INTERVIEW: How to Prepare for a Career in Computer Science, from an Amazon Employee

Computer science has been one of the most popular majors across colleges in recent years. If you're interested in studying it, what experiences should you think about in high school and college? How do you know which specific fields of computer science are right for you? As part of College Matters' Student to Student series, we interviewed our former student Vikram to talk about his path from high school to getting a job at Amazon after college.

*NOTE: Vikram’s experience of easily transferring into a computer science major isn’t universal. Please understand that schools will approach this on a case-by-case basis.

Helpful Steps to Improve Your Test (and Other) Performances

We often listen to students say they are particularly anxious for important exams, games, or performances. While performance coach Dr. Ben Bernstein says some anxiousness can be beneficial for people to perform their best, being overanxious can have a significant impact on performance even when a person is totally capable of doing well.

According to Bernstein, you should think of your performance as a three-legged stool. He calls these legs the Pillars for Performance. When one leg is unstable, the whole stool becomes unstable. When all three legs are working, the stool (your performance) becomes very sturdy. The first pillar is being Calm. Have you ever noticed when you’re stressed that you get shortness of breath or even forget to keep breathing? This is your body going into fight, flight, or freeze mode. Bernstein says consistent and deliberate breathing during a performance is one of the easiest ways students can stay calm. Students should also stay grounded. Have your feet connected to the floor and let gravity push you down. We tend to tense up our bodies and our shoulders when we’re stressed instead of relaxing and staying grounded. The third way to stay calm is to do what Bernstein calls sensing. Let your eyes rest for a few seconds. Engage your other senses. You should always be using at least two of your senses so that you can tune out of your head and tune into where you are.

His second pillar is Confidence. To be confident, you first need to confide in yourself. Be honest with yourself—what is it that you’re truly feeling negative about in relation to this performance? Once your problem is out in the open, it’s time to squash your doubt. Reflect and state a true positive success that you’ve had in this area. For example, if you’re taking the SAT and feeling anxious about a particular math section, reflect on a time where you worked on these exact same problems and were successful. If you did it then, you can do it now. Now that you know you can do it, envision in your mind the small steps you’ll need to take to go from a negative state to a positive state. Envision yourself being successful and that will breed confidence.

Bernstein’s third pillar is Focus. To focus, you should have a goal or target. This goal should be yours and no one else’s. Why are you doing what you’re doing right now? What are potential distractions on the way to this goal? Envision yourself trying to reach your goal with those distractions. Ask yourself, will those distractions help you reach your goal? The answer is always no. Then stop the distractions right then and there and start listening to the voice inside you that will tell you exactly what you need to do to get on track. See yourself listening to those directions. Push yourself to take those directions that you know are good for you.

So there you have it. The three Pillars for Performance are Calm, Confidence, and Focus. If you’ve done the proper practice and preparation leading up to your performance, you can perform up to your potential. This means not only doing the practice problems/exercises/run-throughs but also practicing these three pillars again and again so it becomes natural in crunch time. These strategies can certainly help in many areas outside of testing and games to help us feel better. Remember it’s good to be a little anxious. It means you care about what you’re doing. When it gets to be too much, make sure you’re aware of that and use Bernstein’s tools to get on the right track.

INTERVIEW: What You Should Know Before Considering a Music Conservatory

How much should I practice my instrument? What groups should I join to prepare for the next level? Is a conservatory too much for me? As part of our Student to Student series, we interviewed our former student Carson to talk about his experience as a music conservatory student.

INTERVIEW: Considering Playing a College Sport? Watch to See If It's Right For You!

High school students considering a college sport often overlook all that goes into it: recruitment, time commitment, school fit, and level of play. As part of our Student to Student series, we interviewed our former student-athlete Kaitlin to help you figure out if college sports is right for you and how to differentiate yourself from other recruits.

College Matters Class of 2021 College Acceptances

We are so proud of all our students in the Class of 2021! Here is where our students have been admitted so far.

