With the school year ending in the next few weeks, juniors will need a break. Many of them have taken the SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, AP exams, and final exams, all within a few months. It is exhausting, and I encourage my students to take a little time to relax in June and not think about anything related to college admission.

But just a little time. Because your college application process will be much less stressful if you get started during the summer. You’ll be able to work on essays without trying to juggle homework and extracurricular activities at the same time. Essays take shape in the rewriting, so having time to do several drafts is important.

In recent years, ambitious students have gotten an early start on the Common Application, which would go live on July 1, enabling some students to complete their college applications before the start of the school year. But the 2010 version of the Common Application won’t be available until August 1.

Not to worry. There’s plenty you can do in the meantime. The Common App and UC essay questions won’t be changing, so there’s no need to wait until August to start working on essays. Some colleges will also make their supplemental essay questions available on their website before the Common App is online.

It really helps to get organized and make an application plan, with deadlines for each essay draft. You’ll be able to get the work done without the panic that accompanies last minute applications. Your work will also be better when you’re not rushed. And you can still find time to enjoy some fun this summer.

The hoping, praying and waiting are over. Colleges have made their admission decisions, and it is time for students to evaluate their college options. If you have a clear first choice, you can send an enrollment deposit and enjoy the last few months of high school. If you have been admitted to a lot of appealing colleges, you now have the enviable problem of needing to decide which school you want to attend. 

After years of doing everything they could to impress colleges, students can now let the colleges try to impress them. From now until the May 1 notification deadline, admissions officers will be pursuing newly admitted students. There will be flattering letters, e-mails and phone calls, as well as invitations to special programs for admitted students.

These local receptions and on-campus programs are designed to get prospective freshmen excited about the college. You can get a lot of information about a school at an admitted student day. There may be presentations by professors and students, as well as an activity fair, where you can learn about campus clubs and community service opportunities. You get to meet some of your future classmates. But it is important to remember that the colleges are selling themselves at these events. You are meeting the most enthusiastic students and seeing the school at its best.  

Some students prefer to visit on a typical day, without all the hoopla, so that they can have a more realistic experience of life at the college. You can ask the admissions office to set up a visit where you attend classes, eat with students in a dining hall, and perhaps spend the night in a residence hall. 

Even if you visited the college before you applied, it’s worth making another trip. You see a school differently after you’ve been admitted.  It’s more real. You notice different things as you walk across the campus and picture yourself living there next year.

Whether you go to a special event or visit the school on your own, be sure to spend some time talking with students about the college. It is better to find out now how hard it is to get into popular classes, or that everyone goes home on weekends, or that you’ll have no social life if you don’t join a fraternity. This is also the time to talk to students in your major. How do they feel about their professors? Are they getting the advising they need? What are students in that major doing after graduation?

If any students from your high school are currently attending the colleges you’re considering, arrange to meet them on campus and ask about their experiences. Why did they choose that college and has it met their expectations? What do wish they had known when they were making the decision about which college to attend? Would they make the same choice today? Getting as much information as possible will help you make an informed decision.

Preferences can change during senior year. Look at these schools with fresh eyes. This is the time to review your personal priority list and consider what tradeoffs you are willing to make. If one school has big sports and school spirit, and another is located in a major city with access to internships but no sense of community on campus, which kind of college experience do you really want?

Students who start their college application process thinking they want to try living in another part of the country sometimes realize that they want to be able to come home for a weekend. This is the time to be honest with yourself, and if you know you are not ready to be a plane ride away from home, there is nothing wrong with choosing a school that is within driving distance. One of my students had grown up in California and always wanted to go to college in New York, but after he was admitted to Columbia, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to be all the way across the country. He ultimately chose Stanford for his undergraduate education, and plans to attend law school in New York.

Cost is another major factor in making your final decision. If your third choice college has offered a $15,000 a year scholarship, so that you would save $60,000 over four years, that college might move up to first choice. Financial considerations could be especially important if you’re planning to go on to law, medical or graduate school.

It may seem like an agonizing decision, but if you applied to colleges that are good matches, all of your choices should be good ones. There are no wrong decisions. You can be happy at any of these colleges. Once you make your decision, you will invest emotionally in that school, and it becomes the right choice.

