By Marjorie on May 14, 2012
- Just a note to let you know that I am one tiny step closer to my goal of getting free, quality information and advice about college admissions to every student in the country, regardless of their family background, financial resources, geographic location or attendance at public or private school.
Warmest regards,
Marjorie
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Posted in Applying To College, College Admissions, College Applications, College List | Tagged Applying to Colleges and Universities, Huffington Post college admissions article, Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz |
By Marjorie on May 8, 2012
Part III: How to alert colleges about your learning issues
- Since the passage of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, on their admissions applications colleges may not ask if a student has a learning disability. Therefore, students are responsible for informing colleges about their learning issues.
- Each college handles information about learning disabilities based on their own individual policies and procedures. If you have a learning disability and are applying to colleges, the first thing you should do is find out how each school on your college list handles learning issues. You can get this information on their respective websites.
There are three levels of learning disability support at colleges.
- 1) Some colleges offer very comprehensive learning disabilities programs, which include trained staff people and a very high level of support and services. Other colleges offer
- 2) learning services, which include varying levels of support and services. Many other colleges offer
- 3) accommodations for learning disabilities, and students must take responsibility for arranging them. See Midge Lipkin’s The College Sourcebook for Students with Learning and Developmental Differences for an explanation of the different levels.
- 1. To receive a fair and adequate review, you as an applicant need to provide colleges with a clear understanding of how your learning issues have impacted your ability to learn and perform academically, including
- a description of your disabilities and how long you have been aware of them
- what challenges you have faced as a result of having these issues,
- how you deal with and/or overcome your challenges, including what you have done on your own (such as putting in a lot more time than other students), getting educational tutoring and/or taking medication
- what you have learned from the your ld experiences
- what kind of accommodations, if any, you might need in college
This explanation can be in the form of an answer to an application essay question or an addendum to an application or a separate hard copy letter to the admissions office. Colleges want to know how well a student understands his or her learning issues.
- 2. Explaining your disabilities is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your positive attitude and coping skills
- 3. Students are not penalized for disclosing their learning issues; in fact, disclosure is likely to help admissions officers understand less than stellar grades and/or test scores, and especially the discrepancy between a student’s abilities and intelligence and his/her GPA and test scores.
- 4. If your learning disabilities were not diagnosed until your junior or senior year, college admissions officers should be alerted to any positive changes you made after the diagnosis.
- 5. In elementary, middle and high school, parents are their children’s advocates regarding learning differences. Once you are a college student, everything that happens around these issues has to come from you, including getting accommodations, connecting with the college learning disabilities center and taking responsibility for any medication you take. You need to learn to self-advocate about your learning disabilities before you leave for college.
- It is very useful to have the educational psychologist who provided your educational testing to write a letter to the admissions offices of the colleges to which you are applying summarizing his or her findings.
- Also, if you have the opportunity to personally visit different colleges, while on campus make sure that you stop by each college’s learning disability center to find out who they are and what they offer students.
- If you are interested in finding out more about what kinds of programs different colleges offer and also how to deal with admissions as a learning disabled student, here are some of the best resources available on the topic:
- Kravets, Marybeth, M.A., and Imy F. Wax, M.S. K & W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities, 10th Edition (College Admissions Guides)
New York, Princeton Review, Random House, 2010. A book filled with advice to learning disabled students about what to say and do about their learning issues in the college admissions process. Also provides the names of colleges that provide learning services and what you can expect from them.
- Lipkin, Midge, Ph.D. Colleges With Programs or Services for Students With Learning Disabilities (3rd ed.)
Westford, MA, Wintergreen Orchard House, 2009. By far, the most comprehensive book on what colleges and universities provide students who have learning disabilities.
- You can read part I and part II of this article on the blog, more information here: Part I and Part II.
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Posted in Applying To College, College Applications, Learning Disability, Students with Learning Disabilities | Tagged Applying to College with Learning Disability, Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz |
By Marjorie on March 21, 2012
Part II: Why and when should a student be tested for learning disabilities?
