In these final weeks of the college admission season, many high school seniors and their families still have important decisions to make. Some are weighing offers of admission from multiple colleges and universities, comparing and contrasting those institutions’ respective communities and course offerings; others are crunching the numbers, taking the measure of potential tuition bills and financial aid packages. Still others may be in limbo on waiting lists or considering a gap year. But for all those uncertainties in the admission process, many students are now in a position of empowerment, and very much in the driver’s seat as they decide where they will go to college next year.
Jacques Steinberg:
Hello, and welcome to the College Admissions Decoded podcast, an occasional series from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC. NACAC is an association of more than 23,000 professionals working at high schools, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations, as well as counselors working independently, who support and advise students and families throughout the college search and admission process. NACAC members are committed to making a college education accessible, affordable, and attainable, and to making that journey understandable and manageable. In that spirit, the goal of today’s episode is to provide information, advice, and perspective for high school seniors, as well as their parents and other adults in their lives, as they seek to navigate the final stages of the college admissions process this spring. It can be a confusing and stressful moment in any year, but particularly so in this most unusual year.
I’m Jacques Steinberg. I’m a former member of the NACAC Board of Directors, a long-time New York Times education journalist, and co-author of The College Conversation, a new college admissions guidebook written specifically for parents. To help those of you who are listening and who are living these anxious and even bewildering moments in real time, I’m pleased today to welcome a dream team of four experts drawn from the membership of NACAC. Two of them work at universities and two others work at high schools, and whether the subject is comparing financial aid offers, comparing campuses to each other when you may not be able to visit them, considering a waiting list offer, or perhaps just making a tough decision, our panelists are here to draw on their extensive experience and expertise to help illuminate the path to a successful outcome.
It’s my pleasure now to introduce them. They are Ken Anselment, Vice President for Enrollment and Communication at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin; Jonathan Ferrell, Director of College Counseling at Pace Academy in Atlanta, Georgia; Rachel Hernandez, Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Student Success at the University of Texas, Austin; and Tara Miller, Lead College Counselor at Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas. Welcome Ken, Jonathan, Rachel, and Tara.
So, we’ve titled today’s episode Student Empowerment in College Admissions, and I particularly like that word, empowerment, which we’ll be coming back to throughout our conversation. We’ve got lots of ground to cover, so let’s get started.
So, Jonathan, first question for you, the elephant in the room is the coronavirus. How has it impacted this year’s process, both the decisions of the colleges, but also more importantly for the conversation we’re having today, for the decision-making process for students and parents?
Jonathan Ferrell:
I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen really is this big amount of uncertainty among students who have not been able to get on college campuses. And so, in a way where many of our students prior to this year would have made a decision months ago and would be really engaged on that college’s campus both virtually or in person, going to visit programs, going to accepted student programs, already connecting with roommates, you know, I continue to have my door have students come in and out who are still saying, “Mr. Ferrell, I don’t know where I’m going to school next year.”
Steinberg: And Rachel, for all the ways this process is different than it was say two years ago, so any family that feels that way, a family that’s gone through it before, it’s different. It’s more complicated. It’s more stressful. And yet, are there ways for example that students and their families are very much still in the driver’s seat right now, as strange as that might sound to them?
Rachel Hernandez:
I appreciate that question, Jacques, and also what Jonathan shared. I appreciate it so much because that’s one of the things that I think we want to convey to students, is that they are in the driver’s seat. So, colleges may have rendered their admission decisions and let students know if they’re admitted, or wait listed, or whatever the situation is, but for so many students across the country, they are holding an admission decision, and they get to decide where they’re going to college next year. So, they have those offers of admission and they get to choose from those offers, so it’s really their decision, their family’s decision.
