Step Into College by Ian Griffin

St ep I n to Col l ege www.stepintocollege.com

WHY YOUR KIDS SHOULDN’T GO TO HARVARD Marty Nemko, Ph.D.

THE TRUTH ABOUT STUDENT-FACULTY RATIOS AND CLASS SIZE Mark Montgomery, Ph.D.

Fall 2008

WHAT HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES DON’T TELL YOU An Interview with Elizabeth Wissner-Gross

REJECTION LETTERS | CHOOSE A COLLEGE BY FIT—NOT RANK FALL CHeckLIST | 10 TIPS for getting into college

FALL CHECKLIST STEPS TO TAKE BETWEEN SEPTEMBER AND DECEMBER, BY GRADE

9 10 11 12

Meet with your counselor

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Get more involved with your extracurricular activities Go to college fairs in your area Make a list of the colleges that interest you, request catalogs and application forms for each of the schools

Narrow your list of colleges to review with your counselor

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Be aware of the last chance Fall testing dates

Plan for end of year tests: SAT Reasoning, ACT & SAT Subject tests

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Have official test scores sent to colleges on your list

Request teacher and counselor recommendations

Write college application essay

Organize files for college marketing materials

Take NCAA-approved courses if you want to play sports in college

Complete college applications

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Early Application/Early Decision application deadlines in November University of California Admissions deadline November 30 Visit colleges when they are in session Complete college interviews and visits Arrange for high school transcripts to be sent to colleges Report selected test scores to colleges Be aware of scholarship deadlines Start talking about financial aid with parents and counselors

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Parents: Get prior year tax documents ready to fill out FASFA (after Jan 1st) www.fasfa.org

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Parents: Get your prior year tax documents ready to fill out CSS Profile (College Scholarship Service Profile) www.collegeboard.com

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Step Into College Fall 2008

St ep I n to Col l ege www.stepintocollege.com

Fall 2008

Fall Checklist

Steps to take between September & December, by grade.

WELCOME

Introduction to Step Into College.

WHAT HIGH SCHOOLS aND 6 COLLEGES DON'T TELL YOU

Controversial author Elizabeth Wissner-Gross shares her thoughts on today's competitive college admissions and what parents can do to help. An Interview

San Francisco Bay Area columnist Nemko urges families WHY YOUR KIDS SHOULDN't 10 to look beyond the Ivies for a stellar education at an go to harvard affordable price. BY Marty Nemko, Ph.D. the truth about student-Faculty ratios 15 and class size

Blogger and college admissions counselor Montgomery highlights the motivation for colleges to report favorable student-teacher ratios and lists the questions you need to ask before applying. BY MARK Montgomery, PH.D.

rejection 18 letters

Psychologist and expert on criticism and rejection Elayne Savage shares tips on how parents and teens can best deal with college application rejection letters.

choose a college by fitâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;not rank

The executive director of Loren Popeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organization 21 explains why smaller colleges change lives.

BY Elayne Savage, PH.D.

TEN TIPS

BY marty o'connell

For getting into the college of your choice.

Sandra Griffin sandra@stepintocollege.com

WELCOME

Publisher

TO STEP INTO COLLEGE This is the first edition of a quarterly magazine designed as a resource for college-bound students and their families. This inaugural edition features articles by prominent experts in college admissions. Inside, you’ll hear from private college counselors, authors, psychologists and bloggers. Each has a distinct point of view on how to approach the arduous task of applying to college in the United States today. Not all of it is conventional wisdom, but then, the conventional is often not the wisest approach in today’s competitive college applications market.

Ian Griffin ian@stepintocollege.com

Editor

Emily Griffin Emily@stepintocollege.com

Associate Editor

Why Step Into College?

Our interest in the college applications process is a very personal one. We know first-hand what is involved in fully understanding all the options students face today when choosing where to go to college. We have helped our daughter enroll in a selective East Coast college. Our son is in high school and has quite an adventure ahead of him. We plan to seek out and publish very practical information that we ourselves find useful. This magazine will highlight some of the many steps that need to be taken to get into the college of your choice. There are many excellent books and websites on all aspects of the admissions process. We list many on our own website and in our series of Tips Booklets. We also know there are different viewpoints on the options available to students and families. The magazine is intended as a forum where these different viewpoints can be discussed. What Steps Are You Taking?

Please let us know what you think about the content we’ve published. Send us an email or call and leave a message. And if you’d like to write an article for the Winter 2008 edition please send it in. We’d especially like to hear from students – either those in high school getting ready for college, or those who are now in college. Write and tell us what worked for you, or what you wish you’d done differently. We wish you luck on every step you’ll take to get into the college of your choice.

Ian and Sandra Griffin Castro Valley, California

PO Box 20534 Castro Valley, CA 94546 510-962-4721 www.stepintocollege.com

Step Into College is a quarterly publication dedicated to providing practical information on getting into the college of your choice.

Step Into College Fall 2008

Fact-Filled Handy Guides A library of information at your fingertips. These pocket-sized guides fit into your folder or backpack. Order your copies today from www.stepintocollege.com $5.99 each plus shipping

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Fall 2008 Step Into College

What High Schools and Colleges

DON’T TELL YOU

An Interview with Elizabeth Wissner-Gross

What’s so controversial about the information you share in your books?

Probably what’s most controversial is the fact that I’m a strong advocate for 1) parental involvement and 2) encouraging children to become goal oriented and pursue their dreams. Lots of educational administrators— at high schools and colleges—would prefer that parents abdicate all responsibility for their teenagers’ educations. These administrators believe that their jobs would be a lot easier if parents removed themselves from the equation. That may be true, but I have seen how strong family academic support and rapport result in far more successful students and often happier families. In addition, I advocate that children feel much more optimistic and focused when they’re in touch with their aspirations—and have a sense of how to set goals to reach those aspirations. I believe that goal-setting is an important skill to learn at an early age. Those with opposing views give less credence to children’s dreams and advocate a more laissez-faire, haphazard, unstructured childhood.

Do colleges and high schools sometimes give you a hard time?

