College Admission Help

Texas' 10-percent rule on state College Admissions subject to Legislature's tinkering

By EMILY GUEVARA
When Evan Cooper opened the letter from the University of Texas at Austin, it wasn't good news.
He was not accepted to the school because he did not meet requirements.
But the school also expressed concern about the number of students it would have to admit under the top 10 percent rule.
Cooper, 18, a senior at Clifton J. Ozen Magnet High School, thinks that might have played a role.
A proposed bill that will be considered in the Texas House of Representatives in the coming days would limit the number of students who gain automatic admission to Texas' public universities.
The bill, passed recently in the Senate, would put a cap on the number of students public universities have to admit under the top 10 percent rule.
As it stands now, high school seniors who graduate in the top 10 percent of their senior class gain automatic admission to Texas' public universities.
The proposed bill would allow public universities to admit 60 percent of their freshman class under this rule. But if the number of top 10 percent applicants exceeded 60 percent of the school's allotted slots for freshmen, they could stop automatic admissions at 60 percent and select the remainder of their class based on the school's own criteria.
The hope is that it would give large universities such as UT-Austin more flexibility in admissions and insure that quality students aren't being turned away, according to an Associated Press report.
But some local legislators aren't so sure.
Rep. Mike Hamilton, R-Mauriceville, is adamantly opposed to the change. He said it would give students less of chance to get into the state's largest schools.
"You're letting the big colleges pick the elite of the state of Texas so that if you're not one of the elite in the state of Texas, then you don't get to go," Hamilton said by phone.
Brittany Doucette, 17, an Ozen junior, favors the top 10 percent rule as is. Doucette, who plans to attend Prairie View A&M University, said a limit could discourage some students during the college application process.
Jarrick Brown, 16, also an Ozen junior, agreed.
"I feel if a student works hard their four years in high school they should be rewarded in some way," Brown said by phone.
The top 10 percent rule was implemented to help public colleges and universities diversify their student body, said State Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont. It specifically focused on flagship schools such as the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University in College Station, Deshotel said.
"But it has not really done that," Deshotel said. "It has not been the effect that they thought it would have."
According to The Associated Press, Rep. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, author of the bill, said the law had caused a "brain drain" at UT by discouraging bright students who fell outside the top 10 percent to go elsewhere.
It also has become something of a problem at UT, where about 80 percent of last year's Texas freshmen were admitted under the rule, according to the AP.
If it is not curtailed, in the next three years, UT will only be able to admit top 10 percent students, according to the wire service. Other large schools could be affected in the same way.
But Evan Cooper said the change could be a good thing for students like him.
"Like my class, it's really hard, everybody's fighting to be in the top 10 percent," said Cooper, who wants to study business. "I think with the top 10 percent it really limits some students to getting a good education."


Texas' 10-percent rule on state College Admissions subject to Legislature's tinkering

College Grants and Financial Aid - It's Out There

By MICHELLE GEORGE
The Eagle-Gazette Staff

LANCASTER — Felicia Ward knows she doesn’t need a 4.0 GPA or a lot of money to pay for college next year. She just needs to be a little aggressive.
So when the Lancaster High School senior set her sights on earning a degree in middle childhood education, she focused on the best way to reach that goal — financial aid and lots of scholarships.
Felicia has applied for financial assistance and close to 40 scholarships this year so she can attend the Ohio University Lancaster Campus in the fall — and she’s confident she’ll get the help she needs through one or both of those avenues.
“My grandfather once told me, ‘Even if you were homeless, there are still ways out there for you to go to college,’ ” Felicia said. “You just have to find them.”

Felicia is one of many college-bound students looking for financial assistance to pay for a college education.

Financial aid, grants and scholarships are readily available for students who need help paying for college, said Sharon Weaver, a Lancaster High School guidance counselor.

But it’s an option, Weaver said, that some students don’t always consider or know how to find.

“Students eliminate themselves because they think: ‘I’m not a valedictorian. I’m not involved in community activities. I don’t have a chance at winning a scholarship,’ ” Weaver said. “But that’s not always the case.”

And Pat Fox, enrollment director at OU-L has noticed some students don’t bother to apply for financial aid because they believe they won’t be eligible.

“I’ve noticed the volume of students looking for financial aid has increased, but I think some people may have the misconception that filling out the FAFSA is a lot more complicated than it is,” Fox said. “And I think that is one of the biggest mistakes students make, not filling out the FAFSA.”

Fox and Ward said the majority of incoming college students are more eligible for financial assistance then they think.


College Grants and Financial Aid - It's Out There

“Put it in writing” is good advice for high school freshmen seeking College Admission

By Megan Gordon
The Arizona Republic


By requiring high-school freshmen to put their plans for the future in writing, state officials anticipate a boost in student achievement.
When students have dreams and goals, they will work harder to attain them, said Maxine Daly, Arizona Department of Education's deputy associate superintendent.
Starting in the fall semester, each high-school freshman must develop his or her own program. The plan, required for graduation, includes academic, career, postsecondary and extracurricular goals for every student. Arizona's Education and Career Action Plan, or ECAP, is designed to equip freshmen with a four-year, personalized plan.
"All students should really have the same opportunity to look to themselves for their interests, their skills, their abilities and to put together kind of the road map of how they could achieve their dreams," Daly said.
How planning is done
Some schools have planning already in place.
Estrella Foothills High School in Goodyear, about four years ago, implemented its college and career prep course, which was recently honored as an A-plus Exemplary Program by the Arizona Educational Foundation.
"What we're looking for is something that works for kids," said Bobbie O'Boyle, the foundation's executive director. "That program has a profound effect on the students that it serves. It's sustainable and . . . it's replicable."
Daly said the ultimate goal is to get students thinking about the future, and many students agree.
"This class gives me a head start on letting us know about college," said Marci Flaherty, 17, a junior at Estrella. "It's preparing me throughout high school."
Students at the Goodyear school receive two semesters of college and career prep courses, mandatory for all incoming freshmen and second-semester juniors.
The classes provide information about high-school courses, study and note-taking skills, college and career research and resume writing.
"It gives me a goal and a plan," said Jessica Walker, 16. "My goal is not just getting good grades. The class helped me realize a reason for getting good grades."


“Put it in writing” is good advice for high school freshmen seeking College Admission

College Scholarship Targets College-Bound Cancer Survivors

The American Cancer Society is calling for applicants to its Young Cancer Survivor Scholarship program. Up to $7,500 each will be awarded to 60-75 students to assist them with college tuition and nurture their leadership skills in the fight against cancer. Applicants must have received a cancer diagnosis at age 18 or younger and demonstrate financial need, as well as meet additional requirements. Download an application packet at www.cancer.org/scholar or contact the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345 for more information. Application deadline is April 24, 2009.
The award stipulates that scholarship recipients volunteer with their local American Cancer Society. Students improve leadership qualities as they develop community outreach programs, participate in legislative advocacy and organize fundraising events.
“Students who weather the challenges and hardships that cancer brings often develop qualities of compassion, character and resilience—qualities that lend themselves to strong leadership,” said Russ Russell, volunteer, American Cancer Society Desert Palms Leadership Council Chair. “By providing them with financial assistance, the American Cancer Society helps young cancer survivors achieve the dreams and aspirations that gave them hope during their recovery and prepares them for a lifetime of community involvement.”
Each year, more than 1,500 children and young adults under age 20 are diagnosed with cancer in California. Due to progress in the treatment of childhood cancer, the majority of them grow to adulthood. Families touched by cancer often incur significant hardship due to loss of income, as well as treatment and rehabilitation expenses. By funding these scholarships, the American Cancer Society furthers its mission to measurably improve the quality of life for cancer survivors and their loved ones.
The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering and preventing cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service. For more information anytime, call toll free 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.


College Scholarship Targets College-Bound Cancer Survivors

Real College Admission Decisions Don’t Come in Envelopes or E-mails

I knew what Janet had come for. She hadn’t heard anything from her college, and wondered if I might call to see if a decision had been made. The receptionist at the college asked for Janet’s Social Security number, and after a clatter of computer keys, I had the answer I had expected.

As I hung up the phone, I pulled up Janet’s file out of a drawer. Over my shoulder, and in a voice that was too casual, I said “Congratulations, you’re in.” As I added some notes to her file, a quivering breath directed my attention to what truly mattered.

“R-really?”

I turned to find two wide tears rolling down Janet’s cheeks. For the first time in my young career, I knew what it looked like when a dream came true.

This scene will soon be repeated in counseling offices, classrooms, and mailboxes all over America. It’s one thing for students to think a college could be right for them, but when the admission letter says “you’re right”, it can be a bit of a surprise, and take some getting used to.

Of course, there will also be less wonderful surprises. A selective college is one where far more qualified students apply than the college could possibly admit— so students who would make the most out of everything that college has to offer won’t get the chance, simply because the college ran out of room well before they ran out of great applicants. This kind of surprise often brings tears of another kind, and understandably so.

