The College Whisperer™ | Navigating The Road To College

Hope everyone is recovering, or at least coping, after Sandy and Athena. [We are keeping an eye out here on Long Island for the locust, which we presume will be coming our way any day now. :-)]

Just wanted to remind you to apply for the monthly, No Essay Required, $2000 Scholarship at College Prowler. http://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships/scholarships/159911-college-prowler-2000-no-essay-scholarship

This is truly a no-brainer, and, as those who use the services of COLLEGE CONNECTION know, we had several students win $2000 each last year simply by entering what amounts to a sweepstakes. Not bad for 5 minutes of effort. [And great work if you can get it! :-)]

There are literally dozens of scholarship contests like this, requiring little more than filling out a short form, at scholarship search engines such as fastweb.com, meritaid.com, collegeprowler.com, zinch.com. [There are also college-specific scholarships to seek out and apply for.] But again, to have to be in it to win it!!!

Search. Review. Apply. The more scholarships you apply for, the better the chances of getting money for college.

And speaking of money for college, ALL schools require the submission of FAFSA (on or after January 1), with SOME schools requiring the submission of the CSS Profile IN ADDITION to FAFSA. [The CSS Profile should be completed and submitted as soon as possible after submission of your applications to the colleges that require its submission.]

NOTE: To receive institutional aid of any kind, including need-based and merit scholarships, you MUST submit FAFSA and, as required, CSS Profile. Be aware, as well, that some schools have their own financial aid forms -- and their own deadlines for submission.

It is imperative that these applications for financial aid be completed accurately, submitted timely and prepared in a manner that will put you in the best possible position to receive the maximum financial aid award.

Remember, the likelihood that Ed McMahon (as if high school students would even know who he was) will show up at your door with a check from Publishers Clearing House is zero to nil. To get money to pay for college, whether institutional (from the colleges) or from outside sources, need-based or merit, you have to know where to look, how to mine the best prospects, and actually apply.

So, don't just hope to get money to pay for college. Go out there and get it!

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .
* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege

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The wind howled. The rain belted the windows. Trees fell, and with them, power lines. Lives disrupted. Homes and businesses lost. And, not to be forgotten in the midst of our struggles for find gas for our cars and more than solace from the folks at LIPA, high school students anxious to complete and submit their college applications -- with Early Action deadlines looming!

If the angst and anxiety brought on by the college application and admissions process weren't enough, add to them a devastating hurricane and an impending Nor'Easter -- not too mention high schools that have neither power nor access to Naviance so as to be able to send out those transcripts, Guidance Reports and letters of recommendation.

Still, unlike the receding shoreline, on the college application front, all is not lost. Many schools have extended -- and extended yet again -- the November 1 Early Action deadline. Most schools have reported that they will be flexible in accepting applications past deadline. [Check with individual colleges and universities for specifics.]

That said, here are some tips to help see you through:

Be Patient: Getting back on Common App, or into colleges' proprietary applications, may take time. Systems, where they are indeed up and running, may be slow and overburdened. [Common App seems to have problems when more than two people log in at the same time, so we can only imagine. Hang in there. If at first you can't get on, into or through, try, try again!

Be Vigilant: Check and recheck your applications. Errors and omissions (as well as errors of commission) can sink your ship or, at the very least, run it aground. Read, edit and revise your essays. Reread your short answers. Make certain your applications are accurate, complete, and place you in a light most favorable. Remember, Early does not mean Rushed! If it isn't right, isn't ready, and isn't the best it can possibly be, don't submit it!

Be Persistent: If the application deadline has passed, don't just say, "Oh well. Too bad for me." Call the college's Admissions office to explain your situation ("Hellooooo. We just had a hurricane blow through here!). Chances are, if you are cool, calm, polite and tenacious, like with the gatekeepers at the Emerald City, your application will be allowed through.

