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The Ultimate College Admission Q&A: Admissions Experts Tell All!

Mon, 29 May 2023 19:55:17 GMT

The Ultimate College Admission Q&A: Admissions Experts Tell All!

Have questions about the admissions process, building a competitive college application, and everything in between? Follow along as admissions experts Darryl, Dan, and Arianna answer your burning questions about the admissions process.

Speaker 1

Welcome, everyone. This is a quad education webinar where we will just have a full hour to ask some of our fantastic admissions counselors all of the questions that we have about the college application process. So feel free to start adding those to our Q&A box. We have some of those when you register the form you filled out. But if you have any more, we'll be answering new ones as well. So just to give you a little bit of background on quad education, we are an admissions consulting company that works with students and families through the entire college admissions process. Some of our packages include working with students in their middle school years to start building their college candidacy profile to help you choose classes and start structuring your extra curriculars. We also work with students in all high school grades through senior year when you're applying to colleges. We help you decide what colleges to apply to, help you study for the SAT and ACT, help with extra curriculars, summer programs, research opportunities, and getting recommendation letters. Really, every single part of the college application process through you receiving acceptance letters and deciding what school to go to.

Speaker 1

So our panelists here today are three of our fantastic admissions consultants, and I'm going to have them introduce themselves. They know a ton and they work with many students all day, every day. So thank you all for being here. Arianna, can you introduce yourself?

Arianna Lee

Hi, everybody. I'm Arianna. I graduated from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor's in Neuroscience. So any premed students out there? And I've helped many students like yourselves, many families with tons of great questions that I already see are piling in. So really looking forward to the webinar today.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Arianna. Dan, can you introduce yourself?

Dan Stratford

Sure. Hi, everyone. Good to be here. So I'm Dan, two time graduate of Stanford University. My career is in EdTech and entrepreneurship. I'm passionate about lots of things. I really enjoy working with all sorts of students and their backgrounds. And yeah, this is great. Excited to see all your questions. And thanks for the ones that you submitted already. This will be a fun hour.

Speaker 1

Awesome. Thanks, Dan. And Daryl, you want to introduce yourself?

Daryl Tiggle

Yes, thanks a lot. Hi, my name is Daryl Tiggle, and I'm a graduate of Union College. A long, long time ago, but I spent most of my career working on really both sides of the admissions desk. I work at my Alma model Union College for many years as an undergraduate admissions officer. And then for a long time after that at Tufts University, right outside of Boston. And then after a long career in admissions, I moved to the other side to college counseling, where I see the profession from a whole different angle, but it's equally rewarding and even more exciting. So I answer a lot of the questions that I've seen in the list already, and looking forward to knocking them down tonight.

Speaker 1

Awesome. Well, thank you all for being here. And to everyone who has joined this webinar, thank you for spending your Tuesday afternoon with us. So we'll just dive right in and start from the top here. So the question, what are the implications of an early application? And I think with that, let's just go over the different early application types, what they mean, and some things to think about while you're choosing those.

Arianna Lee

Awesome. I guess I will start. So we have a few different application types. We have early action, which is non binding. We have restrictive early action, which is again, non binding. That means you're taking action to apply to college early. Those deadlines typically are around November 15th earlier or earlier part of the year. Restrictive early action means that you can apply to that specific school early, but I believe it's also another public university or only public universities that you can apply to in addition with that early admission choice. Then you have early decision, which is binding. You cannot apply to multiple schools early decision because that is a contract saying that if you get into the school, you do have to fulfill that and go to SAD school. Of course, we have regular decision, which is your normal application round in the later part of the year, typically around January first to February 15th. I don't know if many go beyond that. Then we also have rolling admissions, meaning that you can turn in the application and they will review it upon when they receive it and give you a decision based off when they receive it.

Arianna Lee

Did I cover everything? I'm missing.

Daryl Tiggle

Speaker 1

Think you covered it all. Thank you. All right, so next question. We have a couple of these that are similar, so I'm going to group a few of them together, but it's about extracurricular activities. So we have a couple of questions asking about how important is volunteer work or how important is volunteer work when compared to having a job, particularly for the summer? Does volunteering or having a job matter more either way? And then with that, what is the number of extra curriculars you should be aiming for? And is it okay to let your grade suffer to add on extra curriculars? Those are quite a few questions. So I can reask some of them if we don't hit them. Dan or Daryl, you want to take this? Sure.

Daryl Tiggle

I think in terms of the category, the variety of extra curricular, I don't think one outweighs the other. I think it's involvement, leadership, impact. Those are the things that are really most important. And it really depends. And we'll talk a lot later on as we answer other questions about context. For some students, they absolutely have to work during the summer. And if they do that, that's something that also might come out during their review of their application. Here's a student for whom work is essential to them helping their family move forward. Another student might be especially committed to service where they've poured their energy into that because that's where their heart is and they're good at that. So we tell students impact, leadership, and variety, I think is important. But if you can go deep as opposed to wide and have a really deep involvement in a couple of things, that can be equally impactful to your application outcomes as having a more robust list of activities.

Dan Stratford

I love that.

Dan Stratford

Daryl's just really hitting on the head. I think you'll hear this in several different permutations throughout tonight, this idea of there isn't necessarily one right answer, but we'll talk to you about principles, we'll talk to you about balance, we'll talk to you about being a whole person and how that balancing all of your strengths across different activities. That's a perfect answer. You can go really deep in one particular activity if you're showing that leadership, if you're showing that impact. I try to encourage students I work with as well to not feel like they have to. Sometimes I have a student who feels like I have to do 10 different things and I have to have a sports and I have to have really deep in a language. There's these boxes you have to check. I'm not saying don't be aware of those things. I think they're important, but don't kill yourself over those. It needs to be really do things that showcase your strengths. If you're really passionate about one, you have a way to show leadership and impact. It's okay to go deeper on that at the expense of some other things.

Speaker 1

Fantastic. I think that's a great answer. And then I think just one thing to hit on that I think was answered in that, but does volunteer work or having a paid actual job matter more? Or do you get dinged if you have a job and don't have the time to do volunteer work or a sport? How does that factor in?

Dan Stratford

This is a question of volunteering versus... You cut out for just a minute.

Speaker 1

Sorry about that. Volunteering versus having a job for a summer activity? Will you get dinged if you have a job that you need to have and are not volunteering or not participating in a sport or language or science extracurricular?

Dan Stratford

Yeah, dinged, I would say no. And as Darrell rightly pointed out, sometimes that's not even an option for some students. And so it's really about how do you show up in the activities that you participate in? Are you the person who is identifying... I love to use the problem action result framework. You can think of par, PAR. Are you identifying problems, whether that's in your internship or whether that's in your community service, identify problems, take an action that gets a result. And those are the stories that make for great application essays that get you great letters of recommendation that are personally rewarding, fulfilling. So you could have something that seems like a really great box check, and it's something that gets on the resume, and that's great. But it's even more impactful if you have really concrete actions you've taken that led to real results. And those results, by the way, you should try to quantify those. So think about like, I recruited five additional people, or I grew the ping pong club by 50 %, or I scored in the top five. Anytime you can bring numbers into it for your results, that just crystallizes a little bit more and stands out in the application.

Daryl Tiggle

I love that. And for anyone who ends up working with me, you're going to You're going to find out that I've absolutely stolen Dan's acronym, that par. Because you're looking for ways that you can understand it. Problems, find one. What action can I take and result? That's brilliant. Thank you.

Dan Stratford

You can do that on your sports team. You can do that in your summer job. You can do that in your classes. You can apply these principles in many places. So it's less about the activity for me anyway than it is about how you're showing up in those activities.

Speaker 1

Awesome. Great. We have another question that just came in about extracurriculars, and then one about early decision. So I'm going to circle back to that one after we finish this extra curricular question. But is research considered a passion project in extra curricular categories or in the academic categories? And I think this opens up a great question about having different buckets that you feel like you may need to fill.

Arianna Lee

You said, does research consist of?

Speaker 1

Is it a passion project?

Arianna Lee

It depends on what you are researching. Again, why are you researching?

Dan Stratford

Are you passionate about it?

Arianna Lee

Are you passionate about it? And that could be in general, even if it was in relation to a class that you're taking that does have a lab, you can still have a passion project from that that keeps stemming from that. I would say it depends. I know.

Speaker 1

You got.

Arianna Lee

To have the answer.

Daryl Tiggle

But I think in a perfect world, your passion should lie where your curiosity lies. And that's where research, that's where research intersects. So I had a student who's interested, they think vaguely in economics or business for their college journey. And they created a financial literacy program for middle school students. And that is like they did research on what are some of the things that contribute to people not managing their finances well. And it's not having been rich or not having learned to manage your money. And she created really a brilliant extra curricular activity that is research based that lies at the intersection of her passion. So they can be both. They can be both. And I think also, as you think about how colleges will evaluate your activity, they'll more often give you credit than demerits. There are very few things that they don't like in terms of students doing productive, even if you get paid.

Speaker 1

If you tell a college that this economic project is a research project or a passion project, one or the other, will they look at it? Or if it's academic or extra curricular, will they look at it differently? Does it matter what bucket you put it in on your application?

Daryl Tiggle

I don't know that I've heard a college in my whole time doing college admissions ever ask that juxtaposition of question. All right. That's what I think. If the person is worried about that, move that off the worry desk. Colleges are worried about that.

Arianna Lee

I don't think.

Arianna Lee

Yeah. And I will say too on that, to legitimize it further, make sure that you are working with, have a mentor, have someone that you're checking in with to hold you accountable. That way it's further legitimizing, if you're worried about that, what you're working on.

Daryl Tiggle

Speaker 1

Think those are the things to consider.

Dan Stratford

That's such a good example of like... I mean, that activity is like, it's leadership, it was initiative, it was research, it was extra. I mean, it was so many different things, and that's like a rich... I mean, you could talk about that in three different essays, right? And that would be okay if those are really substantially different skills that you're showing because that was a big part of that student's, their experience. So I love that example. And I love that as an example of like, you don't have to have a separate thing for like, this is my leadership and this is my service and this is my research. They can be together sometimes. And that's sometimes that's the best way to do it.

Speaker 1

All right. Thank you all. So to circle back on the early decision, what happens if you apply to a school early decision but know that you can't afford the tuition that is on their website? Should you not apply? Should you still apply? And I think this similar questions I'm sure a lot of people have about affording college, and should you apply to colleges that you know you can't afford?

Arianna Lee

Good.

Speaker 1

Question. Yeah.

Arianna Lee

I do know that applying earlier to schools, you have more access to scholarships and financial availability than you would if you apply later or more regular decision. Whether that is the choice of you going to the school, I can't tell you what your finances are, if you can afford it, if you can handle taking out the loans. But I will say, applying early decision, you are making a you're saying, if I get in, I'm going to go to this school. So you really want to think about that if you're going to apply early decision to this school.

Daryl Tiggle

My experience has been, and I think because of the high stakes implications of both enrollment and because of cost, colleges have been so the consumer should be super vigilant about making sure that you're ascertaining that understanding way before you even pick up the ED agreement. And you can do it in a couple of ways. Some students or families might know I'm not going to qualify for need based financial aid. So make sure that you could ascertain that. And if you do, if that school is a need based only school and you're applying for financial and you're applying ED, know before you do that that you're probably not going to be in an aid window. But almost every school, I'm sorry, every school is required to have a net price calculator. And because of this implication, the early decision schools with whom I've had experience, they're super good about making sure their net price calculator is one that in which if you're giving good information on the front end, it's going to give you really good information on the back end because as traumatic it is for a family to find out, Oh, my God. I can't afford to go to the school that I applied early decision school to.

Daryl Tiggle

And you don't have to be as sympathetic, super traumatic for the school to find out a student they admitted early decision who gets one of their spots is now not able to come. So they're going to work with you closely on the front end to make sure that that's a pitfall that you can avoid.

Speaker 1

So is that something you should reach out to use the calculator online, but maybe you reach out to the admissions office of the school to ask questions that pertain to your circumstances before you apply early decision?

Daryl Tiggle

Especially for binding early decision, yes. Reach out to them.

Speaker 1

Fantastic. And then you mentioned need based financial aid. Can you just give us a very brief overview of what that means?

Daryl Tiggle

And again, I want my colleagues to chime in if they have additional. So I tell students and families that financial aid really comes in two ways. And this is oversimplified where it's need based, which means it's married to your need, it's married to your wealth or your lack thereof. So that's where the aid comes from. Or it's merit based and merit based aid is married to your merit and merit has a more complex definition. So when you're looking at schools, because the need based aid is such a gift to the world, colleges within the first 20 words on their financial aid page will literally say, we meet fully, or we're an institution committed to need based financial aid. And I mean, anyone can challenge me on this first 20 words. It'll say that. If it's not in the first 200 words, it's very likely a place for whom need is not a metric they can meet, not because of where their heart is. It's because of financially, probably where they are. But that need based versus merit based aid continuum, just as a family, if you're not super rich, for which money is not a concern, totally understand what need versus merit based aid is tomorrow.

Arianna Lee

Then you also have need blind as well.

