By Brian Safdari, CCPS®.
The college advisor behind the Varsity Blues case, who freely admits he got test scores altered, faked athletic records and bribed officials to gain college admission for his clients’ children, is back in business while he completes his prison sentence in a halfway house.
Here’s something you can tell your clients. The thing is, that kind of chicanery is completely unnecessary. It’s all about understanding the art and science of college admissions to gain a competitive edge over other applicants.
The hard truth is that, if you rely only on academics, test scores and extracurriculars, your chances of admission are hit and miss. Not many students and families understand that. Here’s how to improve the odds.
The first thing to know is that, while colleges are seats of higher learning, they are also a business. They have a brand. They have marketing departments. And they’re vitally interested in improving their position when various publications, most notably U.S. News and World Report, publish their college rankings. Better rankings give them more exposure and the more exposure they get, the better their revenue is.
Two of the factors that go into those rankings are the percent of students who graduate in four years and how many offers of admission result in enrollment (the “yield”). When a college is deciding who will make a good student, they’re looking for someone who will not only be serious about college (more likely to graduate in four years), but also serious about coming to their particular college (better yield).
How do they know if a student is serious about their college? When they look at “demonstrated interest.”
Starting as early as ninth and 10th grade, they monitor parents and students who show interest, by requesting information, sending emails, contacting the admissions office or visiting. Statistics have found that if a family makes six to eight such inquiries, there’s an 83 percent chance they’ll accept an offer of admission – and that improves the college’s yield.
So if your student has their heart set on particular colleges, it’s never too early to start building a relationship with them.
Also starting in ninth or 10th grade, students should identify what they’re passionate about (not just what they’re interested in) and find colleges that might be a good fit academically. From there – and all these statistics are available online – you look at who got in, what their GPA was, what their SAT scores were, and compare them to yours.
Then you begin building a resumé that goes beyond grades and test scores to make your application stand out. You do this by taking on one or two projects or activities to demonstrate your passion and why you are a good fit. (This is why families need to start planning for college no later than 10th grade, preferably ninth. Case in point: the guitarist who took up the bassoon his last two years of high school because the orchestra at his dream school needed bassoonists.)
Here is Natalie’s story. She had had a medical condition as a child, and was grateful to the people who took care of her. She wanted to pursue a health care career so she could do the same for others. After exploring colleges for academic fit, she found that Pepperdine University was her dream school, and began visiting and staying in touch with admissions during ninth and 10th grade. With a GPA of 3.8 and average SAT scores, she needed a portfolio that would help her rise above.
Natalie intended to major in biology, but the school was looking for engineering majors. Since chemical engineering is also a path to health care, she applied to that department. With her touching essay about her childhood experience and volunteer work at a local children’s hospital, she demonstrated her passion. She also attended a summer camp at Pepperdine, so by the time she applied, they knew who she was.
Natalie not only gained admission to her first-choice school, but also a $25,000 scholarship as a female Hispanic engineering student.
The key was learning what the school was looking for and then demonstrating she was that student. No trickery required, only planning. As Ben Franklin famously said, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.”
Brian Safdari, who founded College Planning Experts in 2004, is a Certified College Planning Specialist™. He and his team have assisted more than 7,500 students nationwide on their college journey using their exclusive My College Fit System. For more information, call 818-201-4847 or visit collegeplanningexperts.com.
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Tags: academics, admissions, Advisory, college, students
