Greenwich Academy College Workbook Class of 2025
Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Important Information What’s Important for Students, College Counselors, and Parents Ten Persistent Myths of the College Process Advice from Seniors to Juniors Advice from Seniors to Junior Parents 11 Habits for Parents to Develop
4 5 7 8 9 10
2. MEETINGS ▪ ▪
One-on-One Meetings Workshops
12 13
3. STANDARDIZED TESTING ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Standardized Testing Comparing SAT v ACT SAT/ACT Concordance Table Registration and Test Dates Test Prep: If, When, and How? Test Score FAQs
14 14 16 17 18 19
4. COLLEGE RESEARCH ▪
Sources of Information
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5. COLLEGE VISITS AND INTERVIEWS ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Arranging a College Visit What to Think About College Visit Reflections College Visit Lists by Region Interviews Sample Interview Questions
24 25 27 28 35 37
6. HOW COLLEGES DECIDE ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Objective Criteria Subjective Criteria Demonstrated Interest Colleges that Factor Demonstrated Interest into their Decisions
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7. USING CATEGORIES TO BUILD A BALANCED LIST ▪ ▪
Our Coding Process Coding Categories
44 45
8. APPLICATIONS ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Types of Application Deadlines Some Early Action Schools Some Early Decision II Schools Application Processing The Essays Activities Section and Additional Information Recommendations
46 48 49 50 51 54 55
9. FOR STUDENTS CONSIDERING COLLEGE ATHLETICS
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10. FOR STUDENTS CONSIDERING THE ARTS
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11. PAYING FOR COLLEGE ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Types of Financial Assistance The Relationship Between Financial Aid and Admissions The Student Aid Index (SAI) FA Applicant Checklist Lists of No Loan and Merit Aid Schools Finding Other Sources of Financial Assistance
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1. INTRODUCTION IMPORTANT INFORMATION Mr. Patrick Dwyer
203.625.8945
pdwyer@greenwichacademy.org
Ms. Sarah Maliakel
203.552.4491
smaliakel@greenwichacademy.org
Ms. Reed Minor
203.485.4003
rminor@greenwichacademy.org
Ms. Rachel Powers
203.552.4429
rpowers@greenwichacademy.org
Ms. Sally Duval
203.552.4454
sduval@greenwichacademy.org
Greenwich Academy CEEB Code Number:
070235
Greenwich Academy 200 North Maple Avenue Greenwich, CT 06830 203-625-8900
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS ●
Showing up prepared for one-on-one college meetings and workshops.
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Reading email messages sent from the College Counseling Office and responding, if needed.
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Devoting plenty of time to college assignments.
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Using the GA College Counseling Workbook and Scoir as tools to guide you through the process.
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Meeting the College Counseling Office’s deadlines.
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Keeping the College Counseling Office informed about application plans.
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Knowing the specific deadlines, testing requirements, and interview protocol for each school to which you are applying. (Check the website first, then call the admissions office directly if you have questions.)
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Being responsible for completing and submitting the following to each college: application fees, the application, supplements, and official score reports through your accounts on the ACT or SAT websites.
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Securing teacher recommendations (in person) by the deadline prescribed by the College Counseling Office (typically early June).
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Proofreading your college essays. Teachers and the College Counseling Office will focus on the message, voice, and appropriateness of the writing, so be sure to correct the mechanical errors yourself (or have a trusted editor help).
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Being sure each application is complete and correct before submitting it.
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Keeping your parents informed about the search process.
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Keeping your college information confidential.
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Working hard and concentrating on doing your best in your academic pursuits.
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Remembering this is, above all, your search!
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR COLLEGE COUNSELORS ●
Being accessible to students and parents to help guide them, step-by-step, through this process.
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Seeking out answers to questions students may have about a particular college or university that they cannot answer on their own.
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Maintaining relationships with college admissions officers to better understand what colleges are looking for, and monitoring and supporting all students’ applications throughout the process.
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Meeting all deadlines (as long as students have) in submitting GA’s materials.
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Offering students suggestions and guidance about colleges based on the preferences they express.
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Helping students create a balanced and realistic list of colleges they would be happy to attend.
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Helping students make informed decisions about potential early applications, and helping them navigate the waitlist process.
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Keeping all students’ college matters confidential.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR PARENTS ▪
Supporting and encouraging your student, offering advice and guidance.
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Remembering that this decision is, above all, the student’s.
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Being open to new ideas and suggestions on colleges to consider.
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Helping your student understand that there is more than one college that is appropriate for her and where she can be happy.
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Supporting an ethical approach to the admissions process—students are expected to complete their own applications.
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Keeping your student’s college matters confidential.
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10 PERSISTENT MYTHS OF THE COLLEGE PROCESS 10. Apply now; you can always visit when you’re admitted. Many colleges weigh visits or other contact as part of your admission profile. If you are taking the trouble to apply to a college, be sure you treat it like your first choice. 9. The score ranges for admitted students on a college’s website will help determine your chances. Remember that those ranges include all students admitted with testing, including ones with hooks. Look at the higher end of the score range for an indication, if at all. 8. If a school is sending you mail or a quick application, you can get in. It’s in a college’s best interest to receive as many applications as possible, so colleges cast wide nets when reaching out to students to see who will apply. Some of those students are qualified; some are not. 7. Colleges hold grudges against or unfairly favor certain high schools; colleges have quotas of students from each high school. Colleges look to build classes, and they will accept students to fulfill their needs, regardless of high school. Numbers of admissions offers from the same institution can vary dramatically from year to year based on what that college wants and the strength of the students in the group. 6. Senior grades aren’t important. Grades received before a college renders a decision are important for admission, and grades received after are important for keeping that offer of admission. 5. It’s a good idea to “game” the system (for example, apply to a less selective program within a school and then transfer, or designate a major you aren’t interested in, hoping it will help). Colleges are looking to fill their majors and special programs with students who are genuinely invested, and will look closely at prior interest and involvement in that field. And, within some universities, it can be extremely difficult to transfer to another program. 4. Colleges weigh the subjective factors (activities, the essay, etc.) as much as the objective ones (transcript and scores). The personal aspects of a student’s profile come into play only if that student meets the school’s objective standards, except in rare cases of students with extreme extenuating circumstances. 3. A school’s prestige has a direct relationship to the quality of the education and its resources. Equating prestige and the quality of students’ experience at a college is erroneous, as many statistics and anecdotes show. 2. College admissions is a crapshoot. With a thorough understanding of a college’s admissions standards and the profile of a student within her high school, college admission is usually quite predictable. 1. There is ONE school where you will be happiest. Once you’ve determined a good fit, you will find several schools that meet those criteria!
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ADVICE FROM SENIORS TO JUNIORS ●
People will share with you all kinds of opinions on colleges but you have to think for yourself.
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Get beyond what a college looks like—it’s not enough to base a decision on.
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Use your summer to get applications done.
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Be careful what you see first. If you see the one you think you’ll love best first, and you do fall in love, you won’t give anything else a real chance. So start with schools that are a little different and not as tough to get into so you know what’s out there.
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Just because you haven’t heard of a school doesn’t mean it’s not a good school.
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Don’t be tied to just one school. You really can like more than one place…
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Keep things to yourself if you can. But, if you have to share, be really careful what you say. The school you’re making fun of might be the one a friend is thinking about.
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Be prepared for your plans to totally change, and for what you think now to be turned upside down.
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ADVICE FROM SENIORS TO JUNIOR PARENTS ●
Don’t make every dinner table conversation about college.
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Don’t be scared or we’ll get scared.
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Don’t spend a lot of time thinking and talking about my competition in the class.
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Don’t talk about my college process with your friends.
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Don’t spend the whole drive down to a college prepping for an interview there.
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Don't stress. I know this sounds cliché, but it's the best advice I can give. This whole "college thing" is a learning process, not only for the student but for the parents, too. Worry is wasteful, and doesn't help students get into college. So, basically what I'm saying is, work hard but don't worry.
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What really helped me not stress in this process was starting it early. Start looking at the book—make a list, start visiting junior spring—and definitely start the application and have the common app essay finished before school starts in September.
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I would strongly suggest doing college visits over spring break. Though I play a sport and know how awful it was to give up my entire spring break, I have reaped the rewards as a senior not stressing about missing school.
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This might be really obvious but just be extremely supportive. It’s a stressful year for both kids and parents. It may seem small, but your support makes a huge difference.
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Do not push a visit to a certain school. Let her choose where she wants to apply. It is her life.
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11 HABITS FOR PARENTS TO DEVELOP Parents, your attitudes will have a profound impact on your student’s college process, practically and psychologically. Below are ways to prepare yourself to support your student so that this process gives her options and self-respect, and keeps your relationship intact. These are based on many years of observing and listening to families. 1. Educate yourself about the admissions climate. The more you learn about the current state of admissions, the better. This workbook includes lists of websites that can help you get up to speed. 2. Educate yourself about individual schools. There are over 100 colleges admitting fewer than 35% of students, and several hundred more admitting under 75%. In any given year, GA students apply to approximately 150 different colleges. Get beyond the “usual suspects” and learn about them. (The Fiske Guide is a great place to start; another good resource is Colleges that Change Lives.) The more quickly you realize how many great options are out there, the more relaxed you will feel. 3. Acknowledge the change. Admissions—the complexity and the difficulty—is drastically different from when you went through it, or even from ten years ago. Toss out all of your assumptions about which kinds of students go to which kinds of schools; everything has changed. 4. Know your student’s profile. Using your student’s profile (transcript, scores, place in the class) and our input (especially our coding), figure out what range of schools are the most likely to yield positive results and build a list with that in mind. 5. Manage expectations down. Many parents fear that if they urge their student to be conservative in her choices, it will make her feel undervalued. This is usually not the case; most students are very practical, understand the admissions climate, and would rather hear the hard truth on the front end than get their hopes up and have them dashed later. Ultimately, your student needs to hear that you are happy with her as is, and will be happy with her college results whatever they may be. 6. Depersonalize. Students tend to take rejection (or the prediction of rejection) very personally. If that happens, point to all the things that are out of their control like application numbers and who else is applying. You can also point out the pressures each college is under to “build” a class from all fifty states and many countries, with gender balance, artists, athletes, musicians, students of color, alumni children, etc. Believe it or not, hearing this feels better to them than wondering what they are lacking individually! 7. Suppress snobbery. Probably the greatest enemy of peace of mind in the college process is concern about status. We all have innate biases, but now is the time to confront them head-on for the sake of your child. She may end up at one of the places you initially snubbed, and those words will stay with her through college and beyond.
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8. Don’t talk to others about your student’s process. There is a direct relationship between stress and the amount parents share with other parents about their child’s process. Parents who simply refuse to discuss and compare their children, and who consciously remove themselves from situations where others are discussing theirs, are much calmer throughout and content with results. 9. Put on a game face. Students are desperate for approval from their parents on the colleges they’re considering. They’ll try to intuit your opinion from your words and body language. If you truly want your student to lead the process, try to appear neutral until she asks you directly what you think. Even then, remember that your words will influence her, probably more than you imagine. (A raised eyebrow might be interpreted as fiery contempt!) 10. Put it in perspective. Though finding a college is a very important decision, students need reassurance that the success of their whole life doesn’t depend on where they go (they often feel it does). Remind them about the many things that they will experience beyond it, and all the things that make up a happy life. 11. The bottom line. GA graduates love their college experiences. Rarely does a college process—good or bad—have any bearing on how the student feels once she gets there. We have hundreds of anecdotes to back it up. So you can feel comfortable saying, and saying often, “It all works out.” Exhaust that phrase.
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2. MEETINGS Over the course of the spring and fall, students will periodically meet with the College Counseling Office in both one-on-one and in workshop groups. To take full advantage of our support, students need to attend every meeting. Of course, students are welcome to schedule an informal meeting or stop by the office any time to address individual questions and concerns.
ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS MEETING #1: By Spring Break Discuss student survey, initial college interests, potential visits, and general research tools. Review testing plans. MEETING #2: After Spring Break but Before the End of the Year Follow-up meeting. Student describes visits/research and the criteria that are emerging as the most important in choosing colleges. CCO offers suggestions of additional schools. Confirm spring testing dates. SUMMER Student submits Common App Activities pdf to CCO. An updated transcript and a coded working list of colleges is shared with family to help prepare for future visits. MEETING #3: Early September Report on summer visits/activities and refinements of personal criteria. CCO reviews Common Application, gauges the balance of the list, and offers suggestions if needed. Discuss fall testing options and application timelines and deadlines. MEETING #4: Mid-late October Student signs off on official list once it is deemed balanced and appropriate. After this point, changes should be made to this list only if they are discussed with the College Counseling Office first. INFORMAL MEETINGS We encourage parents and students to come in aside from these required meeting times for consultation and application help. Please contact Sally Duval to schedule meeting times.
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WORKSHOPS During the junior year, the College Counseling Office conducts separate workshops for students and their parents. Students’ meetings are scheduled during their free periods while parent Zoom meetings alternate between morning and evening to accommodate as many parents as possible. Students are required to attend; parents are strongly encouraged. WORKSHOP #1 (College Night) ● An introduction to Team College ● An introduction to Scoir ● Research tools ● A general timeline WORKSHOP #2 (April 23rd at 7pm) ● Learning how the admission process works ● Understanding your admission profile ● Highlighting special talents in the admission process WORKSHOP #3 (Students only, late April) ● Summer To-Do List ● Common Application and personal essay writing WORKSHOP #4 (May 28th at 9:30am) ● Essay writing ● Teacher recommendations
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3. STANDARDIZED TESTING Testing requirements for college admission have certainly evolved in recent years. Therefore, it will be essential that students go directly to individual college admission websites to understand test requirements as colleges make decisions for the next admissions cycle. Starting in January/February of her junior year, each student will work with her college counselor to put together a reasonable testing schedule that works to her strengths. Here are the three “categories” of test policies you need to know: TEST OPTIONAL (TO) The vast majority of colleges and universities remain committed to test optional (TO) admissions. When filling out the Common Application, students will decide whether or not to submit test scores to a particular college in consultation with their college counselor. A very small number of TO colleges (Auburn and Hampton are two examples) require testing for applicants below a certain GPA as recalculated by the college. TESTING REQUIRED These colleges currently require test scores of all applicants: ● ● ● ●
Georgetown Georgia Tech MIT Purdue
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Service academies University of Florida system University of Georgia
TEST FREE/TEST BLIND These colleges currently do not consider testing at all in their evaluation: ● ●
California State University system University of California system
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Vassar WPI
COMPARING SAT vs. ACT Every college that requires a standardized test to which GA students apply accepts either the ACT or SAT, creating equivalency with a conversion table. Though most students perform comparably on either, some students do better on one. How to decide which is better for you? GA’s College Counseling Office offers opportunities for sophomores and juniors to take the PSAT and a practice ACT. Some students try both the SAT and ACT (typically, some time in Junior spring) and then decide which to pursue. Many test prep companies also have ways to assess which test is more appropriate.
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GENERAL DIFFERENCES (courtesy of Summit Educational Group) Digital SAT
ACT
Key Differences
Format & Length
● 2 sections, 2 modules per section ● Adaptive questions in 2nd module ● Reading & Writing, Math ● Total Testing Time: 2 Hours 14 minutes
● 5 Sections ● English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing ● Total Testing Time: 2 hours 55 minutes (not including 40 minute essay) ● Pencil/paper format
Due to its adaptive format, the SAT is a shorter test. The digital SAT also provides more time per question than the ACT does, but the SAT questions are generally more challenging. Some students may prefer one test over the other, but most students score comparably.
Scoring
● Total Score: 400-1600 ● Reading & Writing: 200-800 ● Math: 200-800
● Composite Score: 1-36 (average of 4 test scores) ● English: 1-36 ● Math: 1-36 ● Reading: 1-36 ● Science: 1-36 ● Writing: 2-12 (not averaged in to composite score)
The ACT Composite score is the average of your four test scores, so a change in one test score may not be reflected in the composite. The SAT total score is the sum of the test scores. Within each ACT section, each question is worth the same scoring value. On the digital SAT, questions have different scoring values based on their difficulty and the skills required to solve them.
SAT Reading & Writing/ ACT Reading & English
Reading & Writing Section ● 1 question per short text (25-150 words) ● 64 total minutes (32 mins per module) ● 25-29 Reading Questions ● 19-27 Writing Questions
Reading Section ● 35 mins for 40 questions ● 4 longer texts (700-900 words each)
The ACT has separate sections for Reading & English, whereas the SAT combines the same assessment into one section (Reading & Writing). The ACT Reading & English sections are passage- based, with 10-15 questions per text. The digital SAT is paragraph-based, with only 1 question per text. The digital SAT offers more time per question but requires more complex analysis of texts.
Math
● Pre-algebra through basic trigonometry ● Basic formulas provided ● About 25% of questions are “student produced response” questions that do not provide answer choices
● Pre-algebra through basic trigonometry ● Extensive range of concepts tested. ● Formulas not provided ● 5 answer choices per question (rest of the test has 4)
The SAT and ACT math tests cover similar ranges of concepts. The ACT requires a broad, basic knowledge of many concepts. The SAT requires a deep knowledge of a core set of concepts, particularly algebra. The digital SAT offers about 38% more time per question than the ACT does.
Science
● The SAT does not have a standalone Science section and does not directly assess science knowledge.
● The ACT Science section is primarily a reasoning test, but it occasionally requires prior science knowledge.
The ACT Science test measures interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. The test requires outside scientific knowledge on a few questions per test. The SAT does not include a Science section.
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English Section ● 45 mins for 75 questions ● Revise & edit longer texts (300-350 words)
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SAT/ACT CONCORDANCE TABLE
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REGISTRATION AND TEST DATES REGISTRATION ● ● ● ●
It is the student’s responsibility to register for all tests. Register for the SAT at www.collegeboard.com. Register for the ACT at www.act.org. Greenwich Academy’s School Code (CEEB Code) is 070235. You cannot register for any test without providing GA’s school code.
2023-2024 NATIONAL TEST DATES AS PUBLISHED NOV, 2023 SAT Test Date
Registration Deadline
Dec 2
Nov 21
Mar 9
Feb 27
May 4
Apr 23
Jun 1
May 21
Aug TBD Oct TBD Nov TBD
Test Date
ACT Registration Deadline
Dec 9
Nov 17
Feb 10
Jan 19
Apr 13
Mar 22
Jun 8
May 17
Jul 13
Jun 21
Sept TBD Oct TBD 2024 GREENWICH ACADEMY OFFICIAL IN-SCHOOL TEST DATES (Registration via GA) ● ●
SAT - March 5th ACT - April 9th
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TEST PREP: IF, WHEN, AND HOW? Families often wrestle with if, when and how to approach preparing for standardized tests – especially in this environment as many schools continue test-optional policies. There is a wide array of preparation strategies, ranging from prep books to single-day workshops to private tutoring. As you might expect, costs can range considerably depending on the approach you choose. First, here are some observations over time about test prep. ● There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Students have experienced great success across a range of strategies, even if they opted for a lower-cost, limited, or targeted approach. ● Before you create a testing plan and a test-prep strategy, take some time to talk through, with us, the role of testing in your student’s college search. Given the rest of her profile, for example, we can help you understand the implications of certain scores for her college list. ● We urge caution in taking standardized tests prematurely. The practice tests we administer in the sophomore and junior years are intended to be just that – practice – before the testing process begins in earnest in the junior spring. ● We also caution families against devoting too much time to early preparation. These efforts are often wasted – sometimes in a misguided effort to “get testing over with” – and they pull the students’ time away from a much more significant factor in the college process: their grades. Introducing test prep too early can force the student to borrow time from one obligation to meet another, at the peril of her grades, sleep, and sanity. ● The vast majority of our students, regardless of when they begin testing or even begin preparing, produce their highest scores in the fall of their senior year.
RESOURCES TO CONSIDER ● Greenwich Academy partners with area test prep organizations to provide our students with reasonably-priced, convenient evening test prep sessions in February, March, and August. ● Both the College Board (www.collegeboard.org) and the ACT (www.act.org) offer practice tests on their websites. ● Khan Academy has partnered with the College Board to offer free, comprehensive test prep. https://www.khanacademy.org/sat ● Greenwich Library offers periodic test prep workshops available to all cardholders. If you have concerns about your student’s testing and prep plan, or how best to use your resources in this regard, please let us know.
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TEST SCORE FAQs What are “official” test scores? Every college will accept official scores sent directly to them from the testing agency (College Board or ACT); many colleges might be test optional but, if you choose to submit testing, require official score reports to complete your application. Last cycle, these colleges included (but are not limited to): Clemson, Georgetown, U Georgia, UMaryland, USC, etc. How do I report test scores? Students will self-report any test scores they want on their Common Application. If a college requires official test scores for the application, that will be stated in their admission materials. It is always the student’s responsibility to keep track of official score requests and send those official score reports to colleges. The College Counseling Office does not send score reports. Do test scores appear on a student’s GA transcript? No. What are the latest test dates for admission consideration? Generally, October (and usually November) can be factored into Early Decision/Action consideration; December for Regular Decision consideration. Do any colleges ask to see all the testing a student has taken? Yes! There are some colleges that ask applicants to send all standardized test scores, including Georgetown, while others suggest sending the ‘breadth of all testing,’ including Carnegie Mellon and Rice. Read the testing requirements for each college carefully. Why would a college want to see all testing? Plain and simple: to discourage students from taking too many tests. They worry about student exhaustion. It’s also an issue of equity; colleges don’t want to give an advantage to students whose families can afford for them to take it multiple times when most students may only take it once or twice. How many test sittings are too many? We strongly urge students not to take more than three of one test (ACT or SAT) and four overall (ACT and SAT). Most GA students graduate having taken two or three tests overall. What is “superscoring”? Superscoring is when colleges pick your “best” scores from different test dates to arrive at your highest score combination. For the SAT, that means using the highest EBRW and Math scores, and for the ACT it’s a little more complicated. All colleges use a student’s best Composite score. However, the practice of “superscoring” the ACT—using sub scores (English, Reading, Math, Science) from different test dates varies from college to college. The Testing page on the Common Application is formatted so you can report your best sections from different test dates. When a college says it looks at only the superscored SAT or ACT, is that really true? Aren’t they keeping in mind the lower scores when they make decisions? Colleges want to report the highest possible composite scores when they issue profiles of applying and admitted students. Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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4. COLLEGE RESEARCH To put together a list of schools that suit your strengths and interests, it’s crucial that you spend time studying up on colleges. Students who are willing to “do their homework” end up with lists of colleges that they genuinely like and that have the balance needed for successful outcomes. There are two guiding principles to the research aspect of your college journey: ▪ Don’t rely too heavily on any one type of information source. Your opinions should be shaped by a combination of hard data, word of mouth, and personal experiences. (Remember, someone has a horror story about everything!) ▪ You must put in the time to do your research.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION COLLEGE VISITS Since the pandemic, colleges have substantially increased their virtual offerings to prospective students and families. We have found that the opportunities made available for online campus tours, information sessions, zoom chats, webinars, and Q&A sessions with students and faculty have been effective ways to learn about schools. Consider this the “field” part of your research. For details on how to make the most out of this experience, see the “Visits and Interviewing” section. COLLEGE REPS Every fall, around 100 representatives from colleges all over the world come to visit us. In addition to checking in with our office, they meet with students, providing information and answering questions. This also can be an opportunity for a student to have a personal interaction with someone who may be reading her application. SCOIR Scoir has a powerful search tool that students can use to filter and manage their prospective college list throughout the process. COLLEGE SEARCH ENGINES To help jump start your college search, we will show you how to use some of the college search engines out there in your first College Workshop, including Scoir. Collegeboard.com and collegenet.com are two other sites. ● ● ● ●
College Navigator http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ Peterson’s Educational Portal: www.petersons.com College Board: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search Fiske Guide to Colleges: www.fiskeguide.com
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COLLEGE WEBSITES The Internet has revolutionized the way students search for colleges. College websites are amazing sources of information. Consulting the admission office web pages for information on visiting (virtually or in person) and applying only scratches the surface of what is available to you. Campus newspapers, residence hall floor plans, virtual tours, faculty/course websites and student organization home pages provide portals into life at a particular college. Websites with virtual tours and content created by college students offer additional insight into an individual campus: ● ● ● ● ●
Campus Reel displays short, vetted videos submitted by students from 320 colleges, focusing on dorm life, tailgate parties, library study areas, and cafeteria food. YouVisit offers tours of more than 600 U.S. schools. The tours offer students the opportunity to ask questions in real time to simulate the college tour experience. CampusTours provides tours of more than 1,800 schools in the United States as well as tours of schools in the UK, Canada, and abroad. YoUniversity provides advanced searches for “safest campus,” “most diverse campus,” etc. For Historically Black Colleges and Universities: the Chicago HBCU Alliance offers resources and a virtual fair for about 50 HBCUs across the country.