For high school juniors who are thinking about where to apply, the key to having good college options at this time next year is to engage in a thoughtful process of self-assessment. If you focus on applying to your best matches rather than the most prestigious colleges, you should be happy with all your choices when it’s time to make your final decision. 

At the end of spring break, many high school juniors and their families come home exhausted after visiting colleges. In addition to an often punishing schedule of two or even three college tours a day, the reality that they are beginning the high-stakes college admission process can put students and parents on edge.

Then there are the reports of this year’s admission decisions, which only add to the stress. Applications were up at many selective colleges, pushing acceptance rates at some schools to record lows.

Applications increased at all UC campuses. UCLA received 57, 578 freshman applications, and Berkeley had a record 50,312 freshman applications this year.  Harvard and Stanford saw applications increase by roughly five percent.  Both Princeton and University of Pennsylvania received over 4,000 additional applications this year, close to a 20 percent increase at each school.  Brown and University of Chicago each had increases of more than 5,000 applications.  Even a relatively modest 3 percent increase at Columbia means 750 additional students competing for admission.

You can blame California for some of the increases. The state’s ongoing budget crisis and severe funding cuts at California’s public universities have led more California students to apply to out of state schools. Anxiety about the competition for admission and the desire to compare financial aid packages and scholarship offers may also be leading students around the country to apply to more colleges.

When applications increase, acceptance rates decrease. At Penn, the admit rate dropped from 17.1 percent last year to 14.2 percent this year. Stanford admitted 7.2 percent of applicants, while Harvard’s acceptance rate dropped just under 7 percent, a record low for the school.  Georgetown had a 19 percent admit rate. University of Virginia admitted 24 percent of out-of-state applicants. Duke’s admit rate dropped from last year’s 17 percent to a new low of 15 percent.  One of the most dramatic decreases in acceptances was at University of Chicago, where 27 percent of students were admitted last year and only 18 percent this year.

The cycle seems poised to continue, as this year’s low acceptance rates will raise anxiety to even higher levels, and students will think they need to apply to more schools next year. While colleges may be able to boast of increasing selectivity, this situation really is not good for anyone. Families are more stressed, and when students apply to more colleges each year, admissions officers have a harder time predicting which students will accept an offer of admission.

Admissions officers at schools that are just below the super-selective level can find it especially difficult to distinguish serious applicants from the students who just want a “safety” school. This can lead some colleges to waitlist “stealth” applicants, those who have not had any contact with the school other than submitting an application. Admissions officers want to protect their yield, which is the number of students accepting an offer of admission. Stronger students may be waitlisted, while others with lower grades or test scores are admitted. The seeming arbitrariness of admission decisions raises anxiety for the next year’s applicants, who then think they need to apply to more colleges because they have heard stories of students with stellar academic records not being admitted to colleges they thought were safe bets.

So we have admissions officers and families worrying about numbers and taking actions that can raise anxiety levels on both sides. For students, one of the problems with applying to too many schools is that you are more likely to submit the kind of generic application that will get you waitlisted. Even if you are applying to schools that use the Common Application, you will need to write additional essays for many of the colleges. Preparing a strong application requires research, so that you can write very specifically about why you and that college are a match. Students who apply to 15 colleges rarely put that kind of effort into each application. You might believe you can do a really great job on all your applications, but most students start to feel burned out by the time they are working on their eighth or ninth application.  

This process doesn’t need to be so stressful. Juniors who have visited colleges in recent weeks should think about what they liked at each school. Beyond prestige, what is it that appealed to you at the school? If you identify the characteristics you want in a college, you can find schools of varying selectivity that have those features. Then you are ready to create a balanced list, with several highly likely, match and reach schools. The exact distribution may depend on your tolerance for rejection. Some students want to have a lot of acceptances, in part because their preferences may change by next year and they want to have options. It may also be important to compare financial aid and scholarship offers from different schools. Others only need one or two schools where they know they’ll be accepted and then they want to try for a lot of reach schools. If you choose carefully and plan on applying to somewhere between six and ten schools, you should be able to put your best effort into each application and have a successful college admission process.

