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Desperate Parents: Celebrities, Others Amorally Acquire Admission to U.S. Colleges

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Felicity Huffman allegedly went from a Desperate Housewife to a desperate parent in search of USC admission for her daughter.

At least one Desperate Housewife, Felicity Huffman, allegedly became a Desperate Parent in search of selective college admission for her offspring. Letters of admission usually come at a price ($70,000 per year tuition at many private American universities these days), but for those who don’t want to play by the rules of the current college admissions game at America’s status symbol colleges, the price was reportedly even steeper!

According to the Associated Press, “fifty people, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, were charged Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation’s most elite schools.”

The sordid details, none of which are particularly surprising nor likely to change the perverse state of the college admissions process at America’s most selective colleges, are detailed from various angles by clicking on links below. Below these news links, the full affidavit, with all of the ugly details, is reproduced for our readers.

While colleges themselves are not implicated in this particular scheme, the smoke and mirrors admissions system that selective American colleges and universities have created and perpetuate daily certainly allowed this alleged scheme to go on as long as they did.

The Latest: UCLA soccer coach RESIGNS for ‘taking a $100,000 bribe to put a real-estate developer’s daughter on the roster so she would get accepted – even though she had never played competitively’ (DailyMail.com)

The Full List of those Charged (The New York Times)

College Admissions Scandal Uncovered (AP)

Feds find large-scale cheating plot (NBC News)

Mastermind Photoshopped students’ faces onto athletes (New York Post)

Actresses, Business Leaders, Wealthy Parents, Coaches Caught (Inside Higher Ed)

Celebrities charged (Hollywood Reporter)

Lori Loughlin paid $500,000 to get her YouTube ‘star’ daughter into USC – who then boasted she was going to college to party, cashed in with sponsored posts and is now being trolled mercilessly online (DailyMail.com)

The Wynn executive, vineyard owner and youth branding expert: The non-Hollywood parents busted in college bribery scheme (DailyMail.com)

Sasha and Malia Obama’s tennis instructor and the former Yale women’s soccer coach are among those indicted in sprawling college bribery scheme (DailyMail.com)

CHARITY THAT ALLEGEDLY TOOK BRIBES TO GET MILLIONAIRES INTO COLLEGE CLAIMED TO BE ABOUT HELPING THE UNDERPRIVILEGED (DailyCaller.com)

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Best Summer Programs in Europe for High School Students

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For many high school students, summer is a time to disconnect from school year stress. For many parents of high school students, summer is a time fraught with anxiety over whether their teens are “making the most” of their time away from school. How sad! Whether your are a student or a parent, please don’t sweat summer.

Even if you are a student or parent who has no money to your name, there are plenty of ways high school students can stay active and engaged over the summer while developing their interests and building important life skills.

Yet, if you do have some dollars to spare, there are some wonderfully enriching summer programs for high school students out there – and I mean way out there – in Europe. My three current favorites are detailed below.

These programs will give curious, adventurous, intellectual, and inquisitive high school students the chance to burst out of the often-banal high school classroom and into the “old world” in order to engage in an amazing experiential learning opportunity that will be both perspective-expanding and a chance to take a deep dive into preexisting interests. This is so important because no matter what a student does over the summer, it should present value added to both the student and to colleges the student may want to apply to later.

Before we start the countdown, an important disclaimer: exploring pre-existing interests deeply over the summer in Europe seems like a win-win to me; however, the following list won’t be for everyone, and it shouldn’t be. The most important thing for students and parents to remember is that students should pursue their passions deeply over the summer. If they can’t afford to take part in the programs below, that’s fine! They still should develop skills and knowledge over the summer that can only come through some sort of immersive summer experience. Again, I detail some closer to home and dirt-cheap options here.

But, without further ado, for the purposes of why we are here today, let’s hop on the plane to Europe!

#3. TASIS: The American School in Switzerland Summer Programs

Student taking part in TASIS summer program in Lugano, Switzerland

In 1956, M. Crist Fleming founded The American School in Switzerland, the first American boarding school in Europe, in order to apply the American independent school tradition to Europe. All these years later, the school has grown leaps and bounds, and other TASIS schools operate in England and Puerto Rico. TASIS’ summer course options in Switzerland really wow me.

Students pick one class from a diversity of options, which means that a diversity of students will be intermingling on this lovely southern Swiss campus for the duration of your stay. Class options offered recently include Intensive Italian, Fine Art Portfolio, Lean Startup Masterclass, Architecture & Design, and Fashion & Textile Design . My favorite option, however, is La Cucina Italiana: Italian Cooking, in which students learn to cook authentic Italian food after choosing ingredients at local Italian markets, touring Italian cheese and meat factories, practicing knife skills, and learning how to perfectly balance spices.

