What Makes a Strong College Application: AO Insights

Webinar Transcription

2024-11-19 – What Makes a Strong College Application: AO Insights

Lonnie: Hello, everyone. Welcome to CollegeAdvisors Webinar, “What Makes a Strong College Application: an Admission Officer’s Insight.” To orient everyone with the webinar timing, we’re first going to begin with our presentation, and then we’ll have the opportunity to answer your questions in a live Q& A. You also can download the slides now by going to the handouts tab and clicking on download.

And as our presenter is sharing, um, you know, the information, if you want to go ahead and place your questions in the Q and A tab, feel free to do that and ask as many questions as you would like. So with that, we are now going to introduce our presenter.

Kane: Hi everyone. My name is Kane Willis. Um, I am entering, I think my 11th You’re in college, and this is the college counseling, which is pretty exciting.

A bit about my background. Um, you know, I used to work in admissions at Haverford College. It’s a small liberal arts college outside of Pennsylvania. Sorry, outside of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Um, I worked there for, you know, quite some time. I’ve also been, um, a dean of college counseling, um, and a upper school dean at a variety of independent schools, both in Los Angeles and New York City, which is quite exciting.

Um, and, uh, before that I was teaching, um, I taught science, which was really fun. I taught physics, chemistry, biology and marine science, um, and also was a college counselor in Hawaii, um, as well. Um, originally, and I, I got my, um, you know, degrees from both, um, Amherst college and Johns Hopkins University. Um, but it’s so nice to see everyone today.

Um, as much as I’m able to see, you know, given the kind of presentation, um, but, I will bring it, uh, back.

Lonnie: Yes, I love hearing about your background, like a really diverse range of experiences that you’ve had in the education field and also just throughout the United States. That’s really awesome. I’m from Los Angeles, so I loved hearing, I loved hearing that.

Um, so audience. So with that, we would love to know what grade you are in. Um, it allows us, you know, to find moments throughout our live presentations and maybe. speak directly to you. Um, and it just gives us a general sense of just like who’s with us this evening. So I am seeing the responses come in and I’m just curious.

Can like, how was your experience in Hawaii?

Kane: Oh, it was great. It was fun. Um, You know, if I was on Hawaii Island or the Big Island, um, I lived in Kailua Kona, um, and it was great. Um, you know, I was also doing a graduate degree at the same time, um, remotely in addition to teaching, in addition to doing another program, um, and it was, you know, such a different, I think, perspective.

I worked at a public school, um, it was, those students were really wonderful and really exciting, and I got to get to know them in such a profound way, both in and outside the classroom. Um, especially, you know, teaching marine science in Hawaii, that was very interesting and very fun. Um, fun fact, I actually majored in English and political science, but I originally started off in pre med as most people do.

Um, and so, you know, um, I’ve been around the block of it, but, you know, taught, um, you know, science in such, I think, a fascinating way. And that, you know, it really informed, I think, you know, how I build relationships with students.

Lonnie: That is so, so great. You have such a diverse experience. And yes, students, there are many that start off pre med and it’s okay.

It’s okay to change your major. It happens. More times than you would imagine. Okay. So with that cane, I just want to let you know who’s with us this evening. So we have about 50 percent of our live audience are in the 11th grade and then followed by that we have just a small percentage from eighth grade, ninth grade, 10th grade as well as 12th grade students.

So mostly 11th grade students, but equal representation. I mean, representation throughout all the great levels. Um, So with that, King, I am going to turn it over to you to begin sharing with us the components of the college application.

Kane: Yeah. Um, and so what components make up, you know, the, the college application.

And so, um, as opposed to, I think, sticking to what might be traditionally, um, you know, said about this, I decided to identify, I think the evaluation criteria to people that admissions officers are looking at. Right. And so this, this should give you kind of an insight into, um, you know, What components make up the college application, but also what components are evaluated within the context of that application, right?

Um, so the first piece is going to be a student’s academic achievement. What does that mean? So, um, academic achievement is a student’s achievement in their academics, right? Um, pretty straightforward, but more precisely, it means, um, the evaluation of a student’s curriculum. Right. Um, how rigorous it is. What courses have they taken?

Um, you know, what, what, what subject, um, what subject matter, um, has meant most of them in the context of other time for high school that’s identified through students taking more classes in a particular subject area compared to others. Um, it’s also identified through a student’s grades at the quality of those grades, um, and the trajectory of those grades, you know, um, what does that look like over time from, you know, You know, 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, um, or even if you’re taking, for example, enrollment classes, what does that, you know, look like as well?

Um, this is also, um, taking into context if a student has submitted, you know, some type of form of standardized testing, rather, um, you know, AP testing, um, SAT Testing, um, ACT Testing, etcetera. Um, those typically those are the components are going to make up your students academic achievement. Now, what’s important to understand is the academic achievement is only evaluated on the basis of just that academic achievement.

There is no context that is applied when evaluating students academic achievement rating. Right? Um, so, for example, um, so let’s say, um, you know, there was a time where you couldn’t make up a test. You got a certain grade, for example, in the course, right? Academic achievement does not. quantify, you know, that, um, that instant, it just quantifies strictly your curriculum, your grades, um, and your test scores and stuff and comes up with the rating as a result, right?

However, those things are taken into context in the following ratings. I’m going to be discussing, right? Um, but I’m going to, um, the next, I think, evaluation criteria, um, a student’s intellectual curiosity and a level of learning, I think, is also, you know, quite unvalued amongst, you know, admissions officers.

is across the country. Right? Um, how does that, um, you know, come out, you know, for, uh, how does it come out within a student’s application? Right? Um, there’s no one way. No, there’s no one place to point to actually, when thinking about this context, right? This can be found within a recommendation letter, right?

And, and a, um, you know, a teacher’s prose about a student and the quality, for example, of the questions they ask or how they go about it. You know, approaching the topic at hand. Um, it could be, uh, and it could come from a student’s own form of writing right in their essays, right? I can come from an interview, um, that a student has, you know, with an admissions officer, a student or alumni, right?

Um, all these aspects right in itself come out through a variety of different types of aspects, um, in the context of the application. And so, um, there isn’t one, there isn’t one place to point, but in itself, um, every, every aspect of the application Is a is an opportunity for a student’s level of learning or in such a curiosity to send out whether that is an extracurricular activity that a student is expanding upon, whether it’s through the grades and the content and the courses that they’ve taken all the way again to what teachers may think of you.

