Recommendation Letters

Recommendation letters are a time consuming process requiring a great deal of thought and time by your teachers (or counselor) who write them on your behalf. Juniors, as you finalize the list of schools where you will be applying next fall, it is important to determine if you are going to need a recommendation letter from a teacher (or two). Many of the Ohio schools - Ohio State University, OU, BGSU, Kent State, etc. do not require teacher recommendations. Because rec letters are a time consuming process, if the colleges where you are applying do not require recommendations, then please do not waste your teacher's time by requesting letters that won't be needed or used!

We will be hosting a Junior Seminar Presentation on Thursday morning (April 16th from 8:15-8:35am in Room 201) to address Rec Letters specifically.

If you are applying to schools that require teacher recommendation letters, it is very helpful and beneficial to the teachers if you can give them as much time as possible to write your recommendation letters. That means, if you know now that you are going to be applying to a school which needs a teacher rec letter, then we would suggest that you ask the teachers this spring allowing them to have the entire summer to write your letter. (These next few weeks are a great time to ask!) After you ask your teacher(s), you will want to provide them with information that can help them as they write your letter. We have several handouts in the counseling and career center and on the WKHS Counselor website that you can use for this purpose. 

AI & College Admissions

There is no area that is changing faster and growing more rapidly than the influence of AI in college admissions. It is the area where we are watching the most webinars, reading the most articles, and listening to the more podcasts about over any other aspect of college admissions. 

Can AI be a useful tool in supporting your college admissions process? Absolutely.

Can AI be mis-used and therefore hinder your college applications? Absolutely.

And that is why it is a tricky area. 

Tomorrow, all junior students are invited to attend the Junior Seminar on AI & Admissions where we will spend 20 minutes talking about appropriate use of AI in applications. Juniors, as a reminder, the seminars take place before school from 8:15-8:35 in Room 201. We hope to see you tomorrow morning for this workshop!

There are some colleges that say students must cite any AI resource used in any aspect of their application. There are others that know AI can be a helpful tool in researching, brainstorming, or giving feedback. And nearly all colleges would say that you should absolutely NOT use AI to write your essay or complete your application as a whole.

The best rule of thumb we have seen and heard related to appropriate AI use in your applications is that if you would not ask a human such as your parent, teacher or counselor to do something for you then you should not be asking AI to do it for you! I think that is a key way to help reframe thinking about AI and your applications.

AI and applications is an exciting, interesting area of growth and we will all continue to learn together.

CSCC Application Day

Are you planning on attending Columbus State Community College next year after you graduate? This is a great option for a lot of students because it allows students to transition from the high school to college expectations in typically smaller classes and for a fraction of the cost. 

Students attending CSCC have much later deadlines for admission and so it can be easy to procrastinate on completing the application. This Wednesday, in the Counseling Center Conference Rooms, we will be hosting an admissions representative from Columbus State Community College for an Application Day. Seniors, if you have not already applied to CSCC and want to have it as an option for you in the future, please take advange of this application day! Students can come during lunch periods and should bring their Social Security Number so that your entire application can be completed on the spot.  

For students who are already technically CSCC students because of participating in College Credit Plus, you don't have to submit an application to attend full time next year, but there are steps that need to be completed and the admissions rep will be able to assist you with completing those requirements as well.

Even if you're not sure you're ready to go to CSCC right away or if you are still holding it as an option for financial reasons as you try to make your decision about college, you can also come and participate in the Columbus State Community College Application Day.  

Feel free to stop and see me if you have any questions.

Dealing with Deferrals

One of the realities of the college admission process is that not every student will be accepted to every college. The waiting game can often be one of the more frustrating aspects. With family members and friends consistently asking, "Where are you going to college?" the uncertainty present with each "I don't know" response can be overwhelming.

Sometimes even when you hear back from the college, the answer still leaves you wondering where you stand. That is the case with a deferral. A deferral is not a "yes" and it is not a "no." It is what a college will do when they need more time to make a decision on your application.

So, what should you do if you are deferred?

One of the first steps should be to stop in and see me so that we can talk about the college decision and develop a game-plan for your next steps.

