Don't Trick Colleges

Each fall, as I sit down families to discuss college admissions and financial aid, I find a handful who have a developed a secret plan that will guarantee their college admissions or produce incredible savings in the cost of attendance. Despite the millions of applicants to American colleges, these families I’m meeting must be the first to think of this strategy and the whole idea must be fool-proof. Right? I’ve got news. Whatever it is, the colleges have seen it before and there are measures in place to prevent the process from being “gamed”.

On the admissions side, your academic record is what it is. Trying to elaborately shield blemishes on your transcript or cover up lower test scores aren’t going to do much for you in the long run. If you got a D in World History but a B in European History, those are two different courses and you got a D in one. If your freshman year was lousy, it’s still your freshman year even if it was at another high school, online, or in a homeschool setting. Don’t try to cover up these things and don’t ask a school official to cover them up for you. In all likelihood, the colleges are going to sniff these things out. I think students would do much to be open about their shortcomings and use them as an opportunity to expand on how they’ve learned from their mistakes.

From a testing standpoint, I always recommend sending all of scores to the colleges you’re interested in at the time of registration. I’ve never had a college tell me they are going to blacklist students that turn in poor scores before it’s time to submit an application. In other words, if you have the opportunity to send scores to a college when you register for your first test at the beginning of your junior year, go ahead. You don’t know what that score will be but colleges are probably going to see it eventually anyway. That’s kind of like using a fake picture if you’re online dating. Your date is going to see what you look like if and when you meet in person so what are you hiding from? You are who you are and representing someone different only leads to disappointment.

A key point that colleges reiterate to counselors is that they don’t like surprises. Colleges do not like to find out that a student is not who they represented themselves to be when they applied. With more and more self-reporting entering the college admissions process, it is increasingly based on the honor system. Colleges, do however research their students they admit and there are tools in place for them to find out who you really are. If you purposefully try to manipulate your past into something that doesn’t accurately represent your academic history, you’ll be found out. From there, what impression have you given the colleges? What incentive do they have to carry forward your admission rather than rescind it? Be honest with the colleges you’re applying to and no tricks for them this fall.