The College Whisperer™ | Navigating The Road To College

Launch Newsday's FREE College Admissions Webinar right HERE.

Use College Connection's Login: info@collegeconnect.info

Then, call College Connection at 516-345-8766 to launch your plans for college admissions success!

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The road to college begins at College Connection. Call us for a FREE telephone consultation. 516-345-8766.

Who doesn't like free?

Add "FREE" to Newsday's College Admissions Webinar (this Thursday, October 6 at 8 PM) and you've got yourself a winning combo!

Supplement our face time with this informative online session covering important and relevant topics such as college applications, the admissions process, and, as not everything in life is free, the ins and outs of financial aid.

Registration for the Webinar is required.

And please be so kind as to clue in friends, neighbors, classmates and colleagues who may find this Webinar helpful, and our services essential, in navigating the increasingly complex road to college admissions success.

Participate in the College Admissions Webinar. Then call us at College Connection.

Nobody knows college admissions like College Connection. Nobody!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer and the contributors to this blog.

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

The road to college begins at College Connection. 516-345-8766 Call us TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation, and get started down that road to college admission success!

Just Who Is The College Whisperer™?

The College Whisperer™ is Seth Bykofsky. [Or is it the other way around? No matter! :-)]

Born on the cusp of a new century (1 B.C.), his mother, Frances, was first runner-up to Miss Alternate Universe, while his father, Irving, served as counsel to the Czars. Orphaned at a tender age by the tragic sinking of the Titantic, Bykofsky was home-schooled until the age of 13, at which time he was summarily expelled. 

Joining the French Foreign Legion and rising to the exalted rank of Modern Major General, Bykofsky was recruited by the Sorbonne to prepare a handful of exemplary students for graduate study and careers in business, medicine, international relations, the arts and undecided studies. While it is true that virtually all of Bykofsky's students excelled in their coursework and future endeavors, it must be noted that one student in particular, Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, fell short.

Returning to the United States by way of the Mexican border, where he pole vaulted an electrified fence along the Arizona state line for a World Record that still stands today, Bykofsky hitchhiked to California, where he landed an internship in Sushi preparation -- at a Japanese Internment Camp.

After the war, Bykofsky trekked through some of the great universities of America -- Stanford, Northwestern, Princeton, Yale, College of the Ozarks -- from which he was quickly escorted and sent on his way. Back on the east coast, Bykofsky gained notoriety as an activist, advocate and sometimes provocateur, often credited with having formed one of the nation's first labor unions -- the IMGWU -- International Mens Garment Worker's Union. It didn't catch on.

Settling on Long Island, where his dedication to education has been continuously demonstrated through payment of some of the highest school property taxes in the land, Bykofsky married his childhood sweetheart, the former Joan Silverblatt and the latter day saint, a tax accountant, with whom he raised two beautiful and, dare we say, brilliant daughters, Francyne, a School Pyschologist, and Melissa, a budding journalist.

Seth Bykofsky earned a Bachelor's Degree, Soonah Cum Lateh, from Queens College of the City University of New York, and a Juris Doctorate from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.

In addition to advising and mentoring the college-bound, while calming the frayed nerves of moms and dads everywhere, Bykofsky speaks frequently on matters near and dear to prospective college students and their parents. Through college planning workshops, seminars, lectures and private sessions offered through College Connection (The Official Sponsor of College Admission Success™), Bykofsky has helped countless students successfully navigate the road to -- and through -- college. 

Through the blogosphere, Bykofsky a/k/a The College Whisperer™, brings his passion, aptitude, common sense and funny bone to the masses yearning to apply and be admitted to their college of choice. 
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Plan. Prepare. Prevail!  

When college applications get to you, you need to get to us! 

