Sophomores!
When I was a sophomore in high school, my two primary focuses were hanging out with my friends and trying to unlock the unknowable mystery of Geometry (to this day, I cannot manage to transfer leftovers into the proper size containers). But if I’d been planning ahead, I would have started thinking about college.
Beginning the college process as a sophomore will give you time to really consider what it is you’re looking for from your college experience. Engaging with a college counselor (like us!) can help you to plan the exploration process. In the meantime, there are a few things you sophomores can handle on your own:
Academics: The single most important factor in the college admissions process is your high school transcript. This doesn’t just mean earning As and Bs (which you should be working toward), but enrolling in challenging courses, like AP and honors courses. Colleges want to see that you are pushing yourself and taking the most rigorous courses your school has to offer. And admissions counselors are always on the lookout for academic improvement, so if you struggled in something like -- I don’t know -- Geometry, you’ll want to demonstrate improvement in math the following year.
You’ll also want to be doing some SAT test prep. Khan Academy is a free test prep resource and a great way to get started.
Activities: Most high school freshmen spend the year getting their bearings. Sophomore year is the time for you to begin zeroing in on your extracurricular interests. Love sports? Why not think about coaching or reffing younger kids? Love theater? How about becoming a stage hand? Interested in volunteer work? Think about what that means to you. Is it working with athletes with special needs? Organizing a diaper drive for young parents in need? Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity? Remember, you can volunteer anywhere, so you want to think about where you feel drawn to help and how your personality and skills might best be used.
Your activities say a lot about you. By the time you apply to college, your activities list should tell a story about who you are outside of school. Make sure it's a story you feel proud of.
Sports: If you are a serious athlete contemplating college athletics, sophomore year is an important time. College coaches can’t contact students directly until the summer after sophomore year, but athletes can put themselves on a coach’s radar in advance of that date. Depending on your sport, you should consider the following:
Fill out the recruiting forms specific to the colleges you are interested in -- it’ll be located on the school’s athletic webpage.
Attend college-specific ID camps.
Email coaches to let them know the dates and times of specific meets, games, or matches you’ll be competing in in the spring and summer and invite them to attend.
Develop an athlete profile on one or two recruiting websites dedicated to your sport.
Hire a professional or ask a tech-savvy friend to produce a highlight real of your athletic performances to email to coaches and upload to recruiting sites.
While athletics may be incredibly important to you, you want to be able to choose the college that’s best for you, rather than settling for the college that chooses you. Starting early, and casting a wide net, helps you stay in control of the process.
Summer: The summer before junior year should be time for fun and relaxation. And at this age, it should also include a job. Having a job -- even one you do for just a few hours a week -- will show colleges that you are responsible, hard-working, and value the significance of a paycheck. At May First, we encourage all of our students to find jobs that demonstrate these qualities to college admissions counselors.
Your other summer activities will be a bonus, whether that’s babysitting your siblings, driving your grandmother to classes at the senior center, taking a challenging hiking trip, or learning how to paddleboard. How you choose to spend your summer helps tell the story of you.
At May First, we’re ready to help sophomores plan these next few months and then transition into that all-important junior year. Send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com or give us a call (617.851.9975) and let’s get started.
College Rankings
I love to rank things. Favorite books (#1 Their Eyes Were Watching God). Favorite movies (#1 Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood). Best concerts (#1Michael Jackson). Worst concerts (#1 Death Cab for Cutie). Best sports to watch (#1-10 Basketball). Best sports to play (#1-10 Basketball).
Ranking is fun. It orders information, choices, and possibilities and makes them more digestible. If I want to learn about the golden age of rap and hip hop, I’m not just going to dive in -- I’m going to find myself a ranked list of the best songs and artists.
When it comes to colleges, you’re probably most familiar with U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges rankings. Best Colleges ranks the best colleges overall; the best regional universities; the best regional colleges; the best colleges for veterans; the best HBCUs; the best undergraduate business programs; the best value schools -- you name it, it ranks it. It’s the place to which prospective college students and their families turn to help guide their college decisions.
