Date: Fri 09-Aug-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

college-application-Barth

Full Text:

with photo : Finding A College Turns Into A Cyberhunt

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Each year, a new batch of American high school seniors begins the arduous task

of applying to college. The process can be a confusing one and the steps taken

can make the difference between being accepted and being rejected.

Guidance counselors are experienced in pointing students in the right

direction, and so is Newtown resident Shannon Barth, a former English teacher

and author of Show! Don't Tell! How to Personalize College Essays . In fact,

Ms Barth has brought her expertise to cyberspace with her new web site,

www.collegeapps.com.

With her goal of making collegeapps.com "a central clearing house" for

students applying to college, Ms Barth has launched a much needed service that

takes advantage of the World Wide Web power to reach out to students who are

frustrated and feeling they need help.

Recently, the Brushy Hill Road resident has noticed more and more people

signing on to her home page as another college application season has begun.

Ms Barth, who taught for several years on the staff at Trumbull High School,

spent 10 years volunteering her services to help students with their college

essays. In 1993, she wrote Show! Don't Tell! and now, with her own web site,

she's hoping to help revolutionize the way students look at applying for

college.

Ms Barth said she's not trying to take the place of a high school guidance

counselor, but is simply looking to lend a hand to students.

"We want to make our site as informative and helpful as possible for

college-bound kids and their parents," she explained Monday. "Visitors to our

site will find a database of most colleges in the United States which they can

search and icons to click on for information about financial aid,

scholarships, and, of course, our Show! Don't Tell! method of writing the best

possible college application essay."

Ms Barth, who's International Editing company is headquartered out of her

home, has found that students need to market themselves in order to be held in

the best light possible with college admissions. She believes an active

college essay with a personal touch can make all the difference.

"I've seen so many people get into their reach school by personalizing their

application," she said.

Ms Barth, who's made appearances on several radio and television programs,

including C-SPAN, has worked with more than 3,000 college-bound students and

edited more than 12,000 essays and resumes. She's given hundreds of workshops

on how to organize a resume, prepare for interviews, and plan and write the

best essays for college applications.

Ms Barth, originally from California, said it's just a matter of time before

students will be able to apply to college over the computer. As she points

out, students can find out almost everything they want about a particular

college or university through the Internet, except visit the campus.

"As we continue to develop our website, we'll be adding hyper-links to

admissions departments at different universities across the country," she

explained. "We're going to make it as easy as we possibly can for kids to find

out everything they need to know about their prospective colleges by clicking

from our site to other areas of cyberspace to get answers to their questions."

The home page also offers a chat group where students can write in question

they have regarding the college application process.

Ms Barth is currently working with Continuing Education Director Diane

Thompson to schedule a college application/essay workshop at NHS in late

September.

Though her work is indeed a business (she charges $19.95 for her book, $19.95

for the tape and $60-plus per workshop, Ms Barth is sincere in her wish to

help college-bound kids make the most out of their applications.

"This enables me to continue being involved in education," she explained.

(To order Show! Don't Tell! call 1-800-SHOW-HOW.)