Yesterday’s New York TImes wrote about the ‘high cost’ of the college admissions process. It appeared not in the Education or regular section, but the ‘Health’ section. Turns out, the ‘high cost’ is the toll stress has on the applicants.  WE know all about that! Cnsider these facts:

Below is the article, we’d love to hear what you think about it!

College’s High Cost, Before You Even Apply

Taken from the New YOrk Times, April 29, 2008

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Published: April 29, 2008

As the frenzied admissions season winds to a close, many students finally know where they will be attending college in the fall.

Stuart Bradford

But there remains a troubling question: how much damage was done along the way?

This year’s crop of applicants faced an unusually grueling admissions process. A demographic bubble has produced the largest group of graduating seniors in history, and they now are facing rejection by colleges at record rates — more than 90 percent at Harvardand Yale, for example.

There will be more disappointment this week as the May 1 admissions deadline passes and thousands who were on waiting lists learn that there are no spots left for them. And today’s high school sophomores and juniors may face worse odds. After a 15-year climb, the number of high school graduates still hasn’t peaked — that is expected to happen within the next two years.

“The college admissions process is an initiation rite into adulthood,” says Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, adolescent medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and author of books on teenage stress and resiliency for theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics. “But if success is defined very narrowly, such as a fat envelope from a specific college, then many kids end up going through it and feeling like a failure.”

Students complain about lack of sleep, stomach pain and headaches, but doctors and educators also worry that stress tied to academic achievement can lead to depression,eating disorders and other mental health problems.

“There are some kids who can handle it,” says Denise Pope, a Stanford University education lecturer and author of “Doing School,” a book about stress and academics. “But some of these kids have had college on the brain since sixth or seventh grade or even earlier. When you have that kind of stress over that kind of time, that’s where it starts to worry us.”

At the start of the admissions season, Austin Grogin, 18, from Bellaire High School near Houston, applied to 12 colleges, writing different essays for each school. He had strong test scores and a journalism internship at The Houston Chronicle, he had organized a majorbreast cancer fund-raiser at his school, and he hoped to attend Emory University in Atlanta. “I had countless stomachaches and headaches,” says Mr. Grogin.

By April, he was checking online at least twice a day, and was stunned when Emory didn’t accept him.

“At first I refreshed the page to make sure it wasn’t a mistake,” he said. When the official rejection letter arrived in the mail, he invited his friends over and burned it. “I felt burned by the school,” he says, adding that he is looking forward to attending his second choice, the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Some high schools are trying to improve the process by easing up on the workload of seniors who are filling out college applications. At Princeton High School in New Jersey, Patti Lieberman, a guidance counselor, says she emphasizes stories of real students who won better opportunities — like research grants and White House internships — after going to slightly less competitive schools. “We try to teach them, ‘Bloom where you are planted,’ ” she says.

Stanford University’s School of Education this week is kicking off Challenge Success, expanding the mission of its previous program, Stressed Out Students. Challenge Success will work with high schools, teenagers and parents to help them redefine success in college admission and academic achievement in general.

“College admission is how a lot of people are defining success these days,” says Dr. Pope, founder of the group. “We want to challenge people to achieve the healthier form of success, which is about character, well-being, physical and mental health and true engagement with learning.”

Dr. Ginsburg says parents can help children develop resiliency for coping with life’s ups and downs. The key, he says, is to teach them that their parents’ high expectations of them aren’t tied to grades or accomplishments. “It means teaching them, ‘I know who you are deep inside, and I always expect to see that compassion and generosity in you,’ ” says Dr. Ginsburg.

After achieving perfect scores on his SATs, Sam Werner of Norwalk, Conn., was devastated by rejections from Stanford and Princeton. Mr. Werner was also on the crew and golf teams, performed in his high school musical and ranked third in his class.

“I kept wondering what more I could have done,” he says. “I realize I didn’t found a company or discover a new insect. I feel like it’s coming to a point where you have to do something like that to get into schools like Princeton or Stanford.”

Today, Mr. Werner, a pre-med student at Notre Dame, says he has new perspective on being “rejected” by his top college picks. “At the time, it felt like it was the biggest deal in the world that I didn’t get into those schools,” he says. “But I love it here. Looking back on it now, this is definitely the right place for me.” 