Ultimately, though, ranking colleges is a lot like ranking your favorite songs. It’s subjective and it’s influenced by a host of factors, both seen and unseen. In a recent Forbes Magazine article, Susan Paterno explains that U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges is “an advertising and marketing powerhouse” that “manufactures competition to peddle products. Selling pseudoscience as an objective measure of academic quality, it leads worried and confused families to about 100 schools with the nation’s highest academic hurdles and lowest acceptance rates.”
This pseudoscience is the belief that there is an objective set of criteria against which to evaluate the overall quality of a college or university, or its suitability for a given student.
So how does the magazine arrive at these rankings? It’s complicated. And it’s a secret. Malcolm Gladwell’s recent podcasts, “Lord of the Rankings” and “Project Dillard,” attempt to get to the bottom of things, but ultimately, all he reveals is that they rely on colleges’ self-reported data and on the subjective opinions of college presidents and provosts.
In Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, Jeffrey Selingo explains a bit more about how the rankings have “signaled to students and parents what to emphasize when looking for a college--mostly the quality of incoming students rather than what undergraduates actually learned or what they did after graduation. Over decades, the rankings narrowed the view of seniors to focus on just a handful of schools.”
Scrolling through the U.S. News and World Report rankings is going to lead you to the same set of selective schools over and over again. But consider this:
The top 10 best value schools have an average acceptance rate of 11%.
The schools with the top 10 best 4-year graduation rates have an acceptance rate of 14%.
Top 10 colleges that offer the best return on investment (ROI) have an average acceptance rate of 14.8%.
There are 4,000 colleges in the United States. If U.S. News and World Report is focused on the same 100 mostly elite and difficult to get into colleges over and over again, then what about the other 3900? The truth is, many are doing some really interesting things, offering innovative academic opportunities, and one of them might just be the right price and fit for you.
Just as Esquire’s list of the 100 best movies of all time should be taken with a grain of salt (I mean, Paddington 2 is on it), so too should college rankings. And just like the movies, the right fit will be determined by your own interests, values, and budget.
We’d love to help you sort through and narrow the list of colleges that are best for you. Email us at info@yourmayfirst.com or give us a call (617.851.9975) and let’s chat.
Rethinking Car Stickers
Dad: “How many colleges are in the U.S.?”
Us: “Nearly 4000.”
Unsurprisingly, this dad had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that while there are 4000 different possibilities, he sees the same college stickers on the cars around town: Harvard (sometimes); UMass Amherst (a lot); assorted familiar locals (everywhere)...
So where are the stickers for the rest of those 3,980 schools? Are they less good? Is there something wrong with them?
The short answer: Nope. Not a thing. The real problem is a lack of exposure, and ultimately, a failure of imagination.
Over the last couple of decades, college mania has exploded. Ranking agencies have grown in scope and influence, rewarding colleges that invest in the things the rankings care about. This, in turn, makes colleges more concerned with rankings. Of course this then drives families’ desires to send their kids to schools that generate buzz and promise a future of elite networks and professional success. And all this keeps driving the rankings… it’s a never-ending cycle in which so many schools seem impossible to get into and nearly impossible to afford. It’s more than enough to make your head spin.
But is all this competition among colleges really that important? A lot of smart people are happy to tell you the answer is no.
A growing body of evidence shows that ultimately, it’s not where you go but what you do there that matters. (Frank Bruni’s book Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania is a great place to read more about this.) It’s why we talk so much about best-fit in our work with clients and families. A top-ranked school may be your best-fit but don’t be seduced into thinking it’s because of its ranking.
If a college is your best-fit, it will be because it offers small classes that are taught by professors who are rewarded for teaching and who engage students in lively discussions that inspire and excite them. Or it will be a medium-sized school a little farther away from home with internships that encourage students to explore which career paths feel right. Or it will be a school where 90% of its students participate in study abroad and bring their globe-spanning experiences to enrich the experiences of everyone on campus.
