Maureen Paschal College Counseling

Do colleges use admissions quotas for high schools? You won’t get a college admissions officer to admit to that, but it does seem to be true.

One thing colleges will admit to doing is evaluating students “in the context of your high school” which means that you are in competition with your classmates.

Colleges say they won’t hold it against you if you only have taken 3 AP classes, if your high school only offers 3 AP classes.

The flip side is also true, though.

For example, if you had 15 AP classes available to you and you only took 3 and other students from your high school took 10, the students who took 10 will be more desirable to most colleges.

Colleges will view you in comparison to your high school classmates by class rank, GPA, rigor of the courses you took, and the impact you made at your high school.

As you make your college list, ask yourself how you stack up to the competition at your high school, because that is who you are going to be judged against.

College admissions is about more than just academic fit or emotional fit, it is also about financial fit. I get it. I have four kids and paying for college was a huge piece of our college admissions puzzle.

When I meet with families who share this same concern, I understand them, and I factor that into my college list recommendations.

One thing I encourage parents with is that “no one pays retail” for college (unless you apply Early Decision).

My favorite colleges are the ones who publish, directly on their website, the automatic merit awards they give to qualified applicants. No wondering, no extra applications, just a simple chart with statistics that say, If you have this GPA and this test score, we will give you this much money.

Other colleges will list possible merit scholarships that accepted students can be awarded without having to complete any extra applications. This is also helpful, but nothing encourages quite like the automatic merit awards charts that the schools below post.

This list is not exhaustive, but it does give you a start.
University of Alabama
University of Kentucky
University of Mississippi
University of South Carolina
University of Tennessee

College admissions and applications can be a land mine of teen emotions. I get it. I’ve been there as a mom.

As a college counselor, I say to try and schedule safe times to talk college so that your teen doesn’t feel constantly bombarded or in fear of being bombarded with questions.

Comment Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior to get free access to my monthly checklists.

Sometimes in college admissions families tend to think of colleges as interchangeable. The reality is more nuanced than that.

For example, Clemson University and Auburn University have a lot of similarities. They are both land grant schools located in the southeast. They both have excellent engineering programs, they both have active greek life, they both are considered very selective institutions with roughly the same size student body.

As many similarities as they have, though, they are very different schools. They each have their own unique vibe and you really need to visit each one in person to truly know which school would fit you the best.

College admissions is not about how much money you spend this summer. It’s about how you spend your time this summer.

Below are 20 ideas for useful things you can do to create for yourself good summer experiences.

Remember that INITIATIVE and CREATIVITY are valuable skills to be able to show you have to college admissions officers.

Create your own Volunteer opportunity:
1.Collect gently used sports equipment, children’s clothes, toys, books and donate to community center
2.Elder care - visit, take on errands, cook them a meal
3.Coach or assistant coach a kid’s sport
4.Referee a kid’s sport
5.Collect pet supplies for an animal shelter

Create your own Job:
1.Yard work
2.Cleaning garbage cans
3.Car washing/detailing
4.Pet walking, pet sitting
5.Instead of just babysitting, create week long theme summer camps - arts & crafts, dance, a sport, baking, legos

Create your own Learning Experience:
1.Learn how to garden
2.Improve your golf game
3.Learn how to cook
4.Watch foreign films
5.Visit museums either in-person or online

Create your own Self Improvement Plan:
1.Set a fitness goal
2.Read 3 classic books
3.Limit your social media time
4.Study etiquette
5.Use a habit tracker

Whatever you do this summer, do something, and be sure to document everything you do!

Juniors! When you are making your college application lists, you (and your parents) are the only ones who need to approve. Don’t let peer pressure force you to apply to colleges that you don’t really like or aren’t really qualified for.

Before adding a college to your list, be able to say how that college fits in with your goals and plans.

Then ask yourself, do I meet thresholds for GPA/Course Rigor/Test Scores. Those are the first disqualifying points - even at colleges that do holistic review.