Chances of Getting into College – Top 10 Most Common Mistakes – Updated
High school seniors and their parents are in panic mode in the first half of senior year, making the following 10 mistakes:
1. No colleges have been selected, well maybe two or three of the ones that friends have mentioned. Friends? Should my senior be listening to what his friends have to say about where to apply?
2. No university has been visited, a “comfort zone” of a suitable university has not yet been established. Shouldn’t my biggest “feel” what kind of environment will work best, where will they survive and thrive?
3. A high school student resume has not been created. There is no single way to present my senior’s strengths in a college interview. Will I have to answer the college interview questions? Now, how do I get the desired interview if the university doesn’t allow it?
4. There is no college planning checklist of what needs to be done and when. How do I create one?
5. Teachers were not selected to receive letters of recommendation. There is no special strategy as to what the writer should limit his comments to. And to avoid looking like any other letter that is nothing more than a list. What do I ask for?
6. Strategy on what to consider when choosing a university. Am I supposed to have a strategy?
7. Strategy for choosing a university career. I thought college was to take the time to figure that out. No?
8. The five most common writing mistakes students make in their essays. Expect! How was he to know that?
9. Of all the good college essay topics, no topic has been selected. What is considered a “good” topic? What topics are prohibited? Wow … are there any topics that are off limits?
10. Strategy to achieve plus financial aid in case you receive an offer of Some help. How can I do that?
Parents who hire a professional college admissions consultant have already covered these bases. My clients have been “training” with me for the last year or two roughly the equivalent of their first skydiving jump, and the door is about to open at 5,000 feet.
Drink!
I’d panic myself right now, that’s only human. But my clients have been well prepared for this “senior moment” and things are going to be fine. That’s compared to those standing in the same open door 5,000 feet above the ground, looking down in panic and wondering, “What do I do now ?!” And their strategy is to “gut it” and “hope for the best.”
And they don’t have a professional instructor that they are linked to to make sure the jump goes smoothly and safely. They don’t even know where the cord is, but they will ask their barber or hairdresser for the answer.
My clients are fine. Your friends are not. That’s really a shame. Whoever loses Denial will be in full operational mode when their senior is in college for 5 years (there is a 63% chance) and my clients’ students will graduate in four and several in three and a half years. And no one will take the blame because the cost will be enormous (the cost of one more year of college + a full year of lost income).
Ultimately, it is the student who loses and loses a lot: greater debt and lingering doubts about future career options.
And to think that these mistakes could have been avoided.