If I were trying to simplify the process, then I would suggest that you review the information communicated by the admissions office and follow their instructions. If they tell you that there are limits on what you can do, follow those. If they don't specify any guidelines, it may be beneficial to reach out and talk to the admissions rep who covers our school to learn more about where you stand and what they would like for you to do to be a more "ideal" candidate.

Almost every college who defers you will allow you to submit a letter of continued interest. This is where you will communicate any updates and information you can share with the admissions staff. In particular, let them know that of any new experiences that you have had or recent accomplishments they weren't previously aware of when you first applied. Updating them on your new activities and accomplishments through concrete examples and, when possible data, is important because it is your effort to help give the college a reason to select you and add your application to the "accepted" pile.

The counselors have also sent an updated copy of your transcript to all of the colleges who require a mid-year transcript through Common App, but if you applied in a different format or it is a school that doesn't require a mid-year transcript, then I'd suggest you requesting to have one of your updated transcripts sent.

Additionally, if you re-took your ACT or SAT exams and haven't forwarded your most recent scores to the college, request for the scores to be sent directly to the college of your choice.

You may also be able to consider other outreach efforts to communicate your strengths with the admissions office such as an additional teacher recommendation letter.  (But only do this if they will be sharing new information in their letter that wasn't already addressed in other parts of your application.) Or an additional college visit to the campus.

Although no one likes to be deferred, remember that this is not the end of the world and there is still plenty of time to communicate your strengths to the admissions committee so that you will hopefully be accepted to their school.

Senior Application Deadline Reminder

Seniors, I know many of you are still working on college applications.  I wanted to remind you to please, watch your deadlines!  

If you are looking at an early January deadline, you need to make sure that you have completed your transcript release form and invited me through Common App to submit your transcript. This should be done no later than this Friday, December 13th, in order to make sure I can get it taken care of before break.  Like you and your teachers, I will not be here during winter break to get a transcript for you, so you must plan ahead.  

Remember, you can have me upload your transcript to Common App without you being ready to submit your application so please, go ahead and invite me on Common App now!  And don't forget that you must also go to the Counselor Website to request your transcript in order to authorize it's release to the colleges.  It's a quick process, so just go ahead and knock that piece out now.

If you have any questions, please stop and see me!

STARS

First, I hope you all enjoy your day off tomorrow!

Second, for the seniors, it is a good chance to double check to make sure that there are no clean up steps you still need to take for the colleges with the applications you have submitted...

1. Do you need to make an account in their college portal?

2. Do they require a STARS report? There are about 40 colleges that use the STARS (Self-Reported Transcript and Academic Record System) which is a lot like the Common App Courses and Grades system. For the STARS report, you will create an account and report all of your courses and grades with your credits. The big key is to be sure that you are matching your transcript exactly. So pull it up off of Infinite Campus (in the Documents section) and fill it out carefully.

3. Check when their financial aid deadline is and be sure to start working on your FAFSA so that you get it completed before the first college's priority deadline to give yourself the best chance of qualifying for financial aid money.

Senior Reminder

I know that I have blogged about this before. I also sent an email to all of my senior students and parents to make sure you were aware. But please, do not forget... I will be out of town this weekend and will not be at school on Friday. So, if you are a senior who is applying to a college with a November 1st deadline, please be sure that you have invited me on Common App and submitted your transcript request form off the counselor website so that I have time to get all of my parts completed and turned in ahead of your deadline. Also, if you need me to look over any parts of your application, remember that this will also have to happen before the end of the day on Thursday.

I know that this timing isn't ideal with your November 1st deadlines, but I am current on all of the college applications that have been submitted to me already so we can do this! See me if you have any questions/ concerns. Also, every year I get the question about November 1st deadlines - if that is your deadline it means that your application must be turned in by 11:59pm Eastern Time. But I strongly encourage you NOT to procrastinate until the last possible second. Several years ago Common App experienced so much traffic in the final hour of November 1st that it had problems with applications getting submitted successfully... you don't want that to happen to you!

OSU Branch Option

Do you have your heart set on attending OSU? But at the same time, are you intimidated by the size or competitiveness of OSU's Columbus campus? That is the case for many of our students which is what makes the Branch Campuses of OSU such a strong appeal. There are several different branch locations, but the 2 that most Kilbourne students tend to select are the Newark and Marion campuses.