MEANINGFUL RANKINGS AND DATA POINTS This does not include the “U.S. News and World Report” rankings, which educators have repeatedly debunked as based on criteria unrelated to educational quality. ● ● ● ● ●
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Peruse the directory of Fulbright Scholars. Look at alumni satisfaction surveys (one example is Gallup Alumni Survey) that provide data on how alumni rate their college experiences, by school, in a variety of areas. Review the list of schools, by discipline, that send the highest percentage of alumni on to Ph.D. programs. Consider which schools have produced the highest number of Fortune 500 CEOs. In a recent study, University of Wisconsin topped the list. Read which colleges produce the most Peace Corps Volunteers and Teach for America educators. While these lists are not compiled every year, they are still effective ways of seeing the success at which colleges send students to two selective nonprofit organizations. Review the sending institutions to top graduate programs — for example, the list of colleges represented in Harvard Law School’s first year class this past fall. For students with a specific graduate-school related career goal, this is a great way to see the many undergraduate pathways to getting there. *Credit to Lakeside School for compiling the aforementioned resources.
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BOOKS There are almost as many college guides as there are colleges. What follows is a short list of texts that we have found most helpful. We have many of these books in the College Counseling Office, and you are welcome to borrow them. You also can purchase these texts in stores or online. THE INDISPENSABLE BOOKS: The Fiske Guide to Colleges. (Edward Fiske) The book that has proven the most useful to families, year in and year out. It contains balanced and readable narratives of the most popular schools. The “If You Apply” section is very helpful as it includes deadlines, testing requirements, and common overlap schools. Be aware that the SAT ranges published are broad and not especially useful without the context of the GA applicant experience. The College Finder. (Steven Antonoff) If you like lists, this is the book for you! The College Finder categorizes colleges in every way possible. Here are just a few of the college lists in this book: comprehensive architecture programs, strong presence of international students on campus, great residence halls, great on-campus art museums, for students who care about the world, for the socially liberal, unusually accessible teachers, for the clothes horse. This information is also available at Inside College (www.collegexpress.com/lists/). OTHER BOOKS ON THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS: Colleges That Change Lives. (Loren Pope) The subtitle of this book (40 Schools You Should Know About Even If You’re Not a Straight-A Student) says it all. Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years. (Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger) Two veteran college administrators from Washington University discuss transition to college issues for parents and children. Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding a College That’s Right for You. (Loren Pope) Pope discusses the true value of a college education, which should be judged by the quality of the student’s experience and not the sticker on the windshield. The Best 389 Colleges. A Princeton Review publication based on student responses to survey questions. The students will love the “rawness” of the commentary, but should not rely entirely on this book for information about a particular school; it tends to highlight the sensational and extreme responses gathered from the survey. There is Life After College: What Parents and Students Should Know ABout Navigating School to Prepare for Jobs of Tomorrow. (Jeffrey Selingo) Where You Go is Not Who You Are. (Frank Bruni) Bruni takes a thoughtful and sometimes critical look at the college-obsessed culture of selectivity and prestige. Who Gets in and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions (Jeffrey Selingo). Selingo embeds himself in several college admission offices during an admission cycle, and offers historical context on today’s “admission industrial complex.” Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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PEOPLE Over the next few months, dozens of people will offer you opinions of colleges, some truly insightful, some downright wrong. The trick is to figure out who can give you the most up-to-date, detailed, and unbiased views. GA alums currently enrolled in college tend to be excellent resources since they understand what their colleges are like now, as opposed to how they may have been fifty, twenty, or even five years ago (and, with so much changing all the time, this matters!). If you would like to connect with an alum at a certain college, we can help set that up. And remember: Talk to people with firsthand experience of the schools you are considering, but form your own opinions about a college instead of relying solely on what other people tell you!
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5. COLLEGE VISITS & INTERVIEWS One of the most valuable components of your college research is visiting colleges. A simple drive-through won’t give you much insight, so plan on spending a few hours on each campus learning about what makes it unique. Considering this might be the place where you’ll be for the next four years, that time and effort will be worth your while.
ARRANGING A COLLEGE VISIT Check the admission office’s website. It will contain the most up-to-date information for visitors, such as schedules of campus tours, information sessions and interviews, as well as school-specific details such as whether you need an appointment for a tour, directions to campus, and parking availability. Some pointers: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Don’t try to schedule more than two colleges in one day. Spend time on campus away from the admission office and tour guide. This unofficial part of your visit is very important as it allows you an unfiltered perspective on the school. If you have a specific athletic, artistic, or academic interest, ask the admission office if there is anyone on campus with whom you can meet to learn more about the program. Enjoy the quality travel and bonding time in the car with your family!
ONCE YOU’RE ON CAMPUS TOURS All colleges offer campus tours. A good tour will be informative and fun. A good tour guide will walk backwards without falling, and will reply to your questions honestly. You should see the interiors of buildings as well as exteriors. Sample questions for your tour guide: a) How large are all of your classes? b) Are your courses taught by graduate assistants or professors? c) How restrictive is the core curriculum? d) What impact do fraternities/sororities have here? e) What do you think is the greatest shortcoming of the college? f) What do you like best about your experience here? g) Why did you choose to attend this school? INFORMATION SESSIONS These sessions usually are run by members of the admissions staff. You will find that they can answer most of your questions, and will give you a broad overview of the school. If you don't get a chance at an interview, you probably should attempt to meet at least one of the people running the session.
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WHAT TO THINK ABOUT SETTING: ● Proximity to other colleges or cultural opportunities ● Access to transportation options for getting home CLASSROOM BUILDINGS AND LIBRARY: ● Up-to-date science labs/language labs ● Large/small/lecture hall classrooms ● Adequate library - open stacks, interlibrary loan ● Access to computers RESIDENCE HALLS: ● Location vis-à-vis dining rooms/classrooms ● Co-ed: by floor, suite, bathrooms ● Single-sex dorms/language dorms/student of color dorms/ honor dorms ● First-year student accommodations - clustered in dorms/randomly scattered ● Rooms: singles/doubles/triples/suites ● Dorm atmosphere: conducive to study, sleep, both FRATERNITIES AND SORORITIES: ● How they affect campus life ● Percentage of students involved FOOD: ● Variety in food plans ● Cooperative houses (where students do their own cooking) ACADEMIC CALENDAR: ● Term/trimester ● January/winter program ● Block scheduling EXTRACURRICULAR FACILITIES: ● Theater/dance: number of presentations per term, student-directed ● Music building: availability of lessons for non-music majors ● Athletic facilities: importance to campus life, co-ed facilities, opportunities for the non-jock (hiking, etc.) ● Newspaper, yearbook, literary magazine offices ALTERNATIVE STUDY PROGRAMS: ● Exchanges with other schools (term or year) ● Foreign study programs by school or by other affiliated schools ● Pass/fail program
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ACADEMIC ISSUES: ● Large classes: small group lectures or discussion groups ● Undergraduates taught by “academic stars” of college ● Undergraduates taught by graduate assistants or by professors POST-GRADUATE PLANS: ● Percentage of students going on to graduate study ● Placement services ● Percentage of students finding jobs in chosen field ATTRITION (# of students that leave the institution without graduating): ● After the first year? ● By senior year? ● More male than female drop out or vice versa STUDENT HEALTH CENTER: ● Facilities available? POTPOURRI (The “Unofficial” Visit): ● Visit specific departments (academic, athletic, etc.) and meet with professors, program directors, or coaches. ● Check bulletin boards for a sense of campus activities and events. ● Pick up student newspapers. ● Peruse recent yearbooks, if available. ● Eat a meal there. ● Talk to several students. ● Inquire about student government. ● Check websites.
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COLLEGE VISIT REFLECTIONS Get in the habit of recording your impressions of colleges you visit, either in person or virtually. It helps you remember what you liked or didn’t like, thereby informing your search as a whole. Your detailed impressions will help you immensely if you end up applying and, as is likely the case, need to write a “Why ‘X’ University” supplementary essay. Here are a few prompts to get you started. 1. What did I do on campus? Did I take a tour? Attend an information session? 2. Did I attend a class? Was it large? Small? How did the professor interact with the students, if at all? 3. Did I meet any students? What were they like? (Take down names and titles for reference.) 4. Did I have a meal? Did I get to see the surrounding area? 5. What did I like about campus? How is it arranged? 6. What programs appeal to me? 7. What did my parents think about it? 8. What impressed me the most? 9. What concerned me the most? 10. What other questions do I have about the school?
