Looks like we made it!

 In the coming week, the vast majority of college admission decisions for the Class of 2014 will finally be revealed. In fact, most schools released decisions by the end of last week (though you wouldn't know it from Naviance - I'm looking at you 50% of the class who has indicated the decisions are unknown!). So now the tables are turned and students who only weeks ago were crossing their fingers trying to look as admit-able as possible are now being courted by colleges who are now the ones with their fingers crossed.

Every year, I republish this piece about gifts and challenges. I'm not going to copy and paste it again, but I encourage everyone to click on the link to read it.

My biggest piece of advice for the month of April is to do a full comparison of ALL college admission decisions. Too often, I see students get into their 'top choice' and automatically decide to enroll. They do this without comparing the financial aid packages and this can be a mistake with pretty serious consequences. I can't take your top choice away from you. That comes from deep in your gut. But, is your top choice really $15,000 a year better than your other choices? Is it really $60,000 better (because that is 4 x $15,000 and also happens to be more than what your starting salary will probably be)? Taking out loans is serious business. Having parents considering liquidating their 401k or retirement funds is even more serious business (spoiler alert - this is a terrible idea - just ask the WSJ). It might take time to come to terms with enrolling at a school that wasn't your dream school. But, it might take longer to come to terms with the consequences of making this decision without considering all financial and emotional ramifications.

I also want to take a moment to recognize all the great news that students have been getting. It isn't all about paying for college or coping with disappointment. It is also about screaming from the rooftops when you get in and you are pumped about it. :)

Thanks Rhodes!

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a breakfast hosted by Rhodes College. I'm happy to report that the more I learn about Rhodes, the better it sounds. Rhodes is a small liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee. (Hey you, over there, the one slowly moving away because I started talking about a college you haven't heard of in the middle of the country. Stay where you are and keep reading). My favorite things about Rhodes include:

1) It has a student run honor code. In the same vein as places like Davidson and Haverford, honesty is taken seriously. Trust is valued. This morning I learned that only 18 colleges in the country can make this claim and in a world where every glossy brochure from every 'good school' looks the same, this sets Rhodes apart.

2) It is a part of the Colleges That Change Lives book. If you've met with me, you probably know that I love CTCL schools. I love their mission. I love their commitment to learning and education. I love that they usually value what students contribute over what their numbers say. Read the chapter on Rhodes and THEN we can talk about if you still want to sneak out of the room.

3) They take demonstrated interest seriously. On paper, the acceptance rate at Rhodes might make it seem like it is a school that any qualified ElRo student would get into. But don't plan on using Rhodes as a backup if you haven't taken the time to seriously consider the school. Rhodes values when students visit campus, take advantage of the opportunity to interview, or attend regional receptions. When you pass up the opportunity to do this, they notice. I wish more schools would pay more attention to this. I think it might help reduce the college lists that are 15 or 20 applications deep with students putting down a million schools they aren't actually interested in. What would the college admission landscape look like if student only actually submitted applications to schools they were seriously considering?

4) With a major in Neuroscience, they prove that liberal arts colleges are not just the right fit for English and History majors. Too many people assume that a person who is 'pre-med' or wants to study science has to go to a huge flagship university. This is not true!

5) Students from all different income brackets are awarded financial aid, including both need based and merit based aid. This school year, the average aid package to students from homes making more than $150,000 was about $28,000. This brings the cost down to the range that a SUNY might cost.

Thanks for breakfast today Rhodes! If you are reading this, check it out!

More March Madness Fun!

Has their ever been a more fun idea than this WSJ listing of 'teams' of alumni from each of the 64 schools in the bracket?! I do take a little issue in the inclusion of people who didn't actually graduate, but I do still appreciate this unique take on comparing the schools. Enjoy!

Tourney Time!

