Counselor Edition: You Have 8 Minutes to Make an Impression!
Checklist To Verify Your College Application Does That
(~2 Min Read)
Dear Future Undergraduate:
A few years ago, The Wall Street Journal said that at a number of competitive colleges, the college application readers spend 8 minutes per student application!
So, the question for college applicants is:
Will Your Application make an Impression in 8 minutes?
Athena Lao, a seasoned College Counselor believes:
You have to be clear how you want to present yourself to a College, and
Your application components should fill out that story.
Here is a Checklist to verify if your application makes the cut.
How do you present yourself in the application? Your Self-Portrait?
Self-Phrase - a “Phrase” to describe yourself? E.g., Energetic Community Builder, Fairness in AI Crusader.
This is the “North Star” for Your application. The individual components of your application should come together to paint your Self-Portrait.
Do your Grades, Test Scores, Courses align with your Self-Portrait?
Do they validate your competencies? Rigor?
Provide evidence that you are/were digging deeper into your declared areas of interest?
Have you highlighted your Extracurricular Activities in a manner that is congruent to your narrative? The Application Components you should review are:
Activities List
Essay
Supplemental Essays
Do Your Essays Add to the Self-Portrait?
What makes you tick,
Something relevant/important you’ve learned about yourself,
Superpower skill or attribute, or
An experience that bolsters your Self-Phrase?
Have you briefed your Recommenders on your Self-Portrait/Self-Phrase? That would aid recommenders
Provide their assessments about you, and
Direct their impressions & insights as a Teacher or Mentor, to bolster your story.
Lastly, have you made the case as to why you are a great Fit for that college today, and how you will be a distinguished future alum!
Review your responses to the prompts in your Supplemental Essay to make sure that it ties into your Self-Phrase.
Next: What Should You Do As An Applicant?
Walk-through your Application with the above Checklist;
Make notes based on the Review of your Application. Look out for overlapping descriptions of your Self-Portrait;
Share your notes with your Counselor to get their feedback;
Make changes, if any, to your Application;
Finally, if possible, request a Teacher (who is not your recommender), to critically read your application to see if your story comes through!
For More Listen to:
Hope your Application Makes a Great Impression. In 8 Mins!
All the Best!
October 2022 Podcasts Curated For You
1.Sophia Barber: Goldwater Scholar, From Pasadena City College to UCSD
Sophia Barber is a Goldwater Scholar pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Neurobiology at the University of California San Diego.
When time came for college after high school, Sophia decided to go to Pasadena City College for financial reasons.
Later, she transferred to UCSD to pursue the 4-year program.
Key Takeaways:
Sophia’s immediate family members have a neurological condition called the CMT (Charcot Marie Tooth) Disease, which motivated her to want to go to Medical School.
Sophia attended Pasadena City College to keep her college cost low;
Winning the Goldwater Scholarship and eventually transferring from Community College to UCSD.
Listen to Hi5s. Podcast Highlights with Sophia Barber of UCSD. (2.5-Minute Listen).
2.Cialfo Direct Apply: Simplifying International College Applications.
International students typically apply to colleges and universities in 2-3 destination countries - each with their unique requirements and process.
This results in a lot of separate series of steps across portals, not just for the students, but for the entire ecosystem of counselors, teachers, recommenders and schools.
Rohan Pasari is the Co-founder and CEO of Cialfo, a Global Ed-Tech company in Singapore.
Rohan joins us on our podcast to tell us What Direct Apply is, Feature Highlights, Benefits for Int’l Students, Counselors and Schools, and Why even Colleges and Universities like it.
Key Takeaways:
One-Stop Portal for International Students applying to colleges and universities in Different Countries;
Upload Student Profile information once, and have it reused for each individual college application;
Counselors, Teachers, Schools have a single, unified experience with transcripts, recommendations and tracking;
Students and Colleges can interact on the platform.
Listen to Hi5s. Podcast Highlights with Rohan Pasari on Cialfo Direct Apply. (2.5 Minute Listen)
3.Dean Graeme Harper: Students Should Consider Oakland University Honors College.
Graeme Harper is a Professor and Dean of Oakland University Honors College.
The Honors College was inaugurated at Oakland University in 1977. Prof. Graeme Harper joined as the Dean of OU HC in 2011. At the time there were around 400 students.
Today, it has grown to over 2000 students across majors. The Honors College represents 15% of all UG students on OU campus.
Key Takeaways:
Honors College is Intended for High Performing Students with a minimum 3.7 GPA requirement;
Program Highlights include Distinctive Programs, Study Abroad, Collaborative Community;
Independent Project with a Thesis;
Impressive Career Outcomes for their Honors College graduates.
In this podcast, Dean Harper tells us, What is an Honors College?, It's Origins, Introduces Oakland University Honors College, Its Distinctive Programs, What they look for in their Students, Merit Scholarships and Career Opportunities.
Listen to Hi5s. Podcast with Dean Graeme Harper on Honors College. (3-Minute Listen)
Thanks for reading Alma Matters Letter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Finally, A Big Thank You to all my podcast guests who have been generous with their time and counsel on my podcasts.
Have a Great November!
Venkat