Admissions Blog

Lafayette College Elevates Equity Over Extracurricular Achievements

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Craig Meister Leave a Comment

Lafayette College, a small private college in Easton, Pennsylvania with a reputation for solid undergraduate engineering and liberal arts programs, used the launch of the 2023-2024 Common Application as an occasion to get media attention for its decision – taken in partnership with the Common App itself – to review the common portion of the Common App in a unique way for those high school students applying to join Lafayette’s Class of 2028.

In an effort “to create a more equitable admissions process,” Lafayette President Nicole Hurd declared that her college, “will now only consider up to six activities rather than the 10 available through the application form.”

The common portion of the Common App, when initially conceived and launched, and for years thereafter, was common (in this context, meaning “the same” or “equal”) for all colleges that accepted it. Yet, in an equity-prioritizing environment, even standard English definitions (SAT and ACT analogy questions were earlier victims of the same ideology) are fair game for reconsideration. What, after all, does SAT stand for anymore? It once stood for “Standardized Aptitude Test.” Now it stands for literally nothing other than “SAT.” The powers that be at the Common App must have determined that the word “common” needed a rebrand. Maybe the word “common” was just exhausted from years of emotional labor trying to be something that it really wasn’t?

The clues, after all, where there. Several years ago certain colleges started opting out of reading the Common App’s formerly required essay. This change allowed Common App to bring on big additional members that were financially and strategically beneficial to have on board. Though the common portion of the Common App was showing cracks, at least when certain Common App colleges don’t require or review the essay with students’ overall applications, the writing page of the application explicitly names these colleges at the top of the section where students copy and paste or type in the essay if such colleges have been added to students’ Common App.

President Hurd, on her college’s extracurricular activities decision, went on to add, “We want to let students shine and not send them a message that holds them back or creates unneeded anxiety…The current application, which allows for up to 10 activities, can suggest to our students and families that quantity matters more than quality, that getting into college is about filling in blanks. Suggesting that students should pursue 10 activities while in high school and producing a great academic record does not make good sense to us. We want to make it clear to students that what matters to us are the activities and passions in which they are deeply invested.”

Setting aside the implication that a high school senior is unable to have been deeply invested in more than six activities from the summer before ninth grade through the beginning of twelfth grade, nobody completing the Common App’s activities page in recent years has been under the impression that anyone at the Common App or the majority of colleges that accept the Common App cares much about the actual quantity or quality of applicants’ extracurricular activities.

If the Common App did care about such matters, it would give applicants more space within the activities page of the Common App to list all of their activities (beyond ten for those who have more) and elaborate on the nature of their unique responsibilities or achievements within each individual activity entry. Yet, the Common App activities page limits applicants to a paltry 300 characters (not words, but characters) to describe each of their up to ten activities.

A significant number of students engage in more than ten extracurricular activities during the course of their years in high school. Many others could write far more than 300 characters about their various responsibilities, roles, accomplishments, and achievements within however many activities they choose to report in the Common App. Years ago, the Common App did allow students to upload a full resume to the common portion of the application, but since that option was eliminated only a small minority of colleges have continued to invite students to upload full resumes to their Common App supplements. Lafayette was once included in that small group of colleges.

Jenny Rickard, President and CEO of Common App, hailed the decision by Lafayette: “While the ‘activities’ section of the Common App is a great place for students to show colleges how they contribute to their families, school, and community, the focus should always be on the substance of the activities rather than the number…Common App data show that there are stark and substantial differences in the total number of activities applicants report across nearly every measure of race and income level.”

The Common App does allow all applicants to utilize an additional information section within the Common App’s writing page – a page best known for also being the location into which students copy and paste or type their essays in the personal essay section – to share additional details about whatever they like in up to 650 words. Most applicants do not take advantage of this opportunity and share nothing in this often-overlook field of the application.

Yet, as of August 4, 2023, nowhere on the current Common App or Lafayette supplement is there any mention that Lafayette will only be considering the first six activities listed on the activities page of the Common App. In fact, Lafayette College still has instructions on its supplement to the Common App that read as follows:

Share More: If you wish to provide details about your identity, background, experiences, and/or qualifications not reflected already in your application, please use the Additional Information short response option in the Writing portion of the Common Application.

The Common App went live for first-year applicants on August 1. Over 1.2 million first-year applicants used the Common App to apply to college last admissions cycle. This included a 31 percent increase by what the Common App refers to as underrepresented minority students and a 36 increase by what the Common App refers to as first-generation applicants over the 2019-2020 admissions cycle. Lafayette accepts applications for Early Decision (11/15/23), Regular (1/15/24), and Early Decision II (2/1/24) deadlines. The latest public statistics from the college’s website indicate that 11% of incoming students were first-generation college students, 25% were domestic students of color, and 8% were international in fall of 2022.

