Accepted or Rejected: The Fight to Finding the Right College
NEIRAD enilno edition
Most know that when senior year comes around, one of the most time-consuming priorities is the college application process. Students spend most of first semester writing and revising applications for their top colleges. We can all agree that college acceptance plays a huge role in both junior and senior year on this campus.
“Start early and make sure you have a diverse group of schools you’re looking at. Applying to college shouldn’t be a bad experience,” senior David Bigelow said. With three college acceptances and more to come, Bigelow has mastered the college application process.
With unending choices from small schools to big schools, city-campuses to rural campuses, private to public, large student population to small student population and so on, many students become overwhelmed with the different universities. ”Start early, especially for sports and make a huge list of schools. Decide what interests you and slowly make your way to a smaller list,” senior Sophie Doering said. Don’t be afraid to explore. If you don’t know what interests you, visit the school’s campus and see how you feel.
On Dec. 7, author Dave Marcus came to DHS to give a workshop on the college admissions process. Mr. Marcus should know. He wrote a book about the college application frenzy called, “Acceptance.” Mr. Marcus began with a bold statement about the crazed state of college admissions, “About 30 years ago, students on average sent out five to six school applications. Today, students send out 12-18 school applications.” With the inflated number of apps nationwide, the fight for college acceptance has become even more difficult. The message Marcus sends out is for students not to overwhelm themselves with too many applications.
Remember colleges are looking for school-pride! It’s a competition between each university to see how many applications they receive each year. Higher apps raises the schools rankings on the competitive meter. “Colleges recruit applications, not applicants.” So cut it short and only apply where you see yourself actually going.
Mr. Marcus went on to explain how parents often get involved in the college application process and influence the number of schools in which their kids applies usually increasing the numbers. “Simplify, simplify, simplify!” Mr. Marcus said. Cut down on the number of schools you’re applying and only apply to the ones in which you are truly are interested.
SAT’s, ACT’s and subject tests all play a large role in the process. Students spend a lot of time and effort raising their test scores through extra courses or study sessions. However, which test is better to take is a big question? The ACT or the SAT?
“They both are exactly the same. It depends on the student,” Mr Marcus said. While the SAT focuses more on test-taking technique, the ACT focuses more on the material students actually learned in school. Doering and fellow senior Trish Vossler took both tests, which they deemed a good idea. “It’s worth the time,” the girls agreed because both ended up finding out the SAT was their stronger test. Mr. Marcus aggress saying students should take both to see which one they do better and work from there. While testing is an important asset to college admissions, Marcus stresses to not let your grades slip during junior or senior year because this data is extremely vital.
Mr Marcus has the background to dish out advice. He is a reporter at Newsday and former education writer for U.S. News & World Report. In his book, “Acceptance”, Mr Marcus follows the story of Long Island guidance counselor Gwyneth Smith, or "Smitty”, who helps seven kids find their dream colleges. From an academically-lacking jock named Jeff to the valedictorian, Layla, who spends most her time in school, Smitty helps these kids find the perfect school. Instead of allowing these Oyster Bay High School students to ignorantly apply to colleges, he urges them to apply to the universities in which they are truly interested. Smitty doesn’t advise seeking out schools based on the name brands parents want their kids to gain admission. He believes students truly gain from the college application process when they focus not only on test scores, but on the more superior questions of what they want, who they are, and how to make it happen.
Senior Amanda Dobler, who already committed to Elon University in North Carolina this fall, went on to explain, “Get started junior year with the process. Decide what type of schools you like and visit them. You should know right when you step on campus whether or not it’s the school for you. If you like it, go back another time and see if you still do.” With Amanda’s early success, this senior definitely mastered the college admissions process. And you can to if you follow the following secrets to success!
Nine Secrets of College Admission
1. Always begin your college search with these four main points: weather, distance, size and setting.
2. Ignore rankings of best colleges. Base your search on what you want!
3. Colleges see plenty of well-rounded students. They like someone who has a passion or talent which really sticks out. So don’t hold back, pursue that passion whatever it is.
4. Many high school kids face issues whether they involve family, school or health. Colleges don’t want to see a perfect student; they want to see how a student progresses from these issues. In college essays, don’t write about how bad your life is, write about how you overcame these bad experiences.
5. Take the most rigorous high school classes you can handle - admissions offices want to see someone who embraces challenges.
6. Be a generalist in 9th and 10th grade- begin discovering your likes/dislikes.
7. In 11th or 12th grade focus on a couple of clubs, a sport, an academic subject or some volunteer activities.
8. When visiting colleges, go when school is in session! Interview some students about their experiences at that particular college.
9. If an application includes “optional” essays, consider them REQUIRED. Do them!
10. Approach the college search as a self-discovery motive. Learn about yourself and try to show colleges who you really are through your essays. You can turn something as simple as the family dinner conversation into an inspiring essay- be careful of writing sports essays because those are often very cliché! BE CREATIVE!
