NYSACAC 2019 + Syracuse University Visit

 

The annual NYSACAC Conference is going on right now at Le Moyne College, a small Jesuit college in Syracuse, New York. Founded in 1946, Le Moyne was the first Jesuit school to be founded as a co-ed school and unsurprisingly they are also the first to appoint a female lay-person as President (she spoke to us today and she her energy is certainly contagious). I'm here at the conference this year in a few different capacities, including both High School Delegate on the Executive Board and session presenter. My session earlier today focused on the Financial Aid Quadrant Approach that I shared with families and students in the Fall. The goal is helping young people minimize their out of pocket cost by identifying schools with the highest chance of having the lowest price.

This morning, I had the opportunity to tour Syracuse University. With 14,000 students, Syracuse is a medium sized Research I school comprised of nine different undergraduate colleges. Students must indicate the college where they are applying on the Common App, but can keep the specific major undecided if they are not sure about their exact pathway. Syracuse values interdisciplinary study and many students take courses or add minors in other divisions besides the one through which they were admitted. Over 70% of students live on campus all four years (and all students are required to live on campus for the first two years) so there is very much a cohesive campus community surrounded by the urban backdrop of the city of Syracuse. New campus initiatives include: a first year reading assignment for all freshman students to read a book centered on the theme of diversity and a renovated wellness center that combines mental, physical, and emotional health into one building. One of the nicest features about Syracuse is the fact that they both meet 100% of demonstrated financial need of admitted students AND have merit aid to offer the top 25% or so of the admitted class so it can also be a good fit in terms of affordability. Thank you to the Syracuse team for welcoming us today!

I'll be at the conference one more day before returning back to school on Friday. As always, it is a pleasure and a privilege to serve the organization and connect with colleagues, new and old.

Image

Pay for "Play" -- Exposing Corruption in College Admission

It's been quite the week to work in college counseling.

I've been riveted to this unfolding story and have felt shocked -- not at the concept that the wealthy are purchasing their way into college, but that they are doing so on top of the conditions that already exist which make these places more accessible to them than to the traditional applicant. This week has shown that corruption and dishonestly can exist anywhere. I have what feels like an endless list of philosophical and pragmatic questions about how and why a family would go this route, but for now I'm going to comment on a few things that are on my mind right now.

•  At first glance, I wondered why these families would opt to do this when they could instead make connections with the Development Office and make legal donations to the college in exchange for a seat in the class. This kind of thing happens at every campus. But, the more I learned about this case the more it became clear that these people wanted to buy a seat, but they wanted to do it at a discount. The fees Singer charged are still significantly below the size of the donation that it takes to enter a school as a Development special interest. (For context, in the late 1990s, Jared Kusher's admission to Harvard came with a $2.5 million dollar donation.)
• To me, beyond the fraud and the ethics and the morality of what these people did, the issue really boils down to a problem of access and equity. In a universe where wealthy students already have systemic advantages like: going to the best schools, being able to afford tutors and test prep, having parents (and grandparents, and great grandparents . . . ) who attended college, and having the financial means to pay tuition at any college and graduate debt free. With all of this, these people still felt the need to rig the process. Simultaneously, we see Supreme Court cases (like Abigail Fisher in Texas and the current Harvard case) aimed at eroding Affirmative Action. Yet, there have been no such cases aimed at eroding legacy admission, athletic admission, and donor admission.
• I'm so sad that students exploited disability status as a vehicle to cheat. I knew, intellectually, that this happened but to see it in such stark detail and with such sinister intentions is upsetting. There are disabled students who are going to be hurt by this and I hope we can all be united partners in being their advocates.
• I am comforted that, at least so far, there appears to be no involvement within the Offices of Admissions. These bribes when to Athletic Departments and it seems that the admissions side was unaware of the hoax. While this absolutely brings up the flaws in the current system (where recruits are not vetted for athletic ability by anyone other than the coach), I would feel so much worse if I knew that my colleagues on the admission side were included in the indictments.

What next?

