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Despite a near-perfect high school record, Lynbrook senior Ankur Bahl is worried about getting into the college of his choice--and he should be, according to admissions officers at the country's top schools.

At All Costs

Prep courses capitalize on the competitive culture of Top 10 schools

By Eric Drudis

Lynbrook senior Ankur Bahl, who's been class president for the past three years, isn't sure he'll get into the school of his dreams. He is editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and an outstanding scholar with hundreds of hours of community service under his belt, and he has traveled globally in jump-roping competitions.

"I'm worried," Bahl says. And many college admissions experts say his fears are justified.

Increasing competition for a small number of coveted acceptance letters has spawned a number of college prep courses that promise to give students a competitive edge that regular high school counselors and old-fashioned common sense can't.

In California especially, demographics are "scary" for upcoming college applicants, says Seppy Basili, the executive director of precollegiate programs at Kaplan Educational Services.

"The growth of students [in California] is staggering, even when compared to national statistics," Basili says.

As a result there's a boom in the number of students applying--at some schools applications have increased by 20 percent. Meanwhile, freshman class sizes have remained the same. "As the number of applications is increasing to top-ranked schools like Stanford, and as the competition increases, it does get harder to get in," confirms Kathy O'Toole, a spokesperson for Stanford admissions.

The Chronicle of Higher Education expects that the number of applicants will keep growing until 2008. In other words, even current third-graders will deal with the increasingly competitive world of college admissions unless more colleges are built.

Odds are against even the most versatile applicants. Eight thousand students with a 4.0 GPA who applied to UC-Berkeley received rejection letters in 1997. And Stanford sent more than 10,000 rejection letters to students with A averages and SAT scores hundreds of points above the national average.

In Search of Perfection

"We're looking for excellence," says Harvard University senior admissions officer Roger Banks. "We're looking for well-rounded students. There is no formula for getting into college."

And according to Shuhei Sekiguchi, associate director of Achieva College Prep Centers, this "excellence" is something students must be able to demonstrate, thus spawning the hundreds of programs that claim they can help students set themselves apart.

"We offer the entire package. ... We guide our students from freshman year to senior year because preparing for college starts during freshman or sophomore year," Sekiguchi says. "We help them plan their extracurricular profile. We help them choose what college to apply to. College essays are very important, and we help them choose the right topic. We help them rewrite and revise their essays starting junior year. We help them choose which teachers to ask for recommendation letters--the teachers you choose will reflect what schools you'll get into. Interviews are very important, so we do mock interviews."

All this, he says, is "to catch the admissions officer's eye."

But admissions officers at several elite schools--among them Dartmouth, Stanford, Berkeley and Emory University--said these programs are not necessarily helpful in getting an acceptance letter.

"I'd like to see them prove they can produce results, and it seems to me like they can't," says Harvard's Banks. "I, for one, haven't seen any proven results."

At Berkeley, the applicant's "whole package" is the most important aspect of gaining admission, says Anthony Magena, an admissions officer.

"It's a huge process with many facets." he says. "No program can narrow it down into a simple formula, no matter what they say. Qualified students will get in with or without these programs. I don't know what secrets they know that high school counselors don't."

Still, prep-course companies continue to grow, for one because of the competitive nature of students trying to get into college: "The acceptance letter you receive determines whether the past four years of your life, academically, were worth it," Lynbrook's Bahl says. He took a Kaplan course that raised his SAT score 80 points, possibly the deciding factor in whether he gets into a Top 10 school.

The college prep market 10 years ago consisted of "a couple books and a few high school counselors," according to Frank Riebli, the director of high school programs for Princeton Review. It now is flooded with courses in practically every American city--some sponsored by the PTA; others by highly lucrative corporations traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

From 1992 to 1997, Kaplan's business grew 84 percent. Princeton Review reported similar increases in attendance at its centers. Achieva College Prep Course has opened centers across the Bay Area--including one in the West Valley--and plans to expand nationally.

Despite the popularity of such courses, Lynbrook senior Zain Muzaffar said the Kaplan course he took accomplished "nothing. It only made me worry."

He says the programs may teach useful information, but he hasn't seen any success through them. Success comes from the student himself, he says.

"It takes dedication and commitment to get into a place like Stanford," Muzaffar says.

'Alienating' Cost

Harvard's Banks wonders why parents pay for private counselors since most schools hire career and college guidance counselors.

"Why are parents paying taxes for schools and then paying more for the same thing?" he asks.

The cost is "alienating," says parent Marian Choi, who considered sending her Cupertino High School senior to a college prep course. "I would like my daughter to go to the best school, but my husband and I cannot afford college and before-college costs if they are that high."

Achieva, Kaplan and Princeton Review courses cost between $200 and $2,000, while private tutors licensed by Independent Educational Consultant Association charge between $100 a session to $10,000-plus for four years of their services.

The sometimes prohibitive cost of courses is something Northwestern University's dean of admissions considers "dangerous."

"It might not be fair to students if they can't afford it," Charlie Cogan says.

IECO Executive Director Mark Sklarow defends the high costs, saying educational consultants offer individualized help unavailable elsewhere.

"Independent educational consultants can be a welcome resource for families who recognize they need more help than school counselors [or college prep counselors] are able to provide," Sklarow says.

Some parents reason thousands spent now will become millions earned in future incomes.

"If it helps [my son] get into college, it is worth it because the college he goes to will affect his future," says parent John Williams. "Yes, it is a financial burden, but it is as justified as paying $50,000 a year for a Yale education."

Williams says some programs also offer strategies for securing financial aid, so the investment is "definitely paid off." These programs, he says, do help students get into college.

Cheaper Alternatives

But one Monta Vista senior with a 1540 SAT took no such courses--and considers them a waste of money.

"I think that people can get a good SAT score by themselves," Tom Lauwers says. "They don't need the $1,000 courses. They can get the same effect from using a $30 SAT prep books or just studying."

Alice Ota, career center specialist at Monta Vista High School, says that Kaplan and Princeton Review-style SAT preparation courses may be helpful for some people, but local community colleges and the Monta Vista PTA offer less expensive prep courses.

"College Board representatives say the success of these programs vary with each person as to what kind of extra help is necessary," Ota adds.

No matter the program, the extra time spent preparing for college is worth it, says Fremont senior Nancy Zhao. Since her sophomore year, Zhao has enrolled in mainly honors and Advanced Placement courses--all for a prestigious school's acceptance letter.

"Getting into a good college is important because it is my entire future," Zhao says. "It's going to be my life."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 9, 1998.
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