News: Two Eulogies and a Report

First, the sad news.

For all of you who are going to pay hundreds of dollars this year for test-prep help, the man who started it all--Stanley Kaplan--recently passed away at 90. Kaplan was one of the first to argue that students can improve their aptitude test scores through coaching and study (and build a business around it). Until then, it was assumed that you could no more improve your SAT score than you could improve your blood test.

According to Kaplan, from a 1979 interview: “To say you can’t improve scores is to say you can’t improve students, and I disagree with that."

So while you're busy cramming, take a second to thank (or rue?) the guy whose life work made you need to cram for the test in the first place. Full obituary here.

And while we're praising the recently deceased, the sad news du jour is that Senator Edward Kennedy just passed away at 77. A fixture of the Senate for almost 5 decades, Kennedy's influence touched every major public policy debate.

And although you're sure to be Kennedy-remberanced to death over the coming weeks, here's a couple of things to remember: If you're 18 and can vote, it's thanks largely to Kennedy. If you haven't served in the military, you've had that choice due to Kennedy's work to abolish the draft. And, maybe most relevant to us here, if you're planning on using federal student aid to attend college--that's possible because of Senator Kennedy.

See the obituaries here, here and here. 

On a less-death-related note, students are getting dumber--if the SAT is an accurate measure. Among the hand-wringing about why educational reforms aren't producing smarter students though, one point is being drowned out--the only thing the SAT measures is your ability to take the SAT.

For more on why the SAT is a pretty crappy test, take a look at this. ------CJ

News: More Than Just a Shiny SAT Score

This was interesting --- and oddly, it's from today's Wall Street Journal (if you missed it while reading about the surging wheat prices in Cambodia, you're forgiven):

For years, colleges have asked applicants for their grade-point averages and standardized test scores.

Now, schools like Boston College, DePaul University and Tufts University also want to measure prospective students' personalities.

That's right: Not content to test your math puzzle abilities, or your ability to complete sentences correctly, your school of choice now wants to make sure you're a personality fit.

What's a potential psychopath with high grades to do? Well, at least you've got some support--you're not the only one to think that being graded on your personality is a little creepy. From the same article:

Critics contend that efforts to quantify noncognitive traits are often unreliable. And, they say, as the new systems of evaluation become widespread, prospective students will figure out how to game the answers to their advantage. Some legal advocates also say the assessments could stir affirmative-action controversy if they are used solely to give a boost to minorities' admissions chances.

How many Kaplan researchers do you think are already looking into a way to game the test? ---CJ

(BTW, for the cynics out there, the Journal is quick to point out that these sorts of tests are a high-growth area for ETS, the College Board and other testing companies.)

Top 5 Things NOT To Bring To Your College Admissions Interview

I wrote back in May about what you should bring to your interview, but that raises a question: What should you NOT bring? Students I've interviewed for their college admissions interview have brought a wide--and weird--array of collateral. Hobby items, original artwork, you name it (sadly, no brownies so far).

Here's my list of my favorite "what were you thinking?" items that students have brought with them: (I should mention that all of these are real incidents)

• Hobby samples. I had one admissions interviewee whose hobby was... wood turning. Unclear what wood turning is? Me too--but luckily he brought a sample. Wood turning is making bowls. And they were cool bowls, certainly, but they were... bowls. Points for originality. Although we looked like two weirdos having coffee with a dozen salad bowls in front of us (one might have sufficed). (Runner up: Candidate who brought juggling balls and kept threatening/begging me to let her show me how good a juggler she was. In the coffee shop. Now, if they'd been chainsaws....)
• Relatives. Every year someone comes with mom (or sometimes dad... but normally mom) who insists on sitting at the next table over. Really? You can't get more than two feet away from mom and you want to go to college? (More on that later). Award goes to the person who brought not only mom, but mom, dad and her aunt to the interview--and then couldn't keep them from speaking up during "her" interview. Maybe sometimes a four-for-one offer is a great deal, but not in this case. (Runner up: The girl who made her poor dad stand outside--in the rain--for her interview. Really, it's ok to come inside...)
• Pets. Maybe Paris can get away with packing her rat-dog in her bag where ever she goes, but you can't. Especially if your dog is a lab, who although very well mannered still got us kicked out of the shop.
• Teen angst. Every overachieving high schooler thinks they're deep and profound--and probably feels the urge to record it on paper. And if you've written something that's very good--maybe it got published--fine, give your interviewer a copy. But if it's just bad poetry for bad poetry's sake, there's probably better outlets (like here). And under no circumstance should you provide your interviewer with a 1" stack of everything you've written since 8th grade.
• Dubious artwork. As with the poetry, if you're really good, sure, bring something to show off what you do (ideally it'd be small). But if, say, your medium of choice is paper mache--and you do 3' tall paper mache sculptures? Of weird, unnatural-looking birds? Probably best to leave that to the imagination. (Runner up: Student who brought a notebook full of sketches. Of her friends. Nude. In erotic poses. Although entertaining, probably not the best thing for the coffee shop...)