Daryl Tiggle

Give it to them.

Arianna Lee

Which is you, they do not look at your fund. You can qualify for their aid if they are offering it. But the main aids is exactly what Daryl talked about. It's either merit or it's need based, typically.

Speaker 1

Fantastic. All right. Some more questions. So we have a lot of questions that originally came in and that I'm seeing now about things that you can do to get into the college that you really want to go to. How can you put yourself one step ahead of your cohorts and position yourself to be a really qualified candidate for your dream school? And I have a feeling that all three of our panelists will say that it depends on a lot of different things, and it's going to be very case specific, but maybe we can go over just a high level couple of things that colleges look at and things that you should be thinking about for particular colleges when you're applying to know how you might stack up.

Dan Stratford

I can jump in first with some thoughts. One is that if you really want to go to this school, how does that play out and how would they know that? That's always one way that it can really stand out. If you've spent time talking to students, if you've been on the campus, if in every single school has an essay that says, Why do you want this school? And if you can say something that's not generic, that's like, No, I went to this class with this professor. I talked to the professor afterwards. They told me about the research that she was doing. And I talked with the students and they were so involved. I was like, This is my home. This is where I want to spend the next four years back. That story, a personal experience with the school, goes a long way to said, They know people are applying to lots of different schools at once. But if you could really say that this is the right one for me, that can really stand out and that can tip you over the edge. One way, lots of ways to differentiate, but that's one way.

Speaker 1

Daryl and Arianna, anything else to add to that?

Daryl Tiggle

When I'm talking about this particular piece, I put it under the general umbrella of demonstrating your interest. And that comes in many different ways. And colleges respond to the way in which you demonstrate interest in different ways. So demonstrating interest is simple. Get on their website, get on their mailing list, go on the campus tour. When they come to your high school, go to that visit. Whatever you can engage them. So demonstrating your interest is voting with your feet and showing up. But also being knowledgeable about the school. And like Dan said, when they ask the why Tiggle University question, make sure it's not the same. They couldn't say the same thing for Caldwell Lee and Stratford University and just lift the name. They want to know that you've done enough research that you can probably talk about their curriculum or talk about their learning style or talk about student life where, again, like they know, they know you're applying to 20 different places, but they'll know that building is only on our campus, that that faculty member only teaches here. So you can demonstrate that that place is one that resonates with you because you really know it in the landscape of a lot of places that might look and feel the same.

Daryl Tiggle

You've identified why it's good for you.

Dan Stratford

And a little tip, too, for all of you who are sophomores or juniors, get out there and look at the essays for this year because sometimes there's clues about what schools think their key differentiator is in the way they ask those questions. I know Wash U this year had a question about their flexible curriculum. I forget the name of it, but that's clearly something they really care about. So know something about that. Be able to talk about how that's going to play into your plans with that school. So love that. Be really knowledgeable on why that school thinks that they're doing something unique.

Arianna Lee

Absolutely. It's a love letter to the specific university. They know that you're applying to many others, but they want to hear how much you love their university. And then also another thing, if you are applying to a school based on the location, just be mindful to not make the entire essay about the location. So for example, you're applying to NYU because it's in New York, there are many other universities and schools in New York, and they're going to want to know why ours? Or otherwise, we can send you to every other school in New York for an acceptance and not ours. So just be mindful in separating that out.

Speaker 1

So it sounds like this is the time to get on a school's website, on their Instagram, see what current students are doing, look at the clubs, look at what makes their curriculum different than other schools. And it's okay to be a little bit stockerish with the school and see what speaks to you.

Daryl Tiggle

And not to scare anyone on this whole stocker continuum. Colleges, they do. Some do look to see, are they reading our stuff? Have they responded? Did they show up for the tour? So make sure you're engaging them. Make sure you're engaging them.

Speaker 1

So this is along that same line, but what does it mean to be a competitive applicant out of school? And what's a good GPA that you should be aiming for when applying to schools?

Daryl Tiggle

Who's up first?

Arianna Lee

Got it. No, I'm just kidding. I would say a target GPA. So if you're looking up the specific top school that you want to go to look up what their average accepted GPA is. Every school is going to vary. And if you're making your college list, or if you're working with your quad counselor to make your college list, you're going to want to put it in categories of safety, match, and reach schools. So your particular school that you're applying to, you really want to be within above that accepted GPA if you really want to have a strong chance of getting accepted. The further you're away from that accepted GPA, we can assume the correlation of the potential to be accepted. Granted, it is an average, and there are students that get in with way higher GPA and way lower GPA. It doesn't necessarily mean that's the end all be all, but you at least have a framework. Hey, this is where I should be if I want to have a strong chance of getting accepted to the university.

Speaker 1

Great answer.

Daryl Tiggle

I'd say in my experience, working on both sides of the desk, there's really just not a universal grading system. Every school does it a little bit differently. But not to be too obvious, those schools everybody knows the names of, you got to have ways to get it. However, your school determines A's, you've got to have mostly those and 99 % of those. But beyond that, colleges are going to look at the context of your academic journey and rarely punish you. Always forgive you for the odd B or C. But if you're looking at those schools that are at the level that everyone in the world knows about them, you've got to have a lot of what your school calls As. And at my school, we call them 90s and 95s. At some schools, they call them 4.0s and 5.0s. At some schools... So it's hard to universalize the GPA. But again, for those schools that you know the names of, the Ivy League, the Top 25, all to mostly A's. Everywhere else, rigor, achievement, growth over time, that could eclipse what your number GPA is. Not at Harvard, though, not at Stanford. Not to pick on those places, but not at those places, no.

Daryl Tiggle

And colleges now, because there's so much data available and testing has come into question, they'll tell you exactly what their testing range is. They're going to tell you whether or not you have to send it or if you do not. And they're going to tell you what the range is and call this the high and this is the low. You need to be in here. If they give you the option of sending it, this is the high, this is the low, and you're over here, not even going to finish that point. I'm not even going to finish that point of view. You'll be absolutely denied because they're a super selective school for which even the students with the GPA and SAT to get in, it's going to be hard for them to get into. So use the data to your advantage and then don't over or underthink it.

Speaker 1

Thank you. You brought up a great point with the SAT, ACT and testing in general. A question that we have and one that we get a lot is, if a school's test optional, should you send in a score? Do you need to take the SAT or ACT? And how important is it? And I think this answer is also it very much depends on the circumstance. But I know the three of you have a general rule that you work by with this.

Dan Stratford

Yeah, I'd be interested to hearing both of your viewpoints on that. The way I would advise someone is take it and see where you land on it. And hopefully, the best case scenario is it's in the upper end of that range, in which case I would say you absolutely want to submit it because what that is is just an extra little checkpoint, a little extra assurance that gets on there. And if it's lower than that range, as Daryl points out, that's also an obvious. It's a little bit of a judgment call if it gets in that lower half. We just want to work with you and see how it fits in the picture of things. But it's more clear on those ends of the spectrum. I don't know. What do you guys think about that?

Daryl Tiggle

Go ahead. I was just so happy to see the test optional era arrived and have it become more ubiquitous. And then I asked that same question of colleges for a long time, and it really is one they've given us a pretty straight and honest answer on. And I think because the pandemic helped colleges realize we totally can do this process without testing, we'd still like to have it because it is another data point that is good. So they've said to me, Darrell, look, and this is in no uncertain terms, this is our middle 50 %. Like Dan said, you're in the middle to upper half of that, send it. If not, please take the gift that we're giving you of the option of not sending it. However, at the schools, at some schools, you'll absolutely be sending your testing. At some schools, you'll be making different decisions because your testing may not be a strong card for you at that school. Where at other schools, it might be.

Speaker 1

All right. That makes a lot of sense. Arianna, do you have anything else there to add?

Arianna Lee

Yes. I apologize. I was trying to plug in my computer, but I would say I agree with both Daryl and Dan. I think that it really depends on the whole picture. Whatever you submit is what's going to be evaluated. But of course, if you feel that your scores are not to the par of what the school is accepting or what the school would typically accept for admitted students, then I would caution in turning in your scores. Otherwise, I would say you never know if you don't try. Why not at least try and take the test? And also be mindful that SAT and ACT, if you do well on one, you may not do as well on the other and vice versa. You might have to find which test is more your speed and maybe take that one and try to study and do better on that particular exam that speaks well to how you take tests. Yeah, that's what I would say.

Speaker 1

That sounds great. So I think to summarize, the general consensus is it does not hurt to take the SAT and ACT, see what scores you get. If you are applying to test to schools that require testing, you have to take it anyway and submit your scores. And if you're applying to test optional schools, if the submitting the score will benefit you because it is at least at what the middle range is or higher than that, it's good to submit it and don't, if not, but it also depends on the rest of your application strength. So you might want to get some other opinions from people that have access to all of your data, such as a quad counselor that you're working with. So we've talked about grades a couple of minutes ago and GPAs. We have a couple of questions about APs versus college credit, taking college classes outside of school, maybe during spring break or summer break. And so let's see. I think one question that we have using someone who's a freshman in high school is looking to go to a prestigious engineering school, and they go to a school where there's only one math AP, and that's only offered senior year.

Speaker 1

It's calculus VC. Should you take summer classes to get ahead? Is it important to have taken an AP class as a junior to be applying to that school? And what matters there? And I think this is also a great time to talk about the levels of availability of AP and college level classes at schools? And do colleges look at that when they're looking at your application?

Daryl Tiggle

Well, that's a lot. So I'll take a chip at a little piece of it. And what I'll say is for schools and what the colleges are looking for, they're always looking for context. So if you're at a school that offers a really, really robust AP or IB program, and you aspire to study difficult academics or apply to a highly selective school, they're going to expect that you had challenged yourself by taking those AP courses. But I'm going to use the example of the student that you gave who aspirations to study STEM, goes to a school where they only offer AP math as a senior course option. If that student is maxing out their curriculum at the school, the colleges are going to understand the context of the curriculum offered to that student. And so they won't punish that student. They will absolutely super reward that student for having the forethought and the proactive academic energy to say, Whoa, I want to go to MIT ish, but we can't take AP until my senior year. I might need to do some summer enrichment because I know early on. That's a super, I think, informed ninth grader because I didn't even know where MIT was as a ninth grader.

Daryl Tiggle

But it's one of those things where the College, they will not and cannot punish the child for not having taken those courses prior in their experience. But if that student does realize, hey, this is going to be a deficiency in my curriculum going forward, powering up as they move forward, absolutely the 100 % recommended thing to do.

Dan Stratford

What you just did was take this with a student and maybe the student asking this question, think of it this way. It's like, shoot, am I at a disadvantage? And Daryl, what you just said is actually you may have a secret advantage if you use it well.

Speaker 1

So then along that same strain, is it better to take a dual enrollment class at a community college or an AP class, or because they're both high level classes, they've viewed equally.

Daryl Tiggle

I think, again, as an admissions with my admissions hat, if your school has a robust AP curriculum, please take that. Or if it has a robust IB curriculum, please take that. If it has the dual curriculum, you can take that as well. But as an admissions guy, it's going to be a little bit more for me to sort that out than it is a good old fashioned AP IB, what have you. However, absolutely are going to reward that student for taking a higher road academically. And again, I don't know how often you'll be given, hey, you can only take this one or that one. But if it was AP at my school or dual enrollment at a college, my vote is AP at your school. And keep in mind, I work at a school that doesn't offer AP. Our kids get in everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Speaker 1

All right. So another question is how do college admissions departments decide who gets accepted and rejected when they're reading student applications? And I think this is something we have a webinar coming up on in a couple of weeks. Feel free to sign up for it. But I know the three of you have worked within this sphere. Do you have a high level? What's the process for looking at applications and selecting students?

Daryl Tiggle

We've all got one for this one. What are they looking at? How do they offer admissions?

Speaker 1

Yeah. So how do they decide who gets accepted and rejected when they're reading application?

Daryl Tiggle

And I'm going to oversimplify. The first cut is academic. Academic, you need to be in the ballpark. And again, there'll be students who are reaching for students for whom that schools are reaching. Academically, they're a little short. But again, first cut is academic who can do the work. And then very much like the students are doing, what students should be doing is finding out not what school is the best name. Please don't do that. What school is the best match for me? Because regardless what the school's name is, they're only looking to see what school is the best match. They do not care how much you respect their name. News flash. News flash. And some of the schools, and I don't call them safety anymore, some of the schools that you think are safety's are not going to offer you admission. So I say keep that in mind. So first cut is academic. And then what students best match our ethos? We're a research driven school. We're a liberal arts school. We're a theater school. So you have to find out what school is going to be the best match for you. And then the name is a good start, but you've got to make sure that you're able to communicate to that school.

Daryl Tiggle

I understand how you teach, that's how I learn. I understand what people that are there. And oh, my God, those are my people. And I understand who are the faculty that teach there, and I read their books. So it's who's the best match with them because academically, they can dark board it. They'll dark board and say, how many kids do we need? Take the one who's the dark hit and admit those. But they say no. Which kids belong here? And the kids that belong here said it in their recommendations and their essays.

Arianna Lee

This summed up perfectly.