And I think what’s happened during this pandemic is that we’ve all really understood and really engaged with the fact that we are serving students. This isn’t just about a university, it’s not just about the high school experience, it’s about how we’re serving the student. And so, so many of us have identified how we can leverage, whether it’s Zoom or other mediums, to engage with students. So, our campus and many campuses across the country have really doubled down on that focus of direct student contact. Having current students meet with prospective students, having families meet with our admissions officers and our admissions teams, but also our college deans, and our faculty, and our current students, and even other parents, and so many of us are partnering with high schools, and families, and our alumni to help students get answers to their important questions and really make a good decision for that student.
Steinberg: So, Tara, let’s drill down a bit deeper on sort of basic decision making. For many young people, this is the biggest decision they’ve had to make, and some of the things that they’ll learn making this decision will arguably help them making lots of decisions throughout their lives. I’ve heard some of our colleagues talk about making the best decision you can with the choices that are in front of you and the information that you have. What are some of the tips that you provide in terms of assessing choices, gathering information, ruling things out, and ultimately getting to closure?
Tara Miller: Thanks. I like how you said, you know, with the information that you have, and one thing I miss about not interacting with students in person is being able to kind of read their body language, and their facial expressions, and the emotions that they actually wear when they come into the room. You kind of know what they’re thinking. You understand their stresses. So, with this remote environment, and even if we’re seeing each other face to face over a computer screen, it’s still hard to gauge that. And so, what I try to convey to them is that you do have a choice, but let’s make that choice easy for you. And so, I try to just get them to simplify their choices and then think about what’s important to them.
I think we’re looking at finances for most students, and sometimes, that’s the question. Can you afford to go to this college right now? And if the answer is no or if it’s gonna stretch too far, let’s look at other options. Let’s look at transfer options. Let’s look at staying closer to home. I think that students sometimes feel that this is the biggest choice that they’ll ever make in their life, and I think we’re all here to tell them that that’s usually not the case, that you will make many choices in your life, and it’s okay even if you make a choice and you change your mind. I think that’s something that we don’t talk about enough in higher education, is that a third of the students that get a college degree have transferred from one institution to another, and we don’t usually talk about that at the high school level, and I feel like that’s a missing conversation, and I’m hoping that more teachers, and counselors, and higher education institutions will embrace that concept and celebrate it.
You know, that’s a viable pathway to a college degree.
Steinberg: What perspective, Ken, would you give, in terms of putting this decision in the context of a life?
Ken Anselment:
Once you make that decision, just kind of grab on and go. And that’s not actually my idea. That’s… Just with some colleagues at Lawrence taught the Designing Your Life course here, which is based on the Stanford Design School course, and the book of the same name, Designing Your Life. And the authors talk about this concept of everybody having multiple lives within them, which is a really powerful concept, I think, for students to wrap their heads around. It may be a really abstract thing for students to wrap their heads around, but it gets you out of this idea that there is one and only one path for me. And to start thinking that there are multiple paths within you.
The hard part at this phase for a lot of students, to take Tara’s point, maybe you have three choices, but you still have three choices, and you can only make one of them. And students often, I think, tie themselves up in knots, and parents tie themselves up in knots, trying to make the right choice, and one of the pieces of advice that I always give, and it’s a little cheesy, but I’m from Wisconsin, so I hope you’ll forgive me that, is the power of the indefinite article, right? Instead of the right choice, which points to a singular, I talk about a right choice, which makes it a little fuzzier. But it takes some of that pressure off of you.
Once you make that decision, then commit yourself to that decision, and start to do the things that people who attend that institution do. Register for classes. Go to orientation. Do all the things that start to get your body and build that muscle memory, so that you can actually start feeling like one of those students at that institution.
Steinberg: Jonathan, I want to keep going on this subject of money. For many listeners, this is going to be the deciding factor, and you’ve given several terrific pieces of advice already, one of which is talk to the financial aid advisors at institutions, tell them your story, ask your questions. What are some other sort of specific tips for even making sense of a financial aid offer? What are some resources you can use to understand those offers and compare one to another?
