Applying To College

College Essay Writing and Interview Skills

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College Interview Tips: Is It Okay to Ask for Something to Drink?

A couple of days ago I watched a video on “College Interview Tips.” Number one was to bring questions for the interviewer. Number two was to turn off your cell phone.  Number three was to refuse the offer of something to drink. What??

I watched the woman in the video holding an empty paper cup. “Where are you going to put this?” she asked. “On the interviewer’s desk?” She frowned. “Are you going to hold it the whole time?” She shook her head. “What if you get nervous or move the wrong way?” She tipped the cup over. “Don’t accept anything to drink.” OMG. What if you’re thirsty???

It’s okay to accept a drink if you need one. College interviews cause nerves, and nerves can cause dry mouth. Always bring a bottle of water with you to the interview. If you get a dry mouth you’re covered. Plus, if you get stuck on a question a sip can give you a little extra time to think.

Obviously, think twice if there’s no place to put the cup and you’ll have to hold it. If the interviewer’s desk is the only available space, ask if it’s okay to put the cup there. Interviewers aren’t ogres and they’re not going to record that you were gauche enough to ask to park your cup — which they have been kind enough to give you — on the only available surface in the room. Certainly don’t put it at your feet; you’ll forget it’s there and that’s trouble. Now, if you know you’re clumsy, accepting that drink may not be such a good idea. But it’s not a cut and dry “never.”

Take a bottle of water to your college interview. But if you need something to drink, accept the offer.


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College Essay Writing: Will The College Think You’re A Match?

I had lunch this weekend with a friend from Norwalk, Connecticut, who told me about the essay help her daughter had gotten from a high school teacher. The teacher asked her students to be very creative with their ideas, and my friend’s daughter wrote about a dream to fly in hot air balloons.  My friend said the essay was good; it was interesting, filled with ideas and a good sense of self, and was, indeed, very creative. But it wasn’t a good submission for their daughter. Why? Because this young lady was applying to a physician assistant’s program, and her parents felt she needed to show that her goals matched the goals of the school. They were right.

If this young lady were an aspiring writer or pursuing another form of the arts, a creative essay on balloon flight might have served her well. But for her, the essay didn’t achieve an important purpose.

Colleges want to see that you can write creatively about your goals and aspirations. But colleges also want to see that you understand who THEY are. Do you understand their educational philosophy? Can you show them how you’ll fit in and make a positive contribution to their school? Are you a match?

Given the program she wanted to attend, this young lady hadn’t done that. She needed to make a change.

So my friend’s daughter wrote a different essay, discussing the influences in her life that led her to want to care for others. She was creative, but she also found ways to show the college that she was a good match for their program. It was a good essay choice. This year, her mother told me, she’s starting their physician assistant’s program.


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“Seven Secrets of College Admissions”

An interesting and quick read from Forbes.com gives seven pointers on choosing the best college and raises interesting questions. Is college choice about prestige? Should it be about a journey of self-discovery? Do we do a disservice to both the school and the student by labeling it a “safety school”?

A few of the article’s answers may seem obvious. (“When touring colleges visit differences. Compare an urban campus…to a quieter campus.”) But another does not: “Scan the rankings of best colleges and ignore them.” Should we do that?

Eventually everyone’s going to have a college list. Some of these lists have been prepared years ahead of time, groomed to be Ivy League or other prestigious schools. Once you’ve got the list it’s good to step back and take an objective look. What’s not on the list?

College choice needs to be a good match with the student’s interests, both academic and non-academic. I worked with a student from Stamford who excelled in math and science, and won a science scholarship. But he also liked music and art, and knew himself well enough that he didn’t want to limit his choices. So while he applied to a couple of prestigious science-heavy schools, he also applied to schools that were well-rounded in the arts. He chose one of those schools and it turned out to be a great fit. Last year he took a heavy load of science. And he also took banjo lessons.

Look for the best fit possible, not necessarily the best name possible. Sometimes that may mean a bit of a different choice.

Read the entire article at: www.forbes.com/2010/08/24/college-admissions-secrets-best-colleges-10-lifestyle-marcus.html


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“Can I Write About Abortion?” and Other Controversial Application Essay Subjects

A few days ago a student I was working with from Stamford asked me if she could write about abortion.  Half an hour later she was back on the phone asking if she could write about drugs.

Should you write about controversial subjects in your college application essay? I don’t recommend it. You don’t know who’s reading your essay. He or she might have a real problem with the subject matter or the side of the topic you decide to take. You just don’t know. Why take the risk when the process is already so competitive?

If you still want to go ahead, you have to cover your subject matter maturely, from both sides. That’s not to say you can’t have your own ideas. You can and you should. But there’s no room for petulance.

Why, by the way, are you writing about this subject? Are you passionate about it? Do you have a personal experience dealing with it? Does it somehow reflect (or affect) your sense of self in the world,  your sense of right and wrong? I asked the young woman who called me, and she gave me an interesting answer. She said that lately some of her struggles with her parents had been over their differing ideas of right and wrong. She extrapolated from that, and ended up at abortion and drugs.

What had happened was the student started with a personal experience, and then, feeling she had to have a “big topic,” chose one that she actually had very little connection to.  The connection she had was to her own experience, her own sense of right and wrong. I asked her to think about that and perhaps develop it into what could be a compelling essay — a true personal statement.

Every college essay has to reflect the writer — who you are, your interests, your goals and personality.  If you’re going to write about a controversial subject you’re taking a risk. But ultimately the subject has to boil down to you.