Archive for the ‘Personal Statement’ Category

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Finding A Mentor

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

You may have never considered finding a mentor, but it can be a very worthwhile and valuable experience.  All of the issues that you are currently worried about regarding trying to find the right college can be brought into greater clarity if you can find the right individual to assist you.  But how does one go about finding a mentor to help with college?

If you are successful in finding a good mentor, you will be able to gain the assistance of someone that can help you even beyond how to survive college.  A great mentor will be able to help you with your career as well.  The first step in finding this resource is to take a mental inventory of the accomplished people that you know.

You might discover that you already know someone that is accomplished and that you think would be a solid mentor.  The main thing that you want to look for is someone whose opinion you respect that you believe will give you advice you can trust.

Since we are specifically discussing how to get into college, it is best that you find a mentor that has personally gone through this process.  After all, you want good advice specifically on how to survive college, financial aid and grants, how to find scholarships and other college related topics.

As you take inventory of the people that you know or have access to, consider if there is one or two people that stand out.  In fact, it may be possible to have several people mentor you in different ways.  This is more common than you might think, as it is a very practical approach and option.

If you are having trouble finding a mentor, reach out to friends and family.  For example, you might have a friend who has a parent that is a doctor, college professor, or who has an MBA or a range of other valuable academic experience.  This presents an opportunity to get some experienced advice. Since you want to find the right college, experienced advice is a must.

Ultimately, there are lots of options for finding a mentor.  In addition to asking your friends and relatives if they know someone, you can always ask your teachers and school facility.  Two great people to talk to are your school principal and vice principal.  They will appreciate your enthusiasm. Most likely, they have also attended graduate school.  The odds are that they may know someone (perhaps a retired associate) that would be willing to mentor you.  You never know what might happen if you find a mentor that is a retired school superintendent or principal with thirty-five years of experience!

Quite often people will surprise you in their willingness to help.  Remember that your own preconceived ideas about what is and is not possible may influence your outcomes.  If you believe that finding a mentor that will help you through the process of getting into college is impossible, then you are making your search harder.  Be optimistic!  People generally appreciate it when young people show initiative and indicate that they are taking something seriously, especially anything education related.  You can use this fact to your advantage.

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5 Tips for Creating A Glowing Admissions Letter and Statement

Saturday, November 5th, 2011

The odds are you are concerned about getting into one of the colleges or universities of your choice.  There are many areas to focus your attention upon, ranging from SAT preparation to grades to applications.  Let’s take a look at a few of the factors you need to consider when writing your admissions letter and statement.  As you will see, some of the considerations are less obvious than others, but all of the factors we will cover can have a major impact on your final product.

Tip One – Begin Your Work Well In Advance

Just as you should begin your work on college and university applications early, the same is true for working on your admissions letter and statement.  Rushing rarely yields good results.  Plus, it almost always ensures a sense of panic.  Avoid all of this by starting your work in advance; you will be very glad you did!

Tip Two – Create an Outline

By beginning to work on your admissions letter and statement early, you will have time to do things like create an outline.  In this part of the process, you will be forced to think about what you want to convey in very clear terms.  Take your time to create your outline, and don’t be afraid to revise your outline at a later date after you’ve had time to think about it.

Tip Three – Don’t Be a Mind-Reader

When it comes to your admission letter and statement, don’t try to read the mind of a stranger.  Instead create a letter and statement that is a reflection of you.  If you want to be believable and sincere in your admissions letter and statement, then you shouldn’t try to figure out what others want to hear.  After all, admissions officials see thousands of statements and letters over their careers, and they can sniff out a phony better than you might think. They’re older than you, but not necessarily brain dead!

Tip Four – Have Several Trusted People Read Over Your Work

You may be pretty confident that you have a great letter and statement, and you may be correct in your assessment.  But you should have several different people, preferably of different ages and backgrounds, read your materials.  By getting a wide range of viewpoints, you will gain perspectives and insights that may help you with your final draft.

