But why? Community Service and College Applications

Many high schools have a built in community service requirement to try to instill values such as giving back, hard work, and selflessness.

Many high school students whine and complain about these requirements and basically refuse to do more than required.
Others go above and beyond and rack up hours on hours of this service, with the chant “colleges love community service. I need 100+ hours to even get my foot in the door,”   

Some genuinely enjoy it and make it the cornerstone of their personal brand.

And still, others try to cram it into their schedules junior year as if it’s a check box on their applications

So lets break community service “requirements” down a bit and get to the root of the issue.

First of all, lets just put this out there, admissions want applicants who do community service. This isn’t to say that people who do 100+ hours have better chances than 20-hour students, but doing none at all can be a downer on your application. 

But why do they look for community service on your applications?

First of all, it shows that you’re a concerned member of society. They want to know what issues you care about, and service is a great way to demonstrate that attitude. Community Service is one of the best ways to show that you’re the type of person who gives back to their community and wants to make the world a better place. Colleges are going to attach their names to you once you attend, and it’s very prestigious to have an alumni or student doing great things out in the world.

Also community service shows an ethical side. Being a do-gooder is a very positive character trait. Colleges want healthy and productive communities of engaged students. Those who devote time to helping others are a big part of this ideal. They want to be able to see you, the applicant, as someone who will contribute positively to their campus community, and doing good acts in high school suggests that you will continue that in college.

So you know that you have to do service. But what if it’s not your cup of tea? Of course you would love to help out, but you don’t have the time or the money to do anything really above and beyond.

There are a bunch of great ways to get involved without service taking over your whole life.

Firstly- Most schools will have some kind of club for service. Many, in fact, will have several. Find out about it and join. Usually you’ll have a set amount of hours a month you must participate, but these clubs will go out and find things for you to do. It is easy to work these into your schedule, and it’s another club on your list.

Another choice is to do a one-time activity. Maybe it’s habitat for humanity, or a week long service trip. While these are great ways to contribute a lot of hours really quickly, know that this should not be your only service in high school. That gives the impression that either 1. You did it and didn’t enjoy it or 2. You did it just for your applications. Even if either of those are true, keep that to yourself. Doing several of these one-time things might be okay though, for example doing habitat for humanity three or four times.
Also under this is donating your hair. I’m going to get on my soap-box for a second and say do not do locks for love. Donate to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths or any other of these organizations. Locks for Love A: Has a surplus of hair, and B: Makes people pay for their wigs. There are other options.
But yeah, donating your hair could be a nice tidbit about sacrifice or a personal connection, but absolutely does not count as actual service (even if it took you 3 years to grow the hair out).

A big option is to get involved with a big organization. Many communities do a relay for life once a year, which is a great organization and is only as much time as you want to put into it. Doing walks or 5ks also fall under this category. You want to raise money for a great cause, and you know that your small contributions will help a larger goal.

The last option I’m going to mention is starting your own project. This is a potentially double-edged sword. Starting a club shows a lot of initiative, but if you are going to go this route make sure that you’re actually doing the work. Make real contributions and put in real effort. This can be a really great option is service isn’t necessarily your thing, or if you can’t find any way to get involved with an issue you care about. This allows you to tailor your options to A: Something you have passion for and B: Something you’d love to do.
For example, many of my friends in high school were passionate about music, and started a club where they combined music and community service. It was fun and really rewarding, and fit in with people’s busy schedules.

So yes, you have to do community service. But there are so many options and ways to get involved that it doesn’t have to be a chore. Find something you’re passionate about and work with it. You might get bitten by the service bug and find it more rewarding than you ever thought you might.

And, of course, if you’re passionate about service, that’s incredible and you should continue to do your excellent works.

It’s the Little Things: Languages and College

Today starts a new series called “It’s the Little Things” which is all about the small, but very important decisions that might separate one college from another when you’re selecting.

An example of these little things? Today at my school it is sunny, 70 degrees, and I’m wearing a sundress to class. In January. At my second choice school its windy, freezing cold, and I’d probably be wearing a parka.

Yes, when choosing schools, it’s all about the little things.

Today’s topic? The Language Requirement (or lack there of)

Many, if not most, schools have a required “Core Curriculum” of various types of classes students must take to have a well-rounded education. Generally speaking liberal arts colleges have more (as their educational goals are broader) and big universities have fewer. 

These generally include a math/science, some literature, some history, philosophy, etc.

But one big consideration is whether or not you will have to take a foreign language.

Generally speaking, most schools require 4 semesters of a single foreign language, which is generally equivalent to advanced or near-fluent speaking ability. That is two years of foreign language, which could either be an exciting prospect or a daunting one.

Personally, I was very wary to apply to any schools that would require me to take a foreign language, as I have little talent for it and I find it more frustrating than academically challenging. (Granted, I do attend a school that made me take physics so… take that as you will to estimate my abilities in that field).

But I know many people who jump at the chance to take more languages and were looking for strong programs at the schools they attended.  A difficult language requirement can indicate the strength of the department.

This is entirely a personal preference for what you wish to study and your academic abilities. Foreign language is much more important to an international relations major than a literature major.

But, once again, the little things. Something to consider is the amount of language you are required to take says quite a lot about the school you’re applying to.

If they have a no exceptions policy you will generally find that the school has a much more global focus in their practices. The departments are probably strong, and there are probably a lot of different language options.