Speaker 1

All said, definitely. All right. I think this is an important question that we don't talk about enough or get asked enough, but will colleges work with students who have autism or some other type of learning difference through the admissions process? And are there any accommodations that admissions departments can offer with that?

Arianna Lee

Yes. So colleges do... I won't say all, but a majority of universities will offer accessibility options for you. And that's the reason why if you do have autism, if you do have a learning disability, you really should check in with the Office of Sustain... The Accessibility Office. You should check in with the admissions to see what do they offer? Do they offer a private tutor? What do they offer to help with my particular challenges, my particular disabilities? Or even if it's even physical disabilities, what does the school offer? Do they offer particular accommodations for me that will make this school my number one choice? I think if that's something that is important for you and critical for you, that should be in the forefront in checking with the particular admissions beforehand to see what they offer as options.

Speaker 1

All right, thank you. Let's see, does it hurt your chances at getting into a college if you do a community college or junior college first?

Daryl Tiggle

I love that question. No, it absolutely does not. And for a lot of students, and especially for students for whom either financially, this is a decision they need to make, or, and listen to me, if you're in this audience, if you're a sophomore or a junior or a rising senior and you're like, you know what? I'm way my academic ability and potential and brilliance is way better than I demonstrated back when I was 13, 14, and 15 years old. A lot of students for whom they didn't max out their high school academic potential might be a roadblock for them getting into the college that they want to get into now. Those who might say, you know what? I'm going to go to community college and then reprove myself. It gives them a great opportunity for getting into college thereafter. And I think for students who might be thinking of this, many colleges do know, and they're giving the benefit of the doubt that high school students that have done well in high school are going to come to college and do well. But they absolutely know that students that have gone to college and have done well will likely come to college and do well.

Daryl Tiggle

So some colleges even have articulation programs built especially for the two to two associates to bachelor's degree program. I worked at one of those highly selective colleges for a long time, and we loved transfer students who were bright and well rounded and organized. I don't think it's a discipline. Friends?

Arianna Lee

No, yeah, absolutely. And in fact, a lot of high schools are offering that more when the student is doing... For them basically to take the additional year of high school so that they get their associates degree. A lot more high schools are offering that. And so I would say take advantage anywhere where you can reduce down on cost, why not? That's my opinion on it, at least.

Dan Stratford

Yeah, it seems smart.

Speaker 1

Sounds like that also could be an option if you are a senior and haven't yet applied to a college, but want to, if you take a year to go to a community college to get yourself ready for applications next year. All right. So if something obvious is left off of an application, does it cause a red flag?

Dan Stratford

What's left off?

Daryl Tiggle

That's the ultimate it depends question. So a lot of times my families will panically go, Mr. Tingle, I missed an extra curricular activity, or I didn't put something in my... No, that doesn't work. But if you say that you're taking AP calc and then your transcript comes in and you're taking not AP calc, those things, yeah. There are things that are higher stakes than others.

Dan Stratford

If it is something that is a key part, like they expect a certain number of years of foreign language or something like that, or I worked with a student who transferred from a foreign country and she was nervous that her grades were low her first year, she made the adjustment, but then she really made progress and knocked it out of the park her junior and senior years. There's a place in your essays or in your application where you can note those things. So I would air on the side if you think it's something that's going to raise a red flag for the admissions committee, I would air on the side of being forthcoming with that, explaining it, saying, Here's how I did the best I could in these circumstances. This is why that might not be there. I just want to clear the air around that.

Arianna Lee

Also, if it's anything behavioral, because I get this question sometimes, if there's anything like you're thinking it's a suspension or something on there that is going to show up on your in your school record, I would check with your guidance counselor and see what is actually going to reflect before being overly forthcoming for things that might not even ever show.

Dan Stratford

Good point.

Speaker 1

Sounds like it's best to be upfront with everything. If there's any issues, point it out and get ahead of it. Yes. All right. So we have about eight minutes left. One question that we got quite a bit from our registration questions is how useful are admissions counselors actually pertaining to the type of service that quad education provides? Especially there are a lot of kids and students that apply to college without the help of a third party service. What's the benefits of working with a company like quad? It doesn't necessarily need to be quad. And I'd love to hear from all three of you about what you think about that.

Arianna Lee

Well, I'll say that me personally, when I was applying to college way back when I did, it is a lot of pressure. It is things that you just don't know. You can try and look up the questions, but experience and be able to talk to someone and ask someone questions that have been through the process many, many times and have come across a wide array of different challenges. Being able to ask those questions to people, it is a huge weight lifted off of the shoulders. When it comes to working with a college counselor, a missions counselor, it's just very valuable to have that knowledge, have someone who's been through a wide array of challenges, who has the experience as working in admissions officers, working with admissions officers, knowing what they're looking for, and being able to actually work with the student and get them to a point to understand, hey, this is where my application should be so that I have the best possible chance of getting admitted.

Dan Stratford

Yeah, I love that. Something to be said for pattern recognition. Also, I would say if you're going with a service like one that quad offers, there's also a network effect as well in terms of sharing resources, sharing ideas that can help you get some of the tips that are tailored to you more quickly. Even if you don't get a formal admissions counselor, don't do your application yourself. Hopefully that's obvious. I mean, you're writing them all yourself, but get a mentor, get somebody to talk through it with you. I think sometimes we can be a little blind to our own brilliance. And so you might be like, Oh, in this particular activity, I didn't really do something special. But if you have somebody who's good at interviewing you and good at pulling those stories out, you might realize that, Oh, actually, I did learn some really powerful lessons and I did have an impact in these areas. And that's something a good counselor can do. It really help you crystallize. Oh, these are my values, these are my strengths. If you do it early enough in the process, like with our candidacy development program or something like that, you can also identify areas of potential growth and strategize for how you can pull out those areas more or do some additional activities or better leverage the activities you're already involved with.

Dan Stratford

I would add one more thing. This year I had a student who was a perfect AB test for this, who applied to a bunch of colleges before and didn't get into the ones that she had hoped and took a gap year. And then this year she's applying again. And already, it's too early on admissions decisions, but she's got interviews at a lot of those schools that just turned her down flat before. And so that's just a nice little A B test of the difference. And obviously, the lion's share of that credit goes to that student and everything that she did. But a counselor helps.

Daryl Tiggle

I think my colleagues answers were spot on brilliant. And as you can tell, I'm a lot older than my colleagues. So I've been doing this a long time and I didn't have any college counselor. I've learned this over time. So the things I always say when I'm asked this question, this is not pretty high stakes, this is high stakes. Where you go to college, it's going to have some effect on your life and it costs a lot. I think in other areas of your life where you get good advice from a professional, this is more than most other things you've purchased prior to this experience. I think it's good to have an agent. I say to my students in my school, they go, Your teachers know you well, they make you smart, they make you... But I help you tell your story to the world. Dan and Arianne said, The world needs to know about you, I'm your agent. I'm the one that helps you do this. And then I'm often asked when I moved from admissions to college counseling and now to private counseling, why did you make that move? Why do you do that?

Daryl Tiggle

And this is how you understand this work. And I tell everyone, I go, look, any company that produces food or drugs, they have someone in their organization, lots of people in their organization that used to work for the Food and Drug Administration because they know what goes on in the area of getting compliance, of getting approved. So you've got people who are experts in doing college admissions, giving yourself and your children advice on how to navigate college admissions. It's like why you have doctors. You go to your doctor for medical advice. You go to folks who know a lot about admissions for admissions advice because it's complex and it's super expensive. Not what we do, the thing you're paying for when they go to college.

Dan Stratford

Well, I appreciate your experience there. I've written down several quotes that I'm definitely going to borrow.

Daryl Tiggle

I stole something from your first comment. Par problem, action, results. Already put my name on it. Yeah.

Arianna Lee

Written down from both of you all.

Daryl Tiggle

Well.

Speaker 1

I hope everyone who joined us tonight also took something away from.

Arianna Lee

Our.

Speaker 1

Fantastic panelists. I wish that we had three more hours to go through all of the questions that we had. I know that there's definitely some that we didn't get to. Feel free to go to our website, quadeducation. Com. We have a webinars page. You can go see all of the webinars that we've had. You can sign up for upcoming webinars. You can watch them all for free. And hopefully that those dive in a little bit deeper to the topics that we touched on here and topics we didn't even get to. You can also schedule a consultation with our team. We can talk to you about how we can help you and hear about what you need, and you can be paired with a counselor like Adriana, Dan, or Daryl, and they can help you with your process. And be on the lookout for an email from us that will have a recording of this webinar as well, so you have all of this information to look back on. And definitely feel free to reach out if you have any questions. We do what we do for a reason. We love to help students and families through this process.

Speaker 1

Adriana, Dan, Daryl, thank you all so much for being here and for all of your wisdom. And I know I learned a lot. Sounds like three of you did. And hopefully our attendees did as well. I hope everyone has a really great Tuesday evening and a great rest of your week.

Arianna Lee

Thank you.

Daryl Tiggle

Thanks for the opportunity.

Speaker 1

Bye, everyone.

Inside Admission Podcast - Episode 5 - Darryl Tiggle - Searching for colleges, tours, & more

Mon, 22 May 2023 20:00:10 GMT

Host Andrew Palumbo sits down to talk with Darryl Tiggle about his college admissions search, searching for a college, touring colleges, the high school visit & more.

Darryl Tiggle - Searching for Colleges, Tours, & More

Andrew Palumbo

Welcome to Inside Admissions, the podcast that gives you a behind the scenes look at the college admission process with the experts in and around college admission. Welcome to the Inside Admissions podcast. I'm your host, Andrew Palumbo , and I am really excited to have my friend Daryl Tiggle on the podcast today. Welcome, Daryl.

Daryl Tiggle

Thank you, Andrew. So nice to be with you all and really excited to connect with the audience.

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl, tell us a little bit about yourself, where you work, your role, and your background in higher ed and school counseling.

Daryl Tiggle

Sure. You gavel me down when it gets too long. I'm presently director of College Counseling at Friend School of Baltimore. I'm going into my 12th year of director at this role. P rior to working on the secondary school side, I worked on the other side of college admissions, doing admissions at three different institutions. I worked at Union College, which is my Alma Mater back in the 90s. T hen in 2001, I moved to Boston and I became director of La Salle College, which at the time, making the transition from all women's two year institution to a four year coed institution. A fter my time at La Salle, I moved on to Tufts University, where I worked as a senior associate director, managing lots of different profiles. But one of my main areas of responsibility was diversity recruitment. After a long stint on the admission side, I moved to the other side of the desk, and I've been doing this good work most recently.

Andrew Palumbo

That's great. Daryl, what was it that made you decide to switch sides of the desk?

Daryl Tiggle

Well, I think the two things that should have... Or the things that I think about when I moved to this side of the desk is that I came from a pretty humble college preparatory background, so I didn't have a lot of college counseling as I was making my own college journey. T hen when I arrived college, I saw that so many people had this experience with a counselor that was guiding them through this process. I was an athlete. I was like, Wow, that's almost like a coach.

Andrew Palumbo

It sounds like.

Daryl Tiggle

You're totally making sure that you guys were going to win at this college game. I was intrigued by that. Then a couple of years after I graduated from college, I was fortunate to work in college admissions. Then one of the things that you see in college admissions is a real landscape of what the I don't know if it's what the world looks like, but it's what the United States looks like. We travel all over the country, literally every corner of the country, and we visit schools. And schools are where people live. You could see in a very obvious way, even in a day, the difference in how college counseling was being distributed to children based on what school they went to, maybe private versus public, or what socio economic environment they were in. Rich versus medium versus poor. The counseling in the schools, if they were public schools, might even correlate to that. I was always curious about the council students were getting, because again, thinking like an athlete, the college counselor coaches them through the process. I'm like, This college coaching is different at different places. When I worked at Tufts, I worked in admissions for a long time.

Daryl Tiggle

One of the things I noticed is that when I worked at Tufts, after a few years, I started being quartered to come and work in college counseling. T hat's when I was, I think, first thinking about moving to this side of the desk. I understood it in a way that it was mostly, or almost not mostly, exclusively private schools that were reaching out to see if I'd be interested in being their director of college counseling, where comparatively, I was a public school product, and I did really indeed like the work. But one of the things I could not do was college counseling at a public school because I didn't have a counseling degree, like a master's degree. I said, Look, if I'm going to do this stuff, I'm probably going to have to start or at least put my foot on the door in the private school arena. T hat's what I've been doing for the last several years. P eople often ask, Hey, you and I understand why that move might be made, but people that are maybe outside the college admissions bubble often ask, Why do you... That's an interesting move. Why would you go from college admissions to college counseling?

Daryl Tiggle

The way that I help people understand it, I go, If you follow me on this reasoning, law firms, if the law firm does lots of different types of law, if they have a fact, if they have a tax division, they definitely want to go and find a lawyer that used to work at the IRS.

Andrew Palumbo

I get it.

Daryl Tiggle

I totally get it. They're like, Oh, perfect. I get it.