Why I love this program: As a former “undecided” student as I began my college career, TASIS’ diverse offerings speak to the undecided teen in all of us, and the overall program certainlys attract a diverse mix of summer students from all over the world. Students need more opportunities to simply try something new and meet peers with diverse interests, and TASIS’ Switzerland summer program certainly allows for that in a location that can’t be beat. If you can’t get inspired to learn more about yourself and the world around you while on TASIS’ Lugano campus, you can’t get inspired anywhere. Another upshot of this program is that all high school students, no matter their grade level, are able to take part.

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have the desire to immerse themselves in one course and maybe one sport (sports cost extra but include Milan Academy Scuola Calcio, Olimpia Milano Basketball, and Crossfit) in the unsurpassed setting that is Lugano, Switzerland, which is also a wonderful jumping off point for educational European excursions near and far. Students who are undecided on their path in college and beyond will find something to try at TASIS over the summer and have the chance to do so in an environment that seems almost too perfect and made for life-long memories. Students whose interests align with one of the course offerings are in the unique position to build upon this preexisting interest in the company of peers who may have very different academic and personal interests but who share an interest in spending time in the pre-Alps over the summer.

Learn More: Click here.

Alternative worth considering: TASIS also has intriguing summer options for high school students in England, France (see more below), and Puerto Rico.

#2. University of Notre Dame: Pre-College Program in Ireland

High school students taking part in Notre Dame’s pre-college program

It shouldn’t be so surprising that the Fighting Irish run a summer travel tour seminar worth one college credit for rising high school seniors in Ireland. Notre Dame’s Pre-College Program in Ireland allows rising high school seniors to explore “bustling Dublin,” “bucolic Connemara,” edgy Belfast, and so much more during a twelve-day jaunt through the Emerald Isle.

“Guided by Notre Dame faculty and local scholars, students will embark on an exploration of Irish culture, history, and landscape through what Notre Dame’s O’Connell House calls ‘learning through the soles of your feet.'”

Why I love this program: It’s pretty immersive in terms of ground covered and it’s pretty cool that students live and learn at the Kylemore Abbey Global Center, which is right next to a castle, during the last leg of the program.

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have demonstrated academic achievement in high school and some sort of preexisting interest in Ireland, Irish Heritage, Irish History, Catholicism, Protestantism, place-based learning, European culture and/or History, 20th Century History, European History, the British Isles, castles, and/or the Northern Ireland Peace Process in order to get the most out of this experience and in order to have it align with other activities they’ve pursued in the past.

Learn More: Overview and More Details

Alternative worth considering: Notre Dame also has a summer program for rising high school seniors in Rome.

#1. The New School: Parsons Paris Pre-College Studies

Sunset in Paris, France

If you are an artist, there are few better places to visit for inspiration than Paris, France. Did you know that Parsons School of Design, part of The New School in New York City, has a campus in Paris where rising high school juniors and seniors – they must be sixteen by the time the program begins – have a variety of summer art course options from which to choose? The immersive courses of study at Parsons Paris last just over three weeks in July and cover topics ranging from “Explorations in Drawing,” “Fashion Design Process,” and “Fashion Photography: History and Process” to “Graphic Design Workshop,” “Introduction to Design and Management,” and “Fashion Illustration.”

Why I love this program: This program is for serious artists; each class meets daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., so it’s for those who are energized by developing their craft. All Parsons Paris Summer Intensive Studies courses are not only educational in their own right; each course counts for three college credits and may also be used by students to develop a portfolio for their upcoming college admissions process. Students also have the chance to take part in excursions, including crepe tastings.

Who it’s perfect for: Students taking part in this program should have demonstrated artistic achievement in high school and some sort of preexisting interest in Art generally or specifically fashion, fashion merchandising, drawing, graphic design, photography, and/or art history in order to get the most out of this experience and in order to have it align with other activities they’ve pursued in the past.

Learn More: Overview

Alternatives worth considering: If you don’t need to be in France, but want a lot of what Parsons Paris’ summer courses offer, Parsons also has a pre-college/intensive summer programs for high school students at its main campus in New York City. Meanwhile, if you would love to spend several weeks intensely pursuing your passion for art in France but don’t need to be in cosmopolitan Paris, TASIS (mentioned more above) has an intimate one-of-a-kind at program in the south of France called Les Taipes, which accepts an extremely limited number of students each summer.

Top 10 Cheap Summer Extracurricular Activities for High School Students

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A high school student’s personal wellness and college admissions prospects are best served when a student is being authentic. This is as true during the summer as it is during the school year. Sadly, many students don’t know where to begin when it comes to being authentic, no matter the time of year. In addition, many students suffer from the misconception that the most impressive extracurricular accomplishments in the eyes of admissions officers at highly selective colleges and universities are extracurricular activities that cost an arm and a leg. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me use an example to make my point.

