College Guidance Q & A

As a college admissions advisor, Larry receives numerous questions from applicants and their families. This week he addresses a topic on the minds of many high school students - college admissions testing.

Q: Which is easier, the SAT or ACT?

A: The overwhelming use of these two tests is as a marker for college admissions, so it might be best to limit consideration to that purpose.

When an applicant submits scores to a college, the test scores are being considered in context - by comparison with historical applicant scores and scores of applicants in the current pool. For context when considering the test scores of applicants who submit ACT v SAT, the colleges can also turn to the concordance tables worked out by psychometricians at ACT and College Board.

Therefore, there is no meaning to any argument about “which is easier.” In relatively few instances, one of the tests is more suitable for a student than the other, but when looking at large numbers of test takers the outcomes are equivalent.

If you have questions about college admissions or would like to learn more about our program, please contact Larry Blumenstyk at larry@learningassoc.com.

College Guidance Q & A

Larry receives numerous questions from applicants and their families about college admissions. While this week's question comes from a younger student interested in applying to Ivy League universities, Larry's response includes thoughtful advice and insight that all students can use.

Q. How do I start preparing to apply to an Ivy League School if I just started high school? What should I do to maximize my chances of getting accepted?

A. Forget the appellation “Ivy League” to start. All the Ivy League colleges are excellent, but the eight of them compete in athletics without granting athletic scholarships. Unless you are an elite athlete, the league is meaningless.

Today, as you start high school, ask what’s important to you. Check back on that often. Over the next three years do what’s important to you and hopefully that goes beyond academics. Why? Because academic excellence is only the first screen for highly selective colleges.

When you discover what is important to you beyond academics, pursue it. Grow its influence upon you and others. If you need help, enlist capable partners. Be bold and ask for what you want, but listen to what you hear. Don’t just join. Joining is good, but it’s easy.

None of this is guaranteed to get you there. You might not succeed. But if you fall short, you will still be in a good place.

In the meantime, slowly but increasingly learn which colleges offer a match for your ideals and aspirations. Those colleges will see you in the most positive light.

When the August before your senior year arrives, start your applications and thoughtfully answer every question. Edit and revise. Be merciless upon yourself, allowing no clichés. Application submission is, unfortunately, a competition - but it is not a race. No fine college cares when you apply as long as it’s before their deadline. Good luck.

College Guidance Q & A

Applicants and their families have many questions about college admissions. Each week Larry shares a question and his response. This week's question is about hiring a college consultant to assist with the admissions process.

Q: Is it worth hiring a consultant to help with your child's college admissions letter to elite schools such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, Wharton, Oxford, etc.?

A: “Worth” is a difficult measure. Any student can get denied at any of those educational institutions, or their peers. Not going to one of those high prestige colleges will not ruin a young person’s life, so it’s impossible to measure the value of a consultant in that environment. Maybe the question of worth means different things to different families, depending upon their own specific finances as well as goals for their children. There are differences among college consultants that one should consider before making a hiring decision.

I am one of those consultants. I have visited over 185 college campuses in person. I have had lunch with admissions representatives from many others. I have been visited in my office by still more. I have been a member of IECA, HECA, NACAC, and NJACAC for many years. I have attended (and presented at) educational conferences sponsored by those organizations. I read the IECA, HECA, and NACAC listserves every day and contribute to those discussions. I also read The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the public writing of education leaders in admissions, enrollment, test preparation, and other fields. I recently reviewed the manuscript (for a book to be published in the fall) at the request of a nationally renowned education writer. There is only one certifying body for independent educational consultants - AICEP - and I have been allowed to take that test, passed it, and have since been recertified after 5 years. For all these reasons, I recognize the pitfalls in hiring a neighbor who has a PhD in English to edit college essays. That person might guide the writer to perfect punctuation and glorious language, but that is not how candidates to highly selective colleges distinguish themselves from their extraordinary peers.

The specific colleges in your inquiry are all very different and a competent consultant must understand that difference. A competent consultant also does not change the voice of the student when coaching the college essays. However, there are charlatans and incompetents who will take your money, and they are definitely not “worth” it, even if the cost is modest.

Consultants who continuously educate themselves as I do are at least worth considering. Consultants who work at their profession as I do have assisted students admitted to all those colleges, and their peers.

Please excuse any typos. I am responding on my iPad with my first cup of coffee in hand. And my neighbor who claims to be an essay consultant wasn’t available.