Friday, November 30, 2007

What Not To Do

This one is so germaine to some Montfort students that we reproduced most of the article here:

Ten Stupid Ways to Ruin Your College Application by Jay Mathews

Remember, these are things you should NOT do.

1. Rack up as many extra points as you can for "expressed interest" in your favorite colleges.

This particular obsession was new to me. Connolly has encountered applicants who have inundated admissions offices with voicemails, e-mails and snail mail because they have heard that colleges want concrete indications of interest and don't think you can overdo it. Believe me, you can. "There is a fine line between showing adequate interest in the school and stalking," Connolly said. "Unsolicited cakes, pies, cookies, sneakers (the old 'one foot in the door' trick), a life-sized statue of you holding an acceptance letter, or a painstakingly detailed scale model of the campus clock tower will not make up for a lackluster academic record." When colleges look for "expressed interest," that means they hope that you will show up when their college reps visit your school, that you will visit their campuses and sign the visitor logs in their admissions offices and that you will get your application in on time with no loose ends. If you have a legitimate question, they are happy to receive your e-mail or telephone call. Doing more than that just makes you look desperate, and a little scary.

2. Don't worry about your postings on social networking sites -- college admissions officers understand your need for individual expression and will probably never look at them.

I know, I know. What you put on Facebook or Myspace is your private business. College officials appear to share that view. They say they do not make a habit of looking up their applicants. But there are enough exceptions to make me think care should be taken when posting photos from your last rollicking beach party. Not everybody loves you. Those who don't could send anonymous notes to your first-choice school suggesting it inspect a certain Web site. There are no rules that say they can't.

3. When sending messages to admissions officers, the wilder the e-mail address the better.

Here we are again with one of those First Amendment issues, but Connolly thinks -- and I agree -- that imsupersexy@[ fill in the blank].com is not a good choice. He says if you have not updated your personal address since the fifth grade, this might be a good time to do so.

4. College interviewers like jokes and exaggerations, so let fire.

Dan4, a parent posting on Admissions 101, said his son blew his interview for the University of Pennsylvania by letting his sense of humor go too far. He told the interviewer, a woman, that if he got into Penn, he hoped to dump his dirty clothes on his aunt in Philadelphia since one of his personal goals was "to never have to do his own laundry." I think this is a funny line. But the interviewer didn't. Dan4's son didn't realize how much this had hurt him until a cousin the same age, with the same last name, met with another Penn interviewer who asked pointedly if they were related and if he did his own laundry. The interviewer wasn't smiling.

5. Load up your application with as many activities as you can think of and don't mention anything that makes you look bad.

Connolly said one student put on his application "I spend time lifting weights to improve my abs." This is dumb. Colleges want to see two activities to which you have applied much energy and passion. They don't want to see a lot of little stuff. The flip side of this stupid move, suppressing embarrassing or disturbing information, is trickier. One Admissions 101 participant who works at a selective college said one applicant had his acceptance letter revoked when the college confirmed an anonymous tip that a teacher had caught him plagiarizing an assignment during his junior year of high school. The poster said it was not the original offense that did in the applicant, but the fact that he had not disclosed it in his application. An Admissions 101 participant who tutors college-bound high-schoolers pointed out, however, that if the unfortunate applicant had disclosed the plagiarism, he most likely would not have been accepted anyway. I think if an applicant has done something bad enough to threaten his chances, and anyone else knows about it, it is best to disclose it, explain it and, if necessary, apologize for it. If the black mark is indelible, all is not lost. There are many state universities just as good as Yale or Princeton that don't have the time to consider much of anything on your application but your grades and test scores.

6. Use your application essay to expand upon how great your grades, scores and activities are.

One college official on Admissions 101 said a common bonehead play is to waste the application essay by telling admissions officers things "we more or less already know or could figure out just from reading other parts of the application." This is not only boring, but it leaves the impression that your grades, scores and extracurricular activities are all that is interesting about you. College officials will never say this out loud, but one purpose of the college essay is to weed out insufferable people whom no one would want as a roommate. One good strategy is to write about some lovable quirk that reveals a facet of your character and lets you use some self-deprecating humor, essential to any successful college application essay. I know one applicant who wrote about her ability to identify a song on the car radio after hearing just a couple of notes. It was trivial, but charming, and she got in.

7. Nobody knows you when you are touring a college, so if you want to wear a T-shirt from a rival university or make a cellphone call, go right ahead.

