This article appears in The Daily Norwalk.
This is a busy time of year for Dan Sullivan, a guidance counselor at Norwalk High School. Seniors have to inform colleges and universities about their decisions to attend by May 1. For months, students have been popping into Sullivan's office all day asking him for forms, financial aid help or recommendations, but most of all they are looking for friendly advice. By now, most students made up their minds about where to go in the fall, but some are still on wait lists.
Sullivan says this has been an interesting year for college admissions. He said that over the last couple of years he has seen several trends in the admission process. For example, more and more colleges are becoming "test optional", meaning students don't need to take the SATs to apply. "This is good for urban districts like ours where some kids struggle with standardized tests. The schools that are test optional are listed on fairtest.org.
Sullivan is also seeing a rise in the number of kids attending a two-year college program like Norwalk Community College. "There are many viable options there for students," he says referring to many career oriented courses like nursing. There's also a program that allows high achieving students to transfer to Ivy League schools after two years.
Among the Ivys and mini Ivys, he says that the competition continues to be very tough. "Kids are competing internationally for these spots," he says. "I tell parents and kids: you may be number one in your class and not get in. But you may be number 15 and get in. It depends what the school is looking for--the oboe player or the field hockey player. It's very niche driven and very competitive."
Sullivan also sees some "out of the box" thinking regarding college choices. He knows a couple of students who are going overseas for university to Canada and the United Kingdom.
Sulllivan says that girls are finding college admissions somewhat more challenging than boys this year because there are more girls than boys nationwide who are graduating from high school and going to college. Last year, for example, this ratio was 57 to 43 nationwide.
The University of Connecticut is no longer considered a safety school for good students. It lures top students to its campus through a rigorous Honors program and scholarships. Out of 23,000 applications, only 3,200 students were accepted, says Sullivan. "UConn is a top public university with very good name recognition. More and more families are considering state schools as a good option, especially because of the economy." He says that many students are not immediately accepted to the Storrs campus, and attend the Stamford or Waterbury campus. "It's disappointing to some kids because they want that campus experience."
This is a busy time of year for Dan Sullivan, a guidance counselor at Norwalk High School. Seniors have to inform colleges and universities about their decisions to attend by May 1. For months, students have been popping into Sullivan's office all day asking him for forms, financial aid help or recommendations, but most of all they are looking for friendly advice. By now, most students made up their minds about where to go in the fall, but some are still on wait lists.
Sullivan says this has been an interesting year for college admissions. He said that over the last couple of years he has seen several trends in the admission process. For example, more and more colleges are becoming "test optional", meaning students don't need to take the SATs to apply. "This is good for urban districts like ours where some kids struggle with standardized tests. The schools that are test optional are listed on fairtest.org.
Sullivan is also seeing a rise in the number of kids attending a two-year college program like Norwalk Community College. "There are many viable options there for students," he says referring to many career oriented courses like nursing. There's also a program that allows high achieving students to transfer to Ivy League schools after two years.
Among the Ivys and mini Ivys, he says that the competition continues to be very tough. "Kids are competing internationally for these spots," he says. "I tell parents and kids: you may be number one in your class and not get in. But you may be number 15 and get in. It depends what the school is looking for--the oboe player or the field hockey player. It's very niche driven and very competitive."
Sullivan also sees some "out of the box" thinking regarding college choices. He knows a couple of students who are going overseas for university to Canada and the United Kingdom.
Sulllivan says that girls are finding college admissions somewhat more challenging than boys this year because there are more girls than boys nationwide who are graduating from high school and going to college. Last year, for example, this ratio was 57 to 43 nationwide.
The University of Connecticut is no longer considered a safety school for good students. It lures top students to its campus through a rigorous Honors program and scholarships. Out of 23,000 applications, only 3,200 students were accepted, says Sullivan. "UConn is a top public university with very good name recognition. More and more families are considering state schools as a good option, especially because of the economy." He says that many students are not immediately accepted to the Storrs campus, and attend the Stamford or Waterbury campus. "It's disappointing to some kids because they want that campus experience."
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Do we have statistics about how many Norwalk students were accepted to the Storrs campus?
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see how well our students are competing with students from wealthier communities who ordinarily would not choose UCONN or other state university. It would ashame if yet again our students are short changed due to the economics of birth.
UConn used to be pretty straight forward in the admissions policy - GPA and test scores and perhaps athletic prowess. Do they really care or know if you have had the opportunity to build a school in Peru during Spring break?
It was ashame that the city-wide College Night took place on the same evening as the All City Orchestra Concert and the City-wide Science Fair Awards Ceremony. I am certain that college night was a missed opportuntiy for many students due to their or family members participation in these events. I hope next year, Central Office will ensure that college night is given preference and not schedule several city wide public school events on the same evening.
How awful that no one saw that all those events wre going on in one evening.......again it shows that no one in central office is paying attention--yet they make the big bucks!!
ReplyDeleteThere are wonderful guidance counselors in Norwalk but they need to help students think outside the box. There are innovative and small schools which are more enriching for some students than ivy schools, little ivy schools, state schools and two year colleges. With creative financing they can also be less expensive. Lets help our kids identify what they want to get out of a college experience and then match them to schools. Parents who did not go to college will have a difficult time doing this for their children - they need the schools help.
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