Columbia University has just become the last Ivy League school to join the Common Application. Columbia is one of 25 new members, including two popular public universities, the University of Michigan and University of Connecticut. These additions mean that 414 colleges will be using the Common Application this fall. A few prominent universities, including Georgetown, MIT and USC are resisting the trend and keeping their own applications.  In addition to saving students a lot of unnecessary work, the Common Application is easier for teachers and counselors, who only need to submit a recommendation one time.

The number of students graduating from high school and applying to college was supposed to peak last year, but you wouldn’t know it from the reports of record-breaking numbers of college applications at schools around the country.

While Yale’s applications are down (by less than one percent), applications are up 20 percent at Brown, 19 percent at Princeton, 17 percent at University of Pennsylvania, five percent at Harvard and Cornell, and four percent at Dartmouth. Stanford reports a four to five percent increase in applications. Applications are up a whopping 42 percent at University of Chicago, probably the result of more intensive recruiting as well as Chicago’s switch to the Common Application. Applications are up 15 percent at Middlebury, 10 percent at Connecticut College, six percent at Wesleyan and three percent at Williams College and George Washington University. Many public universities, including Penn State, University of Virginia and the University of California system are also seeing increases in applications.

More applications will mean lower acceptance rates. Duke’s applications are up 11 percent this year, and its acceptance rate will likely fall from 18 percent last year to 15 percent this year. Johns Hopkins has received 13 percent more applications and since the University was overenrolled last year and will be more cautious this year, the acceptance rate will probably fall from last year’s 27 percent to 17 or 18 percent. George Washington University also had a higher than expected yield last year, and with a three percent increase in applications this year, the acceptance rate is likely to fall there as well.

There are a number of explanations for the increases in applications. Students who are anxious about admission prospects or want to compare financial aid and scholarship offers are applying to more colleges. Concern about the budget cuts at California’s public universities is contributing to the rise in applications around the country. UC is currently overenrolled by 15,000 students, meaning the system gets no funding for those students. Last year, UC reduced freshman admission by 2,300 across all campuses and another 1,500 slots will be cut this year. The CSU system is reducing enrollment by 40,000 over two years. Private colleges and many public universities in other states have received more applications from California students this year.

Some of the increase in applications can be attributed to more aggressive recruiting, as college enrollment managers worry about filling seats in a still struggling economy. Public universities that are getting less state funding are seeking more out of state students, who pay much higher tuition. All schools are recruiting more international students, who do not qualify for federal financial aid and generally pay full fare.

Applications from out of state students are up at many University of California campuses, so despite the severe budget problems, the perception of a quality education and the allure of warm, sunny weather is still drawing students to the West Coast. Students from New Jersey may have a better chance of being admitted to Berkeley this year, but getting admitted is only the first hurdle. Cuts in course offerings have made it difficult for students at California’s public institutions to get the classes they need, and staff furloughs are impacting student services.

It’s not just public institutions that are suffering a loss of revenue in this economy. Charitable contributions to colleges were down 12 percent in 2009. Alumni giving rates fell to 10 percent. All colleges have been affected, and have had to find ways to cut expenses. Even wealthy institutions have put plans for new buildings on hold, cut programs and laid off staff. Financial aid is the last thing anyone wants to cut, and many schools are increasing their financial aid budgets. But last week, Williams College, one of the elite schools that had implemented a no-loan financial aid policy several years ago, announced it will go back to including loans in financial aid packages beginning with students applying next year. I would not be surprised to hear similar news from other colleges.

But the news isn’t all bad. While public institutions are forced to cut enrollment when they have budget cuts, private colleges that don’t have big endowments depend on tuition, and must maintain their enrollment or add students to ensure sufficient revenue to fund their budgets. At colleges that are not super-selective, enrollment managers are concerned about filling seats, and that means students who would not have been admitted two years ago have much better prospects this year, especially if they don’t qualify for financial aid.