My advice is the same to both those who are admitted to their dream schools and those who are not—do your very best to stay focused. If you are denied, remember that a college running out of room is a deficit of the college, not a deficit of your character. The wonderful talents you would have brought to one college will serve you just as well at another, and perhaps even better, if you are able to look past the disappointment and let the skills and qualities you have chiseled into your character shine brightly wherever September finds you.

Strangely enough, the caution to be alert may be more relevant to those whose dreams have come true. Getting admitted to a “hot” school can be a heady experience, and bring a feeling you have no choice but to go there; since you were one of the “lucky ones” to get admitted, you’d be a fool to say no. You’ve done enough research and visited enough campuses to know which one will give you the best blend of support and challenge, no matter what its name is or who else goes there— and the goal is to go the school that’s right for you, not to go to the “right” school. Until that clear sense shows up again, don’t do a thing.

Less informed sources who judge colleges by brand name may respond to your college news by saying “Anyone would jump at the chance” or “But nobody’s heard of that college.” This is the most crucial time to remember that you aren’t just anyone, that you certainly aren’t nobody, and that labels limit lives more than they enrich them. You’ve learned much about colleges in the past year, but you’ve learned even more about yourself and what you need to grow as a person. Listen to that voice, and the only thing on your face come May 1st will be a smile of sheer delight, knowing you have said yes to the one college that will be your best next home.


Real College Admission Decisions Don’t Come in Envelopes or E-mails

To cut College Admission costs, you can tour campuses virtually


BY NIRVI SHAH
nshah@MiamiHerald.com

Stefania Ferro researched six different colleges -- including two in New York -- without ever leaving her home in Davie.
Ferro, 18, used instant messaging to chat with a college counselor at the University of Rochester. She posted questions about schools to current students using the forums at CollegeConfidential.com and looked at current students' photos of campus life. She used the virtual tour on the University of Florida's website to get a feel for the campus.
''I was considering at one time a bunch of schools,'' said Ferro, a senior at The College Academy at Broward College. 'I didn't want to waste my time or my parents' time.''
Saving for college tuition, room and board has become a way of life for many families. But prospective students and their parents are sometimes surprised by the thousands of additional dollars it takes to apply to schools, take entrance exams and hit the road for campus tours.
There are ways to reduce or eliminate those costs.
In addition to individual school websites, there are now sites that compile information and offer virtual tours, tuition prices and a statistics-based guess at a student's chances for admission.
California-based website creator Jerry Slavonia started CampusExplorer.com in 2007. The site has information about more than 6,000 public and private schools.
''How many have the actual wherewithal to travel to actual campuses with their parents? It's a small number,'' Slavonia said.
Once prospective students register for the site -- registration is free -- they can take tours of different schools and even create side-by-side comparisons so they can see the differences in tuition.
While some official university tours might show the grounds and classrooms, CampusExplorer tours include videos of students speaking candidly about everything from campus food to fraternity and sorority life.
The site also has a feature where students can plug in their college placement test scores and use an admissions calculator to get a rough sense of their chances at admission based on test data from the current freshman class.
USING SCHOOL SITES
Schools' individual websites are also helpful if students look beyond the basic facts.
Check out clubs or organizations that seem appealing and look up any publications those groups offer, said Katherine Cohen, who used to work in admissions at Yale University. She has a certificate in college counseling from UCLA. Cohen's web companies, IvyWise.com and ApplyWise.com, provide this guidance and other counseling for a fee for parents and students.
If students are interested in journalism or the school magazine, they should reach out to the students working at those places now via e-mail, she said.
Another way to learn about a school without spending money to travel there: Find the people who went to a particular college from your high school, Cohen said. Every high school should have a record of where their students chose to go to college.
''Reach out to Johnny even if you weren't friends,'' she said. ``It's better than just the average student who went to that college. They don't have the same high school experience.''

MEETING RECRUITERS
Most colleges have representatives who travel the country to recruit students. If visiting a first-choice school is out of the question, finding out when those reps are in town is key. Not only does a student get information directly from the university, but the student has a chance to make an impression, Cohen said.
Once a family does decide to visit a school, making the trip worthwhile is critical, she said.
Visit when school is in session to get a real feel for what the campus is like. In addition to a tour, go to an information session where questions are welcomed. Eat lunch in the main dining hall. Talk to students. Meet the representative who is responsible for reading applications from your part of the country.
''This is what we recommend to everyone,'' Cohen said, ``not a cold visit.''





To cut College Admission costs, you can tour campuses virtually

College Counselors try to handle a huge increase in financial aid requests

Eileen Ambrose
Balltimoresun.com

Telephone calls stream into the financial aid office at University of Maryland, College Park and the callers say much the same thing: A parent has lost a job or suffered a pay cut, and the family needs help paying for school.

It's become such a frequent refrain that counselors this month underwent sensitivity training to ensure that they are as patient and caring the 100th time they hear a hard-luck story as they are the first time.

"When you see 90 appeals that look the same, you can get a bit desensitized," says Dan Beaty, a financial aid counselor.

Colleges in Maryland and elsewhere have seen big increases in aid applications for the current academic year. But as the recession lingers and unemployment climbs, schools brace for even greater demand for aid during the months ahead.

And for families that suddenly find themselves with a reversal of fortune, it's critical to contact aid offices immediately to find out what resources are still available.

"I am concerned about the increase in demand for financial aid," says Vince Pecora, financial aid director at Towson University, which is preparing its 2009-2010 aid packages for 12,000 students.

Students eligible for Pell Grants, which go to the neediest of students, are up 30 percent over a year ago, he says.

Towson expects to give out $11.4 million of university need-based money to students during the next academic year, or 115 percent more than it did four years earlier. The university largely has been shifting money from merit scholarships to aid for needy students.

"We are robbing Peter to pay Paul," he says.

Signs of financial stress are showing up at the business and education schools at the Johns Hopkins University, where many students attend part time and work full time.

The aid deadline for the spring semester was Nov. 1, but there's been a 5 percent increase over last year in the number of students retroactively applying for assistance, says Laura Donnelly, financial aid director.

"They paid for spring tuition upfront and suddenly lost their jobs. The money they put forth, they now need to live on," Donnelly says. Students get a tuition refund, then turn around and pay the education bill with federal loans, she says.

And Donnelly says she's noticed that a handful of students filed for bankruptcy in recent months, something not seen before.

At College Park, appeals for aid are up 30 percent over a year ago. Some are from higher-income families who never have filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid before and are learning to do so, says Sarah Bauder, director of financial aid.

"The face of the financial strain has taken on a new look," Bauder says. "It's hitting everybody."

During normal times, the College Park campus spends about $500,000 to help families that have fallen on hard times through a sudden illness, job loss or a parent's death. The college will spend about $1.5 million during the current academic year, and expects to double that for 2009-2010.

To raise funds for such emergencies, the school recently launched the "Keep Me Maryland" campaign to solicit money to keep students on the Maryland campus.

Financial aid counselors are on the front line, dealing with parents who are upset, panicked, angry - or all those things. The recent training at College Park was to prevent counselors from becoming less sensitive to distraught families, which some counselors acknowledged was happening.

"Redundancy often brings callousness. You hear the same story again and again," Bauder says. "For the person telling it, it's new to them. And so you have to be sensitive to that every single time."

Of course, don't expect much sympathy at any school if you earn well into the six figures, and spent every dollar and then some on everything but saving for your child's education.

Bauder's office didn't give more aid recently to an overextended family who lost a home after income fell from $2.1 million to $1.3 million. But the office is trying to do what it can for the family whose $48,000 income dropped to $17,000 because a parent lost a job. "They don't have any place to go," she says.

If your family finances change for the worse, contact the school's financial aid office immediately. You could qualify for scholarships, grants or subsidized federal loans that you were ineligible for before. Schools have their own money to help in emergencies, but these pools are limited and could be exhausted if you wait too long.

Federal Pell Grants, which were recently increased, as well as Stafford and PLUS loans, are available throughout the academic year, so you don't have to worry funds will run out, so long as you qualify.

For federal money, you need to fill out the FAFSA form, which added several more questions this year, including queries into whether a parent has lost a job and whether the student was homeless at any time.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission receives FAFSAs filed by Marylanders, and it expects a 30,000 increase in on-time applications over last year's total of 109,314.

Part of that steep increase is attributed to the economy, which isn't expected to recover any time soon. In the meantime, aid directors say they will do what they can for families in need because they don't want students withdrawing for financial reasons.

"Once you're a student, you are family," Bauder says.
When finances sour, what to do about financial aid:

•Contact financial aid office at the school, which might have you fill out a special-circumstance form to update your information and could lead to your aid being increased.

•Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to receive federal money. That includes the needs-based Pell Grant, whose maximum award for the 2009-2010 year has been raised to $5,350 as part of the economic stimulus package.

•Consider federal loans, such as a student Stafford Loan, or a PLUS loan for parents or graduate students. You must pass a credit check to be eligible for a PLUS loan.

•Search for scholarships and grants at FastWeb.com.


