Sleuth at Work for
College-Bound Students
Keeping on Track
During April
Calendar for Juniors
Prep for the SAT and/or ACT.
Prep for May AP exams.
April 7: Registration date for
May SAT.
Sat., April 8: ACT.
If an athlete, contact college
coaches.
Visit colleges during spring,
when students are on campus.
Make this summer count. Firm
up summer plans.
Junior Tip: Take detailed
notes when visiting colleges.
They will come in handy
when applying.
Calendar for Seniors
Last chance to visit your top
two colleges.
This is decision month! Send
in your Yes reply by May 1 as
well as your No replies.
Focus on housing, depositing
for next year and orientation.
Statistics Don’t Always Tell the Whole Story
by Gael Casner
Are you a senior left
scratching your head about
some of the decisions you
heard from colleges? Driven
by a sense of frustration
when expectations aren’t
met, parents and students
often turn to the statistics
reported by guidebooks or
on college websites. What
was the average GPA?
What about the average
test score? It’s hard when
you think, “I was in that
range. In fact, I know a kid
who got in with a lower
GPA or a lower score than I
did! This just isn’t fair.”
The problem with statistics
is they only paint a partial
picture of the student likely
to be accepted. Building a
class often comes into play.
One scenario is: do we have
enough musicians? Here
are four who statistically
look similar, but we really
need that oboe player. Another scenario is: we want
leaders who are excited
about community service.
I’ve got five smart girls in
front of me but only one
shows genuine interest in
community service. Yet
another scenario is: I’ll accept a slightly lower GPA or
test score because according
to this student’s teacher
recommendation, he’ll contribute X, Y, and Z to our
community, and we’re looking for exactly that. In other words, there are factors
at play you may not be
aware of. Perhaps a peer
was accepted instead of you
because
of an
exceptional
essay
or unique background.
Just as important are institutional goals that sometime change year to year.
For example, a public university suddenly declares a
certain state to be a
“development state,” meaning that students from that
location will be given priority over similar students
from other states. Another
example is when a college
reduces its incoming class
size – especially a state
school - either because too
(Continued on Back Page )
Antibiotics Won’t Beat This Virus!
Senioritis Beginning to Spread
by Jenyth Gearhart Utchen
As the rains stop and the sun begins to coax the daffodils, tulips and irises out of the ground, smart seniors everywhere are
beginning to avoid anyone with the signs of a dreaded spring
virus: senioritis. This highly communicable disease can be acquired through air-borne
means, although it has been transmitted in cafeterias or locker rooms. Here are the
ABCs of the most common symptoms:
The College Find Newsletter
is created by Gael Casner
and edited by
Elizabeth LaScala PhD.
A. Missing assignments: often lost in friends’ cars, left behind at the park, or eaten by
the dog (if the work was actually done)
Copyright © 2017 Gael M. Casner
C. Drop in classroom attendance: caused by “better offers” of lunch off campus with
B. Bored attitude: nothing is interesting after the admissions letters stop arriving in
the mail
(Continued on back page)
This one step—choosing a goal
and sticking to it—changes
everything.
-- Scott Reed
Statistics
many freshmen chose to attend the
previous year or the budget shrunk and
now fewer in-state students are accepted in favor of higher-paying out-ofstate students.
shows this kind of change in your last
semester of high school, you may receive a letter that rescinds your admission. These letters usually arrive
in July or August, giving you very
little time to find another space at a
different college. Don’t let this nightmare happen to you. Remember how
hard you have worked to attain your
college goals, so keep those goals and
dreams a top priority.
Finally, a college’s mission statement
points to certain values that are intrinsic to that college. Selecting students
who demonstrate those values goes far
beyond average GPAs and test scores.
This is why colleges look closely at how
you spend your time.
If you are a senior feeling the bite of
rejection, try to refocus on the colleges
that recognized your strengths and
talents and invited you to attend. If
you are a junior, do as well as you can
in your classes and tests, but recognize
there is more to being accepted than
the statistical data you present to a
college.
Senioritis
friends you won’t be seeing next year,
time at the lake/river/ beach or ski
slopes, or simply sleeping late
D. Declining grades: a result of the
first three symptoms
E. I already got in: so why should I
worry?
You should worry! Two or more of
these symptoms may result in the following:
F. Failure to graduate or keep a
spot in college.
Yes, it’s true. Colleges expect you
to maintain the
course load and
GPA admissions
officers used to admit you. If your
grades fall, or you decide to drop a hard
class, you are no longer performing at
the same level. If your final transcript
School of the Month
by Elizabeth LaScala PhD
The University of Pittsburgh stands
at the heart of a city with a vibrant
business community and cultural scene. Once known as ‘The Steel City,’
when steel mills drove the local economy, Pittsburgh is now at the cutting
edge of green technology, finance and
medicine. A visit to Pittsburg and its
largest university makes you think
San Francisco or Seattle, rather than
grittier Manhattan or Philadelphia.
Pitt is one of America's leading research universities, especially in the
biological sciences, engineering,
health sciences, allied health professions, medicine and psychology. The
prestigious philosophy and philosophy
of science majors also count among
Pitt's signature programs, and Pitt’s
brightest undergraduate students
may earn a Bachelor of Philosophy in
their major, fulfilling the requirements of Pitt’s Honors College and
defending a bachelor's thesis. The
honors college has good flexibility,
offering nine research programs; four
carry stipends or scholarships. Pitt is
proactive at helping students to team
up for credit-bearing consulting pro-
jects and finding them internships
and co-ops (in engineering) in Pittsburg as well as many US cities and
abroad.
Freshmen
Public 19,123 undergrads; 9,541
enter one of
grad students
four schools
to begin
55% acceptance
their educarate; mid-SAT: CR
tion: The
590-680, M 600Dietrich
700; mid-ACT: 28School of
32
Arts and
17% diversity; 4%
Sciences,
intl.; 26% out-ofCollege of
state; 14/1 stuBusiness
dent /faculty
Administration, Swanson School of Engineering
or School of Nursing. The largest,
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences,
has 10,000 undergraduates and is
the starting point for the first two
years prior to transfer into the
Schools of Education, Health and
Rehabilitative Science, Information
Sciences, and Pharmacy and Social
Work.
Pitt’s campus is located in a pleasant
neighborhood in the heart of the
city’s cultural district, adjacent to
Carnegie Mellon University and a
short walk to Schenley Park, one of
our country’s finest urban parks. The
atmosphere around campus is more
“college town” than “big city.” Student services office arranges student
discounts for many attractions including the Carnegie Museum, Carnegie Music Hall and Penguins and
Pirates games. Students may use
public buses around the city freely
just by showing their student
ID. Unlike most city-based universities, Pitt houses nearly half (43%) of
its undergraduates on campus, including nearly all freshmen (97%).
This and Greek life, which involves a
fifth of undergraduates, adds to the
college town vibe.
Bright students who have their
sights set on an urban-based research university such as the University of Michigan, UCLA, and University of Washington with a higher
overall admit rate (55%) will find
much of what they want at Pitt.
Contributions by independent college consultants from across the nation