As I write this it’s mid-December and early decision acceptance letters were just received by future members of the class of 2015. For those of you considering sending your children to Dartmouth, please consider these statistics:


Applications for early decision rose 12 percent since last year and have increased 37 percent during the past five years;


Twenty-five percent of those admitted ranked first in their class, 87 percent are ranked in the top 10 percent and the combined mean SAT I score is 2,144; and


The group includes a 2010 Olympic gold medalist and the principal trumpet player for the Boston Youth Symphony!


How did we even get accepted? With that in mind, this month’s column is dedicated to the fine art of college admissions!


First I called the expert, Mark Montgomery. Mark is the founder and president of Montgomery Educational Consulting (http://greatcollegeadvice.com), based in Denver, Colorado. His firm provides expert advice to students and their families as they navigate the college selection and admissions process—expertise that should come in handy for his sons Nathan (15) and Theo (12).


Mark’s advice: Find the right fit—consider your interests and find schools that can satisfy those interests. Location and size—consider if you want to be close to home or far away. Also consider if you are a person who thrives in big lecture classes or small intimate groups. Activities—if you want to play sports, but aren’t a D1 recruited athlete, consider that many schools have serious club sports programs that may satisfy what you are looking for. Same goes for music and any other interests you may have. Once you consider the above, Mark continues, build a resume while you’re in high school. Try to be not only well rounded, but unique, and highlight those accomplishments and experiences (beer pong champion doesn’t count).


Juliet Aires Giglio runs Mark’s L.A. office. After being a successful screenwriter she got her certificate in college counseling at UCLA just in time to help her own children, Ava (13) and Sabrina (17), who was just accepted early decision as a recruited swimmer to Wellesley. She echoes Mark’s advice, and adds: “Tell your story. Colleges have their own institutional needs and want more than just valedictorians and kids with perfect test scores. They want a great variety of students from athletes to entrepreneurs to musicians to magicians. Then make sure your essay highlights something special that only you can bring to the college. Also, be open to a variety of choices. Look beyond the U.S. News & World Report rankings!”


Of course, (I hope), it doesn’t hurt to be a legacy. Although this is no guarantee, many classmates do have children at Dartmouth. I recently ran into Scott Sipple, whose son Taylor is class of 2013. Scott is currently a managing director at Putnam Investments. He and his wife, Susan, have two younger daughters, so they are not out of the woods yet. I also met Bill Connolly for cocktails while I was in Boston on that same trip. His oldest son, Will, is a 2014, following in Bill’s footsteps on the Big Green football field. Bill is head of global distribution for Putnam Investments. He and his wife, Barb, have four children (same woods).


I guess the topic of college admissions has been on our minds lately because our son Miles will be applying soon. Okay, he’s only in eighth grade, but you can never be too prepared, can you? Unfortunately, as a double legacy he has already informed us that his short list includes Stanford, Duke and Princeton…now what? Oh, Mark….Oh, Juliet….


—Jan Gordon and Derek Chow, 132 Wildcat Lane, Boulder, CO 80304; (303) 448-1580; janandderek @comcast.net