If there is no requirement at all, it is probably a school where you’ll be free to make a lot of decisions about your educational path. There may be no core curriculum at all, or the core curriculum might be very tailored to the department you’re in.

The most common scenario I have found is that at most schools there is:

A: An option to forgo foreign language all together if a student has taken 4 years of the same language in high school ***

Or

B: An option to test out of a language if you have strong skills in it already

And

C: An option to skip a semester of language for every year you took in high school.

***You should, if the option is available to you, take 4 years of a language. Really. It indicates a strength in curriculum.

A small piece of advice I have about testing into levels of classes is to start in the lowest level they will allow. College is a lot more difficult than high school and even with AP level classes, you may not truly be at the 300/400 level classes they are about to place you in.

Nearly everyone I know who took advantage of the high school year=semester of language policies at their schools found that they ended up in a class that was way over their heads.

So something to ask about when you’re looking at schools is will I have to take a foreign language?  

It might just change your mind.

Unpopular Opinion: You don’t actually have to do well on AP Exams

Collegeboard’s AP classes have become a cornerstone in a difficult curriculum. The tests, accompanied with their respective classes, are considered a feather in the cap of any well-polished student. Students take 5, 6, 7, 8 of these classes, and their eighty-dollar exams in their high school curriculum in hopes that they will count as college classes

The thing is, though College Board would like to claim that their tests are universally accepted at universities. The real truth is that it’s a bit of a catch 22.

A 3 is considered to be a passing AP score (as in, probably a C grade). A 4 is considered to be excellent (a B grade). A 5 is considered to be outstanding (an A grade).

The thing is, while most college classes will transfer with a C average, AP classes tend to only be accepted with a high score (4 or 5).

Or, unfortunately, at some schools not at all.

AP Exams are a huge Catch-22 with high achieving students. Students feel they must take them to get into the colleges they strive towards, but the high rigor universities just won’t accept the exams for credit.

People pile on more and more of these exams, but they don’t yield the results that CollegeBoard claims they will.

Lets go with a real life example.

I have two older sisters who are either in college or just graduated college.

One sister went to a competitive liberal arts school, one to a very competitive private university, and I attend a competitive public school.

The liberal arts sister took several AP exams and received 4s or 5s on all of them. Her liberal arts school only accepted math APs for credit (with a 5), and humanities/social sciences for placement (also with 5s).
She studied her butt off to get a 5 on Calc. And her school changed their policy on AP exams so her work was for naught.

All of that work on exams, and no result.

The competitive private university sister also took several AP exams, and received 3s, 4s and 5s on all of her scores up to junior year.
She got a few 3s because she had mono during AP exams one year, but had to sit for the tests (school policy).

Theoretically (if you go by US World News Standards) she goes to the most competitive school of all of us. She had the lowest AP score average of the lot.

Senior year she realized her school was not going to take her exams and she slept through APs. Literally. She sat behind me when we both took AP Psychology. She fell asleep.

I go to a competitive public school. I realized sophomore year (after watching my sisters) that I didn’t have to try on my exams, because none of the schools I was looking at were going to take any of them, no matter how well I did. I didn’t study and got 4s and 5s on all of my exams. Senior year I realized that my school was going to take some of the 5s I received for credit, so I actually studied for the two classes I wanted to get 5s in (Micro and Stats).
But I also took naps in the ones I didn’t care about (Oh hey AP Gov… took a nap. Only answered half of the questions. Got a 3)

I took 10 AP exams in high school. TEN. But my school only accepted a few of them that they considered to be rigorous.

When I was applying to college I realized that I had to self-report my AP scores. What my guidance counselor said was,

“If you have good scores, that’s great. But they don’t actually care or consider them very hard. They care more about how you did in the classroom.”

My mother put it this way (after seeing so many children take SO MANY AP exams)

“These schools tell you that you must take AP exams to be competitive. But once you get there they pat you on the head and say “That’s really nice that you took these exams, but we don’t actually care,” and it just seems like a waste of money to sit for the exams if they don’t count”

So what should you take away from this?

If you are applying to schools that aren’t going to take your AP exams, no matter what the score, don’t stress about the tests too much. If you do well that’s great but if you don’t do well or you have other things to study for (Oh hi May SAT) focus on those.

If you are applying to schools that are going to take them? Definitely study for them. But this is a case of prioritizing. If you know you can do well on one, spend time on that one. If you really don’t want to take math in college, and you know they’ll take the credit, sign up for stats or calc AB and study your butt off!

But know what you’re looking at before you stress too too much about AP exams.
Because, really, they just don’t count for much at all.

DISCLAIMER: Still do well in the classes themselves. I’m only talking about the big scary tests in May. THE CLASSES ARE ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT.

Unconventional Recommendations: Bad Grade, Great Attitude

Unconventional Recommendations: Bad Grade, Great Attitude

The recommendation should, theoretically, be a bit of a lock on your application. You find a teacher who worked well with you and ask them to write a brief description of how wonderful you are.

Though, there are some risky types of recommendations that can really pay off. Today I’ll talk about one of these rec-writers, and why it may not be so crazy after all.

So today’s unconventional writer? The Bad Grade, Great Attitude.

While hopefully you have not gotten any poor grades in your time as a student, sometimes there are just inevitable pitfalls or Everests that cannot be scaled. 

