I have recently begun posting a blog on the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) MemberToMember site. The blog is called “Did You Really Say That?” and is explained below.

This blog as a response to some of the things I have read on the NACAC elist over the years that have really set me off. I have used the list, and, more recently, the MemberToMember community, to get help finding information I can’t find any other way, to get feedback about things that are happening in my school or district, or to vent about some unbelievable occurrence.

Before I ask for help, I check the archives and generally spend too much time searching my reference materials, the internet and other electronic sources. I believe that as a college counselor, it is my job to find the resources needed by my students and their families, and to share that information with my colleagues, so you don’t have to “reinvent the wheel.”

Because of that, when I see elist users ask questions to which they could easily find answers if they were willing to do a bit of searching and expend a bit of creative thinking time, I get fired up, not to answer their questions, but to yell at them for not doing their jobs.

In the past I’ve written responses that let the original poster know exactly what I think. Sometimes they made it onto the list, other times they got filtered out, but more often than not I’ve decided not to reply, hoping that some more diplomatic response would be sent by someone more gentle and diplomatic than me.

Now that NACAC has provided us with our own little blogosphere, I’ve decide to respond to these posts here, to express my outrage and frustration in a way that is less likely to hurt someone’s feelings, but will allow me to vent. So, what you’ll find here are my thoughts and opinions. I’ll be wrong sometimes, but I think I’ll be on the right side of the issues most of the time.

Another thing that lights a fire under my rear end is a question or statement that indicates that the writer doesn’t understand the concept of “fit” in college selection, implying that only certain colleges are worthy of our students, that a college experience without a recognizable brand name is no education at all. The emphasis is more on positioning and gaming the system. My first post is a response to that type of inquiry.

So, here we go…

—–Original Message—–

From: A College Advisor

Sent: April 2010

Subject: [NACAC_E-LIST] Level courses to take during GAP Year? Reapply?

Hi colleagues,

I have a student who, if he is not accepted off a wait list this spring, will be applying to colleges again in the fall and taking a very engaging gap year.  He is a 4.2 w GPA, 2120 SAT student who applied to TOP schools.

This student had all A’s until Senior year when several B’s in two APs crept in…and probably kept him off these very competitive admissions lists.  He was also given feedback that his APs were “light” (US History, German, Env. Science, Economics, AB Calc, English).  He will also be preparing more and re-taking the SAT to get his scores up.

QUESTION 1:  Would taking one or two courses during the summer – so as to finish by fall applications and be able to report grades, be a valuable thing to do to “upgrade” his academic profile for fall college applications?

If so, would taking more “heavy” APs such as in BC Calculus or Physics be the correct course, or should he really move on and take COLLEGE level courses in math-science?

If COLLEGE level courses, where is the most respected place or way to take them if you are not actually enrolled in a 4-year institution?  Online?  Community College?  Other?

QUESTION 2:  If a student has been rejected by a TOP university, will they really open their eyes again to fully reconsider an applicant in this scenario?  I’m trying to counsel the student about how much effort he should put into trying to get into these schools as opposed to moving on and applying to a fresh set.

Many, many thanks for your generous time and wisdom on these questions.

A College Admissions Advisor

Somewhere in CA

Dear College Advisor:

I’m concerned about several aspects of this request for assistance.

What do you mean when you write that he “applied to TOP schools”?

o    There are thousands of colleges in the United States, dozens in Canada, and a great many around the world that accept American undergraduate students. I would be willing to bet not a single one of them would tell you they are not a “TOP” school.

o    Do you mean that the young man applied to none but the most highly selective colleges in the U.S.? Did he only apply to colleges that appear at the top of the rankings list that is regularly disparaged on this list?

o    Perhaps this student needs to be encouraged to widen his search to some lesser known colleges where students won’t get the sweatshirt with a world renowned logo, but will get educational opportunities not available to undergraduates at many universities.

o    Colleges That Change Lives comes to mind as a place to begin a new search, or perhaps Colleges of Distinction may offer more choices. It is likely that the college counselor at his school has some ideas, and I’m sure there are other independent college admissions advisors in your area who would have ideas as well.

Your subject line mentioned a gap year.

o    As a counselor at an urban public high school, I don’t get too many students who do gap years, so I’m not an expert on gapping. My students generally go to college,…or they don’t. I can’t remember the last time one of my students had a gap year, but I do have lots of kids each year who go to community college.

o    Taking a gap year and taking courses at a community college is not the same thing. To my mind, a gap year should be a meaningful learning experience that provides a young person with the opportunity to grow as a person, to mature in a meaningful, perhaps life altering way. Community college is most often a good choice for students who aren’t academically prepared for baccalaureate institutions, students who want to stay closer to home and pay less for their first few years of college, or for students who want specific occupational training so they can enter the job market.

o    The gap year experience shouldn’t be about repositioning a candidate in the queue for a spot in the elite. It should be about growth.

I could go on and on about this, but that’s all the time I have for today.