Contact us at COLLEGE CONNECTION, home of The College Whisperer™ and Official Sponsor of College Admission Success™, for all of your college planning needs. Nobody knows college admissions like COLLEGE CONNECTION. Nobody! 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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We've said it before. A multi-billion dollar cottage industry, built upon the foundation of standardizing achievement and aptitude, demonstrating neither. A rite of passage dreaded by generations of students, frowned upon by parents, and increasingly mistrusted by college admissions officers. An angst-driven, anxiety producing, stress inducing pressure cooker that elevates "teaching to the test" to the next level of absurdity.

Of course, we couldn't have said it better than Newsday, in an article that recently appeared in Long Island's paper of record:

SAT fuels anxiety and cottage industry

by JO NAPOLITANO AND JENNIFER SMITH. / jo.napolitano@newsday.com, jennifer.smith@newsday.com

Ever-tougher competition for admission to top colleges has ratcheted up pressure on many Long Island students to boost their SAT scores, whatever the cost.

It's a world of high-priced tutors, admissions consultants and test preparation courses, particularly in districts where academic excellence is closely measured and parents can afford to pay. Expectations are often aimed high and set early.

"It's a toxic cocktail in certain communities," said Meryl Ain, a former assistant Smithtown school superintendent who recently set up an educational consulting service. "I know parents who are already putting pressure on their elementary school children to get into Harvard."

Last week saw the arrests of six Great Neck North High School students and the college student they each allegedly paid as much as $2,500 to take the test for them.

Officials at the Educational Testing Service, which administers the SATs, said such cheating is rare.

More common -- and at times even more expensive -- are legitimate efforts to improve student scores for the four-hour exam. Thirty-two hours of private tutoring from Kaplan can cost $4,799.

"A lot of my friends have private tutors, and that kind of forces you to study," said Lucie Galino, 16, of Huntington. "Everyone is pretty stressed."

 Agonizing over scores

Still months from her own test date, the Huntington High School junior already is drilling with practice tests and prep courses. Her goal: a score of 2000 or higher out of a possible 2400 to gain entrance to the University of Virginia and Haverford College in Pennsylvania.

Educators across Long Island said they remind students that SAT tests, which many students took Saturday, are just one factor among many that determine college acceptance.

But many high schoolers remain unconvinced. They flood test preparation courses and agonize over respectable scores that fall short of a perfect score. They break down in tears before guidance counselors, struggling under the weight of their own expectations -- and those of their parents.

"It's all over their face and in everything they do," said Susan Hance, guidance department chairwoman at Sachem North High School in Lake Ronkonkoma. "If they don't score as well as they hoped, they feel their goals have been diminished, that they won't be as successful as they'd hoped."

Amy Fortsch, 25, and a private SAT tutor in Levittown, said the strains on students have intensified.

"Even over the last six years, it's become super, super competitive," Fortsch said. "I have some students starting in 10th grade and even a ninth-grader."

Richard Feldman, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology from Columbia University, has been coordinating test prep at Molloy College for a quarter century. He said more students are seeking help, and they're starting younger than ever.

"Virtually everyone is getting some prep now," said Feldman, who also operates a business that offers $1,980 tutoring and speed-reading courses.

Test-score mania

Originally from the Midwest, Baldwin schools Superintendent James Mapes said Long Island and other Northeast suburban regions seem to place "undue importance" on the SAT. He pointed to the vast tutoring options offered here not only by private companies but by school districts themselves.

Robert Brisbane, an assistant superintendent at Westbury Union Free School District, said the drive to achieve can be a good thing. His district offers Saturday test-preparation courses and a pilot program to help 11th-graders improve their scores.

Brisbane said it's an attempt to level the playing field for his students, more than a quarter of whom qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches.

"Our children come to us by and large without the major advantages that neighboring districts have," he said. "The scores our children get here are the scores they earn."

Test-score mania seems particularly pervasive in affluent areas like those along Long Island's Gold Coast, where science awards line the mantels and students with stellar grades compete furiously for seats at top-tier universities.