In promoting the college’s extracurricular activity-free (beyond six) decision on the news section of the college’s website but not on the application to the college itself, Forrest Stuart, Lafayette’s Vice President for Enrollment Management, added, “We believe that access and opportunity are about more than a strong financial aid and scholarship program…When we evaluate a student’s readiness for Lafayette, the depth of activities is more helpful than the raw number. For example, some students have ample opportunities to be involved in a number of activities. This is great. However, more and more students find their ability to spread themselves across a number of activities to be limited due to family, economic, and other obligations. As a college dedicated to helping students find affirmation and agency through this stressful application process, we are excited for students to share with us what matters most to them.”

Over twenty-four hours before the publication of this article, an email was sent by the author of this article to Stuart and his colleague, Lafayette Dean of Admission, Krista Evans, in search of responses to specific follow up questions. So far, that email remains unacknowledged. Should responses be forthcoming after publication of this article, they will be added here.

Taken to its logical conclusion, Lafayette’s decision to disregard students’ extracurricular achievements beyond the first six mentioned in the activities section of the Common App, if actually implemented, will certainly bolster the college’s “commitment to making college more accessible and the process more inclusive for students” if one interprets such a statement to mean a commitment to lowering the ceiling of how impressive certain applicants can appear while simultaneously suspending the concepts of evaluating holistically individual applicants and being able to accurately compare applicants to each other. Nothing was stopping Lafayette in previous years from putting a student’s stated extracurricular output into the overall context of what opportunities the student may or may not have had at his or her disposal, but apparently now that task should not fall on Lafayette’s admissions officers as it relates to extracurricular activities. Instead, simply no student will be allowed to share too much.

In the meantime, many high school seniors around the world are drafting their college applications now. It would be wonderful if Lafayette College became more proactive about communicating its new application parameters to prospective applicants who are currently filling out the Common App so these prospective applicants would be able to make informed choices about how best to proceed with their applications.

How School Students Can Impact the Future of Education

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Anthony

Students, especially those in high school, have the power to influence and shape the future of education in a variety of ways.

With the number of high school students in the United States estimated to reach more than 17 million in 2023, as per Statista, the future of education is in the hands of the younger generation. From advocating for changes in their own schools and communities to embracing new learning opportunities and technologies, there are many ways in which students can have a positive impact on the future of education.

Let’s explore some of the ways in which high school students can make a difference and contribute to a brighter future for education.

Advocate for Changes in Your School

Advocating for changes in their schools and communities is one of the most effective ways that high school students can impact the future of education. Students can identify areas where improvements are needed, such as curriculum changes, increased resources, or better facilities.

One recent example of student advocacy for change in education is the movement for ethnic studies in high schools. Assembly Bill 101, which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2021, mandates that high school students in California must take one semester of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement.

California is the first state to require this type of course, and schools must offer them starting in the 2025-2026 school year. This law applies to students in the class of 2030. By advocating for changes like this, high school students made a significant impact in their own schools and communities. In this case, they identified areas where they believed improvements were needed and pushed for changes.

Students can also support extensive changes in educational policies, be it at the regional, state, or national levels. This can involve lobbying elected officials, participating in rallies and protests, or working with advocacy organizations that focus on education issues.

Advocating for changes in schools and communities can be a powerful way for high school students to impact the future of education. By speaking out and taking action, students can help create a more inclusive, equitable, and effective education system that benefits everyone.

Develop Skills and Mindsets for Lifelong Learning and Adaptability

One of the most important ways that high school students can impact the future of education is by developing skills and mindsets for lifelong learning and adaptability. By developing these skills and mindsets, students will be better prepared for success in the future.

One way that students can develop these skills is by participating in extracurricular activities and pursuing their passions outside of the classroom. This can include activities like volunteering, internships, and part-time jobs. By taking on these challenges and learning new skills, students can develop a growth mindset and become more resilient.

Another way that students can develop lifelong learning and adaptability is by pursuing advanced degrees like a master’s or doctorate in higher education. This type of education can provide students with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of educational systems and policy.

The best part is both a master’s and a doctorate in higher education degrees can be pursued in online mode. The flexibility and convenience of pursuing a master’s or doctorate in higher education online is a significant advantage for students who have other commitments, such as work or family responsibilities.

Another benefit of pursuing a master’s and a doctorate in higher education online degree is the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of students and professors from around the world. Online programs can attract students from different geographic locations and backgrounds, providing a rich and diverse learning experience that can broaden a student’s perspective on education.

Pursuing a doctorate in higher education online is an excellent way for students to gain advanced knowledge and skills in the field of education. However, there are certain criteria that students need to fulfill to qualify for such programs.