For example, maybe you cannot for the life of you understand chemistry. You go to extra help in the mornings, stay after school for review, and go to lunch tutoring, and even those steps cannot help you get even a B. All of that work and effort is going to keep you at a 78, no matter how hard you try. You’re working twice as hard for a quarter of the result, but the second you slack that 78 is going to become a 50.

If you remain positive and diligent, your chemistry teacher is going to notice. If you’re spending an extra 3, 4, 5 hours a week with them, they’ll probably get to know you pretty well. They’ll see how hard you’re trying, and what a dedicated student you are. Maybe in these extra help sessions you’ve discussed you’re intense love of foreign languages and government. Maybe you talked about current events with them and debated issues. They see that chemistry isn’t your thing, it doesn’t click and it probably won’t ever click. But they see how intelligent and hard working you are.

Do you see what I’m getting at?

 This teacher could write you a fantastic letter of recommendation. They know you. They know your academic strengths and weaknesses. And they have hard proof of how diligent you are, even in things that don’t interest you or things that seem to be hopeless. And they know you as a person, outside of an academic setting.

That letter is going to stick out in a sea of “they’re so bright, of course I gave them an A,” letters. Because this letter paints you as an academic. It shows tenacity. And it shows that you are constantly trying to improve yourself.

And the other clincher? It could explain a minor hiccup in academic performance.

These letters aren’t going to work if you’re a B student who has a few C grades in various topics. But if you’re an A student who got one C+? The admissions committees are going to see that is inconsistent, and this letter is going to explain the inconsistency, and turn it into a positive.

Yes, you are terrible at chemistry, but holy moly did you try to improve that, and you never gave up. You worked your butt off for that C+, harder than you ever had to work for any A you’ve ever gotten.

That’s a story. That’s interesting. That shows so much more than two perfectly crafted “they have such a natural ability in this topic” recommendations.

Passion and Work Ethic, that’s what you want to show.

So when it comes time to ask for recs, don’t go running to the teachers that gave you As. Think about how they’re going to represent you on paper, and what picture they will paint.

THE TEST RITUAL

 Or: How to Calm Down on Test Day

Testing Week 2013! Today with some test taking tips!

Full Disclosure, I broke out into full-blown hives while taking the SAT for the first time. Why? The stress and pressure got to me.

But I did sit for 3 more of those scary tests (and 10 APs by the time I graduated high school) so… I got better!

And how did I get better?

By creating a test-day ritual.

There are a lot of really solid test taking tips out there, but they’re so common they venture on cliché.

We all know to get a good night’s rest, eat breakfast, and be prepared with pens and pencils the night before.

Here are some additional tips for big test days.

I do this for every test I take, even now when I’m in college. But it helped me to stop being so scared and stressed for standardized tests.

So here’s the test ritual

1.    Look and feel awesome.

Some of you may know that I’m a psychology major in college (which, as Community will tell us, means I’m basically a licensed therapist). But all kidding aside, I do a lot of research on test performance and things that effect people on cognitive tasks. A huge chunk of research indicates that when you think you look bad or sloppy, you perform worse on tasks.

But if you feel good about your looks, you performance can really shoot up.
I’m not saying you have to put on three inches of make up, wear a prom dress, and straighten your hair for an hour on test day. But brushing your hair and putting on clothes that you feel good in can make a huge difference.

For me? That meant taking a nice long shower, doing my hair, putting on a bit of eyeliner, and wearing a sweater-dress when I took the ACT. For you that could mean wearing jeans instead of sweatpants, or your favorite shirt that makes you feel awesome.

2.    Do something fun before the test.

Stressing out is sort of a given, but rolling into the test like a big ball of nerves isn’t going to help you succeed. Are you going to drive to the test? Make a mix of really fun lighthearted songs that you love, and sing (loudly) to them. Watch some funny videos on YouTube, read a passage from your favorite book. Anything that is guaranteed to make you smile will do. (This video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8iOQ9zWP6A got me through finals last semester).

3.     Give yourself plenty of time in the morning.

I know this can be a huge pain for those of us who aren’t morning people, but really, give yourself time before the test. Wake up at least an hour before you plan on leaving the house, this will give you time for your fun activity, a good breakfast, and dress yourself. Having to rush around is going to stress you out. Leisurely getting ready will calm you down.

4.     Be excessively early

Another one that is hard for the non-morning people. But, trust me, there is nothing more stressful than sitting in traffic when you’re supposed to be taking the SAT. Plan on being at the testing place 15-30 minutes earlier than you’re expected to be. If you’re running late, it will give you that time. If you’re really that early? It gives you more time to A: Acclimate yourself to the environment you’re about to test in, and B: do something fun.

Also, in this early time, take a nice deep breath. Close your eyes, roll your shoulders back, stand up so straight it hurts, and take 10 really deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.

5.     Have a test kit.

You know how on the first day of school all of those new pens and pencils kind of make you giddy?

You should re-capture this feeling every time you go in for a test.

Go buy a cheap pencil case in your favorite color at Staples (or Target or CVS or wherever). Go and buy a box of your favorite pencils (I like mechanical ones, but some people firmly believe in the solid yellow ones).
Take 5 of these pencils (or whatever your lucky number is, come on, you know you have one) and put them in the box.
Buy a few of your favorite black or blue pens and throw those in as well (1 or 2 will do the trick).