From October 1st through December 1st OSU is allowing students to apply directly to a branch campus for free. Please note, this is not for applications to main campus and not through the Common App - it is just for applications directly to the branch campuses. This fee waiver from OSU saves students the $60 application fee which is huge. The code to be able to take advantage of OSU's branch campus application fee waiver is RCW2026.

The Branch campuses are also offering a tuition scholarship option for qualified students as they progress forward with their degree similar to the Buckeye Bridge program for students who start at CSCC.

I know that many of our students will start at a branch campus so if you are interested in that as a path, don't miss out on this application fee waiver opportunity.

Request Forms Now!

Seniors, as you are working on your college applications there are forms that you will need to have submitted by the counselors. I need to remind you that you need to submit the forms to me as soon as possible, but at least 1 week ahead of the deadline. 

There are 2 pieces that you will need to submit if you are applying via Common App.

1. The Common Application Counselor Form. This is in the Recommenders and FERPA section of the application. You will fill out the form and invite me. Be sure to spell my name and email address accurately: babbott@wscloud.org

2. The Transcript Request Form. This is found on the Counselor Website. When you go to www.wkhscounselors.com click on the Transcript Request graphic on the Right Side of the page. If you are using a mobile device sometimes it is easier to find the link to the Transcript Request Form in the drop down under College/ Career. You will need to fill out the transcript request form for each of the colleges where you are going to apply so that I have the authorization to send your transcript to each of the colleges where you are applying.

I'd like to point out that I am completely current on processing all of the transcripts for students who have completed those two steps already. So if you think that you have invited me and/ or done the transcript request form and you see that it is not complete when you look at Common App then it means something isn't accurate in it. Please double check that you have used the right address when you invited me on Common App and be sure that you have submitted the transcript request form for each of the colleges.

If you have questions or need help finding the forms, please come see me and I will help you with it. 

I need to emphasize the importance of making sure that you request those forms a week in advance. This is always important to make sure that we get all of the forms processed in a timely manner, but it is even more important this year because November 1st falls on a weekend AND I will be out of town that weekend. So I will make sure that I have processed everything before I leave town, but I will be gone October 31st through November 2nd and so we need to be sure that all the forms are requested so I can complete my part for you on time.

Why THIS College?

Answering college supplemental questions - those questions that are uniquely for each specific college can be an important step for many of the applications, especially for the more competitive schools. One of the common questions you may see will be asking why you are interested in their college in particular.

These types of questions are taking you back to the basics.  Why do you like a particular college?  What is it about the school that made it stand out to you and left you with the impression that this would be a good place for you to spend your collegiate years?

Hopefully, you have an idea about what you'd answer for both of those questions for each school that you are including on your list of schools where you are going to apply.  And, let me clear - you should like something about every college that you are considering and you should feel good about each of the schools if you are applying there!

In addition to those answers mattering for deciding where you are going to apply, your answers to these questions are essential when you are trying to answer college-specific essay questions - especially if they ask you a question related to what you like about their school.  They may phrase it in different ways, but the bottom line is that they are trying to determine why you believe their school is a good fit for you.

Remember, the admissions officers who work for the school already think their school is great and they know about the wonderful opportunities available so you need to take it beyond saying that they have a great location, outstanding professors, a strong academic reputation and wonderful weather.  You need to take it to the next level by identifying specific aspects at the school where you can see yourself contributing to the school and the particular offerings that you plan to take advantage of while you are in college.

Good luck in searching for the right college fit for you and for conveying why it's a good fit in your essays. Also, remember, tomorrow night, Monday, October 13th from 5-6:30 the counselors will be hosting a College Application Completion Workshop in the Commons. If you're not already done with your application, please bring your chromebook/ laptop and let's work on making some solid progress together! And for those of you not planning to attend college following high school, don't forget that you can come to the Counseling Center tomorrow night at 6pm for a Pre-Apprenticeship presentation. Lots of great opportunities tomorrow evening and I hope to see you there!

Early Decision

Seniors are in very different places with regards to their college applications. Some of you have barely given a thought to where all you want to apply (for the record, this worries me, so if you are in that situation, please come talk to me). Others have already received their acceptances and are ready to kick back and enjoy senior year. The vast majority are somewhere in between the two extremes.