According to a recent blog by Rockhurst University, students who wish to pursue a doctorate in higher education online must have a master’s degree in any field or have completed at least 33 graduate credits. Also, students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and provide two professional letters of recommendation, a personal statement, a research statement, etc.

Embrace Technology and New Learning Opportunities

In today’s world, technology plays a vital role in shaping the future of education. Students who embrace technology and new learning opportunities have a significant advantage over those who do not.

One way that students can embrace technology is by using online learning resources. There are countless online platforms and resources available that can help students learn new skills and gain knowledge in different subjects. Many of these resources are free and can be accessed from anywhere, making them an excellent option for students who are unable to attend traditional classes.

Another way that students can embrace technology is by using educational apps. There are numerous apps available that can help students learn and study more efficiently, from flashcard apps to grammar checkers to math problem solvers. These apps are designed to be user-friendly and accessible, making them an excellent resource for students of all ages and skill levels.

Students can use technology to connect with other students and educators from around the world. Social media platforms and online forums allow students to engage in discussions and collaborate on projects with others who share similar interests and goals. This type of collaboration can lead to new ideas and perspectives, ultimately benefiting the future of education.

A report showed that a majority of K-12 teachers and administrators, about 78%, feel that technology has had a positive impact on students’ productivity in the classroom. Also, nearly 65% of educators surveyed believe that students are more productive today than they were three years ago due to the increased use of technology in education.

These figures are a clear indicator of the fact technology is positively impacting students’ learning outcomes and can serve as a driver for change in the future.

Foster Collaboration and Dialogue With Teachers and Peers

Effective collaboration and open dialogue between teachers and students can play a significant role in improving the future of education. When students work closely with their teachers, they can provide valuable insights and feedback on what is working well in the classroom and what can be improved.

Similarly, peer-to-peer collaboration and dialogue can help students develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter, build strong relationships with their classmates, and gain valuable insights into different perspectives.

To foster collaboration and dialogue, students should feel encouraged to ask questions, participate in classroom discussions, and provide feedback to their teachers. Teachers should be willing to receive feedback, open-minded to ideas, and adaptable to modify their teaching approaches to suit the learning requirements of their students.

Collaboration and dialogue can also extend beyond the classroom. Students can form study groups or clubs to discuss topics of interest or work on projects together. Teachers can also facilitate online discussions or use social media platforms to encourage dialogue and collaboration among students.

Encouraging communication and dialogue among students and teachers can also have a beneficial effect on the mental health of students. When students have close relationships with their classmates and teachers, they tend to feel more confident, involved, and inspired. This can lead to improved academic performance, higher self-esteem, and a more positive outlook on the future.

A recent study by RAND and the Department of Education has found that blended learning, which combines traditional teaching methods with educational technology, can lead to an 8% improvement in student performance. This underscores the importance of collaboration and dialogue between teachers and students, as well as the use of technology in the classroom.

By working together and utilizing technology, teachers and students can create a more engaging and effective learning environment.

Conclusion

The impact of school students on the future of education is immense. By taking these steps, students can contribute to creating a more effective and equitable education system that prepares future generations for success in a rapidly changing world.

Students need to understand their own power and actively work towards positively improving education. With their passion, dedication, and creativity, they can be the catalysts for change that will shape the future of education for years to come.

A Primer for College Admissions Decisions

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Patrick O'Connor 2 Comments

We’re about three weeks away from the height of the release of college admissions decisions, the time of year when students pull their hair out either waiting to hear or musing over what they’ve heard. Along with trying to ease student angst, college admissions veterans know they can expect an inbox full of articles featuring the following content:

Record High Applications at Highly Selective Schools
Highly Selective Schools Report New Lows in Admit Rates (yes, these two are related, but most Americans don’t understand this, thanks to the way we teach math in this country, so…)
Calls for Equity in Admissions Follow Record Application Year

We can expect these articles because they are written every year, partly to make an official record of what actually has happened, partly to supply some kind of solace to students who didn’t get the admissions news they had hoped (“See Son? It was harder than ever to get in”) or to fatten the praise of those who did (“Wow! I beat the odds in the Most. Competitive. Year. Ever!”)