The next one is going to be a student’s academic potential, right? For example, Um, not everyone has, I think, the smoothest trajectory in, um, you know, their, their formative years, um, in high school, right? Some students, for example, would have transitioned maybe from a, from an, from an old school to a new school.

Um, some students may have, you know, I think matured academically, um, later on, um, because for example, maybe there was, um, you know, something that was preventing them from performing their best, um, that they didn’t know about that. Now that they do know about that, they were able to, um, you know, perform, um, you know, in their classes in a better way.

And so with that being said, um, that academic potential piece allows, I think, context to come out, um, and play in for, um, you know, a student in their, um, you know, college evaluation process, um, as it pertains to, I think, their academics, right? So, for example, um, you know, a one piece could be like, let’s say you did get like, you know, not the best grade in the class.

However, let’s say, um, over time, like, yeah, you may have, you know, started off with a legitimate F. But at the end of the at the end of the day, and at the end of the year, you actually had an A in that course, right? However, that might have averaged out to a C. But you know, for example, you know, through a recommendation from a teacher who articulate something like that, right?

That will show that like, Oh, yeah, I mean, the student did not start off very good, but now they’re like my best student, right? And so that C is informed by I think that pro those pros from that teacher recommendation, um, right, that that will allow, I think, for example, for a higher academic rating overall to be evaluated for that student as we look at, you know, Both, um, you know, academic achievement, um, and social curiosity and, um, academic potential in terms of the, uh, students, you know, academic qualities that they’ll bring to an institution.

Um, the next piece is going to be a student’s quality of writing, right? And so the quality of writing piece naturally is going to come from your essays and personal statement. Um, you know, that, that’s going to be, I think, naturally a very important point, um, you know, to, um, I think not only assessing your admissibility of an institution, but also it’s going to be about your ability to, I think, convey.

Um, who you are and what you care about, you know, to, uh, and allow them to, I think, find value in what you find value in, which I think is incredibly important communication is really understanding, um, you know, as soon as ability, I think, to, to work with others and how they collaborate, um, you know, in context with others in the concept and the concept of the classroom in the context of the extracurricular activities.

Um, in the context of, uh, and in the writing as well, communication comes out in so many aspects, you know, of the application. Um, and so, you know, whether that is coming from an extracurricular activity, whether it is coming from your own writing, whether it is, you know, um, you know, coming from a teacher, right, that discusses how you work with others and how you’re able to, you know, You know, both learn and teach in positive ways and contribute to the costume, culture and classroom environment.

Um, you know, communication is something that is valued. Um, the next piece is going to be citizenship, you know, community engagement and impact, right? Um, I think these are three key components when looking at a student’s, um, ability to, I think, come to your campus and not only have success both in the classroom, but also outside the classroom.

And so, um, with that being said, where we’re talking about citizenship, we’re talking about communication, we’re talking about impact. What are we talking about? Students passions, Right. Um, you know what students enjoy doing and how they’re engaging with others. Um, you know, in in a more formalized sense, right?

Um, whether that is a club or an organization and also the impact that they’re having on, you know, um, the community that surrounds them and, you know, their fellow students. Right. Um, and then the last. piece is going to be agency and initiative, right? Um, in some, um, you know, this, this is our students taking the opportunities, you know, that are placed before them are students creating opportunities for themselves when there are none, right?

You know, what is the driver of the student? Um, you know, and how active are they going to be in this community? And how are they going to, um, you know, make an impact beyond this community when they graduate? And so I think that, you know, looking at, um, you know, these, you know, um, variety of criteria, um, these I think are what, what is divided in the context of a college application.

When we’re looking at the different components of, Essays, transcript, GPA, all all, you know, all, you know, I think traditional aspects of any type of college application. Um, so what does the timeline typically look like, you know, for a student when they’re applying? Um, so typically, right? Um, standardized testing strategy, um, a long term planning, um, you know, happens, um, you know, in the context of 11th grade, um, and typically in the first semester, if you haven’t started, you know, um, planning for your kind of standardized test strategy, um, that’s totally fine in itself.

What’s important to understand is like you want, you want to be able to identify, you know, am I, what am I going to be, you know, submitting testing? Am I going to want to pursue this route, right? Are you a student who is going to thrive, you know, in a testing environment or not, right? How do I identify those pieces, right?

Um, take a practice exam, right? Um, take a practice exam grading, you know, how the exam graded, um, how the exam hosted in a place, um, by, you know, there’s so many different types of, you know, research is out there, whether it’s their online researches. There are many, um, you know, types of places like, you know, um, such as, you know, Sorry, such as, you know, the college board as well.

That will host, you know, you know, free examinations and free test on, you know, opportunities to allow students to kind of figure out where they’re scoring in itself. I wouldn’t necessarily let your first test be an indicator of exactly how you’re going to do on the SAT or ACT, but rather. let it inform, I think, in and of itself, um, your, your study habits, um, and giving actually a first test to go.

Um, after I think your first test, like if you’ve identified like, you know, the ACT or the SATs, and for me, that’s totally fine. And you want to go test optional, that, that, that, that I think is perfectly fine amongst, um, you know, a variety of different, um, admissions plans and, and, um, you know, admissions offices.

Um, and so from there, Um, you know, when I think about the kind of life cycle of the college admissions process, um, typically over, um, second semester of the 11th grade year, students are identifying, um, you know, and learning about different types of institutions and universities, um, right, what, what colleges are going to be a good fit for them and what aren’t, whether they’re going You know, bigger colleges, smaller colleges, you know, medium sized institutions.

And also, um, you know, giving, um, thought to what they might want to major or pursue academically at an institution. I think that that’s so important, right? Um, in and of itself, when we’re talking about, I think, um, you know, testing strategy, um, and we’re talking about, you know, admission strategy. It is so, so, so, so important to understand, I think, the context in which how a major is going to affect your admissions decisions at a specific institution and understanding the context of, you know, what is going to be a really competitive nature versus what is not going to be a really competitive measure in terms of admission to an institution.

Specifically, what does that mean? For example, right now, computer science is arguably if the most difficult, um, major to be admitted to at any institution in the country right now, right? There are institutions that might have like a 50 percent admit rate overall for their institution, but the computer science rate is like 3%, right?

Um, and so with that being said, it’s important to not only understand the context of what you want to pursue academically because you’re passionate about, but also understanding, um, you know, what does it mean to pursue Um, you know, my, my major, um, as a form of admission, right? Um, and, and what are my chances, um, with that, given that context?

