Lessons Learned from Coaching Under-resourced Teens
I began working with under-resourced teenagers when I was barely out of my teens myself. When I was an undergraduate in California, our local church community had a large population of low-income, under-represented minority (URM), first-generation (First Gen) teens, and our college student community worked with them on high school success and college access. I continued that volunteer work when I was in law school, running a program of volunteers in Harlem, and I have had the privilege of serving in related roles throughout my career. This year, our team of essay and admissions coaches at CTK teamed with our dear friend and former colleague Jennie Goldsmith Rothman to run a college access program at Orange High School in Orange (Newark), New Jersey. It’s one of our favorite activities!
The kids in this population are very different socioeconomically from most of the kids we work with in our private practice, yet they face many of the same challenges and will need to apply similar strategies in the college admissions process.
Building the college list is the most important part of the admissions process for any student. It is an art, and it is a science.
Common Challenges and Misconceptions When Building the College List
Undermatching and Overmatching
While under-resourced students tend to undermatch– applying to less selective colleges and fewer of them than they could likely gain admission to– well-resourced kids often overmatch, applying to colleges more selective than the ones they are necessarily qualified for and to too many of them. I can’t count the number of times my under-resourced students plan to apply to only one or two colleges (the national average in 2021-2022 was approximately six colleges) when they should be aiming higher and more broadly. On the other hand, I often hear about well-resourced students applying to 20 or 30 colleges and only being admitted to a handful because the college list was not well targeted to their interests or likelihood of success. That’s not a good outcome either.
Think of a college list as a Venn diagram of three related areas:
Colleges the student wants - Colleges that the student wants to attend (based on lifestyle, academics, and other factors)
Colleges that will want the student- Colleges that will likely admit the student based on factors that matter to the college (i.e. institutional priorities such as academic strength, personal character, and demographics)
Affordable for the family -A cost that the student/student’s family can afford, either because the listed cost of attendance is itself affordable, or because of predicted merit aid, and/or anticipated financial aid
Our role as admissions advisors is to use both data and professional experience to help students and their families identify and successfully apply to the colleges that fulfill all these criteria. Students face imperfect information in this process, and we guide them toward solutions. Specifically, here are scenarios that we see play out time and again among students we work with.
Common College List-building Challenges: Under-resourced Students
Under-resourced students tend to misunderstand (and sometimes not even apply for) financial aid, thus underestimating the feasibility of their options. They also often apply to too few schools, as they either don’t understand how selective the admissions process is or assume they won’t get in anywhere other than their local public college.
Example: The high-achieving, moderate income student who won a full ride scholarship (tuition, room, and board) to a selective small liberal arts college through a national matching program but turned it down for fear of the commitment.
Example: The high-achieving, low-income student who was admitted to Stanford but turned down the offer without even considering financials on the assumption that it would be too expensive (the student’s family qualified for full cost coverage).
Example: The low-income student who plans to apply only to community college, not understanding that he will qualify for full tuition coverage to a local (commutable) four-year college in his state that would be feasible for his family and financial needs.
Common College List-building Challenges: Well-resourced Students
Better resourced students often misunderstand likely merit aid options and sometimes build college lists that aren’t actually affordable for them. They also often over apply, applying to a list of only reach colleges or to several colleges that they have no intention of attending.
Example: The well-resourced student who applied to more than 20 highly selective colleges and no safety colleges and only was admitted to three. He ultimately attended a college he didn’t like because it had the “best” reputation and then later transferred out.
Example: The well-resourced student who was cost sensitive (the sky is not the limit) but applied to colleges without considering or discussing cost as a family when building the college list and then had very few financially feasible options among the acceptances.
Example: The well-resourced student who was so anxious about the college process that she second guessed every step of the way, losing sleep and confidence and freezing up at every essay to write and button to press for fear she would not get into the “perfect” college.
Deadlines and Paperwork - Common Mistakes in Applying to College:
Early Action and Early Decision - Applying Early Is Where it’s at
Under-resourced students are improving their understanding of the advantage of applying early in the process. Well-resourced students have known for years that applying early in the application cycle (August-November) can yield more acceptances and even more merit aid, and they have acted accordingly. The total volume of college applications submitted by November 1 in 2024 (early action or early decision) was up a whopping 10% from 2023. Moreover, First Gen students applying early grew by 19% over last year, and those applying for fee waiver eligibility grew by 13% in the early action round in 2024.
