Doesn’t this image of my new puppy Petra just say it all!? A friend was walking down the hall and couldn’t resist taking this shot and sharing it with me. I just love the college counseling looming over Petra. Her attitude is contagious, and I try to channel her laid-back attitude on a daily basis. Besides making me laugh, it got me thinking about the whole college journey.
My intake questionnaire for parents includes the question, “What are your thoughts and experiences with the college process?” and inevitably their responses include words like overwhelming and stressful. But I am convinced it does not have to be that way, and I try to make it so on a daily basis. Let’s take a hint from Petra and stand back from the negative connotation the college process has become and remember that this is supposed to be a really exciting time in students’ lives. It is our job to infuse a bit of fun and joy into their journey.
A Student Story
A few weeks ago, I had a student come into my office who got me thinking about the power of delving more deeply into what matters most in their lives. I ask all of my students to include a description of their activities in my intake questionnaire. This student included very short answers with minimal descriptions. He is not alone, this is common, and I always take this on as a challenge to learn more about them when we first meet. I know students have a lot more going on in their lives than they are going to write about to someone who is a total stranger. But of course, the admissions officers who read their applications are just this—strangers (in most cases). My job is to understand them better, and I know college admissions officers feel the same way.
He came in, and we had a good chat before he started a card sort. As he began sorting, I noticed that he had selected Foreign Languages as a Must Have in college. I had his transcript sitting next to me as he sorted the cards, but all I could see for foreign languages was a junior level Spanish II class. This had me vexed. I remembered that his mom had mentioned on her intake questionnaire that she was worried he had so little to talk about with regard to activities. He finished the card sort, and we started discussing his results.
I asked about his interest in foreign languages, and he launched into his interesting story—how he had been adopted from Korea and had taught himself Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese. He was also really good at origami, and we discussed the different types of papers used in his art. I’m sure you can all imagine how these activities, and his interests, talents, and focus, should all be part of what colleges learn about him. That hair-raising statistic that colleges have about 7-15 minutes to review an application is a good reminder that it is critical for students to think a bit more deeply about what matters most to them and let colleges know. I am grateful that we had this wonderful discussion. He was surprised yet excited that now he had more to say to colleges about who he was. And I ended up buying some beautiful origami paper and was reminded of how much I love origami. Counseling is a give and take, and I always learn something new when students walk in the door.
Making the Most of Corsava
HELP: We have added a new feature to our website: The Help Center. When you log in to your account, you will see the link on the top of the page. Check out the search tool as well—you can find lots of great ideas and suggestions on how Corsava can help you in your work.
Using the Hardcopy Cards & Student Feedback on Colleges: For those of you using the hardcopy cards who want to view student impressions of the colleges on their list, here is a tip. When you finish the card sort, you can go to the New Student page and include their information on the right side of the page and invite them to create an account. Once they do a card sort, or if you have already entered their hardcopy results, they can add their colleges to their list and give their impressions of their Must Have and Would Be Nice cards in real time on visits or during their research. Your students can also add notes about each card for their colleges. You will be able to view all of this information in their account profile, prompting some great discussions. This information can also be a resource for later essays and interviews.
Facebook Live Event: You might also want to view our recent Facebook Live recorded on YouTube, How to Make the Most of Corsava. After a few requests on one of the counselor Facebook pages, Evelyn Alexander of Magellan College Counseling in Los Angeles asked me if I would offer a session to help counselors get tips on how to make the most of Corsava, and we did just that. Evelyn joined us, and despite the snow closures in Seattle, we were all able to host an event on Facebook. You can view it on our event page and add questions to our page as well. I will be sure to get back to you.