College Admissions Archives Page 6 of 21 - Dobler College Consulting

Blog, College Admissions, Making The Most Of College

College Is About What You Put Into It

Recently, I did a consultation with a family who had three boys. The oldest is a high school freshman and the youngest is in 7^th grade. We had a great conversation about the college process, between talking about how to make the most of their four years in high school to helping them see how well they were doing already at such young ages.

Towards the end of the conversation, the boys’ mother said something that really struck me. As she looked at the two older ones with eyes that only a mom can produce, she said she wanted to make sure they did well because at some point they may have to support a family of their own and that these days, trying to do so wasn’t easy.

With two young boys of my own, I completely understood where she was coming from.

I let the statement sink in for a minute and then tried to reassure them all that they were already doing very well. Their grades were strong and their work ethic was obvious. The boys were asking great questions and seemed very interested in where their futures were going to take them and not once did it feel that the parents were pressuring them in any way. It was so refreshing to see this and I wish I saw it more often.

I told her there was a lot to like about what I was seeing and I encouraged the boys to keep exploring, to keep asking questions and to just spend time doing things they enjoyed. If they worked hard and spent time doing tapping into their VIPS, good things would happen down the road.

And that’s what all of this is about. It’s about making good informed decisions so that you can live a happy and successful life and taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. Individually, we all have to decide what makes us happy and how we define success. What is important to one person isn’t necessarily important to another just like how going to one college isn’t necessarily any better than going to another one. Opportunity can and will present itself in many forms and, you know what? There is opportunity everywhere, not just at an Ivy League school. So, no matter where you go to college, remember that it’s about investing yourself in the experience and making the most of this time to launch yourself into your life.

It’s so much more about what you put into college than what the college puts into you and I fully believe these three boys will find success and happiness because they already get this concept.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you’re in the local area, check out my FREE college planning workshops coming up this spring in Cheshire and Southbury.

Eric Mar 31, 2014 College Admissions, College Advising, College Applications, College Lists, College Rankings, Dobler College Consulting, Eric Dobler, Making The Most Of College No Comments

Blog, College Admissions, College Fairs, College Lists, Demonstrated Interest

Making The Most Of College Fairs

Now that we’re into March and headed towards more consistently better weather (and who’s not happy about that?), high school juniors should be thinking about going to college fairs to connect with admission counselors.

This is important for a few reasons.

First, demonstrated interest matters and connecting with admission counselors is one way to show how interested you are in a college. Going to college fairs allows you to talk with these counselors one on one.

Secondly, you should be asking a lot of questions about schools, their programs, and policies so that you can really say to yourself why you are interested. This goes beyond a school offering your major or being located in a state or region to which you are drawn.

So do your homework ahead of time to ensure you’re not asking questions that can easily be answered by a visit to the college’s website. Having worked many college fairs in my admissions career, I can tell you that nothing irritates an admission counselor more than questions to which you should already know the answer.

You know what else bugs them? When you let your mom or dad do all the talking while you read your text messages or go skimming through your most recent tweets.

Get off the phone. In fact, turn it off and take advantage of the opportunity in front of you. These admission counselors are real people, the people who will more than likely have a say, if not THE SAY on whether or not you are admitted to their college. They’re not going to bite and they’re not going to be mean. Talk to them, let them get to know you and help them understand how awesome you are.

Fortunately for you, the National College Fairs are coming to a town near you this spring. You can review the full list of dates and locations on the NACAC website. If you have made some progress on your college list, write down the schools who you want to know more about. Then make it a point to visit with them during the fair.

You’ll be glad you did.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact us today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you’re in the local area, check out my our college planning workshops coming up this spring in Simsbury and Cheshire.

Eric Mar 19, 2014 College Admissions, College Advising, College Lists, demonstrated interest, Dobler College Consulting, Eric Dobler, NACAC No Comments

Blog, College Admissions, SAT Subject Tests, Test Preparation

Should You Take SAT Subject Tests?

SAT Subject Tests are hour-long content based tests which allow you to demonstrate just how awesome you are in a given subject. There are 20 Subject Tests in all and unlike the SAT where you have to complete all three sections, you get to choose which Subject Tests you would like to take. Subject Tests are offered on the same dates as the SAT and you can take up to three tests in one sitting.

You can check out a complete list of all Subject Tests on the College Board website here.

Now that you fully understand what a Subject Test, let’s move on to the bigger question.

Should you take one?

The answer is an easy “yes” when you plan on applying to a highly selective college. If you review their admission requirements, a lot of these schools will require or recommend Subject Tests. Pay close attention to the fine print though as some of them will recommend specific subjects depending on your major.

