A: First, congratulations!  A combined score of 2260 on the SAT I is generally considered strong at most schools.  Since your son has set his sights on these two very competitive schools and this specific major, you are right to question whether the 690 in Math will adversely affect his chances of admission.  If your son indicates that he wishes to study computer science on his application, admissions offices will expect him to have strong quantitative skills.  For example, his score of 690 falls below the middle 50% of students who took the SAT Math Test and were admitted to MIT in 2009 (their range was 730-800).  As such, I have a few tips for your son:

1. Take the SAT I practice test with a goal of scoring 700 in Math.  If he is scoring above 700, this could give him a good boost of confidence and he should register for the fall or winter SAT I test date.  If his score is not improving on practice tests, he should not spend any more time obsessing over one sub-score and go on to tip #2.

2. Focus on doing well in challenging math courses (and computer science courses, if available) during his junior year.  Admissions offices will want to see that he is capable of performing in the most rigorous courses available to him—especially math courses in his case.

3. Make sure he highlights any compelling information about his computer science background in his college application.  Has your son won any awards related to computer science?  Has he used his programming to design tools, programs or websites?  Has he used his talents to help others?  Does he take computer science courses at a community college, through an AP program or an IB course of study?

Keep in mind that your son’s scores will more than qualify him for admission to a number of selective schools in the U.S.  Once he indicates an interest in computer science at Harvard and MIT, he raises the admissions offices’ interest in his candidacy as a computer science student, but he also raises the expectation that he will be a strong quantitative student.  If he gets competitive scores on the SAT II Computer Science Test, Math II, Physics, AP Computer Science, IB Computer Science or other quantitative standardized tests, this could also help convey his interest and ability in math and computer science.

Lastly, your son should consider all of his strengths as a candidate.  Perhaps his other interests might be equally compelling to an admissions office without ever mentioning his intended major.  Remember, students are not required to declare their majors at most liberals arts colleges at the time of application.  Your son may be just as compelling as an all-around student as he is a budding computer science student.

1. Meet With Your College Counselor
If you haven’t done so already, schedule an appointment with your college or guidance counselor to discuss your college plans.  Your counselor will prove to be an invaluable resource in this process.

2. Request a Copy of Your Transcript
Be sure to request a copy of your transcript and check to see that course names and grades are accurate.  Update any erroneous information.  If your school has a process for requesting transcripts to colleges, be sure to start this process as soon as possible.

3. Report Your Standardized Test Scores
Colleges may also require that official score reports be sent directly from the testing companies.  To report SAT Reasoning Test, SAT Subject Test, Advanced Placement and CLEP exam scores visit The College Board’s website.  To report ACT exam scores go to their website here.  Check the score reporting policies at each of the colleges as they may differ from school to school.  If you are an international student and non-Native English speaker, you may need to send TOEFL scores as well.  Check with your counselor or visit the admissions office website for information about standardized testing requirements for international students.

4. Ask Teachers for Letters of Recommendation
Applications for admission will often require two letters of recommendation. Request these from your teachers as soon as you have an approved college list, providing as much lead time as possible.  When asking teachers to write recommendations, be sure they are willing to provide you with a supportive endorsement.

5. Write your Essays
Check the institutional applications and supplements for all essay topics and writing submissions needed to complete the application.  For essay writing tips read this.

6. Apply for Financial Aid
If you are applying for financial aid, make sure you know which forms each school requires for requesting aid.  Most schools will require the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, otherwise known as the FAFSA.  Additionally, some schools may require the CSS Profile and/or a separate institutional application.  Send these as soon as possible, but no earlier than January 1.  With regard to financial aid, the early bird usually does get the worm.

Remember to check the requirements for each college as you are putting together your master checklists and be sure to track the status of each item throughout the process.  These reminders will help you stay on top of things so you can enjoy a stress-free holiday season.

* Write about something personal that tells a story about you. Write about something you know or have experienced.  The essay needs to give the reader a sense of who you are.  While the essay should address something personal, be very careful exploring topics that are generally uncomfortable or taboo.  For some good examples of bad topics, read this.