As an author, I have found that uniformly the college administrators I have spoken with have handled my inquiries professionally and candidly— including my most difficult questions. They really seem to care about their applicants. As a group, I found college admissions officers to be a compassionate and thoughtful bunch— not the cold-hearted judgmental types that people imagine. I have little or no direct contact with high school administrators. I tell my students not to mention that they work with me to their guidance counselors, at college interviews, and on their applications—working with a private consultant is still considered by some (especially school guidance counselors) to be controversial.

Step Into College Fall 2008

You’re incredibly well informed. How did you find out all this information?

My books are based on years of research, starting perhaps with my own high school experience, when I observed that certain students in my high school—not necessarily the

most talented, smartest, affluent, or well-connected students—seemed to have much more “insider information” about admission into the most selective colleges than others. These in-the-know students were accepted into multiple very prestigious universities—as if they possessed a magic ticket. So I wanted to know that information too. The more I studied these students, the more I realized that what was different about these students was that they arrived at their senior year of high school with outstandingly appealing academic credentials—beyond good grades and standardized test scores— that made them overwhelming shoo-ins who were irresistible to universities. How would a high school student know how or where to acquire these credentials? It dawned on me that their parents had engaged in careful research and orchestration—finding them the right opportunities—during high school, so they would stand out among college applicants. By the time I had kids of my own, I became obsessive about knowing what opportunities were available to high school students that would make them stand out—for the benefit of

Elizabeth Wissner-Gross is a college counselor and author of two books about college admissions. We sat down with Ms. Wissner-Gross asked her how she came to write these books and her views on the role of parents in the admissions process.

my own children and to satisfy my own curiosity. As a journalist, I wrote articles on educational vacations, field trips, children’s media, and after-school programs. I interviewed the parents of some of my childhood peers years later to find out what they knew, and then went on to interview heads of college admissions, admissions officers, college professors who sat on admissions committees, high school guidance counselors, and heads of prestigious “feeder” programs that seemed to “feed” students right into the most competitive colleges without any barriers. To my joy, I learned that many wonderful opportunities exist in practically every academic field that interests students—that students need not do something tedious or boring to earn the most impressive credentials for college. I applied everything I learned to my own children—feeling free to let my own kids pursue the academic passions that captivated them most and knowing that this would make them even more appealing to colleges. And then later, I applied the same wisdom to the children I work with as a consultant, and have been very pleased with the college admissions results.

Can you give some examples of families who used your techniques to beat the odds and help their kid get into college?

Because the odds of getting into a most competitive college have gotten ridiculously low—fewer than 1 in 10 qualified applicants got into Harvard, Yale, and Princeton this year, for example—anyone who got into a mostcompetitive college this year “beat the odds.” From that perspective, all of my students “beat the odds” this year. I’m so proud of them.

Who are your students?

I work with students and their families locally, nationally, and internationally. Some start in 8th grade; others contact me during junior year or even last-minute in senior year. I try to limit my seniors to 30 students, but I take on an unlimited number of younger students, with whom I consult by phone and Internet year-round. Parents who want to work with me may contact me at elizabethwissnergross@gmail.com.

Q Q

Your advice is very frank, do some people find you too blunt?

No. People contact me because they want blunt advice. They’re often shocked to find that I’m also very supportive and affirming. If you could give four pieces of advice to parents, what would you tell them?

1. Teach your children that learning is fun—from the get-go—so you never have to battle them to do homework. Never say to them something like “Do your homework first, and then you can have fun later,” or it will come back to haunt you forever more. You will have taught your child that learning ISN’T fun, and you will spend years devising incentives, punishments, and strategies to goad them to do it, always making you into the bad guy. 2. Expose your child to all of the different exciting fields, careers, artistic pursuits, and scientific explorations when they’re young, and then support your child’s interests once you see him/ her gravitating toward different fields

Fall 2008 Step Into College

to which you’ve exposed him/her. 3. Parents, you are the only opportunity scouts your children have—it’s not written into anyone else’s job description to surf the Internet or phone around to find excellent summer programs, internships, awards, scholarships, or after-school training for your children. So if you don’t find opportunities for your child, nobody else will. 4. If you do your parenting job well, parenting gets better and easier every day. If you do it badly, it gets worse and worse as your kids become teenagers.

involved parents can be extremely helpful—beyond paying the application fee—particularly if the children are applying to competitive colleges. Parents should feel encouraged to explore prospective colleges with their kids, visit colleges, attend info sessions, take campus tours, suggest appropriate application essay topics, proofread their kids’ applications and essays, fill out all the financial forms, organize the application files at home (if the student is applying to many colleges), handle the photocopying and mailing, transport their kids to interviews (if

students aspiring to competitive, more competitive, and the most competitive colleges. With admissions odds of less than 1 in 10 at the most competitive colleges this year, I would say it’s almost impossible to be selected if you haven’t worked with a knowledgeable strategist—no matter how qualified you are. Before hiring a strategist, inquire about the counselor’s success rates, or ask other parents whose kids have gotten into top colleges whom they used. I would also warn parents: Not all counselors understand strategy. In fact,

When it comes to college admissions, involved parents can be extremely helpful...particularly if the children are applying to competitive colleges.

Is it possible for parents to be too involved in the college admissions process? Do you meet many ‘helicopter parents’ who need to back off?

I’m an advocate for generous parental involvement in education. Studies have shown that children of supportive, involved parents perform significantly better in school. But parents need to be careful not to take over a child’s work or hijack the kid’s homework making the child feel incapable of doing his or her own work. The whole purpose of education is empowerment of the student—and if parents rob the kid of skill-gaining exercises or challenges, the parent may be actually robbing the child of an education. When it comes to college admissions,

the kids have no other means of getting there)… But the student always should write his or her own application essays and personal statements, and parents should not be present or “hovering” at any interviews with their kids.

Step Into College Fall 2008

You work as a college counselor. Do you think people need personal help or is it possible to do it alone by reading books and web sites?

If the student is applying to a less competitive college, he or she could probably handle the entire college application process alone. Most applications are self-explicit and user-friendly. Working with a savvy private college counselor can be handy for

most don’t. Avoid hiring any counselor who says that admission is at best a “gamble” or “hit-and-miss.”

