Question: My son is the epitome of the “undecided” kid and is looking forward to taking a wide variety of courses at college. If you were to press him for favorite subjects, he would say languages (Spanish and Latin) and the sciences. I’ve heard that putting “Undecided” on his applications is not a wise idea, but that he should write some subject down for potential course of study. What do you think?

Spanish and Latin are both excellent, somewhat atypical choices, assuming that admission folks won’t scratch their heads and wonder where those options came from (i.e., not a hot idea if your son got a “C-” in his one year of 8th-grade Spanish and hasn’t tried Latin at all!). Biology is a very common selection; physics, chem, biology, geology, astronomy (i.e., most other sciences) somewhat less so.

I am not a big fan of the “Undecided” response. In the good old days, when most applications were hand-written, I would suggest that my “Undecided” advisees should write something along the lines of, “I love languages and might end up majoring in Spanish or Latin. Perhaps I’ll start a new language (Chinese?) or fall in love with a field I’ve yet to discover.” This way, the applicant is showing that he or she does have academic passions but is also broad-minded enough to consider new subjects.

Today’s electronic apps often make such lengthy responses impossible. When given several spaces to fill in (e.g., the Common App allows three choices from a pull-down menu), my recommendation is that your son should put down two options in the first couple slots (Spanish? Latin? his favorite science?) and then “Undecided” in the third one. This sends the message that he is not fully committed and still looking but does have interests he hopes to pursue and that he isn’t just going to college for the frat parties or on-campus Pizza Hut (or is he?)

Obviously, the stakes are different when applying to universities where choices of major are binding. Sure, kids can usually switch once matriculated, but it’s trickier than it is at schools where students won’t officially choose till the end of sophomore year, when the selection on the application is probably long forgotten. So, if any of these colleges are on your son’s list, be sure that he knows which ones they are and that he treads more carefully when making a major selection.

Question: I realize that extracurricular activities are practically an unwritten requirement to gain acceptance to a selective school. Well, what happens if you can’t participate in after-school clubs? I can’t drive yet, my parents work very late, and I have a little sister who needs to be watched after school! I also understand that extracurriculars don’t necessarily have to be participation in a school organization, but I don’t know what else I could do without leaving the house or taking my little sister along with me. What do you suggest?

Selective colleges are looking for students who use their free time in a worthwhile way, not only those who participate in organized activities, whether through school or elsewhere. Certainly, taking care of your sister will be viewed as “worthwhile” indeed, and admission officials will appreciate the commitment and responsibility it entails, if you explain your duties appropriately in your applications. (This might be via an essay, in a short-answer response on significant activities, in the “additional information” section that most applications offer, or even in a supplemental, unsolicited letter.)

Note, however, that selective colleges are also seeking students who “think outside the box.” Although you may be confined to your home much of the time, there are still ways to create imaginative activities. For instance, you could start a blog on an area of interest, compose music or poetry, or contact your local newspaper about writing a weekly column on—what else–advice to teens who babysit! (Kind of a no-brainer, eh? )

Although your child-care will get high marks from admission officials, you will probably fare far better at decision time if you have some other, atypical activity on your resume, and there are plenty that you can do right from home, if you think hard enough.

Question: College students are often warned about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, date rape, unplanned pregnancies, and STD’s … although much of this advice, unforuntately, is met with rolled eyes or deaf ears. But what other safety suggestions can you make to first-year students that they may be more inclined to heed?

While caution when dealing with strangers and strange neighborhoods springs to mind, I suspect that this, too, may fall under the in-one-ear-and-out-the-other rubric. The same goes with, “Make certain you ride with only safe and sober drivers.”

But two safety issues that students might be more apt to consider if warned are:

#1. Fire hazards: Candles are illegal in most dorms, but this rule is commonly disregarded, and unattended candles cause many campus fires and even loss of life. If you want to create “ambiance,” try replacing a standard light bulb with a red one. Skip the flames! Also, when I was in college, a student put a towel over a lamp to dim it, apparently to effect a romantic mood. Instead, she started a serious fire. Mercifully, most of the damage was the result of the sprinkler system, not the smoke or fire, but that certainly put a damper on her love life … so to speak.

