Parents

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Diana is doing ok!

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Diana is doing ok!

I felt nervous sending out interview questions this month. We’re in the middle of a global health crisis, a global financial crisis, and a near-complete shutdown of society. So…how’s your college search? But I also want to know that these seniors, who I’ve been checking in with since September, are doing ok. So far, I’ve heard from Diana, and she’s fine. She’s still on track to head to college in the fall. The University of Oklahoma is her frontrunner, though Texas Tech is still in the running, and Texas A&M has decided that they want to be on her list too. Read the full interview below.

Meet the Class gets updated each month from September to May. Each installment features an interview about both the facts and the feelings of where the student is in the process.

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Making a very important decision in a very difficult time

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Making a very important decision in a very difficult time

The final stretch of college admissions for the high school class of 2020 is, to say the least, a giant mess. Some schools have moved their decision and deposit deadlines back a month to June 1, while many are keeping the May 1 deadline. Tours, visits, and accepted-student events are cancelled. As millions of people find themselves unemployed, financial aid will have to be re-figured for many would-be college students, and already many seniors are changing their minds and deciding that they will not be going to college next fall.

But many, many seniors are still making their decision as best as they can. Make sure you look up any online events your possible schools are hosting, check on their deadlines and how to appeal financial aid offers for changes to your family’s situation. Understand that you may not have as much information as you would like to make this decision, but you’ve got enough. You knew to apply to these schools, didn’t you? Other than that, here’s my advice for the coming weeks.

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Katie is almost there

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Katie is almost there

Although it’s now early April, Katie answered these questions almost a month ago. She got busy—as we all did—and didn’t have a chance to send them until earlier this week. Keep that in mind as you read these—they were written before most of us were in Social Distancing. By early March, Katie had, unfortunately, heard “no” from a number of schools. But she heard “yes” from one that has the program she’s most interested in, so there’s good news in here too! Read the full interview below.

Meet the Class gets updated each month from September to May. Each installment features an interview about both the facts and the feelings of where the student is in the process.

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Resources for an extended time at home

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Resources for an extended time at home

With that in mind, I want to take this time to share some resources for making your own Social Distancing time more useful and productive. Right now my social media feeds are full of memes, questionnaires, video recommendations, and projects. They’re largely aimed at a bored and slightly stressed audience. And those are good, there’s nothing wrong with that. But my fear is that the “answer these questions about yourself” and “share a photo of _____” mini-conversations are still grounded in passing the time and not making something of the time. Here are some suggestions for making something of the time.

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Revised: what should seniors be doing now?

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Revised: what should seniors be doing now?

Apply with Sanity always has a “What Should I Be Doing Now?” section, updated for fall, spring, and summer. Obviously, the idea of what students should be doing right now is quite different, so I’ve updated the section for seniors to reflect what’s going on right now.

For 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, the “What Should I Be Doing Now?” entry is simply last week’s blog post “Don’t write a Coronavirus essay, but act like you will.” That’s really all the college admissions planning you should be doing right now while we’re in this emergency.

It is my largest hope right now that the Summer section, when it goes up in May, will be the same as every summer. Stay safe, stay home, and wash your hands.

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Questions from students

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Questions from students

A few weeks ago, back when students were still in school, I gave a talk to around 100 local juniors about three myths of the college admissions process. I only had time to take about two questions from the audience before they had to run off to class, so they compiled a list of follow-up questions. Since they won’t be back in class for at least three more weeks to get my responses, I thought I’d put them up here.

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Three myths about college admissions

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Three myths about college admissions

This week I got to give a 45-minute talk to the 11th graders in the International Baccalaureate program at my local neighborhood high school. I’ve talked to several classes there, and to the PTA, but never to a large group of students. Several of the teachers asked me to come, because their 11th graders are getting into full-on college application mode, and because the teachers have noticed a serious uptick in stress, competition among students, and “I heard that…” statements about college admissions that aren’t necessarily grounded in fact.

