A lesson from the filmmaker behind Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Wall-E: great stories have recognizable guidelines.

Embedded Video | Andrew Stanton: The Clues to a Great Story.

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A great group of friends can make or break a college experience. An easy way to make new friends in college is by attending student organized events and joining conversations. Look for small groups of people who are networking and standing in such a way that you can walk up and casually join their circle. Look for groups of “open twos” and “open threes.”

When joining a circle, make sure you leave enough open space so you do not close the circle to other newcomers. If you don’t feel a connection, politely excuse yourself (or slip away quietly if the circle is large enough) and find a new conversation to join. See: “10 Ways to Make New Friends In College” (Pg. 10) in Student Health 101 magazine for more great tips.

By changing the way your story is communicated in your personal statement, you change the way it resonates with your audience. Sometimes a stellar student gets rejected from a university while a not-so-stellar student is accepted to the same institution for the same major. This happens because of the way the students communicated their ideas in their applications. An idea is powerless if it stays inside of you. If you never pull that idea out, that idea dies with you as if it never existed. The way ideas are conveyed most effectively is through the telling of a story, and there are recognizable guidelines to a great story. When you communicate an idea in a way that resonates with the audience (i.e. admissions officers) who will read your application and personal statements, your chances of admittance are increased. There is something magical about a good story structure that can generate a physical reaction in someone. Your reader can get a chill down his or her spine or a pit in his or her stomach. In the video below, Nancy Duarte explains how the structure of a story impacts the way the story resonates with its audience. Her discussion on the importance of great structure in presentations is analogous to the importance of great structure in personal statements.

Embedded Video | Nancy Duarte: The Secret Structure of Great Presentations (Analogous Reasoning to How Great Personal Statements Strategically Utilize Great Structure).

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Decades ago, regional tuition exchange programs were created to give students an affordable way to pursue educational opportunities offered in other states.

Important: reduced tuition rates are not automatically awarded to all eligible candidates. Many institutions limit the number of reduced tuition awards each academic year, so research now and apply early to secure your discount!

Regional tuition exchange programs include:

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education: For residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

New England Regional Student Program: For residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.

Midwest Student Exchange Program: For residents of Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin.

Academic Common Market: For residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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Are you considering an appeal of your financial aid award?

Step 1: First, Determine If You Have a Viable Case for Your Appeal.

Financial aid appeals are most successful when there has been a significant change in your family’s financial situation that the FAFSA or CSS Profile could not measure because both instruments only measure historical financial data and neither account for expenditures you’ll need to make in the near or not-too-distant future owning to “special circumstances”. Special circumstances are defined as anything that differentiates a family’s finances from those of other families, especially anything beyond the family’s control. Examples of special circumstances that can lead to your financial aid package being adjusted include:

• Investments demanded by your family business • The actual or anticipated unemployment or salary reduction of a parent] • Death of a wage earner • High reimbursed medical bills • Unusually high child care costs • Unusual capital gains • Private elementary or secondary school tuition costs (for the student’s siblings) • An increase in the number of siblings attending college • Parents themselves enrolled in college • Etc.

Step 2: Contact Your College’s Financial Aid Office.

Talking with a financial aid officer can help you understand your college’s specific appeal process (e.g. the formalities and guidelines of the appeal, types of supporting documentation requested, etc.) and explore other options that might exist for you.

Step 3: Prepare Your Written Appeal. Because appeals should be supported by material facts, be prepared to provide documentation that supports your request. For example, income statements and expense records that support your special circumstances. Your letter should summarize the unusual circumstances and stick to the plain facts because any award adjustment will be primarily fact driven.

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There is Only One Allowable Excuse:

Need to get out of an early decision contract? Insufficient financial aid is the only excuse a student can use to break an early decision contract without penalty (like forfeiting your enrollment deposit). Therefore, you have no excuse not to apply to your dream school because of financial aid concerns.

Why This Loophole Exists:

Although early decision applicants get the first crack at financial aid money, the award offered by the university may not be enough for a student to afford the cost of attendance. A university’s cost of attendance includes more than the cost of tuition. It includes the cost of books, school supplies, room and board, plus personal costs like transportation. Universities know that the sum of these costs can be too burdensome for a family to take on.

