When you say 2 weeks, does that mean . . . .

The very first assemblies of the school year this year, I shared with seniors that our school policy is that you need to meet with me prior to submitting applications and that you should build in about two weeks of processing time for your school documents after you submit a transcript request form.

I gave this advanced notice and I include these instructions, in writing, on the transcript request form because I want to be crystal clear about what I'm able to guarantee to you as your college counselor.

Let's break it down:

Why do you want to meet first before I press submit?

• I want to meet with you before you press submit for a few reasons. The most important one is I want to make sure that if there are any tips that I can share that will improve your application, you have time to make those changes prior to sending in the app. I also talk with you about things like if you are getting an Advanced Regents Diploma, if you press submit without touching base with me you might miss out in remembering to include things that will strengthen your application. 
• I also want you to use your time and resources to maximize your college outcomes. I want you to be able to reflect on the advice I give during your meeting so that if you need to cut a school or add a different one you can without having paid for applications you end up not wanting. 

Why can't I give you a transcript request form before I have applied?

• There are 146 of you and 1 of me. I encourage 10 apps or less, but some of you don't take that advice. Long story short, the amount of time I have does not correlate super well to the amount of tasks I need to do. In an average week in the fall, I'm working about 20 additional hours on top of the 40 that I get paid for, in order to make the college office run smoothly. This is not a complaint. I love my job. I share this so you can understand the context. It is because of this that I need to work efficiently. That means I need to know that if I send in a transcript for you, it is going to a real app that already exists. Teens have a habit of changing their minds, I don't have the ability to do work for apps that don't already have active files at the college. 
• I also ask you to attach proof that you've applied because I'm trying to protect you. Even with this system, we once had a student who forgot to submit a supplement and didn't realize it until March. That meant that student's app was incomplete and they were not longer able to be considered for admission at that school. There are a lot of things to organize in this process, I want to force you to verify that you've applied so you can prevent silly mistakes (like forgetting to actually apply) from happening.  
• The final reason I ask for the application to be submitted before requesting the transcript to be sent is that I'm trying to look out for you and your application file. I've worked at a college before. The number of documents looking to be matched with files is mind boggling. When you send a document for a student who doesn't have an application it has no where to go once it arrives at the college. It just floats around in the admissions office ether. However, when I send a transcript to a college for a student who has already applied, their computer system can automatically recognize the student's name and info and the document can be put directly into the appropriate file. 

Why do you need 2 weeks to process the request?

• Let's first start by making sure you understand that I would NEVER intentionally hold on to documents for 2 weeks in order to start processing them. This 2 week window is not a minimum processing time, it is a maximum processing time. I put that on the form because I need you to understand that there are many many days where even when I put in a full school day and an additional 3 hours after school, I still can't always get to everything on my 'to do' list. 
• But, I can confidently say that if you give me a transcript request form and then you contact that college 14 days later, your transcript will be there and be fully processed.
• Believe it or not, this college application process is also about your becoming an adult and your building habits that you'll continue to use into adulthood. I'm trying to urge you to complete things in advance of deadlines because that is a good habit to be in for your life in general. Completing your taxes the day they are due is a bad idea. Waiting to renew your passport until right before an international trip is a bad idea. You see where I'm going with this . . .

Is it ok if I give you a transcript request form less than 2 weeks before a deadline?

• The answer here depends on your personal comfort level. A lot of ElRo students do not like the idea of calling a college on the day of the deadline and hearing that their application is incomplete. If this is you, you need to give me 2 weeks processing time.
• The good news though is that for 99% of colleges, deadlines are for the student portion of the application. They will happily accept (and actually expect to see) lots of supporting documents roll in after deadlines have passed. 
•  Exceptions here are: University of Michigan, University of Maryland, and University of Texas at Austin. These three places are more strict about deadlines and really do want files completed by the deadline. 
• The moral here is the longer you wait to submit and the closer to the deadline you request documents, the lower the chance of me being able to guarantee that your items will be processed by the college by the deadline date. 

