@Ynotgo 12 short essays for the naviance brag sheet? Our LOR section in naviance is being enhanced but you are scaring me!
DS submitted a couple of applications this weekend. I would like him to add another school or two to the list so he has choices in the spring. He is not a worrier and says he will get his number one choice. I wish I were so confident. 
@lkg4answers Will keep that in mind about the UC App. The deadline in Nov 30th which is the Wed after Thanksgiving. I was going to be insistent that it be DONE by the end of the weekend. I’d hear horror stories the computers being down on the LAST Day. And wanted it in at least a few days before. I didn’t realize that was true the whole week. Probably should push to have most of the application filled in by then, but I really really doubt he’ll get the essay done. Crossing my fingers this isn’t an issue.
@eandesmom I’m pretty sure the thing in Naviance that says “Coming Soon! Updated Letters of Recommendation Experience” is about being able to better specify which recommendation(s) go to which colleges.
I don’t know all the details, but I’ve read that in previous years, people complained that they might ask 3 recommenders, and the 1st one to submit a letter went to all the colleges, even if it was a coach or some other non-teacher and some colleges only allowed 1 teacher recommendation. This Naviance update is supposed to fix that, I gather.
The Brag Sheets are specific to the high schools, I think. A lot of our prompts sound like college essay prompts, so hopefully he will be able to reuse and recycle.
I just finished my “Parent Letter” essay for the Brag Sheet tonight and sent it to my reviewer (DH).
@Ynotgo The brag sheet sounds like the counselor questionnaire they use at our school. The parent fills out a portion of the packet as well. We don’t have that yet, and because of S17’s list they probably won’t be asking him to get it in till late October, maybe even early Nov. (Prioritizing students who are applying ED/EA and need letters.) I remember filling it out for my daughter.
Wanted to share this PowerPoint. It is by a college planning company and breaks down the application process by assigning pts to applicants based on specific criteria. This is a general admissions process that I know intuitively is occurring (turning admissions criteria into pts) but have never seen a breakdown like this before. I spent some time understanding what they were explaining and then went through the process with my dd’s information. I found it a helpful.
http://www.manhassetsca.org/HighSchool/articles2010-11/DonBettertonpresentation2011.05.17.pdf
@Mom2aphysicsgeek That is a great power point. I have learned a ton about how the admissions process works by speaking with college coaches as I have found them to be more direct when answering questions than the admissions officers. A point system is definitely used, especially by the schools that use a holistic approach to admissions.
Interesting slideshow @Mom2aphysicsgeek Thanks!
I don’t agree with all of it, but the idea behind it is pretty close to reality.
@rightcoaster Just curious what part don’t you agree with?
@shuttlebus I think the scoring they used was slightly wonky. I don’t think demographics played a big role in that slideshow either, and I think that is one of the biggest factors out there. The schools want kids from all over the country/world nowadays so if you are a decent student from a desirable locale you have an advantage. I also think the topic of fin aid was overlooked. There are lots of schools that don’t have the $$ to give away to good students who require a lot of aid, and there is an advantage to being full pay at those schools.
I also think that the school the kid attends in high school plays a bigger role, and that can add or take away points.
But I do agree with a lot of that slideshow, and I do think the kids are given some sort of base level score. Kids below a certain # have their apps put in the reject pile immediately, and those with #'s above the limit have their apps looked at more closely.
I liked the slide where it showed a kid’s score and highlighted the schools where he fit in on a graph.
I think the schools look at kids like this:
SAT/ACT
GPA and classes taken
School attended
Major hooks
Demographics
Socioeconomic status
EC’s and how good or average they are
Early Decision/EA or not
Did kid ever do any type of work or community service
Essay
I think the slideshow is very helpful in putting all the various nuances we all know and converse about into a pretty reasonable/comprehensive formulaic summary. I agree with @RightCoaster that the school from where the application comes is a significant factor, both to give context to the gpa and class rank as well as giving acknowledgement that certain high schools are definite feeder schools to certain elites. That there are so many variables (and each with variable significance) makes it very hard to wrap your head around where/how (specific to your/your child’s situation) it all adds up, and in this regard the slideshow is excellent. The only part that I didn’t see incorporated was the point at the beginning, saying that academics outrank personal attributes in a 3:1 significance ratio; I don’t see that carried through on the examples.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek If CC didn’t make me feel like my kid was average, that slideshow definitely drove the message home.
