Showing posts with label Steph Hart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steph Hart. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Common App adds 37 new campuses

As of its official announcement on Monday, the Common Application will now be accepted at 490 colleges and universities beginning with the 2012-2013 application season.
That total includes the 37 campuses that have been approved to join the Common Application family of schools that must adhere to stringent holistic review policies and that agree to treat the Common App, as it is more popularly known, as equally as they do their own institutional application (if still utilized).
The institutions most recently approved for Common App membership include:
The 2012-2013 Common App will be available beginning August 1. Until that date, Class of 2013 college-bound students may click here to preview the application and to become familiar with its components.  
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Free practice test opportunity for June ACT


Once again, College Nannies & Tutors Kansas City is providing a special offering to college-bound students, namely a free practice ACT in advance of the June examination. The practice session will be timed and scored exactly like the true testing situation and the results will be shared with participants to assist in their continued test preparation.
Anytime high school juniors can gain experience with the ACT's content and timing, they are better able to discover testing strengths and to pinpoint weaker areas that might need additional attention before the official testing date. Take advantage!
The practice test, offered at no charge, will take place on Saturday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the College Nannies + Tutors location in the Kansas City Northland, in the northwest corner of Zona Rosa (7400 NW 87th Terrace). 
The deadline to register for the June 9 ACT is May 4. Space is limited; advance registration is required. To participate, contact Luke Hesler, Tutor Coordinator, at (816) 256-5907 or via email.
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Monday, March 12, 2012

College search via March Madness


The 2012 men's NCAA basketball tournament bracket has been announced and it again serves as a prime opportunity for students to take notice of a wide variety of colleges and universities from across the country, many of which they may never have heard of before.
Especially for students in the beginning stages of the college search process, March Madness serves as an excellent means by which to begin exploring potential campuses while the national spotlight is shined upon the schools.
Of course, several Missouri and Kansas universities are represented. Multiple Jesuit institutions, in the same scholastic family as Kansas City's Rockhurst University, are also included in this year's seeding.*
Will a power house team win it all? Who will be the "cinderella" team(s) that makes it further than anyone expects? 
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Enjoy campus communities by staying at bed & breakfasts

(originally published to KC Examiner.com on January 25, 2012)


Main Street Inn, Parkville


Most college-bound students recognize that there is more to a college or university than simply the acreage upon which the school sits. The community surrounding a campus can have great impact on a prospective student's view of the institution, as well as the experience of enrolled students.
Inn keepers often have a devotion to the community and its history and, in smaller locales, the college is typically an integral aspect of the town's past. Discovering the impressions of a school from an "outsider" who is still "in the know" can prove invaluable in learning about an institution's relationship and impact on its surroundings over time. 
Many bed and breakfast homes offer the charm of their historical pasts with the conveniences of modern life, especially those inns that cater to the business traveler. This might include in-room wireless internet access, flat screen televisions with DVD hook-up and cable channels, and even jacuzzi bathtubs.
Rates are typically in line with those of chain hotels, and sometimes, may be more affordable. Home cooked dinners and/or breakfasts, coffee on the porch, and cozy fireplaces are perks often found at bed and breakfasts that are more difficult to enjoy at traditional motel or hotel locations.
Tiffany Miller, the Inn Keeper at Parkville's Main Street Inn, provides guests with an additional queen sized inflatable mattress, making it even more economical for families traveling together to visit Park University or other area campuses. 
SAMPLING OF BED & BREAKFAST INNS NEAR KANSAS CITY AREA CAMPUSES
Baker University (Baldwin City, KS)
Park University (Parkville, MO)
William Jewell College (Liberty, MO)
When planning your next campus visit, no matter where in the country, consider staying at a bed and breakfast within the local community.
And parents, once your child has selected a collegiate abode, choose a bed and breakfast to take advantage of pampering away from home each time you visit for Parent's Weekend or other special occasions with your college student.
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Colleges/universities use You Tube to engage prospective students

(originally published to KC Examiner.com on January 24, 2012)


You Tube logo

Most colleges and universities have become well versed in using social media to communicate with prospective students. It is not uncommon to find a "Class of 20xx" page on Facebook or to see campus news announcements sent through the so called Twitter-verse. And now, many campuses, including several in the Kansas City area, are turning to You Tubeas another means to engage prospects...long before they even submit an application for admission.
Schools have created channels on You Tube and now have the additional capability of broadcasting video showing various events and people on campus. Some institutions have kept their content more on the serious side, while others have taken the opportunity to have fun with interested students and their parents with a more humorous approach to their campus highlights.
Many schools are showcasing their faculty members with personal interviews. Some academic departments have included partial or full classroom lectures. Prospective students and their parents might want to watch these videos to gain insight regarding an academic subject that may be a potential college major or minor. Video campus tours are a regular find on college and university You Tube channels. This is a great tool for students who may live at a distance from the school(s) that interest them, and is a bonus option for "seeing" the campus outside of still photographs on a website or printed viewbook. (Note, while the video tour is a great introduction to a campus, it should never replace an in-person visit to the college or university.)
This past November and December, many schools posted You Tube greeting card videos wishing prospective students, current students, and alumni a joyful holiday season. 
Of course, athletic celebrations are an easy and popular posting to these college and university You Tube channels. Exciting wins bring out the cheerleader in every person rooting for a particular campus. But action-packed content is not always the most viewed. Michigan State University quarterback, Kirk Cousins, spoke at the 2011 Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon, and it has been viewed nearly 300,000 times on the Big Ten Network You Tube channel.
Another popular video collection on the You Tube channels from across the country is the commencement speech, especially if someone famous is providing the address. Some of the most viewed graduation videos from 2011 include:
SAMPLING OF KANSAS CITY AREA/REGIONAL SCHOOLS WITH YOU TUBE CHANNELS (not intended to be comprehensive):
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Colleges & high school counselors gather for 2011 MOACAC Cube Conference