Um, you know, from there, um, you know, over summer, basically, between your, you know, as you enter your junior, as you enter your senior year, excuse me, um, you’ll want to, um, ensure that you are, one, you know, doing your common application, filling out, Um, you know, all the basics, but also, you know, starting your personal statement, um, that you’re able to, um, you know, I think identify, you know, what parts about yourself, what part of your story that you want to share it with another, um, in the context of admissions, and also that you are, you know, finalizing your college list, um, and, you know, how does one do that?

I mean, you will go on tours, you’ll go on, you know, technical sessions at a variety of different colleges, um, whether you do that in person or online, um, is really going to be up to, you know, your, your ability to get somebody to Your ability to get to some of these institutions. Um, right. But in of itself, there’s so many different types of resources, um, that you can utilize.

So I think, you know, finalize your college list, um, and understand the context of, um, where eventually you’ll want to apply to college. Um, and then, of course, 12th grade in first semester, um, you’ll be writing your supplemental essays. If you did not start them over summer, of course, uh, so the ones that essays are specific questions to each individual college will be applying to, um, and then, um, you know, you’ll then, you know, complete your application.

Um, in its entirety, you’ll also be conducting things like interviews, for example. Um, and then you’ll also be completing all financial aid or scholarship applications. Um, as a part of, you know, kind of that, that application cycle. Um, typically they’re going to be, um, you know, three admissions decisions or three admission cycles.

Um, in that context of when you apply, you have early decision, early action. Early decision to and, um, early action as early action, which I just said, and you also have regular decision. And so, um, with that, with that being said, you apply to one ed school. If you choose to apply ed, you apply to one ed to school.

If you are applying a decision to, um, and then you can apply to as many as possible. Um, if you’re not applying to a restricted early action program, um, and then regular decision, regular decision, regular decision, and you just apply to as many schools as you’d like, uh, if not committed to a school early, um, for early decision or early decision to, um, and so from there, After you submit, um, students typically receive their admission decisions in December all the way up into April, depending, um, you know, on, um, you know, how they apply to each college.

For example, yesterday, one of my students found out they were admitted to Temple, um, uh, engineering, which is really exciting. Um, right. We’re still in November and they had applied, you know, over a month ago. Um, but it just depends, um, on the type of school you’re applying to. If you’re applying early decision, um, typically, uh, early decision deadlines are November 1st and November 15th, and those are going to come out basically by mid December sometime.

Um, if you’re applying early action, it depends on the content of the school. Like, for example, if you’re, if you’re, uh, talking about, like, New Michigan, University of Wisconsin, um, you know, uh, the big, you know, traditional state schools like that, um, the deadline is going to be, like, a hard November 1st, and they typically get back to you, uh, January 31st, and that, that’s very typical.

Some schools do a rolling admission and rolling decisions. Um, for example, you might apply to a school and it doesn’t matter when you apply. You always find out about three weeks later about your decision. So whether you apply in, um, August versus November versus January, it’s gonna go to the student. But rolling means that you’ll find out on a rolling basis.

So as soon as you apply, you’ll find out three to four weeks later after you apply. Um, so after you receive your decisions, um, you know, you will have to choose, um, one school, which is great to attend to, um, you know, uh, come, you know, the beginning of May. And I say beginning of May because typically, um, the, uh, reply date for schools has been May 1st.

Um, but that I think has shifted a bit, um, due to COVID, but, um, typically you’re going to be, uh, committing to an institution. Um, uh, during early May. Um, and that and you will also commit to the institution even if, for example, you’ve decided to stay on a wait list, um, at a, um, you know, college university, which is totally fine.

So you will admit you’ll you’ll accept your admissions decision, make a deposit at that school. And I say, even waitlisted at a different institution. And so you get off that way. I said, it’s fine. What you do is you just inform the school that you’re more than you would no longer be enrolling, and then you will then enroll at your new school.

Um, and so, uh, all exciting things when it comes to the timeline of the college admissions process. And so, um, you know, the question is, you know, what parts of the application carry the most weight? Um, if anyone likes to take a gander, please, by all means, you know, go ahead and feel free to, to chat, um, in itself.

And so for the most part, um, Um, every application is made up of very similar, if not the exact same components between, um, each and every single applicant that, um, applies to a college, right? Um, however, various aspects of a student’s, uh, uh, various aspects of a student’s application will take hold depending on the student’s strength and weaknesses, and depending on, um, each applicant in light of the college admissions, you know, um, processes and the institutional priorities that a college admissions has, the resources and the capacity.

What does that mean? And some basically, um, For college counselors, um, and for college admissions, the most important parts of the application are the parts that the student resonates the most with. Right. And there are the parts of the students identified side. There are the parts of the student has identified as being quote the most important part.

What does that look like? For example, there might be a student who’s a really gifted writer, right? And for and in itself, that’s going to be the that’s going to be the thing that the admissions officer, you know, You know, clamps onto and that becomes the most important part of that student’s application for another student.

They might be a really great, um, you know, community service, um, you know, participant and has done so much in terms of community service. And that might become the most important part, important aspect of that student’s application, right? It depends. There might be a recommendation, for example, that really stands out as a part of this application, and that might be that might become the most important part of a student’s application in itself.

Of every aspect of the college application. Is important, right? Are they equally important? It just depends on the context. And so I think this is a very, you know, complicated question to try to tackle because this take hold for each student in such different ways, even though there are so many similar and um, Every student has the same aspects of a college application.

Every student has a personal statement. Every student has a transcript. Every student has grades, right? It’s just going to be dependent on the narrative that you have chosen to create for that admissions office through those, um, same parts, um, of your application. And so with that being said, um, you know, in and of itself, not every student necessarily gets to choose what could become the most important part of the application.

Rather, um, when you’re looking at every component of the application, um, just take it as an opportunity to showcase. who you are in the best way that you can be. Um, right. And myself, just make sure that everything that you have in your college application has purpose behind it and intention. And that you’re able to, I think, utilize, um, you know, those pieces, you know, to, I think, be to be the most effective way to convey who you are and what you truly care about and have them see how much of an amazing fit you’re going to be when you apply to that institution.

Um, and so what is holistic review, right? Um, holistic admissions, um, in and of itself is understanding a student in the context of, um, their specific, uh, circumstances, right? Um, and so what does that mean exactly? Um, so say that you’re a student who is, who’s applying to a program, let’s say, I’m in engineering.

