Category Archives: Admissions

Reflections on the College Admissions Scandal

The last week has been an interesting one for those of us involved in the college admissions process. If I’m being honest, the scandal made me sad. Sad for the students who put in so much effort, not just during the application process, but throughout their middle and high school years. Sad for the parents who scrape and save to send their children to college. Sad for the counselors who work hard every day, are ethical and truly want what’s best for their students, knowing that does not mean buying their way into college.

I became a consultant because I enjoy working with students, helping them to understand who they are, what they have to offer and how to present the best version of themselves to a college or university. My role is to guide them to find their best fit college, not to create an illegal side door for them.

As an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), I have sworn to abide by the IECA’s Principles of Good Practice.

The fundamental role of independent educational consultants (IECs) is to help students explore college opportunities and find the right place for them to succeed academically and socially. IECs don’t get students admitted—they help students demonstrate why they deserve to be admitted at appropriately chosen schools. They help students find colleges they might not have heard of—often out of their region—and they help students put their best foot forward.

Here are 5 things families should consider when looking to hire an IEC:

  1. Does the IEC belong to a professional association such as IECA with established and rigorous standards for membership?
  2. Do not trust any offers of guaranteed admission to a school or a certain minimum dollar value in scholarships.
  3. Ensure that the IEC adheres to the ethical guidelines for private counseling established by IECA.
  4. Find an IEC that visits college, school, and program campuses and meets with admissions representatives regularly in order to keep up with new trends, academic changes and evolving campus cultures.
  5. Do they attend professional conferences or training workshops on a regular basis to keep up with regional and national trends and changes in the law?

I am proud to serve as an independent educational consultant and of the students that I’ve worked with who are thriving at schools where they, deservedly, walked through the front door.

Veritas, flannel and the Development of Western Civilization

On a recent road trip to the Northeast, we made a pit stop at my husband’s old stomping grounds, Providence College. Here’s his trip down memory lane…

It’s any Tuesday morning in October in the mid-1990s and flannel is king. Hootie & the Blowfish are sure to outlive The Rolling Stones and define a generation. They can’t miss. Right? These are the things I’m concerned with as I begin the trek from Fennel Hall up toward main campus and ultimately to class. But not just any class; it’s the heart and soul of the academic experience for all students who have called this institution home since 1971. I am talking about what outsiders to Providence College refer to as “The Development of Western Civilization.” What near outsiders call “DWC.” But to us, it will always just be CIV. Ah. CIV.

Any discussion of the quality or uniqueness of a Providence College education, as well as the essence of the Providence experience, must begin with an understanding of CIV. CIV truly is the lifeblood of my alma mater, and remains one of the most unique offerings of any college or university in the country. CIV is a comprehensive study of the development of Western Civilization, meeting five days a week for your first two years at Providence. Each group, or CIV team, is headed by a panel of professors representing the key areas of focus for the program: History, Philosophy, Religion, Art & Literature. Students are required to complete 16 CIV credits in their first four semesters on campus (I won’t even mention that fact that it was 20 credits when I was there and these students don’t know how easy they have it!). It’s fair to say that students at Providence have a love/hate relationship with CIV. It is demanding. It can be all consuming. But there is absolutely no question that it is an amazing program. And while 18-year old me does not want to hear this, it is the source of some of most my cherished college memories. Maybe I needed to get out more, but there was something special about that shared experience. Knowing that all 1077 of my classmates were in this with me, scrambling to find a unique angle on the relevance of Plato’s Cave to the fall of the Berlin Wall. I am certain no other college offers a program so comprehensive and so unifying to its students. To this day when I meet a fellow Providence alum, whether they graduated in 1975 or 2015, our secret handshake is CIV.

While CIV is the school’s centerpiece, it is certainly not all Providence College (affectionately known as “PC”) has to offer its 4,300 undergrads. Not even close. Providence College was the nation’s first college to offer a bachelor’s degree in Public and Community Service Studies. The college was founded by and conducted under the auspices of the Dominican Friars. The Catholic identity is hard to miss. Sunday night mass is standing room only (or at least my roommates told me they were) and service is a big component of the student experience. While at PC, I volunteered with the Chad Brown Boys & Girls Club and the Providence Plan Housing Corporation. I was certainly not alone, as almost everyone I knew was involved with some kind of organization off-campus. Students have the opportunity to serve through a number of curricular and co-curricular programs, including FriarServe which pairs Providence College volunteers with five Providence Catholic Pre-K – 8 schools.