Buy a nice new gummy eraser, and if there are any cute silly erasers throw those in too.

Throw in some extra batteries for your calculator. I always had at least 2 sets even though I knew that was paranoid.

If you use a watch or a timer on tests (ACT takers especially) have that charged and ready to go.

Gum/Mints/Sucking Candy are excellent additions too.

Make sure your kit is ready the night before your test. You’ll feel safer and more prepared knowing you won’t have to scramble to find extras if you lose your things.

I also liked to put a little toy that would make me smile in the box, but that’s just me.

Other things that are good to bring:
A non-messy snack (I liked bringing bananas). A pack of tissues. WATER. A sweater in case the room is cold. A hair tie if you’re long haired.
Also you need an ID. 
Bring your phone if you’re not driving yourself, but TURN IT OFF.

If you have any luck-rituals, definitely do those. I have a pair of PJs that I widely consider to be lucky that I MUST wear the night before I do something important. Some people have a necklace or shoes or something. Maybe they say a phrase to themselves to calm their nerves.

This is your test ritual, and you need to own it. Make it your own. Get into the test-taking zone like the awesome person you are. If you’re in the mindset for success you will succeed.

Unpopular Opinion: You don’t actually have to submit all of your tests.

 Standardized Test Week CONTINUES!

So schools will tell you that they want to evaluate you in the best light possible. This is absolutely true, because when it comes time to report their admissions stats the higher the boards the better they look.

But sending scores can get really expensive, especially if you did both the SAT and ACT and several SAT IIs. There are times where sending both can look great, and there are times when sending scores may actually reflect badly on you.

It is okay to not send all your scores…

If you did a lot better on one test than another. I don’t mean day-to-day sittings of the same test, I mean between the SAT and ACT.

Showing improvement on the same test is actually a great thing. Showing vast differences between different tests may make one look like a fluke or a result of clever test-taking strategies.

Some people are just better at one test than the other and that may reflect in their scores. This is fine, and to be expected.

My threshold? Go convert your ACT scores into SAT scores. If you did more than a hundred points better on one than the other, send only the better score.

Even if you don’t send your SATs, if you have high SATII scores definitely send those in! Every good score reflects well on your academic potential.

When you should send all of your scores:

Sending multiple tests looks really good, it indicates a consistent student. If you got similar scores on both of your tests, send them.

If the school requires either SAT IIs or ACT with writing, and you didn’t take any SAT IIs or have bad SAT II scores, you should send in that ACT, even if your scores are lower than SAT scores.

If you did better on one sitting of a test than another, send them all in. Showing improvement in your scores is a positive thing. It demonstrates work ethic and you capacity to learn.

The goal of this?
Show them your academic strengths. I’m not saying to lie about your weaknesses, but maybe if you got a 30/36 on your ACT and a 1700/2400 on your SAT, you are better off showing them your strongest day than your weakest day. They’re going to report your strongest scores if they grant you admission, but they will still see your weak scores.

What came first? The School or the Score? The MYTH of goal scores.

Myth: You should match your goal scores to the schools you want to go to

Truth: You should match your schools to your scores.

TESTING WEEK 2013 CONTINUES! Short post today as I have a lot going on in my real life (Life outside of my blog? Who knew?)

The idea of “Goal Scores” on your tests is a really excellent benchmark. It gives you something to strive for, and a quantitative goal to reach.

The issue with goal scores is when people match the scores to the schools they are dreaming about. If you see you need a 2300/33 on your tests to get into your “dream school” you might say that you’ll keep taking the tests until you hit that point. But what if your capabilities plateau you on a 2100/30 score, or a 1800/25? The truth is that these unrealistic goals can be very damaging to a high school student.

I’m all for goals. But a realistic goal is going to be more valuable than shooting for the stars in this case.

This isn’t saying that you shouldn’t aim to improve your scores, you absolutely should. But there’s a big difference between aiming to improve your scores 50-200 points and aiming to improve them 500 points.

With hard work and determination you can pull off huge jumps in score, I know I did. But people have their breaking points, and having unrealistic goals to match unrealistic schools is just going to be a frustrating and disappointing experience.

Here is my suggested Time-Line for score improvement.

PSAT Sophomore Year-PSAT Junior year: Expect around a 100 to 200 point increase just from what you’re learning naturally. That extra year in school helps a TON, especially with math and vocabulary.

Taking the PSAT sophomore year is rough because you probably haven’t covered all of the material you’ll need to know yet. But you can use that as a spring board to see where your strengths and weaknesses are. If you’re scoring a hundred points higher in the critical reading than the math, start working on those math skills now. Keep the reading up (and learn that vocab), but know where you’re stronger and where you’ll need more work. But don’t make goals just yet in sophomore year.

PSAT Junior year will probably be closer to where you want to be. THIS is the point where you should start looking at goal scores. A reasonable amount to try to raise it from this point is 100-200 points. Once again, see where your strengths and weaknesses are and start practicing. Are you doing really well on the critical reading sections, but not the vocab? Devote time to memorizing 20 words a week. Are you scoring 800s in Writing but 500s in math? Get some specific books on the math sections and work your fingers to the bone learning how to do the questions.