Tip Five – Rewrite, Rework and Rethink

The time that you spend rewriting, reworking and rethinking your admissions letter and statement is likely to be time very well spent.  Having time to gather input and feedback from other people is a valuable part of the process, as is sitting on your letter and statement aside for a few months, so that you can look at it with fresh eyes later.  Of course, all of the tips that we’ve listed here can be done in a rush, but you will likely not achieve optimal results if you handle them in this fashion.

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Admissions, College Applications, College Interview, Personal Statement, Preparing for College | 1 Comment »

Let’s Get Personal: The College Personal Statement

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

The college personal statement is a very important part of the college admissions process and, in a process that can sometimes seem a little impersonal (there are a lot of forms and fill-in-the-blanks), the personal statement or essay is the one part of the application where it’s okay and even encouraged to let your personality shine through!

For your personal statement, you'll probably want to leave the colored pencils out of it.

doug88888 / Doug Wheller

While this doesn’t mean that you should dot your I’s with hearts, it does mean that admissions wants to get a feel for your personality, your character, and your intelligence in a different way: through an open-ended or specific question in order to see how you respond.

Admissions is looking for a few simple things. They don’t want a rehash of all your accomplishments and extracurricular activities, they want to see how you have handled whatever life has thrown your way and come out on top.

How have you grown and changed? How have the events in your life made you who you are today and why should admissions care?

If those sound like tough questions to answer: they are. It’s important not to wait until the last minute on this one! A good personal essay can be what sets you apart from students who have the same academic background as you.

Before you start having nightmares about writing your personal statement, know that admission will be looking at other parts of your application as well. Other factors of college admission include items like your letter(s) of recommendation, your GPA, class rank, extracurricular activities, and standardized test scores.

pencil

Pink Sherbet Photography / D. Sharon Pruitt

So while your personal statement is important, that alone probably isn’t going to get you into a college where you don’t even meet the requirements but, if you do fit or exceed requirements, it can help set you apart from other students who have the same talents and background as you.

In fact, many admissions professionals do cite the college application essay as an important factor when weighing a college application: the less mistakes the better!

A poorly proofread personal statement is going to be a drudge to read and won’t show that you really want in to that school – so, why would they let you in?

My College Guide has plenty of tips and mistakes to avoid on your personal statement coming up! Stay on top of updates: subscribe for free to My College Guide via RSS or email.

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Factors of College Admission or How to Get Into Your Dream School

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

As college deadlines loom in the not too distant future, you might be asking yourself, “Can I get into college?” To answer your question, My College Guide will clue you in on the factors of college admissions! While these factors can differ a bit from college to college, having some idea of what colleges are really looking for in your academic background can go a long way to make sure you are prepared so that when you get ready to actually submit a college application: you’ll be ready!

Pull up a chair and get ready for your college interview, an important part of some colleges' admission process.

Stuck in Customs / Trey Ratcliff

SAT or ACT Test Scores – The majority of colleges will be looking at your SAT or ACT test scores, comparing your score to other applicants. If you’ve only taken the test once, know that taking the test a second time can help improve your SAT score – just from knowing what to expect! The College Board SAT test and the ACT test are very important and, if you are homeschooled, it’s also a way for colleges to measure you academically.

College Interview – Do you match up? While not  usually mandatory, the college interview is used by some colleges as a way to make sure that you are the right fit for their institution. On the upside, an interview can put a nice personal spin on what can seem a very impersonal process. You can let college admissions meet your charming, wonderful self and explain any slip-ups in your record. If it’s optional at the college(s) you are interested in, why not request one?

Community Service – Are you a valuable member of your community? Community service can help you stand apart from other college applicants – it’s not like every student volunteers their time and energy, but for the most part, many students do take the SAT, have a decent GPA, and class ranking. Not only is it a great way to get accepted into college and help out your community, but it could even net you a great scholarship!

College Essay – This seemingly innocent little open-ended question can be a hard one to answer. The truth is, college admissions can place a good amount of emphasis on what you have to say – and how you say it! Use this space as a way to explain why your grades fell your Sophomore year or how you successfully handled a difficult situation. If colleges are on the fence about whether or not to let you in, your college essay may give them a nudge in the right direction.

Leadership Roles – Are you a future leader? Did you skim through high school or did you leave a mark?Universities want independent, motivated students. They will be actively seeking students with leadership roles on their college application. Holding positions in high school clubs or as a class officer can show admissions that you are just the type of person they are looking for.