If a student is truly passionate about lacrosse and American History and his family has the financial resources to support these twin passions, a family shouldn’t be shy about paying for the student’s advanced lacrosse training, his appearances on the lax tournament circuit, and his spot in one or more pre-college programs that will allow the student to immerse himself in American History over one or more summers. Yet, just because a family with financial resources can pay for all of those opportunities does not mean that the student should only pursue his passion for lacrosse and American History with pay-for-play endeavors.

If a student needs to have his mommy or daddy pay for every extracurricular activity he pursues, has the student really demonstrated his passion for such endeavors? If the student in this example is truly passionate about lacrosse and American History he will also likely join and contribute much to his school’s lacrosse team, donate to or start a fundraiser to support local lacrosse players or teams with few resources, coach younger or weaker lacrosse players during the school year or summer, start a history or politics club at school, go above and beyond in school History classes, take the most rigorous History classes at his school, and maybe even submit a research paper on American History to a journal for publication.

If a student is truly passionate about lacrosse and American History, he will pursue both free and fee-based opportunities in order to demonstrate his true interests. If he isn’t really that passionate about lacrosse and American History, it’s likely that he will only pursue fee-based opportunities related to lacrosse or American History because there are myriad fee-based organizations, camps, and more happy to take money from parents who have a stronger interest in having their children pursue lacrosse and American History than do the children themselves.

Therefore, it goes to figure that while a student who doesn’t come from money won’t be able to engage in an expensive pre-college program over the summer or take part in expensive regional or national lacrosse showcases, he still has a path forward through which he is able to pursue his passions deeply and demonstrably; the path forward just has to be cost-conscious.

A poor teen shouldn’t try to act like a rich teen if he can’t afford to; it won’t be good for his self-concept, his college admissions prospects, or his parents’ bottom line. For instance, a teenager who has a true passion for lacrosse and American History, but who doesn’t have a sugar daddy or mommy to act as his personal ATM, can still join his school’s lacrosse team (or start one somewhere if his school doesn’t have one), donate to or start a fundraiser to support local lax players or teams with few resources, coach younger or weaker lacrosse players during the school year or summer, start a history or politics club at school, go above and beyond in school History classes, take the most rigorous History classes at his school, and maybe even submit a research paper on American History to a journal for publication. The student gets fulfilled by pursuing his passions and colleges will be impressed that he pursued his passions within the context of what was possible for him to pursue given his resources. In fact, he could probably do more still – especially over the summer – in order to demonstrate his deep and unbinding passion for lacrosse and American history if he reads and thinks very carefully about the top ten list below.

Colleges want students to reach for their potential. If you don’t have money, colleges can’t and don’t expect you to take part in a $5,000+ pre-college program this summer. Yet, while the vast majority of teens don’t have much in the way of financial resources, even fewer teens have the twin passions of lacrosse and American History.

Consequently, below, please find my top ten cheap extracurricular activity ideas for any high school student looking to make the most of summer and impress college admissions officers – all without spending much (if any) money. Always remember that no matter the size of your family’s wealth or your unique interests and passions, you should be able to demonstrably pursue your authentic priorities in one or more of the following ten ways during the summer and do so for dirt-cheap (or, in the case of #2 below, you can even make money). As an added bonus, with creative balancing and multitasking all ten of the suggestions below can also be pursued during the school year itself. After all, if you have a good thing going for yourself during the summer, why end it just because school starts again in the fall? So, here they are, my top ten cheap summer extracurricular ideas for savvy high school students:

1. Volunteer: If you have any sort of interest or passion, there are ways to volunteer your time in order to pursue this interest or passion more demonstrably and immersively than you are doing today. Want to help others? Volunteer at an organization whose mission it is to do just that. Want to get a sense of what life is like as a dentist? Volunteer at a dentist’s office. Fascinated by art museums and want to be a curator when you grow up? Volunteer at a local art museum or art gallery. You get the idea. Don’t let volunteering get a bad rap in your mind just because so many students are doing it either in what you deem to be boring environments or in order to accumulate community service hours; try to volunteer in a way that speaks to your values, character, and priorities. Also, keep in mind, from the perspective of college admissions officers, the quality of your volunteering is more important than quantity of your volunteering. Finally, always remember that the hardest step is the first step: asking for the chance to volunteer. Once you start asking around, you may be surprised by how many organizations are looking for free labor.