While I am always happy to help you in any way possible, there are some decisions that are for you and your family to make. For example, what schools you apply to and when you apply (assuming it is before the deadline) is entirely up to you. The other issue that has been weighing heavily on the minds of some students and their parents is the choice about if they should apply under Early Decision.

Remember, as I explained previously, Early Decision is binding. If you are not 100% sure if you want to go to that school, then the choice about should you apply early decision or not is actually quite easy - no. Because it is a binding decision, you cannot wait and see and take more time to decide, so if you are not completely sure about your desire to attend that school, then applying early decision would not be a wise decision. The other aspect that you and your family must seriously consider is the financial impact that attending the school could involve as you are making a commitment to attend the school and that you will withdraw your applications at all of your other schools. This means you will not be able to compare financial aid packages to see which school will provide the best offer. 

Some of you may be wondering what the advantage is to applying Early Decision. Aside from getting your admissions decision earlier, there is a definite advantage at some schools where applying as an early decision student increases your potential to be accepted at the school. This is, in part, due to the fact that it eliminates the concern from the college's side of if you will choose to actually come to their college in the future or not.  The data on how many of their accepted students actually end up coming and attending their college in the future is one of the factors that impacts college rankings and therefore it is an important predictor for colleges. 

Remember, if you plan on applying early decision, I need to know ahead of time because there is a form I must sign off on indicating that I have talked to you and your parents to confirm that I have reviewed with you the binding nature of applying early decision.

Common App Completion Workshop

It may seem scary how fast time flies and that college application deadlines are rapidly approaching.  I don't want you to be haunted by your applications!  Even though it may be getting dark outside, on Monday, October 13th, from 5:00 - 6:30pm, the counselors will be at school to assist you.  The most important trick is to bring your information with you.  Sometimes the essays may seem spooky and common app can be ghastly, but do not be afraid - the counselors are here to help!  No costumes are required, but we will have some treats.  You don't want to boo hoo because you miss it.  :-)

Students are in very different places in their application process.  A few of you still haven't started and so this will be a great opportunity for you to get started with your applications with our support and assistance.  Most of you have started, but are struggling to get finished and so if you need help finalizing your essays or just finding the time to be able to work through your application and have components checked, this is the perfect opportunity to complete your applications.

While I understand that coming back to school or not leaving after practice isn't very appealing, the reality is that it will make a difference.  By spending an hour and a half on focused application work, I am confident you will find the progress you make on your applications worth the sacrifice.  So, unless you have finished 100% of your applications, I hope you will join me and the rest of the counselors on Monday the 13th to work on finishing them!

Transcript Requests

Seniors must request to have your transcript sent to every college where you are applying.  You will do this using the Google Form on the WKHS Counselor Website. 

As you make progress with your applications, you can request your transcript at any point. Sometimes students think that you have to wait until you have applied to request your transcript and that is not true.  In fact, as long as you have determined that you are definitely applying to a college, then it is fine to go ahead and request your transcript. And, above all, you should be sure to submit the request at least a week ahead of the deadline. This is particularly important to me this year because I will be out of town without computer access October 31-November 2nd so I want to be 100% sure I have all of the Common App transcripts uploaded prior to that time.

When you are applying through Common App, I will upload your transcript and it will be sent to your college automatically when you submit the rest of your application. If you are applying through a non-Common App college then it will be sent electronically through a separate transcript program when you submit the request to us.

I know there are still a handful of my students who have invited me on Common App, but haven't submitted their transcript request form so if you aren't sure, please double check on your own Common App account because I am current on all of my Common App paperwork.

Also, on a separate note, don't forget that we have a modified bell schedule tomorrow for the Homecoming Week Pep Rally.

1st period - 8:40-9:19

2nd period - 9:24-10:12

3rd period - 10:17-10:56

4th period - 11:01-11:40

5th period- 11:45-12:24

6th period- 12:29-1:08

7th period- 1:13-1:52

8th period- 1:57-2:35

Pep Rally- 2:45-3:15

College Essays

Seniors, how is essay writing going? I have been talking to lots of students over the past few weeks about their essay topics and I want to point out that the most important goal of your essay is for admissions representatives to learn something about YOU!

