Creating the College List

 

Originally posted: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeannie-borin/creating-the-college-list_b_6928262.html?utm_hp_ref=college&ir=College

For many, there are colleges that students are intent on going to, expect to be accepted, and can afford. It could be a state university, a school that friends are going to, a school students have been told about, or an elite private school where some are qualified.
However, these college factors do not cover numerous variables about college life that are significant such as academics and affordability. Creating the college list is individualized and personal. If you are flexible and your goal is to attend a university that is a good fit for you, your interests, and your future, then creating a college list is paramount and should involve the following factors:

1. Create files and stay organized. Use a specific notebook or online files for any notes, communications, ideas, and questions. Anything that relates to your eventual college list should go in one place. Each college should receive a designated page that can be referred to later for essays, interviews and more.

2. Make a list of your priorities. What are you looking for in a college? Do you like a smaller college in a rural area or a larger public university in big city? a large student enrollment or smaller? Academic programs of interest? Activities? Opportunities? Climate?

3. AFFORDABILITY For some, this is not an issue. For most, it is. It is important to know what your family is able and willing to pay in out of pocket expenses. Also, it is wise to consider you and/or your parent's willingness to incur debt. If there is a gap between the Expected Family Contribution and the Cost of Attendance, you will want to look for schools that provide a large percentage of need through Federal Aid and have a solid record in providing merit or Institutional Aid. If you are not eligible for significant need-based aid, then you are going to want to apply to schools where you will be in the upper 25 percent of applicants as far as GPA and test scores. Statistics on schools' generosity or lack of are readily available. It is good to work with a college financial planner who is familiar with using the numerous resources available.

4. Explore colleges within your area that are different -- a public and private college. Visiting gives students a much clearer idea of what they want and what they don't!

5. ADMISSIBILITY Use resources such as College Data, College Board's Big Future, College Results, Fiske Guide, the college website and a slew of others. Create your long list of schools for further review. Note the admission requirements. Do remember that any guide or website does not know you. So, it is best to review with a counselor to find your best fit.

6. Make a list of factors that are your priorities: activities, career center, academics, housing, athletics, size and location, cost

7. Once you have completed your research, it's time to put together a preliminary college list. It's best to create categories of reach, 50/50 and likely acceptance. This list could have 20-30 colleges on it. Once this is complete, review your personal criteria, do further research and begin to narrow your list. Narrow your categorized list to your working college list to include about 10 colleges. Try to accomplish this by the start of summer so you are prepared when the Common Application and other colleges release their applications for your season. Don't hesitate to get help! Creating your college list can get complicated and you most likely will have many questions.

Does It Matter Which College Your Child Chooses? Probably Not.

Between now and April 1, parents of high school seniors will be eagerly trolling their mailboxes, hoping to spot fat, cheer-worthy college acceptance envelopes. We long to see proof that everything our kids have done so far is paying off: Sports practices! Theater rehearsals! Debate teams! Chess clubs and robotics!

Alternatively, we’re seized by anxiety at the sight of those slender envelopes containing rejection letters saying our kids didn’t make the cut. Those letters tempt us to feel like our kids are failures and we are, too.

It’s natural that we feel this way, I suppose. After all, we know the college admissions process is competitive because the colleges keep telling us so, in all of their glossy literature trumpeting their supposedly unique features, like “hands-on learning,” “cutting-edge facilities,” and “award-winning faculty.” College enrollment jumped 32 percent between 2001 and 2011, with the number of full-time college students rising 38 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Childhood isn’t meant to be a race to the college finish line. It’s meant to be a formative part of life. So is college.

As someone who is both a veteran of the college application process — I’m playing the waiting game with our youngest of five at the moment — and as a freelancer who writes college admissions materials, I wish I could give every parent of a high school senior a chill pill.  I want them to know what I do: that where your child ends up at college will probably matter a lot less than you think it will.

Sure, it’s nice to get a tony degree from an Ivy, if only for the bragging rights. Or from a school with deep endowment pockets so you don’t have to break the bank. But the reality is that there are about 5000 colleges and universities in this country and nearly every one of them has lots to offer.

In my work, I’m often asked to interview administrators, faculty members and students to determine how to put that school’s best foot forward. Inevitably, I find what I’m looking for: passionate professors; study abroad opportunities; career counseling; caring coaches; and top-notch kids who not only do well academically, but go out and do good in the world. Oh, and lately I’m seeing campus fitness facilities, housing and dining halls that rival world-class hotels.

