Usu Admissions

Usu Admissions There are durable ways to invest in children that will help them thrive in college and beyond. The crazed pursuit of college admissions helps no one thrive. And while the Varsity Blues admissions scandal shines a light on families that break the rules, it’s time to consider the unhappiness of families that play by them. And yet nearly nothing in the admissions process tells students that these are the keys to their success. Having listened to hundreds of admissions officers, school counselors, parents, and students, and after reflecting on my own experience, I believe there is a healthier model to prepare young people to excel. They should never be more than one factor in an admissions decision. Low scores should never be a veto on a student’s life. Students should have confidence that if they practice their math and reading skills, they will improve, which is exactly what we are seeing when students practice for free on Khan Academy. Students should take an exam once and, if they don’t like their scores, practice and take the test once more. If they still don’t like their scores, we should offer many other ways for them to show their strengths to admissions officers. From MIT’s point of view, ninth grade is a safe harborâ€"a year to change your mind, to try different things without regard to your track record. These three shared features are all about intensityâ€"not just participation in college life, but active engagement. With the right information, realistic time management and good proofing and editing, it should be easy to write the best college essay you can. One of the most common mistakes on college application essays is students trying to fit in too many key messages into a short essay. They require students to move beyond merely doing something and toward becoming devoted to something. They require a depth of commitment that will serve students well throughout their lives. She must have rewritten the personal statement over five times. She helped her with brainstorming different topics and proofread everything. We need to change the culture around exams such as the SAT. While competition for seats may be inevitable, students scramble to do ever more to get into collegeâ€"and give away more of their childhood to do so. This competition might seem a problem only for middle class and wealthy families. But students of modest means suffer most when applying to college becomes an endless list of tasks requiring time and other resources. There is no doubt in my mind that Ariel's working with him to edit and clarify the focus of his essays, is what helped put his application 'over the top' into that tiny 'acceptance' pile. The essay creates frustration for students, stress for parents, and an overall feeling of dread as the deadline for submission approaches. The essay, however, doesn’t have to be an insurmountable project. She was able to respond to his rough draft essays with gentle insights and suggestions that helped him rewrite and polish them to perfection. My son goes to a large and lousy public high school and received zero advice on writing college essays. He was floundering blindly through them until we connected with Ariel. Give the admissions officer a picture of who you are and the type of college student you would be if they offer admission. The essay should be more than words on paper or a glowing example of writing skills; it should be your story. MIT recently revised its application to include only four spaces for extracurricular activities, and admissions officials there are evaluating whether they can move to three. Brilliantly, the school also removed the space for students to put any activities from ninth grade on their application.