the opportunity! During the senior year, and certainly by the time you graduate, step forward and accept responsibility. Make a difference with regard to the direction you will take during your college years and beyond!
Source: The Admission Game
A circumstance frequently raised in this regard is that relating to a student’s documented learning difference. Specifically, families often wonder if or how the presence of “Individual Educational Plans” (IEPs) in the student’s academic experience should be conveyed in the application for admission without prejudicing the candidacy. While there are few solutions that fit every situation, it is important to consider the manner in which information is shared with the institution, first, with regard to the student’s candidacy for admission and, then, as it relates to securing necessary support for the student once enrolled.
In terms of admission, I would err on the side of meaningful disclosure. Give the admission committee the full picture so it can make a balanced evaluation of your credentials. Places that value you for what you do well will try to find ways to admit and support you. Providing an awareness of a learning difference for which you are compensating may give them greater confidence in their respective abilities to help you find success. On the other hand, you can’t worry about schools that might not admit you. The odds are that they would not have been good fits for you in the long run anyway.
That said, you cannot count on the admission office to pass along the documentation of academic support needs to folks in the academic program. While such information might indeed be passed along on a “need to know” basis, it is routinely purged from applicant files (in the spirit of confidentiality) after a student makes the decision to enroll. Regardless, plan to present documentation of your learning difference and need for support to the counseling center/disability office after you have enrolled. Don’t assume they will have gotten the information from the admission office.
According to educational consultant, Allen Tinkler, in a note to colleagues on the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) listserve, “one of the biggest errors kids/ families make…is the assumption that just because the documentation was sent, whether to admissions or to disability support services, the college will provide accommodations and services. This is not true. The student must…self-identify and go through some kind of intake interview, discuss accommodations requested, sometimes negotiate, and learn the procedures at the college. This is done with CURRENT, COMPLETE and APPROPRIATE documentation.”
Allen further observes, and I agree wholeheartedly, that students need to learn to be “strong self-advocates.” At his former school, “each student with an IEP or 504 plan was given a complete set of documentation…at a final meeting with parents present (and) instructed that it was now up to them to take the responsibility of receiving accommodations at college. They were instructed that sometime between the distribution of those papers and the beginning of classes at college they needed to contact the disability coordinator, present themselves and their papers. We were literally passing the baton over to them.”
Ownership and the assumption of personal responsibility are vital to your success in all aspects of life. So seize the opportunity! During the senior year, and certainly by the time you graduate, step forward and accept responsibility. Make a difference with regard to the direction you will take during your college years and beyond!
Source: The Admission Game
Friday, December 4, 2009
Checking "Yes" to Financial Aid on the Admission Application
It’s time to fill out applications and a big concern for many families this fall is, “Should we check ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the question about financial aid on the admission application?”
While it’s understandable that students would want to avail themselves of as much financial assistance as possible, uncertainty over whether the family’s ability to pay will have an impact on the admission decision has folks on edge. There are three issues worth noting in addressing the concern.
One, the “ability to pay” is increasingly a factor in the admission process, especially for students on the competitive margin. There was a lot of discussion at the end of the admission process last spring about “full-pay” students with modest credentials getting the nod over students with somewhat stronger credentials but demonstrated financial need. With that in mind, you need to go into the admission process with your eyes wide open and make sure you are focusing on schools that value you-they’ll admit you and give you what you need.
The second matter is more practical. It has to do with how colleges use the information they glean about your financial need from the admission application. Checking “no” that you don’t need financial assistance means that a hurdle goes down—the question of your financial need has been answered. If you check “yes,”colleges still don’t have enough information to be able to discriminate in the admission process. You see, approximately one-third of the students who indicate that they will be applying for financial aid either never apply—they know they don’t need it, or they do apply and demonstrate that they don’t need it!
Colleges that discriminate based on “ability to pay” in the admission process will wait until they have seen the academic credentials and the financial aid data for most if not all of the potentially admitted students before making their final decisions.
Checking “yes” does, however, allow the admission officers to be on the alert for your financial aid application materials. That can be important if you encounter delays or problems with the processing of the latter.
Finally, you need to know that the financial aid question on the admission application is intended to reflect your intent to apply for need-based assistance from the institution itself. Period. Your eligibility for merit scholarships awarded by the college does not require you to check “yes” unless you are specifically instructed to do so on the application.
The bottom line, then, is that you should check “yes” if you know you want to be considered for need-based financial aid. That check mark should not compromise your application for admission.