Ferrell: I think what we’ve talked about. You know, I’ve just had a student, right before we had jumped on this podcast, who is torn between two schools and had two letters of offers of financial aid in front of him, and I think that was one of the things, is just going to talk to the person who’s helping you, whether that’s a person in the CBO, whether that’s your college counselor, to go in to those people who have some expertise in reading those documents and helping you know what may be similar or what may be different around those things. Because for example, I think students and families often look at raw numbers, whereas colleges tend to look at percentages of need met, and so I was helping him to decipher the difference between those two.
I think if you could talk to maybe the person, whether it’s people in your family, or whether it’s your college counselor, or person at a CBO who’s helping you, first about helping you analyze what is on that package, so that then when you talk to the people at the financial aid people, you have better questions. That in his case, I said, “Well, if you would like to have a call with that particular school’s financial aid office, maybe we would do it together so that I’m in the room and can help you ask particular questions.” So, I don’t think that it’s out of the realm of possibility to ask your counselor, to ask the people helping you facilitate the process, to maybe be a part of that conversation with you so that they can help you make certain that you’re asking some of the right questions.
So, that would be one piece of advice, is utilizing the people who are helping you shepherd this process to help you, and maybe if you’re in a place where you don’t have that support, there are certainly great community-based organizations probably in your city who would be more than happy to help you with those sorts of exercises.
Miller: I would like to add that there’s also a lot of virtual options right now that you can use, and things on the web, since many students are… If they’re remote and they don’t have access to a person. Or families, as well. Just the financial aid toolkit online has great resources, and infographics, and things to help you understand your financial aid letter. I believe it’s called SwiftStudent. There’s a website that can help you write a letter if you are so inclined, or you need to ask for additional financial aid. You know, there’s resources that are available online, and Google is your friend. You can actually just Google these things and find a wealth of information online.
Hernandez: That’s important, Tara, too. I mean, a lot of times families will say, and I think we all see this a lot, they get solicitations to pay for financial aid. One of the things we say is don’t pay to get financial aid. You know, it’s called the free application. And to Tara’s point, many students live in a place or can pick up a phone and contact a financial aid professional at a college or university, and our colleagues, our staff members answer those questions whether they’re for our institution or not.
We all serve the student and we’re here to help students understand what questions to ask, because many times students don’t know what to ask, and I think the thing that we could also share with parents and families is that even if you’ve gone through this process before, we have… We are in the midst of a pandemic. Family situations, as Jonathan was saying, have changed. And so, families may be facing a situation where they haven’t experienced it before. This is actually new to them. We don’t want families or parents to think that we expect them to know what to ask. We don’t expect them to have gone through this exact situation before, but we do expect to be in a position to answer their questions, and to be there for them, and to help guide them.
Ferrell: I do want to drive a point home that may get me in trouble on a podcast. I want families and students, particularly in a time where you haven’t maybe been able to go to a lot of in-person things, to pay attention to how colleges engage with you when you’re calling and asking questions. You know, I think that that says a lot about the culture of a place, of how those folks interact with you when you call and ask questions. And quite frankly, if they’re not engaging with you very well, or you’re having to track people down to get answers, or to get someone to help you, or talk on the phone, I don’t think that that changes once you get there. I think that you should pay attention to those types of things, particularly in a time where you can’t go visit a lot of places.
Steinberg: These are all just fabulous suggestions. Ken, I want to give you one other scenario, which is imagine that family that does understand their financial aid letter and has come to the conclusion that with this offer they likely would not be able to afford to send their child to college next year without incurring debt that is beyond their threshold. That raises the word appeal. How would you coach a family to appeal a financial aid award in terms of dos and don’ts?
Anselment: Sure. We see our fair share of financial aid appeals at Lawrence, and we encourage them. I think sometimes families will say, “Okay. Well, all of the information I provided you at that time told you about how things used to be. But there’s some other information that we’d like to share with you that may hopefully affect our eligibility for more financial aid.” I’ve talked to so many families in this process and I think the feeling is that if they don’t ask the question in just the right way, we’re just sitting there saying, “Boy, I sure hope they don’t ask us this question, because then we’ll have to tell them the truth.”
