College Application Essays That Will Get You Accepted

November 23, 2009

Writing college application essays can be intimidating for most aspiring applicants. College admissions can be competitive; it’s essential for students to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Extracurricular activities can be helpful, as can personal letters of reference, but most experts agree that college application essays are the best way for students to express their individuality and attract the attention of admissions officers at the college or university of their choice.

The most important advice for college applicants is to invest time in their college application essays. By devoting a significant amount of time to writing a compelling and personal essay and then editing the result until it is a finely-honed piece of writing, students can make a good first impression. College application essays can say a lot about the applicant; it’s essential that it speaks well for his or her ability to form coherent sentences, use good grammar, and demonstrate proper flow and structure in written discourse.

Keep it personal. A well-written, detailed essay about the price of tea in China may well win awards and praise from teachers and friends, but it reveals precisely nothing about the student in question. Writing from the heart is essential in order to make the best impression. By explaining various choices, discussing a difficult decision, or outlining the challenges faced in various endeavors, students can make a positive impression and allow college admissions officers a real basis on which to base their decisions.
For students applying to several different institutions, it’s important to tailor college application essays to the academic strengths of the specific institution in question. While it is possible and even desirable to use elements of one basic essay for all the schools under consideration, this will require certain changes depending on the specific college’s general atmosphere. Some schools pose specific questions for their essay requirement; ensure that each of these questions is adequately answered in the submitted essay. Failure to fulfill the requirements is usually grounds for the essay being discounted in the college admissions process; this can seriously limit the chances of a student being accepted to that school.
Demonstrate analytical skills and logical thinking in the essay. By showing a keen, rational understanding of basic issues, students can produce more clear and coherent results. Especially since college application essays are often the first point of contact between the student and the admissions committee, it’s essential that it unmistakably highlights the academic strengths and character of the student.

Lastly, get as much feedback as possible on the finished essay. Have relatives, friends, college counselors and teachers read and proofread it and give their commentary. While the final decision on incorporating changes must rest with the student, soliciting the input and help of objective readers can help to produce the best essay possible. Additionally, college applicants can get a better sense of the impression that the essay is likely to make on admissions officers by noting the feedback from friends, teachers, and family. Polished, personal college application essays offer a far greater chance for a positive response and for achieving the desired outcome.

By: Elizabeth Kraus

Regents Set to Raise Tuition in California by 32 Percent

New York Times
November 19, 2009

The University of California Board of Regents was expected to approve a plan on Thursday to raise undergraduate fees — the equivalent of tuition — 32 percent by next fall, to help make up for steep cuts in state funding.

The state allocation for the 10-campus system, one of the leading public university systems in the nation, was cut $813 million, or 20 percent, this year, leading to a hiring freeze, furloughs and layoffs.

The impact on the University of California campuses has been dramatic: faculty hiring is not keeping up with enrollment demand, and many course sections have been eliminated. Across all campuses, instructional budgets are being reduced by $139 million, with 1,900 employees laid off, 3,800 positions eliminated and hiring deferred for nearly 1,600 positions, most of them faculty.

Several campuses are now planning to admit more out-of-state students, who pay higher tuition, to help close the budget gap. And there is a growing worry that senior faculty may begin to defect to other institutions.

Since the school year began, thousands of students have protested both the budget cuts and the proposal for higher fees, which would bring in-state tuition to more than $10,000 a year. On Wednesday 14 protesters, including 12 students, were arrested at U.C.L.A., for disrupting the meeting of the Regents Finance Committee, which was eventually closed to visitors.

There were large protests on the Berkeley campus as well, by union workers, students and faculty.

Mark Yudof, president of the system, said the University of California now received only half as much support from the state, per student, as it did in 1990. Even with the higher student fees, the system needs a $913 million increase in state financing next year to avoid further cuts. If that extra money is not provided, next year’s freshman enrollment will most likely be cut.

"When it comes to the university’s core support, we have only two main sources — taxpayer dollars from the state and student fees,” Mr. Yudof said. “Even with deep administrative cuts, when one goes down, the other almost inevitably must go up."

To help students who cannot afford the increasing fees, the Regents are also expected to approve the expansion of the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, for undergraduates whose family income is below $70,000.

by: Tamar Lewin

State Cuts Give Private Colleges an Edge

Los Angeles Times
November 16, 2009

Some campuses are luring students away from UC and Cal State schools with grants and assurances.

Thousands of other students might have jumped at the chance to attend UCLA, but not Michael Rodriguez. He passed up his UC acceptance last year in order to attend California Lutheran University, a less well-known but more intimate private campus in Thousand Oaks.

Rodriguez, who is happy with his choice, said one reason for the decision was a financial aid program Cal Lutheran established specifically to lure students who had been admitted to several top UC campuses. A math and physics major from San Fernando, Rodriguez also said he wanted a more personal setting with small classes and hoped to avoid the overcrowding and other problems state budget cuts are causing at UC schools.