College Counselors try to handle a huge increase in financial aid requests

College Grants and Aid Applications Can Consume A Lot Of Time

By Cathy Spaulding
Phoenix Staff Writer


This year, millions must gather their W-2 forms, bank statements, their investment documents, their mortgage information, their income records and fill out the daunting six-page form.
It’s not their income tax forms, but the government application they must complete to help get their children into college. Parents or students must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, to apply for federal student aid or to apply for most state and college financial aid.
“It seems like it takes a long time,” said Martha Giles, mother of a college-bound Hilldale High School senior. “You have to put in all your sources of income, all your child’s sources of income. You have to answer if your child has ever been separated from you or emancipated. They have 10 different variations of that question. It kind of wears you out.”
Financial aid officials say the FAFSA’s length can be intimidating for some parents, but all the questions are needed to ensure that a variety of students are helped.
“The biggest problem is getting parents to actually sit down and actually fill out the form,” said Oktaha High School Counselor Kathy Barrett. “Because you have to fill out FAFSA in order to get scholarships, a lot of the questions are income-based.
Financial aid is complex, said Angela Caddell, director of communications and financial assistance for the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program. “How eligibility is determined is sorted out by the questions. It’s large because individual circumstances vary. They want to make sure all the contingencies are answered.”
“Anything you can think of is asked in the questionnaire,” said Hilldale High School senior Stephen Bias, who is waiting to fill out his FAFSA. He said early in March that he was waiting to get tax returns from his father so he can finish the information and get it in.
“Some families opt out of completing the FAFSA and charge college expenses to credit cards or take out private education loans before exhausting all federal loan options, which isn’t an ideal approach,” said Mary Mowdy, executive director of Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program, in a media release. “Federal student loans issued through the Federal Family Education Loan Program have lower interest rates, flexible repayment plans and important deferment, forbearance and loan forgiveness benefits that credit cards and ‘private’ or ‘alternative’ loans don’t offer.”
Muskogee High School College and Career Center coordinator Susan Roberts said the form is not that complicated.
“You just have to do income preparation,” she said. “A lot of people take it to their tax people. There are so many pages it looks like it would be intimidating.”
However, Congress is working to simplify FAFSA, said Shelly Dreadfulwater, assistant director of financial services at Northeastern State University. “They’re deciding that many questions they have now aren’t needed.”
She said the FAFSA form “changes a bit from year to year.”
Dreadfulwater said NSU held workshops on how to fill out the form in January and February.
The early deadline some colleges place on scholarship applications also hampers FAFSA applications.
“It’s kind of hard because I don’t file my taxes until late, so I just have to estimate and correct it later,” Giles said.



College Grants and Aid Applications Can Consume A Lot Of Time

Looking Beyond Grades and Scores for College Admission

By Peter Schworm
Boston Globe.com

The admissions team at Tufts University embraced the Yahtzee enthusiast and budding engineer who built a wooden catapult in his backyard and the straight-A teenager who described herself as a "wise old owl" whom her friends turn to for advice.
Amherst College eagerly admitted the son of a New York City cab driver, a Bangladeshi immigrant who had flunked gym class but founded a newspaper dedicated to economics. The school's admissions committee also delighted at the math wiz from Queens who loses sleep when he's stumped by a problem and lives for bowling nights in his mother's league.
All the successful applicants to Tufts and Amherst, two highly selective liberal arts colleges, boast impressive academic credentials, but so do most of their competitors. What they share is a spark that makes them stand out from the crowd, whether through singular talents and values, fierce determination in the face of hard circumstance, or force of personality.
For high school seniors aspiring to the nation's top colleges and universities, the inner workings of admissions offices seem shrouded in mystery, a murky process that fuels endless angst and speculation. As students nervously await their decision letters, the two highly selective colleges invited a Globe reporter to observe admissions deliberations firsthand. The sessions reveal a complex, nuanced system that is at once analytical and intuitive, rigorous and forgiving, impartial and deeply personal.
They also underscore how fierce competition makes instinctive judgments all but inevitable, and provide rare insight into how intangible qualities can sway decisions.
'Long march begins'
"This is the sobering part," Tufts admissions dean Lee Coffin tells the seven-member committee gathered around a long conference table on a recent Thursday morning at the school's campus in Medford. "The long march begins."
It is the season's first meeting of the review committee at Tufts, and Coffin surveys the lay of the land. By this point, all the applicants are strong, and often there is little that separates them academically. So the committee often goes beyond the numbers and takes an in-depth look at personal qualities and talents.
The panels are groups of admissions officers, led by the dean of admissions, who gather for
all-day review sessions in March. Many of the committee members are young, 20-somethings responsible for recruiting in specific parts of the country.
From the 15,000 applicants vying for a slot in next fall's freshman class, the college has admitted 2,200 whose top-notch qualifications made them shoo-ins, leaving about 10,000 students competing for just 1,100 offers. Tough odds for the students, and a daunting, at times emotionally draining, task for the panel.
To Coffin's right sits Emily Roper-Doten, an animated 29-year-old who headed up Tufts recruitment in Illinois, the morning's topic of discussion. So far, each application has been read twice, and Roper-Doten rattles off a brief summary of students' academic credentials, personal essays, and recommendations from teachers and reviewers. Around the table, admissions officers call up student files on their laptops, scanning a four-year transcript in a few seconds.
The first student, from a public high school in suburban Chicago, ranked behind about one-quarter of her senior class. Reviewers had given her the lowest overall academic rating, and panel members wonder why she hadn't already been denied. Discussion is brief. "Do you want to hear any more?" Roper-Doten asks. No one did.
"It's a deny," Coffin says.
Later, the group wastes little time in rejecting a straight-A student - a Girl Scout, dancer, and peer tutor, to boot. There were plenty of others just like her, says Daniel Grayson, a 25-year-old Tufts alumni on the panel.
Using a "holistic" approach, Tufts and other selective colleges look beyond test scores and grades to an array of personal qualities, including intellectual talent and curiosity, leadership, ambition, and work ethic. They also judge students on their educational and family background, and give preference to low-income and minority students who overcome obstacles to excel.
After rejecting a number of candidates with stronger academic records, for example, Tufts admits a student from a blue-collar Italian family who wrote movingly about his love of "food and family" and his relationship with his developmentally disabled brother. The student, who attends a Catholic school and works summers as a golf caddy, is judged a "smidge weak academically" by one reviewer.
But the group clearly takes a shine to him, and admits him unanimously.
"He's really sweet about his bro," Roper-Doten says.
In the most intense debate of the morning, the panel splits over a hearing-impaired student from a rough neighborhood who travels more than an hour to a magnet high school. Her test scores and grades were mediocre, with a B average and C's in English. But she grew up speaking Spanish, reviewers note, and she helped care for her siblings from a young age.
"We've taken kids like this who wind up being president of their class," said Isabel Casariego Bober, 26.
In the context of her background, her scores on the ACT were strong, Bober adds. If she had gone to the high school in her own neighborhood, they agree, she probably would have gotten all A's.
Some committee members think she might struggle at first at Tufts, but would eventually find her way. Others fear the workload would be too much.
"I think she's overcome a lot," Grayson says, "but I don't like setting these kids up to fail."
"There's so much strength in her," Roper-Doten says.
Back and forth they go for 20 minutes, without reaching a consensus. They put her in the "bullpen" with other knotty cases they will tackle another day.
A look behind the stats
The Colorado student's ACT score is mediocre, and his grades have a good share of B's. On statistics alone, he is a clear-cut no.
But as details emerge, the six Amherst College admissions officers, a youngish group arrayed around a cluttered conference table on a recent Monday morning, take a closer look.
Reading his file from large three-ring binders, the panel learns that his mother is unemployed and his father left years ago. He lives in a crime-ridden neighborhood but has "worked hard not to fall into that trap," a reviewer notes. He takes film courses at the local community college.
By that point, his board scores fade in the distance, and the vote is a unanimous yes.
Next is a New Mexico student who earned all A's while working 20 hours a week and volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House. She is "mature beyond her years," her teacher wrote. Her essay, a reviewer writes, told "more about her than any test score." The panel agrees, and their hands shoot upward in unison.
"Good, good, good," reviewer Kathy Mayberry says quietly in a voice of satisfaction.
During the morning, the panel evaluates more than 30 students from low-income families, most from New York City, as part of the larger task of winnowing 7,700 applicants to 1,100 admitted students, a rate that ranks among the country's lowest. Most are minorities and children of immigrants who did not grow up speaking English at home. Their parents had, for the most part, not gone to college, and neither will most of their high school classmates.
In keeping with the college's aggressive campaign to admit more students from poor and working-class neighborhoods, the panel accepts the majority of them.
Reviewers note what students' parents did for a living, what level of education they completed, and what percentage of their high school goes to college. Students who were deemed "SP30," meaning neither of their parents went to college, or "SP31," meaning the family has a low income, were given a decided boost.
Yet students from such backgrounds had to persuade the committee they were prepared for a top-tier school, primarily by their performance on advanced placement exams.
Members are impressed by a student from Queens who scored high on the US history and statistics AP exams, and Dale Hendricks notes that the applicant's father, a Jamaican immigrant, had been imprisoned and deported.
"It's real hardship here, guys," Hendricks says.
But her SAT scores were 1,180, and other students who had overcome just as much had done better.
"It's a tough story," Hendricks says. "But in New York, there are many cases like this." She's wait-listed.
The litany of broken homes and failing schools puts the gulf between the have and have-nots in stark relief.
Yet many of the sagas are inspiring, and the panel clearly savors the opportunity to give talented students a chance at a better life.
At one point, the discussion turns to a student who grew up in a poor immigrant household and did not learn to read proficiently until she was 11. With what her teachers described as an "unrivaled work ethic," she became a standout student, earning A's in AP English and history and scoring 770 on the SAT critical reading section.
Coming from a student at a top prep school, the score would be impressive, the panel agreed. From a student whose parents didn't go to college, who grew up in a neighborhood ravaged by gangs, it was near-miraculous.
"Incredible, given her background," St. John says. "Just incredible."
All the drive in the world, added Tom Parker, the dean of admission. This time, there was no need for a show of hands. The decision was understood.


Looking Beyond Grades and Scores for College Admission

College Admission Help: High School Students face a choice - Go to college or wait?

By Rob Daniel
Iowa City Press-Citizen

West High senior Nic Jewell recently sat quietly in his German class, listening as teacher Linsey Choun read from an essay.
A bit later, Jewell quietly sang "Happy Birthday" in German to a classmate before taking a practice exam for the upcoming advanced placement test in May.
The German class will come in handy for Jewell, 17, and his classmate, Zach Wahls, because both will study in Germany next year after they graduate from West in May. They are part of a growing national trend cited in a December 2008 Wall Street Journal report that said high school graduates are opting to wait to start college classes for at least a year after leaving high school.
That national trend, however, hasn't come to Iowa City schools, where few are taking advantage of the option. Guidance counselors at City, West and Regina high schools all said they knew of only a small handful of students who decided to wait.
One possible reason for this, said West High counselor Paul Breitbach, is the influence of living in a town that includes the University of Iowa.
"Since they're in the university town, they think the track to success is college," he said. "More may (wait) if they knew it was an option."
A sour economy has had little effect on the plans of Regina seniors, counselor Cristina Allgood said. She said most of this year's graduating class already has been accepted into colleges, especially out-of-state private schools such as the University of Notre Dame and Stanford University. Many are taking the path their parents did, she said.
"I saw more applying for scholarships this year," Allgood said. "A lot of our parents are parents who have attended college. It's the norm."
Local students who are not attending college in the fall have varied reasons they are waiting.
For Jewell, he said he was following the example of his mother, who spent a year in Switzerland before starting college.
He and Wahls will be in Germany as part of the Youth For Understanding program, which is designed to bridge cultural gaps between countries. Both still are waiting to find out where they will live and attend school, and both still are awaiting word on whether they will get scholarship money from the Congress-Bundestag Exchange Program.
They will attend some high school-equivalent classes while in Germany, since German students attend 13 years of classes before starting university, he said.
Jewell said he wanted to figure out what he wanted to do in college before starting.
"I was going to take classes I'm interested in and some classes I didn't get to take here," he said. "It's giving me more time to think about things. The ultimate goal is to become fluent in the language and establish the contacts."
For City High senior Dontrell Wright, taking a year off is part of a chance to better prepare himself for college courses. In a special education program at City High, he will spend next year in the Career Connection program job shadowing workers as he tries to decide whether he wants to become a video game designer or personal trainer.
"It'll help me figure out what I want to do in life," said Wright, who plans to attend Kirkwood Community College after taking a year off. "I'll actually get paid for it."
Regardless of whether the soon-to-be graduate decides to go on to college in the fall or wait a while, it is a good idea to apply for admission now rather than wait, said West High guidance counselor Renato de Leon. He said a student will have better access to resources, such as college lists and grade standards, while still in high school.
"We just emphasize that they need to go through the process, even if they hold off a year," he said.


College Admission Help: High School Students face a choice - Go to college or wait?

College Admission Help: Juniors Watch and Wonder - Just What Should I Plan On?

When it comes to college planning, this year takes the cake for trying to hit a moving target. Seniors who followed their counselors’ advice were organized enough to develop a Plan B, just in case something went wrong with Plan A. Then along came the money meltdown, and suddenly no one knew what to do, especially when students already enrolled in college had to come home in the middle of the year—that’s how much the concept of affordable changed in four short months.

Seniors and their families deserve a salute for weathering the storm and developing Plans C-R, but the question now arises—what exactly should this year’s juniors prepare for? On the one hand, the example provided by the Class of 2009 shows the juniors the importance of being nimble, creative, and a frequent flyer on www.finaid.org to seek out private scholarships no one else applies for, since these scholarships require essays. On the other hand, it’s understandable if the Class of 2010 takes a step back from watching the seniors chase the academic and financial tornado known as college admission and says “Hey, maybe dog grooming school isn’t such a bad idea.”

You would think this year’s tumult would be enough to get college counselors to change their advice to next year’s seniors—but it isn’t. At this time last year, students were advised to put together a list of 6-8 colleges they would like to apply to—2 of the colleges were to be in-state colleges, and at least 2 should have been schools they could afford, meaning they could pay for the tuition with minimal financial aid that did not include any loans. The rest were up to the student, provided these colleges met their needs and interests; as long as some colleges on the list were affordable, the sky was the limit.

What happened to students who developed that list this year? Let’s review:

-The September financial crisis sent students in a panic. Convinced private colleges wouldn’t have enough financial aid, students applied to public colleges in record numbers.

-By late October, it was clear that states weren’t in great financial shape either, which meant public colleges might have limited financial aid as well. This led some students to apply to the private colleges they’d given up on, especially after many private schools announced new financial aid plans that eliminated student loans.

-January brought a dramatic increase in community college enrollment and a significant number of students who took a semester off, hoping to work for a semester and return to college in the fall.

-February found us with public colleges planning on offering more aid, thanks to President Obama’s stimulus package, and private colleges offering even more aid, knowing they have to compete with public schools on price or close.

In sum, where do we stand? It’s a little early to tell, but students who created the magic list last spring will most likely discover their two affordable schools are still the most affordable, and a dream private college may actually offer more aid now than it would have before the crunch. If they followed their counselor’s advice and paid attention, their options are still wide open…

…and that’s why my counsel to juniors still stands—build the list, keep an ear to the ground, and stay in touch with your counselor. Each application year is different, and no one wants another year like this one, but if the wacky Wall Street winds begin to blow again, the lesson of this year’s noble seniors is one to emulate—stay the course.



College Admission Help: Juniors Watch and Wonder - Just What Should I Plan On?

College Admission Help: Colleges Are Calling - But When Should You Answer?

In what may be the biggest April Fool’s Day joke ever, many colleges that usually send out admissions decisions on April 1st are sending them out 2-3 weeks early. MIT posted their decisions at one minute before 2 PM this Saturday, or 3/14 at 1:59 (those are the first six digits of the mathematically important number pi— a bit of slide rule humor!) Many liberal arts schools are also sending early notices of good news to very strong students (some as early as March 1st) and it seems a ton of schools are notifying students by e-mail, text message, or mobile device.

Why the rush? The sooner a college tells a student they’re in, the longer the college has to convince, e-mail, telephone, and woo the student into actually coming to that school. Now that the college knows you’re among the best, they want to give you a clear sine (more slide rule stuff) they really want you.

These strategies are causing concerns among high schools, who are still trying to teach tomorrow’s leaders. If a college sends out decisions during the school day, anxious students will risk breaking school policy and keep their phones on in class. When an acceptance e-mail comes in with its accompanying audio of the school fight song, class gets interrupted; when a notice of denial is sent, many of the messages simply say “application denied”, leaving dejected students with little comfort and lots of reason to interrupt class with tears, shrieks, or language that may be inappropriate for those under 17.

The need to know college options has never been greater, but a little perspective is in order:

- If you’re a college (hey, a few of them read this column), set your admission release time to 7 PM Eastern. Everyone is out of school then, meaning any celebration or desperation applicants feel will not affect the quality of education received by the rest of the high school, including future applicants to your college. Others have suggested colleges release at 7 PM on a Friday night, giving seniors the weekend to celebrate or reflect, then refocus for school, where you presumably still want them to do their best.

- Seniors, turn your phones off, and keep them off until school’s over. You don’t want to give Principal Weatherbee a good reason to put a blemish on your sterling discipline record, and this prevents you from incorrectly turning an admissions decision into a public event. Thoughtfully sharing the news (good or bad) with others requires time to think, and that’s in short supply when your phone is buzzing and your troops are around you. Until you’re in a space where all options are available—including privacy—power off.

- If the e-news is bad, and it’s put in a bad way, tell the college. There’s only so much space per message, but if admitted students get screens of fireworks and “We Are the Champions”, you deserve much more than the equivalent of “See Ya.” Call the college and tell them the message wasn’t very informative, then ask them to explain why you weren’t admitted. You may find an opportunity to have them reconsider their decision (“but I couldn’t take both AP Chem and Advanced Physics—they were offered at the same time”), and you’ll definitely give them the message they can, and should, do better next time.