#2. Pedestrian crossings: Even though I live in a pretty tame college town, there have been two students killed and several others injured in recent years. These accidents took place when the students were crossing the street, often in a marked crosswalk. Students tend to forget that not all drivers obey crosswalk laws, and some students simply bolt out in front of traffic, many with iPods blaring or in mid-phone-chatter. Such accidents are tragic …. and so easily avoided.

I hope that CC members will add other good safety suggestions that students might actually keep in mind as they start their college careers. Even little quirky things that may be specific to only a few kids or campuses (e.g., Gorge caution at Cornell) would be helpful.

Question: I just started 9th grade, and I’m worried. Last year my attendance record for my first class was really bad. Even though I got straight A’s, I was constantly late or absent. The course was geometry, and I was taking it for high school credit. So I was just wondering if colleges consider pre-high-school attendance records?

Nope, don’t worry, admission committees won’t be concerned with your 8th grade attendance records, although they will consider grades in middle school classes taken for high school credit (typically math and/or foreign language).

However, colleges often do look at high school attendance and tardy records, so get a good, loud alarm clock.

Question: I have a narrative essay that I want to submit with my college applications. I wrote it in junior English, and I feel it’s one of my better pieces, with one exception: there are a couple of pretty big typos. Should I still submit it? Should I tack on a little note explaining that the typos aren’t typical for me? I have another good essay, about 4 or 5 pages long, that I wrote about a book. I don’t want to annoy the admissions officers, so would it be too much to send both? Or would sending both help to redeem myself on the typos?

I suggest that you send the narrative essay, but I don’t think you should send both extra pieces. Unless a college has specifically asked for a graded writing sample (and a few do) then a four- or five-page discussion of a book you read is extraneous, especially since you’ll already be sending the narrative essay as an unsolicited writing sample.

Why can’t you simply retype your narrative piece with the corrections in place? Again, unless you are responding to a request by a college to submit a graded writing sample, then it makes perfect sense to revise your 11th-grade essay and send it as an extra writing sample. If, however, you are applying to one or more colleges that request the “real” paper you wrote for school, then I suggest that you attach a very brief cover note explaining–and correcting–your errors.

Of course, if you’re applying specifically to writing programs that request a portfolio of your work, then that’s a different story–so to speak–and you can send multiple pieces, according to the school’s instructions.

Question: I have to write several essays explaining why I have chosen particular colleges on my list. I haven’t been able to visit any of these schools or attend fairs or meet college reps, and I can’t think of anything to say that would sound genuine and show that I clearly have a believable reason for my attraction. Even after thinking long and hard, I haven’t been able to come up with any decent reason for wanting to go to specific colleges. I don’t want my essays to sound as if they came straight from the website or brochure. I really hate writing these essays and need some suggestions on how to approach them.

I hate those “Why This College?” assignments, too. I’ve seen students write the same essay for totally disparate schools, plugging in new adjectives, as needed, almost as if they were doing a “Mad Lib.” For instance, “I’ve always wanted to attend a LARGE UNIVERSITY” quickly turns into, “I’ve always wanted to attend a SMALL COLLEGE.” Or “I prefer a COLD climate” is transformed into “I prefer a WARM climate.”

In a perfect world, I think colleges should make this essay optional. The prompt should say something like this: If you have a truly compelling reason for selecting our institution, please explain. However 99% of our applicants should not respond to this question, and if you write a bunch of B.S., it will be held against you

Of course, it’s hard enough to compose these essays when you do know why you’re interested in your target schools, and harder still if your reasons for applying are as vague as yours are.

Here are some suggestions of ways to personalize the process of writing these nasty things. Hopefully, at the same time this little exercise will force you to look more closely at the choices you’ve made and see if they’re really the right ones for you.

