While you might not see this headline soon, news is that by 2025 the Golden State will be starved for college-educated workers to fill available jobs.

A recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California predicts 41% of all jobs will need a college degree, but only 35% of working adults will have the necessary degree. Baby Boomers (educated in the 1960’s and 1970’s) will be retired. Younger workers are less educated.

Why is this?

California ranks 18th among the 20 largest states for high school graduates who enroll in college. Also, only half of incoming freshmen graduate within six years. California colleges need to graduate 60,000 more students annually.

The report suggests some necessary steps to achieve this goal:

• Make it easier for students to transfer from community colleges to four-year colleges. More than 70% of community college students don’t transfer.
• Design programs at CSU and UC campuses to help students stay in school.
• Ensure more high school graduates are eligible to enroll in UC and CSU systems.

How realistic these goals are in a time of economic turmoil remains to be seen.

In its annual survey of admissions trends, the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that 22 percent of colleges gave interest “considerable importance” in admissions, up from 7 percent in 2003. Another 30 percent of schools rated it as moderately important.

In terms of influence, it outranked such admissions standbys as counselor and teacher recommendations, interviews, and extracurriculars, and was narrowly behind class rank and personal essays.

This works for the college becuase:

Giving preference to students whose interest seems genuine also helps colleges boost their image. By targeting students who are more likely to attend, they can admit a smaller percentage and still fill out their freshman class, making them appear more selective and more desirable.

Ways to show the college that you love them:

• Be aware that many colleges track every contact they have with applicants.
• Always make sure the admissions office knows you are there when you visit campus. Look for a sign-up sheet and fill it out legibly.
• Avoid going overboard. Learn to practice the fine art of ‘admissions office flirting’ without being overbearing - a tip which applies to parents as much as students.

The problem: this is not part of the “cultural norm” in the USA. People are unfamiliar with it. It’s much more common in Europe, where even Royalty take a gap year. Perhaps, like a partially-nationalized banking system and more affordable health-care, this is one of the changes in cultural norms that American’s are about to become more familiar with.

Not necessarily.

According to the Sunday New York Times, colleges are actually expanding aid to draw in students in a downturn.

With only tiny endowments, they need full enrollment to survive, and they are anxious to prevent top students from going elsewhere. Falling even a few students short of expectations can mean laying off faculty, eliminating courses or shelving planned expansions.

The competition for students can play to the benefit of prospective parents:

California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks is advertising a public school price tag to any student accepted at the University of California, Santa Barbara, or at the University of California, Los Angeles — an average annual saving of $16,000 off the normal cost of $41,767.

One silver lining to the current economic crisis as you look at the college admissions process.

Many colleges have adopted economy measures such as halting faculty raises, freezing all new hires and delaying capital investments to compensate for their shrinking endowments.

You have to wonder what this will do to scholarships and tuition for next years college applicants.

It’s been the few institutions with multi-billion dollar endowments who have been giving sizeable tuition breaks across the board. It probably won’t continue.  And don’t look for less well off colleges to have the funds to help with tuition that they have had in the past.

Stay calm. There are over 3,000 colleges in the USA and most accept 75% or more of applicants. Most students love the college they eventually attend.

Which begs the question - why the annual frenzy and stress around college applications? If you believe stories in the press you’d think there’s an acute shortage of college places. This is not the case.

There’s a frenzy among college applicants of all academic levels fixated on their ‘Dream Schools’. Students choose from a limited number of presigeous brand-name schools.

It’s the same in the consumer world. Brand name goods command a premium. Why do some pay hundreds of dollars for a cologne? Or a designer dress? Buyers assume they will be among the ‘exclusive’ few who wear the scent or dress. High prices ensure selectivity.

So with college applications.

The fact is that there are hundreds of schools with excellent undergraduate programs. This is a benefit both academically and financially. Smart kids are more likely to get merit aid or places in an honors program. Good grades will be easier to achieve. This will impress graduate schools - where working under a top professor does matter.

#63: Be genuine when filling out a college application. You are marketing yourself. Be authentic and refreshing when writing about your interests and passions.

This means that a college wants your application to reflect the ‘real you’ – warts and all.  At the least, this means telling the truth about your EC’s. Beyond that, you should avoid being stilted or putting yourself forward as something you are not.

High school students will find it difficult to do this. That’s not surprising. Look at the role models kids have today.
The girl who was the model for the Dove billboard was artificially transformed with professional make-up artists and computer software from a real person into a plastic replica of a woman.

(Take a look at the amazing video of this artificial transformation on YouTube)

Colleges don’t want plastic people in their freshman class. They want authentic, refreshing students. Who is authentic? How about Olympic Gold medalist Michael Phelps? He exhibited superhuman capabilities at the Beijing Olympics but his story is a genuine and authentic one - the guy had a hard time in grade school where he was diagnosed with ADHD and teased by classmates because of his long arms.

Who else could be an authentic role model for teens today? What does it mean to be genuine and authentic in your college application? Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Unigo.com is a free, gigantic, student-generated guide to North American colleges for prospective applicants and their families.

The Times article contrasts the dynamism of the site with the staid publications such as the US News rankings, The Princeton Review and Fiske.

We tried to login today and found the site was slow, probably becuase of the interest the Times coverage caused. It’ll be fascinating to see how useful families find this unfiltered reporting of life at the college of their choice.

Good luck unigo!

In this edition you will find:

What High Schools And Colleges Don’t Tell You

An Interview with controversial author Elizabeth Wissner-Gross who shares her thoughts on today’s competitive college admissions and what parents can do to help.

Why Your Kids Shouldn’t Go To Harvard

San Francisco Bay Area columnist Marty Nemko urges families to look beyond the Ivies for a stellar education at an affordable price.

The Truth About Student-Faculty Ratios And Class Size

Blogger and college admissions counselor Mark Montgomery highlights the motivation for colleges to report favorable student-teacher ratios and lists the questions you need to ask before applying

Rejection Letters

Psychologist and expert on criticism and rejection Elayne Savage shares tips on how parents and teens letters can best deal with college application.

Choose A College By Fit — Not Rank

Marty O’Connell - the executive director of Loren Pope’s organization explains why smaller colleges change lives.

Order your copy here. Printed copies are delivered via First Class mail for just $4.99 + postage.

Our first booklet 110 Tips for Getting Into the College of Your Choice had one section on Standardized Testing (tips 21-30). We’ve taken those 10 tips and expanded them into the 118 you’ll find here.

The eleven areas we have chosen to highlight are the starting point. Remember to choose the specific tips which are appropriate to your goals and grade level. No-one should attempt to do everything we list at one time!

You are the one responsible for signing up for standardized tests. Some schools will give more guidance than others. Don’t assume your teachers or counselors will automatically do all the necessary prep work or remind you of deadlines and schedules for tests. You need to plan ahead, starting in freshman year in high school. Always consult with teachers and school counselors for advice.

At the beginning of each year in high school decide which tests you might take. Choosing which Subject Tests to take is a personal choice. Know your strengths. Become aware of the tests particular colleges require.

There are many excellent books on all aspects of the test process. If you are truly serious about success in tests you will have to invest the time and read the study guides and take practice tests. We list some of the books available in the Next Steps section of our website.