Admissions decisions seem to be about college, but they’re really about you. Make sure you’re in a place to get the news where you’ll be OK either way—and that’s most likely not in school.


College Admission Help: Colleges Are Calling - But When Should You Answer?

College Admission Help: Searching for The Next Dream School

While high school seniors are dashing to the mailbox to pull out admission decisions, another
college-bound group is dashing to the mailbox to send in college applications. Even as we speak, transfer applicants are doing the same transcript/essay/letter of recommendation dance high school seniors completed in December, hoping that their second set of college dreams will come true when they hear from admission offices in May.

Since more high school seniors are looking into starting their careers at a college close to home before they head out to School #2, now would be the time to cut and clip this advice on transferring colleges:

- Look far and wide. The search for a transfer college is different than the search for a first college. Online colleges, night and weekend colleges, and colleges with “campuses” in office buildings are designed to help students finish the education they started somewhere else. In addition, many colleges won’t even look at your high school transcript once you have a year of college under your belt—so good college grades could open up more college choices as well. Of course, their football games aren’t nearly as interesting as the gridiron gigs at the colleges you looked at as a high school senior, but after a year or so of college, these other options may make more sense for your goals.

- Look in the mirror. More than just your college options may have changed when you look to transfer schools. Most students change majors three times once they start college, so the list of best schools you have now may not apply when your love for Archaeology changes to a love for Architecture—or when your interest in pledging a sorority at 18 is overshadowed by an interest in job security at 20. Build your next list on the things that matter to you then, not now—new dreams will require new choices.

-Know what you’re giving up. Transfer students have different options, but that doesn’t mean they have every option. Many highly competitive colleges don’t admit many transfer students, and some don’t admit any at all. This may change if the economy continues to drag (“Hey, what’s one more junior?”), but now would be the time to see if Utopia University takes transfers, and if so, how many. If getting in as a transfer student seems unlikely, consider deferral for a year.

-Be frugal with your credits. Not every class at College A transfers to College B, and some that do will only transfer as elective classes, not required ones. Keeping an eye on what will transfer is a full-time job, a job that’s held by the counselors and advisers at College A. Meet with them every semester to scope out the schedule that will keep your transfer options focused and open—and remember, what matters is how many credits your new school wants to you complete once you’re there, not how many credits they’ll accept from where you’ve been.

-Be fugal with your wallet. Many colleges offer scholarships just for transfer students or members of Phi Theta Kappa, the community college honor society. Why? In most cases, there’s a better chance you’ll finish your degree than the students who entered that college as freshmen. Ask about special grants for transfer students—now is the time to shop around.

The two-college solution is used by more people than you realize, and economic times suggest this group will grow. Keep an eye on your goals and your options, and don’t be afraid to look around—observation is the key to a great education.





College Admission Help: Searching for The Next Dream School

College Scholarship and College Grant Money Scarce

By Cathy Spaulding
Phoenix Staff Writer


As she prepares to go to college next year, Muskogee High School senior Sherece Jones is on the prowl for whatever scholarships or financial aid she can find.
“The hard part is not finding scholarships,” she said. “The hard part is actually getting scholarships.”
MHS senior counselor Montie Montgomery sees the hardship, observing “the biggest challenge is that the competition is fierce.”
Competing for scholarships or any financial aid could be especially fierce for those needing financial aid based on need, not merit.
Montgomery said most MHS students fall in both categories — getting financial aid based on need as well as merit.
“If you don’t get the ACT scores or grades, you’re not going to get the scholarships,” she said. “The only things that would be based on need would be federal-based — your grants or your loans. Even the (Academic Competitiveness Grant) is based on merit, but you have to first qualify for the Pell grant. And sometimes, people don’t realize that financial aid also includes loans.”
Jones said she hasn’t started applying for scholarships, but has applied to several places to get financial aid.
She said she hopes to obtain a president’s leadership class scholarship at Northeastern State University, where she plans to major in elementary education. The $5,610, four-year scholarship is awarded to seniors who show outstanding leadership capabilities and a strong academic record and who have attended the school’s presidential leadership class.
“I’ve been active in lots of clubs,” Jones said, listing the MHS student council, ecology club, Go Green and the Junior Classical League among them.
“I’m not going to be in the top 10 percent of the class, but my grades aren’t horrible.”
Having two older siblings in college also helps, she said. “The more kids you have in college, the more likely you are to get money.”
Not everyone seems to struggle as much, though.
Hilldale High School senior Stephen Bias said he has worked with his counselor and discovered “scholarships are pretty easy to find.”
“There’s one in which you can customize your own tuxedo for the prom,” he said. Bias said he did not seek that scholarship, but knows of a Hilldale student who tried. “He made a tuxedo out of duct tape.”
“Most of the scholarships our counselors are finding are pretty reliable, not scams or anything,” Bias said. “Our counselors know all the trustworthy Web sites.”
Montgomery said students and parents often are intimidated by the number of forms to fill out.
“Seniors almost need a secretary, there are so many things to apply for,” she said.
Jones said she had to initiate her own college and scholarship search. She said that while counselors didn’t always bring scholarships to her attention, “they definitely helped when you asked.”
Montgomery said counselors held three financial aid workshops for students and parents.
“We held them morning and evening and we had all the senior classes coming,” she said.
At a goal-setting workshop earlier this month, Muskogee Board of Education members said parents need to be made aware of scholarships available to their kids. School Superintendent Mike Garde said that while MHS has a legacy of having academic all-staters and national merit scholars, this year’s senior class has neither.
Board member John Barton said many parents were not informed about the PSAT test students needed to take to qualify as National Merit Scholars.
Montgomery said 51 students took the PSAT test in October.
“You have to order these tests in the spring and make a list based on teacher recommendations and you have to look at test scores and ACT scores,” she said. “Newsletters went out to parents explaining the tests. Every student in the National Honor Society received a letter about the test.”
Both Jones and Bias are taking advantage of the Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, or OHLAP, in which students from families making $50,000 or less work their way toward a scholarship by maintaining a grade point average of at least a 2.5, or C-plus. Students start the program in eighth-, ninth- or 10th-grade, and home-schooled students may start the program at ages 13, 14 or 15.
Bias said he’s been maintaining a 3.0 grade point average and passing all the core classes.
Oktaha High School Counselor Kathy Barrett said OHLAP gives an opportunity to a lot of students who would “basically fall through the cracks.”
“A lot of kids get scholarships to go along with their OHLAP,” she said.
MHS counselors said 47 MHS 2008 graduates had OHLAP scholarships and 22 members of this year’s freshman class are in the program.
“I start talking to eighth-graders every spring when I visit their schools to do freshmen pre-enrollment and during our enrollment festival,” said MHS freshmen counselor Micki Akard. “And I see an increased interest after the freshman years. A lot of students are shocked when they see the cost of college.”
A variety of proposals in the Oklahoma Legislature could either broaden or limit the number of students who get OHLAP scholarships, according to Bryce Fair, associate vice chancellor for Scholarships and Grants. For example, students receiving the award for the first time in the 2011 school year cannot come from families making more than $100,000 at the time the student goes to college. Fair said the $100,000 cap is a “second income check” in case students’ families experience substantial income gains while the student is in the program. He said there are no such limits for current students. He said pending legislation could delay implementation of that limit to school year 2013.
A proposal in the House of Representatives would create a sliding scale tied to income and number of children.
Currently, only children in families with total income of $50,000 or less are eligible. Under the bill, children in a family of four with an adjusted gross income of $57,000 would qualify.
Another House proposal would change the initial OHLAP state scholarship cap from “taxable and non-taxable” income to “adjusted gross income.”
Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education spokesman Ben Hardcastle said OHLAP is a hybrid of programs based on need and those based on merit.
“Because of the $50,000 income limit, the focus is for middle and lower income families,” he said.
The state allocates $54 million for OHLAP, and $19 million for the Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant, which Hardcastle said is based strictly on need.
Hardcastle said most of the federal money is needs based.
“The largest source of aid is student loans,” he said.
Jones said she’s confident she’ll get help for college and that she won’t be alone.
“I think everyone who wants to go to college are finding ways to go, even if they must take out loans,” she said.


College Scholarship and College Grant Money Scarce

College Admission Help: College-bound Students Forced to Compromise to Save Money

By Victoria A.F. Camron
Longmont Times-Call

LONGMONT — Christina Jackson wanted to attend an out-of-state university.
“I was really set on leaving home,” the 18-year-old said.
But when she sat down last fall to apply to Arizona State University and other schools, Jackson realized what her plans would cost.
Out-of-state tuition and fees were $17,952 for 2008-09 at Arizona State University in Tempe. Attending the University of Colorado’s college of arts and sciences this year cost state residents $7,278. Neither price included housing or a meal plan.
“It’s way too unaffordable to go right into a university,” said Jackson, a senior at Skyline High School.
Instead of staying home and attending the Boulder campus of Front Range Community College, though, Jackson compromised. She plans to attend Front Range in Fort Collins and live with a cousin.
“I think it’s an overall smarter decision, because I don’t want to be in a bunch of debt,” she said.
Living in Fort Collins will give her some independence from her parents and some university atmosphere.
“It’s a college town, and I wanted that experience,” Jackson said. “I thought it was the perfect combination. I feel that I’m making the best choice for myself.”
Local high school counselors are seeing many students like Jackson opt for community college over more expensive four-year schools.
“It’s just too much to pay $10,000 to live in a dorm,” said Julie Pohlman, a counselor at Erie High School.
Richard Schroeder, also a counselor at Erie, said, “Front Range Community College is quite a bit less expensive than most of the schools.”
Front Range costs about $3,000 a year, compared to $17,000 or $18,000 to attend CU or Colorado State University and live on campus, Schroeder said.
FRCC spokesman John Feeley could not say how many incoming freshmen the school expects. Registration for fall classes has not started.
“We suspect a lot of families are going to be looking more closely at us because of their own economic situations,” Feeley said.
Skyline students overwhelmingly attend in-state schools, counselor Erie Swan said. But students who looked at Princeton or schools in Chicago or California also have applied at the in-state universities, he said.
Applications at the CU are down almost 15 percent from 2008 levels, but that was an “off-the-charts” record year, CU spokesman Branson Hilliard said. So the university expected a decrease this year, he said.
The number of applications received this year is about the same as in 2007, which was then a record year, Hilliard said.
At CSU, applications from residents have increased 10 percent from last year.
Students have until May to decide which school they attend but can change their minds until school begins, Hilliard said.
“There’s a lot that can happen between now and May, and there’s a lot that can happen between May and August,” he said.
So university officials have concerns about how many student will show up in the fall.
“We are watching this very carefully. It’s a more complex situation than we’ve ever seen,” Hilliard said. “We’re cautious, but we’re optimistic.”


College Admission Help: College-bound Students Forced to Compromise to Save Money

Anxious college admission hopefuls look for reassurance online

By Gale Holland and Seema Mehta
For the Los Angeles Times

Community college student Colby Seymore has gone online 26 times in the last three weeks, begging other students to rate his chances of transfer to UCLA or UC Berkeley.
With admission decisions from top institutions due in coming weeks, Seymore's chat room postings have become increasingly panicked: "I am antsy and have to know!! HELP?" and "I have the right grades . . . right?"
In a twist on the college admissions frenzy, thousands of students like Seymore are putting their test scores, grade-point averages and other stats on college discussion websites, hoping their peers will reassure them they're on their way to their dream schools. Many students already get most of their admissions tips online and say these "chance me" postings are a good way to blow off steam and to connect with other people in the same state of anticipatory freak-out.

But college counselors and admissions officers say some of the odds-making is laughably wrong. And some students are so tough on each other, they end up hurting instead of helping their peers at a particularly vulnerable time.

"It reminds me of the bar scene in the first 'Star Wars' movie," said Richard H.Shaw, director of admissions at Stanford University. "It's uncontrollable."
Websites where students can test their college chances include Yahoo Answers, City-Data.com and Mychances.net.

The most popular place for students to post their credentials is a discussion board called "What Are My Chances?" on the for-profit website CollegeConfidential. Roger Dooley, who co-founded the website in 2001, said it helps talented students without much support learn the ropes. Many on the site are trying to learn the secrets of getting into such elite universities as Harvard, MIT and Stanford, which draw enough "perfect" applicants to fill several classes of freshmen, he said.

"It's really unfortunate, but every year students apply to four or five Ivy Leagues after their teachers tell them, 'You're the best student we've had in years,' " Dooley said. "And at the end of the process, they have no admissions."

Students' postings are written in a ritualized vernacular: "Chance me, I'll chance you back." Clubs, sports, volunteer work and leadership positions are "ECs" -- extracurricular activities. A "match" is a good bet, a "safety" is a fallback, a "reach" is a stretch -- but a "hook" could get you in.

The biggest rap against the "chance me" game is its over-reliance on numbers: test scores, grade-point averages and Advanced Placement course totals.

Stanford's Shaw, like others, said college admission is an art, with a holistic approach that takes into account the whole student.

"With highly selective colleges, they're making decisions in the context of all the applicants and the entire application," said Timothy Brunold, director of undergraduate admissions at USC.

Some students who ask for a chance exaggerate their credentials. Others offer precise numerical predictions that no one could possibly know.

"The thing that worries me is that they are more frequently turning to each other and less frequently turning to someone who can actually answer the question," said Bruce Poch, dean of admissions at Pomona College. "Some of them are getting false encouragement, some are getting a little ego massage, [but] they aren't necessarily getting an answer."

Michael Tubbs, 18, the son of a teenage mother and a father who is in prison, racked up top grades and test scores -- except for a relatively low SAT math mark -- at a Stockton high school that pointed good students mainly toward UC schools. He was also student body president, a motivational speaker and chairman of a youth advisory commission.

He began using the CollegeConfidential site 18 months ago as a way to determine if he was on the right track to a top school. He was sorely discouraged by other students; a couple basically told him his only hope lay in the fact that he is black.

Carolyn Lawrence, an independent-college counselor based in San Diego County, spotted the Tubbs thread on CollegeConfidential and helped steer him to several exclusive universities, including Stanford, where he is now a freshman.

"I talked to my admissions officer, she said almost no one had ever come from my school -- white, black or purple," Tubbs said. "Coming from such a low-income background, she was impressed by how I used the resources available to me."

Some Asian students are told they'll have to work harder because so many of them are high achievers; one Latino student was applauded for his ethnic "hook."


Anxious college admission hopefuls look for reassurance online

College Admission Help: Paying For College In Tough Times

(CBS) High School seniors and their parents all over the country are struggling to figure out how they'll pay for college.

No doubt, they're overwhelmed with the cumbersome and confusing "FAFSA" forms - short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Complicating matters further is the state of the economy, with government aid and college endowments shrinking - not to mention the bottom lines of many households.

But in The Early Show Saturday Edition's "Bargainista" segment recently, financial contributor Vera Gibbons explained how to get the most financial aid possible - all you're entitled to - as well as addressing questions posed on-camera by viewers, and some that were e-mailed in.

VERA'S VITAL TIPS TO GET THE MOST MONEY OUT OF THE FINANCIAL AID SYSTEM:

Submit FAFSA forms early
That's the first step to getting federal and state aid and money from many colleges. Deadlines are all over the map, literally - differing from state-to-state and college-to-college - so don't delay.

Search for scholarships
Look on free Web sites such as FastWeb.com. Every dollar you win in scholarships is a dollar less you have to borrow or pull from savings.

Know your tax breaks
Don't forget about the education tax benefits, such as the Hope Scholarship tax credit, Lifetime Learning tax credit, and the Tuition and Fees Deduction. Congress expanded the Hope Scholarship for 2009 and 2010 as part of the stimulus bill, increasing the amount to $2,500 from $1,800 and expanding it from two years to four. Lawmakers also significantly increased the income phase-outs, made it partially refundable, and allowed funds to go for textbooks (a huge money drain) in addition to tuition and fees.

"Financial aid applications are up," Gibbons told co-anchor Chris Wragge. "Schools are doing everything they can to not cut the financial aid budgets. They're cutting other areas because they want to keep these kids in school, and they want to make sure the incoming freshmen actually get in - and get kids to stay in.

One viewer asked Gibbons how to "navigate through the maze of red tape to get to the (financial aid) dollars.

“First of all, you want to get the (FAFSA form), then look into the scholarships, and then you want to set up the '529' plan, if she hasn't done so already. You want to get into an age-based allocation plan that's aggressive when your child is younger, [and] gradually becomes more conservative as the child reaches college age. A couple of good Web sites: SavingforCollege.com and FinAid.Org.

One man who told Gibbons he's unemployed and tried unsuccessfully to get more financial aid for his son in college wanted to know what he could do to get that additional help.

“My hunch,” Gibbons responded, “is that he didn't go about it the right way. You've got to put in a request for a professional judgment review from your school to see about getting additional aid. He might not be needy enough. Only the neediest of needy are actually getting aid. Beyond that, look at the loans. Stafford loans, PLUS loans, they're out there. There are (reasonable) payment terms. Private loans are getting more difficult to get in this environment.”

The FAFSA form is “a monster,” Gibbons acknowledged. “It is a difficult form to fill out, like filling out a tax form. However, it's only six pages long. ... The key is to get these things in as early as possible, because the free money goes fast, and then you do want to look for the scholarships. FastWeb.com is the place to go for that. ... The average award is a couple of thousand dollars.”