2. Get a Job: It’s not as easy today for teenagers to find jobs as it was for teenagers in the 1950s or 1960s; however, both year-round and seasonal jobs for teens still exist. Jobs are a great way to make money and develop important life skills. No job should be “beneath” a teen whose main focus should be developing work-ethic a perspective on life that one can only gain by getting a paying job. So, whether the job is camp counselor, grocery store shelver, ice cream stand cashier, restaurant host, dishwasher, babysitter, tutor, or computer technician, be proud to get and maintain any job. Ideally, if you have options or can afford to be picky, you want to pursue a job that most aligns with your pre-existing interests, but any job is better than no job for what it says about you as an increasingly mature contributing member of society. Also remember that some colleges allow job supervisors to write a supplementary letter of recommendation on your behalf when you apply to college; therefore, even if you feel like the only thing you get out of a job is money and experience, remain close to and respectful of your boss; he or she could act as a wonderful and important reference for you sooner than you think.

3. Start a Business: Whether an online business (drop shipping seems to be all the trend in 2019) or a good old lawn cutting business or lemonade stand, there are a lot of people out there with needs waiting to be met (in the summer people are always looking for their grass to be cut or their thirst to be quenched). Find a niche that interests you, and run with it the best you can. I’ve had students start everything from T-shirt businesses to cookie delivery services. Remember, that starting a business will necessarily involve trial and error and even failures, but I can think of no better learning experience for a teen than taking the steps necessary to transition an interest into a business whether the business makes money or not because the budding entrepreneur is going to learn a lot. Last year was the first time I had a student invite a client of his to act as a recommender on his college applications. It was such an effective testimonial that I am convinced because of this unique recommendation he was able to edge out similarly qualified students to get into his dream reach college. Not to mention, his essay devoted to explaining the peaks and valleys of starting a business was a humorous and insightful standout piece of writing.

4. Launch a Website: Whether or not you want to make money online, starting a Website is a great way to develop entrepreneurial skills, build something from scratch, and express yourself. While most of my students who have created sites have done so in order to blog, some use their site as an online portfolio of sorts, while others use their site to sell a good or a service. Websites are also great to develop for the purposes of showing college admissions officers what you’ve been up to during your high school years. You can and should include your site’s URL in your college applications, which will allow those individuals deciding whether or not they want to accept you to their college to see what you’ve created online.

5. Create a Community Initiative/Fundraiser: Is there an intersection near your house that is in desperate need of a four-way stop sign? Are fans leaving a lot of beer cans outside a local minor league baseball stadium? Was there a fire in a nearby apartment complex that has left three families homeless and in need of funds to get back on their feet? All of the above examples are calling out for someone in the community to create local change. Get signatures from neighbors to present to your town council in order to get stop signs for that intersection. Organize a group of friends to clean up around the minor league baseball stadium after the fans go home. Door knock to see who is willing or able to donate money to the families in need of funds in order to restart their lives after the fire. Creating initiatives are another great way to help others and they are a great way to demonstrate for others – including colleges and future employers – what causes or issues that are important to you.

6. Organize/Lobby: Are you passionate in one way or the other about a political issue at the regional, national, or international level? Make your voice on the matter heard. You can either join a pre-existing organizing/lobbying group or start one yourself in order to effect positive change in this world. You can organize a group of friends to discuss a matter important to you with your local councilperson, delegate, or senator. Some of my students have even delivered oral testimony in their state capitol. Even if you don’t get politicians to vote in your favor or your bill doesn’t pass, but especially if they do/it does, you should be able to communicate to colleges how you organized and/or lobbied, what you learned, what you did achieve, and why it was important enough for you to get involved in the first place and stay involved. This will give colleges a sense of the priorities of the person they are considering for admission.

7. Invent/Pursue Art: While the World Wide Web is an increasingly popular canvas one which to create for many students, many others still like to invent or create art in the real world. If you are someone who likes to invent new gadgets or create your own art, do it with gusto. The summer is a particularly good time to dive deeply into time consuming projects that you just don’t have the time or attention span for during the school year. Just make sure that whatever you create is documentable or provable. You can say you spent your whole summer creating wall art in your city or inventing a new style of mouse pad in your basement, but for colleges, or anyone really, to take you seriously, you need to provide some sort of evidence of your accomplishments. This is another reason some students like to create online portfolios, blogs, or YouTube channels: to document their creative processes or produce a visual record of what they have created.

