Wednesday, October 29, 2014

School Specific Research

This article first appeared in GoLocalPDX.com on October 29, 2014.

If you are a junior, at this point in time you might have a list of 20–30 colleges that seem interesting based on general criteria like size, location, and available programs. How do you do research to narrow that list?
If you are a senior, you probably have a shorter list of schools you are applying to. Why did those schools make the cut? If you have to write a “Why this college?” essay or answer that question in an interview, are you prepared to give a detailed response?
School-specific research is an essential part of the college admissions process. It is time-consuming (approximately two hours per school), and many students skip this and rely on anecdotal information. Yet school-specific research is the best way to find out if a given school really is a great potential fit for you. The effort you expend per school doing this research will pay huge dividends when it comes to your applications.
I suggest you use a fill-in-the-blank sheet for each school to ensure consistency. When my students fill out this form, I ask them to include lots of links to the information so that they can easily get back to the source when they need it at a later date.
Here is what you should find out:

General Information

  • School name:
  • School home page URL: 
  • City and state: 
  • # of undergrads: 
  • Name and contact info of your admissions rep:
  • Middle 25–75% on SAT or ACT scores:

 

Academics

1. List the core (general ed) requirements at this school:
2. What is the school policy regarding credit for AP, dual-credit, or IB courses you have taken?
3. List the exact names of majors and minors you are considering at this school: 
4. List two courses (preferably with interesting titles) that you would have taken if you had been a student this year. To find them, you will use either the departmental website or the online course catalogue. The classes you pick should be ones that sound very exciting to you.
  • Course title:
  • Why this class sounds appealing:
  • URL where you found this info: 

5. List two professors whose academic interests and research appeal to you. Be sure to read each professor's bio and at least one of his/her published papers. You should easily find a link to the professor's works on the departmental website. The link may take you off the school website to a professional journal.
  • Professor name:
  • College department in which professor works:
  • Area of research/interest:
  • URL of info about the professor:
  • What paper or article you read:
  • URL to above article:
  • Why this research interests you:

6. Check out the feedback on Rate My Professors. What did you discover overall? 

 

Non-Academic Factors

1. Check out residence life. If you were to attend this college, what residence hall or theme house would you apply to and why?
2. List two clubs you hope to join if you attend this college.
  • Name of club:
  • What they do, if not obvious from the name:
  • URL where you found this info:

3. List one community service or outreach activity you plan to participate in if you attend this college. 
  • Name of service opportunity:
  • What they do:
  • Why this appeals to you:
  • URL where you found this info:

4. List the name of the student newspaper and read one issue:
5. List one school tradition in which you hope to participate. (Examples: painting the rock at Northwestern, betting for charity on which date the pumpkin will fall off the spire at University of Montana, Duck Day at University of Nevada, Reno)
  • Unique school tradition:
  • Describe the tradition:
  • URL where you found this info:

Resources for finding school-specific information: The individual school website will be your best source for information.
Reliable statistical data:
Opinion data:

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Common Application Prompt - Transition to Adulthood

This article first appeared in GoLocalPDX.com on October 22, 2014.

