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It's College Decision Time!

Saturday April 30, 2011
The whole college admissions process has led up to this week. For most accepted applicants, May 1st or May 2nd represents the final opportunity to accept or reject an offer of admission. For students who were lucky enough to receive more than one acceptance letter, the decision is often a difficult one. Should you go where you feel most comfortable? Should you choose the school with the greatest name recognition? Or perhaps the college that offered the best financial aid?

In the poll to the left, let us know what factor mattered most when you made your decision. If you chose a college for a reason not listed, please share your decision-making process by using the comment link below.

"Tell Me About Yourself" - A Simple Interview Question?

Wednesday April 27, 2011

Your college interviewer wants to have a pleasant and meaningful conversation with you, so she or he is going to ask you some softball questions to get the dialogue rolling. One of the most common?--"Tell me about yourself." This question is not one that should raise your blood pressure. After all, if there's one topic you know something about, hopefully it's yourself.

That said, you want to make sure you're prepared to talk about yourself. Some responses are much better than others. You don't want to list the accomplishments on your resume (let your resume do that), and you don't want to come across as a braggart. You will also want to steer away from predictable and generic answers like "I'm a hard worker" and "I'm very responsible." Is the most interesting thing your friends would say about you that you're a hard worker? Let's hope not.

If asked to tell your interviewer about yourself, try to get at the personality traits and quirks that truly make you you. Most applicants to selective colleges are hard working and responsible. What makes you different from all those other applicants? For more on this particular question, read these college interview tips.

More College Interview Articles:

April 9th ACT Scores Available Monday

Sunday April 24, 2011
If you took the ACT on April 9th, scores are available on the ACT website beginning April 25th. If you took the ACT Plus Writing, you can expect the score on the writing section to appear about two weeks later. (Each essay gets evaluated by two trained readers, so essay scoring is a much more time-intensive process than the multiple choice section.)

Realize that low scores don't need to be the end of your college dreams. There are now over 800 test-optional colleges, and even at schools that require the SAT or ACT, the exam is just one part of the application. The admissions officers at selective colleges will also be looking for a winning essay, meaningful extracurricular activities, demonstration of your interest, and good letters of recommendation. Most important of all is a strong academic record.

Also, juniors still have plenty of time to beef up their test-taking skills and retake the exam in the fall of their senior year. Retaking the exam doesn't always result in a better score, but students with a disciplined study strategy will often see improvement (read more: When should I take the ACT?)

If you're wondering what your ACT numbers mean, read this overview of ACT scores. To see how your scores measure up to the middle 50% of matriculated students at different colleges, check out these comparison charts:

Top Tennessee Colleges and Universities

Saturday April 23, 2011
Tennessee's best colleges and universities vary widely in size and mission. My top picks for the state range from a large public university to an elite private university to a small historically black university. Of course Vanderbilt made the list (it consistently ranks as one of the country's best universities). Some of the other colleges may be less familiar to many readers. See my list of the top 11 Tennessee colleges to see who made the cut. The schools were chosen based on factors such as academic reputation, curricular innovations, first-year retention rates, six-year graduation rates, selectivity, financial aid and student engagement.
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Zeamays / Wikimedia Commons

To get a partial sense of what it takes to get into these top Tennessee colleges, I've created side-by-side comparison charts of the SAT scores and ACT scores for the middle 50% of matriculated students.

If there are other Tennessee colleges that you think deserve to be on the list, share your recommendations below. Always remember that the "best" college for your interests, goals and personality may have little to do with my own selection criteria.

More Top Picks by State:

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