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For a long time, I have wondered about college rankings. I mean, what group of individuals in America is so august that it has the audacity to gaze down from the mountaintop and pass judgment on so many institutions of higher learning? Personally, I attended Southwestern University and the University of Houston, neither of which garners astronomical scores on the most esteemed of American college rankings… Yet, my professors were excellent, all of them extremely accomplished, published researchers who were scholars first, humans second. There was not one moment with a tenured professor at either one of my universities when I doubted whether a professor had meaningful lessons to teach me, no less meaningful than I might have received at a school with higher rankings.

Recently, I met a girl, Ming, when I was volunteering at a college admissions event with the Houston Mayor’s Office. She was outstanding in every way: excellent grades, incredible test scores, published research, work experience. She was also an immigrant whose parents’ only gauge to measure colleges was the US News and World ranking system. They were very well educated, but not in the United States, so they assumed that those rankings were based on clear-cut facts, besides selectivity and dollar signs. Ming’s family was convinced by the rankings that if she did not attend a top-ranked college, then she could never get into a renowned graduate program in genetics – a terrible misconception, one that is all too common.

In fact, I thought she should consider our local university, the University of Houston, which has an incredible honors program with terrific professors and exceptional research opportunities. Those instructors are connected with every institution in the world and are involved in projects with NASA, ExxonMobil, the Texas Medical Center, etc… If she works hard at UH, the grad school world is her oyster.

People from all sorts of undergraduate programs get into avant garde graduate programs. When you’re applying to graduate programs, the admissions directors are more interested in what you’ve done than where you went to school. That means you need to work hard in college – do research, write articles, pioneer something. Don’t be fooled into thinking your university alma mater can win you acceptance ANYWHERE.

Wherever you go to college, it’s what you do with your time that matters, and you might even find that lower-ranked colleges are more interested in helping you succeed, more invested in preparing you as an individual to pursue your goals.

Defiance College

For instance, in a recent article on the Washington Post blog explained how much more deeply a small university may commit itself to student success than its larger, more glamorous counterparts. In it, Mark Gordon, the president of Defiance College, a liberal arts college in Ohio, illustrates the absurdity of college rankings by explaining that they are based on nothing more than student entry qualifications; rankings tell you nothing of student success.

Rankings are based on reputation, which is based on past rankings, which may have been skewed from the start. It’s certainly not a reliable measure to use for picking a match school. Instead, you should consider the uniqueness of a school’s program and find the approach that best matches your personality. Before reading Gordon’s article, I had never heard of Defiance, but now I am intrigued and believe its hands-on format may offer the perfect amount of guidance for some of our students.

Defiance may not have high rankings, but the school lives up to its name and refuses to follow the pack. A student who goes there is likely to walk away ready to work in the world. Can all of those top schools say the same?

– Jessica Givens

Photos:

The Low-Down:

There’s no getting around it. Loyola is a beautiful school with a set of advantages that distinguish it from any other university we’ve visited. Everyone knows that New Orleans is an exciting destination for a zany vacation, but the prospect of living there seems to overwhelm many potential college students. That’s because you’ve only heard of the French Quarter; Loyola is in the Garden District. The Garden District may be America’s most beautiful neighborhood. No, there aren’t any McMansions or sweeping, gigantic 20th century monsters. Instead, the Garden District is overflowing with history, class, and culture. It’s the ideal setting for a serious institution, and that’s why two – Loyola and Tulane – have chosen to call the Garden District home.

Loyola has about 3,000 undergraduate students, so it’s about half the size of Tulane, its next-door neighbor. However, size has not held Loyola back; instead, that intimate environment has given many of its students wings to flourish. I ran into one of my former students, a girl I advised in the 2008-2009 season, while I was on the campus, and she thanked me profusely for introducing her to Loyola. When I asked her what she had enjoyed most about Loyola, she told me that it had given her the perfect combination of college fun and educational options. She was interested in law, and unlike many small schools, Tulane offered her a pre-law curriculum, with a major in Criminal Justice. She has better grades in college than she ever did in high school because of their awesome professors and terrific course lineup.

My favorite part of Loyola deserves a special discussion: the public transportation. One of my greatest concerns for students is the potential for car accidents while away at college. Loyola (and its neighbor/rival, Tulane) are perfectly situated to take advantage of the New Orleans Streetcar. The Streetcar can take students down to the Canal/Bourbon Street area for about $1.00, which eliminates their driving down to crazy town on their own. Since the Streetcar shuts down around 10:30, students will need to take a taxi back to campus, but the Streetcar cuts down on the overall costs. Plus, taxis are cheap in New Orleans, not to mention abundant. Long story short, although New Orleans is one of America’s wildest cities, it’s also one of the safest for college kid transportation. You just need to take advantage of all it has to offer.

