Personal Statements

The personal statement can be one of the most daunting components of the college application. We recently received an email from a concerned student wondering about how to construct a very compelling personal statement. Here are my thoughts:

Be thoughtful. Everyone is going to have amazing accomplishments in their resumes and standard forms. Recommendations will be stellar.

So the personal statement is your chance to thoughtfully reflect on who you are and how you will fit into the community your college offers. Demonstrate personal maturity here and the admissions committee will see that you are more than just an SAT score and several leadership titles.

Be interesting. Make sure to show how you are indeed unique here. One of the greatest challenges in personal statements is balancing humility with honesty - how can you impress them without sounding arrogant? But simply showing that you are a unique individual, be it through the way you think, behave, or dream, will go a long way.

These are just 2 brief thoughts on personal statements and what I would like to see if I looked at your application. Feel free to email me at JasonShah@INeedAPencil.com with thoughts.

Jason

Dreams of College Deferred?

Many schools districts have recently cut funding for summer activities or schooling that are deemed essential in helping close the achievement gap. The Los Angeles school district, for instance, eliminated summer school except for special education students or ones who need credits to graduate, saving $34 million. Yet an ABC News article notes that 65 percent of the academic gaps between low-income ninth graders and their peers can be attributed to unequal summer learning opportunities.While districts continue to cut funding, low-income students will be further disadvantaged in educational opportunities. 

An article in The Kansas City Star, though, claims that there is a panacea to this growing problem. The author argues that community colleges and universities can offer summer programs that not only help low-income students close the academic gap, but can even inspire students to matriculate to colleges or universities - something they may never have considered. This is in light of recent Department of Labor statistics that cite that 72 percent of new jobs and 90 percent of high-growth, high wage jobs require some form of post-high school education.

Summer programs not only help low-income students stay on par with their academic learning, but also enlighten them to new career interests and help them realize the feasibility of a college education. The Kansas City Star notes that one girl, Keitha Boston, wished to enroll in a culinary arts school, but after a summer program at University of Missouri - Kansas City Campus, she will instead likely pursue a four-year university education. Another student, Ryan Benjamin, felt that in a college environment he would be unable to compete with the other students, but after attending a math and science camp at Northwest Missouri State University, he understood his own abilities and no longer felt intimidated. The secondary benefits of these early college programs are innumerable for students who do not at first consider college education a future goal.

The question remains, however, as to how these partnerships between school districts and local community colleges and universities can be funded. Private organizations such as the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation or the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation have pledged money to support such programs in Kansas City. To expand such early college programs nationally, though, funding opportunities and partnerships with organizations such as those aforementioned will need to be solicited and sought after; the strides made towards closing the achievement gap, however, would be vast and the secondary benefits invaluable.

Articles referenced: 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8052549&page=1

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/1319998.html

Kevin Prior

INeedAPencil Summer Associate

Harvard College 2011

Recession and College Choice

From The Dallas Morning News, personal anecdotes on how the recession is affecting high school students' choice of enrollment for higher education. Interesting and disturbing statistic: 70% of high schools reported that a great number of their students sacrificed "dream schools" for ones that were more economically viable.

Link: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-collegedreams_29met.ART.State.Edition2.4ba5b8a.html

Kevin Prior
INeedAPencil Summer Associate
Harvard College 2011

Ricci v. DeStefano

The Supreme Court's decision in Ricci v. DeStefano has become a topic of debate relative to equal opportunity of employment and Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination. There has been little focus, however, on the effects such a decision may have on college admissions and higher education in the future. This case, in fact, strayed from past precedent or stare decisis by rejecting race as a consideration for promotion over other candidates.

In 1978, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Allan Bakke testified that he applied to University of California at Davis Medical School in 1973 and was rejected. He applied with higher scores in 1974 and again was rejected. Upon his realization that candidates of lower qualifications were admitted to the school under a special admissions program for minorities, he filed for mandatory, injunctive and declaratory relief, citing the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court ruled 5-4 that race could not be used for quotas in admissions, but could be considered holistically as a factor in admission.

