Aiming High for College: 12 Tips

Note: This was my talk to students on Monday, January 29, 2018.

Welcome to National Catholic Schools Week--a chance to celebrate the mission and ministry of Catholic schools! The ultimate mission of every Catholic high school, however it’s phrased, is to get you into college and get you into heaven. We speak frequently about the faith side. Let me speak this morning about college. 

What are the things you can do to get into the best possible college?

To answer that question, it’s important to understand how colleges measure you when you apply. In a recent national survey, colleges claim the five most important criteria for admissions are: 1) Grades in college prep classes, 2) strength of curriculum, 3) ACT or SAT scores, 4) grades in all courses and 5) admissions essays. 

So all of these things, they say, are important. But I’ve been tracking this for over 25 years, and the evidence is that the greatest difference between selective schools and less selective schools is the ACT (or SAT) score. 

Let’s look at admissions stats from four familiar colleges: 

Auburn—average ACT 27, average HS GPA 3.85

Alabama—avg ACT 27, avg GPA  3.69

Vanderbilt—avg ACT 34, avg GPA 3.8

Notre Dame—avg ACT 33, avg. GPA 3.85

(from collegedata.com) 

I want to call your attention to three things about these numbers:

First, note that the average ACT scores and GPA for all four of these schools are pretty high. Twenty years ago, to get into Auburn or Alabama was MUCH easier. You could almost regard them as a “fall back school” among your many college applications elsewhere. A 27 is somewhere around the 88th percentile. Since this is an average ACT score and not a minimum, you can get in with a lower ACT, but it’s getting tougher and tougher.

Second, while all of these GPA’s are high--doing well in school is important--grade point averages are NOT the differentiator between an Auburn or Notre Dame, which have the same G.P.A's. The takeaway is whether you get a 3.8 GPA or a 4.0 GPA, it’s not going to make much difference to your chances for getting into a selective school.  

Third, it’s obvious from these numbers that the ACT is the biggest differentiator. A 33 or 34 means you’re in the 99th percentile of college bound students. You may do everything right in your high school career—work hard, take good classes, have an amazing array of extracurriculars. But if you have a 25 ACT, then unfortunately, unless you’re a star athlete or a virtuoso musician, the very selective schools are not going to be interested in you. 

That’s a shame, because some of you are excellent students, with excellent GPA’s,  who would be a credit to any university, but just don’t test high. Why do they rely on national tests so much? From the university’s perspective, GPA’s are an unreliable way to measure students—they vary too wildly between institutions—a GPA of 3.8 here might mean something very different than a 3.8 at different school—so they use the nationally normed ACT or SAT test to make "apples to apples" comparisons. 

The 2nd biggest factor in admissions, more important than the actual GPA itself, is the difficulty of courses you’ve taken.  On the common application now used by hundreds of colleges, our college counselor is asked to rate the set of classes you’ve taken at St. Michael as “most demanding”, “very demanding”, “demanding”, “average” or “below average” compared to your classmates. If you want to go to a top school or get a top scholarship, if he has to put down as any thing less than "most" or "very," you won’t have much of a chance.
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If, then, test scores and strength of curriculum matter so much, what can you do to improve your chances?  We must look first at what the ACT test measures. 

Surprisingly, the ACT does not assume advanced course work. The Math test, or example, is comprised of predominantly Pre-Algebra, Algebra I/II, Geometry and a few Trigonometry questions. Most of the Science questions are Earth Science, Biology or basic Physical Science. The English test is predominantly reading and grammar, whereas the Reading test measures comprehension and ability to interpret tone and nuance. 

By late junior year, when you should begin taking the ACT, you will have covered the necessary topics in high school. HOW you’ve covered these topics, however, is critical: 

Want to know why we do Science the way we do it at St. Michael? The ACT Science test places a heavy emphasis on interpreting data from experiments, drawing conclusions from charts and graphs and analyzing research. These are things you do almost every day in our science classes. 

On the ACT Math section, it’s all about looking at problems you might never have seen before, and trying to determine what kind of equation or tool you need to use to solve the problem. It isn’t a series of algorithms the teacher “shows you how to do.” 

