Mastering the "Why Us" Supplemental Essays

This essay is as important as the long Personal Statement essay. Admission officers at many colleges believe the response to this question tells them how much effort a student has put into getting to know the college and whether she is a serious applicant who is likely to matriculate. A student who has researched a college and knows it’s the right place for her is also less likely to transfer or drop out, and that means a higher retention rate for the school.

Some students use this essay as an opportunity to demonstrate “fake” interest in a college, but they usually end up with a generic answer that won’t enhance their application. For students who are genuinely interested in a college, the process of answering this question helps them assess whether the college is a good fit and enables them to write a meaningful response. 

When responding to the “why our college” prompt, resist the temptation to tell admission officers what they already know. They are aware that their college has a reputation for educational excellence. They know the low student-teacher ratio and the great internship opportunities. Your response should not sound as if  it was lifted from a school’s website. 

You need to use this essay to show that you and this college are a perfect match, and flattery is not the best way to do that. Instead, think about your interests, strengths and goals, and look for how they mesh with those of the college. If one institution’s mission statement talks about the importance of the life of the mind and another stresses its commitment to preparing students for the job market, you get a sense of the different approach each college has to education. You may realize that one institution is a much better fit for you.

Taking the time to review course offerings in the catalogue, and reading about professors, research opportunities, and student organizations will help you make sure you are applying to colleges that are truly good matches. Instead of trying too hard to win over admission officers, you will be able to make a compelling case for admission, in a matter-of-fact way that is ultimately much more effective. 

Merit Awards Can Make Private Colleges Affordable

A majority of private colleges, in an effort to attract top students, award substantial scholarships or grants based on merit. 

Merit scholarships are especially helpful in attracting students whose families don’t qualify for need-based financial aid but are unable or unwilling to pay more than $50,000 a year for college.

At highly selective colleges that offer merit scholarships, students need to have outstanding academic records. They may be required to write additional scholarship essays and may need to interview on campus. Some scholarships also consider leadership and community service.

Other colleges offer guaranteed scholarships, so if you have met a specified grade point average and test score, you will get a scholarship. National Merit Scholarship finalists are guaranteed scholarships at some schools. If you have reasonably good grades and test scores, and are willing to consider colleges that are not as well-known, you are likely to end up with some scholarship offers. Scholarships are generally renewable for three additional years, as long as you maintain the required grade point average. 

Students who can afford to attend a private college without taking on huge debt may find that the educational experience is much more personal and engaging, and well worth the extra cost. You are more likely to find a student-centered environment, more meaningful interactions with professors and more access to support services at a smaller private college than at a large public institution.

At private colleges, most students successfully complete their degree requirements in four years.  So don’t let the sticker price of private colleges keep you from applying; merit scholarships may make them more affordable than you think.

The Role of Holistic Admissions in College Evaluation

Colleges that practice holistic admissions consider factors beyond grades and test scores when making admission decisions. For most colleges, grades earned and courses selected make up the bulk of the admission criteria; selective colleges want to see evidence of high grades in a challenging curriculum. With the majority of US colleges now offering test optional admission (at least for the current year), additional factors take on new importance in holistic admissions. So, what else counts?

Holistic admissions looks closely at the ways in which the applicant chooses to spend their time.  Evidence of depth of commitment and growth over time in a few extracurricular activities makes the applicant a more competitive candidate.  Impact on others, through leadership activities and community service, also plays a significant role.  These qualities are seen in the applicant’s activity list, resume, essays and recommendations.

Holistic admissions also looks at the institution’s priorities in a given year. The college may need more students able to pay the whole bill, more students from under-represented areas of the country, or more students interested in majoring in the classics or languages.  Sometimes, the institutional priorities include more legacy candidates, a flautist for the orchestra, a catcher for the baseball team, or a journalist for the newspaper.  Institutional priorities vary from college to college, and change from year to year.

Holistic admissions may also take demonstrated interest (DI) into account.  For colleges that do consider DI, have you connected with their admission officers, opened (and perhaps responded) to their emails, visited either virtually or in-person, connected with admission officers when they have visited your area (or on-line), and accepted offers of interviews with either staff or alumni?

While you can’t affect many of these factors and institutional priorities, you can still make yourself a competitive candidate for admission by maximizing those you can control including involvement in activities, your academic profile, and demonstrating interest in each college on your list.

Back to In-classroom Learning

After over a year of online learning, most US students will be returning to the classroom this fall. Along with the excitement of seeing friends and resuming activities, many are feeling anxiety about the re-opening and return.  What do you need to do to maximize your high school experience?