* Follow directions. Be sure that your essay addresses the question that is asked and that the length of the essay falls within the range indicated – generally 250-500 words in length, or one to two pages. Applications often include instructions on essay topic and length.  Admissions officers reading through hundreds – sometimes thousands – of applications appreciate students who adhere to the guidelines.

* Begin your essay with a clever opening. An attention grabbing beginning is likely to catch the eye of the reader.  Be sure the rest of the essay passes muster so you can hold the reader’s attention.  The essay should be engaging and the body and conclusion need to support what you set out to discuss in your opening.

* Avoid submitting your resume in essay form. Don’t repeat yourself by restating your extracurricular activities in your personal statement.  Your activity sheet should include all of these involvements and achievements already.  Your essay needs to explore a topic that is not already described in your application—unless you have something compelling to share about a particular experience that cannot be captured on your activity sheet.

* Proofread your essay. Review the essay with an eye for mechanics.  Correct all typos and grammatical errors.  Be mindful of your tone.  Make sure that your essay is neither too formal, nor too informal.  Any careless mistakes will signal to the admissions officer that you are not serious about your candidacy.

Remember that there is a real, live person reading your application.  Writing the college essay is a challenge, but also a great opportunity for you to share who you are and what makes you unique.

Sometimes it’s difficult to explain to applicants exactly what the college admissions process is at Ivy League and other selective liberal arts schools in the US.  Sometimes it’s just easier to explain what it’s not.

Last week NPR ran a story on South Korea’s national college entrance exam.  Specifically, the impact that the exam’s administration has on the entire country.  Roads close, airplanes are re-routed and the work day starts an hour later.  Why?  Because so much depends upon this one test date; each student’s college plans may rest on the results of this 9 hour test.

Obvious differences aside, the selective college admissions process at Ivies and other selective schools in the US follow a more holistic approach than relying on test results to render admission decisions.  According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (otherwise known as “NACAC”), the most important factors in college admission include: grades in college preparatory courses, strength of curriculum, standardized test scores, overall grades, essay/writing sample, rank, recommendation (counselor), demonstrated interest, recommendation (teacher), interview and extracurricular activities.  Note that test scores are only part of the equation.

If you are applying to a selective college in the United States, there is reason to take seriously your standardized test preparation.  Here’s a good article about the SAT scores you’ll need to be considered for admission to top colleges and universities in the US; for ACT scores read this.  Applicants with average test scores have the ability to re-test and they also have control over whether to send SAT scores to certain schools using an option called Score Choice.  You can read my take on Score Choice here.

Since test scores are only one part of the application, understanding how to use the rest of your application to showcase your strengths is your best bet–whether you have scored a 2400 or not.  While admitted students tend to achieve statistically similar grades and test scores, it’s your story that will set you apart.  Use your essay and short answers to communicate your passions, commitments and character.  While your grades and test scores help to put you on the radar, it is your story that will compel the admissions office to offer you a place in next year’s class.

Want to know what’s going on in the admissions blogosphere? We’ve rounded up some recent posts for you to enjoy over your Monday morning coffee:

Everyone knows that researching colleges can be one of the most time-consuming parts of the admissions process.  Guide and Seek’s latest post spotlights InsideCollege, a site that vets colleges and groups them by a particular attribute to help students pare down (or build up) their own college list.  The post gives examples of InsideCollege lists including:  honors programs at a public university, loan-free education to low-income students, and colleges known for their school spirit.   There are over 700 lists to choose from.  The value added is that you may find new reasons to apply to college that you’ve never even considered before!  By the way, the site has a list of colleges with no tuition.

CollegeInSight, currently in beta, is another college search site picked up by the College Admissions Partners Blog.  This site allows for a search by statistics, so you are responsible for doing the actual research.

Allen’s College Admissions Blog highlights the tough competition facing students transferring into California’s state university system from its community colleges.

