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VOL.42 NO.2 • Sacramento Country Day School • 2636 Latham Drive, Sacramento • October 30, 2018
Over half of seniors apply early to top universities
GETTING PERSONAL Senior Yelin Mao and college counselor Jane Bauman revise Mao’s personal statement. The Common App requires students to submit a 650-word-limit personal statement in response to one of seven prompts. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE CHAO
E
veryone wants to get into the college of their dreams - and it seems like applying early decision (ED) or early action (EA) might be the easiest way in.
BY HÉLOÏSE SCHEP
And colleges are profiting off this mindset: The College Board states that approximately 450 colleges offer ED and/or EA plans. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s State of College Admissions Report for 2017, colleges saw a 15 percent increase in ED applicants and a 16 percent increase in admits. But numbers can be deceiving. The two most prevailing “early plans” are ED and EA. While both require students to apply earlier than regular decision deadlines, there are key differences, college counselor Chris Kuipers said. Students who apply ED/EA usually apply
on Nov. 1 and receive the college’s decision on Dec. 15. If accepted through EA, they can apply regular decision to other colleges, but ED plans are binding. A student who is accepted through ED must attend the college and withdraw all other applications. On the other hand, EA plans aren’t binding. Students receive an early response to their application but do not have to commit to the college until the normal reply date of May 1. And Country Day students are applying EA more and more. Of 32 seniors polled on Oct. 11, five said they were applying ED to colleges, and 21 said they were applying EA. Of those 21 students, 11 said they are applying EA to one college, two to four colleges and one to five colleges. Senior Kyra LaFitte is the one applying early to five colleges. “I applied to those five so I can find out if I actually got in earlier,” LaFitte said. “If I don’t
get in, I can apply to my backup schools.” Seniors Alex Rogawski and Nate Jakobs are both applying ED. Rogawski is applying ED to Brandeis and EA to the University of Minnesota, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Oregon, Florida University and the University of Maryland. He said he is applying ED because Brandeis is his top school, and his GPA is slightly lower than that of most applicants. “It’ll basically boost my chances, and I’m sure that I would go to the school if I got in anyways,” Rogawski said. Jakobs is applying ED to Pomona College and EA to the University of Colorado Boulder and potentially the University of Oregon and Loyola Marymount University. Unlike Rogawski, Jakobs said he chose to apply early to Pomona College because of his passion for baseball. Jakobs said he will also have a letter of rec-
Administration aims to strengthen school’s public image via strategic plan BY SANJANA ANAND After a year of both committee and all-school meetings, Country Day has released its strategic plan to the community and general public. The strategic plan sets out guidelines and goals for the next five years. It covers a variety of areas, such as academics, community outreach, economic growth and physical expansion. The planning committee, which includes head of school Lee Thomsen, head of high school Brooke Wells, teachers and administrators, works together to improve Country Day’s collaborative environment, according to head of community outreach committee Christy Vail. Thomsen said the school tries to improve in three ways: “innovating students’ learning experiences,
partnering with the community and positioning Country Day as a valued school.” These rules set specific guidelines that improve the school’s environment. Director of advancement Rachelle Doyle said the committee is separated into three groups based on the three rules. Each group is focused on a different aspect of the overall goal and understands the problems. In the past, the committee has solved finance problems, fixed spacing issues and started more community events. Over the past year, parents, students, staff, alumni and consultants were contacted about their opinions on certain aspects of Country Day. They were asked about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the school, according to members of the commit-
tee. “Everyone likes to know that we have a plan for the next five years,” Wells said. “Instead of staying still, we continue to grow, so it is important to always have a general idea as to how our school will function.” Director of finance Bill Petchauer said that the committee is trying to raise the profile of Country Day and portray itself as a center of learning and leadership for students and adults. Solutions are being proposed, such as allowing adults to come to school and give seminars about education. Marketing firms are currently being contacted about modifying Country Day’s visual identity as well, which includes changing the school’s logo. Raising the profile of the school
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ommendation from the Pomona-Pitzer (combined team of Pomona and Pitzer College) baseball coach, Frank Pericolosi. “As an athlete, that’ll help my chances and demonstrate that I have a little more interest for the school,” Jakobs said. Like Rogawski, he also said he believed it would compensate for his lower grades and higher test scores. But is their logic correct? Director of college counseling Jane Bauman and college counselor Chris Kuipers didn’t fully agree with Rogawski. “It’s a great thing to do if you know where you want to go and find the school that’s really a good fit for you,” she said. But both agreed it isn’t for everyone. Kuipers, who was also an admissions officer for Stanford, said that as colleges are admitting students, they’re building their class, and they want students to “fill up” certain spaces if they have special skills. “Whether you have an athletic or a music talent, or if you have alumni legacy connection at a particular school, it can absolutely be advantageous to apply early because the college is locking you up,” he said. “It will probably give you a boost.” Another reason for students to apply early, Kuipers said, is if they are one of the “most qualified students” applying, although this benefit is marginal. But in general, he said, the higher acceptance rate is not because colleges are lowering their standards. It’s because, despite recent raises in the number of ED and EA applicants, there are fewer people applying early than regular decision. And those who are applying are often those who have a “hook,” like a legacy connection. “Colleges certainly are not lowering standards,” Kuipers said. “So if you aren’t particularly competitive for a particular college, your chances are not better.” But what Kuipers said he is seeing more often are students who are thinking that there’s an extreme advantage to applying early. Thus, they apply to their reach schools, where they might not have a hook. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” Kuipers said. “But I tell students that, almost always, if they’re questionably competitive, it doesn’t matter when they apply - they’re probably not going to get in.” “ED can be an advantage at the right school,
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Director of physical plant Jay Holman and maintence foreman Jason Norris rewire classrooms to install extra routers to speed up the school Wi-Fi. Read the full story on Wi-Fi at www.scdsoctagon.com. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE CHAO
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