College Transitions Response to the College Admissions Scandal

College Transitions Response to the College Admissions Scandal In the wake of the instantly infamous  Varsity Blues scandal, our admissions consulting firm, College Transitions, has received a flood of interview requests from media outlets along with countless queries from the general public. This torrent of interest is to be expected following revelations of such a sensational and lurid tale involving Hollywood starlets, Ivy League coaches, bribery, forgery, and corruption among society’s one-percenters. Naturally, the public is wondering—is this what independent college counselors do? Is the entire system even more rigged in favor of the wealthy than previously thought? Is â€Å"independent/private college counseling† simply a euphemism for a quid pro quo purchase of a spot in an elite college for the progeny of the uber-rich?It’s not uncommon for one indicted â€Å"bad apple† to arouse suspicion of an entire profession. Whenever headlines reveal another physician caught in an opioid prescription scam, a le ading investment professional involved in a massive Ponzi scheme, or a high-ranking military officer embroiled in a political scandal, inquiring minds rightfully question whether the misdeed at hand is representative of a more widespread problem. If an individual in a profession perceived to be noble can do horrific things, might something be rotten in all of Denmark?The short answer to whether this well-publicized criminal conspiracy is representative of the entire independent college consultant industry is an unequivocal â€Å"No.† Of the roughly 12,000 independent college counseling businesses in the United States, it is our belief that 99+% adhere to the ethical guidelines put forth by esteemed organizations like the National Association for College Admissions Counseling and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (of which we are members). Could there be another bad apple or two still resting amidst the otherwise clean bunch? Sure, and it is the hope of the e thical independent college counselor community that any other dishonest actors are ultimately exposed and expelled from the profession, as occurred with Mr. Singer, the central player in this most recent conspiracy.Why do people need (ethical) independent  admissions counselors?The growth of the independent college counseling profession is a much-needed response to the increasing complexity of the admissions process and an ever-declining system of college-related support previously offered by our high schools, even those which serve largely affluent populations. The  National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the  American School  Counselor Association (ASCA) both firmly recommend a student-to-counselor ratio of no greater than 250:1. Unfortunately, most high schools, even many well-funded public ones, fall well short of this ideal. In fact, as of 2018, the average ratio in the United States was 482:1 and many states were not even close to that mark. A rizona sports a ratio of 924:1, California 760:1, and Michigan 729:1.As an added impediment to personalized post-secondary assistance, counselors in public high schools report only being able to dedicate 22% of their time on college-related counseling.  In the end, the average American teen receives a meager 38 minutes of college-related advice during the entirety of their high school career.Though independent college consulting services are often not affordable to low-income students, this reality should not discourage college consultants from filling the void where they can. When students of all income levels suffer from a lack of college guidance, the appropriate response isn’t to denounce the individualized guidance that some are able to secure. Instead, and until our colleges develop more simplified  and  equitable ways of evaluating applicants (not an easy task, despite what some journalists may have you believe), we need to ask how  all  students can be suffi ciently supported within our current system. Fortunately, independent college planners can play a very important role in this regard, even for those families who cannot afford private services. Later, we’ll discuss what we do, in particular, to promote college knowledge across the income spectrum.What do independent counselors actually do?Aside from helping students navigate each phase of the application process — a program of support that, as discussed above, is needed by many and for which we make no apologies — ethical and competent independent college counselors also engage in a variety of tasks that maximize a student’s prospects for academic and career success, not just college admission. These tasks include, but are not limited to:Identifying good-fit collegesCareer/interest assessment and other career-exploration activitiesIdentifying/researching prospective college majorsFinancial aid and scholarship guidanceDeveloping a program of study for high school  and  collegeSecuring accommodations for students with learning difficultiesPointing students to campus-based resources and other supports that provide for a successful college transitionAltogether, completion of these essential tasks, along with tasks directly related to preparing college applications, may take up to 35-40 hours of one-on-one work with an independent counselor, a far cry from the 38 minutes available to you at your local high school.What do ethical counselors NOT do?It goes without saying that all of the highly illegal and immoral acts committed by William Singer, founder of The Edge College Career Network (also referred to as The Key), are at the top of this list. Bribery, cheating on standardized tests, and falsifying student’s credentials, and any of the other grotesque, beyond the pale acts associated with Varsity Blues are, of course, not on the menu at any legitimate counseling firm. Of course, not committing felonies is hardly the moral b ar set in our field. Ethical standards for independent counselors include tenets such as:We do not guarantee admission to any particular college.We do not write essays for students.We do not encourage or allow any level of dishonesty or exaggeration in chronicling one’s activities, distinctions, or awards.We do not offer  compensation to, or accept compensation from, university officials in exchange for any influence in an admissions decision/recommendation.We do not enter any situation in which we have a conflict of interest.In sum, ethical counselors do not do anything that is a) criminal, b) dishonest, or c) is not solely in the best interest of the student.Hate the game, not the honest playersOutside of this most recent headline-grabbing scandal, there are many aspects of the present admissions landscape that undoubtedly deserve criticism and increasingly loud calls for reform. Such issues include the pervasive anti-meritocratic practices involving legacy admissions and athletic recruiting, the pressure-cooker admissions process at elite schools that impacts teens’ mental