To balance these “the sky is falling” articles, I write one that tries to keep everyone on an even keel, so they can provide some stability to the students and parents who are new at this, or who are doing it again, and forgot what it felt like the first time. Hardly anyone notices the piece I write—it’s apparently more fun to be out there on rocky seas than to be safe in the harbor—but in the interest of trying to offer some support, here we go:

Not all applications are created equal. A college that reports a 5 percent admission rate doesn’t mean a particular student’s odds of getting in are 5 percent; it means the college admits 5 out of every 100 applications it receives. Put another way, a student with a C average applying to Swarthmore doesn’t have the same “chance” of being admitted as a student with a 3.9. Juniors should keep this in mind.
Much of the college experience depends far more on what the student puts into the experience than where they experience it. A former student was admitted to a Seven Sisters college, which then proceeded to gap her in financial aid. She ended up at a public university, where she basically ran the Global Studies program where she earned a degree. This included fulfilling her desire to do a semester abroad in South Africa, even though her college didn’t offer study abroad there. She simply registered as a guest student at another college that did. Tell me she would have had any of those opportunities at the Seven Sisters school. Go ahead.
Notions of the need for change in the college admission process are overblown. It takes about 20 minutes to apply to most colleges, since they require neither essays nor teacher letters. Since that’s about the same amount of time it takes to get to another level in Mario Brothers 812, it’s pretty safe to say most students can complete this task without life-altering stress.
Notions of change in the college admission process are simplistic, Part I. Admissions observers had a field day when COVID drove many competitive colleges to go test optional, a change that was gaining steam even before 2019. Two years later, we now find a rise in “test optional strategies” from test prep advisors who will advise students on which tests to take, and which scores to send—all for a fee. Similarly, we see some competitive colleges admitting fewer—far fewer—test optional students than those who submit scores, but deciding not to report that to the major public, since the “test optional” moniker is so highly valued. The result? A change that was supposed to make applying to college easier has made it harder in many cases, except at colleges where the admit rates were generous to begin with—and those are the schools where applying takes 20 minutes, and application reform wasn’t necessary.
Notions of change in the college admissions process are simplistic, Part II. Undeterred by the lack of real parity brought by many test optional policies, many reform advocates are now turning to essays and teacher letters of recommendation as the next parts to go in the current process. This leads to two questions:
- If you take out all parts of the current application process (some are even saying grades shouldn’t have to be reported), what do you replace them with?
- Do you honestly think whatever you answered in the last question can’t also be gamed to favor the rich? Interviews? Community Service? Cake Baking? Put any life experience or skill in the mix of college applications, and in a year, a horde of tutors will crop up that will give an edge to students who can afford their services. That will be very hard to beat.
My annual plea for more counselor training in college counseling. If it’s safe to conclude that any admissions process will favor students who understand it, it’s reasonable to conclude it will favor any student who works with a counselor who understands it. So, instead of changing the admissions process, how about leveling the playing field by making sure all counselors receive deep training in college counseling? Less than 5 percent of all school counselor training programs devote any time to instruction in college counseling, and that sometimes only consists of how to register for the SAT. Private school college counselors have greater access to professional development that keeps their already keen college counseling skills sharp. Most public school counselors got their counselor training in a program that gave them no college counseling skills at all. Which group needs to be better trained in the first place?

That should be all you need to make it through the media madness of the next month. Release the hounds.

How to Avoid Bad Pre-College Programs

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Craig Meister

Not all summer opportunities for high school students are created equal! Learn how to select pre-college programs or other summer activities that will help your chances of college admission.

5 Smart Summer Tips for Wise Rising Seniors

Posted on June 30, 2021 by admissions.blog Leave a Comment

It’s summertime, which means that many rising high school seniors are pondering the best way to spend a couple of months away from schoolwork.

For some answers, we turn to college admissions expert and college application coach Craig Meister – on location on the beach – for five important oceanside advice videos for rising high school seniors to ensure that they make the best personal choices for how to make the most of summer break.

1. Best Summer College Application Completion Advice

2. Summer Job vs. Summer Internship

3. Pre College Programs vs. Local Options

4. Is Summer SAT or ACT Prep a Smart Use of Time?

5. Don’t Forget to…

Craig is a college admissions coach and founder of CollegeMeister. He previously held university admissions and high school college and career counseling positions in Baltimore, West Palm Beach, and Rio de Janeiro.

What Needs to Change in College Admissions

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Patrick O'Connor 1 Comment

The ups and downs of the quarantine gave college admissions officers and school counselors a taste of application life to come, as the birth rate for high school graduates continues to slide, and the need to develop new approaches to recruit students increases. As the profession continues to try and improve college access, and knowing that small differences can make a big difference, here are some considerations for both sides of the desk to ponder this summer over a well-deserved glass of lemonade:

Colleges—move your deadline dates. November 1 (early applications), January 1 (regular applications), and May 1 (many deposits) are all big dates in the college application world—and they all fell on a Sunday or a holiday this year. I don’t understand this, since the admissions offices weren’t open, and the vast majority of high school seniors had no access to counselors or other application helpers the day of and before the deadlines.

This needs to change. Yes, students need to be responsible, and should learn to plan ahead—but perhaps that lesson is better applied to deadlines for things they’ve done before (like papers), not with things they are doing for the first time (like applying to college). The first Tuesday in November, the second Tuesday in January, and the first Tuesday in May would solve this problem nicely, increasing the quality and quantity of applications to boot. Georgia Tech made the move, and they get kaboodles of applications. It’s an easy, but important, change.

