CONSTRUCTING CRITICAL COMPONENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL SEARCH AND SELECTION
Monday, December 14, 2009
Request PIN Now; Submit FAFSA in Early 2010
For Class of 2010 high school students and their families, it is almost time to begin the financial aid process. While you cannot submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) until January 2010, you can begin the process now by requesting your PIN.
The PIN is a 4-digit number that is used along with your Social Security Number, your name, and your date of birth to identify you as having the right to access your personal information on Federal Student Aid web sites, such as the FAFSA on the Web.
PIN Request is the web page where BOTH the student AND one parent must request a PIN. This becomes your electronic signature when you submit the FAFSA. Request your PIN now before the craziness of the holiday season! Store it securely until time to submit your FAFSA beginning next month.
Keeping your PIN private is imperative because the code can be used to: • electronically sign your Federal Student Aid documents • access your personal records and • make binding legal obligations
Again, BOTH the student AND a parent must request a PIN. Note: You will use your PIN for the duration of your collegiate experience and beyond (repaying loans). The PIN stays the same.
Test Optional College Admissions
Most high school upperclassmen know well the fear and anxiety that surrounds preparing for college entrance exams, the ACT and the SAT. In recent news, many students, families, and college counselors and consultants have struggled to fully comply with the intricacies of the College Board's new score choice policy.
While the hooplah around testing is media worthy, so is the fact that 830 colleges and universities in this country are test optional institutions. This means that the admission decisions are based upon factors other than standardized test scores.
Fair Test, the National Center for Full and Open Testing, provides an easy to manipulate, searchable database of all test optional colleges and universities.
These schools recognize that test scores from a Saturday morning exam do not equate to a student's merit. Often, these schools require a student portfolio of high school course work in addition to the traditional requirements to submit official transcripts, an essay, and a resume of activities with the application for admission.
So, if your test scores do not seem comparable to your academic transcript, if you are unable to overcome the fear of standardized testing, or if you are interested in a college campus community that recognizes its students are more than test scores, begin researching to learn if a test optional school may be a good fit for you.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Oklahoma State University
I grew up in Texas, did my undergrad in Colorado, and now live in Kansas City, Missouri, not too far from the Kansas border. Oklahoma previously was a state I used to drive through to get to my mom's house. I think a bit differently now!
The initial college visit of my eleven campus tour was to Oklahoma State University. I'll be honest and admit that I incorrectly had low expectations. To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement!
My first appointment on campus was with the honors program in the newly renovated Old Central, the original campus building. I met with both the director and a current honors student from TX by way of Boston, As an honors program alumna myself, I enjoyed my conversations with both contacts.
Who doesn't love a campus that provides a t-shirt to each of its visiting guests?
Although our admission representative used the word, "awesome" far too many times during her presentation, she did a great job of explaining admission and the university versus departmental scholarship process utilized by the OSU staff. The gorgeous room we were in inside the Phillips Alumni Center during her talk was a bonus, too!
This is one of the few large campuses I have visited where the varsity athletic facilities are smack in the middle of campus, rather than located at a distance. I absolutely LOVED being able to stand at the uprights in Boone Pickens Stadium, embraced the opportunity to see the memorial to the students and staff lost when the plane carrying the basketball team crashed in Colorado, looked curiously at all of the items in the OSU Athletic Hall of Honor (including the original Pistol Pete head!), and to stand on the original hardwoods in Gallagher-Iba Arena (known as the rowdiest stands in college basketball). Unique to the facility is the opportunity for a spectator in the luxury suites to face basketball or wrestling on one side and football on the other, all from the same spot. Interesting!
Be ready to WALK, WALK, WALK on this campus tour! There is a lot of land to cover and the tour guides , an interesting cross section of the OSU student body, did a great job of keeping us moving and not allowing anyone to lolligag for too long behind the group. Wear your most comfy shoes for this visit! And take them up on the offer for a bottle of water before embarking on your adventure.
Interesting to hear in the middle of Oklahoma, but according to one of our tour guide, there are 30 dining options, "from steak to sushi." Her suggestion: get the smallest meal plan possible, you can always add more if needed. Sage advise.
Holy residence hall options...traditional, suite style, and deluxe suites. There are floor plans and virtual tours of each option available on the residence life portion of the OSU website. Visits to the halls are a separate campus tour from the regular trip around campus, even though you pass in front of most of the buildings. Keep this in mind when scheduling your own visit.
There were several construction sites on campus, which I always like to see. But despite the heavy equipment and piles of mud and dirt, I did not see one piece of trash on campus while walking. Well maintained and pride of property!