• I think this story lends itself to ideal dinner time conversation for families. It is a moment to talk about ethical behavior and a time to reinforce that the brand name of a school is not equivalent to automatic success. It is also an opportunity for parents and guardians to remind their students that their love is unconditional: being rejected from a top school would not change that bond and getting a low test score under honest conditions would not change that bond.
• As much as it doesn't always feel this way, admissions is a consumer product where the power is with the consumer. When you go visit a college, be open and bold about asking the Admission's Officer presenting at the info session about what percent of their admitted class is comprised of recruited athletes. (Note: ask this in the info session, not the tour. I wouldn't think many tour guides would know the accurate answer to this question. Frankly, some staff might not know, but don't let them wiggle out of the answer, let them go look it up after the session ends). This information is well known among college counselors, but I think students and parents would be shocked to learn how many slots are off the table before the application is even filed. (For reference, recruited athletes at Harvard have an 86% chance of admission. Unhooked applicants have a 6% chance). Let me also say that I'm not arguing that athletes are the villains here (the villains are the ones who fake it in exchange for money). The vast majority are being recruited for their talent and we've had recruited athletes from ElRo. They are absolutely bringing something of value to the campus. My issue is more around the idea that schools should be more open about this process so applicants can better understand the landscape. 
• Reflect on why certain schools appeal to you and think about if that appeal is connected to the 'elite' feeling of the place. If the place was exactly as it is today but ranked 120 instead of 20, would you still like it? Why or why not? Open your mind to the concept that the ability to go to any quality college, not just the top handful, is a phenomenal privilege. 

If you want to read more, I think the following two articles are a great place to start:

This article from Bloomberg

This article from Vanity Fair

Image 

Pacific Northwest Tour - Lewis & Clark College

Original estate manorhouse, now the Lewis & Clark Admission Office

Students personalize their mailboxes with stickers.

Today was the final day of the tour and we spent it visiting Lewis & Clark College. A liberal arts college with about 2,400 students located in the suburbs of Portland, this school has a gorgeous campus (formerly a private estate and country club built by a Jewish family unwelcome to join existing clubs in the 1920s). There are towering trees and a lovely wooded landscape that can't help but make you feel transported to a peaceful forest retreat away from the urban grid of Portland just a few miles away.

Location is one of the major features that Lewis & Clark prides itself on, being both in a major city and in the Pacific Northwest situated right between the Oregon coast, a state park, and nearby mountains for skiing. There is a focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship and students are very much drawn toward global experiences and applying their learning to the real world.


As a counselor, something I found appealing was the fact that Lewis & Clark can offer high quality of education while simultaneously having a generous rate of admission. For the vast majority of Eleanor Roosevelt students, this could be a target or likely school but it wouldn't result in sacrificing on key factors like proximity to a city/airport, strong faculty, and happy students. The school has been testing optional since 1991, a sign that they genuinely are able to serve and welcome students with all sorts of strengths. About 8-9% of the pool applies without testing, but those students end up being 20% of the enrolled class.

From my observation, Lewis & Clark is a good fit for a student who is outdoorsy, artsy, and self identifies as someone a little off the beaten path. They do not have any Greek life and the student I had lunch with made a point to say it was not a party school. Instead, most students prefer to go hiking or camping on the weekend, socializing in the great outdoors as opposed to a bar, club, or big party. One of the highlights of the visit was getting to hear anecdotes from professors at breakfast about their interactions with students. It was clear that teaching is a priority and personal attention from faculty is the norm. A few spaces on campus could potentially use some renovation, but I respect their approach to fund other institutional priorities above interior decorating (especially given the precarious state of liberal arts colleges that don't have giant endowments). It also goes with their mission of environmental sustainability to not replace or redecorate functional spaces.

I want to sincerely thank all five campuses for their hospitality over the past week. I also very much thank the ElRo PTA for their funding support of the college office and Mr. Saliani for his commitment to professional development in granting me permission to attend amazing opportunities such as this. I feel so much more well versed in these schools and am ready to recommend them to the right students.

Pacific Northwest Tour - Reed College and Willamette University

Our next school was probably the one I felt most knowledgeable about prior to the tour. Reed College's reputation precedes it. It is known as an ultra-rigorous intellectual liberal arts college and indeed that is the place I got to see in person yesterday evening and this morning.

Reed is a school full of bright students that aren't so much after grades as they are after knowledge. They are smart without needing to brag about it or be rewarded for it through gold stars or pats on the back. That isn't to say they are completely cynical or jaded all the time (of all our student panels so far, when the Reed students got jazzed about a topic they smiled the biggest, giggled the loudest, and showed great amounts of enthusiasm) but they are seemingly not here just to go through the motions. They value process as much as they value product.