You Must Meet One Condition:

If you are admitted to a university as an early decision admit and discover that the financial aid awarded to you is not adequate, you must appeal the award and petition the financial aid office for more money. If the maximum amount of financial aid the university can give you falls below your needs, you should be able to break the early decision contact without facing a penalty. However, double-check with the campus in question to ensure that this is the case with its university policy (it usually is).

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A lesson from the creators of South Park: flow, when used effectively, keeps readers engaged. Not every personal statement is worthy of being read. Not every admissions officer has to read what you write. If your personal statement is boring and doesn’t give the reader a reason to keep reading, the admissions officer – like any other person – will begin skim reading and skipping parts of your work.

Have you ever turned off a boring movie, bad TV show, or Youtube video only seconds into watching it? On the contrary, have you ever been so engaged in one that your parents called you to dinner but you ended up being late because you couldn’t pull yourself away.

In the video below, Trey Parker and Matt Stone share one simple lesson that will help your personal statement flow like a good movie show and keep your readers engaged.

Embedded Video | Trey Parker and Matt Stone: The Flow of a Great Story.

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1. Vision: Don’t Chase Something That’s Not There.

Sometimes, high school students we work with tell us that their initial inclinations to become lawyers, CEOs, marine biologists, etc. begin with a TV show that romanticizes that particular job. However, glamorized depictions of jobs are often misleading when it comes to the true nature of the work and its day-to-day responsibilities. In Network, a 1976 satirical American film about a fictional television network, the pinnacle speech that helped actor Peter Finch win an Oscar for Best Actor began with, “Television is not the Truth…We’re in the boredom killing business!” That speech, embedded below, explains why we recommend reaching out to professionals for informational interviews, which can help you learn about an occupation from someone who lives it. Ask these questions.

2. Competency: Don’t Settle For What You Are Good At, Chase What You Love and Be Considerate of What the Market Will Pay You to Do.

Embedded Video | Jim Kelley: Two Other Factors (Love and Market) Often Overlooked 

3. Security: Don’t Choose a Career Primarily For the Job Security.

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of The 4-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss, once made the observation that when most people flock to jobs perceived to be the most secure: those jobs become the most competitive and difficult positions to land. Further, the University of Southern California’s Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies has challenged the entire concept of job security for years (granted a few exceptions [e.g. teaching tenure]). Why? Because the cost of having employees is the single largest controllable expense that employers have. Studies have shown that workforce reductions are increasingly common during economic downturns. Staying with a company until retirement age has become extremely rare. Hard working and dedicated employees are laid off from “secure” jobs all the time. Did you know that California (and many other states) have at-will employment doctrines in law that allow employers to fire employees at any time, for almost any reason (unless the work contract explicitly states otherwise)?

4. Wealth: Don’t Pursue a Career Primarily For the Money.

Embedded Video | Mark Forchette: You’re Going to Get Money Pretty Quick

5. Appease: Don’t Pursue a Career to Satisfy Other People.

Embedded Video | Donald Trump: Advice on Choosing a Career

6. Legacy: Don’t Follow Your Parents’ Careers Without Exploring Other Options.

Embedded Video | Margo Peffer: Career Choice Mistakes

7. Direction: How to Find What You Love, What You’re Good At, and What the Market Will Pay You To Do.

Embedded Video | David Reynaldo: Identifying the Right Career and Major on the First Try

Everyone’s dream is to land a job that combines what you love, what you’re good at, and a market that supports the lifestyle you desire. However, your passion should never be compromised. If you do what you love, but you’re not good at it, dedication and hard work will make you better. Further, if the market won’t support the lifestyle you desire, at least you’ll have the full power to decide whether the cause or fulfillment is worth that sacrifice.

8. Offer a Tip of Your Own: Leave a Comment Below.

Embedded Video | Viktor Frankl: Why Realists Never Reach Their Potential.

“If we are idealists who seem to be overestimating and overrating man, you know what happens? We promote him to what he really can be. If we take man as he is, we make him worse.” Tip: the same applies to how you idealize and approach your college education.

A College Degree Won’t Make You Smarter or More Successful in Life:

College is what you make of it. If your primary objective for attending college is to earn a degree, you’ll graduate with little more than a very expensive piece of paper and not much else. See: Why College Students Learn Little.