In the case of Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, Barbara Grutter applied to University of Michigan Law School and was rejected. She filed a similar suit to Bakke, citing that she was discriminated against on the basis of race in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In her case, however, the court upheld affirmative action policy and argued that considering race in a holistic context was allowed in admissions decisions. The majority argued in a 5-4 decision that eventually admissions should be "colorblind" and they estimated that in 25 years race should not be a key factor in admissions to higher institutions of learning.

Ricci v. DeStefano is quite possibly the beginning of a new era - were the 25 years in Grutter v. Bollinger an over-estimation? The question of affirmative action has always been a polarizing one, to the extent that all three of these court decisions have been primarily ideologically split and with only a one person majority. The question remains as to whether this recent decision will affect the affirmative action policies that justices have helped better define throughout these past three decades. Judge Sotomayor's probable nomination, though, conveys a sense of hope for advocates of affirmative action who see her background, experience, and ideology as enough evidence that she will protect this oft-divisive policy.


Kevin Prior
INeedAPencil Summer Associate
Harvard College 2011

Colleges to Check Out!

Check these schools out and get info ASAP in time for application season!

Business school in California?

American Business College


Medical, Legal and more in Boise?

Milan Institute - Boise


Business, Computer Mgmt., Graphic Design in Cali?

Coleman College

College Search [Where do I begin to find the right place for me?]

College is meant to be the best four years of your life. The best four years of your life certainly should include an academic atmosphere that you enjoy and that helps you develop the skills necessary to succeed in your job after college. Also, these four years should provide a social life that cannot be matched by the drama of high school or the…well, drama of your job. You should learn, grow, explore. I do not mean this in the sense that some college brochures advertise, but I mean each of those words in the truest sense. Learn about who you are, what you fear, what you need, what you want out of life. Grow into a person who will be a respectable co-worker, a social leader, a loving parent. And explore…you’re not quite independent yet, so see what is out there while you still have a safety net. Study abroad, take interesting courses…leave your comfort zone!

So what school will help you achieve this experience? Well, ultimately many college students have said that it is up to the individual to make the experience. Indeed, as is true with the rest of life, your results depend on your input. But certainly some places will help you get the right college experience more than others.

Where do most students start? The rankings! Why? It provides a sense of comfort to have some quantified justification for enrolling in that school and really takes the pressure of the decision off of you. “Oh, this school is a top ten. I will have better job opportunities and get more respect!” It (the college search) becomes a numerical, mathematical operation. And yes, we should rely on reputation. It exists for a reason. But you can do many more things to find schools you may not consider as highly as the top 10 in the rankings…and you might just feel like you’re at the number one school at the number one hundred school.

Start by knowing yourself. What are your interests? What are your goals? Where have you lived most of your life; can do you handle a different environment? For me, reputation was indeed a primary motivation. But I also knew that after a few years in a less-than-challenging academic sphere, I wanted to really stretch my brain and develop my intellect. So I knew I wanted to go to a top school. But what did I want to study? Well I used to think that business could be my sole focus, so I considered the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. It was one of the few four year undergraduate business programs in the country (most are two years, requiring students to apply from the College after two years), highly ranked and in a city! But what if my interests changed? UPenn was still a great school, but it also took away from it’s lusted that everyone thought “Penn” was Penn State! This is a trivial, negligible scenario though; do not base your decision on a name!

So your interests should tell you what type of school and program you want. A small liberal arts school in a rural setting? Or would you like to be immersed in an urban setting in New York or Philadelphia studying business? Most students don’t know what they want to study…let alone “who they are!” So check out schools’ websites. Start with the ones you know…think about which qualities you see and whether or not you like them. Keep a list of what you like and compare your prospective schools against this list.

If you have the time, log on to College Board and fill out their questionnaire to get some suggestions (http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jsp).

You can always arrange a meeting with your guidance counselors, also. Discuss your goals, personality and qualifications. They are aware of financial aid packages and colleges to which students from your high school apply. Your counselor can tell you which schools you are qualified for and can provide some direction.

Chances are you already have a few schools in mind. Check them out more so you can get past the hearsay and limited opinions of your close friends to find out what the real scoop is. Go to the school websites, visit college forums, request brochures (as if you weren’t getting enough) and understand all aspects of the university.