The ACT reading section is all about picking out main ideas, discussing tone, reading through original documents, vocabulary. Why does Mr. Drake teach English as he does? Because grammar and writing are critical on the English test—just knowing what “sounds right” but not the actual grammar rules won’t take you far enough. 

I believe, on the whole, our classes do a  good job of prepping you for the ACT test. Work hard in these classes, and you’ll be on your way to doing well. 

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But what else can you do to prep yourself well for college admissions? Here are 12 tips:

1) Focus on foundations. Everybody wants to race ahead. The reason we recommend so many of you who took Algebra I in 8th grade to take it over again in 9th grade is because Algebra I is the “grammar” of all the math that follows. It’s OK to take it another year to really get good at it. Not only will a firm foundation make the curricular “house’ sturdier throughout high school, remember that the ACT does not measure proficiency in Calculus!

2) Once in high school, take the most difficult curriculum that you can handle. What can you handle?  My criteria is this: “If you worked really hard, could you make a B in that class?” If yes, you should take it. In April we sign up for classes next year—“To AP or not to AP?—that is the question.” Yes, you might be able to make an A in a non-AP class with much less effort. But that’s not going to help you improve your ACT score as much, nor will Dr. Lindley be able to say “Most difficult” on the common app.  Remember, schools like Vandy and ND don’t care if you make a B every now and then. But they care a great deal whether you've challenged yourself. 

3) Grades, though important, matter less than people think, so forgive yourself on grades, but don’t cut yourself any slack on effort. This is what I tell your parents, too.  If you take demanding courses, you’re going to stumble from time to time.  That's OK. Focus on consistent effort and the grades will take care of themselves over time. 

4) Devote enough time to homework. Though it varies based on each student and the curriculum, we believe 10 minutes per grade level is a good minimum, so that 9th graders should be doing a minimum of 90 minutes, even if  “you don’t have that much”. There’s always reading to do, notes to review, a test to prepare for. Can you get away with less? Probably, but if you do less consistently, you need to erase competitive schools off your college wish list, because the kids applying to those schools are working harder than you.  

5) Say “no” more often. Many of you try to do too much, and there’s only so much time in a day—as a result our commitments become a mile-wide and an inch deep, including our commitment to our studies.  Most colleges, however, value depth over breadth. It’s better to be a 4 year member of the Academic Scholars Bowl team, with greater and greater responsibility and success each year, than to dabble with it one year and something else the next to pad your resume. Also, being part of an athletic team is terrific, but these days varsity athletes are expected to play their sports year-round, with club play and off season requirements.  Be careful you’re not playing too many sports to the exclusion of other good activities, the most important of which is serious study. We  can only do a few things well! 

6) Don’t stop reading. Many of you read much more as children, and somewhere around middle school, you stopped. The ACT is really a big reading test. That’s why we do a one semester Analytical Reading class in the  junior year. I strongly recommend you take that class. But one class won’t make a huge difference if you’re no longer reading at home.  How much you read is the single greatest predictor of future academic success.

7) Check to see if you meet the university's definition of a particular ethnicity. Most university admission departments have ethnicity targets--they hope that a certain % of their new students will hail from under-represented populations in their school--Hispanic or American Indian students, as an example. The College Board, in their PSAT Hispanic National Scholar competition, requires you to be at least 1/4 Hispanic, which means one of your grandparents are first generation from a Spanish-speaking culture. Schools vary in how they handle this, so ask them! Be sure to claim your ethnicity if you qualify, as it may improve your chances of acceptance and scholarship monies. 