Given that about a third of the students with whom I work have learning issues of one kind or another, different admissions colleagues often come to me with questions about students with whom they are working. For example, not long ago I received this email question:
- Based on a long conversation with a mother on the phone the other day, I am thinking that her kid might have some learning issues. According to mom, he is an A student, but is a slow reader, has difficulty focusing on work, takes more time than others to complete homework, has particular problems with foreign languages, almost always underestimates the amount of time that it takes to complete tasks, and often doesn’t finish tests and other things that have time restrictions. The mother wants to know if I think she should have her son tested so that he can get extended time for the SAT and other tests.
- What I said to my friend was that based on what she told me about the student’s symptoms (albeit third hand), I would suggest that the mother at least consult an educational psychologist about whether her son might benefit from some testing, regardless of whether the information would lead to extended time for tests. I explained that it is very important for students (and their parents) to sort out any kind of learning deficiency while students are still in high school. The earlier, the better, because if learning disorders are found, there is still time (and while the parents have some control over their children’s choice of actions) for students
- to learn how to compensate for their learning issues and/or
- get educational therapy and/or
- special tutoring and/or
- possibly begin using prescribed medications to control their symptoms depending on what the educational test findings are.
It is very important for parents to choose a highly qualified, very experienced, positive psychologist to do the testing, who writes clear, articulate testing reports and who has the ability to explain those reports in writing to college admissions and/or learning services.
- Sometimes educational testing results lead parents applying for an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan for their child from a school, which allow for services and accommodations that help the child to succeed in school. However, a student does not need to have an IEP or 504 Plan in order to have his/her learning disabilities to be taken into consideration as a part of the college application process or to gain access to college learning services.
- Both the College Board Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) and the ACT Services for Students with Disabilities require documentation (testing) by a qualified licensed diagnostician (usually an educational psychologist) in order for a student to qualify for extended time and/or other accommodations.
- Students also need to have a formal diagnosis of a learning disability by a qualified, licensed diagnostician within three years of applying to a college in order for that information to be taken into consideration as a part of the college application process.
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Posted in Applying To College, College Admissions, College Applications, Students with Learning Disabilities, Test Prep | Tagged Applying to College When You Have A Learning Disability, High School Students with Learning Disabilities, Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz |
By Marjorie on March 14, 2012
Part I: What are learning disabilities?
- Definition of Learning Disability (LD, also called a learning disorder, learning difficulty or learning difference):
A learning disability is a neurological disorder…that results from a difference in the way a person’s brain is “wired.” (
Students) with learning disabilities are as smart or even smarter than their peers. But they may have difficulty reading, writing, spelling, reasoning, recalling and/or organizing information if left to figure out things by themselves or if taught in conventional ways.
A learning disability can’t be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong issue. With the right support and intervention, however, (students) with learning disabilities can succeed in school and go on to successful, often distinguished careers later in life.” (LDonline,
http://www.ldonline.org/)
You might be interested to know that many famous people have had learning issues, including Pablo Picasso, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Whoopi Goldberg, John F. Kennedy, Walt Disney, Robin Williams, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Justin Timberlake.
There are different kinds of learning disabilities, including:
- Attention disorders (Attention Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- ADD and ADHD are brain-based disorders characterized by poor attention, distractibility, and/or hyperactive, impulsive behavior.
- Auditory and visual processing disorders
- Two common learning disabilities are auditory (when a person has difficulty making sense of or analyzing information taken in through their ears) and visual (when a person has difficulty making sense of information taken in through the eyes) processing disorders.
- Dyslexia (Reading Disorder)
- Dyslexia is a learning disability in which a person has difficulty reading and/or understanding written words.
