One Cycle In: What a Short, Strange Trip It’s Been

I honestly didn’t know.  

I started my admissions consulting firm In January 2019. I had been a college English professor for twenty years, left that job in 2017 and started a tutoring company.  As I worked with families on SAT and ACT prep, I realized how overwhelmed they were by the process.  In summer 2018 I led a college essay workshop for high school juniors and became further enmeshed in the culture of admissions.  With the help of generous mentors in the field, I opened up a College Admissions Consulting firm in January 2019.

On March 12, 2019, the news cycle carried nothing but coverage of the Varsity Blues scandal; Lori Laughlin, Felicity Huffman, and a slew of almost-celebrities were caught up in a sting operation which exposed the seamy underbelly of my new career.  Admissions Consultants were bribing school officials and coaches and lying about their clients to get them into schools.  $500,000 to get in USC.  For $500,000 you should get into Hogwarts! So now what? I knew that it was going to be an odd year for admissions.

Nevertheless, business began, if not to boom, or at least slowly rumble to a start.  I met wonderful clients who did wonderful things. I learned the ins and outs of the Common App, the Coalition App, and the dark and convoluted world of supplemental essays (“Is a bowl of cereal in milk a soup?”- I see you, University of Chicago).  I toured campuses (including my old alma maters) and saw what innovative, student-centered things are going on there. I extended my reach from Western North Carolina and started working with clients nationwide and even worldwide (last night I was on a Zoom call with a student in China!). I went to college fairs and conferences and met wonderful folks in the industry, some of whom I’m now collaborating with.  I worked hard, my clients worked harder, and eventually, they won acceptances from small gems they had never heard of before (Agnes Scott, Furman), big flagship state schools (South Carolina, Arizona, UCLA), and elites and Ivies (Harvard, Cornell, Berkeley).  

And then.

COVID-19 caught everyone off guard.  Colleges sent students home to study at Zoom University.  Campus tours and recruiting days were cancelled.  Seniors were wondering how they could choose among their accepted colleges without visiting; would you buy a $200,000 house without setting foot in it? Seniors may still be starting on campus in August, or they may not.  Juniors may have taken their SAT or ACT, or they may have not.  Their prospective colleges may still be requiring the tests for class of 2021 admissions, or they may not.  2020-21 might be a great time to take a gap year or it might not.  Nothing is certain.  (I’ve prepared a guide about negotiating admissions that you can download here.)

So I started my very first admissions cycle under the shadow of the admissions scandal, and I’m finishing up with my seniors under the shadow of COVID-19.  Maybe the biggest surprise of all is that regardless of these two beasts, I love what I’m doing, and my clients have had great success. In many ways, this may be a period where folks need more guidance through the admissions process than ever. 

I’m here for you. 

I can help you at any stage of the process, but this is exactly the right moment for HS class of 2021 students to start with a consultant.  We can build your college list, I can help you to find virtual tours and other resources since you can’t visit, and we can brainstorm and construct your essays over the summer.  Contact me at info@parkereducational.com or call or text 704 692 4559 to set up a free consultation.