Recently in Admission Process Category

This is a bit of side-step from our normal conversation about boarding schools, but as a parent of a toddler I've got 529 plans on the brain.

My wife & I started one a year or so back knowing full well that we needed each second between then and the start of our child's (gulp!) college career for the plan to mature. It's stunning to start the process 18 years PRIOR, but that's a conversation for another day. In any event, we have lots of friends in the same boat and many (if not all) find the process of finding the right plan a bit confusing.

So, why talk about it here? Well, I stumbled on U Sphere a few weeks back-- a site that focuses on college admission. Lots of good info, but their directory of 529 plans immediately grabbed my attention. It's not intended to advise you on which plan to choose, but it does provide a great pivot point for your search. I found it handy to have all the plans in one place.

Admission deadlines have largely passed and while a select number of boarding schools are done for the season, many are shifting to rolling admission to fill their remaining spaces for next year.

Gaining acceptance during this second phase of the admission season is even more competitive since there are fewer spots available, but there are options. It's important to be mindful of the condensed process and go into it prepared to respond quickly to a school's admission requirements.

Brian wrote an article a few years back that tackles applying on short notice. In it he details what to keep in mind as you work through the process. If at all possible, he suggests working with an educational consultant. While professional consultants aren't inexpensive, they can be a tremendous asset when time is of the essence by helping a family with all phases their admission search.

Whether working independently or with a consultant, Brian offered a number of tips to think about as your navigate the admission maze. Among his many points are:

1. Have your critical student information ready before you begin your search. Collect your grades, test scores, report cards so you can avoid worrying about organizing the info when you're ready to apply to your schools of interest.

2. Build a student profile by asking the following kinds of questions:

In what type of school might you (the student) have the greatest chance of success?

What types of schools and activities are of interest?

3. Contact schools that look like good fits.

Ask the admission officers about "school fits" and what their opinions are given your academic and personal profiles.

Can the office make any school suggestions if they're full or aren't the right match?

4. Schedule campus visits and interviews. Even though the time-line is shortened, it's important to spend time on campus so you can get a sense of how you might respond to the school's culture.

Check out the article to read more of his suggestions for applying to a boarding on short notice and, of course, good luck with your search.

We recently had the opportunity to sit-down and talk with Charlie O'Hearn founder of Summit Education Group. Summit and has carved out the niche of personalized preparation for standardized testing. Charlie talks a bit about the foundation of Summit's test prep options.

Summit certainly isn't alone in the tutoring and test prep world. How does Summit do test prep differently/uniquely?
In a word, customization. Our focus is one-on-one, in-home tutoring for standardized tests and, within that niche, we pride ourselves on customizing a program precisely to the needs of each student.

Like other companies we offer a diagnostic test which allows us to get an early read on strengths and weaknesses both from a skills standpoint and a strategy perspective. Different students need different doses of those two things. During an initial conversations with the parent (and sometimes student), we create a profile of the students that contains basic data- like grades, courses, and extracurriculars- but goes much deeper to include descriptions of the student's favorite teachers, the student's learning style, the student's personality, the student's feelings toward standardized tests. All of this data gets considered when we match the student with a particular tutor. There is no "standard" student, and the match is critical.

In addition, we've designed our course materials specifically for use in a one-on-one setting. The books are unique in that they make it very easy for tutors to tailor the material to individual students. Our web-based database is state-of-the-art and allows for tutors, families and Summit staff to communicate effectively and efficiently. Everything is transparent and the transparency allows for day-by-day monitoring of the program. If adjustments need to be made, they're made quickly.

You face many large competitors. How does Summit set itself apart?
Most of my answer resides in my response above, but to add to that, I feel like we are much more customer-focused than the "bigs" and, frankly, we're more customer-focused than most of the smaller companies as well.

Call Kaplan and you're calling a call center in NYC and talking to someone who likely knows no more about test preparation and tutoring than what they learned in their training. Call a smaller company and you'll get an answering machine. Call Summit, and you'll immediately talk to a Program Director, who is, or has been, a tutor for us, who is extremely knowledgeable about all facets of college admissions testing, who will go the extra mile, and who will be involved in your program from your first call to the time that results from your final test come back. Our Program Directors feel very invested in each and every one of their families.

What drew you into the test preparation business?
As an undergraduate at Yale, I spent much of my time tutoring high school students from surrounding towns. I loved it, and for much of my time at Yale, I was sure I'd become a teacher. But as my tutoring load increased from word-of-mouth (the way our business grows today!), I actually hired classmates, and lo and behold, I had a business going!

Ever since I can remember, my father who owned a small business, gently pushed me and my siblings to be entrepreneurial. I sold seeds and greeting cards door to door before I was a teenager, and I had a thriving garden-tilling business throughout high school. Combine that entrepreneurial bent with my love of teaching and education, and you have the makings of a tutoring and test preparation business.

How do you approach the different tests and, then, translate the findings into approaches and lessons for your tutors?
We study and analyze the tests relentlessly and have been for 20 years. We are very systematic in our analysis, and that analysis directly affects the content, structure and layout of our course materials and our lesson plans. Successful test prep companies understand the inner workings of the test and then translate that effectively into their materials and curriculum.

How do you find your tutors? And, what to they bring to test prep teaching and lessons?
Our programs are only as good as the individuals who teach them. That's why we devote so much time and energy to recruiting the most talented instructors. All of our tutors have outstanding standardized test scores and have graduated from some of the most competitive universities in the country. Summit tutors come from a wide variety of backgrounds; in fact, we have over 200 tutors in Massachusetts and over 70 tutors in the Maryland-Virginia-DC area. The variety of tutors allows us to fulfill our mission of making the best match for each student. Each tutor is a skilled and enthusiastic educator who brings an ability to inspire, to connect with, and to engage students.

Importantly, and this is a difference between Summit and many other test prep companies, each tutor specializes in either math or verbal; tutors aren't asked to work in areas in which they're not expert.

Tell us a bit about what families seek from test preparation?
The immediate goal, of course, is higher test scores. But the reason they want higher test scores is to get their students into the best possible colleges and universities. Beyond that, I think parents are interested in giving their kids confidence and the ability to do well on standardized tests in general.

Specifically, given how busy students are these days, parents want something that is convenient and flexible, and for that reason alone sometimes, they'll call Summit since we do the tutoring at home on a schedule that works for the student.

From a pedagogical standpoint, some parents are looking for strategies to beat the test, some parents want certain skill deficiencies addressed, and other want both. As I mentioned before, successful prep addresses both the strategic side of taking a standardized test and the underlying skills.

I'm sure it's different for each student; what's the goal for each a student upon successful completion of a Summit Test prep course? Our goal is to get each student to score to his/her potential on the test, whether that test is the SAT, the ACT, Subject Tests, etc. For one student that might be to break into the 500's on each part of the SAT, and for another that might to score a perfect 36 on the ACT. I'm not sure that it's any more complicated than that!

Chris Farrell, Marketplace Morning Report economics correspondent presents a good piece on the recent commitments by several colleges and universities to reduce the borrowing/debt burdens of lower and middle income students.  

What does this mean for families staring at private school tuition?  Read his last paragraph and carry a critical perspective to the table when considering your loan options.

You can listen to a podcast of the interview as well.

In simplest terms, boarding school ranking is too complicated and inaccurate.  Be glad there isn't one.

A number of boarding schools place high numbers of students in competitive colleges and benefit from large endowments.  However, the idea of ranking independent schools top-bottom/best to worst misses the point.

Just as there is a college for everyone, there is a boarding school for everyone.

We don't have a boarding school ranking list because every school appeals to and works best with a different kind of student.  Dare we say each school is unique in the kind of student who will do well in its environment.

Toss the notion of hierarchy out.

How then to think about schools?

1. Figure out what kind of student you are and the kind of environment that is most likely to support your success.  What kinds of programs or activities do you need?
   
   
2. Read catalogs and materials closely; ask questions of the schools.  What kinds of students go to this school?  Does a student like me do well here?
   
   
3. Think of a school application in terms of match or fit.  Is this school a good match for me?  Does this school fit my abilities or provide what I need to be successful.

A ranking really doesn't matter at the end of the day. The most important thing is to dig deep to determine (as best you can) if a school fits where you are and what you need in your life as a student.

I'm excited to welcome Family First Academy as an AQ Member School.

Family First opened this month offering a traditional college preparatory curriculum in a living environment that provides "structure and defined expectations for students needing assistance with self discipline and motivation."