Andrew Palumbo

Well, that's a reason why I think you're a great guest for the podcast here because you do have that background of both sides. But one of my favorite parts about this podcast has been just hearing my friends and colleagues different paths to their own college. As a fellow Union guy, I'm curious, what was your story, Daryl? How did you go through the search process? What was important to you and what did that look like?

Daryl Tiggle

It will be interesting, but it is not a search. I'm going to suggest that your listeners follow. That tends to be what.

Andrew Palumbo

Every guest says, actually.

Daryl Tiggle

I do. I say this to put it into perspective. I'm often asked to come and give presentations about college admissions and how to navigate the process. I'm pretty well experienced in it and knowledgeable, but I'll try to make sure that my audience understands where I'm coming from when I talk about my own journey. I say, Look, when I was 17 and beginning to pursue college, I knew the colleges that everyone knew, the ones that are in your neighborhood, right? I knew what the Ivy League was. I was familiar with Noter Dane, s uper unsophisticated. But I say this, and it sounds funny, but it's not really funny. I didn't know the difference between martial arts and liberal arts. Liberal arts, I didn't know. I had no idea what people were talking about, and I was a pretty bright kid. The other thing that I say that was super tragic, because I went to an excellent college. I went to Union College, and I'll tell you how I got there. But if you would have asked me at 17, and I went to high school right outside of Springfield, Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, if you would have asked me to bring you to Amherst College when I was 17, I would have taken you to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Daryl Tiggle

I would have not taken you to that super well known, elite liberal arts college. I didn't know it existed and I could ride my bike. That's how unsophisticated I was. Please don't use that in understanding the rest of my insight because I know a lot now. Again, that chasm in college counseling between private school, public school, rich school, poor school. I went to a public, not rich school. College counselor wasn't even a word. Guidance counselor was a reality. I was fortunate and again, you'll have to forgive my arrogance I was fortunate to be a really good football player. So I thought, and so a lot of people thought, and so I thought I was going to go to one of those schools that I had heard of before.

Andrew Palumbo

Noter.

Daryl Tiggle

Dame, right? Yeah. Noter Dame or the like. Or at least, you mask. That was Division 1 football, and I was good. But I was fortunate and not fortunate to get hurt as a senior in high school. So that college football scholarship journey that I thought I was going to go on, that was no longer a journey. We didn't really have a program for college counseling at my school. I was super blessed that I was still good enough that not Notor Day wanted me anymore, but these small liberal arts colleges that I never heard of before started knocking on my door. T hat's how I was introduced to Union College and the existence of places like Union College.

Andrew Palumbo

That's great. Thanks for sharing that, Daryl. No problem. Sometimes after hearing folks' stories, I sometimes think those of us who didn't know what we were doing the first time around are just doomed to repeat it year after year now as we work with students and gain that knowledge little by little. But you've got a lot of knowledge, Daryl. You were telling me before this conversation that you've built up something you call Admissions 101 at the Front School. Talk to me about that. Tell our listeners a little bit more about your Admissions 101 and how you recommend students and families begin this process.

Daryl Tiggle

Got you. T he way it works at my school and maybe at many schools that have a committed college counseling role. Truth be told, we're not really encountering the students until they're juniors. We're not working in earnest with them until they're juniors. But the things that will get them into college, obviously, they need to be doing before junior year. When I first came into the role, I was focusing on getting our juniors prepared, our seniors' applications out the door, and really perfecting that work. I was getting all questions from 10th grade and ninth grade and even eighth grade parents about college counseling. What are you talking about? I don't get to talk to you guys till later. But it was obvious to me that it was information they were hungry for, that indeed, the stuff they needed to do to get into college, they needed to know sooner than later. In retrospect, the thing that was really helpful, and it's really been a blessing to the way in which we work with our community, in the absence of them getting information, they might find their own information or draw their own conclusions. I said, Hey, let's get together and do a program for them.

Daryl Tiggle

A gain, truth be told, the first time I scheduled it, I said, Let's do these during the summer. The people that are really interested, if they're interested, they'll come out during the summer. We've got tons of time to do it. I scheduled one and set up in the library, had nothing prepared, just figured I'd come and answer some questions. And 40 parents showed up. Oh, my goodness. What are you people doing? What do you guys want to know? It's fourth of July week. We had a really robust conversation, but I realized that there was a thirst for this information and that we could provide some really good insight that would help our students and families. I said, Let's put together a class like we do with our students because what we do with our students is we try to... One of the things people always asked me because they knew I worked in admissions at a highly selective place, they come to me all the time and say, Hey, Mr. Tabor, do you think I can get into such and such a place? I said, Again, I know a lot, but what I think is not necessarily what you should rest your fate on.

Daryl Tiggle

Let's go and start looking at data. I said, Let's teach our students how admissions works as opposed to guessing how competitive they might be in a place. I said, Let's teach them how admissions works. We broke it down into two classes that we teach during the summer, and then we asked anywhere from ninth grade to eighth grade parents can come. We call one College Counseling 101. We call the second group College Counseling 102. In the first segment, we try to help them understand the landscape of college admissions. One of the things I tell my students and parents, I go, Look, you're super privileged to go here. We've got great college counseling. For anyone who's nervous about this whole college admissions experience, I can right now, in very good confidence, guarantee you your child is going to have lots of college options at the end of this process. Then I wait, 1,001, and they go, doesn't that make you all feel great? No one says, yeah, we need to pay for that guarantee.

Andrew Palumbo

They all are very disrupted applause. Yeah.

Daryl Tiggle

Hey, why isn't anyone excited? Then someone's brave enough to say, Hey, Mr. Tigger, we need you to guarantee that we'll get into a good school. I go, Perfect. T hen I start helping them examine what is the criteria that makes a school good. W e talk about graduation rate, faculty to student ratio, financial resources, what have you. W e've got a list of about 20 things. I say, Look, and we're all friends here. We're the friend school of Baltimore. T ell me if this second list probably is more about what you think helped determine a good school. T hen it says reputation. I'm not a fan of this show, but it has a picture of the Friends cast. What Friends think about the school. I go, Look, in so much that you're arresting your understanding of what a goodness of school is in that second page, you're missing the ball. You want to arrest your understanding of what goodness of school is in that list of 15 to 20 to 100 things that we can help you, so to determine the goodness of school. I help them understand that. Then this is insight I've just been giving away.

Daryl Tiggle

I should be helping give them insight. I tell them about the shift in admissions, and many of the parents are now my age, where I'm asking for grace prior to. I pick on the Ivy League a lot because I know everyone knows those school's names. They may not know you're in college or Vassar College or some of the other really good, quote unquote good colleges whose names aren't as big. I pick on the Ivies because I know they know their names and that's the one they often bring up. T hey'll say, Well, look, Mr. Tickle, when I was going to college, I was a good student. I got in. My uncle went, my cousin went. I said, Look, how much did gas cost when that was happening? They're like, Oh, you devil. Then I say, Look, these are the changes that changed admissions completely, and they won't change them back, but it's still 0 to 100. It's still A, B, C, D, E, F. Nothing has changed about admissions other than the landscape, which is super changed. At the turn of the century, we had way more kids applying to... I'm sorry, the turn of the millennia.

Daryl Tiggle

We had way more kids applying to college than we had before because there were a lot more 18 year olds and lots more percentage wise of people were going to college. That made college more competitive because of that. When we applied to college, and then I show a slide and it's a typewriter, a mail box and person writing, and I asked the students, do you guys recognize me? They said, look, the process of applying to college totally changed. You used to have to get... Say, if you were applying to five colleges, you'd need five pieces of mail. You'd have to write with pen or typewriter, five applications. And if you were really proactive, you'd do them all in the same week. And on Saturday, you'd drop all five in the mail box. But we weren't doing that. You do the one, one week, the one, the next week. And if you were Mr. Tiggle, you did three and then said, I think I'm going to get the one of those three. And the fourth thing is that it didn't get done. So I said, so the application process changed because then the common app became more ubiquitous.

Daryl Tiggle

But you still had to do it once and photocopy it five times and get it to the... So that made it, again, easier. But the really big change, so lots more kids, an easier way to apply with the common app. And then the internet happened everywhere. So never mind walking to the mail box. Those were clicks. That was five clicks that you just heard. That was five applications that just left my hand. Why not apply to five more? Now you've got more kids, easier way to apply. The other thing the internet did, and again, I pick on the Ivy League. Before the internet, if you went to Mars and said Yale, they say, Yeah, I've heard of it. But if you said a Mona, they're like, Huh? But after the internet, if you go to Mars and say Union College, they're like, Hey, yeah, Union College, Connected City New York. It made it possible for people anywhere in the world to research any school in the world. That's what we do with admissions. Just like getting a crisis. Same thing happened with gas.

Andrew Palumbo

Enjoying the podcast? Like and subscribe to this YouTube video. You can also find us on the web at Inside Admissions podcast. Com, and you can find and engage with us on social media where our handle is Inside Admissions on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Now, back to the pod. I think one of the things that I hear from students and parents starting the process is how overwhelming all that information is. There's also a fear that with all those applications, is it even possible to get into a college anymore? What do you say to students and parents who at the start are overwhelmed by some of this information and by the explosion of applications and the decrease in admit rates?

Daryl Tiggle

Well, I tell them that's something that... And not in a in a terribly good way, I go, That is just a known... That's a reality that we probably aren't going to be able to change during your child's admission cycle. So let's make a strategy to win in this game. T hat's what the College Counseling 102 process is. We talk to them about how college applications are read. We say, Look, given all the selectivity, given all the things you're hearing, there are a couple of thousand colleges. I'm going to play the good college game with you. Fine. A thousand of them are good, but let's slice it in. 500 of them are good. So if we can strategize to find a few within that 500, not that eight, not that 25, we'll look at those. But it's such a small grouping. Let's have a strategy on the front end to help you understand how admissions is done. Without giving the whole course, I say, Look, admissions is either data driven. It's going to be the numbers that you have that will have the highest influence on your outcomes, or it's going to be a holistic read where the entirety of your application is going to be considered and will help you in gaining admissions.

Daryl Tiggle

When we start the process, let's make sure that we're identifying schools where our profile is really competitive. We give our students three categories of schools to pursue. One we call a reach, which everyone's familiar with. That's the school you're reaching with. The other group is called the middle group, which I think oftentimes people say, Yeah, I'm right in. I say, No, the middle group is as it sounds, 50-50 . Your 50-50 middle group. Then I go, Your foundation group, that's where you're most strong. That's where you're a most viable option. But please do not see your foundation list as your consolidation list. In terms of philosophy, I try to tell them, if you're a good student, if you're a good person, the schools that are on your foundation list, they have to be good because they match you completely. That's where you will get in. That's where you will thrive. Those are places that want you really badly. So don't think of them as places that are fallbacks. Think of those as your starting point. T hen we're moving up to the reach and the foundation, I mean, the middle and the reach. Given that data versus holistic read, to get into your middle schools or your reach schools, there will have to be a goodness about you that they identify in your application.

Daryl Tiggle

Where that goodness is also what makes you a really good match for your foundation schools. I tell them you've got to really embrace the profile of the places that match your profile.

Andrew Palumbo

And then move. I love that. I love that you specifically refer to them as foundation and not safety schools. As I was going through the process, that was the guidance I was given. It almost tainted these schools that you even liked. I'm not the person to follow how I did my college search by any stretch of imagination. But I applied to seven schools, right? The seventh school was a foundational school. The top three are dead to me. Didn't get in, and that's fine. But as I was trying to decide, I was trying to decide between my fourth school and my seventh school after narrowing it down. And it turned out that foundational school for me, Union College, ended up being the best fit for me. And I had tremendous experience, tremendous mentorship. And the reason it was probably number 7, it rained the day I went for my visit, junior year. And so trying to keep an open mind and make sure that every school on your list is one that you want to go to, one that you see the fit for, I think is totally critical. So I love that idea of foundational schools.

Andrew Palumbo

So Darrell, you see a really interesting thing that I think a lot of parents don't get to see, and that is the, at least before COVID, this were pretty traditional, the traditional high school visit. So colleges come to visit the Friends School. Tell us, what does that look like? What are colleges there to do? Why should students be attending these sessions? How many should they be attending? I think there's constantly a concern about the balance of you don't want to miss too much class time, but you also don't want to miss an opportunity to engage with schools that are either on your list or that could be on your list that you're seeking more information for. So how do you advise students about the high school visits? Tell us a little bit about that.

Daryl Tiggle

Great. I'll give the precursor again that we're a private school that has the luxury of having a college counseling center and the like. Ours might be a little bit different than a bigger school with a bigger school population. But essentially what we do during the fall is every day, September to probably the beginning of November, we have in the neighborhood of 3 to 4 schools will come and visit. E ssentially, it's a half hour info session from the admissions representative from that college who likely will be the person eventually reading our students' application. T hey'll come in and they'll... We have a little center they can come and hand out information, but also give a brief presentation about the school and then field questions from our students. So it's a really good exchange of information opportunity. In so much as this is a... I always want people to understand that as best as we can, and I think almost all schools are good at this, we are really serving people. It's a people business. This is an opportunity for the people in admissions to meet the people in the high schools whose applications they'll be reading.