The school is nestled less than 2 miles from downtown Providence, RI, one of the best kept secrets in the northeast. With the city as its backdrop, students enjoy limitless social and cultural activities. And with Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) a mile from the edge of campus, the entire city takes on the feeling of an extended campus.

Of course, no discussion of Providence College would be complete without a discussion of our rich sports history. In 2017, Time Magazine ranked Providence as the 28th best college in America for sports fans. The Friar Faithful ranked higher than some traditional sports powerhouses such as: Florida State, Penn State, Villanova & Michigan State. Providence College fields 19 varsity athletic teams. All are NCAA Division 1, and all compete within the Big East (with the exception of men’s & women’s ice hockey which compete in Hockey East – hockey’s Big East equivalent). Providence has enjoyed immense success in all sports but has recently flourished in men’s basketball (having participated in the NCAA Tournament each of the last 5 years under beloved coach Ed Cooley) with the future looking brighter than ever. Men’s hockey also enjoys both a storied past to match a successful present. The Friars were the founding members of the mighty Hockey East Conference, which was the brainchild of then Providence Head Coach, Lou Lamoriello, for whom the Hockey East Championship Trophy is named. Providence College has maintained the commitment to hockey excellence outlined by Lamoriello. This culminated in 2015 when the Friars won the NCAA Division 1 Hockey National Championship, defeating Boston University 4-3 in the title game.

This summer, I had a chance to revisit. It had been a long time since I’d stepped foot on the campus and while some things have changed (much less flannel and Slavin got a nice facelift, that’s for sure!), the fundamental components that make Providence College unique (its Catholic identity, rich sports history and of course CIV) remain intact. Veritas!

A Visit to the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

Our family trip up north this summer offered up the opportunity to spend an afternoon at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). It was a campus visit unlike any other.

The RISD Admissions office had multiple rooms packed with high school students eager to learn more. Isabelle Sanchez, Class of 2015, led my information session and is clearly passionate about her alma mater. She described RISD as an organically collaborative community where you will be surrounded by fellow students who are as passionate and eager to talk about art as you are.

A few of my key take aways from the visit:

  • First year is about experimental and foundation studies – all students take two liberal arts classes per semester and are encouraged to explore (3D, charcoal drawing, spatial dynamics and more).
  • You can receive your Bachelor of Fine Arts in four years or your Bachelor of Architecture in five.
  • First years get first pick of classes during the five-week winter semester which could take you across the world on a study abroad program (perhaps the European Honors Program or RISD in Seoul) or to Los Angeles for an internship.
  • While RISD offers >300 liberal arts courses, you can cross-register to take courses at Brown beginning your second year.
  • Speaking of Brown, you can apply to get a dual degree (BA/BFA) in five years. Getting in is very competitive as you must be separately admitted to both schools and then selected by a committee. Only 15-20 students are offered the opportunity every year.
  • The Nature Lab (the coolest part of the tour!) offers unmediated access to natural history specimens (puffer fish, human bones, coral and so much more) for inspiration.
  • The RISD Library includes a student-curated section.
  • While on a huge hill (the tour was quite the workout in the heat!), the campus is very walkable and in the heart of downtown Providence. With your RISD ID, you’ll have full bus access to the entire state.
  • The MET dining hall is every vegan’s dream.
  • You will apply via the Common App. In addition, you’ll submit a SlideRoom portfolio of 12-20 images of your work and complete the RISD “Assignment” (choose one of three words – Error, Forge, Verify – and create two visual responses and a written reflection). As for your essay, don’t write about art! The school knows you are interested in art and wants to learn something else about you.

