Application Bootcamp College Admissions Blog

2010 POWER Application Boot Camp® (Home Page Blurb)

July 22nd, 2010  

Establish a Common Bond with Your Interviewer

July 15th, 2010  

We spend so much time helping our students with
interviewing techniques that we have a brief list of
tips to help those who face interviews this summer:

1. Don’t be afraid to focus in and expand upon a subject
that interests you. You do not have to cover EVERYTHING
as the admissions office will also have your complete file
when they read your application. That’s why it’s OK to
spend 20 minutes talking about your love of Greek and
Latin, especially if your interviewer happens to share that love.
If you find a common bond, follow up! There are no rules to what
must be covered.

2. Look the interviewer in the eye — it’s off-putting to stare
down at your feet.

3. Make sure you have substantive questions, not just typical
questions you could find the answers to in the view book or web
site. If the interviewer attended the school, ask pointed
questions about what he or she liked or didn’t like about the
school.

4. After the interview, write a brief thank you note (hand
written is best) and try to mention something specific that you
talked about so they remember who you are.

5. Make sure you do your research about the school BEFORE the
interview so you’re not caught asking embarrassing questions
about a program that doesn’t exist or a major that is no longer a
real program.

6. Students tend to overcompensate for how they think they should
dress for an on-campus or alumni interview and end up looking
like they are going to the prom. Others who don’t want to look
concerned about how to dress end up looking like hobos. Part of
how to dress of course depends on who you are and how you
normally dress. If we had to make the most general suggestion,
we’d suggest dressing only a standard deviation or so up or down
from how you normally dress unless you are very far from the
“normal” spectrum. If you are too dressed up (dresses for girls,
suits and ties for boys) it looks like you went way out of your
way and that draws unnecessary attention to yourself. Unless you
go to school dressed that way, avoid it. On the other hand, you
don’t want to wear ripped jeans, a tongue ring, dyed hair and
tattoos unless you really want your dress to make a statement for
you. Either extreme ends up detracting from what you actually
have to say.

You don’t have to be a boring conservative, but you
shouldn’t be ultra casual either. For boys, usually either
khaki-type pants and a neat shirt (polos are fine or collared
shirts if you feel more comfortable) with some clean shoes are
appropriate for any interview. Some sneakers might pass, but hey,
try shoes which look better with pants! Boys can also wear clean
and neat jeans instead of chino-style pants if that’s closer to
their normal style of dress (but keep the shoes). Girls have a
wider variety of options. You do not have to look “dressed up.”
Any slacks and shirt works, or a skirt and blouse if you like
that type of clothing. When in doubt, go for neat and aim to fly
under the radar. In the interview, your words should speak for
you without your clothing interfering too much in any one
direction!

If you are meeting someone for an alumni interview at an office,
however, dress accordingly. So, if you are going to a fancy law
firm, a jacket and tie might be appropriate. If, however, you
are meeting the person at Starbucks, ditch the jacket and tie.

Athletic Recruiting

June 28th, 2010  

At every high school there are casual athletes, serious athletes,
and elite athletes. Almost all selective colleges value athletic
experience, and most top high schools have extensive enough
athletic programs that almost any student can make their way onto
a team. If you’re not immersed in the arts or sciences, there’s
no reason not to go out for a team and, if you like it, get
serious about it. If you’re an elite athlete, however, you know
who you are.

Elite athletes aren’t just starters or team captains. They are
league MVPs. They make all-section or all-district teams. They
excel on club teams or other competitions outside of school. Some
small Division III liberal arts colleges are happy to welcome
merely serious athletes on to their teams, but to get recruited
at a Division I school, you must be elite. (This is true of every
school from USC and Penn State to Columbia and Brown.) For better
or worse, these athletes have special avenues to get into
college. (Keep in mind, the rationale is that many athletes with
lower grades have lower grades specifically because they’ve spent
so much time on sports!)