A few additional requests:

• Please don't invent additional document information on the transcript request form. You don't need to tell me on the form about final reports. Final reports are automatic for every student for the place they enroll. I don't ask about it on the form because I don't need to know about it right now. Just follow the instructions and respond to the prompts on the form. 
• Please don't staple multiple colleges' forms together. The form is a coversheet and should be separate for every individual colleges. No binder clips. No envelopes. Every time you do this you slow down my processing because I need to manually remove each form and search for the proof and attach it.  
• Please don't print proof of multiple schools on the same page. I love being green and I totally understand why you'd be motivated to do this, but I really need the proof attached individually and the coversheets to be individual. The only exception to this is CUNY and that is stated on the form. Because that is one app for 6 schools, you can do just one coversheet and one page of proof for CUNY schools. 
• Please complete the forms with care. Every time you phone it in and don't actually read what you are filling out you slow down my processing. When you check the box for senior grades to Maryland, I know you are not taking care. Maryland doesn't allow senior grades. When you write two teachers instead of one for Indiana University, I know you aren't taking care. Indiana only allows a max of one teacher letter. It is your responsibility to know what each of your schools requires. If you don't know what is required, look it up on their website (or the Common App).

We are two members of the same team and that team is trying to get you admitted to college. If we work together on this we will get the best results.

If you don't see any hard copy blank transcript request forms in the guidance office, you can always print them from the College Office website. 

Image

FAFSA Info Night Summary

Thanks again to Anthony Becker for once again generously taking the time to present to our students and families about the FAFSA and financial aid application process. The Financial Aid application process can be tedious and confusing, but approaching it with a clear understanding of how the forms work is the best way to maximize your chance of getting aid. Remember, all the FAFSA does is calculate what the government thinks your family can afford to pay toward college each year. This calculation is done assuming that you are going to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate a $5,000-$60,000 purchase (depending on the cost of the college you are looking at). If you want to pay for college and not change a single thing about your lifestyle, be prepared for that to be very very difficult. Look back at your spending for the year. You might be able to identify some of that 'extra money' the government has determined that you have.

I couldn't possibly cover all of the issues that were brought up in a single blog post, but I do want to try and put some key themes below:

1) The FAFSA is required by all colleges if you are applying for financial aid. This is the government's form that determines the estimated family contribution. Colleges then use this EFC to decide how much and what type of financial aid they are able to give you. Only US Citizens and Permanent Residents can submit the FAFSA because it is a federal form. Sometimes international students are asked to fill it out and mail in a hard copy so the college can calculate an EFC, but international students will not be eligible for federal financial aid dollars. The FAFSA is mainly used to determine eligibility for federal and state aid (aka Pell grants, SEOG, Work Study, TAP, etc).

2) Some colleges ALSO require a CSS Profile. This online profile assesses assets in a different way, but is also intended to give colleges a full picture of the financial situation of the family. The CSS also includes a non-custodial parent portion if the parents are divorced. Most colleges that use the CSS are private colleges and it is mainly used to determine eligibility for discounts from the college (aka scholarships and school based grants).

3) Never use fafsa. com - ONLY use fafsa.gov  - you should never pay to submit a FAFSA - the first F in FAFSA is free. Do not get your identity stolen.

4) A lot of concern was expressed around 529s. Having a 529 is a great idea for families with high income and lots of assets. For these families that are not eligible for need based aid, a 529 is a fabulous idea to make dollars go the farthest when it comes to education. Unfortunately, for the majority of families though, having a 529 just means that you have an asset with huge red letters on it that says 'money for college.' The college is going to expect you to draw down that account first before they go into their own pocket to give additional financial aid. If you think about it, it makes sense because it is hard to tell a college that you can't pay the tuition when you have an account sitting there that can only be used for said tuition. In a perfect world, a crystal ball 18 years ago would have let people know how quickly tuition was going to increase, but it is what it is. If your child is young, you may still be able to unwind the 529 with the help of a professional to move that asset somewhere to protect it. If this isn't an option, don't be too upset though because many colleges still gap in their financial aid packages regardless of if a family has a high EFC or low EFC. In other words, don't spend too much time lamenting the fact that you tried to save for college. The grass on the other side is most definitely not greener.