For example, engineering applicants to Johns Hopkins University are strongly encouraged to submit two SAT subject tests: Mathematics Level 2 and one of the sciences. Applicants for Lehigh University’s combined BA/MD degree program are “strongly encouraged” to take Mathematics Level 1 or Level 2 and Chemistry.

So, in some cases, you do have to be very strategic about which tests you take.

But what if a college doesn’t strongly encourage them? What if they just recommend taking a Subject Test? What if they say they will only use them if the scores enhance your chances for admission?

In my opinion, you always want to go beyond the basic requirements. So while there is a difference between “strongly encourage” and “recommend”, in either case the college is making a reference to them as something they like to see in their applicants’ files. When a college is telling you what they want to see, you should listen.

And if a school is only going to use them in situations where they help you, well, you’ve got nothing to lose except for a couple hours on a Saturday morning.

In today’s competitive applicant pool, especially at the most selective colleges, you can’t afford not to put together the strongest application possible. SAT Subject Tests can and will play a role in that so review the requirements for your schools and take a couple tests in your strongest subjects. Do well enough and they may just help your chances.

Eric Mar 10, 2014 College Admissions, College Advising, College Applications, College Board, Dobler College Consulting, Eric Dobler, SAT Subject Tests, Test Preparation No Comments

Blog, Choosing A Major, College Admissions, College Lists, Experiential Learning, Making The Most Of College

Why You Don’t Need To Go To A Brand Name College

A couple days ago, Lynn O’Shaughnessy of The College Solution wrote a piece about the gap between what employers are saying about college graduates being ready for the workplace and what college administrators are saying. It’s an interesting read and you can check it out here.

While I’m not surprised to see such an incredible gap between what the two sides are saying, what I wanted to talk more about was what Lynn exposes towards the end of her post. Namely, the fact that employers just don’t care where your degree comes from.

That’s right. They don’t care. What they do care about, according to the survey, are two things:

Knowledge and applied skills in the student’s chosen field.

So, instead of going into excessive debt to pay for a brand name, go out and look for schools who fit you financially, academically and socially. Consider majors that align with your values, interests, personality-style and skills. Then make a commitment to yourself to learn as much as you can about your intended field while interning several times before you graduate.

Do that and it sounds like a lot of employers will value you and there’s a lot to like about that.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation.

Eric Mar 04, 2014 College Admissions, College Advising, College Applications, College Lists, College Rankings, Dobler College Consulting, Eric Dobler, Making The Most Of College No Comments

Blog, College Admissions, Demonstrated Interest

Why Demonstrating Your Interest Matters

Back in December, I wrote a piece about demonstrated interest. It’s become a popular phrase in the world of college admissions and if you missed the post, you can read it here.

I wanted to revisit the idea of demonstrated interest in today’s post because of a few takeaways from NACAC’s recent report, The State of College Admission 2013. NACAC releases the report each year (free for NACAC members, $25 for everyone else) which offers insight and statistics based on data gathered from both college admission counselors and high school counselors.

This year’s report talked about a few factors which are rather relevant to the idea of demonstrated interest.

Consider that admission counselors read anywhere from 600-1000 applications each with the larger number typically belonging to counselors at public universities. That’s a lot of information to sift through, a lot of grades and test scores to review and a lot of essays to read. In my day, I used to review anywhere from 500-600 applications in a season and I will be very honest when I say that it can become a blur rather quickly when students don’t make the most of the opportunities available to them to stand out.

And that’s the key with demonstrated interest. It’s all about standing out. Not in an obnoxious, I’m waving my arms and professing my undying love for you kind of way that you would find at a boy band concert, but more in the I’m really interested in your school, I get who you are as an institution and feel I would be a good fit based on XYZ reasons, kind of interest.

Admission counselors are trying to build a class and they have to figure out which students are more likely to enroll. This is called yield and it’s an important term in the college admissions world. Predict your yield too high and you don’t have enough seats or beds for your incoming class. Predict too low and the college is running in the red. Neither is a scenario that colleges want to do deal with. The problem is that as students submit more and more applications, on average, it gets harder for schools to know who their “real” applicants are.

And that’s why you demonstrate your interest. Because you want admission counselors to notice you, and you ultimately want to enroll at a school that you love; a school which fits you academically, socially and financially.

If you make a good effort at showing these schools who YOU are and that you are an authentic and strong candidate, they will at least be able to identify you as such. Should who you are jive with who they need, it is more likely that they will admit you. Then the best part of it all happens…

You get to decide if you’re going to enroll.

So, reach out to admission counselors, visit college campuses, ask to interview, connect with the colleges on social media – do all of this and it will pay off.

Eric Feb 26, 2014 Branding, Campus Tours, Campus Visits, College Admissions, College Advising, College Applications, College Lists, demonstrated interest, Dobler College Consulting, Eric Dobler No Comments