This is the time to start figuring out what schools you can really get in to. If you need to raise your scores 100 points to be in range, keep them on as a reach. If you’re already in range, maybe start looking at some similar schools. Its okay to use your dream schools as a goal point, but be flexible with that. Don’t make those scores the end all be all because they might not work out. You can make huge jumps that you’re going to be really proud of, and should be really proud of, unless you’re setting unrealistic goals.

Your first SAT junior year try for a reasonable jump. You’ve practiced, you’ve focused, but you’ve never had to do the stamina part of the test before, and that will hurt you.
This test is where you can start figuring out your final goal scores. If you only have a little more to raise, great! Just keep practicing. If you are still 200 points short of your goal? Maybe adjust those expectations a little bit for the time being.

Your second SAT junior year might be your final test if you do well enough to make you happy. If you hit your goal you have a choice- stop or raise.

MYTH: If you hit your scores before spring of junior year, you should raise your goals!

TRUTH: Stopping is absolutely fine! I stopped after my second ACT because I knew, just personally, that I was never going to score higher in the math section than I did that day. I was done in February! It was glorious!

BUT: You can also, if there’s enough time left, raise your goals. If you can still take the September tests, maybe aim for another 50 points or so on the test. This probably won’t change the range of schools you’re looking at, but it will make you a stronger applicant.

If you never hit your goals? That is perfectly fine. It is disappointing, yes, but sometimes you just have a bad day or you might be overselling yourself. You can only do so much, you’re only human.

But by matching your schools to your scores, instead of the other way around, you will have much more realistic expectations and have a much stronger chance of hitting your goals!

Any improvement at all is something to be very proud of. You are so much more than a board score, and don’t let anyone tell you any different.

Why The SAT and ACT are NOT basically the same thing.

So the two big tests everyone freaks out about Junior and senior year are the SAT and the ACT. Commonly held belief is that one should just prep for the SAT, and then sit for the ACT to see how they do.

The truth is, doing this will be a disservice to yourself. You should train for both if you’re planning on taking both, because there are a few fundamental differences between the two tests that should not be ignored.

Firstly- They are testing different skills

The SAT is a test of reasoning. The goal is to find the solution to the problem using the tools given to you on the test.

The ACT is a test of achievement. The goal is to answer questions similar to the ones you will be answering in school.

This changes how you have to prep for the tests.

You can teach yourself the SAT and how to answer the questions. This is especially true for the math and critical reading. You need to learn how to answer their strange, confusing math problems. You have to memorize lists on lists of increasingly obscure words (my personal favorite: masticate)

 You, theoretically, already know how to do the ACT questions. The trick for the ACT is knowing the answers without thinking too long on them. The real way to prep for the ACT is to practice the test timed. The questions might be a bit easier, in theory, or at least, they require less prep work. But the time on the ACT is a real killer.

Which brings me to my next point. 

The ACT is not an easier test than the SAT. The questions are easier.

 You may find on your first few practice tests that you are doing a lot better on the ACT, or that you know more of the answers on the ACT.

Everyone I’ve ever worked with has found that this advantage goes right out the window when you start taking the tests timed.

The ACT throws a lot more questions at you with a lot less time to answer them. You need to know the answer right off the bat, or you’re losing precious time on other questions.

Another interesting thing to consider:

It’s easier to get a perfect (or near perfect) score on the SAT than the ACT.

If you look at the scoring charts for the tests, you may find that it is possible to get an 800 on an SAT section with up to 3 questions wrong. On the ACT? 3 questions wrong is, at the highest, a 34- and it will probably be a 33. A perfect score on the ACT means that you got nothing wrong. A perfect score on the SAT does not.

On this note:

The SAT super scores at almost every school. The ACT is all about your best sitting.

What does this mean?
Basically… if you take the SAT 3 or 4 times, the scores a school will evaluate you on are going to be your highest scores from every test. So if you took the SAT 3 times and got an 600, 650, and 700 on your Critical Reading? They’re going to use that 700, even if its with a math score from a different test day.

The ACT is all about your best composite score, or the average from one sitting.
Even if your best writing score was a 36, if you did better overall on the day you got a 34, that 34 is what they’re going to use.

And finally, the biggest difference:

The ACT has a Science Section

I’m going to be straight with you here… the science section is more of an applied reading and math section. You will need to be a quick and decisive reader to ace this one. You don’t actually need a ton of science knowledge prior to taking the test, because they can’t assume you know anything (for example, I didn’t take physics until college, and there was a physics section on my ACT science… I still did fine).

It is a test of your science reasoning skills. Can you read a graph and a table? Can you make appropriate conclusions based on given information?

This section is really the reason I will say that you must prep for the ACT if you’re planning on taking it. The timing on this section, if not practiced, will murder your score.

These are all factors to consider when you’re deciding which tests to take.

For example:

I prepped for both tests and took the earliest ones in the year (December and January I believe).

 My first ACT came back much stronger than my SAT and I spent the remainder of my test prep focusing on the ACT (especially the science section). I needed to raise my science and math scores, so I started practicing those sections like a madwoman (they offer books of just those sections, if you’re looking for a cheaper way to practice). I took the ACT one more time and raised my math by 4 points and my science by 5. This catapulted my composite score up the 3 points I wanted/needed for my goal.

Without that focus on one test, I never would have gotten those scores.

So, when you’re practicing, know that you should study with the test you want to take in mind.