That’s all good news for First Gen and URM students, but my personal experience is that many students, both under-resourced and well-resourced make some common mistakes in timing their college applications.
Common Mistakes Students Make When Applying: Deadlines, Deadlines, and More Deadlines
Missing deadlines - Even students from well-resourced families misunderstand how many colleges have early deadlines. Colleges like University of Pittsburgh consider applications on a rolling basis, so the earlier an application is submitted, the better. Some public colleges in the southeast, like Clemson and UNC Chapel Hill, have early deadlines in mid October, and many public colleges have a hard early action deadline of November 1.
Not asking teachers for recommendation letters until it is too late - Many high school guidance offices do not tell students when to do this, and some teachers will not write any more of these letters once they have hit a certain quota, leaving some students without options for recommenders.
Not filling out financial aid forms or filing them too late (there can be many family impediments to this, including challenges related to not having a social security number, parents or children being undocumented, and lack of financial awareness) - Especially after the 2023-2024 FAFSA debacle, many families struggle to know how and when to fill out and file these forms, which are required for a student to receive federal aid grants and loans.
Not sending in completed applications on time because they are waiting for high school paperwork (that they shouldn’t wait for) - Many students mistakenly believe they can’t send in applications until their guidance office has sent in the transcript and letters of recommendation. This is false, and it results in students missing deadlines.
Not knowing about or using their high school’s financial aid or college guidance (or not having a high school that can provide that guidance) - Many high schools are understaffed and under-resourced; others have the staffing, but students do not know how to navigate or ask for help with financial aid or college filings.
Testing Challenges: Knowing Whether and When to Test and When to Submit SAT and ACT Scores
What is Changing in Test Optional Admissions? Are More Students Submitting Test Scores?
The vast majority of colleges and universities in the US remains test optional: students may submit SAT or ACT scores, but they do not need to. Students who do not have competitive test scores can continue to apply to and gain admission at most colleges without submitting scores
That said, two factors are shifting: 1) a handful of highly selective schools is now requiring students to submit test scores and 2) more students submitted test scores in 2024-2025 than in any year since 2021.
That leaves many students wondering whether they need to prep and test. Read more here about the changing landscape on test optional admissions:
College Admissions and the Test Optional Trend (Updated April 2025).
Common Misconceptions about the SAT and ACT
Assuming that every student should take the SAT or ACT - Whether a student should test is a nuanced analysis, but I advise students all the time to forego testing when it is not likely to be a successful path. Learning and processing differences, anxiety, and lack of relevance (e.g. a music or arts major whose portfolio will matter much more than test scores in admissions) are all potential reasons for not spending time and money on testing.
Underestimating how important test scores can be in admissions (especially for well-resourced students) - On the other hand, some students underestimate how important a strong test score is for admissions at highly selective colleges. Say it with me: “test optional” does not mean tests aren’t important. Many colleges and universities have a clear preference for test score submission. A school’s Common Data Set will report the percentage of students admitted and enrolled who submitted test scores, and this can help a student decide how important it is to submit a test score.
Under-resourced students not submitting test scores when they should - Much-discussed in the return to test score reporting is the phenomenon of the relatively high achieving student who should submit test scores but doesn’t. Take an under-resourced student with a 1400 SAT score from a high school where the average SAT is a 1050. That student probably should submit the test score, even to any Ivy League college where the score is lower than the average. When we advise students about testing and test score reporting, we take into account their high school context.
CTK Conclusions
More students than ever form all kinds of backgrounds are submitting test scores and applying early. The best things a high school student (and his or her family) can do in the admissions process are to gather information early (paying attention by late sophomore year or early junior year) and be prepared to submit applications early in senior year of high school. Waiting to prepare for tests or asking late for letters of recommendation can cause more stress for students. Educate yourself, prepare well, and disregard all the noise out there from other people. Each student is on their own path to success!