8. Help your Family: Depending on your family situation you may not have the luxury of spending very much time at all away from your grandparents, parents, or siblings. In fact, you may be a primary caregiver for one or more of them. A few years ago I had two students in one year who were severely limited in terms of pursuing any outside of the home extracurricular activities because of their responsibilities back home. In both cases these students got into amazing colleges because they took the time necessary to communicate to colleges the depth and breadth of their responsibilities within their families. Don’t be shy or embarrassed that you have major responsibilities that keep you close to home because if you do keep this under wraps, colleges will wonder what you are really doing with what they perceive to be a lot of free time. Again, this goes back to the so very important point made earlier in this article: you need to be authentic. You can’t be authentic if you keep secret a huge part of your daily life. So, if you need to care for your siblings for five hours each weekday or have to do the grocery shopping for your family each week, make sure you keep track of how much time you are spending on these life-sustaining endeavors and communicate about them on your extracurricular resume and on the extracurricular portion of your college applications.

9. Read: Far too few students (and people generally) these days are taking the time to read. Reading not only can help you learn about what you are reading; reading can also help you learn more about topics and ideas you make connections to in your mind while you are reading. Another hugely overlooked reason reading is important: it helps you learn how to more effectively communicate. This is important in all aspects of your life, but especially so in the college application process when you will likely have to write at least a couple of essays and a resume and possibly take part in one or more interviews. Reading in your spare time is a win-win. I am particularly fond of actual books instead of reading online because too much of what is readily available online is short-form writing; reading long-form writing is most likely to help you think deeper and clearer, and this will help you improve your overall communication skills.

10. Learn: While reading good old-fashioned books is great, there is also so much knowledge waiting to be absorbed online and in the real world. Increasingly, students can take whole online courses for free, and while many such courses are incredibly educational, there are also some that come with a certificate of completion, which is a nice form of verifiable evidence that you did in fact complete the course you claimed to take online. Yet, even if you are not so interested in formal courses online, there is also so much free information online and around us that can help you learn to be a better version of yourself. I had a student a couple of years ago develop and implement an entire workout and weight loss regime not with the help of a personal trainer, doctor, books, or other paid support but with only YouTube videos. He loss thirty pounds, got ripped, feels great, and is happier and more confident than ever before. At the end of the day, that’s much more important than getting into any particular college or getting into college at all; though, being healthy, happy, and confident sure doesn’t hurt anyone’s chances of getting into college either.

Vanderbilt Class of 2023 Early Decision Stats Released

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John O. Gaines, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Vanderbilt University, announced some interesting tidbits of information that should be of interest to students and others who want to learn more about the selectivity of Vanderbilt’s overall Early Decision first-year student admissions process for its Class of 2023. The highlights include:

  • The middle fifty percent of students accepted into Vanderbilt’s Class of 2023 via ED I and ED II who reported their SAT scores had SAT Evidence Based Reading and Writing scores of between 710 and 760.
  • Meanwhile, The middle fifty percent of students accepted into Vanderbilt’s Class of 2023 via ED I and ED II who reported their SAT scores had SAT Math scores of between 770 and 800.
  • Of those students accepted to Vanderbilt’s Class of 2023 ED I or ED II who reported their ACT scores, the middle fifty percent had ACT composite scores of between 33 and 35.
  • No statistics were given regarding GPA averages of accepted students, which is not surprising because GPA scales different from school to school and some schools are ditching GPAs all together. A significant percentage of high schools also do not rank students, and an even greater percentage of high school counselors severely guesstimate students’ ranks in their counselor evaluation reports to colleges; yet, that didn’t stop Vanderbilt from reporting that of those students accepted ED I or ED II this admissions cycle who attend high schools willing to give a decile rankings for their students, ninety-seven percent of accepted students were in the top ten percent of their graduating classes.
  • Overall, Vanderbilt’s average ED acceptance rate for its Class of 2023 was 19.8 percent.

In recent years, Vanderbilt has filled more than fifty percent of its first-year classes with students accepted Early Decision. Also in recent years, Vanderbilt has become a college that has an ED acceptance rate that is at least twice as high as its Regular Decision acceptance rate. With that in mind, it would not be surprising to see Vanderbilt announce later this spring that its Regular Decision acceptance rate has fallen to seven percent or below. We’ll keep you updated.

In closing, we know we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and all, but what’s up with colleges combining their Early Decision I and Early Decision II admissions statistics for public dissemination? What we didn’t learn today is how students accepted to Vanderbilt ED I compared to students accepted to Vanderbilt ED II. If Mr. Gaines would like to fill us in on how Vandy’s ED I admits compared to Vandy’s ED II admits, he is respectfully invited to contact us here, and we will happily and thankfully share his response with our loyal audience.

In the interim, congratulations to Vanderbilt and to those students accepted to Vanderbilt ED I and ED II during this admissions cycle.

Washington University in St. Louis sees 70 percent increase in applications

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December 14, 2019 Note: The below article is about the 2018-2019 admissions cycle. The only information yet published out of St. Louis about the 2019-2020 admissions cycle is that Wash U. has accepted 708 students Early Decision I (EDI). Check this space for more information about the Wash U. 2019-2020 admissions cycle as we have it. If Wash U. follows trends from the Ivies, and if its lack of any major press release to date is any indication, it’s very possible that Wash U. saw a decrease in the number of students applying this fall. 

