There is something about September. To me, it outshines New Year’s when it comes to new beginnings and fresh starts. Here in Seattle, our fire-impacted brown August skies have returned to crisp blue, kids are excited to get back to school, and parents are ready for some more structure in their lives. Maybe it’s memories of back-to-school excitement, blank notebooks, new books, and enthusiastic teachers that translate into more grown-up inspiration. September just exudes that “get into high gear” mode as I consider new possibilities and innovative ways to approach my work.
I do some of my best creating this time of year, as new ideas become reality. My wish is that all of you will enjoy some of that kid-inspired back-to-school attitude as we meet with our students and remind them that the college search process is all about going to college, not just getting in, and can be one of the most exciting times of their lives. My goal with Corsava is to bring the fun back into the process while reminding students that no matter what their scores, grades, or record, there are many wonderful choices ahead. The first step is to look more deeply into what’s important just to them as they launch into their post-secondary exploration.
Our goal at Corsava is to do a few things really well, have an impact on students’ lives during this pivotal time, and make the college process as simple and fun as possible. Students are so stressed about college, and come at it with words like “overwhelming,” “discouraging,” and “expensive,” so why not pull out some engaging tools that students can relate to and give them the positive boost they need as they start thinking about their next steps.
New beginnings and fresh starts can also mean making the most of what you have. For this reason, I want to highlight some of the key features that Corsava provides to help you in your work. Finding time to reread blogs and dig around for features is not fun for anyone! So here are some fall refreshers to help you make the most of the many features available through your Corsava account.
The progress bar
From exploring deeper preferences to making a college choice—how to get from here to there
A new feature was recently added to give students a concrete way to see where they are in the process—the progress bar. This helpful visual lets students see what they still need to do to come up with a final list of college choices based on their preferences.
The card sort and summary report
Engage even the most reticent student by allowing them to explore what matters most to them before they start the college process.
Automatically receive a report that summarizes students’ preferences for college.
Share with parents, counselors, mentors, or others to help get everyone on the same page early.
Let’s start first with the card sort—after all, this is how Corsava was born and is at the heart of understanding what matters most to students. Having a student select their deeper preferences as they start the college process is the first big step in making the most of all of the features of Corsava. Simply assign your students a card sort to explore their deeper preferences, and then view their summary report as you begin exploring college options.
The first step is to log in to your Corsava account and click on the My Students icon at the top right of the page. Then click on +New Student and choose one of the two options for inviting a new student.
There are two ways to invite a student to your account:
You can copy and paste the link in the
Registration Link box to your organization website or send the link to a group of students.
You can add a student’s name and class in the Add a Student section and then go to their profile page and invite them via email using the Send Invite option.
After a student completes a sort, a summary report is automatically created in the student profile, and either you or the student can choose to share the results with parents or mentors to set the process of building a college list in motion.
Consider location (or think out of the box)
Think about what geographic options work for students, and help them think out of the box regarding places that might give them more money and be a better fit.
In my office, I have a map of the US showing all colleges, and I always ask students which places they prefer or might consider. I really enjoy this conversation as a lot of interesting stories can rise to the surface. This can include bias about specific states, the myth of cost savings only with in-state tuition, preferences for things like water (Seattle!), weather, and more.
But we all know colleges are reaching further, and having an important discussion about how students might get more aid, find a better fit, or simply grow by learning more about a new area can inspire students to consider other options on that map. The beauty of Corsava is that once they provide their location preferences, these can change and will be updated in the student’s account. I like to add notes in the student’s account about this conversation (shared with the student or private) and often go back to it later after they have done some visits or research to see how they have changed their preferences. You can access your student’s geographic preferences by going to View all Students, selecting the student, clicking on their name at the top of the page and going to their profile page.
The college list
Create a college list and add comments about each of these colleges.
Once students have completed their card sort and geographic preferences, it is time to build their list. Simply go to the student’s profile (or they can do this from their account) and add each college from the list provided. Many counselors take a quick look at the summary report and in a few minutes can provide the student with suggestions based on what matters most to them. This is a great time for discussions about how a school with big school spirit, a competitive atmosphere, and large lecture classes might not fit well with their learning style, or might be just right. Whether it serves as an icebreaker during a first meeting, a way to quickly give recommendations, or is the beginning of a long exploration, having this information puts the student in the driver’s seat and allows them to take ownership of this important developmental stage in their lives.