March is one of my favorite times of the year because it combines two things I love: watching sports and colleges. The NCAA basketball tournament is exciting to watch AND is a great way to explore little known colleges that people might not know about. This year's swath of teams include many options that I would love for more ElRo students to explore. Tune in to the games, but it wouldn't hurt to also fire up Naviance during the commercial breaks to find out more about the schools behind the teams. A few of my personal favorites from each branch of the bracket include:

Creighton University- A few full disclosures: I automatically gravitate toward Jesuit schools. I just do. They are awesome. It also just so happens that my former colleague is now director of Admission, so I can't not give a huge shout out to this great school. Not convinced? read this article to see why I think it is such a cool place. In all seriousness though, if New York City students could wrap their head around leaving the Northeast, I think Creighton would be on many many college lists. It is a top regional university and has the potential to offer meaningful merit scholarships to talented students. Open your mind and give it a try. It is the school pictured above.

University of Texas at Austin -- Austin has already been in the limelight a lot recently with SXSW, but I can't overlook this great flagship university. Many students rule out a place like Texas because they fear it will be too conservative or too far away. I would contend that particularly in a place like Austin, viewpoints from the more liberal side of the aisle would be far from the minority. Of the four schools I'm highlighting here, UT-Austin might be the toughest admission wise (as a public school in a huge state there are lots of seats to fill but lots of applicants to fill them.). Also, be aware this is one of a handful of schools that really truly does mean it when they say deadline. Your entire application must be completed and processed by the deadline or you will not be considered. This is not the kind of place to consider at the last minute.

University of Cincinnati - We do have a student from ElRo already at University of Cincinnati, but I think we could have more. They have a huge co-op education program (think hands on experience as opposed to sitting in a lecture hall) and are in proximity to a major Midwestern city. This is also the alma mater of NYC transplant Sarah Jessica Parker. It has a lot of similarities to schools like Syracuse. Granted, it is a 10 hour drive from New York City, but it is only a 2 hour direct flight so don't rule it out too early!

University of Kansas - Do you see my trend here with schools in the middle of the country? :) Before you get all Dorothy and plead with me that there is "no place like home," hear me out. Kansas is the oldest college in the plains and that brings with it some gorgeous architecture that you might be more accustomed to here on the East Coast. It has many of the same great things going for it as Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana (huge public colleges oozing with school spirit) and boasts one of the best Honors programs in the country http://www.honors.ku.edu/ 

Michigan State is my pick to win it all.

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College Board Live Stream

(Advanced apology SSL- Sorry So Long!)

Earlier today I watched the live stream (from SXSW, who knew the College Board was so hip?) of the College Board's David Coleman delivering updates on the future of the redesigned SAT. Just because I can't resist, let's get it out there that I already have a pretty sour taste in my mouth from Mr. Coleman's NACAC session and sadly the 70 minute live stream had some of the similar flaws of taking waaaaay longer than necessary to explain things. I much prefer cutting to the chase and eliminating the Robin William's iPad commercial brand of flowery language and rhetoric. But here is what I gleaned from the speech:

The College Board feels that standardized tests (they specifically cited BOTH the ACT and SAT, more on this later) are too disconnected from high school work. The redesigned SAT is aiming to make the exam more closely aligned to what is done both in the classroom and the real world. One of the first topics of the speech also had to do with the research that shows a large number of high performing low income students never apply to selective colleges. This concept boggles my mind (and the minds of my colleagues at NACAC) as I truly have a hard time believing there are kids out there scoring 2100 on the SAT who don't realize they have potential to be admitted to selective colleges, but perhaps we are biased because we work in schools that send us to NACAC. Either way, the College Board has it in their heads that they can unlock these opportunities for these students by mailing them college application fee waivers. Again, I'm boggled by this as virtually EVERY college allows any student who is verified as being low income to apply for free. My sense is if a student is earning a 2100 on the SAT they can also read the instructions on the Common App clearly enough to understand that they qualify to have the application fee waived. But, again, Coleman is convinced otherwise. In fact he got applause for this 'effort.' Seems like the far greater kind gesture would be for the College Board to waive fees for sending score reports or fees for the CSS Profiles, but as luck would have it, these things that are actual barriers don't seem to be in the mix for consideration.

One thing that Coleman did highlight though, that I do agree with, is the push by the College Board to address the inequities for underrepresented groups in math and science exams. Are you sitting down? Last year there were 8 states in the U.S. that had not a single black student sit for the Computer Science AP. Granted, that AP is a more obscure one, but zero test takers? The funnel is blocked and it does need help in being opened. Girls aren't in much of a better situation, with only 20% of Computer Science AP test takers identifying as female. As a country, we can do better.