Tests don’t only measure what you know or how well you know it; tests also measure how well you take them.  For a majority of test takers, the mere thought of an upcoming exam can elicit anything from minor irritation or a feeling of fogginess on details to a spasmodic explosion of dread and complete immobilization – picture “deer in headlights.” If have experienced any of these reactions, chances are you suffer from test anxiety.  Anxiety stems from a variety of causes, but most commonly from a belief that we cannot fulfill our expectations. An estimated 30-35% of college students are handicapped by test anxiety. According to research published in the journals, Review of Educational Research, Contemporary Educational Psychology and Educational Psychology, test anxiety can impede test performance by as much as 12 percentile points. For the GMAT, best results come from a comprehensive and aggressive study program integrated with holistic techniques to prepare you mentally, emotionally and physically for the test. Performing at your optimum means knowing the material and feeling confident, calm, focused, and alert.   Follow the three key tips below to draw on your mental, psychological, and intuitive strengths. By using these techniques, you will develop the retention and recall, concentration and focus, confidence and relaxation necessary for peak performance on test day.  
1. Create a schedule for the duration of your study. Include designated time for study, exercise, social interaction and downtime. Schedule at least 6 hours of sleep. We also encourage at least 10 minutes a day for meditation, prayer, or quiet time.  Your brain works best when it has time to process information. It needs time when you’re not studying or thinking about GMAT material. You also avoid burnout with a balanced schedule.  
2. Fire your inner critic.Eliminate self-judgment, especially if it leans towards self-flagellation. If you continue to feel shame and dejection because a third grade math teacher said you’d never be good at math, maybe you can think of the ways, now, as an adult, you ARE good at math. Remember: the GMAT tests what you learned in seventh through ninth grade, not rocket science. 
3.  Visualize success.Imagine: It’s test day and you feel comfortable, prepared, and relaxed. This visualization exercise prepares your brain to feel that way on the REAL test day.  Spend at least five minutes at a time imagining different details about taking the test. Notice you answer each question with clarity and preciseness. Your visualization scene doesn’t need to be the same each time, but you need to tap into a sense of accomplishment, calm, and confidence. Do this every morning and before bedtime.
 Researchers at Stanford and University of Chicago evaluated the efficacy of visualization. They compared two sets of basketball players. The first group practiced playing whereas the second group only imagined practicing. The players who didn’t physically practice, but visualized peak performance, improved 23 -30 percent in their actual basket-shooting ability, whereas the students who physically “practiced” saw little improvement.  GMAT test-takers who prepare themselves beyond the intellectual practice by feeling positive and preparing themselves wholly, perform best on the test. 

Welcome to Test Prep New York’s Yoga for your Mind™ blog.

  We understand that tests don’t only measure what you know or how well you know it; tests also measure how well you take them.

 Our high-octane, fully loaded blog will give students, parents, teachers and curious souls ingredients to excel in school and on upcoming tests. We will introduce you to powerful and easy techniques to optimize your test-taking potential by aligning yourself intellectually, emotionally and intuitively. We will include best methods for organization, perseverance and balance, plus a plethora of personal growth exercises designed to alleviate stress and enhance efficacy and confidence.Our advice includes suggestions to manifest your intention and spark momentum to accelerate your full learning potential. 

You’ll benefit from experts at the front line, from admissions consultants, tutors, psychologists, learning specialists, linguists, brainiacs, poets, educators, mystics, and a seer or two, who will provide suggestions for the most effective ways to think and be to help you become the you you’re meant to become. You might feel your boundaries stretched and challenged. Learning sometimes does this. 

It’s up to you to imagine what’s possible, to think big, and to lay claim to your greatness and strengths so you can go into the test, and life, feeling confident and secure that you’ve done all you can to achieve your best score. The secrets to your success are being in the flow, trusting the journey and preparing yourself fully. Have integrity, take responsibility and enjoy the ride. Your learning is the culmination of study, feeling confident and calm. We’re a source to help you get there.

 Put on your seat belts, get your inner guru ready, because we’re ready to fly!