Schechter Westchester College Counseling

Brown University will no longer require applicants to submit the essay portion of either the SAT or ACT. The university recommends that "a graded paper from a humanities or social studies course" be provided as part of one's application.

Princeton and Stanford Universities announced last week that they were dropping the requirement. So has the California Institute of Technology.

Brown eliminates SAT essay, ACT writing test requirement for applicants In allowing students to take advantage of school-day testing, the shift is part of a continued push to make Brown’s application process more fully accessible to students from low-income families.

As rising seniors focus on developing a "short list" of colleges, below is an oldie but oh, such a goodie by Malcolm Gladwell on the problem of relying upon rankings when developing a college list. Take some time to read this insightful article.

"There’s no direct way to measure the quality of an institution—how well a college manages to inform, inspire, and challenge its students. So the U.S. News algorithm relies instead on proxies for quality—and the proxies for educational quality turn out to be flimsy at best."

The Trouble with College Rankings Why ranking institutions doesn’t actually reflect quality.

"Elevated risks of anxiety, depression, and drug and alcohol use among kids raised in privileged communities."

The Perils Of Pushing Kids Too Hard, And How Parents Can Learn To Back Off Part of a parent's job is to help kids do their best, but pushing too hard can backfire. Research shows kids in high-achieving communities are at higher risk of anxiety, depression and substance use.

As members of the Class of 2018 prepare to head off to college, we encourage parents to read the attached article.
"If parents start a conversation about mental health before college, some feelings of isolation might be headed off."

The tough pre-college talk I wish my parents had initiated Before college, my parents and I had a “work hard” and “safe partying” talk. But we didn’t talk about what to do if school stress morphed into anxiety or depression.

Important reading for all parents and students:
"findings in a Cigna report indicate that adults age 18-22 are the loneliest generation ever".

College Admission Has The Cultural Capital To Drive Su***de Prevention At a time when su***de rates are climbing and student mental health is of growing concern, we must ask what our schools are doing to reinforce connection and well-being. College Admission provides an opportunity to emphasize what matters most.

As many of my students know, U Chicago is one of my favorite institutions. It has now joined the ranks of other favorites, including Bowdoin, Bates, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall, Smith and Wesleyan.
Mazal Tov

University of Chicago drops SAT/ACT requirement Move, part of ambitious plan to attract broader range of applicants, is first by one of the nation's top research universities.

For our new graduates, a required summer read for all college-bound students.

There is also a version for parents: "The Naked Roommate: For Parents Only: Calling, Not Calling, Roommates, Relationships, Friends, Finances, and Everything Else That Really Matters when Your Child Goes to College"

The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College For 10 years (and counting), The Naked Roommate has been the #1 go-to guide for your very best college experience!From sharing a bathroom with 40 strangers to sharing lecture notes, The Naked Roommate is your behind-the-scenes look at EVERYTHING you need to know about college (but never knew you ...

Mazal Tov to the Class of 2018.
Your Counselors,
Bernadette Condesso and James.

James and Bernadette are at NYSACAC 2018 Super Conference. Visiting Culinary Institute, West Point, and Vassar.

Great summer read recommendations from college counselors. My 15 minutes of fame as my name gets printed on the Washington Post.

Analysis | Your 2018 summer reading list — from an unusual group of recommenders A list of nearly 40 fiction and nonfiction books to read this summer as suggested by college admissions counselors and deans.

Yale drops ACT/SAT essay. One 28 schools continue to require the essay, including Brown, Princeton, Stanford, U Michigan, Duke, Cal Tech, Claremont, U Miami, and the University of California.

Who Requires SAT and ACT Essays (and why they shouldn’t) While over 70% of students taking the SAT and more than 50% taking the ACT opt in to the essay, not even 2% of colleges require an essay score. Students and taxpayers are sending tens of millions …

Parents worry for their children's future, students worry about disappointing their parents, anger and sadness overshadow what should be a process of self-discovery and excitement. A movie recommendation from our colleague Willard Dix: "Brad's Status."

Watching This Film Can Humanize Your College Process Parents are part of the college admission process, too. We don't often think about their feelings and worries as they see their children heading off to college. One small film expertly takes on the feelings awakened when a father visits colleges with his son.