Colleges Want Students Who Want Them

It's kind of like dating. There's risk involved in dating. Guy likes girl...he's not sure if girl likes him, but he's really interested and if he likes her enough he's going to take the risk. But if the risk is too high and the girl doesn't show enough interest, it may not be worth it to the guy to ask her out. However, if the girl has shown interest, the guy has minimized his risk considerably because he's seen some intention from the girl and he's decreased his chances of being left high and dry.

Applying to college is similar. Colleges receive thousands of applications each year and they know not every student who is admitted will attend, but its important they choose the right students to admit. The greater the number of students they admit who actually attend is called yield and the higher the yield, the better for a school. Colleges will often take the risk on a student they are sure will attend...and not leave them high and dry. :)

Some facts on yield....

*Yield is a key determining factor in college rankings. Ie...the number of students a schools admits compared to how many accept the offer. Colleges want a high yield, which means, they need to admit students they think will attend.

*Colleges are faced with the obstacle of wanting to admit top students, yet knowing top students will have other offers. In this day an age students can apply to multiple schools simultaneously and the number of applications colleges receive is multiplying. However, that doesn't mean those students are seriously interested in the school; many students apply to several safety schools. How does a college know if they are a safety school for a particular applicant?

*Demonstrated interest is of high importance to college admission offices. They want to know an applicant is seriously interested in their school and didn't add that school "just in case".

*For example....College X is a highly selective school and is looking at two top applicants. Applicant A has a 3.8 gpa and a 2170 SAT. Applicant B has a 4.0 and 2290 SAT. They have similar extracurricular profiles and stellar essay. Applicant A visited the school, went on a tour, requested an interview, visited the rep at a local college fair and has been communicating with the local rep about the status of their application for months. Applicant B requested information online and hasn't had any other communication. Tough choice? Indeed. Applicant A clearly shows interest, is a solid student and has a strong profile. Applicant B is a better student with strong scores, but is also applying to several selective schools, a few of which are higher ranked than College X. These are the decisions colleges face daily. College X's yield is important, Applicant A looks like a sure thing, but Applicant B has better test scores...hmmm, what to do.

*You've heard those stories of students with top gpa's and scores being waitlisted or denied over students with lower gpa's and scores. You never know what goes on behind closed doors...but a school is always thinking about their yield, for yield is a KEY factor in ranking.

So what does that mean for you?
This brings me back to my original point: Colleges Want Students Who Want Them. One of biggest mistakes students make when applying to college is not demonstrating enough interest. Students don't demonstrate interest in schools for various reasons. Some students don't want to come across too eager, which is a mistake, the more eager the better. Some students feel the school needs to woo and attract them to attend, but this is only true after a student has been admitted, not before. During the application phase, it's the student's responsibility to show the school they are the student's #1 choice. And finally, some students simply don't realize the importance of demonstrated interest and take a reactive approach to the admission process. Very few teenagers understand the concept of being proactive and intentional with getting what they want. The honest truth is when we're reviewing thousands and thousands of applications, they tend to all look the same and colleges want to admit students who want them and the only way we know they want to attend is if they show us, through many avenues.

The best way to show demonstrated interest is through a campus visit and personal interview. These actions take effort, intention and planning and a student would only go that far if they were really interested. Students should also connect with their admission counselor, attend college fairs and visit the reps, attend the high school visit when the rep comes to the student's high school, attend the info session in their local area and apply early (either early action or early decision).

Ralph Figueroa, of the NY Times "Choice Blog" on college admission recently wrote a piece about private college consultants and whether or not they're worth it and if colleges can tell when students have been coached. He answers the question well, by first stating colleges don't necessarily know if a student has been coached in the application process. There is the rare instance when a school asks for a graded paper from the student and if the writing style is dramatically different, the student's application could be suspicious, but that never happened in the thousands of applications I reviewed for Pepperdine.