I think folks that are working in financial aid offices are just like the folks in admissions offices. We’re trying to help students and their families make good decisions. And to think about it as a four-year investment, not just the one-year investment, because sometimes you’ll get a family that’ll stretch and stretch to make year one work and not think about it as what the lifecycle of that experience is going to be like.
Steinberg: Tara, let’s come back to this question of due diligence, and specifically how you take the final measure of a college or colleges in a scenario where you can’t visit in person. What are some of the ways remotely that you can sort of gather that information that you might have gathered if you could have arrived on campus in person?
Miller: I’ve had students go to college without ever stepping foot once on the college campus. When I went to college, I came to UT after two years of community college, I had never visited UT Austin. Sight unseen, even though I was three hours away. So, most families don’t have that luxury to go visit all the colleges that they’re applying to. When we talk about what’s normal now, this is normal for our students, and they’re used to engaging online, and I say follow them on Instagram. Follow them on Twitter. Facebook. See what the student organizations are doing. Start to implant yourself in their community virtually. Students are used to that. These students are living online. Read the student newspaper. I love to tell students to do that, as well.
So, there are ways for you to get the pulse of the campus without you actually stepping foot on campus.
Steinberg: I like the mention of the student newspaper in part from my perspective as a formal journalist, and you could, as a student, almost be journalistic in your due diligence. If you’re interested in a particular student organization, you could reach out to that organization. Try to be sort of proactive about asking questions of the right folks in addition to consuming the media that is substantial and out there.
Hernandez: Most campuses and universities also have parent and family offices, and they also have information to help parents and families know what’s happening as the student is making a decision. So, what are the timelines for confirming to that institution to let that institution know that you’re planning to attend in the fall? What is the timeline for housing? Those kinds of things. So, parents and families can also start to see what is the capacity for the institution to provide, to have a family community when my student chooses to go there? And so, that’s another practical piece of advice that families can engage in. They can engage with the parent or family office on that particular campus.
Anselment: I want to build on something Rachel said which prompted the piece that… As a student, when you make decisions, once you’ve moved a college off your list, let us know. I know breaking up is hard, but it’s actually courteous to let the college know if they are no longer in the running for you, because then they can turn their attention to the rest of the students that they are working on. It’s not gonna hurt our feelings. We’re gonna be sorry to see you go. It’s a bit of clarity that is kind to folks in admissions land.
Ferrell: I do think that one of the things I think is really helpful in this process for parents, we’ve spent a lot of time on the finance piece, but I feel like where I see that process sometimes go off the rails is when the family has not been honest with the student about the finance piece. And so, they get hung up on, “I want to go to this school and I’m getting ready to go there,” and the financial aid package comes and then parents say, “No, we can’t do that.” It gets to be a really dicey process at that point, and so, I think being really honest and upfront with your students, and I know that that’s a really tough spot I imagine for parents to really have candid conversations with students around finances, but to the degree that it relates to the college process, I think being up front and honest about what that looks like from the very start, so that the student doesn’t get hung up on places that ultimately may never work and the families-
Miller: I think it’s really important, too, to frame it in a way that… What are you going to college for? It’s an education. It’s an emotional decision for so many families, and when you tie money with emotion, that’s when trouble can happen. And so, I think that looking at it with your students earlier than after the acceptance letter and financial aid letter has arrived, at how much you can afford, and look at it, and have open and honest conversations prior to applying. You really kind of have to know before you jump into the water.
Ferrell: That why, not where, or why before where, is important. I think across this whole process of really starting really early in the process, asking why am I going to college, what is my why, I think gets you often to the where.
