The Increasing problem with Legacies

"The system is biased." This is a phrase synonymous with college admissions in India. Because of the ever increasing quotas, the number of vacancies for regular admission is steadily reducing. Affirmative action in India is definitely driving the more affluent students to opportunities abroad simply because of a supply and demand mismatch. In the United States, a similar wave of discontent is being observed. The most affluent (white, upper middle class) are complaining that opportunities for their children is ever reducing-- even though almost 50% (if not more) of any tier-1 college is white. In comparison only 30% of the seats in Delhi University are actually open to non minorities. Essentially there isn't much of a disparity, however the new government is finding ways to revoke Obama era affirmative action plans. 

This focus on affirmative action is taking from another quota in the American system-- Legacy Students. Legacy students (or legacies) are candidates who are given bonus points because their parents went to the same college. According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans (63 percent) said colleges shouldn’t consider an applicant’s race. Yet they were more evenly divided over legacies. While 52 percent said colleges shouldn’t consider whether an applicant’s parents are alumni, 46 percent said that should be a factor. There are definitely both sides to the coin. A sustained partnership with a school should be rewarded but should it be prized over a student who might be a better fit to the college? While some larger public universities such as Georgia State understand this issue and have reduced the number of legacy admissions, some of the more prestigious private colleges still run on the legacy membership model. 

No matter where you stand on this debate, I find there to be some optimism here. At the end of the day, if you do get rejected from a college, it may not be that you were qualified for the college, it could just be that you didn't fit exactly what they were looking for and that's fine. Not every Harvard alum becomes a millionaire but a great education will always get you to your dreams. 

Review: ZeeMee, a video based alternative to supplemental college applications

Apart from test scores and transcript the foremost thing that colleges in the United States look for in a candidate is You. They search for your brand, what you bring to the college, and most importantly if you are a good fit for the college. Creating a brand is the challenge, especially if admissions officers can't meet you and put a face to a name. This is where ZeeMee comes in. The free phone app started as a venture to train students on how to create a personal brand through a series of webinars. Soon, it began collaborating with universities as an alternative to a supplemental essay for college applications. Instead of providing a 300 word essay, students could answer specific questions in a 26 second video. This both increases the empathetic and visual connect for the college counsellor between the dematerialized college application and the student. 

ZeeMee was rolled out in 2014 to charter schools, specifically with students that lived in remote places and didn't have the funds to take a college road trip. Since then the app has reached viral fame raising millions of dollars and teeming up with over 200 American universities, most of which are historically black and liberal arts colleges (though some Ivy Plus colleges such as Carnegie Mellon were early adopters as well). If you are a non-traditional thinker and believe that you can sell yourself better through video then ZeeMee might just be for you. Over 20,000 students from 150 countries are currently creating a personal brand. Check it out here. A word of caution - be sure to put effort in creating a honest profile on ZeeMee. Your audience is watching you and it's easy to spot a lie!

How to Interview like a Pro

These couple of months are when a majority of college admissions representatives would be visiting India and meeting with interested students which means that preparing a solid interview strategy would be very helpful. 

Here are some things that you should know about the nature of these interviews: 

1. These interviews are built to add a face to the application which helps greatly. Additionally, there is a high chance that the person interviewing you would also be the one reading your admissions application
2. This is as much as an interview for you as it is a sales pitch for the institution: Colleges take this as an opportunity to really sell their college and would try to weave a narrative based on the your responses to their questions
3. A bad interview (for the most part) does not jeopardize your chances of getting into the college, but a great interview can leave a lasting impression on an admissions counsellor

What questions to expect at such an interview: 

1. What classes are you taking? 
2. What are the things you do outside the classroom?
3. If asked, what would your school teachers tell me about you?
4. What is it that you would like to do in college?
5. Why this college? 
6. Are there any questions for me? (most important question) 

Things to do before the interview: 