Be Realistic: If you hadn't started your personal statement, or barely opened the college application before the storm hit, chances are you would not have been in a position -- at least, not a good one -- to submit by the November 1 Early Action deadline. You want your application to shine, not merely glow dimly like that flashlight whose "D" batteries were on the way out after Hurricane Irene. Missing Early Action, assuming you have no choice, is not always a bad thing. Remember, while the early bird may catch the worm, the second mouse typically gets the cheese. [Think about it! :-)]

Be Prepared: Yes, you should have listened to your mother and started your college applications sooner -- like August. And you should have listened to  The College Whisperer™and called College Connection for comprehensive college planning, guidance and support (you still can). Of course, that's water under the proverbial bridge (or in the actual Queens-Midtown Tunnel). Whether you are in the midst of completing and submitting those college applications, or just starting to think about what you're going to write on that critical college essay, to plan and prepare is to prevail!

Be Smart: Navigating that long and winding road through the college application and admissions process, sans the detours occasioned by fallen trees, flooded roadways, and non-functional electrical outlets, is tough enough. [Consider that wending your way through the intricacies of the Common App is like circumnavigating the globe sans compass!] Don't go it alone! College Connection is here to help!

Whether you are about to commit, finger hovering over the "submit" button, credit card in hand, or you are just getting started (despite dad's admonitions and dire predictions), College Connection can help make the difference between simply applying to college and actually getting in.

Give your personal statement the voice it deserves. Amp up those supplements. Leave no stone unturned in giving yourself the competitive advantage when it comes to gaining admission to increasingly selective colleges. Find those scholarships that will help you pay for college, and have those pesky financial aid forms, from CSS Profile to FAFSA, filled out accurately and completely.

No one knows the college application and admissions process like College Connection. NO ONE! So, when the lights do come back on and your telephone has a dial tone (Dial tone? What's a dial tone? :-) CALL US -- 516-345-8766.

We've helped hundreds of students get into the colleges of their choice. We can help you too!

Look. You survived Hurricane Sandy (and likely have the tee shirt to prove it). Surely, anything the college application process could lay before you is little more than a walk on the beach... Um, well, maybe not the beach.

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .

* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege

As the storm of the century (or so they tell us) advances toward the Northeast, students (and their parents) are concerned about submitting college applications prior to the November 1 Early Action Deadline.

Common App, as per their post on Facebook, advises as follows:

We're watching the brewing Frankenstorm along with everyone else. When unexpected events have upended major deadlines in the past, colleges have responded graciously. As we head toward November 1, we've asked our members to consider how they might respond again should they need to. Hopefully, they won't need to.

Obviously, if your applications are accurate, complete, checked, re-checked and absolutely ready to go, by all means, submit those apps that have a November 1 deadline. [Remember, as well, to send your ACT and/or SAT scores to the colleges you are applying to.]

Also, check the websites of the particular colleges you are applying to vis-a-vis deadline extensions and related matters.

If your applications are not ready, not to worry. In the event of storm-related impacts (such as power outages), most colleges will be lenient with Early Action Deadlines. Their systems, too, may well be compromised.

Then, too, there's always Regular Decision. Missing the Early Action Deadline is not the end of the world, and, as concerns the storm heading our way, every other student on the east coast planning to submit college applications is in the same boat.

Stay dry. Stay alert. Stay safe. And keep working on those college applications!

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .

* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege 
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Here comes Hurricane Sandy!

Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Locust. [Would you believe a noisy Cicada, falling from a nearby tree? Oh, we hate when that happens!]

All enough to unsettle even those with nerves of steel. And yet, even these natural disasters (not to mention those man-made ones that come our way, seemingly on a daily basis), hardly compare to the terror struck in the hearts of bold men, brave women and unflappable 17 year olds by the onset and ensuing deluge known as the college application and admission process.