Steinberg: So, we’ve talked about celebration and elation, we’ve talked about anxiety. Ken, there may be some listeners who are still nursing a little bit of disappointment. What are some tips that you would suggest in terms of coming to grips with a decision that didn’t go the way you might have hoped, or even several decisions?
Anselment: May 1 is a date that looms large but is sometimes disproportionately large. I think there are still going to be a number of colleges this year that will still gladly accept applications from students after May 1st. Speaking from my own institution, I think you’ll find we’ve already given students the option to let us know on May 1st, or May 15th, or June 1st, when they’d like to let us know. Just in recognition of the fact that it’s gonna take a while for all of the decisions to sort themselves out around the country. And so, there are some students that may find themselves at this point in the process without any viable options, actually, or they may be on waiting lists and just kind of in this permanent state of uncertainty.
I suspect our friends at NACAC, they haven’t asked me to say this, but will be posting the list of colleges that are still accepting applications. Look at that. There is no shame that just because somebody said May 1st is the national candidates reply date, there’s still several months until college starts for traditional, so-called traditional four-year college starts, and so the timeline may not be what you have expected, but the game isn’t over.
Steinberg: This year will be NACAC’s 34th annual college openings update, and it will be posted sometime in May, and so listeners, you can use those Google search terms and the name NACAC, college openings update, and at a certain point in May, you will find a list of colleges that are still accepting, as Ken suggests, application for admission in the fall this late in the spring. And there’s been a lot of ink, and the digital version of ink, devoted this year to the record number of applications at a number of highly selective institutions, but those of us on this call know that there are many, many fine institutions that still have room. And that list can be invaluable as providing a roadmap in May and beyond.
If a student feels they need more time, how would you suggest they bring that sentiment to the attention of a college or university?
Miller: I honestly ask. I mean, like we’ve talked about already, the worst thing they can do is say no, and so if you need more time, ask. If you need more money, ask. If you need anything, any help, ask. And the worst that they can do is say no. I think that that’s the message that I want families and students to hear. Flip that script. You are in charge. You are in the driver’s seat of this process. And this is your money and your education, so you need to make the right choice, but you’re empowered to ask all the questions.
Steinberg: We talked earlier about this being the year of the pandemic and admissions. There’s also one other huge force running parallel that I want to make sure we touch on very briefly, and you know, that’s the movement in this country over the last year or so to sort of up our game as a nation on social justice, and on the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and of course higher education has been no exception to this. A question for all of you as a panel, whoever wants to take it, if these are values that are important to applicants, how can they as part of their due diligence size up how a college or university is responding to these forces and sort of incorporating them into campus life?
Hernandez: I think it’s a really good question. And many of us on the college side, when we think about admissions programs, they get couched, Jacques, as recruitment programs. One of the best ways for a student to understand what the experience is like and whether there’s gonna be a community where they feel that they belong, and they connect, and they’re supported, is to connect with current students. So, I think one of the important ways is to see if colleges and universities are having sessions with students.
And I’ll just give some perspective from my own institution. We have a number of students who work with our admissions office who talk to prospective students on a regular basis. They don’t call with a script. They’re not told to share information. They literally are there to be able to engage with prospective students about the student experience and I think that’s important. Every campus and every high school, we’re all facing issues or situations, but do people care? Are they connected? And when a campus offers those settings, those formats, those discussions freely, I think that’s really important.
Miller: Action, not platitudes. You know, if you can see what’s happening on campus through their admission decisions, through who’s being accepted and who’s being denied, that’s one way. Look at their language on their website and why they’ve chosen to be test optional or continue test optional. Those kinds of things are important and those can be telling. Look at who is staffed on campus. Look at representation. Make sure that there’s a voice for you and representation for you when you’re there. And if there’s not, make it. Bring it yourself. If that’s where you want to go, make a change. And I think that that’s an important feature, too, is that you’re gonna build a home at a four-year school or a two-year school and make it as comfortable for you as you can, and make your space, because you’re there and you earned your spot there.