· Get involved.  Join a club or activity that interests you and participate fully.  It doesn’t much matter which one.   Just follow your passions in finding a club that suits you or get together with a friend or two and start your own group.  Extracurricular activities are what make high school fun and give you a place to belong.

· Challenge yourself.  It might be tempting to take the easier route with grade-level classes, but try that AP or honors class and move beyond your comfort zone.  Don’t fear the teacher whom everyone says is really demanding—the best teachers are those who will encourage you to think outside the box and to stretch your mind.

· Ask for help.  There’s no glory in doing it all yourself; ask for help when you need it. Online learning has probably created more learning gaps than usual, and more students will need help. Meet with your English teacher after school for help with an essay or ask your math teacher to explain a difficult concept.  In this way you’ll establish relationships with your teachers outside of the classroom and perhaps find yourself with a true mentor. Hopefully, you’ll really get to know the individual who will write your college recommendation.

· Try not to focus on being with the “popular” kids.  High school students tend to form cliques of like-minded individuals.  Make your friends based on shared interests and values and welcome opportunities to get to know new friends throughout high school.

· Take care of yourself.  That means eating well, getting an adequate amount of sleep and exercise, and finding ways to manage the stress that comes with being a high school student, especially during COVID-19.  Learn to manage your time well so you don’t get caught with last-minute assignments.  Set aside time each day to work on each subject, even getting ahead in reading or other assignments when you can.  Make sure you build in time for fun and relaxation.  Go for a run, play with your dog, read a novel, chat with a friend—anything to break up long hours of study.

· Do good—volunteer.  Helping others will make you feel good about yourself.  Look for volunteer activities that you generally care about, not those you think will look good on your resume.  

· Don’t sweat the small stuff.  You’ll encounter a lot of petty ideas and petty people during your high school years, but you don’t need to get caught up in focusing on things that really will not matter.  Spend your time and effort on those things that are important to you.

· Keep your grades in perspective.  Of course, you’ll want to do the best you can in each of your classes, but don’t let a few disappointing grades convince you that you’ll never get into college.  There are wonderful colleges out there for students who’ve shown a range of achievement; there’s a place for every student who truly wants an education.

· Have fun!

Majoring in Applied Math

In an annual CareerCast.com survey of the best and worst occupations in the U.S., mathematicians often land in the top few spots.  With an average annual income of about $95,000, enviable working conditions, and considerable autonomy, math majors don’t only rank high, but math-related careers occupy over a third of the top 20 careers. If math has been one of your favorite classes in high school and you love to solve problems, especially those with only one “right” answer, you might want to consider a major in math.  Don’t see yourself as a mathematician?  Look instead to a study of applied mathematics.

Applied mathematics is the study of the mathematical methods and modeling that are typically used in professions as varied as science, engineering, business, and industry.  In this branch of mathematics, mathematicians work on practical problems rather than developing math theory.  Although applied math majors spend much of their time studying pure math, they do so with an eye to using the skills they develop to prepare for a particular career or purpose.  As an applied math major, you’ll take courses such as calculus, differential equations, linear algebra and discrete mathematics, but you’ll combine these studies with your career interests.  For example, you might apply mathematical principles to problems studied in physics, computer science, statistics, systems design, engineering, probability theory, or computer programming.

What kinds of career paths are open to students who major in applied mathematics?  Although many professions use math in their daily work, there are a host of careers for which a strong background in mathematics is a necessary prerequisite for success.  According to the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), mathematicians and computational scientists may work in a variety of vastly different career areas.

A bachelor’s degree in applied math will prepare you for jobs in statistics, actuarial sciences, mathematical modeling, cryptography, and math education.  You’ll apply your knowledge of mathematical principles to solve real-world problems.  For example, mathematical modeling is used to make predictions based on statistical evidence.  This can be applied in physiology to determine what will occur as blood pressure increases, in medicine to track outbreaks of epidemics, or in engineering to determine how quickly heat can be dissipated.  Financial institutions such as banks, investment companies and hedge funds use mathematical modeling to explain and predict the behavior of financial markets. 

Actuarial science takes math and statistics and applies these subjects to the finance and insurance industries.  Actuaries rank among the top few careers in the U.S. for both job satisfaction and salaries.

Cryptography deals with the practice of hiding information.  Once used to aid spies during wartime, cryptographers might now focus on protecting the security of credit cards and ATM machines.