Fears heightened by information -- and misinformation -- overload. Storm clouds gathering about the mounting paperwork, the impending SATs and ACTs, the wavering GPA, and the surge of the Common App, FAFSA and CSS Profile. Uncertainty over both procedure and outcome add to the confusion, as parents and students alike attempt to map out an escape route along the treacherous, detour-filled road to college.

Think you need a plan to help you successfully navigate the road to college?

Remember Noah? He had a plan! Everyone else? Well, we all know how that story ended.

Some call it the perfect storm. The confluence of conflicting deadlines, endless online searches, constant pressure, and that ever-present feeling in the pit of your stomach that says, "I wish this nightmare was over!"

We like to call it the perfect calm, where students are empowered and parents are given peace of mind!

Having a plan, the foresight, the intuition, the guidance so essential not only in heading out in the right direction, but in actually getting where you want to go. That's powerful. That's Nirvana. That's College Connection, the first and last words in college admissions success!

College applications, and making your way to those Ivy-covered gates, can be a grueling, heart-wrenching experience. It doesn't have to be.

So, check out that college planning calendar. Note, with more than passing interest, that we are now in the eye of that season fraught with danger and anxiety -- better known as the crunch time of college applications. Batten down the hatches, take a deep breath, make the best of plans, and then call your College Connection counselor.

College admission is more competitive than ever. You need to be as well!

We are College Connection, and we're here to help get you safely through the storm!

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .
* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege

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Yes, horses and bayonets have, in our technologically advanced military, been replaced by aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, much like the paper and pen have been supplanted (if not supplemented to near death) by the Common App and Naviance.

And while we're all pacifists here -- and to borrow from Albert Einstein, we don't know how the next war will be fought, but the war after that will be fought with sticks and stones -- as a strategy and a matter of military advantage, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines trump horses and bayonets every time.

As for the Common App and Naviance, both as college application stratagems and integral tools of the admissions process, we wonder -- as do countless students and parents -- whether, in many ways, we weren't better off when college applications were prepared with good, old fashioned pen and paper.

No, we're not suggesting that we go back to your father's college application, or that we abandon 21st Century know-how. Still, if you're going to create and put in place a cutting-edge system for applying to college, there are several things you ought to do.

1. Keep it simple.
2. Don't reinvent the wheel.
3. Make sure the darned thing works!

Keep it simple. If there's one word users (both hands on and incidental) mutter to describe their reaction to the modus operandi of Common App and Naviance, it's "FRUSTRATING!"

One can easier, and with less stress, navigate the ocean off the Somali coast than one can find his or her way around Common App and Naviance. Instead of streamlining a cumbersome and confusing process, Common App creates a maze that is confounding and a matrix that is convoluted. And when linked (assuming the link works correctly) to Naviance, it is, more often than not, trouble with a capital "T" -- not only for students, but for Guidance Counselors, teachers and, of course, parents, who can turn gray overnight just staring at the screen, trying desperately to find their alma mater's college code.

The proof of Common App's complexity is, as they say, in the pudding. The folks at Common App hold seminars, webinars, conferences and Q&A sessions by the dozen for counselors, teachers and professionals on the many and varied nuances of the application and its processes. If it is so complicated that the grown-ups in the room are scratching their heads and begging for help, how the heck do they expect 16 and 17 year olds to figure this out?

We say, KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid! Make our lives easier, not more difficult!

Don't reinvent the wheel. If the question has already been asked and answered (perhaps several times) on the common part of the Common App, why ask it again -- and again, and again -- on the Supplements? Don't the colleges read the main portion of the Common App? How many times do they have to ask for your Social Security Number, you cell phone number or your email? And how many writing samples of 1000 characters do they really need?

If you want to have a Common App, great. Just keep it COMMON. There's no point to uniformity when every college insists on wearing its own uniform!