I’m ready for my close-up! Tours and Reaction Videos

Since this seems to be “Touring and Selection” week I’m going to give you another tip for touring schools.

The issue with touring is oftentimes you start junior year and can see schools months apart. You might forget your impressions of the school if they’re not fresh in your mind. This can make decisions difficult later on, as they all sort of blend together after a while. If you don’t absolutely love or absolutely hate a school, you might not remember the pros or cons or your feelings about a place.

So after my second tour (driving distance New York liberal arts school on an unexpected day off) I started bringing a small video camera with me on the tours.

I didn’t tape the tours though, I taped my reactions after.

On the way home from the school (or back to the hotel) I would break out the camera and just talk at it for a few minutes about the tour and how I felt.

This helped me capture my “gut feelings” about the schools. I had pages of notes on each school I was looking at, but going to the actual campus gave me much more visceral reactions. The videos really helped me narrow down and rank my schools based on the factors I couldn’t get out on paper.

Some basic things I liked to cover when I talked to the school was:

1.     The weather (warm/cold/rainy/etc). Weather ended up being a huge deciding factor for me, and I applied to one school over another Early Decision because one had much warmer weather while the other was pounded in snow until April.

2.     My feelings about the campus. Was it flat or hilly? Was it beautiful or modern and ugly? As shallow as it seems, I really wanted to go to a beautiful school.

3.     My feelings about the presentations. I hated any school that gave me a whiff of pretention and all of the schools that had uppity info sessions were immediately cut from my list.

4.     My “gut feeling” about the school. If there’s something about the school that puts you off or really attracts you to it, you may not be able to get it down on paper, but your facial expressions when you’re talking about it will tell you a lot. The school I currently attend? I’m grinning like a maniac. The school I thought I would love but ended up hating? I sigh a solid 5 times in the 5-minute video.

5.     My feeling about the students. There was one school I toured that I loved on paper but after seeing the campus I decided the students were a little too counterculture and liberal for me to be super comfortable there. Do you see lots of pierced and dyed students? Or are all of the girls wearing pearls?

6.     How I felt about the programs. Did they seem like the core was intense? Was it easy? How many math, science, and language classes was I going to have to take? Was there a senior thesis required? How did people talk about them? As something interesting and enjoyable, or stressful and dreaded?

7.     How much the guides knew about the extracurriculars I was interested in. While you cant expect them to know about every club or program, it was always a good sign when the tour guide or host I met with said they knew plenty of people who were involved in the things I loved to do. For instance, if they knew a lot about the singing or theatre groups even though they didn’t participate, it meant that there was a lot of opportunity to get involved at that school.

Overall I felt that the videos were really great ways to get my instant and unfiltered reactions of the schools I visited, which helped me be decisive when I was cutting more and more schools from my lists.

Additionally, if there is a school you had a really negative reaction to, but your parents/guidance counselor keeps insisting that you apply; the video can give you a really great reminder of why you hated that school.

I can’t give you an example video right now because A: All of those videos are on my old computer and didn’t transfer over, and B: I don’t want to give all of you my opinions on individual schools because they’re probably different from your opinions. But they’re easy to do. Just turn on the camera and TALK.

So, truly, I recommend doing a short reaction video after each school you tour. They’ll help you more than you think.

Salad as a tour metaphor

Today I will use this salad as a metaphor.

This salad was my dinner last night. It’s piled high with baby corn and chickpeas (my favorites). It also has some spinach mixed in to the lettuce I had to eat around (something can kill me in large enough quantities). It’s on an ugly, yet allegedly eco friendly plate. I ate it at 6:30 last night with some chicken (that was very good) and rice (that was supposed to be with a hint of lime, but actually tasted like it was boiled in Sprite).

This salad is a metaphor for all of the questions you should ask when you’re touring or visiting a school.

There are the general questions that you should ask, but oftentimes you won’t get a straight answer out of your tour guide (if you recall, they’re trained by the schools to make the school appealing to you). Or you won’t get an entirely truthful answer out of the tour guide. So here are some questions to ask that aren’t so easily spun.

Is the meal plan required? Are you on the meal plan? - Ask this instead of how’s the food? They’re going to tell you the food is fine. But if they aren’t on the meal plan, that will tell you a lot more. They might preface it by saying “oh I live off campus,” but places the food is really good they’d probably get a small meal plan for lunch and an occasional dinner with on campus friends. If the meal plan is required, ask them how many meals a week they eat on campus, another tell if it’s less than 2 a day.

Salad as a metaphor: I eat salad several meals a week (by choice usually, I love salad), and this salad was eaten because I hadn’t used nearly enough of my 10 meals that week (minimum amount a sophomore is allowed to have at my school). 

What is your pet peeve about the school? Ask this instead of what is the schools biggest weakness. You know from any interview you’ve ever had that you have to turn your weakness into a strength. A pet peeve is something that really annoys you, and it’s much harder to spin that into a positive.
This will probably be something little and inconsequential, but will give you a real negative about the school instead of a fake one.

Salad as a metaphor: Remember how I said there was hidden spinach? I am (probably the only one in the world who is) allergic to spinach. And I write a comment card about every other week telling the dining hall at my school to stop mixing the romaine and spinach lettuce together. But it’s cheaper and easier to top off a half full bowl of romaine with spinach, so they keep doing it. That is a real pet peeve about my school; the dining services aren’t accommodating to anything rarer gluten or a nut allergy.

How many small classes have you had? Ask this instead of how big are the classes?
Many schools pride themselves on small class size, and yet there are a lot of ways to fudge the numbers to make it look like there are more small classes than there really are. If a school says half of their classes are “15 or under” that means that the other half could all be hundred person lectures. You’d be in a lot more hundred-person lectures even with those numbers. This question is easier to get an idea of the reality, because they might have taken their 20 person freshman seminar, but maybe they won’t get to take another small class until senior year.

Salad as a metaphor: Salad is often my go-to because I hate waiting on lines. I would have gotten stir-fry, but the line was 10 minutes of waiting. Though the option was there, I wasn’t going to be able to take advantage of it until I had the timing right.

How did you meet your friends? Instead of what should I expect freshman year.

I really like asking this question because it will give you a really good idea of the type of environment the school is. Some schools have freshman halls or freshman dorms get really close, while others have a freshman lecture or orientation group that facilitate friendships. Class friendships can say a lot about the environment at a school and how people can learn cooperatively. Some schools have really strong clubs and teams that become like families. If a school is really Greek, you might want to see if people have a lot of friendships outside of their fraternity or sorority. I love this question because they’re not going to lie to you, and it will probably spring board into a different type of conversation.

Salad as a metaphor: I had this salad while eating dinner with two of my friends. One was a girl I met this year in a singing group, and another was a girl whose life and mine overlapped quite a lot (same singing group, freshman seminar, same sorority).

They teased the crap out of me about the quantities of baby corn I put on the salad, but they know that this was actually me using restraint, because we became very close while having twice-weekly dinners for the singing group we’re all in.

What have been some improvements your school has made in the last year? Instead of what is the school doing for the future?

This is a good question because it allows the tour guide to brag about the school, which is always good. They might mention some renovations or additions to campus. They may talk about how the school has made eco-friendly strides, or how the physics department has just gotten some great new equipment, or… anything.

Salad as a metaphor: The salad I had was on a new eco-friendly plate. While they’re not as cheerful as the old colors they used to use, I appreciate the strides my school is making to be green.

You may come up with other standard questions that you ask while touring, but I think those are a few great ones that tell you more than “what was your SAT score?”

Happy searching ladies and gentlemen.

The 1 3 1 List

OR “Match Schools are the best, and don’t forget it”
Conventional advice will tell you to apply to at least 9 schools. You will have a large list of schools to start with, and then narrow it down to 3 Reaches, 3 Matches, and 3 Safeties.
While I think this is not a bad way to do it, I think that there are people who this method just won’t work for.

There are applicants like myself, who were insanely picky and needed to love a school to consider going there. There are students who need a specialized program, and will only have so many options (I worked with a music and business student who needed a school where he could get a quality education in both, which severely limited his options). Then there are the normal applicants who have a long list but have no connection to any particular schools or programs, but they might be stacking the deck a little high and limiting their options unintentionally.
So I’ll break down the method I think is best for creating a list, especially if you’re picky.
First of all, you should, at minimum, have 5 schools. The most common way to do that would be:

• A: Safety School- this is a school you can with the utmost certainty say you can be accepted to and afford. You’re well above the middle 50% of scores and you put effort into the essays and had a good interview. Your classes are on-par with what they expect or exceed their expectations. You’ve toured and expressed interest.

• B: Low Match- This is a school that you’re in range for and at the high end or above the middle 50 percent. You’re very confident that you will be accepted, and can most likely afford it. Its not quite a safety (usually for financial reasons, maybe you need X amount of scholarship money).

• C: True Match- This is a school you’re in range for and while you’re not absolutely confident that you’ll be accepted, you know you will most likely be. You can probably afford the school baring any unexpected circumstances. You’re in the middle 50 percent and sent in good essays, toured, or interviewed.

• D: High Match- On paper you should be fine with this school, and you’re reasonably confident that you’ll be accepted. You will probably be able to afford it. You expressed interest, and while you might be on the low end of the middle 50 percent, or maybe just in a harder demographic, you are  -on paper-  well qualified.

• E: Reach- This is not a high reach. A high reach is a lottery school, and we don’t do that here. This is a school that you are slightly out of range for, but you probably have about a 50/50 chance at acceptance. Also included are any schools with acceptance rates so low that even though you are in range, you can’t confidently call it a match. ALSO any school you would need crazy financial aid miracles to attend is a reach, it doesn’t matter how qualified you are.

While you can increase the amount of schools you’re looking at to whatever number suits your fancy, this formula allows you to maintain a nice balance of where you’re applying.
Too often I see a list that has “3/3/3” where its 1 actual safety (that they hate and claim they would never attend), 2 low matches (that they think are safeties), 3 high matches (which they think are enough matches), and 3 lottery schools (or “high reaches”).

The conventional 3/3/3 plan puts too much emphasis on safeties and high reaches (isn’t the point of a safety that you’re confident you’ll get in, and a reach a school that’s a bit of a stretch, but you have a real chance?) and not enough on matches. You should apply to several match schools because those are where you’ll really have your choices.
Of course, you can apply to more than one reach, if you want to go that route, but remember that application fees add up quickly. You also don’t have to apply to any reach schools (while I only applied to 1 school because I was accepted ED, I had all of my applications filled out before I found out, and I didn’t look at any reaches).
 Personally, of my 7 schools, I had 2 safeties and 5 matches (2 low, 2 true, 1 high).
If a 3/3/3 style is best for you, go for it. But splitting up your match schools into low, true, and high will help you have a better grasp at what you’re really looking at. Don’t do too many high match schools without having a reasonable about of back ups.