College Admission Help: Paying For College In Tough Times

College Admission Help: Financial Burden of College To Ease Somewhat

By JENNY DERRINGER
Crescent-news.com

As the economy worsens and the jobless rate hits double digits, many people are looking to change careers whether by choice or necessity.
A strong college foundation will be helpful not only to graduating seniors, but adults as well. But tackling the rising costs of tuition, books and school-related fees can be a daunting task.
Action taken recently at the federal level could help alleviate that financial burden somewhat. More options for grants, low-interest student loans, additional tax credits and work study were included in the economic stimulus package approved by lawmakers and President Barack Obama's education budget.
The most obvious change will be increasing the maximum federal Pell Grant from $4,731 to $5,350 on July 1, an increase of $619 that can go a long way in paying for books. By 2010, that figure would increase to $5,550, adjusted for inflation.
Concerning loans, students have been able to borrow money for college through two avenues -- banks and the federal government. The new plan will eliminate the bank option, allowing students to apply for a loan directly from the government. Money to loan will increase from $1 billion to $6 billion.
Families will also see the tax credit rise from $1,800 to $2,500 when filing their taxes. This includes all families who make up to $180,000 a year.
And concerning work study, there will be an additional $200 million earmarked for those who work on campus.
Financial aid comes from many different sources, explained Amy Francis, director of financial aid at Defiance College, with the federal government being the largest source, secondary to state programs.
"Colleges and universities also provide financial aid along with outside private agencies," said Francis. "The increases in the federal Pell Grants and federal work study programs will definitely benefit the financially needy students. This is very crucial to students during this recession. Many state agencies across the United States are facing budget cuts for higher education. It is somewhat uncertain what state funding in Ohio will be until the governor's budget is finalized."
Working with her students on financial options at Tinora High School is guidance counselor Kathy Cavanaugh.
"I think any increase in college funding is always helpful and very much appreciated by the students and their families," said Cavanaugh. "I have told my students to be very diligent in their search for scholarship monies. Completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) early, searching local and national scholarships via the web, and checking with the college of their choice for additional scholarships are all ways of securing additional money for college.
"I don't think it is getting any easier for today's seniors because of the economic downturn," she said, "but any increase in aid will surely help send more students to college."
Planning to attend the University of Findlay in the fall is Tinora High School senior Kate Hohenberger.
"I was aware of the new funding and that it would help me go to the college that I wanted to go to, instead of a college I could afford," noted Hohenberger.
Any time there are additional funding options, more students have increased opportunities open to them, noted Charlotte Sorg, director of financial aid at Northwest State Community College, rural Archbold.
"The increase in Pell Grant funding is definitely positive for students," stressed Sorg. "However, there are many other factors that impact a student's overall funding situation including state aid and student loan options. The overall picture of state and federal funding is not clear at the present time.
"Until we can get a final clear picture from all fronts regarding federal and state aid," she added, "we are being very cautious in trying to gather the facts so that we do not set up potentially unrealistic expectations for our students."


College Admission Help: Financial Burden of College To Ease Somewhat

College Admission: Accepted? Rejected!

When did choosing a college become so hard?

After three children, 12 SATs, 14 applications, eight essays, and $1,000 in application fees, the Clancy family college admissions process is finally done.
I think.
Four years ago, my oldest, uncertain about his aspirations, headed off to college, laptop computer and pillow in hand. Nine months later, Conor returned home, did a "gap semester" aboard a Caribbean schooner, and is now happily attending community college while interning as a sportswriter with a regional newspaper, a career path he wouldn't have chosen in different circumstances.
My middle child, a strong student, knew she wanted two things from college: an education degree and a school with a good football team. Mary narrowed it down to six schools. When her top New England pick wait-?listed her, she packed for a large Virginia school with a five-year master's and an equally impressive tailgate tradition. Four months later, Mary came home, the pull of her family and friends too powerful. UNH, luckily, was just 45 minutes away. Her original acceptance reactivated, she's now spending the semester in Galway, where life and the pubs are just what Tom Brady ordered.
One to go. A talented and bright three-sport athlete, my youngest son was inundated with recruiting letters. I suspected that, unlike his siblings, Joe's performance on the field as well as in the classroom would dictate his decision. Included in his factoring: Did he like the school, the kids, the coaches? Was it close enough, far enough, big enough, small enough? Was there a degree to turn his math prowess into a career? And -- vital to me -- if Joe couldn't play football, would he still be happy?
A wise college counselor once told me: "Kids just don't walk through a magic door at age 18, ready for college. Give them time, choices. They eventually get there."
We're close. Joe will make his selection any day: Prospective college athletes often have the benefit of finding out their admission and financial-aid status earlier than the regular applicant pool. Then there's the matter of the requisite letter of commitment. Once that's signed, Joe's college choice will be final.
I think.

College Admission: Accepted? Rejected!

Wall Street Woes Hurting College Scholarships

By Sarah Rohrs
Times-Herald Staff Writer

It's no surprise 401Ks and other investments have taken a beating in the stock market, but college scholarships also are getting slammed -- and just when more and
more students need them, officials said.
At Napa Valley College, investments have dropped 25 percent due to the stock market slump, said Sonia Wright, Napa Valley College Foundation executive director.
As a result, some 68 endowments out of nearly 180 were to give out awards of $99 or less -- far less than what is usually given, Wright said.
At the same time, Napa Valley College has seen a financial aid applications increase by one-fourth, said Jill Schrutz, Napa Valley College dean of financial aid.
Endowed scholarships are often called gifts that keep on giving, and one source of money students with financial needs turn to help pay for college.
The donor's initial financial gift is invested, and each year scholarships come from a portion of the amount that is invested.
Scholarships can be given in perpetuity because the bulk of the donation, or the capital, is continuously invested.
But Napa Valley College is certainly not alone in seeing low returns on investments on endowed scholarships.
Small returns have hurt colleges and universities of all shapes and sizes, said Tom Dunworth, California Maritime Academy Foundation executive director.
"In this situation, misery loves company and we're in good company," Dunworth said. "Nobody was immune."
Napa Valley College donor William Blanckenburg of Napa sent the college's foundation $200 after hearing it had to cut endowed scholarship awards due to low investment returns.
The scholarship from his endowment would have been about $450, Blanckenburg said. The additional money will give one student a $650 award, he said.
"I wanted it to be enough to mean something to the kid who gets it," Blanckenburg said. He also said he wanted to help out because the college means a lot to him, his family and to the community. One daughter and two grandchildren attended college there.
A foundation founder in 1968, Blanckenburg, 93, said he and his late wife Katherine created the endowed scholarship in 1970. His preference is for awards to go to students intent on transferring to a four-year university, preferably one in the University of California system.
At Vallejo's Calfiornia Maritime Academy, investments on endowed scholarships are down about one-third over previous years, Dunworth said.
As a result, the foundation is drawing from other alumni donations and money collected at various fundraisers, he said. The intent is to keep endowed scholarship amounts the same as previous years.
"We treasure the students who are with us," Dunworth said. "These are students we judge to be particularly hard-working and leaders in their class and who have a financial need."
Cal Maritime's endowed scholarships awards range from about $1,000 to $10,000, he said.
At Solano Community College, a foundation official said investments on endowed scholarships have also have taken a hit, but how much wouldn't be known until later this year.
The institution would have a better idea this summer how the low investments will impact scholarship amounts, said Dorothy Hawkes, Solano Community College Scholarship Foundation executive director.
Whether or not Solano College is seeing an increase in scholarship requests won't be known until this summer when applications come in, she said.

Wall Street Woes Hurting College Scholarships

College Admission Help: Web Cameras Being Used for College Admission Interviews

By Jonathan Serrie
FOX News

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest University is taking advantage of new technology in its undergraduate application process. It's a part of the university's plan to shift the focus from SAT scores to one-on-one interviews.

"We look for ways to make the process personal and to really go beyond the numbers," said Martha Allman, WFU admissions.

The process is as simple as logging onto Skype, a free phone and video conferencing Web site.

Admission counselors spend about 30 minutes interviewing each applicant. Since September, about 200 have opted to interview via Web cam.

"I thought it was a really great way for Wake to get a better feel of who I am. Because, for my family, it would have been very difficult to get me to Wake Forest to do a personal interview," said Kathryn Waggoner, a high school senior from Memphis.

"This gives us a way to almost be face to face, to use technology to be more personal in the process," said Allman.

At least a dozen graduate schools are said to be using Web interviews for prospective students.



College Admission Help: Web Cameras Being Used for College Admission Interviews

Scramble is on for College Scholarships, Grants and Financial Aid


By Cliff Peale
Cincinnati Enquirer

DELHI TWP. - Anthony Telgkamp and his parents showed up at the College of Mount St. Joseph with only one word on their mind: HELP!