Make sure the darned thing works! Getting kicked off line, without any warning, losing that which you may have worked on for hours. Ouch! Trouble copying and pasting into those little boxes. Ouch! Endless tribulations as Common App decides which browser -- Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome -- it will refuse to work with today. Ouch! A server at Common App that seems to be incapable of supporting more than two students online at the same time. [Like they didn't know 30,000 people would be logged in just prior to deadline.] Ouch! A system that requires students (parents) to submit the Supplements followed by Payment, with absolutely no warning, admonition or pop-up to follow, advising the tired, the forlorn, the huddled students yearning to be free of this inane process to actually submit the Common Application itself. [How many students have missed application deadlines as a result of their failure to submit the common part of the Common App?] Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

We're certain that, if asked to comment, students, parents and Guidance Counselors could go on ad nauseum about Common App's shortcomings. They certainly have to us.

And yet, when queried by The College Whisperer™ as to the Whys and Wherefores, the response from the folks at Common App was as follows:

The layout and overall flow of the application is decided by the board and member schools. Some schools prefer to get the supplement prior to the application etc. This is the last year for this version of the Common App as a new one will be released next summer. Next year the process will be different. 

They just don't get it, do they? It's almost as if the folks at Common App have never actually sat down to use their own tools -- or, as many students refer to the Common App, a "weapon of mass distraction" -- let alone to come out of their cubicles and ivory towers into the real world of angst-ridden high school seniors and their harried and distraught parents.

Yes, "next year the process will be different." Common App 4.0 descends upon us like a drone out of the blue. Different? As in, new and improved? One can only hope.

A foreign policy out of the 1920s may work for some among us. But a college application process stuck in the stone age while pretending to be state-of-the-art works for no one.

Bring on the aircraft carriers and nuclear subs. Just do us all a favor and leave the pens and paper!

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™. 

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . . 

* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege

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M.S. of Rockville Centre, NY writes:

While my high school GPA (96.40) is indicative of the work I'm capable of doing, my SAT scores (1490 combined), on the other hand, are not. What do you think about applying to colleges that are SAT/ACT optional? Will opting not to report my scores be considered suspect, hurting my chances of getting in?

The College Whisperer™ replies:

When a college says, "Test Optional," we'd like to think they actually mean it! No looking askance. No raised eyebrows. No second-guessing as to why an applicant has elected to forgo submission of those dreaded ACT/SAT scores.

Indeed, the whole premise behind "Test Optional" is to permit college admissions officers to evaluate a student's prospects based on other substantive (and often much more reliable) criteria, such as grades earned over four years of high school, honors and academic achievement, school and community involvement over the long haul, and, of course, those all important essays.

Colleges, and the venerable (we mock) College Board itself, long ago abandoned the idea that the SAT, and other standardized tests of its ilk, measure achievement. Hence that nuanced change, in name if not in nature, from Scholastic "Achievement" Test to the current Scholastic "Aptitude" Test. Of course, many colleges have figured out (and some are even beginning to admit) that the SAT is not an adequate (too strong a word) measure of aptitude either, as time has demonstrated that such tests are rarely accurate indicators of how well a student will do. For many if not most students, these arcane rites of passage demonstrate little more than how well one does on such tests. In short, performance on the ACT, SAT, or any of the alphabet soup tests, is absolutely no guarantee of future results. Period.

To date, more than 850 colleges have chosen to be "Test Optional," in whole or in part, with the likelihood that a gaggle of others will join the fold in the coming years. [Not that we need to take up a collection for the folks at College Board, mind you. They'll be sure to make up the lost revenues in other ways -- perhaps by cornering the market on Number 2 pencils.]

And it's not just colleges one might consider third tier who have opted out. Sarah Lawrence College, one of the most prestigious (and, dare we say, expensive) schools in the nation, is on the list. So too (certain limitations and conditions may apply) are the likes of Arizona State, Bryn Mawr, NYU, UNLV and the University of Texas. [SEE the list of "Test Optional" colleges and universities at http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional.]

Will opting not to submit test scores be held against you? Well, ask the admissions office of any "Test Optional" college and they will tell you, flat out, "No." And weighed against the submission of sub-par (whatever that may mean to anyone) scores, where's the harm in withholding those pesky little mischief makers?