1) Check out the comments about your target colleges on College Confidential. Feel free to quote CC members in your “Why This College Essay.” For instance, “Penn caught my eye when I spotted a comment on the College Confidential discussion forum by a member who called himself, ‘Ilovebagels.’ I love bagels, too (but that’s probably not a wise reason to choose a college!) and also I was interested when he said, ‘I’ve found Penn to be a remarkably centrist institution. Which as a right-of-center person, I felt put it ahead of the other Ivies with their legions of hippies.’ This made me think that Penn might be a good fit for me, so I started to dig deeper …”

2) Make e-mail contact with a “real” student. Many admission Web sites have links that allow you to connect with a current student. You can also do this though a friend or acquaintance who attends your target schools, by using college Web site directories to find students who share common interests (e.g., the president of the outing club or captain of the squash team), or by writing to the admission office and asking if they might be able to refer you to a Classics major or pre-med student or anyone who shares your interests, your home state or country, etc. Then, after corresponding with this student penpal, you can cite his or her words of wisdom in your essay.

3) Comb through college catalogs–either hard copies, if you have them, or online–to find classes/programs/activities that seem special and appealing then discuss your findings in your essays. Obviously, these offerings should be pretty unusual. Admission committees won’t be impressed if you say, “I want to go to Princeton because I found that I can take classes in Shakespeare and organic chemistry.” If you peruse entire catalogs and can’t find something that excites you, you really should be rethinking your college choices.

Finally, check out this thread on “Why This College Essays” on CC if you haven’t already to get some additional tips on those ornery essays. There is some great advice there from “Shrinkrap.”

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/429255-why-college-essays-aaargh-nightmare-help-plz.html

I’m not sure why you haven’t been able to go on visits, attend fairs, meet with college reps, etc. Perhaps it’s geography and/or finances. But, if at all possible, in the months ahead, I do urge you to take a closer look at the schools that interest you, if possible, and even some that don’t, just so you’ll have options to compare.

Question: How do colleges view students who graduate from a therapeutic school?

“Therapeutic schools” are for students with a range of special needs. These include behavioral problems, ADD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders, etc. So, for starters, all grads of such institutions are not lumped together. For instance, a student with ADD who has responded well to medication and who has performed successfully academically after treatment will not be viewed the same way as another student whose behavior problems or drug addiction seem to come and go. Thus, above all, admission officials will be looking for evidence that whatever problems led an applicant to the therapeutic environment are sufficiently under check that he or she can handle the more independent, more stressful academic and social demands of college life. And this isn’t always easy to discern. Moreover, in this post-Virginia-Tech-tragedy era, colleges are increasingly careful about trying to screen out students who might pose a danger to others, not just those who may struggle themselves.

This past year, one of my college counseling clients attended a therapeutic boarding school. She was a bright, engaging girl who was doing well there, but her track record before then was a disaster: she’d flunked out of three other private schools.

As we went through the college process, she would identify colleges that interested her and where her SATs and current GPA seemed to make her admissible. “I can get in there, can’t I?” she would often ask me. And, like a broken record, I would have to tell her over and over that admission officials would evaluate students like her in a special light. Some would surely be impressed by her excellent writing skills, her charm in an interview situation, and the vast distance she’d come since 9th grade. Others, however, would question whether her “success” at the therapeutic school would continue once she left the highly structured, supervised environment. In the past, she’d clearly demonstrated that she couldn’t handle any sort of freedom. So college admission committees might be wary of letting her loose in their community. I told her that she needed to provided references not only from her teachers and school administrator but also from her therapist, who was willing to attest to this young woman’s progress and to the likelihood that she was ready for the independence of college.

As my advisee submitted her applications, I warned her that she would also have to get a bit lucky. If her folder landed on the desk of someone who was sympathetic to her story and to the obstacles she’d overcome, then her admission odds would increase. But if it ended up on the desk of someone more jaded and cynical, who said, “Let her go elsewhere first and show us that she won’t fall on her face when she’s not being watched every minute,” then her news would not be good.

