Jason Fried of Basecamp (formerly 37signals) has a great article in Inc. Magazine this month about the importance of effort when looking for a job. The one caution I’d add to the article is that it’s also important to follow directions. Effort is always appreciated, but if an employer gives you specific instructions of how (or how not) to apply, make sure you follow them.

A “weighted GPA” is one in which honors and/or Advanced Placement classes are given an extra point in their numerical calculations (A’s are worth 5 points instead of 4, B’s are worth 4 instead of 3). That’s how students who get A’s in multiple weighted classes can get GPAs higher than 4.0.

Weighted GPAs were originally intended to give measurable credit to a student who took a more challenging course load. But high schools and colleges can have very different GPA-weighting policies. Certain classes that earned extra grade points at your high school may not be weighted during the admissions process at your chosen colleges. This can create a lot of stress for families trying to assess whether a student will receive literal and figurative credit for taking more challenging courses.

Thankfully, this is another one of those areas of college admissions that families can safely remove from their worry list.

Every college in the country appreciates students who challenge themselves academically. In fact, the strength of your schedule is the first thing most colleges evaluate when you apply. But weighting a GPA is just one way a college can reward you for taking a more difficult course load. They might give you an individual score for the rigor of your courses when compared to what was available at your high school. They may tally the number of honors and AP classes you took and give you a rating. They may use a complex internal formula to assign a numerical value to the strength of your schedule. Each college will make its own decision on how to interpret and evaluate the rigor of your academic preparation. But rigor will always be rewarded in some way.

So worry less about weighting. Take the most challenging course load you can reasonably handle without sacrificing sleep or sanity. Show colleges that you’re taking your academic preparation seriously. You don’t get to control how your high school or potential colleges handle weighting grades. But you can take solace in the fact that rigor is always rewarded in some way, with or without the weight.

I preach often on this blog that families should worry less during the college admissions process, especially about factors that are beyond their control.

But is all worry necessarily a bad thing?

I judge the value of worry by the behavior it inspires. It’s hard to find fault with worry if you quit smoking because you’re worried you’ll get cancer. When a student studies harder because he’s worried about his trig midterm, or a parent saves more money because they’re worried about paying for college, those are healthy behaviors. Those worries aren’t so bad.

But…

• Forcing your student to volunteer at a hospital because you’re worried he doesn’t have enough community service hours;
• Taking the SAT six times because you’re worried your 2100 isn’t good enough for an Ivy League school;
• Quitting the hockey team you love because you worry colleges won’t be impressed by your second-string status;
• Refusing to celebrate the five A’s on your report card because you’re worried the B in trig will hurt your chances at Stanford;
• Transferring your happy student to a different school because you’re worried the current class-rank policy will somehow work against her;
• Applying to seventeen colleges because you’re worried no school will admit you…

Those behaviors aren’t healthy or productive. And neither is the worry that’s causing them.

Worry isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But if you want a litmus test to see whether your worry is well-placed, evaluate the behavior it’s inspiring. If you don’t feel good about the actions your worry is causing, it’s time to make some changes.

When considering colleges, many families need to evaluate the cost to travel to and from the school. Rhiannon in our Millburn, New Jersey office just unearthed this helpful tool that calculates travel costs by plane, train, bus, ferry and automobile with one easy search. This could also be very helpful when planning college visits.

I’ve written before about the importance of communicating like a human. And Seth Godin’s recent post points out that if you run a business and you put a sign up, that sign is speaking for you, so why not choose the words carefully?

When our Irvine, California office was tired of solicitors entering uninvited, we put a sign up on the door that read,

“Please, no solicitors—unless you’re giving away free cookies. If you’ve got cookies, c’mon in and meet the whole gang!”

Sure, when you’re writing an academic paper, a legal brief, or a proposal to present to a Fortune 500 company, you’ll probably need to write differently than you talk.  But when you’re trying to communicate, do it like a human. If you wouldn’t say it to someone else, don’t write it.

For seniors on the wait list at one or more of your chosen colleges, don’t miss this recent advice from Jay Mathews from the Washington Post (and author of Harvard, Schmarvard).

The new blog layout is up and running, but we’ve had a few technical hiccups. If you’re a subscriber, or if you follow the blog on Twitter or Facebook, many of you did not receive yesterday’s post. We’re still getting the subscriber functionality to work well, but in the interim, you can always visit the blog directly at www.wiselikeus.com. Thanks for reading and for being patient while we iron out the kinks.

We remind all of our Collegewise families to celebrate every offer of admission, whether it’s a reach school, a slam-dunk safety or somewhere in between. Here’s an example of a family who’s doing this right:

This student’s mother bought a pennant for every college that accepted him. They’re not reserving their celebration for the dream schools. Having college options is worth celebrating, no matter what name appears in the acceptance letter or on the pennant. While he’s deciding which school to attend, I can’t imagine he has any doubt as to whether or not his parents are proud of him.  I’m sharing the photo here with their permission.

Parents, whether or not your student is happy with a particular acceptance, celebrate anyway. Lead by example and your kids will follow (even if they feign teenage embarrassment).

I always find it jarring when a blog or website I visit regularly gets a dramatic overnight makeover. So I wanted to give readers a heads up that while the writing and the writer (me) will be staying the same, over the next few days, the look of my blog will be changing.

The current blog layout has stayed pretty much the same since 2007. Collegewise has a new logo now.  We have new colors.  And it’s not “College admissions advice from the counselors at Collegewise” anymore.  It’s been nearly five years of college admissions advice from one person—me—the original counselor at Collegewise.  It’s my blog, but I write it as an extension of Collegewise. It needs to more accurately reflect both of us.

At Collegewise, we’re always telling our students that they should be their authentic selves in their college applications.  These changes are just my way of following our advice. Thanks, as always, for reading.

The Ebook version of If the U Fits will be released on April 29. You can pre-order at: