So today: The College Search

I graduated in 1997, the era when the Internet definitely existed, but it wasn’t the primary mechanism for getting into college. Much more the “Gee! I just got an email. Neat!” era than “Good God, I just got another email” as we have today.

Still, the broad strokes of “getting in” were similar.

Getting In

So, you want to go to college. We’ll discuss paying for it in a minute. Let’s just discuss acceptance first, okay?

1. Do well in High School.
2. Get good scores on standardized tests
3. Have extracurriculars that tell the college you won’t just hide in the library for 4 years writing computer code and doing Calculus.
4. Hold down a job or do something else that shows you’re a well-rounded person
5. Athletics are a plus
6. Student leadership likewise a plus
7. If you can, apply early (Early Action/Early Decision)

General Strategy

Tie all that together and then work backwards from October of your senior year as an absolute drop-dead date for college applications. Take ownership of your college admissions process, acting like a “Driver” not a “Passenger” in the process. Have 5 “Dream” schools, 5 “Meets” schools, and 5 “Safety” schools, and apply to all of them.

So. Of the above 7 things, what did I actually do?

1. Yes, I had a 4.0
2. I took the ACT multiple times from 7th grade (26 composite out of 36) to Sophomore year (31 composite) and finally Junior/Senior year (better than 31, let’s leave it at that). In a way the “big number” was a curse, because I got it in my head that “any school will be glad to have me”. Nope.
3. I was in Yearbook and HS Band for 4 years. I had no interest (or enough talent) to be in band in College.
4. I had under-the-table jobs but nothing with a 1099 to show
5. Athletics? Um. No.
6. Student leadership? I was on our abortive attempt to create a Parent Teacher Student Association
7. “Early….action?”

The problem: Structure

The real issue was one of structure. Obviously, I wanted to go to college, thinking I’d pursue pre-law. I visited schools…in fall of my Senior year. Way, way too late. Where others already had their 5/5/5 list as above, I was just narrowing. I had no one (coughguidance counselorcough) helping with this. The best they could do was insist I apply to Morehead State University–fine school, but not where I wanted to go.

So I veered wildly: An application to Harvard. Another to Vandy. I had no idea of the reality to admission to either. Applications within Kentucky but not to the University of Kentucky. Avoidance of applying to Transylvania University in Lexington because I thought that’s where the “rich kids” went. Well…it was, but huh?

As fall turned to winter, my parents became nervous–and rightly so. Commitment day was May 1st and I didn’t have real acceptances.

I happened to remember my friend Charlie from Governor’s Scholar program was going to Georgetown College because he had a Baptist scholarship. So I figured…why not? I applied, and they chased me hard, with a full scholarship. Effectively, my parents had to pay nothing.

Good school. “Christian”. Can’t beat the price.

In a lot of ways, a fateful decision for my entire life. This is where I’d meet my future wife, transition from Pre-Law to Computer Science, and get the out-of-the-blue offer to interview for internship at Lexmark, kicking off a 3-decade career.

Paying for it All

There was a darker side of the above: My parents were terrified I’d get into Harvard or Vandy. They couldn’t pay for it. At the time it was the “astronomical” sum of 100k-120k for 4 years’ tuition.

Of course, that’s laughable today. A regular, private school can run 60k-75k yearly now. The Ivies…I don’t really want to think about it.

Me finding a place with a full scholarship was a godsend.

What I’d Do Differently

Ah, so now the point.

Structure

As with many things, it’s not the tactics so much as the planning/logistics. I did the work of getting stellar grades and standardized test scores, and an acceptable (though thin) set of extracurriculars. What I didn’t do was: Start this Junior Year, if not before.

Scope

With my elder daughter, we started college visits spring of Sophomore year, exposing her to BIG + Public (Texas A&M), Small + Private, Urban, Suburban, Rural, Secular, Religious…pretty much the gamut. Throughout she continued taking SAT, PSAT, ACT and improving as she furthered her HS curriculum. I…didn’t do that.

I did a 3 week stint at Western Kentucky University as a rising 8th grader (the Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth–“VAMPY”–camp), and 6 weeks at Centre College in Danville, KY for Governor’s Scholars. I’d never been on a Big10 or SEC campus, or a hardcore engineering school like Rose-Hulman, etc. Looking back, it was obvious I would want to try engineering, but no one was pushing me any direction.

In sum, I think if I’d had a plan from Junior year onwards to visit schools, I’d probably have ended up at Louisville’s Speed School, Purdue, or something like that. I’d have gone into Computer, Automotive, or Aeronautical Engineering.

I’m glad Whitney and I were able to do better for our first daughter on this. She made an informed choice