Look, if your scores are lousy (as measured against those of other applicants to the same school), and you have the option, hold 'em back. Where they give you the choice, for goodness sake, take it!

You are, after all, much more than your standardized test scores. [Just ask the 4th grader who, having achieved the highest possible score of 4 on New York's English Language Arts (ELA) test, pondering other aspects of her life unrelated to academics, asked her mom, "Am I a four?"]

Would that every college and university chose to opt out of the insanity that is the standardized test craze, relying instead upon real and quantifiable means of measuring an applicant's abilities and capabilities. [Would that we could read on the front page of The New York Times that College Board, having no takers for its myriad tests, and no schools to which students are obliged to send their scores, closed its doors forever!]

Alas, both College Board and the SAT are likely to be with us for generations to come -- or at least until global warming causes the demise of every tree on the planet, making the production of Number 2 pencils impossible. Until then, give the silly test your best shot, keeping in mind that it is only a test, and should your scores not measure up to your promise or expectations, go "Test Optional" when and where you can. 
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For more on "Test Optional" colleges, visit Fair Test, The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, at www.fairtest.org.

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .

* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege

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...Why Should You Give Them Yours?

We all know that college is expensive (some more expensive than others), with tuition and related costs rising nearly every year (this past year, by about 3% on average). As for college debt -- as they say in Brooklyn, fuggetaboutit!

Recently, Princeton Review came out with a list of the ten schools with the worst financial aid packages. On the flip side of the proverbial coin are colleges that are said to offer the best financial aid awards, which, by the way, can include scholarships, grants, loans and work-study.

As with almost everything else in life, your personal mileage, and the corresponding hit on your wallet, may vary from school to school and is often based upon a variety of factors ranging from "need" (whatever that may mean, given that, at some colleges, families with six-figure incomes receive need-based awards) to your scores on the SAT.

For those who are deemed ineligible for need-based aid, which, again, varies from college to college (use the school's Net Price Calculator, as well as the FAFSA4Caster, to estimate out of pocket costs), there arises the pressing question of how much, if any, merit aid colleges will dole out. [See, How Much Merit Aid Will Your College Offer? on The Choice, the college admissions blog of The New York Times.]

Check out a comprehensive list of more than 600 colleges that offer merit aid.

Deciding which college to go to isn't only a matter of cost. Course offerings, academic programs, location, rah, rah factor, size, and so on, all go into the mix.

Still, for most Americans, the college price tag weighs heavily in the decision-making process, and to know before you go is, well, like money in the bank!

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .

* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege

 

It's not only the times that are a changin', but the Common Application as well!

Yes, the wire services and news outlets are reporting that the Common App, as students know (and often despise) it today, will find new ways of considering student's app-titude for college, if not new ways of totally frustrating them.

Among the changes for the 2013-14 Common App will be the eliminations of "A Topic of Your Choice" from the personal statement (essay) -- enter a collective GASP! here -- and strict adherence to the 250-500 word count. [SEE, Common Application Is Removing A Surprising Essay Topic. SEE also, Common App Revamped.]

There seems to be a general consensus (at least in the online commentary we've come across) that the Common App -- which, even in its present incarnation drives students and parents alike to Common App-oplexy -- is headed in the wrong direction, particularly as concerns the personal statement.

Eliminating the topic of choice, and strictly adhering to the 500 word limit, stymies creativity, taking what amounts to a one-size (or four sizes, depending upon how many essay topics may appear from year to year) fits all approach to the college application. 

Don't we want to give students latitude in expressing -- in one of the few ways the college application process permits -- the very essence of their characters and personalities, let alone what they, as unique individuals, could bring to the college campus and the community beyond?

Apparently not. Common App and its member colleges, or so it would seem, would rather mass produce automatons, capable of responding, in little more than a Twitter response, to a narrow set of questions. The very same questions, in fact, that thousands of other applicants must ponder. [Pity the poor admissions officers who will have to read virtually the same essays over and over and over again!]