The Difference Between Bullsh*t (B.S.) Classes and Life-Changing Classes:

University of Southern California professor Tommy Knapp, who taught the entrepreneurship class that College Zoom was founded in, addressed this attitude perfectly. He said, “Let me tell you something. Everything in life matters. This could be another b.s. class, or it could be the class that changes your life. But, if you continually figure out ways to make things (e.g. homework, assignments, classes etc.) not matter, then nothing will ever matter to you.” Why? Because success is a habit, much like failing. Another USC professor, who teaches an advanced business writing class, shared similar feelings. In referring to an assignment where students become business consultants for real-life small businesses he said, “I admit that I teach a b.s. class—but my b.s. class can only transcend the class if you let it. You can do this project for another b.s. grade, or you can apply yourself and gain something tangible from it that’s relevant to you in some way.”

What Matters Most? Read, 10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost

The Biggest Mistake Students Can Make:

Many students wait until their sophomore year of college to explore career interests. However, that kind of thinking can result in wasted time, money, and opportunities. Choose your major, first. Then, look for colleges that provide the best program for your field of study. Attending a college where your classmates share your interests, aspirations, and the desire to have the best education (opportunities) possible makes sense doesn’t it?

Why Knowing Your Major Makes a Big Difference (A Lesson from Alice in Wonderland):

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.
Alice: …so long as I get somewhere.
Cheshire Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

In other words: if you don’t know “where you want to get to” once you graduate from college, then whichever college you choose won’t help you get there any faster.

Why Career Direction Matters:

Knowing your major before you apply to college allows you to identify the institutions that offer you the best education, network, and opportunities for your future. Furthermore, freshmen and sophomores who enter college with career direction can take advantage of unique opportunities where they can learn from juniors and seniors who are on the cusp of graduating and launching their careers. Having career direction also eliminates unnecessary class scheduling and reduces your need to retrain in the future.

Want to Make College a Worthwhile Experience?

See: Why Non-Idealists Never Reach Their Potential

Embedded Video | Richard St. John: 8 Secrets to Success.

What do successful people have in common?

1. Passion: they do it for love, not money.

2. Work: “it’s all hard work, nothing comes easily but I have a lot of fun doing” – Rupert Murdock – CEO and Founder of News Corporation (the world’s third-largest media conglomerate).

3. Good: they put their nose down into something and become damn good at it. There’s no magic. It’s practice, practice, practice. 4. Focus: they focus themselves on one thing.

5. Push: physically and mentally, they push, push, push.

6. Serve: millionaires serve others something of value.

7. Ideas: they listen, observe, are curious, ask questions, problem solve, and make connections.

8. Persist: persistence is the number one reason for success. They persist through failure and CRAP (Criticism, Resistance, Assholes, and Pressure)

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” | Calvin Coolidge

1. 70% of financial aid goes unclaimed.

People assume they won’t qualify or don’t file on time.

2. People who file the FAFSA early get more money than those who apply later.*

Think: first come, first serve. Applications in the front of the line are considered for larger awards, grants, merit aid, need-based aid, athletic aid, etc. than applications received closer to the actual deadline.

3. The FAFSA application is not only for need-based aid.

The FAFSA also determines financial aid for merit, athletics, etc. So if you make a lot of money and don’t quality for need-based aid, file as early as possible.

4. If you lose your job, colleges will work with you if you submitted the FAFSA in previous years.

Filing the FAFSA every year is a safety net for your family.

5. You are guaranteed at least $2,600 in some sort of aid. Just file on time and accurately.

Even affluent families are guaranteed. The federal government says so.

6. Locate Scholarships Easily.

Use the CollegeBoard’s Fund Finder and FastWeb. View a comprehensive list of other free search sites here. In addition, ask your school counselor about local and state funding sources.

7. Is your family’s income under $80,000 a year? You may qualify for the University of California’s Blue + Gold Opportunity Plan. Click here for details.

8. Out-of-state safety schools can cost more than private schools if you pay out-of-state tuition.

Colleges that cost less also expect you to afford a higher percentage of the tuition bill. Example: a California resident attended the University of Colorado at Boulder and paid out-of-state tuition (approx. $26,000/year). He transferred to the University of San Diego (a $38,150/year private school) and ended up paying half the amount he was paying for Boulder.