We have added links to helpful resources for students who may need a counselor, including links to independent counselor associations (HECA and IECA) and other free resources like The College Essay Guy’s Matchlighter Scholarships and NACAC’s College Access and Success Programs. The new tools built into the student account provide tips that you can build on for your students, or they have the option to go through the process with less handholding, either by choice or necessity.
Students give impressions of their colleges and get a personalized ranking
Encourage students to rate their Must Have and Would Be Nice choices at each of the colleges on their list, helping them understand how each college lines up with their preferences.
View a sorted list that rates each according to a student’s preferences and their impressions of what matters most to them.
I find this is a great way to encourage students to explore their Must Have and Would Be Nice preferences. By asking for substantive values for their impressions in a gamified way, students look more deeply into college features like study abroad options, internships, clubs of interest and more. Whether you have time to have a discussion with your student about their impressions or not, this feature gives students more direction in digging deeper into each of their college options. From financial aid (tips on the Net Price Calculator are provided) to possible scholarships, giving impressions of these important cards means students and their family will be armed with concrete information to make a more informed decision. Students love seeing their preferences line up at each of their colleges as they see them ordered with a score. And, having accomplished this level of research either on visits or online, students can write better responses on their applications, have more impactful interviews, and make a more informed final decision.
Designing your own deck
All of our students are unique, so consider customizing the decks before a sort if you think there are cards that may not be applicable or may not engage them in a unique way. You can explore all of the cards available by logging into your account, clicking on the Cards icon, and then exploring each one. If you want to build a card sort for all of your students that excludes certain cards, this is where you need to be. Just click on the Customize Your Deck button and click on the ones you want to delete. All of your students will then see the same cards during their sorts. If you want individual students to view only certain cards, then you can go to their profile page and click on Customize “name of student”’s Deck. Whatever works best for you, we hope to have built the flexibility into the platform to make it your own.
Flash!! New Card
Since designing my original set of cards many years ago, I have learned a lot about how students search for colleges. I want to give you some background on how new cards come to fruition. Often it is through recommendations from students or counselors, and other times cards are added as I see issues coming up on campuses and hear college representatives highlight features of their colleges. When I noticed several reps mentioning the collaborative environment on their campuses, while others mentioned the driven competitiveness of their students, I knew it was time to add these to the mix. I definitely created some controversy adding the Party School card to Corsava, but there is no denying this is the number one online search criteria for students. I see this card triggering some great conversations between students and their counselors and families, and there is no denying it is on many students’ minds. However, understanding that not everyone wants all of the cards, we added the ability to design your own deck for individuals or groups of students because we know you know best what works with your students. And who would deny campus safety is critical to students and parents, and often the first thing they ask about when touring or considering various colleges. Despite its importance, I never added it as a card to the deck early on—what student wouldn't crave safety? But after a student’s list is built and they provide their impressions of each college, the Campus Safety card seemed critical. Students can now provide their impressions of campus safety in their account as they see how the colleges on their list stack up against their top preferences. Counselors can provide their impressions in the Café as well.
College.fit
As students continue to search online for ways to find a good college fit, many will find Corsava without the benefit of a counselor. To aid those students who want to find help as they start their college search, college.fit gives them the opportunity to set up a free Corsava account and think about what matters most to them as they consider their options.
Linking Student and Counselor accounts
We made it easy for students who find Corsava first to connect at any time with a counselor so that the accounts are linked should the student decide to work with a school counselor, community-based organization, or independent educational consultant. There are two ways to make this happen.
If a student creates a Corsava account and reaches out to you to give you access to their account for help with the college process, all you need to do is go to the New Student page and invite the student using their email address. The student can then give permission to allow you to link to the student’s account so that you can share notes, add colleges to a list, and view card sort results and college impressions. Make sure to use the email address your student used to register his/her Corsava account.
If a counselor already has created an account for the student and the student sets up their account independently (not invited by you), then you can go to the student profile page and invite the student using the Send Invite box below. The student will then get an email asking for their permission to allow you to connect to their account profile.
Coming soon—Counselor Analytics
My goal has always been to provide innovative tools to help you in your work with students. For too long, counselors have been bypassed when it comes to rankings, technical innovation, and creative solutions to engage students. Our team is currently working on a dashboard for the Café so that you will be able to visualize student trends, search by card and college, and more. Keep an eye out for our announcement, and please let us know which features would be most helpful to you as you do your research and complete your campus visits.