What are some mistakes that you want to avoid when completing an application?

To properly view this site, javascript must be enabled and Flash version 9 or higher must be installed.
Get the latest Flash player
Jerome A. Cole, MA
Director of College Counseling, The Edmund Burke School
coleecs.googlepages.com/home  
(301) 625-5066

Jerome A. Cole, M.A., is the Director of College Counseling for the Edmund Burke school in Washington, D.C. and the founder of Cole Educational Consulting Services (Cole ECS.) He has worked with students and families for over seven years to help them plan and strategize for college. As a college counselor at Burke, an independent college preparatory high school founded in 1968, Mr. Cole oversees a program that is designed to support students and families as they go through the selection and admission process for college. Mr. Cole advises over 100 students each year in a small academically challenging environment where every senior is expected to apply to and enroll in college. Prior to Burke, he was a school counselor at Bethesda-Chevy Chase high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. He has successfully counseled hundreds of students and helped them prepare for admission to a variety of schools such as: American University, Clark-Atlanta University, Davidson College, George Washington University, Harvard University, Pitzer College, Stanford University, Temple University, and the University of Maryland at College Park, to highlight just a few. He established the consulting firm Cole ECS to provide students and families with the necessary information and support to make the best choice for college. Cole ECS defines the best choice as the optimal learning and social environment to ensure a student’s holistic success, culminating in on-time or early graduation and desirable post-graduate options. Mr. Cole earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Catholic University, and then went on to obtain a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from George Washington University. He is certified as a school counselor and is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC).

What are some mistakes that you want to avoid when completing an application?

In this video, Jerome Cole tells you everything you need to know to complete the perfect college application and have a great college interview.

This expert: 198,318 views

This series: 16,449 views

Print

Transcripts

Speaker: What are some mistakes that you want to avoid when completing an application?

Jerome Cole: I think that the one thing that I would say to students as they are completing their college application is, follow the instructions; they are very clear, if they are not, pick up the telephone, call the college and ask, do not guess. You never want to guess on the college application. In most cases they are pretty straight and forward with what they want, but there are some applications out there, there are some colleges out there that intentionally put, make them difficult for students to complete and what they are trying to do is determine your ability to follow instructions. You are being assessed in your ability to complete the application as they prescribe, but also to turn it on time. So I would say that the mistakes that you want to avoid, you want to make sure that you read the application; you understand exactly what it is that they are asking for and that you get it turned in on time. The mistakes that kids make is that they rush through their applications; they turn them in late and those kind of things; they're just going to be unacceptable and you are going to put yourself at a great disadvantage.

Other Videos