(originally published to KC Examiner.com on September 2, 2011)
On Wednesday evening, all but one of the colleges featured in the Loren Pope book, Colleges That Change Lives, hosted a college information session and fair at the KCI Expo Center for several hundred high school students, parents, and a handful of school counselors and independent college consultants. Although Kansas City was the next to last stop on their cross country tour, neither Executive Director, Marty O'Connell, nor the admission representatives from each of the schools, showed signs of road wariness as the fall college recruitment season now officially begins.
O'Connell led a half-hour discussion in front of the attendees, full of humor and lively discourse about the college search process. As a former admission dean and a mother who walked through the college search with each of three children, she offered personal perspective, with a sprinkling of wit and a dusting of tangible tips.
O'Connell suggested that families include the National Survey of Student Engagement, better known as NSSE ("Nessie"), as a key tool in determining how a particular campus may fit an individual student's collegiate needs. Results from NSSE show the current student viewpoint about how well (or not) a college or university engages the student body in "programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development." Schools often make their NSSE results available and the NSSE staff has included a page dedicated to students and parents on their website, filled with resources such as A Pocket Guide to Choosing a College: Questions to Ask on Your College Visits.She warned families of the dangers of relying solely on college rankings, noting that students should be the ones ranking schools, not a news publication, and advocating that families "be careful of the facts they cling to for value."
Families in attendance were also invited to refer to a February 2007 National Public Radio (NPR) feature article, "How to Choose a College That's Right for You."
O'Connell stressed that the academic record is what is most important in the college application and that students should "do what is interesting to you, not what you think colleges want you to do."
To demonstrate that all college applicants have something to offer, she had all of the students in the audience stand and, for each activity she mentioned in a longwinded, fast-paced listing of every possible interest a teenager could have, students had to raise a hand, then the other hand, then a foot, shake a hand, wiggle their fingers, etc. for each activity they currently participate in or have done. Not one student in the room was left without at least a hand raised; everyone has an interest or ability!
O'Connell directly addressed parents, daring them to be "hummingbirds," rather than the more antagonistic, hovering "helicoptor parents" so often shown in the media and depicted in horror stories retold by school counselors and admission representatives across the country. She suggested that families schedule a set time each week, especially during senior year, dedicated solely to the college process. In her family, it was 7:30pm on Sundays. If at any time she began to "nag" one of her children, it was acceptable to say, "I'll see ya at 7:30pm Sunday, Mom. We'll talk about it then."
And finally, O'Connell stated that high school students should find the college experience that will encourage them to "think creatively and critically in a global community," both as a student, then as an employee.
At the end of the brief session packed with great information, a dad was heard saying, "She's good! Man, she's really good!"
Guests were then invited to visit with the representatives from each of the 39 Colleges That Change Lives schools in attendance in a traditional college fair browsing format.
For a regional map and listing of the Colleges That Change Lives campuses, click here.
