Advice

  • Applying to college in 2013? Good news. » Dear Middle school Zinchers, do we have good news for you. We know that plenty of you are undaunted by the past few years' absurdly low admissions rates in the Ivy league. For the rest of you, fear not. In...
  • SAT = Saturday Afternoon Test? » Zinchers, put down those SAT guides -- you're going to want to read this. Well, not all of you should put them down, but before you spend any more time cramming, you might want to check if your schools of...
  • Zinch Gets a Shout-out on The Today Show » Yesterday MSNBC's Today Show aired a segment called "What Works and What Doesn't." What's the smart way for students to get into the college of their choice? Admissions authorities Terry Knaus of Indiana University and Martha Merrill of Connecticut College...
  • Options if you didn't get in somewhere » If you do not get into a college or university you had your heart set on you have a few choices of how to handle the decision. First, you can accept it, focus on schools that did accept you and move...
  • What to do if you're waitlisted » Getting waitlisted can be frustrating, confusing and/or exciting depending on what your expectations were in applying to that college. It’s frustrating because, similar to being deferred, it’s not a final answer. It’s a “hold on…. lets just wait it out”...
  • Highly Selective College Admission Acceptance Rates - How Low Can They Go?!? » As many have seen or heard by now, this year seems to have been especially difficult to gain admission to the most selective colleges and universities. The New York Times (April 1, 2008), and many college newspapers, have reported acceptance...
  • Free Money For College: The Top 5 Ways » McDonald's All-American? Winner of the Intel Science Prize? Congrats -- Every college in America would love to pay your tuition. You can stop reading now. For the rest of us, there's no easy way around it. College is going to...
  • Advice if you're deferred » If you get deferred your application will be reviewed with the regular decision pool. Unfortunately, this means you will have to wait until spring to get your final decision. In the meantime, you may wonder what you can do to improve your chances...
  • Will sending in my application before the deadline help? » Unless the school is rolling* then no. If you send your application in before the deadline it will not be read sooner, you will not receive your decision sooner, and you will not be more likely to get in.When applications...
  • "As founder and president of my school's knitting club..." » By now, you surely know that having leadership positions is advantageous in the college admissions process. That said, self created, senior year, uh-oh better get something to put in the “positions held, honors won or letters earned” column, short lived...
  • Does it help to be from Nebraska? » When I was in high school, many students and parents alike, shared their theories about maximizing strategies for getting into highly selective schools. One of these strategies that people seemed especially sure of was that we, as students from Connecticut,...
  • On transcripts » Got straight As? This entry won’t be for you. You may be panicked that you got one B in 10th grade and you’re sure that will keep you out of Harvard. You may be worried that your freshman year grades...
  • The Significance of the Intended Major.... » If you are unsure about your intended major or possible career plans, rest assured, you’re not alone and college admissions officers do not expect you to have this figured out. For the purposes of your Zinch profile, however, it is...
  • To all the juniors out there » If you’re a junior, you may be starting to pay attention to the college admissions process. Some schools begin meeting with juniors and their parents this year to help them plan ahead. This can be exciting for some families but...
  • Early Decision and Early Action » Many students, parents and counselors love to speculate and strategize about early decision and early action. At some colleges, the acceptance rate is significantly higher for the early pool than the regular pool leading many students to play their odds...
  • AP scores: To share or not to share » Many students wonder whether they should submit their AP scores if they are not high. They wonder if, on the plus side, by submitting them, they at least indicate that they didn't duck the test and avoid it. On the...
  • Scheduling an interview » I've gotten a couple questions about when and how to schedule an interview so instead of commenting, I figured I'd post so everyone would see. Some colleges do (alumni) interviews only after the applications are in. Some colleges do interviews only...
  • More on AP courses » When admissions officers look at your transcript they are looking to see which courses you took and how well you did in them. These elements are of equal importance. If your school offers AP classes, take the ones that interest...
  • AP courses vs. IB curriculum » When I worked in admissions I was often asked the question whether there is a difference between how colleges treat the IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum and AP (Advanced Placement) courses.  The short answer: no. Most students are familiar with at least one...
  • What not to ask » I've been suggesting that when you guys visit colleges, or speak with admissions officers at college fairs, you should ask questions. Not all questions are helpful, though. And since you'll only have so much time with admissions officers, you don't...
  • The College Interview - part II » Here are a few more tips to think about if you have an upcoming interview....
  • The College Interview - part I » Over the years, I’ve interviewed hundreds of prospective high school students for college admission. It was one of my favorite parts of the job. From that experience, I can give you all a heads up about what students do that works, what...
  • If you can't visit » I’ve been posting about what to do and expect when visiting schools. Truth is, many applicants can and do not visit the colleges they will apply to. If you are not able to visit college campuses this summer you are...
  • More Tips for the College Visit » More tips for those of you visiting college campuses. Attend the information session and make sure your questions are answered.Sometimes the information session is a rehashing of the information you received, or will receive, on the tour. If you’ve made the...
  • A few of my college admissions essays. » The dreadful college application essays....aaaaagggghhhh! For you rising seniors out there, it's about time to start thinking about it and drafting some ideas if you haven't already started. The more time you give yourself, the more people will be able...
  • From College Search to College Campus: the value of visiting » The College Search should now help make finding the right schools much easier. Once you've researched a number of schools you think would be a good fit, consider hopping in the car and checking the nearby ones out in person.Visiting college campuses is...
  • Geography and Highly Selective Admissions » When I was in high school, many students and parents alike liked to share their theories about maximizing strategies for getting into highly selective schools. One of these was that we, as students from Connecticut, were at a categorical, geographic...
  • Profile tips: what not to do » Two quick points which apply equally to your Zinch profile and your college applications.PicturesIn your profile you clearly have the option of uploading a picture. My suggestion is to choose a picture that captures your spark, but also one that you...
  • Your Zinch Profile » Two quick tips for your profiles.1. Since this profile will only be viewed by admissions officers at colleges and universities, you want to make sure to fill in the fields that they'd be interested in. The more concrete, thorough, relevant information you...
  • On Confidence and Priorities » One of the most important things to keep in mind regarding your summer plans is that you need to be confident that what you're doing is the best use of your time given your circumstances, options, goals and idiosyncracies. If...
  • More on Summer Opportunities » A day ago, Sarah highlighted some of the options students have during the summer months. I agree that the way you spend this time can impact your college admissions process. Here's an example... Between my junior and senior year in...
  • It's the summer, what to do... what to do... » As a former admissions officer, I've spent lots of time talking to students about their summer plans. Some students (or their parents) seek out and attend elaborate, expensive, community service-based trips to foreign countries. Some students take college level courses...