High Schools—stop working holidays. Moving the January 1 deadline to a date when high schools are in session is also overdue for school counselors, who have taken a serious shellacking this year with all the student mental health issues arising from COVID. School counselors have always been overworked, but never able to use the December holidays to recover, since they were expected to help their students make January 1 college deadlines.

It’s time to take a stand. Assuming the colleges move their deadlines, counselors need to learn to let go. Send a note to all senior families early in November, letting them know your vacation is—well, a vacation. If you really can’t let go of your students for that long—or if the colleges unwisely cling to January 1– set two days of vacation for online office hours, and take a breath all the other days. You have mastered online office hours this year. Let them be your friend.

Colleges—keep innovating. One (and perhaps the only) upside of the quarantine was the ability of college admissions offices to adapt major chunks of their traditional approach to recruitment. Test optional, drive-thru tours, and online high school visits suggested it might be OK for everyone to get their hopes up, that some real college admissions reform was in the air.

Yes. Well.

In a post-vaccine world, we see more signs of returning to “normal” than creating new normal. Reinventing the entire admissions process is no easy feat, to be sure, but how hard might it be for admissions offices to spend half a day this summer doing “What ifs” to one part of the application process? Do that for five years, and you have a new admissions paradigm, and a more accessible one—the thing you say you keep wanting.

High schools— mental health and college access aren’t either/or. I will legitimately blow my top if I read one more post from a high school counselor insisting that the increase in COVID-related mental health needs makes it impossible to do any effective college counseling.

School counseling as a profession has long been showing a mental health bias at the expense of quality college counseling, and this year just seems to have widened the gap. Counselor training programs plant the seeds of this bias— training programs devote about 7 classes to mental health training, and none to college counseling—and all of this must stop, if only because the dichotomy is a false one.

Discouraged, depressed high school students light up like a hilltop church on Christmas Eve when I tell them college gives them a fresh start to life and learning, proof enough that college counseling affects mental health. That, plus the American School Counselor Association says college counseling is part of the job. Counselors truly are overworked, so they can’t do everything they want in any part of counseling. That said, college can still be part of a key to a better self. More counselors need to see that, and act on it.

Everyone—stop beating up on the Ivies. The Ivies and their equally tough-to-get-into institutions largely decided to go test optional this year. For some reason, this gave a lot of students with B averages the hope that they too could pahk the cah in the yahd, now that they didn’t have to reveal their test scores.

So—more students applied to the Ivies this year than last year. The Ivies didn’t admit more students this year than last year. That means their admit rate had to go down, and more students were denied.

That isn’t news—it’s math. And if you want to blame the Ivies for encouraging students to apply who didn’t really stand a chance of getting in, you’re going to need to make a thousand more jackets for that club. If you think the Ivies take too few Pell-eligible students, say that. If you think they admit too many legacies, stay that. But don’t beat them up for proving the laws of basic ratios. Any other college in their shoes would have to do the same thing. (Besides, it’s the national media who has left our society with the impression that there are only 25 colleges in America.)

Everyone—about Kiddos. It’s no secret that college is largely a time of youth, especially with the expansion of adolescence into the early twenties and beyond. But college is also a time to help young people embrace the opportunities of adulthood, skills and attitudes that sometimes require setting the desires of self to one side.

This goal would be more easily achieved if we saw students—and if they saw themselves– as capable of embracing a larger sense of self by referring to them as students, not Kiddos. They don’t need to grow up in a hurry or, with the right kind of help, succumb to the media images of college choice as a high stakes pressure cooker. But they also need something more than just a pat on the head and a verbal affirmation that’s the equivalent of a lollipop. Let’s try calling them students.

The 3 Dos and Dont’s to get Accepted into America’s Most Selective Colleges

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Max Leave a Comment

There is so much misinformation out there regarding how to get into America’s most selective colleges, and sadly, a lot of it comes from high school counselors themselves.

Luckily, by reading on, you will get some of the best advice that many high school-based counselors are unable or unwilling to give their students.

Here are the 3 Dos and 3 Don’ts to help you get accepted into America’s most selective colleges:

1. Don’t be well-rounded. Do be well-lopsided.

Why well-rounded students get skipped

It almost doesn’t seem fair. You work hard throughout high school, joining clubs and sports teams, focusing on getting good grades, trying to be the most well-rounded student you can possibly be – and then comes time to start applying to colleges.

For years, you have dreamed of attending some of the more selective colleges in the nation: Duke, UC Berkeley, Michigan, perhaps some of the Ivies, like Harvard, Yale, or Princeton. You have put in the work, built the resume.

