St. Sebastian's School - Academic Rigor | Spiritual DepthThe order of the day is to love God, work hard, and take good care of one another. William L. Burke iii, Headmaster

Parents

Senior Parents Questionnaire

2005-2006 Academic Year Program

The College Admissions Process

In a series of meetings with the junior class over the course of the second semester, I will be covering the nuts-and-bolts aspects of college selection and admission. By the end of spring we will have covered the following:

  1. How to select a college - how to narrow down the list of over 2900 American colleges to those in which you might have a serious interest. (I refuse to merely "make a list" and hope you would find my presenting a list of schools to which your son may apply as presumptuous. I am here to help your son make this admissions process an active one on his part - not a passive one. I am here to help him put together that list.)
  2. The application procedure - the do's and don'ts of applying to colleges, different types of admissions programs, letters of recommendation, personal essays, school visits, interviews, etc.
  3. How colleges select you - what colleges are looking for in the candidates they select. Many of these same topics will be touched upon in an upcoming Parents' Night, which I hope many of you will be able to attend. However, by way of emphasis and expansion - and at the risk of being somewhat redundant - I want to go over a number of points with you to ensure that we have a common understanding. It is my hope that, for the same reasons, you will share these pages with your son.

COLLEGE SELECTION

It is bad form to open with a digression, but I am going to do just that. It is generally assumed at St. Sebastian's that all graduating seniors intend to go on to college and will do so in the fall immediately following their graduation. Neither need necessarily be the case and these simple, usually underlying, assumptions should represent conscious decisions. There are alternatives to college and to immediate enrollment, and I will be happy to discuss them with any interested student or family.

Given, though, that the goal of most seniors is college matriculation after graduation, let me introduce two important points:

  1. The typical St. Sebastian's student applies to six or seven colleges, but many have given serious consideration to three or four times that number. In sending applications, it is important that a student's selection reflect a range and variety of choices. One should avoid, for example, applying only to Harvard, Dartmouth and Princeton. Each student's list should include at least one or two "safety" schools and, perhaps more important, one or two schools in what might be called a middle range. A little solid research should easily yield a number of suitable choices and the overall pattern should run something like the following:
    • First choice - highest aspiration, perhaps a long shot
    • Second choice - an even chance of admission
    • Third choice - reasonably sure of acceptance and it fits the bill
  2. The term "safety" school should carry no negative connotation, and one student's top choice may be another's safety. It is also important to remember that the term "highly selective" in a college guidebook means just that: a college, which is very popular among students; not necessarily the best. Popularity, and hence selectivity, can come and go, but genuine academic quality is likely to be a more abiding characteristic.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Each individual's list of college selection criteria will vary in composition and in order of priority, but there are some points that should always be considered when examining a school. Some that I feel strongly about include:

  1. The Student Body Probably the most pervasive influence on anyone's college career is the other people who share it. As the author of a respected guide put it, "...as current research on higher education indicates, an institution of higher learning can never be much better than its student body - and it is not likely to be much worse." How good is the student body; what is the distribution of SAT scores and class rank; what percentage go on to graduate schools; what kind and which ones? Are they friendly? What sorts of things are they interested in? Where are they from? Are they diverse or is there a preponderance of jocks, preppies, grinds, etc.? In short, will you feel comfortable among these people and enjoy spending four years with them; will you be able to learn with and from them?
  2. The Faculty What percentage have their Ph.D. or other terminal degree in their field and where did they earn it? Are they oriented more towards teaching or towards research and publication? How do their faculty salaries compare with other institutions? Does there seem to be a higher rate of faculty turnovers?
  3. The Nature of the Relationship Between 1 and 2 What is the faculty-student ratio? How large are the classes? Do senior faculty teach underclassmen? Do students and faculty meet often outside of class? How do faculty members entertain students in their homes?
  4. The Curriculum How much breadth and depth is there? Is it relatively structured or unstructured; traditional or liberal? Do they have what you seem to be interested in? (Be careful here; as many as two-thirds of all entering freshmen change their field of concentration at least once in four years.)
  5. The Facilities Is the general appearance of the campus pleasing; does it seem well maintained? What are the facilities like in your area of interest - science labs, art and music studios, theater, athletic facilities? What is the library like; are the holdings adequate; is it a pleasant place to study? What are the dorms like? Where do freshman live? Do they guarantee housing? For four years?
  6. Social Life Does it seem low-key or high pressure? What happens on weekends; do most people stay on campus? How varied is the social life? What about fraternities; if they exist, how important are they? What are the rules governing alcohol, male-female intervisitation?

COLLEGE VISITS

Once an initial list of schools in which you have serious interest is formed, it can be very valuable to visit a representative sample, if not all of them. Regardless of what a student has read or heard about a given college, there are some things which can only be learned by visiting. Most students will choose to visit colleges prior to application, but one can wait until after notification of acceptance, which is particularly appropriate when the college is far-removed geographically. Insofar as is possible, college trips should be taken at times when St. Sebastian's is not in session. Obviously the summer months offer the best opportunity and I strongly urge the members of the junior class to get out this summer and visit as many as possible. As it is generally advisable to visit colleges when they are in session, they should be aware that many colleges start the end of August and that the end of that month and the first part of September might be good times to schedule visits.

Seniors at St. Sebastian's are urged to limit the number of colleges they visit while school is in session. To exercise this privilege, they must seek permission well in advance of their intended visits and clear the trip with all teachers whose classes will be missed as well as with Mr. Kittler. They must have a certain form initialed by all their teachers and stamped by Mr. Kittler. (I have this form.) When setting up a visit to a college, try to call in advance and notify them of your intended date and time of arrival. They can in turn tell you whether that is convenient for them and, if not, suggest an alternate date and/or time. They can also tell you when tours of their campus are available and whether or not it is possible to schedule an interview with a member of their admissions staff.

INTERVIEWS

Many colleges, especially the small liberal arts colleges, either require or strongly encourage personal interviews on their campuses with a member of their admissions staff. If you are seriously interested in any college with such a policy, it is always to your advantage to have an interview if at all possible. Often, if it is not possible to get to the campus for the interview, arrangements can be made for an interview with a local representative of the school, usually an alumnus. While often more convenient, an interview with an alumnus rarely carries the weight that an interview with an admissions officer does. Colleges that encourage personal interviews generally use them as one means of evaluating an applicant for admission. They also will generally have a number of things they want to learn about an individual in the course of the interview and can be counted on to do their best to put the interviewee at ease and to take most of the responsibility for the direction of the interview session.

Other institutions, particularly larger universities with a large number of applicants, will neither require nor encourage personal interviews as it would be impossible for their staff to accommodate all those who apply. However, many will be happy to grant interviews to candidates with significant questions they feel warrant the attention of the admissions staff. If a student requests an interview at a school which does not ordinarily encourage one, he should be prepared to take responsibility for the direction of the session and should have prepared in advance a number of serious, probing questions, the answers to which are not readily available in the college's publications.

EARLY ADMISSIONS PROGRAMS

Early Decision
Under this plan a student applies early in his senior year, usually by November, and will be notified of admission at an early date, usually in December or January. A student admitted under Early Decision is committed and must attend the school to which he has been admitted. (Some schools, e.g. Boston College, are offering non-binding early programs which do not commit you to matriculating to the school.) From this it should be clear that Early Decision is only for those students who have conducted a broad college search early on and have generated a clear first choice college to which he is willing to be committed. The college will have only the student's record through the junior year to go by in making its decision. The majority of students who are not accepted under Early Decision are deferred and re-examined at the regular time, allowing for new grades and test results to be examined. There is usually little risk of rejection on Early Decision (depending on the school), and students who are prepared to make this type of commitment will find an Early Decision application to some advantage. It is communicating a very serious and very strong interest in the school, which is, I believe, always a plus.

Early Action
 The timetable for Early Action is virtually identical to that of Early Decision. The big difference is that, if admitted, the student is not required to make a commitment until the regular candidates reply date in May. For this reason, colleges offering Early Action are only willing to admit students whose records through junior year are impeccable. The possibility of rejection exists, so any student who feels that the grades, test scores and/or extracurricular activities of his senior year may be important should not consider an Early Action application.

Rolling Admission
 Under this system, a college has established criteria for the students it will admit and, as students apply, those who meet the criteria are (almost) immediately admitted until the school has taken the number it wants. Applications to colleges operating on Rolling Admissions should be filed before Christmas vacation, if possible.