The Beautiful, Historic St. Charles' Streetcar, which stops RIGHT in front of Loyola

My only issue with Loyola was their dorm setup because many small schools have dorms that are in better shape. However, they’re still way nicer than the dorms at public universities, and who needs to sit around a dorm room anyways? It’s really more for sleeping  than anything else. And, in any case, you want your school to be putting its resources into the educational facilities, not the country club features. Those are the aspects that will pay off for you in the long run.

Three-Word Summaries

Pros of Loyola: Excellent Location, Intimate (yet not-too-small) Size, Multiple Educational Options

Cons of Loyola: Intense Humidity, Dilapidated Dorms, So Much Opportunity for FUN!

Jessica recently contributed to an article on CollegeXpress.com written by Jim Martinho about tips to help score high school internships. Click here to read his post, and thanks, Jim, for getting in touch!

We told you earlier in the week about our awesome summer application Crash Courses and today we’ve got more exciting news:  We’ll be funding scholarships for 24 students to participate in an exclusive course session at the University of St. Thomas from August 6-10, 2012!

During the week-long Scholarship College Application Crash Course, high school juniors will work with All-in-One’s experienced college admissions consultants to complete the key written components of their college applications – a resume, three essays, and the ApplyTexas online application.

“Gone are the days of the one-page college application.  College-bound high school students must now devote hours and hours to draft and compile the many components of their college applications,” said All-in-One Academics founder and Get Your Summer Strategy On author Jessica Givens.  “The All-in-One Academics summer College Application Crash Courses are the best way to get applications done – and done right.  Recognizing that many deserving students would not otherwise have access to our exclusive courses offered at The Houstonian, we are thrilled to partner with the University of St. Thomas to make the Crash Course available to 24 additional students.”

Students will also have the opportunity to hear from admissions personnel from several Texas colleges and tour the St. Thomas campus.

24 students will be selected to participate.  To be eligible, students must:

(1) Have achieved placement in the top 25% of their high school class

(2) Be eligible for College Board fee waivers

(3) Be nominated by their high school counselor.

Counselors may nominate up to five students each.  Nominations must be submitted using the online form available here.

Students will be responsible for securing their own transportation.  Lunch and computer access will be provided each course day.  Please direct any and all questions to info@allinoneacademics.com.

Thank you to the University of St. Thomas for its continuing efforts to improve college access and their generous partnership.  We are looking forward to a great session!

Senior year can be a stressful time. What if there was something you could do with your free time during the summer that would help lessen the stress of your last year of high school? What if you could start senior year with the bulk of your applications, essays, and resume already complete? We have a solution to make that a reality!

We are now enrolling students for the All-in-One Academics College Application Crash Courses.

“Gone are the days of the one-page college application.  College-bound high school students must now devote hours and hours to draft and compile the many components of their college applications,” said All-in-One Academics founder and Get Your Summer Strategy On author Jessica Givens.  The All-in-One Academics summer College Application Crash Courses are the best way to get applications done – and done right.  This summer, we’ll be offering the courses in two formats, Condensed and Platinum:

During All-in-One’s Condensed Crash Courses students are guided through the process of writing their college resumes and three application essays.  The Condensed Crash Courses have a 10:1 student teacher ratio and include 20 hours of instructional time.  Dates are July 9-13 or July 16-20.

All-in-One’s Platinum Crash Courses provide a more intensive experience broken up into two modules based on application type and are limited to ten students per five-day, 30-hour, week-long session and have a 5:1 student-to-teacher ratio.  Parents and students benefit from individual college-choice consultations and up to ten hours of additional essay editing by All-in-One’s expert consultants.  Platinum Crash Courses are broken down into two modules, one targeting the Common Application, which is accepted by more than 400 colleges, and the other focused on the ApplyTexas Application, which is accepted by Texas universities.  Platinum Crash Course dates are July 30-August 3 for the Common Application and August 13-17 for ApplyTexas.  Students can also enroll in both modules for a substantial discount.

The courses will be held at The Houstonian Hotel,  111 N. Post Oak Lane, Houston, 77024. For additional information on the courses or to enroll now, please visit our website: http://allin1applications.com/summercrashcourse/

We’ll also be hosting an information session and reception on Sunday, April 29 at 2pm. We’ll get together to discuss the College Application Crash Courses and Jessica Givens will share her funny and informative presentation Five Secrets to College Admissions Gold. To RSVP, please send an email to may@allinoneacademics.com or call 713-405-1193. We hope to see you there!

We are so excited to have just released the 2012 edition of our book, Get Your Summer Strategy On! Written by our very own Jessica Givens, this book helps unlock opportunities to turn your free time during the summer into college admissions gold.

“Many colleges are declining to see test scores,” writes Givens, “and are, instead, focusing on the accomplishments of their applicants.” Compared to a few numbers on a page, Givens argues that “summer – a period of zero commitment and zero expectation – takes on a sparkly sheen as the golden opportunity to delve into personal and community interest.”

Givens, who started as a test preparation instructor at the Princeton Review and then moved into college admissions help, has a birds-eye view of what colleges are looking for in an increasingly competitive setting. “ I wrote this book because I saw how much more convincing an applicant was who had availed him/herself of summer opportunities, and because I learned that so few parents and students had any knowledge of summer’s potential value in the application process and the amazing wealth of summer activities available.”

The book outlines specific steps that can be taken in four different tactical areas to help strengthen future college applications, essays and resumes. It is a must read for students (or parents!) in high school at all grade levels – it is never too early to take advantage of summertime! The four main areas covered in the book:

• Participate in college summer programs – Involvement in summer academic programs shows students value education and academic excellence.  These programs, offered at local colleges or prestigious colleges, are geared toward high school students, offering and introduction to college studies and expectations.
• Volunteer – Community service illustrates an applicant’s desire to make a difference, whether in his or her local community or abroad. Volunteer efforts should be focused in areas of genuine interest to the student and should reflect honest time spent. In addition to positively impacting your community and impressing college admissions boards, applicants can often apply for impressive community service awards as well.
• Take part in summer research programs – Familiarity and understanding of the research expectations at the university level can be hugely beneficial to applicants. Participating in a summer research program allows students to show they are prepared for college-level research requirements. Typically offered through an affiliation with a university, summer research programs also offer the opportunity to network within the university.
• Secure a meaningful summer work experience – A meaningful work experience signifies that a student is committed to furthering his or her knowledge of the field in which he or she hopes to study. Work experience must add focus, either through jobs that mirror a potential career or internships, to a resume.

Whether you’re heading into the summer before freshman year or the summer before senior year – there is actionable information in this book that will help you make productive use of your summer and make you more attractive to the admissions committees of your favorite schools.

To read an interview with the author, Jessica Givens, please click here.

The 2012 edition of Get Your Summer Strategy On is available as an eBook as well as a paperback! eBook versions are available on our website here. Hard copies are available on Amazon. We hope you enjoy it!

Obviously, we’re into summer activities; that’s why we wrote an entire book on the topic. But my favorite place to recommend is often Athens, to send a student to do archaeological work on an active dig. Well, in recent times, that suggestion has fallen on not only deaf, but often hostile ears, as clients and customers point to the riots in Greece, the uproar in the streets, and the oozing poverty of the region. We have decided to check it out for ourselves, so we can include a section about archaeological digs in our 2012 edition of Get Your Summer Strategy On!

From the moment we arrived in Athens, we got the feeling that the reports of violent discontent were grossly exaggerated. The airport ran smoothly; the plumbing functioned properly; and the taxi sped easily through busy streets. Yes, there is graffiti on the exterior walls of almost every building, but, guess what!, I think that’s probably been there since the beginning of time. Consider the fact that much of what we’ve learned about Roman culture has come from the etched graffiti at Pompeii. Graffiti can be part of culture, and Athens proves the point.

Ever since we arrived, we’ve walked the streets, eating the food and seeing the sights. And, there’s been no sign of unrest. As a matter of fact, the hotel workers laughed when I asked about riots closing the museums.

But don’t take a first impression as gospel. Follow us for a few days, and let’s see what we find!

Just bumming around at the beach or have no plans this summer break? Summer is a great time to start preparing for the SATs!  There are many test prep books out there to study from- just set aside a few hours a day to this task and by the end of summer, you’ll have gained more than just a tan. For those who need a bit more guidance or don’t have the discipline to study on their own, many SAT prep courses are offered in the summer and may provide students with the structure they need to study effectively. (I took an SAT prep class during the summer before my junior year of high school and was able to raise my critical reading and math scores a combined 300 points!)

Regardless of how you prefer to study, building vocabulary is an essential part of preparing for the SAT. Flashcards are a tried and true way of gaining a larger vocabulary, and the website Quizlet offers many sets of free online flashcards geared towards SAT prep, among many other offerings. A great set of flashcards on Quizlet feature the 100 Most Common SAT Vocabulary Words. (Which you can also print out and study on the go!) But if straight memorization isn’t the way you learn best, there are more resources available out there nowadays beyond the old school flashcards. SAT vocabulary novels integrate frequently tested SAT words into captivating storylines that almost makes you forget that the purpose of these novels are to build your vocabulary. Barnes and Nobles and Amazon.com offer a selection of these books, but Sparknotes has the most popular set of SAT Vocabulary novels which they publish, but also have available for free on their website. Even though classes aren’t in session during the summer, it can be a productive time for high school students to get a head start on studying for the SATs.

Many people say that the SAT just test how well you take exams and the information you study will be of no use once you’re done with the exam. But this is definitely untrue for the vocabulary portion of the SAT. Having an extensive vocabulary will be extremely beneficial in the long run as well and especially in college where vocabulary builds on itself.

Whether you’re in high school or college, building experience through a summer internship can give you the competitive edge you need when applying for college, graduate school or a future employer.   It’s never too early to start preparing for next summer, so read on for rock-solid tips on securing a stellar internship that will give your résumé a boost!

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