Afraid of Applying to College?

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

I've never understood why students get so nervous about applying to college. I'm not talking about searching for a college- I'm talking about filling out the actual form. Students learn about all kinds of colleges, work hard to get good grades, do great things outside the classroom, take the right tests-everything your counselor has talked to you about. Then, it's show time, time to fill out the application and have all that work pay off.

And they freeze. They just can't fill out the form.

I know there's a lot riding on a college application, so students worry that one small mistake on the application could be seen as a deal breaker. But that's pretty hard to do with most college applications, and when it does occur, those mistakes can be pretty easy to fix.

Don't believe me? OK—try this. Pull up the online application for your local community college. If you don't have one, try looking up Montcalm Community College's online application-it's pretty easy to find.

Got an application on your computer now? Great. Fill it out, then come back here. I'll wait. 

Seriously. Go.

It's likely been about 20 minutes, and you've applied to college. Congratulations! Chances are, you didn't have to look anything up, you knew all the answers right away, and you didn't need to contact anyone for help. Not such a mystery after all, is it?

I know, I know. You're pretty sure not all college applications are this easy to complete-in fact, you know the application for the school you love wants essays, maybe even letters of recommendation from a teacher or two. Much more complicated.

Really? Tell me-have you ever written an essay before? A little bit of work, sure, but once you know the topic, is it really hard to do?

And teacher letters? You know teachers, right? And some of them know you? Well, they know how to write, too, so it's really just a question of asking them on time.

This is sounding a little more doable, isn't it?

It turns out that applying to college is kind of like getting ready for prom, or some other school dance. There are a few things you have to do to get ready, and some take more time than others. But once you know what needs to be done, it's more about making the time to do them than anything else.

Still doubt me? Go back to the application you just submitted. What was the first question?

Right. "Name".

Trust me, you can do this. In fact, you just did.

Rigor of Coursework

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

The world of college counseling has changed a great deal in the last couple of years, so it’s oddly reassuring when some of the questions counselors have to address are chestnuts that come along every year, just as sure as there will be a new edition of the Fiske Guide.  Many of these questions come up this time of year, as students consider modifying their schedules through the drop and add period.

“Is it better to take the AP class and get a B, or take the regular course and get an A?”

“Would colleges rather see students take AP classes at the high school, or take entry level college courses at the local university?”

“If a student is going to be a business major, are they better off taking Statistics as a senior, or staying in the Calculus track?”

Like most questions about rigor and curriculum, the answers are sometimes not that easy to parse—but as a rule, the answer to those questions depends on the answers to other questions:

What’s the student like?  Questions about course selection and rigor too often assume the student will earn the same grade in a more challenging class as they would in a regular track class, and that simply isn’t always the case.  A quick email to the student’s last English teacher could be quite revealing when a discussion comes up about Honors English.  If the A that was earned in English 11 was a generous one, the course to take in Grade 12 is an easier choice.  It’s likely the student knows this already.  Start by asking them about their classroom experience.

What’s the rest of the schedule look like?  Another assumption behind questions about rigor too often assume the student has an unlimited capacity for tough courses.  Many students eating off the top of the rigor menu in three subjects may find a fourth top course too much to handle, or they may devote so much energy keeping that grade afloat, their remaining classes pay the price, and grades begin to dwindle.  Review the schedule as a whole, and make sure this review includes a look at time devoted to work, extracurriculars, and family commitments.  Homework won’t get done if there isn’t time to do it.

What is the college looking for?  Susie was ready to take on the challenges of Calculus, even though her Precalculus experience was anything but smooth, and her interest was far away from high level math.  Four quick calls to the admissions officers of her college choices—calls she made, not the counselor—showed that three of them weighed the courses identically in the admissions process for her particular major, and one gave Statistics an extra plus—so, as the British say, Bob’s your uncle, and Susie was a happy stats student.

On the other hand…  More than a few colleges, including the ones that garner most of the headlines, are likely to tell students and counselors they have no required level of math (or English or…), and simply want the student’s course selections to represent the highest level of challenge the student can reasonably manage.  Understanding the reason why college provide that answer, it doesn’t help much.  If the student feels they have the ability to do well in either, say, Stats or Calculus, the issue isn’t the student’s capability or stress level—it’s what the college prefers to see.  If a college doesn’t really answer the question, a quick peek at the transcripts of past admitted students could guide the counselor’s advice.  Thank goodness for SCOIR and Naviance!