OSU is known for their Hotel and Restaurant Management degree and upon entering the building that houses the program, I got a good whiff of the students' craft in the completely student run venue. Wish I could have sampled!
And thank you to the admission office for offering the opportunity to get the parking ticket validated, making my hours on campus a free excursion. Much appreciated!
Pictures from my visit to OSU are posted on the Essential Elements: Comprehensive College Planning fan page on Facebook.
Southwestern University
As part of a recent whirlwind trip to eleven campuses in two states, my tenth visit was at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX (outside of Austin). I was rather impressed! Here are a just few notes about my time on campus:
My first stop was the brand new Admission Center, which opened in February 2009. It is a LEED certified building, which struck a chord with my "green" personality. I was also quite thrilled that in each restroom stall, there is a large cut out shelf for placing items, particularly backpacks. Let this be a model for public restrooms everywhere!
Student visitors, as well as myself, were welcomed with a sign showing our names. My own undergraduate alma mater did this (maybe still does?), but it is a tradition fewer and fewer campuses seem to take the time to do for their guests. It was a welcomed…welcome!
Pirate Bikes. Love this program! Donated in 2004 following the death of a Southwestern alum in a cycling accident, these bright yellow bikes are found everywhere on campus. If as a student you need a ride, find a bike and use it to get to your next campus destination. Then simply leave it outside the building for the next person to use. If a bike is in need of repair, park it as usual, just upside down!
When students prepare for and return from study abroad or longer term service projects, they participate in a "debriefing" of sorts, an opportunity to discuss the experience and to reflect upon the "why" and "how" and "what next" regarding the trip. I have never heard another campus representative mention such follow-up to national and world travel.
The Peideia (pronounced py-day-uh) Seminar is an interesting enrichment opportunity, allowing a cohort of ten students from different academic disciplines to enhance their education over the course of three years by discussing current issues, how coursework relates to real life, and making connections across fields of study. Peideia groups are also provided with a small budget to fund additional educational activities together. What a unique way to facilitate learning for more than a grade or a credit earned!
Close to my heart is the fight against breast cancer. What does this have to do with Southwestern? The cross country coach is Francie Larrieu Smith, who is not only a five-time US Olympian, but whose likeness was printed nationally on Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure t-shirts prior to the foundation rebranding and creating a new logo. Francie is on MANY of the shirts in my closet!
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And finally, the Southwestern Honor Code is both an oath and a pledge. The Honor Oath, recited during orientation, says, "As a student of Southwestern I hereby pledge my full support to the Honor Code. I pledge to be honest myself, and in order that the spirit and integrity of the Honor Code may endure, I pledge that I will make known to the Honor Code Council any case of academic dishonesty which I observe at Southwestern." And the Honor Pledge, which is written and signed on all assignments reads, "I have acted with honesty and integrity in producing this work and am unaware of anyone who has not." |
Pictures from my visit to Southwestern University are posted on the Essential Elements: Comprehensive College Planning fan page on Facebook.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
October, Seniors' Least Favorite Month
October is a tough month in the lives of high school seniors. Continued academic testing, higher expectations and demands in course work, leadership roles in extra-curricular activities, mid-term exams, and college applications all take away from personal downtime, as well as much needed sleep. Especially during this season of high anticipation over the flu, seniors need to remember to take care of themselves, not just academically, but physically.
Too often, I have seen seniors neglect sleep in order to accomplish their "to do" list. The immune system is weakened and illness settles. Seniors push on, not slowing down during the onset of symptoms. And the illness progresses to far worse proportions. This is when a nasty cycle is set in motion; student misses school to heal, student gets behind in class, student returns to school before the body is ready, student misses sleep trying to catch up on assignments and activity commitments, student's illness returns. Repeat.
Time management is key. Advanced preparation is paramount. Effective communication is required.
Be aware of approaching deadlines, especially when related to college applications. Set aside a block of time each day to preview the days ahead. Don't wait until the night before to study for an exam or write the college application essay; in neither case will it be your best work. Speak up when you need help or when you are feeling your health decline. No one expects a super hero out of a 17 or 18 year old student!
Applying these positive habits now will allow for a smoother transition into collegiate life and will certainly be a benefit later throughout your personal and professional life.
Here's to your emotional and physical health during what is the most stressful month in the life of a high school senior!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Hart's Helpful Hint #2
Planning a campus visit?
Here is an easy way to keep all of the sights front of mind and connected to the correct college/university. This is especially helpful when you are visiting more than one school a day, several days in a row.