"I think our parent community, our school community, has high expectations based upon their lives and the world they live in," said Jericho schools Superintendent Henry Grishman.

That pressure is compounded by demographic realities squeezing the current high school generation, Grishman said. "There are fewer scholarship dollars available, there are fewer slots in the colleges and universities available," he said.

The pressure can extend well beyond the top 5 percent of the class, said Phil Clark, a guidance counselor at Connetquot High School. He recalls a student athlete who took the SATs four times to qualify for SUNY New Paltz so she could play on its softball team.

Educators in both Long Island counties said they counsel overloaded students to take fewer Advanced Placement courses. They also try to steer students toward well-regarded schools outside the nation's top 20.

Misplaced emphasis

Some educational groups say the focus on SAT scores is misplaced. They point to schools such as Sarah Lawrence College and Brown University that have eliminated or reduced requirements for SATs and other standardized tests.

"It's way overused, and it's misused," said Lloyd Thacker, a former guidance counselor who is now executive director of the Education Conservancy, a Portland, Ore., admissions reform group. "Cramming for the SAT is not going to help you be a better student."

Just how admissions officers balance test scores, grades, extracurricular activities and application essays remains something of a mystery.

Thacker said colleges should talk publicly about how they select students. A number of Ivy League universities declined to talk with Newsday reporters about the process.

Robert Hornsby, a spokesman for Columbia University, wouldn't discuss admissions in detail but said in a statement that the process was "a 'holistic' one" that considers personal statements and teacher recommendations along with standardized testing and grades.

Still, some parents feel that preparing for the SAT -- just like getting good grades -- can only help their kids navigate the economic uncertainty that awaits after college.

"They are aware there are less jobs now for more candidates," said Jeff Isaacson of Plainview, whose daughter, Laura, studies with Fortsch. "It is about getting to where to they want to be."

With Joie Tyrrell and John Hildebrand

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer and the contributors to this blog.
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Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The road to college begins at College Connection. 516-345-8766 Call us TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation, and get started down that road to college admission success!

Ahh. To swim like a salmon upstream at the Long Island College Fair. The huddled masses yearning to speak with a college admissions rep. The glazed and bewildered look in the eyes of confused and weary parents. The lines at the booths of the most popular colleges, where high school students stand six deep waiting their turn to get information otherwise available to them with the click of a mouse from their laptops (from the comfort of their homes, while still dressed in their PJs). And, of course, the folks from College Board, not missing any opportunity to hawk their books on the SAT, college searches, and financial aid. [Imagine that. Paying for a book on how to get money for college. Oh, the irony!]

Anyway, the college Fair is behind us now, but a memory of the crowds, the crumbling Nassau Coliseum, and the $10 fee for the privilege to park for a free college fair.

So, as you wake up the morning after, does it all seem so much clearer now? Or, like most students and their parental units, are you more confused and overwhelmed than ever?

Well, if the College Fair left you wanting for more, there is still much more in the way of guidance and support for the college bound.

If you never bothered to pick up a copy of the College Conference Manual from your guidance office before the Fair, you can -- and should -- do so now, reading through the many articles designed to enlighten and illuminate on everything from applications to admissions, financial aid to FAFSA submission.

You may -- and you should -- read the digital version of the COLLEGE CONFERENCE MANUAL right here.

Find detailed information on the following critical issues right at your fingertips:

Choosing the Right College -- Pages 44, 67

Year-by-Year Preparation Checklist -- Page 50

Myths and Realities About Paying for College -- Page 56

Everything You Need to Know (well, almost) About the Financial Aid Process -- Pages 61-64, 66

Hints for Your College Interview -- Page 65

And last, but by no means least, all the reasons you should seek out guidance and support from COLLEGE CONNECTION, the official sponsor of college admissions success -- Page 59

Yes, the College Fair -- at least, the Long Island College Fair -- may be history, but the journey down the road to college admissions success is just getting started!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The road to college begins at College Connection. 516-345-8766 Call us TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation, and get started down that road to college admission success!