"D" is for Diversity! Colleges want a varied student body from around the country...and the world.

clevercupcakes / Clever Cupcakes

Letters of Recommendation – Colleges like to get a second opinion – and the college letter of recommendation is an easy way for them to learn more about you through the eyes of someone else. Whether your college of choice lets you choose who writes your recommendation or there’s someone specific, colleges will takes these letters under consideration so if the choice is up to you, choose carefully!

Diversity – Your race, the state you live in, your gender, and national origin can play a part in college admission. Colleges like to say that they have students not only from around the country, but from around the world, too. Increasing their student body while diversifying it can help pave the way for you if you happen to possess the traits of the missing pieces.

Challenging Courses – While it’s okay to have a fluff class every now and again to boost your GPA, colleges really want to see something more challenging than a constant run of classes like Film Studies or Fibers on your course schedule. Honors classes and AP classes go a long way to prove to college admissions that you take your education seriously – just don’t take on more than you can handle. These classes dole out more work to start with and receiving poor marks in a few of them because you packed your schedule too full with difficult classes won’t help you get into your dream school, either.

Legacy Status – Did your mom and/or dad attend the same college that you are interested in? Many colleges like to keep the legacy going and put special emphasis on legacy applicants! Applications will usually have a spot to check or write that you had a family member attend their college – which may help you get in! Bonus: many colleges also let you apply for a legacy scholarship!

Grades — It almost goes without saying, but your grades are one of the key factors of college admission! Colleges have a GPA range they accept for a reason: they want students who fit within specific parameters. The more competitive the college, the better your GPA had better be! If you’ve got a few years before you are officially thinking “college” make sure to use this time wisely and try to keep those grades up.

Did you earn awards, certificates, and blue ribbons? Let college admissions know about them!

Miss Millificent / Athena Workman

Awards and Achievements – Do you have a stack of blue ribbons and grand champion ribbons from your time spent in 4-H? Did you win special recognition at your high school for an academic achievement or snag a certificate for club involvement? Not every students wins an award, so don’t just let them sit there and collect dust, write it down! Make sure that college admissions knows about your past successes. After all, if you don’t tell them, who will?

Extracurricular Activities – Colleges are looking for activities where you were meaningfully involved, not a jam-packed, alphabetized list of random clubs and organizations you joined only to impress college admissions! In this case, think “quality” not quantity! So, pick and choose your high school extracurricular activities with care and do more with it than just sign up.

Pre-college Summer Programs – More school? In the summer? Yes and yes! Don’t just think of a pre-college summer program as school, think of it as a way to do a little traveling or community service or to dig into something you are interested in, as well as earning college credit in high school and standing out to college admissions! Anything that you can do to be proactive in your education (and pre-college summer programs certainly count!) is a step in the right college acceptance direction.

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Posted in College Admissions, College Applications, College Interview, Legacy Status, Personal Statement | 1 Comment »

6 Ways Homeschoolers Can Help Their Admissions Odds

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

homeschoolWhether it’s for religious reasons, practical concerns, or simply because it’s tough to find a school that seems like a good fit, a growing percentage of teenagers are being homeschooled by a parent or tutor. There are a lot of advantages to this approach: parents can directly oversee their children’s education, there’s no need to worry about crime or bad influences at school, and you have the flexibility of taking vacation time whenever you like. But there’s one concern that most families have a hard time escaping: once you finish your high school education at home, will any competitive college be willing to take a chance on you?

Because you have no formal GPA, you may feel like you’re putting yourself at risk of being rejected from top schools. But in fact, just the opposite could be true: Stanford University, in particular, is very enthusiastic about homeschooled students, and has accepted a far higher percentage of them than they have of the general student body. The admissions officers believe that homeschooled students who pursue unique independent learning paths have something that many other students lack: intellectual vitality.

Still, if you feel like homeschooling may be holding you back from a great college, here are some tips to help you get ahead.

