Immersed in college planning? We’re here to help! Join us for the biggest online college fair of the year! The All Access ZONE is a free two-day online event filled with tips on acing the ACTs, SATs, and TOEFL; getting the best scholarships; choosing the right college courses; and much more.
Login anytime from10:00AM to 10:00PM on March 20-21, 2013 to:
Hear firsthand from current students and admissions reps at 300+ colleges
Get expert advice on finding the best scholarships, choosing courses & more
Enter to win $5,000 toward college tuition, just for researching schools online
Congratulations — acceptance letters and financial aid award letters are in your hands. But now what? How do you keep cost in perspective when making a decision? This webinar will provide you with the information and tools needed to analyze your award letters and to understand the financial impact each might have.
You’ll learn how to:
Understand the components of an award letter.
Assess an award letter, including a review of three to four real award offers.
Use and interpret results of the BigFuture Compare Your Aid Awards tool.
Put cost in perspective with other key factors of the college (such as academic programs and campus life) so you can make the best decision for you.
Presenter: Myra Baas Smith, Executive Director, Financial Aid Services, College Board; former Director of Student Financial Aid, Yale University and Smith College
Century College Diversity Scholarship to Promote Leadership
A new Century College scholarship established by philanthropist Scott
Thompson in honor of Dr. Yang Dao is intended to promote leadership in students
from diverse communities – particularly the Hmong community.
“We want to encourage the development of the next generation of leaders,”
said Thompson, an investment advisor who is active in the Hmong community.
He noted that Dr. Dao, the first Hmong to earn a PhD, is a great role
model for aspiring student leaders.
Thompson said they chose Century for the scholarship because of the college
’s long-established connection to the Hmong community. Century has more
than 1,500 Asian students, who make up about 15 percent of the student body.
Outside of the University of Minnesota, Century is the top choice for St.
Paul area students of Asian descent who go on to college.
The first Scott Thompson/Dr. Yang Dao Scholarship will be presented at the
Hmong New Year’s Celebration held annually at the Metrodome in December.
Photo cutline:
Neng Lee, Tom Black, Dr. Yang Dao, Scott Thompson, Dr. Ron Anderson, Jill
Greenhalgh, Blong Yang
The majority of college applicants will be rejected by at least one school.
That’s not always a reflection on the student, though. There are so many things that go into the application process – and sometimes they have nothing to do with your child.
In fact often times there’s no easy explanation for the rejection…
Most schools have many, many more qualified students than they can accept. Applicants may get left out because their state is over-represented in the student population… or because the schools have different extracurricular needs.
These are things students can’t do much about. What they can control, however, is how to react to the near-certainty of getting rejected somewhere.
– Scott
How To Handle The College Rejection Letter
1. Get Mad
It’s ok to feel bad about a rejection.
But remember what I said above – rejection isn’t always about the student. It’s often about the needs of the school. If your student is applying – and you’ve done your homework – odds are they’d be a great fit for the school. Just not this year.
For example, if Harvard wanted to, they could fill their school with students who have perfect GPAs and perfect SATs. Yet many of those students get rejected in favor of others who have (very minor) blemishes on their record.
If a perfect GPA and SAT don’t guarantee admission, nothing will. There’s a lot more going on than the student’s profile when it comes to the admissions process.
2. Get Even
If your student is rejected by a school they really like, they might want to pursue it further.
Some schools have an appeals process, so it helps to find out exactly what that process is, in advance. If you do appeal, make sure you include new information – another semester of excellent grades, for instance.
And – always remember to include a few new letters of recommendation.
While the odds of acceptance may be slim, there are usually some students who get in through appeal, depending on the school. Simply showing the initiative and desire to attend can sometimes be enough to put the student over the top.
Failing that, if your child truly wants to attend a particular college that rejected them, find out what is needed to transfer a year or two in – and then do exactly that. Make sure you know just how competitive it is to transfer into that school. You can start by asking the school directly.
3. Get Over It
Each school is an opportunity – but don’t forget, each school has opportunities as well.
Actually attending is where you find out if the school holds all the best opportunities for your child.
There are countless examples of highly successful people who look back on a rejection as a pivotal – and positive – turning point in their lives.
Warren Buffett, for instance, often talks about how happy he is that Harvard Business School rejected him.
He wound up going to Columbia instead, learning from Benjamin Graham, the mentor who taught him all about value investing.
So if your child gets the dreaded college rejection letter, don’t get hung up on what might have been – rather, move on to Plan B.
To your college funding & admissions success,
Scott Weingold
Co-founder, College Planning Network, LLC
Publisher, College Made Simple – The Free Educational Resource of College Planning Network, LLC