The Mariemont High School senior already has been accepted to the Mount for next fall and plans to play lacrosse. But he hadn't yet filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The form is a requirement for most loans and grants and Telgkamp was taking advantage of the Mount's offer of free help.
"I went online and kind of played with it, but it's pretty confusing," Telgkamp's mother Joanne said before stepping into the office of Student Administrative Services coordinator Jayne Dipzinski for their appointment.
In the worst national recession in decades, colleges are seeing waves of students seeking help on the FAFSA form. More want to tap into financial aid that will help them pay for tuition, books and transportation.
Analysts say that not only are requests up, but they are seeing more middle-income applicants who once might have financed college with stock portfolios or home-equity loans. Collapses in the stock market and housing market have closed those avenues, making federal loans, grants from a particular college and scholarships a critical factor in deciding where to start classes next fall.
Local colleges are all holding events similar to the Mount's "FAFSA Frenzy." Kathy Kelly, director of financial aid, said the office already has sent out 289 packets compared to 160 at the same time last year, and has more applicants telling them about lost jobs and lost savings.
"We're already seeing the special-circumstance forms coming in," Kelly said. "It's really early for us to get that kind of stuff, but it definitely affects paying for college."
Student Financial Aid Services Inc., the California company that helps with the form for about $80, says requests for help are up one-third.
The financial-aid season started Jan. 1 when students were able to file the FAFSA, and is getting more intense as deadlines approach in March and April.
"There's a lot of interest in seeing, 'What help can I get?'" said Kevin Jones, a guidance counselor at Winton Woods High School. "The students who wait and wait and do it in March and April, they're missing out on money they should be able to get."
For many families, the moment of reckoning comes after they fill out the FAFSA and see their "expected family contribution." Most are able to reduce that amount through financial aid from colleges and through scholarships, Kelly said.
For the Telgkamps, the FAFSA session at Mount St. Joe produced an expected family contribution of about $10,000, compared to total tuition and fees of about $22,000. They'll pursue some private scholarships and may turn to private loans to pay the difference, said Anthony's father, Tom.
"I think it's doable," said Tom Telgkamp, who works as a carpenter but whose company just cut back on his hours. "I think we're going to do it. No, I know we're going to do it. He's going to go there."
Colleges are trying to help by holding down tuition and increasing their institutional aid. Tuition at Ohio public universities and community colleges will be frozen for a third straight year, and Northern Kentucky University is proposing a 4 percent increase.
Private Xavier University is adding at least $1 million to its financial-aid pot of more than $30 million to offset a tuition increase of 6 percent, plus adding another $2.2 million because of the financial stresses families are feeling.
"We're all trying to do our best here," Provost Roger Fortin said.

Scramble is on for College Scholarships, Grants and Financial Aid

College Admission Help: Obama calls for college for all; could it be done?

By JUSTIN POPE and LIBBY QUAID

In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama called for every American to pursue some form of education beyond high school.
It's an ambitious goal — some might say impossible. Currently, only two of every five American adults have a two- or four-year college degree. Millions of Americans struggle even to complete high school, with one in four dropping out. And even a high school degree is no guarantee a student is ready for college.
Particularly alarming are the college rates for low-income and minority students. One recent study reported more than 90 percent of low-income teens said they planned to go to college — but only half actually enroll.
Those who do enroll are substantially less likely than others to finish their degree. If they borrowed money for college and don't graduate, they may be worse off than if they hadn't even started college.
The Associated Press asked six experts — from the worlds of policy, philanthropy, and some who work directly with struggling students — to answer the same two questions.
Is the president's goal realistic? And what would it take to attain it? Here are some responses:
___
Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, an advocacy group for children, particularly poor and minority children:
Absolutely! Just as those GIs stepped up to the challenges of college, today's young people will, too. But we have work to do.
First, we must get serious about high schools. Instead of preparing some for college and others for the jailhouse, we need to help high schools prepare every student for college.
Second, we have to dramatically improve results for low-income and minority students, now more than half of our youth. Increasing their success is the only way to ensure our national success.
Finally, colleges need to accept some responsibility for improving graduation rates. That includes holding costs down, and focusing not just on getting students in the door, but out with degrees. Yes, students need to work harder. But what colleges do matters a lot.
___
Richard Vedder, Ohio University professor and member of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education assembled by former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings:
Not everyone can or should go to college. Given the dubious quality of our secondary schools as well as limited cognitive skills and motivation, many students are incapable of college-level work. Fulfillment of President Obama's goal would lead to many students failing, resources being squandered and the quality of postsecondary education being diluted.
I think it is sheer fantasy to believe we will lead the world in the percent of young adults with college degrees by 2020. More generally, the president's approach is the equivalent of dropping dollars out of airplanes over student homes and college campuses. That will not change colleges' behavior to make them less arrogant and elite, and more affordable, efficient and accountable.
___
Nicole Hurd, executive director of the National College Advising Corps, which places recent college graduates in low-income schools to work as college guidance counselors:
All students are capable of continuing their education beyond high school. And while there are no easy answers, one way to open the door wider is to demonstrate to our young people that college is possible.
No one can do this better than recent college graduates. There is something powerful about a 23-year-old telling a high school student that "I went to college and if I can do it, you can, too." Or "My family was worried about the cost of college, but the aid is out there. Let's sit down and fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)." Or "If you want to go to college and get a good job, you need to take hard classes and do your best."
Many of the barriers to higher education, whether financial, social, or cultural, can be overcome through this kind of mentoring and advising. In calling high-school students to college, President Obama is calling college students to service. Just imagine if 500 recent graduates served in our public high schools. Such a group could mentor 150,000 low-income and first-generation students — and could help thousands enroll in college who might not otherwise have found their way. While this kind of service isn't the only solution, it could go a long way.

College Admission Help: Obama calls for college for all; could it be done?

College Scholarships and College Grants In High Demand - Students Clawing For College Cash

By Claudia Lauer
The Sun News
Myrtle Beach, SC

The race for financial aid dollars is on.
The economy has dried up some scholarship money, the number of students seeking help is growing, and the clock is ticking for submitting the forms. The deadlines vary by college, but the priority deadline for many schools is March 15.
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that it has received 20 percent more Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) so far this year compared to last year.
Today, students entering college this year can get help wading through the aid form and posting applications online in a national workshop event called College Goal Sunday held in our area at Horry-Georgetown Technical College.
Scholarship seekers
At Socastee High School, guidance counselors follow a class of students through high school from freshman orientation to college applications. Robb Urbaniak is working with many of his more than 300 seniors to find college funding.
"The biggest concern is a lot of students are having that conversation with their parents about where the money is coming from. I spoke to a lot of parents asking questions about FAFSA, about how many scholarships a student can apply for," he said. "I think statewide there is a stiffer competition this year because even though the economy isn't doing well, tuition is still going to go up. I tell them it never hurts to apply and to apply for everything."
Urbaniak puts out a monthly newsletter with scholarship and funding opportunities, directing students to stop by and fill out applications. His office has been aflutter with activity this month with students sitting at desks and on the floor to fill out applications or grab paperwork between classes.
There has been an upturn in students looking for scholarships and grant money, and while he said a core group of students check in regularly, students who typically might not have sought aid in the past are coming in as well.
"I am getting some of those students who are maybe an athlete and would feel like they were getting some money from their college for athletics or for academics, but there's still that little bit left and those kids are coming in and saying we need to cover that little bit that's left," Urbaniak said.
Increased competition
At Conway High School, Jerrlyn Gaghum is in charge of seniors and financial aid. She said she's seen an increase in interest in financial aid and also in fee waivers for SAT and ACT college entrance exams because more students have fallen on hard times. She said the school doesn't get a large amount of local, small scholarship offerings from businesses and civic organizations, but students are applying for everything she's received.
Urbaniak said he's seen similar trends with his students. He also said a few companies have opted not to offer scholarships this year because of financial woes, which adds to the competition for the dollars that are available.
Horry Telephone Cooperative pairs with other local companies to offer three annual scholarships, two for $1,000 and one for $2,500. HTC spokeswoman Nicole Hyman said the company received a record number of applications last year for the two $1,000 scholarships. The deadline for this year is March 1, so Hyman didn't have a final application count.
At Coastal Carolina University and at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, financial aid staff have been steadily fielding streams of questions about eligibility for state and institutional funds.
"We have gotten a lot of calls from people asking to come in and make appointments with us, and we've gotten a lot of calls from people asking about scholarships and what they're eligible for," said Wendy Watts, senior assistant director of financial aid client service at CCU. "They're good questions, and it's good to start early because there are deadlines we have to meet."
Last resorts
At HGTC, about one third of students rely on partial funding from Lottery Tuition Assistance money, which in the past has been a set pot of money divided among technical college students who qualify and apply.
The amount in the pot doesn't change, but the number of recipients changes based on how many students apply and qualify. That means payouts will shrink, leaving more students seeking private sources of financial aid.
"We encourage students to look at loans as a last resort, and to definitely not use loans for living expenses. We help them work out a budget to prevent that," said Harold Hawley, vice president of business affairs at HGTC.
The U.S. Department of Education has guaranteed that aid will be available in the form of Stafford loans, Perkins loans and Pell grants, and the amount students are eligible to receive has been increased thanks in part to the federal stimulus package. The biggest hurdle to receiving those funds is filling out the 11-page FAFSA.
"It asks for a lot of information and a lot of people are intimidated by it. This is a way to take away some of the negativity around it," said Watts.
Watts and counselors from HGTC will be at today's College Goal Sunday workshop to help parents and students.
"I've been recommending the event to several of my students and to parents," Urbaniak said. "Filling out the FAFSA is really the best place to start."



College Scholarships and College Grants In High Demand - Students Clawing For College Cash