From the Mouth of Youth

I've been in college admissions over 20 years now so you can imagine the amount of times I've ran through the list of criteria for getting into college. Surprisingly (or maybe not) the key factors have not really changed that much over time. Sure at Otis we have a whole additional layer in the from of the portfolio requirement but the rest of it is a familiar refrain- good grades, decent test scores, take solid "college prep" classes, etc. The whole thing can feel pretty top down at points- talking to or at students and their families so it's always nice to see a different take on the issue.

In reading the November/December issue of LA Youth whose motto is "the newspaper by and bout teens" there is a nice piece by Jennifer Carcamo, a 2008 graduate of High Tech High LA and now a freshman at UCLA. Written as an interview with her high school counselor Karyn Koven, Jennifer presents an easy to follow set of suggestions about what students can do from the beginning through the end of their high school careers.

An added bonus for Otis is that we are listed among the schools that Ms. Koven recommends to students who are considering art school! You can read the whole story here. There is a companion article about Jennifer's own college search that is also a good read.