5) You must submit your FAFSA in January of the student's senior year. If your child is not a senior, you cannot fill anything out now. You should fill out the FAFSA with estimates of things like income and taxes, then complete your taxes as quickly as you can (read: NOT in April, way before April), then log back in to the FAFSA and update your numbers with your final tax information. Do not wait to start the FAFSA until your taxes are done. Being last in line for financial aid is not a good place to be.

6) Just like all the different types of people out there in the world, there are also lots of different types of colleges, each with their own financial aid methodology. Some schools give no merit aid whatsoever but meet 100% of demonstrated need. Other schools gap some families tens of thousands of dollars, but award very generous merit scholarships to students with the top grades and test scores in their applicant pool. Others still don't give tons of aid, but have a lower total cost which makes them most affordable even though they have low discount rates. How can you sort through it all? Start by filling out the net price calculators on the college's individual financial aid websites. This will give you a preview of the type of aid you might be able to expect.

7) As I mentioned earlier, part of paying for college will probably mean changing your lifestyle. Every dollar that you can avoid taking in a loan is a dollar that your future self will thank you for. I know many people feel like they are already living paycheck to paycheck, but what sacrifices are you making to improve your financial situation during the years that there is a tuition bill? For example, at ElRo we are having a lunch crisis where so few students are eating in the school cafeteria that the city told us that we might no longer be able to staff the kitchen. Almost every ElRo student leaves school mid-day to buy lunch outside. At one of the cafes nearby (that I admittedly also go to) it is easy to ring up a bill of over $10 a day. Multiply that by 5. Now by 40. That is about $2,000 on lunch per year. Full price school lunch is $1.75. That comes out to about $350 per year. Yes, it is a sacrifice to not get the cafe lunch. But the colleges are expecting that you are making sacrifices in order to invest in education. (Other common sacrifices might include things like: taking public transit instead of cabs, eating dinner out less often, canceling cable, eliminating Starbucks, etc).

When looking into financial aid always read the directions clearly and always stick to advertised deadlines. It is a system that can be navigated, but it does take time an effort. We didn't talk about outside scholarships last night, but that is another thing that far too many students ignore. It is hard to tell a college that you are broke and then have a student who has applied to zero outside scholarships. It is true that scholarships usually can't pay for all of college, but it is often possible to piece together a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. 

Image

Class of 2014 Kickoff - Part 1!

Today I made the first of two presentations to the senior class about the college application process. The second one will include parents/guardians and will take place on Friday at 7:30 am (sorry!).

The two presentations have some overlapping themes, but the content is different. Today, we focused a little more on college office policies and procedures and pieces of advice for seniors as they start to kick this process into high gear.

Friday, I will talk more about some general college application process strategies and go into a little more detail about application terminology. I will also spend some time talking about the essay.

At today's assembly, students were given their yellow teacher recommendation signature forms. Over the next two weeks, students should get that form signed again in order to lock their recommendations into place. This is also an opportunity to have a brief conversation with the person writing your letter to find out if they require any additional steps (Do they want you to email them a sample of your work from the class? Do they want you to fill out a certain form or worksheet to help them write a better letter?) and to give them a heads up about your earliest deadline.

And we're off!

Image

Hey Seniors, Don't Lose Steam

 

Don't lose steam just because it is December! If anything, now is the time you need to be working harder than ever - both in class and on the college application process. With Early Action deadlines over (with the exception of a few Sandy extensions), there could be the temptation from some Seniors to take it easy. That would be the wrong move! Why? Consider the following:

If you applied EA or ED you are going to be getting your decisions back about 2-3 weeks from now. If you got into your schools, there is a chance your college application process is over - hurray! But, for many of you that did not do binding Early programs (or for some that did, in the event that you are denied admission or deferred to regular decision) you are going to have additional applications that you need to submit.

Call me crazy, but I think there is a chance that the quality of application you can do now, when you aren't rushed or heart broken, will be higher than the one you squeak out in the last two weeks of 2012. Fight the urge to procrastinate and get those other apps ready to go. 

Even if you don't press submit and pay for them yet (in fact, that is a genius way to save a little money - since if you get in ED you will just have to withdraw the apps later anyway). But getting all the essays written, the supplements checked, and the details organized now will make it so that your only application tasks after December 15 will be clicking the submit button and turning in a transcript request form.