New Mental Health Resources? Make the Most of Them

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Thanks to COVID, heading back to school has been a different experience each fall, and this year is no exception. With test scores down, and students spending much of the last two years learning online, many students are returning to school with social-emotional issues about learning, working with others, and facing life in general.

 

With many states offering record funding for mental health services in school, counselors need to make sure they make the most out of these opportunities. Here’s how:

 

Appropriate staffing Michigan holds one of the highest student-counselor ratios in the nation, with a whopping 638 students per counselor, and nearly every state has a ratio well above the recommended level of 250 students per counselor. Common sense suggests this is just way too many students for counselors to conduct an effective mental health program. Hiring additional school counselors has been a task that’s long overdue in our state. Now that we have the money to do so, it’s time to make the most of those dollars.

 

Best use of time Too many adults remember their school counselor as the person who changed their schedule, or did lunch duty. Important as those tasks might be, they have little to do with mental health, and nothing to do with the vital skills where counselors have received training. School officials need to work with counselors to review their duties, and maximize counselor time with students on growth in mental health.

 

Tailored curriculum With a number of new, pre-packaged mental health programs available to schools, it may be tempting to pick one and see it as an easy add-on to the current counseling curriculum. School leaders would do well to work closely with the current counseling team to make sure any new mental health elements complement the existing offerings, and blend with the school’s larger academic and personal goals.

 

Team-based support School counselors are rightly viewed as the leaders of a school’s mental health curriculum, but this doesn’t mean they should be the sole implementors of the curriculum. A team-based approach to mental health, including teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, coaches, and parents, will surround the student with support and opportunity, two attributes students desperately need after two very challenging years. Adequate time for training, practice, and feedback need to be provided so counselors can nurture these partners forward.

 

Community support This same kind of comprehensive support can be achieved when school mental health officials partner with community leaders to extend an atmosphere of support to students outside school. Local social workers, social agencies, therapeutic centers, youth programs, and religious leaders should be engaged to create an atmosphere of support that makes it easy for students to seek any help they might need. This should also include the business community; anywhere students spend time after school is a place where mental health healing can begin, and the more partners a community has, the better.

 

Plans for the future Development of a strong sense of self often includes the development of plans for the future, and that includes the counselor’s role as a college and career counselor. Too much counseling literature in the last two years has emphasized the need for better mental health programming in schools, without specifying just what that programming should include. Self-esteem, self-awareness, and effective interpersonal skills certainly play a key role this programming, but it’s just as important for students to develop an understanding of what they could become.

 

Goal setting can create a sense of purpose in a student who would otherwise look at their current situation and lose hope. It’s the fresh start students often yearn for, a chance to escape the limitations their peers, community, circumstances, and family have placed upon them. At a time when too many students have felt boxed in by the few choices COVID has left them, what better time to expose them to vistas of new opportunity and hope, the outcomes of a successful college and career awareness curriculum?

 

It’s comforting to know we can reasonably expect a school year that feels a little more like business as usual. Creating a student-centered school where mental health comes first can go a long way to making the most of that opportunity.

The Two Challenges of This School Year

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

News from Washington solidifies what most educators already knew—this is going to be the year of returning schools to business as usual. With healthcare leaders announcing plans to treat COVID with an annual booster—much like people get a regular flu shot—the days of mask alerts and online school days largely seem behind us, and educators will get the chance to focus on what they were trained to do—help young people move on with their lives.

That isn’t to suggest the impact of the COVID pandemic is behind us. Reports suggest that four million- four million—children are leaving the pandemic with the loss of a parent or primary caregiver. That worldwide figure translates to 285,000 children in the US, many of them our students. Combined with students facing the challenges of trying to learn and socialize without a full array of in-person experiences in the last two years, it’s safe to say we’ll be working with students whose school experiences have been less than comprehensive.

It's clear counselors are going to play a major role in meeting the needs of students to process these effects and find a way to move forward, and that includes the counselor’s role as a college counselor. Too much counseling literature in the last two years has emphasized the need for better mental health programming in schools, without specifying just what that programming should include. Self-esteem, self-awareness, and effective interpersonal skills certainly play a key role this programming, but it’s just as important for students to develop an understanding of what they could become.

 

Goal setting can create a sense of purpose in a student who would otherwise look at their current situation and lose hope. It’s the fresh start students often yearn for, a chance to escape the limitations their peers, community, circumstances, and family have placed upon them. At a time when too many students have felt boxed in by the few choices COVID has left them, what better time to expose them to vistas of new opportunity and hope, the outcomes of a successful college and career awareness curriculum?

