Response to Elizabeth

Posted by Dee

AdmitSpit received a comment regarding the UC application from Elizabeth today on the post titled, “Techniques for dealing with character limits.”

I’ll reproduce the comment below:

“Hi I just submitted my uc application yesterday and realized that I went over the word count limit by 35 words. What can I do? Will the college just cut off my essay or should I mail each campus a letter?”

Elizabeth,

I think you needn’t worry about 35 words. The reason I emphasize “think” is because I haven’t seen a print out of your application. I sure hope you, along with every other UC applicant, took the time to print out a copy of your entire application. If so, you could go to the personal statement section and see if it did indeed cut off part of your essay. If it did not you’re probably okay.

The second reason I emphasize “think” is because I hope that this 35 word surplus was not on one response alone, rather that you went maybe 10 words over on one essay and 16 over on another and over by 9 on another; this would be the best scenario as opposed to going 35 words over on one response alone which will be

The last minute

Posted by Dee

Don’t wait until the last minute to submit your UC application. The horror stories you and I have both heard regarding students waiting until one minute before deadline to submit the online UC app only to find that the server is overloaded may be myth or it may be truth; don’t wait to find out.

Submit the UC application as early as possible, or at least at a random time in the day like when everyone else is at school; not at 12 a.m. midnight between November 30 and December 1!

A “duh” tip #4

Posted by Dee

The question was recently posed to AdmitSpit by a student of whether or not he should take the SATII tests if he was applying to Yale.

He had already taken the SAT Reasoning exam but wasn’t sure if he wanted to waste the time taking the SAT Subject Tests as opposed to just taking the ACT exam.

Based on the post titled, “Standard list for colleges’ standardized testing requirements” he knew that Yale required either the SAT and two SAT Subject Tests or the ACT test with writing.

So, if you’ve already taken the SAT, then just take the SAT Subject Tests for two hours, as opposed to doing the ACT with writing which takes four hours! It seems obvious enough I’d think, but apparently it warrants writing a “duh” tip about. Only point against this would be if you didn’t have two subjects you were good enough at and preferred to take the more general ACT instead; but, that said, I think it’d be rare to be in such a position where your ACT would be better score-wise than two subject tests.

Those ‘potential to contribute’ essays

Posted by Dee

The UC application always has a “Potential to Contribute” essay as do many other colleges, and it’s often difficult to come up with ideas of what to write about; after all, you’re going to school to learn, not to teach.

But, that said, every college or university looks at its students not only as people coming to class to learn, but as investments who will one day, in some way, give back to the university. So, here are some ways I’ve thought of that you can “contribute.” Not all of these will be applicable to everyone; feel free to use these as inspiration for your own essays and be sure that when you write your essay is not generic, but rather it shows who you are.

- Diversity. Plenty of schools are interested in upping their diversity-factor. Maybe this is how you could contribute to the university, by increasing their community’s diversity. Keep in mind that this need not be racial or gender or ethnic diversity, but that diversity can come in many forms; maybe you’re an art-lover in a school that has few or a recreational athlete in a community that is not too sports-enthusiastic. And then the whole purpose of your essay can show how you will “contribute” by

Little vacation for the T-day holiday

Posted by Dee

Hey AdmitSpit readers!

Sorry we haven’t been writing in awhile; all the contributors have been back at home from college spending time with family and friends, with little motivation to get to the computer to write.

But, starting Monday, look forward to a post about Princeton academics, some posts with our personal tips and suggestions for UC personal statement essays, and our personal tips and suggestions for writing short answer responses.

Also, do let us know for what other schools you’d like academic snapshots from. I’m working on getting someone from USC to write for us, as well as someone from Columbia. What other schools are important for you to hear about? Leave a comment!

Words from the admissions bins

Posted by Doreen

I came across this article in a newsletter my high school sends out every so often regarding college admissions.

Apparently this was compiled by a member of the National Association of College Admission Counseling, or NACAC. Enjoy!

“Are you sure you sent my recommendation?”

It might help to know that colleges face a mountain of admissions mail every day–mail that requires very systematic and careful handling. As a result, there will be a very reasonable delay between the moment your application arrives at the admissions office and the time it is processed and placed into your file. Let’s hear from the experts on this:

From a large public university: 
“I wish I had a photo that I could send you of thousands of pieces of mail sitting in the mail bins waiting to be processed. Maybe this bit of information will help… we employ an ‘army’ of students to help us process the mail. We receive so much mail that all some students do is simply slit open envelopes, other students will date

FastWeb: the fast email fill-up

Posted by Dee

FastWeb, I’d venture to say, is easily one of the most popular scholarship search engines on the Internet. I used it, and I know of plenty other success stories with students using their free scholarship services.

Here are some notes about my experiences with FastWeb:

- There are lots of advertisements to sift through on their Web site. But, I guess that’s the price of using a free service.

- At the start, you’ll fill out a very detailed survey about your grades, activities, and experiences, and even about information about your parents. Much of it is optional to fill out though, so in the case that it doesn’t apply to you, don’t answer a particular survey question. The survey is after all there to link you with appropriate scholarship opportunities.

- After filling out the survey, FastWeb will spit out a long list of deadlines, the amount of money to be won, what type of scholarship it is, and any additional notes. You can mark certain scholarships as favorites which is useful.

- You’ll receive plenty of email reminders regarding deadlines and details. After a while, I got fed up with all the emails I was receiving, but if you want and need

Li’s playing the world’s smallest violin

Posted by Dee

Yes, I know the title is cliché, but I couldn’t think of any other way to express my reactions towards this Jian Li character I’ve been reading so much about lately.

I’ve been following with piqued interest for several days now about this whole Princeton vs. Li upcoming lawsuit ordeal. Fellow blogger, Sam Jackson, provides a great, slightly-lengthy recap of the issue at hand in his post titled, “WSJ asks: ‘Is Admissions Bar Higher for Asians At Elite Schools?’ [part 1]” which I will not rewrite again here; I do recommend reading through it to familiarize yourself with the debate and points of contention.

Here’s my take:

I’m a fan of merit. I do support the idea that if you’re more qualified than another candidate, you should get admitted. But, that said, this is not what college admissions is about. In the InsideHigherEd.com article from October 10 titled, “Too Asian?,” (which is also a read I recommend) they report that, with regards to Asian applicants being held to higher standards than Whites, “intensity of concern has grown, as has mistrust of the system.”

Honestly, this is laughable! What system? Since when has college admissions

Thanksgiving is soon

Posted by Dee

And that means applications are due soon enough.

It’s going to be tempting to just slack off, hang out, and pig out on pumpkin pie all weekend, but remember that, while taking time to rewind and recharge is important, Thanksgiving break is the time to get ahead.

Use the extra days away from school to catch up on your school work and to work on college applications. Believe me, if you waste the time, you’ll not only end up behind, but you’ll also be more stressed and frustrated with yourself than ever!

A “duh” tip #3

Posted by Dee

Memorize all the directions for the SAT and ACT before you arrive at the test!

No one needs to spend their precious standardized testing time reading the same mundane directions when it’s always the same! Know what you’re doing before you get to the test so you can jump right in and get started on acing it.