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:

• Alma College (Alma, MI)
• Anna Maria College (Paxton, MA)
• Blackburn College (Carlinville, IL)
• Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI)
• College of St. Joseph (Rutland, VT)
• Concordia University Irvine (Irvine, CA)
• Dillard University (New Orleans, LA)
• Elms College (Chicopee, MA)
• Emory & Henry College (Emory, VA)
• Grove City College (Grove City, PA)
• Hult International Business School (Boston, Dubai, London, San Francisco, Shanghai) 
• Keele University (Newcastle, Staffordshire UK)
• Keuka College (Keuka Park, NY)
• Lincoln University (Lincoln University, PA)
• Lyon College (Batesville, AR)
• Manchester College (North Manchester, IN)
• Marymount University (Arlington, VA)
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (North Adams, MA)
• Mercer University (Chamblee, GA)
• Molloy College (Rockville Centre, NY)
• The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
• Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI)
• Richmond The American International University in London (Surrey, England)
• Roanoke College (Salem, VA)
• Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ)
• Saint Joseph College (West Hartford, CT)
• Simpson College (Indianola, IN)
• Soka University of America (Aliso Viejo, CA)
• St. Thomas University (Miami Gardens, FL)
• Tennessee Wesleyan College (Athens, TN)
• The University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN)
• University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, IL)
• University of Stirling (Stirling, Scotland UK)
• Virginia Intermont College (Bristol, VA)
• Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC)
• Woodbury University (San Diego, CA)
• Yale NUS College (Singapore)

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.  

2012-2013 Common Application essay prompts

As March approaches and spring break season nears, many high school juniors across the Kansas City metro area have not only begun their college search process, but will be traveling to visit collegiate campuses over the next few weeks and throughout the summer months.

And many juniors are already busy brainstorming college application essay topic ideas! For these students, there is good news for those intending to apply for admission to one or more of the 456 colleges and universities that utilize the Common Application. 

The Common App essay prompts for the 2012-2013 academic year/application season will remain the same:

• Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
• Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
• Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
• Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
• A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
• Topic of your choice.

Current juniors are invited to not only begin preparing their application essay, but to explore the Common App website. However, students should note that although they may create a username and password while investigating the site options, all accounts will be cleared on July 15, 2012. Applicants will then need to create a new user account for the 2012-2013 application cycle.

Common Application on Facebook

Common Application on Twitter

Common Application on You Tube

MCPL & Kaplan partner to offer FREE practice ACTs

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

The Mid-Continent Public Library system, with locations throughout the Kansas City metro area, has partnered with Kaplan Test Prep to offer a FREE practice ACT for college-bound students.

FREE full-length, scored practice ACT exams are the ideal way for college-bound students to become familiar with test content, to master time management for each section of the ACT, to discover testing weaknesses upon which to improve, and to build confidence in test taking ability and strategies before sitting for the "official" ACT exam, the results of which many high schools attach to the student's official transcript.

Although the practice test is offered FREE of charge, advanced sign-up is required in order for students to participate.Practice ACT exams will be offered at multiple Mid-Continent Public Library locations from February through early April. Parents are invited to come for the last half hour for an information session at the conclusion of testing.

RIVERSIDE BRANCH

• Friday, February 3
• 2pm to 5:30pm
• click here to register

COLBERN ROAD BRANCH

• Saturday, February 4
• 9am to 12:30pm
• click here to register

KEARNEY BRANCH

• Saturday, February 4
• 1pm to 4:30pm
• click here to register

PLATTE CITY BRANCH

• Saturday, February 18
• 10am to 1:30pm
• click here to register

OAK GROVE BRANCH

• Saturday, March 17
• 1pm to 4:30pm
• click here to register

SOUTH INDEPENDENCE BRANCH

• Saturday, March 31
• 9am to 12:30pm
• click here to register

RED BRIDGE BRANCH

• Saturday, April 7
• 12noon to 3:30pm
• click here to register

Recap: Kansas City Colleges That Change Lives Tour Stop

(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.

Like Colleges That Change Lives on Facebook.

Follow Colleges That Change Lives on Twitter. 

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:

• Baker University...no application fee
• Kansas State University...$30
• Northwest Missouri State University...$25 (for paper application); free to apply online
• Park University...$25
• Rockhurst University...$25 (for paper application); free to apply online
• Texas Christian University...$40
• University of Central Missouri...$30
• University of Kansas...$30
• University of Missouri Columbia...$50
• University of Notre Dame...$65
• Washington University in Saint Louis...$55

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.

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.

Like ACT on Facebook

Follow ACT on Twitter

A Thank You Upon Graduation

High school graduations across the Kansas City metro are scheduled over the course of the next few weeks. Graduating seniors have sent out their graduation announcements, made lists of what they plan to buy with their graduation gift money, have made final decisions on where they will attend college in the fall, and are ready to be the little fish in a big pond again.

Most graduates have exchanged the stress and struggle of the college application process with the joys of entering the collegiate phase of their young lives, much like a mother does after enduring the pains of childbirth. Although the National Candidate's Reply Deadline (May 1) has passed and most seniors are already considering themselves college students, one last task from their college search may remain: thank you notes for letters of recommendation.