Adelphi University

American University

Arizona State University

Bard College Barnard College

Boston College

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Brandeis University

Brown University

Bucknell University

Carleton University

Case Wester Reserve University

Catholic University of America

Central Connecticut State University

Clark University

Clarkson University

Clemson University

Coastal Carolina University

Colgate University

College of the Holy Cross

Colorado School of Mines

Colorado State University

Columbia University

Connecticut College

Cornell University

Curry College

Dean College

Dickinson College

Drew University

Drexel University

East Carolina University

Eastern Connecticut State University

Elon University

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach

Emory University

Endicott College

Fairfield University

Fashion Institute of Technology

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Institute of Technology

Fordham University

Franklin and Marshall College

Furman University

George Mason University

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Georgia Southern University

Gettysburg College

Goucher College

Grinnell College

Harvard University

Haverford College

Hobart William Smith Colleges

Hofstra University

Illinois Institute of Technology

Indiana University-Bloomington

Iona College

Ithaca College

James Madison University

Keene State College

Lafayette College

Lasell University

Lehigh University

Loyola University Maryland

Macalester College

Marist College 

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Merrimack College

Miami University-Oxford

Michigan State University

Middlebury College

Muhlenberg College

Nazareth College

New York University

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Oberlin College

Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg

Pennsylvania State University-University Park

Plymouth State University

Providence College

Quinnipiac University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Ringling College of Art and Design

Rochester Institute of Technology

Roger Williams University

Rutgers University

Sacred Heart University

Saint Joseph’s University

Salve Regina University

Sarah Lawrence College

Siena College

Skidmore College

Smith College

Southern Connecticut State University

Stanford University

Stony Brook University

SUNY at Geneseo

Syracuse University

Temple University

The University of Tampa

The University of Tennessee

Tufts University

Tulane University

Union College

University at Buffalo

University of Arizona

University of British Columbia (Canada)

University of California-Los Angeles

University of California-Santa Barbara

University of Colorado-Boulder

University of Delaware

University of Denver

University of Edinburgh (UK)

University of Exeter (UK)

University of Georgia

University of Greenwich (UK)

University of Hartford

University of Maine

University of Maryland-College Park

University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Miami

University of New Hampshire

University of New Haven

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of North Carolina-Wilmington

University of Notre Dame

University of Oregon

University of Pittsburgh

University of Rhode Island

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

University of Saint Joseph

University of Scranton

University of South Carolina-Columbia

University of St Andrews (UK)

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

University of Waterloo (Canada)

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Villanova University

Wagner College

Wesleyan University

West Virginia University

Western Connecticut State University

Western New England University

Wheaton College-Massachusetts

Widener University

Wofford College

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Yale University

Yeshiva University

How I'll Choose My Next Doctor

She sees the future.

This past week I talked with two young women about their college choices. Both have worked extremely hard in high school and achieved great things. Both have been recognized for their achievements with some amazing college acceptances. And both are committed to becoming doctors.

I believe that both will achieve that dream, and I'm hopeful that they will, because they will be the type of doctors that I want to take care of me in the future! Let me explain...

I work with a lot of students that apply to medical school. Many make it in, while others pivot to another health care field. And the reason that they pivot is that they didn't think ahead. You see, the most critical components of a successful med school application are undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores. Without those, your application simply won't move forward. But that’s just the beginning. Med schools love to see research, excellent recommendations, and relevant clinical experience as well -- after all, medicine is a caring profession (or should be).

So what did these young women do to elicit my desire to have them for my doctors in the future? They saw the bigger picture.

They've chosen to attend not the college that is highest in the rankings or that all of their friends drool over, but the school where they will have the most opportunities. The school where they won't just be in the middle of the pack in Organic Chemistry, but where they will ace it. The school where their professors will throw research opportunities at them and most likely will swoon over them in a recommendation. Where they will most likely get a strong committee letter and the full support of their pre-med advisor. Where they will still be challenged but not overwhelmed.

You see, I want my future doctor to be able to step back and see the bigger picture. To plan ahead and be thoughtful. To not be distracted by the "shiny thing," but know what is most efficient and effective. And to care and be committed. Get ready med schools; I've got two gems coming your way.

How to Succeed in College and in Life, According to a Communications Professor

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Ever visualize yourself as the next Mindy Kaling, Martin Scorsese, or Trevor Noah? If you’re fascinated with podcasts, TV shows, film, journalism, or design, a communications school might be right for you. We caught up with Professor Anthony Adornato to give communications (and really all) students an idea of how they should be spending their time in college. Adornato is an associate professor at Ithaca College who teaches on social media and broadcasting. Adornato has also taught classes at Syracuse University and Utica College.