See Who Got In, Who Didn't, and How You Compare

No, it isn't foolproof, and it won't guarantee that your "target" school is a sure thing, or that "reach" school is beyond yours. Still...

Would you like to see the qualifications of thousands of real students who applied to college? See who got in, and who didn't? How about an inside look at the students applying this year?

Now you can, with the College Admissions Tracker, a free tool from COLLEGEdata.com

With the Admissions Tracker, you can see the "stats" of actual students who were recently admitted or denied at any college. See each student's college choices, admissions decisions, and qualifications, including test scores, GPA, extracurriculars, plus much, much more.

Go to the Admissions Tracker

 

Find Out Who's Applying This Year

Do you want to know who else is applying to the colleges you are considering? Use the Admissions Tracker to find out. Thousands of high school students are using the Admissions Tracker as they apply to college for fall 2012. Follow their progress and keep track of what happens when decisions start to arrive!

Add Your Admissions Profile Today

Your own Admissions Profile is the key to getting the most out of the Admissions Tracker. If you don't have one yet, you can start yours today. This is your chance to be part of a unique, ground-breaking tool to help you and other college bound students, while you keep track of your own progress. Your profile will be kept confidential and stored securely in your COLLEGEdata Data Locker. All profiles are anonymous. Already started your profile? Log in to make sure it's up-to-date.

The Admission Tracker is by no means intended to tell you where you will get in, or where you won't, and, to paraphrase the old saying, past admitted class performance is no guarantee of future admission results.

So, have fun with the Admissions Tracker [all data is self-reported, so take it from whence it comes], then, continue to plan and prepare. That's the only sure way to prevail in your quest for college admission success!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The road to college begins at College Connection. 516-345-8766 Call us TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation, and get started down that road to college admission success!

As Jews the world over usher in the year 5772 (where does the time go?), The College Whisperer pauses to reflect, to refresh, and to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Next year in college!

Don't leave college admissions to prayer alone!

Call College Connection (516-345-8766) after the holidays for the competitive edge in this most selective college market.

Be bold!

That's what often separates the college also-rans from the college acceptances. Toot your horn. Give voice to your essay. Build that resume. Wave that brag sheet!

And now, in keeping with our long and storied tradition of bringing you the best of the web's college planning and resource websites, here's one that not only helps you brag (and live to tag about it), but is also an exceptional source for material and information related to the college application and admissions process.

The BragTAG College Bound Blog-- http://bragtagonfacebook.com/ -- offers tools to help put students in the best possible position to apply to college, as well as timely and pertinent links to articles, posts, and websites sure to benefit the astute applicant looking to gain the college admissions edge.

Particularly useful is the College Admissions Weekly Roundup, a compendium of tidbits and portals with advice, guidance and out-of-the-box thinking so essential to college admissions success.

Kudos to the creators of this site, John and Margaret Incantalupo for this ingenious and invaluable college tool, connecting students with those in the college admissions world, and providing a one-stop site for meaningful enlightenment on everything -- well, almost -- you need to know to help you get into the college of your choice.

Best of all, the blog is free! And who doesn't like FREE? :-)

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The road to college begins at College Connection. 516-345-8766 Call us TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation, and get started down that road to college admission success!

As college-bound high school seniors seriously begin work on their college applications -- inclusive of the Common App -- two questions invariably arise: "What is the difference between 'Early Decision' and 'Early Action,' and should I apply under either?"

"Early Decision," simply put, is binding. The end all of decisions. You will go to no other college. If they accept you, you must go. This is it!

You may only apply "Early Decision" to one college, and you, your parents, your high school and, in all likelihood, your pet iguana, must sign-on, agreeing that, should this one college accept you, all other applications will be withdrawn, all bets are off, and your "Early Decision" choice has you, lock, stock and barrel.