(originally published to KC Examiner.com on September 3, 2011)
MOACAC logo

On Friday, high school counselors and independent college consultants from across the Kansas City metro area spent the day with college admission representatives hearing updates from fifty colleges and universities. Most of the participating campuses are in Missouri, but not all.
Hosted by the Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling (MOACAC), the event was held on the campus of Avila University in south Kansas City, Missouri. The annual event, which began at 7:30am and continued until 2pm, included individual school updates during three sessions, lunch on campus, then concluded with a college fair so that materials could be distributed to the counselors and consultants in attendance. 
In alphabetical order with location notes and as links to each institution's website, is the list of colleges and universities who presented at the 2011 MOACAC Kansas City Cube Conference:
Avila University (Kansas City, MO)
Baker University (Baldwin City, KS)
Benedictine College (Atchison, KS)
Bethel College (North Newton, KS)
Columbia College (Columbia, MO) 
Drake University (Des Moines, IA)
Drury University (Springfield, MO)
Illinois College (Jacksonville, IL)
Lindenwood University (St. Charles, MO)
Maryville University (St. Louis, MO)
McKendree University (Lebanon, IL)
Metropolitain Community Colleges (5 locations in Kansas City, MO area)
Millikin University (Decatur, IL)
Missouri State University (Springfield, MO)
Park University (Parkville, MO)
Ranken Technical College (St. Louis, MO)
Rockhurst University (Kansas City, MO)
Saint Louis University (St. Louis, MO)
Stephens College (Columbia, MO)
Truman State University (Kirksville, MO)
University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL)
University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS)
University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN)
University of Missouri (Columbia, MO)
University of Tulsa (Tulsa, OK)
Washburn University (Topeka, KS)
Webster University (Webster Groves, MO)
Westminster College (Fulton, MO)
William Jewell College (Liberty, MO)
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Recap: Kansas City Colleges That Change Lives Tour Stop

(originally published to KC Examiner.com on September 2, 2011)


CTCL logo
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.
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Application fees - decide now who pays

(originally written for KC Examiner.com on July 13, 2011)


While technology and the ability to submit one application to multiple schools has had a significant impact on the ease of applying for admission, in most cases, it does still come at a cost.
True, quite a few colleges and universities do offer opportunities for prospective students to apply for admission without paying an application fee. Typically, applicants are required to submit their files online in order to receive this benefit, allowing their data to be automatically transferred to the admission office database, sparing the institution the cost of employing staff to perform data entry tasks. Other schools might offer a fee waiver when a student visits campus or if s/he participates in a particular outreach program conducted by the campus.
But, most college applications still require a fee, particularly when applying to selective admission and/or state institutions, and those fees can be rather steep, especially given the economic situation faced by many families over the past few years, and given the ever increasing average number of applications for admission being submitted by high school seniors.
Avila University...no application feeHere are a few examples of the application fees required by some area schools, as well a few popular out of state campuses:
So, who should be responsible for paying application fees? As with many aspects of the college search and selection process, determining who will pay the application fees is a family decision. 
Some parents have made the commitment to pay for their child(ren)'s collegiate education and include application fees in that contribution. 
Other families have made a similar decision to fund college tuition, but require the student(s) to take some ownership of the process in return and require them to pay the application fees. 
There are parents who are not in the financial position to pay application fees and if their student(s) is going to apply to a college or university, fees must be paid from their student(s)'s bank account.
Still other families, no matter their financial situation, decide that for any college application that requires a fee, the student is responsible for payment.
No matter the decision, it should be made as a family in advance of senior year. Even if every other component of the application has been received (official transcript, essay, resume, letters of recommendation, etc.), most schools enforce a policy that the file will not be reviewed to determine eligibility until the payment has been received. 
Students who will be paying the fees should research the cost to apply to each of the schools at which s/he has an interest, then take steps to save that total dollar amount in advance of senior year. It is suggested that students save additional dollars, too, as many seniors tend to add a school or two to their application list once the application process is in full force.
Students who are eligible for a fee waiver for the SAT and/or the ACT, may also be able to secure a waiver for applications for admission.
Click here for eligibility information for the ACT fee waiver program.
Click here for eligibility information for the SAT fee waiver program.
Click here for a list of colleges and universities who cooperate with the College Board (SAT) to evaluate the possibility of offering particular students an application fee waiver.
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Monday, May 9, 2011

Registration Deadline for June ACT Extended

ACT has extended the registration deadline for the June ACT administration.
Originally scheduled for Friday, May 6, students now have until 11:59pm on Tuesday, May 10 to register for the June 11 ACT.
Click here to register.
If this extended deadline is missed, student may still continue to register between May 11 and May 20, but will be assessed a $21 late fee on top of the regular testing cost.
After May 20, students interested in taking the June 11 ACT, who have not already registered, must wait for that morning to attempt stand-by admission and be assessed a $41 fee above the cost of testing. Students hoping to test on a stand-by basis will be granted admission last and only if there are seats available at the testing location.

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