Computer animation and digital imaging combine diverse fields of study such as math, computer science, fine art, traditional animation, physics and biomechanics.  This knowledge can be applied to a variety of areas such as medical diagnostics, entertainment, and fine art.

Climatology uses simulations to understand the forces that control our climate.  These simulations utilize data from satellites, ocean buoys and other monitoring equipment, and create mathematical models to predict future events.

You’ll find more careers for applied math majors at SIAM’s website at www.siam.org.

 Careers for Applied Math Majors

ï Analyst

ï Actuary

ï Business analyst

ï Computer systems engineer

ï Cryptographer

ï Data analyst

ï Data engineer

ï Data scientist

ï Engineer

ï Finance analyst

ï Financial advisor

ï Management analyst

ï Market research analyst

ï Math teacher

ï Mathematical modeler

ï Meteorologist

ï Pricing analyst

ï Programmer

ï Risk analyst

ï Statistician

ï Trader

Early Decision and Early Action

Over 450 colleges offer Early Decision or Early Action application plans.  Some offer both.  Before deciding whether you should apply Early Decision or Early Action, it’s important to understand the differences between applying through either one of these plans and applying in the regular decision round. Here are answers to some of the most common questions families have about Early Decision and Early Action.

What is Early Decision (ED)? Early Decision is a binding admission decision plan. In exchange for receiving an earlier admission decision, students applying ED agree that, if they’re admitted, they’ll attend that college and withdraw all of their other college applications. Typically, Early Decision plans have deadlines in early November. Since ED is a binding agreement, students who’ve carefully and thoroughly researched their college options and decided with certainty that one particular school is their top choice are the best candidates for Early Decision.S ome colleges also have a second ED round (ED2) with deadlines falling in early January. For ED1, applicants will generally receive their decision before Christmas. In the second ED2 round, students will receive their decision a month to six weeks before regular decision candidates are notified.

Will applying ED make it easier to get in?  Sometimes. Early Decision isn’t a “miracle” for students whose grades and test scores are far below the students typically admitted to a college. If you wouldn’t be a strong applicant for a particular college during the regular admission round, then it’s unlikely that you’ll be admitted simply because you apply under ED. However, when a student’s grades and test scores put the student within the typical ranges for admitted students at a college, they can often have a better chance of admission during the ED round. Keep In mind, however, that ED acceptance rates vary greatly from college to college, and the early applicant pool is often extremely well qualified. At the most competitive colleges, the acceptance rates for ED applicants are still very low.  Therefore, the decision to apply Early Decision shouldn’t be made just for a hoped-for admission advantage; apply early decision if you have decided that the school is your top choice college and you would like to receive your admission decision as soon as possible. While awaiting a decision, you need to keep working on the rest of your Regular Decision applications.

How will applying Early Decision affect financial aid? If you’re admitted during Early Decision, you’ll typically receive the same financial aid package that you would have received if you’d applied in the regular admission cycle. However, one of the main disadvantages of applying Early Decision is that if you’re admitted in the ED round, you won’t be able to compare financial aid offers from other colleges.  You won’t, for instance, know whether you might have received a significant merit scholarship or fewer student loans elsewhere.  Because you’re giving up the right to compare financial aid and scholarship offers from other colleges by applying ED, it’s smart for families to use the Net Price Calculators on different college websites to get estimates of how financial aid may vary before making the ED choice.

What happens when I receive my ED admission decision? When you apply ED, you’ll receive one of three decisions: Admit, deny, or deferred. If you’re admitted, you must immediately withdraw all applications to other colleges, and send in an enrollment deposit to the ED college. If you’re denied, you can’t reapply to the college in the regular decision round. If you’re deferred, the college will take a second look at your application during the Regular Decision round.

What is Early Action (EA)?  Like Early Decision, Early Action allows students to apply and receive an admission decision earlier in senior year.  EA, however, is not binding. If you’re admitted in the EA round, you can still apply to other colleges and will have until May 1 to make your final decision. The most common EA deadlines fall in November and December, although a few schools have slightly later EA deadlines. EA applicants typically receive their admission decision six to eight weeks after the EA deadline.

Will I have better chances of being admitted if I apply Early Action? It depends.  At some colleges, there’s not much difference in the admission rates between students who apply EA and those who apply in the regular decision round.  At many EA colleges, however, the percentage admitted in the EA round is higher than in the regular decision round. If you would be a solid candidate in the regular decision round, and are able to prepare a strong application by the EA deadline, your chances may improve by applying EA. However, students who need more time to bring up their grades or test scores, or to finish their applications, may find that they’ll have a better chance of admission by waiting to apply in the regular decision round.