Before you go anywhere on campus, find a sign with the school's name. It does not have to be the largest sign on campus or the sign at the entrance to campus. I am infamous for finding a utility or maintenance vehicle! Take a picture of the sign and then every picture behind it will be taken on that campus.
When you arrive at your second campus visit destination, repeat.
This makes it easy to upload organized campus visit photos into whichever photo software you use. If you take good pictures (of the freshman residence halls, the building that houses your intended major(s), etc.), these photos will help later when you make your final college decision and choose where you will live freshman year.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Hart's Helpful Hint #1
Are you attending an upcoming college fair? Here is my favorite tip:
Prepare large mailing labels in advance.
This ensures that the admission representative can determine correct information for data entry.
It also saves a lot of writing and time at each college/university’s table that you visit. For each school that interests you, simply pick up the contact/inquiry card and place a label on it.
Furthermore, a having a pre-printed sticker allows you to spend time speaking with the admission representative rather than simply standing in front of him/her filling out an inquiry card.
Each sticker should note the following :
First and Last Name
Mailing Address
Home Phone
Email Address
Birthdate
High School, Class of 20__
Current Cumulative GPA
Current Class Rank
Highest ACT Composite
This will make your college fair experience effective.
Top Ten "DON'T DO ITs" on Your College Application Resume
(in no particular order)
10. "Who's Who Among American High School Students" and other similar "awards" are not considered by colleges/universities to be legitimate.
9. Th does not belong. Simply us (9,10,11,12) to indicate the grade level during which a particular activity was performed. Those th notations can become difficult to read when the admission representative has reviewed 50 other files that same day.
8. There is no need to double up on your academic record. Your official transcript is where the admission office will refer for your course selection and grades earned, not your student resume.
7. Eighth grade does not count. Your resume should be based upon your accomplishments in high school, not what you did in grade school or junior high. Exceptions might be a particular activity that you started in seventh grade and continue to do consistently now.
6. Don't include your school's contact information on your resume. That information is included in other places within your application for admission. Save the space to highlight your own personal achievements.
5. Skip the abbreviations. Opt to spell out National Honor Society (NHS), Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and similarly named student organizations.
4. Don't turn your resume into a novel. Remember, this is your resume, not your essay.
3. Inconsistency can make your resume difficult to read. Don't bold one heading and not the next. Don't put a period at the end of one description and not at the end of others.
2. Don't let information get away! Keep a block of text for a particular activity on the same page. This may require moving margins, deleting extra words, etc. You don;t want the reader to forget what the activity was when they have to flip the page to continue reading.
1. Do not submit a first draft of your resume. Take time to edit and revise, just as you do for your essay. Seek advice. Get your resume to a perfect state so that you have it ready to submit with each application for admission and scholarship.
Top Ten "YES, PLEASE DOs" on Your College Application Resume
(in no particular order)
10. Make sure to list your name, mailing address, home phone number, and email address at the top of the first page of your resume.
9. Brag about how you spend your time! Include everything in your first draft. Revision may allow you to delete less important items, but don't edit yourself at the start.
8. Create categories for your high school activities and accomplishments. Typical groupings may include honors and awards, athletics, community service, extra-curricular activities, and employment.
7. Use numbers (9,10,11,12) to specify which grades each activity was performed. Freshman year, sophomore, junior year, and senior year is quite wordy when you have a several page resume.
6. On that same note, stick to grade (9,10,11,12) years versus calendar years (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010). No reader wants to calculate what grade you were in during which year.
5. Longevity (9-12) and most recent (12) should be listed first within each category, then work backward to (9) items. This more clearly demonstrates where your heart lies and establishes a more uniform approach for easy reading.
4. Put your name on every page. The best place is usually on the top right corner. Pages can easily become unstapled while on the reader's desk. You don;t want your hard earned work to end up in the recycle bin because they do not know to which resume the missing page belongs.
3. Pick a format that works best for you. Some will have a grid/table, others will opt for a bullet point list. There is no right or wrong format, only the layout that best emphasizes what you have pulled off in high school and what you will be bringing to the college campus community.
2. Indicate your time commitment for each endeavor. Let the admission representative know how many hours you put into an activity. Be consistent with how that time is reported (hours per week, weeks per month, etc.).
1. Include BRIEF descriptions of your participation in an activity or of an award received. Were you elected to a leadership position? Did you co-found the club? What is the goal of the organization?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Summer...For First Visits
Summer is an incredibly popular time for students and their families to visit college campuses. Students are out of school, parents are able to take time off from work, and it is easy to plan a college tour or two while on the way to or from a travel destination. But if a student is truly interested in a particular school, a summer visit should be viewed as a first visit to that campus, not as the only visit.