Thesis Tower

Sample Thesis about the Physics of Skipping Stones

All students at Reed write a thesis and we got to visit the tower in the library where all of them are bound and kept.  Submission of the thesis is turned into a three day campus wide celebration, complete with ceremonial burning of past drafts, food, pomp and circumstance.

Learning is taken very seriously at Reed. There is an 'Honor Principle" that is intentionally not written down in order to emphasize the nature of being part of the Reed community. Students are to treat others as they would want to be treated (NOT 'they' as in themselves 'they as in the other person). This urges students to be good community members, taking the perspective of their peers and professors and acting in their best interests. This includes a universal academic honesty policy, where all exams are self-proctored and students don't cheat. I suspect this is both because they don't need to and because it doesn't benefit them. Most Reed students don't even know their grades or GPAs. That sort of quantification of intelligence are overshadowed by the pursuit of inquiry, creativity of thought, and exploration of knowledge.

This is a place that breaks the mold in a lot of ways. Things like not participating in college rankings (and thus not having a giant focus or motivation toward things like yield rates, acceptance rates, or driving up application numbers). They also don't employ adjunct professors, a practice that is widespread across most other institutions of higher education. They don't have NCAA sports, but reminded us, more than once, that high school student athletes can and should still apply and are welcome with open arms.

The only school on the tour to meet full demonstrated financial need of admitted students, Reed can be grouped with its other philosophical peer schools like Amherst, University of Chicago, and Williams. But unlike those schools, their acceptance rate hovers around 35%, meaning they are a much more realistic option for the right fit student. I also observed that the place Reed puts its money is into the people and the classroom experience (read: financial aid and high quality engaging professors) as opposed to facilities. Case in point: I was expecting a gorgeous brochure-worthy 100 year old library for a school this chock full of voracious readers and was instead met with a space last renovated in the (aesthetically painful) timeframe of 1989.

I would classify that 'right fit' student as someone who aims to be a lifelong learner. A person for whom thinking deeply brings joy. I very much value schools like this because they really do have an identity that sets them apart from the rest.

A study hearth at Willamette U.

Our second school of the day was Willamette University, a small college of about 1,700 students located in Oregon's state capitol of Salem. And they are not just in the state capitol, they are literally across the street from it - meaning that students have direct access to not only politics but also virtually every industry and branch of state and local government including sustainability, education, business development, and healthcare.

The overarching themes of this school were clear: community/civic engagement and teaching. Students raved about their professors and we met the most faculty here than of any school so far. The school motto is: "not unto ourselves alone are we born." A message that hearkens back to their past affiliation with the Methodist church, but more so appears to embody the ongoing commitment to teaching students to grow both academically and as human beings, responsible for bettering the world and building bridges of understanding with others.

Willamette is the oldest school in the Western US (founded in 1842) and occupies a unique space within the world of higher ed. With a firm commitment to the liberal arts, Willamette is also a place with graduate programs (including 3-3 and 3-2 combined degree programs in fields like law, business, and engineering) but with a size that is much smaller and more intimate than other universities. No undergraduate class here is over 50 students. They are testing optional and offer merit aid to all applicants, even those who don't submit scores.

Perhaps the more than any of the other three schools we've seen so far, Willamette was transparent about their areas for growth. To be frank, this part of the country is not very racially/ethnically diverse and each of the schools we have seen have a ways to go before their schools accurately represent the makeup of our country (both in terms of Pell eligible students and underrepresented students of color). That said, I was most impressed with the answers Willamette gave on this topic. They were reflective and gave real action items and ways their community is striving to do better. The initiatives appear to genuinely be from the top down and there is an ongoing dialogue between students, faculty, and the administration around areas of diversity, access, and inclusion. Bravo to them for not shying away from these difficult conversations, not skirting these topics with visitors like us, and seeking out ways to move forward together as leaders in the West.

Willamette struck me as a place where, in the true spirit of a CTCL school, a typical student can come to be the best version of themselves. The energy is positive and I found it to be more bubbly than the other schools we've seen so far.

Our final school awaits us tomorrow - excited to finish out this great week!

Pacific Northwest Tour - Whitman College

Stix, students climb on for good luck before exams or big papers.

Whitman College

 So I'm going to start by being honest - no one goes to Whitman College by accident. The reason I say that is it is not a place you stumble upon. We drove 4+ hours to get there (it is located in the south east corner of Washington state) so, as you might imagine, the it is a very intentional place. The students who attend feel a connection to the community and opt to be there on purpose. (*Note: driving from Portland or Seattle is not the only way to reach campus, a student from NYC would likely opt to fly to one of these cities and then take a short regional flight to one of two airports, either 7 minutes or 45 minutes from campus).

