The Final Exam of Choosing a College

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Now that you’ve narrowed your choices, there are three final questions to ask:

Are you in love with what the college has to offer, or with what the college stands for? Once a college admits you, they will call you day and night, send you email hourly, and text you in the middle of math class. One college even went so far as to send every admitted student a disposable cell phone, so the college knew they could get through to every student.

Some of this may be helpful—if you get a call from a student studying your major, great—but many of these communications are just designed to give you a feel or glow for the college that can cloud your judgement, not clear it. The same is true for financial aid packages; on student picked a school just because they gave him a $600 grant and called it an honors scholarship. That makes the school a little less expensive – but does it make it right for you?

The college you say yes to will be thrilled to have you, and that’s important—but you won’t be getting hourly texts once you hit campus and the school mascot wont be escorting you to class every day. Classes, studying, doing laundry will take up about 150 of your college days very year, while home football games will take up about six. This is your new home—make sure your choice about that home is on a solid foundation.

Should you start locally and transfer? If money is tight, consider starting at a local community college or four-year institution where you can commute, live at home for a while, then transfer to your dream school to finish. You’ll have to work very closely every semester with an adviser *at the college you are transferring to* to make sure your classes will transfer for the degree you want, but if this means less stress, less loans, and more of a chance to afford your final two years at the place you really want to be, it’s worth considering.

It’s time to deposit, and you just can’t decided between your schools. Is it OK to deposit at more than one school at a time? No. 

Consider this. You decide to enroll at a college that has small classes, which you really like. You head to class on the first day, only to discover that 30 students double deposited—they told more than one school they’d be going there in the fall. All 30 of these students decided not to come to your college, and they just told the college the day before. It’s too late for the college to go to their waitlist, so those seats are now empty, and so is their budget. They cancel classes, lay off teachers they suddenly can’t afford, and put students in classes of 100. SO much for the education you had hoped for.

Telling lots of schools yes with a deposit is like saying yes to 10 prom dates—you might get more time to choose, but it hurts lots of people in the process, including you. Students stay on waitlists for no reason, colleges schedule classes that won’t have enough students, and parents lose deposits that could go towards textbooks—or retirement.

It’s great to have options, but the band is playing, and it’s time to dance. Size up your partners, pick the one that will get you across the dance floor with the right balance of support and excitement, and move to the music of the future—your future.

Tariffs and Tuition

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

It’s been a while, but there was one summer when colleges decided to raise their tuitions pretty significantly, without much fanfare. This was a summer of computer upgrades, coffee bars, rock walls, and lazy rivers, when colleges decided they needed to improve their social atmospheres and their academic backbones all at once—and the results weren’t pretty. Tuition increases of ten, twelve, even eighteen percent weren’t uncommon, and since budgets for financial aid didn’t get a similar boost, many students who thought they were set with their first choice either discovered new levels of debt to stay where they were, or the need to shift to Plan B at the last minute.

At first blush, the current discussion of tariffs suggests colleges have little to worry about, since most tariff issues are between countries. But a closer look shows there are serious consumer issues—and colleges are, like all of us, consumers. Tariff increases on fruit make the cost of maintaining the salad bar at its current glorious level a little harder. Cars used to get admissions officers around town and to high school visits have to be replaced every few years, and they are the target of some of the highest tariffs. The cost of turning classroom lights on, running the football scoreboard, and paying faculty enough to afford the increased cost of food means tariffs can play a significant role in tuition-setting this summer, something that’s usually done after students have made their college decisions, assuming prices will pretty much go up about as much as they did last year—but there’s no guarantee.

What should families do to be as ready as possible for the effects of tariffs on tuition? Try these:

Call your first choice college Not every college will have their tuition and fee schedules set for next year, but if parents are worried about tariffs, college are too—they don’t want to teach to empty classrooms with just a handful of deposits to show for it. Start with the financial aid office, and see where the discussion goes from there.

Watch out for specialty increases It’s not uncommon for colleges to put greater increases on specific sub pools of populations, especially when it comes to residency status. Community colleges typically pass higher increases on to residents outside their service area, as do many public four-year colleges to out-of-state students—and nearly everyone loves to gouge international students, who somehow have an established reputation as having an endless flow of cash. Increases in everything from special supply majors (think paint and clay for studio art majors) to fees for student activities (increases in costs related to athletics) have been reasons in the past for asking for more money. Watch carefully.