Getting into a top college has never been more competitive. What role can parents play in helping their kid get into the college of their dreams?

The most competitive colleges first look at grades and standardized test scores. Supportive parents can create a home setting conducive to getting top grades—by working with their kids as a team to study and achieve. (See my book What Colleges Don’t Tell You for more on this.) Parents can also help their children with standardized tests, by encouraging their kids to take lots of practice tests, or to get tutoring help or

enroll in test-prep classes. Once students have the right grades and scores, they’re in the right “pool.” But so are tens of thousands of other wonderfully qualified students. So parents can be most helpful in finding opportunities (contests, internships, jobs, courses, after-school programs, fund-raising opportunities) that coincide best with their children’s interests, to help their children pursue activities that make them stand out. (See my book What High Schools Don’t Tell You for descriptions of opportunities.)

applicants (and their families) have become increasingly frenzied, trying to devise methods to guarantee access to the increasingly limited spaces— with lower percentages gaining access each year. My answer is not to blame the applicants or their parents for being ambitious, nor the admissions officers for being selective. The fact is we need more space at top-notch universities. (Yale will be increasing its student body by 15 percent; Princeton has been undergoing an 11 percent increase over a four-year period starting in 2005.)

Isn’t your advice really just meant for gifted kids? How can parents help an average student better their chances?

I believe that all kids are gifted, and my books apply to all college applicants who are seeking admission into competitive colleges. We all have much to contribute to this planet. It’s just a matter of finding where one’s talents, gifts, and interests lie—and then developing those attributes wholeheartedly with gusto.

What's lacking in the American college admissions system are enough spaces for serious young scholars at the more and most competitive universities.

Do you think the admissions game has gotten out of hand?

No. What’s lacking in the American college admissions system are enough spaces for serious young scholars at the more and most competitive universities. The applicant pool has been increasing dramatically, but the number of spaces available has stayed the same. There are far more qualified students (in terms of GPA and standardized test scores) applying than places available at the most competitive colleges. As a result,

I suggest that some 2nd-tier or even 3rd-tier colleges start exploring ways to transform faster into 1st-tier colleges, accepting the 1st-tier “runoff” students, and that next-tier colleges explore ways to offer students the same kind of challenges and academic opportunities that 1st- and 2nd-tier colleges are known for, a process that's already happening to some extent, but needs to be pushed faster. Everybody wins.

So what’s next? Any plans for another book?

I’ll be conducting a series of oneday workshops for students to “Write Your Own Essay in One Day” in the New York Area in September, October and November. (Read about it at my website: Educationalstrategy.org.) In addition, I’ll be working on another college admissions book, the nature of which I can’t disclose yet. Meanwhile, my 'High Schools' book is now available in paperback as of early July.

Elizabeth Wissner-Gross trained as a professional journalist. She has been creating educational strategies for families, schools, educational programs and school districts for the past decade. She has helped students, including her own children, gain admission offers into Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT and other of the nation’s most competitive colleges. She can be reached at elizabethwissnergross@gmail.com.

Fall 2008 Step Into College

Step Into College Fall 2008

Why Your Kids Shouldn’t Go To Harvard (even if they could get in)  Marty Nemko, PH.D.

I fear that you will dismiss me out of hand, but after many years in higher education, I’ve come to strongly believe that Ivy universities, let alone less-selective yet equally expensive ones (e.g., Boston University, Emory, Marquette, Syracuse, Tulane, U.S.C., University of Miami, Villanova) aren’t worth the money. In my view, the middle class would be wisest to choose a college primarily based on price and geography. Fall 2008 Step Into College

know, I know. You’re afraid that in choosing a low-cost college, you’ll save the money but shortchange your child: she’ll miss out on the stellar education, superior students, and career advantages that a designerlabel diploma brings. I believe that the evidence is clear that these fears are unjustified. Stellar Education

Paradoxically, the quality of instruction at brand-name colleges is likely to be worse than at no-name institutions. Many professors interested in undergraduate teaching avoid places like Harvard or Stanford because

Berkeley said, “Undergraduate teaching is a necessary evil.” So it’s no surprise that the definitive review of the literature (Astin, 1997) finds absolutely no relationship between a college’s cost and the amount of learning that accrues. Perhaps more surprising, a number of major studies (summarized in Pascarella et al, 1996) found that students, even high-ability students, learn as much at a community college (where teaching is Job One) as they would have had they spent their first two years at a four-year college. And the U.S. Department of Education (Adelman, 1999) found that students who, after the first two years, transfer

to moderate the pressure, can do so by taking fewer honors classes and hanging out with non-honors students. This isn’t an option at an Ivy League college. This is a more important benefit than might first be apparent. The second most common complaint at Harvard’s student health service is stress and burnout. Career Advantages

Although it’s easier to make connections at a prestigious college, it’s far from certain that you’ll make connections that will actually help your career. As you’ll see below, many, many students, having mortgaged their

Paradoxically, the quality of instruction at brand-name colleges is likely to be worse than at no-name institutions. teaching is all but ignored in hiring and promotion. The Carnegie Foundation’s Ernest Boyer was only half-joking when he said, “Winning the campus teaching award is the kiss of death when it comes time for tenure.” Class sizes at places like Harvard are unconscionable. A freshman or sophomore is likely to spend half of class time in an auditorium. How absurd that these places charge $150,000 for four years to educate our best and brightest yet have the nerve to so heavily use the cheapest, least effective method of instruction: the large lecture. Fact: prestigious universities are mainly in the business of doing research. As one astronomy professor at the University of California,

Step Into College Fall 2008

to a four-year college, have the same chance of completing their bachelor’s degree as those who started at four-year colleges. In short, there is no evidence that attending a high-sticker-price college results in greater learning. Ivy-Caliber Students