When asked about his most successful students, Adornato answered that it’s usually the ones who make the most of the school's opportunities. No one is going to tell you precisely what you should do, he said. Students need to be hungry and passionate to do work independently and, most importantly, be innovative. Technology allows students to create their own projects easily. However, he did warn that some students try to chase every opportunity that comes their way, which causes them to spread themselves too thin. He advised that students go deeper into the projects they’re passionate about and make sure those are excellent before moving onto something else. 

His advice for students was to try to find their passion and spend time dabbling in activities they've never tried before. Follow what you feel good about and if it’s not working after a while, start pivoting. He emphasized the importance of producing actual content to demonstrate learning and show off creativity.

Based on his observations, the students who are most likely to get a job out of college are ones that build relationships through their internships. Particularly with communications, they do a good job branding themselves through creating personal websites and having an industry-related social media account. They’re sharing relevant content before they even become professionals.

Waitlisted! Now What?

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Welcome to the waitlist, the No Man’s Land of college admissions.  Unlike waiting in line at the deli counter clutching your ticket with 93 printed on it and realizing that they are currently serving number 89, the waitlist in college admissions works differently.  There is no order or ranking of students on the list, so contacting admissions to ask where you are on the waitlist is not a productive use of your time.  The waitlist is an enrollment management tool used to help a college or university meet its enrollment objectives.  Colleges look at prior yield rates, the percentage of accepted students who actually enroll, when admitting students.  For example, if a college has a yield rate of 20% and wants a class of 1,000 students, it will accept 5,000 applicants.  If the actual yield is lower than predicted, the college will utilize the waitlist to shore-up its freshmen class.  As an enrollment management tool, the waitlist is also used to shape the class.  If the university wants to expand an academic major, add geographic, socio-economic, ethnic or racial diversity, or increase the trumpet section of the marching band, they will pull students off the waitlist to meet their needs.  Although a student’s probability of getting admitted off the waitlist is unpredictable, we do have this happen to students every year.

 If you happen to be waitlisted, we offer the following advice.  First, make sure that you put an enrollment deposit down at a college to which you were admitted.  This is critical.  Because you typically won’t come off the waitlist until after the May 1st deposit deadline, you will need to put an enrollment deposit down at another school to reserve your spot.  Second, follow the directions given to you by the school that waitlisted you.  Some schools want you to simply check a box on your student portal to indicate that you wish to remain on the waitlist and others want you to submit a letter of continued interest.  Follow the directions!  If the college wants additional information, it is good to include any updates to your academic record or extracurricular curricular activities and why the colleges is a good match for you.  It should be brief and highlight new information that wasn’t included in your initial application.  Finally, don’t be a nuisance to admissions.  Reaching out to your regional admissions representative once is fine, but multiple calls, emails, and fancy chocolates won’t improve your chances.  With an overall increase in applications this application cycle, we do anticipate more movement on waitlists this year, so if you happen to be one of the lucky ones, congratulations!  

Our Response to the "Varsity Blues" Scandal

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Recently, the “Varsity Blues” scandal has resurfaced in the news as Netflix promotes its docudrama about the college admissions scandal that resulted in over 50 arrests.  All of us at College Matters are keenly aware of how this scandal has further tainted college admissions and how it highlights the competition and anxiety surrounding admission to highly selective institutions.

We would like to reassure our clients and prospective clients that we adhere to the strictest ethical standards and best practices within our profession.  All four independent educational consultants at College Matters are members in good standing of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), one of the most well-respected national organizations that work to uphold these standards. 

Below is a link to the statement published by IECA in response to the new Netflix program, “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal.”  We urge you to read this statement to gain insight into our longstanding commitment to address each student and family’s needs and goals and to identify the student’s authentic talents, abilities, and interests to guide them to colleges where they will thrive.  We are committed to IECA’s Principles of Good Practice which bring professionalism, expertise, and competence to the process. 

https://www.iecaonline.com/ieca-responds-to-netflix-varsity-blues-docudrama-and-anxiety-permeating-the-college-admissions-process/

INTERVIEW: How You Can (and Maybe Should) Plan BEYOND College

High school students often overlook how their college choices will impact their future finances and plans. As part of College Matters' Student to Student series, we interviewed our former student Cale to talk about how he was able to plan these things ahead in high school.