This is another problem with which I was unfamiliar. I am not entirely convinced that it is an issue, but Connolly and other experts insist it can hurt you. They think tour guides in some cases have the names of the people in their tours and will report unseemly behavior. A college tour guide told Admissions 101 that his supervisors encouraged him to tell them about tour participants who did GOOD things, such as ask insightful questions. So, I suppose, bad news can also get back to the people who are deciding your fate.

8. Let your parents do whatever they need to do to help you get admitted.

This is an oldie but goodie. Helicopter parents, always hovering, have become a part of modern American folklore. They exist, of course. Students who let mom and dad get too involved are likely to suffer. My favorite story comes from an admissions dean at Princeton who, when he inspected the little box on an application that certifies everything the applicant has written is the truth, found that the student's mother had signed it.

9. Colleges are attuned to all the latest fads, so when e-mailing them, it is fine to use text- message abbreviations.

Connolly said: "OMG, this is annoying for us non-texters and IDK why students do this to us adults when we are not their BFF."

10. Don't proofread your application carefully and don't bother to check to see if the envelope in which you placed the application or letter of recommendation for College A might actually have the address of College B.

Connolly said I would be surprised how often application materials are sent to the wrong school. The best proof of genuine interest in a college is to send it all the material it requested in good order and on time. That is not so hard to do. We all have our moments of stupidity, which is why copy editing and proofreading are such honorable and indispensable activities.

Franciscan University of Steubenville

FUS is a private 4-years university affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. It has a residential campus in a large town. There are 1,902 degree-seeking undergrads and 393 degree-seeing graduate students. 81% of applicants are admitted. They require SAT or ACT (ACT writing optional) and an application essay.

Founded in 1946; regionally accredited, it's located 40 miles from Pittsburgh. 104 full-time faculty; 101 part-time faculty. Class size: 48% <20, 44% 20 - 39, 7% 40 - 49, 2% 50 - 99. Special facilities: Replica of Portiuncula Chapel as rebuilt by St. Francis of Assisi in 1207 and Tomb of the Unborn Child.

Freshman class profile: 1,047 applied, 847 admitted, 400 enrolled.

Mid 50% test scores:
SAT verbal: 520 - 660
SAT math: 50 - 620
ACT: 21 - 27
Rank in top tenth: 28%
Rank in top quarter: 51%
Return as sophomores: 85%
Out-of-state: 79%
Live on campus: 83%
International: 1%


2005-2006 annual costs: Tuition/fees: $16,450 Room/board: $5,550. Books/supplies: $800. Personal expenses: $1,200.


Contact: E-mail: admissions@franciscan.edu

Please check out their website for any and all updated information:
Franciscan University of Steubenville

Thursday, April 12, 2007

New York University

Founded in 1831, New York University is the largest private university in the United States. The University, which is composed of 14 schools, colleges, and divisions, occupies five major centers in Manhattan. It operates branch campus and research programs in other parts of the United States and abroad, as well as study abroad programs in more than 25 countries. New York University is also one of the largest employers in New York City, with over 16,000 employees.

Total enrollment is just over 50,000. Undergraduate enrollment is about 11,000. All freshmen are guaranteed housing.

NYU is a highly selective university, currently accepting about 28% of all students who apply.

SAT or ACT with writing and application essay required. Important note: The special NYU application MUST be stapled to your Common Application or, if entering online, must be sent concurrently.

Mid 50% test scores:
SAT verbal: 620 - 710
SAT math: 620 - 710
ACT: 27 - 31
GPA 3.5 or higher: 70%
GPA 3.0 - 3.49: 28%
GPA 2.0 - 2.99: 2%

For contact information and all updates, please go to their website: New York University

Friday, March 2, 2007

Since it was brought up, "332646" means something important

The CEEB Code - that number that is just under the permanent links - is the code that you will need for most college application papers (the PSAT, the SAT, the ACT, the college application itself, etc.). That code tells the college that you are a student at The Montfort Academy. It will always be visible on this blog as you will need it time and time again. Just think: you can't lose it. Always a good thing.

All information will be permanently archived

First thing to know is that everything that is posted here will, like all blogs, remain here for future reference. So if a post comes up about the CEEB code, for example, you will be able to search the archives to see if there is an answer to your question about the CEEB code. Each post will have a label for search purposes. This one will be what will probably turn out to be the most popular, "General Information". We hope to have a lot of that.

The Montfort Academy College Blog

What a clever idea!

(Thanks, Mrs. Kaplan! ;-)