Choosing a college really is a major decision, influenced by parents, finances and of course, you! Start early; there is no minimum time requirement but if you start thinking about college in freshmen year, you can figure out a roadmap of steps to take in order to be admitted to that college by senior year!

College Applications [How and when to get them]

College applications have evolved in recent years, and now they are available in two basic formats: electronic and paper-based. You can download applications in PDF format and print them out if you want, or you may also submit a request via the internet (visit the college's undergraduate admissions/prospective student website)/a phone call to the admissions office/a form at the admissions office. When it comes time to submit your application to college, you may wish to complete the entire application online for the sake of neatness and storage ability; a paper application is subject to poor handwriting, smudging or misplacement.

You can almost always save your application on the college's server, so you do not need to finish the application in one sitting. Nevertheless, if you come back, you will probably need a login ID and password so make sure you keep that saved somewhere safe--it's usually a hassle to recover.

As mentioned earlier, you can usually download the complete application online. If you want an extra copy/do not want to print an entire PDF application, you can call up the admissions office and provide your contact info to get an application. Yet the admissions office usually has more important tasks to handle than that, so you are better off going to the admissions site and filling out a preset form that virtually every college offers.

Here is a sample of what you might find when searching for a place to submit your info to get on a college mailing list/request an app: (UPenn) http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/applying/incoming.php.

Look for similar pages at other colleges.

Currently most colleges will say that you need to wait until the end of summer to access the application. Typically at this point colleges will mail out apps to candidates on their mailing lists and apps become available for downloading. Be ready to check out the college sites at this point and put together your set of applications for potential colleges.

Extracurricular Activities [How should I allocate my time and join the most rewarding/impressive organizations?]

Your extracurriculars essentially define who you are. You should typically show how you are a unique individual that can contribute significantly to your college's campus. Follow your interests first. So if you are a science person, join the physics club. Like to lead others/interested in politics? Check out student government or the young democrats club. Visit your guidance counselor for a program of studies/survey of activities (usually they are jointly published) that lists your school's available clubs, their advisors and meeting times.

If you start off by following your interests, you will join activities that you will go far in because it is where your passion lies. This passion will make it easier for you to shoulder responsibilities and go far in your club. Things like leadership positions, high participation, competition awards and initiative in your clubs is what is most important; membership alone cannot carry you. Be a leader in two to three clubs and join a few other clubs that you still are interested in/have friends in/want to learn about.

You should join clubs early (freshman year) so you build a relationship with club members and advisors. Active membership will get you a better chance for a more in-depth and rewarding relationship; being known will make it easier to earn officer elections.

Feel free to join clubs after freshman year though; your interests may change (will change) during HS so you can be flexible.

It would be wise to be involved in a wide array of activities. For example I ran track just during sophomore year, while being a guest writer for my school newspaper during senior year. Yet I was involved in Model UN and Key Club all four years, holding gradually higher officer positions as I grew older. This way you are not a type-A student, just focused on science or just into writing English papers. You want to stand out by being focused in a certain area, but there must be depth to your interests!

Keep this in mind as you plan out your high school activities. Your time is limited so choose wisely!

College Contact Info

When you sign up to receive info from colleges or include your personal info on college applications you have to provide basic info like your name, email address and perhaps your permanent (physical) address.

Use your full legal name. Avoid using nicknames (unless specifically asked for in a separate information field).

Be consistent. If you call yourself Theodore Smith on one application, don't change to Ted Smith for the next. Changing the form of your name can cause confusion and even delay certain processes like decision making for the admissions committee.

For your email address it is wise to create an email address specifically for sending and receiving mail with colleges and scholarship committees. For example "BabyGirl69" is not a smart email address to use! Email accounts are free and provide virtually unlimited storage space, so why not create a professional and efficient tool for communication. Try "JenniferSpruce88" instead.
Any account provider (GMail, Yahoo, AOL) is fine.

For your physical address, make sure you use a place where you will always be able to receive mail or have mail forwarded to you. Typically you will have one standard address, but if you have multiple houses or your parents live separately, then you must select your most commonly used address.

Remember, be consistent. Be professional. Once you enter any info into the ring of college admissions, there's no getting it back.