Cheryl Paradis - Tackling College Admissions: Sanity + Strategy=success

Tackling College Admissions

Tackling College
Admissions

Sanity + Strategy = Success

JUST FOR PARENTS

Cheryl Paradis, Psy.D.
and Faren R. Siminoff, J.D., Ph.D.

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.

Published in the United States of America
by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowmanlittlefield.com

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United Kingdom

Distributed by National Book Network

Copyright 2008 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Paradis, Cheryl, 1957

Tackling College Admissions: Sanity + Strategy = Success / Cheryl Paradis and Faren R. Siminoff.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7425-4783-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-7425-4783-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. College student orientationUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. EducationParent participationUnited StatesHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Siminoff, Faren Rhea. II. Title.

LB2343.32.P373 2008

378.1'610973dc22 2007037763

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Contents

How to Use This Book

THIS BOOK is not a how to get my teen into an Ivy League College guide. Nor is it written for your teen. Instead, this book is written with you, the parent, in mind. It administers just what the college admissions doctor ordered: a little sanity and a lot of common sense. And, trust us, this is just what you and your college-bound teen need.

Why has the college admissions process become so daunting? The answer is found partly in the sheer number of applicants combined with the high cost of a college education. In past generations, only a relatively small percentage of the population attended college. Today, however, millions of parents and their teens enter the college admissions race each year. This race is akin to running the steeplechase: the path to the finish line is littered with obstacles and hurdles of all kindssome anticipated, and some entirely unexpectedeven for parents of the most focused teen. However, it is a race that, with training (and knowledge and humor), is entirely winnable, and virtually everyone can cross the finish line. The prize at the end? Admission to a college that provides the right fit for your teen.

We offer a simple, comprehensive approach to college admissions that can help your teen cross that finish line successfully. Weve divided this book into two parts. In : Training for the Race, we show you how to become an informed and effective coach for your teen. Here are your three crucial preparatory steps: first, discard destructive college admissions myths; second, understand your parenting style; and, third, assess your teens strengths, challenges, and needs. Once you have taken these preparatory steps, you are ready to begin the race.

In to the pitfalls and hurdles you may encounter on the course and teach you strategies to overcome them.

Here is a sample of the strategies you will learn that can help your teen cross the finish line:

Define and dispel destructive myths about the college admissions process

Help you identify and work with your parenting style

Help you identify your teens strengths and weaknesses and the challenges he or she may face during the application process

Teach you how to get the college dialogue started and how to keep it productive

Advise you how to help your teen put together the best college list

Teach you how to use the application and interview process to effectively market your teen

Provide you with specific easy-to-implement strategies and tips for motivating, assisting, and working with your teen to overcome any hurdles

Help you and your teen come to terms with your respective hopes and fears about college admissions

Teach you how to gain and maintain perspective, a sense of humor, and inner calm during this stressful time

Absolutely. Most teens are in fact what we call not-always-focused (NAF) teens. NAF teens frequently have some real hurdles, such as less-than-stellar grades or SAT scores. Usually, they are not the editor of the school newspaper or the class president. They are, in other words, your typical teen. If this is your teen, dont feel crestfallen! The good news is that the vast majority of teens fall into this NAF category. And more good news: there is an abundance of excellent colleges to choose from, both private and public. This book will help you find the college that provides the right fit for your teen. And, contrary to what you may believe, most are accepted by one of their top college choices. Making that match is all in the approach, and this book will provide you with the perspective and skills to guide your teen into that good fit.

Yes. Even if you have the seemingly always focused, or, as we like to call them, the always-focused (AF) teen, dont be lulled into a false sense of security by those great grades, long list of extracurriculars, and near-perfect SAT scores; they too can hit a roadblock. In addition, these teens also need to find the right college fit, and depending on your teen, this may or may not be the most competitive or elite institution. A final consideration: in todays admissions environment, even the AF teen will not necessarily breeze into one of the Ivies or other highly selective institutions scattered across the nation. In fact, only 3 percent of college-bound teens will attend one, and there are about ten or fifteen students applying for each slot. As of 2006, only 9 percent of applicants to Harvard made the cut, while the numbers at other institutions were as follows: Yale, 10 percent; Williams, 19 percent; Wesleyan, 28 percent; and Haverford College, a small selective school in Pennsylvania, 26 percent.

Does it seem unfair? Yes, of course. These AF teens appear to have done everything they were supposed to do and more. And in years past, most would probably have been shoe-ins. However, with the huge increase of echo boomer (children of baby boomers) applications, there are simply too few slots, even for the AF teen.

These numbers mean, as Wanda Blackman a school counselor from Jamesville-Dewitt High School, a suburban high school located near Syracuse, New York, forthrightly put it, Ivy Leagues are reach schools for everyone. But if you are the parent of an AF teen, dont despair. There are literally hundreds of other colleges and universities eagerly awaiting your teen, where he or she will receive just as good an education and, yes, sometimes better. This book will not only help you put the whole Ivy craze into perspective but also convince you to forget about brand names so that you can focus on finding the best fit for