However, you haven’t been able to, um, have the opportunity to calculus, right? Because your student doesn’t have because I because your school doesn’t have calculus, for example, right? And if itself, right? A college is going to evaluate that student with that in mind. Like, oh, typically we admit student who do have calculus as a part of their transcript.

However, right? Looking at this student in particular, like that’s not even offered at the school and in itself, right? So let’s understand this in contact. Let’s understand how the students performing right now and with what they’re given and and and let’s take that into consideration where the research is that we have, you know, to support the student if we do admit them and come here, um, you know, to be an engineer, right?

And so holistic admissions is really kind of understanding the student in the context of their background and where they’re coming from, right? Um, and that’s gonna be a variety of different aspects. Like I said before, um, previously when talking about kind of academic range, academic structure, um, right?

Okay. It’s really about understanding again what what is happening here in this application and what is true to the students real lived experience right and utilizing that in context in order to render I think a adequate admissions decision for a student and so how can a student develop an application that showcases the strength and unique experiences, right?

Um, I’ve emphasized this already, but writing quality is I think is so incredibly important, regardless if you’re applying as a, um, you know, theater and arts major as a math. Um, you know, computer science major or, you know, an English major, um, writing is, is, is just as important, um, as for, for a math major as it is for an English major, right?

Um, the ability to, I think, adequately communicate, um, you know, everything that you have to offer in writing is just so important. So I cannot emphasize enough, um, that it is so important, I think, to have strong writing applications. Strong writing makes a difference. I will say that the most powerful applications that I’ve read.

Um, students have unique voice. It feels as if the actually it feels as if the students actually narrating the application for me when I’m reading the application. Like for me, that’s how I know a student has such quality writing because it’s like it’s just so powerful. It’s as if I’m watching a movie almost as I think, you know, read the student’s application.

It’s an incredible experience to have. And I think that admissions officers are able to experience that in many ways. But something to keep in mind. Um, and so, um, the next piece is having understanding of the whole application and understanding who is on your team or cast. What does that mean? Um, so, It’s important to understand that, um, the application has different parts and different components, right?

Um, and so, for example, um, you have to remember that they’re going to be able, like, the, um, administration officers are going to be able to see, I think, a variety of different aspects a part of your application as it pertains to, you know, kind of your specific circumstances, right? So, let’s say, um, you know, you are talking about, you know, being, um, like, I don’t know, an incredible, um, You know, an incredible, I don’t know, bassoonist or an incredible artist or incredible, um, you know, um, you know, student of math, right?

It’s important to understand that they’re going to be other aspects and other parts of application where that’s going to play out as well, right? And so students try to put so much into the writing, for example, and all the essays, right? And try to talk about all their achievements in the context of one supplement.

However, you have to remember that you also have an extracurricular activity section. You have, you know, recommended recommenders that support you throughout this process. There’s so many different types of aspects that are part of application that will, I think, tell a holistic and streamlined story. So remember that having an understanding of where different information is going to come out in your application is incredibly important.

Um, the next piece is, um, authentic and intrinsic engagement with colleges in itself. You want to make sure that you are engaging with colleges in an authentic way, right? That you are attending, I think, um, you know, the different types of information sessions you are attending school visits there. If they’re, um, you know, coming and visiting your high schools, you are interviewing with colleges that offer you the opportunity.

The next thing I like to say is kind of show your inner nerd. Um, so it’s important. I think what I mean by inner nerd, it means you show what you care about, show what you’re passionate about, show them what you truly love to do and why you love to do it. Um, I think that everyone, as I tell my students really has something to know that about whether it’s, you know, um, you know, his facts and history, whether it’s, um, about, um, you know, statistics in baseball or, um, you know, about, you know, a variety of different types of, you know, Um, you know, places they’ve attended, right?

Everyone has something they truly love and care about. And it’s important to show, I think, admissions officers, um, that side of you and not be afraid to, um, uh, I think, I think showcase your passion and what you truly enjoy. Um, and then, um, you know, the next aspect is continue to thrive in the classroom.

Do not let the college admissions process bog you down. I have seen students who have become overwhelmed. It is an overwhelming process, but they thrive. really allowed it to overwhelm themselves, which then affect their grades. But it’s important that in simultaneously with, you know, applying, you know, to colleges that you just continue to do what you’ve been doing.

If not, um, if not doing better than than you ever done in the classroom when it comes to the context of applying to college and your senior year.

Lonnie: All right. Thank you so much for sharing. So we’re going to just have a short pause so we can ask our second poll question. So we would like to know, oh, I don’t see the responses coming in. We’d like to know where you are in the college application process. So perhaps you haven’t started. Maybe you’re doing your research.

Maybe you’re getting an early start. You already started to think about your essay responses. Maybe you’re getting your application material together. Or for our seniors, perhaps you’re, you’re almost done. So let us know where you are. I

think we may be having some technical difficulties on that, but just want to reiterate that the application process doesn’t just begin when you are getting ready to be a senior. It starts as early as the beginning of your high school journey. And even sooner, if you really want to be ambitious and so even you being here.

During this webinar is just showing that you’re taking the steps to ensure that you have a strong college application. Eso with that cane, I’m going to turn it back over to you, uh, to share our second portion of the of the presentation,

Kane: of course. Um, and so, um, this part talks about personal statement specifically, um, and someone that says, and what you can do to make your essay stand out, right?

Um, my first thing I always have since do not stress about the essay topics. You’re not stressed about, um, the prompt that you’re given. So one important thing, one thing that’s important to remember is that no one’s going to come up with a topic or write about a topic that an admissions officer or an admissions officer has never heard of before.

They’ve probably read it all and heard it all, especially the deans of those, of those institutions. They’ve probably read every single type of essay, um, possible. But it’s important to remember. that they haven’t read about that topic coming from you specifically, and they haven’t read about it coming from your perspective.

And that’s what it’s important to remember in itself, right? And so, um, you’re looking at the person statement, what it is, what it isn’t on the personal statement is not a piece of writing that you’re supposed to, I think, really, that showcases your entire life. Um, it is not that, right? A lot of students believe it to be like, I need to tell them everything and it’s 650 words.