Applying to college can be an exciting yet stressful time in a high-schooler’s life. After all, this is what all the hard work was about. This is why you packed your schedule with extracurriculars. This is why you stayed up late studying for those exams.

But before you begin submitting those applications, there is something important you should know: college admissions officers are not looking for well-rounded students.

On the surface, that might not make much sense.

Let’s take a deeper dive into why well-rounded students get passed over and what admissions officers are really looking for in high school applicants.

Well-rounded student vs. well-rounded class

If you are a well-rounded student, don’t take this personally. But consider this a fair warning: college admissions officers are not looking for well-rounded students.

If you’re going down the path of well-roundedness and you have your eyes set on a top college, you need a change of course – before it’s too late.

Many students might find this confusing. After all, you’ve been told time and time again by teachers, parents, and counselors that you need to join a wide variety of clubs, try out for some sports teams, volunteer, get involved however possible.

“If I can show colleges that I can do a little bit of everything, then surely, I’ll set myself apart from the rest of the competition.”

Unfortunately, this sort of thinking couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is that admissions officers are not looking for well-rounded students. They are trying to put together a well-rounded class. The mistake that so many college applicants make is trying to be a jack of all trades, which inevitably leads to being a master of none.

With this in mind, you likely only have one question to ask: then what does it take to get accepted to highly selective colleges?

What admissions officers are looking for

The simple truth is that if you want to go to a top college, you can’t just blend in with the crowd—you have to stand out among the other applicants. That may seem like straightforward advice, but it’s far more difficult to put into practice.

Virtually everyone applying to the Ivy League has good grades. Many played sports. Many were involved with the same types of activities and organizations: choir, National Honor Society, and Student Council. On their own, none of these activities will make your application stand out to top colleges.

To college admissions officers, you must be able to prove that you are an applicant who deserves their attention, interest, and ultimately, consideration.

And with many top colleges only spending eight minutes or fewer on any given application, you need to spark their interest – fast.

Brainstorm what sets you apart, what differentiates you from the mounds of well-rounded students who also want one of the select few spots in the upcoming freshman class.

In one of his popular blog posts, Allen Cheng, a Harvard alumnus and co-founder of a college test prep company, notes that there are two things that elite college admissions officers are looking for from applicants; they seek those “who are going to accomplish world-changing things” and those “who are going to contribute positively to their communities while in college and help other students accomplish great things as well.”

Understandably, neither one of those traits are a walk in the park. But with your application, it is your job not to demonstrate how much of a well-rounded student you are, but rather to demonstrate how you are the right applicant to accomplish such remarkable things in the future.

At the end of the day, being a well-rounded student may lead to modest successes in high school, but when it comes to applying to the nation’s most sought-after colleges, be sure you are demonstrating what sets you apart. The members of the next generation who will change the world are almost certainly not well-rounded – they are masters of their trades.

2. Don’t dabble. Do focus.

Why the best college applicants are the most focused

Focus is key.

You’ve already learned that the first key to acceptance into schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford is abandoning the image of a well-rounded student, and instead highlighting what sets you apart, and what makes you the type of student who will go on to change the world someday.

We know that alumni of many top colleges are often well-known for their astonishing contributions to the world – Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, Olympic medalists…But long before that, while they’re still back in high school, working hard with their minds set on attending one of those schools, how do admissions officers pick them out? What is it that sets these future leaders apart in high school – and on their applications – that so clearly speaks to what their long-term success will look like?

The secret is that the best college applicants are also the most focused candidates. Let’s dive a little deeper into what it means to be hyper-focused and what sets those students apart from the rest of the crowd.

The best college applicants don’t dabble

Being a well-rounded student is usually just another way of saying that the student dabbles in a multitude of activities, often without mastering any of them.

Students who find they have strived their entire high school careers to get involved with as many activities as possible to “round out their resume” should heed this advice. The truth is that if you are preparing to send a competitive application to top colleges, you need to hone in on a select few skills or pursuits. That’s where you should be focusing from here on out.

All those other activities, the ones you are doing half-heartedly or just for a participation trophy – those are simply time-wasters. Take some time to identify those activities now and abandon them.

This is not to say that there was no value in dabbling at a younger age. After all, you need some time to develop your skill sets and identify where your talents lie. But as you progress through high school, and especially as you prepare for college, you should be narrowing your focus and eliminating the activities that simply serve as distractions.

The best college applicants are hyper-focused

Take a moment to think about the people who are the best at what they do in the world. Think about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and NBA superstar LeBron James. No one talks about Zuckerberg’s ability to play basketball, and no one discusses James’s web development skills. You know why? Because those things don’t matter. It’s not what makes them great. What matters are the skill sets each of them uniquely garners that make them truly great.

