College unBound

Guest Column by Jodi Nisly Hertzler

Editor’s Note: Jodi Nisly Hertzler writes occasionally for Another Way and is a college counselor and tutor. Jodi and her husband have three children.

Last year, I took on the role of college counselor at the private school I work for. Somewhat daunted, I immediately immersed myself in as much information as possible, joining national and local organizations, attending conferences, visiting colleges, watching webinars, and reading everything I could find. I successfully muddled through my first year, and as I begin a new season with a fresh round of seniors, I am reminded of the anxiety students and parents experience as they traverse this confusing and overwhelming landscape of college admissions.

It’s frustrating: A process that should be fun and exciting is instead stressful and anxiety provoking. Students are made to feel that they must market and package themselves to get into the best schools.

I am continually surprised by how different things are from when I was a student, 20-odd years ago. When I was applying, we didn’t start seriously thinking about college until we were seniors. We took the SAT once or twice in the fall, maybe visited a few schools at some point in the year, and applied sometime in the spring (via handwritten applications sent snail mail). With no Internet available, our information was limited to word of mouth and glossy viewbooks that filled our mailboxes. Now the whole process is accelerated and, in many cases, vastly more competitive (thanks partly to the ease of electronic applications).

Colleges that were “safety schools” (a sure thing to get into) for us are much harder to get into today. Students feel increased pressure to take AP (Advanced Placement) classes even if they struggle academically. Juniors often take the SAT and the ACT test in the spring, then take their better test at least once more early in their senior year. Students do the majority of their college visits as juniors, and most seniors have finalized their lists by October, often applying in early fall to take advantage of the somewhat higher admittance rate of early action/early decision options. Colleges now judge applicants based on “demonstrated interest.” Rumors abound. Waitlists grow. The pressure starts early and hangs on . . . to the detriment of our kids.

It’s frustrating: A process that should be fun and exciting is instead stressful and anxiety provoking. Students are made to feel that they must market themselves—to divine what a school is looking for and then come up with a clever way to package themselves in order to garner as many offers as possible. This invariably leads to panic: What if I haven’t demonstrated leadership? What if I don’t have a “passion”? Will they think I’ve done enough community service? What if I bomb the interview? Will my B in AP Calculus ruin my chances?

Unfortunately, the truth is that if students want to get into a highly selective college, they almost have to play the game. Some play it very successfully . . . and to be honest, if they can play that game well, they’ll likely succeed in a selective college surrounded by other competitive folks.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve only been doing this a year, but I’ve already seen many colleges that aren’t big-name schools, but which offer students amazing experiences and are true institutions of higher learning in the best sense. This summer, I visited two elite colleges in my state who boasted that nearly 60 percent of their students study abroad; my humble alma mater (a small school with a generous admittance rate) requires its students to have a cross-cultural experience, sending more than 70 percent of its students overseas.

One gem of a school has a field station built alongside a nearby lake where a small group of students live and study for a semester. Another has a four-year career prep program, helping students with everything from developing a resume to honing interviewing skills to networking with alumni. Yet another has a close working relationship with an internationally recognized theatre troupe. Honestly, every school I’ve visited has its own unique flavor, its own unique opportunities. “Success” (however you define that word) has much more to do with the individual student than with where he or she went to school.

The message I try to convey to students is that the name of a school shouldn’t matter to them. It’s not about who can get into the most elite schools. It’s about fit. Where will they be challenged and inspired, but not made to feel they will never measure up? Where will they get the opportunities they are looking for? Where do they want to wake up every day for the next four years? I also ask them to be realistic about the numbers: while most schools take a holistic approach when looking at applications—GPA and test scores being only two components colleges consider—if a student’s profile doesn’t fit within a school’s typical admitted pool, the chances of getting into that college are very slim, even if the applicant is president of the student council, captain of the lacrosse team, and a maestro on the didgeridoo. That’s a hard pill to swallow for some students (and their parents), but having a realistic list will lead to happier results in the long run.

Of course, I’ve completely ignored the ominous black cloud of exorbitant college tuition rates, but that’s a whole other column . . .

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