Another thing I agree with: it was very clear from this speech that the College Board is on a mission to obliterate the test prep industry as we know it. Or at the very least cut it off at the knees. There were multiple pointed comments addressing what the College Board views as predatory practices of these companies that lead to a perception that achievement on the test is linked with the ability to complete hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of prep. This leads to the first actual substantive announcement of the stream: starting now the College Board is teaming up with Khan Academy to offer transparent and clear online test prep for all. This is the first partnership the College Board has had with an outside organization ever. In addition, prior to the redesign, Khan Academy will be offering free online prep for the current SAT. The Khan Academy partnership is going to be more than just videos and descriptions of how to answer problems. There is also going to be adaptive software and dashboards for teachers and parents. Let me also say, Sal Khan should have been the one delivering this entire address. He is a MUCH better public speaker and sounds so much less condescending than Mr. Coleman who may or may not have gone to the Marco Rubio school of public speaking, complete with mini-water bottle gulps. (#sorry).  Visit www.khanacademy.org/sat for more information.

Next announcement: The College Board, in partnership with The Atlantic, will now be sponsoring a prize for top high school analytic writers. Wish we were given more info about this, but sounds innovative and interesting.

The redesigned SAT (set to be released in time for students that are currently in 9th grade) is going to be more focused, more clear, and more open. Everything on the exam will relate back to real life. Starting April 16th the College Board will publish sample questions and information about the new SAT at www.deliveringopportunity.org.

So let's talk details. The new test will have 3 sections: evidence based reading/writing, an essay, and math. The evidence based reading/writing section will ask students to go beyond just picking an answer but to explain where they got the evidence for that answer. There will also be science and history documents that ask students to analyze data. (Is someone flexing their muscles to go nose to nose with the ACT?) There will be no more sentence completions. Instead, students will analyze sequences of paragraphs and edit passages. Coleman and the College Board want to eliminate the idea of flashcards for vocabulary for the SAT. Instead, there will be a new type of focus on "powerful words" like 'synthesis' that have multiple meanings and applications. The essay portion of the SAT will now be optional. (ACT muscle flex number 2, for those out there counting). This new essay will have a universal prompt that is made available to test takers before the test. This advance prompt will then be applied to source material that is provided on the day of the test that asks students to use evidence from the document to answer the prompt. Sounds to me like an offshoot-hybrid of a "Document Based Question" that students are already familiar with. Last comes the math section. The focus here will be on problem solving, data analysis, mastery of linear equations, and the 'passport to advanced mathematics.' The goal will no longer be to trick the test taker. Plus, get this, there are now going to be some portions of the SAT where you cannot use a calculator. Non calculator portions will aim to "access ideas." It will be interesting to see the sample questions for this portion. Finally, there will be a change for the scoring of the new SAT. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint, my ACT muscle is getting tired. The SAT will no longer penalize for wrong answers.

It will be interesting to see how (or if) these changes affect the landscape of college admissions. No mention was given to if the test length will change or if any administration changes will occur. (Full disclosure, my stream did go in an out occasionally and I did have three students stop in my office with questions while I was listening so if I these things were addressed and I missed them, mea culpa). There was also zero mention of fees for the new SAT. For a company so committed to helping low income students, they have some seriously questionable practices when it comes to fees. They offer these pointless college application waivers, but still charge students to send scores and use the CSS profile? They are committed to having more students take the AP exams, but conveniently forget to mention what a profit driver those tests are and how fewer and fewer colleges are actually accepting the exams for credit.

At the end, there was also a promotional video designed to inspire and empower the viewers. It didn't have much substance but the one thing I found particularly interesting about it was that it featured the President of Franklin & Marshall. Why is that so interesting, you might ask? Oh maybe because of all the schools out there to shill for the College Board I find it interesting that they went with the president of a testing optional school. Does this mean F&M is on the road to changing their tune about their test flexibility? Was this intended as an olive branch to show how the College Board really is evolving? Time will tell.