Asian Applicants Face Difficult Time

According to a recent US News and World Report, for Asian applicants, it is 3 times more difficult than White Americans and 15 times more difficult than African Americans to be admitted to top private colleges in the US.  This news article was based on research by Thomas Espenshade of Princeton University.  However, athletes, students from top high schools and black and Hispanic students from low income families had admissions edges.  Read the original article.

Remember that this research was based on data from 1997.  Many feel that it is probably even more difficult now than it was back in 1997.  Some fear that Asian students are stereotyped as students who can do nothing else but studying and are victimized as college admissions officers make room for other races by admitting fewer Asians than their test scores, transcripts and other relevant data indicate.

As it was mentioned in earlier posts, many parents feel that college admissions seem more like lottery to some people.  The criteria for admissions have become very obscure as many college admissions offices advocate holistic evaluation.   What exactly is the holistic evaluation?  As a parent of a college bound high school student, it is a bit disturbing to learn all this, not knowing how my student can prepare to study in a college of his choice and what his chances of getting into that college might be.  What do you think about this news article?

GPA – How It Helps In College Admissions

There’s really nothing more important in your college application than the strength of your academics. Unlike essays and the SATs which can be polished in several weeks, the transcript is a culmination of four years of academic work you did in high school. There’s little you can do to change your academic record. That is why admissions officers will always turn to the transcript before anything else. After all, to get an idea of how you will perform next time in college, it’s only logical to assess how you’ve been performing so far.

What courses you take in high school and what grades you get will determine where you end up in September. When colleges look at your folder, the first thing they will see is your transcript. “Has this student challenged herself?” “Are his grades showing an upward trend, declining, or stagnant?” Challenged means taking the toughest courses you can handle.

Please bear in mind that when while you are encouraged to go for the most demanding schedule, you must be able to do well. No point taking the toughest courses if it eats into your social and extra curricular activities. Admissions officers can see that you’re trying too hard, and it may instead work against your favor in the college admissions process.

“Is it better to get a B in the Advanced Placement class or an A in the regular class?”

Not surprisingly, this question gets asked a lot of times. Of course, the best thing would be to get an A in the AP class. But seriously, admissions officers would rather you get a B in the AP class. AP classes are much tougher than regular ones, and getting a B – despite the grade itself – shows that you can handle tough workloads.

Just think about it, if A was so important, then every student would try to pad his and her transcript with courses like Getting Slim for the 21st Century just so they could fatten their GPA. That is why grades alone are not enough.

An important thing to note here is that while colleges consider grades, they also consider your performance relative to your classmates. That is where class rank comes in. Class ranks help colleges determine whether the C you got in Calculus is a result of slacking on your part, or a really strict marking system. If your school does not rank, don’t despair. Colleges are adept enough at coming up with a ranking for you based on your school profile and academic trend in your school report.

For example, my school does not rank. But my guidance counselor was able to predict my rank as if there was a ranking system, by looking at the performance of my peers in my class that year. So she will write something like “Top 5% of the class this year” for her students. Even if your school policy forbids ranking – as mine do – your transcript can still tell a great deal about what kind of challenges you went through in high school.

Know Your Goals

You academic preparation should also reflect your goals. What kind of school do you want to go to? If you are eyeing for highly selective colleges, then you should take as many AP classes as you can; again, without harming your grades or extra curricular activities.

At the Ivy Leagues and its cousins, you’d probably need all the As you can get from AP classes to have a shot. These academic behemoths are so competitive that a B might (read: I said might because it will still ultimately depend on your overall application strength) not work in your favor.

On the other hand, large state universities use a different rule. These schools attract tens of thousands of applications each year and so they often rely on grades and test scores to make decisions. Here GPA would be more important than the level of courses. In other words, how tough your course selection is isn’t necessary, as long as they are college preparatory.

“What if my school does not offer AP courses?”

Don’t fret. Designing the curriculum is the responsibility of your school; your job is to take the most challenging ones available. If your school doesn’t offer AP English, and every senior takes regular English classes, then yes, that is the most rigorous one. If you come from a really competitive high school, you will be evaluated based on the school’s curriculum. Even if you rank near the bottom, there are some schools who will love to take you in since you come from a ‘strong’ school.

