A Very Serious Request for Advice (Parents, AdComs) re: Innercity AA Applicant

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi, all.</p>

<p>I need advice to assist an AA male, top quality student applying without parental support from an urban, innercity neighborhood to top LAC’s and universities. Based on his scores and writing quality, I believe he is very much worthy of that consideration. He has a healthy range of 8 safety-to-reach schools. </p>

<p>He took a gap year after h.s. to work, read (voraciously), and organize his own college application process completely On His Own. His own family is agreeable but unable to advise or advocate for him. </p>

<p>And now he faces a huge obstacle: his former high school is absolutely not forthcoming with paperwork (Transcripts from the Guidance Office, Letters of Recommendation from teachers, etc.). Unless he can break this logjam, I feel it could undo his applications. It’s one thing to have LOR’s arriving “a bit late” but this school of his sounds like the transcripts and letters will simply NEVER be generated, and that’s a different problem. </p>

<p>The stress also doesn’t help with the essay focus, to say the least! (Imagine if you had to worry at this level in your h.s. for your own kids!)</p>

<p>Although I don’t have every detail, it sounds to me that the school is treating him as though they have no responsibility to meet his deadlines since he’s no longer their student (my words), although he turned in forms many, many weeks ago. He calls and goes to the school, but paperwork just isn’t moving. </p>

<p>When he tried to meet with the principal to break the log-jams, the principal pulled a “no show” at the appointment, with phone calls unreturned.</p>

<p>To me, it sounds rare that anyone applies from his h.s. to these private colleges. On top of that, the gap year provides them more excuse to be unresponsive, and they’ve certainly made him feel he has no right to these papers by their failure to move anything in a timely way for him so far. </p>

<p>He was also a top student there, shown off to visitors, etc. so feels a sense of betrayal and disappointment. Most of all, though, he needs the school to produce these papers on time, especially the GC (transcript, descriptor of school, etc) and he needs his former teachers to come through with their promised LOR’s. </p>

<p>Like anyone else, it’s always touchy to push too hard when you’re trying to get positive recommendations. </p>

<p>The boy’s papers sit at the bottom-of-the-heap on a GC desk. The GC almost
lost him state university (safety) consideration until the student personally appeared to extract papers from under a pile to hand to the university representative…I think you get the picture. </p>

<p>Teachers’ non-response to his LOR forms has him considering drafting letters for them to sign. I know this occurs in Third World Countries, but should he be doing that? While we all know it is best for the letter to be in the teacher’s voice, I can see why he’d feel that “some” letter is better than “no” letter as time goes by.</p>

<p>My best suggestion to him is to contact a college URM for advice as I am guessing this is not an unheard of problem. </p>

<p>Still, we’d appreciate any other advice, whether in the form of brainstorm or actual experiences end-running these kinds of impossible urban h.s.'s. </p>

<p>These have been my suggestions to him thus far:</p>

<li><p>Contact the college’s URM advisor NOW to describe the current impasse.
Even ask the URM to call the principal… </p></li>
<li><p>Bullet-point the LOR for the teachers and hope for the best.</p></li>
<li><p>Describe these difficulties on the “anything else you’d like to tell us…” part
of his app.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Suggestions welcome for this worthy candidate whom I want to assist.</p>

2

<p>Talk to a sympathetic reporter.</p>

3

<p>Do #1 and #2 now. </p>

<p>Though talking with a sympathetic reporter will get the GC information in, I doubt it would help with getting positive LOC. He can threaten to go to the media, if you believe that would help get things moving. What he really needs is the principle, or even someone above the principle, to push people to make this happen. </p>

<p>In the mean time, contact the top choice college that you believe would be the most helpful in this case, such as one with a track record of admitting these types of students. See how that conversation goes, and move on from there.</p>

4

<p>Could one of the parents go to the HS? Unlike colleges, some high schools pay very little attention to students, but do respond to the parents.</p>

5

<p>What if he sent a registered letter to the high school, outlining his ordeal with them, asking one last time for their cooperation, and CCed a copy of it to the admissions offices of the schools he’s interested in. This way the colleges will know he is serious and responsible enough to get creative. Perhaps the high school won’t want to jeapordize their reputation with these colleges if they know he has CCed the colleges as to his actions.</p>

