The Journey of the College Search

Research on the Efficacy and Validity of Test Prep

2009-05-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

The National Association for College Admissions Counseling recently released some research regarding SAT test prep. The results are spun in many different ways by different publications. Many agree that the most comprehensive write-up about the research findings can be found here

One colleague, Shuan McElroy (counselor at the Shanghai American School), summoned up the results very well in a post on the NACAC e-list.

Technically a 30 points increase is NOT statiscally significant, even if it feels that way. You see, any standardized test has a Standard Error of difference:

Standard Error of the Difference (SED): The SED is a tool for assessing how much two test scores must differ before they indicate ability differences. To be confident that two scores indicate a true difference in ability, the scores must differ by at least the SED times 1.5. For example, SAT verbal and math scores must differ by 60 points (40 ׳ 1.5) in order to indicate true differences of ability.

30 points versus 60 points. Hmmmm. Yet an astounding "20% to 40% of officials at 130 colleges that consider the SAT in admissions said a 20-point math increase or a 10-point reading increase would "significantly improve a student's chances of admissions" if all other factors in a student's application were the same." Given that the author's study concludes:

* All students should practice for tests, but potential benefits must be balanced against the costs, including time and money.

* Students should be counseled to use less costly forms of test prep, such as books or the Internet, and be "wary of coaching rip-offs."

* If time and money are no object, commercial or private coaching may be worth the cost but "this will primarily be true for students with above-average admission test scores in the first place."

College of Charleston (CofC)

2009-05-11T07:29:00.001-07:00

College of Charleston appeals to many of our students. It has a very distinct feel due to its unique location in downtown Charleston. One of the campus "greens" is a park in the middle of the city. A new science building is near complete and it is said to have received some funding from NASA. The business center is very impressive thanks to a local businessman who has pledged 2 million dollars per year for the next thirty years. The marine biology program is noteworthy considering their close proximity to the ocean.

New Album 5/11/09 9:32 AM

College Presidents Write College Essays

2009-05-06T06:10:00.001-07:00

Check out the article here. The essays are linked in the article.

Presentation at College Board Forum (Feb 2009)

2009-05-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to present on Web 2.0 tools and their impact in College Admissions/Recruiting/Counseling this past February. Our presentation was one of three featured on the College Board Forum website prior to the start of the conference. Here is a link to the blogspot page we set up from the presentation. It contains most of the links/tools we covered in the presentation.

Free Range Children

2009-05-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Link to the Chicago Tribune Article found here

Article mentions the success of a St. Luke's senior, Greg Magill

2009-04-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

New York Times article found here

Is there a correlation/connection between this article and the previous one found in the Washington Post?

Interesting article on the Admissions Gap (Those who can pay vs. those who cannot)

2009-04-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

Washington Post article found here.

Two Articles relating to College Admission

2009-04-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

Both are interesting reads. The first one is about Skidmore College, my former institution, and a candid look behind their admissions decisions. The second is an op. ed. piece by a the Director of Admission at Pitzer College, a classmate of mine at Skidmore.

"The Silver Lining of the Recession"

2009-04-01T06:23:00.001-07:00

Article in the Washington Post can be found here

Senior Slump

2009-03-10T06:15:00.001-07:00

With spring in the air, it's only natural for students to let down a bit in their studies. It's also decision time for my counter parts on the other side of the desk, admissions counselors. While admission committees are busy making decisions, they are also checking grades of the students admitted through early decision. At my former institution, we would check for drops in performance for our accepted class and there were three levels of response from us (or three levels of "nots"). There was the "Naughty letter," the "Naughty, Naughty letter" and the "Not coming letter," or the relinquishment of your acceptance letters. Many schools are infamous for doing this (probably the UC system in California is most known for this- quite ironic given what happened at UCSD this week). So why rescind admissions decisions? At the end of the day, the most important statistic that colleges and universities are trying protect and improve is retention and graduation rate, or simply the percentage of students returning the next year or graduating in 4 years. A student enrolling with a declining academic performance is (theoretically) not as well prepared to do well in college (at least not as well as someone who is performing well through graduation). The St. Luke's School College Counseling experience should not be about getting in to college, but more importantly, to prepare for college. So with decision letters out, please continue to excel in your classes and activities.