It’s a safe bet to say that these top-performers cultivated their skills through focused attention and work.

That’s the same type of hyper-focus high school students should use to become the most competitive college applicants.

Focus, as defined in a Psychology Today article, “involves the ability to pay attention to things that will help avoid distractions that will hurt your work efforts.”

It’s really as simple as that.

Discard the activities that are time-wasters and spend your time and energy on your true strengths. Some might call this your “spike,” “pointiness,” personal brand, or elevator pitch – whatever the term, it’s the overall theme that you’re trying to convey to admissions officers.

So what does it look like to harness the type of hyper-focus that will lead to admissions success? There are several tangible steps you can take.

One of the most significant leaps you can make is to eliminate unhelpful extracurriculars and instead focus on the ones that highlight your best skills. So many high schoolers are encouraged to take up as many extracurriculars as they can – sports, music, clubs, volunteer work. But, admissions officers are going to look at this list and judge you based on whether or not they require any special knowledge or skills to succeed, or whether or not you are a leader or just another run-of-the-mill teammate or club member.

If anyone could do it just by dedicating some time, it doesn’t stand out on applications.

Consider also auditing your free time outside of schoolwork and extracurriculars, and determine if you’re truly spending it wisely. We live fast-paced lives, and, of course, high school students have social lives to live. The advice here is not to completely disregard your social life or the small pleasures of everyday life.

Instead, it’s to be conscious of where you’re spending your time, and to refocus when you find yourselves straying from your long-term goals.

This type of hyper-focus is what differentiates average applicants from the “must-admits.”

3. Don’t give up. Do be gritty.

If you want to successfully compete for a seat at a top college, you need a certain mindset. After all, years of dedication, hard work and high performance culminate with these college applications.

The college application process, and all the work that leads up to it, is enough to burn out many students. But the most successful college applicants have one other thing in common: they are gritty.

Why gritty students have the best chance for admission

Angela Duckworth is a leading researcher who, literally, wrote the book on grit and its impact on success, called Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. She defines the trait as “passion and perseverance of very long-term goals.”

According to Duckworth’s research, the most successful students are not necessarily those with the highest IQ or exam scores. Rather, she notes in her book, “the highly successful had a kind of ferocious determination that played out in two ways. First, these exemplars were unusually resilient and hardworking. Second, they knew in a very, very deep way what it was they wanted. They not only had determination, but they also had direction.”

Duckworth is someone worth listening to when it comes to grit’s role in being accepted into elite colleges, herself having earned degrees from Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Oxford. Her research uses grit as the greatest predictor of long-term success, rather than talent.

Becoming a grittier person will not happen overnight. It’s a trait that you develop in the long run, with benefits that you reap lifelong.

This is to say, students who are gritty and can clearly demonstrate that grit on their applications have the best chance for admission to top colleges. There is a long list of talented applicants on the desks of Ivy League admissions officers. But those whose story is one of grittiness — a relentless pursuit of a select few strengths and overcoming of obstacles — those applicants consistently dominate the admissions game.

Yale Young Global Scholars app now open for Summer 2020

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Craig Meister Leave a Comment

The Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) application is now open, and YYGS is now actively recruiting interested students in grades ten and eleven (or the international equivalent) from all around the world.

Scholars taking part in YYGS experience life as a university student at Yale’s Old Campus while attending an academic session of their choosing. YYGS offers sessions in the humanities, social sciences, STEM, and a new cross-disciplinary track that incorporates all of the above.

Students taking part are able to meet peers from over 125 countries around the world (including all 50 U.S. states), and join discussions where students offer global perspectives.

YYGS also provides over $3.4 million USD in need-based financial aid equally to both domestic and international students, offered as discounts covering up to 100% of tuition costs. Those students who apply by the YYGS early action deadline receive a reduced application fee. If the fee poses a financial burden, students are able to submit a fee waiver.

The Yale Young Global Scholars Early Action Deadline is November 12, 2019 at 11:59PM ET; the Regular Decision Deadline is January 15, 2020 at 11:59PM ET. Students interested are able to apply at https://globalscholars.yale.edu/how-to-apply. Those with questions are encouraged to contact YYGS.

Don’t call me a Director of College Counseling ever again

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Craig Meister Leave a Comment

There is no doubt that something is very broken in American secondary and tertiary education. Over each of the last fourteen admissions cycles, I have helped students from around the corner and around the world navigate the college admissions process and tackle the full time of job of applying to American colleges and universities.

During this time, I have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of students who are unaware of what makes them unique, what their goals are beyond getting into a ‘good college,’ and what actual options even exist for students graduating high school. What feels like an outbreak of complete lack of self-reflection and time dedicated to research and analysis is occurring at the same time as students are more programmed, stressed, miserable, and incapable of demonstrating what was once considered ‘college level’ verbal and written communication skills than I’ve ever witnessed before.

