#College Application Process

[fannytasticlife]

Advocacy at Valencia College: A Story of Empowerment and Education

I had the privilege of supporting a dear friend through her journey to enroll and pursue their dream of finishing college at Valencia College's Osceola campus in Florida. The experience was nothing short of inspiring.

[thebestucollegeadmissions]

Why Colleges Do What They Do: Why ‘Student Friendly’ Policies are not Always What They Seem

If you have a student in the college application process, you may already be aware of some recent ‘big’ announcements by big name universities:

“More colleges extend test optional policies”

“UT joins the Common App!” “USC announces new early action option”

While these shifts sound like they might benefit applicants, the reality is a bit more complex. Read on for our insights about what motivates these policies and what this means for applicants –

What’s really behind making it ‘easier’ for students to apply?

As colleges announce shifts in their admission requirements, deadlines, and application processes, we want every student and parent to have an honest look at the why behind these changes.

Whether it’s accepting applications without test scores, offering an early action deadline where a college didn’t have one before, dropping supplemental essay requirements, or finally making it ‘easier’ for students to apply by joining the Common Application, each of these admissions office policy choices is rooted in a singular goal: increase application numbers.

Why do colleges want more applicants?

Simply put: prestige, the perception of exclusivity and excellence, and higher rankings. Because college rankings and our public perceptions about what makes a college highly desirable are tied to low acceptance rates, colleges are in a race to depress those numbers. The more applications a college receives, the lower that acceptance rate will plummet. The lower the acceptance rate, the higher the college moves on ranking lists that prioritize this factor, and the greater the college benefits from an air of prestige and exclusivity.

How do colleges increase application numbers?

Well, they could develop world-class programs and facilities, offer close mentoring and research opportunities between undergraduates and faculty, or invest in the quality of life, wellbeing, mental health and happiness of students. This is not to say that colleges are not doing these things: many are deeply committed to such initiatives, but these changes might take awhile, and growing public awareness of how amazing a particular college is at supporting and cultivating its students would take even longer.

So how does a college increase application numbers quickly? Tweak the application process or requirements. Enter the changes you’ve been hearing about in the news, and on those college tours. There are several proven strategies that will surely increase application numbers:

Adopt or maintain a test optional admission policy: We’ve seen this play out over the course of the Covid pandemic. More students apply when they believe test scores will not be a barrier to acceptance. However, as more students apply, the competition becomes even steeper…and colleges with test optional policies may still prefer students with great test scores.

Move to the Common Application: It stands to reason that more students will apply to a college that utilizes the application they are likely already completing for many other schools. This is a move we’ve seen from University of Texas and University of Washington this year. Stay tuned to hear how this impacts their acceptance rates this cycle.

Drop Supplemental Essay Requirements: Over the years many colleges have used this strategy to get a quick bump in application numbers. As students look to add colleges to their list, whether or not the application requires additional essays is a factor for many potential applicants.

Add a non-binding Early Action Deadline: Many students were thrilled to hear they can apply Early Action to USC for the first time this year. Many students. As has happened at other colleges that have made this shift, we anticipate that USC will see a bump in application numbers as students eagerly jump at the chance to apply Early Action.

While these policies can be a benefit to an applicant, we encourage students and parents to be savvy consumers and critical thinkers about the forces that are at play. And as always, one of the greatest insulations against these trends is building a college list that reflects the communities, resources, and opportunities that align with your own best fit. There are great colleges that your Aunt Sally has never heard of and wonderful institutions with acceptance rates above 50%.

Looking for more insights like these? Join us on our Membership Platform for exclusive content, live webinars, and the resources and tools to unstick your college process.

[uceazy]

Get The Help With The College Applications Process - UCEazy

There is services out there that can help you through your college applications process known as college admissions counseling services. These services can help you with everything from filling out your college applications to writing your college essay.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the college application process, consider reaching out to a college admissions counseling service like UCEazy for help.

[deltapelagicpetrel]

kim kittysuragi. If you even care.

[k0rdon]

uh oh im in trouble!!

[sasquatchandleatherjacket]

.

[rowenas-my-fave-child]

I just went back to a summer camp that I've been going to for 3 yrs now. and last year, I resigned the logo (I can't show the redesign bc the camp only exists in my town😔) and I told them to actually make it their new logo half jokingly AND THEY DID AND NOW EVERYONE AT CAMP HAS SHIRTS W THE LOGO I DISIGHNED FJEIFBDJSJDJDB

[fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-liar]

If I ever meet the CEO of College Board it's on sight

[fannytasticlife]

Advocacy at Valencia College: A Story of Empowerment and Education

I had the privilege of supporting a dear friend through her journey to enroll and pursue their dream of finishing college at Valencia College's Osceola campus in Florida. The experience was nothing short of inspiring.

[cicadaland]

the concert last night was so great I want to see if there's any recordings somewhere so I can Experience it again. It was fun but I wish I had gone with someone

[thebestucollegeadmissions]

Real Talk: ChatGPT & College Essays

Will ChatGPT be the end of the college essay? What students need to know

Talk of ChatGPT is just about…everywhere. Much has been written and speculated about how this technology will continue to transform our world. For anyone trying to make sense of the competitive world of college admissions, ChatGPT raises a whole new range of questions about what students will need to do in the application process.