1. Research: Know as much as you can about the college. Read up reviews and come into the interview with at least 6 questions
2. Dress well: Most students choose to dress casually but be business casual at the least. It shows that you are serious and have come here with a plan 

During the interview: 

1. Meet interviewers with a smile and introduce yourself well
2. Enunciate and talk like you are passionate about the things that you are doing (think of this like a first date. You cannot unravel all your flaws but this doesn't mean that you lie) 
3. Each interview is allotted 30 minutes but if you just answer all the questions, the interview will only last for 10. Get comfortable as quickly as possible and be conversant. Again, remember: A bad interview does not jeopardize your chances of getting into the college, but a great interview can leave a lasting impression on an admissions counsellor

We hope this was helpful. Contact us if you would like to schedule mock interviews or if you would just like to know more Ed Brand!  

What Happens When a College Admits Too Many Students?

Every year college admissions go through a very interesting phase called the summer melt- a time when a percentage of students drop out even after paying the enrollment deposits. A recent study found that most students that do drop realize that they can't pay for college, or that their scholarship didn't go through making it impossible to attend. Colleges are well aware about this phenomenon and factor that percentage in when they send out applications. But what happens when everyone that you accepted plans to come? 

This is the horror that UC Riverside faced this year. A surplus of over 1,200 students accepted their offer to the California based university out of which 499 students' acceptances were rescinded. This is largely unusual but a rising trend. As incomes are fluctuating, and acceptance rates are rising, students are choosing to stay in their safety and reach schools because of the financial burden it promises to reduce. UC Riverside has issued an apology even though it still has a surplus of over 800 for its 7,000 student freshman class. This isn't the only university that has overestimated the number of students it can take. Carnegie Mellon did it in 2015, Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health the following year, as well as UC San Diego. 

For Riverside, the next steps would be to find ways to accommodate so many students. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education said that the university plans to invite students to spend their freshman year abroad, find local students to commute to school instead of staying in dorms, and even send students to community college for a year with a promise that the subsequent three years will be at Riverside. These are problems for large public schools no matter how prestigious and something that high school students should factor in when choosing colleges. 

Green Card in the US: New immigration bill may make it easier for educated Indians to stay

While the US is tightening up its borders with increasing security, travel bans, and reduced H1-B work visa offers- a new bill in known as Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act might be changing the residency situation for Indian students studying in the United States. The act wants to begin a point based system much like the Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) program where young, educated, skilled, and english speaking immigrants would be preferred over people who claim residency because of their family. 

While its only a bill, the new point system would greatly help Indian students planning to study in the US with getting a green card. Here are some points criteria that seem beneficial: 

1.  Good undergrad education: An applicant with a US high school diploma or the foreign equivalent gets one point; a foreign bachelor's degree earns five points, while a US bachelor's degree earns six points.
2. Further Studies: A foreign master's degree in STEM fields earns seven points while a US master's earns eight points. A foreign professional degree or doctorate earns 10 points and a US equivalent earns 13.
3. Age: Those aged 18 through 21 gets six points, ages 22 through 25 gets eight points, and ages 26 through 30 get 10 points.
4. English Proficiency: Points are also given out for English proficiency, as determined by standardized English test. Anyone with less than a 60th percentile proficiency gets no points, those between 60th and 80th percentile get six points, someone in the 80th to 90th percentile range earns 10 points, those with a 90th percentile proficiency or above earns 11 points, and someone in the 100th percentile range earns 12 points.
5. Job offer: Five points are awarded if an applicant has a job offer that will pay at least 150% of median household income in the state where he or she will be employed; eight points if pay is 200% of median income, and 13 points if it's 300% the median.

IF (which is a big if) this bill passes, A young Indian between the age 26 to 30 who has just wrapped up a Ph.D in U.S, is proficient in English, and who has a job offer of about $ 160,000 per year or more (approximately three times the national median income) would be a shoo-in for one of the 140,000 employment-based Green Cards the U.S issues annually. This bill does seem like it will help both the US economy, save Trump's message of foreigners taking away jobs, and most importantly be an amazing return on investment for an education from the US. 