If The School Fits, Wear It('s Sweatshirt)

If the school fits, wear it (‘s sweatshirt)

I hope you will all pardon me for a slightly more personal post today.

Today’s theme is about the importance of fit when selecting a school. This one incredibly important factor seems so underrated by many, and I just have to write my personal experience with it.

Today was my first full day back at my university. It was the first day of spring semester, and, as per usual, it was pouring rain. I joked to a friend as we walked from the student center to our dorms, that “[Town my school is located in] is welcoming us back with the song of its people!” He laughed, because he gets my humor, and when you live in a place with weather as inconsistent as [town my school is located in], there’s nothing to do but laugh about it. My joke was dry, sarcastic, and referenced an Internet meme. And I could have said it to pretty much anyone I know at this school, from the nerdiest of the pre-meds to the preppiest of the sorority girls, and they would have gotten the joke too. Because that’s the type of school I go to.

            My school was a total outlier on the list of schools I was applying to. When my college counselor was giving me my original lists, I gave her a short list of what I wanted:

1.     Small in size, no more than 5000 undergrads

2.     Smart students, and great academics, but not “rip up each other’s notes” competitive

3.     A psychology program that wasn’t neuro based

4.     No more than 5 hours of travel door to door

5.     Theatre department that is not a conservatory

6.     About 50/50 male to female split.

And I added in one other thing- “No reach schools.”

This had two reasons; first of all I didn’t want to get my hopes up about a school I might not get into. And secondly, I didn’t want to struggle academically at a school I wasn’t qualified for.

 I narrowed down a list of around 20 options cutting a few because they didn’t meet my requirements (U Michigan was too big, Swarthmore was too small, Smith and Sarah Lawrence had way too many women, Vanderbilt was too far, etc.) and I ended up with about 10 to research and decide on.

There were two schools of that 10 that didn’t meet my requirements exactly (both were too far, one too small and one too big) that stayed on because they interested me.

These schools were Kenyon College (the too small one, which was eventually cut for being way too small and way too hard to travel to) and the University I currently attend.

I loved what I read about the school in books and their website. How the students were quirky and so so so passionate about academics. How they really focus on undergraduate teaching. How the campus is atheistically beautiful.

And then I visited. Spring break of junior year, my family took a flight down to the school (as it turns out, it is about 5 hours door to door if you fly) and toured.

I knew, the second we drove onto the campus, that this school was the one. I don’t know how, but I knew.

And then we toured. And it wasn’t even anything special. The tour guide was an IR major who couldn’t tell me anything about theatre or music. I loved the funny facts and anecdotes, I loved that the library seemed social; I loved the beauty of the freshman dorm we walked through (though in reality I would end up living in a closet sized room in a very ugly dorm hidden away on the far side of campus).

And, most of all, I loved the people.

My school has a bit of a tradition of interrupting the tour guides. If you see your friend giving a tour, you’re (not officially but everyone does it) supposed to run up and try to embarrass them in front of their group. And someone did just that to my guide (his shoes were stolen by a friend, who then said “oh your tour guide is such a mench, he’ll give you the shoes right off his feet” he then continued to give us the tour with the pair of flip flops his friend threw at him as he ran off, cackling into the afternoon). It’s totally in character for my school. We’re friendly, but we don’t take anything too seriously if it can be made into a joke.

I didn’t see anything like that at other schools. They all took themselves so… seriously. This school? Not so much. The info session had the same tone, “We’re old and awesome, but lets make you laugh while we tell you about our application process”

By the end of the tour we stood on the lawn of the school’s oldest building. A beautiful, historic brick monster. A building that, little did I know, would become the place I was initiated into the school by reciting (and not totally botching) the honor code. The place where I discovered my love for religious studies in the oddly shaped attic classrooms. The place where I would be initiated into a sorority I didn’t know I wanted to join until I came to the school. The place I would stand with hundreds of other students before Christmas break and see the president read us “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and laugh so hard I almost wet myself.

I stood in front of that building, a high school junior, and I just held my mother’s hand and cried.

I cried because after so many tours and so many articles and tests and guidebooks, I had found it. I had found the place where I belonged.

Of the 7 colleges that remained on my list come September of senior year, it was the only one with more than 3000 students. The only one not in New York or Pennsylvania. The only public school. The only school with significant greek life (something that, at the time, I didn’t want). And despite all of this, it was perfect for me, and I knew it.

And I applied early decision because I knew that if I didn’t go to that school I would never really be happy.

And I held my tongue when I heard my friends and classmates say, “I’m going to go to whatever the highest ranked school I get into is.”

Because I wanted to say, “No, go to the school that is so perfect you cry. The school that is the only place you want to be. The school where you know you will go.”

And I got in, because it was a match school and I applied early decision.

And I have never, ever regretted my choice. I have never ever said, “Maybe I should have gone to a higher ranked school” because I cant honestly imagine that any place would make me happier than my school.

So, when looking at schools, find the one that makes you cry of joy. Because you found it. You found the school that fit you perfectly.