Whitman has about 1,500 and is totally focused on the undergraduate experience. There is a challenging curriculum paired with individual support. Virtually all majors have a thesis requirement and a senior comprehensive exam (often with an oral component). Writing is taken seriously. There is Greek life, but I certainly didn't get a party school vibe. These are opportunities to connect with peers, not be exclusionary.

Students are earnest and seek out connections, both with one another and with the local community. Lifting one another up is considered part of the fabric of the school culture. My tour guide chose to come to Whitman after getting into schools like Yale. Her reason? She said that she valued the "humble intelligence" of Whitman students.

Whitman is test-optional and about 25% of the students opt to go this route. They are admitted to the school at the same rate as those that submit test scores (about 50% acceptance rate, for those wondering). They still utilize an old school holistic reading process, with at least two readers per file. There is not currently a supplement for the application and anyone who applies before December 1 doesn't have an application fee either. Barriers aren't really Whitman's thing. They are much more interested in identifying the students who will be the best fit and helping them grow and develop.

Like many small liberal arts colleges, Whitman is a place with room to grow in terms of diversity. But unlike many schools, they seem to be making efforts across all parts of the school (not just the Admission Office) to make their campus a safe place for difficult conversations. Pretty much every presenter/person we heard from mentioned the annual Privilege and Power Symposium, a day each spring when classes are cancelled and the campus engages in a day full of panels and discussions around topics of access, privilege, identity, and social justice. There is also a term that I (and other counselors) noticed being used here which is 'first generation working class' - something that Whitman has a clear focus on and a population they appear to both seek out and subsequently empower. In addition, like our other visits, LGBTQ+ students are embraced and celebrated, it seems we have found a common theme for this grouping of schools.

Whitman is not yet in a place where they can meet full demonstrated financial need for admitted students, but they said their average gap is currently only about $4,000 a year. In the scheme of things, this is still pretty darn great and makes this an attractive option for students looking to minimize debt. About three quarters of students receive financial aid, a stat that speaks some of the difference one might feel from the highly selective East Coast small liberal arts colleges that have a stereotype of being full of only majority full pay students.

Appealing for their ability to push students to grow without an environment of pressure and anxiety, Whitman strikes me as a happy place with a thoughtful and reflective student body. The surrounding area is small compared to New York City, but is far larger and more developed than the neighborhoods of placed like Wesleyan or Beloit.

While we technically had a tour of Reed late this afternoon, I'm saving my blog post about them until tomorrow.

Pacific Northwest Tour - University of Puget Sound

On a day when my colleagues and students at Eleanor Roosevelt managed to have, what turned out to be, a false alarm snow day, I was out of the office participating in day one of the Pacific Northwest Five Consortium Tour. We got the chance to see the University of Puget Sound, located near Seattle in Tacoma, Washington.

Gorgeous atrium by UPS alum Dale Chihuly.

UPS is one of the schools added to the more recent edition of Colleges That Change Lives list. These are schools that consider themselves to be places of transformation and where students can bank on lots of personal attention. With stunning views of Puget Sound, Mt. Rainer, and Craftsman style homes in a residential section of Tacoma, this is a lovely school with 2,400 undergraduates. Their identity is rather sporty/outdoorsy (not a huge shock given the geographic location) and there is access to pre-professional majors like Business that are deeply rooted in the liberal arts. There is a core curriculum that is writing heavy and lets students delve deeply into seminars that span from topics like The Third Wave: Rock After The Beatles, to Imagining Blackness, and Exploring Bioethics Today. They are testing optional

My largest takeaways, from a college counseling perspective, have to do mainly with ways that UPS doesn't always follow the herd. For example, they have a practice of not maintaining a significant waitlist. This means they don't string students along or keep a cushion of 'courtesy waitlists' of students the have no intention of later admitted. Instead, their waitlist might contain 20 students, those that they truly might end up reaching out to if a space arises. They also have a relatively tiny international population (though they admittedly are looking to grow it). They have approximately 2% of their students identifying as international, something that I find refreshing at a time when so many schools seek out up to 20% of their class from full pay international students as a way to increase their operating budgets. Also, while they have Early Decision, it is not a huge enrollment stream, so Early Action and Regular Decision students still get a very fair shake.

