Navigating world of college admissions

After going through the college admission process with her daughter and then her son, College Placement Consultant Ellen D. Friedman recognized a need for additional assistance in the process.

She took college counseling classes at UCLA and interned with an independent college consultant in South Orange County before beginning her practice.

She now works with disadvantaged teens on getting their college careers jump-started, and speaks at Marina High School on the college admissions process.

Friedman also has studied at other programs, including a coveted spot at the Harvard Summer Institute in Summer Admissions earlier this year.

What do students and parents worry about too much?

Gaining admission to name-brand schools. Students and their parents may do themselves a disservice by not investigating a variety of college options. There are approximately 3,000 universities in the country, and for some reason we only hear about the same 20 or so on a continual basis. A full residential college experience means different things to different individuals. Try to determine qualities that are important to the student, so that they can thrive not only academically, but socially and emotionally as well. Just because we hear a particular college name repeatedly, we should never assume that it is a good match until the student has done research to determine if that school is a good fit for their individual needs.

What most surprises parents and students about the college application/acceptance process?

Grades are not the sole determinate in college admissions. The transcript does represent the largest piece of the college admission process, but test scores and extracurricular activities are also important factors. Colleges are looking for students who have been involved in activities that are meaningful to them, in hopes that those students will choose to actively participate in the activities offered on their college campuses. I do not think résumé-building is a positive way to add extracurricular activities to one’s résumé. The most important thing to remember is students should take on activities that they enjoy, so they can speak passionately in a potential essay.

Are there any new policies or trends this school year that will affect students entering college in the next few years?

Starting March 2009, students will be able to determine which of their SAT scores they would like to submit. The College Board’s current policy is that if you send one score to a school, that college sees all scores from every test taken. This change in score reporting is the latest shake-up to the standardized test. Meanwhile, the ACT has become increasingly popular with students, in part because of the score-choice policy that the SAT now appears to be emulating. Many colleges are still unclear on how they are going to implement these new changes.

What do parents do that they think is helpful, but ultimately hurts students down the line?

Parents can fragment the college application process by becoming too involved in applications, especially when it comes to the essay portion of the application. Colleges are aware that essays are written by 17- to 18-year-olds, who see the world in a different way than a mature adult. The language a parent may use in editing an essay can actually make the writing sample seem insincere, dispassionate, and not particularly insightful. I believe a parent is most useful as an assistant to facilitate the task-oriented items that may need to be addressed.

What advice have you heard others give that actually hurts students in the application process?

Simply put, that “senior year does not count.” I just returned from the UC Conference at Berkeley and can assure every high school student — senior year counts! When accepted to college during your senior year, you must maintain the same level of grades on the transcript that the school received during the application process. Every senior has to submit a final transcript from the high school they attended to the university that they will be attending in the fall. If there is a “slip” in the grades, colleges can and often do rescind offers of admission. Bottom line, seniors need to continue to engage in the classroom up until graduation.

What should a student try to convey in their personal statement/essay?

Personal statements should exhibit intellect, personal character and integrity. Students should write essays about events, activities or impactful times in their lives and the effects and/or changes these had on the student. This is the section of the application where a student can try to augment information that is on the application or add clarity to any questions that may arise through the application.

Is there a place to find the average SAT/ACT scores of students admitted into a particular school?

You can wander into any major bookstore and find a large variety of resource books that list all sorts of statistical information on individual colleges.

I also suggest looking on the individual college websites for their current freshman profile. This will provide detailed information on the composition of the application pool and the profile of the incoming freshman class in terms of average GPA, test scores, gender breakdown and ethnic and racial diversity.

What kinds of regrets do students usually have about the process and how they can prevent that?

Do not delay in thinking about college. With the increasing competitiveness of college admissions, it is important to begin planning for college as soon as you enter high school. You can wait until your junior year to start visiting colleges, but there are many important things you can do in your early high school years to prepare for college. These include taking the pre-ACT and pre-SAT, choosing high school classes with an eye toward how they will look to college admissions reps, researching college costs and admission requirements, and determining how you will pay for college.

Start your applications early. The discussion of where to apply to college should ideally happen prior to the fall of the senior year. This will give students the opportunity to become better organized, and focus their attention in the summer months prior to the start of school.

To contact Friedman, call (562) 430-5589 or e-mail ellendfriedman@yahoo.com.

CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.