Daryl Tiggle

I, again, have the luxury of being able to sit down with the admissions person for a little while and say, Hey, what's new at your school? Here are some things that you should know that are new about our curriculum. So it's a good way for us to keep that rapport. So it's really building and maintaining relationships with colleges and enabling our students to... For instance, if schools from California are visiting us, hey, make sure you go to those visits. The California schools are going to be harder for you to come and see. So it really helps students get information from colleges, colleges to spread information about what students need to know. And in so much as colleges and families realize you can't get to every place that you want to visit, it's a good way to have a virtual way to connect with the school. And schools like mine, we work it into the schedule. We talk with our teachers and make sure that it's part of the fabric of the schedule. So we're able to manage it that way where students can't miss exams, can't miss major assessments. We try to make it as available as we.

Andrew Palumbo

Can tour. Let's get real here. We've both worked at admissions. Can that help a student if they visit with a representative from a school that might be on their list?

Daryl Tiggle

I'm going to say heck yeah. One of the things I say to my students, again, when the Ivy League comes to visit, every kid in your class is going to be at that visit. But when Union College were very successful, Andrew Palumbo and Daryl Tingle went, when they come, if you're interested in going there, it's not an easy place to get into. Admissions there is not easy. But you might be one of two or three people that meet with the Union College rep. That opportunity gives you a real opportunity, not just to get information about the school and ask questions, but make sure that that admissions representative knows who you are. Communicate to them, Hey, your school is really high on my list, or I've already been to your institution. Sometimes when my students come and they're the only student who's at that visit, the college will ask the student and ask me, Hey, would you like to do a little mock interview? M y students will always say, Yes, they can. Typically, my students will say, Sure. It can even serve as a little way to have an extra slice of person.

Andrew Palumbo

I think that's great. I think one of the things that gets lost in the public misconception or what's portrayed in movies and pop culture is admissions decisions are made in these dark, smoky rooms where it's a mystery as to what's happening. What happens in a real committee, I've seen those interactions year in, year out where someone said, That was the only student to come visit me at friend school. And it was the first student in two years. And I'm so excited because there's such a fit between their curriculum and our curriculum. And this student had a compelling conversation to me about fishing because they love fishing. And it just stuck in my mind. And so that human connection, I think, can actually act as a positive bias for students. I'm not recommending you go visit all 500 schools that come to your high school. But for those that might be on your list or that are on your list, I think there is a value there. I think very often that's something that parents who may not have experienced this through their process or students who are new to it might not know. There is a potential benefit to having that human interaction.

Daryl Tiggle

It demonstrates in the college that you have a keen interest in their institution. You're making time.

Andrew Palumbo

Similarly, as those college admissions reps are traveling the country, as you described, they're also going to college fairs. T here might be a small college fair in a public high school near you, or there might be a large one at a convention center nearby. D escribe what a college fair is like and how do you recommend families approach that traditional college fair? Is there preparation they should do beforehand? You talked a little bit about winning in this process. What's a win? When you go to a college fair, how is that a successful event? How do you measure that? Got you.

Daryl Tiggle

All right. This is part nostalgia, part fantasy. I'm going to beck and back to pre COVID days and what will be like post COVID. College fairs are a lots of people in one place type of event. The way we used to do it may change, but it's like any other type of event where you go and you're gathering information. High schools might have college fairs where they do it in their criteria. It's for their school community. Or NACAC, which is the National Association for College college admissions counseling. They do and have done fairs around the country forever. I'll describe theirs. T hat's where most colleges make sure that they have a presence. T ypically, if you're in a city or a town that has a convention center, the NACAC College Fair is going to take place in your city's convention center. W hat happens is just like the college reps who are visiting schools during the day, they're likely the people who are staffing those college fairs at night, and they'll have very similar information that they're bringing to the schools. They'll have their business card, some handouts, some information about programs, and they can't do 20 minute mini information sessions, but they can do 20 second information sessions because families are coming in large number to gather information.

Daryl Tiggle

Back in the day, we used to have inquiry cards where they put their name and address and information to be sent. Now it's come super high tech where you'll often be scanned when you get to that table and that college will add you to their mailing list. It's an opportunity for you again to say, Hey, so nice to see you again. I met you at my school earlier today, or I'm so interested in Pemona College, but my parents and I cannot get to California. I just wanted to come and get as much information as I can, see if they have any programs that might send students out that way. It's a way to do speed dating with as many colleges as you can get to. Again, post COVID, I hope it starts.

Andrew Palumbo

Happening again. You mentioned.

Daryl Tiggle

Winning there is making sure that parents go to tables by themselves and students go to tables by themselves. So you can divide and conquer. But also I think it gives students an opportunity to also go and really make an earnest contact, learn how to introduce and present themselves and do it in a low stakes but high return.

Andrew Palumbo

Type way. I think it's an interesting point you make about Pemona, being on the East Coast and seeing a college from the West Coast. Now, is that something colleges may use when they're considering applications?

Daryl Tiggle

I certainly hope so because I love sending my students out there. Thank God, we just received very good news from a Pomona College. But I think in terms of how colleges... One of the things I really liked about college admissions when I worked at school is really of different levels of selectivity. But at each institution, we were trying to construct an intentional community. That community, we really wanted to have a diversity that was represented in many different ways. Geographic diversity, where people come from, was something that was always important to us. There's different schools that I worked at and places like Pemona on the West Coast. It's super hard to get into, but I hope and trust that part of their intentional community calculation is, Hey, we want some students from Baltimore, Maryland. They're going to bring a different flavor to our school. Or an urban school. I had a conversation with a college Dean from a highly selective school in New York City, and they said one of the things that they really do, and it's not just for playing the game, it's really for having that diversity. They really want a student from every state in the country.

Daryl Tiggle

Whenever they describe, and I'm just going to pick on and I'm going to preface it with my love for the whole country. But whenever they talk about the student they get from North Dakota or Idaho or Wyoming, the texture or the life that they've lived is so different from most of the students who they're seeing in the applicant pool that that diversity is super important.

Andrew Palumbo

It's really good. Switching gears to a topic that doesn't get a lot of mind share in this process, but is still a required part of most college applications, and that's the teacher recommendation. As students are preparing to apply, I think there's a lot of conversations about how to construct your list. A lot of conversations about how to show demonstrated interest, if that's something that a college is interested in. But very often it's one of those last minute things, I need to ask a teacher or two teachers to provide a recommendation. How do you advise students to pick those teachers? What's important? You've been on the college side of the desk. What are the college admissions professionals looking for in those recommendations? The recommendations from you as a college counselor and their teachers. How can that help students determine who to ask for those recommendations?

Daryl Tiggle

All right. Back me up to make sure I hit each point, but I'm going to try to get to them because this is important. I think one of the things that we have in our program to make sure that the teacher recommendation piece does not fall by the wayside is we make sure that our students have their teacher recommendation writers identified and confirmed by the time we break for the summer. We ask them in maybe April or May to make sure to reach out to teachers so that they can secure their support as recommendation writers. It gives the teachers lots and lots of time to think about it. If they're so inspired, they might even do them over the summer. But what we want to do is make sure that since that's something that we know is part of the application process that's going to have to be in there, we're getting that message out to them more strongly than take your SAT right now. It's a required part of the class that we teach for juniors around college seminar that the teacher recommendations have to be secured. We give in broad strokes, if you can, in a perfect world, get a teacher who taught you as a junior, get one humanities, social science type teacher, get one math science type teacher.

Daryl Tiggle

I've amended that counsel over the years and said, Look, ultimate goal, get a teacher who knows you best and you can write most eloquently about you. I think if you're strategizing, if you have a teacher who taught you as a freshman and sophomore or sophomore who's also teaching you later in your high school career, that is the perfect teacher, regardless of subject, because they can talk about your growth. Then to the extent that you can and you should provide your teacher with information about you that you don't think they know. You know they know what your grades are like and what you show them in the classroom. But if there's other things that you think might help them support you in their letter writing, give that to them. We have something called a drag sheet that our... Because our teachers used to be pretty strict about it. Some teachers would have... They'd have to have an interview session with the kid before they would confirm it. They would say, Hey, teach, teachers, let us get a little brag sheet formed for you where we're giving you the broad strokes of the students. T hat should help you with getting some father to write.

Daryl Tiggle

W e really focused in on that because, again, on the getting into the good schools, and if you're thinking about the schools where you're 50-50 or you're reaching, I tell them, if you get into a reach school, and this is no offense, it's not because of your academic prowess. But by definition, it is not. It's because of those other things. So if you want to reach, you want to make sure your other things are strong and teacher is one of those.

Andrew Palumbo

Other things. I have a piece of advice there for schools that don't have this type of excellent college admissions curriculum. One is it's never too early to start talking with teachers about recommendations. Obviously, the most popular teachers, those ones that have an impact on so many students are probably going to be the most popular ask among your classmates. And so junior year, not too early to talk to teachers. And this idea of a brag sheet, I think sometimes it's difficult. So many students are humble. Parents, this is for you. Make sure they brag. Have a word document, their accomplishments, the things that teachers may not know about them. I think that's great advice because having sat down to write a lot of these recommendations, there's only so much you know, and there's only so much you can recall. Those popular teachers may have 15 minutes to write that letter and then move on to the next one. The easier you can make it for the teachers, the more of that 15 minutes, that half hour they're going to allocate to actually writing. I think that's great that you guys do that with the drag sheet, but definitely good advice for everyone, whether or not your school provides something like that.

Daryl Tiggle

This is a plug for drag sheet. We also have our students do a resume, and that often will help teachers with their... When you're a.

Andrew Palumbo

College admissions officer or you're in a committee and you're reviewing a student's case, what are the admissions professionals looking at in those recommendations? What are they trying to draw out?

Daryl Tiggle

I think the word, and this will sound like an academic term, I think it's overall scholarship. Because the grade, the number grade, that is quick and easy to see and to ascertain. You know what an A or B is. But when they talk about the student's approach to scholarship, that's what really would impress me. One of the things I tell students is that regardless of if you're an introvert or extrovert, in the classroom, you want to make sure that your academic personality is never undersold. I'd like to see how students would fuel the conversation, the intellectual discourse in the classroom. So students who had a voice, that would come through in recommendations. Students who were resilient and were able to... And I tell my students, look, don't take your foot off the pedal so that you can show your acceleration later. But students who show a powerful ascension in their academic work, whether they have been A students, who had continued to be A students and then let their brilliance shine in the classroom that made their peers better students, or students who started off as B minus students and then became B plus students and then became A minus students.

Daryl Tiggle

They did that because they became more mature, and I saw them fooling around less in the classroom and sitting in the front of the class and offering up their ideas. So students whose growth is described in the recommendation, more than a chronicle of the grades that we're looking at that we see very easily. And when I tell my students, I go, Look, for my recommendation as a college counselor, I don't get to teach you. I don't get to see you every day in the classroom. I'm really more of an agent. My recommendation for you, you should want it to sound like it's coming from your favorite uncle. And that's because I know stuff about your person. So that's the thing that's different about the counselor recommendation is it's more of a personal recommendation than one of scholarship.

Andrew Palumbo

So I think this is something parents struggle with a lot. You want to provide your child with all the opportunities, all the support they could possibly need. But you also know that after college is the real world. And so you're going through this developmental stage that's critical to your child's success. What should a parent's role be in the process, in supporting their student effectively, but also letting up enough to let the student guide the process? How do you find that balance as a parent?

Daryl Tiggle

One of the things we try to help our parents. Our senior parent night as we're launching into the process, we actually have a diagram that says, look, these are the things college counseling is taking care of, these are the things the student needs to take care of, and these are the things that parents should be on top of. I think with parents, I think having an involvement in the process where they at the front end, are trying to get an understanding of what is a good match for their children. I tell parents all the time, Look, you've had, at the time they get to me, 15 years to observe them. Even if they've gone into more of that teenage shell as they became 13, 14 year olds. You really do know who they are. A gain, I'll pick on the Ivy League. In so much as say, Look, I want my kid to go to an Ivy League college. I'm like, Well, look, Columbia is in New York City and Dartmouth is in AN over New Hampshire. They couldn't be no more different. Think less about the names of schools and what is going to be a good fit for your child.

Daryl Tiggle

I'm not kidding, just like that gas price idea I'd given earlier, literally, you've taken your child from birth and fit them into things. You put their bodies into things. I'm not kidding. That is what you're trying to do with college. R eally think about who your child is. You know who they are and think about fit. And what they need to do, drive them to college campuses, make sure they can go and visit places. Have a frank conversation about finances at some point so you can say, Look, we got so much money. Don't worry about it. Look wherever you want to. Or, Hey, these are our limitations in how we can support you financially. We still want you to go anywhere you want, but we're going to have to go and find more money. Or, These are our limitations financially. We'd like to stay within these so that we can support you later in life as well. Have that conversation early. But really, think about the fit. The fit thing, and that you've always focused until they started addressing themselves. When is that? 10, 11. You've for a long, long time paid like, oh, like, surg specific attention to how things fit them.

Daryl Tiggle

That's what the college process should be as well. Not name, fit.