How does applying Early Action affect financial aid?  Students will typically receive the same need-based financial aid package when they apply Early Action that they would if they applied during the regular admission cycle.  And your family will be able to compare financial aid offers from other colleges that admit you, before you make your final decision about where to attend.

Can a student apply to different colleges using both ED and EA?  You may apply ED to only one college at a time.  If you apply to a college in the ED 1 round and are denied or deferred, you may apply in the ED2 round at another college.  A student applying ED can usually apply Early Action to other colleges.  However, some colleges have Early Action restrictions that prohibit students from applying under Early Decision or Early Action elsewhere.  Because each college has its own rules, the best bet is to carefully review each college’s instructions before applying.

Financial and Legal Issues for New College Students

There are a few legal and financial issues that should be addressed before your son or daughter goes off to college. If your child has turned or will turn 18 during the next year, she is legally an adult, and you, her parent, lose the legal authority to make decisions on her behalf.  That means that you have no legal right to see her grades, manage her finances (although you remain responsible for paying her college tuition), or make medical decisions or speak with her doctor.  So, before she goes off to college, consider asking her to sign some documents that will keep you informed.

·  FERPA release:  with your child’s permission, you can speak with the college about her performance.  Colleges often have their own FERPA  release forms, so ask your student’s college for a copy.

·  HIPAA Authorization:  allows you to access your child’s health records and speak to her doctors about medical issues.

·  Advance Care Directive for Health Care:  allows you to act on your adult child’s behalf in the event that she is incapacitated and unable to make decisions for herself.  

·  Durable Power of Attorney:  allows you to act on your adult child’s behalf regarding legal or financial matters.  

You can get the previous three forms from your family lawyer.  Each of these forms can be revoked at any time, but having them in place while your child is away at college may provide the whole family with extra peace of mind.

This is also a good time to address money management issues.

·  Set up a bank account that will allow you to easily transfer money to her account.  Find out which banks have ATMs close to campus—college kids don’t often write checks.  Be sure to check on fees for using an ATM that’s not part of your bank’s network.  

·  Make plans to protect student property.  College kids tend to have a lot of valuable electronics and computer equipment.  Renter’s insurance can protect your investment if these items were to disappear.  Your homeowner’s policy might also cover dorm room possessions—check with your agent.  

·  Health insurance:  check out options provided by the college and compare these policies with your existing family medical coverage.  

·  Car insurance:  check with your agent.  If your child will not have a car at college, you may be eligible for a discount on your auto rate.

·  Discuss credit card dangers:  college students are besieged with credit card offers—discuss how the misuse of credit cards can affect their ability to get credit in the future.  Look into debit card options or provide your offspring with a card in your name that can be monitored.

Brainstorming your College Essay

Summer is a great time to ponder deep thoughts, and as the school year winds down, rising seniors should be pondering their college essays. 

The essay is a student’s best opportunity to set themselves apart in the college application. Their grades through junior year are set and while they may be able to improve their test scores in the fall, it’s the essay where they can truly put the spotlight on their personality. 

Remember, there are more than 35,000 other student government presidents, nearly 35,000 other school newspaper editors and thousands more members of the National Honor Society. The essay can be the ticket out of “Sameville.” No question, summer is the best time to start thinking about and drafting your essays. 

Where to start?  Brainstorming a compelling topic is much more challenging than just sitting down and writing an essay; in fact, it is a much more rewarding process. It is tough work because it requires self-analysis and a willingness to dig deep to provide the college admission reader with thoughtful, introspective writing. 

How do you brainstorm?  First, find a quiet place where you can think and write, away from distractions. To start, free-write some thoughts on different or defining moments you’ve had. Have you worked with someone who has had an impact on your life? This could be an extracurricular, academic, or athletic activity. What are the descriptors or the “defining characteristics that you or someone who knows you really well would use to describe you? Are you passionate about something? Do you have any quirky hobbies? Did you choose to become vegan? How have you changed in the last few years? Which experiences have been the most meaningful? And especially, how have you grown and changed during this pandemic year? Ask yourself, “What do I want colleges to know about me?” This is a great time to think about what is important to you and how you have matured over the last several years. 

Once you have written some thoughts, take a look at the essay prompts for the Common App and the Coalition Application.  These are intentionally vague, providing you with opportunities to use your brainstormed topics to fit one or more of the prompts.

At Journey Ahead, we use a software that assists students with brainstorming and keeping their essays organized.