Like, your life is not 650 words. A year for you is not 650 words, right? Um, it’s important to understand that, that, you know, Um, you know, and identify just a part of yourself that you want to share, you know, with another person, right? Um, and so when, when I think about the personal statement and writing the personal statement, um, I think it’s important to just basically write, um, you know, and think about all the terms, for example, that this, that you would write down to describe yourself, like each and every single thing that you think of when it comes to you and your experiences, like write that down.

Um, right. And then I think of that list. You know, just, you know, figure out which are the most valuable to you and what you would like to share about others. And then once you probably have a group of three to five, um, characteristics, um, or, um, you know, just identify, identifiers, right? Um, start, I think, jotting down the, um, associations, memories, events that you have, you know, with those, um, variety of characteristics and terms, and then from there, Let that guide you, I think, to your personal statement topic, right?

Um, and make making sure that your essay really is about you, right? In of itself, right? There are so many things I think that happened to people in their lifetime, of course, right? Um, however, there are times where personal statements start to become about that thing or that or what that happened as opposed to the students, right?

And so ensuring that the emphasis is on you and what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown and what you’ve been able to identify. I think it’s just so critical and so important, you know, when it comes to your personal statement. Um, and then I think what’s also key about the personal statement is that, you know, admissions officers read applications, you know, in what, depending on the type of read they’re doing, there’s two types of, um, basically two types of ways to evaluate a student that admissions officers render, right?

There are, there’s a two reader based model and there’s a committee based model as well. Um, and so to read a model is basically there’s one person who is the application by themselves and another person who is the application by themselves, right? Those go into a bin and then the, um, uh, then the dean makes a decision and then they go to committee and then the committee makes a decision as opposed to a committee based evaluation where one person reads one half of the application.

The other person reads the other half of the application together. Once reading academic, once reading personal, they read those applicator, those read the application together and then they render decision from there. But, um. With that being said, um, you know, like when you’re looking at your personal statement, you should be able to, I think, identify and to see succinctly articulate, um, the main learning goals and takeaways from your application.

And sorry, from your personal statement in one to two sentences, because an administrative officer, when they’re reading your application, they are, like I said, they’re reading in about 25 minutes or about seven to eight minutes of doing community based evaluation. Um, and they’re just summing it up and basically in a sentence, right.

Um, and then they’re going to have pros. So what does that sentence you want that, uh, administrative officer to, to what do you want to have? Like, what does that sentence need? that you want them to take away with if you can’t be able to identify that sentence or articulate that sentence. Um, right. You have to make sure that you’re able to, right.

And then that means that you should be able to adjust your personal statement, which is the 650, uh, you know, to be able to, I think, you know, um, succinctly and, uh, and efficiently articulate the main takeaways and main learning goals. From your, um, person essay, um, with someone’s essays. Um, you know, I wrote here what not to do when writing someone’s essays in itself.

Um, you know, someone’s essays are hard, they’re much shorter essays, they’re difficult. Um, and, but it’s important to, I think, identify. you know, why you’re applying to that college, right? That might be obvious, but in itself, I, I’ve, to me, sometimes students, I don’t think know why they’re applying to a college.

I think sometimes they’re applying to a college because they’re applying to the college, right? Because it says a specific, you know, brand name, right? You should ask yourself why you’re applying to a college, because in itself, like, if you can’t write a unique and individual, someone’s essay, for each college you’re applying to and you are you’re copying and pasting, you know, different aspects of someone’s essay from one application to another.

That means that tells me you really don’t know why you’re applying to that college, right? Um, you need to be able to, I think, uniquely, um, you know, even if you’re, even if it’s like why computer science, right? Or why physics? Or why art? Or, um, you know, or, or why chemistry? Or, or why, you know, Um, I don’t know.

Anthropology at a specific school. And even though you’ve written that five times at different colleges, you should start again, right? And be writing a new supplemental essay again, because anthropology takes place and takes hold at that college very differently than those other four colleges. And so if you’re not able to identify that, it’s important to understand and identify that, right?

Um, and being able to articulate that succinctly is gonna get you admitted. I always say this. Um, so my students, um, you know, someone to ssd kids into college. Good, good writing. Get kids into college. Just remember that it’s very important. Um, how can students demonstrate their personal brand and stand out to the actual activities?

Um, right. So there’s a variety, I think, of assets that, you know, students, um, you know, can do to make them stand out. Um, right. Um, but, you know, before we kind of get into, I think what, you know, I think some of the main, you know, hard, I think messaging himself. We’re talking about soft messaging, you know, Students can demonstrate.

I think they’re the person or brand and helping and which will help them. I think stand out in there, you know, um, extra extra quick activity is really just showing. I think authentic engagement, right? I think in itself, people really worry about, you know, if what they’re doing is enough. I think that in of itself, everything that you’re doing is always enough as long as you’re doing it.

Because you love and enjoy doing it. You’re able to articulate why you’re doing it right. And so, um, when you’re talking about like accolades, when you’re talking about achievement, I’ve been to myself, that achievement is going to come. If you’re doing something you really enjoy doing, then achievement does not come when you really don’t enjoy what you’re doing.

Right. Um, because if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you’re not going to go the extra step, the extra mile, whatever, like, um, to, to, to, to get to where you need to be to show extraordinarily achievement. Right. Um, there, there are many ways that this can place out. Um, and I’m not talking about like, Oh yeah, because it’s.

student in China. So they have extraordinary achievement. That that is not what I’m talking about. Like, you know, achievement and extraordinary can be, um, you know, in your, in your local, in your local and school communities, for example, right? But as long as you’re engaging, I think, within the context of those communities and within the context of your quote, extracurricular activities in that, you know, um, with that level of authenticity and in, um, That authentic way you are going to achieve and demonstrate, um, that you are like a genius as well, um, regardless of of what you’re doing.

Um, I think that’s important to remember. Um, but when we’re talking about, you know, some of the more, and, and, and that’s gonna be indicated through again, through just through your application, through your extracurricular activities, through your own writing. Um, but when we’re talking about kind of the quote, the hard aspects of the way to I think showcase, um, you know, this others, the first thing is gonna be portfolios.

Um, you’re gonna be able to, you know, um, there are gonna be some, um. College that will allow you to submit, you know, portfolios about, you know, project work that you’ve done. Um, you know, stuff or work that you’ve done, you know, outside the classroom, um, art portfolios, athletic portfolios, um, engineering portfolios, right?