- Dyscalculia (Math Disorder)
- Dyscalculia is a learning disability in which a person has difficulty learning and understanding mathematical concepts and solving mathematical problems,
- Dysgraphia (Writing Disorder)
- Dysgraphia is a disability in which a person has difficulty forming letters, keeping them within a confined space and expressing thoughts in writing.
- Nonverbal Learning Disorder
- Nonverbal learning disorder is a developmental disability, which is characterized by such symptoms as getting lost, forgetting to do homework, being unprepared for class or tests, having difficulty following directions, misunderstanding teachers and peers, having problems with fine motor skills. (Adapted from http://www.ldonline.org/, http://www.ldaofky.org/Learning%20Disability%20defined.pdf)
If a
high school student has a learning disability, it is important for him or her to disclose it to college admissions offices, in order to receive a fair assessment by admissions people. In fact, not to disclose your learning issues can be a “set-up” for disappointment and/or failure in college admissions and then in college.
Stay tuned for Part II!
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Posted in College Admissions, College Applications, Students with Learning Disabilities | Tagged Applying to College with Learning Disability, Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz, Students with Learning Disabilities |
By Marjorie on March 1, 2012
To all juniors, sophomores and freshmen: Spring is when the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) offers its college fairs in cities across the United States. Here is a list of the cities where the fairs will take place:
http://www.nacacnet.org/EventsTraining/CollegeFairs/ncf/Spring/Pages/default.aspx
Although, not all US colleges will be at the fairs, many will be. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet face to face the college reps assigned to your school.
HERE IS WHAT TO DO AT THE FAIR:
1. Before you go, identify the colleges you want to visit.
2. Bring a copy of your Fiske Guide to write down notes on the college page of each school you visit. (It will also be very useful for you to have highlighted what you like and don’t like about each school should the college rep ask you why you are interested in his/her school)
3. Once you arrive at the Convention Center, get a listing of the colleges and mark which ones you want to visit. Note the locations of where they are on the College Fair map.
4. When you arrive at a booth, start off with, “Hi, my name is ____________ and I am a junior (sophomore) at _________________ High School. As I have researched colleges, I found that I am very interested in your school. I’m wondering if you have a minute to answer a few questions.”
Questions to ask:
5. Ask questions that you really want to have answered, e.g.,
- Can you tell me something about the campus atmosphere at your school? What happens during the day, evenings, (during the week and weekends?)
- What kinds of students tend to go to your school (serious academics, athletes, techys, party goers, environmentally conscious people, preppies, funky/unconventional people)?
- Do most students live on campus? If no, where do they live?
- What are the dorms like?
- What do student like most about your college? What do students tend to complain about? • What is the usual class size? How accessible are professors?
- Ask for a list of majors that you can look at when you get home. If you have a particular major you are interested in, ask about it
- If you have a particular activity you’re interested in, ask about it
- If you have a learning disability, ask what kind of learning disability services the college offers
- Ask anything else about which you want to know.
6. Thank the rep before you leave his/her booth. Ask for his/her business card and make sure that you have signed the guest book.
7. When you get home, send a thank you note to each of the reps you met. It might say something such as:
Thank you email to college rep
Dear Mr. ______________:
Just a note to thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me at the San Diego College Fair. I so enjoyed hearing about _______________ (name of college) and especially about _____________________ (something specific you heard from the rep).
I am very interested in ______________ and look forward to sending in my application next fall. Please let me know if/when you plan a return visit to ____________ (your home town). Sincerely, Your nameYour school Have a good time!
Sincerely,
Your name
Your school
Have a good time! You can also find adMISSION POSSIBLE on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+! Connect with me and get answers to your college admissions questions!
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Posted in Activities Resume, Check List, College Admissions, College Applications, College List, College Selection, College Visits | Tagged College Admissions Counselor, College Fair Tips, Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz |
By Marjorie on February 13, 2012
Here are some suggestions about how to deal with your college acceptances:
Deciding Which College Is The Best One For You
- General Information: Some acceptance letters have conditions tied to them: be sure to check for this.