As dull as it is, the best two things to bring are yourself and a one-page resume. Although I am still waiting for someone to bring me brownies... --CJ

Favorite Questions: Leadership Experience

Part of an on-going series of favorite interview questions you'll run into during your college admissions interview --CJ

Question: Tell me about a leadership experience you've had, and tell me what you've learned from it. (Alt: What activities are you most involved with, what positions do you hold, etc)

Background/why you're being asked:
Every school likes to think that it's training tomorrow's leaders, so it's natural that you'll be asked about the leadership experiences you've had in high school during your college admissions interview (ignoring, of course, that some students are late bloomers and others fade fast--the assumption is that high school leadership will translate into college leadership. And yes, it's a faulty assumption.)

When I ask this question in admissions interviews, I'm also asking two slightly different questions--first, what are you passionate about (since if you're a leader in a given group or activity, chances are that you're also passionate about it. Read more about answering that question here.)

Slightly trickier, I'm also learning about how (and if) you're able to manage your time effectively. If one thing is common among all students at top-tier universities, it's that they're over-committed--and the successful ones have learned to balance varying demands on their time well before setting foot on campus. If you've been able to balance your time well in high school (and taking a leadership role typically means you have), you'll probably be more successful--and have more fun--in college.

How NOT to respond
Since different admissions interviewers ask this question for different reasons, there's only a handful of sure-fire missteps you can make. Among them:

• Have a weak leadership role. There's a certain amount of judgment that's being checked when you're asked this question--do you know what's a "real" leadership role and what, well, isn't? If the closest activity you've had to a leadership role was being assistant treasurer for your school's Key Club... probably best not to cite it (unless, of course, it really was a leadership role--and if it was, be ready to explain why to your admissions interviewer).
• Not answer correctly if you don't have one. Note, I'm not saying you must have a leadership role--some students are outstanding students, but not the types to win class president. If you don't have a real leadership role, how do you answer? See below.
• Admit to having to drop an activity/leadership position. Again, you're really being asked whether you can juggle multiple demands on your time or not--if you admit that you can't, that's not good. Best not to mention the activity at all.

How to nail it:
There's two pretty easy ways to nail this one:

• Have a traditional, significant leadership experience--and be able to talk about it. Class president? Captain of your school's soccer team? Started and run a local homeless shelter? Great, but that's only half of the answer--you need to be able to talk about it. What has it taught you? How have you grown as a person? If possible, keep it short so your interviewer can ask follow-up questions if he or she wants (bonus: tie it into something larger): "My biggest leadership experience so far has been being the captain of our lacrosse team for the past two seasons. We were really going through a rebuilding year during my first year as captain, so I saw first-hand the value of mentoring and teaching the younger players. That's really gotten me interested in the idea of becoming a teacher after school."
• Have a non-traditional leadership experience and be able to talk about it. Not everyone gets to (or wants to) be class president. If your experience was more non-traditional--you started a club, led an effort to rehabilitate a local park, etc--that can be a lot better (and certainly more interesting). Just be ready to spend more time explaining what you did. "This fall, I led started a website with a couple of friends that helped students find volunteer activities in their communities better. It was a great leadership opportunity for me because we had to raise money from local business people to cover our start up costs, figure out what our users needed, etc."

Finally, what do you do if you don't have a leadership activity? First, don't lie and make up one--it'll invariably backfire on you.

Instead, redirect the conversation to your strengths in your answer: "Although I've been involved in a couple of different extracurriculars and play softball, I haven't taken on a leadership role. Instead, all of my spare time outside of school I've devoted to playing the violin. Last year I was fortunate enough to be selected for the all-state orchestra."

Like any college admissions interview question, as long as you're ready for it it's a piece of cake. ---CJ

News:Students Are STILL Visiting Colleges

Here's your news flash of the day:

Despite virtual, online options, despite high gas prices and the mother of all recessions, despite everything--students are STILL visiting college campuses!

This is really only news if you believe--as the Boston Globe apparently did--that people will write off their future and skip college entirely during an economic downturn. (full article here) Sorry Globe, apparently not: Many New England schools, including Amherst College, are actually seeing an uptick in visitors.

Waaah? Don't people know there's a recession going on?

“It may be that when things get tough, the real priorities emerge,’’ Thomas H. Parker, dean of admissions at Amherst College, said.

Wait, you mean people can prioritize--and that education beats out another flat-screen TV? Keep this up and you'll rekindle my faith in humanity....

Interesting side note: Doesn't sound like the virtual tour options are doing much (yet?) to supplant the traditional flip-flops-on-the-quad tour experience:

After touring Tufts [University] last week, Spurgeon Carter, 17, said he had tried virtual tours but preferred campus visits, where he can pay close attention to such details as whether students greet one another as they pass.

So to all the aspiring Spurgeons out there counting student greetings, have a fun trip. If you want to make the most of your visit, check out our campus-visit advice here. ----CJ