Many low-cost colleges have patches of Ivy called the honors program: Ivycaliber students taught in small classes by the institution’s top professors. The honors program usually continues outside the classroom with optional honors residence halls and special extracurricular activities. And because an honors program is embedded in a regular campus, a student who wants

family’s financial security by attending an expensive private college, graduate feeling disillusioned, even ripped off. You might protest, “But look at the most successful people! So many came from places like Harvard and Yale.” Yes, Ivy graduates are disproportionately represented in top positions, but that doesn’t mean the college was causal. On average, Ivy-caliber kids are smarter, come from better schools, and have brighter, better-connected parents. You probably could lock Ivy-caliber high school in a closet for the four years of college and, on average, they’d end up with much better careers than other students. A study reported in the American

Economic Review concluded that even in terms of earnings, “What matters most is not which college you attend, but what you did while you were there. (That means choosing a strong major, choosing professors carefully, getting involved in leadership activities, getting to know professors)...Measured college effects are small, explaining just one to two percent of the variance in earnings.” (James, et al, 1989). Loren Pope, in Colleges That Change Lives (Penguin, 1996) wrote that in 1994, “the New York Times reported that a quarter of Harvard’s class of 1958 had lost their jobs, were looking for work, or on welfare, just when their careers should have been cresting... Many in the class of ‘58 thought their degrees ensured career success. They were wrong.” The autobiographical sketches written for the 35th reunion “did not radiate with expressions of success and optimism” said author and Yale professor Erich Segal. Quite the contrary, they seemed like a litany of loss and disillusion.” And Harvard was not alone. Alumni groups at other Ivy League schools, the author added, “are reporting that their members in growing numbers are suffering from the upheavals in corporate America. If there is a lesson in all this it is that a degree from a college like Harvard is no longer the lifetime guarantee of success in careers that it used to be.” In addition to the money savings of attending No-Name College versus Ol’ Ivy, there’s the enormous benefit of your child not having to prostitute himself to get in. It hurts me to see what Ivy aspirants do in their often futile attempt to get into these notworth-it institutions. In tenth grade, they may sign up for PSAT prep tutors--and the PSAT doesn’t even count! They go on to take SAT prep courses on top of all the rest of their

How I Recommend That Your Child Choose a College Consider tuition cost Unless your annual income is under $40,000, which would make you likely to get significant cash (not loan) financial aid, or are too wealthy to care, your child should apply to colleges with a low sticker price. He will learn as much, you’ll save a fortune, and you will spare your child the inordinate stress and waste of time of trying to get into colleges that well may not be worth the money. The following, in my view, are top-value colleges. In addition to a relatively low sticker price, they score well, on average, on these criteria: good location, good student quality, a campus culture that welcomes true diversity of ideas (not just politically correct ones), and a name that opens career doors. The larger institutions, which I’ve starred, do suffer from being research-first/students-second institutions, but their low price and desirability on other factors justifies their inclusion.  Rice: A Big-Oil endowment has created a better-than-Ivy college at half the price.  *UCLA: The honors program is a patch of Ivy at a State U price.  Mary Washington College: Like a small private college at a public price–in a Jeffersonian setting an hour from D.C.  *McGill: A great city (Montreal), strong students, and the Canadian 69-cent dollar makes McGill a deal.  *University of Toronto: Easier to get into than McGill.  Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo: California weather, excellent students in its strong majors (e.g., architecture, engineering), $1,000 annual tuition. Safe, quaint town.  *University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Good students, ideal location, great basketball tradition, bargain price.  *University of Virginia: Top students in the ultimate Jeffersonian, colonnaded setting.  Santa Monica College: A nearly free two-year college that feeds many students to UCLA and Berkeley. Near the beach, near L.A.

Choose based on geography Most students end up happier attending a college that’s within laundry distance of home.

Consider the weather factor Weather affects you every day of the year, so choosing a college in a warm-winter state will likely matter.

Consider the urban/rural question Most students are happier at urban or suburban rather than rural colleges: they’re closer to varied recreational options and to internships. On the other hand, if your child grew up in an urban or suburban environment and is curious about a more bucolic existence, it might be worth trying a rural college although a frequent complaint at middle-of-nowhere colleges is, “There’s nothing to do here but drink.”

courses, and may take the SAT two or three times in hopes (usually vain) of getting a score improved-enough to enhance their chances of admission. In eleventh grade, they start taking Advanced Placement classes that are often filled with material that is hard but not important. After school, they join clubs or do community service mainly because it will look good to the colleges. Kids who don’t give a damn about rowing a boat, suddenly in the eleventh grade, force themselves to wake at three in the morning every day to freeze their butts off rowing a boat so they can list “crew team” on their college applications. In summers, although they may be sick of school, they enroll in yet more school by attending overpriced college-based summer programs in the unrealistic hope that it will impress the colleges. In senior year, they complete 8-10 long,

essay-laden applications to hard-to-getinto colleges to maximize their chances that at least one will say yes. And as a reward, each year, many thousands of these Ivy aspirants are rejected from all Ivys to which they applied and end up attending a perfectly fine and less expensive college to which they could have been admitted without having had to endure that ordeal. Just think, if your child applies only to easier-to-get-into public colleges, she can have a more rewarding high school life, in which she did activities because she finds them interesting rather than just to impress. And yes, attending Low-Cost College means you’re far less likely to risk your financial security. My daughter practiced what I preach. Although she was admitted to Williams College, one of the nation’s most prestigious, she turned it down to go to an easier-to-get into public institution

which cost 70% less. There, as a top student, she was taken under wing by professors, got appointed to universitywide governance committees, and got touted for terrific post-college opportunities—she spent a year in the White House writing Hilary Clinton’s daily briefings. If she had attended Williams, she would likely have been lost among its many top students. And we would have been nearly $100,000 poorer. This way, there was money left for graduate school.

Adelman, C. Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment, Washington DC: U.S. Dept. of Education, 1999. Astin, A. What Matters in College? San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1997. Boyer, E. Personal communication. James, E., N. Alsalam, and J. Conaty, “College Quality and Future Earnings: Where should you send your child to college?” American Economic Review, Vol. 79, No. 2., 1989. Pascarella, E, M. Edison, A. Nora, L. Hagedorn, and P. Terenzini. Cognitive Effects of Community Colleges and Four-Year Colleges. Community College Journal, Jan. 1996, pp. 36-39. Pope, L. Colleges That Change Lives. Penguin, 1996.