Keep Plan B open as long as possible Most counselors, including me, are pretty adamant about students committing to just one college by the time May 1 comes around. The reason for this is simple—you can only go to one college, so telling two you’re going to show up increases the chances one of them is going to be teaching to an empty seat.

That advice doesn’t usually change, but if you end up with one college you can no longer afford, and no place else to go, that doesn’t really solve anything. Review your college list to see if they all require a commitment or deposit—not all do—and keep those options as open as possible. It’s also likely colleges may offer advice on how to approach this challenge, so keep an eye on email and snail mail—and proceed with caution.

A Day in Their Life

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

It was arguably one of the best moments in the history of school counseling, and, while I cannot remember who told me about it, I am most certain it happened. A student was in a counselor’s office, where the topic of discussion was the student’s academic progress. After engaging in the customary question-and-answer round, and concluding with the bucking up counselors are known to do even when a hurricane is about to demolish the building, the student stood up, slung their backpack over a shoulder, and, while exiting, said over their other shoulder.

“You know, we have a lot to do every day.”

Which, according to the story, which I have no reason to doubt, gave the counselor something to think about. They hadn’t been in a high school classroom as a full-time teacher for five years, and hadn’t been a student in a high school classroom in almost 25. Odds were, some things had changed since then, if only that Bye Bye Bye was no longer the number one record (record?) in the country. Maybe it was time to get a few more details.

A couple of administrative meetings later, and the counselor found himself out of the office on a given day, having received a typical student’s schedule, which he would follow all day long, No trips to the faculty lounge or the office were allowed, nor was the checking of phone calls or email—although where the counselor went to the bathroom seems a mystery. The counselor was to attend every class, arrive before the bell, and stay for the entire period. What the counselor did for lunch is also undocumented, but one can only imagine how awkward that may have been.

There are several videos that try to capture some of what high school students take on in the course of a day, and there a lot of articles written by well-meaning teachers that outline the theory of how a typical day should go. But all of this pales in comparison to the experience of going through the actual day at your high school, since no school is really the same.

And so, here’s the challenge. Counselors say they understand how hard it must be, getting to a class and settling into the mores and customs of a learning environment that is dramatically different from the one they just left, which will be incredibly different from the one that comes after that. One class period may seem of less consequence because there was just a test yesterday, while another may feel more weighty, with the promise of a coming exam. Teachers of some classes may want the class period all to themselves, while others try desperately to create an environment of mutual discovery—while others are led by a teacher who claims group engagement matters, but doesn’t let kids get a word in edgewise. And then, there is always the battle of overcoming the post-lunch doldrums, where lunch gives student weighty bellies that can lead to unplanned dozing, or a reminder that the end of the day is nigh.

Counselors say they are always looking to increase legitimacy among their students. What better way to show you care about their world than to immerse yourself in it? You’ll likely need some administrative OKs, but this is the kind of activity most principals can’t say no to, since it’s really all about the kids.

Advice for Collegebound Juniors

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Now that most of the smoke is clearing from this year’s college application season, there seem to be some things juniors want to plan on doing that seniors, for better or worse, didn’t have to worry about. Ready?

Make sure to take the SAT, ACT, or both It wasn’t all that long ago many, many colleges decided maybe test scores didn’t matter that much after all, and went test optional, leaving it up to the student to decide if their test score really said very much about them.

It turns out some colleges are finding their testing addiction tough to kick, so many are now heading back to requiring tests. You’ve worked hard to find a college that will offer you the right mix of challenge, support, and opportunity, so keeping it open as an option by dedicating four hours to a test (and the prep that goes with it) is worth it. I wish it were otherwise, but it’s time to be safe rather than sorry. Sign up for at least one test, and plan on taking one a second time if you can.

You need a backup plan, Part I The story of the year that has me yanking what little hair I have out by the handful are the ones that are being right now about the highly popular colleges that have become “easier” to get it, since the admit rates have gone from 3 percent to 5 percent.

What does that mean? Well, in basketball terms, it means that, for every shot taken last year, 3 went in. This year, 5 will go in.

