Once again, many colleges – both public and private – have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of applications. Many expressing surprise at the fact due to the economy. As a result, colleges get to say “NO” to more kids!

Colleges love to report “acceptance rates”. Of course the flip side of that is the “rejection rate”. When a school like Harvard University reports an “acceptance rate” around 5-7%, you’ve got to remember that means that 93-95% are REJECTED. Even some state schools are getting more difficult. University of Maryland, here where I’m based, last year had an acceptance rate around 44%. That means 56% of those who applied were REJECTED.

Getting rejected is hard on students, there’s no denying it. If your student is one of those who has been rejected or knows someone who didn’t get in, sometimes the rejection is due to circumstances beyond the student’s control. One of the reasons some students who “should have gotten in” might not, can be something simple yet unexpected.

If a college experienced a surge in applications,for example, a kid who would have been accepted last year all of the sudden this year doesn’t make the grade. It happens. Again, sometimes beyond your control. And sometimes its not.

If you’ve been rejected, and are wondering why, ask yourself, and answer honestly some of the following questions:


• Were the schools on my list realistic options? Too many “reach” schools can mean more rejection. For example, if you had a CR/M SAT score of 1080 and the 50% range for the school was 1150-1320, that school was a reach.

• Was my application sent by the priority deadline? There is a reason they set “priority deadlines” and the kids that meet it are given “priority” consideration.

• Did I communicate a clear, consistent “message” to help set me apart? Lack of focus in an application makes it harder for college admissions folks to say “yes”.

• Was I able to articulate why and how that particular college was part of an overall plan for me? Again, that lack of focus might have had a role.

• Did I have a clear understanding of what goals the college has and how I, as part of the student body, could help them achieve those goals? If you had a solid understanding of the school and it’s future goals that might provide you with some insight as to why you didn’t get in.

Your Assignment: IF you experienced rejection, don’t dwell on the colleges that didn’t accept you. You should self-examine to see if there were any mistakes or missteps on your part, so you can learn from them.

This is important because in 4 or so years when you graduate, you’re going to go through the same kind of process all over again, only it’s most likely going to be companies you’ll be applying to instead of colleges.
Instead, celebrate and focus on the colleges that did accept you — after all, you did like them enough to apply which means you should have liked them enough to attend!

Dave,

I just wanted to comment on your College focused show that aired on February 19, 2010 — it’s great that you are shining a light for college-bound students and their families. Your segment with the gentleman from James Madison University was particularly interesting. I applaud James Madison (and others) for recognizing the need to educate students on better financial habits. Students and their families do need to be more “proactive” and put the work into finding resources to pay for college BEFORE they go to college. He is absolutely spot on about that. However, I was not surprised that he was recommending parents “search for scholarships”. Colleges LOVE when families put in countless hours searching for and applying for private scholarships, primarily because it saves them money.

Typically, when a student wins a $1000 scholarship from say, the rotary club, the parents are thinking “Woo-hoo! That’s $1000 we don’t have to pay”. BUT the college is also thinking “Woo-hoo! That’s $1000 dollars we don’t have to offer!” There was a bit of irony, for me, that you had on your show a representative of a college that, in terms of their financial aid packages to students, offers mostly debt (i.e. student and parent loans). The percentage of scholarship and grant money in James Madison’s financial aid packages historically averages only 25%. 75% of their financial aid offer is often debt.

Parents and students DO need to be more proactive when it comes to paying for college. They need to start planning at the beginning of high school and not wait until the beginning of junior or senior year. They need to be looking at their finances, but it’s more than that.

The students need to be taking the right classes, getting the grades, and preparing for the standardized tests. They need to position themselves to be “attractive” to the colleges, not only for admission, but also for the scholarship money that’s available from the colleges themselves. The parents need to know what they’ll be expected to pay and take any and all steps available to them to control that number.

They also need to be able to target schools that not only have the programs they’re seeking but also where the student is going but where the student is a good candidate for scholarships that are available. For families who don’t have the time or the inclination to put in the amount of work to search for 1000 private scholarships, which are, essentially a lottery, this is a more prudent use of their time that produces more consistent results.

Since 2003, I’ve helped my students and their families create an effective plan and a focused message. When used at the right schools, it consistently delivers money to help pay the bill. My families’ average financial aid packages consistently have more scholarship and grant money — the kind that doesn’t have to be paid back — than the national average. This past year alone, to date, the students I have worked with have been awarded over $8 million in total scholarships and grants. And not one penny of that money has come from private scholarships. The families I work with are saving thousands of dollars on their student’s college education. I,too, believe that students need to avoid going into mountains of debt for their college education.

I applaud your efforts to get folks to stop doing things “as they’ve always been done”. Proactive planning during high school and BEFORE college can go a long way to helping reduce the burden college debt can place on students and their families. I think it’s also great that colleges, like James Madison, are recognizing that they have a unique opportunity to help students avoid mistakes once they’re in college, too.

Keep up the great work!

Jeanmarie Keller
College Admissions and Financial Aid Expert
www.JeanKeller.com
410-715-2116

Want to learn how to eliminate the frustration and reduce what a college education will ultimately cost you? Get your free subscription to our high-content, high value weekly “College Oracle”email newsletter. Designed for parents and students, you’ll get tips, tools and articles that will help you get the college education you need without it becoming a financial nightmare. Simply go to www.JeanKeller.com and fill out the box in the upper right corner.

I’ve got so much in-depth content to share with you on this new video for you about the “sweet spot” of college success. This is the formula, if you will, for college success. You know when everything is aligned and comes together — the right plan, the right schools, the right action taken – and you end up with several colleges to choose from, each of them the right fit academically, socially AND financially.

You’re going to hear about all the stuff that’s causing you and other families with college-bound students too much stress and frustration. So, if you’re wondering what “those” families are doing, you know the ones whose kids get in, get great offers and finish within 4 years, this is the formula. This is the formula I’ve used with my families that has resulted in my clients getting, so far to date, $8.2 million dollars in scholarship and grant money from the colleges themselves. That’s the “free money” that never has to be paid back — and not one dollar of it came from private scholarships from a company or community organization!

Interested in finding out how I can help you get the same results? Email me at coach@jeankeller.com and schedule a Get Aquainted Phone Session with me. Don’t wait.. every day that passes is a day of preparation lost!
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