Andrew Palumbo

That's great. So as we wrap up here, I try to end each conversation seeking a piece of advice for students who are just starting out this process. Then after that, what's one good piece of advice you would give to parents?

Daryl Tiggle

For students, all right. For students, I'm going to give them two pieces. It's going to go back to the theme I've always been using the whole time. As long as you have a good idea... I'm sorry, some idea of who you are and what's a good fit for you, you cannot lose in this process. You can't lose that good school list. And someone just just give them my email, I'll send it to you. It's about a thousand schools. You cannot miss. So on the finding a good school piece, stop losing sleep over that and in fit. And I think this touches most children. And it's a simple thing. And it's something that I literally have on PowerPoint. Use the metaphor, don't worry about the label on the jeans. Think about how well that pair of jeans fits you and how it looks on you. If you can translate that to college, this should be a real... There's tons and tons and tons of jeans out there. Find the ones that fit you best, just like you always do. Just like you're going to do later on this week. Nice.

Andrew Palumbo

How about for parents?

Daryl Tiggle

For parents. Also the same piece of information. Your child cannot... I've got lots. They cannot lose. The number of good schools out there abounds. What's my last piece of information out there for them? Look, and this is super simple. Keep loving your child the same way you did as they were going through other important times in their life. The same way they were starting school as kindergartners, support them that way. The same way you were excited about their Sweet 16 or Bop MISFA. Be equally excited about this because it's going to be even better and it's going to last longer. So keep loving them and be excited about it.

Andrew Palumbo

Excellent. Well, this has been a fantastic conversation with Uncle Tiggle, Daryl Tiggle from the Friends School of Baltimore. Thank you so much for being on the podcast, Daryl.

Daryl Tiggle

I'd love it. And look, my niece, Kaylee, will take offense. Only she's allowed to call me Uncle Tiggle. She has put that law down in the playground before.

Andrew Palumbo

Point taken, Daryl. Point taken. Thanks a lot.

Daryl Tiggle

All right.

Darryl Tiggle - Searching for Colleges, Tours, & More

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Thank you, Andrew. So nice to be with you all and really excited to connect with the audience.

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl, tell us a little bit about yourself, where you work, your role, and your background in higher ed and school counseling.

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

That's great. Daryl, what was it that made you decide to switch sides of the desk?

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

It sounds like.

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

I get it.

Daryl Tiggle

I totally get it. They're like, Oh, perfect. I get it.

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

It will be interesting, but it is not a search. I'm going to suggest that your listeners follow. That tends to be what.

Andrew Palumbo

Every guest says, actually.

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Noter.

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

They all are very disrupted applause. Yeah.

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Where that goodness is also what makes you a really good match for your foundation schools. I tell them you've got to really embrace the profile of the places that match your profile.

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Can tour. Let's get real here. We've both worked at admissions. Can that help a student if they visit with a representative from a school that might be on their list?

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

It demonstrates in the college that you have a keen interest in their institution. You're making time.

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Happening again. You mentioned.

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

This is a plug for drag sheet. We also have our students do a resume, and that often will help teachers with their... When you're a.

Andrew Palumbo

College admissions officer or you're in a committee and you're reviewing a student's case, what are the admissions professionals looking at in those recommendations? What are they trying to draw out?

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

That's what the college process should be as well. Not name, fit.

Andrew Palumbo

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

How about for parents?

Daryl Tiggle

Andrew Palumbo

Excellent. Well, this has been a fantastic conversation with Uncle Tiggle, Daryl Tiggle from the Friends School of Baltimore. Thank you so much for being on the podcast, Daryl.

Daryl Tiggle

I'd love it. And look, my niece, Kaylee, will take offense. Only she's allowed to call me Uncle Tiggle. She has put that law down in the playground before.

Andrew Palumbo

Point taken, Daryl. Point taken. Thanks a lot.

Daryl Tiggle

All right.

How to Write a College Essay: A Brown Graduate’s 7 Easy Steps

Mon, 15 May 2023 20:19:41 GMT

Knowing how to write a college essay adds value to your application. However, writing college essays and constructing captivating narratives isn’t always simple. Thankfully, our admissions experts are here to help with insightful college essay tips!

How to Write a College Essay: A Brown Graduate’s 7 Easy Steps

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Welcome, everyone. My name is Halley Caldwell, and I work at quad education. And I want to welcome you all to our webinar on how to approach college essays. Quad Education is a company that consults with students and families who are going through the college application process, the goal of getting students into their dream schools. And we help with everything from pre application candidacy development to choosing schools, writing essays, filling out applications, really until you're accepted and in the school that you want to go to. We have two great panelists here with us today who are admissions consultants on our team, and they're fantastic. So we're lucky to have them. I'll take a second just to go through our agenda for today. So I'll introduce our panelists. We'll talk about common college essay prompts that you might see. We'll talk about the purpose of these essays, and then go through a step by step framework on how to approach them. And then we'll go through some extra tips and tricks, and then open up some time for question and answer. So as you have questions through this, feel free to pop them in the Q&A box, and we'll get to them at the end.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

And yeah, we're excited to have you all. So we have Daryl Tiggle and Kayla Kirk here today. Daryl, can you introduce yourself?

Daryl Tiggle

Sure. Hi, my name is Daryl Tiggle, and I've been a senior admissions consultant with quash for a couple of years and have really enjoyed the work that I do. For a long time, I worked on the other side of college admissions. I did college admissions at several institutions, but most recently, Tufts University, before I jumped over to the college counseling side of the desk. I really enjoyed working with students and families. And for a long time, ran the College Counseling Office at French School of Baltimore, where we've got a great group of students who've helped teach me how to do college counseling. So looking forward to talk with you all today.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Thanks for being here, Daryl. Kayla, can you introduce yourself?

Kayla Kirk

Hi, everybody. So happy to be here today. My name is Kayla Kirk. I'm coming to you from my experiences. I did my undergraduate at Brown University, and while I was there completing my studies, I began working with the admissions department. I became very fascinated with the work that they do, and participated in several mock application cycles, getting to look at what separates students who have similar academic backgrounds, what makes one student stand out over the other. And so I worked in admissions there for a little bit. And since then, I've really enjoyed spending time with students on their essays, in particular, making sure that the student's personality really pops on that application page. So happy to be here today.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Thanks so much, Kayla. We're excited to have you. All right, we'll dive right in and talk about common essay prompts and examples that you're likely to see. Daryl, you want to start us off?

Daryl Tiggle

Sure. So if we're thinking about the why our school, you'll become familiar as you begin the college application process. There's two sets of essays. The one you'll first focused on, we'll do some coverage of that as well, is the common application personal statement where the lion share of schools that you'll likely consider for admissions have the common app personal statement. And I tell students that statement in so much as schools are going to ask, why our school, which we'll talk about now, you're going to write why you in your common application personal statement. And then the colleges really want to know why is their school compelling to you? And lots of schools have great research and beautiful campuses and students study abroad. But they want to know things that go deeper than the surface level of knowing about the college, especially so that when you're writing about the college, you couldn't subplant another school's name in that essay and then have the essay still ring true. You want the essay to really be tailored towards the school that you're writing about. So that's something that we're really happy to address as we work with US students to help you both identify and articulate the things that schools are going to want to hear in the why Northwestern, for instance, or why Brown essay so that you're addressing those issues and writing unique to those institution essays.

Daryl Tiggle

Kayla, do you agree?

Kayla Kirk

Absolutely. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Yeah.

Kayla Kirk

And along those lines, you're going to get a similar question type. Pretty often we come across this question, why did you choose this major? And this can be somewhat similar to the why our school prompts, but the goal here is to communicate what you've done so far to cultivate your interests, to prepare your sofa your studies in this particular field. The top colleges and their admissions offices, they're going to want to see what you've done to pursue your passion so far, and maybe what you're going to do in the future with the foundation you build at this university. They want to get the sense that you, as an applicant, are a curious individual who is already taking the initiative to challenge yourself, to explore something that you might take on in a professional level in the future. So this is another essay to be specific on in giving your background and maybe looking ahead as well at what you'll do within that major.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Great. Daryl, do you have anything to add there?

Daryl Tiggle

Briefly, I often, and Brown, Kayla knows, the open curriculum. I often tell our students, look, that question about the open curriculum, does it They don't want to know that you're undecided and you can come there and study anything you want. They want to know that you enjoy the freedom of choosing and being encouraged to choose from the curriculum, right? So we'll also try to help you address the tone and the angle in which you might address those questions.

Kayla Kirk

Absolutely.

Daryl Tiggle

On that, extra curricular activity exploration. Please briefly elaborate on one of your extra curricular activities or work experiences. This one apparently is from the Harvard supplemental essay questions. Most every college is going to ask a variety of this question. And I'll pick on a place like Harvard. Most of the students, I'd imagine 80 %, 90 % of the students who are applying to Harvard may likely academically be well qualified. Be in the ballpark in terms of academic prowess. But often at Harvard and all other colleges, they want to find out how you've distinguished yourself, made an impact in your community, and how will you affect their community. So what you've done thus far and being able to speak to that will give them good evidence of the type of person you are as a whole human being, but also the type of person you're likely to be when you come to their institution.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Fantastic. Kayla, do you have anything else to add there?

Kayla Kirk

I think it's good to think being well rounded, of course. We hear a lot about being well rounded in your activity exploration, and that's important. But also there's benefit to considering showing depth in a particular extra curricular activity. And so when it comes to elaborating on these in your essays, it can be an opportunity to show a side of you that you haven't shown as much in your activities list, or to really double down and say, This is what I'm passionate about. So whichever route you go, specificity and really giving your background super important. The next common essay prompt that we will be talking about are the prompts that are more community focused and more diversity focused, perhaps. What I mean by that, we can perhaps see in these essay prompts, the first one from Columbia, a hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives. Tell us about an aspect of your own perspective, viewpoint, or lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to Columbia's diverse and collaborative community.

Kayla Kirk

I think it's really important to point out that this is a two part question. It's primarily, tell us about you. What's your background? Where do you come from? What's your what elements of your family experience or cultural experience do you feel are relevant to share? Whether they have shaped your educational pathway to this point or just shape your interests academically or otherwise, it's worth sharing that information in this type of prompt. The second part of this question, though, that we don't want to exclude when we answer this is how are you going to learn from and contribute to Columbia's collaborative community or whatever school's community? In other words, they want to know that you're willing to go beyond your own experiences up to this point. They want to know that you're going to be a productive and positive contribution to their student body, that you'll be willing to engage with people whose experiences are different from your own. So don't forget, don't neglect either part of this. It is about your own experience. It's also about how you're going to engage with other perspectives in the future. We also see this MIT prompt here, describe the world you come from, how has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations.

Kayla Kirk

Again, sharing stories that are unique to you, focusing on your lived experiences and then also looking beyond to the greater community, maybe it's like, growing up with my family, our cuisine was really important to us. We make all sorts of cultural dishes together. And even something as small as that, if that's important to you and that's a story that tells us more about your experience, that's something you can turn outwards as well and say, Hey, when I get to Columbia's campus, I can't wait to share some of the food that makes me feel like home. And I look forward to connecting with people who can teach me about where they come from a little bit. So that's what I would start by saying. Anything to add, Darrell?

Daryl Tiggle

I would just play back what you said. Excellent. Nice. All right. The intellectual curiosity prompt. It's cool to love learning. What excites your curiosity? Tufts University. And you don't necessarily have to pick something that's related to your intended major, although it's possible to do so. Intell curiosity, that goes beyond what do you want to study? What do you want to major in? It really speaks to how do you want to grow as a scholar, as a student. And you might want to go to medical school, and you absolutely know that you want to go to medical school, but you're super interested in literature. You're super interested in the fine arts. You're a dancer, but you're a STEM oriented dancer. Intell curiosity talks about what you want to do with your mind and your intellect and what your passions are. And it can be tied to your major, but it could and maybe should be, since you'll talk about your major in other places, talk about what excites you and what you super want to learn. I know some of my friends were doctors who didn't love chemistry. There are things about it. They heard about their major, about premed, they didn't love.

Daryl Tiggle

But since they were theater majors, they were able to feed their intellectual curiosity. And colleges want to know that. They want to know what turns your mind on. And they totally know how good they are at the academic things that they provide. So they want to know how you want to make use of what they're providing as academic toys when you get to campus.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Absolutely.

Kayla Kirk

I also think extra curriculars could come into play here. Let's say if we're responding to this tough prompt, what excites your intellectual curiosity? You can also look ahead and make it specific to T UPS. Maybe it's, I love volcanoes and I am so passionate about visiting volcanic sites. I've had a student like this, and maybe there's a geology club on campus and you can look ahead to that and say, if you want to admit it to TUPS, I would love to participate in this group. So don't be afraid to look ahead as well. Great.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Actually, I think I'm realizing that we skipped the what major slides. I'm going to.

Daryl Tiggle

Pop.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Back to that one really quick. All right, let's see it. There we go.

Daryl Tiggle

All right. Should we take a little bite out of this one? Kayla, give it a shot and then I'll follow up. Absolutely.