The other good news for students who don’t need financial aid is that merit scholarships are still going strong. Two of my students have already been awarded $25,000 a year, and many others have received awards in the $10,000 to $15,000 a year range. Private schools need to be competitive with public institutions, and by offering scholarships to students who will still pay more tuition than students with huge financial need, they draw students whose families are able to pay a little more for the benefits of a private college experience. In a still shaky economy, merit scholarships are more appealing than ever. Even California parents who attended public institutions and thought their children were headed for UC or CSU are now worried about the quality of education at our public universities, and the ability of students to graduate from these schools in four years, and many of them are now see merit scholarships as a way to make a private college education affordable.

Of course, a scholarship isn’t a reason to choose a school that doesn’t meet your needs, but with careful planning, students can find schools that are both good matches and affordable.

Perhaps it’s because the stakes seem so high and they are so desperate to get into a favorite school, but the stress of the college admission process seems to lead some students to do things that are really not in their interest.

Sending eight recommendations when a college asks for two will likely annoy admissions officers who already have too much to read. In addition, you are communicating that you can’t follow directions, can’t count, or have so little confidence in your application that you have to try to pump it up with as many letters as possible.

The same thing can happen with application essays.  If a college asks for 500 words and you write 1500 words, do not expect the admissions officer who has been reading applications for nine hours that day and opens your file to find a four page essay to feel kindly toward you.

Calling or e-mailing your admissions officer every week to let her know how much you want to attend the college is not the way to demonstrate interest in the school. Desperation is no more appealing in a prospective student than it is in a potential date.

Applying to college is like applying for a job in many ways. Any questions about judgment or integrity can mean the end of your application. You may be tempted to exaggerate or even lie about your accomplishments, but it is best to present yourself honestly. If an application raises some question or concern, someone will investigate. A student who claims to have won an award or done community service for an organization that doesn’t sound familiar may find that award or organization being Googled in the admissions office.

In order to be taken seriously, you need to communicate in a professional manner. That means no texting an admissions officer as if she’s your BFF. An e-mail address that seems funny to a student could be offensive to an adult. While interviews are not usually a major factor in college admission decisions, you don’t want to be remembered for getting (and even worse, taking) four phone calls during the meeting.

Of course, students aren’t the only ones who can sink a college application. Parents who call and ask questions that should come from the student are not doing their child any favor. Even worse is the parent who pretends to be the student on the phone. Then there are the parents who insist on going into the interview and speaking for the student. 

Annoying an admissions officer might not be reason for a denial, but if you’re applying to selective colleges, you don’t want to stand out for negative reasons. A student’s judgment and maturity can factor into admission decisions, so make sure your actions are communicating the most positive message about you.

At the recent UC Counselor Conference, it was clear that with an $813 million shortfall this year, times are tough at the University of California.

Every campus is currently overenrolled, and UC is not getting state funding for the extra 14,000 students. The freshman enrollment target is certain to decline this year. UCLA is overenrolled by 1,700 California students. Since resident fees don’t come close to covering the cost to educate a student, when the state doesn’t fund those 1,700 extra students, UCLA’s budget is further strained.

Campuses that were previously not very competitive have become more selective. The admit rate at Santa Cruz went from 74% in 2008 to 64% in 2009. Santa Cruz is expected to be slightly more selective this year, but the difference won’t be as dramatic as we have seen in recent years. Davis, which has become very popular in recent years, admitted 68% of students back in 2006, and just 46% in 2009. Berkeley did not cut enrollment last year, but will do so this year. 

In the past, UC eligible students who were not admitted to more selective campuses would be referred to Riverside and Merced, even if they hadn’t applied to those schools. But this year students who are willing to attend those campuses should apply, because the referral process will be sharply curtailed.

UC Irvine used a waitlist year for the first time in 2009, and there is discussion of a possible systemwide waitlist for 2010.

There is good news for students who are Eligible in Local Context (ELC), meaning they are in the top four percent of their class. They will be again be guaranteed admission to Davis, Irvine, Riverside and Santa Barbara.

While freshman enrollment will decrease, UC will have a modest increase in spaces allotted to for transfer students.