"The Beauty of America"

2009-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

Sure, there are a number of things that makes the United States an incredible place to live. Ironically, I failed to recognize one of the amazing things about our country. Give Mr. Izzo, seventh grade English teacher credit. We were talking the other day, specifically about my radio show on Tuesday, and he brought up the notion that one of America's strengths is the fact that we have thousands of these amazing academic campuses spread across the country.
Food for thought

NY Times Q and A with Four Admission Deans

2009-01-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Article found here.

PSAT and PACT scores; What does it all mean?

2008-12-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

The sophomores and juniors at SLS have recently received their PSAT and PACT scores. We know the score report can be somewhat confusing so please feel free to call Mr. Smitobol at 801 4959 with help interpreting your score report. We also have a list of test prep companies/people available in this area.

This link explains the key differences between the PSAT and SAT exam.

Sophomore Advising (November-December)

2008-11-24T05:11:00.000-08:00

I have started to meet with sophomores in my office. I have met with approximately half of the class and look forward to meeting the rest of the class as soon as possible. Please advise any sophomores to come to my office (321) during their free period for an individual or group meeting. The meeting serves as an informal way for the college counseling office to get to know this class at an important time in their high school career. The meetings are very relaxed and students do not need to bring anything.

Summer Programs

2008-11-14T06:34:00.001-08:00

Summer Enrichment programs are a great way to develop a student's voice. These programs can be instrumental in helping students discover their passions, develop their independence or learn valuable skills. For sophomores or juniors, check the campuses of potential colleges and universities. Many have summer "pre-college" enrichment programs. While these programs do not make it easier to gain admission when you apply as a senior, these programs are still a valuable insight into what college life can be like and gain transferable college credits, too!

Here are some valuable online resources to help connect you to a variety of programs:

http://www.petersons.com/summerop/code/ssector.asp?sponsor=1&path=hs.fas.summer
Seems to be a more complete program listing (at least for summer pre-college programs)

http://www.enrichmentalley.com/
Not a complete list, but a good starting point for summer pgms and gap year options.

http://www.rusticpathways.com/
offers travel abroad programs. I don't have any first hand information about these programs, but I have interviewed many students who have had good experiences with this company.

http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home
Another program that many students I interviewed participated in.

Please let me know if you have a specific type of program you are interested in. I have a very long list but I worry that listing all of them here may make it tough to know where to start. Please let me know if you have a program to recommend.

College Fairs

2008-11-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

College Fairs are an underused resource for SLS students. One great tip for navigating a college fair successfully is to have name labels printed out in advance! This way you don't have to spend time filling in an inquiry card at every table you visit, leaving you more time to speak with the college representative. Please come see us in College Counseling if you have any question about name labels. Here is what to include:
Name, email address (make sure you have an appropriate email handle), mailing address, complete Name of school, year of graduation.

CNN article, "Don't use SATs to rank college quality"

2008-10-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

Article found here

www.collegeboard.com

2008-09-19T06:01:00.005-07:00

www.collegeboard.com is perhaps the most popular of the online college resources. One feature I like is the "find similar" schools (when you search for schools). Users are able to create profiles on this site and save searches and college lists.

Number2.com-> free online test prep

2008-09-19T06:01:00.004-07:00

www.number2.com offers free online test prep for a variety of standardized tests! Check out this great resource that some of our students are already using.

Ithaca (A college you should get to know)

2008-09-19T06:01:00.003-07:00

Ithaca College is a school that many SLS students overlook. This is a terrific place for a variety of students. The music facilities are top notch as is the school of business and management. The exercise physiology program is also noteworthy. The town of Ithaca itself is a great place to attend college, filled with great places to eat and other college students.

just outside the impressive "ticker room" in the business center
one of the student dining options at Ithaca
a beautiful view (my camera did not do it justice) from Ithaca

one of the many performance spaces. Ithaca has a top notch music program

a portion of the Ithaca tour

Visit to Cornell

2008-09-19T06:01:00.002-07:00

My visit to Cornell was a great one. There are things you expect from a school as selective as Cornell; great facilities, resources and infrastructure are all expected. However, some things really surprised me about Cornell. I was extremely impressed with the pre-orientation program Cornell had set up where five freshman in a group would be paired with a current Cornell student mentor for the first few days. They were literally hundreds of Cornell students training to become mentors for the arrive first year students!

