Ask the Consultant: Your Upcoming PPT

Don't pack your bags quite yet -- there is planning to do!

Q: My junior's PPT is coming up soon. Is there anything specific we need to address to prepare for the college years?

A: Yes! Junior year planning is very important, particularly for a student with a learning difference. There are several main areas that a college-bound student with an IEP or 504 plan needs to consider: learning style, self-advocacy, accommodations, and documentation.  

Leaning style: Hopefully, by junior year in high school, the student has a decent idea of their academic strengths and weaknesses -- and we all have them. This is a good time to assess: How do you learn best? In what types of classroom settings are you the most successful? What accommodations are you utilizing? Are there any others that you might need in college? 

Self-advocacy: The most important attribute of a successful college student with a learning difference is self-advocacy. College students must take charge of asking for accommodations! This includes self-identifying as a student with a learning difference and notifying professors themselves. So, in setting goals for the rest of high school, focus on self-advocacy!! 

Accommodations: We like to tell our students to think about the move from high school to college accommodations as a shift from entitlement to equal access. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that a K-12 student is entitled to receive services to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. Colleges must comply with the Americans for Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act but are not bound by IDEA. They must provide equal access to education, leveling the playing field for a student with a disability. 

Documentation: College learning support offices ask students to provide updated documentation of their disability (neuro-psychological testing, medical diagnosis, etc.). Usually, they want this to be done within the last three years, so requesting updated testing during the junior year makes a lot of sense. 

Unfortunately, junior year also tends to be the one in which many students are guided to or independently decide to exit the special education system, especially students that are finding success academically and are good self-advocates. And while it is tempting to see college as a clean slate, that is rarely the case. Getting accommodations for things like high stakes standardized testing and college courses requires that a student is utilizing the accommodations that they have been given. Remember, you bring yourself with you to college, so why not give yourself every opportunity to find success? 

Ask the Consultant: ED Deferral

Q: I've been deferred from early decision to regular decision. Can I apply ED2 to my second choice?

A: Yes! When a college does not accept you via a binding early decision plan and places your application in the regular pile, you are no longer bound to attend if admitted. Therefore, you are able to shift gears and make a second early decision choice.

One thing to remember, however, is that you will most likely hear back from your ED2 school well before you will hear from any of your regular decision schools -- and if you are accepted, you have committed to withdrawing all other applications. So you will never know if you would have gotten into that ED1 school. If you're OK with that, go for it!!

More Students Are Looking at Law Schools

Law school is hot! According to the Law School Admission Council, the number of people applying for fall 2018 admission is up 12% as compared with last year. This is the first increase of significance in many years. 

Student to Student

Q: I've got my college list and have done some research on the schools. What do I do now?

A: Visit, visit, visit! College tours can surely get redundant, but I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to visit. Not only does it demonstrate interest, which may influence your admissions decision, but you may also realize that the atmosphere is or is not for you. Explore the town or city surrounding your school, too--it’s going to be your home for the next four years!

Our summer intern Laura Card is a sophomore at Colgate University, where she plans to major in Biology and Women's Studies. 

How to Deal with a Deferral in Five Steps

You've been deferred -- and no matter what anyone says to try to lessen the disappointment, it still feels lousy! Your parents are vacillating between trying to be comforting and hitting the panic button. You're staying off of Facebook to avoid all of the "Class of 2022!!!!" posts, even though you are genuinely happy for your friends. Some call it limbo; others call it purgatory. Here are five things you can do to right the ship and get cruising along once again.

1. Take some time for yourself. Just like the bereavement process, you need some time to grieve. That's OK. Go for a hike, binge-watch a series on Netflix, sob with your best friend, devour a pint of Ben and Jerry's "Chocolate Therapy."

2. Reassess. Once your mind is clear, it's time to move forward. We recommend that students take the "you're dead to me" approach to that deferring college until all the rest of their regular decision applications are submitted. Make sure to meet with your college advisor to take a look at your college list one more time. Do you have enough safe options that you genuinely like? 

3. Know the numbers. Traditionally, Yale defers around 50% of those that apply early action while Vanderbilt defers almost no one. Therefore, a Vanderbilt deferral has a much better shot at acceptance in the regular decision pool than the Yale deferral. Many colleges will post these numbers on their website or in an article in the college newspaper. If you can't find them, call the admission office and ask.