Kayla Kirk

Yeah. Why did you choose this major? Again, this is all about what work have you done up to this point to prepare yourself, maybe for a particular major? It could be a student who wants to study engineering. They could use this opportunity, this particular essay, to talk about their experience with their robotics club that they've been so passionate about. And through those background experiences, we'll start to get the sense as an admissions officer that you're passionate, that you're an independent student who's done work up to this point to lay the foundation for whatever your course of study will be.

Daryl Tiggle

And often I think students sometimes have some agenda because they may not yet have a major. They're undecided. They may not know how to attack this question. And that's something that we can counsel them through. But know that in your application, and I think I've discovered recently, I forget which school I was, I think I was visiting University of Southern California, where they will no longer, and I don't know if I like this, they will no longer allow you to put undecided as a first or second choice major. And I was blown away. I was shocked. But why you chose this major helps tell a story about you, helps fulfill the narrative because a lot of what we're going to counsel you through is how to make your application shine in a holistic and super competitive admissions landscape. And you being able to tell the colleges why you want to study something, what turns you on intellectually, tell us about your background and your interests, it gives a narrative that helps them understand you. And if you don't yet have a major, there is a way to talk about your interest in a variety of different disciplines.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Awesome. Yeah. I think this one I know would have terrified me when I was in high school. I don't think I knew what I wanted to study yet. So I think knowing that there's ways around that as well is very helpful.

Daryl Tiggle

We all can do this one. We can all do this one.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

All right, we'll bounce back to where we were.

Kayla Kirk

Yes, I believe we left off. We were about to talk about the quirky essay. So these are the essays where you can have a little bit more fun with it, as you can see from the way that they're phrased. U Chicago, University of Chicago is pretty well known for having these types of prompts. You can see we might have, What advice would a wisdom tooth have? They're having fun with it. Or a question about, If you were on an expedition to Mars and you met a group of Martians, what one image or memory or song might you present to them to share and show that humanity is worth their time? Obviously, these are more creative prompts, and you should feel free to be creative in your responses to them. Sometimes these can look like fill in the blank prompts. Maybe like, if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be... You'd be amazed, but sometimes they're like that. Or sometimes they're just more short answer one sentence responses. Don't let that scare you. Don't get in your head about having to cram a bunch of worthwhile info in there.

Kayla Kirk

They've kept the word limit small for a reason, and you can just answer these in a slightly more conversational way sometimes. Keep it formal, keep your writing professional, but feel free to be creative in these responses. This is a chance to showcase your writing skills, how you think, how you uniquely approach these types of thought experiments. And so I would encourage you on these essays more than any others to play with format. For example, if you have an idea to write something like a script, more of a script format, like a screenplay or a play for one of these prompts. Even, let's say it's a prompt about having a conversation, feel free to do that. There's no rule that you cannot do that, especially for these open ended quirky prompts. If you see an opportunity to share your sense of humor in a way that is appropriate to the prompt, do that. They want to get a sense of your unique voice and your writing. So these quirky essays are the perfect place to do that.

Daryl Tiggle

Amen. I agree completely. And one of the things that I was, I don't know if I was told this or I made it up as I was counseling my students. I said, look, when you see these essays, if they don't turn you on in some way, that school may not be a good match for you. They're trying to find someone who's not necessarily quirky but understands quirk, can write eloquently about something outside the narrow confines of street academia. So know that may speak or definitely speaks to the way in which they evaluate students and what they want to know. And if you're like, Wow, I'm horrified. Wisdom teeth, are you kidding me? Then Chicago's essays may not be for you. But I've read, I was working on this, I think we're done with it, the most brilliant wisdom to the essay for one of my children this fall. That's just amazing.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Great. All right. So let's move on to talk about the purpose of these essays. We've walked through a lot of really standard and unique essay formats. Why are schools asking these?

Daryl Tiggle

You want to take one? We can take these one at a time?

Kayla Kirk

Absolutely.

Daryl Tiggle

All right. I say it allows the admissions committee to learn more about you. And one of the things I'd like to use as an example, and I hope this movie is still available and something you can Netflix or something. But there's a movie years ago that Tina Faye did. It was called Admission, and they were mocking, I think, admissions at Princeton. And most of it was satire. But there was a time at which they'd show the committee table where they sat around the committee table. And if someone got in, confetti would fall down. They'd get the kid head. They'd pull a ledge and the child would fall through the ground. That doesn't happen. But there is something called committee where colleges talk about you. And that should not be horrifying. And the thing I often say to my students is I go, look, when they're doing the admissions committee talk, and they go, listen quickly. When they talk about academics, they'll say, Daryl Tegel, 4.87, 37 ACT. Then they're moving on to something else. The conversation about academics is very short. The conversation, if you were so lucky to be at the committee table, that's where they're going to talk about you, and they're going to go back to your essay.

Daryl Tiggle

They are not going back to how many APIs you took. That got you to the table.

Kayla Kirk

That is so well said. I think you're absolutely right. And it really leads into this second point about the purpose of these essays. When you write your essay, this is an opportunity to differentiate yourself further from the other students who might be being discussed at that very committee. When you're applying to these selective schools, these top schools, most applicants are going to have the scores. They're going to have an impressive GPA. They are going to have taken a bunch of AP classes, and that's great. But the essay is an opportunity to show a personal side of yourself that makes you a little more human, makes you more than just the grave on your report card. So this is why these colleges want the essays. They want to understand who you are as a human, not just an academic. Perfect.

Daryl Tiggle

And fit. That's why you have a quad counselor because that's what we do. Name, we get it. And if I'm going to have a good fun with this, oftentimes, families will say to me, I or my child would like to go. I want to go Ivy League. I go, perfect. But I think what you mean is good school because the Ivy League schools are super different from each other. And I mean, super different. Some are in the city, some are literally in the woods. Some have super strict core curriculum. Some say come and take it if you like. So I believe I'm saying means good. And if I'm right when I say good, there's only eight. So there's about 80, maybe 800 good ones. So we want to find out what place is a good fit for you. That's exactly what the colleges are doing. Academically, they don't even have to think about whether or not they're going to get academic quality. It's baked into the process. The fit thing, they can only ascertain from non numerical stuff. And your essay is one of the best things that give them that info. All right.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Well said. All right. What.

Daryl Tiggle

Else we got?

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

So we're going to go and talk through a seven step framework for writing college essays. And this is going to approach the majority of them. So this is just an overview of what we'll talk about, but we'll talk about research, understanding your motives, how to brainstorm, impactful introductions, the body of your essay, how to wrap it up, and then go into editing a little bit. So you never have too much editing.

Kayla Kirk

I am particularly excited to talk about this slide, do your research. The reason I'm excited to talk about it is I've been working with a lot of students on their essays recently, and this is the step that I find many students want to skimp on, which is interesting. Don't be afraid to show you've done the research. In fact, they need to know you've done the research. It's like what Darrell was saying before, we don't want to be able to say, I want to go to Cornell and have that essay be interchangeable, something that you also use for Dartmouth and Columbia. They want to know that you specifically research what their school has to offer. And these things can include classes that you're interested in taking. Look up their course catalog within a department that you may be interested in. Drop the name of that class. Drop the name of a professor who you saw on the website. Even if you didn't know them beforehand, if you really want to go to this school, take that time. Look at some of the professors who are working in a field that you're interested in, and you might find projects that they've worked on or articles they've published or research that they're working on.

Kayla Kirk

Get those specific details and mention those tied in to what your interests are. This can include specialized programs or degrees. If there's a dual degree program that allows you to get an art degree and Egyptology degree. And that's particularly interesting to you, mention it because not every school has it. So this is a good opportunity to do that research online. And also, maybe remember, take notes if you have the chance to tour some of these schools, take notes in the info session, ask questions.

Daryl Tiggle

Awesome.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Daryl, do you have anything to add before we move on to the next step?

Daryl Tiggle

I don't want to give away all the goods in the webinar, but the one thing I would say is the universal thing I tell my students to do, and every college has this, you go to the About page on every college. It's in the top right or left hand corner on every college's website. And you find, and every college has this and they love it, the mission statements. Don't restate the mission statement to them, but go and see what the mission statement says it's trying to do. Provide more access to more students. Elevate Women in the Sciences. Make an impact in the community outside of our campus. Find out what their mission statement is because A, they love it. They paid a bunch of money just for that statement. And that is where they're going to put all of their energy and effort in the time that's going to be forthcoming as when you're a student.

Kayla Kirk

That is a good tip. That's on the house.

Daryl Tiggle

That one's on the house.

Kayla Kirk

That's a really good one. That's a.

Daryl Tiggle

Good one. Start muting me. Okay.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

All right. Well, maybe you won't give too much away here then.

Daryl Tiggle

Understand your whys. Okay. Why did you pursue this major? Why did you pick this school? What was the rationale behind your choices and your accomplishment so far? Kayla, which one do you want?

Kayla Kirk

I'll take, why did you pursue this major? Look, this is an opportunity to look inwards, really be introspective. And I don't want to say self critical, but self aware. So this is not a lot of the times I get to these essays with students and they do get stunned, like, oh, well, I don't know, just chemical engineering seems good. I heard that chemical engineering is a good field to go into. We want to have specifics here and we want to show passion. So even if you didn't ask yourself this question ever before now, this is the time to ask, why do I want to do chemical engineering? What am I hoping to do with this once I get this foundational knowledge? What is my motivating factor in here? Maybe for you it's purely financial. And for some people that is a huge motivator in why they pursue certain studies. But try to go deeper than that and try to show an element of your character in these prompts.

Daryl Tiggle

All right. I believe, and Holly, tell me if I'm correct, incorrect. Why did you pick this school? That means if you're applying to a place like T upsey, the School of Arts and Sciences as opposed to the School of Engineering? That type of question?

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

I think this is more of a.

Kayla Kirk

Why.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Knowing your values and who you are and why, the motivations behind your choices of applying to this school, applying to this major, and as something that you can weave through your essays.

Daryl Tiggle

Got you. Again, I think this is perfect. This, again, is one of those situations where because it's a top school, especially the super selective schools, they already know that. They know they're a top school. They do things, but they want to know what is it about their academic approach, their ethos, what place it's like. And this is just glib, but it's the stuff that for the quick. They used to say University of Chicago is the place that fun goes to die. Not really. It's a different fun. So know about their academic environment, their lived ethos, and what students do, what lives they live, what access they have to faculty, what impact they're making on campus and in their community. And schools, and I've got a very good friend who runs the show at Dartmouth, and the students there love it. And I mean, absolutely, they couldn't be more happy. I do not think they would like NYU or Columbia or Georgetown. And there's reasons they were able to describe why they wanted a school that was up in the freezing woods. And they were able to describe that in their essay. And to get into Dartmouth, they had to because it's super hard to get in.

Kayla Kirk

Well said.

Daryl Tiggle

The last one.

Kayla Kirk

Yeah. What was the rationale behind all your choices and accomplishments so far? I have a great example for this big question. I have a student who I'm working with who's applying to engineering schools, and he was able to take us back to a story from his childhood about his grandma had a hip surgery and had a really difficult recovery. She lost her mobility, she used to enjoy playing tennis, and she had a bit of a difficult recovery. And this student was able to point to this memory and childhood experience as a bit of a motivator in his academic interest. So he wants to work on creating engineering exoskeleton of sorts that might assist mobility. In other words, he's able to connect his future aspirations to a personal empathy building anecdote from his life. And it didn't feel forced. It felt personal to him. It wasn't a sad story focused just on his grandma. It was just saying, this is real to me. This is my personal connection to this work and maybe gives you some insight into why I want to keep doing this work.

Daryl Tiggle

Awesome. Excellent.

Kayla Kirk

Okay. So moving right along to brainstorming. This is a huge part of the process. We always want to have an outline of sorts and have notes for going off of, regardless of our prompt. This is a chance to think about experiences that have been impactful to you and might show not tell who you are in an effective way. So the best way to add differentiation when it comes to and show off your writing skills as well is to pull meaningful experiences and stories and reflect on them. Don't be afraid to share how you're feeling.

Daryl Tiggle

I agree. And this is at the front end, most of the work, right? Doing the brainstorming is how you come up with the ideas. And that's something else that we do. And we're just fortunate to have gone through a lot of storms. So if you can give us an idea of what you would like to express. That's a lot of the work that we do in building your essay and the narrative that you're going to tell. The brainstorming is essential. And for us, and Kayla, tell me if I'm incorrect. It's easy.

Daryl Tiggle

If you tell us what you're thinking about, the brainstorming ideas, you'll ask us to stop.

Kayla Kirk

Agreed.

Daryl Tiggle

Okay.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

There's just a little bit more on brainstorming here.

Daryl Tiggle

All right. How to pick the most impactful topics, traits, experiences. If you have a choice between prompts, which do you have the most or most compelling topics for? If you don't have much content for a prompt, consider another one. I think that just reads as it is. Follow that advice. You want to write one that's within what they used to call, I think, in baseball, your wheelhouse, one that calls your name.