health, and the constantly rising, already exorbitant tuition rates that set students up for crippling debt that will follow them well into adulthood.By engaging in the practice of independent college counseling, we are not asserting that the present system of college admission is ideal. Rather, we are demonstrating a commitment to guiding students and families through an increasingly complex process and helping them realize returns on an investment that can easily reach $250,000-$300,000. Seeking expert guidance when considering making a large purchase is hardly a novel concept in other realms. Hiring a quality independent college admissions counselor can be pricey, but so is hiring a good accountant, realtor, personal trainer, financial planner, or lawyer. In the end, the upfront investment can pay for itself many times over.Do independent college counselors only help th e rich?One might deduce from the Laughlin-Huffman, et al. scandal that the only people who hire independent counselors are celebrities or high-powered executives with Harvard MBAs seeking to ensure that the next generation maintains an Ivy League lineage. This reductive takeaway would fall well short of representing reality. While a portion of the population employing independent college consultants is indeed wealthy, parents from many different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses employ our services. These include:Middle class families looking to save moneyA family who makes too much to qualify for sufficient need-based aid but not enough to cover college costs on their own is a perfect candidate to hire an independent counselor. An expert consultant can provide guidance on how a student can go about  procuring merit aid  directly from a university. By targeting the right schools, tens of thousands of dollars can be shaved off of the sticker price, sometimes leading to a six -figure discount over four years. Savings this dramatic make paying the consultant’s fee seem quite reasonable.First-generation studentsMom and dad never attended college, or they attended college outside the U.S. Now, their teen child is entering the college selection phase and, bombarded by unfamiliar information about everything from  FAFSA forms  to  SAT Subject Tests, they realize that professional assistance is needed in order to maximize their child’s post-secondary opportunities. Academic research on the topic backs up this decision, as first-generation students are far more likely to incur unwise debt, attend schools that are below their academic ability (read more about  Ã¢â‚¬Å"undermatch†), and less likely to obtain a degree than their non-first-generation peers.Students with learning needsGetting into a â€Å"good fit† college is of the utmost importance for any student with a  learning disability  or  attentional issues. Statisti cs on the college admissions and persistence fronts for students with disabilities are profoundly troubling across-the-board. In part, due to a failure to fully understand/disclose their own disability or sufficiently explore/take advantage of disability services and programming on campus, this population has a very high drop-out rate. Careful college planning and support can arm LD students and parents with the knowledge they need to carve out a path toward collegiate success.Homeschooled studentsFor the over two million students in the United States who are homeschooled, the looming admissions process is a  somewhat different gauntlet  than that which awaits traditional high school students. Issues of documentation, additional testing requirements, and the building of an extracurricular resume are just a few of the multitude of challenges that an independent counselor can help to tackle.Community college transfersYou’ve saved a good deal of money by completing a year or two at a local community college and are now seeking to  transfer into a four-year college. Now comes the hard part—navigating the transfer admission process. If that school happens to be a selective or highly-selective institution, you will absolutely benefit from one-on-one counseling with an independent counselor.Students applying to Ivy or Ivy-equivalent schoolsFor those of any socioeconomic background who aim to gain acceptance at an elite college, excellent grades and test scores, while necessary, are no longer sufficient. Ivy-minded and other high-aiming students will also be judged—for better or worse—on a variety of intangible factors that speak to their authenticity, intellectual motivations, and ability to make distinct contributions to a particular campus.   In this context, personal interests, extracurricular participation and other seemingly ancillary components of a students profile assume center stage and may make or break an application. Co nsultants work to identify and cultivate the best of what a student has to offer—through course selection, activities planning, college essay coaching and other things that improve his or her prospects for college admission  and personal fulfillment.College Transitions is not all about profitWhile a certain percentage of our clientele are people of means, it is possible for independent counselors to assist more affluent families while expanding access to higher education. In spite of what some may believe, the two activities are not mutually exclusive. Our firm, College Transitions, engages in a number of pro-bono activities, advising dozens of low-income and other underrepresented students on the college admissions process each year. In addition, we put in hundreds of man-hours each year maintaining and updating our no-cost and advertisement-free  Dataverse. This resource page contains sortable databases designed to help students learn everything from which schools are t he most generous with merit aid to early decision acceptance rates to the institutions that feed America’s top tech companies. In total, we offer over 100 such up-to-date data sources. We also host free webinars and in-person presentations on various aspects of the college admissions process, compose monthly newsletters designed to keep the parent community abreast of important admissions-related developments, publish weekly blogs to disseminate timely tips for all teens in the throes of admissions mania, and deliver free copies of  our recent book  to numerous under-resourced high schools.In closingAs dedicated independent college counselors, we do not have control over the entire ecosystem in which we operate; and there are indeed aspects of the admission process we detest. However, despite this (and perhaps because of it), we remain firmly committed to independent college counseling; because when done right, it can help students overcome the same education-related obst acles that this recent scandal has brought to light.Moving forward, we will continue to reflect upon and work with the â€Å"greyer† areas of our field, always evaluating and re-evaluating our role within the larger system of college admission in America, and always striving to do good and ethical work.