FINANCIAL AID

Many of you will be justifiably concerned about financing a college education. There are two basic applications for most sources of financial aid: the Profile Form of the College Scholarship Services (CSS), which is an arm of the College Board, and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Since financial aid is a complex topic and the Profile and FAFSA cannot be filed until after January first, I will hold off on a thorough discussion for the time being. Because the Profile and FAFSA will not be available for family use until November at the earliest, students applying under an Early Admissions Program and seeking financial aid should inquire directly to the colleges as to what steps should be taken to apply for aid.

The important point to remember is that the vast majority of families who truly need help to meet college costs will receive it. One should be cautious, therefore, about making the price tag too large a factor in selecting a college. There are no income cutoffs for financial aid and a number of factors are reviewed in making a determination of eligibility.

WHAT THE COLLEGES ARE LOOKING FOR

An individual inclined toward cynicism and having any length of experience with college admissions would likely remark that this topic cannot be successfully addressed. One experienced Admissions Director has called the process "an inexact science at worst and an ephemeral art at best." Broadly speaking, colleges are looking for two things: evidence that the student can meet the academic demands and evidence of other talents a student can contribute to the college community to make it an interesting place. As essentially academic communities, colleges generally regard the first as more important. Sources of information in both areas are many and can vary from case to case. Some, however, are fairly standard.

In assessing a student's potential for academic success at their institution, college admissions officers generally regard the student's high school record as their best measure. They look to see what courses were taken, what grades were received and how the student's record compared to that of his classmates. They will also consider the results of standardized testing such as the SAT. While important, these tests generally supplement the information found in the high school record and play a secondary role. Letters of recommendation from teachers can have a substantial impact as well upon the admissions officer's perception of the applicant as a student.

Admissions officers will also examine the range and depth of a candidate's extracurricular interests and involvements. Quality of participation is likely to be of greater importance than the number of activities. Colleges are looking for individuals with well-developed interests who can bring these interests with them to the campus where a variety of activities and organizations await. Every football team needs a quarterback and an orchestra must have violins and bassoons; other examples should come readily to mind. Information on a student's involvement generally comes from the student himself via the application. Letters from coaches, music instructors or others directly involved can also be helpful.

Other factors come into play in shaping the college's decision regarding an applicant. At the private colleges, where alumni support is important and actively solicited, children of alumni may have a small edge over others in the "pool". Also, members of groups not well represented in the student body may be at an advantage. One of the most common examples of such a group would be individuals from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, but it also might mean members of certain ethnic groups or persons from certain geographic areas. Colleges also expect an applicant to demonstrate an appropriate level of responsibility and maturity throughout the admissions process. Inattention to instructions and deadlines, incomplete or hastily and sloppily completed applications can leave the college with the impression that a student's interest in them is not genuine with the result that their interest in him also wanes.

THE COLLEGE ADVISOR'S OFFICE

As a college preparatory school, St. Sebastian's recognizes a responsibility to provide professional assistance to students and their families in the areas of college selection and admission. Such assistance is the responsibility of the College Counselor and I am willing to make myself available whenever possible to parents and students.

As the College Counselor, I do not "get students into college", nor do I "tell" students where to apply. As the title suggests, my function is to advise, to suggest and occasionally to prod and cajole. Generally speaking, I stand ready to provide as much advice and counsel as a student or family wants. I cannot and will not give more than will be received and in many ways it is up to you to decide how you wish to use my services. Decisions on what colleges to submit applications to and which to attend rest ultimately, and properly, with the individual student and his family.

The College Counseling Office also provides the necessary support services for the application process. I see to it that the necessary documents are sent from the school to the colleges to which our students apply. This includes a transcript, school profile and the (so-called) counselor letter. The student is responsible for sending in his application just as the teachers are responsible for sending in their recommendations.

THE PARENT'S ROLE

Remember:

  1. If a student is realistic in assessing his strengths and weaknesses and is sensible in applying to a range of institutions, he will be admitted to a college he will want to attend.
  2. The parent is not the candidate.
  3. We're all in this together.

Support and communication are the watchwords that should guide you through this coming year. My office has a wealth of resources which can help your son put together his list: school catalogs and view books; "the black book", which shows where every senior over the past six years has applied, what his cumulative grade point average (GPA) was, what his SATs were and what the colleges' decisions were; and there will be over fifty college presentations at school over the course of next fall and early winter.

In closing, I am looking forward to working with you and your son throughout the coming year and I hope you will always feel free to give me a call or drop in to see me if you ever have a question about the admissions process we are about to undertake.