8) Do something special that you’re passionate about that makes you stand out among the thousands of other people applying to your school of choice.  There was a girl in my previous school who had a really good idea: She realized that she, like many girls, bought expensive dresses for prom and homecoming and almost never wore them again. They just hung in her closet. So she started a charity and called it “One Pretty Dress,” inviting all the girls in her school and neighboring schools to donate their dresses after prom or homecoming. The following prom season, she advertised that anyone needing a prom dress, who didn’t have the money to buy one, could come to the school on Saturday morning and try dresses on. If they found one they liked, it was theirs to keep. I remember one morning, a poor woman from the downtown area came with her 17 year old granddaughter, and they found a dress she looked beautiful in. The grandmother, with tears of gratitude, could only say “Thank you.” Use your faith to inspire you to do something new, something original, something awesome, to serve other people. Even though it’s not why you do it, it will help make you a better candidate for college. 

9) Take the ACT three times. Why? Generally speaking, you’ll get better at it each time (practice and familiarity helps), and between the time you take each test, you’re getting smarter, especially if you take challenging classes. I recommend once in early semester junior year (February or April), once at the end of junior year (June or July) and once in your senior year (October). Also, some schools will “super-score” the best score from each section of the ACT you’ve taken and calculate your highest possible composite score,  which means you improve your chances of a better super-score if you take it a few times (You could take it more than 3 times, but you probably won't score appreciably differently than your first 3 attempts, and you need to keep your sanity!).

10) Make an “official visit” of 3-4 schools you may want to attend. I suggest this for two reasons: First, there’s nothing like visiting a school to pick up a “vibe” and see if you fit there. It’ll really help clarify things for you. But second, there’s an admission advantage to visiting. Why? Many schools are increasingly concerned about their “yield” stats. “Yield” is the percentage of students who actually enroll at the school once they are accepted. So if only 20% of the students accepted end up enrolling, it says the school is less desirable than a school with a 60% yield. But colleges know that if you’ve visited, it means you haven't just spammed your application to their school, and that you're truly interested--so if they accept you, they have a much better chance of getting you to enroll, driving their “yield” stats higher. So they may take a chance on you, even if you’re near their “cut” line.  Use Easter break and the summer to visit schools. Make it a fun, but informative trip. Be sure you register in the admissions office when you get there so they have it on record. 

11) Lean on our college counselor. Not all schools have "college counselors." Talk to him to help you clarify your future plans. He can help  you pick schools you have a reasonable shot at being accepted to and help with your application. 

12) Lean on God. He’s there to help too. Pray to him to give you stamina, to give you the desire to learn, to give you the grace to work hard, to reveal his will for you.  For most people, "which college?" is the biggest decision they make before they turn twenty. Ask him for guidance! 

To A.P. or not A.P.?

That is the question.

So we're at that time of year again when you must begin thinking about selecting classes for next year--unless you're a senior, involved in selecting which college you want to attend.

One of the common questions you'll be asking yourself is how hard of a schedule should you take next year. So, for example, should I take an AP class, or two (or three, or four)? What if I take the A.P. class and end up with a lower grade--will that hurt me for college?

Take the A.P. class.

Colleges won’t tell you this outright, but the truth is that grade point averages are so inflated and differ so wildly between high schools that colleges cannot use them to make any meaningful comparisons between applicants.

Instead, they increasingly rely on two simple measurements: entrance test scores and the difficulty of the curriculum taken in high school.

Mr. Brown has been collecting data for years now that confirms the primacy of test scores: Incoming freshman at schools like Belmont or University of Dayton have virtually identical high school GPA’s as Vanderbilt or Notre Dame, but Belmont students score an average of 25-26 on the ACT, whereas Vandy and ND students score an average of 33.

Fair or unfair, test scores allow universities to make a quick “apples to apples” comparison of applicants, regardless of which high school an applicant attends or region of the country he or she resides.

Unfortunately, this means that some students may work very hard in high school and get nearly all  A’s, but if their test scores aren’t within range of the freshman class to which they’re applying, they have almost zero chance of being accepted, unless they possess some virtuoso talent of importance to the university (like football ability) or are part of an under-respresented group the university desires.

The second critical variable in college admissions is the difficulty of curriculum taken while in high school.

On the “common application” now required by 400+ colleges for admission, there is a telling question that must be filled out by the high school counselor:

In comparison with other college preparatory students in your school, the applicant’s course selection is (choose one): “most demanding”, “very demanding”, “demanding”, “average” or “below average”.