It won’t be easy getting students to think outside the limitations of COVID, and that leads to a second challenge. With the exception of a handful of name four-year colleges, most postsecondary institutions are facing declines in enrollment—some losses as great as 40 percent. This is just as true for community colleges, where enrollment was expected to increase during COVID, assuming students would learn from home. In most cases, community colleges are realizing double-digit enrollment losses.

This loss of interest is going to call on the higher education community—counselors, admissions officers, and especially financial aid officials—to adjust their advising and recruiting strategies. Too many of these strategies have been aimed at the student who saw college as a given, and rightfully so. It’s much easier to sell the students on the quality of a particular brand (or college) if they’re already convinced college is worthwhile.

That’s not the case now. High college costs have combined with a tight job market, leading families to wonder if college is really worth the investment, especially with the relatively lower cost of technical training, training which leads to good paying jobs in considerably less time.

Health officials may be declaring an end to the damage done by COVID, but counselors and higher education officials start this school year desperately needing to clean up the debris created by its wake. Making college part of the mental health equation, and marketing college towards those not already convinced of its value, are at the top of the to-do list.

What’s New in College Admissions?

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

If it seems like back-to-school time came around a little too soon, you can thank the Target in my neighborhood. Most of June was devoted to taking this dimly lit cavern into a place where people would really like to, you know, shop—and since they finished early, they figured they’d stack the store with school promotions just a little earlier than usual.

Bullseye and friends aren’t the only changes we’ve seen this summer. While many of these changes are at the serious rumor stages, it would be wise to keep your eye out for college admission changes relating to:

Letters of Recommendation Counselor chat rooms have been full of speculation that some colleges plan on asking for letters from two adults in the student’s life, a requirement vastly different from the traditionally mandated one or two teacher letters and the required counselor letters. Just what colleges are opening things up—and which adults should write for a student—will vary widely, but if this becomes a trend, it could provide counselors with huge caseloads the writing relief they’ve been looking for.

Application Deadlines Some colleges have changed their application deadlines, while others are just taking more students than ever through well-established early programs—so much so that students who don’t apply early are, in effect, limiting their chances of admission. If your high school has a popular college (or two or three), a quick call and email to your rep will help you build a strategy for timely application admissions.

Call and email the Rep Just in case you missed that, it is getting to be standard practice to both call and email reps with crucial questions. Application numbers are getting so high in many colleges that the time to call just doesn’t exist. Doing both is the best way to serve your students—and once you write the email, you now have a script for the voice mail you’ll leave.

Test optional Most reports suggest the overall number of test-optional colleges hasn’t changed all that much, but that average is meaningless if you live in a state where testing requirements were reinstated by a public body. Now is the time to double check the test optional choices at the schools you often do business with—and if something has changed, be sure to tell the students, early and often.

FAFSA changes The new and shorter FAFSA is still a year away, thanks to COVID and some logistical issues. That isn’t great news, other than it means something stays the same for this year.

Back to classrooms Perhaps the biggest change counselors will address this year is the return of many or most schools to full-time in-person teaching. Given all the stress online learning brought with it, you’d think everyone would be celebrating the return of old school school. But in-person school brings its own challenges, from getting out of bed in the morning to peer issues to trying to listen to what’s being taught while Susie sits next to us, texting like mad to everyone about everything except learning.

The US government has been very generous in awarding states money for mental health programs to help students adjust to life after COVID, but those funds have largely gone to states, not directly to high schools. If you haven’t heard about your school getting any mental health money, now is the time to ask. Counselors are notoriously good at spending money on short notice, but there’s no point in building a program you can’t afford. Ask about the cash—and welcome back!

Brag Colleges and More: The Year in Review

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

I don’t always write a summary column, but there were more than enough nuggets of newness this year to put together a list that makes you remember, consider, and prepare for next year.

Test optional Many colleges have decided it’s time to go back to requiring the SAT or ACT simply because—well, they can. It’s frustrating that the test-no-test debate is based on intuition, and not data—if a college has evidence it needs a test, fine with me; otherwise, forget it. MIT (yes) and Bates (no) seem to be the only ones leading in this category. Here’s hoping other colleges will follow suit.

Self-reporting grades Like test-optional policies, self-reporting transcripts were supposed to take the burden off the college-bound student, and, largely, neither one has. Without a common transcript form, students find themselves filling out several self-reporting transcripts, making college applications more time consuming. How about if every high school gives each student a PDF of their transcript in July, and colleges let students upload that?

