High School Counselor Week Blog

August is the month when all the college rankings are published. There’s the US News & World Report, the Princeton Review, and a new one from Unigo (they bill themselves “College Students Tell You What the Colleges Won’t”). Recently there was an article from the Washington Post called “"Ranking the Rankings” – it’s a big deal, at least for the colleges.
There is also another list of the 50 Worst Colleges from the Washington Monthly. It surely is an inglorious list for any college to make. So I found myself wondering “How does one judge who is the worst of the worst?” More importantly how does one define “worst”?

There are a bunch of stories out there about parents dropping their kids off for college. The fact that there are any stories at all is interesting by itself. I mean, think about it: parents have been dropping kids off at college for pretty much as long as kids have been going to college. Still, things are different now. Since parents are so involved in every aspect of the college process, dropping their children off may have developed into an “issue” in its own right. Read below on what to do, and what not to do.

Apparently there is some discussion about putting an optional question on the Common Application indicating ones sexual preference and gender identity. (For those not familiar with the Common Application, it’s an application that’s used by a large number of schools.) It seems colleges are trying to attract a more diverse student body. Some may be thinking, “Why ask this question?” The information is not intended to discriminate against homosexuals. Nevertheless, to my thinking no matter how well intentioned this attempt at diversity may be, this seems very dangerous. First of all, how that information will really be used is never clear. Secondly, does being homosexual legitimately increase your odds of acceptance? If it does, what would prevent you from lying?

Love ’em or hate ’em, The US News & World Report annual Best Colleges Guide is a big deal. Many cynical writers (besides me) blame the whole mess college admissions has become on these ratings. Big surprise this year: Harvard is number 1. Who would have guessed? Below is the link to the Guide. Please keep these rankings in perspective. Use it as a yard stick to measure how difficult it might be to get accepted, but really nothing else than that. There are great --and I do mean great-- schools that don’t show up on the Guide that could be a great fit.

Colleges trying to stand out from the crowd are offering a twist on the traditional campus tour. From boats to Segways it’s getting to be a lot of fun. Many parents and kids combine visiting colleges with their vacations. Who knows, if the colleges get entertaining enough, I can see the college visits are the vacation. Article from US News & World Report below.

There was a time when those with a learning disability were pretty much on their own on to make accommodations and get extra help. Now there are a lot of resources for the kids who need some help --both in high school and once they get in to college. Kaarme, for instance, has a list of colleges that specifically have programs to help those with learning disabilities. Check it out at Kaarme - Learning Disability College Programs
There is also a good article from USA below.

It’s that time of year when parents drop their kids off to college. For parents it’s always bittersweet. They are both proud but worried. That’s part of the drill unfortunately -- pride and concern. Parents miss their kids, kids get homesick. What do you do? When I went to college I would call home most Sundays. It was plenty of contact for both me and my parents. Things are different now, with texting and cell phone contacts several times each day becoming the norm. Is that a good thing? There is a good article below on this subject.

There are advantages to both big and small colleges and everyone should develop their own list as to what they’re looking for. That being said, there is a good article in US News & World Report about the advantages of a small school. Full Disclosure: I went to a small school and loved it.

It’s early August and a new admissions cycle is about to begin. The Princeton Review has come out with their list of “best” schools, and US News and World Report has a countdown on their home page to their annual guide. I’m not kidding. One trend that seems to be developing this year is the return to the college interview. It was a practice that seemed to be fading away, but recently has been making a comeback. Two articles below from the Washington Post on “How Important” the interview is and the “Why’s”.

There is video (below) on how to prepare for both the SATs and ACTs. The video offers some good advice on how to practice and prepare. Some tips are better than others, such as being sure to practice under test conditions. They suggest a library or another place with a lot of distraction. The article also suggests that you chew gum so that your brain associates taking the test with a pleasurable experience. (It seems to me that the Wrigley Company should do a clinical trial to see which gum scores best.) Anyway, besides the gum there is some good advice in the video.