NACAC

While I take time to process the last week of NACAC convention madness, I encourage you to read Jacques Steinberg's NACAC blog posts on The Choice blog. The posts detail some very interesting sessions and trends in the field of college admissions.

I promise, my own NACAC themed blog posts will arrive in time.

Postsecondary Paths and a Liberal Arts Education

Last night, several parents and students came together for my annual College Night program.  After leaving this event, I reflected on the diverse post-secondary paths taken by my students over the last three years.

Although nearly 100% of my school's graduates are bound for four-year colleges, I think it is important to recognize that there are several ways of getting there. Some students may begin at a community college. Contrary to previous public opinion, the community college option is actually an academically rigorous path where students can pursue various courses of study and cultivate their passions. Furthermore, this path is often a less expensive option than traditional residential four-year colleges. Sometimes, beginning this way can help financially prime a student for later academic pursuits.

A second, more popular post-secondary option for my students and other students around the world is a gap year. A gap year is a year between high school and college where the student typically defers enrollment to college to travel, intern, work, etc. My students who have pursued this option have done so through gap years in Israel such as Young Judaea and Israeli yeshiva study programs. This year, The Shoshana S. Cardin School will be hosting a MASA Gap Year in Israel Fair on November 3 from 5-7pm. This event will be open to the Baltimore community and will feature representatives from numerous gap year programs and Israel/Jewish studies college programs. For more information on gap years in Israel, visit http://www.masaisrael.org/.

No matter how the student gets there, post-secondary education is becoming a hot topic in our society. Every child is unique and there is no single path or magic equation toward future success. For some students traveling in Israel for a year will help them mature and prepare them for rigorous academic studies in college, while other students may just dive right into a campus experience. No matter their path, I am confident that my students will succeed and thrive.

This final thought reminds me of a quotation I heard last week at a lecture at Goucher College about the state of liberal arts in American higher education.  The guest speakers represented a range of academic disciplines and careers.  One particular comment that resonated with me was the description of a liberal arts education as "intellectual and emotional training for the real world." As both an educator and a product of a liberal arts education, I think that description is very accurate.  In college and in my college counseling practice, when asked "what do you do with a major in sociology (or any other liberal arts major)?!" I always answer: "Whatever you want!"  And that's true.  I firmly believe that students from liberal arts colleges and college preparatory high schools that emphasize cross-disciplinary study can indeed do whatever they want as they progress through higher education and the "real world."

The First 50 Days

The first 50 days of senior year will fly by not only for students and parents, but also for their college counselors.  While students work on their essays, applications, and visit colleges, the counselors are busy scheduling college visits and writing recommendations.  Many students and parents don't realize the time and effort put forth by college counselors during this time of the year.  Although I have a small senior class, I still write a two-page recommendation for each student. I can only imagine the time crunch the larger schools feel!

To add to our pressure, many universities have bumped their deadlines up.  As a Maryland school, many students will be applying to the University of MD, College Park. Our outstanding state flagship university has pushed their proioirty deadline to November 1.  While this forces students to submit both parts of their applications earlier than previous years, it also requires the counselors to complete the student recommendations a month earlier than previous years.  While I recognize the reasoning UMD admissions professionals used for pushing this deadline forward, it doesn't make me any less stressed.  College counselors take the recommendations very seriously. We put a lot of time and thought into accurately portraying our students and advocating for them.  While working on recommendations, the counselors are also balancing other duties and helping students complete applications.

Here are some tips that will help relieve some of your counselor's stress during the first 50 days of the school year:
Students...
- Adhere to deadlines.  If we have to rush to get your recommendation and transcripts ready by an early date, you should be on top of that deadline too. It's YOUR future.
- Communicate.  Talk to your counselor about your likes, dislikes, passions, interests, life struggles, etc. Sharing this information will help us write a better recommendation that shows various aspects of your life.
- Say thank you.  It means a lot to us. 

Parents...
- Be aware of your child's deadlines. Although your child should advocate for himself, you can serve as a steady reminder.
- Be patient with the counselor. He/she is balancing a lot early in the year. 
- Trust us.  We will advocate for your child and work very hard to help your child reach his/her college admissions goals.

49 days to go!