Kevin McMullin

College admissions advice for students, parents, and counselors

First, do great work

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David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on Rails (the software framework behind Twitter), founder & CTO at Basecamp, New York Times best-selling author of Rework and Remote, and a Le Mans class-winning racing driver. His first piece of advice to start-up founders, which he shared during this interview:

“Do great work. Work you can be proud of. Care about the inside of the box. Do fewer things well. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget this.”

That’s not a bad piece of advice for high school students, too.

Great work doesn’t necessarily mean perfect work, by the way. The basketball player who’s deep on the bench but brings plenty of guts to practice and fan-like enthusiasm to the games is doing great work that she can be proud of. Her brand of great work is just different from that of the team’s MVP.

$700 bounty if you find our next college counselor

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We’re hiring full-time college counselors in the locations listed below. If we hire someone that you send us, we’ll pay you $700. It’s one bounty per hire, paid after three months of successful employment.

Openings for full-time college counselors:

Austin, Texas
Irvine, California
Newton, Massachusetts
Pasadena, California

We work hard, we love what we do, and best of all, we like—and are proud of—the team we get to do it with. Thanks in advance for thinking about who you might know, and feel free to share this post with any interested parties.

How to make group brainstorming work

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If you’ve ever tried to do any type of brainstorming with a group—something where you come together to share ideas in the hopes that you’ll come away with some exciting new projects or improvements—you’ve likely found that three things always happen in those meetings:

1. The talkers dominate the conversation.
2. The “here’s why this won’t work” debate bogs down the meeting.
3. You end up with a lot fewer—if any—ideas that the group is excited to jump in and actually start working on.

At Collegewise, we use a system that avoids those pitfalls.

I spent yesterday meeting with my business partners and some key Collegewise counselors with one goal: to leave the meeting with a list of offerings for our new training division. It was a big goal for just four hours of meeting time. But we managed to stay focused with minimum counterproductive debate. And most importantly, we finished that meeting with the list of ideas we needed.

Here’s how we do group brainstorming.

1. Set a speaking order.
The best way to ensure that everyone—not just those who like to talk—gets to contribute their ideas is to set a speaking order and stick with it. One person can be the moderator who serves up the questions and discussion points. But you always stick with the order. Anyone who has nothing to say about a particular point can just say “pass,” knowing full well that their turn will come around again once the speaking cycle completes.

2. Brainstorm without judgment.
Start the brainstorming process by going around the circle and allowing each person to contribute one idea. Push people to share only the idea—no context, defense, or details necessary. And here’s the key—every idea goes up on the board. At this stage, nobody can ask questions unless they fundamentally don’t understand what to write on the board. This is not the time to criticize, to push back, or to ask the person to defend their idea. No matter how radical or uncomfortable the idea may be, it goes on the board. It’s brainstorming without judgment. Ideas must be presented succinctly in summary form. Do not allow details or debate to bog down the process. The more ruthless you are about enforcing that point, the more momentum you’ll gain as the group embraces the brainstorming without judgment.

The cycle continues until the group runs out of ideas. Now, you’ll likely have a long list of ideas on the board. Give everyone a few minutes to review the list. If necessary, a member can ask a clarifying question if he or she genuinely does not understand what’s written on the board. But the moderator must enforce that ideas can only be clarified, not defended, at this point.

3. Ask each member to pick their top choices.
Depending on how many ideas are on the board, ask each member to review the list and pick a specific number of ideas that they are most interested in pursuing. A group of 5 people can probably pick 2-3 ideas, and 10 people can probably pick 4-6.

4. Go around the room and have everyone name his or her top choices.
Put a check-mark next to each idea that’s mentioned. The more checks next to a particular idea, the more support that suggestion has from the group.

5. Identify and discuss your top ideas.
Now you’ll have a short list of ideas that the group has agreed to pursue. You can debate the specifics of how exactly to execute it, but the decision of whether or not to pursue it has already been made. You can now spend your time focusing on how to do it rather than arguing about what to do.

Use the (admissions) study guides

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The only thing more helpful than your teacher sharing the test questions one week before the exam would be your teacher sharing the questions to every upcoming exam at the beginning of the school year. Then you wouldn’t just know what to review; you’d know what to learn. You’d get it right the first time. It would be the most focused, helpful study guide you could imagine.

Colleges provide that information for potential applicants.

Freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, if any colleges are currently on your radar screen, schools that you might consider applying to one day, why not visit the admissions sections of their websites now? Learn the requirements for a completed application. Check which standardized tests you’ll need to take. Review the information you’ll be asked to share on an application. Read the essay questions and imagine how you would respond if you were applying today.

Then ask yourself, “What can I do with that information today to make me a stronger applicant tomorrow?”

I’m not suggesting that you customize your entire high school career to fit the preferences of one college. But using their published admissions criteria like a study guide for a future exam can help you make informed decisions and avoid common mistakes. And best of all, you’ll be getting the very best information from the source, not secondhand admissions intelligence from friends or neighbors who “heard it” somewhere.

The admissions study guides are there just waiting to be used.

New to the college advising role?

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If you’ve recently moved into your first position where you can help students find their way to college, there’s a good chance you haven’t had much (or any) training.  Maybe you’re a new college counselor who’s still learning the ropes of admissions? Maybe you’re a teacher at a charter school who wants to do even more to help get your kids college-ready? Maybe you work at a non-profit or community-based organization and have opportunities to talk to teenagers about their journey to college? Whatever your role, here are a few recommended first steps to give you a jump-start and help you do an even better job guiding kids who depend on you. Some of these are shameless Collegewise plugs, but I promise I’m sharing them because I really believe they can help new counselors.

1. Don’t be proud; be honest.
College counseling is the rare profession where you can expect assistance without judgment when you admit that you don’t yet know what you’re doing. Most of us were once where you are right now—new, overwhelmed, and unsure where to start. So acknowledge what you don’t know, and ask for help when you need it. If you’re committed to doing your best work for the kids you serve, I think you’ll find that most people in our profession will respond in kind in the name of helping those who are on the front lines with students.

2. Read the two books shared below.
The first is my own book, and the second is by Patrick O’Connor, one of the nation’s most respected high school counselors.

If the U Fits: Expert Advice on Finding the Right College and Getting Accepted

College Counseling for School Counselors: Delivering Quality, Personalized College Advice to Every Student on Your (Sometimes Huge) Caseload

My book will give you a comfortable expertise with all of the necessary parts of the process, from planning courses, to choosing colleges, to applying for financial aid. Patrick’s tackles the next—and vital—step of how you can best deliver this information to students. He even includes advice for evaluating your counseling program and taking advantage of ongoing professional development.

3. Check out the “Counseling Professionals” section of the NACAC website.
NACAC (National Association of College Admissions Counseling) regularly produces publications and training webinars, as well as hosts regional and national conferences, all to educate both counseling and admissions professionals.

4. Join the “College Admissions Counselors” Facebook group.
This is a closed group, so you’ll need to prove you’re not a spammer (the easiest way to join is to get one of the 10,000 current members to add you). Every day, counselors and admissions officers post questions and share advice, all with the aim of helping everyone in the group become even more knowledgeable and better able to support their kids.

5. Sign up for Collegewise counselor training updates.
This year, Collegewise is launching a division to help train America’s high school counselors. If you’d like to be alerted when new offerings are made available, as well as be eligible for enrollment discounts and other special offers, just sign up here. I promise we won’t spam you or do anything to make you regret sharing your email with us.

“A” for effort

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A 4.0 (or greater) GPA may look perfect on paper, but colleges will still look at the classes that you took to achieve that number. If you avoided opportunities to challenge yourself in the name of protecting your GPA, you haven’t demonstrated the same abilities as the student who may have earned fewer A’s, but did so in more difficult classes.

Don’t protect your perfect GPA. Whether it’s taking AP or honors classes, or going beyond the minimum requirements for math, foreign language, or sciences, show colleges that you’re willing to take on a challenge when it makes sense and you can handle it.

But don’t over-reach so much that you lose sleep and sanity. And if you’re working hard but struggling to earn even B’s in those classes, you’re probably over enrolled. Only the most selective colleges in the country expect you to take the most challenging curriculum available to you (and doing that is far from a guaranteed admission to those schools). The key is to strike a balance and push yourself within reason.

But colleges want students who won’t be afraid of the academic opportunities afforded to them. And the best way to show you’re ready for those challenges is to put your perfect GPA in harm’s ways and earn an A for effort.

The class experience hierarchy

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Students, in every class you take, you are part of the experience. And you get to decide what part you’ll play.

The disruptive student detracts from the course experience.