Source: The Admission Game
While it’s understandable that students would want to avail themselves of as much financial assistance as possible, uncertainty over whether the family’s ability to pay will have an impact on the admission decision has folks on edge. There are three issues worth noting in addressing the concern.
One, the “ability to pay” is increasingly a factor in the admission process, especially for students on the competitive margin. There was a lot of discussion at the end of the admission process last spring about “full-pay” students with modest credentials getting the nod over students with somewhat stronger credentials but demonstrated financial need. With that in mind, you need to go into the admission process with your eyes wide open and make sure you are focusing on schools that value you-they’ll admit you and give you what you need.
The second matter is more practical. It has to do with how colleges use the information they glean about your financial need from the admission application. Checking “no” that you don’t need financial assistance means that a hurdle goes down—the question of your financial need has been answered. If you check “yes,”colleges still don’t have enough information to be able to discriminate in the admission process. You see, approximately one-third of the students who indicate that they will be applying for financial aid either never apply—they know they don’t need it, or they do apply and demonstrate that they don’t need it!
Colleges that discriminate based on “ability to pay” in the admission process will wait until they have seen the academic credentials and the financial aid data for most if not all of the potentially admitted students before making their final decisions.
Checking “yes” does, however, allow the admission officers to be on the alert for your financial aid application materials. That can be important if you encounter delays or problems with the processing of the latter.
Finally, you need to know that the financial aid question on the admission application is intended to reflect your intent to apply for need-based assistance from the institution itself. Period. Your eligibility for merit scholarships awarded by the college does not require you to check “yes” unless you are specifically instructed to do so on the application.
The bottom line, then, is that you should check “yes” if you know you want to be considered for need-based financial aid. That check mark should not compromise your application for admission.
Source: The Admission Game
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Biggest Mistakes Made When Applying to College
(1) Wait to last minute
· Senior year is tough because you are juggling many activities (school work, sports, clubs, and community service).
· Give those writing letters of recommendation ample time- ask early so that you don’t put them in a bind.
· For you top schools don’t wait until campus visit or interview before applying. Applying early is a strong indicator to college that you have strong commitment to school.
(2) Failure to adequate research college option
· Ask yourself “How have I researched the school?”
· Be “student centered”- is the school the best fit for you.
· You must know why you are going to a college and how this decision will affect you. Ask yourself “what will I get out of this college?” “How has the college sold itself too me?”
· Limit the number of schools that you apply (ideally 5-7)
(3) Students allow themselves to be distracted by what others are doing and saying
· Look at your priorities and values.
· Make decisions that are smart for you.
· Don’t get caught in the “hype” of where everyone else is going to college, stay focus on finding the “best” fit for you.
(4) Students try to be someone they are not
· Don’t create credentials to make yourself “look” good for admissions committee.
· Manage expectations- who you are, what you expect to get out of college.
· Colleges looking for “authentic” you which will be evident in your essay questions and interviews.
(5) Senioritis
· Colleges are watching to see what you do when you think you don’t have to do anything. Many seniors “slack” off once they apply to college.
· Colleges want to see how you challenge yourself- what efforts are you putting forward?
· For some students, colleges will wait until March to make admissions decision which allows them to see your efforts.
· Senior year is tough because you are juggling many activities (school work, sports, clubs, and community service).
· Give those writing letters of recommendation ample time- ask early so that you don’t put them in a bind.
· For you top schools don’t wait until campus visit or interview before applying. Applying early is a strong indicator to college that you have strong commitment to school.
(2) Failure to adequate research college option
· Ask yourself “How have I researched the school?”
· Be “student centered”- is the school the best fit for you.
· You must know why you are going to a college and how this decision will affect you. Ask yourself “what will I get out of this college?” “How has the college sold itself too me?”
· Limit the number of schools that you apply (ideally 5-7)
(3) Students allow themselves to be distracted by what others are doing and saying
· Look at your priorities and values.
· Make decisions that are smart for you.
· Don’t get caught in the “hype” of where everyone else is going to college, stay focus on finding the “best” fit for you.
(4) Students try to be someone they are not
· Don’t create credentials to make yourself “look” good for admissions committee.
· Manage expectations- who you are, what you expect to get out of college.
· Colleges looking for “authentic” you which will be evident in your essay questions and interviews.
(5) Senioritis
· Colleges are watching to see what you do when you think you don’t have to do anything. Many seniors “slack” off once they apply to college.
· Colleges want to see how you challenge yourself- what efforts are you putting forward?
· For some students, colleges will wait until March to make admissions decision which allows them to see your efforts.
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