Prepare well for the SATs, and take as many subject tests as possible. If colleges can’t evaluate your course performance by their usual criteria, test performance becomes even more important. Make sure to prepare well for the SATs, and take the exams several times if necessary to achieve impressive scores. Though SAT subject tests are generally considered to be optional, you’ll want to take as many as possible, since they can serve as stand-ins for formal grades.

Get recommendations from people besides your parents. Let’s face it: Mom isn’t exactly the most unbiased judge of character. Even if she teaches all your classes, schools will want to hear from others, too. If you’re involved in community service activities or are taking community college courses, get recommendations from the people guiding those activities.

Check out colleges’ homeschoolers’ admissions policies. As applications from homeschooled students become more common, more colleges and universities are publishing standardized policies about how they evaluate the applicants. This page has a listing of many homeschool admissions policies, but if a college you’re interested in isn’t listed, contact the school directly and ask if they have any guidelines.

Use the personal essay to talk about your homeschool experience. Unlike most students, you’re likely to have an education that’s heavily based on taking part in new experiences, rather than simply learning from books. Impress the admissions officers by showing them how your unique education has shaped your life and helped you to grow as a person—one who would surely be in demand at any top university.

Take part in campus interviews and college fairs. Because many people have the (often false) impression that homeschooled students aren’t well socialized, take every chance you can to prove them wrong. If you’re interested in a particular college, try to arrange a one-on-one interview with an admissions officer, so that you can impress him with your intelligence and unique outlook on education. Attending college fairs offers another opportunity to network with college officials, and can give you an opportunity to find out more about how you will be considered as a homeschooled student.

Make sure your transcript passes muster. In many states, you have a lot of leeway as to the focus of your home education. You’re free to spend time beekeeping as a science project, or take trips to the ocean to study marine biology. However, whatever you’re doing, colleges want to make sure you’re actually learning—so, along with standardized tests, you’ll want to make sure your academic transcript presents an impressive overview of what you’ve accomplished in your studies. Your family may consider hiring an admissions consultant (typically a former admissions officer) to look over your transcript and offer an honest appraisal.

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Admissions, College Applications, College Interview, Personal Statement, Preparing for College, SAT/ACT Test | 1 Comment »

How to Integrate Social Media into Your College Application Process

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Social Media Landscape by fredcavazza, on Flickr

Chances are good that you’re already using social media to keep up with friends and family, but are you also using it to keep up with the colleges you’re considering? Are you using your social media profile to build a platform to complement your college applications? If not, then you should be. Find out how to use your social media pastime as more than a way to send updates to your friends.

Gather Information

Some of the top ranked colleges and universities in the country are using social media such as blogs, videos, podcasts, Facebook and Twitter to disseminate information to current and prospective students. Following the information colleges are sharing is one of the prime ways to determine what the college is like, if it’s a fit for you and if you will fit in there. Consistently following these colleges can help to provide you with insight into what’s important to the college, which is information you can use to match your personality, skills and experience to with what the college is looking for in prospective students. There is also a multitude of third party sources to help guide you through the application process, taking the SAT and living the life of a college student.

Adding Social Media to the Mix

Make no mistake about it colleges are looking at your social media accounts. You can use this to your advantage by integrating your social media activity with the college application process. Before you send your updates out or upload pictures to your account, consider the picture it paints of you as a prospective student. You can create a successful mix of personal, educational and extracurricular updates to your social media profiles to help highlight you as the student your prospective colleges want to admit.

Steps to integrating social media with your college applications may look something like this:

  • You volunteer with your local environmental group to clean up a local beach. You take photos of fellow volunteers and have pictures taken of you picking up the trash. You upload the pictures from your cell phone and send out an update saying you’re cleaning up the local beach and helping the environment.
  • Take a photo of one of the dogs at the animal hospital where you work part-time. Send out an update to your social media contacts that he needs a good home. Not only are you helping animals, but it may also help you when it comes time to expressing your career goals and job experience when you’re applying for college.
  • Create a video of you playing in your high school soccer game. Post the video to your blog, upload it to YouTube and upload it to your social media network pages to share with your friends and family to feature your participation in extracurricular activities.

These updates take place over time and help to paint a picture of who you are as a student, as a person and as a member of your community. Put your social media to work for you by using it to help you get an acceptance letter to the college of your dreams.