Ronné P. Turner, Washington University in St. Louis’ Vice Provost of Admissions & Financial Aid, informed counselors on Thursday, February 13, 2019 that inclusive of the university’s two Early Decision rounds and its QuestBridge rounds during this admissions cycle, the selective private Missouri university, “reviewed over 3,000 applications – a 70 percent increase from years past.”

For more clarity and context, last year during its one Early Decision round of admission, Wash U. reviewed 1,850 applications.

Wash U. has been selective for a long time, but this was the first year that Wash U. offered ED II. With the university accepting 250 students on Thursday when its ED II decisions were released, Wash U. anticipates that 60 percent of its first-year class – the Class of 2023 – will be populated by students who were accepted before Regular Decision. Last year only 40 percent of students enrolling in the university’s Class of 2022 were accepted ED. Turner did not provide any specific breakout information regarding Questbridge applications or acceptances.

This year, as in past years, students who applied Regular Decision will get their decisions by April 1, 2019.

Interestingly, despite being a hyper-selective university with an overall acceptance rate in the mid teens, some of those students accepted to Wash U. so far in this year’s admissions cycle will be required to attend the university’s First-Year Summer Academic Program from June 8, 2019 through July 13, 2019. According to Turner, “this is solely to help with the transition from high school to college. Their admission is contingent upon attendance/successful completion of this five-week program.” The First-Year Summer Academic Program “gives a select group of students the opportunity to ensure their readiness for STEM and pre-med coursework as well as to improve their critical reading, writing, and study skills. Students attending FSAP may be among the first in their family to attend college or coming from high schools with limited AP/IB offerings,” according to the university.

In no rush, Case Western and Tulane keep some Early applicants in suspense

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Slow and steady wins the race?

Once upon a time, refined Early Decision and Early Action etiquette dictated that by December 15 colleges would inform such applicants of their admission, deferral, or rejection. My how times have changed!

While the likes of Penn, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Wash U., and Yale got on with it last week, some big names are keeping their powder dry to seemingly the last moment. University of Michigan and Boston College are notorious in recent years for December 18 or later admissions notifications to their Early Action applicants; yet, this year, two more colleges seem to believe the maxim that they should, “save the best for last.”

The two notable stragglers this December are Case Western Reserve University and Tulane University.

In Case’s case, Robert R. McCullough, the university’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, announced Monday, “We expect to send applicants an email providing a link to the secure webpage with their admission status on Wednesday, Dec. 19. We will begin sending these email notifications around 8 p.m. EST. Students who have applied for financial aid will also be able to see their financial aid package online at that time.” Just two years ago Case’s Early Action notifications came out a whole week earlier in December. That was before Case Western introduced Early Decision I and II into the mix and with it gone are the days of earlier Early notifications.

UPDATE 12/19/18 @ 7:20 EST: McCullough needs more time! On December 19 in the evening he announced, “Unfortunately, we find that we need a little more time to be absolutely sure applicants’ decisions, scholarships and financial aid packages are correct. We are therefore rescheduling decision release for Early Action and Early Decision admission until 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday, December 20.” He also expressed “regret” for holding students in suspense for another day but wanted to ensure the decisions they receive are accurate.”

Tulane will let Early Action applicants to the New Orleans university know of their admissions decisions on Thursday, December 20, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Jeff Schiffman, Tulane’s Director of Admission shared, “I think it is also worth mentioning that Tulane saw a 14% increase in applications this year. Bottom line, we could fill up multiple freshman classes with students who are academically qualified to attend Tulane. We could fill up multiple freshman classes just with students who would be great fits here and genuinely want to be at Tulane. The problem is we can’t admit all of them.”

To Shiffman’s credit – and Tulane’s – the university notified its Early Decision applicants regarding their admissions decisions refreshingly fast. Tulane’s ED admission letters left Tulane’s Office of Admission on November 16 and were made available online at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 19. Talk about a nice Thanksgiving present! More universities should try to turn around admissions decisions in fewer than three weeks (Tulane’s Early Decision application deadline was November 1)!

Tulane, back in the day, released its Early Action notifications in November, but that was before they got into the ED I and ED II business recently.

So, seniors dreaming of a Case Western or Tulane acceptance letter this Christmas, hold on just a bit longer.

Summer internships for high school students

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While colleges increasingly emphasize the value of “experiential” or “hands-on” learning within their own communities, high school students are discovering real benefits in setting aside time during their high school careers for internships or other out-of-classroom experiences. In fact, they are finding that internships provide amazing opportunities to gain significant work experience while exploring long-term career options.