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COLLEGE VISIT LISTS BY REGION NORTHEASTERN COLLEGE VISITS Local (Within 25 miles of GA) Fairfield Manhattanville Sacred Heart Sarah Lawrence
Fairfield, CT Purchase, NY Fairfield, CT Bronxville, NY
Central Connecticut (Between 40 and 90 miles from GA) Storrs, CT UConn Hamden, CT Quinnipiac Hartford, CT Trinity Middletown, CT Wesleyan New Haven, CT Yale Coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island (Between 80 and 130 miles from GA) Providence, RI Brown New London, CT Connecticut College Providence, RI Providence College Providence, RI RISD Bristol, RI Roger Williams Newport, RI Salve Regina Norton, MA Wheaton New York City (Approximately 25 miles from GA) Upper West Side Barnard Upper West Side Columbia Eugene Lang - New School Greenwich Village Bronx Fordham Riverdale Manhattan Washington Square NYU Greenwich Village Parsons - New School New Jersey (Between 90 and 120 miles from GA) Ewing, NJ College of NJ Madison, NJ Drew New Brunswick Rutgers Princeton, NJ Princeton Urban Boston (Approximately 150 miles from GA) Back Bay Boston University Back Bay Emerson Cambridge Harvard Cambridge MIT Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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Northeastern
Huntington Avenue
Suburban Boston (Approximately 150 miles from GA) Wellesley, MA Babson Chestnut Hill, MA Boston College Waltham, MA Brandeis Medford, MA Tufts North Easton, MA Stonehill Wellesley, MA Wellesley Norton, MA Wheaton Central/Western Massachusetts (Within 125 miles of GA) Amherst, MA Amherst Worcester, MA Clark Amherst, MA Hampshire Worcester, MA Holy Cross Amherst, MA UMass South Hadley, MA Mt. Holyoke Northampton, MA Smith Eastern Upstate New York/Western MA (Between 100 and 150 miles of GA) Troy, NY Rensselaer Polytech Inst Saratoga Springs, NY Skidmore Schenectady, NY Union Poughkeepsie, NY Vassar Williamstown, MA Williams Central Upstate New York (Between 150 and 350 miles of GA) Hamilton, NY Colgate Ithaca, NY Cornell Clinton, NY Hamilton Oneonta, NY Hartwick Geneva, NY Hobart & William Smith Ithaca, NY Ithaca College Rochester, NY Rochester University Rocheter, NY Rochester Inst. Tech Syracuse, NY Syracuse Northern New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire (Between 200 and 350 miles of GA) Hanover, NH Dartmouth Middlebury, VT Middlebury Durham, NH UNH Canton, NY St. Lawrence Burlington, VT St. Michael’s Burlington, VT U. of Vermont
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Maine (Between 270 and 320 miles from GA) Lewiston, ME Bates Brunswick, ME Bowdoin Waterville, ME Colby Philadelphia (Approximately 115 miles from GA) Bryn Mawr, PA Bryn Mawr Center City Drexel Haverford, PA Haverford Center City UPenn Swarthmore, PA Swarthmore Philadelphia, PA Temple Villanova, PA Villanova Lehigh Valley (Approximately 90 miles from GA) Easton, PA Lafayette Bethlehem, PA Lehigh Allentown, PA Muhlenberg Central Pennsylvania (Between 150 and 225 miles from GA) Lewisburg, PA Bucknell Carlisle, PA Dickinson Lancaster, PA Franklin & Marshall Gettysburg, PA Gettysburg University Park, PA Penn State Baltimore (Approximately 200 miles from GA) Newark, DE Delaware Towson, MD Goucher Baltimore, MD Johns Hopkins Baltimore, MD Loyola U Maryland Washington, DC (Approximately 230 miles from GA) Tenleytown American Northeast Catholic Fairfax, VA George Mason Georgetown Georgetown Foggy Bottom George Washington Pleasant Plains Howard University
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SOUTHERN COLLEGE VISITS
U. of Miami
Florida
Rollins
Florida
Emory
Georgia
Oxford College, Emory
Georgia
U. of Georgia
Georgia
Spelman
Georgia
Tulane
Louisiana
Davidson
North Carolina
Duke
North Carolina
Elon
North Carolina
UNC
North Carolina
Wake Forest
North Carolina
College of Charleston
South Carolina
Furman
South Carolina
Rhodes
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Tennessee
U. of the South (Sewanee)
Tennessee
Rice
Texas
SMU
Texas
U. of Texas, Austin
Texas
Texas A &M
Texas
Trinity
Texas
James Madison
Virginia
Mary Washington
Virginia
University of Richmond
Virginia
Roanoke College
Virginia
University of Virginia
Virginia
Washington and Lee
Virginia
William and Mary
Virginia
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MIDWEST COLLEGE VISITS
U. of Chicago
Illinois
Depaul
Illinois
Lake Forest College
Illinois
Northwestern
Illinois
Indiana U., Bloomington
Indiana
Notre Dame
Indiana
Case Western Reserve
Ohio
College of Wooster
Ohio
Grinnell
Iowa
U. of Kansas, Lawrence
Kansas
Kalamazoo College
Michigan
U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Michigan
Macalester
Minnesota
Carleton
Minnesota
Washington U, St Louis
Missouri
Case Western Reserve
Ohio
Denison
Ohio
Kenyon
Ohio
Miami, Ohio
Ohio
Oberlin
Ohio
Ohio State
Ohio
Ohio Wesleyan
Ohio
College of Wooster
Ohio
U. of Wisconsin, Madison
Wisconsin
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WESTERN COLLEGE VISITS
UC Berkeley
California
UC Irvine
California
UCLA
California
UC Santa Barbara
California
UC Santa Cruz
California
UC San Diego
California
California Institute of Tech
California
Claremont McKenna
California
Harvey Mudd
California
Loyola Marymount
California
Occidental
California
Pepperdine
California
Pitzer
California
Pomona
California
Santa Clara
California
Scripps
California
U. of Southern California
California
Stanford
California
University of San Diego
California
U. of San Francisco
California
Colorado College
Colorado
U. of Colorado, Boulder
Colorado
University of Denver
Colorado
U of Montana
Montana
Lewis and Clark
Oregon
Reed
Oregon
U. of Puget Sound
Washington
Whitman
Washington
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COLLEGE TRIPS ABROAD
Queen’s University
Canada
McGill University
Canada
U of Toronto
Canada
U of Western Ontario
Canada
Dalhousie
Canada
U of British Columbia
Canada
Oxford University
England
London School of Economics
England
University of Cambridge
England
University College, London
England
Goldsmith’s London
England
University of Warwick
England
Durham University
England
University of York
England
American University of Paris
France
Trinity College, Dublin
Ireland
U of Edinburgh
Scotland
U of St. Andrews
Scotland
(also joint degree program with W & M)
U of Glasgow
Scotland
Universidad de Navarra
Spain
NYU Abu Dhabi
UAE
Education City, Doha
Qatar
(includes branches of Carnegie Mellon, UCL, Georgetown School of Foreign Service, Northwestern)
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INTERVIEWS Every college has a different approach to interviews. Some require them; others don’t even offer them. Some only have on-campus interviews; others have networks of interviewers who will meet with students in and around Greenwich. Some are given by current students; some are given by admission officers. Some colleges offer them to students at any grade level; others give students a window of time in which to do it (late summer and fall of senior year, typically). Some weigh interviews in their decisions; others are designed just to answer students’ questions about the school. STEP I: CALL OR CHECK THE WEBSITE TO FIND OUT: ● Do they give interviews? ● Are they required? ● Are they evaluative (will be figured into the decision) or informational? ● Where are they conducted (on campus, locally, by Zoom)? ● When do they need to be done by? ● How to reserve a place STEP II: GET PREPARED ● Review possible interview questions (below). ● Attend GA’s interview workshop/presentation in April. ● Find out more about the college so you can give informed responses. ● Think of THREE of your attributes you especially want to get across. Try to convey them over the course of the interview, and return to them if the conversation trails off. Things like: o A favorite subject o An activity you’re devoted to o A value that’s important to you o A cause you care deeply about ● Think of a few questions that you can ask your interviewer. ● Plan an appropriate outfit. STEP III: PRACTICE ● Look over the questions a few times—imagine what else they might ask. ● Say the answers aloud; talk slowly and try to avoid expressions like “like,” “you know,” and “um.” Think about any bad habits you need to be aware of like nail-biting, hair twirling, paper shredding, and not making eye contact. ● Ask your counselor, parent, or friend to conduct a mock interview. STEP IV: INTERVIEW ● Be yourself! Don’t be what you think the admissions officer wants or expects from applicants to his college. State frankly your interests, thoughts, hopes and concerns so that the interviewer can see you as an individual. ● Relax: Interviewers have usually done a lot of interviews so don’t be self-conscious about awkward moments or silences—they happen! ● Remember that interviewers are looking for things to like about you, not ways to trip you up. ● Answer confidently and end your sentences decisively. ● Avoid answering questions with “yes” or “no.” Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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●
Have a conversation. The more of a conversation you have with the interviewer, the better!
STEP V: FOLLOW UP ● Jot down notes on what you discussed; the time, date, and place of the interview; and the name and title of your interviewer. ● Be sure to write thank-you notes to your interviewer or anyone else who has helped you in the process.
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SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU: ● Which courses are you taking as a senior? ● What is your favorite subject? Why? ● What have been your favorite courses? Why? ● What are your least favorite? Why? ● What classes have you found most challenging? ● Describe a time when you overcame an academic challenge and how. ● In which activities are you involved? What are the most important to you and why? ● Describe a school assignment/project you particularly enjoyed. ● Describe your school and your experience there. What are highlights and what would you change? ● What are some favorite books or authors? ● Describe the last thing you read for pleasure. ● What do you do in your free time? ● If you had a whole day and you could do anything with it, what would you do? ● How would you describe yourself as a person? ● How would your teachers describe you? ● How would your friends describe you? ● What do you think is the issue of greatest importance in the world today? ● Describe the place you live in. ● What’s an accomplishment you’re especially proud of? ● How have you changed during high school? ● What can you bring to our campus that is unique? ● How have you spent your summers? ● Describe a significant experience that shaped you. ● Describe a time when you made an unpopular choice. ● What do you hope to get out of college? ● What are you looking for in a college? ABOUT THAT COLLEGE: ● How did you become interested in this school? ● What specifically captured your interest about this school? ● What has your contact been with the school so far? ● How has the experience been since you got on campus? TO ASK YOUR INTERVIEWER: ● What are your most popular or best academic departments? ● How accessible are faculty? ● How popular is going abroad? How easy is it to arrange? What are the most popular destinations? When do most students do it? ● How do internships work? ● How easy is it to double or triple major? ● How would you describe a typical student at your college? ● What are career services like? Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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● ● ● ● ● ●
What kinds of students thrive at your college? How much do students use the surrounding area? In your mind, what makes this place different from places it’s compared to? Did you attend this college? If so, what was your experience? If not, how is it different from where you went? What do you think is the most controversial issue on campus this year?
DON’T ASK: ● Things that can be answered in the catalog or from the website!
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6. HOW COLLEGES DECIDE Ever wonder what happens once an admissions officer sits down with your application folder? That person (and probably a few others) will scrutinize the whole file carefully, looking for specific factors. Here’s what they consider, in order of importance.
OBJECTIVE CRITERIA These criteria are by far the most significant; if you don’t meet a college’s particular standards in these areas, chances are slim you will be admitted. The exception is if you provide a hook (to be explained later). RIGOR OF CURRICULUM Admission officers look for students who have taken advantage of the most challenging courses available to them in which they can succeed. Rigor is assessed by enrollment in Accelerated, Honors, and AP courses, taking additional academic courses above GA’s requirements for graduation, doubling up in a discipline, specializing in a certain area of study, or taking advantage of independent study. GRADES Grades matter … a lot! Your grades are assessed in concert with your course selection. A steady or upward trend in your grades is desirable. Many times, admission officers are asked the question, “Is it better to get an ‘A’ in a less demanding course, or take an Honors/AP course and get a lower grade?”. Generally, they would reply they would rather see the “lower” grade in the higher-level course because that offers evidence a student is seeking out academic challenges. Be forewarned, however: an admission officer at a highly selective college would more accurately respond to that question with, “We’d rather see an ‘A’ in the Honors/AP course.” TEST SCORES For schools that require them, test scores are an important part of the evaluation process since they allow schools to measure a student against her national counterparts. Some colleges have flexible or optional score submission, which changes the extent to which other factors are weighed. The more selective the college, the more critical a role testing plays in the decision. While selective colleges truly do not have minimum SAT scores, in a very real sense, your scores are going to be compared against the overall applicant pools’.
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SUBJECTIVE CRITERIA RECOMMENDATIONS Your applications will be supported by a counselor recommendation and faculty recommendations. See section entitled “Recommendations.” ACTIVITIES The word to keep in mind here is depth. Colleges seek to enroll a well-rounded class and not necessarily a class of well-rounded students. There are no “magic” or “right” lists of extracurricular activities a college is looking for; being fully immersed in a few select activities, having talent, making genuine contributions to an organization or team, and demonstrating leadership skills, initiative, and commitment are all important qualities to demonstrate in whatever activity you choose. APPLICATION QUALITY The quality of your application is reflected not only in your essays (see “Essays”) but also in the thoroughness, neatness, and thoughtfulness of the entire application. A quickly dashed off, sloppy application can work against you. LEVEL OF INTEREST Some admission offices (mostly private institutions) will factor interest into your candidacy, which they ascertain by whether you have visited, interviewed, met the rep who visited GA, or remained in contact with the school throughout the admission process. INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS (“Hooks”) Colleges hope to enroll a diverse group of students and, to this end, may admit students who do not meet their typical admission criteria as long as they fulfill important institutional needs. Some of these include, but are not limited to: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Alumni child/grandchild Recruited varsity athlete Artist or actress (art, drama, film, instrumental, vocal) Child of a college faculty or staff member Exceptional ability/promise in a targeted academic major or field of study First-generation college student (parents did not attend college) International students Underrepresented ethnic group Underrepresented socioeconomic group Underrepresented geographic area
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DEMONSTRATED INTEREST To keep admit rates low and yield rates high, many colleges are working harder than ever to determine each student’s interest in their school. Increasingly, a record of a student’s interest is a factor in whether or not they get in. (Remember the story you heard about the kid with an almost perfect record who was denied by a school everyone expected him to walk into? Chances are it was an issue related to interest.) The exceptions we see are extremely selective schools that don’t have to worry about yield, and massive universities that don’t have the resources to track them. But there is a wide spectrum otherwise; some colleges are incredibly tuned in to interest and others are relatively casual. We are happy to tell you how individual schools approach interest; just ask. A common mistake students make is expending a lot of effort on the more selective schools on the list (the ones least likely to care) and ignoring the others. We expect students to pay attention to every school they apply to, no matter their chances. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DISPLAYS OF INTEREST ● ● ● ● ●
Early Decision Campus visits Information sessions Meeting with the admissions representative when they come to GA in the fall Supplemental essays specific to the school
SMALLER, BUT ALSO SIGNIFICANT ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Early Action* Thank you notes Visits to classes Visits to certain departments Correspondence with our admissions representative Overnight visits Revisits in the fall After applications are in, sending updates to the representative Requesting information Attending special local events
*Early Action generally doesn’t confer the same advantage as Early Decision but, if a school has EA, take advantage. We can help you sort out the best early plan that will yield the best results.