Interested in art and design and wondering what else should be on your college list? Besides RISD, consider the following*:

Art Center College of Design

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

California College of the Arts

California Institute of the Arts

The Cooper Union

Kansas City Art Institute

Maryland Institute, College of Art

Massachusetts College of Art

Moore College of Art and Design

School of the Museum of Fine Arts (MA)

North Carolina School of the Arts

Otis Institute of Art and Design

Parsons School of Design

Pratt Institute

Ringling School of Art and Design

San Francisco Art Institute

Savannah College of Art and Design

School of Visual Arts (NY)

*Source: Fiske Guide to Colleges 2018

Finding the Confidence to Write High-Quality College Application Essays

I recently discussed confidence in the college essay writing process with Matt Bieber of Real Clear English. Below is our transatlantic conversation…

Matt

When students sit down to write their college application essays, they’re expected to share their inner worlds with distant, anonymous readers who hold a great deal of power over their future.

It’s no surprise, then, that students are reluctant to tell their stories – even if they have really good stories. I see this hesitation all the time in my own students, and my guest – Megan Johnson of Best You Consulting Group – does too. The question is, what do we do with this feeling?

Megan

My students tend to fall into one of three categories:

  1. They think they have nothing interesting to say.
  2. They think that a good essay involves kicking the winning goal or going on a mission trip.
  3. They are hesitant to tell their secrets to strangers.

The students who fall into the first group often feel that because they haven’t encountered tragedy in their life, no one will find them interesting and therefore, they’ll never be admitted. While tragedy can make for a good essay, it’s not your only path to admission. Everyone is different. Your “boring and regular” life may not have seen tragedy, but you still have something to say.

The second group feels like their essay needs to fall into the safe zone. Volunteering and sports are “safe.”

To students in the third category, I understand the hesitation. Will a group of strangers judge me for what I’ve done or what I’ve been through? In short, no. They are longing to get to know you. They are not judging and they understand that sharing your story is personal and completely respect that.

When I served on the admissions committee at Fuqua, Duke’s MBA program, I read a lot (I mean A LOT) of applications. My favorite essay at Fuqua asks for “25 random things about you.” Those who repeated pieces of information from their resume or only provided surface-level (safe) information about themselves were not memorable when it came time for admissions officers to present at committee meetings. The students who went deeper, were vulnerable, shared a story about something that went wrong, were funny – they were memorable. I felt like I got to know them personally by reading their essays. I bonded with them. As I result, when it came time to make admissions decisions, I fought for them.

Matt

I often tell my students that this is where admissions officers are coming from, but it’s great to have some hard proof! And it makes sense: admissions officers aren’t robots – they’re real people who want to feel connected to other real people.

Let me ask a little more about your third category – the students who are wary of sharing their secrets with strangers. You and I both encourage our students to share. In your view, how much should they share? Is there such a thing as over-sharing? Or are these the wrong questions?

Megan

I do think there’s such a thing as oversharing. Vulnerable, yes. Vulgar, no. In some ways, I think the students who choose to overshare are afraid that their lives are boring and that they need to shock the reader in order to get attention.

As students begin drafting essays, I think they need to ask themselves why. Why am I sharing this particular story? What does it say about me? Is this how I want to be remembered?

I’m interested in your take, Matt. Does all this talk of oversharing scare students into playing it safe?

Matt

I hope not! I’m all for honesty and vulnerability – the more, the better. But as you say, it has to be honesty with the right motivations behind it. Just trying to shock the reader will almost certainly backfire, and for two reasons: one, because admissions readers have seen just about everything before, and two, because telling lurid stories often involves cheapening your own experiences. It’s painful to see students treat the most sensitive moments in their own lives – or in the lives of their loved ones – as currency to be traded in an admissions game. And naturally, doing so doesn’t inspire confidence among admissions readers, either.

Confidence strikes me as central to the whole essay-writing process. Students who have some basic sense of their own dignity – who trust that their own experiences are valuable, and who don’t feel a constant need to compare themselves to others – often end up writing the essays that imprint themselves in readers’ minds. And a big part of my role is reminding students of that truth, and helping them see it for themselves.

Megan

I couldn’t agree more on the confidence piece! I think a lack of confidence makes a student fall into one of the three buckets that I described earlier. It takes confidence to feel like your story matters, to not play it safe or to share something that feels personal. Borrowing from Augusten Burroughs, I think it means letting go of other people’s perceptions that are out of your control and granting yourself some basic space to work.

