Response to Kathleen: Common App and stickers?

Posted by Dee

Kathleen left a very sweet comment on our latest AdmitSpit post titled, “Just got a comment…” saying:

“… I recently visited a college, and they gave me a sample of the 2006-2007 common application. On this application was a sticker saying “application fee waived”. The problem is, the application is for the 2006-2007 season, and I won’t be applying until this fall. Should I remove the sticker from the common application papers? Also, does the common application require fees to send online?”

I think Kathleen that the whole point was indeed to give you a “sample” of the Common App so you could get the gist of the types of questions they give in essays and short answers, etc. I don’t think that they necessarily actually wanted you to use that 2006-2007 form to apply for the 2007-2008 year. So no, you shouldn’t remove the sticker from the common application papers because you shouldn’t actually use those papers at all (and if you’re thinking of reattaching the sticker to the correct version of the Common App papers, I say that’s just a bad idea!)

The Common App does require fees — but those are simply the fees that the

Just got a comment…

Posted by Dee 

So, we just enabled a comment from Theron on the AdmitSpit post titled “Response to Theron: A-levels, SATs, and decisions, oh my!“

And, first I wanted to say, glad to be of help!

And second, I wanted to say that I’m sorry we haven’t posted for some time now — I must admit I’m sort of stuck for content ideas. Please send comments our way with any issues you have in general about the college admissions process so we can write again!

Thank you, thank you!!

The DBQ: 11 Steps to Success

Posted by Michael

Here are 11 tips that I used to ace the document-based question (DBQ) essay part of the AP US History exam.

1. Use the reading period to its full extent.
And, if you’re not done planning, spend an extra five minutes or so doing so. Planning helps to write a better (maybe shorter) essay as opposed to a longer and badly written one. Readers only have such little time to read each essay, and after reading thousands each day, they’ll look for the most clearly and well thought out to grade higher, and will frown down upon super long, unorganized essays.

2. (ⁿ/₂) + 1.
This is the golden rule in terms of how many documents to use (n = number of docs). It is not important to use all the documents, just use half of them given, plus

Appealing UC admissions decisions

Posted by Dee

Denied admission to a UC you really wanted to attend? You may be able to appeal the decision. Know that each UC campus deals with appeals for admissions decisions separately and they each differ in their policies. Below is a breakdown for each campus based on the information I could find about their appeals process; I regret if some of the information in terms of deadlines is now obselete!

UC Berkeley: No information about the appeals process on their website that I could find.

UC Los Angeles: Basically UCLA says that you can appeal if you “bring to light new academic and personal information… that was not present in the application” and that high senior year grades are not a basis for appealing. You’d need to send a letter requesting your application to be reconsidered; this should be postmarked April 16, 2007. The letter needs to explain reasons for appealing the decision, including “new and compelling” information that doesn’t repeat what’s already in your app. Also, you can include up to two letters of recommendation with your

How “x” does academics: x = UCLA

Posted by Rotem 

At first I was intimidated to come to such a large school like UCLA, but I have found that classes are not as daunting as I expected.

UCLA runs on a quarter system. Fall, winter, and spring quarters are each ten weeks long with one week for finals. Fall quarter begins in late September, and Spring quarter ends in mid-June. There are also two summer sessions that are each six weeks long. The quarter system is a great way to try out many classes you are interested in. And if you dislike a class, it goes by fast anyways!

Students need a minimum of 180 units to graduate. Unfortunately, there is also a

As BB said, we are helpful… so add us!

Posted by Dee 

BB left the comment on the post we wrote for him/her titled “Response to BB: how many years of language is enough?” saying:

“Thank you very much! By the way, I am a junior. I’ve finally decided to not take the 4th year of Spanish. I am EXTREMELY involved in Band and Journalism, and while AcDec isn’t considered AP/Honors, it will probably be one the the most rewarding classes I will ever take in high school. In addition, I hate Spanish – though i do have an A. Again, thank you. This site has been so helpful!!”

BB — I’m so glad you found AdmitSpit helpful because that’s our whole point of existing! As you can tell, we definitely don’t post daily (we’re students too ya know!) so, to get updated without checking the site everyday and getting annoyed that we haven’t posted, there’s an easy solution… add us!

On Yahoo!:

The best way to go about adding AdmitSpit to Yahoo! is to go to http://alerts.yahoo.com and sign into Yahoo!. You’ll see that right now you’re on the “Create an Alert” tab, so click on “Feed / Blog” (which right now has a yellow NEW! icon by it) which will take you to a new page. In “A. Enter the URL for a web site’s RSS feed, if you know it” type http://admitspit.wordpress.com/feed, and when it says to choose how often you want Alerts delivered, I’d recommended keeping it on “As they happen” so that you get changes immediately, but changing “Major changes” to “Just new items” (the third option in the menu) so that you only get, well, new items. Then select how you want your Alerts delivered, whether just to your email or if you also want it sent to your Y! Messenger or Mobile, if you have it. Then click the orange “Save Alert” button, and on the next page hit the orange “Done” button, and you’re all set!

Another way on Yahoo! to add AdmitSpit content is, if you use My Yahoo!, to add the AdmitSpit feed. Go to your My Yahoo! page, click the blue “Add Content” button, which takes you to a new page. From here, click the “Add RSS by URL” blue text in the blue “Find Content” box (the first box that is). On the next page that takes you to, type http://admitspit.wordpress.com/feed, and click the grey “ADD” button. On the next page that takes you to, click the yellow “Add to My Yahoo!” button, and you’re all set!

On Google:

Google Alerts are also a pretty good way of getting updated on AdmitSpit content, even though the Google Reader is probably better (because with Alerts on Google you may also get results about what other people are saying about AdmitSpit rather than just our content exclusively).