Don’t let the numbers fake you out. Find some nice colleges just like the one you love that aren’t crazy competitive to get into, and apply—and remember, there are some nice honors and residential colleges at public universities that offer nice aid to smart kids.

You need a backup plan, Part 2 The other story that’s nuts is the “four years of college isn’t worth the price” argument that keeps students from applying to college in the first place. It’s easy to go into a Mercedes showroom and decide you can’t afford the latest model, since everyone (more or less) pays the same amount. Not so college admissions, where financial aid takes individual situations into consideration; some states offer free tuition for the first two years, and some colleges make all aid packages loan free.

Don’t let the sticker price scare you away. Find out what the real cost will be to you by applying for admission and aid, and see what happens.

You need a backup plan, Part 3 Finally, the news is replete with students who just don’t want to go to school anymore, that the prospect of four more years of The Scarlet Letter just isn’t their idea of a good time. 

Fair enough—try this.

Somewhere in your community, someone is giving what’s called an aptitude test. This test measures the skills you have, and can give you some idea what career you should go into, based on talent—that’s based on talent, not interest, so these tests do have some limits.

Go take an aptitude test, and have someone go over the results with you, especially the part that talks about what kind of training you need after high school to get a job in this field. High schools, community colleges, and the military tend to offer them, and this can help you get some idea what should come next that truly won’t be a waste of money—provided it’s a job you like.

Decision Time is Nigh

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

This is a time of great excitement for all of you, but before you go any further, it’s important to know three things about selective college admissions. I cannot overstate the importance of reading this twice, thoroughly, before you move ahead—OK?

Some colleges will find their applications are at an all-time high The number of students graduating from high school goes up and down, but one constant is the number of students applying to highly selective colleges—it always tends to go up. Even if it didn’t, getting admitted to colleges with a 6 percent acceptance rate is just plain hard to do. This isn’t a random process, and there’s more to it than just grades, but an increase in the number of applicants makes it that much harder to get admitted.

There is a common reason why colleges deny admission to most applicants The number one reason selective colleges turn down most applicants is simple—they run out of room before they run out of great applicants. If they had more dorm rooms, and more professors, and more classrooms, they’d love to take more students. But they cannot do justice to the students they admit by taking too many students, since no one gets a quality education that way—and that’s not fair to anyone.

An admissions decision is NOT a character indictment With more applications, and limited space, colleges must create a learning community that is exciting, diverse, and rich with opportunities. Doing that is a mix of science and art, a mixture of data (grades, maybe test scores) and insight (essays, letters of recommendation), and frankly, a little guesswork, where (as one admissions officer said) the standard is excellence, not perfection. In selecting these students, these colleges will tell you that just about everyone who applied qualifies for admission—they would be a great student, benefit the college tremendously, and contribute to the college in many ways. Since you applied to a highly selective college, all of that applies to you.

Given that, I can’t think of any way a letter of denial or waitlist should be interpreted to mean “The college doesn’t like me”—or worse, “”I am not a good person”. College admissions is about many things, but it is never a judgement about you as a person.

Most colleges go to great pains to point this out when they send their No letters. Believe me when I tell you they aren’t just being nice; they truly honor and respect everything you have done as a person, and they are grateful you applied to their college. That may not mean much the minute you hear the news, but it will over time. Whether the college says yes, no, or maybe, your value and worth as a person is cast in stone, and can be shaken by absolutely on one, be it another person, or an admissions committee.

Your life isn’t in that envelope or e-mail; it’s just an admissions decision. You already have a life, and a fine one at that.

Time With Your Parents

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Your applications are in, but college should still be on your mind. There is no letting up on taking tough classes; no giving up on writing essays; no slacking off on homework, and no telling the teachers how smart they are in the hopes your B will magically become an A.

Fair enough, you think. At least you can stop meeting with your parents, now that the college choices are all made.

Yes. About that.

It would seem something has happened since you first carved 20 minutes out of your week to talk with your parents about college (You did do that, right?). To begin with, they’ve learned to give you space; most parents think it’s crazy to limit themselves to 20 minutes a week to talk about college, especially during the weeks in the fall when you were working on applications and telling them absolutely nothing beyond their allotted time. They’ve learned to trust you more, which will come in handy over time—like one you go to college, when you buy your first couch, and name your first child after a Game of Thrones character.