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THE COLLEGE MAY EVEN PAY ATTENTION TO: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
When you visit Whether you had family members attend that school Whether you have any connections to the place (your grandma’s house is nearby) “Liking” a school on Facebook How many time you login to your “portal” at that college Whether or not you engage online when it’s offered Whether or not you open links in the emails you’ve been sent How many times you’ve visited the website
FINAL NOTES ●
Though interest is important, stalking is, in most states, illegal. Use your common sense when contacting the admissions reps—only reach out when you have substantive things to say and do not ask questions whose answers you can find in their literature. Try to word questions so they can answer them simply and briefly. Use descriptive subject lines. Be cordial, appropriate and don’t badger.
●
Other than by applying Early Decision, demonstrated interest doesn’t matter much at all to colleges admitting under 15% (Places like the Ivy League, MIT, Amherst, Williams, Pomona, Stanford). We’ve had students admitted to these places who haven’t even visited! Concentrate your efforts on the places that will care.
●
Increased opportunity for virtual engagement with colleges and universities has also given rise to digital tracking. Please pay close attention to the aforementioned opportunities to register for virtual events, fill out interest forms, open emails, and connect with college reps.
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SOME COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES THAT FACTOR DEMONSTRATED INTEREST INTO THEIR ADMISSION DECISIONS Based on GA students’ applications in recent years, these schools are very likely to pay attention to your contact history (or lack thereof) and factor it into your admission decision. By no means is this a comprehensive list—discuss with your counselor which schools on your personal list may be the most sensitive to interest. Ways to demonstrate interest include: a campus visit, meeting the admission rep visiting GA in the fall, attending an admission event in the local area, on-campus interviews, off-campus/alumni interviews, meaningful and appropriate email interactions with admission officers, and engaging with the college via their website or social media, etc. We are happy to provide details on certain schools. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
American Barnard Bates Babson Bentley Boston University Bowdoin Brandeis Bryn Mawr Bucknell Claremont McKenna Clark Colby College of Wooster Colorado College Connecticut College Davidson Denison Dickinson Elon Fairfield Fordham Franklin & Marshall Furman George Washington Gettysburg Grinnell Hamilton
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Harvey Mudd Haverford Hobart & William Smith Holy Cross Ithaca Kenyon Lafayette Lake Forest Lehigh Lewis & Clark Macalester Middlebury Mount Holyoke Muhlenberg NYU Northeastern Oberlin Occidental Pitzer Pomona Reed Rhodes Rice Rollins Roger Williams Santa Clara Scripps Seton Hall
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Sewanee Skidmore Smith Southern Methodist Spelman St. Lawrence Swarthmore Syracuse Trinity (CT) Tufts Tulane Union U of Chicago U of Denver UMass Amherst U of Rochester Rochester Institute Tech U of San Diego Vassar Wake Forest Washington & Lee Wellesley Wesleyan Wheaton (MA)
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7. USING CATEGORIES TO BUILD A BALANCED LIST In today’s admission climate, it’s crucial that students are savvy about their lists and include schools with a range of selectivity. In other words, it’s OK to apply to a handful of schools for which your chances aren’t high as long as you have others for which your chances are stronger (and some for which they’re really strong). Balanced lists like these give students success and choices. To help achieve this balance, we spend a great deal of time placing your colleges into four categories—Likely, Possible, Reach, and Far Reach—and ask that your final list have roughly the same number of each. If we see a category that could use more possibilities to draw from, we will add schools that have qualities in common with the schools you’ve given us. Assigning categories is highly individualized. For each student, we sit down with her files and consider: ● ● ● ●
Her grades The rigor of her courses Her testing Her personal qualities
Next, we consider: ● ● ● ●
The selectivity of each college The past admissions history of GA students to each college Any trends that are affecting admissions overall The best timing to enhance a student’s chances
NOTE: Chances for students who may have a “hook” are very difficult to quantify and depend upon a variety of factors; therefore, we often don’t weigh them as we assign categories.
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CODING CATEGORIES LIKELY Your profile suggests admission is a very strong possibility and your credentials are towards the higher range of students recently admitted. (This assumes that your application has been well done and you’ve demonstrated interest.) We ask students to apply to at least two “likely” schools.
For GA’s Class of 2022, 84% of the applications we projected as “Likely” resulted in offers of admission. POSSIBLE Your credentials for admission are competitive—your profile places you somewhere in the middle of that college’s applicant pool. We would see this as a school where admission is a possibility but certainly not a guarantee, as former Greenwich Academy students with similar credentials have sometimes been admitted, sometimes denied. This may also be a school where factors beyond pure academics (personal qualities, special talents, demonstrated interest, etc.) may be included in the decision.
For GA’s Class of 2022, 44% of the applications we projected as “Possible” resulted in offers of admission. REACH There are two definitions of a “reach” school. First: your credentials are not as strong as those of students who are typically admitted. Even one factor (testing or overall grades) can be enough to warrant a “reach” designation, especially at the more selective colleges in the country. Second: some colleges are “reach” schools simply because they are extraordinarily selective. In other words, the percentage of admitted applicants to this school is extremely small, thereby affecting the chances of admission for everyone (schools admitting under 20 percent of students typically fall into this category).
For GA’s Class of 2022, 10% of the applications we projected as “Reach” resulted in offers of admission. FAR REACH In more than one area, your profile is significantly lower than recently admitted students.
For the Class of 2022, 0% of the applications we projected as “Far Reach” resulted in offers of admission. Important: These designations do NOT account for potential “hooks” such athletic recruitment, alumni child status, auditions, or fulfillment of other institutional needs. The impact such factors can have on a decision is hard to quantify. Therefore, the percentages listed above for each category are “pure” in that they exclude decisions influenced by these “hooks.” We will address “hooks” in individual meetings. Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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8. APPLICATIONS TYPES OF APPLICATION DEADLINES REGULAR DECISION Most colleges receive the bulk of their applications by their “regular” deadlines, usually between the end of December and the middle of February. These offers of admission are non-binding (a student is not obligated to go if she is admitted) and are issued mid to late March. Students must commit to one school (usually by deposit) by May 1. ROLLING ADMISSIONS Some colleges will accept applications on a rolling basis, starting in early fall and ending mid-spring. They also notify on a rolling basis, typically between two and ten weeks after the application is complete. Admission to rolling schools tends to get more competitive over time as the schools begin to fill their classes with qualified students, so it is to a student’s advantage to apply as early as possible. Deposits to these schools are due by May 1. “EARLY” DEADLINES Many colleges offer students the opportunity to apply before the regular round, usually between early November and early December. Some colleges notify students of admission before regular deadlines (usually mid to late December), others after (usually the end of January). You will need to look at each college individually to see which of these programs they offer. EARLY DECISION EARLY DECISION 1 (ED): If a student applies ED, she is committed to attend if she is admitted. Students usually apply ED early to mid-November and are notified mid to late December. Typically Early Decision confers the biggest admissions advantage of any of the early programs, but it is not a decision to be taken lightly since acceptance is the end of the process. EARLY DECISION II (EDII): EDII is a bit of a misnomer; most of these applications are actually due at or around the regular deadlines in January. But they are binding, and students are notified well before students in the regular round, usually mid-February. At most colleges that offer ED and ED II, admission EDII tends to be more competitive than ED, but not as competitive as Regular Decision. It is often used by students whose early results were not as they wished or who needed more time to decide where to commit to apply.
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EARLY ACTION PROGRAMS EARLY ACTION (EA): If a student applies Early Action, she will apply and be notified early, but is not committed to attend; she has until May 1 to decide. EARLY ACTION SINGLE CHOICE (EASC): If a student applies EASC, she will apply only to this school in the early round (some exceptions may be made for state schools—check the schools’ individual policies). Very few schools have this program; namely, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale offer EASC. RESTRICTIVE EARLY ACTION (REA): If a student applies REA, she may apply EA elsewhere, but not ED anywhere. The schools that currently have this policy include Georgetown and Notre Dame.
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SOME EARLY ACTION SCHOOLS ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Auburn Babson Bard Bennington Bentley Binghamton Cal Tech Case Western Chapman Clark # Clemson College of Charleston # College of Wooster Colorado College DePaul DePauw Elon Emerson Fairfield Fordham Franklin College, Switzerland Furman GA Tech Georgetown ** Gettysburg Goucher Harvard * High Point University Hobart and William Smith Hofstra Howard University Ithaca Indiana # Lake Forest Lewis and Clark Loyola Maryland Loyola Marymount Macalester Marist Miami Ohio MIT Northeastern # Notre Dame ** Ohio Wesleyan Penn State Pepperdine Providence College Purdue
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Quinnipiac Roger Williams SMU Sacred Heart # Salve Regina Sarah Lawrence St Lawrence Santa Clara Sewanee # Simmons College Spelman Stanford * Stonehill Stony Brook Temple University Texas Christian University The American University of Paris Trinity (Texas) Tulane # Union University of Colorado, Boulder # University of Connecticut University of Delaware University of Denver University of Chicago University of Georgia University of Hartford University of Maryland University of Mary Washington University of Massachusetts # University of Miami # University of Michigan # University of New Hampshire UNC, Chapel Hill # University of Rhode Island University of Richmond # University of San Francisco University of Southern California University of South Carolina University of Texas # University of Vermont University of Virginia # University of Wisconsin, Madison # VA Tech Villanova # Wheaton (MA) Worcester Polytechnic Institute Yale
*Early Action Single Choice (EASC) **Restrictive Early Action (REA) #Typically render early decisions in January and February, after the Regular Decision deadlines.
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SOME EDII SCHOOLS This is NOT a comprehensive list; always check the college’s website for application deadlines and options. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Babson Bates Bennington Boston College Boston University Bowdoin Brandeis Bryant Bryn Mawr Bucknell Catholic University of America Carleton Carnegie Mellon Champlain Claremont McKenna Colby Colgate College of the Atlantic College of Charleston College of Wooster Colorado College Connecticut College Cornell College (IA) Davidson Denison Dickinson Drew Emory Fordham Franklin & Marshall Furman George Washington Gettysburg Goucher Grinnell Hamilton Hampshire Harvey Mudd Hobart and William Smith Johns Hopkins University Kenyon Lafayette Lehigh List College, The Jewish Theological Semin. Loyola MD Macalester
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Marist Middlebury Mount Holyoke New York University Northeastern Oberlin Occidental Ohio Wesleyan Pitzer Pomona Reed Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rhodes Rochester Institute of Technology Rollins Saint Olaf Santa Clara Sarah Lawrence Scripps Sewanee Skidmore Smith SMU St. Lawrence St. Mary's College of Maryland Stevens Institute of Technology Swarthmore Syracuse Trinity (CT) Tufts Union University of Chicago University of Miami University of Puget Sound University of Richmond University of Rochester Vanderbilt Villanova Vassar Wake Forest Washington University Washington & Lee Wesleyan Wheaton Whitman William & Mary
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APPLICATION PROCESSING Virtually all your applications will be submitted online, either via the Common Application, the Coalition Application via Scoir, or a similar website of the college’s choosing. The University of California system, universities in the UK (UCAS), Georgetown, and MIT are some of the colleges that have their own online application systems. Outlined below is a brief description of how you will actually apply to college next fall. Don’t sweat the details right now; we have a step-by-step instructional guide that we’ll send you this summer. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES ● Submitting your parts of the application (main application and supplements) by the college’s deadline ● Signing (usually electronically) any Early Decision contracts required by the college ● Paying the application fees ● Sending official score reports of your SAT/ACT results directly to the college (if required) ● Submitting any additional application materials (web links, for example) if meaningful and truly necessary COLLEGE OFFICE RESPONSIBILITIES ● Submitting your transcripts, counselor recommendation, the GA Profile, and teacher recommendations by the college’s deadline ● Submit the counselor portion of any Early Decision contracts required by the college ● Submitting your first quarter, first semester, and final transcripts
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THE ESSAYS The essay is a chance for you to help the admissions committee see you as a thinking and feeling person, rather than simply a file. Except for the interview, it is your only chance to share your thoughts, insights, and opinions; to highlight your accomplishments; to convey your outlook on life; and to demonstrate that you can communicate clearly. In the late spring, we give a workshop on the kinds of essays students will encounter, with real-life examples of successful—and not-so-successful—writing. We are also available over the summer to conference about your essay and will hold drop-in workshops in the early fall. Throughout the summer and fall, we spend a great deal of time working with students individually on their essays to ensure they are clear and well-written and convey something positive and personal about them. We will help generate topics, flesh out rough drafts, or polish up final drafts. We will leave proofreading and fact checking to you. We ask that you draft your Common Application essay and two other application supplements by the end of the summer.
