The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts

Last Thursday, Bev Taylor authored an article on Huffington Post, claiming “Need Blind Admissions Is a Lie.” Its publication ignited a flurry of responses among college admissions professionals both publicly and privately. For those of us who read applications at highly selective institutions, her article simply did not jibe with the reality of our own experiences. Those on my team who worked for institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, MIT, Georgetown, and Babson were adamant that need-blind admissions means exactly what it says. I hope that the following conversation will help provide a clear response to Taylor’s article and offer some clarification on some challenging issues in admission and financial aid in higher education.

Every Thursday this summer, we are introducing students and families to a different member of the College Coach admissions team. Drop in to see what we’re reading, where we went to school, and our strategies for beginning the college essay. As you work with us to find an educational consultant who best fits your needs or the needs of your child, we will help you consider the personality and working styles that will bring out the best in you or your student. Today we introduce Ian Fisher, who works with students both in our Palo Alto office and remotely.

A few months after I graduated from college, sufficiently decompressed from four years of a staggering load of dense academic texts, I rediscovered reading for pleasure. Suddenly, I had time to crack the spine on books that people recommended to me long ago; time for newspaper articles that needed more than a few minutes to read and digest; time for sprawling, exhaustive articles in the New Yorker. As I read, I discovered vastly different writing styles, expanded my vocabulary, and satisfied old interests while stoking new ones. One week, I read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, catapulting myself to the top of Everest. A month later, I was thousands of feet underground in Blind Descent, reading about cave explorers competing to find the deepest place on earth. You can experience tremendous adventures as a reader, but there are collateral benefits to your college applications as well. Reading broadly and deeply will expose you to new words and new writing styles. It will give you more to talk about (great fodder for interview conversations!) and teach you about different perspectives and ideas. We become better writers, better thinkers, and better collaborators by reading more—there isn’t an admission officer in the world who wouldn’t say that more reading makes for a better applicant. And the time to start is now. To make the most of your summer reading while you can still make it count, consider some of the tips below:

There are things we all share in common at College Coach: a passion for education, a love of books, professional admissions experience, a perhaps-too-nerdy interest in college visits. But despite all the things we have in common, there are many characteristics that make us different from one another. As a newer member of the team, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the subtle differences in my colleagues’ approaches to essay reviews, their philosophies on college admission, and of course, their passions outside of work. As you work with us to find an educational consultant that best fits your needs or the needs of your child, we will help you consider the personality and working styles that will bring out the best in you or your student.

With school winding down and summer break dominating most high school students’ thoughts, it hardly seems the time to think about college. But for high school juniors, the flip of the calendar from May to June marks the steady countdown towards winter’s application deadlines.

When changes to the SAT were announced last month, we had some initial reactions that focused on the big picture: how the test-prep industry would be affected, and what initial changes would mean for test-takers looking to choose between the SAT and its rival, the ACT. A couple of weeks ago, the College Board released more specific information about the new test, which has given students and educators a better idea of what to expect when the changes drop in a couple of years.

Last week we outlined the curricular structure of AP Capstone, a new diploma program from the College Board that will be adopted by a handful of schools nationwide in fall 2014. In today’s blog, we discuss the impact this new program may have on your child’s high school plan and college applications.

Coming in 2014: College Board launches AP Capstone

Lost in all the craziness of the announced changes to the new SAT is important curricular news from the same organization. In fall 2014, College Board will add AP Capstone, a new diploma program designed to engage students in scholarly rigor through two year-long courses: AP Seminar and AP Research.

If you have a close relative who’s planning on applying to college at some point in the next 10 years, you’ve probably already heard about the announced changes to the SAT. I tweeted last week that the fervor surrounding this announcement is one more reminder that the three biggest letters in college admissions are S-A-T. Here on our blog, we’ve discussed the potential effect of these changes on companies that offer test prep. And if you keep an eye on our Facebook page, you’ll see a handful of other comments and articles related to the new SAT roll-out. There’s a lot to take in.

Last week, Karen Crowley discussed the ways in which changes to the SAT will impact test prep. She suggested that companies with in-house curriculum specialists will be at a real advantage in achieving results for students. Revolution Prep has a robust infrastructure for responding to these challenges, and we turn to them today for answers to burning questions about the new SAT.