Playing the College Admissions Game - An Individual Perspective on Getting into the College of Your Choice!

Did you know that there are at least 750 American colleges and universities who do NOT base admission upon SAT or ACT scores? Do you know the two "D"'s inherent in the college admissions agenda? Have you done your own research on the percentage of applicants admitted annually to the college(s) of your choice and dreams? Example: Amherst admitted approximately 15% of incoming freshmen applicants for the calendar year 2005. Fifteen percent! Of course, Amherst would be among my daughter's 'wish list' of schools she hopes to attend. Today, the college admissions game has become one of almost a cat-and-mouse game...and guess who might be the small, furry rodent in this match?!

My youngest daughter is now a high school junior at a Blue Ribbon-desginated high school. The school is renowned locally and nationally for high-achieving students with excellent academic records and even more tempting sports distinctions, having fielded nationally-ranked lacrosse and field hockey programs. Their largest club is that of Interact, the community service group whose members work throughout the school year on a broad base of social services - there are nearly 400 students listed as members in a student population of 1,800.

My girl has an unweighted GPA of 3.4, one JV and three Varsity letters in sports, has taken AP classes every year, and is building up her number of community service hours as well. I honestly, truly don't know if this is enough to get her into the college(s) of her choice these days. Tuition rates are soaring, colleges are looking for the brightest and the best, and we all know how competitive the world has become these days for a variety of reasons. Me worry? Yes, I worry, and I've been working on learning the in's and out's of playing the college admissions game...

Admissions committees are composed of both administrators and faculty members (and, if you child is a potential star athlete, booster club members as well!). Interestingly enough, colleges are looking for, among other things, diversity amongst their student population. This includes physical diversity: USC drawing a top notch applicant from Vermont, Miami, Maryland, Kentucky, Idaho...keep that point in mind. But schools are also seeking diversity amongst the student population as well. They are looking for young women who want to major in the 'hard' sciences (physics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, to name just a few.)

They are also looking for young men who want to major in 'softer' core majors - nursing, teaching, etc. Additionally, schools also seek students whose intended majors will fill seats in already existing classrooms: those who intend to pursue the Classics, anthropology, medical research rather than medical practitioners. Professors of the Classics and anthropology want to keep their departments viable, they want to go to bat for the 'new' students who will fill seats in their instructors' classrooms.

If you have three thousand students applying with an intended major of sociology, English literature or psychology, and three hundred who are applying as majors in Classical Literature, Latin, Greek, Egyptian studies, those 300 are going to be scrutinized first - because they are the ones who literally are 'needed' to fill empty seats in already existing but nontraditional, perhaps slightly less glamorous majors.

Before even considering the applications process itself, students should sit down and write out the five traits that the 'perfect' college of their choice would have for them as individuals. 1. The school should have the particular academic program that you want. (If you plan to major in engineering, look for a college that has an outstanding reputation in engineering, not one that focuses on the liberal arts. Ask around and ask your guidance counselor for recommendations.) 2. The university should be a challenge to you; it should have a level of rigor that you must meet in order to graduate.

If you're not planning on taking your upper education all that seriously, I would recommend that you defer college for at least a year until you figure out what you truly want to do, or attend a two-year 'junior' or community college. If you do the latter, you can take your basic courses while sorting out what you want to do next. Be certain before you sign up for community college classes that they are transferrable! 3. Look for the environment in which you feel you would learn best. Do you feel more at home on a small campus, with a higher faculty to student ratio? Are you looking for a large campus on the other side of the country?

There's a big difference between the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Delaware, for instance. Are you looking for a school with a religious tone (Loyola) that sets rules or regulations, or are you disciplined enough to make a go of it at the University of Miami or Florida or Berkeley? Vermont or southern California? Close to home or as far away as you can go? Only you can decide what's best for you. 4. Which brings us to the next set of criteria: a place that feels like home to you.

In the broader sense, does a particular school setting/idealogy/campus make you feel like you're a member of the school 'family' or someone just sitting in on classes? Are there extracurricular, local, community interests and activities that interest you? If you're a yoga buff, are there classes on campus, in the neighboring town, a group of fellow students who get together, or do you have to drive an hour each way to find a class? Do you think you'll be able to make friends on campus? However you define the word 'home', does a particular college come close to that definition? 5.

Lastly, you want to attend a school that places value on what you - yes, you! - do best. Not all colleges and universities will embrace you for your strong points. The personality that 'plays' well in a liberal, open-minded environment may not be 'embraced' for those qualities on a campus that itself values a highly-disciplined persona. Just as there truly is a place for every one and every thing on this earth, there's a college out there that will not only accept but encourage your uniqueness. Don't compromise in following this recommendation. If you are not looking forward to attending your parents' alma maters because the campus is too liberal, too strict, too large, too small, too avant garde, too regulated - don't go. Don't put yourself in the position of starting your college career somewhere you don't want to be...

Once you've gone over these criteria, develop a POOL of colleges to which you'd like yourself or your child to apply. Bear in mind that nearly all schools will state that they are 'needs blind', which means that their official stance is that they will accept a student based on merit, overlooking any requests for student aid. This is generally untrue. If an admissions committee is looking at two virtual identical applicants - same SAT scores, class ranking, grades, extracurriculars, sports, community service - but one student is asking for full or partial financial aid and the other is willing to pony up the $25,000 to $35,000 annual tuition, which student do you think they will accept first? Which student would YOU accept? It does indeed come down to a business decision on the college's part to accept an identical student willing to pay tuition themselves as opposed to one with a proverbial 'hat in hand'...

As for those pesky SAT scores? Since changes were made to the test several years ago, studies have shown that scores have dropped. Yet, having as close to a perfect SAT score is still as important, if not more so, than ever. Are there colleges and universities out there that don't take into account SAT scores in the admissions process? You bet! Check out the following web site for a list of over seven hundred schools that do not require your SAT/ACT scores to be included on your admissions application: www.fairtest.org.

As we go along the college admissions process ourselves, we'll be back with updated information that we've learned and are willing to share...best of luck!