But if your high school isn’t so tough, then it may be more important for you to rank near the top.

A really good way to stand out in a selective pool is to go beyond what your school has to offer. This means doing things that are otherwise not offered in your school. If you’ve studied all the physics courses in school, try taking up advanced courses at a local college. If you love maths and finished calculus in junior year, work with a professor to do research into multivariable equations. These actions show adcoms that you are intellectually curious and always ready to learn new things – a plus point in the admissions process.

College Admissions Essays that Take 1st Place -A Personal Statement Checklist

Congratulations on your move toward a college degree. And congratulations on seeking support for writing your admissions essay/personal statement. The squeaky motor gets the oil, so you will be slick and running sleekly in a just a few daysin plenty of time to submit and relax before transferring from a community college or crossing over from high school to higher learning.

While the application and entry process is exciting, it is also rigorously demanding when it comes to writing the prompted essays. But instead of getting intimidated, remember, it is a process with a series of many laps around the track. Do the steps one at a time, on time, and even ahead of time; be just as rigorous as the entry requirements are; and use the following as a checklist throughout the entire personal statement writing process, and you will create a worthy piece of writing that will smoothly slide you right into the institution of your choice.

1. Use that fine machine (your head): get ahead, start ahead.

___Start early. If the application and essay are due in three months, start working on it in two.

2. Start small.

___If the task seems overwhelming, choose an easy, quick, or interesting part of the task. Then you will have a momentum that will push you forward into the larger, more time consuming tasks. For example, you know your name, address, and (maybe) what you want to major in. Fill out the application.

3. Read X3 before you start to build.

___The first time, read the directions and the prompt choices for the personal statement(s) you have to write as if you are reading a magazine for fun.

___The second time, read the prompt choices as if you are reading a catalog and shopping for the one (best) item (prompt). Choose the one topic that you feel you have the most to write on, the one you like, the one you are drawn to.

___The third time, read with a highlighter or pen: highlight or underline the key words in the prompts introductory sentences and the key action words (those words that tell you to do something). For example, if the prompt reads as follows, you would mark it like this [I use brackets here for highlighting]:

Is there [anything] you would like us to know [about you or your academic record] that you have not had the opportunity to [describe] elsewhere in this application? What is [your intended major]? [Discuss] [how your interest in the field developed] and [describe] any [experience you have had in the field] such as volunteer work, internships and employment and what you have gained from your involvement.

4. Make notesand make them visible.

___You now have the (five, here) parts to list on a big piece of paper or cardboard that you then prop up or tape up on your wall or pc. (I always do thistape the required points on my computer; then I can constantly refer to it as I am writing. It keeps me on trackon topic.)

5. Consider your audience.

___As with any writing, you decide your tone based on who will be reading the work. In this case, you are submitting to a committee of readers who read stacks and stacks of these things. So

6. Be real. Be honest. Be engaging. Be positive. Be fresh.

I know, I know. I hate it too when someone tells me to be myself. (Who else would I be?) The point is to avoid pretense, avoid b.s. (lies), and avoid whining, begging, and angry, bitter, resentful tirades.
The readers want to know who you are, how you would fit, and what you would bring to the university.

___Brainstorm a list of true details, writing them on the left side of a piece of paper. On the right side, note next to each item how that makes you a perfect candidate for the place. (The left side is negative, too. The right side is the balance, turning the negatives into positives.)

7. Engage.

Granted, when we writers begin drafting, we may not necessarily begin with the opening paragraph. We scribble the lines we remember, the body, the conclusion, topic sentences, important buzz words, or anything else that comes to mind. But when you do get to the opener, it must be as outstanding, alluring, inviting, and original as possible.

I promise I know what Im talking about here. As a/an (former) Associate Professor of college English, I assisted hundreds of students with both graduate and undergraduate application packets and processes–teaching workshops on the entrance essays, tutoring students in the complete process in the colleges learning centers, even receiving students in my home (where they still continue to approach me for consultation and support).