6

<p>^^^I really doubt this school has any reputation worth worrying about in this case.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Phone calls from college officers in charge of increasing URM representation might be a good idea. </p></li>
<li><p>His parents need to get involved enough to show up at the school and politely request that the paperwork get moving. Smiles would probably work better than anger. </p></li>
<li><p>I’ve never been a fan of those letters written by the candidate. If the students has no choice but to go that route, he should, IMO, find some way to explain on the application that he found it impossible to get cooperation from his school.</p></li>
<li><p>Has the school even filled out the high school profile forms that must be filed by the guidance office?</p></li>
<li><p>What about going over the principal’s head to the district administrative office, if nothing happens soon?</p></li>
</ol>

7

<p>I would email all the school board directors- head of high school and CC education reporters- possibly even consult NAACP</p>

<p>I would not wait because with xmas break coming up, its likely that if it waits till after the holiday, it will be after spring break that you see any movement.
Good for you for taking this on
you go!</p>

8

<p>I would contact NAACP first, and let them, with his parents, run point at the school, with the threat that they will go to the papers, the school board and superintendent if the school continues to stonewall the application of this student.</p>

9

<p>The sad thing about this young man’s situation is that those in charge at his former high school (which I assume is located in close proximity to the inner city neighborhood in which he was raised) are probably African American also.:frowning: Many teachers and administrators in such schools are overworked, grossly underpaid, and have become so jaded and apathetic, that they assume this kid will find his own way to college admission with no help needed from them whatsoever. He’s already considered a resounding success, having beaten the odds and actually graduated at the top of his class. I hate to say it, but these people have probably already moved on in their minds. They feel like they’re already behind the eight ball, work wise, and would lobby for combat pay if they thought it would do them any good.</p>

10

<p>I just wonder if one of the top private college counselors would take on this kid pro bono. To have that sort of a voice advocating for this young man might really help.</p>

11

<p>I agree with those who suggest that he get the local NAACP to advocate for him. There is such a small percentage of very high achieving black males that they are beloved by black people in places like the NAACP.</p>

<p>If for some reason the NAACP won’t help (and I doubt this will happen), he needs to go to the school board – particularly a black person on the school board. </p>

<p>One of these people should also be able to check his GC letters, etc. so they are appropriate.</p>

<p>And I hope that some people at his school get fired. Places like his school often get the bottom of the barrel when it comes to faculty because a lack of parental involvement means that the faculty who get kicked out of other schools due to parental pressure end up at schools where parents aren’t involved.</p>

<p>I’m saying all of this as a person who has volunteered in inner city schools and who also had kids in an inner city magnet school where -as the head of a parents’ organization – I got to know very, very well the school’s many shortcomings.</p>

<p>Oh – given the type of school that the young man is in, more than likely the colleges won’t pay much attention to the letter of recommendation anyway because even if the GC is well intentioned, it’s likely to be unhelpful since inner city GCs tend not to know how to write them (I’ve seen many such letters because I’ve served on local and regional scholarship committees). </p>

<p>It would be important for the young man to get some outside letters of recommendations from people who know him well such as an employer or minister. It also would be good if the young man had someone in the know look over his essays and application so that he highlights his many strengths well.</p>

12

<p>I just remembered the following: After S and some of his classmates got grades in a course that didn’t make any sense, I had to go to the superintendent of school’s office to complain. </p>

<p>With several other parents, I brought documentation and calmly laid out my case to the administrator over secondary schools. </p>

<p>Afterward, there was a meeting with the school principal (who I already had met with over another problem with the teacher – who had a major assignment that was virtually impossible for low income students to do because to do the assignment, kids needed transportation. My kid could do the assignment, but I was concerned about kids who weren’t middle class like we are). </p>

<p>The grade was changed. The principal himself changed the grade.</p>

<p>At that school, the principal also had personally seen a GC blow off a student, and the principal then got another GC to work with the student, and got the GC transferred out of the school.</p>

<p>So, I am modifying my previous advice: Before going to the NAACP, etc., the young man needs to have a calm, factual talk with the school principal. Only if the school principal doesn’t get things done should the young man go to the school board, etc.</p>