"Early Action," on the other hand, is non-binding. You may, in most cases (some colleges will "limit" you), apply "Early Action" to as many colleges as afford you the opportunity to do so, and, should one or more offer acceptance (typically by mid-December, rather than March or April, for Regular Decision), you can still play the field, deferring your admission decision until May 1.

With "Early Decision," you'd better be darn sure that this one college is absolutely, positively the place you want to spend the next four years, to the complete exclusion of the nearly 4000 other colleges and universities that may vie for your attention, if not your application fee.

There is no turning back once you hit that "submit" button and, barring the most extenuating of circumstances, there is no changing your mind.

Cold feet? Buy a warm comforter. Second thoughts? Tough nuggies. Found a school, a program, a football team on your radar screen that more nearly fits your vision of that perfect college? Well, too late now!

"Early Decision" literally closes to door to the possibility of going to a different college. It marries you, for better or worse, to that school.

Don't like the financial aid package (if any) offered by your "Early Decision" choice? There's no negotiation here. No playing one college's offer against another's, no hedging your bets.

When the warm breezes of April come your way, the "Early Decision" college you selected as the winter winds of November blew in is the school you are destined to attend. Period!

"Early Action," on the other hand, leaves the door (or should we say, "doors") wide open.

You get to send in your applications early (typically mid October to early November. Be mindful of all DEADLINES. They are not the same for every college), and should you be accepted by one -- or more -- of your "Early Action" choices, sit back, kick up your heels, relax and enjoy the holidays. You have until May 1 to make your decision.

"Early Action" gets your foot -- along with your essays, resume and supplemental material -- in the door long before the madding crowd, allowing the admissions officers/committees the opportunity to review your credentials while they are still fresh. Yes, your application will be held up to a light that compares you to other "Early Action" applicants -- many of whom have stellar academic records and outstanding extracurriculars, but this will be a much smaller pool of applicants than that which will likely swamp admissions offices come December and January.

And just imagine. If you apply "Early Action" to a number of colleges, and are accepted by some -- or all -- YOU (not the college) remain in the driver's seat, the master of your own fate, in determining where you will go to college and, in some instances, what that financial aid award will look like.

Are there downsides to applying "Early Action?"

A few. While most colleges will defer their admission decision on those "Early Action" applicants who don't make the cut on the first round, putting the application "on hold" until those applying "Regular Decision" have submitted, a few will preclude further consideration of "Early Action" applicants who have been "denied."

With so many more qualified applicants each year for so few spots in the Freshman class, colleges have the luxury of being extremely selective at every stage of the process.

On the other hand, it rarely hurts to get your application in early (presuming it is complete, accurate, and presents you in the most favorable manner possible), and, more often than not, an early application, prudently prepared and properly completed, will give most students the competitive edge. And who couldn't use that?

As one should never rush to judgment, rushing to decide where you will spend some of the most significant years of your life should never be a snap decision.

Fourth generation legacy who would rather join the French Foreign Legion than go anywhere but XYZ University? If you think you've got what it takes, and know, for sure, where you want to take it -- come Hell or high water -- go for "Early Decision."

Uncertain? Indecisive? "Think you can" but don't really know? Still want to beat the crowd to the admissions office while leaving your options open? Go "Early Action."

Miss the deadline? Got off to a slow start? Couldn't find the submit button on Common App -- or somehow forgot to pay the application fee? Not to worry. There's still plenty of time for "Regular Decision" and "Rolling" applications. Hang in there!

Questions about when to apply, how to apply, or even where to apply? You are not alone! Speak with your Guidance Counselor, your parents (they are really much smarter than you think :-) and your independent college consultant. They will help you decide whether you should apply "Early Decision," "Early Action," "Regular Decision," "Limited Early Action" (wasn't that what they called the Korean Conflict?), "Single Choice Early Action" (what will they think of next?) or "Rolling" right along.