But these opportunities don’t magically appear. You have to plan ahead and do a little networking.

And now is a good time to begin nailing-down plans for next summer.

Although college students usually stand at the head of the line for internships, businesses and nonprofit organizations are increasingly holding positions open for students currently in high school or those transitioning to college. But make no mistake—these positions are getting increasingly competitive. And many application deadlines are coming significantly earlier than in past years.

It may take advance planning and persistence, but opportunities are out there.

Why intern?

Going through the internship application process teaches much-needed job search and employment skills. Preparing a résumé, asking for recommendations, landing an interview, and understanding what it means to be a responsible employee are all skills that give high school students an edge in college and beyond.

And it’s no secret that internships strengthen college applications, as these opportunities introduce students to career fields or potential majors and reinforce valuable research or lab skills.

An internship helps students understand how professional organizations function in the real world. While learning and working, interns have the opportunity to refine career goals. In fact, a summer internship can serve as a “trial period” to test ideas about professions and industries without making any long-term commitments.

If you’re especially lucky, these kinds of opportunities can also lead to award-winning science fair projects, journal articles, or patents.

Where are the internships?

Local businesses and organizations sometimes have formal internship programs designed specifically for high school students. But for the most part, these programs do not offer housing and are usually limited to students able to commute or living in the immediate area.

For example, here is a sample of the many organizations making internships available to high school students in the Washington, DC area:

For a great list of opportunities outside of the DC area, check the webpages maintained by the Rochester Institute of Technology. Scroll down for high school students and note that while the dates may not be updated the links are).

Be aware that some internship opportunities are “salaried” positions, some have stipends, and some are strictly volunteer. Again, they are generally highly competitive and some deadlines may already be past. So make note for next year.

Also, many organizations don’t advertise the availability of summer internships. This is when you have to do a little investigative work on the internet and through other kinds of public job listings. Use your networks—parents, relatives, family friends, teachers—anyone who may have contacts in businesses or organizations of interest to you.

At the end of the day, internships are great ways to get to know yourself a little better while building skills that will make you competitive for the future.

University of Texas at Austin Releases First Class of 2023 Acceptances

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UT at Austin’s Office of Admissions began admitting students to its Class of 2023 on Friday evening December 7 when a few thousand fall 2019 freshman applicants received an email asking them to visit their MyStatus page for an update.

According to Miguel V. Wasielewski, University of Texas at Austin Executive Director of Admissions, the institution is “delivering about a third of our fall 2019 admission offers to majors this week.”

Wasielewski went on to explain that Fall 2019 applicants not admitted on December 7 will still be considered for the thousands of spots that remain to be filled in the first-year class UT at Austin’s admissions team is assembling, and that all students who applied this fall to be Longhorns will receive their final decisions “no later than – and perhaps well before – March 1.”

Good luck to all UT at Austin applicants.

The ‘reading advantage’​ in college admissions

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In an increasingly connected world, reading beyond what pops up on a mobile device is dropping to the bottom of priority lists for many teenagers. And for those of us dedicated to books and the power of reading to educate, inform and entertain, this is REALLY bad news.

It’s hard to think how anyone can build fundamental communication skills without dedicating significant time to reading, whether for pleasure or information gathering. And it’s not just about developing an interesting mind or expanding vocabulary. Students who aren’t readers often don’t write well. They have a hard time imagining as well as organizing thoughts, developing arguments, and articulating ideas.

For college-bound students, this is more than just bad news—it’s a crisis. Colleges not only care that you read, they also care what you are reading as well as what you have learned from the experience.

These concerns play out in many different ways in the admissions process, and the most successful applicants are often those who set aside time in their busy schedules to read. And not just what appears on your daily “feed.”

For high school students, being aware of the reading advantage in college admissions is key. Here are five excellent reasons you would be wise to make time for reading:

Academics: It’s no secret that many of the most academically challenging courses in high school require strong reading skills—the ability to absorb and retain a large volume of material in a relatively short amount of time. Advanced Placement (AP) as well as International Baccalaureate (IB) curricula in social studies, literature, and language are notoriously reading-intensive. And colleges want not only to see you’re taking these courses but also that you’re succeeding with good grades.

Summer is usually a great time to “study forward” by obtaining AP/IB texts and reading beyond what is assigned or expected by the first day of school. Get ahead and stay ahead of the reading. You’re bound to see results in terms of improved reading skills, better grades, and less stress.

Test Scores: You can pay thousands of dollars to the best test prep company in town, but nothing improves test scores like being an active reader.  Both ACT and SAT are designed to challenge reading skills both in comprehension and interpretation. And those students who didn’t stop reading in middle school are bound to be more successful test-takers.

