Reality Check! Let’s Keep it Real, Seniors.
By Quetzal Mama • October 16, 2014
Reality Check! Let’s Keep it Real, Seniors.
Copyright 2014
Roxanne Ocampo
When
students come to Quetzal Mama for college admission coaching, they learn a few
things right quick. First, they learn
time is a valuable commodity. The clock
is ticking – which means I have limited time to provide recommendations. Second, they learn I don’t sugar coat or
mince words. I’m honest, straight
forward, and tell it like it is. Even
though I provide ample warning of my “straight to the punch” style, I realize some
students still wish my advice would be less harsh. Hear me out, it’s not that I’m trying to be
hurtful or abrasive. It’s that my motherly,
“Quetzal Mama” nature compels me to be protective. Being protective means I must be brutally honest,
even if I know students may not like what I say.
Why
do I keep it real like this? Because, the
period between September 1 and December 1 is the window of time we have our dreaded
“reality check” discussions. This is the
time when students are forced to finalize their realistic shortlist of colleges.
While I’d honestly prefer not
to have this discussion, it is unfortunately, closely tied to how well my
students will fare come admission decision time. The realistic shortlist means we must,
without pretense, blatantly and candidly assess odds of admission. As you can imagine, it is not an easy
conversation.
It’s
a difficult conversation because it requires the student to accept where they reasonably
stand at that moment. It’s their
academic profile – a set of numbers they must acknowledge and embrace. Their challenge is to realistically compare
their profile with the profile of students admitted to the schools on their
shortlist.
So
what’s keeping it real? Instead of
telling you, let me show you. I’m
posting below an academic profile that is fairly common for the students I
coach. We’ll call this student Ramon. Ramon wishes to major in Biological
Sciences. On the left is Ramon’s
academic profile, and on the right are the schools Ramon has listed as his top
3 college choices.
Ramon’s
Academic Profile
SAT
Composite Score =
1540
ACT
Composite Score =
27
GPA =
3.50
|
Ramon’s Top 3
College Choices
Stanford
UC Berkeley
UCLA
|
Ramon is definitely college
bound. According to the College Board,
Ramon’s composite score of 1540 is slightly higher than the 2014 national
average or mean SAT composite score of 1500.
But, Ramon’s profile is inconsistent with the core pool of students he
will be competing against for admission at his top three colleges. So, to keep it real, let’s put Ramon’s scores
in perspective by comparing them to the recent admitted freshman profiles
below.
Stanford
(2014 Averages)
SAT
Composite = 2100*
ACT
Composite = 30-36†
GPA
(weighted) = 4.18
|
Berkeley
(2014 Averages)
SAT
Composite = 2071
ACT
Composite = 31
GPA
(weighted) = 4.18
|
UCLA
(2014 Averages)
SAT
Composite = 2067
ACT
Composite = 30
GPA
(weighted) = 4.17
|
*Generally,
70-75% of admitted students had SAT scores in the 700-800 range for each
category, projecting an average composite score of at least 2100.
†More
than 85% of admitted students had a composite score between 30-36.
Don’t
blink. The stats you see are accurate,
though overwhelming. This is why
students must keep it real. Keeping it
real is not a bad thing! Keeping it real
is actually one of the smartest moves a student can make right now. By keeping it real, the student increases
odds of admission and odds of
receiving a more compelling financial package.
In other words, smart kids optimize their chances of getting into preferred
colleges and leave with the least amount of debt. Keeping it real means doing these things:
How High School
Seniors Keep it Real
1.
Use
the 80/10/10 rule. Submit 80% of your
applications to campuses where your academic profile is consistent with the admitted freshman profile.
2.
Submit 10% of your applications to “Safety” campuses where your academic profile is superior to the admitted freshman
profile. But, keep it real by coming to
grips with the reality you may attend one of those safety campuses. Never apply to a safety campus where you have
no intention of enrolling at that campus!
3.
Submit
10% of your applications to “Reach” campuses.
Always apply to your “dream school.”
Just know your odds and keep it real.
I
encourage my students to apply to 20 campuses.
Yep, 20. This is a reasonable
number of campuses, especially when applying the 80/10/10 rule. It works for my low-income students because
they receive application fee waivers.
However, if the student is not low income and plans to apply to at least
four campuses, read what the College Board says in their “Apply to 4 or More”
campaign:
“The
‘Apply to 4 or More’ campaign encourages students to apply to four or more
colleges
(i.e.,
to at least one safety, two good fits, and one reach)
and
increase their propensity to enroll and succeed
in
a college that is a good fit for them.”
—The
College Board
Keep
it real, folks! Quetzal Mama
Quetzal Mama is the author of these books, available here :Amazon & Barnes & Noble
Quetzal Mama is the author of these books, available here :Amazon & Barnes & Noble
View
the 2012 SAT Composite Score Percentile Ranks:
View
the 2012 SAT Subject Test Percentile Ranks:
View
University of California freshman profiles for each campus here: