How To Make Colleges Want You
Education expert Mike Moyer reveals some of the secrets to getting admitted to the college of your choice!
Commitment: How to Make Colleges Want You is a fascinating guide to getting into colleges – without necessarily being at the top of the class. What inspired you to write this book?
Mike Moyer: I was the co-founder of a web site that helps students get into college called Cappex.com. During the start-up phase we asked hundreds of colleges what types of students they wanted to attract. Most of them rattled off GPAs and test scores but when we dug deeper we noticed something interesting: if a student had other desirable qualities colleges, without exception, would put less emphasis on grades and test scores. Even more interesting was that when we analyzed the information more closely we noticed distinct patterns to not only the types of qualities colleges found desirable in students but also the relative importance of those qualities. We actually built a software application on Cappex.com that would accurately predict your chances of being accepted to any given college.
This understanding led me to reflect on my own experience getting in to college. I was a poor student, yet I was accepted to selective colleges. The book combines my understanding of the admissions process using my own life as an example.
Commitment: Should both parents and kids read your book, and at what stage in a student's career should they read it?
Mike: Yes! The book is filled with unconventional methods. It is very helpful for a parent and a student to be on the same page. Many parents worry so much about grades and test scores that they squelch a student’s other, sometimes more important, qualities that will give them the admissions edge. Especially during the later years when GPA can’t be changed much, parents and students need to understand what they can do to impact their chances of getting in and concentrate on the right activities.
Commitment: In How to Make Colleges Want You, you emphasize the importance of choosing a college that is the “right fit.” How does one determine which schools are a “right fit?”
Mike: At the end of day going to college just to drop out is a big waste of time. The numbers are high, something like 50% of students who start college don’t finish at the same college if they finish at all. Fit, however, is sometimes difficult to assess. I tell students to try and understand the colleges “Nerve”. The Nerve represents the ideology the college has with regard to education. Some college have a slant toward science and math (MIT), some colleges have a slant towards government (George Washington University), some colleges take pride in sports (Kansas University) some colleges emphasize literature (Shimer College). Each college has it’s own particular approach to how it cultivates the student body. I think that this attribute is much more important than traditional attributes such as size, location and prestige. Choose a college that has a compatible ideology and you will have a better chance of finding the right place for you.
Commitment: What is the “seventy-seventy” rule and how does this effect a future student's college application?
Mike: Most colleges aren’t very selective. The “seventy-seventy” rule is used in the admissions industry to describe the fact that 70% of colleges accept 70% or more of their applicants. This means that getting into most colleges is as simple as graduating from high school and filling out the application. There are plenty of great colleges out there that aren’t selective, but positioning yourself as a contender for a selective college will give you more options. The more options you have the more selective you can be about which on you attend. My book provides strategies for being accepted to a selective college.
Commitment: You have two websites, www.cappex.com and www.CollegePeas.com. How do these sites help students get into the college of their choice?
Mike: CollegePeas.com is designed to provide support materials for the book. The book has a variety of supplemental materials, called Carrots, that provide more in depth information about a particular subject. For instance, if you visit CollegePeas.com and enter the word “BACTERIA” in the Carrot Box you will find a free article about a student who built a great Non-Teenager Activity by testing the ice in fast food restaurants for bacteria.
Cappex.com is a site I co-founded a few years ago. You will be able to build a profile and use the “What Are My Chances?” engine to determine the odds of being accepted to the college of your choice. Additionally, you will hear from colleges that are actively looking for students with the same qualities as you.
Commitment: What is a “Common Data Set” and how can it help a future student determine whether he or she will get into a particular college?
Mike: Many colleges participate in a standardized survey called the Common Data Set. It is a comprehensive survey of a college’s student body, academic programs, facilities, etc. It is a great way to learn some in-depth information about a particular college. My Web site, CollegePeas.com, has a Carrot about the Common Data Set. To find it, enter CDS in the Carrot Box.
Commitment: What should a parent's role be in the admissions process?
Mike: Students need to understand that it is a parent’s job to ride them and make sure they get their applications. Parents have a right to be nervous, overbearing, annoying and demanding. The last thing a parent wants is a deadbeat kid with no college acceptance living under the same roof. Parents should, of course, read my book so they can help their child develop the right strategy. Then do everything they can to support the strategy and make sure the kid follows-through.
Commitment: Most of us are taught to believe that a student's high school grades and test scores will determine whether or not she gets into a competitive college. Yet in your book you state that's not necessarily true. Can you explain?
Mike: Colleges want students that can do college-level work. Grades and test scores are probably the best indicators. However, colleges also want a diverse student body filled with interesting, passionate students. If your grades aren’t in the to 5% then you will have to be an interesting, passionate person and, as long as you can convince them that you can do the work, your bad grades can often be overcome.
Commitment: What is an “NTA” and how can it help a student get into the college of his choice?
Mike: NTA stands for “Non-Teenager Activity” it is simply an extracurricular activity that is not popular among teens. Most teenagers bust their humps participating in teenager activities- high school sports, clubs, volunteering, part-time jobs, etc. These things are nice, but they will not help you stand out in the admissions process. A non-teenager activity, like starting a business or raising homing pigeons, will help you stand out in a big way. In fact, there are few things a student can do that will give them a great big hairy snarling advantage over the competition.
Commitment: What are some other things an applicant can do to increase her chances of college acceptance?
Mike: There are many, but besides the NTA I like to tell students to “break the Zone” this means figuring out what the “typical” student for your target college is like and then demonstrating why you are not like that. For instance, for most colleges a typical student went to high school within 100 miles. If you pick a college that is, say, 500 miles from where you went to high school your odds of getting in will skyrocket. In this case you are breaking the geographic zone. Colleges like this kind of diversity.
Commitment: How important are school counselors in the admissions process?
Mike: Very. But it’s up to you to do all the work. They are there to help, plain and simple. They know more about colleges than you or I and will do everything in their power to help you put your best foot forward. They are great at helping you figure out what a college Zone is, for instance. Or the Nerve (read the book). Most counselors don’t offer the kind of advice I offer in my book but once they understand what you are doing they will be able to help you whenever you ask. As long as you do your part, they will do theirs.
Commitment: When should a student start thinking about colleges and their admissions requirements and processes?
Mike: Right now!
Mike Moyer had a 2.04 GPA from high school, yet he figured out how to beat the odds and get accepted to competitive colleges. He is the founder of College Peas, a company dedicated to helping kids beat the admissions odds. Mike has a BA in com¬munication from the University of Kansas, a MS in integrated marketing communication from Northwestern University, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife and two children. Visit CollegePeas.com to read Mike's blog.
To purchase How to Make Colleges Want You, click here.