Push your reading level higher by mixing pleasure reading with more academic magazines, journals, or texts. Challenge yourself by not only reading from AP/IB course materials but also taking the time to annotate texts and look up vocabulary words. A little extra time devoted to reading can pay off in a big way in terms of improved test scores—ACT, SAT, and AP.

Applications: Colleges have learned that a good way to get to know a student in the application process is to ask about their reading habits. For example, one of the supplemental essay prompts required by Columbia University during 2018-19 asked, “List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year.”  In fact, Columbia asked three questions designed to probe applicants’ reading tastes and interests. Stanford, Wake Forest, Princeton, Emory, Colgate, Davidson and a number of other schools have their own versions of questions designed to probe reading habits.

Knowing these kinds of essay questions may be in your future, why not dive into a wide variety of literature? Don’t limit yourself to a single genre or to reading only fiction or nonfiction. Mix it up. Go a step further and read something that relates to potential career and/or academic interests. And be sure to keep track of what you have read noting best books or interesting magazines as well as favorite authors.

Interviews: If you’re applying to a college that either recommends or requires a personal interview, you had better come prepared with at least one favorite book about which you can knowledgeably speak. The “reading” question appears in many different forms, but the bottom line is that if you stumble here and can’t come up with a title or are forced to reach back to middle school, you could be in a bit of trouble. And you wouldn’t be alone. It’s shocking to interviewers how often students can’t remember the last book they read for pleasure or respond with cheesy middle school novellas. And worse, they might remember the title of something read for class, but they either have the story all wrong or simply can’t remember any element of the plot.

Avoid the embarrassment and read some good books as you have time. Take notes, think about what you read, and even talk over the best books with friends or family. Know why you would recommend a book. And get feedback on your recommendations. Don’t think you have to re-brand yourself as an intellectual by only reading great literature. Interviewers can have fairly ordinary literary tastes. And don’t try to “fake it” by suggesting a book you think will make you seem smart. If you’re honest about what you like, you might be surprised to find that you and your interviewer share tastes in authors to the point that an interesting conversation ensues.

Stress: All kinds of research shows that reading is way more effective at reducing stress than listening to music, drinking a cup of tea or even taking a walk in the woods.  Significant side benefits include an increase in emotional intelligence and empathy—character traits increasingly shown to be wanting in adolescents. And reading also turns out to be a very good way to focus energy and improve concentration.

But if none of the above moves you to pick up a book, then focus on this: readers live longer! ‘Nuff said.

Don’t Despair if you Don’t Get in Early

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Attention ED/EA Applicants (and Parents)!

Many of you are just days away from learning whether or not you have earned early action or early decision admission to your top choice college or university.

If you get in, celebrate and congratulate yourself (and all those who have supported you) for such a terrific achievement.

If you don’t get in, don’t flip out! It is human nature to become quite sad when one does not get what one wants. This is understandable. Please remember that your school-based college counselor should be there for you to strategize best next steps should you get news from colleges in the coming days that you don’t want to hear. If your school-based college counselor is unable or unwilling to discuss the implications of an EA or ED deferral or rejection, contact me.

We all handle disappointment differently, so some of you who are deferred or rejected may scream, cry, or stay in bed all day, while others may simply go for a run, workout at the gym, or eat a lot of ice cream.

While you can react in any of the above ways in the moments and hours immediately following bad news, I suggest that you reengage with the college admissions process quickly in order to increase your chances of getting acceptance letters both from any college that defers you early and any colleges you have applied to (or will apply to) regular decision.

Make sure to finish up your applications strong before your regular decision college application deadlines. Make sure to request that your transcripts be sent to regular decision colleges if you have not already done so (if you don’t remember how to do this, speak to your school-based college counselor right away, as each will have different procedures in place regarding how and when you must request transcripts/letters of recommendation be sent to colleges on your list). And make sure to have CollegeBoard and/or ACT, Inc. send your test scores promptly.

In order to help you reach your college admissions potential, if you have not done so before, now would be a wise time to send your essays, resume, short answer responses, or overall applications to us to review so that we may provide constructive feedback. This will help resolve any objective or subjective weaknesses in your writing before regular decision deadlines. Yet, please make sure to send content for review no later than December 20 to ensure that the we will be able to get you comments/edits before all January 1 deadlines.

If the college at which you have been deferred is still your top choice, you can and should also write a formal letter via email to the admissions officer for that college who covers your region. Please share such a letter with your school-based college counselor and/or us before sending it so that together we can make sure that you are doing all that you can to get in regular decision. What should be included in this deferral response letter? Please watch this quick video to find out.

I wish you all the best of luck whether you expect to hear from colleges this month or in a few months during the regular decision notification period.