Admit rates It still drives me crazy that there are two headlines for schools with record applications: “College X has record applications”, and, next week, “College X admits lowest percentage of students ever.” This is the same story, but we somehow get twice the panic out of it—like we really need that.

Highly Rejective Colleges This term was originated in rebellion to the use of the phrase Highly Selective Colleges, and it really caught on this year. From what I can tell, this phrase emphasizes that the number of students the college rejects is high, as opposed to the idea that the quality of the few students selected for admission is high.

I’m not fond of either phrase, but Highly Rejective Colleges suggests the college can actually do something about this--like admit more students, even though they don’t have room for them, or be less aggressive in recruiting students, which would risk them missing applicants who would do well at their colleges.

If there are objections to the students these colleges are admitting (not enough Pell students, too many legacies), folks should say that. If they’re jealous of the college’s recruiting success, say that. But don’t blame them because they’re good at what every college wants to be good at—recruiting students. In the old days, this would be the kind of disparaging remark that would be an ethics violation with NACAC. The rule may be gone, but the need for decorum is still with us. I like “brag” colleges (or, when speaking only with colleagues, “cocktail party” colleges). Try those.

Student Aid Report Colleges continue to produce their own financial aid reports to students, each with its own idiosyncrasies that makes comparing offers impossible.

How about this? Nearly every college gets federal funding for something. Uncle Sam needs to say “Look, keep your forms if you need them. All you have to do is put this sheet—our sheet—on top of yours. It explains grants, loans, and work study very succinctly, and gives families a common form to compare with other colleges, who have to use the same form. We give the summary, and you give the details.”

There’s more to discuss, but sweet cherries are at the market, announcing the start of summer. Most of Michigan is heading to the north end of the state, home of big trees, incredibly cold water, fudge, and other great things Henry Ford didn’t invent. No matter where you spend the summer, I hope it celebrates you, salutes you, and thanks you.

Heaven knows I do, every day.

The Checklist for College-bound Juniors

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

With another year mostly behind us, it’s time to take what we learned after a ride on this year’s college-go-round and pass it on to juniors.

Do let your interests, abilities, and needs guide your search for the colleges that are right for you.

Do notice that last sentence said “colleges”, not “college”.

Don’t think the rules for applying to college are the same as when your older sibling applied. Testing policies, admission rates, and application deadlines have changed in the last few years. Use the college websites to get the latest information.

Do take the SAT or ACT. Even if your list is all test-optional/no-test colleges, you may fall in love this fall with a college that requires them. Plus, a strong test score can improve your application status at a test-optional school. Just don’t send them until you see them.

Don’t forget online college tours are still around, and better than ever. The pandemic made just about every college invest more time and thought to their online tours, leading them to realize what they should have figured out a long time ago; students who can’t get to campus still deserve a great look at their school.

Do put together a list of colleges you’re interested in, if there are any right now. Throw them in a spreadsheet, along with a few notes on why the school interests you, and the application deadline. Don’t forget the why; that comes in handy later on. 6-8 colleges max is plenty; 10-12 if some of those are cocktail party colleges.

Don’t let cost hold you back from applying to a college. Put your list together based on the qualities of the college. The ones you think you can’t afford may offer great aid that makes it possible. Make sure your list is balanced with colleges where cost doesn’t matter as much, and you’ll be fine.

Do take a minute to review your activities list. In theory, you were supposed to start this list in ninth grade—but in theory, Rich Strike wasn’t supposed to win the Kentucky Derby (if you missed it, watch this—he was twelfth going into the last eighth of a mile).

You can recover. Get a notebook or spreadsheet, write down the activities you remember, then—and I’m serious here—ask your parents to look it over. They’ll remember many things you forgot, and they’ll be thrilled you asked them to do something for college besides pay for it.

Don’t leave school before asking two teachers if they can write you a good letter of recommendation. Generally, these are teachers of academic subjects from junior year, and you don’t need more than two. They can’t teach the same subject— I’d even be careful about getting letters from the Chemistry and Biology teachers—and asking them now gives them the summer to think about your letter, and even write it.

Don’t do anything related to college during the entire month of July, with the possible exception of visiting campuses. Many students want to dig in and start essays right after school’s out—and without exception, those essays sound dull and tired by September. Great essays come from a rested soul that knows itself. Take July to refresh and rediscover, and dig in come August.

Do ask for help. Teachers help with essays, counselors help with college searches and applications, and online sources from folks like Collegewise and Common Application offer free, solid advice, available anytime. You bring a unique self to the process; they bring the expertise needed to make the logistics look easy. Use them.

Enjoy the ride.