Ishnoor Singh, Creating Affordable Home Automation Technology

When I think of home automation, I'm reminded of Tony Stark's house with light sensitive blinds, glass interface system, and an artificial intelligence bot running the whole show. However, when Ishnoor Singh thinks of home automation- he thinks of finding ways to improve the safety and accessibility of his grandparents. The 17 year old Gurgaon student found that most home automation systems are very expensive and embarked on creating his own system with the simple idea of controlling lights in the house. What started as a small home project became huge when he took to a crowdfunding website to fund some prototypes. He asked for 45,000 rupees but raised over 70,000 in ten days. Turns out there was a much larger demand for the invention that he had imagined! 

We are all very proud of Ishnoor and are excited for his prototypes to come to fruition. HIndustan Times featured him along with other young innovators. Here is the link.

Ishnoor was also facilitated by the Ashoka Youth Venture team recent.

Guiding Students through a thoughtful College List: session at IACAC 2017

For many international students applying to U.S. universities, rankings and reputation can take on an outsized role when crafting a final college list. This is often a detriment not only to the student’s success in the application process, but also their sense of purpose. This session helped counselors cut through overly influential factors and build lists based not on prestige or marketing, but the student’s personal needs and goals. 

Presenters for this session are: 

• Arun Ponnusamy, Collegewise
• Marie Whalen, Whitworth University
• Wendy Bigler, International School of Asia, Karuizawa

I'll be adding my takeaways soon. 

Navigating the Arts School Application Process : IACAC Session

Students seeking a degree in the visual arts often face some unique options and challenges during their college search. In this informative exchange, representatives from four U.S. art and design schools will provide counselors with an understanding of the differences in art school degrees and curriculum; tips and tools for aiding students with portfolio preparation and submission; information on pre-college programs and why they matter so much; and data to support the arts as a viable career path.

Presenters for this session are: 

• Angela Jones, Tufts University
• Jolynn Vallejo, California College of the Arts 
• Yaritza Pena, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
• Jackson Moore, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

I'll be adding my takeaways in the comment section. 

International Students in US Boarding Schools - IACAC

It’s always been fluid, but the definition of “international student” has been complicated even further by the rapid growth of the international boarding school population in the U.S. These students often face unique challenges in the admissions process and present their own challenges to a selection process that can no longer be neatly divided between domestic and international. Admission representatives from a wide cross-section of U.S. institutions shared their experiences and advice for managing this tricky population.

The presenters for this session were: 

• John Beck, Due West Education
• Greg Edleman, Carnegie Mellon University
• Caitlin Kelley, University of Alabama
• Isthier Chaudhury, University of Rochester

My notes:

The demand for full pay international students is rising but the market is competitive. Approximately 15,000 Chinese students are in boarding schools in the US. They are adding to the pressure. An international student studying in a boarding school will be evaluated contextually since their life circumstances changed because of their move to the US. The TOEFL will be required even though students have had english-speaking education. For example, CMU wants students to collaborate in and outside of class. So if students can't communicate in English at a high level in teams they can end up impacting the experience of others. What's more, some schools have admissions from the student's parent country read the application while in others, officers that are assigned that particular boarding school read them. Who reads them also makes a considerable difference, both for better and for worse. 

IACAC Session: Extra Elements to the College Essay

In the current landscape, many admission offices have begun introducing extra elements to the review process to supplement the more traditional metrics of an application in hopes of truly achieving a holistic review. In this session, presenters looked at how several institutions are considering these non-traditional pieces of an application—like interviews, online profiles, face-to-face or virtual interactions, etc. 

Presenters of the session were: 

• Sara Riggs, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Nora Colman, Tulane University
• Hebe Fuller, Elon University

I'll be adding takeaways from the session in the comments section soon.