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College Admissions Strategies Article 1, January 2025

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College Admissions Strategies, Article 1, January 2025

By: Mary Miele, Education Consultant, Founder of Evolved Education Company

As a certified college counselor and seasoned school placement advisor with years of experience supporting families in New York City and beyond, I want to take a moment to connect with you—parents of 8th through 11th graders—about the path ahead in the college admissions journey. Things have been incredibly busy here, and through my research, conversations with admissions personnel, high school counselors, and college students, I’ve gained key insights that I’d like to share to help you and your child navigate this transformative time.

The Foundation: Developing Introspection

The cornerstone of any successful college journey begins with introspection. This is the ability for a student to step back, reflect, and understand who they are—what they love, what drives them, and what challenges them. Encourage your child to explore these questions deeply:

  • What lights them up?
  • What problems in the world bother them, and how might they work toward solutions?

Introspection is not just a tool for building a strong college application—it’s a skill that prepares students for the independence required in higher education. College isn’t just about academics; it’s about self-discovery, resilience, and the ability to navigate challenges in a new environment.

To help students understand themselves, I offer our College Starter Series which includes assessments which I was trained to administer at the UCLA program where I trained for three years to be a certified college counselor. I encourage you to sign up for this service here

The Importance of Independence

As you look ahead, consider how well your child is prepared for the independence that college requires. This includes managing their academic workload, navigating social dynamics, and handling differences in lifestyle, values, or resources. Many students face these challenges unprepared because they haven’t been exposed to independence earlier in their educational journey.

Here are a few ways to foster independence now:

  1. Time Management Skills: Encourage your child to use planners, set priorities, and manage deadlines without constant reminders.
  2. Problem-Solving Abilities: Let your child grapple with challenges instead of stepping in immediately to resolve issues for them.
  3. Social Awareness: Expose them to diverse environments and perspectives to build empathy and adaptability.
To help your student to develop these kinds of skills, we can have one of our specialized tutors meet with your student to build skills. Please email amy@evolveded.com to set up private tutoring for your student.
 

Encouraging Self-Reflection in the College Search

In my work, I guide students to think critically about their future college experience. This isn’t just about selecting schools that “look good on paper.” It’s about finding an environment where they’ll thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. I always ask:

  • What type of environment makes you feel excited to learn?
  • What communities or activities will help you grow outside of the classroom?

The answers to these questions help create a personalized college list that aligns with the student’s authentic self, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

A Word on Competitors and Educational Trends

 

In studying the approaches of other agencies and companies, I’ve seen a few notable trends that are in juxtaposition to the values I hold for students – because I always want to see them learning and living well. Some of these practices include: a focus on over mock testing students with too many exams or inaccurate exams, tutoring and test preparation provided by well meaning but not at all trained educators – who inadvertently “program” instead of “teach” students key skills and strategies, and a focus on working with admissions professionals who have had experience working in admissions offices, not in roles that have trained them to work with students through a competitive and developmental process, requiring them to assess students and guide them through nuanced admissions and student development processes. All of this is important as a consumer to realize as parents often want to access services and opportunities to our students to position them at their best and for admissions into selective and prestigious programs. However, when we do this in such a way that compromises the connection to the student and their development and evolution – we ultimately set them up for failure within the very selective and prestigious institutions we worked toward – for the work can be done at the expense of the student’s individuality and well-being. At Evolved Education Company, we focus on the whole child—not just their grades or test scores, but their passions, challenges, and long-term goals.

I was reading a poem given to me by my child’s college counselor and it sums up what I wish for every student I work with to actualize on this college admissions journey:

Fall in Love (often attributed to Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ 1907-1991)

Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.

 

Parents, I invite you to prioritize understanding your child’s loves deeply and holistically – what is it in their worlds that they have fallen in love with? What does that tell us about their future educational plans?  When we focus the process on the student and what they need to develop in order to become the student who thrives in ___ school, we create a meaningful journey of growth, not just a checklist of tasks.

Preparing for the Future

As you guide your child through high school and toward college, here’s what you can do now:

  1. Foster Self-Discovery: Provide opportunities for your child to explore interests, take on leadership roles, and reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully you have seen my pre-college workshop! If not, email me and I can arrange for you to get access to it! 
  2. Discuss the Realities of College Life: Talk openly about potential challenges they may face in college especially with regard to executive functioning and social/emotional/physical well-being—roommate dynamics, financial differences, and balancing academic and social responsibilities.
  3. Encourage Open Communication: Make sure your child feels comfortable discussing their feelings, fears, and aspirations with you or a trusted mentor.  My latest podcast with Jenn Wert has a lot of ideas for you on this topic!

Looking Ahead

My hope for every student is that they enter college not just ready to succeed academically, but equipped to grow into independent, thoughtful, and resilient adults. As parents, your role in this process is vital—providing guidance, space for exploration, and support when needed.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure of where to start, I encourage you to reach out for guidance. Together, we can ensure that your child’s journey to college is not only successful but also deeply fulfilling.

PS this is the first in. monthly series that I’ll be publishing with specific strategies that I find in my practice and study of the college landscape. What you can expect here is not only how to get INTO schools, but also how to LEARN WELL in them (and ways to plan toward that level of functioning). Please subscribe here so I may alert you of college admissions programming and the publication of these articles. 

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