College Admissions tips for the summer: Resumes and Essays

The college admissions process is getting more and more competitive every year. For incoming high school seniors, these ten weeks of summer are the perfect time to start preparing an important component of the application process: college essays. The essay is one of the few parts where they can express a part of themselves that doesn’t necessarily shine through on other parts of their applications. Mary Merrill, an admissions officer from Connecticut College, told the New York Times that this is an opportunity for students to show admissions officers what they capable of when they have time to think, prepare, rewrite and polish.

While the college essay has always been a traditional part of the application process, incoming high school seniors may also want to consider writing a student resume for all of their college applications. The benefits of a student resume are similar to those of a college essay: a resume give students the freedom to present accomplishments as best suits each student and, as a result, to shine more in the eyes of college admission officers, according to college admissions counselor Steve Sterling. Having a resume is also a great way to prepare for potential internships and jobs once your student is in college.

Even though a great college essay and student resume will not gain acceptance for an unqualified student, they will help a qualified student stand out from the competition and can change a maybe to a yes.

For more information about The College Trail’s college counseling and college admissions services, please contact us today.

The College Trail participates in WACAC college admissions roundtable

College admission standards were the topics of discussion during a roundtable The College Trail attended at the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC) at Chapman University. Shawn Abbott, the director of undergraduate admissions at Stanford University, and Greg MacCandless, associate director of college counseling at Sage Hill School, led a panel of experts through a case study to determine what college admissions officers look for in a candidate. They said that admissions officers look for reasons to admit a candidate, but it is up to the candidate to supply the necessary evidence - like test scores, grades, and extracurricular activities - in his or her application. One of the ways for a candidate to enforce this evidence is to tell a consistent story and allow his/her personality to shine throughout the entire college application. An intriguing outcome of the case study was that the strongest applicant, based on test scores with a 2250 combined SAT, lost out to other candidates with lower scores based on his overall application. For more information on The College Trail’s college admissions and counseling program, contact us today.

California’s budget cuts hit state's college admissions

California is looking to cut state college admissions at all its junior colleges and universities. The UC system just announced today that it cut its freshman admissions by almost 7 percent. These cuts are part of a larger effort to try to balance California’s $24-billion budget shortfall. The University of California and California State University systems are faced with $2 billion in cuts for this school year alone, and the state’s community college system is facing an $800 million shortfall in state funding. All three have been asked to trim even more out of next year’s budget, and so freshman class sizes have been one of the first items on the chopping block.

UC President Mark Yudof, according to the UC Newsroom, outlined the consequences of these cuts to the state’s budget committee. The UC system will not be able to hire the faculty and offer all the classes needed for their existing student body. He said they will also look increasing student fees in addition to the cuts to freshman admissions.

“The long-term solution for our economy is to heighten investment in UC, the CSU and the Community Colleges,” Yudof said. “In the near term, unfortunately, the utter severity of the cuts proposed leaves us only difficult options to consider.”

These budget cuts also come at a time when enrollment is increasing at these campuses. Community College’s Chancellor Jack Scott said that enrollment hit a record-breaking 2.8 million at the state’s 110 junior college campuses this year, according to the Sacramento Bee.

"This is the time when California community colleges are most needed, and it's demonstrated by our enrollment," Scott said.

If these budget cuts continue, admissions to all of California’s universities will become much more competitive than they already are. The original plan for California’s K-12 students was that there would be a spot for each at one of the junior colleges or universities. That guarantee may no longer be the case.

For more information on The College Trail's college counseling program and college admission strategies, contact us today.

Best Graduate Schools for 2009

U.S. News and World Report has released a new video about the best graduate schools this year.

College Rankings Come Under Scrutiny

According to a recent article in Business Week, A dozen college presidents are setting the stage for what they hope will become a wide-scale rebellion against the annual college rankings compiled by U.S. News & World Report.

For expert advise on selecting the right college that fits the individual needs of your student, contact The College Trail for more information from our admissions counselors.

The College Board vote on revamping the SAT exam

Do you remember taking the SAT test? If you are a parent and have not taken it in a few years, the last updates were implemented in March, 2005. Before that, changes were last made in 1994.

Students' performance on the SAT can determine their destiny in college admissions. Its original intent was to create a meritocracy, but it has often been criticized for cultural bias, lack of testing for effort, will power, study habits, and other behavioral "soft" skills that often determine ultimate success not only in college but in life.

The role of the SAT was reviewed in a National Public Radio report from Boston which detailed the impact of The College Board vote on revamping the SAT exam in 2002. The latest version included additions of a writing section and other changes. Writing, according to the Board now improves the ability of the test to predict college success. Math has also been tweaked to include Algebra II. Verbal has been re-named "Reading," and has been updated to remove analogies as part of the test.

Proponents say this new test better reflects high school curriculum and the writing sample will be a useful tool for college admissions offices.

Critics counter the changes will penalize students who don’t speak English as a first language and this test is no better at predicting college success than previous versionis.

Is the new test fair? Is the SAT outdated? Contact The College Trail experts to find out how to optimize your student's candidacy by selecting the right trail that fits your student's unique needs.

Unigo - A New Way to Research Colleges

Walt Mossberg recently reviewed a new and different way to research colleges, whether you are a parent, or high school student.

There is new sight that has harnessed the qualities of social networks such as Facebook and Internet Video such as YouTube. Unigo provides edited content by students at the colleges in the form of words and videos.

Like Facebook, you can create networks of contacts. Like YouTube you can hear video from anywone who wants to express an opinion about a school, the social scene, academics or simply how one "feels" about being a student there. You may select perspectives from specific ethnic groups, colleges, male or female perspectives. It seems to strike a good balance between immediacy and professionalism of edited content.

Contact The College Trail experts to find out how to optimize your student's candidacy by selecting the right trail and the right college that fit your student's unique needs.