By MARY STEVENS DECKER

Redmond Reporter

Just as the high school Class of 2008 gets into the flow of summer’s longer days and idyllic weather, those “Back to School” sales will remind them that time marches on.

And more and more students will be marching onto college campuses in the fall of ‘09.

In the last edition of the Redmond Reporter, we featured some tips for parents and students who’ll transition to college life this fall.

Now we’ll look at some of the reasons why it’s getting so hard for average students — or even outstanding students — to get into the college of their choice.

Redmond High School counselors Cheryl Dennis, Jen Murdock and Ellen Zambrowsky-Huls shared observations and insights.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

Dennis showed us a document called “Decisions, Decisions,” from the University of Washington (UW) Admissions office. It gave statistics on the 60 percent of applicants who were admitted to UW’s freshman class for 2008-09. The greatest number had high school GPAs of 3.9-4.0 but some with GPAs in the 2.0-3.0 range made the cut, too, based on other factors that showed their potential.

The holistic admissions approach can be a blessing or a curse, depending on where students’ chips fall. Is it fair for a student with lesser grades and lower test scores to take a spot away from an honor student? On the other hand, shouldn’t average students have an equal opportunity to attend a state university?

In general, the sheer volume of high school students applying for college makes the competition more fierce — and in the current economy, going to private or out-of-state schools is not a viable option for many kids, the counselors said.

So what about kids who’ve always had their heart set on going to a certain college? How they can ensure that they’ll find a suitable alternative if they’re one of the many who aren’t invited to enroll at their dream school?

Murdock said, “I completely respect the kind of student who has that dream … but as an adult, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. Hold on to the dream but have insurance in place.”

CAST A WIDE NET

Murdock advises students to think about the features that attract them to that “dream school” in the first place: “What do you like about it? That’s in a certain town or out in the country? That it’s big or small?”

She then encourages them to identify several other schools that have similar characteristics.

Zambrowsky-Huls noted, “And what do you want to study? They overlook things like Central Washington University because it’s out in Ellensburg. They think it’s not good for business because it’s not in a big city, but it actually has one of the best business programs in the state.”

After they’ve listed the “make or break” qualities and the careers to which they aspire, many students are surprised when their so-called dream school doesn’t even pop up in an online criteria search.

Murdock urges kids to apply to between three and seven schools, “including a couple where you’re going to be considered the cream of the crop, a few where you have a pretty good shot and maybe one that’s a dream school — if you don’t apply, you’ll never know.”

But don’t go crazy applying for colleges, either, the counselors said. This year, Murdock had a student who applied to 17 and Zambrowsky-Huls had one who applied to 22, because her father, mother and her friends all had their own ideas about where she should go.

“If you get into all 22, when May 1st rolls around, you still have to make the decision,” said Murdock.

BOUNCING BACK

Rejection hurts, but it doesn’t have to mean it’s the end of the world, said the counselors. For students who don’t get into their first-choice school, “We need to fall back on tools of coping and resiliency — not just for college choices, but for life,” said Dennis. “A lot of kids’ disappointment is more reflective of the parents’ disappointment,” so moms and dads can help their kids by being more flexible, too.

“Some of the most successful people in the world didn’t go to Harvard or Yale,” Dennis noted.

Zambrowsky-Huls agreed, “It’s what you take out of your college experience that’s important, not where you went to college.”

The counselors advise students who’ve been turned down to ask if they can be on a wait list or if there’s an appeals process. They’ve known of students who got lucky because they were persistent and followed the instructions to the letter.

Community colleges are also an overlooked resource, they said. Some offer specialized programs that are not available at four-year universities. Others are “feeder” schools that may allow you to transfer to where you really want to go, a little later on.

Incidentally, said Dennis, she’s known of students who got into their dream schools but decided at the last minute that they weren’t ready to go away from home. Zambrowsky-Huls mentioned a study who was ecstatic to get into the school of her choice but couldn’t because “the financial aid package just wasn’t there.”

Dennis concluded, “This summer and in fall, students should do lots of research, go to the college fairs. Families should have good discussions, be honest about what the student wants and what they can afford. And parents should not feel guilty about what they can not afford.”