So as you continue working on your essay, step back and look at your writing again – did they learn something about you that they wouldn’t have known prior to reading your essay?  I tend to frustrate students a lot when they come in with their drafts and before I even look at it I ask, "What am I going to learn about you when I read this?" If you don't have a good answer to that as you start writing then I strongly encourage you to pause and reflect before you keep writing.  You have to write with the end in mind when drafting college essays and the end is that the college admissions representative is going to learn something about you.

And then, for some more college essay insight, I read a lot of college articles and blogs and this Counselors' Corner blog post, A Word About College Essay Styles, by Patrick O'Connor jumped out at me and I loved it so much I want to share it with you as well.

A Word About College Essay Styles

by Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.

Students, you amaze me. You love to share your opinions. I know this, because you share them everywhere—Chattersnap, Gramphoto, and all the rest of those social media sites I know nothing about, other than you use them because you love to talk about yourselves.

Except when it comes to college essays. 

If I asked you for 650 words on your impressions of Permission to Dance, you’d go on for weeks. But colleges want 650 words about your favorite place in the world, and you say things like “The library. Gotta love that big dictionary.”

Permission denied.

Your college wants you to come to campus, talk with them for three hours, eat lunch, and go home. If they did admissions that way, they’d probably get great students—and by the time they were done interviewing everyone, each of those students would be 45 years old.

So you aren’t writing essays—you’re having a conversation, except you’re putting what you have to say on paper. That means you’ll want to do this:

Stop guessing. When a college asks “Name a problem you’d like to solve”, there’s no one right answer for everybody. Cure cancer? Great. The need for your mother to work three jobs? Absolutely. The squeak in your garage door? That can work, too—as long as it means something to you, and you can convey that meaning. This isn’t Algebra; you get to decide what the answer is, and why it makes sense. Put it down on paper, put the commas in the right place, and you’re good to go.

Tell a story. Remember the time you told your best friend about the first concert you went to, or the best pizza you ever ate? You were on fire at the end of the story, genuinely excited at the chance to share part of your life with them. That’s how you should feel once you’re done writing a college essay. This isn’t a speech you give to thousands of people; it’s a story that means something to you, and you’re telling it to someone who really wants to hear it. Save the speech; tell the tale.

Head or heart? Some students think the key to a great essay is to pack it with facts that make you sound like a brainiac, while others say the college will only beg you to come if they need a whole box of tissues to get through your essay. Life is a little of both, and so are college essays. Show the colleges what you think about, and why it means something to you. This will let them know you’re past the drama and trauma of teenagehood, and eager to embrace the tasks of becoming a thoughtful, caring adult.

Answer the question. If the college asks “Who do you admire?” and they still don’t know your answer once they’ve read your essay, you’ve given them one more reason to reject you. Ducking the question may work in Washington, but it doesn’t play well in admissions offices. If they want to know, you need to tell them.

Your goal is to write an essay that sounds so much like a conversation, they’ll be surprised you aren’t in the room with them when they’re finished reading it.

Kind of like Gramphoto. But with words.

Recommendation Letters

I have a love/ hate relationship with recommendation letters.  When they are needed, I am more than happy to write them for my students and I love taking the time to try to show you off and make sure the colleges know just how lucky they will be to have you as a part of their campus.  But there is so much confusion that surrounds rec letters and I really do hate when teachers or I are asked to write letters that never go anywhere at all.  Many colleges have moved away from requiring letters of recommendation - in part because all students will pick teachers that like them to write letters on their behalf and so the letters often sound similar and therefore it doesn't really help them to differentiate between the students.  So, your very first step connected to recommendation letters is to figure out if the colleges you are considering will actually need any letters of recommendation - and if they don't then you just saved yourself and your teacher a lot of time.

There are some colleges that will want a recommendation letter and others that will want multiple letters.  You will want to look specifically at what they are asking for you to provide.  Some colleges will require teacher recommendation letters, some counselor letters, others may be open to coaches, bosses, religious leaders or other adults who know you well, and yes, some may even want multiple letters.  Each college gets to make up their own mind and determine what information they want to have as a part of your application package.  OSU, for example, does not require any recommendation letters. (Can you blame them? Imagine trying to read 88,000 recommendation letters on top of the applications and essays that they receive.) Harvard, on the other hand, will require 2 teacher recommendations and a counselor recommendation. After reviewing the college websites, if you are still having problems determining if the colleges you are considering require recommendation letters – just stop down to see me and I can try to help you figure it out.