This morning’s blog post at The Choice is also about community colleges.  This post is about the entire nation’s overburdened community college system as gauged by the Community College Survey of Student Engagement.   You can also leave questions and comments for the director of the center for Community College Student Engagement, Kay McClenney, from the site.

Interested in having your blog featured?  Let us know in the comments!

“The December late registration deadline has been extended to 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time), Friday, November 13, 2009, for online, phone, and mailed registrations.

  This extended deadline applies to registrations for test centers within the United States, U.S. Territories and U.S. Commonwealths.  

Late registration is not available for international registrations.”

Keep in mind that you will need a credit card (American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa) to register online.

Today, you have the benefit of free advice on college admissions from all kinds of guides, books and blogs.  But remember, sometimes you get what you pay for.

A couple of days ago, I ran across a post entitled the Top 75 College Admissions Blogs. A day or so later, I read another post entitled the Top 50 Blogs to Help You Apply for College.  I think that some of the recommendations are good ones—Allen’s College Admissions Blog and The Choice for example, but others don’t deserve their “top” designation.  In addition, there are other very helpful resources that don’t even make these lists.  One big oversight is Study Hacks which doesn’t advertise itself as an admissions blog, but offers 13 features on college admissions to date.  He gives great advice about navigating the admissions process and being a successful student—two things that obviously go hand in hand.  Neither of these lists make mention of admissions offices that host their own blogs or blogs that might help you with coursework, organization or college planning.

To get you started, I’d recommend using your feed reader (I like Google Reader and I use NetNewsWire on my mac) to aggregate blogs from the admissions offices of the schools that interest you (and if they don’t have an admissions blog, you can look for student blogs) as well as blogs that you’ll want to read on a regular basis.

For the latter, I’d recommend starting with Allen’s College Admissions Blog, Study Hacks, and The College Solution Blog.  Since you’re reading this post, I hope you’ll subscribe to Ivy Compass, too.

Are there any blogs you’d like to share with our readers that have been particularly helpful to you as you navigate the college admissions admissions process?  Are there any blogs from admissions offices, in particular, that have been helpful to you?

One of my favorite blogs, Zen Habits, shared a post last week entitled, “Life is Poetry.” It begins with a quote attributed to the venerable Mahatma Gandhi: “My life is my message.”

It’s a quote that resonated with me and I thought it might resonate with you also.  In a lot of ways, your application essay will be your message to an admissions office.  I think this is what makes it such a difficult part of the application process.  What message do you send?  Which of your ideas, thoughts or experiences will help your case?

There is new documentary called In 500 Words or Less that follows 9 high school seniors as they grapple with, among other things, writing the college essay.  (I’ve only been able to view the trailer, as it’s still only available through select screenings.  You can visit the In 500 Words or Less Facebook page for a listing of their current screenings.  For now, there are screenings scheduled in New York City, Austin, Orlando and St. Louis in October and November.)  When it becomes available to the wider public, I’ll post it on my blog.

Until then, I’d like to hear from you: what is your strategy for choosing your college application essay topic?  What do you hope to convey to the admissions committee by your choice of topic?

This morning, the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) released “2009 State of College Admission.” According to today’s New York Times article, this report reveals an increase in the number of students applying to college and a decrease in the acceptance rate at 4-year schools.  The silver lining: after this year, the number of students graduating from high school is expected to decrease— from a high of 3.33 million, that is.

Perhaps the most staggering statistics are the ones describing the situation in guidance offices across the country.  Student-to-counselor ratios are averaging 800, 900—even close to a thousand—per counselor in some states.  One student who commented on this report called the application process “strenuous and exhausting.”  I wonder if this is because she is one of the many students struggling to find adequate help.

I’d like to invite my readers to read my comment to The Choice blog post about this report.  I’d also like to invite readers to share their own experiences with their guidance counseling offices.  What does it do well?  What could be done better?

Finally, if you have a question about the application process that you’d like answered by a former admissions officer, as always, place it in our comment box and we’ll get back to you!

Your to-do: Start with your senior year classes and work your way backward, creating a class schedule with the most challenging courses available at your school for each year of high school.  Schedule your courses according to this plan.