Transcultural Nursing An Increasingly Important Role Of...

Transcultural nursing plays an increasingly important role in health care today. The constantly growing multicultural population in the world has made it challenging for nurses to provided individualized patient care. Nurses must gain the knowledge, skills, and the ability to identify and understand the unique cultural differences and how it affects patient care. Research has shown that culturally sensitive nursing care encourages patient satisfaction and positive outcomes. Nurses today are using the Culture Care Theory, developed by nursing theorist Madeleine Leininger, worldwide to provide culturally sensitive patient care. Madeleine Leininger is known as the founder of transcultural nursing. She played a significant role in the transformation of cultural sensitive nursing care. Her focus was on studying and changing the meaning of caring. During her career, Leininger experienced that lack of knowledge regarding culture affected her ability to provide appropriate patient care. She saw the negative effects it had on the patient outcome. Leininger decided to become more familiar with the different cultural factors and pursued a doctoral degree in social and cultural anthropology. She found anthropology so fascinating that she lived and studied with the indigenous people of New Guinea for 2 years. Leininger formed the basis of her Culture Care Theory of Diversity and Universality from her studies and first hand experiences she gained during these years. AccordingShow MoreRelatedPurnell Model: a View on Asian Indian Culture Values. Essay1246 Words   |  5 Pagesculture and the culture of others in order to offer competent and culturally sensitive care and understand how their cultural beliefs may affect their health. (Leuning, Swiggum, Wiegert, and McCullough-Zander, 2002). 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Hosue On Mango Street Essay Example For Students

Hosue On Mango Street Essay 3Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street is an well-incorporated story told through vignettes shorts sections that piece by piece fit into a puzzle and reveal a theme. This unique story is about a disadvantaged young Chicana girl, named Esperanza, growing up in a poor neighborhood where she feels she does not belong. She does not like what she experiences, and constantly searches for a new future. As Esperanza grows and changes throughout the book, she realizes that women in her culture are treated unfairly, and makes a conscious choice not to fall into the same trap as the women around her. 4Women all around Esperanza, such as Minerva and Sally, are held hostage, within their own acceptance of an unjust cultural fate. For example, Minerva is a young girl who constantly prays for better luck, and a happier life, but enables her husband to take advantage of her, and therefore sets the path for her unsatisfactory life.One day she is through and lets him know enough is enough. Out the door he goes. Clothes, records, shoes. Out the window and the door locked. However, that night he comes back and sends a big rock through the window. Then he is sorry and she opens the door again. Minerva finds herself forgiving without truly seeing that her husband is sorry. She used marriage as a way out from her undesirable life, yet her married life still carries the same characteristics. And so, without fighting for a satisfactory life she settles with the hand she is dealt. 5Furthermore, Sally, an innocent friend of Esperanza, tries to escape her fathers cruel beatings through marriage, but her circumstances do not change, her husband still treats her as her father has in the past.He wont let her talk on the phone. In addition, he does not let her look out the window. In addition, he does not like her friends so nobody can visit her unless he is working. Sallys father controlled her and now it is her husband; she thinks that she is escaping when in reality she is just giving the leash to someone else. Sally chose the easiest way out of her life, marriage, she did not see the unfavorablelife of the women near her, she just chose a route to flee, without thinking of her future. 6All in all the women around Esperanza have all taken an easy escape from their surroundings leading them into another life of the same disappointment; and now accept their unhappy consequences, thinking that there is no way-out. Esperanza will not accept and is determined to overcome the unfair fate instructed on the women in her family, such as her great grand mother. For instance, Esperanza knows that she does not want to end up like her great Grand mother. She looked out the window her whole life like so many women sit their sadness on their elbow. I wonder if she made the best of what she got or was she sorry because she could not be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I dont want to inherit her place by the window (pg.11). 7Esperanza doe s not want to live a life of sadness. She searches for a path that would lead her out of the cycle that has captured her great grand mother and so many women around her. In addition, near the end of the book, Esperanza feels a need to come back and help those who are unable to leave, because she is positive that her fate will change.One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go awayto come back. For the ones, I left behind. For the ones who cannot get out (pg. 110). 8Esperanza has a sensitive heart, one that is sympathetic; she does not want to see more people end up like Minerva, Sally, or her great grand mother. She knows that most women will not be able to see light leading out of the darkness, so she wants to be able to show them the way out. Esperanza knows .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 , .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .postImageUrl , .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 , .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0:hover , .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0:visited , .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0:active { border:0!important; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0:active , .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0 .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u05ff02e402a30836887f260b38ce1ed0:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: In Cold Blood: Death Penalty Essay