If you find that you do need recommendation letters, you have some work to do.  First, give some thought about who you would like to ask for the recommendations. Look at the requirements specified by the school – are they open to coaches or community representatives writing letters or do they want them to come from academic teachers? If it requires that the letters come from teachers can it be from any subject area or are they only open to the core subjects of English, math, science, and social studies? Are you looking at a career in a specific area that a teacher at WKHS can write about your strengths in that field? For example, if you are considering majoring in Spanish perhaps a recommendation letter from one of your Spanish teachers would be appropriate. What teachers know you best? Who can speak to your work ethic and classroom contributions? If possible, it is often ideal to show your strengths across multiple subjects, so if you have a few teachers to pick from and 2 are math and 1 is science perhaps it would be beneficial to ask 1 math and 1 science teacher rather than the 2 math teachers simply to show that diversity. Remember, in recommendation letters from teachers the colleges are asking for information about you as a student and your potential for handling the academic rigors of college.

Once you have figured out the teacher or teachers that you want to ask for a recommendation (if needed) it is then time to ASK them if they are willing to write a letter for you. It is really important to be reasonable in the amount of time that you are allowing them to have to write your letter. (Think at least 30 days - preferably more!) They are very busy with their classroom work and grading homework and papers and of course life in general and many teachers are often bombarded by students requesting recommendations. If a teacher is unable to write a recommendation letter for you – either because they don’t feel that they know you well enough to write a strong letter or because they have too much on their plate, don’t take it personally, simply ask another teacher. You will be thankful that you didn’t force them to write the letter because it wouldn’t be as solid of a recommendation letter if they were rushed or only had vague highlights to discuss.

After you have asked a teacher to write a letter on your behalf (and they agreed), then you will want to provide them with the teacher recommendation letter forms that can be found on the www.wkhscounselors.com website.  You will also need to be sure to invite your teachers electronically if you are applying through Common App.  It is rare that you will need any of your recommendation letters as a hard copy, but if that is the case you are responsible for providing your teacher with an envelope addressed to the appropriate college.  Please be sure that you have indicated to your teachers your application deadline.  You can submit your application through Common App even if your teachers have not uploaded their recommendation letter, but your application packet will not be complete until all parts (including the rec letters) have arrived at the college.

If you are applying to schools that do not need teacher recommendation letters, please do not waste your teacher's time by asking them to write a letter. Also, only ask the number of teachers that you need recommendations from - so if you are applying to two schools and both need 1 teacher recommendation letter, just ask one teacher to write a letter that will be used for both schools. You do not need to ask for more letters in case one is "better" than another - if you are not sure the teacher will write a positive letter for you, then you need to pick someone else. If you trust the teacher enough to ask them to write the letter, then you should trust them enough to be able to send their letter (without seeing it) to the college.  In fact, you should not be reading your recommendation letters - they are supposed to be confidential.

For those students that will need a counselor recommendation, please be aware that I write the letters on a first come first serve basis. It is the only way I know how to be fair. Recommendation letters are incredibly time consuming - especially when I have so many to write because unlike with teachers, if your college requires a counselor recommendation letter you don't have a choice about who you are asking to write your letter.  So please, watch your deadlines and try to help me write the best letter possible by allowing me to have the time with it. As with the teachers, please plan to give me at least 30 days to write your rec letter.  Also, there is a Counselor Recommendation Letter supplement form that we ask each student to fill out and a Parent Brag sheet that we ask you to have your parents complete and turn back in to me to use when writing your letter.  Please, be detailed and thoughtful when completing these forms because I want to be able to showcase you in the best way possible.  Each of you are unique and have wonderful qualities that you will bring to a campus, but when writing recommendation letters generalized praise is wasted space so I need stories and examples to help give people a true image of you and to make it more than just what they can read about you in your application. Once you have turned in your 2 forms, I will add your name to my recommendation letter list.  Also, if you have developed a resume or list of activities and awards I would love to have that because this information can also be helpful when writing your recommendation letter.