But something else has happened. Because you met once each week when no one was rushing to get you anywhere, your parents had a chance to see wat you’ve made of yourself since the last time things weren’t so crazy—which for most families, is when you were bout four. I have to tell you—they really liked what they saw. And they’d like to keep seeing it every week for 20 minutes.

This probably makes no sense to you, but when you came home and said “Last Winter exam! Yes!”, they said, “Last Winter exam? No!!” They told you they cried when you went to this year’s Sadie Hawkins Dance because they thought you looked nice, right? Nope—last one. And remember how they once dreaded having you home from school for any reason? Not so much now.

Through the 20-minute meetings, your parents realize they have a child who is smart, knows who they are, and understands a little about how the world works—and that child is moving out of the house in six months. Giving you up then is something they’ll figure out; giving you up now is something they would just as soon not do.

Of course, you don’t have to talk about college—now is not the time to sit in the living room, holding hands and listening to the cuckoo clock chirp away until the college decisions arrive. Order some food in, catch up on a movie, work a jigsaw puzzle—do something, and do anything together.

Love is as much a verb as it is a noun, and showing them what you feel at a time of uncertainty (for you and them) can make a memory that will last far longer than whatever State U has to say in a couple of weeks.

No college decision will change the way they feel about you, just like it shouldn’t change the way you feel about yourself. Twenty weekly minutes of meeting time that isn’t “required” will bring that home as nothing else can, and build a stronger base for whatever is waiting after Decision Day.

Give it some thought as you work on your next scholarship essay. They’re sure thinking about it—they’ve told me as much.

Michigan Assessment Program Thwarts College Opportunity

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Students looking at life after high school often consider college, and applying to college can sometimes be challenging. In Michigan, it comes as a surprise to many that some of those roadblocks exist in the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, the tests given each spring to high school juniors to assess student learning. M-STEP was considered one of leading-edge assessment tools when it debuted in 2014-15, but like all tools, it requires maintenance in order to stay sharp and effective—and when it comes to college access, there are three key ways M-STEP needs to be updated, and soon:

Elimination of Transcript Requirement

State law currently requires M-STEP scores to be posted on student transcripts. This includes the SAT portion of M-STEP, a test that used to be required by nearly all four-year colleges as part of the requirements for admission. But many four-year colleges no longer require test scores, leaving it up to the students to decide if their scores are strong enough to be included in their college applications.

State law doesn’t give Michigan public school students that choice—they have to send their transcripts to colleges, so the colleges get their SAT scores, even if they are low. This means some Michigan students are giving colleges information the student doesn’t want to send—information that could put them at a disadvantage when applying to college. This also means that students from outside Michigan enjoy an advantage when applying to Michigan colleges that don’t require test scores.

Elimination of SAT essay Evidence-Based Reading and Writing

M-STEP also includes the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Exam, a test that was part of the national SAT when M-STEP started. This test was intended to give colleges some idea of a student’s ability to write at the college level by requiring a writing sample from all students.

It didn’t take long for most colleges to realize that the writing sample in this part of the test conveyed little information about a student’s ability to do college-level writing, and many colleges began dropping this requirement.

Today, Michigan high school students are one, if not the only, group of students still submitting these scores to colleges — and even though the colleges don’t want the scores, it’s hard for them to unsee a test score that’s submitted. In addition, high school English departments use these results to fine-tune their curriculum decisions, even though colleges feel the results have no bearing on a student’s ability to write.

Elimination of WorkKeys

ACT’s WorkKeys is a tool designed to assess some job skills. No college requires WorkKeys as part of the admissions process, but it was included as part of M-STEP to give students some insights into their vocational options.

Unfortunately, the administration of WorkKeys in spring of the junior year has not delivered on that promise. Since WorkKeys results aren’t available until fall of the student’s senior year, school counselors report that WorkKeys plays little, if any, meaningful role in shaping students’ plans for life after high school, since they’ve already planned their senior year schedules and have been working for up to a year with school counselors on their postsecondary plans.

It's important to measure student progress in school, so long as that assessment occurs in meaningful ways that create opportunities for better, and more, learning. It’s time to put Michigan back in the lead among states promoting meaningful postsecondary planning, and these changes to M-STEP are a strong step toward achieving that goal.