I can’t be a part of this madness anymore without speaking out. As I see it, three major changes need to be made in the way we educate children in this country, only one of which I have true control over as a person tasked with helping students transition from secondary education to what comes next.

Starting in elementary school and continuing right through college, most students are not being taught the basics of writing, reading, and speaking English – whether these students attend public, private, or parochial schools. Students are taught to ape the style or priorities of their English teachers in order to earn an A instead of being taught how to think or communicate in an articulate, agile, and dynamic manner. I am not an English educator, but I can say after seeing thousands of essays produced by high school juniors and seniors and speaking to thousands of high school juniors and seniors that writing, reading, and speaking instruction is not being properly carried out in this country if we are to have any hope of sustaining – let alone building upon – the knowledge and attainment of previous generations.
Students have little to no sense of who they are in relation to the generations of people who came before them and thus they have an increasing inability to put themselves in proper context; the result is that their college essays, whether well-written or not, read like narcissistic one-man plays, and from the admissions results I’ve seen up-close, colleges like it this way! We are doing a generation of our fellow citizens a great disservice when they can’t see beyond their own feelings and experiences, when they don’t know anything about their state’s history, and when they know appallingly little about their country’s history or the history of Western Civilization. Again, very few people in either secondary education or tertiary education seem too concerned about this, which brings me to what I can control…
College is not the end all be all. In fact, for many students a four-year college experience can only lead to a lifetime sentence of debt and ignorance. Who appointed four-year colleges and universities to lord over us as non-negotiables of our human experience? All those who benefit from the higher education-government complex, that’s who. I’m done promoting this perverted ideology. Today, one can learn more valuable and applicable information on YouTube than one can learn by completing many four-year curricula on offer at America’s top-ranked colleges. Career, technical, and experiential education in all of their many forms – trade schools, apprenticeships, gap years, a paying job doing just about anything – are the best fit for many individuals who’ve just graduated high school. We are doing a disserve to students if we provide only college counseling. We are doing a disservice to students if we only provide college and career counseling. We must educate our students to pursue their own individuality and we must expose our students to the diverse options that exist after high school graduation – from the armed forces and community colleges to gap years and apprenticeship programs. I no longer have any desire to work in a school that trumpets its college admissions statistics, name drops the elite colleges and universities its students have matriculated into, or even slaps the name “College and Career” before the words “Counseling Office” or “Guidance Office.” In all of these scenarios, schools are giving colleges, universities, and employers far too much control of our youth. Students need to be empowered to think big and dream big. That requires not anchoring high school counseling, guidance, or advising to college or career at all.

At a time when long-standing traditions and institutions are actively attacked in our country on a daily basis – mainly from those who’ve been indoctrinated by or are employed by higher education institutions – I’m going to join all those in favor of tearing asunder the part of the past that I don’t like; don’t call me a “Director of College Counseling” or “College Counselor” anymore. It’s giving four-year colleges and universities, corporations, and governments – all of which are in business and are big business – way too much power over all of us. For as long as I continue to help students and families transition from high school to what comes next, from this point forward, if you are going to refer to me as a “Director” of anything, please refer to me as “Director of What Comes Next.” “What Comes Next Counselor” also has a nice ring to it. In return, I promise to provide you a “What Comes Next” guidance experience that exposes you to the full diversity of post-secondary options. Even if 100% of my students continue to enroll in four-year colleges and universities, if my recalibrated approach to post-secondary guidance gives even one student or family pause to consider the benefits of attending a community college while working a full-time job, or pursuing an apprenticeship, or taking a gap-year, or joining the military, or getting a job as a waiter, or earning a degree abroad, or starting a business I will have earned my title as “Director of What Comes Next” and I will feel so much better about myself knowing that I am no longer a cog in the wheel of the American higher education-government complex that has for far too long entranced far too many Americans.

Yet, most of all, I will feel great for the young men and women I work with every day because once they see a four-year college or university is not the be all end all, maybe some of them will calm down, drop out of a few of their extracurricular activities, and use their spare time to pick up and read a book like Great Expectations or Candide or go on YouTube and watch for free the full thirteen installments of Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark. There is no doubt that after doing so students will be closer to gaining a healthy perspective on life than they ever could playing America’s obscene college admissions game.

I may still be the CollegeMeister, but I will remind all with whom I work that where one goes to college (if they do at all) or where one works 40+ hours each week (if they do at all) does not define a person. If anything, the sobriquet CollegeMeister is more apt than ever because I have not just mastered the Byzantine art of getting into the world’s “top colleges;” I have freed my clients, my colleagues, and myself from colleges’ former power over all of us, and I look forward to helping others see the light. No longer will colleges be the masters and the rest of us their slaves.