- Deciding On One: It is always useful to spell out the pros and cons of attending each college that you are considering. The process for deciding on one college includes:
√ Identifying what you want in a college
√ Examining the financial aid packages
√ Re-reading your notes about the different colleges
√ Consulting with good sources
√ Attending pre-admit days or receptions
√ Rating each school on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 = No way!, 10 = The best!)
√ Deciding based on what your head and heart tell you to do
- Even if you make a decision about a college that you later regret; it’s not fatal. You can always transfer to another college.
For more information about what to do to decide on just one college, you can read my chapter on this subject here: The End Of The Admissions Road. There is also a lot of useful information about Dealing with a Wait List, Appealing a Denial and what to do if you want to Take a Gap Year.
Timeline
- May 1 is the deadline by which colleges want to hear that you accept their invitation to attend their college. You also need to fill out any housing forms you have been sent.
- Do it and celebrate!
Important! Many colleges pay close attention to second semester grades. Don’t even think about slacking off: keep your grades as high as you can. Keep in mind that colleges do rescind acceptances if student grades precipitously drop second semester, senior year.
Let us know as your acceptances come in! We can’t wait to hear.
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Posted in Check List, College Admissions, To Do Lists | Tagged Checklist for Seniors, College Acceptance Letter, Seniors Admissions Checklist |
By Marjorie on February 7, 2012
Here is a February 2012 admissions checklist for juniors, that we recommend you review, personalize it, and share with your classmates and friends. : )
- BEGIN PUTTING TOGETHER YOUR COLLEGE LIST.
With a list in hand, start researching colleges by reading the various guidebooks, including The Fiske Guide, The Insider’s Guide, and/or Colleges That Change Lives. You can also go online to see what students have to say about colleges on www.unigo.com and www.collegeprowler.com.
- SIGN UP FOR THE SAT I, SUBJECT TESTS AND/OR ACT TESTS that will be given in March, April, May and June.
Be sure that you are prepared for any test before you take it. If you haven’t already, make arrangements to get some admissions test tutoring. Many test sites fill up for these dates and some students end up having to drive far away from their home because close-by test locations have been filled.
Visit the
College Board and
ACT sites for more information.
- BEGIN MAKING PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER.
Believe me, it’s not too early. Colleges are very interested in what students do with their time when they are not in school.
- PUT TOGETHER A FIRST DRAFT OF YOUR ACTIVITIES RESUME.
1. FACEBOOK
While there are wildly differing practices among colleges, apparently admissions officers at some schools (e.g., the University of Wisconsin) are open to searching MySpace and Facebook for information about applicants to their respective colleges. Students should take precautions to make sure their privacy is protected on these sites:
√ Go to the privacy settings of your Facebook to make sure that only people you want are selected.
√ Create groups of friends that have access to different levels of information, such as your photos, posts and profile info..
√ NACAC listserv counselors recommend that if a student is going to post information about him or herself, “…it should pass the Grandma test…if you don’t want her or an admissions officer, future employer, scholarship committee, high school principal, etc. to see the information, don’t post it…”now or ever..
√ Also, NACAC counselors also suggest that you take a careful look at your email address to make sure that it doesn’t give the wrong impression.
2. NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY VERSUS NATIONAL HONOR ROLL
Students often get information from bogus organizations that make it seem like they are being honored by another legitimate one. For example, National Honor Society is a highly regarded organization that recognizes high school students who demonstrate excellence in areas of scholarship, leadership, service and character. National Honor Roll, on the other hand, is a group similar to Who’s Who Among High School Students, membership of which carries no weight in the admissions process. While not exactly bogus, just about anyone can join, and the ultimate goal is to get the student (or his/her parents) to buy their respective publications in which the student is listed.