I believe that if the counselor must choose anything less than “most “ or “very” demanding, you have very little chance of getting accepted to an elite school.

There’s a seedy side to all this. Because publications like U.S. News and World Report rank colleges partly on the basis of acceptance rates of applicants (thus determining whether the school is “very selective” or merely “selective”), colleges do their best to encourage as many applications as possible so they can reject as many as possible. The “common application” makes it easy for kids to apply to multiple schools and thus plays into this game very neatly. Ever since the common application became—well, common—the volume of applications to the typical university has grown tremendously.

Unfortunately, college admissions offices have not grown proportionately, meaning that counselors now must look for quick, simple ways to sort through the overwhelming pile of applications on their desk. College entrance scores and the difficulty of courses become even more important in this light.

Which brings us back to " A.P. or not to A.P.?"

Advanced Placement courses are based on first tier curricular standards. A.P. teachers must attend professional development workshops sponsored by the College Board to be certified to teach to these standards. They are typically among the school's best teachers. If a child spends a year being challenged by conscientious, talented teachers who are guided by demanding standards, the reasonable expectation is that the student will acquire knowledge and skills that will help him for life—and in the nearer term, improve his college entrance scores.

And oh, by the way, Mr. Brown can check off that “most demanding" box!

And if you're not in that AP or not category, be sure to take the most rigorous set of electives you can handle next year--the logic works the same way: If you push yourself, you'll do better on those national tests, which make all the difference. In the end, hard work matters. It really does. 

College Prep 101: A Guide for Middle School Parents

Recently the faculty of JPII sponsored a seminar designed to help parents get their middle school children ready for college. This article is a highly condensed summary of what was said; for a more complete presentation of the seminar, go here.

If I’m a parent of a middle school child, how do I best prepare my child for college? What matters most in the college admissions process for selective schools? Does my child’s EXPLORE score (a pre-ACT test in 7/8th grade) indicate my child in on the right path? What can I do to guide him or her through the early teen years successfully?

In a national survey, colleges claimed the five most important criteria for admissions were: Grades in college prep classes, strength of curriculum, ACT or SAT scores, grades in all courses and admissions essays. However, the evidence suggests the greatest discriminator between selective and less selective schools are the applicant's ACT/SAT scores. Vanderbilt and Notre Dame students, for example, have a median composite score of a 31-32 on the ACT (or 97th to 99th percentile). Rhodes and Belmont students average 26-28 (84th-91st percentile), whereas U. Tennessee and U. Alabama students average 24-25 (75th-80th).

The average grade point averages of entering frosh in all six of these schools only varies by .46, from a 3.86 average at ND to a 3.4 average at U. Alabama, supporting the proposition that test scores matter more than GPA’s. This makes sense: GPA’s vary wildly among high schools, making them an unreliable way to measure applicants, whereas standardized test scores compare “apples to apples”. Should tests matter this much? Probably not, but the reality is that selective colleges receive tens of thousands of applications and must find ways to sort through them quickly.

For similar reasons, we also believe that the difficulty of curriculum taken in high school is an increasingly important factor for college admissions. On the common application now used by hundreds of colleges, high school counselors are asked to rate the student’s curriculum as “most demanding”, “very demanding”, “demanding”, “average” or “below average” compared to their classmates. For students who are serious about getting accepted at top schools, anything less than “very demanding” undercuts their cause dramatically.

If, then, test scores and strength of curriculum matter so much, what does this mean for middle school and high school programs? We must look first at what the ACT test measures. (For purposes of this seminar, we’ll focus on the ACT since it is most common in the south. Many colleges are now accepting both the ACT and the SAT, which ever the applicant prefers.) Surprisingly, the ACT does not assume advanced course work. The Math test, or example, is comprised of predominantly Pre-Algebra, Algebra I/II, Geometry and a few Trigonometry questions. Most of the Science questions are Earth Science, Biology or basic Physical Science. The English test is predominantly reading and grammar, whereas the Reading test measures comprehension and ability to interpret tone and nuance.