There is no "one size fits all" in either college selection or college admissions. So don't limit yourselves in either options or outcomes, particularly in this early stage of the game.

And remember, even though you may have submitted your application in a timely fashion, it will not be considered complete, and thus, reviewable, by college admissions offices until they have the entire package in hand. So make certain you send your ACT/SAT scores, and your high school submits those all-important transcripts, Guidance Reports and Letters of Recommendation. [Naviance, anyone?]

Now, get to it! Before you know it, "early" will be "late!"
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Stressed? Confused? Bewildered? Overwhelmed?

Let College Connection, the first and last words in college admission success, guide you through the college application process, and help you to navigate that long and winding road to college!

Call us TODAY at 516-345-8766 for a FREE telephone consultation. You've got college plans. College Connection can help!

Which is the fairest College Fair in all the land?

Why, the National College Fair, of course, hosted by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and coming to Long Island (Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale) on Sunday, October 2, 2011 (11 AM to 4 PM).

Admission to the College Fair is FREE. [There is a nominal fee for parking.]

With more than 350 colleges and universities in attendance, and upwards of 10,000 students and parents expected to stream through the doors of the Coliseum (if only the NY Islanders could draw nearly as well), the frenzy to gather information, speak with college representatives, and one-up classmates who may have missed a booth or neglected to fill out a request for a Viewbook, begins.

Did we say stream in the doors? What we should have said was, like salmon swimming upstream. The crowds. The lines. The sheer madness of where do we go, who do we talk to, what should we ask, are we ever going to make it through this day, let alone the college application and admissions process?

As the late clothier, Sy Syms used to say, "an educated consumer is our best customer!" And so it follows, that a student -- and his or her parents -- who come to the College Fair prepared, forewarned, and armed with the necessary essentials to successfully navigate the Fair -- from its workshops on financial aid to its informal meetings with college admissions officers -- will get the most out of this crazy, angst-ridden day.

And how to prepare for the College Fair, you may ask?

Well, the first step -- and this is crucial -- is to pick up a copy of The School Guide's Long Island College Conference Manual. The College Conference Manual can be viewed HERE, digitally. Hard copies will be available in your high school's Guidance Office approximately two (2) weeks before the Fair. Get a copy (before they're all gone), read it, study it, plot your course, plan your day, see who's who and what's what, and be ready!

Learn about the Information Sessions. Review the floor plan, so you know exactly where to find the colleges that interest you. Complete Student Response Cards IN ADVANCE of the Fair. Scan the QR Codes with your smart phone and avoid the hassle of waiting on endless lines. Save time. Save energy. Save what little is left of your sanity!

Be sure to take a copy of the College Conference Manual with you to the Long Island College Fair on October 2. It will be your road map to a meaningful, exciting, relatively relaxing day at the Fair.

As a college-bound high school student, or the stressed out parent of one, in the midst of that perfect storm of preparing college applications, visiting college campuses, and drafting countless essays and personal statements, you are on a need to know basis.

The College Conference Manual gives you what you need to know, before you go!

Okay. So there won't be any all-day ride bracelets or cotton candy at this Fair. [If, however, you stand in just the right place, with a favorable breeze wafting from the bowels of the Nassau Coliseum, you can just about smell the elephants in residence from the most recent appearance of the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus!]

The 2011 Long Island National College Fair may not be The Greatest Show on Earth but, unless you're planning on going to Clown College (and even then), the Nassau Coliseum is the place to be -- for children of all college-bound ages -- on Sunday, October 2!
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Check out the honorable mention of College Connection on page 63 of School Guide's College Conference Manual. Mention College Conference Manual when calling College Connection, and receive a 10% discount on all college planning services.

See you at the College Fair!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of The College Whisperer.
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Comments? Questions for The College Whisperer?
Write us at info@TheCollegeWhisperer.com

The road to college begins at College Connection. 516-345-8766 Call us TODAY for a FREE telephone consultation, and get started down that road to college admission success!