I was thrilled to be able to have breakfast with Audrey P., ElRo Class of 2016 and current UPS senior. To me, it seems she is thriving. I was most impressed by her senior Capstone project where she is looking at the influence of pregnancy on incarcerated women as it intersects with race/ethnicity. It sounded like a fascinating topic and I'm so glad to see her doing well and representing our school on this campus!

In closing, I want to share how struck I was by the inclusive and welcoming climate for LGBTQ+ staff and students. It seems that the entire community was committed to helping all incoming and continuing students feel welcome and comfortable enough to be themselves. Not to say their work is done or that any campus is perfect, but the conversation appeared to be ongoing and at the forefront of the campus consciousness.

Tomorrow: Whitman College!

NYSACAC Legislative Advocacy Day

Earlier this week, I traveled to Albany for a NYSACAC Executive Board Meeting and for Legislative Advocacy Day. In my first year of serving as a High School Delegate, I am aiming to participate in as many aspects of our organization as I possibly can. Aside from NYSACAC though, this was also my first time inside the New York State Capitol and my first time doing any sort of political advocacy.

Our four topics of discussion with legislators and their staff were:

• Highlighting the issue of food insecurity for college students
• Only 3% of college students receipt SNAP benefits, even though 18% qualify
• Students can't count class toward work hours, if they could, we could reach more students who have low food security by providing them SNAP benefits

• Expressing concern over the dismantling of federal consumer protections in regards to for-profit colleges and the allocation of funds to schools that aren't serving their students.
• For-profit students make up only 4% of students in NY State, but they represent 41% of defaulted student debt
• In 2015, 37 million dollars in TAP grants were awarded to for-profit colleges with programs that failed or nearly failed federal standards

• Restoration and expansion of TAP and HEOP/EOP funding
• Opportunity programs expand access to higher education and improve graduation rates for New York's neediest students
• We would love to see the TAP application process simplified and interpretation of regulations by colleges streamlined

• Next steps for Dreamers as they pursue higher education
• Undocumented students currently cannot get a driver's license. It would be a major step forward if they could legally drive. 
• While we are excited for the Governor to sign the recently passed Dream Act, we encourage the state to be transparent about implementation

Overall, it was a busy day full of many observations about our political process. The building definitely was buzzing with energy and it was interesting to see so many advocates (representing many different causes) in the building. It was also fascinating to hear, through conversation, about how lobbyists for 'the other side' make their case to representatives. For example, in one discussion we were told that for-profit colleges need a break because they are already subject to so many regulations. (My reaction to that: for something so burdened with regulation, they sure produce a pretty awful product with low return on investment and sky high debt). 

Introducing Scoir

Last month, I had the pleasure of introducing the Class of 2020 to our new online college advising platform, Scoir.

Pronounced "Score," Scoir is going to replace Naviance as our primary online college application organization tool. I've been using Naviance since I joined the school ten years ago, so this change is both significant and exciting.

There are quite a few factors that lead to this change. I'll describe a few below:

• Scoir is free for schools. Alternatively, Naviance has almost tripled in cost without tripling the functionality that our school uses. This change will save the PTA a significant amount of money without losing any of the key features that are the most useful for students and their parents/guardians. This includes historical acceptance data for our school. 
• Scoir graphs (also known as scattergrams) combine ACT and SAT data onto one screen. I've literally been begging Naviance to institute this change for a decade and it never happened. Scoir recognizes how necessary this is and their graphs combine everything into one. Naviance's approach to graphs was totally user-unfriendly (and in some cases mis-leading). I'm thrilled to be able to now provide students more complete, accurate, and robust data.
• Scoir allows students to keep a 'notebook' with their thoughts and reflections about school tours and visits. They can even upload photos to store notes and images of things that struck them about the school. This will be very useful during supplemental essay and interview season. I hope students take advantage of this feature. 
• While this impacts students much less than it impacts me, please know that the level of quality customer service provided by Naviance was abysmal. Like picture the basement, then go a few floors below that. That was Naviance customer service/user experience. In recent years they have opted to roll out new features in inopportune times, experienced outages during peak periods, and remove functions even though they were popular with school counselors. Alternatively, my experience with Scoir has been very positive. Their staff is personable, responsive, and open to feedback. The site is definitely not perfect and is absolutely still in a growth phase, but I'm optimistic about the future and excited to be using their platform. 