The second part of the question is what he focused most of the piece on by basically stating that private consultants are needed if there aren't enough resources at a school. I've the dismal state of college counseling in California and we've found, more often than not, school counselors welcome any help to ease their work load, whether it be with dvd's, workshops, weekly newsletters with tips, etc.

Below is my response to his article....

As a private college consultant in the Los Angeles area, I've seen the tremendous need for college counseling supplementation. The counselor to student ratio in California is approaching 900:1 if it isn't already there. I regularly speak to schools and put on free college admission workshops for juniors and seniors.  Yes, I’m busy and swamped year around, but I’m not so above the system that I can’t spend a few hours a month helping a public high school. Inside the public education system, we're seeing first hand, the challenge counselors face with overcrowded and underfunded schools. We spoke with one counselor and in addition to being the only college counselor at her school of 2,500 students, she's also in charge of GATE, IB testing and coordinating state mandated tests. She said she's lucky to spend more than 10 minutes with each student during the year and on average spends about 30 minutes over the course of 4 years with each student. Students need more than 30 minutes of college guidance while in high school.

I personally believe students need about 5-10 hours of dedicated personalized college counseling; whether that comes from a private consultant or school counselor. Private college counseling doesn't need to be expensive and only available to the wealthy elite. A good private counselor will have a number of services available at several price points for families to choose. We recently launched an affordable package for families that gives them 5-6 hours of dedicated college counseling, self-discovery and essay editing for $499 and have seen incredible results for our students with as little as 5 hours of personalized help. Counselors we've talked to and worked with see private consultants as allies  who make their job easier, we're all on the same team here.

Should a family be spending $25,000 on a pricey package? No. Should a family spend anywhere from $500-$5000 on private college counseling? If they need it. It's an invaluable investment in a child's future and I've seen, first hand, the profound impact our services have made in lives of our families....at every price point.

In the world of entrepreneurship, we're always trying to solve a problem. What's the problem in education? I've found there aren't enough college counselors in each high school to walk each student through their own college admission journey. Every student deserves that right because the the college admission process is a time of self-discovery, not just a rushed process with the end goal of college.

1.    Don’t assume high-priced schools are outside your budget.

In a down economy, there’s a great temptation to assume pricey universities are out of the question. Many of these colleges have endowments and though they’ve been hit too, family’s economic situations are changing and allowing families to qualify for more need-based aid. Students should still apply to the schools that seem to best fit their needs, regardless of cost. Fewer than 25% of families pay the “sticker price” listed for tuition.

2.    Take AP’s and go to a Junior College.

Community college isn’t just for Thursday nights on NBC! Transferring AP and junior college credits is an easy way to earn a Bachelor’s degree for less money and less time. Universities will typically accept a maximum of 60 outside units, which is about 2 years worth of classes. Take advantage!

3.    Go to the web!

If travel costs are keeping you from visiting schools, reach out to the wealth of information online giving students information about applying to college. Universitydrive.com has great videos if you don’t have time to read another book. Collegeboard.com is a comprehensive resource to help you search for schools, sign up for SAT’s and get financial aid information.

4.    Find an affordable personal consultant.

Research has shown students, on average, are only receiving 8 minutes of college guidance each year. Many schools are overcrowded leaving students without personalized guidance. There are number of affordable private consultants ready to help walk you through the process, check out Full Ride Inc, Accept Edge and Top Test Prep.

5.    Don’t be afraid of student loans.

While it’s unwise to take out $140,000 in students loans for undergrad, $20,000-$30,000 is reasonable and often the difference in attending college or not. College loan interest can be written off on taxes once a student has a job, gives them a credit history and teaches students about personal finance at an age when they need to learn it.

6.    College is still the best investment.

In spite of the increased costs, a college education is still the single most important investment a family can make in their child's future. Beyond earning potential, college is a four-year experience where students are exposed to diverse thought, critical thinking, and learning how to network to prepare for a successful career.