Kayla Kirk

And as you're picking experiences to share, you might think back to which traits did you already showcase in your recommendation letters, in your personal statement? Are there traits about yourself that you want to show? For example, maybe you've not yet shown that you... Maybe you want to say, I'm really independent, I'm a self starter, but I haven't shown that yet. This is a great opportunity to do that. And when you're picking an example to show, but not tell explicitly that you are independent, don't worry too much about whether it's super impressive or you won an award for it, or you geared a disease, or you started a company. It doesn't have to be impressive on paper necessarily. These are more about how you reflect on an experience. So if I'm trying to show that I'm independent, I don't necessarily have to have to explicitly say, I started this company in 2015 and I got an award for being the most independent young high schooler. That's great if you have that. It's probably on your resume as well if you have that. Maybe this would be better off to take a small anecdote and reflect on that.

Kayla Kirk

So maybe it's like, there was a bug in my room and nobody was willing to kill it for me. So I biked all the way to the store and I picked up the pestic and I biked all the way back home and I was scared but I pushed through. That's a pretty mundane story. But if you are a strong writer and you focus on what you want to show about yourself, you can use any story to reflect who you are.

Daryl Tiggle

Perfect. All right. Does the topic, anecdote you selected, clearly answer the prompt? Super important. And this is one of the... And we get it. Sometimes you might get tripped up and say, All right, this essay that I wrote for someone else sounds like the topic they're asking about for the other school. So you might engineer it a little bit for that one. We're going to make sure that you're focusing on what they're asking about. I didn't want to dial back to this, but the comment at prompt, and I might make some enemies here. I do not like option seven, where you choose your topic because typically when I start reading that essay, I know it's one of those because it can ramble. But when students anchor their essay in a topic, oftentimes for the common app personal statement, I think it reads better. For the college specific essays, it's required. You've got to tell them what they're asking. That's right.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

All right, we'll keep moving through. We have about 20 minutes left and we want to leave some time for Q&A, so we'll keep trucking along here.

Kayla Kirk

Very nice. Well, now, one of the last things to think about as we're wrapping or winding down is how to make sure your introduction is impactful. Keep in mind, you don't want to have a starting sentence that's just there for the shock factor. We know that it's important to hook people in the first sentence, but don't do anything just to do it. It can be very powerful and effective to plop the reader in mid story, set the scene, or drop the reader right into the action. That can be a great way to get them hooked. Another thing to keep in mind is use vivid description and imagery. This is a chance to get You don't want it to read like poetry or too flowery in your language in the end, but you do want to show off your writing skills. And if this starts to read a little bit more like a short story at times, that's okay. That's a good way to get them invested in your essay and also a way to help you stand out.

Daryl Tiggle

Right on. Don't lose sight of your goal in the essay's body. This is where you include the necessary ideas that propel your narrative. Like Kayla said, when you jump into your story and you might have something that's impactful to grab the reader's attention, don't leave them stranded. And that vivid imagery and the like is really important. I often give an example about, and this is an essay I read a long, long, long time ago, but I named it, I entitled it Dirty Boots and sweaty socks. Because a student was talking about his relationship with a parent who was a manual laborer. So he talked about these things in very vivid ways, and he was reflecting. He was thinking about the experience he had with his dad from the time he started school until the time he started writing his college essay. So he wasn't curing cancer or have anything particularly exciting happening in his life. But he was able to reflect on it in a way that he could really write vividly about what he was talking about. And he never lost sight of the prompt. He was talking about the value of education and hard work.

Daryl Tiggle

And that's when he understood that he made the transition from childhood to adulthood. He understood that he would like to work with his mind as hard as his father worked with their body. Vivid never left the prompt and wrote a fire essay.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Absolutely.

Kayla Kirk

And of course, we need to wrap up with a strong conclusion. Start strong, end strong. This can be a great opportunity to refer back to your introduction if it makes sense to do that. For example, I had a student who was writing about his relationship with his brother. Early on in the essay, he talks about how they talk about seemingly mundane things. They argue about whether Lay's potato chips are better than Hein's potato chips. Then we get the whole rest of this beautiful essay. Then the very last sentence ends up being something like, and we're still trying to figure out or no word yet on the potato chip thing. They come back to it like, and to this day, we're debating which potato chips are better. So you can reference something early on, even if it's a small, seemingly silly thing. It can be really impactful if it's tied into something personal. And last thing to keep in mind here is just it could be good to talk about your goals for the future in your conclusion, what you hope to accomplish.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Great. All right, it's time to step 7, our last step here, which is a three, four part step at least, edit, edit, edit, and edit.

Daryl Tiggle

And this is most of our... Absolutely the author's work, the student's work. But this is a lot of the work that we're doing also as your counselor, both helping you as you're writing this, but also when we go back and read it in our own thoughtful time, being able to make sure that the tone and the grammar and the flow are things that are going to read well, capture the reader, and make sure that they leave knowing something about you. The editing. Again, applying to college, you're doing it already. If you're in high school, applying to college is writing essays. Few visits, few interviews, but writing essays.

Kayla Kirk

All right.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

We'll hit some few tips for success while writing these essays, and then we'll jump into a Q&A. So if you have any questions, feel free to pop them in the Q&A box, and we'll get thinking on those as we finish up this last slide here.

Kayla Kirk

Yeah. And I'll highlight the things that we haven't already covered. For example, even if the supplemental essays are optional, it is in your best interest to write them. Again, we talked so much about how the essays differentiate you from the other students based on grades and GPA. Write those supplemental essays. Why not? Ensure as well that you're answering the entire prompt. Leave no question unanswered if it's posed in there. Stay true to your voice. You don't have to make this overly formal or stiff or stuffy if that's not how you talk. Keep it professional. Keep your tone professional and academic, but be yourself. Start early. That's so important. You don't want to find yourself scrambling at the last second. And oftentimes with these essays, you're going to go through several drafts. You want that time in between edits to take a breather, and then that way you come back to your essay with slightly fresher eyes next time. Final thing in here is just focus on you. Even if this essay mentions somebody else, somebody who had a strong impact on you, remember, this is primarily an essay about you.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Daryl, any other thoughts here?

Daryl Tiggle

Let's see if we can handle their questions. Let's see if we can handle their questions.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

All right. So while we wait for some questions to pop in, do you have any other tips, Daryl and Kayla, that we didn't cover here that you think is essential now?

Daryl Tiggle

I think the starting early is super important because if you aspire to the type of schools that we're going to likely be counseling you towards, you've already done the academic work. You've already got the academic prowess to write effectively about the things you got As in on your history and English and other papers. And hopefully, you had to do some research and some examination to get the right words to say in those essays you've been writing forever. This research for your essays, you've already done. You've already done it. The ones that are about you, it's a lot about the brainstorming and thinking about yourself and like Kayla said, focusing on you. But that research you've already done. It's work you're used to doing. And then you're going to do a little research about colleges and tell them why they resonate.

Kayla Kirk

Looks like we had somebody maybe raising their hand in the chat. Oh, a couple of people.

Daryl Tiggle

All right. Oh, you're in the chat. I didn't go ahead.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

All right. So we have a question here. How early should one start writing their essays?

Kayla Kirk

I would say I work with a lot of students who are in their final year of high school, so senior year. I think it's a good idea to get started maybe with the first draft of your essay, if you can, the summer before senior year. You're going to be in great shape if you have a first draft already in that summer. Then we can make sure to not only polish off your common app essay, but making sure that you have time for all those school specific essays that will come up. Some of them are longer than others. So you don't want to be surprised by those before the night before November first when that big deadline is coming up. So if you can start summer before senior year.

Daryl Tiggle

I agree. And I like that summer before senior year because then you have the fall to write the college specific essays because they're going to start coming on your radar summer, spring of your junior year and then moving forward. All right.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Here's a question I like. What's one college essay that you both have read that really stood out to you?

Daryl Tiggle

Kayla, you want to go first?

Kayla Kirk

I'm going to keep thinking on that one.

Daryl Tiggle

So the one I read for one of my students last year that I just thought was brilliant. And again, it talks about the narrative and how you use an essay. She was a child of two moms, so she talked about that. And so it speaks to the background she had, the perspective she brings, the diversity of her experience. But she talks about the way in which people ask questions. And from the time she started school and everyone has to do this at some point, but she had to do it sooner, she had to answer the question, why about her family all the time? Why don't you have a dad? Why are there two moms? Why do your siblings look different? That's disruptive, I think. But it did really help her understand over time, a lot of things that some people may not understand everything, but some people are super curious. So I said, Wow, that's brilliant. I thought that was about two moms, but it was about human nature.

Kayla Kirk

I'm also seeing this question about are there any topics that a student should steer clear of? Somebody asked specifically, like politics, they asked. I would say that there are some topics that just come up pretty often. These are the things like sports injury. An athlete gets hurt and then has an injury and that changes their whole life. That can be really powerful. But just know when you're writing that that that's a topic that's been written about many, many times. As you're writing about that, if you choose to speak about that, really focus on what is unique to me in this story. What qualities of my character is this story sharing? Because I guarantee they've read a lot of other football players essays about their injury and how they recovered. Not to minimize that experience, just to say that we are trying to help you stand out here. Questions? Sometimes applicants have lost somebody in their life and they choose to write about that person. That can be super effective, can be beautiful and moving and personal. Just remember with something like that, if you are writing about somebody else, don't completely center them. They're not applying to college.

Kayla Kirk

You're applying to college. So if it is relevant to your story, feel free to talk about it. But with any of these topics, make it personal to you. And I wouldn't necessarily say politics is off limits just because politics and political engagement can be very important to some schools. It can actually be part of their mission statement, some of them. They want to see engaged, socially aware students. So if that's part of the school's character and mission, nothing's off limits.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

I will say we did do a webinar a while back on the personal statement part of the common app, and we do talk quite a bit about cliched topics, what to steer clear of, and that thing. So we'll link that in an email that we'll send with a recording of this webinar early next week. But you can also find that on our website and on YouTube. So feel free to go reference that. It has some great resources that apply to these essays as well.

Kayla Kirk

Great.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

How many essays might one expect typically?

Daryl Tiggle

I love this. This one is from I think this is Alphabet 1, and I'm definitely not going to get the math right. So it's 1 plus X being the number of colleges that you're applying to in parenthesis 2. So you're going to write your common application personal statement. And then if you apply to five colleges, you should expect to write at least five Y, those colleges essays. But some of them might want two essays for themselves. So that's some of the math that we do in the council. You're like, yeah, Ms. Kirk, I want to apply to 30 schools and these are they. Ms. Kirk is going to say, well, you've got 75 essays to write between now and January 1. Can we reevaluate? But typically, I'm sorry, the answer is, and Gayle, you tell me, 10 to 20?

Kayla Kirk

Sure. Yeah, about two or three essays per school.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Let's combine these two questions here. They're pretty much on the same topic. So when picking an essay topic or experience, is it better to choose a more goal related essay or topic or one with personal experiences or activities? And then what do schools focus more on when reading them? Are they looking at their vocabulary and their technical writing pieces? Or are they looking at the content and ideas within them?

Kayla Kirk

To respond to that second question about is it more about the writing and vocabulary? Is it more about the ideas? I'm going to say it's more about the ideas. And here's why. Admissions officers, they're getting your full academic profile. So if English is your second language, or if you move to a school in another country and you were catching up for that reason, they're going to have that information and they will take that into account. So showing your ideas and sense of yourself is probably the more important thing to focus on, especially with your first draft. Don't worry so much about if the writing sounds beautiful. You can start by focusing on... A great way to start with brainstorming can be, What good qualities about myself do I really want to display in this essay? And then you can go from there in terms of thinking about, oh, yeah, what's the story that tells that I'm a leader? Or what's the story I can talk about where I was looking out for other people?

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Great. So then this other piece, Darrell, pitch to you is it better to choose an essay or experience talking about goals or personal experiences and activities?

Daryl Tiggle

Yeah. Truth is, you're probably going to have to write about both. College will very likely be asking a version of both of those questions. But whenever given the opportunity, and I always tell my students and clients, think about authenticity not being unique. Because the schools that receive more than 10,000 applications unique dwindles. So you want to find the essays that... Again, you're going to tell your own unique story. But if given the option, don't try to think, what do they want to hear? Think what you can say best.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

That's a great answer. So we have a couple of questions here that are about personal statistics and likelihood of getting into schools. And instead of answering those, I'd say to set up a consultation on our website with our team, and they'll be able to give you more specialized advice as it pertains to you, better than the three of us can do here in the brief time that we have. But there's a schedule a consultation button right on our website and you can schedule a free 30 minute consultation with our team.

Daryl Tiggle

Awesome. And do that. Do that. That is very good time spent, people and free.

Halley Caldwell (HOST)

Well, I think that brings us to the end of our webinar today. I want to say thank you to Daryl and to Kayla. You two are amazing and we appreciate your time. And to everyone that joined, thank you so much. You have great questions and we're excited to work with you in the future. Be on a lookout for an email in the coming days that will have the recording of this webinar for you to look back on. And then our website also has other webinars that we've done that might be helpful to you as well. Thank you so much for spending your Saturday afternoon with us. Hope everyone has a great rest of their weekends.

Daryl Tiggle

Have a great weekend.

Kayla Kirk

Thanks all. Bye.