Getting Into College USA

Written by Phil Heinlein

This time round Phil Heinlein devotes his column entirely to this one subject

Some time back Dave Shilling wrote to me from the Var to ask how he should set about planning his daughter's post-secondary education. At the time she was just fourteen and wanted to go to college in the US. Dave had heard from other American parents that negotiating college entrance from abroad was “quite a task”. I gave him some very general advice but, in the light of other enquiries we've had, it seemed useful to look at this topic in a little more detail.

“Candidates from overseas have an edge”

I'm happy to start on a very positive note. There's no doubt that candidates from overseas often have an edge when applying to US schools. Admissions officers regularly say that expat applicants - “third culture kids”, as they're sometimes known - are usually of high quality: academically advanced, personally mature and with a fund to offer of varied and unusual experience. From the student side this view was confirmed to me by Britt Eisenhour who had almost all her schooling overseas, including several years at the International School of Nice where she now teaches. “When I got to the University of California at Santa Cruz,” Britt told me, “I found I was better prepared than most of the guys who'd come out of American high schools and, frankly, I thought I was more grown up than they were.” Applicants for college entry are judged not only on their grades but also on the written personal presentation they have to make and that's where expat candidates often score very well.

That being said, Dave Shilling's impression was quite correct: getting into College USA is quite a task. I've been discussing some of the issues recently with Sallie Chaballier, co-ordinator for college affairs at the Association of American Wives of Europeans (AAWE) in Paris. “To start with there's the choice of school. Across the US there are some 1500 reputable 4-year colleges, public and private. Cost will obviously be a factor. But there's more to it than that. Not everyone should feel they have to follow George W. Bush to Yale or some other Ivy League school. There are many small liberal arts colleges which are academically outstanding and offer advantages over bigger places: a more intimate atmosphere, more personalised teaching, for example.”

So how to make a choice? “Well, the days are past when you had to plough through a pile of college catalogues. Today all schools have web sites and there are some comprehensive online guides like Peterson's. And then there's AAWE's College Day that's organised in Paris every fall. It's a big event - last year we had well over sixty institutions participating, most of them from the US. It's a marvellous opportunity for prospective students and their parents to meet admissions officers, faculty and sometimes alumni. Our next College Day is scheduled for September 30th 2007. I know you've got some excellent international schools in your region - in Mougins, Nice and Valbonne - and we'd be delighted to welcome visitors from down there, both parents and students. It's really worth making the effort.”

“What's college going to cost?”

And what about the preliminaries to college admission - PSAT, SAT and ACT? “Well, the authorities in those schools I've mentioned will know all about that and in fact the International School of Nice is your local SAT centre. Regarding PSAT and SAT there's lots of information on the College Board web site. This includes registration, making payments and viewing scores; the Board will also send on scores to colleges of the candidate's choice. There are also online practice tests available. As to ACT, there's detailed information on their web site.”

And now what could possibly be over four years more than a $64,000 dollar question: what's college going to cost and what sources of aid are there? Obviously, this is something which needs careful long-term planning and many Americans have understood this. Towards the end of last year the College Board issued its annual guidelines on average college costs. In the current school year the average for a private four-year college is $30,367, for a public college $12,476. These figures, depressingly, rise every year and beyond the rate of inflation. However, the Board points out that well over half of students do not pay these “sticker” prices, as they call them. Scholarships, discounts and other factors are in play to reduce the real cost of tuition, board and lodging. Nevertheless, for many students getting through college can be a tough assignment. As to sources of financial assistance, this is a complex field in which rewards go to the persistent researcher. There's a variety of information on the web sites listed.

“Watch those deadlines”

Sallie Chaballier offered two pieces of advice in conclusion: “First, to find your way around the world of college entry and it's easy to get lost. Busy high school teachers don't always have the time to absorb all the relevant information. Here at AAWE we know of one really outstanding advisory service based in Paris - that's College Goals, run by Joyce Reed, a former dean at Brown University. She knows the system inside out and she's especially good at matching students with schools. She charges a fee, of course, but her advice is worth every cent. Second, I can't stress this too much: watch those deadlines. At whatever stage you're at in seeking college admission, you've got to play the bureaucratic game. In these computerised days there's not much flexibility around. Anyway, good luck.”

Riviera Reporter 119 - Feb/March 2007

Set as favourite

Bookmark

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry