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Write for the Reader...

Posted by Hans Hanson

Essays are written for the reader of the application, and the reader must clearly understand the message.

This week, I'm featuring one of my quotes.

"It's not what you want to say that counts. Rather, it's what you want the reader to think and perceive that counts."

Parents often wonder why their child was denied admission to schools where they thought their child was a solid qualifier. There's a good reason.

Academic qualifications help students advance through the first round of admission review, where many are denied based on having lesser academic credentials. Reaching the second round means that essays will be read. That's where acceptances are won.

In writing essays, here are four secrets to capturing the reader's interest and attention.

1) The writer must clearly express a definitive, meaningful message.

2) The writer must create the perception they desire from the reader.

3) The writer must provide easily understood content, with a natural flow from beginning to end.

4) The writer must make sure to use proper paragraph form and sentence structure.

Before getting started and writing what they "want to say", the writer must determine:

What message do I want to convey?
What perception of me do I want to create?
How can I capture the reader's immediate interest and maintain their attention?

Most essays that I review, from all levels of students, are usually only a few super-long paragraphs made up of several run-on sentences that lack any clear direction. That will turn the reader off in a short time.

A disinterested reader will close the application and deny the applicant. That's how important essays are.

Students who focus on what they want to say become indecisive and stuck. They continue to change their mind. The essay loses structure and flow. That's how "qualified applicants" get denied.

I'm not saying that writers should focus on what the reader wants to read...not at all. Instead, writers must focus on what they want the reader to perceive and understand about them.

If you'd like your child to convey clear messages to strengthen their applications, let's chat.

Colleges own the Psychological Advantage. You can flip the script!

Posted by Hans Hanson

Colleges own the rules of the game. They don't ask for our approval to change the rules.

Over the next few months, I will feature my all-time favorite 15 quotes as they relate to the world of college. Although they will not be ranked, I will begin with my favorite one.

"Colleges are masters at molding their interests into the behaviors of society." - Marla Brady

More relevant words have never been uttered. This quote speaks volumes of truth.

Colleges have planned, strategized, and succeeded in getting society to be compliant with their initiatives and interests. Parents acquiesce. It's that simple.

Colleges have mastered their ability to get people to buy what they are selling. Prospective families wish, hope, and sometimes beg to become their customers.

Parents are too willing to accept the costs and annual price increases. Why? Colleges lead you to believe that they have a 90% job placement rate, which is preposterous, considering it's blatantly false. They don't even track it. Instead, they say it, knowing that parents will believe it.

Colleges own the psychological advantage over parents. They know how parents react when their kids' interests are involved, and they exploit it.

Compliance begins the moment you're told to sign up for a tour, and you do. They show you what they want you to see and tell you what they want you to hear. You'll then do what they say without questioning their intentions or understanding their motives.

You'll never be treated like a valued customer. Where else will you pay $200,000 or more and not get a "thank you"?

That's all backward! You are the paying customer in this relationship. They are the seller.

I'm not blaming the colleges. They've mastered the process. It's up to you to break the "mold" and flip the script.

If you'd like to flip the script in your favor, let's chat.

Thank you, Marla, for this outstanding quote!

Marla is a top professional education and career advisor. Click here to connect with her.

Building College Qualifications

Posted by Hans Hanson

College is not a spectator sport. Don't be a spectator!

From a spectator standpoint, I understand how convenient it is to turn on the TV during the game's final minutes to watch how it ends. It's often the most exciting part of the game.

However, the coaches and players can't do that. Instead, they must prepare hard and long in advance to play well throughout the game.

The same applies to college, but we're the coaches and players, not the spectators!

Therefore, we must prepare diligently, long in advance, to excel in the college admissions and scholarship process. We can't jump in at the end and expect to receive the desired results.

2025 Admission Season Finale, Part 10.

With this in mind, the college qualification process begins no later than the 7th grade. Although it ends with admission decisions, it does not begin with submitting applications, as most students think.

We all know that GPA is a significant element in the qualification process, but college qualifications are not limited to GPA.

Other important qualifications include-

Taking rigorous courses, such as AP classes; the AP track begins in 7th grade
Pursuing activities related to the student's interests in studies or possible careers
Building personal skills, such as public speaking, debate, writing, or leadership
Excelling in performance, such as music, the arts, dance, or athletics
Contributing to the community, such as volunteering or fundraising
Being involved in the school, such as starting a Club or being involved in the Student Council

A key to continuous academic success is "mastering the content" as the student progresses into and through high school. High-level academics are cumulative—increasing in strength based on successive additions—and its foundation is formed in the 7th grade.

Too many students face struggles later in high school due to poor grades in previous years. A student's academic success or struggles are predictable.

Colleges value students having a "global perspective" and "worldly awareness." Students will need to demonstrate their understanding that we live in a globalized society and that we must look beyond our borders to better comprehend the world around us.

Colleges have a disdain for students with poor writing skills. Students need to demonstrate the ability to think clearly and express their views with meaning and purpose.

Colleges value timeliness, preparation, execution, and follow-through. The application process is the student's opportunity to present these skills. But the discipline and work ethic must be developed earlier.

Colleges value bilingual students, as does the world in which we live. This is something the American students need to value more. A few years of a second language in high school is not enough. International students have a strong advantage here.

Colleges, companies, and the world around us value a person's creative reasoning abilities and problem-solving skills. It's important to become an active learner rather than a passive receiver of education.

All of these things represent conscious thought, proper planning, and timely execution from early on in a child's life. They cannot be last-minute thoughts, as those turn into long-term regrets.

To turn these desired values into advantages for college and life success, both students and parents must play the game from the beginning.

This is our model for creating unique advantages for our students.

To Win the Game, Be Distinguishable

Posted by Hans Hanson

2025 Season in Review, Part 8.

I will add that you can't be remarkable by doing what others do. The key to winning admission acceptances is distinguishing yourself from the norm and standing out from others.

Distinguish- to notice or recognize a difference between people or things; make oneself prominent and worthy of respect through one's behavior or achievements.

Or you can be indistinguishable.

Indistinguishable- not able to be identified as different or distinct; impossible to judge as different when compared to another similar thing.

The world rewards people who distinguish themselves favorably. That could be just 1 in 10 kids and adults, though Scott Galloway might say 1 in 100.

High school and college students who distinguish themselves favorably will win college acceptances and desired job offers. Their habits are consistent with one another.

People who default to being indistinguishable, doing what everyone else is doing, will be left wondering what happened. Their habits are also consistent.

To be distinguishable, adopt this mindset. It's centered around things in your control:

Get up early to get your day going
Live each day with meaningful intention
Have a defined purpose for your interests
Build a Profile for Success
Become a great writer and speaker
Increase your preparedness
Master the content
Follow up with precision timing
Become fluent in a second language
Think globally and be world-aware

You will become more interesting to others. You will draw positive energy. People will recognize you as worthy of their consideration. Your outcomes will be significantly enhanced.

Do you want enhanced outcomes? Let's talk!

Prestige and College Rankings...

Posted by Hans Hanson

Don't be drawn into the hype. It's purposely misleading.

2025 Admission Season in Review, Part 9.

Choosing colleges based on their prestige value, or rankings, is at the forefront of many people's minds. It's a mistake. Let's see why.

Prestige - the root definition of prestige is praestigiae, which means "conjuring tricks" or "creating an illusion."

From praestigiae, "praesto" or "presto" is derived, meaning "suddenly as if by magic."

Colleges purposefully create prestige as a marketing strategy to allure people into falsely believing that there is some level of magic involved in the process.

Many parents believe that a prestigious college diploma ensures their child's lifetime success. For that, they are willing to pay a premium price.

It's a natural part of the college business model. And they are masters in conducting their business.

Creating an illusion of grandeur, charging a premium for it, and then having people line up to buy it is like a magic act, but college success is not a magic trick.

A common complaint among parents of children attending so-called elite colleges is, "Why aren't they doing more to help them?"

The answer is simple: those colleges don't have to. They will fill next year's class with full-tuition-paying students due to the perceived value of its certificate.

Regardless of the college's prestige, students must develop their substance, credibility, personal growth, experience, intelligence, knowledge, and value to achieve their desired outcomes. Students don't have to attend prestigious colleges and pay a premium price to achieve their desired outcomes.

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Rankings aim to assess academic quality. I'll review the criteria. You can judge if it accurately assesses academic quality.

Here are the 2025 weighted factors. Afterward, I will be sure to share the missing components.

22% - The six-year graduation and freshman dropout rates; who budgets for six years? Not me!

20% - A Peer Review of university administrators; what relevance is a peer review to the academic quality of a university?

20% - Faculty compensation, their degrees, and the school's student-faculty ratio; might that favor higher-cost schools?

15% - SAT/ACT scores and the proportion of freshman students in the top 10% and 25% of their high school class; this demonstrates the importance of SAT and ACT scores.

10% - Financial standing of the colleges; if they don't allocate a portion of their endowment funds to improve education and reduce tuition costs, it doesn't apply... and they don't.

13% - Other lesser factors make up the balance.

The following factors are disregarded in the rankings.

GPA of incoming freshmen
Four-year graduation rate
Job placement rate of graduates
Average pay of first-year jobs
Research opportunities
Study abroad opportunities
Internship opportunities
Student assistance programs

What's missing is considerably more relevant to assessing the value and quality of a college than what's included.

I'm unsure what the rankings are evaluating. Yet, many families allow rankings to drive their decisions. Colleges are aware of this and can effectively manipulate their ranking.

I know which are the better schools, and which ones could be the best fit for your child. Their experience is considered, not rankings.

One of my roles is to turn the imaginary belief of college into a real sense of intention, driven by purpose and meaning; to understand the reality of its-

Educational Opportunity
Anticipated Experience
Desired Outcome
True Value
Right Fit

I work to help families replace their belief in hype with a clear perspective on reality and reasonable expectations. If you'd like to learn more, let's chat.