If a college you love is too far away to visit, there’s a good chance the college will come visit you. Some popular colleges will visit high schools in the fall, so ask your school counselor if the college you care about ever pays your school a visit.
Even if your college of choice doesn’t come to your school, they may still hit your area. Many colleges will set up events in hotels on weekends or nights in your area so you can ask questions and get information. This opportunity is definitely worth fighting the crowds (which can number in the hundreds).
Also, colleges love school counselors and will often host meetings with them. I had a breakfast just last week with representatives from five such colleges, and they passed on some great advice:
Should you take advanced placement courses, or college classes? Some students thing taking classes at a college may look better on your application than AP classes, because that means the student has weathered the actual college environment and succeeded.
The reps at the breakfast-from Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Penn, and Stanford-felt otherwise. They said taking APs was actually the better thing to do; they felt staying at the high school showed a greater commitment to the school community, and they added that credits from other colleges most likely won’t transfer to their schools, where high AP scores might earn credit.
They didn’t address what to do if you want to take a college class that isn’t offered at your high school-your best bet is to call the admissions office of the colleges you’re interested in and ask.
Unexpected application trends. The reps at the breakfast said the hot majors right now are science, math, and business. They credit this trend to the poor performance of the US economy. Students right now want to make sure the major they choose is going to have plenty of jobs available during the downturn. This trend is likely to repeat next year.
High school counselor letters. Each of the reps from the school asserted that their school requires a so-called “Secondary School Report” from the college counselor at the applicant’s high school. This letter can bring more positive things to light about the student, and explain any circumstances that might otherwise hurt the applicant’s chances.
The reps said they knew it was hard for counselors to write good recommendations on their students, since counselors have to see so many students-they said they thought counselors had about 200 students to see, when in fact it’s usually much higher. They encouraged the counselors to write as much as they could about each student, and then they talked about some counselor “recommendations” that are a form where the counselor basically says the student was never suspended or expelled, or has a criminal record.
If you want a good, personalized letter from your counselor, take some time to get to know him or her. Of course be respectful of their time, but try to stop by and chat every once in a while to increase your chances of getting a strong recommendation.
Patrick O’Connor is the author of the definitive college admissions guide, College is Yours, and one of the top college admissions counselors in America.