Dr. Marty Nemko is among the nation’s most sought-after experts on both career and education issues. Marty has been interviewed in hundreds of major media— from CNN and NPR to the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. His first book, How to Get Your Child a Private School Education in a Public School, was named one of the year’s Ten Musts by the American School Board Association. His next book, How to Get an Ivy League Education at a State University, was the only college guide of eight reviewed to receive an A rating from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. His book The All-in-One College Guide has been praised as inordinately useful by countless parents. This article is reprinted with his express permission from his website www.martynemko.com. He can be reached at mnemko@comcast.net.

Step Into College Fall 2008

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What the Statistics Don't Tell You

MaRK MONTGOMERY, PH.D. am often asked about which statistics provide the best information about the quality of the education offered by this or that college or university. One of the most-oft cited statistics is the

student-to-faculty ratio. Every major publication and ranking system (e.g., US News, the Princeton Review, the Fiske Guide) slavishly reports these figures and uses them to compare one college against another. The student-to-faculty supposedly reflects the intimacy of the educational experience. One would assume that the lower the ratio, the more contact a student will have with faculty members. One might also assume that

institutions with lower ratios would have smaller class sizes, on average, than one with a higher ratio. Since these are the common assumptions among the public, college administrators have a clear incentive to keep this ratio as low as possible. I advise folks to take these ratios with a grain of salt. The range of ratios does not vary all that much from one institution to another. And the ratio does not tell you much about the classroom

Fall 2008 Step Into College

experience. You will want to ask other questions that tell you more about the intimacy of the educational experience. The Facts Behind the Statistics

As with most statistics, undue attention to a college’s student-to-faculty ratio or average class size can mask more important facts about the quality of education at a particular college.  Some of the smallest classes are taught by the least effective, least popular professors. In a world of university tenure, bad professors cannot be chased out. So they end up teaching ever-smaller numbers of students, while the more effective, popular instructors see their class sizes swell.  Class sizes in some departments are much smaller than in other departments. Courses for popular majors such as history, economics, and biology may be large, while equally good courses in anthropology and art history may be tiny. Here quality of the individual course is not the issue–it’s the popularity of the major.

dollars on obscure courses.  Professors generally do not like teaching huge courses–not because they hate lecturing–but because they hate grading so many tests and term papers. So they ask administrators to cap enrollments, insisting that “small classes are better” (when, in fact, they are simply concerned about their own work load).  Professors and administrators cap enrollments in popular courses in order to keep the average class size small. Even the most popular courses may not be allowed to grow large–because administrators are protecting the institutional ratio.  Enrollment caps mean that students are often shut out of courses they really want to take. Popular courses taught by rock star professors may be open only to seniors, or to majors, or to those who beg effectively. Most colleges have a system for allocating spaces in small but popular courses (and you’ll want

longer to graduate: the average is now about 4.5 years. Many small colleges will offer some sort of guarantee that students can graduate within four years, and will make adjustments to ensure that you get the classes you need. At larger universities, however, you will want to be careful in how you plan your courses—and you may have to make some compromises on course selection—if you want to graduate on time. Questions to Ask When You Are Considering Applying

As a parent or prospective student, what questions should you be asking as you investigate colleges? Since the statistics regarding student-to-faculty ratio and average class size are not all that helpful, what questions can help you get a better sense of educational quality? In addition to asking about studentto-faculty ratios and the average class size, try these as follow-on questions:  Regarding student-to-faculty ratios: What percentage of students is locked

Because administrators want to ensure that they have a low average class size, they limit enrollment in some courses.  Regardless of the popularity of the department, some of the smallest classes are in obscure subjects. Some are new courses professors are trying out for the first time. Some be experimental or are closely tied to faculty research interests. Few students are willing to risk tuition

Step Into College Fall 2008

to know what that system is). But no matter whether you attend a large university or a small one, you can expect that you will not get a seat in every course that tickles your fancy.  Because students cannot get the classes they want when they want them, more and more students are taking

out of courses they want to take? What is the system for allocating slots in popular courses? Is this problem greater in some majors more than others? Which are most affected?  Regarding small class sizes: What percentage of courses is taught by part-time instructors or adjunct

professors? Which departments have the highest percentage of adjuncts? Does your college guarantee graduation within four years? If not, what is the average amount of time students to take to graduate? Does this statistic vary by department? Class Sizes at Harvard

While its student-to-faculty ratio than is an ultra-low 6-to-1, Harvard is a much larger institution with many graduate programs. Graduate students routinely do the grading and run the discussion sections for large courses, which may extend into the junior year in popular majors (I myself was a graduate assistant in the government department for an upper-level course of nearly 150 students). Most of my friends who attended Harvard as undergraduates will admit that the quality of undergraduate teaching at Harvard is not all that terrific. To be a graduate student at Harvard is to be on top of the heap; but undergraduates shouldn’t expect to develop many tight, personal bonds with professors. Look Beyond Statistics

Choosing a college is a tricky business. Statistics, while a handy measure of certain facts, may not tell us everything we want to know about the quality of education offered by a particular institution. Your best bet it to look beyond the statistics in the college search process. And consider getting some expert advice. If you plan to spend $250,000 on a college education, shouldn’t you be asking the right questions to help you spend your money wisely?