The pleasant student who prefers to achieve quietly, almost anonymously, exists within—neither improving nor detracting from—the course experience.

The driven student who works hard and earnestly chimes in when called on is contributing to the course experience.

The engaged student, who not only works hard but is also legitimately curious about the material, who’s willing to ask questions and to contribute to class discussions, who will do the work for the A but is more concerned about learning than she is about her GPA—that’s the indispensable student. She makes that class better for her peers and for her teacher. If she disappeared, people would notice. The class wouldn’t be the same without her.

Which student will likely fare best when asking the teacher for a college letter of recommendation?

The most important factor in collegiate outcomes

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The Washington Post reports that the Gallup Organization is launching an initiative to certify colleges based on the well-being of their graduates, defining well-being as “being happy, comfortable, and satisfied” in five areas: “social, financial, sense of purpose, connectedness to their community, and physical health.” Gallup’s research indicates that “just 11 percent of college graduates are thriving in all five dimensions. More than one in six aren’t thriving in any.”

But the part of the article I most want to share here is the acknowledgement that students must bear some responsibility for their collegiate outcomes—or the lack thereof.

Part of the problem is that too many students are sleepwalking through college. They don’t engage enough in what researchers call “high-impact practices” — internships, undergraduate research, study abroad, writing-intensive classes, and interactions with professors. Many of these activities come outside the classroom, and as a result, are often not graded or measured as part of the formal degree program for which students are paying tuition.

One of my mantras here is that what you do in college will be more important than where you do it. Yes, I use this phrase in part to remind students (and their parents) that they don’t need a famous college to become successful.

But the far more important message within the mantra is that you are in charge of your college experience. It’s what you do in college that matters. Dedicated professors, research, internships, activities, opportunities for learning and growth—none of it will mean anything unless you take advantage of them while you are there. And that’s true whether you attend Harvard of Haverford, Princeton or Purdue, Stanford or Stonehill.

Yes, the specific offerings and their relative quality may differ from school to school. But you are a constant. You control your own effort, initiative, interest in learning, and drive. The key to a fulfilling and successful college career—and an equally thriving life afterwards—is to bring those traits with you to the right school for you, then work in tandem with your new college to make the most of the experience.

By all means, be a savvy and discerning college shopper—this is a big investment in more ways than one. But don’t forget that you will be your own most important factor in determining your collegiate outcome.

Past actions vs. current words

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My cynical side always does some eye-rolling when a public figure profusely apologizes after being caught in a crime, cover-up, or other scandal. Of course you’re sorry now. You got caught. You’re being forced to answer for what you did. And the only way to have any chance of emerging and continuing your career is to fall on the sword in public. It’s apology by necessity.

Students, it’s important that you don’t come off that way when you apply to college.

Many college applications ask students if they’ve ever been subject to any disciplinary action at school. If your answer to that question is yes, the only thing worse than making excuses and expressing no remorse at all is to use your college application as your first recognizable expression of apology.

For example, let’s say a student makes the questionable decision to participate in a senior prank that involved creating a mess on his school campus, one that had to be cleaned up as a result. That student then gets caught.  He makes excuses and claims he was just a passive participant rather than the initiator. The parents wage war with the school to suppress the infraction, citing potential damage to his college admissibility. But in spite of the family’s efforts, the student gets suspended for two days. And it becomes clear that he’ll need to explain his actions on his college application.

How much weight will an expression of remorse really carry then? Can an admissions reader actually believe this student regretted his actions before he was forced to stand up and own them?

Past actions speak louder than current words. An apology expressed today, especially one that’s not expressed to the person(s) affected, isn’t about making amends for the past. It’s about preserving your own future. That’s a difficult thing for someone to ignore.

Instead, imagine if the student had not only accepted his punishment, but also immediately visited—without parents in tow—the school janitor who had to clean it up, stood in front of him, and apologized face-to-face for the mess he’d taken part in creating. That’s a real apology in real time.

Now that admissions officer is reading about a completely different kid.

Teenagers make mistakes. Yes, some infractions are far worse than others. But parents, as frustrated or even heartbroken as you might be if your student ends up in a similar scenario, and as much as I understand your instinct to protect your college applicant’s good standing, please don’t undermine the work you’ve done to raise a good human being. Ensure that your son or daughter not only stands up and accepts responsibility for their role, but also expresses remorse to the people who were negatively affected.

Apologies carry less oomph in the future than they do at the time of the crime.