To get Google Alerts for AdmitSpit, go to http://blogsearch.google.com, and type AdmitSpit. You’ll get a page with a list of results, look in the left bar under the grey “Subscribe:” box, and you’ll see a link to “Blog Alerts” with a little envelope icon next to it. Click on this, and it will take you to a new page. I suggest keeping all the settings on the right as the have them; the “Search terms:” should be “admitspit” with “Type:” as “Blogs” and “How often:” as “once a day” and now, just enter your

Response to Theron: A-levels, SATs, and decisions, oh my!

Posted by Dee

Prepare for a long comment folks! From Theron in England:

“Hi, I’m posting because I have two worries concerning college applications, one of which concerns SAT scores.

1) In the Sat I received a score of 2220, with 800 in Writing and 800 in Critical Reading but 620 in Maths. I am planning to apply to the top colleges in America, and am therefore wondering if I should retake the SAT in the hope of receiving a higher Maths score, as I realise it’s below average for a top university. However, I don’t think it’s worth the effort to retake the entire exam for the sake of a few extra points, as this is a good reflection of my current ability in Maths (I was getting 580 in practice tests). I attend school in England, meaning I have A levels to study for and I don’t think I can devote more time for Maths, which I’m not taking at A Level. Any guidance as to whether I should retake the SAT 1 is much appreciated.

2) My second problem is the fact that the SAT 2 (subject tests) don’t really fit my abilities. I am doing Geography, Economics, Medieval History and English for A level, so I have decided to definitely do Literature as one of my subject tests, but the other three subjects aren’t offered as SAT subjects. I have to decide whether it’s worth me spending a large proportion of my time studying for the French Subject Test or Biology Subject Test when I have to revise for my A Levels between now and May as well. Although I am relatively good at French and Bio, I have looked at the preparation books for these tests and I will have to make a serious commitment to receive a high mark in the SAT tests.

Any feedback is much appreciated, and sorry my post is so long thx.”

Well, Theron, before being able to offer any guidance, I had to first decode half of your comment. Haha. No really though, what are these “A levels” of which you speak?

Apparently, A-Levels, short for Advanced Level, are optional exams taken by students in the UK in various subjects. The tests are graded A through E, with a U for a failed grade. Apparently, as compared with similar US exams, like APs, A-Levels provide more depth into each topic, but they’ve been criticized for exactly this reason in that most A-Level students will only take three, maybe four, subjects in their last year which doesn’t provide much breadth of study, especially when many students choose related topics (and compare that with the usual six to eight classes most US high school seniors take in varying subjects). But, A-Levels also come in tons of different flavors — unlike our 20 SAT Subject Tests and 37 AP courses available — totaling nearly, if not more than, 100! (Thank you, Wikipedia!)

So, now to your problem #1.

I think it’s clear you know that you should not retake the SAT exam. A 2220 is a very decent score, and believe me, I’m thoroughly impressed with your two 800 scores! Yes, your math score is low, but with your insight that you doubt it will improve plus saying you don’t really have time to make it improve drastically, I say, what’s the use in a retake? Read the post titled, “Response to Britt on SAT retakes” for the details on our thinking on that note.

So, problem #1 is solved satisfactorily I think. The overall 2220 score is totally fine, and after all, it’s not like you’re applying to be a math major! … Right?

Now onto problem #2.

Well, Theron, you’re right about this one that they definitely don’t offer three out of your four A-levels in SAT Subject Test form. So, definitely do the Literature SAT Subject test, and then from there I guess you have two options: 1.) revise your A-Levels to fit with the SAT Subject Tests — like doing French or Biology to replace

What’s lost when Stanford uses the Common App

Posted by Aaron

Ever since I had heard the news that Stanford will be accepting the Common App next year, I have had mixed feelings about it. 

It is easier to fill out only one Form 1 (since they all ask exactly the same thing), but with the Common App, there are enough supplemental forms that you, almost, might as well apply to each school individually. But for those who apply to 18+ schools (and if you can, more power to you), I can see how it is helpful. But I feel there is something to be said about individual applications.

What bums me out most about Stanford’s transfer to the Common App is the possibility of them losing their more unique essay and short answer topics because there already are generic short answers and essays on the

Response to Horace: if only SAT improvement could ever be proven

Posted by Aaron & Dee

Horace commented on AdmitSpit’s About page recently.

“My son who is twelve and in the 7th grade would like to attend a Ivy league school. He recently took the SAT and scored 1720, i.e. CR = 660; Math = 540; Writing = 520. Do you have any proven tools to help raise his score to acceptable Ivy league level within the next four years?”

Advice from Aaron, AdmitSpit’s newest contributor!…

First, I am assuming that your son took the SAT for a program such as the Johns Hopkin’s Center for Talented Youth (CTY).  You should know that your son is scoring above the national senior average for the SAT already, and he is only in 7th grade.

I took the SAT to qualify for this program and scored lower than your son, but still high enough to qualify. The best way to raise your son’s SAT scores is to not

A “duh” tip #5

Posted by Dee 

Because it may not be obvious to all, it is indeed OK to lie in your SAT essay.

Yes, the word ‘lie’ does have a negative connotation; it’s something you’re not supposed to do, right?

But for the purposes of the SAT essay, they don’t care if everything you say is 100% true; they are merely trying to measure your writing ability and score it.

So, while it’s not okay to cheat, it is okay to reflect on the time you learned a particular valuable lesson while away at summer camp in Massachusetts, even if you never have actually been. If a specific made-up story helps you get your point across to the SAT graders, then story-tell to your heart’s content!