The intention of this series is to show readers a sample of a good essay in response to each of the Common Application prompts. This essay is an actual college admission essay, written and submitted by a real student. It is followed by comments from admissions professionals about what makes this personal statement effective.
Prompt: Describe an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community or family.
I stroll upstairs on a dreary winter afternoon, my mind on the upcoming first lacrosse game of the season and the 10th grade English paper due the next day. I notice the dog gate, installed upon the purchase of two pet rats, is carelessly left open. I call downstairs to my eleven-year-old brother, Tanner, and scold him for his irresponsibility. It was his idea to install this gate to protect his rats from our dog. Frustration soon turns to fear as I see my dog, Buster, heading down the hallway with an item in his mouth. I hope for the best, but something deep inside tells me that he is not chewing on one of his standard dog toys. I dive towards my guilty-looking pooch and grasp his collar, causing him to violently flick his prize into the wall. My heart drops.
As I see the mangled body hit the ground, I know I have only moments to devise a plan. My mind is racing. “What to do with the body? The dog? Where could the other rat be? How to deal with my soon-to-be-heartbroken little brother? Why in the world are both my parents gone at this moment?” Ever cognizant of Tanner’s sensitive nature, I recognize the importance of keeping my brother from the horrible visual remnants of his beloved “Skittles.” I immediately cover the rat with a towel, and enlist the help of our 17-year-old brother. “Parker, you need to take Buster outside, look for the other rat, and then locate mom or dad.” 
I dash downstairs, grab Tanner’s shoulders, kneel down, and look him straight in the eye. Gently, I tell Tanner, “Skittles has passed away. Can you be tough and help us look for Oreo?” Screams and hysterical crying fill the room. “I killed my rat! I left the gate open. It’s all my fault!” I keep my arms around him and breathe loudly in a steady pattern, hoping to calm his ragged gasps. “Tanner,” I say softly, “We all make mistakes, and sometimes they have pretty bad consequences. We can talk about that later, but right now you need to focus on finding Oreo.” Eventually, he calms down enough to join Parker in the hunt.
While my two siblings’ frantically search, I make a resting place for his beloved pet. I find the perfect-sized box, and quickly decorate it in Tanner’s favorite color, neon green. I label the coffin, “Skittles the Rat, Loved by Many.”
By the time I finish, Parker has found Oreo quivering in my lacrosse helmet. 
As Parker safely stashes the survivor upstairs, firmly latching the dog gate, all my focus shifts to Tanner, who is still in desperate need of condolence.  We sit together on the couch and turn on one of his favorite cartoon shows. He cuddles against me as I tell him, “You gave Skittles a much better life than he would have had in a pet store. Let’s write a list of happy Skittles memories that we can read at his burial ceremony when mom and dad get home.” He sniffs woefully, but takes the marker and paper I hand him and begins to write. “Skittles was the cutest rat in the pet store.  The first time I held him his whiskers tickled me as he licked my face. I loved watching him chase Oreo around the room.” After the first three items on his list, I remind him about the time when Skittles climbed onto a shelf covered with stuffed animals and blended right in. Pretty soon we are laughing at rat stories, interspersed with smirks about Sponge Bob and his friend Patrick. By the time my folks rush in from their shopping trip Tanner and I are eating popcorn and the eulogy is ready. (Connor L., Vanderbilt University, Class of 2014).
Charlie’s feedback: Cleverly well written and very descriptive. What the author intended to invoked worked for me. By the end of the story, I was empathetic about Skittles, the pet rat! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Andrea’s feedback: Common App essays are most successful when they both answer the prompt and do something unexpected with the idea; in this case, taking a leadership role in the family when tragedy strikes for a younger sibling. In this essay, I see again, leadership, but also compassion, creativity, and learn that he is a dedicated student, athlete, and brother. It’s densely packed with a lot of good personal information, and still manages to show, not tell. 
Jodi’s feedback: Wow! That student is really sensitive, a creative problem-solver and a natural leader. I suspect he will be a great future Resident Assistant (R.A.) in the dorms or president of his fraternity.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Common Application Prompt, Perfectly Content

This article first appeared in GoLocalPDX.com on October 15, 2014.

The intention of this series is to show readers a sample of a good essay in response to each of the Common Application prompts. This essay is an actual college admission essay, written and submitted by a real student. It is followed by comments from admissions professionals about what makes this personal statement effective.
Prompt: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there and why is that meaningful to you?
I am five or six years old, and I am slumped down in the back of my family's Honda, holding my blue Nintendo Advance far too close to my face, furiously guiding Mario to his princess. I have no idea where my family is driving or why we have been in the car for so long, but I am very proud that I have finally learned to guide Mario over the drifting logs without assistance from my father. 
I am nine or ten years old, growing up in my mother's craft room -- but nowhere near the sewing machine. No, I am engrossed in my father's full-sized video game console. It has been equipped with hundreds and thousands of retro games. My fingers fly across the blue and red buttons and furiously jolt the joystick in every direction. My knees are stiff from standing for so long, but I continue my Frogger streak, leading my small amphibian on a seemingly endless journey to just avoid oncoming traffic. 
I am sixteen years old. Among the glowing neon lights and beeping consoles, there is a small-built girl with neon blue hair. She is beating middle aged men at the classic video games they grew up with. I am one of perhaps ten girls in the building, and one of three actually playing the games. I am certainly the only one today with this winning streak on Ultimate Mortal Kombat. And no, I'm not playing as the impossibly proportioned female character who uses her long raven hair to whip her opponent. I am playing as a robot named Smoke.
I hold video games very close to my heart. I'm not talking about Doodle Jump and Angry Birds; I'm talking about Tron, Q*Bert, Missile Command, and Mario Kart. New games may have beautiful graphics, impressive amounts of gore, or female characters with an incredible lack of clothing, but I will always love my old pixelated graphics, weird mistranslations, and overall-clad plumbers. Nothing can match getting a headache in the back of my parents’ car, standing in the musty craft room furiously clicking buttons, or enjoying the priceless face of an older man who has just been humiliated by a teenage girl with Manic Panic stains on her Pac-Man shirt. The drifting logs in Super Mario Brothers 2, the perpetual traffic in Frogger, my yellow chomping dot munching cherries like there's no tomorrow—they are my happy places. 
Call me a geek or a nerd if it will make you feel better, but these are the places I run to whenever I need a getaway. They are not only my places of escape; they’re also a place for bonding with my father. As a little kid, if I got hurt, my dad would carry me inside and show me how to play one of his favorite games. He and I would game until I forgot I had hurt myself and he forgot that he had been quite busy working.
People will come and go, sports seasons will come to a close, and TV series will have final seasons. But these worlds and characters will always be around, just waiting for my dye-stained fingers to toggle the perpetually sticky joysticks that take me back to the backseat of my parents’ car on a long drive to a place I have long since forgotten. But spending hours journeying to get to save my princess only to discover she's in another castle? That is something I will never forget. (Miller S. Drexel University, Class of 2018).
Charlie’s feedback: Colorful language well expressed that answers the question beautifully. I have a strong sense of what makes the author happy. Enjoyable to read.
Andrea’s feedback: This essay is wonderful because it’s unexpected, it doesn’t fall into the typical essay tropes, and it doesn’t take the topic itself so seriously that it becomes falsely lyrical or philosophical. This student is her own person, and it strikes me that she’s interesting, positive, and someone I expect other students would enjoy having as a classmate, roommate, and friend. Arguably the most difficult Common App essay topic to do well.
Jodi’s feedback: Wow! This student is really a great writer. She’s focused, a bit counter-culture, and will rise to a challenge. I’d like to have her on my team for a group project, or hang out with her after class.
Charles S. Nolan, Ph.D. is the Vice President and Dean of Admission at Olin College of Engineering. He previously served in similar roles at Boston CollegeSanta Clara University and Washington University in St. Louis.
Andrea Hendrickson is Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at Reed College, and previously worked in admissions atLawrence University.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Common Application Prompt, Challenge a Belief or Idea

This article first appeared in GoLocalPDX.com on October 8, 2014.