It is likely then that by late junior year, when students should begin taking the ACT, they will have covered the necessary topics in high school. HOW they’ve covered these topics, however, is critical: The ACT Science test places a heavy emphasis on interpreting data from experiments, drawing conclusions from charts and graphs and analyzing research. Are students doing these things regularly in their 7-12th grade program? Are students solving a variety of word problems in their Math courses, using manipulatives, drawing sketches, being asked to communicate mathematical ideas to their classmates and teacher, or are they merely learning techniques to solve a battery of similar algorithms? Are students reading consistently, picking out main ideas, asked to discuss tone, working with original documents, reading novels, being stretched in their vocabulary? How strong is the foundation students receive in grammar? Do they know the rules of grammar or do they just pick what sounds right? Students in schools that do these things consistently will improve their ACT performance dramatically.

But how do I know if my child on the right path for a good ACT score? Many schools give the EXPLORE test, a pre-ACT test for 8th graders and the PLAN test, another pre-ACT test for 10th graders. Predicting ACT performance in junior or senior year based on scores earned in 8th grade is partly a guess—there are many variables (quality of school, effort, rest before the test, work ethic during high school) that skew such predictions. Nevertheless, the ACT folks publish estimated PLAN scores from the EXPLORE and also publish estimated ACT scores from the PLAN, so putting these together, we’ve been able link EXPLORE to ACT and make broad predictions, available here.

What, then, are some practical things I can do as a parent to put my child in the best possible position for college?

1) Emphasize foundations. Middle school parents may worry their child is falling behind if he or she is not taking advanced courses in middle school. Don't worry--a thorough understanding of Algebra I and Comp I is more important. Not only will a firm foundation make the curricular “house’ sturdier throughout high school, remember that the ACT does not measure proficiency in Calculus!

2) Once in high school, insist your child takes the most difficult curriculum he or she can handle. Honors and A.P. classes will not only help with the "strength of curriculum" admissions criteria, it will help your child improve ACT performance.

3) Grades, though important, matter less than we may think, so be forgiving on grades, but unforgiving on effort. If your child is truly taking demanding courses, he or she will stumble from time to time. That's OK. Focus on consistent effort and the grades will take care of themselves in the long run.

4) Help your child develop good homework habits. Though it varies based on the child and the curriculum, we believe 10 minutes per grade level is a good minimum, so that 8th graders should be doing a minimum of 80 minutes, even if “he doesn’t have any”. There’s always reading to do, notes to review, a test to prepare for.

5) Help your child say “no”. Students take on too many commitments, hoping that a long resume will impress colleges. Most colleges, however, value depth over breadth. It’s better to be a 4 year member of the Debate team and indicate greater achievement and leadership in the Debate club each year than to dabble with Debate one year and something else the next. Also, being part of an athletic team is terrific, but these days varsity athletes are expected to play their sports year-round with club play and off season requirements; be careful your son or daughter isn't playing too many sports to the exclusion of other good activities, the most important of which is serious study. Kids wear down!

6) Insist on a regular cycle for sleep. Teens don’t get enough of it. Furthermore, they disrupt their body clocks on weekends by staying up late and then sleeping late in the mornings which makes Mondays almost useless as their bodies re-adjust.

7) Help your child develop a love of reading. Read to your children when they’re young, visit the library often, subscribe to magazines of interest as they get older, read books on long car trips together instead of watching DVD’s, become a reader yourself to model its importance to your children, insist on definitive bedtimes but allow reading in bed, and read the books your children must read for school so you can discuss with them. Reading ability is the single best predictor of future academic success.

8) Limit screen time. The average teenager watches three hours of T.V. per day, not counting time on the Internet.

9) Ensure that missing class is a rarity. No matter how diligent your child in making up missed work, the discussions, questions, and back and forth between teacher and child is irreplaceable.

10) Encourage your child and pray for him or her. The teenage years are rife with uncertainty, awkwardness, worry and stress. Prayer will help us keep things in perspective and our teen will be comforted knowing we’re praying for him or her. We can take comfort in knowing our child's future is in God's hands.