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ESSAY PROMPTS: GETTING STARTED Please write one sentence on each prompt. At the end, choose one topic and write a full, single-spaced page on it. Roughly the first half should be a story and then you can add in reflections, reactions, conclusions, or ongoing questions. Remember: this is a draft, so focus on the ideas and don’t worry about the mechanics and organization (or how to end it). When you are finished, choose ONE person who knows you well to edit it for content—to see if the topic is compelling, easy-to-follow, and reveals something about you. (Students usually choose former teachers, someone in the college office, or a trusted friend). Having more than one person edit for content can be confusing, time-consuming and result in an essay that sounds impersonal and stiff. Once you’ve revised using their feedback, you can ask for help editing for mechanics, spelling, and grammar. Describe a tradition or habit of your family that is unique. Describe a place that has particular meaning to you. Describe a book, paper, presentation, or other school project you really enjoyed doing. Talk about an accomplishment, large or small, that not many of your friends know about. Describe one of your strongest beliefs or values. Describe a moment you felt independent. Talk about a time you had to make a difficult or unpopular choice. Describe a time you really messed up or failed. Describe someone you admire and what it is you admire about them.
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COLLEGE-SPECIFIC ESSAYS In its supplement, a school may ask why you’ve chosen to apply to that school in particular. These essays help admissions officers identify students who are genuinely interested, and can therefore play an important role in admission decisions. Above all, your essay needs to reflect your personal and unique experience with that school. These essays should NEVER be recycled; each should be relevant to only ONE place. How to accomplish that? ●
Refer to things that happened during your visit—people you met, scenes you observed, places that impressed you, material from the info session that interested you.
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Refer to any contact you’ve had with someone affiliated with the school—representatives, alums, professors, etc.
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Spend time on the website looking for intriguing programs you might take advantage of: unique internships, abroad options, scholarships, academic calendars, inter-terms, course schedules, projects in local areas, etc. (For example, if you’re interested in working with kids and the school has a partnership with a nearby elementary school, or you like to dig deep on a topic and they have a block system.)
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Consider an activity or program the school doesn’t have and think about how you might start it there, or how you can expand on an existing program.
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Think hard about citing obvious, superficial, or common reasons for applying to a school (for example, BC’s school spirit, Columbia’s New York City location, Vanderbilt’s access to country music). They may factor largely in your decision, but expect many other students to say the same things. Since you have limited space, it would be better to provide a distinctive, thoughtful reason unique to you.
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Above all, demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and genuinely understand why that school is a good match for you!
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ACTIVITIES SECTION The Common Application supplies abundant space to describe your activities. Don’t over-explain activities. Admissions officers are familiar with all kinds of high school extracurricular activities (i.e., Model U.N., Class President, Habitat for Humanity) so they don’t need exhaustive explanations. Activities unique to GA (such as Madrigals, Peer, etc.) will be fully explained in our school profile or the counselor recommendation. Just stick to the basics of the activity, a brief description if necessary, the years you spent doing it, special events associated with it (i.e. championships, tours), and honors awarded/offices held in it.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The Additional Information section of the Common Application allows you the opportunity to provide anything you want the admission office to know that does not appear in another part of your application. Do not feel you must use this section; it is truly optional! Some of the ways students use the Additional Information section: ● ● ● ●
To explain unusual circumstances such as major health issues or educational interruptions To give in-depth descriptions of scientific research or independent studies, such as the Global Scholars capstone project or your participation in SPARC To describe an activity a student feels she can’t adequately portray elsewhere in the application To provide a resume associated with a specific activity that doesn’t fit into the activity table (for example, a list of the play productions a theater student has been involved in or the different competitions a figure skater has participated in)
Always check with your counselor to discuss what (if anything) needs to be put in your Additional Information section.
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TEACHER RECOMMENDATIONS Many colleges require recommendations from academic teachers (unless it is an art school, in which case it may need to be an arts teacher)—typically two or fewer. Teacher recommendations should come from junior year teachers and offer specific commentary about your day-to-day classroom performance and intellectual abilities. CHOOSING YOUR TEACHER RECOMMENDERS The best options for teacher recommendations are teachers who have taught you recently, preferably in the junior year, who you feel can speak about you knowledgeably and supportively. Even if your grades weren’t all As, having a teacher write about your evidence of dedication or remarkable improvement in the subject will be compelling. Academic comments you have received from the teacher in the past are often a good indication of what might be said in a letter. Some colleges and programs within colleges (for example, MIT) require recommendations from teachers in certain disciplines. Be sure to read the recommendation instructions carefully. REQUESTING THE RECOMMENDATION Toward the end of the spring semester, approach your potential recommenders and ask them politely if they would be willing to write for you. You will then “electronically” request your teacher recommendations through Scoir. (We will help you with this.) Some things to bear in mind: ● Teachers relish the opportunity to support and advocate for their students in recommendations, so don’t be shy in approaching them. ● Recommendations require a great deal of effort and thought. So that teachers can devote sufficient time to yours, we strongly recommend you approach your potential recommenders no later than June of your junior year. TEACHER RECOMMENDATION SUBMISSION In the fall of senior year, your teachers will upload their recommendations into the Scoir system in advance of your first application deadline. The College Office will then submit your teacher recommendations along with your transcripts and counselor recommendations. FOLLOW UP Be sure to thank your teachers graciously for their work, both during the process and after. A handwritten note after all the recommendations have all been sent is especially appreciated. FINAL THOUGHTS ON TEACHER RECS In terms of the number of recommendations you should have, we in the College Counseling Office strongly encourage you to submit only two teacher recommendations, even if more are allowed. Padding your application with excessive letters of recommendation invariably sends the wrong message.
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OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS COUNSELOR RECOMMENDATION Most applications require a recommendation from the guidance counselor. The counselor recommendation speaks to your overall GA experience as a student and provides the context of your academic work and your involvement in the life of the school as well as any outside interests or activities you have pursued. To write these, we draw on multiple sources, including: ● our conversations with you ● our conversations with your parents ● our conversations with your advisor ● your student questionnaire ● your parents’ questionnaire ● your transcript ● your academic file ● your resume or activity sheet ● additional information you (or your parents) have provided ● recommendations from outside sources (like teachers from summer programs) ● personal observations Once you have confirmed you will be applying to a college with your counselor, if that college requests a counselor recommendation, we will automatically send it—you don’t need to ask us formally. “OTHER” RECOMMENDATIONS Some colleges allow “Other Recommenders” to submit recommendations, usually people who know the student in a non-academic context like coaches, clergy, arts teachers, etc. (A very small number even allow peer or parent recommendations.) These extra recommendations are rarely required, and some colleges will not accept them at all. If you believe that a recommender besides your academic teachers is crucial to painting a complete picture of you, and if the college you are applying to allows it, speak to your counselor about the most efficient way to submit that additional letter of support.
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9. FOR STUDENTS CONSIDERING COLLEGE ATHLETICS Greenwich Academy graduates go on to participate in college athletics in a number of ways. Many participate in competitive intercollegiate programs in one or more sports, either after going through a recruiting process of some kind or as a walk-on, and still more choose to participate at the club level. In short, just about anyone who is interested in playing sports in college can, and we advise our students to consider a variety of factors when looking for the right fit. Many students who are interested in a competitive collegiate athletic career consider seeking the support of a college coach in a recruiting process. If a student is potentially valuable to the college program, a coach can lend her support in the admissions process to help narrow the gap between the college’s admission standards and the student’s academic profile. About ten to fifteen percent of our graduates do get this support each year, and a handful of others go on to have competitive athletic careers even without this support. What follows is a brief guide to college athletics and the recruiting process as we’ve seen it unfold at GA. Do I want to participate in competitive intercollegiate athletics in college? Consider that in most cases, whether at the Division I, II or III level, participating in intercollegiate athletics will feel like a full-time job. While all NCAA programs impose constraints on the expectations coaches can have of their players, in Division I, for example, you can expect to dedicate 30+ hours per week to your sport in season and ten to twenty hours per week to your sport out of season. Even in Division III, which imposes more restrictions on its athletes’ time commitments to their sport, players are expected to train in the off season, lift weights, watch film, and attend captains’ practices and team activities… all outside of the regular practice routine. In many cases, participating in a sport essentially precludes a student from studying abroad, taking certain courses, pursuing certain majors, or joining other activities that conflict with practice or competition. If you are unsure if these expectations are right for you, speak to current college athletes from your community, your school or your club program to understand what their day-to-day experience is like. Ask questions about their “work-sport-life” balance. Consider if their schedule is compatible with your own personal, academic, or other extracurricular goals. Make an overnight visit where you can observe it firsthand. What is “recruiting”? Getting recruited is simply using a coach’s support to give you a boost in admissions. Most NCAA coaches are able to use recruiting spots to support a small handful of applicants each year, but the extent and effect of this support varies by sport, college, league, and division. In extending support to prospective applicants, coaches consider your potential athletic value to the program and your academic qualifications relative to the school’s admissions expectations. In our experience, given the large number of competitive athletes seeking recruiting support, coaches at schools with extremely high admission standards are not likely to extend support to an exceptional student with moderate value to the athletic program; rather, they will look harder to find the exceptional athlete who can meet the admission office’s high expectations.
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Students often assume that they need to be recruited in order to have a fulfilling collegiate athletic experience. Many GA alums who had standout careers in college “walked on,” and were glad to have done so because they felt less beholden to the program or the coach. What is the relationship between athletic recruiting and college admissions? College admission offices use different methods to evaluate applicants getting support from a coach. These methods are a function of league standards, admissions expectations, and in some cases, the effort of athletic departments to distribute recruiting spots equitably among sports. These factors create some uncertainty by school—and year over year—about how recruiting support might bear out in an applicant’s admission prospects. In the Ivy League, for example, prospective student-athletes are evaluated partly on the basis of their Academic Index score (AI), a number calculated using a prospect’s GPA and standardized tests and then compared against the admitted students in that class. While the calculation of the AI is relatively transparent, the ability of coaches to recruit from certain AI bands changes on the basis of annual modifications to league standards, the strength of the overall applicant pool, and the internal decision of the athletic department about how to distribute recruiting spots to its programs at various AI band levels. In all cases, the larger the gap between the college’s admission standards and the student’s academic profile, the more leverage a coach will have to exert on the student’s behalf, and he or she will sacrifice additional recruiting spots or academic flexibility with other prospective recruits in exchange. Experienced college coaches, particularly those with considerable tenure at their institutions, can often navigate an uncertain admission landscape and, with a complete (or partly complete) student academic profile, give a reasonable prediction about how a recruit will fare. This message could range from “I’ll try to put in a good word,” to “You’ll have my formal support, and in my (twenty years of) experience, every student I’ve supported with your academic profile has been admitted.” In some cases, coaches are so interested in a prospective recruit and so confident about her admissibility that they will “commit” to a player before she goes through the admission process in the fall of her senior year. In some sports, these commitments are being made in increasing numbers and, especially when made by seasoned coaches, bear out in a successful recruiting process. Note, though, that coaches can and do make these commitments without any communication with the admissions office, and the admissions office at many schools is unaware of the prospective student athlete and ascribes no meaning to the coach’s verbal commitment. (In other words, these commitments are only as valuable as the coach’s historic track record, expected tenure, and the ongoing performance of the student in the classroom and in her sport, and can break down if any of those variables change.) Division I institutions can make more formal pledges to recruits later in the process. These pledges can take the form of letters of intent, offers of official visits, and likely letters, among others. Recruits at Division III institutions do not receive these pledges and proceed through the application process on the same timeline as other applicants. If I’m interested in pursuing the recruiting process, what should I do? 1. Consult with your current coaches. Being able to make the team at a certain college is very different from having such an impact on a program that the coach is willing to ask the admissions office to support your application. Ask your school coach (and, if appropriate, a club or other outside coach) for a broad list of colleges where you might be a valuable contributor to the team. Encourage that coach to break this list of schools into categories based on the level of impact you might have, such as “program changer,” “immediate impact,” “meaningful contributor,” or “might Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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contribute over time.” Coaches anticipating that you could add such value to the program so as to change its performance in the league, or nationally, for example, might be willing to lend you more support in admissions than coaches who estimate that you might add moderate value to the team at some point down the road. 2. Complete the recruiting questionnaires at the colleges. This feels like a mindless task, but it does get your information into their electronic system so that coaches can find it if and when they need it, and so that you receive updated information about camps and recruiting events specific to that college. 3. Reach out to the coaches periodically. Reach out via email to the coaches at those programs, bearing in mind that in some cases (depending on your grade, the sport, and the time of year) they cannot reach out to you directly but may be able to respond to your emails. Keep it brief and direct. Frontload the important information, like your school, position, and graduation year, and include any meaningful national or regional distinctions you have earned to date. If you have specific academic information like test scores (even PSATs) or grades, consider including it. If you have access to a short clip (< five minutes) of game film or highlights of your play, include that too. Share your season schedule and a list of anywhere else you plan to play (club tournaments, showcases, camps) in the near future. Close with a few specific questions to give the coach a reason to respond, such as: ● Where will you be scouting this summer? ● Are you actively recruiting players in my graduation year? Where are you in that process? ● What information do you need to evaluate me as a prospective student-athlete? ● When would be a good time to visit campus? Plan to send updates every other month or so as you get new information. (Useful information is good to share, but stop short of pestering.) When you do share new information, keep it brief. Interpreting the response. Most coaches will respond, at the very least, with a form note that encourages you to send updates on your academic or athletic profile. This outreach does not necessarily mean that you are getting recruited. Just as you are casting a wide net to find a good academic and athletic fit in a college, the college coaches are casting a wide net to find the best players they can find who will meet or exceed their school’s admission standards. They will use school rosters, newspaper coverage, sport-specific list-servs, and camp lists to reach as many students as possible. Just as it is in your best interest to respond to any coach’s outreach, so is it in their interest to be courteous in their responses to high school students interested in their school. But these exchanges, over time, will give you a sense for where you stand with a coach. Is the response perfunctory (e.g., “Thank you for your interest in our program, Marie. We’re busy getting around to tournaments, but we’ll look for you at the Wild Wings Showcase.”)? Or is it personal (e.g., “Marie, we really enjoyed getting to see you play at the Wild Wings Showcase. That slide tackle was incredible, and your speed looked great relative to the other players. We really hope you plan to visit campus soon.”) Does the coach respond quickly, or does he/she take a week or more to respond? 3. Connect with the College Counseling Office. We can provide feedback on the list of schools you’ve contacted and help you put the recruiting process in context based on your academic and personal goals. We can also help you understand, based on our understanding of the admission process at a particular school and the experience of other GA applicants there, how the process might go for you. For example: ● Are there schools in this list that are within range for me as a “pure” (academic) applicant? ● With support from a coach, how valuable would I need to be to these teams to get sufficient support in admissions? Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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What have our student-athletes at these schools reported about their academic and athletic experience? How reliable is this message I’m getting from the coach? What does this mean? If I am getting positive feedback from the coach, how do I know if their offer of support will help me get in? (We often call our colleagues in the admissions office to see if they have seen your file, or to get a sense for what they’ve seen in terms of recruiting offers from this particular coach.)
The College Office’s primary goal is to help you create options for yourself. It is important to understand that, even with your outreach and the support of your current coaches, the outcome of the recruiting process is largely out of your hands. We will urge you to cast a wide net as you build a list of prospective colleges, including schools that may not offer you athletic support even as you pursue the recruiting process elsewhere. This may make for a longer list, but it will help protect you against what can be a merciless, unpredictable process. 4. Consider early standardized testing with caution. For a variety of reasons, the College Counseling Office generally recommends that students wait until the spring of their junior year to begin standardized testing. In certain cases, students with viable recruiting prospects at Division I schools might consider testing early. Since there are some disadvantages to testing early (and these disadvantages are not often articulated by college coaches or club coaches), we encourage you to consult with us before accelerating your testing schedule. FROM THE COLLEGE COUNSELORS ON COLLEGE ATHLETICS Our primary responsibility is, as we mentioned above, to help you create choices – and getting recruiting support can be a wonderful way to do that. But when you put yourself at the mercy of the recruiting process, you need to protect yourself against its uncertainty. Resist the temptation to fixate on one or two schools to the exclusion of others. Examine your motives if you are focused only on highly-selective schools with the intention of using the recruiting process as a way to gain access to those schools for academic reasons. (This is a bad reason.) Instead, what’s wonderful about the college search is that these missions are not mutually exclusive. You can consider your college search from a variety of perspectives at once: you can seek recruiting support at schools where those opportunities may exist at the same time you are considering other schools for their academic programs, student culture, and other values that are important to you. If you take this search process as an opportunity to grow, you’ll be in a position to identify your most important priorities and enjoy a range of choices. Let us know how we can help!
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GENERAL ATHLETIC RECRUITMENT CALENDAR Group IX: ● Stay focused on academics, get involved in the GA community, and plan for Group X classes. ● Stay engaged in GA and club sports teams – have fun, develop in your sport of choice. ● Begin developing an athletic resume. Group X: ● Stay focused on academics, get involved in the GA community outside athletics, and plan for Group XI classes. ● By winter/spring, be in touch with your GA and club coaches about where you might be a viable recruit as an “impact player,” “meaningful contributor,” or a player who “might contribute over time.” ● By spring, be in touch with the GA College Counseling Office. ● Make sure you know the specific NCAA recruitment timeline (evaluation period, contact periods, etc.) and requirements for your sport (Div. I and II) or specific schools if pursuing Division III recruitment. ● Plan for summer camps, showcases, and tournaments. ● Begin making an athletic recruitment resume and if appropriate for your sport, use an online profile service like Sports Recruits, Hudl, NCSA Recruiting. ● During the summer, fill out questionnaires at schools, reach out to coaches, and send videos as appropriate to your sport. If needed, your unofficial GA transcript is on the parent portal. ● Think about scheduling your first SAT/ACT in late summer/fall of junior year. Group XI: ● Continue to focus on grades and maintain involvement at school. ● Take the first SAT/ACT in fall and think about scheduling one again in winter/spring of junior year. ● Be proactive in continuing the communication with coaches—questionnaires, emails to coaches, or sending new video, athletic, or academic updates when appropriate. ● Continue to discuss with your GA and club coaches your interest, ask questions, and see how they might be able to help you. ● Begin the formal college process with your assigned counselor by January of junior year and plan for Group XII classes. ● By the spring, visit schools and build a college list depending on your individual process. ● If you have committed to the admissions process at a school or are still in the recruitment process, have materials prepared for the July 1 Pre-Read process which formally opens your file with admissions. ● Open an NCAA Eligibility Account. Group XI: ● If committed to the admissions process at a school, know the admissions application deadline and keep your future coach informed of your academic and athletic progress. ● Focus on senior grades. ● Go on unofficial/official visits depending on the circumstance. ● Fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile as needed for your school. ● National Letter of Intent Signing for admitted Division I/II athletes. ● Complete NCAA Eligibility.
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NCAA RESOURCES ● ●
NACAC: Tips for College Athletes and Parents NCAA Eligibility Center
ADVICE ON HOW TO REACH OUT TO A COLLEGE COACH ● ● ●
Before doing so, be sure to clean up your social media accounts. Personalize all correspondence with coaches in an effort to stand out for your attention to detail and character. Remember that the early correspondence between a coach and a prospective athlete is based primarily on athletic skill.
Your initial letter/email should roughly contain the following (see also above pages on outreach): ● Specific programmatic information. You’ve done the research so make it personal to show you’ve been paying attention to the program. ● Your personal information. Name, graduation year, high school, location, club team, followed by sport specific stats and highlights so you can articulate why you’d be a good fit for the program, and then academic profile highlights. Finally, any potential contact info for you or your coaches. ● Next steps. Will you be at a camp this summer? Where might they be able to catch you?
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10. FOR STUDENTS CONSIDERING THE ARTS Considering pursuing the visual arts, theater, dance, choral or instrumental music in college? Here are some things to consider. BFA or BA? Do you want to concentrate the majority of your time and course work in college on your chosen field of the arts? Do you want to graduate with a degree in that field? Do you want your college admissions to be determined more by your talent and experience in the arts than your academic profile? If so, you may want to look into Bachelor of Fine Arts programs. In BFA programs, you can expect to truly immerse yourself and graduate with a degree in your field of study. Some colleges solely offer BFA degrees (RISD, for example), while others have BFA programs within a larger university that also offers other types of degrees (Washington University, for example). The admissions process for a BFA program is quite different from the traditional process, and generally more complicated. Admission relies less on your academic credentials (though they are a factor) and more on evaluations of your talent through auditions, art portfolios, recordings, etc. Most applications for BFA programs are a multi-step process and differ from place to place—some colleges accept a traditional application and an art supplement while some colleges have an application specific to the program; some colleges admit students only to that program while other colleges admit a student first to the university and then to the program (or not); some ask for pre-screens and pre-reads; some require on-campus portfolio reviews or auditions while others allow students to go to regional events for multiple schools. If you would like to pursue the arts, but not exclusively, you may prefer to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (or Sciences) at a school with majors, minors, and concentrations in your field of interest, or that has a reputation for strength in them. You may end up pursuing the arts only in an extracurricular capacity; many GA graduates have had very rich arts experiences in college completely outside the classroom! Be sure to determine whether or not your college allows students pursuing BAs to have access to the opportunities and resources available to BFA candidates, since that is not always the case. There are a few schools that offer dual BA and BFA degrees (RISD and Brown have one, for example) but these are exceptionally tough for admissions as they require a student to essentially be admitted to both institutions—one based primarily on academic strength, the other on artistic strength. OR BOTH? Many GA students who are serious about the arts apply to a mix of BFA and BA programs. WHERE TO LOOK? If you’re really serious about pursuing the arts in college, we can provide you lists of places that have strength in your field of interest, both BA and BFA programs. You will need to keep an open mind; many of the places with the strongest reputations in the arts may not be familiar to you and/or are far afield. HOW IS THE PROCESS DIFFERENT? If art is going to play a role in your college process—whether you’re preparing for an audition at a top musical theater program or putting together an online art portfolio to submit to all of the schools you’re applying to—expect extra Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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preparation and work. You will probably need to rely on several adults throughout the process, as well, to help you practice, arrange, compile, record, etc. If you are doing an audition or submitting a video, audio recording, or art portfolio, expect different schools to ask for different things. For example, a visual art program may want to see you do a still life, a landscape, a portrait, and something abstract (and they may want them online, or on slides, or to see them in person). A music program might want to hear you sing a classical piece, a contemporary piece, your own arrangement, and pieces in different languages. WHAT TO DO NOW? As soon as you’ve decided you’d like to pursue the arts in some capacity, get organized. Be sure to keep and archive your best artwork; take footage of plays and dance concerts; record instrumental and choral pieces. Talk to a trusted arts teacher or mentor about your intention of having an arts component in your college application, and make a plan to get everything compiled and accomplished before school starts in the fall of senior year.
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11. PAYING FOR COLLEGE If the cost of attending college and seeking out financial aid and scholarships is going to be a major priority in your college search process, it is critical that you relay that sentiment to us during your process. GA partners with Paul Martin of College Money Method to provide six webinars on the FA landscape and offer individualized financial aid counseling to GA families in the process. The information below is meant to provide a general overview of the financial aid landscape. Check each institution’s website for accurate information on their FA policies, deadlines, and forms.