Before I close I want to point out that the need for counselor recommendation letters is a great reminder of why it is important for students of every grade level (Sophomore, Junior, and Senior) to drop by my office throughout the year to allow me to get to know you better.  I sincerely want to know students of all ages so that I am more comfortable with talking about some of the incredible things that you all are involved in and are accomplishing during your high school careers.

AI and Applications

AI and the college application process can be a complex topic.

Here is the reality, AI can be very helpful in certain aspects, but it is just your starting point and it is not foolproof or the magic solution to admissions.  After all, you are NOT a robot, you are YOU and there is no one better at being you than YOU!

So, let's get the temptation out of the way first... can it write your entire college application essay for you?  No, of course not.  Yes, I get that this is tempting to just let one of the AI tools come up with an essay about you for the college, but it is going to lack your personality and your unique story.  Will it be gramatically correct?  Yes.  Will it answer the question prompted?  Certainly.  But is that enough?  Unfortunately, no.

So, how can you use AI effectively in the admissions process?  

- It is a great tool for searching for colleges.  You can tell it a particular area of the country, a major, an acceptance rate, and the clubs or organizations you're hoping to find in a college and AI can generate a list of potential colleges for you to investigate.

- It can be a resource for figuring out how to tackle some aspects of the application.  For example, if you type in something like, "can you help me complete the activities section on Common App?" it will give you a step by step process which can be useful.

- It can help make revisions to your essays or condense something you have written down into the word count required.  As with edits made by your parents, your English teacher, or anyone else who helps review your essay draft, it is important to make sure that in the end the essay still sounds like you.  You don't want something that has been so revised to the point that it doesn't even sound like something you'd actually say, think or feel.

- You can even use AI to help brainstorm ideas on good topics based on your characteristics and values that you want to share with the college.

One of the presentations that I attended talked about how unbelievably exponential the growth of AI has been from an industry perspective.  So this is definitely a field that is growing and changing rapidly and how it will influence college applications will grow and change just as quickly.

Right now, some colleges are saying that they don't anticipate knowing if students are using AI to create their essays, but others say that they are leaning heavily on the ethical statements students commit to when submitting their application that this application is their words, their creation and their own voice.  Some even stated that if they were to find out later that the essay was AI generated, then they would hold revoking the acceptance as a viable option. And some colleges have even shared that they are no longer considering the essay as an evaluative component of the application, but will still be requiring it as a way to develop a wholistic view of the student.

When in doubt, remember that the best rule of thumb is if you wouldn't ask someone else to do it for you then you shouldn't ask AI to do it for you. Read the college policies and stance about AI carefully and be sure that what you are submitting will fall in line with their expectations.

Character Strengths

I am always on the look out for new ideas and approaches that students can use to help launch them into their college essays. Essays can be tough for so many students because you aren't used to writing about yourself. And, although this isn't accurate, too many of you also tend to think that there isn't anything unique, interesting or engaging that you could write about.

Let me clear that up right here and now. YOU are the only you there is which makes you unique. YOU are interesting in how you think and what you enjoy. And YOU are engaging in how you live your life to put those interests into play. And even if you are overthinking this (as some of you are prone to do), remember that you can talk about any part of your life and share why that represents an important value or characteristic that helps to make you YOU.

I had heard about the VIA Character Strengths and decided to check it out. Interestingly, when I went to log in I found that I had made an account before and I could see my results, but I went ahead and took the survey again just to see what the process was like and how my results would compare. It was a free, easy process to complete. You go through a series of questions and identify how much or how little that represents you. Remember, with stuff like this, it is always better to try to truly differentiate your answers. The more in the middle you give for everything the less accurate the results tend to be in the end. After completing the questionnaire you will be able to download your VIA Character Strengths profile which gives you a ranked order of what you have identified as being your top strengths.

If you are feeling stuck with trying to identify what you could write about, perhaps doing some more self-reflection activities like the VIA Character Strengths questionnaire could help you come up with ideas on how those strengths show up in your life. If you're interested in checking it out, go to their website at: https://www.viacharacter.org/ 

Application Deadline Terms

As you start through the college application process you will be exposed to a variety of new terms. One area that can be confusing is what all of the different application deadlines such as Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision and Rolling Admissions mean.