The usual rules apply when preparing for a summer campus visit:
- Officially schedule your time on campus at least two weeks in advance. Do not just show up and expect an admission staff and faculty to drop everything to make your experience valuable.
- Plan to arrive early, especially if visiting a larger campus community. Allow time to get lost , find a parking spot, and make your way to the admission office. You do not want to be the family who holds a tour group from leaving or who interrupts an information session by arriving late.
- Dress appropriately. Keep in mind that campus tours are walking tours and can last an hour to an hour and a half, so comfortable shoes are also imperative.
- Most college/university campuses do offer a selection of summer courses, so you will see some students on campus. However, the number of summer school students in no way compares to the number of academic year students. It is difficult to see what a 40,000 student campus really looks like when 5,000 are there for summer. It is just as difficult to gauge what a 2,000 student campus looks like when less than 400 are taking summer courses.
- Professors who are not teaching summer courses are not typically available to speak with prospective students.
- The availability of classes to sit in on are few. And summer courses are often quite different that what a student would experience in that same course title during the academic year.
- The community surrounding that campus will appear different in the summer months. A campus town may not be as lively with students frequenting its shops and restaurants and no student discounts will likely be prominently advertised.
- Student parking may seem more available than it actually is when all students with cars are also trying to park their vehicles.
- The students themselves are not as representative of the campus community. You are seeing a smaller selection of students, so it is more difficult to gauge your own fit within the student community and how students typically dress for class.
- Planned campus student activities are a rarity during the summer months, so it is not so easy to get a feel for what the college/university provides for student education outside of the classroom and for student entertainment.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Collegiate Sports...What They SHOULD Be
I ran across this article by Bill Pennington of the New York Times featuring the baseball team at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. It is a WONDERFUL read! It perfectly depicts what college athletics SHOULD be in our country...students choosing a school at which to study and having the opportunity to play a sport they love while getting their education. This is a must read for any student athlete with collegiate sports dreams!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/sports/baseball/01maine.html?_r=3
Monday, March 2, 2009
Parallel Universe
I find myself in a parallel universe with my high school student clients lately, being forced to accept a dose of my own medicated advice...a healthy balance sometimes requires the word no.
It is easy to find students who are on the go from 6:30am until well past midnight every day of the week. Between classes and homework, sports practice or theater rehearsals, club commitments, church activities, part-time jobs, and spending critical time with family, not to mention social needs and friendships, it is no wonder students are unable to complete all of their responsibilities. And often, successful submission of one assignment or accomplishment of a particular task is at the expense of the quality of another if it happens at all. Many students today feel like they have to do everything, and do it perfectly, or face the shame of what they perceive as imperfection or appearing unsuccessful, especially in preparation for collegiate applications for admission.
As I type this, I am reminded of the time lapse that has occurred since I last drafted a blog entry, faulting on my own goal of writing at least three times a month. While I write, my desk is scattered with file folders, sticky notes, and unorganized printed documents, all of which are projects I am trying to manage concurrently.and none of which are completed. Should I even mention the 7 piles of paper that are "neatly" stacked in small sections on the carpet behind my office chair? My sleep patterns have been disturbed by the inability to complete my "to do" list during the day, no matter how many hours I work, causing my brain to continuously show a movie of all that is being moved from today to tomorrow, which inevitably, will force some of tomorrow's action items onto the next day's list. A recent bad habit of bringing my BlackBerry to bed with me keeps me "connected" well past healthy waking hours. When I force myself out of bed in the morning, I already feel behind the proverbial eight ball, before my day has even begun, sometimes eliciting the question of why I should even bother trying.
"Do you have time to..." and "We are looking for volunteers who can..." or "You are so great at this, can you just give it a few minutes of attention?" Mix these seemingly simple questions with the need to do more in order to be more, occasional feelings of inadequacy in a changing environment, the burden of perceived expectation, and a lifelong desire to do one's best at all times and the results can be detrimental to a person's emotional and physical well being. I have met too many students who match this list of criteria and I can now count myself among the casulties of these same situations.
I tell my clients to seek opportunities with purpose and to make wise choices with available time. Here I sit, realizing I must listen to what I say and do what I mean. Education is a lifelong process and I'm blessed to have the chance to interact with students who remind me what is important in life, how to correctly define success, and when to healthily be able to say no sometimes.
This medication doesn't taste too good, but it is exactly what I needed. Balance is required for students, as much as it is necessary for professional adults, and sometimes that means having the courage to say no.
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