So I have seen/see many students get accepted to Berkeley, Cornell, Stanford, State, and other private and public institutionsbased on their essays, which I helped them to write and (ugh) rewrite using the standards and guidelines of the major institutions of higher learning (and this handy manual of caveats I have compiled over the years). And those essays start with unique, engaging introsthat follow these tricks:

___Get rid of all abstractions (now also considered clichs in the academic arenasince they have been driven into the ground by overuse). Avoid using the success achieve lifelong dream terms, words, and phrases. The panel knows you want/need these. They expect it is a given, and would probably have group heart attacks if someone wrote he/she was applying to be unsuccessful, to achieve nothing, and to listlessly idle, having no dream whatsoever. (Okay, you get my point, right?)

___Erase the I am an immigrant who needs to make my parents proud clichs. (I promise you, this strategy is empty and useless. I have received students needing entry essay help who are immigrants, children of immigrants, products of immigrant DNA, victims of immigrant mentality.every first draft I read started with this kind of intro. And Ive only helped about 500 students with this exact same opener. Imagine the weary tsk-ing and head shaking of the board member who reads thousands!)

The bottom line is this: asking to be admitted because you experienced–and are slamming the board with–a number of boo-hoo poor me hardships is the same as going to a job interview and answering questions about what skills you bring to the job by crying that you need to feed your kids. How does your need qualify you? It doesnt.

___And/or, forget the I was neglected, abused, poor, hungry, ugly, fat opener. Same lecture as above applies here, too. Unless

___You can turn the negative into a positive. If you have to be real, and the victim thing is part of your story, show how that pain/struggle/torture contributed to who you are today and to what you bring to the school. But do it later in the essay and do it in passing, in mention, in briefand then move on. So, how do you open a personal statement?

___ By opening the essays with a metaphor, a narrative, or appropriate facts and statistics that will make the essay(s) stand out, appeal to the board, and give those readers something interestingyou have a better chance of them saying to each other, Hey, did you read that Joe Blow essay? and of them putting it in the YES pile.

Consider this: what running theme(s) would best represent you? For example, would you, like Helen Zhang did, use a water metaphor to represent your immigrating from a country where you were going with the flow of running your own company, then moved to a country where you started over, re-built the ship from scratch, beat the hell out of those choppy stormy seas, and are now sailing, headed for helping others to row to safe shores?

Or would you, like Celestino Garcia, use a food/feeding metaphor to show how getting your fingers broken by a cruel (and insane) uncle who then forced you to do farm work and refused to feed you has instead driven you to culinary school, to prepare lovely meals for feeding todays children even worse off than he was without food?

Or do you prefer to open with a description, as Sarah Choi did, for example, of living in the projects, looking through a cracked window at the police lights every night you sat to do grade school homeworktill one day you made it out, still keeping in mind (and writing it back in at the end of your essay) the sirens and lights and project life from whence you came, so you can, when you graduate, return to the projects and aid others in escaping the flashing lights and flashes of gunfire?

8. Youve got their attention. Now make your point. Boldly.

___Heres where your thesis comes in. Once you have used an original description, metaphor, statistic, fact, or definition to open, wrap up the intro with a declarative, confident statement. For example,

This is why I want to attend Oxford. will not help you make your way into Oxford. Again, its obvious you want to attend/be accepted, and thats not reason enough to be accepted.

But With this experience, with excellent grades, with a steady volunteer record, and with a pro-active attitude, I will make dynamic, positive, and supportive contributions to the community at Oxford, and later, to the community at large. will give you the horsepower you need to finish the essay and to get accepted.

9. Youve done the hard part. Follow through to the finish.

___The body of your essay will now have the theme/line of reasoning it needs to follow. If it helps, print the thesis in large lettering, and tape this up, too. It is the main point you will now prove with examples of

__your g.p.a.

__your outstanding performance awards

__your volunteer experience (where, when, etc.)

__your tutoring, interning, or work-related experience

__your influences/reasons for getting into the field

__any points the prompt asks for

10. Accelerate using anything you have/know/have done.

The support (body of the essay) is most important nowadays, to give you the boost you need to compete. For instance, a number of schools/majors are impacted. Computers and business, for example, have students neck-and-neck in fierce competition for a seat in the department.

So when there are 500 applicants with the same 4.0 g.p.a, the same awards, and the same backgrounds and work experience, you need to use facts (no b.s., made-up stuff) that will give you the extra speed. This is why tutoring tales help. This is where volunteering cranks up the volume. This is where you use what you can to race ahead. As long as its truth-based. If they ask for two letters of recommendation, send three. If they ask for one way you will contribute to the university, give them two: you will help in the department, assisting the professors (for free); and you will tutor those struggling in a (related) subject you are fortunate to do well in.