9. You may qualify for in-state tuition rates at out-of-state schools.

Regional tuition exchange programs include: Academic Common Market (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia), New England Regional Student Program (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming), and Midwest Student Exchange Program (Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin).

FAFSA Action Steps:

1) Start planning to file January 1st of your student’s second to last year before college (this is the base year for financial aid awards). 2) File as soon after January 1st of your student’s last year before college as possible. 3) File the FAFSA every year to create a safety net just in case you lose your job or the economy sours.

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Embedded Video | Roger Schank: Why Students In Lecture Halls Don’t Learn Anything.

The Curve of Forgetting:

Did you know that 24 hours after a one-hour lecture, people forget 50-80% of they learned? And, after five days they only remember 2-3% of what they learned?

Studies Show Students Are Not Smarter When They Graduate:

“By the end of sophomore year, 45 percent of students show no significant improvement in critical thinking, writing and complex reasoning, the Associated Press reports. The findings come from a study of more than 2,300 undergraduates and also found that students didn’t get a brain boost in their last two years of college either. After four years, 36 percent of students failed to demonstrate significant academic improvement.” (LiveScience)

Why Lecture-based Learning is the Easiest to Forget:

“People generally assume that the easier it is to learn something, the easier it will be to remember the information later. But education research has shown that in many cases, it’s the struggle that makes information stick.” (LiveScience)

Embedded Video | Roger Schank: Why Easily Learned Lessons Are the Easiest to Forget

Details on the curve of forgetting and tips for boosting your memory retention for midterms and finals can be found here.

Embedded Video | How Students In Classrooms Learn Best

Takeaway: if you want to learn, make classroom material applicable to your life.

Why Having a College Degree Won’t Inherently Make You Smarter or More Successful in Life:

See: Why Non-Idealists Never Amount to Their Potential.

A lesson from marketing: a truly compelling central message conveys why you do what you do — not merely what you’ve done (or what you’ve accomplished). Every good personal statement has a compelling central message. Every student on the planet knows what they’ve done, especially when it comes to what they think admissions officers want to hear. Some students even know what they had to do in order to achieve their accomplishments (e.g. working hard, being persistent, trying again, trying something new, taking a chance, etc.) But, very few students are conscious of why they do what they do. Fact: every student applying to college is motivated to be successful on some level. However, not every student understands why he or she gets out of bed in the morning or why anyone should care? To understand this concept: think of people who live for something bigger than themselves. That “something” guides their actions and behavior, but not everyone can articulate what that something is. In the video below, Simon Sinek explains how the most inspirational leaders and game changers of our time communicate in a way that enables them to succeed where others, who are no less capable, fail. His discussion is analogous to why students with a higher GPA or better accomplishments get rejected by a university while seemingly less accomplished colleagues get accepted.

Embedded Video | Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire (Analogous Reasoning to How Great Personal Statements Win Over Admissions Officers).

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The Appeal Process:

Did you know that most universities will let you appeal an admissions decision even if the option to do so is not listed anywhere on their website? The best way to find out if an appeal is allowed is to call the admissions office and inquire with a representative. When you call the admissions office, be sure to inquire about whether the school school has specific appeal criteria (i.e. what kind of information they will consider and how their particular appeal process works).

Successful Appeal Letters:

The key to any successful appeal is to bring to light new and compelling information. New information is any information that wasn’t explicitly stated in your application. It can come from things that happened after you applied as well as things that happened before you applied. Compelling information means information that shows you to be a stronger candidate for admission (i.e. a better fit for the university) than you previously evidenced yourself to be. Mistake to avoid: using more than one sentence to tell a college how bad you want to be admitted. That is not new and compelling information and should not be the focus of your appeal. An appeal letter is essentially a fact-based rebuttal of the college’s decision not to admit you. In order to be successful, the appeal must convey a logical argument.