This is where the "Hi Mom" camera is pointed. You can stand in front of the camera which is broadcast on the web. See here
One of the many beautiful views on campus
Inside a chapel at Cornell

Online Resources: Don't believe everything you read!

2008-09-19T06:01:00.001-07:00

It's hard to imagine that when I was searching for colleges, the internet was not yet available. Nowadays, students rely on the internet as a resource of information to help guide them through their college search. There are so many online resources out there, it is very difficult to figure out which ones are helpful and which ones are not. If you have any questions about an online resource, please come to us and we will help figure out if the website is worth your time.

I would avoid all of the sites that have "forums" where students "chance" each other and guess whether they will be admitted or not according to their profile. Admissions counselors often check these sites (myself included) and are appalled at the misinformation that is given out on these sites.

Many use these sites to simply ask a question about the college. My advice is to go straight to the horses mouth. Many schools have a feature where you can type in a question or "ask a student" and you will receive very prompt response.

Another type of site to take with a big grain of salt are the ones that have student ratings and rankings. You have to be very careful of what you read here-whether good or bad. Typically, you'll read negative reviews that really are not a good indication of what a particular community is like. Keep in mind, if a student was really happy at a school, would they really have the time to be online posting about their experiences. It typically is the unhappy student hiding out in the room posting all of the negative things about the school.

One last thing! Whenever you are looking at "selectivity," please keep in mind that you are looking at numbers that are (at the very least) two years old. There is a reason for this. Guidebooks get the information from what is called the "common data set." This information is released well after the academic year and usually makes it into publication two academic years later. I have yet to see one guidebook in 2007 or 2008 list the correct acceptance rate for Skidore, where I worked in the admissions office.

www.college.gov

2008-09-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

www.college.gov is another resource to aid you through the college search process. It may be geared toward to a less privledged student who may be deciding if he/she will atend college. Nonetheeless, it can still be a useful online resource

Yale University

2008-09-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

Many will say that if Yale had an achilles, it would be its location in New, Haven, CT. Some sections of this city can be a little sketchy and it’s not advisable to walk alone at night. New Haven is home to many well-known restaurants included Frank Pepe’s Pizza where there always seems to be a line to get in. After our self-tour of Yale’s buildings and community, we stopped by Pepe’s for a taste of what everyone has been raving about. In any case, a visit to Yale (or New Haven) should include a visit to Pepe’s!

Junior Class Trip

2008-09-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Before the start of classes, the Junior class embarked on a rite of passage for virtually all of the St. Luke's student body; the college search. The entire class traveled with eight chaperones to North Hampton, MA. While the trip is designed to help the class bond, we felt it was even more important for the class learns how to begin the college search process. We started the first night with an exercise to challenge the student's biases. The exercise is only as good as the participants and Sonia and I were very pleased with the honesty and maturity the class showed. We used this exercise to help show the type of honesty, self-reflection and critical thinking needed to successfully search for the right college fit.

The next day, the class split up into eight groups and we were able to see Amherst, Hampshire and UMass Amherst. For some of the class, these were relevant schools, and for many-these schools were a terrific starting ground to learn how to actively search for what they were looking for!

Connecticut College

2008-08-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

One of the things you'll find as you start searching small, liberal arts colleges is that many of them are very similar to each other on paper (in the guidebooks). It's very important to visit many of these colleges because it is much easier to distinguish one from the other in person. I recently visited Connecticut College in New London, CT. On paper, it has less than 2,000 students, a very small student to teacher ratio, is interdisciplinary in nature, and relatively close to a major city.

Distinguishing features were the honor code and the intermingled dorms in which twenty five percent of the residents are from each class year. Of course, there are other small colleges that have an honor code and/or intermingled dorms so if these things catch your eye, come see us in College Counseling and we can talk about similar schools

You'll hear mixed things about New London; I enjoyed the town and think of it as a much better than average town to go to college in (especially considering many small, liberal arts colleges do not have towns). It has a number of restaurants, used clothing shops and because it's on the water, it gives students access to ferries and of course, a very strong sailing program.
I loved the soccer goals on the green in the quad. (It could of have been a summer time thing)

A really nice performance space at Connecticut College

Cool! A Wyland mural in New London, CT

Outside the art building designed to let in natural light