Chicago Scholars

The "Tyranny of Choice": Confronting the Wall of Colleges

We are delighted to welcome Will Dix as a monthly guest blogger. A former teacher and Amherst associate dean of admission, Dix is now Program Director at Chicago Scholars. Today, Will has some advice for students and parents as they contemplate the many -- too many? -- great options students have when choosing colleges.  And cautions against seeking just one to be your "Emerald City."

 

Once in a while at the grocery store I’m flummoxed by the varieties of toothpaste to choose from as I try to figure out which one is the best for me. Breath-freshening, whitening, plaque fighting, striped, mouthwash-containing? What do I really need? How are my gums this week? Should I get the whitening one even though it doesn’t have the mouthwash? What size? What brand? What permutation will give me perfect teeth? I start to feel queasy, realizing that any choice I make probably won’t be adequate, but also knowing that, really, it doesn’t matter: all toothpaste has fluoride, all of it will clean my teeth, and whether it’s minty cinnamon or cinnamon-y mint, it’s pretty much the same.

 

Chicago Scholars Onsite Admissions Forum

College Admission was privileged to attend the Onsite Admissions Forum and Luncheon today for Chicago Scholars. At the Forum on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago, 525 under-resourced and first-generation students met with 80 selective colleges -- from Albion and Amherst  to Western Illinois University and Williams College. (See the full list of schools here.)These 80 colleges accept and read applications from the students who are Chicago Scholars well before traditional deadlines.  So at today's Forum, many of these colleges came ready -- after interviewing the applicants -- to make their offers of admission and award scholarships. Those colleges that did not offer decisions provide "early read" advice to the Scholars so they can improve their applications. This afternoon, almost 90% of the attendees received at least one offer of admission -- and a total of $11.4 million in scholarship monies.

Counselors of the Month: Marybeth Kravets and Imy Wax, Authors

Our Counselors of the Month for August are widely respected professionals in the world of college counseling and educational consulting -- though not high school college counselors per se.  Marybeth Kravets is Chief Education Officer for Chicago Scholars, a not-for-profit serving high-need college-bound students; previously she was the college counselor for Illinois' Deerfield High School for 31 years. Imy Wax is a licensed psychotherapist and educational consultant currently in private family practice.