If you are a top-level high school athlete and considering being
recruited, there are a number of things you need to do junior
year. First of all, sign up on the NCAA website so you are
official. Next, identify the names and address of college
coaches at the schools which are of interest to you, they are
high level in your sport, etc. Then, you will want to contact
each coach with a letter and a resume so he/she knows you are
interested. It pays to put together a stat sheet that has all the
particulars (your height, weight, athletic awards, level of
competition) along with your GPA, test scores and any other
academic distinctions so coaches can see if you are going to be
strong enough to pursue as an official recruit.

Pick your SAT Subject Tests carefully!

June 14th, 2010  

 

This week we would like to focus on the all important SAT Subject Tests (formally called SAT IIs). Why are they so important for top colleges? In short, they help colleges interpret your grades and equalize grading scales from high school to high school. How does an A at school X compare to an A in school Y? Well, if one student scored a 770 on the Bio SAT Subject Test and the other scored a 580, we’d know that the first school had a much “truer” grading scale and that the competition was simply not as strong at school Y. In effect, these scores either show that a student deserved the high grades he received, or that the school simply hands out many A’s. With that being the case, students usually have to submit 2-3 SAT Subject Tests at most competitive colleges.

Students should consider very carefully WHICH tests they sign up for – most students don’t even realize that the average test scores are totally different on every SAT Subject Test! Most assume that the mean score is 500, but that is NOT the case. Take the Math IC and the Math IIC. Many students take the IC thinking it’s “easier,” but the average score on that test is a 588. If you miss a handful of questions, you will not even score in the 700’s! Compare that to the Math IIC — the AVERAGE score is 659! That means you can get a bunch wrong and still be in the 700’s(on a recent test, you could get 7 wrong and still score a perfect 800). In other words, every test has a different group of test takers — the kids who take the IIC are a smaller group, but a stronger group.  Take exams like the Chinese — since almost all the kids who take it actually speak Chinese, the average is very high: 752! Here’s another fact to keep in mind: the percentile scores do NOT get reported to colleges, only the grade. Most admissions officers don’t differentiate or even worry about if you 750 was “high” or low for your test. So those who get a 752 on the Chinese test (the highest average of all the SAT Subject Tests) score only 50%, but the score still looks strong.

The message is, it pays to study the average scores and pick tests based on your ability and the scoring curve. The average information is available on the College Board’s web site and is actually printed on the score reports you receive back after taking SAT Subject Tests. Use them to your advantage! You can study over the summer and take subject tests in October if you
missed the May/June test dates.

Contests and Awards

June 7th, 2010  

We always encourage students to find a niche, an interest, a
passion early on in their high school careers and then to purse
that interest both in and outside of school.  Students have to be
self-motivated as they can’t count on their schools or teachers
to submit them for awards.  They have to find opportunities to
deepen their interests and turn these interests into
distinguishing achievements. 

The nation’s top colleges look for state- or national-level
distinction in a student’s field of interest, so whether you are
a poet, writer, mathematician or computer geek, you should search
out any awards programs that can substantiate your interests and
show you stand out. The more competitive the college, the greater
the need to win significant competitions.  MIT, for instance, is
known to value international and national science Olympiad
winners, Intel Science Talent Search winners and finalists and
Siemens Westinghouse winners.

The Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology recognizes
remarkable talent early on, fostering individual growth for high
school students who are willing to challenge themselves through
science research. Through this competition, students have an
opportunity to achieve national recognition for science research
projects that they complete in high school. It is administered by
The College Board and funded by the Siemens Foundation.  This
month they post details of this year’s competition on their
website.  Explore this opportunity if you are a science scholar
and stay tuned for other contests and opportunities in future
weekly tips.    

Less famous, but more numerous, competitions are available for
liberal-arts students.  Countless foundations, literary
magazines, and arts societies sponsor event such as poetry
contests or publications of student work.  There are very few
national-level competitions, but if you can get a few pieces
published or win a speech competition, you’ll stand out as a
student with talent rather than a student who “just likes to
write.”