Early Decision

The key to remember with Early Decision is that it is a final decision and a COMMITMENT! Applying to a school in this program is considered a contract between the student and the college. You can apply to only one school as an Early Decision school. If you are accepted, you are promising to withdraw all other applications. Few students will ultimately apply to a school Early Decision because you are promising to attend the school - without seeing their financial aid package - and most students are not 100% certain that they want to attend one particular school. If you are considering applying to a school under the Early Decision program, please stop in and talk to me.

Early Action

This is a non-binding option and significantly more students will apply to schools using this option. Early Action has an earlier application deadline and students will learn if they have been accepted to the school much earlier than regular decision dates. (Some schools will defer an admissions decision to the Regular Decision deadline if the student is on the bubble and they want to wait to see how the rest of the applications will look.) Early Action is not a contract and, as a student, you are not obligated to attend school at that institution.

Restrictive Early Action

This is a non-binding option that is much less common. Sometimes also called Single Choice Early Action, with Restrictive Early Action you are not locking yourself into attending the school if you get admitted like you would be doing with Early Decision, but you are communicating to the college that this is your number one choice school. If you apply Restrictive Early Action to a college then it means you cannot apply Early Action or Early Decision to any other private colleges.

Regular Decision

This is the deadline that is often publicized from colleges and it is the actual latest deadline to apply to that school. This means you are applying and will hear your decision on their regular time schedule. There are no commitments or early notifications. It is important to note that the Regular Admissions deadlines are often AFTER the deadline for scholarship consideration – which adds in a whole additional set of deadlines to watch, but that is a different story for another day.

Rolling Admissions

This means that the colleges look at each application as they arrive and they make a decision as they go. So, if you apply quickly to a school with rolling admissions you are generally going to receive your admissions decision quickly. Schools that function with a rolling admissions policy of evaluating applications will still generally have a regular decision deadline which is the final date that the college is willing to accept any applications for the fall class.

It is really important to be watching your deadlines carefully – I can’t stress that enough! If you are struggling to find the deadlines for different schools, please stop in to see me.

September 1st

I hope you had a great long weekend and had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather. It will be nice to have a shorter week ahead. But what I found myself thinking multiple times throughout the day today was, "I can't believe it is September 1st!" Obviously just the way the first few weeks of school have already flown past, but also realizing that some of the seniors have college application deadlines that are 6 weeks to 2 months away is mind-boggling.

Because time always gets away from us, I want to remind you that it is important to start working on your applications now. Here are a few steps you can take this week to help yourself be more prepared for your application deadlines.

1. Log into Common App and fill out the "easy" parts. Just go ahead and knock that out. You likely did a lot of the easy questions in the main Common App section during the Common App 101 workshop, but we didn't spend time on the individual college sections and that is important to work on as well.

2. Start brainstorming your essay ideas. This likely starts by figuring out how many essays you're going to need and what aspects of yourself you are going to show in the various prompts. Remember, you can come meet with me if you want to talk through some of what you're thinking as you're looking at your essay requirements.

3. In the Recommenders and FERPA section of your Common App, go ahead and assign me as your counselor. Please be sure to spell my name and email address correctly when you submit that.

4. Fill out your transcript release form on the Counselor Website. This is an easy step that is required for each college and so you might as well just knock that part out of the way now.

5. Figure out if any of your colleges want a recommendation letter and, if so, how many they want and from whom. Then it is time to ASK those people if they'd be willing and able to write a letter on your behalf. 

If you feel like you're making progress on those 5 items and want more steps, please just stop by and see me and I can give you a personalized step-by-step list of other application items that you can start working on now.

College Essay Guy

Anyone who knows me knows how much I genuinely enjoy learning, reading, and expanding my knowledge about what can better help students in all aspects of their lives. College applications is a huge part of that. And college admissions is an ever changing field.

I love College Essay Guy.

He provides amazing resources, great videos, and incredible tips to help students in putting their best foot forward in college applications.

Last night he hosted a webinar on "How to stand out on your college essays this fall" and while I couldn't watch it live because of Open House, I was able to watch it later and I thought you might be interested in seeing it too. 

It feels like it has been a long week, but tomorrow is finally Friday, it is the WKHS vs TWHS football game, and we get a long weekend!