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Posted in Activities Resume, Admission Essays, Check List, College Admissions, To Do Lists | Tagged College Admissions February To Do List, February Admissions To Do List |
By Marjorie on January 26, 2012
The
Common Application has just announced that the essay questions for the 2012-2013 application will be the same as this past year. This is good news, because you can start thinking about what you want to write for these essays any time from now on.
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below or on an attached sheet. (1000 characters with spaces maximum.)
- Please write an essay (250-500 words) on a topic of your choice or one of the options listed below. This personal essay helps us to become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself.
- Your Common Application essay should be the same for all colleges. Do not customize it in any way for individual colleges. Colleges that want customized essay responses will ask for them on a supplement form.
- C. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Please upload a document here if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application. (No word count)
Application essay writing should first start with the question you are answering and also pay close attention to the character and/or word count you are given. College admissions people are very picky about your answering their specific questions and following their directions. In a future blog piece, I will tell you how to collect personal stories that will make great content for your application essays, as well as step-by-step directions for how to make essay writing easy, effective and even fun.
Sophomores and freshmen should know that there will be a completely new Common Application, including new essay questions, beginning 2013-2014.
I also posted a college admissions to do list for Juniors so be sure to check that out. And please let me know if I can help create a to do list for something specifically related to College Admissions. You can find adMISSION POSSIBLE on Facebook and on Twitter at @admissposs.
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Posted in Admission Essays, College Admissions, College Applications | Tagged Common Application, Common Application Essay Questions, Essay Questions |
By Marjorie on January 11, 2012
College Admissions Advice: To Do List for Sophomores and Parents (January 2012 – June 2012)
IN GENERAL
- Begin thinking about what you want to do this coming summer. Colleges are just about as interested in what you do outside of school and with your summers as they are in your academics. Make sure you choose something you really enjoy.
- During school breaks and while on vacations, swing by any colleges that are nearby just to have a look at what different colleges are like.
JANUARY
- Take stock of how you are spending your time in and out of school. Is there anything you want to add or eliminate from your schedule? Make sure that everything you do is either something you enjoy or “counts” academically.
- Decide whether you want to take any Subject Tests for advanced classes in which you are enrolled. The possibilities are:
English, History & Social Studies
- Literature
- US History
- World History
Mathematics & Science
- Chemistry
- Biology E or M
- Math Level I
- Math Level 2
- Physics
Languages
- Chinese w listening
- French
- French w listening
- German
- German w listening
- Italian
- Japanese w listening
- Korean w listening
- Latin
- Modern Hebrew
- Spanish
- Spanish w listening
* All language with listening tests are given only on the November test date. Here are when the regular Subject tests will be given in 2012 that might correspond with your taking AP Tests.
Subject Tests 2012 : May 7,
June 4
* Just so you know, starting with freshman applicants fall quarter 2012, UC will no longer require two Subject Tests. They will still review them if applicants choose to send them and some majors at different UC campuses will still require them. Many other colleges continue to require or recommend 2 Subject Tests. No college requires more than 2.
FEBRUARY / MARCH
- Begin researching and making contact with the best test tutors in town so that you will have a place with one of them next year. If you want recommendations, let me know.
- Make sure that you are signed up for AP tests that are given at your school in May if you happen to be taking an AP course right now.
APRIL
- Attend the National Association of College Admissions Counseling college fair at the San Diego Convention Center March April 26 or in the city in which you reside.
MAY
- Finalize your summer plans.
- Carefully choose your next year classes, taking into consideration the rigor of the program and balance in your life.
- Take the AP test for any AP class in which you are enrolled.
JUNE
I also posted to do lists for Juniors and Seniors, so please share with your classmates. And please let me know if I can help create a to do list for something specifically related to College Admissions. You can find adMISSION POSSIBLE on Facebook and on Twitter at @admissposs.
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Posted in Check List, College Admissions, Common Application, Standardized Test and Test Prep, To Do Lists | Tagged College Admissions Advice, Sophomores College Admissions To Do List, To Do List for Sophomores and Parents |