Spring cleaning starts for me as soon as I put away the holiday decorations. It’s a time when I love to organize and throw things away, any item not nailed down is in jeopardy. I’m sure you have heard Marie Kondo’s advice that if something doesn’t spark joy, then dispose of it. The same practice can be used with your approach to the college application process. Get organized and be willing to throw some ideas away. This will reduce your stress and bring the most satisfaction when submitting your applications. There are three simple steps you can take to a better college application process.
I was perplexed the first time I heard, “Colorado School of Mines.” Is there really a school about mining? Who would go there? Answer: Students looking for a STEM-based education with abundant experiential learning opportunities. Its location explains everything. Golden, Colorado, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies, was a product of the Gold Rush. Later In 1874, Colorado School of Mines was founded to “educate and develop” this immerging tech workforce. The Gold Rush ended, but Golden and its college survived. Colorado School of Mines’s mission continues to be to prepare students for the evergrowing and changing needs of the world today.
When I put Boomer in the car this morning, he was anxious. He likes his morning routine, and this was a big departure from it. He didn’t know if he was going to doggie daycare (not his favorite thing) or maybe to the vet (even less of a favorite thing). In short, he didn’t know what the future had in store for him. Sound familiar? I am writing this on the eve of our own version of March Madness. I work with 20 very capable and talented seniors who are anxiously waiting for colleges to release their admissions decisions. Until they do, these outstanding young people don’t know what lies ahead; they don’t know where they are going.
This time of year, I frequently tell my own story of my uncharted journey to college. I was wait-listed at my number one choice and ended up attending a school that, although just up the road, I had never seen before the day I moved into my dorm. I had honestly never seen that number one school either, but that didn’t seem to matter to me. I was outraged by all of the events and circumstances leading up to my matriculation at this “backup” school. It wasn’t fair. My good friend got into #1, and, from my perspective, her resume didn’t differ much from mine. Okay, not entirely true. She played badminton, and I have no athletic ability. Was that the magic ingredient to get into that school? I’ll never know.
Have you ever been to a farmers market in the middle of the summer and been so taken with the abundance of heirloom tomatoes, just-picked sweet white corn, summer squash, melons and peaches that you bought more than you could eat? I have, and then a few days later when I realize my folly, I scramble to make sauces that I can freeze in order not to waste the food. It’s actually a bit stressful because I don’t always have the time to be Ma on The Little House on the Prairie preserving things for the winter. Later I reflect on my produce choices, and I not only bought too much, I bought some items that weren’t really good fits for me and my lifestyle. I don’t love eggplant, it’s a textural thing, unless it’s breaded and covered in marinara sauce and cheese. Why did I buy that eggplant? I guess because it was a beautiful, glossy purple and others around me were snatching them up. In the end I had a full basket of beautiful produce worthy of a Gourmet Magazine photo shoot, but my choices were inappropriate and excessive.
Inevitably as the application season starts to wind down, many seniors experience the results of having applied to too many schools. Some just stop and don’t apply to the remaining schools on their list, others blindly proceed submitting inferior essays, ones that they have retrofitted for every school. I’ve heard horror stories about students who forgot to substitute the name of the current school for the name previously used. In short, they bought too much fruit that now needs to be preserved or thrown away. They cast their nets too wide.
How many is too many? The answer is different for each person. The important thing is to make sure that every school on the list is a school that the student could be excited about attending. Parents and friends will influence this list, and it will grow and grow and may quickly become unmanageable. Here are five reasons to reduce your unwieldy list:
1. Lack of Clarity
High school students often fail to realize the amount of work it takes to put together a solid application that best presents themselves to admissions. The best applications flow from a fountain of knowledge about the school and solid reasons for wanting to attend. College-bound seniors with twenty or more colleges on their lists often find that they can’t remember details about each school. From experience I will tell you, the devil is in the details. It might be that they don’t remember the unique qualities about the programs at each of their schools or simply what the requirements are. Either way, their applications will suffer if they can’t articulate what it is about XYZ University that makes them want to attend. An excessive number of schools on a list will lead to confusion between schools and thus a weaker application.
Today’s San Diego Union Tribune had an article about families protesting the Vista Unified School district’s decision to use a credit/no credit grading system for this semester. The sentiment is that this will put the junior class at a disadvantage with college admissions. Parents and students in other local school districts have had the same mistrust with a system that does not allow for letter grades. They worry because other school districts have implemented different policies. A Vista High School mother was quoted as saying that colleges they have talked to “prefer data to no data.”
I empathize with these students and their parents. The college application season is stressful under normal circumstances, but the Class of 2021 has been saddled with so many additional, legitimate concerns. They can’t visit campuses or attend college fairs. Every time they sign up and prepare for ACT or SAT, they get canceled. What will the the at-home AP tests really be like and will the scores be universally accepted? Is test-optional really optional? What does an holistic approach to admissions mean? The list goes on and on. Being cooped up at home with more questions about college applications than answers is creating a pressure cooker. Families feel insecure and are looking for something they can control.