An article in the March/April 2008 issue of the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine explains how the quest to keep classes has some undesirable effects. As at all other universities, some departments are more popular than others. A “small class” in the economics department at Dartmouth is 30 students: the department would likely cancel a class with such “low” enrollment. In the department of anthropology, however, a “small” class might be 5 or 6 students. A raw, institutional statistic like average class size is therefore meaningless: you need to examine the statistic department by department. Dartmouth has also found that as faculty and administrators strive to keep classes small, the result can be that students cannot enroll in all the classes they want. In the department of economics, with 453 students registered as majors, minors, or modified majors, students get closed out of as many of 20 percent of their course choices, a rate that far exceeds the rate of closeouts campus wide. (Note to future economics majors: if you really want to small classes, go to a college where economics is NOT a popular major.) Believe me, this is not the sort of information you will hear from an admissions director at most colleges. To Dartmouth’s credit, however, the administration has been willing to share these problems with their alumni, perhaps in the hope that alumni will give the money necessary to hire more faculty members, and so continue to deliver on its educational promise. To me, the quality of the education at Dartmouth is more a function of the quality of the faculty and the quality of the student body. With its relatively large endowment and generous alumni body, Dartmouth offers higher salaries to faculty, and with keen competition for faculty positions, Dartmouth can afford to be more discriminating in its tenure offers. Structure and mission of the college also has an impact on the quality of education—perhaps more than either the student-to-faculty ratios or the statistics on average class size. Dartmouth is fundamentally an undergraduate institution, and its professors are dedicated to the undergraduate experience.

Mark Montgomery, Ph.D., is an independent college consultant who has worked as the associate dean at the University of Denver, an instructor at Harvard University, and a high school teacher at Saint Mary’s Academy in Denver. He advises clients from all over the country in the college selection and admissions process. He can be reached via his website and blog at www.GreatCollegeAdvice.com.

Fall 2008 Step Into College

REJECTION LETTERS BY ELAYNE SAVAGE, PH.D. Your First Rejection Letter Most Likely Won’t Be Your Last

Rejection letters are a fact of life. They are not only from college admission offices. You’ll probably have to deal with rejection letters more than once in your life. Maybe from a job application, from a boss turning down your pay raise request, from the decision maker about a project you’ve proposed, or even from a gallery, editor or casting director. I was recently quoted in a Forbes.com piece on handling college rejection letters. This was published at the time of year when everyone in the household is waiting and hoping for the arrival of a fat envelope from the longed for college. You know. Fat. Fat enough to contain all the forms to fill out that come with news of an acceptance. But what if a thin envelope shows up in the mailbox instead? Thin enough to contain that one page rejection form letter. How does the applicant deal with the disappointment? How do other family members react? And for that matter, who is more disappointed, the student or the family? The Forbes reporter and I discussed struggles parents and students have during the application process. We talked about ways the rejected teen can handle the situation. We also talked about the parents’ tendency to become overly invested in the outcome. Putting on the Pressure

If parents have their hearts set on a certain college for their child, they may

Step Into College Fall 2008

put on the pressure. That particular school may not be the right fit at all for the student. Yet the parent pushes for it. And pushes and pushes. What if the student feels pushed beyond their comfortable limits? What if they are unable or afraid to say “no?” This is when continued pressure can feel coercive. Why does this pushing occur? Some parents don’t know how to separate their own needs from those of their children. Sometimes parents get confused about what is best for their kids. Instead, it becomes about what is best for the parent. Confusing Boundary Confusion

For the sake of definition, let’s call this type of confusion: confusion of personal boundaries. The parents’ needs overshadow the child’s needs. The student loses his or her sense of identity by trying so hard to please parents, not wanting to let them down. The student might feel like a non-person with no needs. Feeling like a non-person is a bit like feeling invisible. Like you don’t count. Feeling discounted equals feeling rejected. There are lots of situations where parents’ boundary confusion occurs. The “hit-a-home-run-for-me” parent makes the softball game about him or herself. Their child’s home run is their home run. The stage-mom mom (or dad) takes on their child’s stage triumph as their own. And they take it personally if their offspring flubs a line or misses a cue.

Confused Vicarious Parents

Parents of college applicants get caught up in this mushy boundary web as well. Their child’s acceptance becomes their acceptance. A rejection is experienced as if it were the parent’s own rejection. Again, for the sake of definition let’s call this type of parent: ‘vicarious parent.’ And for the sake of being fair, parents are usually not aware of the vicarious nature of their interactions with their children. American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines ‘vicarious’ as: Felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another. Dictionary.com Unabridged says: Performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another. Parents who tend to live vicariously through their children are usually a bit unclear about where they stop and their child begins. They encourage their children to achieve in a way that meets the parent’s own unmet goals. And the goal is sometimes not realistic for the child at all. Instead it’s the parents’

unfulfilled dreams that they urge their child to carry out. These kinds of dreams often propel parents to follow their own agendas, without regard for the best interest of the child. It’s often about the ‘performer’ the parent had hopes of becoming: on the playing field, on the stage, in school. When you get right down to it, the child might feel dismissed, disregarded or even discarded. Each of these feels like a rejection. And they are. Here’s how I describe vicarious parenting in Don’t Take It Personally! The Art of Dealing with Rejection: These parents see their children’s performance in life as a reflection of their own competence. If the children do well, the parents feel like good parents, successful parents. If the children fall below expectations, the parents feel inadequate and shamed. Then the children are often made to feel inadequate and shamed. The children may lose their sense of self, trading ’self’ for service to the parents. It’s the on the stage part

Elayne Meets The Saint

My mother’s first big push to make me a star was when I was 6 years old. I remember it was my birthday party. My friends and I were eating ice cream and cake when the phone rang. It was for me. A man from the Washington Post asked to speak to me. “Congratulations little girl. Your poem just won our big contest for the new comic strip, The Saint. Your prize is to read it on the radio.” I was very confused. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I didn’t know anything about a contest. I didn’t write any poem. But my mother knew all about it. She wrote the poem. Making it sound as if six year old might write it. And she didn’t tell me. She just sent it to the newspaper. How was I going to read the poem on the radio? I couldn’t read very well. Her answer was to make me memorize it. Every night after dinner I stood in front of my mother practicing the poem. She’s say each line and I’d repeat after her. Again. And again.

The words were drilled into my head. Day after day. There was some very serious drilling during the long streetcar ride across town to the radio station. At the studio all the gleaming microphones overwhelmed me. The booming voice of the show host made me nervous. I stood in front of the microphone, feeling like a fraud, pretending I wrote the poem. And scared to death. The time arrived to say my poem. I messed up. I forgot the words. My parents were embarrassed. No, that really doesn’t describe it. They were mortified. All their friends and relatives had tuned in to the station that afternoon. And their ‘big star’ daughter messed up and let them down big time. Letting Parents Down

Over the years this same scenario replayed following dance recitals and plays. They would be especially upset with me when their friends or relatives were in the audience. Each time I’d see that disappointed look on my mother’s face. Each time I felt like I could never be good enough. Each time I felt let her down.

