Top 5 Kids

Factors colleges may consider when choosing students:

1. Athletics

2. Legacy status (parent attended that college)

3. Development (parents are significant donors)

4. Race, gender and ethnicity

5. Geographic and socio-economic diversity

Source: Sally Springer, co-author of “Admission Matters”

For many high school students these days, the college admissions process is fraught with worry and anxiety: Will I get into the college of my dreams? Will I get into any college? And how will my family pay for it?

There is valid reason for some of those concerns, says college admissions expert Sally Springer, co-author of “Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know about Getting into College” and associate chancellor emerita at UC Davis.

Admission to the most selective colleges in the country is more competitive than ever, she noted, and more and more families are worried about the financial side of things.

However, Springer said, the bottom line remains the same as it has for years: “Finding the right fit is key.”

The right fit means a college where a student will thrive both academically and socially and that can work with the student’s family to make it affordable. And while there is more competition for spots at the elite colleges, “there are still lots of schools with generous admission rates and ample room,” she said.

In fact, of the more than 2,000 four-year colleges in the United States, Springer said, only about 15 percent accept less than half of all applicants and most accept 75 percent or more.

Springer herself will provide more details and tips on the admissions process at a college admissions night at Davis High on Wednesday, Nov. 9, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the DHS library, 315 W. 14th St.

Regardless of where a student is in the admissions process, whether it’s a senior working on applications right now, a junior preparing for the process ahead, or even younger students, “everyone will leave the talk with one or more important pieces of information that they didn’t have before,” Springer said.

“My message is a realistic one about what’s going on out there,” she added. “I want to help everyone control the process.”

Springer encourages parents and students to attend together “so they’re getting the same advice.”

For parents, her message is how they can help, and a reminder “that it’s important to recognize it’s the student going to college, not the parent.”

For students, it’s about staying organized, not procrastinating and keeping their parents in the loop.

It’s also about doing a careful self-assessment, she said, “identifying what’s important to you and then researching to identify schools that will be a good match.”

“It’s important that people approach it in a systematic way,” Springer added. “Don’t just look at the (U.S. News and World Report) rankings.”

Springer brings more than 35 years of experience as a college professor and administrator to her work, which now consists primarily of working privately one-on-one with students in the college application process. Her phone has been ringing off the hook these days, particularly with families concerned about financing their children’s education.

Generally, she said, “schools make it very possible for qualified students to attend, and they will give their best financial aid to the students they most want to recruit.”

Students can maximize their aid by applying to schools where they are on the upper end of the applicant pool, she noted.

But folks also should keep in mind that public universities, for so long considered the most affordable college option, no longer necessarily are, Springer said.

“It can be cheaper, out of pocket, to go to a private, four-year college,” she said.

“I encourage students to be really open-mined,” she added.

A longtime Davis resident, Springer co-wrote “Admission Matters” along with Davis Enterprise columnist Marion Franck back in August 2005, not long after her son Erik went through the college admission process and she found the information out there lacking.

“I decided to put my money where my mouth is and write the book that I would want Erik to read and that I would want to read,” she said.

The book was revised in 2009 and remains available for purchase online and at bookstores.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at [email protected] and (530) 747-8051.

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