If you limit your ideas of what college should be to the experiences being offered by a handful of schools, you will miss out on innovation and creativity and the opportunity for personal growth.
But we get it: it’s easy for us to encourage you to explore exciting and lesser-known options; it’s a little harder to be the car in the parking lot with a sticker from a college no one’s ever heard of.
Our advice is to embrace a healthy perspective: focus on what’s best for your kid and on the process-- it should be exciting and exploratory, not panicky and ulcer-inducing. Start by asking the right questions. Read about LOTS of different schools, not just the ten or twenty you’ve heard of. Learn more about the rankings and what they actually measure (hint: it’s really a measure of a college’s power, not the quality of education or the experience it provides).
In our work with students and families, we ask lots of questions. We work really hard to get to know our students and to think about what their experiences might be in different environments. We create best-fit lists of schools to explore that include variety. Sometimes we even throw in a few schools that we know aren’t going to be best-fits but will be really helpful for comparison. And we don’t worry about car stickers. They can be fun. But they shouldn’t get a vote in such an important --and potentially life-changing-- decision.
If you’d like to talk about how we look at schools and build our best-fit lists, give us a call (617.447.0186) or email us at info@yourmayfirst.com and let’s chat. We’d love to help.
You’re kind of a big deal.
As we’ve noted in past blog posts, the current test-optional trend means that college admissions officers are spending more time evaluating the whole student-- including high school grades, course selection , and extracurriculars. The Common App Personal Statement helps tie them all together and give some insight into who you are not just as a student, but as a person, so it's an important piece of the application puzzle.
If you’re a rising senior, it’s hard not to have the personal statement on your radar. You’ve seen examples of students’ successful personal statements on YouTube and TikTok. Your parents probably know that The New York Times publishes the best college essays each year. And a quick Google search will turn up hundreds of insider tips, do’s and don’ts, secrets, and pointers for how to write a successful essay.
So you can be forgiven if sitting at a laptop to start this thing feels completely overwhelming -- but it doesn’t have to be.
You + the right list = a successful essay.
Here’s the thing: if you’ve narrowed and selected your college application list in a thoughtful way, taking into account who you are and who you hope to become, you’re one step closer to writing an essay that demonstrates why you’re a great candidate for admission.
Applying to a school because it’s close to your house? Because it has an impressive brand name? Because your cousin went there? Because the basketball team is on TV? These aren’t great reasons. Think deeper.
Is the school supportive of first generation students? Does it offer opportunities for community engagement? Does it have a robust coop program or study abroad? Does it support undergraduate research?
Why is it a good fit for you?
What you want from your college experience says a lot about you. Approach the personal statement as an opportunity to show college admissions officers how your values and expectations align with the character and mission of those colleges. You -- and they -- are looking for a good fit.
“I'm not that interesting.”
“Nothing’s ever happened to me.”
“My life is pretty good. I have nothing to write about.”
Sound familiar? We hear this all the time from rising seniors. This is why it can be so hard to begin writing.
Start by giving yourself a break. You’ve spent the last 17 years figuring out who you want to be, and you’re not close to done. Whether you’ve had a defining life experience or not, you are still a set of amazing qualities. You might be a great team leader or someone who loves working with kids. You might be an experienced outdoors-person or a supportive sibling and friend.
Don’t short change yourself. These qualities matter. They tell an admissions officer what kind of roommate, student, and community member you will be. Remember, that final list of schools will be lucky to have you. You just need to develop a concise, clear statement that communicates what makes you, you.
We’re excited to get to know you and find out what makes you a big deal. Give us a call (617.851.9975) or send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com and let’s get started.
Asking the right questions.
Who am I and where do I belong?!
If you’re a high school student and questions like these are keeping you up at night, take a long, deep breath. These are big ones. In fact, you’ll be asking them your whole life, so they’re not prerequisites for selecting the right college.