4. Move on. Many students find that the "you're dead to me" mindset endures. It is fine to say: if you didn't want to accept me early, I'd rather not go. For others, it's still "I can't get you out of my head." Colleges know this, and that is why we see very few regular decision acceptances after a deferral for students that do not reiterate their interest in attending. 

5. Plead your case. Pull out of the trashcan and uncrumple the deferral letter. Read what it says. Many colleges ask that you stay in touch and update them with new information to enhance your candidacy. These can include senior year grades (hopefully with more As), another teacher letter of recommendation, higher test scores, additional honors and awards, or enhanced extracurriculars. Other colleges ask that you not send anything else. You want to follow this request. If they give you the opportunity to add to your file, do so. Send a letter professing your love of the school and your desire to attend if admitted. Ask one of your senior year teachers to write you a new rec. Keep your grades up! Stay involved! 

Finally, don't let a deferral define you. Most seasoned admission officers are careful to say that they accept, reject, defer or waitlist a file, not an applicant. To them, you were just a stack of paper -- a stack that they likely reviewed in under ten minutes. So try not to take a deferral or rejection personally. They let a good one get away! 

Why Colleges Are Getting More Expensive

A recent survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education, "Filling the Funding Gap," asked college leaders how they plan to keep up with the increased challenges of funding for technology, innovation, and change. 68% said that they would likely raise tuition, 67% would raise student fees including room and board, and 52% planned on reducing staff.   

What Should You Do For a Career?

A recent Pew Research poll found that 34% of Americans would recommend a STEM focus for a high school student seeking career advice. Another third would advise that students follow their passion or pursue something that they love. Among this group, however, younger respondents tended to favor the "do what you love" path, unlike older respondents who favor STEM or technology careers. 

Ask the Consultant: Are Colleges Looking at My Social Media?

Q: Do colleges really check my social media accounts? My mother is convinced that they do and wants me to delete everything! 

A: A recent study by Kaplan Test Prep found that 35% of admission officers say that they check an applicant's social media. Can what they find there sway a decision? Of course!! But it's not always a negative. 

Many college admission officers state that social media can actually have a positive impact on a decision. 

Of the college admission reps that said that they check social media, 47% said that what they found online has had a positive impact on an admission decision. Anecdotally, we've seen the same. One of our seniors last year had a handwritten note on her acceptance letter. It said, "we follow you on Twitter and love your insight and perspective."  In the case of this particular student, she had used her Twitter feed as more of a blog than an encapsulation of or commentary on her daily life. And on the flip side, we had a recruited athlete that was dropped by a college coach because of the insensitive nature of some of his posts with regards to women and LGBTQ individuals. 

Do you need to delete all social media? Of course not. "I might actually wonder why a student didn't have any online presence," said a college rep in our office recently. But if you wouldn't put that post on a billboard -- take it down!

Student Loan Repayment Time

It’s that time of year when the buzz of the holiday season creates both excitement and some stress.  For those recently graduated from college, don’t get swept away in holiday cheer.  For those students with federal student loans, it is around the holiday time that your federal loans’ six-month grace period ends and you must start repayment.

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like -- Loan Repayments

Please keep in mind that it is up to you to understand what debt you have outstanding, what institution is your loan servicer, and what you owe when.  Remember, although the Department of Education disburses federal loans, a loan servicer is a separate company that administers your loan.  The loan servicer should contact you, either by email or direct mail, to let you know about your repayment plan.  However, if you have not heard anything, you are still responsible for seeking out this information.  You can log into your Federal Student Aid account using your FSA ID to gather details about your federal loans. Also, in some cases, your loan may be transferred to a new servicer who will notify you of the change.  Sometimes this notification can look like a piece of “junk mail” so my word of advice is to open all of your mail just in case. If you have private loans outside of the federal student loan program, you must make sure you understand your repayment plan from this third-party lender. 
 
For high school students in the process of applying for financial aid, I recommend that you make sure you save your FSA ID.  You will need it to reapply for financial aid every year anyway, and it is necessary to access information about the federal loans that will eventually enter repayment.  Second, understand the grace period of your loans.  Many loans have a six-month grace period but not all.  It is important to understand how quickly your loans are expected to be repaid.  Finally, be aware of how much you are borrowing and what your monthly payment will look like when your loans enter repayment.
 
While a loan payment may diminish your holiday cheer, remember, a college diploma is a pretty awesome gift.

If You Want Merit Scholarships, Deadlines Could Matter

Over 25 colleges and universities have early deadlines for students wanting to be considered for merit scholarships. The most common priority deadline -- December 1! So don't dilly dally.