They’re going to be those opportunities, I think, to showcase, um, yourself in those ways that will, um, allow you, I think, to stand out in ways that you might not have, might not, could have, um, if you didn’t have that portfolio. So, Um, consistent messaging throughout the application throughout the file is gonna is also really important, right?

And so, for example, um, in and of itself, let’s say you really, like, are passionate about a particular subject, um, or a particular, um, you know, um, I don’t know, a particular, um, you know, subject matter, or you’re really passionate about, like, Habitat for Humanity, um, that consistent messaging is going to just, you know, Naturally happen throughout your application.

Why? Because it’s going to come up in your interview is going to come up in your extracurricular activity. Probably a teacher is going to mention it. It’s going to come up when you write about your supplements, right? So consistent messaging, it’s going to it’s going to be really natural. Like if you have to really try to have consistent messaging throughout your file, Like, that’s something that strikes me as inconsistent, right?

These are consistent messaging is like, yes, you’re passionate about this particular aspect of service or about, um, helping, um, you know, you know, uh, what is it? Uh, student literacy or, um, really passionate about, um, you know, building X for, you know, this type of community, um, in and of itself, right? That’s just going to happen, I think, naturally throughout your file.

Um, and so letting that happen naturally and being able to speak about, again, what you truly love and what you’re really passionate about. Um, that is what I think it’s gonna, I think, really helping demonstrate your brand because it’s just going to be there. It’s going to be an ever, it’s going to be ever present, um, because that is ever present in your life, right?

Um, and then also the other piece is like so many people, people focus on like kind of the achievement that they, that they have, but they never really focus on the impact that they have. their achievement has, right? And so, you know, when we’re talking about like achievement based approach versus an impact approach, I think that those are two different things, right?

Achievement. Great. Everyone can achieve, right? But what is the impact that you’re having on the community? Just because you’re able to achieve something, it doesn’t mean that that’s gonna have, you know, long lasting impact. Um, right. So, you know, what change has occurred as a result of your achievement?

That is what’s important. So just remember that Um, you know, when you’re thinking about extracurricular activities and quote, you know what you bring to the table, it’s really going to be about kind of, um, your legacy that you’ve had, I think, you know, um, participating or, um, or engaging or when you engage with a, you know, different type of, um, you know, community, um, et cetera.

And so, um, I think those are some of the aspects that are really important when I’m a student trying to demonstrate or send out, um, you know, in their extracurricular activities, um, just greatness and achievement. Um, what are the best practice for choosing recommenders and requesting that as a recommendation?

So, this, I mean, people, in the past, I think someone would have said choose a humanities and social science rec and then choose a STEM rec. I don’t necessarily think that’s the best practice. the best practice for every student. Um, you have to remember that the college application is yours, right? And you paint your narrative, right?

And so you should paint your narrative in the way that you want. So you should bring the recommenders who you want. Now, our best practice is choosing recommenders from your core academic, you know, subjects, right? I can say that is definitely a fact, right? Core active subjects being English, math, social studies.

Um, uh, English master studies, history. And, uh, foreign language, right? Those five are the core academic subjects, and your recommenders should be coming from those, sorry, those five academic subjects. So that’s, to me, very clear. But from there, I think it depends. For example, Let’s say that you’re an amazing math student, and I can see that you’re an amazing math student, like you have all the classes, you have the multivariable calculus, you have the linear algebra, you have all the A’s, right, you know, and all those classes, like you want to make sure you’re in math and that you’re, you know, that your S’s are about math, right, I can get that.

So it might be more interesting to like submit to humanities, social science recs, right, because that’s a different aspect of you. that I really don’t know about, you know, too much about. So it might be interesting to see, you know, your perspective from, you know, kind of a humanitarian perspective and from your, from your English teacher, as opposed to what I can probably already glean coming from your math teacher that you’re an incredible genius when it comes to math.

Um, or let’s say that, um, you know, you’ve had a great trajectory, but you struggled in the class. In particular, like you didn’t really do well, right? It might be interesting to get a recommendation from that teacher. Why? Because they can talk about, you know, where you started and where you ended, um, they can talk about, you know, the, um, you know, the adversity that you, that you overcame the, um, how you, how you interact with the curriculum before and after and, and, and the evolution you had in the class.

Right? And so just because you got, you didn’t get the best grade in the class doesn’t mean that’s a teacher you should shy from. Sometimes it might be best. to hear from the teacher themselves, um, and and hear their narrative and understand that course in context. Um, in order to, I think, you know, um, show it actually.

Oh, wow. Okay, great. So it was just like this kind of first, you know, uh, quarter that affect us too. But and and the student like really blossomed actually in this class. And you can see that their achievement has only continue to grow because you can see that they’re not taking a similar course in the academic subject and doing quite well.

Um, in that course now, right? And so, um, you know, when we’re talking about, you know, best practice for choosing recommenders, of course, naturally choose who the teachers, who you trust and choose, choose the teachers who, um, you feel like are gonna be able to . But what’s important to remember too, uh, students, just like your parents, um, they know more about you than you think you, than you think they do.

Um, right? Like they, they really do. Like, they, they, they, they, they are very attentive. They watch and so. Um, unless they literally do not know you for whatever reason, like I would trust that, like, even, for example, let’s say that you’re applying for physical physics, but maybe you didn’t really connect with the physics teacher.

Um, right. Um, right in itself. And if they want you and, and, and, um, school wants you to submit a physics letter recommendation, um, you have to, I think, be mindful. Um, and, and remember that they are watching, they do grade your papers. They do teach you the content. Um, right. They, they, they, they, they are managing, um, you and their caseload in many different ways.

And so. Um, that is important to remember, because you have to remember that recommenders, their job is to talk about you, specifically your academic teachers, um, from the academic sense, right, as a student. Not necessarily personally, yes, that is a part of that, of the recommendation, sure, but they want to know you as an academic powerhouse, and that is, and trust me, a teacher will be able to articulate you academically, so I would not worry too much about that.

Um, what mistakes do students and parents avoid in the admissions process? Um, the first one I wrote is over communication. Um, in itself, I think that there are times where students fret, I think, over just one particular aspect of the application, right? Just one particular part of the application where they really don’t need to.

Um, right? And so, in and of itself, I think, you know, when talking about something that is complex, keeping it as You know, of course, honest, but just as simple as possible is really important. For example, let’s say you got off the wait list to take an AP US history class, for example, in of itself. For example, you are in the AP US history class.

