Hello Fellow Parent, and Welcome!
Breaking News!
The online, interactive, stress-busting platform I told you about is ready today for your kid to kick anxiety to the curb and write a knockout college personal essay. You’re the first to know—official launch is next week (eek!).
Check out the INTREPID APPLICANT college personal essay-writing adventure!
It will make writing the personal essay easy, efficient, and entertaining for your kid and economical for you. (While there, download a free Master College Admissions Timeline.)
On to our regularly scheduled programming…
6 Tips for Visiting Colleges This Summer
It may not be optimum to visit desolate campuses over the summer, but if summer is the only time your family can find time for college tourism, I get it. Some special tips for summer visits:
- Ditch the idea of “perfect” fit and just look for fit whether you visit a college IRL or virtually. Is your life partner perfect? Is your child perfect? Do you love and appreciate and learn from them anyway? ‘nuff said.
- Sign up today for college tours. I’ve heard it’s hard to land a spot on a tour at some colleges and universities (I’m talking to you, Cornell and William and Mary). So don’t dawdle scheduling, but if you’re already too late, don’t sweat it. Combine info you absorb walking around the campus on your own, with what you learn on an online information session, or re-consider visiting in autumn when colleges offer more tours and everyone’s on campus.
- Line up an interview if offered. I don’t mean try to finagle one if interviews are not offered (that would only annoy admissions). I mean get face time with someone who works in the admissions office (student employees count) if given the chance. Find tips for introverts, extroverts, and everyone in between here and more in my book.
- Demonstrate interest by signing in at the admissions office. Colleges believe the more touchpoints with the admissions office (visits, email clicks, questions, more on this in College Admissions Cracked), the more likely your kid will attend. Some schools don’t track this, but it’s impossible to know which do, so just sign in.
- Look beyond the students on campus right now. Sure, some students doing research for professors wander the campus (pay attention to them), but most of the kids you’ll see are more likely there for a summer program and don’t belong in your college assessment equation.
- Your #1 job is to find colleges where you’re likely to get in AND be happy. Visit colleges with a range of selectivity. Reality check: I’ve known valedictorians only accepted at their “safety” school they hadn’t visited or seriously considered (because a 10% acceptance rate means denials for 90% of great applicants). It does not count as a safety school if your kid would be grumpy about going there, so please add all types of colleges to the visit list, if you haven’t already.
Enjoy the lovely (temporary here in Massachusetts) horticulture on campuses during your summer college visits!
Warmly,
Jill
P.S. Please spread the word that the Intrepid Applicant knockout college essay-writing adventure is here to rescue anxious seniors from at least one part of college admissions craziness!
