What College Admissions Officers Want...

Colleges are getting more and more applications each year. More students are looking to attend college. And the Common Application and similar applications have made it much easier for students to apply to more schools.

For college admissions officers, this means they have more work to do. Work they're making easier for themselves by coming up with easy ways to cut applicants who try to beat the admissions system by getting easy A's or plagiarizing their essays.

A summary of what admissions officers are now giving more weight to from an article in U.S. News and World Report:

"Recommendations and high school class rank matter less to many colleges, especially big public universities, than they used to. Instead, a growing number of colleges of all types are putting more emphasis on students' essays and the difficulty of applicants' high school classes."

In more detail:

1. Less reliance on recommendations. High school teachers and counselors have been turning in more generic recommendations. Reasons given are that they are overwhelmed with requests and they have too many students to get to know them all. The result is that these bland recommendations do not give admissions officers the personalized insight on a student that they're looking for.

International College Counselors strongly recommends that students still get to know one or two teachers well. Recommendations still count and if it comes down to you and similar student, a recommendation or two with thoughtful comments can put you ahead.

2. Less emphasis on high school class rank. You can thank high schools for this. More high schools are refusing to rank their students, so colleges are unable to give as much weight to this as an admissions factor.

International College Counselors always recommends you aim for the highest grades possible.

3. More emphasis on tougher high school courses. Growing evidence shows that students who take more rigorous courses in high school are more likely to succeed in college, so more weight is being given to grades in tougher classes. Admissions officer Kent Rinehart, dean of admission at Marist College, says he would prefer to "see a student challenge himself and get a B" than take an easy class to inflate a GPA."

International College Counselors recommends students take high school classes one level above their comfort level.

4. More emphasis on application essays. Without a doubt, the essays can make or break your application.

Students working with International College Counselors should finish their essays over the SUMMER, to get maximum time to have them perfected.

5. More attention to the applicant's senior year. Colleges no longer tolerate slacking off during the senior year. In fact, some want to see "acceleration of educational difficulty."

International College Counselors says, "don't ignore this fact. You've spent 11 years getting to where you are, don't blow it in the 12th."

6. More application auditing. A growing number of colleges are fact checking applications. One tool being used to do this is a plagiarism software program called Turnitin. It looks for phrases in essays that match those in millions of websites, articles and books.

Everything you work on with International College Counselors will be original.

Parents, as you can see, a lot has changed since you applied to college. International College Counselors can help your student choose the right schools and assist with the college admissions process. "Help us, help you!"

Make Summer Count

Students who want to shine on their college applications should not forget about the summer.  International College Counselors wants to remind students you don't need to go to Costa Rica to build huts, but you do need to do something that raises your APA (application point average).  If you're not planning to take classes or attend an enrichment camp-get a job, volunteer or get an internship.  Summer is coming up fast - and some summer programs have January deadlines - so here are some ideas to get you thinking about how to make the most of your summer.

Visit the International College Counselors blog to see our 2011 Summer Recommendations.  
 
Get a great summer job or internship
Summer jobs and internships are great ways to show colleges, and your parents that you are successfully maturing into a responsible adult. And there are few better ways to earn a little respect and gain valuable real-world experience. In a tight job market like the one we're experiencing now, your best bet may be the internship. An internship is a pre-professional work experience that provides students with an opportunity to gain unpaid experience in a field you're interested in.  So what you don't gain in cash, you gain in experience.  Think of it as a summer course.  But with persistence and luck, you can land an internship in your dream career. If you think you might like to try advertising, check with your local agencies to see what internship opportunities are available. Think you want to be a lawyer, see if you can work in a law firm.  An internship is also great way to secure yourself a recommendation and get your foot in the door for future networking.

If you're looking for available internships opportunities here in Miami, college counselors at International College Counselors can help you.  Opportunities can also often be found on company websites and social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
 
Volunteering gives back
It can be profitable to work for nothing.  You can make a difference, gain experience and explore your interests. For example, if a career in medicine interests you, you could volunteer a few hours a week at a hospital or nursing home. Interested in animals?  Volunteer at the local animal shelter. Feeling entrepreneurial?  Start a non-profit of your own.  The choices are endless and all your hard work and time can pay off. Colleges and universities truly adore students who can demonstrate that they make the effort to help others.  You may not be making money but you can make friends, and networking connections.  You'll also be creating fodder for those application essays.  Then there's always the fact you will be doing good - a wonderful reason to volunteer in itself.

 
Attend a Summer Academic Program, Take a Virtual Class or Try Dual Enrollment
Flush out your resume and explore something new.  Summer academic programs, virtual classes and dual enrollment programs offer you a chance to choose something you want to learn.  Try out a course from a major you're interested in.  Explore aeronautical science or 17th century literature. Academic programs allow students to explore their interests from business to engineering. These highly organized programs are designed to strengthen the academic skills of students who plan to enter a similar program in college.  Many of these programs are residential and students travel from all over to attend them.  At some schools, taking a virtual class or participating in a dual enrollment program can even help raise your GPA.  Both can also help save you time and money if you take classes that count both for high school credit as well as college credit. Depending on their school, students who enter college with credit can reduce their course load per term or even graduate early.
Enjoy your summer - wisely! 

International College Counselors students:  Call or email our office as soon as possible to make an appointment to discuss your summer plans.

Donna Klein students:  Some summer programs require counselor nominations.  Bring the forms to us, and we will fill them out for you. We will also be posting updated information on summer programs outside our Donna Klein office door.  New information will be posted when we receive it, so remember to pass by often. Email us or call if you would like to apply to any of the programs.  This week, we received a call for nominations for the Vanderbilt PAVE program (discussed on the blog).  Stay tuned for more!