Image

Happy Thanksgiving from the College Office!
Image

The World May Never Know

The coming week and a half will be when the majority of admission decisions are released nationwide - leaving seniors across the country celebrating, sobbing, or in purgatory between the two. In advance of most of these decisions being released, I encourage seniors to remember that 10 or 15 years from now this time will be one of many emotionally volatile times in your life. Yes, college admission is important. Yes, it can impact the direction of your life. But no, it won't define you.

I've posted before about how gifts can initially look like challenges and challenges can initially look like gifts. But in this post I'd like to comment on the temptation you may feel to question how or why things happened as they did. The answer is: you'll never know. Was it your SATs? Was it that math grade? Was it that someone else had cured cancer and you hadn't? The truth is, the answer could be yes. But worrying about that now won't help you in the slightest. Don't fixate on the reason. Don't hypothesize about why your friend got in and you didn't. (Or, even less advisable, why your enemy got in and you didn't). The fact is you have NO way to know. As a former admission officer I can tell you that while you try to be judicious with every decision, it is impossible over the course of 3 or 4 months to keep the exact same opinions. And professional judgement always tips the scales on one day in a way it might not the following week. Don't stress over it.  Embrace the schools where you were admitted--the schools which are, in fact, dying to have you enroll.

The rest that sent you a skinny envelope? You can re-apply for graduate school and do it all over again ;)

Save Your Items from Destination Nowhere

 Destination: nowhere in particular Originally uploaded by thekermanns

A few of you have been offered free 'priority' or 'VIP' applications to some schools and they have offered to waive the fee. Great! We know I'm all for saving money. However, there will be a major processing issue if you decide to use that free app, and then still have that college listed in your Common App account.

Why? Naviance is linked with the Common App. If it sees you have a school in your Common App list, even if you have not submitted any part if it, it will send your documents to the college via Common App. And it will never end up being downloaded by the college, because you won't have filed a Common App with them.

How to fix this? Update your Common App. Delete schools that you are not using a Common App for. That way, I won't send your items and have them lost in the abyss of the internet, never reaching their destination.

Thanks!

Testing!

Did your heart rate just jump after reading the header to this post? I hope that even if it did, you can take a few deep breathes as I describe a little bit about the best way to approach testing.

First, as I've said before- I think it is ideal for all Juniors to sit for both the ACT and the SAT between January and June of their Junior year. This way they can make an informed decision about the test that fits them best and that will allow them to put their strongest testing foot forward. I would then re-test for the test that was stronger to see if any (or all) of the sections can be improved.

Some people know that they cannot prepare for the test on their own. Some people feel that their potential is not being fully reached. For these people, a test prep class is a great way to have a structured study method that will both reduce test anxiety (through repetitive mock exams) and provide test taking strategies for how to improve your performance. ElRo partners with Revolution Prep to offer test prep in our building. If students find an option that fits for them through another company that is fine too. I am of the opinion that the commitment to studying, repetitive mock exams, and formal time allotted to prep are where the most significant score improvements are made. The brand you choose is less of the issue than is the commitment you are willing to make and the time you are willing to devote.

A mailing recently went out describing the summer test prep options at ElRo. I know, at the time, that these courses were not yet live on the Revolution Prep website. I apologize for that error, the letters should not have mailed without the site being up to date. However, the good news is that the site is now accurate and you can register for the courses online (fastest way to find the course is to enter our Zip Code: 10021). We are offering something new this year: an ACT prep course. For students that did better on the ACT (check out the conversion table here), an ACT prep course may help you become more familiar with the exam set up.

I cannot emphasize enough - the summer 2010 courses are intended for RISING SENIORS ONLY. I know the mailing went out to the class of 2012, but this was an error. Obviously, any family can opt to enroll in test prep whenever they see fit, but in my experience, the test prep is most effective when students start it no earlier than January of their Junior year.

You will also notice that the prep classes have a 'refresher' session prior to the test. This bonus session is designed to help students get back into testing mode since the actual exams are offered in September (ACT) and October (SAT) after summer prep courses have already finished. With holidays, summer vacations, the start of school, and all other scheduling conflicts, it was hard to pick the exact dates and times, but hopefully these will work for rising seniors that want to commit to prep during the summer. There will be additional prep courses offered at ElRo through Revolution Prep during the Fall Semester if summer is not convenient.