But I don’t think that admission officer needs to know, for example, like the fact that you failed the Um, entrance exam at first, and then you were placed on the waitlist, and you took the exam again, and then you pass, and now you’re at the, all they see is that you’re on the AP, uh, that you’re in the AP US History class, and I think you should just leave it at that, right?

Um, the next part, the next point I put is fixation. I think fixating on any aspect or any point, um, or any part of this process is not to, I think, the benefit of both the student and the family, um, in and of itself. Why? Because you, you sit, you don’t, you’re not going to set yourself up for success. You’re not going to set.

yourself up, I think, you know, to be happy in this process. And so approaching this process and always maintaining an open mind, I think, is incredibly important when thinking about the college admissions process. Um, what to avoid is upsetting your college counselor. They’re sending you materials. They’re the person who is advocating for you on the phone or writing emails to these college admissions officers.

And so keeping, so keeping them happy, I think, is incredibly important. Um, the next point I wrote is really talking about your college admissions process. I’m going to stop the college admissions and, and It all goes actually hand in hand with the last, um, you know, a bullet point as well, which is comparisons.

Um, but you have to remember the college admissions process is a personal process. So just because someone’s talking about the college admissions process and all the colleges are applying to and their essays and their SAT scores and their C score does not mean you need to, right? Um, no one needs to know.

Like where you’re applying to and it’s no one’s business, but your own. And if you want to share that with someone else, that’s okay. That’s great. That’s fantastic. But remember that is your information to share. Um, and so never feel pressured. I think, you know, to talk about your college admissions process because it is, it’s just such a personal process.

And just remember that it’s your process. And, um, and you take ownership of that process, um, and, and value that process. And if you want to, um, You know, give someone the, uh, the knowledge of where you’re applying and share a little bit about your process that that is completely up to you. And I think it’s really important to remember that.

Um, and then in terms of comparisons, just because, you know, some person has done this or done that or done this or that does not mean like, you know, you are any more or less than anyone else. It’s like the college admissions process is just, it’s about you applying to a college, right? And it’s about your relationship with the college, right?

In itself, you’re not compared to different schools. You’re not compared to other students at other schools, right? You are just yourself. And it’s just important to think, remember that and maintain. I think, um, that, that, that level of heaviness because once you start focusing on others, the admission process really doesn’t come about you anymore, right?

So it comes about them and therefore your application gets lost, right? Um, if you’re just able to, I think, you know, stay true to yourself and you’re able to hold to yourself, you’re going to have a wonderful application and you’re going to have wonderful credentials. Um, and even so, those are all, like I said, holistic admissions, right?

They’re all understood in context. Each student brings a different context and they’re all understood within their individual context. So it’s important to, I think, remember that. Um, So what are some of the best practices when it comes to developing a strong college application, right? Um, right. And so, as I was saying, you know, I think that, you know, this is this is a fun combination, right?

Um, as I’ve mentioned throughout this presentation, you know, there isn’t necessarily one best practice, right? Um, there isn’t necessarily a You know, you know, one thing, um, that, um, that, that, that, that makes quote, the best way to do something in the college admission process, right? Everything in the college admissions process should be driven by the student and should be supplemental and someone’s about others, right?

Um, a student has to want to attend that college, a student has to want to, to do that major. You, they, they, everything in the college admissions process and, and, and the college application process has to come from that student. Cause if it doesn’t come from that student, it’s going to come off as inauthentic and that’s not going to get anyone any admission anywhere.

Right. Um, students is the point to remember that, you know, when you give a piece of your writing to another to look at, to evaluate, um, when you, when you, um, you know, share any aspect of part of this admissions process, then he wasn’t to give you feedback. It’s important to accept that feedback, right? It’s important to understand that feedback and contact.

Remember, that feedback is just for you to understand. As such, as feedback, right? You either take it or you don’t, right? That is up to you. Not everything that everyone says is going to be right about this process. What you’re going to, and honestly, like, there are times where, um, with a colleague, and we might be saying two different things to a student, right?

You have to remember that everyone, um, at part of this process, um, is providing you feedback. And it is up to you to parse through that feedback. And, um, up to you to find the value in what you find value in, right? Um, and then that is the feedback you should apply, you know, as you’re, you know, applying to the college, um, as you’re going through and applying, um, you know, within the context of the college admissions process.

Um, right. And so it’s important to remember that and, you know, to, uh, parents, guardians who are, you know, assisting their, your students in this process in of itself. Um, you know, you let them drive the process. And students, it’s important to remember that your, your, your parents. They’re very intelligent and wonderful people, and they care about you, and they want you to be successful.

You should listen to them in and of itself, right? Like, the kinds do each other, but it’s also important to remember, um, that, like, yes, you’re, you’re, you should be driving this process. You should be driving close to this bus, and, um, but always let your co pilot, you know, kind of come in sometimes, okay? Um, that, that is so incredibly important to remember.

Lonnie: Great, great. Well, thank you so much, Kane, for sharing this really great wealth of knowledge with our audience. Before we get into the Q& A, I actually want to share more about the work that we do here within CollegeAdvisor. So for those who are in the room who aren’t already working with us, we know how overwhelming the college admission process can be.

A lot of questions, a lot of just uncertainty. Am I doing my application correct? Um, so our team of over, um, 300 former admission officers and admission experts are ready to help you and your family navigate it all in one on one advising sessions. We’ve already helped over 8, 000 families in their college journeys.

After analyzing our 2021 through 2024 data, we found that CollegeAdvisor students are 2.4 times more likely to get into Harvard, 2.9 times more likely to get into Stanford, and 1.9 1.98 times more likely to get into Princeton. Increase your odds and take the next step in your college admission journey by signing up for a free 60 minute strategy session with an admission officer or admission specialist on our team by using that QR code that you see, uh, displayed.

During this meeting, you’ll receive an assessment of your academic profile, along with some initial recommendations on what you can do to stand out. At the end, you’ll also learn more about our premium packages, where we can pair you with an expert who’s going to support you in building your college list, editing your essays, and even just tying in these topics that Kane shared with you all.

Um, so I will leave the QR code on the screen and now is the time audience for you to ask your question. So I’m going to start first with a question. Um, so what makes a personal statement or essay stand out to the admissions team?

Kane: Yeah. Um, and so what makes person essay stand out in itself, right? There’s going to be a variety of core components that will make an essay stand out.