<p>S’s previous school had had similar problems with transcripts, etc. that the principal helped clear up once he was notified of them. He really did want students at his school to succeed. It was, however, hard for the principal to know about things like transcript problems because he was very busy with helping kids with legal, dysfunctional family, poverty, dropping out, and other types of problems that are prevalent at inner city schools.</p>

13

<p>I hope the young man is applying to Wesleyan. I have a friend (African American) who is tenured faculty there, and she has told me about how welcoming Wesleyan is to black students and how much the faculty and admissions officers are aware of the challenges that many black male students have faced in high school including low expectations as well as problems getting good recommendations, etc.</p>

14

<p>He needs to immediately let all the colleges he is applying to know what the issue is. They probably have his SAT’s and at least a copy of his report cards? The good schools usually have an officer in charge of minority recruiting who should know how to deal with this. Regional alumni groups from each college might want to know about his situation; someone might have connections in the city school system?</p>

15

<p>My vote is starting with the calm approach first on two approaches</p>

<p>1) Meet with the principal, hopefully, with his parents to see if the principal can help. If this does not work go to the school board. In each case I would advocate being calm presenting facts and making requests. I’m not a big fan of maknig threats both for 1) getting results now (I would worry about the recommendations) 2) teach life lessons about how to get things done in tough situations.</p>

<p>2) I’d call the admissions department at each of the 8 schools … given the description of the applicant the schools will very much want to have him apply and I would think some of the schools will try to help him out.</p>

16

<p>In addition to all the great advice above (particularly about contacting the colleges and letting them know what his problems are), I’d suggest talking to a high-powered local politician or two. Nothing starts things moving like a well-placed word from the people who hold the purse strings. Around here, it would be the City Council and/or the Mayor’s office. They want to see success stories from “failing” schools; it looks good for their policies (and their re-election campaigns). So they most likely will see to it not only that the logjam is broken but in such a way that will benefit the student.</p>

<p>Good luck, and may G-d bless you for helping this young man!</p>

17

<p>Given the fact that the principal was a “no-show” for a scheduled meeting, and has not returned phone calls, I would by-pass that step and go to the Superintendent of Schools. At the same time I would be contacting the Director of Diversity at the colleges and universities to which he is interested in applying, explaining what is going on, and what steps are being taken “on the home front.” I think there would be less wasted time as you tackle this problem from both ends.</p>

18

<p>I’d go directly to the Superintendent with the following:</p>

<p>1-- request for the transcripts to be sent asap
2- request for a letter from the superintendent documenting that although the GC received the request for LOR’s in time, due to workload they were unable to comply.</p>

<p>I’d then suggest that the student get a minister, former employer, or someone in the community who knows the kid to write a letter of recommendation instead. I would not move heaven and earth to get a weak or indifferent LOR written by a GC or principal who feel that the kid has gone over their head… the superintendents letter can mention that the system has little experience with kids heading to 4 year colleges and so the GC’s were unable to help in the process.</p>

<p>Don’t waste time fighting an indifferent principal- go to the superintendent asap. The transcript is what’s important here-- the kids record speaks for itself, and if there’s a community member who can talk about the kids resilience, lack of family support, and disinterest by the school in helping him achieve his goals, that will be more compelling than a form letter written by a hassled GC.</p>

19

<p>Just chiming in on the basis of some knowledge of local circumstances (assuming that they kid you are talking about is local to you):</p>

<p>I enthusiastically second Chedva’s suggestion. A city councilperson can make things happen in the bureaucracy – much better than the NAACP. Also, the Board of Education or whatever it’s called is approachable. If there’s a connected minister around, that’s not a bad idea, either.</p>

<p>I don’t think it’s necessary or even desirable to have the parents involved that much. The school is unlikely to respond to them any better than to the kid (at least the people have personal relationships with the kid), having them go out front sends the wrong message, and they will be asked to agree to things that may not work.</p>

<p>And frequent contact with the admissions offices (and their URM advisors) would probably help.</p>

20

<p>“Given the fact that the principal was a “no-show” for a scheduled meeting, and has not returned phone calls, I would by-pass that step and go to the Superintendent of Schools.”</p>

<p>I agree. I had forgotten about that when I offered my advice.
Also go to the school board.</p>