Finally, the main reason we partner with Revolution Prep is their reasonable prices. For students and families that show demonstrated need, there can be generous discounts to be had. See me right away for a scholarship application if you think your family may qualify. The discounts are determined based on a sliding scale of household income and outside factors like Federal Free/Reduced lunch status and family illness.

Remember - not everyone is an amazing test taker. But, there are amazing colleges that don't care. Check out the full list of Testing Optional Colleges (Schools that do not require any testing to be submitted) at www.fairtest.org.

Recommendation Time!

It seems almost impossible, but it is that time of year when Juniors will be asked to secure their letters of recommendation for next Fall. Juniors have been given a form in Advisory where they can collect their recommender's signature as a confirmation that they will be writing on their behalf. In the Fall, they will take the same form around to remind the teacher of the agreement and confirm that they will still be getting a letter from that recommender. Another copy of the form can be found here (scroll to the bottom and download the 'Recommendation Confirmation from Teachers' form).

This form is due back to me no later than June 9th.

Some teachers may also require students submit additional information in order for a letter to be written. They may request a resume or a form that describes a little about the student and their involvement. A general template of one of these forms can also be found on the ElRo website, on the Class of 2011 page by downloading the 'Teacher Rec Request Form.' When a student gets a confirmation signature they are encouraged to ask about any of these extra stipulations.

Students are encouraged to ask two teachers to write a letter of recommendation their behalf. These two teachers can be from any class year and can know the student in any capacity (classroom, extra curricular, sport team, adviser, etc). However, it is a good idea to balance the recommendations and not have them come from only one department or only one year of instruction.

More than two teacher recommendations is typically not recommended. There is a universal joke in admissions offices about the thick files. Unfortunately the joke is on the applicant-- in their effort to come across as outstanding, they stand out for submitting way too much. If you need 5 or 6 recommendation letters, what are you trying to prove? For what are you compensating? Trust in the people you select and stick with two teachers and a guidance letter. Each letter should add a new dimension to your application. Can a third teacher really cover something the other two have not already mentioned?

Finally, be polite when asking a teacher to write for you. They are not mandated to do help with this task, so any show of respect is greatly encouraged. Don't assume that someone will definitely take time from their busy schedule to vouch for you. Remember, you are always working on your recommendation in the way you act and are perceived. Your behavior in the hallways, academic honesty in all subjects, and attendance are factors in the tone of the letters you will receive. Even though this is a task that requires action right now, this is something in the making from the first day you walked through the door at ElRo. 9th and 10th grade students take note, you have already started the college process through interactions you have each day.

Welcome to the College Blog!

     When I joined the staff at Fordham we were inspired by the ever impressive MIT admissions blog and I was one of the three people on staff that was asked to blog for the office. I'm about 95% sure I was the only one actually excited about the task, but needless to say one thing led to another and the blog never went live. . .
    Fast forward a few years and now I've transitioned to working as the college counselor at Eleanor Roosevelt High School and I couldn't be more happy with my job. I have been working to post weekly (ahem, sometimes bi weekly) newsletters with a column at the start but my hunch is that the newsletters go largely unnoticed. I understand why: they are not posted the same time each week and they are a little on the long side will all of the updates and announcements. It also takes a few clicks and opening a pdf to see them. So I got to thinking it would be easier, and maybe a little more fun, to start a blog instead.
    Posts will run the gamut from application advice, college related national news, my own experiences with working on both sides of the admissions desk, financial aid, and general ElRo College Office announcements (sorry those, in combination with my pesky emails to students, won't be going anywhere).
    You can follow the blog posts by subscribing via the links on the right. There will also be a link on the ElRo College Office website. Hopefully the things I post here will be useful for students and parents alike. The college process can be stressful, but I'm a firm believer that information and action pave the way to reducing that stress. Having a positive attitude and approaching this topic from a place of calm are the first steps toward a healthy college process. With over 3,700 colleges and universities in the United States to choose from, there are multiple options out there for every student to find the right 'fit.'
    Thanks for reading!