To learn more about Scoir click here

As always, students get their individual accounts at the kickoff during Regents week of their Junior year. Parents/guardians are also invited to have accounts at that time. 

What to Expect From the College Process - Blog Edition

Many thanks for your understanding in our cancellation of the original 'What To Expect From the College Process' PTA meeting. I think we can all agree it was a prudent decision!

While the event is rescheduled for 4:00 pm on Thursday, November 29, we know it can be hard to make events accessible to all so in addition to the live Q&A, I took questions via email and am posting the answers below.

Do out of state schools or private colleges know or care if the student is earning an Advanced Regents Diploma?
At Eleanor Roosevelt, our aim is for every student to at least attempt to earn an Advanced Regents Diploma. This diploma has addition Regents Exam requirements and like any award or achievement is an indication of a student going above and beyond basic graduation criteria. As a general rule, our assumption at ElRo is that no student should aim for the minimum and that academic enrichment beyond the basic diploma is valuable. With that said, there are always some students each year who, for a variety of reasons, end up earning a Regents Diploma. They are in good company as this is the most common type of diploma issued in New York State. As for colleges, most of them assign regional representatives so they will likely be familiar with the Advanced Regents Diploma.  While it is unlikely that an Advanced Regents Diploma would change an admission outcome, there would be a strong correlation between students earning it and students who are admitted to the most selective colleges. Regardless, it is an achievement that would stay with the student forever and could be listed on their resume permanently. 

What is specifically listed on the student's high school transcript, which will be sent to the colleges they are applying to? For instance, does our school list the student's SAT scores, school based extracurricular activities, etc.?
The NYCDOE transcript shows a record of the courses students have taken, the grades earned, and the credit values associated with the classes. Regents and LOTE exams are also listed. There is a cumulative weighted average GPA at the bottom.  Outside standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, and AP are not listed. Activities are not listed. Students get a copy of their transcript during an Advisory lesson so they can better understand the story being told by their academic record.

How is GPA calculated? Are AP classes weighted more than "regular" classes in calculating GPA?
GPA stands for Grade Point Average. It is a numerical average of all grades, proportional to the number of credits earned. (For example, an 88 in a daily core academic subject worth 2.0 credits has a slightly larger impact on GPA than an elective grade of 88 worth 1.5 credits because the class does not meet every day).  NYCDOE runs on the 100 point scale. The GPA is cumulative and is updated every June when the new grades post. Eleanor Roosevelt is an annualized school, so only the final grade is shown on a transcript. Marking period grades from report cards are not final grades and are not on the official transcript. At Eleanor Roosevelt, AP courses and College English are weighted by a factor of 1.05. These weighted courses are designated by an asterisk on the transcript.

How does a student find out their class rank? How do colleges look at class rank at a small school that is as competitive as ELRO, where the Top 10% are only 12 or 13 students?  
Eleanor Roosevelt does not rank. The school profile will list the GPA distribution for the seniors, but there is no way to determine rank beyond that. It is very common for high schools not to rank and, as the question implies, it is clear why ranking would not be relevant to our school. Colleges look at the entire application when determining if they admit a student. They will factor in things like: GPA, test scores (when applicable), extracurriculars, essays, letters of recommendation, rigor of curriculum and courses chosen. 

Can you please speak to the testing requirements, ACT versus SAT and the timing to take those tests, how many times you can take them, do the colleges see all the scores? What about the subject matter tests-do you recommend them-who should take them?
You can read a lot of my comments regarding testing by clicking here to see archived test related blog posts.  I would also encourage anyone with testing questions to attend our annual testing themed PTA presentation, Demystifying Standardized Testing, happening this year on January 17. To quickly summarize though -- the ACT and SAT are just different brands of college admission tests. Some students do better on the ACT, some do better on the SAT, and some students do equally well on both. Students can determine their preferred test by comparing the PSAT and practice ACT scores using this concordance table. All colleges accept both brands of exam. The goal is just to maximize the score. Best practice is to sit for the preferred exam two times, starting in the spring of Junior year. Note: The NYCDOE has a free SAT for all 11th grade students on Wednesday, March 27. Colleges only see scores that the student sends them because testing records are the student's private property. Some colleges do have policies where they ask to see all sittings if the student took the exam more than once, but in this case typically they are still most interested in the highest scores. 