Um, one is, um, naturally, of course, as I mentioned before, it’s gonna be the quality of the writing, right? You can have the best topic ever and the most interesting thing to talk about, but if it’s not articulated in a powerful way, um, that that is in a sufficient way like that, their essay is diluted, right?

Um, and so with that being said, yeah. Um, I think, you know, when you’re looking at the personal statement again, um, you’re identifying just one aspect that you want to share with any reception, not a ton, not a five, not four, not three, just one aspect or part of your life that you want to share, you know, with an officer and, and staying true to how that.

You know, piece of information has has has allowed you to grow on man and has always to become, you know, um, into part of who you are to not and not have lights come to who, sorry, not that has not allowed you to become who you are today, but just a single piece of who you are, right? Because there’s no one event, no one thing that makes you who you are.

You are the, you are both of the aggregated things around you, right? Um, and so it’s important to keep that in mind, right? So again, just just just selecting one thing that I think that you find valuable and special about yourself that you want to share with another.

Lonnie: Okay, thank you for sharing. Our next question says, how much emphasis do you place on GPA versus standardized test scores in the admission process?

Kane: Yeah, in of itself, um, it actually, I think the emphasis doesn’t lie on either. I think it actually relies on your, your grades and the context of your curriculum. A GPA is just a number. It doesn’t really tell you actually the quality of a student’s grade and curriculum, right? Um, so yeah, sure. Like you can have a GPA but like that 4.3 could be very different depending on when you’re actually looking at the letter grades there. Um, and in of itself, right, like I know that colleges post, you know, average GPAs all the time. Um, in of itself, they’re depending on the state to spending on in the district, GPS really changed. There’s really strong rate inflation in some places and strong great deflation and others.

So and when colleges are reporting, you know, GPA and it’s tough there. Some colleges might reported a way to GPA. Some colleges might report an unweighted GPA. Um, and in of itself, like what do you do with the information? I’m not sure exactly right. That can be difficult to understand and comprehend for anyone.

Right. And so in itself, but the emphasis is going to be on your grades in your core courses. Right. Because the GPA as well is made up of a lot of different types of grades, you know, that are also included outside of the core classes. Right. And so how are you performing in your core courses? Right. And utilizing that is where admissions officers, you know, have emphasis on.

So I think it’s important to remember. That now with standardized testing, um, in of itself, standardized testing is just supposed to be complimentary, you know, to a student’s grades. However, if there is something that is problematic about standard assessing, that is definitely taking that is taking notes.

So let’s say that you took an AP exam and you got a two and it was in physics and you want to be an engineer. Like now that has becomes very important, right? As opposed to something that’s supposed to be consistent with your overall application. So something to keep in mind when I’m trying to figure out where you’re going to submit testing or not.

Lonnie: Great, great, great. Um, so what role does demonstrated interest play in the admission decision?

Kane: Yeah. Um, that’s a great question. Um, if itself, right. Um, with demonstrated interest, um, It can play a really strong role at some colleges and not so much at others, right? In of itself, I would say that is this, right?

Um, if you’re interested in a college, you’re probably gonna do everything you can and everything you’re able to to show that you’re interested in that college, right? And so, in of itself, if you’re really actually like looking for demonstrated interest points, um, for a college, um, that kind of means you’re probably not going to really show the best quality of demonstrated interest.

Demonstrated interest is identified at, at many places, and there are places that say they don’t track demonstrated interest that do track demonstrated interest. It’s just they don’t track it in a formulaic way, right? What does that mean? For example, um, Some schools will say they don’t track demonstrated interest because they don’t track every form of demonstrated interest.

Therefore, they do not track demonstrated interest. Every form of demonstrated interest, what is that? School visits, uh, college fairs, um, online engagement, um, how long you, how often you’ve been to their website. Um, interviews, um, going on a campus tour, going on a campus on information session. So they don’t fit that mold, therefore they don’t track demonstrated interest.

However, they do because the two strongest forms of demonstrated interest you can show to a college is one, did you visit that college? And two, did you interview if they offer interviews? Right, right. Those are the two most powerful forms of demonstrated interest in this process. Did you do one of those two or both?

Right? Um, in and of itself, for example, like if you live next to a close to a college within a two hour driving distance and you need to visit that college and that college tracks demonstrated interest, you should expect not to be admitted to that institution, right? Then if you can’t take the time to, like, go to that school, like, You know, you’re not that interested, right?

I think, I think that I think that anyone can logically come to that conclusion, regardless of if you’re an admissions professional or not. Uh, so that is something to keep in mind, something with the interview, like if you’re not willing to interview at an institution, um, that means you’re not probably all that interested in institutions.

So if you’re seeing some of these things as a chore, maybe you shouldn’t be looking at that institution and you should be looking elsewhere or finding, um, exactly what you’re looking for, that you can be excited to do some of these things that admissions officers, uh, admissions officers want in the process.

Lonnie: Okay, so next question is, um, do admissions officers consider great trends such as improvement over time or is the overall GPA more important?

Kane: Yeah, um, in and of itself, um, great trends are very valuable and very important, right? Um, the way a GPA is valued, um, in and of itself, um, It depends on the type of school you’re applying to.

It depends on the type of program, and I’m sorry to be so vague about this, but for example, let’s say there’s a GPA cutoff for a specific honors program, and it’s a 3.3, even though you have a trajectory that goes over your trajectory in itself, like the last two years is well over a 3.3, but you don’t have that 3.3. I think it’s up to the discretion of that institution to determine whether or not they find that valuable, right? But in and of itself, in terms of your admissibility and admission to an institution, like, yes, I think that grade trajectory is, is, uh, is much more valuable over a student, I think, overall GPA.

That is, I think, so incredibly important to remember. However, when it comes to specific programs that have specific criteria for you to be admitted to, um, in and of itself, again, it’s up to the discretion of that specific institution, but overall, Um, outside of that program, I think that that that is truly what is valued in the, um, uh, in the criteria when, um, administrative looking at a student’s file and their academic credentials.

Lonnie: All righty. Well, that was actually our last question for our webinar. Thank you, Kane. For all this great information. This is awesome. I know that our audience made something. Yes. Thank you. So last thing I just want to share is our November webinar. So we have one more webinar coming up, which is around boosting your college applications with strong letters of recommendation, which you touched on a little bit today.

So we definitely look forward to seeing you in an upcoming webinar. And if you’re interested in this recording, you can find it on our CollegeAdvisor website under our webinar resources. Alrighty, everyone. Thank you again, Kane. Have a great one.