TYPES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE There are two types of financial assistance for college: Merit-based aid comes in the form of scholarships and is awarded based solely on academic merit or perhaps a special talent like dance or music, for example. Need-based aid (commonly referred to as financial aid) is awarded based on the student and her family’s ability to pay for college, as determined by formula applied by the Department of Education and individual college financial aid offices. MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS Many colleges (public and private) offer merit-based awards for academic ability in high school as well as academic performance once at college. These usually are listed on the admission or financial aid websites and can be quite generous. There is no financial need necessary for these awards. The purpose of merit-based aid is to attract a higher caliber of student to the college than might normally attend. These colleges often set grade and minimum test scores for their merit awards. It is important to understand that to be competitive for a merit-based scholarship, you must present academic credentials that put you in the very top end of the college’s admitted student profile. In other words, counting on a merit scholarship at a “reach” or “possible” college is unrealistic. Neither Ivy League universities nor (with few exceptions) the most selective schools in the country offer merit-based scholarships. Be aware that many merit-based scholarship deadlines are in advance of the school’s standard deadlines. NEED-BASED AID Many student aid packages are primarily need-based (determined by your ability to pay tuition and room and board). Most financial aid packages are a combination of grants (money that does not need to be paid back), loans (usually paid back after graduation), and work-study arrangements (in which the student works on campus for a certain number of hours per week). Note that financial aid packages can change from year to year and often require re-application annually. The amount of aid awarded by a college or university is based on a calculation of a Student Aid Index (SAI). And, while a student’s SAI is based on her parents’ or family’s financial situation, any student loans or grants will be awarded in that student’s name. As a result, most colleges want the student herself to participate in the funding arrangement. Student loans awarded as a part of financial aid packages will be an ongoing obligation of the student, not the parents. Subsidized loans typically begin accruing interest after the student graduates, while unsubsidized loans accrue interest from the borrowing date. 65 Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FINANCIAL AID AND ADMISSIONS As we mentioned, it is important to remember that financial aid calculations, packages, and deadlines are very specific to individual colleges and universities. Institutions also vary in terms of the influence that financial need can have on admission decisions. It is essential that you look carefully at each prospective college’s policies and deadlines. Missing a deadline will often preclude families from consideration for financial aid. In all cases, you must apply for financial aid prior to admission, and the first major financial aid deadline is typically in November of the student’s senior year. The rule of "first come, first served" often applies in the allocation of aid dollars. NEED-BLIND INSTITUTIONS Need-blind institutions make their admission decisions irrespective of the family’s financial need. Some of these institutions are able to meet all demonstrated need through loans and grants. For other institutions, the admission decision is rendered “need-blind” – meaning a student with financial need will be admitted regardless of that need – but the institution will not be able to guarantee loans or grants to close the funding gap between the student’s SAI and the cost of attendance. These institutions may only be able to offer a partial financial aid package that will require the families to look elsewhere for sources of funds. NON-NEED BLIND OR NEED-“AWARE” INSTITUTIONS Many colleges and universities that have limitations on their available aid funds do, as a result of funding constraints, factor need into their admission decisions. In some cases, students who may otherwise be qualified for admission may be denied admission for financial reasons.
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THE STUDENT AID INDEX (SAI) This is the amount your family is expected to pay toward the cost of college. Need-based financial aid packages seek to provide the difference between the SAI and the total cost of attendance but, as mentioned above, institutions vary in their ability to close the gap. Institutions vary in how they approximate the cost of attendance but generally consider the following: ● Tuition and fees, which may vary by department or program ● Housing and meal plans ● Allowance for books and supplies, which may include computers ● Allowance for personal expenses, which may include transportation HOW SAI IS CALCULATED Any institution that uses federal funds—and this includes nearly every college and university—requires you to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). This calculation is driven mostly by the family’s income as reported on the federal income tax return. In cases in which tax returns are more complicated, there are supplemental forms to complete. These include the DSPS (for divorced or separated parents) as well as forms for families that rely on farms or small businesses for income. In two-household families, the FAFSA requires information only from the parent who is claiming the child for tax purposes for that year. The SAI that is calculated through the FAFSA will be the same for every institution that uses it. This calculation is reached using what is called the federal methodology (below). The FAFSA underwent a significant overhaul in December 2023. Once the FAFSA is available in the fall of senior year, students and parents can complete the FAFSA using tax information from the prior full year (2023 Tax Returns). Most private colleges and universities GA students typically also require completion of the College Board’s CSS Profile. The CSS Profile takes into account other variables such as home equity and/or other family assets. Section Q of the CSS Profile is particularized further and includes questions specific to individual institutions. This calculation is reached using what is called the institutional methodology (see below). There is a small subset of colleges and universities that use their own forms to estimate financial need. Be sure to review each institution’s requirements to ensure you complete all necessary forms. Colleges generally welcome calls to their financial aid office to clarify their approach and, in some cases, may be able to “pre-read” your financial aid application before you apply, particularly when considering a binding commitment to an institution. ESTIMATING YOUR SAI Many websites provide calculators that help you approximate your estimated family contribution. Colleges are required to have a Net Price Calculator (NPC) on their financial aid/admission website and many have added the program MyIntuition that allows for historic institutional data to be factored into the calculation. The US Department of Education is required by law to make publicly available information about the average net price of each college/university that participates in Title IV federal student aid programs. You can search data from the last three years on the National Center for Education Statistics website.
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Given that the way financial aid is awarded varies by institution, if a college has its own estimator/calculator on their website, try that one first. In addition, the following link provides estimates using either the federal or institutional methodology. Federal Student Aid Estimator Early applicants receive an estimated financial aid package with their acceptances. Regular Decision candidates receive financial aid packages with the offer of admission (or shortly thereafter) in late March early April. FAFSA: CSS Profile:
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov https://www.collegeboard.org
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FINANCIAL AID APPLICANT CHECKLIST JUNE-AUGUST ● Complete a series of “net price calculators” to get a sense of the EFC (expected family contribution) for each school on your college list. ● Determine which schools on your list will need the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. ● Work on the Mock CSS Profile to help prepare for submission in the fall. SEPTEMBER ● Be sure to connect with your counselor regarding your list and application strategy as it pertains to your FA profile. ● Connect with Paul Martin at College Money Method (via GA) to consult re: forms and support documentation. OCTOBER ● October 1: CSS Profile for the school year becomes available for completion. Students and parents should work on these immediately. ● Fall TBD: FAFSA available to complete. ● ●
NOVEMBER Deadlines (vary by college) to complete the CSS Profile, and any additional school specific financial aid forms for all ED/EA applications. Please consult college financial aid offices and your counselor with questions. Be aware of individual deadlines for university-specific scholarships.
DECEMBER ● Review supplemental CSS Profile questions and any college specific financial aid forms for regular decision schools. ● Review ED/EA awards with your counselor before you commit to a school or withdraw your other applications and stay in touch with your counselor as financial aid offers arrive. Note that schools have different deadlines and procedures for appeals. JANUARY-APRIL ● Review and apply for additional scholarship applications (if desired) outside the formal admissions process. Fastweb is just one of many repositories for both local and national scholarship opportunities. ● Review RD awards with your counselor before you commit to a school or withdraw your other applications and stay in touch with your counselor as financial aid offers arrive. Note that schools have different deadlines and procedures for appeals. MAY ● By May 1: Deposit at one school (and only one school), even if you have chosen to remain on multiple waitlists. Note: Be prepared to resubmit FAFSA and CSS forms each year. It’s a good idea to befriend an FA counselor at your college to help with that process moving forward. Thank you to our friends at RCS for the use of this timeline. Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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THE MOST GENEROUS SCHOOLS If you qualify for financial aid, each college that accepts you will put together a “financial aid package” that tells you how to cover the cost of attending. This package is usually a combination of: 1. Money (grants) the college gives you 2. The tuition you and your family pays 3. Work study (a plan for you to pay tuition through a campus job) 4. Loans you and/or your family take out to cover the rest Typically, students start to repay their loans after college and continue to do so, often well into adulthood. Fortunately, in recent years, some colleges have eliminated loans entirely for all students, or for students whose families meet certain requirements! NO LOAN SCHOOLS The following colleges do not include any loans in their financial aid packages. These schools have made a commitment to replace all loans with grants and work study programs for all students regardless of family income or state residency. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Amherst College Bowdoin College Brown University Claremont McKenna College Colby College Columbia University Dartmouth College Davidson College Emory University Grinnell College Haverford College Harvard University Johns Hopkins University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Northwestern University Pomona College Princeton University Rice University Smith College Stanford University Swarthmore College University of Chicago University of Pennsylvania Vanderbilt University Washington and Lee Washington University in St Louis Wesleyan University Williams College Yale University
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NO LOAN SCHOOLS FOR LOW INCOME STUDENTS There are also a number of schools that have eliminated loans for low income students. Below, you will find a list of schools who offer no loan aid packages to students whose families earn below a certain income threshold. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) – US students with family income under $90,000 per year Colgate University - Students with family incomes under $175,000 per year, and no tuition under $80,000 Connecticut College – Students with income under $50,000 or EFC under $5,000 per year Cornell University- Students with family incomes under $60,000 per year Duke University – Students with family incomes under $40,000 per year Lafayette College – Full need met for families earning less than $200,000 per year Lehigh University – Students from families with incomes less than $75,000 per year Oberlin College – Students who are eligible for the Pell Grant Tufts University – Students whose families earn under $60,000 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Students whose families earn up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Line and who are enrolled full-time Vassar College – Students whose family incomes are below $60,000 per year Wellesley University – Students with family incomes below $60,000 per year
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SOME SCHOOLS THAT OFFER MERIT AID (NOTE: These are constantly changing so please double check with admissions websites)
At the following schools, at least 20% of incoming freshman receive merit aid: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
University of Alabama Arizona State University Auburn Baylor Bennington Bryn Mawr Boston University Butler University Case Western Catholic College of Charleston Clark Clemson Colby Sawyer Cooper Union U of Colorado, Boulder University of Denver Delaware Denison Depauw Drew Elon Fairfield Furman George Washington Georgia Institute of Technology Harvey Mudd Hobart and William Smith Hofstra Ithaca Indiana University Kenyon Lewis and Clark Loyola Marymount Loyola New Orleans Macalester
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
University of Maine Manhattanville Marist Marquette U Mass - Amherst Miami University University of Miami University of Michigan Northeastern The New School NYU Oberlin Franklin Olin College of Engineering Quinnipiac Rensselaer Polytechnic University of Rochester Rhodes Rollins Santa Clara Sarah Lawrence Sewanee: University of the South St. Lawrence St. Michaels Southern Methodist University Texas Christian Tulane Union USC University of Vermont Webb Institute Wheaton (MA) Whitman WPI College of Wooster Wake Forest Worcester Polytechnic
NOTE: Many schools (such as BC, Duke, Lehigh, Richmond, University of Chicago and UNC) offer very generous scholarships to a small number of top students. Look on individual websites to see if a school has a program. Greenwich Academy College Counseling Office
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FINDING OTHER SOURCES OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Be sure to read colleges’ financial aid web pages to get details and information on private sources of funds. For example, students with financial need may find their need-based packages adjusted after any private scholarship money is awarded, so proceed with caution. If you do investigate private scholarships, here are a few sources to consult: https://www.questbridge.org/ Questbridge is a national nonprofit that links students with educational and scholarship opportunities at participating (40+) colleges and universities and provides a National College Match program for senior applicants. http://www.finaid.org Includes links to financial aid databases, financial aid calculators, links to federal and state government websites, an annotated bibliography of financial aid books and a glossary of terms. http://fastweb.com Financial Aid Search through the Web (fastweb) is a searchable database of more than 275,000 private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants and loans. https://scholarshipguidance.com/ A scholarship database that updates daily for the newest opportunities and also contains updated college profiles for reference purposes in understanding financial aid. From time to time, we receive announcements for local scholarship sources and competitions; we will forward this information to the students as we receive it. Here are a few examples of the scholarship programs we’re talking about. Connecticut residents may apply for a Connecticut Governor’s Scholarship Program. This need-based grant can go up to $5,000 a year for a Connecticut public or private university. The Governor’s Scholarship program is dependent on the actions of the State Legislature each year. Connecticut residents may also apply for CHESLA loans if the student is matriculating to an institution within the state of Connecticut. New York Residents may apply for a New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grant (up to $5,000) for use at New York State colleges and universities. The Greenwich Scholarship Association awards numerous scholarships from local organizations (United Way, etc.) to students with financial need who attend school in Greenwich. We also receive information from local civic organizations about scholarship opportunities for students with specific qualifications (resident of a certain town, involved in community service, aspiring engineers, teachers, etc.) We will pass these announcements along as we get them.
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