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Make Your Personal Statement Shine Part #10

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Natawie Dee

Using our ten-part series on how to write a personal statement that shines as your guide, you now have a rough draft of your personal statement written. The time has come to bring your personal statement to its final version. Part ten of the series shares how to format your statement to make sure that it’s complete and strong.

First, look at the first paragraph of your statement. Is it a strong and attention grabbing opening? Does it make the reader want to finish reading it to find out how it ends? It’s important that your opening paragraph be one of the best paragraphs in the statement. You want to make it compelling enough that it urges the admission officer to read all about you.

After you craft a strong opener, now it’s time to work on the main sections of your personal statement. The supporting paragraphs should spell out the details of the other nine items that should be included in your personal statement (See the nine previous posts if you need a refresher.). And then it’s time for your grand finale. The final paragraph should be a strong conclusion that ties the entire essay together. It’s a reminder of how everything you’ve written comes together. You’ll also want to use your final paragraph to reiterate your interest in attending the college or university to which you’re applying.

Once you work through the ten steps to putting your fabulous personal statement together, you’re ready to add it to your college application package. When you receive your college acceptance letter, it’ll be well worth all of the effort your put into writing it.

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Posted in College Admissions, Personal Statement | 11 Comments »

Make Your Personal Statement Shine Part #9

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Robert Voors

The ninth important item you want to be sure to include in your personal statement is a difficulty or difficulties you’ve experienced in your life and the ways you managed to overcome this problem or issues. Again, this is about illustrating your ability to tackle challenges, to be a problem solver and most importantly to learn from what life throws your way.

Choose at least one difficulty that you have overcome and specifically what you learned from having to jump over this hurdle. It may be anything from overcoming your dyslexia through special learning techniques to dealing with the tragic loss of a parent during your teenage years.

Everyone has something in their life that is difficult to handle, so think about roadblocks you’ve run into thus far in your life and use this information to paint a picture of who you really are–using your personal statement as your canvas.

Stay tuned for the last tip on what you need to include in your personal statement to make it shine.

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Make Your Personal Statement Shine Part #8

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

David Hughes

Whether it was at your part-time job or in your role as the officer of a club you’re involved with at school, there has been a time in your life when you’ve had to step up to the plate and act as a leader. This is the time to toot your own horn and include this information in your personal statement. Describe specific situations where you had to take on certain responsibilities and what you learned from them.

For example, after being at your customer service job for a few weeks, you noticed that customers were sending in questions faster than the employees could respond, so requests were piling up in the inbox of the company’s email. You suggested and implemented a Frequently Asked Questions Page for the company website where the common questions received from customers were posted along with the answers. This immediately seemed to help in reducing the number of email questions because the information was available to customers upfront. You learned to be proactive to responding to customer needs and to be a problem-solver.

It may also be that you’re the editor of the yearbook, which means you’re responsible for the overall production of the yearbook. From your responsibilities and experiences, you learned how to manage others and motivate the people on the yearbook committee to meet their deadlines. Ultimately, you learned how to take a project (putting together the yearbook) from start to finish.

No matter what type of job you have, volunteer opportunity you’ve been involved with or club you belong to, you have responsibilities associated with it. Use these responsibilities to point out how you shined and what you learned from your experiences. This information shows your motivation and drive. It illustrates that instead of going through the motions of life, you’re actively engaged in the experiences you’re involved in on a daily basis.

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Make Your Personal Statement Shine Part #7

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Hamed Saber

You’re unique. You have characteristics and attributes that make you different from all of the other students that are applying to the college you’re applying to. Use your personal statement as your opportunity to point out your prominent characteristics and the attributes that make you special.

You also need to provide supporting statements to show how these attributes are beneficial to your own personal, educational and career growth. You’ll also want to tie in how the college or university plays a role in helping you to achieve these goals.

The 10-part personal statement series is coming to an end in a few more days, so don’t miss out on the last few items you need to include in your personal statement to make it shine.

If you missed out on the previous six items every personal statement should include, be sure to check out our previous posts. Your personal statement may push you into the acceptance pile over all of the other college applications the admission officer receives.

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