New and Compelling Information Varies:

Every school defines new and compelling information differently. For example, at CU Boulder (a university you would never know accepts appeals by visiting their website) in order for your application to be reconsidered there must have been a substantial change in your academic work since your decision was issued. However, at the University of California, Los Angeles: higher grades, recently acquired awards, or an increase in activities since your decision was issued hold absolutely no weight in the reversal of a decision (and each UC campus has different appeal criteria). Further, there are colleges like Boston University that narrowly define new and compelling information as information that only relates to a student’s academic performance (and not his or her extracurricular involvement). It’s always best to call the admissions office and clarify how they define “new and compelling information.”

Submitting Additional Letters of Recommendation:

Some universities allow additional letters of recommendation to be submitted with an appeal letter. The University of Washington, USC, and certain UC campuses (which do not allow applicants to submit letters of recommendation with their original applications) are a few examples. In 2009, one of our students became one of roughly 25 students (out of over 500 appellants) who successfully reversed a USC admissions decision with an appeal letter complimented by three very carefully coordinated letters of recommendation.

Important:

Maintaining academic performance and continuing to stay involved in extracurricular activities is something that is expected of all applicants. Therefore, getting higher grades or increasing your extracurricular involvement after you submit your application will not be a compelling base for your appeal argument. Your appeal will be more effective if you focuses on your strengths elsewhere.

Are You a Wait-listed Applicant?

Any student who is not admitted to a university can appeal the admissions decision if that university has an appeal process. This includes students who are on the wait-list. In addition to submitting a personal message with your wait-list opt-in, you can submit an appeal letter by following that university’s appeal process guidelines too boost your chances of being selected for admission.

Did You Apply Early Decision/Action?

Did you apply early action or early decision? Wait to file your appeal until the regular decision applicants hear back for two reasons. By then the university will have a better idea of how many accepted students will actually be matriculating (a.k.a. the number of vacant spaces in the entering class). Second, by that time in the school year, you’ll have amassed more accomplishments and information that you may be able to use to show a university that you are a stronger candidate than you were previously evidenced to be.

Our Most Impressive Win:

In our most impressive win, we helped a freshman applicant with 3.8 GPA and 1900 SAT score reverse his rejection letter from UCLA. Only the bottom 4.64% of admitted applicants had a GPA comparable to his. The average GPA and SAT score for UCLA’s entering class that year, 2011, was 4.35 and 2029, respectively.

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Defining Expertise:

Niels Bohr, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, once said, “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” If you want to be an expert in anything you set your mind to, keep picking yourself up when you fall on your face in front of other people.

First Steps to Building Confidence and Skill:

Embedded Video | Garret Hedlund: First Steps to Building Confidence and Skill. Actor Garret Hedlund never played the guitar or sang professionally, but he had to learn how to perform both of those skills for his lead role in the 2010 drama film Country Strong. In this interview clip, Hedlund talks about “making a fool of yourself” in front of other people and the growing pains of progression.

Skip to 1:29 for segment:

How Long It Takes to Achieve Expertise:

Embedded Video | Malcolm Gladwell: How Long It Takes to Become an Expert.

Why The Only Way We Truly Learn is by Failing:

Embedded Video | Willard Barth: Why The Only Way We Truly Learn is by Failing Failure: The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure; however, the only real failure in life is not trying.

Don’t Qualify for Financial Aid?

Regardless of whether a student qualifies for financial aid, the best way to cut college costs is to find individuals who are willing to make tax deductible donations to a university and have each donation credited toward a particular student’s tuition.

Find the People Willing to Fund Private Scholarships:

Donations can come from anyone. Students should ask their employer, family friends, relatives, etc. to fund a private scholarship for their benefit. The scholarship will be a tax write off for the donor because colleges are 501(c)3 organizations.

How To Get Private Scholarship Funding From Strangers:

After one of my classmates received an acceptance letter from the University of Southern California, he asked the university for a list of alumni in his area. His request was granted and because he wanted to study business he contacted every successful business person named on that list. My classmate scheduled informational interviews with each business person to learn why they felt USC was instrumental to their current success. Then, at the end of each informational interview, he’d inform each interviewee that he desired to attend USC for the same reasons, but his family couldn’t afford the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Several alumni offered to help, and they collectively paid 100% of his tuition throughout his four years of college. Furthermore, not only did my classmate attend a top private university for free, he gained several inspirational mentors who met with him regularly and helped him develop into one of the most success-oriented students in my graduating class.