// BLOG
What the Pre-Halloween Blizzard Taught Us
November 8, 2011
Here in West Orange, New Jersey, we are shocked to see a snowflake fall before Thanksgiving. Any accumulating snow before Christmas is considered highly implausible. After all, this is New Jersey – home of the Jersey Shore – and not Maine or Colorado!
Too bad no one told Mother Nature. On October 29, 2011, the Saturday before Halloween, we were clobbered with at least 8 inches of heavy, wet snow. Mind you, the week before, it was nearly 70 degrees outside, and the trees were just starting to turn. This
Photo courtesy of Robert Allen
“perfect storm” set the stage for an unprecedented Nor’easter in our “neck of the woods” (as Al Roker likes to say).
In West Orange and surrounding communities, thousands were without power for days. Trees and tree limbs lined all of the streets, and even went through some roofs and cars. Schools were closed through Wednesday. Even Trick-or-Treat night was rescheduled!
Thankfully, while people were displaced, discomforted and/or delayed, no one was hurt here (that I’m aware of). Residents relocated to area hotels with generators to keep warm, moved food from their refrigerators to neighbors’ with power, and relied on area Wi-Fi hotspots to connect to the internet.
Now that we are getting back to normal finally, what did we learn about this highly unanticipated and unwelcome snowfall in October? Mind you, this all occurred right before the Early Action/Early Decision deadlines for most colleges! Here is some of what we learned:
- Give yourself some time with the deadlines. Try to be finished at least 1 week ahead – after all, you never know when a freak snowstorm will hit!
- Be organized. In case you need to leave your home in a hurry, or just need to pack up to go to the library, it’s always easier to have all of your materials in one designated place. If you’re preparing for the SAT or ACT, keep your registration ticket, pencils, calculator and study guides in one pile. Creating your college list? Another pile!
- Have back-ups! Your personal essay should be on at least two different computers, or the cloud. If something should happen to your laptop, like your little sister spilling water on it, you don’t want to lose all of your hard work.
- Be flexible. If a natural disaster happens, realize that it’s most important to make sure your family is safe. As soon as you are able, contact the “powers that be” to see if anything can be rescheduled. For example, last spring when New Jersey was suffering with flooding, the ACT was postponed for a couple of weeks. Remember, if Mother Nature has impacted your ability to travel, many others are probably in the same boat and accommodations may be made.
What other tricks have you used to handle bad weather? We’d love to hear from you!
Top-Tier Closed Today & Tomorrow
November 1, 2011
Due to clean up from the storm damage in and around West Orange, Top-Tier remains closed today (11/1) and tomorrow (11/2). We hope to reopen on Thursday, but will keep you posted!
The Rise Of The Wait List (Part II)
October 31, 2011
In our previous post, we reviewed some startling statistics regarding colleges’ increasing use of Wait Lists and offered possible reasons for their increase. In this post, we are going to explore what happens to students who receive a “maybe.” To read Part I in this series, click here.
“Wait lists are becoming the Wild West of the admissions process,” said John Talmage, director of college counseling at St. Paul’s School in Maryland, who recently brought a resolution regarding Wait Lists before the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), as reported in Inside Higher Ed. “There are basically no rules there,” Mr. Talmage is reported as saying.
Exactly what is happening when students are placed on a Wait List? What prompted Mr. Talmage to bring the resolution to the NACAC? Inside Higher Ed reports that he said he was motivated to bring forward the resolution after an incident involving one of the students he counseled. The student was placed on the wait list at his first-choice college, and told in May that the university would no longer accept anyone from the wait list. Consequently, the student accepted an offer from another college – only to get a call from his first choice at 9:30 a.m. one day in June, telling him he had until noon that day to make a decision. Such impossibly short deadlines are not uncommon when a student is accepted off a Wait List.
In other cases, students are admitted off several wait lists in succession, losing enrollment deposits at each successive institution. Sometimes the stories involve institutions pumping up their yield numbers by placing a large number of students on wait lists and then only selecting students they know will enroll. Other times they revolve around need-blind institutions no longer ignoring need once they start accepting from the Wait List.
NACAC’s Assembly voted for a formal study, which will promulgate Best Practices. The results of the study are expected to be delivered in October 2012.
In the meantime, what is an applicant and family to do when a college says “maybe”? Mike Rivera, co-founder and college counselor here at Top-Tier, recommends the following:
- Decide Whether You Want To Remain On The Wait List. You have the option of declining to stay on the Wait List. If the school is not your #1 college, Mike recommends against staying on it. “If the college is not your first choice, take yourself out of the competition to allow a possible slot for a student for whom the college is their dream school,” he says.
- Go Over Your Notes – Or Revisit – The College(s) At Which You Were Accepted. Try to put your wait-listed college out of your mind, and take another look at the universities that said “yes” to you. Revisit the campus, talk with students, review the course offerings. You may be surprised that you no longer are interested in a school that thinks of you as a “maybe.”
- Review Deposit Guidelines. If you choose to stay on the wait list, make a back-up plan. Select a college that accepted you, at which you will be happy to attend, and review their deposit guidelines. If you change your mind and decide not to go there, what is their refund policy? How much tuition will be forfeited after a certain date? After all, college is a financial commitment too. If your family will lose $10,000 after June 15th, then decide that if you don’t hear back from your “maybe” school by that date, that you will remove yourself from the Wait List and end your torture.
- Put Your Best Foot Forward. If you decide to stay on the wait list, you should contact the Admissions Department to find out if and how high you are ranked on it. Also, find out if any conditions are attached, such as reduced financial aid or campus housing. Consider writing a letter to the Admissions Officer explaining why you are a good fit for the school, what courses are of interest to you, and outlining anything that may have occurred post-application (i.e., you received an award). Request an interview, which will give you the opportunity to shine in person.
- There’s Always The Transfer Option. Just because you decide that your “maybe” school isn’t right for you, that doesn’t mean that you cannot reapply after your freshman year in college, if you still want to go there. By declining a Wait List position, you are not closing the door on the college forever. However, be prepared that you may fall in love with your college and not look back!
What are your stories about being Wait Listed? How did you handle it? We’d love to hear from you!
Top-Tier Remains Closed Today
October 31, 2011
As a result of the Halloween Blizzard, Top-Tier remains closed today. Emergency crews are working hard to remove tree limbs and to restore power to the people affected in West Orange, Verona, Roseland, the Caldwells and surrounding areas. Be safe and warm out there!
Top-Tier Closed Today
October 30, 2011
Top-Tier will be closed today, Sunday, October 30th due to the Snow Emergency declared in West Orange. Your tutor/counselor will contact you to reschedule your session. We will reopen.as soon as possible.
Please be safe and warm!