Parents who tend to live vicariously through their children are usually a bit unclear about where they stop and their child begins. that I’m most familiar with. My mother wanted me to be the star she never became. From the time I was very young, she pushed me into the spotlight. Sometimes I didn’t want to go. But I didn’t dare say no.

I’ll never forget the poem I didn’t write: I like to read the Post each day To see what The Saint has to say. His deeds and actions thrill me most, That’s why I like to read the Post.

And that brings us back to the college rejection situation. When that too-thin envelope shows up in the mail, students sometimes feel that they have let their parents down. So many people are waiting to see

Fall 2008 Step Into College

what the college admissions office decides. The student, the parents, the school counselor, relatives, friends. It isn’t just the applicant’s disappointment. It’s shouldering the expectations and disappointments of what must feel like the whole world. Waiting for a decision from colleges brings on another family situation. How do they deal with anxiety? Everyone has anxiety while waiting, but here boundary confusion again enters in. During stressful situations anxious feelings can get passed around from person to person. For example, the parent might be experiencing memories of past rejections or disappointments. As the tension builds the teen may be absorbing their parent’s fears and anxiety. This situation is similar to the exchange of anxiety that occurs in some families on the first day of preschool or kindergarten. The child’s own

nervousness increases as it becomes a reflection of the parent’s anxieties. For example let’s say that the parent is re-experiencing their own difficult “first day” at school. And the child picks up the tension. When this happens, they are not just dealing with their own worries but with their parent’s worries as well.

 Both parents and teens would do well to try to try to keep personal boundaries straight. To understand what feelings belong to whom. What goals belong to who. And what disappointments belong to whom. Passing feelings and anxiety around the family only adds another layer of tension to the situation.

Tips for Dealing with Rejection Letters

 Labeling and expressing feelings of rejection and disappointment helps you to deal with the loss. And it IS a loss.

 Remind yourself it’s not personal. Colleges (or potential employers, or meeting planners or galleries) are looking for a fit. It’s something like auditioning for a play you long to be cast in. And even thought you know you are talented and terrific, you don’t get the role. An actor I know reminds herself that not getting a part is no reflection on her talent. She has a placard on her office wall that reminds her: ‘It’s selection, not rejection.’

 Try hard to see that there is a future after rejection. Remind yourself that making good grades and transferring is always possible. If your choice of career needs graduate school, remind yourself that the graduate school attended makes undergraduate college have far less importance.

Dr. Elayne Savage, The Queen of Rejection™, is a skillful communication coach and internationally respected expert on taking things personally and the fear of rejection. Elayne has over twenty-five years in coaching, consulting, and clinical experience. She holds a Ph.D. in Family Psychology. A professional member of the National Speakers Association, she is a sought-after workshop leader, trainer, and consultant for a broad range of clients. She can be reached at elayne@QueenofRejection.com. Her website is www.QueenofRejection.com.

Step Into College Fall 2008

Choose a College by Fit—Not Rank BY MARTY O'CONNELL “No One Is Getting In Anywhere!”

I hear this statement far too often from high school students and parents, in big cities and small towns, all around the country. We exist in a namebrand obsessed culture, which creates stress inducing media headlines every Spring. They report only the attention grabbing results of a very narrow band of highly selective college admission decisions which are then translated by most students into the refrain above. The reality is far from those headlines, given that 70% is the average admit rate for all four year US colleges and universities, but this good news will never make the bold print. To counteract the notion that “a college can’t be any good if I’ve never heard of it”—another familiar student opinion—I challenge students to think about the people in their lives who are happy and successful and find out where or if, they went to college. Doing the same exercise using “famous” people, they discover that most often the choice of college has less to do with success in life than does the experience and the opportunities students take advantage of during their college years, coupled with personal qualities and traits. Employers and graduate schools are looking for outstanding skills and experience, not college pedigree. “Would you want college admission deans to put your application on the bottom of the pile, only because they have never heard of your high school?” This question usually turns the table and helps students to

see that there is far more to choosing a college than the name and that they will have great choices if they leave themselves open to the possibilities. Beyond College Rankings

If you had to choose a spouse or partner for life, would you like to use a publication ranking them by income, IQ scores, and reputation as reported by others who have never met the person? As a culture, we love consulting consumer guidebooks and lists for a shortcut method to choosing electronics and cars; the college search requires a more thoughtful, personal and time consuming approach. It can’t be reduced to rankings with numerical values when it requires starting with who the individual student is and why they are going to college, their needs and desires, and learning styles and interests. This self inventory is the start for finding colleges that “fit” for the individual, instead of starting with the assumption that only the “Top Twenty” on the US News and World Report list have any value. This ranking guide is not going away any more than the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated is leaving us—they sell big. But their value—or lack of it—in the college search process can certainly be diminished if students, parents and counselors go after fit, rather than name recognition. One of the biggest flaws in choosing a college by the rankings is that they tout the entering class statistics, rather

than focusing on what happens during the four years those students are enrolled. Loren Pope, author of Looking Beyond the Ivy League and Colleges That Change Lives, often known as the “Ralph Nader” of college admissions, has said that choosing colleges based on the entering statistics of the freshmen class, is like choosing a hospital based on the health of those in the ER—it’s the treatment that really matters; in the case of college, what happens between the first year and graduation. Researching colleges based on student outcomes, highlights many colleges that outperform the Ivies and Name Brands, but don’t have the benefit of name recognition. The research from the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium on the Undergraduate Origins of Ph.Ds finds colleges like Beloit, Denison, Earlham, Goucher, Hampshire, Kalamazoo, Lawrence, Marlboro, Reed, St. John’s, Wabash and Wooster listed in the top ten in various categories of producers of future Ph.Ds, often ahead of the highly recognized colleges and universities.