I prefaced my talk, as I do most talks with the usual disclaimer: each school is different, so there’s no rule or custom that works for all of them. What I’m about to say doesn’t relate perfectly to some of the super-wealthy and super-elite colleges like the Ivy League, nor does it relate perfectly to non-selective public or specialized schools. But it relates pretty well to a lot of the colleges out there, and to the ones where most of you are likely to go.

The talk was called Three Myths about College Admissions.

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Waitlisted? Here's what to do.

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Waitlisted? Here's what to do.

As regular admission decisions begin to go out, it’s time to think about what to do if the answer you get isn’t Yes or No, but Maybe.

First, let me say I’m sorry. Getting waitlisted sucks. In some ways a Maybe is worse than a No, because it keeps the suspense going and also starts to make logistical problems for you. Take a little time to be frustrated or angry or completely freaked out, but no more than a day or two. You’ve got to figure out what to do next.

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Two documents all students should understand

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Two documents all students should understand

In fact, many students never see the two most important documents that their high school will send to colleges for their applications: their transcript and the high school profile. Understanding what these documents are and how they relate to you can help calm down some of your anxiety about college admissions, and they can help you concentrate your energy and worry onto things that really matter.

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The Glossary: public universities

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The Glossary: public universities

When it comes to college admissions, it seems like private, “elite” schools get all the attention. The Ivy League schools, Stanford, M.I.T., University of Chicago, places like that. But almost three fourths of U.S. college students are at public institutions, not private ones.

A while back I asked a question on my personal Facebook page:

Plenty of public education advocates—including myself—think nothing of sending their children to private universities. I’ve heard none of the arguments for keeping all children in public schools used for keeping all young adults in public colleges. I wonder why that is? Do you have any thoughts on our different attitude when it comes to higher education? Let me know!

One of the responses I got, which I wasn’t expecting, is that a lot of people probably don’t fully understand the difference between public and private universities. It’s not always easy to tell the difference (more on that below). Both are expensive and difficult, and neither guarantees you admission, much less success. So let’s talk about public colleges and universities.

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Jenna is narrowing down her choices

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Jenna is narrowing down her choices

Jenna has certainly reached the point where she’s narrowing down her list and getting a better sense of where she’s going to be at college next year. However, she’s still got incomplete information as she waits for some more financial aid offers. That could end up changing everything. Read the full interview below, and keep coming back to see what surprises are (or maybe aren’t) in store!

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Katie's been auditioning. A lot.

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Katie's been auditioning. A lot.

Katie answered this month’s questions while on her way back from doing 10 auditions in two days. She’s applied and been accepted—and offered scholarships—to a number of schools, but she’s still working to get into their BFA programs for musical theater. It’s a reminder that for many applicants, getting accepted to college is only the first step. Katie’s looking to get accepted into a particular program within the college with its own admission requirements. In her case it’s for musical theater, but students across the country are aiming to get into special honors programs, arts, programs, science programs, and so many other programs that are above and beyond just getting that first acceptance. Read her full interview below.

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Three Quick Questions with Bucknell University

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Three Quick Questions with Bucknell University

The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

This response is from Carrine Gadoury, Admissions Counselor at Bucknell University.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to Bucknell University?

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Good news for eliminating "test optional"

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Good news for eliminating "test optional"

This week, Northern Illinois University announced that they’re doing just that, going test-blind for undergraduate admissions and honors consideration. The school feels strongly that a student’s high school GPA is a much better indicator of potential, and that “once we know a high school student’s GPA, one standardized test score is irrelevant.”

So is this the end of admissions testing?

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Jenna has a plan

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Jenna has a plan

Jenna made some las-minute changes to her college list by applying to a few that weren’t initially on her radar. She’s also dropped a few. But Jenna also has enough acceptances already that she’s building a plan. We’ll see how it changes over the next few months, but for now she has some school spirit to plan and a visit to her top-choice school. Read all about Jenna’s holidays and January below.

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Three Quick Questions with Hawaii Pacific University

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Three Quick Questions with Hawaii Pacific University

The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

This response is from Alex Miller, Assistant Director of Admissions at Hawaii Pacific University.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to Hawaii Pacific University?