College applicants are known to log hours upon hours perfecting the essay they will submit with applications for admission and scholarship. And almost as often, the teachers those students ask to write letters of recommendation on their behalf spend an equal amount of time crafting letters that will enhance the student's application for admission and show the review committee the merits of the applicant from a teacher's perspective, both inside and outside of the classroom.

All too often, those teachers go unthanked for providing this service for their students. Writing letters of recommendation falls into that pervasive "other duties as assigned" category. Teachers have taken time, outside of their school responsibilities, to write these letters, often well after their classrooms have emptied or even while at home after putting their own children to bed. 

Although teachers are not in their chosen profession for the recognition, it is important to honor how often they go above and beyond what is required in order to assist and support their students. 

This thank you does not need to be an extensive letter like the one written for each student's application, but rather, just a heartfelt message on stationary or on a note card. No gift other than words need be included.

At a time when faculty are just as, or even more, exhausted than the graduating seniors, such a simple gesture of thanks is often all a teacher needs to be reminded why they come to work each day and to be rejuvenated for another year of creating positive impact on the minds, hearts, and lives of students as they prepare for their own future careers.

Not Too Late for Class of 2011 Seniors to Apply for Admission

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has published its 24th annual list of colleges and universities that are still accepting applications for admission. Referred to as the "Space Availability Survey," the information is submitted to NACAC directly from the campuses for release to the public the first week of May each year.

Announced this morning, the current list includes 281 four-year colleges and universities, all of which indicate that both financial aid and housing options are available for freshman and/or transfer applicants planning to enroll for Fall 2011.

The searchable chart shows the listing of:

• campuses by name
• school locations
• whether the campus has enrollment space for freshmen, transfers, or both
• if the school is a public or a private institution
• approximate enrollment totals for each campus
• whether or not financial aid is still available for applicants
• if on-campus housing is an option for incoming students
• link to contact the school regarding application for admission, financial aid, and housing 

KANSAS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ON THE LIST (as of May 4)

• none

MISSOURI COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ON THE LIST (as of May 4)

• Avila University
• Maryville University
• Missouri State University
• Northwest Missouri State University
• Park University
• Stephens College
• Truman State University
• Westminster College

This list is available online to the public through July 1. Colleges and universities often update their listings with NACAC as space availability adjusts, so students and parents are encouraged to check the list regularly for up to date information about which schools are still accepting applications for Fall 2011.To view the complete list, click here. 

Colleges & Facebook (Part Five) - Park University

Part five of a multi-part series on how local colleges and universities are utilizing Facebook...

Park University, with its home base in Parkville, part of Kansas City's Northland community, is a unique institution in that it has a main campus hosting traditional students, but also has multiple satellite campuses not only in other parts of the Kansas City metro, but on military bases across the country, as well as an extensive online course and degree offering. In addition, Park Universityis known for its international population, with students attending the University from countries all over the world. 

With all of these campus components to juggle, it is no wonder that Park University is heavily invested in communicating with its constituents via social media, both Facebook and Twitter.

In fact, although Park University was already on the list of campuses to highlight as part of this series, two tuned-in campus administrators had learned, via Twitter, of these articles about how local colleges are utilizing social media and made contact to inquire if their campus initiatives would be included. Absolutely! 

Following a college or university on Twitter or "liking" pages of interest on their Facebook accounts provides immeasurable access to the campus and its day to day interactions with everyone who comes into contact with that particular institution. The information made available through social media far outshadows the prepared and much edited web content or viewbook material that prospective students only had opportunity to see previously. Be part of the social media revolution and take advantage of its ability to enhance the college search and selection process. 

Here is a sampling (with links) of Park University utilizing both Facebook AND Twitter to reach out to the vast population of prospective students (locally and abroad), current students, alumni, athletics fans, and donors:

FACEBOOK

Park University

Park University Admissions

Park University Athletics

Park University Alumni Association

Park University Alumni Connections

Park University Bookstore

Park University International Student Services (ISS)

Park University Hauptmann School for Public Affairs

Park University International Education & Study Abroad

KGSP 90.5 FM Pirate Radio

Park University School for Education

Pirate Grounds

Park Warrior Center / Success for Veterans Program

Park University at Whiteman AFB

Park University at Fort Leonard Wood

Additional Park University pages on Facebook include those for many other military bases across the country at which Park offers degree programs, as well as individual sports teams and, of course, student clubs and organizations.

TWITTER

Park University

Park University President Droge

Park University Professor Steven Youngblood (currently working on a peace and journalism project in Uganda)

Park University Alumni

Several Park University students, specifically from the Communications Arts Department, are also active on Twitter.

And...Park University and Park Athletics are on You Tube!

A special thank you to Erik Bergrud, Senior Director for Community and Government Relations in the Office of University Advancement and to Steve Wilson, Park University Sports Information Director, for reaching out about inclusion in this series.