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Published on 08/03/1998 All articles from this issue

Experts make college search easier

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Returning to school can also mark the beginning of the college search for many high school students. Fall is typically a busy time at college prep centers, said Carolyn Watson, co-founder of Achieva College Prep Center in Cupertino.

Watson said getting into college has become more complicated over the past five years.

"A perfect grade point average is no longer enough to guarantee students a spot at the university of their choice," Watson said. "It's a very overwhelming and difficult process, especially without outside help."

Through the prep center, Watson said she works with students "to find something that makes them stand out." Watson said this includes getting involved in sports, school clubs and community events.

"Admissions (staff) want to see involvement, consistency in doing something years in a row. They want people who will give back to the community."

Watson said she guides students through that "whole college process." She said students that have gone through the center have a 100 percent success rate at getting into a college of their choice.

Since opening a year and a half ago in Palo Alto, Watson and her brother Carlos Watson have expanded the center to four sites and have plans to open two more this fall.

Watson said most high school guidance counselors see about 500 students each, leaving little time for in-depth college preparation. She said most focus only on grades and SAT scores.

"We really spend a lot of time with each student," she said. "We know them and their families on a first name basis. We know what they like, what they dislike. Guidance counselors don't do that."

The center provides a variety of programs for students from short-term SAT preparation classes to four-year programs that include assistance in writing admission essays, SAT preparation to personal evaluation and college visits. Costs range from $200 to $2,000.

Watson said she helps students "strategize." She said the counselors at the center help students keep track of deadlines, walk them through the interviewing process, expose them to leadership activities and help them ask for letters of recommendation.

"We don't want to just find a big-name school. We want to find a place where they will do very well," Watson said. "It's not good to go to a school and then realize 'it's not school for me.' The student will be miserable and probably spend thousands of dollars transferring."

Oriaku Kas-Osoka, a senior at Independence High School in San Jose, said she enrolled at the center because she didn't know how to get started in the college search.

She said her high school counselor had little time to spend helping her.

"I'm learning a lot more than if I did this by myself," she said.

Kas-Osoka said she is currently arranging for an internship at a local hospital to better prepare for admission into the University of California, Los Angeles.

Watson said the most common roadblock for college-bound teens is starting their preparation too late. Watson said teens should start preparing for college as early as their freshman year of high school.

"Most students don't understand how extensive it is," she said.

Watson offered the following advice: Look around at your options; get involved in school clubs or sports; study different schools; most of all, be confident.