We get it, though. When you’re beginning the college search process, it’s hard not to consider the big questions. But whether you’re a person who’s wanted to be a marine biologist since your first trip to an aquarium or one who hasn’t quite nailed down your passion yet, we believe you should swap out the overwhelming existential questions for ones you really can answer:
What do I love, what am I good at, and what’s out there for me?
These questions can help you begin building a list of best-fit colleges, ones that are ready to support the amazing person you already are, and that will help you realize the person you want to be.
What do I love?
The best way for you to begin thinking about your best-fit college is to consider your interests. These can often lead you to fields of study or careers you hadn’t thought of. Do you love sports? Love the idea of being a member of a school community that rallies around its athletic teams? You don’t have to be a college athlete for this to be part of your college selection criteria or to pursue a career related to athletics.
The same goes for music, film, hiking, reading, singing, video games, skateboarding, and so much more. The things you love can hold the key to a successful college experience as well as a future career.
What am I good at?
Math? Field hockey? Drums?
Sometimes this can be a hard question to answer and so we sell ourselves short. At May First, our students fill out several surveys from which we begin to build a complex student profile. We want to know if actively contributing in the classroom is your thing, or if you’re the kind of learner who prefers to absorb and reflect before speaking. We want to know if you’re a great team leader or a steady, reliable team member. If you work well under pressure, or if you prefer to start early and work slowly.
The skills you’ve developed in the classroom, at work, at practice, in your community, and in your home can be the foundation for life-long success and help you to build that best-fit college list.
What’s out there for me?
Identifying what you love and the sometimes subtle ways in which you excel both in and out of the classroom can be just as important as your GPA in determining the right college for you. It can mean the difference between applying to schools with 80 students to a class or 15, or to schools focused on coop or study abroad. It might be as mundane as applying to schools in a big city or a rural town.
We think the best part -- the most fun part -- is finding the answer to what’s out there for me? Because the answer is, something great. Something that is your best-fit.
Give us a call (617.851.9975) or send an email to info@yourmayfirst.com and let’s chat.
Hey, high school juniors!
Congratulations! You’re nearing the end of the most important and challenging year of your high school career. And you did it all during a pandemic.
Once you’ve had some time to appreciate all of your accomplishments (even if the major one was just getting through it), you will need to begin thinking about the college selection process. Here are some things to consider as you get started:
Things have changed.
College and university admissions practices looked a lot different in 2021. Applications at many elite colleges were up over 50% from the previous year. As a result, some college acceptance rates dropped considerably. Conversely, applications at colleges with less name recognition were down. Both scenarios provide challenges and opportunities that might seem daunting for the class of 2022; we’ve even heard the current college admissions landscape referred to as “the wild west.” But what does this mean for you?
We think it means opportunity.
Test Optional...for real.
Some of the pivots college admissions offices made during the pandemic are likely to stick. Most significantly, colleges suspended standardized testing requirements for the class of 2021. Although some will inevitably return to required ACT or SAT scores, research conducted by Fair Test, the National Center For Fair and Open Testing, reveals that at least 1,360 four-year institutions "have already announced that they will not require fall 2022 applicants to submit standardized exam results before admissions decisions are made.”
We believe this shift gives the class of 2022 a broad palette of options. If that Ivy League reach feels even more remote now that it’s posting a 4% acceptance rate, you have an opportunity to explore colleges and universities you might not have otherwise considered. This is the perfect time to find that hidden gem or the just-right fit you didn’t know you were looking for.
The Personal Essay takes center stage.
As colleges and universities are increasingly adopting test-optional processes, admissions counselors are taking a more comprehensive and holistic approach to assessing applicants. This means truly considering the whole student, from extracurricular activities to course-building. In this new landscape, colleges and universities are looking to get to know potential students on a personal level. What kind of community member will they be? How do their interests align with our university’s mission and identity? Will they succeed intellectually and personally?
To get the answers, admissions counselors are looking more carefully than ever at students’ personal essays. As a member of the class of 2022, you have an exciting opportunity to craft an essay that reflects your unique personality and experiences, and that convinces that best-fit school that you are exactly who they’re looking for.
https://fairtest.org/university/optional