BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK
VARSITY BLUES FRAUD CONVICTIONS OVERTURNED
Two parents who were convicted in the Varsity Blues scandal had their convictions overturned this week by a federal appeals court. The court overturned all convictions against Gamal Abdelaziz and all but one conviction of another parent, John Wilson.
The federal judges on the case determined that the two parents did not knowingly commit fraud, believing that they were making legitimate donations to the universities. We’ll be paying attention to how this development affects the 50+ convictions of other parents in the aftermath of Varsity Blues.
NEVER TOO LATE TO GRADUATE
A 72-year-old man graduated from Georgia Gwinnett College last week. After raising 5 kids and 15 grandchildren, Sam Kaplan got his degree in Cinema and Media Arts with his 99-year-old mother and several of his children in the audience. He hopes to become a screenwriter.
Meanwhile, at Texas Lutheran University, senior Ashley Adams is making university history by graduating alongside both of her parents on Saturday. We believe that everyone should have the chance to get their degree - but we have to say, we’re not sure many of our students would love having their parents on the same campus!
FREE TUITION PROGRAM IN MINNESOTA
The Minnesota House and Senate passed a bill that includes a free tuition program for students coming from families that make less than $80,000 per year. The program will allow Minnesota students to attend public colleges and universities for free, covering any tuition costs left over after state and federal grants and institutional scholarships. Now, these students will not need to take out loans to cover their education!
BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK
This CNBC article is a reality check for some college students when it comes to starting salary. Job prospects look good for the graduating class of 2023, who are graduating into a strong job market, and the average starting salary for new graduates is $56,000. However, a survey found that college students expect to be making nearly $85,000 just one year after graduating - a difference of 30K! In fact, the same survey found that many college graduates say they wouldn’t take a job for less than $72,000 - lower than the average expectation, but much higher than the average starting salary. While salary expectations vary widely across industries, it is smart for students to do their research so they can manage their expectations upon entering the workforce.
DC local Yasmine Arrington started ScholarCHIPS - a scholarship nonprofit to assisted Children of Incarcerated Parents - when she was just sixteen years old. The child of an incarcerated parent herself, Yasmine started the organization to provide a safe space for students who need support - many of whom have not disclosed at school or to their friends that their parent is incarcerated. Since the organization was created in 2010, it has awarded over $450,000 in scholarships to more than 80 students. In addition to scholarships, the organization provides each student with a laptop, access to an emergency fund, check-ins throughout the year, and the option of being matched with a mentor. Students can apply or get involved here, or donate to ScholarCHIPS here. Of course, do your research before you donate, as we have not vetted this organization - just passing it along!
We hope the moms out there had a wonderful mother’s day yesterday! My own mom sent this article to me about the #1 phrase that moms are sick of hearing and it really resonated with me (I could probably write a book on invisible labor- don’t even get me started).
Mother’s Day 2023, representing 11 years of love, joy and invisible labor :)
One thought I did have while reading, though, was that I can sleep well at night knowing that my team and I are 100% part of the solution for other parents - we absolutely, one million percent have your back and will do whatever we can to help you out and make adolescence easier on your family, whether something is directly related to college applications or not. And that’s how I ended up at Nordstrom last week, helping one of my favorite young women try on clothes for an interview - true story :) I know we get paid for our services, but at the same time, we really care and will go to great lengths to ease your load however we can (as long as it’s not illegal!). This is a central part of our mission and I think we do an excellent job living it out.
OFFICE HAPPENINGS
Shannon attended the Best of Boston counselor session this week and wanted to share some of her biggest takeaways:
Early decision is becoming more and more important. Tufts and Northeastern expect to admit about half or slightly more through the early rounds, while BU intends to admit 55% of its class early decision next cycle. Many selective and highly selective colleges around the country will have similar projections, so we encourage students to think hard about whether the strategic advantage associated with ED is the way to go!
Check your email! Tufts, Northeastern, and BU all expect to close their waitlists in mid-June, so we’ve got about a month or less of waitlist activity. In the event that students are admitted off the waitlist, the school will give them about a week (or sometimes less!) to respond. So, if you are waiting on a decision, make sure to check email regularly and prepare to commit on a short timeline.
Don’t phone in your “Why This School?” essay. All three schools at the session consider demonstrated interest, as do many others. While Northeastern does not typically have supplemental essays, for Tufts and BU, the “Why This School?” supplemental essay is the most important essay - and a big factor in their consideration of demonstrated interest! It is essential to ensure that the essay is unique, authentic to you, and could only be used to describe that single school.
P.S. We have noticed that these types of essays have been a real pain point for students post-Covid. As a result, we made the decision to offer our Class of 2024 students two options for free instruction from our essay coaches on how to approach these essays. Yes - totally free - that’s how important we think these are. If you missed the email communication and are wondering how to sign up, please email admin@dccollegecounseling.com for details.
And for any OLGC families reading - students who are members of OLGC parish with a GPA of at least 3.0 are eligible to apply for the JTC Scholarship. Interested students should apply by May 25!
Have a great week!