Do Asians face discrimination when applying to Ivy League schools?  Do they need to appear less “Asian” when submitting their college applications in order to be admitted?  These are questions I often receive when counseling students on competitive admissions — usually when students learn I worked as an admissions officer at MIT and Caltech.  They’re questions I’ve come across in articles such as “’The Asian Penalty,’” most recently featured in The Boston Globe.  And while the questions posed might sometimes lessen the sting one might feel at the possibility of not getting admitted to one’s dream school, the reality is much more complex.

What do college admission officers and high school counselors like to do for fun? Complete surveys, of course! In the spring of 2013, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) asked thousands of college and high school officials to share school-specific information about everything from graduation rates and enrollment trends to admission strategies and international education. Earlier this month, NACAC released the results of those surveys in the highly anticipated “2014 State of College Admission Report.” (OK, well, it was highly anticipated by me, at least!)

While parents and students of the Class of 2016 might be more infatuated with this past year’s admission statistics (and not those from 2013), please know that the results of NACAC’s 2014 report represent the most accurate and up-to-date compilation of national statistics surrounding the college admission landscape in the U.S. And while some of the findings were rather expected (colleges’ waitlist use, for example, is still going strong), you may be surprised by some of these stats. Read on to learn what the “State of College Admission” means for you!

As a college admissions consultant with College Coach, I’m frequently asked to compare academics at two different institutions. “Which school offers the better academic experience?”  This is an impossible question to answer because of the incredible variability between institutions and their offerings, not to mention the incredible variability between students (goals, talents, abilities, learning styles, comfort zones, etc.). Nevertheless, it is a question that is asked and so I thought I’d provide an answer… at least to a part of it.

Below is my nearly verbatim response to a student who asked me to compare academics at a large public research institution (call it Big U), a medium-sized public liberal arts and science hybrid (call it Hybrid State College), and a small, niche liberal arts college (call it Lakeview College). Names have been changed to reflect the generality of the discussion:

Transferring Colleges: Two-Year to Four-Year

There are lots of reasons – financial, academic, lifestyle – to start your college career at a two-year college.  Whatever went into your decision, you’ve changed and been changed by your two years at community college. Now that you’re thinking about applying to a four-year college, what do you do?

First, consider your priorities.  What’s most important to you?  Is it finishing as quickly as you can, even if that means a more expensive option, or are finances driving the bus?  Is it enrolling in a specific school, or perhaps a specific department or program?  Are you able to move to a new city or state, or are you only considering schools nearby?  Do you have other priorities? Being clear about what you want – what’s possible, what’s affordable, what’s practical – will be the first step in making sure the next ones are in the right direction.

To say that the college admissions process makes students and their families “a little anxious” would be an understatement for most people in almost any grade of high school. The climate surrounding college admissions has shifted so drastically in recent years, and for good reason! Many more students are attending four year colleges and universities, and earning a valuable degree in the process. But because most schools are not adding seats to their classrooms, increased competition in admissions has had a rippling effect on many high school students. Additionally, the increased use of the Common Application has undoubtedly resulted in students happily submitting more than the suggested number of applications to schools which they have no intention of applying. More is more in many minds, even though less is more is the wisdom we encourage in so many parts of this process.

I’d like to help identify where the anxiety might come from for many students and parents, and make suggestions for how to anticipate and potentially lessen some of the stress around the college process.

Most students picture opening the envelope or their email, and finding the announcement of their admission to the college of their choice: the ultimate fulfillment of their dreams as a high school student.  In general, I find students don’t think much beyond this moment, aside from imagining how great college will be.  (For the record, college is pretty great!)  Most parents, however, realize that this celebratory moment is just the beginning.  The transition to college is really exciting on paper, but it is also one of the most challenging moments in the life of a student and her family.

The College Transition for Parents

Parents, as you try to help your student with the transition to college, you must first and foremost be aware of how different college is from when you attended.  Technology, specifically the internet, has dramatically changed how students and parents conduct business with the school.

Most students begin thinking about where to attend college by assessing academic programs, and rightly so. Your education is the reason you are going to college, after all, and you’ll want your school’s academic offerings to provide you with the skills you need to achieve your goals. But college is about more than just textbooks and papers. Over the next four years, you’ll spend much more time outside of the classroom than inside the classroom. What will you do? How will you get involved? What are your priorities? With whom will you connect? Asking the right questions—and finding the best answers to them—can help you identify the perfect social complement to the academic institution of your dreams.

Who Else Goes Here?

Faculty members are charged with teaching you the material on their syllabi, but you’ll learn just as much from your peers. What are they like? What attitudes do they have about education or life in general? If you’re passionate about social justice, you might want to find a campus energized by community service opportunities and engaged, informed students.

Why am I getting so much mail from colleges?

If you have taken a national standardized test in the last few months and checked the box allowing colleges to send you materials and publications, you’ve probably felt your inboxes swell with electronic and print publications over the last few weeks and months. Don’t worry, swelling is normal and will die down in a couple of years. Nonetheless, with a sudden affliction of this variety, families will have questions. Let’s diagnose the phenomenon together.

Staying Ahead of Your Applications | Part 2

In Part One of this post, we offered three big organizational tips to help juniors get started on their college application process. Now that you’ve gotten yourself organized, here are five key elements that every student should add to her timeline in the spring of the junior year of high school:

Staying Ahead of Your Applications | Part 1

As we ring in the New Year and juniors begin the spring semester, the college application process kicks into high gear. With so much work in such a short period of time, many students struggle with what to do and how to do it.

Every junior needs to take two small steps at the start of the year to get on track and stay there. First, adopt a strategy to keep content organized. Second, create a college application timeline that will ensure that the entire family knows what needs to happen and when. It is critical that students find ways to manage their college processes while simultaneously maintaining their school work and extracurricular activities. Consistent academic performance should always be at the top of your to-do list.