Anselment: Not every student wants to be a trailblazer. Not every student wants to be a pioneer. Some students want to be a part of a community from the get-go. And it’s to kind of maybe even assess what your appetite might be like, because some colleges may be more ready for you than others. Admissions offices will accommodate incredibly, but I think you also want to look at the organization behind the admissions office to make sure that what they are representing to you is the reality of what the lived experience of their students is.
Miller: Yeah. Absolutely. And even the faculty, look and see what they’re doing, and what they’re teaching-
Anselment: And has it changed over time? Have they adapted their curriculum? Have they adapted their scholarship?
Ferrell: I think really paying attention to how colleges have interacted with large groups of people who might be marginalized people throughout this pandemic will say a lot to you, as well, about how they might or might not support you once you’re there.
Hernandez: We really want students to make decisions about an authentic experience, so this isn’t just about glossy brochures. It’s not just about the admissions session. It really is about those direct engagements with students and a prospective student being able to talk to a current student. You know, if current students are engaged with talking to prospective students, they care about their institution. That also says something about community. When you have faculty members engaged with prospective students, they care about the institution. That says something about it. When you think about students and whether it’s a campus is a Hispanic-serving institution, or a campus has a commitment to first generation students, when people talk about those things and know those things, you can tell that it’s part of the campus. It’s not just a label.
Steinberg: Tara, for some of our listeners, they are thinking about starting their post-secondary experience, their college experience at a community college, either as a destination in and of itself for an associate’s degree, or perhaps as a stepping stone to a four-year college. What sort of advice would you give to listeners who are thinking about community college right now for either of those reasons?
Miller: First of all, congratulations. You’ve made a choice to higher education and an affordable one. And so, I think that that’s first and foremost. I would say if you’re gonna get on campus instead of taking virtual classes like many of us have been doing, get there. Drive there. Park. Make sure that you know where it’s at, where your classes are, just like you would at any other college. Treat it as if you are going away to school even if it’s just a couple miles down the road from you. So, engage in that.
I think find an advisor on campus that you can go talk to and you can start building your course plan early. If your goal is to transfer, it’s so important for you to develop that course plan from the get-go. College is for exploration, but you don’t want to spend more time than you need to and more money than you need to, so if you can plan early and get those classes that you need to, whether get an associate’s degree, a certificate, or then to transfer to a four-year school, figure out what those courses are and know kind of the grade point average that you’re hoping to achieve to get into say UT Austin, or Lawrence, or any other school that’s on your list.
Make sure that you understand their transfer policy, as well, and I think that that reverse engineering this process for a transfer student is important, and to make sure that they are looking at the end goal but figuring out what they need to do first.
Steinberg: Jonathan, some of our listeners find themselves on waiting lists and they will continue to find themselves on waiting lists past May 1. What are one or two pieces of advice you would give to a listener who remains on a waiting list?
Ferrell: I would say first, make sure to do the appropriate thing to indicate you’d like to remain on the waitlist if that is your choice. And I think past that is really engagement is still the key in making certain that you are communicating any updates you might have, or things that might have happened since the time of application but making certain that that institution knows what’s going on with you, that you’re staying engaged, and know that you’re interested.
I think you should treat a wait list, though, as if… This is gonna sound weird coming from me but treat it as if it’s not gonna happen. You know, I think you really owe it to the school where you're admitted and are planning to go to really engage in their process, and whatever it is that they’re offering for you to do in the summer, and really get engaged with that process. And then cross the waitlist bridge if that door opens, then really kind of consider and think about that. But I think just express your interest in the waitlist, say that you’re doing whatever appropriate things you need to do to stay on it, but just kind of push it to the side and pretend like it’s not gonna happen and start engaging in the place where you know you are headed.
Steinberg: Ken, we may have listeners who are thinking about a gap year, who for lots of different reasons may want to delay by a year starting at college. What are one or two pieces of advice for listeners who are thinking about a gap year?