The intention of this series is to show readers a sample of a good essay in response to each of the Common Application prompts.
This essay is an actual college admission essay, written and submitted by a real student. It is followed by comments from admissions professionals about what makes this personal statement effective.
Prompt: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? What did you learn?
“I’m very excited to introduce our newest piece to you,” our choir director, Mrs. Taylor, grins from ear to ear. “It’s a gospel piece named John the Revelator.” It’s my junior year, and the first time our new choir has tackled a gospel piece. As the song’s recording closes, Mrs. Taylor stresses that she’s looking for a soloist with “some real soul.” Seventy-four enthusiastic faces all turn to me.
“Could’ve called that one,” I say to myself. As the only African-American member of our choir, I inevitably would be looked to as the expert on gospel. “Rachel! Rachel! Rachel!” an obnoxious chant starts from the basses. Half the choir joins in. I should be flattered, right? 
“You have to try out for that solo,” beams my friend Justin.
“I don’t have to do anything,” I shoot back.
 In a split second I am deep in interior dialogue:
“This is a good thing. Sure, everyone expects me to take the solo, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it.” I say to myself.
“But won’t that be perpetuating a stereotype? Just because it’s a gospel doesn’t mean it should be handed to me because of the color of my skin,” I argue back.
“What a great chance to stretch my vocal repertoire – and have fun besides,” I rationalize.
“I’m probably one of the least religiously devoted people in this choir. I’ve been to church several times with my father and I do enjoy gospel music but wouldn’t someone else who actually goes to church on a regular basis have a better connection to the spiritual elements of the piece?”
“Don’t be so analytical. I know that I do jazz well, gospel is similar. I could really shine.” This is tough.
Instead of playing the defense card, I decide to take this opportunity. 
I’ve been handling stereotypes my whole life. From crump battles, to athletics, to braiding, to vocal ability – many people expect me to excel at these things. I accept that it’s usually ignorance, not maliciousness. I’ve learned that although stereotypes exist, it’s not my personal responsibility to prove them wrong or right. 
People expected me to take the gospel solo because of my background. Even my director assumed that I had knowledge on a topic that is typically connected to my race when, in fact, that knowledge was minimal. I’m not just the black girl in the room—I, like everyone else, am a person. I have my strengths, I have my weaknesses, and I have my own experiences that I bring to the group. That’s what diversity is really about. 
I took that solo because I could excel. Standing on the stage at the state competition I belt,
“Time for revelation.
And for jubilation.
Tell us what you’re writing.
Read it to us John!”
I feel proud that I add something to the performance that no one else can. I know that I am the black girl singing the gospel solo in an otherwise all-white choir. And that’s OK with me. (Rachel W, Occidental College, Class of 2015)
Charlie’s feedback: Excellent story of the author challenging herself to move beyond the perception of a stereotype, while taking on a role in which she can excel. Her struggle is well expressed. 
Andrea’s feedback: One of the more challenging experiences students face is when they are expected to represent a group of people because they are the “only.” What impresses me about this young woman is that though she is aware of people’s expectations and assumptions, she is her own person, and if her choices happen to align with what people think, she is herself enough to own it. Music is a topic that students write about often, and I appreciate that it’s just the vehicle for what her essay is really about.
Jodi’s feedback: Wow! This student is really self-aware, thoughtful and mature. I think she will be reflective and challenge her peers to dig deep during class discussions, and I would like to have her as a roommate.
Charles S. Nolan, Ph.D. is the Vice President and Dean of Admission at Olin College of Engineering. He previously served in similar roles at Boston CollegeSanta Clara University, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Andrea Hendrickson is Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at Reed College, and previously worked in admissions atLawrence University.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Common Application Prompt: Learning from Failure

This article originally appeared in the lifestyle section of GoLocalPDX.com on October 1, 2014.

The intention of this series is to show readers a sample of a good essay in response to each of the Common Application  prompts. This essay is an actual college admission essay, written and submitted by a real student. It is followed by comments from admissions professionals about what makes this personal statement effective.

Prompt: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you and what lessons did you learn?
Inhaling the fresh scent of new tennis balls and feeling the hard pavement beneath my shoes, I begin to warm up. Bending down, I touch the ground, and then twist side to side. I bounce around on my toes, preparing myself mentally. My opponent will be tough, but I can take him.

503-246-XXXX. I punch the stiff numbers furiously on the telephone, scanning the gridded page once more, hoping that I haven’t misdialed. I draw an invisible line to the corresponding column on the list and find the name associated with the number: Mr. and Mrs. Robertson. Time stands still, as the phone rings.

Before I know it, it’s game time. I’ve put in all the practice, now it’s just me and him. I walk to the baseline, stuffing one ball in my right pocket and holding the other. Putting my right foot out in front, I bounce the ball three times. I take a deep breath, and toss the ball in the air, quickly whipping my racket up to smack the serve.

“Yes, hello?” answers a person.

The match begins.

“Hi, this is Will with Future PAC, Oregon House Democrats. May I speak with Mr. Robertson?”
“Yes that is me, and please call me Harry,” responds the man quickly.
“Great!” I answer with a little too much enthusiasm. I hear chuckling on the other end.

I expected something aggressive, but was pleasantly surprised when he popped up a return with some backspin, landing short and inside the service line. I hit a defensive return and allow the rally to continue.
“On behalf of Future PAC, I’d like to inform you that Congressman Earl Blumenauer will be holding his annual backyard dinner next Saturday evening, and hopes that you will attend.”

I nail the first line perfectly, a clear ace. I pick the neon yellow excess ball fuzz from my strings.

“Honey, it’s a guy on the phone about Blumenauer’s thing next week. Are we going?”
I hear a shriek in the background. “Absolutely not! They’ve called almost everyday this week! I’ve already told them that we can’t make it. I can’t stand another one of those money-sucking political events!” That must be Mrs. Robertson.
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Robertson says. “We have a dinner that night that we, unfortunately, must attend.”

If my opponent’s lighthearted chuckling won the first point, then the loud background comment took the set. It’s only the beginning, and I’m down early. I strut back to the baseline, take a few deep breaths and bounce the ball three times. Loading up, I toss the ball and begin the next point.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” I answer. “Hopefully, we can get you to attend next year’s dinner.” I look back at my script for any last bit of information I can use. “Mr. Robertson, I’d also like to let you know about the Congressman’s recent work in federal farm policy, and its connection with next weekend’s dinner.”
 “…I’m sorry, but I’m actually late for a dinner now.” He hangs up the phone faster than I process his parting words.

Game, set, match. I lose. “You can’t always win,” I tell myself. And besides, I’m only a novice.
           
Undeterred by my loss, I pick up the phone and dial the next number.
I've gone on to raise over $97,000 for non-profit organizations.

Maybe I'll go pro. (Will R., Tufts University, Class of 2018)



Charlie’s feedback: Adroitly employed technique of parallel stories of overcoming failure, and being successful through perseverance and hard work. The structure of the story requires the reader to stay with the narrative as it builds—but it worked for me!

Andrea’s feedback: The writing itself is effective in that it goes back and forth, interspersing his competitive side with another activity that requires him to use some of the same skills: persistence, a positive outlook, and a willingness to do challenging things. The example of an unsuccessful solicitation attempt seems to me to be a pretty loose/light definition of failure, indicating to me that this is a student who doesn’t/hasn’t really experienced failure, but it functions well in the essay.

Jodi’s feedback: Wow! This student is really competitive, doesn’t give up or get easily discouraged, and is results-focused. I want him to work in the development office at my college and get alumni to donate.
                                                                       ###

Charles S. Nolan, Ph.D. is the Vice President and Dean of Admission at Olin College of Engineering. He previously served in similar roles at Boston CollegeSanta Clara University, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Andrea Hendrickson is Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at Reed College, and previously worked in admissions at Lawrence University.
Jodi Walder-Biesanz is the founder of Portland, Oregon-based College Admission Coach LLC which helps students identify and gain admission to right-fit schools where they will thrive academically and personally. Contact her at: jodi.walder@comcast.