His experience reflects a growing effort by private colleges and universities to turn the budget crisis at California's public campuses to their advantage through savvy marketing and, in some cases, special deals. The private schools are leery of being seen as attacking public higher education, but they also don't want to miss a chance to gain good students while UC and Cal States campuses struggle with reduced enrollment and classes.

"There is a mix of real concern for our friends in the public sector and a recognition that this is a time when we ought to be looking strategically at what we can do," said Jonathan Brown, president of the Assn. of Independent California Colleges and Universities.

Brown said that for years, many of his 75 member institutions have assured potential students that they would receive personal attention at their campuses and get the courses they need to graduate in the traditional four years.

Now, he said, more private schools are putting out similar messages. Even the association's website proclaims that its member schools have no enrollment cuts, unlike the state's public campuses.

Still, with students facing application deadlines for UC and Cal State campuses at the end of the month and private school deadlines typically a month or so later, the results of the recruiting efforts are not yet known. The big hurdle, of course, is tuition at private colleges, which can run seven times that of Cal State and more than triple that of UC.

Private colleges, which enroll about a fifth of California's undergraduates, say they are boosting the amount they give in financial aid even though the recession has hurt their endowments. They also urge prospective students to consider how much it may cost them -- both in tuition and lost income -- if they cannot graduate on time from a UC or Cal State.

Last year, Cal Lutheran established special scholarships, regardless of family income, for students who were also admitted to UCLA or UC Santa Barbara. The grants make the cost of attending the private school the same as attending UC, including room and board.

Last year 20 students took Cal Lutheran's offer, and this fall 27 did, receiving annual aid worth $17,000 on average, according to Rebecca Keenan, the university's associate director of financial aid and scholarships. And for next fall, the campus plans to expand the scholarship offer to those accepted at UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Cal Lutheran, which enrolls about 3,700 students, benefits by attracting academically strong students who might have gone elsewhere. "We thought about the fact that, with UC cutting enrollment, options for students were getting to be smaller. This makes us an affordable option for more families," Keenan said.

That worked for sophomore Rodriguez. He was unhappy with what he viewed as the crowded, anonymous style of a UCLA reception for admitted applicants. "It felt like a cattle call," he recalled, adding that it underlined his concerns about the state budget cuts.

So he signed up for Cal Lutheran's new financial aid offer.

His mother, Angel Zobel-Rodriguez, said she urges other families to consider the program. "This is a way that changes the dynamic for people who might not look at private schools," she said. "It doesn't mean they are necessarily going to go there. There will always be some parents who want that brand name of UCLA."

The University of San Francisco is taking a different tack. The private Catholic school recently announced that it will offer half-price tuition on lower-division courses at its satellite campuses in San Ramon, Cupertino, Sacramento and Santa Rosa. Advertisements say the program, starting in January, can help "students trapped by the devastating cuts at California's public universities and give them the classes they need to graduate."

The courses, in such subjects as psychology, statistics, U.S. history and Spanish, will count toward a public campus degree, University of San Francisco officials said. But they said it is too soon to estimate enrollment demand, particularly given that tuition, even reduced by 55%, will be $560 a credit, compared to $26 a unit at community colleges.

University of San Francisco officials said they hope it will induce more community college students to transfer to its main campus. "Frankly, it will benefit us in the long run. It will enhance our pipeline for the transfer population," said Elizabeth Johnson, vice provost for academic and enrollment services.

Because they are heavily dependent on tuition, private colleges often are more consumer-savvy than public schools, according to William G. Tierney, director of USC's Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis. So highlighting public college woes makes "good sense" and will improve the privates' chances of luring more applicants, he said.

At recruiting fairs around the state, private institutions stress that many will accept transfer students in the spring, which most Cal State campuses no longer do.

At a recent fair at Long Beach City College, more private colleges than usual set up booths and more students visited them, according to Ruben Page, a counselor who helps students transfer. "I feel more of a full-court press from the privates and the selling of their universities is getting easier because of the problems at UC and Cal State," Page said.

But he said his students, many from low-income families, are not flooding private institutions, because even with the prospect of financial aid, "the price tag is a stigma."

Cindy Munoz, a Long Beach City College student who has finished her associate's degree, said she wants to transfer to Loyola Marymount University or Mount St. Mary's College. Yet the communications major from Long Beach said she also plans to apply to public campuses and will compare financial aid. "The money might be an issue," she said.

Some more nationally oriented private campuses in California, including USC and Occidental College, say they discuss only their own schools' strengths in recruiting and not their rivals' difficulties.

Richard Vos, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Claremont McKenna College, said he has noticed parents asking more questions about whether students typically graduate in four years.

His office details its success on that score without comparisons to other schools.

"We are not trying to capitalize on the unfortunate budget woes of the state of California," Vos said. Besides, he added, he wouldn't want "to hit a man when he's down."
By Larry Gordon