Anselment: Different colleges will approach gap years in different ways and have different policies. So, for my institution, for example, we’ll say if you’re thinking about taking a gap year, and we get a number of students that do that for whatever reason, we’ll ask them to secure their spot in the future class by just putting down their deposit now. And then if there’s any interesting things that they want to let us know about over the course of the year, please let us know.
We’re all for it because for some students, it’s like you know, I’ve been grinding now for four years in high school. I need to take a step back or I want to take a step back, and I want to have a different experience, and I’ll come back to this college. You may change your mind. You may discern a different path for yourself on that gap year. And that’s fine. Stay in touch with your college. Ask them about their procedure. And then know that they’re gonna keep tabs and re-invite you to join the class for the coming fall.
Steinberg: I’m gonna ask each of you to give one tip, your best tip, for students and families as summer comes and the transition to college is on the horizon. Your one best piece of go-to advice to be thinking about this summer and early fall. Rachel?
Hernandez: So, thank you. So, I’m going to say be engaged and one of the quickest ways students can do that is once you confirm to a university, check your university email, because that’s how they’re going to communicate with you. Not your home email, not just through Instagram, or Twitter, or Facebook, or whatever, but through your university email. So, be engaged, be responsive, you’re part of our community now.
Steinberg: Jonathan, your one best piece of advice for transition?
Ferrell: I think people think of this process as often very transactional, but it is really a teaching tool, and I think that throughout this process you should learn things like how to self-advocate for yourself, and how to handle rejection, and how to be supportive of friends, and how to manage your time. And I think of all the things that you learned, and did well, and maybe didn’t do so well as this process went, and I think using those things that you learned in those processes will make you, I think, a better college student. So, reflecting on how you engaged in this process and taking those things with you to the next step.
Steinberg: Tara?
Miller: I would definitely, if I’m going off to school, I would encourage you to eat all your favorite foods in your hometown before you leave, because you will miss them. In Austin, I would miss breakfast tacos. Anytime I travel, that’s what I miss. That’s some personal advice, but also think about this as four years, and each year as a family, you’re doing the financial aid application, and that comes up again early fall, so make sure that you’re on top of your finances and that you understand how much money that you are going to pay each semester at the university, so you don’t have to worry about it while you’re trying to study.
Steinberg: Ken, the last word is yours.
Anselment: Think of yourself as the hero on an epic journey, right? And I forget who it was that did the TED Talk about standing up and doing the superhero pose before you go into a stressful situation but give yourself a superhero pose every so often. Just stand… I’m not gonna stand up right now, but just imagine that I am with my fists on my hips and standing as tall as I can and taking a deep breath. But you’re about to embark on this really cool journey and nobody knows where it’s gonna go but keeping yourself open to the possibility is part of the joy, and fear, and magic of it.
The other thing I was going to say is give yourself permission for however long you need to do nothing that has anything to do whatsoever with college. A lot of you have been college, college, college all the time, so if you can flip that switch off just for a little bit, college will still be there. But give yourself some time to maybe recharge the batteries and refill the gas tank.
Steinberg: So, I have the unenviable task of bringing this conversation to a close. Tara, Rachel, Jonathan, and Ken, I cannot thank you enough on behalf of NACAC for your time and good counsel today. I also want to thank those of you listening in our audience for joining us for this episode.
College Admissions Decoded is a podcast from NACAC, the National Association for College Admission Counseling. It is produced by Lantigua Williams & Co. This episode was recorded by AirsNet, mixed by Kojin Toshiro. If you’d like to learn more about NACAC, and particularly the members of NACAC who joined us today, as well as the college process, you can visit us on the web at nacacnet.org, and that’s N-A-C-A-C-N-E-T dot org. Please leave a review and rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your feedback helps shape the show. Thank you, everyone.
CITATION:
National Association for College Admission Counseling. “Episode Title.”
NACAC College Admissions Decoded,
National Association for College Admissions Counseling, April 22, 2021.