10. But how do you come in 1st and keep the rules of the road?

Heres where revising, revising, and revising again comes in. First, write all you can, all you want, all you know. Then, go back and check those instructions. How many pages must you use? What size font?

___Usually, you have a page limit that you must not go over.

___At the same time, you must cover 3-4 areas in your essay.

___Follow the instructionstotheletter. (This will also give you an advantage, for the instructions are there not just to get to know you but to test whether you are adept at following instructions.)

___Dont give the readers any excuse/reason to eliminate you.

___Tighten your text. This is covered in the Mechanics section below.

11. Keep that machine well-oiled: use your pit mechanics.

___Revise the opener. Make sure it is fresh, engaging, relevant.

___Revise the thesis. Be sure its complete and expresses the general point.

___Revise the body (supporting evidence). Check that it addresses part of the prompt. (This is another testdoes the applicant cover all parts of the question?)

___Rev. the paragraphs and transitions between paragraphs. Be sure each is coherent, and that all are organized and connected, and therefore easy to follow.

___Rev. the sentences. Use variety. Combine sentences for rhythm and flow.

___Rev. the diction. Get rid of useless words, extra words, abstract words. This is where you will be able to shorten the essay.

___Revise the spelling. Do not rely on the pc spellchecker! It is two e-z to Miss homonyms and readers will not be able to bare it!

___Revise the punctuation. Get a tutor for this if you need to.

___Use human mechanics, too. We have brains that are set up so perfectly that they do this thing called hypercorrection. So when we read our own drafts, our brains insist on automatically correcting and reading as correct text that has errors in it. How do you fix this? Have someone else read the work aloud. You listen carefully. When the reader stumbles, pauses, or does a Wha? double-take, you stop the reader, catch the error, and change it, right then and there, in the pit stop. Before you mail itagainre-read and revise. Re-read and revise.

___12. Mail the entrythe application (with nothing left blank), the check (not blank), and the essay (cleaned and polished)–before the deadline

in plenty of time for the university readers to read it, laugh over it, cry over it (which does happenI have cried over the top essays that got Sarah, Tino, Helen, and many others into law school, computer tech school, business school, and more), and except you…I mean, accept you.

Now get your motor running and win that race.

N.H.-born prize-winning poet, creative nonfiction writer, memoirist, and award-winning Assoc. Prof. of English, Roxanne is also web content and freelance writer/founder of http://www.roxannewrites.com, a support site for academic, memoir, mental disability, and creative writers who need a nudge, a nod, or just ideasof which Roxanne has 1,000s, so do stop in for a visit, as this sentence cant possibly get any longer.

Author: Roxanne McDonald
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Taking the Guesswork Out Of College Admissions

Its nothing to be ashamed of. The college admissions process can be overwhelming, and because its constantly evolving (and each school uses different criteria for evaluating admissions!), it would be difficult for anyone to master the process.

To take some of the guesswork out of admissions, we decided to get the latest on the process from those in the know. Kerry Rosen, Director of Admissions for Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University, and Susan Hertz, Associate Director, Marketing of American University, shared advice and information for high schoolers preparing to apply to college.

What is the most common mistake you see applicants make to hurt their chances of getting accepted into a college or university?

ROSEN: They submit late or incomplete applications, or dont check to see what is required, such as how many letters, an essay vs. a graded writing sample, etc.

HERTZ: Or they dont check to make sure that all the required parts of the application have actually arrived.

What is the approximate weight given to grades, test scores, extracurricular and community activities, essays and recommendations? What other factors do you like to consider?

ROSEN: We place a lot of emphasis on the academic record because we offer a very challenging program and we want to be sure that the applicants have what it takes to be successful here. We look at test scores, the strength of the classes taken, grades, and also require a graded writing sample so that we can see the how well the applicant is able to communicate in written form. In addition to academics, we are interested in what the applicant does outside the classroom school and community involvement, employment experience, honors and awards. Letters from teachers, counselors and people in the community tell us a lot about the students character, motivation and level of compassion.