FFA is a residential community with students attending classes at Erie First Christian Academy located 200 yards away.  FFA academic and extracurricular programs provide flexibility so that the school can meet the needs of each student in and out of the classroom.  FFA offers college preparatory and college credit courses through their dual enrollment program and extracurriculars challenge the beginner to the advanced athlete.

FFA students practice personal responsibility and accomplishment in all facets of school life earning their privileges though weekly accomplishment- the ultimate goal being- good responsible decisions all the time.

Too learn more about FFA, visit their web site - http://www.familyfirstacademy.org/.

I'm pleased to welcome The Webb School in Bell Buck Tennessee as an AQ Member School.  A traditional co-ed boarding school, Webb uses the English upper school model with grades 6-12- totaling approximately 300 students- about 100 of whom board. Students adhere to dress and honor codes.  Webb has produced more graduates who've gone on to earn Rhodes scholarships than any other secondary school in the US.

To get a feel for Webb from a student perspective, go to the "News: student journals" section of the Webb website where you can read on-line student journals covering school life.

Webb trivia- Webb founder Swaney Webb's son founded The Webb Schools in California and his grandson founded the Webb School in Knoxville, TN.

I recently posted a list looking at 5 reasons to consider boarding schools and, to follow that up, here are five boarding school related web sites to use in your search. Hate to limit it to just five since there are so many great ones out there, but the goal is to keep things simple. Besides I sense a growing theme here...

Oh, before I forget, the sites are in no particular order:

1. The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS)
   Some 300 schools make up TABS. On their site you'll find profiles of each, along with the ability to order their free print directory. They also offer interesting research data in support of boarding education.
   
   
2. National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
   Different from TABS in that they represent private day schools as well as boarding schools. On the site you'll find a good deal of info on financing an education. Pay particular attention to their scholarship section- it's the most complete that I've found.
   
   
3. Boarding School Review
   Great site for information on boarding schools. Offers reviews, profiles, inquiry forms, etc.
   
   
4. Independent Educational Consultants Association
   I recommend starting here if you're looking for an educational consultant. The site features a searchable database of IECA members. Make sure to specify 'boarding school' to produce a list of consultants that specialize in that area.
   
   
5. AdmissionsQuest
   Well I'd be remiss not to include our own site, right?  Like so many of the sites above, we offer information on boarding schools, the admission process, working with consultants, etc. It's a fast growing resource and we invite you to let us know what else you'd like to see.

The admission office is a special audience- with whom you may never have communicated before and with whom you may never communicate again.  Yet, you need to present the best possible picture of yourself and the admission committee must get to know you as well they can in a short period. How? Well to a large degree through your application file.

The big question always asked is how do you make yourself stand out in the pile of applications?  In a phrase, very carefully and with good judgment.  Take a look at Linda K Wertheimer's "College Hopefuls Get Creative to a Fault: Admissions Gimmicks Rarely Work"  and keep these thoughts in mind when consider your application & any supporting docs:

"With application deadlines for many colleges drawing to a close, admissions officers advise restraint."

"The ultimate question is, 'Does this (chocolate chip cookies for the office) help the student get in?' " said Debra Shaver, Smith College director of admission. "And the answer is no. It certainly entertains the staff, but it doesn't help the student get in."

Our rule of thumb- avoid being too cute.  No baked goods or items that require refrigeration or make the admission committee work harder.  Anything that you present that increases admission office defeats the purpose.  Send nothing requiring special handling or maintenance and no writing that needs multiple readings or a degree in literary criticism to be understood.

Present anything that makes it easier for the admission to gain a more complete understanding of you and your efforts- a published short story, a juried painting, a concert recording.  Keep the items small and useful.    

A final note, even if the interview is optional, do it.  It's a great chance to present yourself and build a personal relationship and this is where you can ask the question, "would you like to see my plastic canvas needlepoint collection?" Check out this article on boarding school interviews for more tips.

Although written primarily for college applicants, Linda K. Wertheimerher's piece in today's Boston Globe ( Applying for College: Be Authentic, not bizzare) provides an opportunity to think about how the same process relates to boarding school admission. 

The thread running through her tips (and ours)- don't over sell yourself.  Stay honest and don't foist a bunch of half hearted or over wrought material at the admission office.  Remember that admission officers have a job to do and, as an applicant, you can help them do it well.  While some of her comments- "Resist the urge to send baked goods.." are tongue-in-cheek, her observations are spot on. 

To see what we've written about the private school admission and interview processes, visit AQ's article section for boarding school admission.