3 College Admission Tips That Avoid Scandal

It’s the senior year of high school.  Your son or daughter has completed applications to multiple universities.  Responses begin to roll in and the answers are waitlisted or declined admission to their first, second or maybe even their third choice.  Don’t want to spend $500K or go to jail just to get your children into college? Rest assured all is not lost or over; there are options.

Start by keeping it together.  Most likely your son or daughter is devastated, let them feel it for a moment and as a parent don’t go negative.  It may feel like it, but the world has NOT come to an end.  A bit of rejection can be incredibly motivating and even prove to be an opportunity for them to learn that “not accepted” may only mean for now or in this circumstance.  Here’s the life lesson for them when faced with a rejection'; perseverance can get you where you want to go.  It just may not be on the path that you originally envisioned, but they can overcome this setback.

Let’s put this in perspective for a moment.  When your child learned to walk, they fell.  A lot!!  They did not stop trying to walk.  They maybe cried for a moment but then they stood up, wobbled a bit, figured out how to balance and tried again until they mastered the skill.  This process is not any different.

My point is, disappointment happens to everyone.  Dealing with it allows your son or daughter to learn how to process, create a strategy of next steps, regain their balance and try again.  A little struggle can go a very long way to help them see that we don’t always breeze through life.  Most importantly, let them know that you are disappointed for them, but they have not disappointed you.  Take a day or two if needed and then work with them to create a plan of action.  I suggest a bit of research and discuss options.  Before moving on to the next university application though, give one or all three suggestions a shot to try to change their admittance status.    

1.       Reach out to the admissions office to find out WHY the application has been rejected or waitlisted.  Call do not email; you may have figured out the why on your own, however, this is the perfect time to connect with someone in the admissions office should there not be a relationship there already. Learning to make personal connections are life skills all our children need to master.  Your son or daughter will manage that sooner when they get involved in this part of the process too.  But if they just can’t, you have permission to make the call for them.  If possible, have them listen so they know everything you do. The goal with the personal contact is to be sure that you both understand the process at the university and that the admissions team has context in order to make a clear and accurate evaluation. 

At first review, the admissions team is usually looking for a reason to eliminate students.  Most likely they are looking at your child’s GPA, class rank and test scores.  Should those three items not align perfectly and if the application doesn’t ring all the bells for automatic acceptance, then it is waitlisted or rejected. 

Begin by politely asking questions about their process. Listen carefully to what they are telling you.  There may be gaps that you can fill in over the phone that justify a review. It is probable that they do not look at the WHY your student’s numbers are the way they are.  If the university is out of state, they may know very little about the high school your student will graduate from.  Confirm which statistics they look at and value the most; then provide them with the needed context if you believe that will help.  Take the opportunity to paint a picture of your student.  They are looking at statistics so turn their two-dimensional representation into something with form.  A few of the following suggestions should help fill in the missing information about your son or daughter.

Is your son or daughter at an academically competitive high school?  If so, be ready to share, how many National Merit Scholars are in your student’s graduating class?  Should your high school have many National Merit Scholars each year, be sure that the admissions staff know this. 

If your high school has received a high-ranking in your state or nationwide, share this information.  Especially, if the school applied to was out of state.  This quantifies in verifiable ways to the admissions staff that the high school is academically challenging and may broaden who they will consider college-ready.  It gives them something to argue with the committee or review board.

·Drill down into your student’s GPA – Did they take any Pre-AP or AP courses?  Point it out if they did; especially if they did well.  Ask them to read the transcript.

·Was your student involved in activities that required quite a bit of their time both in and out of school?  Be sure to let them know how much time was spent on these activities weekly.

·What about leadership roles or employment? Again, time. commitment and responsibilities.

Is this student a poor test taker?  Share that information.  There are patterns in the grades and test scores that verify this.  For instance, a strong GPA from a recognized academically challenging high school, mixed with low standardized test scores and mid-level class rank.  It can still indicate college readiness because of the quality of their education. 

Does it make sense that their GPA is high from a difficult school, but their class rank is lower than it might be with that same GPA at a different school?

The admissions departments do as much as they can to know about where their students are coming from.  But they cannot possibly know every corner of the country.   By filling them in on your situation, the story becomes three dimensional and is in context.  If they do not volunteer to review the paperwork again, ask them to or craft an email requesting a review of the application and put it in context.

2.       Change the degree plan status If your son or daughter submitted their application with an “Undeclared” on their application, have them go online and change the status from “Undeclared” to an area of study that is on their shortlist. 

Often a large segment of applicants submits their applications with an undeclared field of study.  There are only so many undeclared applications that universities will admit.  If the mix of class rank, test scores, and grades does not put the application at the top of the list for automatic acceptance, the chance of admission could increase significantly by declaring a field of study.  Think of it as a smaller pool of competition.

PLEASE NOTE:  Only use this tactic if there is a true interest in the field of study declared and it is known that admission to another department after the first year is possible.  For example, some business departments will only accept incoming freshmen, or as an upper-class transfer from a different campus within the university system and the same department.  They will not consider a student changing majors from Science to Business on the same campus as a sophomore.

·Send a detailed email to the admissions team asking them to review the application in light of the change in major. 

Seal the deal with an eloquent email to the dean of the department declared written by your son or daughter.  Outline in the letter the circumstances and why adding them would make a great addition to that department.  This is the time to share feelings about the university and why it is important to this phase of their education.  Finish by appealing to them for assistance.   The worst that they can say is no.  Or they may ask the admissions department to change your status to admitted and welcome you to the university. 

3.       Network!  If this has not been done already, reach out to everyone that someone in the family knows at that university.  Particularly if they are an involved alumnus.  See if they can offer any insight, share their experiences or have any input on what to do next or who else to talk to.  Use every little bit of information that can be pulled together to help crack the admissions code.

The process is daunting at times for both parents and students.  Just hang in there; keep asking questions and pursuing answers.  Most importantly, stay focused on your child.  Don’t get caught up in the comparison game especially at home with other children or in the “I got in!” posts on social media.  Take advantage of the opportunity to teach them that there is more than one way to achieve long term goals. 

Students will often take no at face value, and this is one of those times that perhaps they should not. I hope these tips helped you and your son or daughter through this process.

Please let me know what you think by commenting below. 

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