Narrowing Your List of Colleges

One of the challenges many seniors will face this month is finalizing a list of schools to which to apply. With so many great options, narrowing down the list to a manageable size can seem like a daunting task. Here are a few suggestions for deciding which colleges will receive your application package:

• Think of your college list as a stock portfolio. Diversify your holdings by applying to programs that vary in their selectivity. Be sure your list includes some long shots, some targets, and some “safety” schools.
• Apply only to schools where you can imagine yourself being happy and getting a good education. Even your “safety” schools should be ones you would be excited to attend. They should be “safeties” only in the sense that they admit a large percentage of applicants and/or your basic stats are above average for their student body.
• If you are unsure about whether a school is right for you, try to visit in person or at least correspond with some students and faculty online.
• Be a critical consumer of college media! Remember that promotional media are designed to entice and recruit you. Look beyond the advertising, and investigate what is actually available to you at each school in terms of majors, courses, faculty advising, teams, organizations, labs, studios, internships, etc.

For more assistance and suggestions regarding this critical step in the college admissions process, please visit www.tamtastic.org, and feel free to contact me.

Express Yourself: Generating Content for Your Application

“Express yourself.” This seemingly simple piece of advice is critical to writing a strong application essay or personal statement. However, it is also one of the most challenging suggestions for applicants to implement, as it requires a high level of self-awareness. Below are two effective, easy-to-apply strategies that you can use to generate essay topics, anecdotes, personal characteristics, and meaningful experiences that illuminate who you are as an individual.

Twelve Topics Fast
Come up with a list of 4 ways to describe yourself (athlete, musician, reader, son/daughter). Next, think of 3 stories you could tell about yourself in each of these roles. Jot down a few notes about each story—sensory details about what you saw and heard, how you felt, what happened, what you learned. The result: twelve potential essay topics.

Who am I?
Make a quick list of characteristics that you think describe you (e.g., loyal, extroverted, diplomatic, inquisitive). Focus on positive characteristics that you believe make you a special, appealing person whom others will want to get to know better. Select one characteristic from your list and free write about a time you demonstrated that characteristic. Repeat as desired. You might to try to generate additional evidence about the first characteristic or select another characteristic on your list about which to free write.

Once you have generated notes and jottings, you will move to a phase of selecting from that beautiful mess the best of the best. The stories and themes you choose to expand upon need not be complex, glamorous, or extraordinary. But they should be meaningful, compelling, and uniquely yours. Consider how the information you present will help the admissions committee get to know you. What does it say about who you are?

A few general tips to help you avoid common pitfalls:

• Follow the instructions. Choose anecdotes that actually help you answer the question posed in the application.
• Tell a personal, memorable story, but be aware that this is not a private journal entry. Do not include information you would be embarrassed to show your grandmother. Do not include information that will make the admissions committee pity or fear you.
• Start drafting early. Give yourself plenty of time to reflect and revise as needed.

Summertime is a Great Time to Research Colleges

Summertime is an excellent time to research colleges and think about where you might like to apply. Now that school-year activities are on hiatus, why not make the time to give the college search process the time and attention it deserves? Researching colleges is a good idea no matter what grade you are in—there’s no reason to put this off until the summer before your senior year.

Here are a few suggestions to get your summer college search started:

• Use an online search tool such as The College Board's College Matchmaker
• Look at school, department, and faculty websites
• Find schools on Facebook, join affiliated groups, correspond with current students
• Read school profiles in the Fiske Guide to Colleges
• Contact Admissions Officers at colleges and ask questions
• Visit campuses in person
  

These are only a few of many effective ways you can research colleges. Please visit my website www.tamtastic.org and feel free to contact me for more tips and strategies. Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!