I do not recommend subject test scores to the typical ElRo student because only 6 colleges require Subject Tests at this time. With that said, any student interested in one of those six places can absolutely sit for the exams where they feel they can score the highest. The schools that require them tend to admit students with main SAT scores in the 1450+ range/ACT scores in the 33+ range, so this is another reason why most ElRo students do not need to spend time or energy on these extra tests. 

If the student does not feel standardized tests capture their ability, there are hundreds of colleges that do not require testing for admission. These testing optional colleges can be found at www.fairtest.org.

Can you talk about the process of applying for testing accommodations for the ACT and SAT for a child with an IEP? 

Ms. Damesek is our school's SSD Coordinator. If you have a disability or medical diagnosis that might be suited to testing accommodations, contact Ms. Damesek in the student's 10th grade year to learn about applying for accommodations. Having an IEP or 504 does not automatically result in SAT/ACT accommodations.  

At what point do we get together with you to discuss a list of schools and get an understanding of which schools are reach versus safety? Is it after the 11th grade final grades are in? When do most families have enough of a sense of what the student’s academic record is so that they can start making realistic choices of places to visit and not include schools that will end up being out of reach academically?

The timeline at ElRo is as follows: 

• Juniors have a student kick off during January Regents week. At this event they will get information about their online college planning account and information about scheduling their junior family meeting with me. 
• Junior meetings occur between February and June and are scheduled first come first served based on the student's preference. The meetings last for one class period (about 40-45 minutes) and parents/guardians are invited to attend. At this meeting, Ms. Kleiman will get to know the student a little better and a preliminary college list will be brainstormed.
• Seniors have a second private family meeting in the fall of Senior year. These meetings occur between September and December and parents/guardians are again invited.  At this meeting, the college list is gone over and Ms. Kleiman gives feedback on the odds of admission and balance of the list. 

In addition to these two meetings, additional questions can be answered:

• At student office hours, held weekly on Tuesday after school for students only. 
• At PTA meetings/evening events centered on the college process
• At Parent Teacher Conferences/Open School events
• Via email (*by far the fastest way to reach me) 

All 11th grade students have access to an online website that shows our school's historical data to help students understand if a college is a reach, target, or likely school. Additionally, colleges publish their admitted student profiles to help be a guide for if a student is above, in, or below the range for admission. You do not need to wait for final grades or testing to have a general sense of these things. It is a great idea to intentionally visit a wide range of colleges, some selective and others less selective, in order to build a balanced list. 

How you can tell for which schools demonstrated interest is important?

Demonstrated interest is a growing topic of conversation in this landscape. For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to when colleges factor in how student behaviors demonstrating interest factors in to the admission decision. Examples of demonstrating interest include, but are not limited to, visiting campus, opening and reading emails, attending events, and having an interview. Instead of asking which schools do track demonstrated interest, it is much more efficient to identify those that do not. These schools will openly state on their websites that this does not weigh into the admission decision. See this example on Duke's website indicating they do not factor in demonstrated interest (under the visiting tips section).  

One way to find out if a college pays attention to demonstrated interest is to ask them. For those more interested in deep dives into data, you can also look up the college's "Common Data Set" where they are asked to list the things they consider, including the level of student interest. When you see an 'X' in the very important or important column it is usually a sign that it matters to that school. In general, I recommend being authentic in your interactions with colleges. Typically these demonstrations of interest are valuable to schools for a reason. They want to admit students who want to attend their school. If a place is your first choice, your behavior usually makes that obvious.

 Image 

NACAC 2018 - Salt Lake City, Utah

Perhaps because it is my tenth conference, perhaps because I'm serving for the first time as a NYSACAC High School Delegate, perhaps because my initial travel was delayed six hours - this conference felt different. In my first years of the conference, I would find that almost every educational session was broadening my mind and expanding my understanding of the college admission landscape. In more recent years, I've still found the educational sessions tremendously helpful, but I've crossed over to finding myself nodding in agreement instead of having ah-ha moments. Over the years, I've also found a much greater benefit in my ongoing professional and personal connections with colleagues, something that can only come from what is now a decade of interactions.

The largest shift for me of this conference is spending Saturday participating in the Assembly and Membership meetings as a voting high school delegate. It is an honor to represent Eleanor Roosevelt High School, the NYCDOE, and the State of New York in this role that so few counselors have the opportunity to have.

Thank you to NYSACAC and the PTA for their support of this professional development opportunity. 

Image