Matt, any closing advice for high school students trying to find confidence in their writing?

Matt

I think you said it perfectly! Of course, that kind of confidence can be hard to generate and maintain, and it helps to have support as you go through the process – a family member, a friend, or a professional coach. It’s also important for students to remember that writing well about your own life is hard – it’s a real skill, one that takes time to develop just like any other. If you walk into this process thinking you’re going to sit down and slap together a high-quality essay in a few quick sessions, you’re probably setting yourself up for frustration. But if go into the process humbly, curious to see what you might learn and how you might share your discoveries, you’ll do beautifully.

A Visit to George Mason University

Nestled in suburban Fairfax, VA, not far from the heart of DC, George Mason has much to offer a variety of students in the crowded Virginia & DC college and university market. The largest public research university in the state of Virginia, students at GMU take full advantage of its location which affords countless educational, professional and social opportunities.

Internships in the nation’s capital are only 20-30 minutes away by metro which means that 85% of students gain crucial experience and begin building their professional networks before they graduate. Given its Tier 1 research institute status, the National Institute for Health is one of the many prestigious employers who recruit heavily on campus.

GMU has a nationally-recognized engineering program, including the only cybersecurity engineering program in the country. The Nguyen Engineering Building leases office space to many large corporations, offering additional internship opportunities right on campus.

Other notable disciplines include a 5th year accelerated accounting program, an accredited forensic science program, a competitive dance major (only 20 students accepted each year) and a nursing program, which will be housed in the brand-new Health and Human Services building.

An Honors College is available to top students allowing them access to Robinson Faculty (distinguished professors in the liberal arts and sciences) and a Living Learning Community. LLCs, as they are known at GMU, are collaborative partnerships between departments, faculty, housing and residence staff. Students participating in an LLC take one or more classes together and live on campus as a group, in a common dorm. In addition, groups of students in LLCs engage with peers, faculty and staff coordinators through numerous extracurricular projects and activities. The University Scholars Award, George Mason’s largest merit scholarship, covers full tuition and is offered to 10 in-state and 10 out-of-state students.

While it’s only been 40 years since GMU formally separated from the University of Virginia, it is now the second largest residential campus in Virginia. Historically a commuter school (74% live off campus), that status seems to be evolving with options available to those who want the on-campus experience. In addition to Living Learning Communities, GMU offers 350 student clubs, 22 NCAA D1 teams and Greek life, although only a small percentage of men and women go Greek. While campus might not be a hub of activity on the weekends, students are able to take advantage of the benefits of living in the greater DC area.

George Mason should not be overlooked for its growing athletic tradition either. They field more than 20 Division I teams, made up of 458 student athletes. The Patriots made national headlines during the 2005-2006 NCAA tournament when the men’s basketball team shocked the sports world by making it to the Final Four. During their run, George Mason found itself a significant underdog in each game before upsetting Michigan State (who had made the previous year’s Final Four), North Carolina (the defending National Champions) and UConn (the tournament’s #1 seed). The Patriots eventually lost in the National Semi-Final game to the University of Florida, which went on to win the tournament. The season was historic by any measure and is widely considered the best tournament run by a “mid-major” conference team in NCAA history. George Mason, which entered the season predicted to finish 6th in the small Colonial Athletic Association, finished the year as the 8th ranked team in the country.

Melissa Bevacqua, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, described GMU as “authentically diverse”. While 80% of the 36,000 students hail from the state of Virginia, GMU students come from 137 countries and almost all 50 states. The admissions office is focused on growing its international and out-of-state student population. As a result, the school is score optional for out-of-state non-engineering students with a GPA of 3.3 or higher. In addition, the university is proud of its mission of access, reporting that half of the current students started their college career at a two-year institution before transferring and that underrepresented students perform just as well there and after graduation.

All of these characteristics come together to create a unique learning environment and opportunity for the right student. George Mason seems to embrace its underdog status in the crowded landscape of Virginia colleges and universities. And rightly so. Whether you are a student looking to transfer from a two-year institution, or a more traditional applicant who is looking to gain real work experience and benefit from the proximity to DC, George Mason University is a great option. And one that will not be overlooked much longer.