Deferrals, Acceptances, and Rejections!

Merry Christmas first of all! Well, now that everyone is done with receiving early admissions results, let me first congratulate those who are already accepted (but are still shopping around to see if there’s anything else out there am I right? Otherwise you wouldn’t still be reading this, you’d be out celebratin!). With those who have been rejected, don’t let it get you down, that’s what early admissions is for right? You want to relook over what parts of your application may have been weaker and try not to make the same mistake twice if it is something that is fixable (poorly written essays, less than great interview, etc.). For those who have been deferred, there are several things you can do:

1. Send in additional information regarding anything that you have done in the months since you’ve applied. Anything substantial should be reported (but don’t do this simply for the sake of adding something, if you don’t have anything extra to say that’s completely fine!).

2. Deferrals are no reason to get down on yourself! It means that there are no glaring holes in your application, so at least you are on the right track! Sometimes asking your guidance counselor to give the school a call to show your continued interest is helpful (though this varies on a school by school basis and depends on whether or not the counselor has any sort of relationship with the school you are applying to).

3. Make sure you get good grades! This actually goes for everyone, senior year first semester grades are just as important as the other years, don’t think you can slack off just because it is senior year! 

 

Another piece of advice for the deferees and rejectees. Make sure to have safety schools that are realistic, accepted kids can apply just to reach schools or match schools because they already have a safety net with their first acceptance, but deferees and rejectees have to make sure you guys have a place to go next year (financial and academic safeties, make sure you can afford to go somewhere). 

Finally, as you wrap up your final essays and mail off your last applications (at least for those highly selective private schools), remember that you want to show them a little bit about yourself with every piece of your application. Tell them your story. Don’t take a deferral as no. Take it as a “we need to know more”. Good luck, and Merry Christmas!

The Free College Counselor: The College Interview

You walk into the Coffee shop and glance around. It’s empty. Good, you expected this because like any good applicant, you showed up 10 minutes early. You’re dressed in a button down shirt and nice pants (though polo/khakis are fine for summer months), a nice business casual attire. You pick a booth in the corner with a view of the front door and wait. 8 minutes later, a tall man with a flashing blue tie and a clipboard walks in. “Hello, I’m Mr. __________, you must be…”

While I had many different interviews (in many places, from coffee shops to offices), there are some rules that need to be followed for every college interview:

1. Show Up Early: Being 10 minutes early doesn’t cost you anything, and remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression, you don’t want to be the guy that busts in 10 minutes late and mumbles something about traffic!

The Free College Counselor: Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities are the things that confuse the most people about the college admissions process. I’ve had some people say that a set of extracurriculars is “weak” while others say the same set is “strong and shows involvement”. So, the question is, how do you impress colleges with your extracurricular activities?

Be committed: Commitment to an extracurricular activity is extremely important. Doing an extracurricular activity for all four years of high school shows a certain amount of dedication that doing it for one or two years and then quitting lacks. On the common application, when listing your extracurricular activities, try to go for ones that you have participated in for an extended amount of time.

The Free College Counselor: Teacher Recommendations

Teacher Recommendations are a very important, but sometimes overlooked part of the admissions process. It is one of the few chances that an admissions officer gets to judge your character, and as the teachers have known you for much longer than interviewers, these are given more weight than your college interview. So what are some tips for getting the best recommendations possible?

Get a teacher that knows you: Often-times there will be teachers that you have had for multiple years. These have had more time to get to know you and can often give a clearer image of what kind of person you are. Another good option would be to get a teacher that runs one of the clubs you are in. If your basketball coach also teaches your government class, he has probably seen a side of you your other teachers have not.

The Free College Counselor: My College Calendar

One of the ways to alleviate the great stress that the college admissions process can put on you is to have a game plan. This site My College Calendar gives you an easy resource to do just that, as it walks you through the steps to applying to college as you do them! I would highly recommend this site, I took a look around it, and it seems very well run, their editor is an admissions consultant, and they are absolutely free! Definitely a great resource, and one that I would definitely look into (they have a plan for junior year and senior early applications, with regular and rolling admissions guides coming later this week). This sort of chronological approach gives you a sense of security to make sure you’re not missing out on anything!

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