When I look around my neighborhood and around my sons high school I put my son in the top quartile. When I look at that PowerPoint he drops to the bottom.
@STEM2017 I wouldn’t sell your son short.Your son will be fine!! I think you just need to find the schools that want what he brings to the table. I’ve told you my son is an A- student on the whole and I don’t think he is even in the top quarter of his class because he wasn’t in all advanced classes as a freshman. He got all A- grades as a freshman but can never catch up on GPA race. I think schools will see that. I think the types of schools my kid is applying to want to see kids that have done well in school, tested well ( especially compared to national and school average) and have done some EC suff during the school year. Simple as that.
It really is hard to compete for slots at the upper top levels of schools. My kid has no chance. That’s OK. There are a lot of good schools out there. I think we’ve found a few schools that might like to accept my son and he should do well there.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some of you in here that are reaching for the elites. That must be stressful, literally a total lottery.
That PP is really interesting. I think that the hardest part for me is determining which colleges fit into which categories. It doesn’t help that I am not at all familiar with most of the example colleges they use (Of course I’ve heard of them but I don’t personally know any kids at any of them).
14 Super Selective Princeton
13 Most Selective Penn
12 Most Selective/Selective Georgetown
11 Selective Rochester
10 Competitive SUNY Binghamton
9 Competitive Boston University
8 Lightly Competitive UConn
7 Lightly Comp/Meet Basic Standards SUNY Purchase
6 Meet Basic Standards Hofstra
It was easy to figure out what “number” my D is…But how do I know which colleges are in the 9-11 category. I think that is what is difficult.
Pet peeve: college emails that require multiple steps to unsubscribe. First, click unsubscribe button. Then enter email address that you are attempting to unsubscribe. Then college sends another email, asking you to click link in order to complete unsubscribe process. Finally, an email confirming that you have been unsubscribed.
Yes, there are greater problems in the world…
@STEM2017 Sorry. That was not my intent. Having been through this process multiple times, though, admissions is not local. It is statewide, national, and international (depending on the school.) And all of those factors mean different things to different schools. Kids in the 14 category are competitive in a much different sense than really competitive kids at a 9. At a 9 school, those 9 kids are competitive. At a 14 school, not so much.
I think the PP’s greatest benefit is in demonstrating how college counseling services help students craft their application list and how to use that info to evaluate college admission data sets. I think it does address many of the issues tha @rightcoaster mentions. I interpret it as saying full pay, geographic/gender diversity, etc (when those are admissions factors) can target schools where their stats place them in the 40-60% range. Students with no specific draw should create lists where they are in the top 75%. ( Of course all of that only matters if admission is competitive. You don’t need to be in the top 75% for schools w/ high admissions rates.)
@stlarenas From #9 competitive I would say is a good student taking honors and AP and gets mostly A’s and an occasional B. ACT score of 28 and up. Just look at the common data set #'s for your kid. If they are in the middle part of the range I think the kids stand a good chance to get in, unless they have some red flags like no ECs, horrific essay, no expressed interest at all, etc. My kid falls in the competitive zone. He would have absolutely no chance at #14-#12. Maybe an 11 but probably not. 10’s are OK, a lot of 9’s work, safeties for the rest.
Please don’t be sorry @Mom2aphysicsgeek And thanks for your thoughts @RightCoaster
This is my problem as I tend to over-worry about everything. My son is a superstar and he will be very successful no matter where he ends up. I need to keep reminding myself of this.
The Powerpoint thing had some good features, but it annoys me that it seemed built to frighten parents into believing that they need a college counselor, stat. I mean, I get the need to drum up business, but it felt to me to that it was rhetorically stoking fears in a slightly unsavory way.
Ok now my D15 (who is getting ready to go back to her sophomore year of college) is getting the college mailings again. It’s pretty funny.