Ultimately she was admitted to more than half of the 9 or 10 colleges to which she applied. Two that rejected her are schools that are known for attracting motivated students who can work independently. Clearly my advisee had not yet proved herself in this way.

So, overall, students in therapeutic schools have to understand that, if they have made great strides and can garner support from school officials to attest to college readiness, then they will surely have options. But they also need to understand that these options can be hard to predict and that typical admitted-student profiles (SATs, GPA, etc.) are not designed for them

Question: My high school grades were awful. I am now 25 and am currently a sophomore at a community college with a GPA of 3.71. I plan on earning an Associate’s Degree by May of next year and would like to know how important my high school GPA will be when transferring to a four-year university.

I have some good (but maybe surprising) news for you: Your lousy high school grades won’t hurt you when you apply to transfer. In fact, in a roundabout way, they may even help you (!) You see, when admissions committees compare your poor high school performance with your community college success, the results will clearly proclaim that you’re now focused and mature and ready to tackle a four-year school. When it comes time to write your application essays, you will probably be wise to mention this obvious growth and explain how it came about.

So, don’t sweat the high school grades, just keep up the good work you’re doing now.

Question: I don’t see a question asking whether or not the applicant is applying for financial aid on the new 2008-2009 Common Application. It has always been there in the past — has something changed? If so, why?

The financial aid question is still on the Common App but, this year, you’ll have to play a little hide ‘n seek to find it (like so many other times in the admissions process, eh?) The question is now in a separate section called “Future Plans,” which you’ll see on the main Common App menu, and not under “Personal Data,” where you may be looking for it, if you’ve used the Common App in the past.

This is actually a good change, in my opinion, because it allows students to easily customize the information they send to colleges, which couldn’t be done on the old form … e.g., need-blind schools don’t require your answer to the financial aid question but need-conscious schools do.

Hope that helps. Happy hunting!

Question: What words of advice do you offer to parents of a very apprehensive 9th grader who is going away to boarding school for the first time? What encouragement can we share with her to help her get beyond the homesickness?

As your daughter takes this big step, however apprehensively, the encouragement you offer might be tied to the reasons she’s going away in the first place. For instance, if the high school at home doesn’t offer the interesting and challenging classes that her new boarding school will provide, then you can emphasize the pluses of a stronger academic program. If sports or arts are priorities and took a starring role in this decision, then be sure to remind your daughter of the opportunities she’ll have. If she’d simply grown weary of the same ol’ crowd she’s known since kindergarten, then point out that she’ll make friends at her new school from across the country or perhaps from around the world.

In other words, think about whatever prompted her—or you–to choose boarding school in general and this one in particular, and then haul out all those reasons and include them in your pep talk.

If your daughter is a Harry Potter fan, be sure to mention that her new school may feel a bit like Hogwarts. Even without quidditch, charms, or spells, there’s something magical about a community of teenagers living together that a day school just can’t equal.

But also explain that the first two or three weeks of boarding school probably won’t be indicative of what’s to follow. A terribly homesick child will need those weeks to get beyond it, and even a deliriously happy one may experience a downturn once the “honeymoon period” is over. So do tell your daughter that, however boarding school life begins for her, she should be aware that it may not be the real deal, especially if she’s miserable.

Finally, before you say anything at all to your daughter, reflect on why she’s making this move. I do hope that it was her idea or at least that she got a big vote in the decision. Of course, sometimes parents have to push a bit to get a reluctant child to do what’s really for the best. As a parent myself, I’ve found that one of the hardest parts of the job is deciding when to do that pushing and when to stand back and bite one’s tongue. So, even if the boarding school choice was really more your plan than your daughter’s, it doesn’t mean it’s the wrong choice. But it does mean that it may take a bit longer for your daughter to decide that it’s the right one for her. And, if she eventually determines that it’s really not, I hope she knows that the decision isn’t irrevocable. This should be part of your words of encouragement, too.

Good luck to you as you endure this transition. I hope that your daughter has a wonderful experience at her new school, even if it means that her parents feel a bit neglected by her new-found enthusiasm.