As to the word limit (up to now more of a suggestion than a mandate), clearly students should neither respond with a mere sentence, nor should a dissertation akin to the second coming of War & Peace be in the offing. Indeed, brevity, and choosing one's words carefully, is the soul of wit and what a good college essay is made of. 

That said, give applicants the opportunity to speak their piece (in more than 1000 characters), with reasonable limitation (i.e., page and one-half, double-spaced, 12 point font) in one of the few realms in the college application process where they can be more than test scores and GPAs.

Change is inevitable, yes. The College Whisperer™ likes change (especially change back from his dollar). Still, when change does come, shouldn't it be for the better? How about taking out the questions and form response tags in the Common App Supplements which have already been asked and answered in the Common App itself? Or maybe tweaking the submission process so that, at the very least, payment is the last step, not an intermediate layover, with submission of the Common Application itself left hanging out there as if an afterthought? [Oh yeah. We still have to submit that!] Nah. That would make too much sense!

The idea behind Common App is a good one (or so they would have us believe). To give students access to hundreds of college in one place, with the ability to seek entree to many colleges with a single (well, almost) application.

Common App 4.0 should strive to gain a more thorough insight into the minds and hearts of prospective college students, rather than to truncate their avenues of expression or further constrain their modes of self-evaluation.

P.S. The above treatise consists of 601 words. Darn! Over the Common App limit again!
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Thoughts? Comments? Alms for the college-bound poor? Speak up, for goodness sake! Comment below, or write to The College Whisperer™ at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com.  Plan. Prepare. Prevail! 

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .
* * *
Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer™?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The College Whisperer™ is the Trademark of COLLEGE CONNECTION, Official Sponsor of College Admission Success. The road to college begins at COLLEGE CONNECTION! Whether you are applying to college, planning for college, paying for college or simply thinking about college, COLLEGE CONNECTION can help! Call TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766.

For up-to-the-minute news, apps, info and insights on college applications, admissions, scholarships and just about everything college, follow The College Whisperer™ on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GetCollege

Time was, applying to college was a rather simple, unencumbered process. Fill out a few applications (by hand), write a short essay, send it all in at your leisure (by snail mail) with your check for $5. And voila! No stress. No sleepless nights. No worries over deadlines and selectivity.

Well, those days, my friends, even for the crowd longing for a nostalgic return, are gone if not forgotten.

Enter the era of incredible pressure, unheard of competitiveness, essays wothy of a Pulitzer, and more deadlines and sources of information (both good and bad) than College Board has fees.

The college application season begins sooner. College admissions decisions arrive later (if only becase there are so many more applications to review). And applying earlier in the game has become the norm rather than the rare exception.

Indeed, Early Action is now officially the new Regular Decision.

Get your foot in the door. Be that early bird who catches the worm. Show them your interest, your moxey, your most wothy credentials before anyone else's application comes before the admissions committee.

Just a few years ago, only the select few applied Early Action, this as so many of their high school compatriots still snoozed. Today, or so admissions officers across the board tell us, not only are more students applying Early Action where it is offered as an option, but upwards of 30% of the incoming class will have been offered admission before the first Regular Decision application saunters in.

Colleges are even moving up the deadline date for Early Action, which typically falls somewhere between November 1 and December 1. [UNC-Chapel Hill set an Early Action deadline of October 15, a time when most high school seniors are shaking off the last vestiges of summer and first getting started on their college applications.]

Missed the Early Action deadline? No worries. So what if 30% of the freshman class has already gotten an offer of admission. That leaves 70% of the seats open and waiting for you.

And while that early bird may very well get the worm, remember, it is usually the second mouse that gets the cheese!

Plan. Prepare. Prevail!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer™.

Who knows what peril lurks in the college application and admissions process? The College Whisperer™ knows. . .

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