If you’ve heard a rumor that the college essay is now ‘dead,’ read on for why we disagree and 3 ways college essays may change because of ChatGPT–

The College Essay is not dead.

The reasons for this are manyfold. The college essay, Common App essay, or personal statement as it is sometimes referred to, is the soul of the college application. For the most competitive colleges, this essay is not the standalone reason an admissions decision is made, but when rigorous course loads, GPAs, SATs, and activities can look very similar across a group of qualified applicants, the personal essay and the supplemental essays that accompany it provide an opportunity for nuance, authenticity, and voice to shine through. Admissions officers value this, and rely on it to connect with an applicant, envision them as a part of the campus community, and identify the values, experiences, and personal reflection an applicant will contribute.

If you’ve played around with ChatGPT, or even tried getting it to write a college essay, what you will discover is that it can write a passable essay. It can string together sentences that resemble college essays that admissions officers have probably read before. And, those are not the essays of admitted applicants.

ChatGPT cannot replace the key pieces that move decently written essays from good to great. Generally speaking, great college essays are not great because they are technically perfect, but because they form a connection between reader and writer, because they convey a sense of vulnerability, growth, and the wrestling and reflection of a young person looking to make sense of the world and their role within it. For all these reasons, we do not think the college admissions process will eliminate essays anytime soon.

Three trends we may see in admissions with the advent of ChatGPT:

Some Colleges may remove or reduce essay requirements:

The truth is, the college essay is not used interchangeably in all admissions offices. It has the most importance and impact at the most selective institutions. The intense competition in college admissions is actually concentrated to a relatively small portion of colleges. There are already a number of colleges, especially those that are working hard to recruit more applicants, that do not require essays as part of their admissions process. In these cases, they want to reduce the barrier to applying, and with the introduction of a chatbot who can write essays for students, we may see a small increase in the number of colleges that remove essay requirements from their application process. If so, expect these to be colleges with acceptance rates at or above 50%, or at public institutions that are already so intensely overwhelmed with applications that they are not likely giving much attention to essays anyway.

Some colleges may implement more innovative writing & video requirements:

There are already some colleges that provide time-bound supplemental essay prompts, and this is a practice we may see more colleges experiment with. In these cases, colleges provide an online platform where a student cannot see the prompt until logging in, and has a fixed amount of time to write without leaving the screen. Several randomly generated prompts are often used, so it is difficult to game the system and predict what the question will be. This gives an admissions reader a more honest sense of a student’s raw writing and reflection without the aid of adult intervention or chatbot support. Another possibility is we also may see colleges varying their supplemental prompts year over year so that students (and Chatbots) can rely less on past responses.

There are a small but growing number of colleges who offer or require the submission of a video response. Sometimes these give students time to craft and edit ahead, other times the student has to login, receive a prompt and respond within a fixed amount of time, to get a more off the cuff response. We are curious to see if this practice increases.

Some colleges will double down on the importance of quality essays:

If the purpose of the college essay is to bring forward the nuance of a student’s experience, perspective, insights, and vision for their future, some colleges double down on the importance of this kind of authenticity. We may see some highly selective colleges place additional emphasis on the strength of thought, reflection, and care in applicant’s written submissions.

No matter what happens in admissions or technological advancements, the college essay writing process will remain a valuable experience for young people. At its best, the personal and supplemental essay writing process invites a student to explore who they are, what factors have shaped them, and how they envision themselves contributing to the world as they grow, academically and personally. ChatGPT just can’t approximate those intangibles.

Looking for more insights like these? Join us on our Membership Platform for exclusive content, live webinars, and the resources and tools to unstick your college process.

[uceazy]

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The College Application Process - UCEazy Provides Personalized College Admissions Counseling

Want an easy college admission process? UCEazy works with students from 8th-12th grades, plus college transfers, to gain admissions in the elite colleges of the U.S.

[boydcrowdr]

just remembered the agricultural college i applied to bragged about having a quidditch team and “hogwarts-like” library. as if i wanted to go there to study british people and not, like, cows and plants.

[deliriousdisquisitions]

30.10.2022. Anxious mess today. Woke up at the crack of dawn, skipped breakfast, and dragged my ass to work. It's one of those days when I don’t want people to look at me and the idea of going anywhere to get lunch makes me feel out of breath, my legs turn to jelly. My friend stayed with me on the phone so I could actually walk out without having a panic attack halfway through. But hey, it’s gotten a lot better than it's been for the past 3 years so there’s your silver lining. 

Editing out my schedule for next month today and trying to not think about scholarship deadlines. I also need to get some readings done and fix my bibliography by the end of the month. My works cited page is all over the place. The rest I don't want to think about. Cross that bridge when I get there.

[doodlboy]

[crumbles into a pile of dust]

goodnight

[boyplushie]

i mighttt have found a job that pays $16/hr 😳