HERTZ: This information is found in most guidebooks. At AU, we look at grades in conjunction with the difficulty of the courses selected and test scores; essays and recommendations; and then activities.

Can you give us an example of a few applicants whose grades or test scores were below the average for your admitted students but who were admitted for other reasons?

ROSEN: We sometimes take a chance on a student with a less than stellar academic record if they have demonstrated an extraordinary level of character or persistence in the face of economic, social or cultural obstacles. Some examples might be a recent immigrant or a student dealing with a very difficult family situation.

HERTZ: We look for students who show evidence of leadership. Essays also often explain the circumstances that have caused low grades or test scores.

What can/should high school sophomores be focusing on regarding college?

ROSEN: Tenth graders should be focusing on learning more about themselves, academically and personally about their interests, about their strengths and weaknesses. They should begin to compile a list of the kinds of things they would like to find in a college. From that list they can come up with a list of colleges that meet the criteria they have set. It seems to me that that way theyd be able to find a better fit between themselves and the school.

HERTZ: They should take a challenging course of study and find an activity that he or she can be passionately engaged in.

Regarding extracurricular activities in high school, is it better to try a little bit of everything or to excel in one thing? Does it matter what the activity is or is it mainly that they devote meaningful time to it?

ROSEN: We prefer to see a couple of activities that the student has really gotten involved with. This is much more impressive than a long list of clubs that someone has joined mostly to be able to list them on college applications and resumes. It is especially impressive when a student has either had a leadership role in a school or community organization or they have demonstrated initiative by actually starting a new club or activity.

HERTZ: Excel in one thing. The activity doesnt matter.

To what extent is it better to take honors or AP courses even if the grades are lower? For example, what looks better: an A in regular English or a B in AP or honors English?

ROSEN: Taking challenging courses is a real benefit. They are great preparation for college work and taking them is worth possibly getting a lower grade.

HERTZ: For a competitive university such as AU, better to take AP or honors, definitely.

How important is balancei.e. sports, academics, volunteer workin your admissions criteria?

ROSEN: We like to see applicants who are involved in things other than academics. But it is not a good thing to be so involved that the academic record suffers for it. We sometimes see this happening when a students job becomes too demanding and does not leave enough time for studying. Students need to be very careful to achieve the right balance.

HERTZ: Balance is nice but not a deal breaker, so to speak. We believe that a wide range of types creates a dynamic academic experience. Most of our athletes are also scholars; some academically outstanding students do no sports and minimal volunteering.

What are your policies on Early Admissions and Early Action? What trends are you seeing with these? Do students have a better chance of being admitted under these plans?

ROSEN: We have a non-binding Early Action deadline of December 15. We do not believe that binding plans are in the best interest of the student. Having an applicant make an irrevocable decision that early in the senior year does not strike me as fair and equitable. Students at age 17 or 18 are still learning too much about themselves and what and where they want to study to make a good choice that early.

HERTZ: We do Early Decision only. Typically students have about the same chance of being admitted although this can vary tremendously. Some years they have had a better chance.

How has the admissions process changed over the last few years?

ROSEN: It has gotten to be a more stressful experience for all concerned. Colleges treat admissions more as a marketing venture. Students and their families are increasing focused on gaining admission to a prestigious and well-known school, sometimes for the wrong reasons. They need to look more closely at finding the best fit for their particular needs. And sometimes this means going to a little-known institution that may serve them better.

HERTZ: More applications by more students who are more conscious of financial aid/scholarship considerations.

My College Guide is a print and web-based guide to help college-bound students with admissions, college search, and college survival. For more information or to get your own free copy of My College Guide, please visit http://www.mycollegeguide.org.

Author: Wendy Burt
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

Harvard Admission Rate of 7%

By John Lauerman

March 30 (Bloomberg) — Harvard University’s undergraduate college said it admitted 7 percent of the applicants for the next entering class after the “most competitive admissions process in the history” of the institution.

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, received a record 29,112 applications, William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, said today in a statement. Financial aid offered by the university helped attract applicants, he said.

“Financial aid enables students with modest means to believe Harvard is possible for them,” Fitzsimmons said in the statement.

On April 1 last year, Harvard said it offered admission to 1,948 students, or 7.1 percent of 27,462 applicants.

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