Although not one Bahamian government school student has ever applied to enter Yale University, tenth and eleventh grade students of Doris Johnson Senior High School learned Wednesday that it is possible to attend the Ivy League institution located in Connecticut and other American universities.

Yale University graduate and American Diplomat John Ford joined students in the school’s Guidance Department’s Career Chat Room where he addressed them on college readiness. Mr. Ford and representatives of the US Embassy in The Bahamas are promoting the message to public school students that college is possible for them and so too is attending Yale University.

At a cost of $60,000 a year for tuition and fees at Yale, a large number of students are admitted through financial assistance via scholarships, grants and loans to pay for education.

Mr. Ford, who has been interviewing high school students for Yale for 25 years and other institutions prior to that, said until recently, Yale accepted and provided financial assistance for American students who could get admitted to the institution. The students’ only concerns were “good” grades and “good” test scores. Once admitted their families would demonstrate how much they could pay and Yale would make up the difference. However, debt after graduation was overwhelming.

“I am here today to say that for any of you to get into a school like Yale it is difficult. What has changed is that it is not impossible.”

He told the students that effective this year about 70-80 American universities are tweaking application forms. “They’ve tested the old form and found that it discriminated on ethnicity, race, gender and international applicants; not in an open way but in subtle ways. They found it is very much harder for overseas students to grasp what was on the application and to shine when they filled it out. So, it would be better and fairer than it was.”

Responding to questions put to him by students, Mr. Ford outlined several things that colleges look for in selecting students.

“They want to know who you are and if you show them who you are, then they can make a difference between you and someone else,” he said. “They don’t have any specific score that they are looking for; they don’t have a specific grade average. They expect to see very high scores, very good grades. The people who write recommendations on you to love you. They want those people to show you’re the greatest student they have seen in the last ten years.

“While they don’t say you have to get a certain grade on your ACT or SAT tests they expect them to be very high. The significance of those tests is very important for you. They get stacks of applications for the most part from very good students. So, how do they differentiate between all of the students who are applying? The one benchmark they have a standard they can judge by are these tests because everybody takes the same tests. If you do well on the standardized tests then they know what your level of learning is.

“What they really look for is distinction. It can be because you’re a great softball player. It can be because you play the violin so well that you’ve been invited to play with the Tampa Symphony. It can be because you’ve volunteered for the last 6 years at a home for old people who can’t afford proper care. And of those three things they would pay more attention to the last.

“They are looking for who you are and part of how they determine who you are is by what you’ve done. They look for you to get outside yourself and to help others most of all. Maybe that sounds corny, but if you think about it, if you’re sitting around a table with stacks of applications, you’re trying to find what makes this person different. And that’s one of the best things that makes them different is helping other people; Doing something that’s more than just serving yourself.

“Yale and these other schools want to admit people who do well in school, then they will graduate and bring glory and high repute to the school as alumni. They want people who will come back and be the Prime Minister of The Bahamas or the Bishop of the Anglican Church or the head of the College of The Bahamas or maybe a surgeon, a psychiatrist; somebody who will make a difference in the world.”

Mr. Ford noted that most of all universities prefer to admit people who are going to bring distinction to the university after they graduate.

“The candidate who stands out the most is the one who has served others – has made a difference,” he added.

Mr. John Ford pictured in front row with students and administrators of Doris Johnson High School

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