Fall 2008 Step Into College

Why Smaller Colleges are Better

“Bigger is better” usually goes hand in hand with our name brand obsession and eliminates great college choices if used as the first criteria for selection. Most residential liberal arts colleges have a population of fewer than 4,000 for a reason; college is a time to explore and a smaller community is more

individual interaction and far worse, unable to graduate in four years. Many large universities have established “honors colleges” within the larger university, for these same reasons. Students need to examine their reasons for going, before making the list of which colleges to apply to for admission. Why, really, are you

about college outcomes and provides a list of the right questions to ask in order to find the best fit for each student. The simple truth is that the majority of the colleges and universities in this country, admit more students than they deny. The college search process should be an enjoyable and memorable experience, not an exercise to be

One of the biggest flaws in choosing a college by the rankings is that they tout the entering class statistics, rather than focusing on what happens during the four years those students are enrolled.

conducive to internal exploration. It is not the number of people, but the people themselves and the kind of community in which you will learn, that really matters. At smaller colleges, it is easier to get involved in leadership and other campus activities, starting with the first semester, and to find mentorship and research opportunities with faculty members. Also, there is little value to attending a college with thousands of course offerings if a student can only gain access to a few and finds the class sizes too large for

going? What are your abilities and strengths? What are your weaknesses? What do you want out of life or in life—something tangible or intangible? Are you socially self-sufficient or do you need warm, familial support? And so on. Exploring these questions, with family, friends and high school counselors, the people who best know the student, can help in choosing colleges that match their learning style and goals. NSSE, The National Survey of Student Engagement, is a wonderful resource for gathering information

dreaded! This is not a trophy hunt, with a ‘winner takes all’ philosophy. Students who are worried about their chances for college admission and are willing to investigate beyond the very narrow band of highly selective colleges, will find many options that will lead to both a great fit, and a lifelong passion for learning.

Marty O’Connell is the Executive Director of Colleges That Change Lives (www.ctcl.org), a nonprofit organization, dedicated to the advancement and support of a student centered college search process. She can be reached at marty.oconnell@ctcl.org.

Step Into College Fall 2008

TIPS Into 10 Tips10 for Getting the College of Your for Getting IntoChoice the of Your Choice College The Middle School Years

Getting an Early Start

Find at least one enjoyable activity for the summer vacation before high school. Make it something focused that you can grow into a meaningful extra-curricular activity. Enjoy the summertime without wasting the opportunity by sitting around the house.

Requirements THE MIDDLE CHOOL YEARS Laying theS Foundation

Getting an Early Start

Take increasingly rigorous classes in high school to show that you have challenged yourself. Along with grades and your GPA this is the single most important part of your transcript. Admissions Officers like to see you stick with a subject even when it is challenging for you.

Skip the tougher questions in each SAT I section and return to them after the easier questions are completed. Leaving it blank is better than being penalized when you are unsure of the correct answer. SAT I penalizes your incorrect answers. The ACT does not.

Find at least one enjoyable activity for the summer vacation before high school. Make it something focused Standardized that you can growTesting into a meaningful extra-curricular activity. the Test Enjoy the summertime without wasting Passing the opportunity by sitting around the house.

Extr a Curricular Activity EQUIREMENTS

4 5

Finding Your Passion Laying the Foundation Look for volunteer opportunities in your own back yard. Traveling to exotic locales to volunteer rarely impresses admissions officers. Simple, humble service to which you have truly dedicated yourself impresses the admissions office much more than a foreign trip.

Take increasingly rigorous classes in high school to show that you have challenged yourself. Along with gradesChoosing and your GPA is the single most important part of your a this College Where Want to Go? transcript. Admissions Officers like to see Do youYou stick with a subject even when it is challenging for you. Look beyond the lists of top colleges. A prestigious name-brand college may not always be the best fit for you. Your best choice is based on your talents and interests. This is a school where you will succeed.

Recommendations, Interviews, TANDARDIZED ESTINGVisits

Having the College Choose You

Passing the Tests

Get to know your school counselor early in high school. A counselor’s recommendation can explain extenuating circumstances such as scheduling conflicts, family issues, or other facts that might have resulted in lower grades for a period of time.

Skip the tougher questions in each SAT I section and return to them after the easier questions are completed. Leaving it blank is better than being penalized when you are Application Process Filling Out theincorrect Forms unsure of the correct answer. SAT I penalizes your answers. The ACT does not.

Research the college before applying. You will be better prepared to write the essay and communicate to the admissions office why you are a good fit. Nothing sounds worse in an interview or on the application than mentioning a course they don’t offer! Know why you are interested in the college and express it clearly. XTRA URRICULAR CTIVITY

Finding Your Passion The Application Essay Writing the Essay

Look for in your own back yard. Traveling exotic to community Find the extraordinary in volunteer the ordinary opportunities instead of submitting clichéd topics. That means things liketotravel logslocales or how the service you did saved the world. Takeimpresses an everydayadmissions incident and pick an aspect of it that was earth-shattering for you.you It might be an incident volunteer rarely officers. Simple, humble service to which have from childhood that shaped who you are. truly dedicated yourself impresses the admissions office much more than a foreign trip. Decision Time

Negotiating Offers CHOOSING A COLLEGE

Know there are options even if you are rejected by all the colleges you applied to. The National Association for College Admissions Counseling has a “late admissions list.” This shows colleges that have places available at the end of the admissions process. Some colleges have “rolling admissions,” meaning they accept students year-round and will consider you if they have a place.

Where Do You Want to Go?

Look beyond the lists of top colleges. A prestigious name-brand college may not Financial always be the best fit for you. Your best choice is based on your talents and interests. This Paying the Tuition is a school where you will succeed.

Be aware that applying to expensive private colleges might cost you no more than state colleges. Their large endowments allow them to give more grants than public institutions. The costs are sometimes comparable if you qualify for financial need awards.

Excerpted from 110 Tips on Getting into the College of your Choice by Ian and Sandra Griffin • Available for $5.99 (plus shipping and tax) from www.stepintocollege.com • copyright © Sandra Griffin 2007

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Step Into College Fall 2008