The changes on UC campuses will go well beyond admissions. A hiring freeze on permanent faculty, fewer lecturers and teaching assistants, bigger classes, curtailed library hours, and reduced support services are some of the ways the budget crisis is impacting the UC. 

While admissions directors stressed that every effort is being made to keep the cuts from impacting the classroom experience, there’s no way around it. Students may have to take classes at 8am or 5pm. Some programs and courses will be cut. Freshmen currently graduate from UC in 4.25 years on average, but that could increase if it becomes more difficult to get classes. Students will have a different UC experience than their older siblings might have had a few years ago.

The cost of attending a UC will go up, with a midyear increase and then a substantial increase for fall 2010. The amount will be set in November, but the current $26,400 average total cost could top $28,000 next year. Part of the increase in fees will go to financial aid, to minimize the impact on needy students.

I left the conference thinking I will advise my students who want to attend a UC campus to apply widely this year. Students who would easily have been admitted to their favorite UC campus in the past could be disappointed.

While their transcript is set at this point, seniors can still improve their prospects for admission by improving their standardized test scores and making the most of the personal statement on the UC application.

Freshmen, sophomores and juniors should start planning now if they want to be in a strong position to apply to the UC in the next few years.

If you have a high school senior who is planning to attend college next year, the coming months may be an emotional roller coaster for the whole family.

The college application process can feel overwhelming, and some kids cope with their anxiety by avoiding the whole subject. They never get around to narrowing a list of schools or writing an essay. Their procrastination makes their parents feel anxious, which makes the kids feel even more anxious, and nothing gets done.  

It may seem like it would be easier to just complete the applications yourself.  But in addition to being unethical, taking over a child’s college application process communicates that you don’t think he’s capable of doing it himself, at a time when he needs to develop the confidence to go off to college and manage his life. It also deprives him of the opportunity to engage in a thoughtful exploration of his goals and interests, an important task for adolescents. 

That doesn’t mean parents should be completely removed from the process. Most students need help getting organized. You can help your child make a chart with each school’s requirements and deadlines. Knowing what you need to do and when you need to do it makes the process less overwhelming.

If your child thinks he has nothing to write about, you can brainstorm essay ideas together. Pointing out some of his best qualities and recalling funny or interesting stories about his life can help generate essay ideas and boost his self-esteem.

You can be a valuable sounding board and supporter. Reassure your child that even though this is a stressful time, things will work out and he will go to college. By allowing him to be responsible for his college application process, you help him feel competent to manage his life.

I just returned from the Western Association for College Admissions Counseling (WACAC) conference, where I got the latest information from admissions officers. The good news for seniors planning to apply to the University of California is that the essay prompts will be the same, so you can start working on those essays now. The not so good news is that UCLA and Berkeley are likely to reduce freshmen enrollment next year. Once the state has a budget and UC knows what the funding will be, enrollment goals for next year will be set for each campus. With increasing competition for fewer seats, it’s more important than ever to submit a strong application. Berkeley received 850 appeals this year and only admitted 10 of those students, so the chance of reversing a decision is very low.  It’s tough to get motivated when you’re burned out from an overloaded junior year, and it’s fine to take a couple weeks to rest, but then you need to start working on that personal statement, so that you have plenty of time to prepare your best application. 

The admit rate at many UC campuses will probably drop again for the fall 2012 freshman class, when new eligibility requirements mean that more students will be eligible for admission. Younger students should make sure they’re on track with curriculum choices as well as summer and extracurricular activities that will enhance their UC application. While the 2012 applicants will no longer be required to submit SAT Subject Test scores, students who plan to apply for certain programs, like engineering, will be more competitive if they have strong math and science Subject Test scores. 

I received an email yesterday from the admissions director at the the University of Washington in Seattle saying that the waitlist will be very important this year. That is likely to be the case at many colleges.  Because of the state of the economy, it is much more difficult to predict who will accept an offer of admission.  I think we’ll also see waitlist activity continue later this year, because if families find their financial circumstances deteriorating over the summer, students who sent in a deposit might cancel their enrollment and attend their local community college. The good news is that if you are waitlisted at your favorite college, and can afford it, your chances of being admitted could be much better than in recent years.