Bags Brokaw Q&A

CS graduation

Q&A WITH BAGS BROKAW

College admissions, explained

Bayard “Bags” Brokaw, now in his second year as Director of College Counseling, has a big job. The college admissions landscape is fraught with record numbers of applicants and mile-long wait lists, meaning that the college application process today little resembles the experience parents remember. In the midst of this maelstrom, Bags remains calm and positive, working to align the right student with the right school.

Bags brings 28 years as an educator and administrator to the job. Before spending 20 years in New England, he started his career as an English and Social Studies teacher, Dean of Students, and Middle School Director at Community School. He succeeds his good friend, the legendary Bob Brock, in his new role on campus.

A father of four, Bags fully understands the anxieties and hopes of parents in this process. He and his wife Kerry, a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher, have seen two children graduate from top colleges: Winslow from Middlebury College and Roz from Colorado College. His son Will, Community School ’12, is attending Colorado College. Son Shea is a sixth grader on campus.

In his office in the Upper School building, amid posters portraying stately campuses and a posted reminder to “Keep Community School Weird,” Community School Magazine sat down with Bags to better understand his role.

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CS: What is the hallmark of college counseling at Community School?

BB: Personalization. Most schools do not commit the same resources and time to each and every student that we do. At Community School, researching and applying to college is a process. I like to think of it as the ultimate project-based curriculum. Students have to identify the type of schools that interest them, make a list of specific schools, seek recommendations, manage their time effectively, and meet deadlines. These are skills that will apply to every job search, and every job, in countless ways.

CS: How do you approach this process?

BB: We focus on the best fit for the kids based on a vision they determine with guidance from me. What do they want from their college experience? Big lecture classes? An urban campus? An experience that replicates what they have had here? I put them on the spot to really think about where and how they will spend the next four years.

The most selective schools aren’t always the best schools for a student – they are simply

PHOTOGRAPHY: HILLARY MAYBERY

BY ROBIN SIAS

the ones that receive and reject the most applications. Last year, Yale received 30,000 applications and turned down 94 out of 100 applicants. But just because a school rejects the vast majority of its applicants doesn’t make it a “better” school, or a better fit.

our students’ candidacy than simply being Idaho residents.

CS: It seems like more and more students are being put on wait lists. Is that true and what does it mean?

BB: With recent economic uncertainty, as well CS: Community School pushes our students as many students applying to double-digit to take risks, to push themselves, and attempt numbers of schools, there is a lot of uncertainnew things in the classroom, on the playing ty around yield for colleges. Therefore, many field, and in the outdoors – something we admissions offices often significantly increase like to call GRIT. But how realistic is it in the number of kids on their wait list. They are today’s college admissions climate to let high hedging their bets, too. This makes it hard for school students try something they may not students on the wait list, because the chance be great at and let them fail? Don’t today’s of getting them off that list is unpredictable. applicants need to be pretty close to perfect to get into the top colleges that appeal to CS: What do you want parents to know many of our students and families? before their first official meeting with you?

BB: Students don’t need to be perfect.

BB: I want them to understand that we are a They have to be able to identify and tell their team. The most important thing is finding a story in a compelling way. We work very college that is a great fit for their child, one hard on helping them develop a portfolio at which he or she will flourish and feel comthat reflects their accomplishments, passions, fortable. Parents are tremendous resources in and individuality. the college search process. I rely heavily on As far as the gifted humanities student who them to provide helpful stories and anecdotes may not have a perfect 4.0 in math, that’s about their son or daughter that the student where I can help advance their cause. I talk might not share with me. with the admissions office about the student and let them know how hard he worked for CS: What is one of the challenges you face in that grade, how he continued to push himself working with parents? by taking advanced math for four years, even BB: The admissions process and many of the though it wasn’t his strong suit. Our students colleges I might recommend have evolved are known for taking risks and pushing and changed dramatically since we went to themselves, even though they know there is college. Many schools that may not have the possibility of failure. That can make them been on a parent’s radar are incredible institustand out in a sea of applications. tions that have invested years and a great deal of money in their programs, their campuses.

CS: But is rejection inevitable?

You need to come at this with fresh eyes.

BB: Yes, and for our students who have enjoyed a very supportive environment, college CS: What is your advice to students and admissions can be a very blunt process. It’s families about to begin this process? maybe the first rejection letter they will ever BB: There are lots of schools for everyone. get. But going forward, they will get others, as we all do; one of life’s lessons is learning to handle that rejection.

CS: What about the Idaho ‘card’?

BB: Geographical distribution is certainly something colleges pay attention to, but we’re more interested in how to present our kids in a way that’s reflective of the unique education Community School provides. Leadership is a key piece in all of this, and our students are given a lot of opportunities to take the lead.

For example, I see the Outdoor Leadership Academy becoming a very powerful factor in some of our students’ applications going forward. There’s much more that can support

There is no such thing as one perfect college.

Our students are bright, involved, passionate people who have a great deal to offer. They have a strong sense of self. They are capable and confident. They are engaged learners, critical thinkers, and avid adventurers. There will be a terrific school for each and every one of them.

CS: What is the one word you would use for this process?

BB: Unpredictable. Each admissions office is working hard to put together the best class possible for their college and no one can know exactly what they are looking for.

This creates anxiety, of course, and is the reason we suggest students apply to five or six schools in a range of selectivity. I tell the students they cannot fall in love with just one school. They need to find several schools at which they could really see themselves succeed and be happy.

CS: What is the general order of events for an Upper School student in the college search?

BB: I first meet with students and families in an official capacity early in their junior year. The entire process begins much earlier, though, and is spelled out in detail at communityschool.org. Go to the “Academics” tab and then to “College Counseling.” This is a great starting point in familiarizing yourself with our resources and what to expect.

CS: Final words of wisdom?

BB: A Community School education is not all about getting into college. Students are here to get the most they can from our curriculum, our programs, and our faculty. The by-product is being accepted to a great college. If a student feels excited about his or her college choice, then we did our job.

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The most selective schools aren’t always the best schools for a student.

They are simply the ones that receive, and reject, the most applications.

—Bags Brokaw

Director of college counseling

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