Yep. Every college, from the smallest under-the-radar school to the biggest university, has cool things for your kid to learn, eat and enjoy.

“You must be so nervous,” a friend said recently. When I looked puzzled, she added, “About where your son’s going to get into school.”

Um, no. Not really. I don’t care where he ends up. What matters is that my son is happy and can continue following his passion for science and engineering as he makes new friends, maybe has a chance to run competitively and check out a few different jobs so he can keep honing his interests and applying what he learns in the classroom. My son will be happy and fulfilled at any of the colleges he applied to — despite the fact that his list of eight schools includes everything from one small city Ivy to one of the nation’s biggest rural state universities.

My son knows this, too. He has watched his brothers and sisters thrive, despite each of them taking a different educational and career path. Of our four, only one was admitted to his top choice: a small, New England independent college. (You know: brick buildings, liberal arts, lots of snow.) He graduated with an English degree and got a great job as a writer at a social media company. Having a degree helped him land the job, but not as much as the freelance writing he’d been doing for web sites while he was in school.

Our other son chose a medium-sized private college in Pennsylvania. He hated its rural location and transferred sophomore year to a city college. His biggest passion in life has always been movies;  he majored in film studies and went to Hollywood after graduation, where he’s now a set designer and art director. Is he successful because of his film studies degree? Partly. But he got his foot in the door because he had spent summers working with a carpenter and knew one end of a hammer from another. Being able to actually build sets meant he could work on them and meet people who gave him a leg up.

Our oldest daughter wasn’t admitted to her first choice college — an Ivy — so she ultimately decided to grit her teeth and attend a state university to save money. She hated it at first, then found her niche in the natural resources college. She got a job immediately after graduation with an environmental engineering company in California and is now in graduate school in Oregon, studying forestry.

Our other daughter wanted to study in Paris, but transferred to a women’s college two years later in search of more competitive academics. After graduating with high honors, she needed a break from academics and worked as a waitress, saving up enough to travel through Brazil. Now she’s happily working in a yoga sanctuary.

It’s a parent’s dream come true to have kids who not only make it through college, but then support themselves doing jobs they love. This dream is achievable no matter where your child goes to school.

It’s a parent’s dream come true to have kids who not only make it through college, but then support themselves doing jobs they love. This dream is achievable no matter where your child goes to school. What matters more than any academic pedigree is that your children pursue their passions outside the classroom — through field work, freelance writing, summer jobs, internships, study abroad programs — and accumulate the necessary skills and direction to pursue careers that engage and fulfill them.

Everything your child has done for the first 17 years of life — from playing tag to National Honor Society, from ballet lessons to video games — has been important simply for the experiences themselves. Childhood isn’t meant to be a race to the college finish line. It’s meant to be a formative part of life. So is college.

Your child will get into one of those schools you’re waiting to hear from. And, if the school turns out to be a bad fit, it’s not tough to transfer. Whatever institution your child ultimately graduates from, what you must hope for is that the education isn’t only about academics or athletics, Greek life or community service, but about educating the whole person in a way that inspires lifelong learning.

College Touring Tips

Reposted from: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/blogs/p/2015/02/22/college-touring-tips

Spring and summer breaks are wonderful times to visit college campuses. If you are planning college tours with your future college students, here are some tips to help make the visits successful. 

Prior to visiting a campus, schedule an appointment. Most campuses offer tours twice a day. Weekend tours are very rare. Usually included in campus tours are an information session with a college admissions officer in which you can ask the hard questions such as admissions statistics, tips on what to include on the application, STEM programs for females and very specific questions regarding campus safety. Also by attending the information sessions, you will demonstrate to the office of admissions that a student is seriously interested in that campus. Colleges track these visits and it could make a difference in admissions. The student led tour of the campus gives prospective students an insider's look at life on campus – dorms, dining commons, classrooms, and the library, to name a few. Some campus tours are booked months in advance but you are always welcome to take a self-guided tour. The downside to self-guided tours is you don't get the admissions information session and you may not have the opportunity to see dorms or classrooms. However, it is easy to engage with college students hanging out on campus and ask them the questions about their experience. 

Depending on the academic and social preferences of the tour guide and the prospective student, there might not be a connection. Try not to let the perception of the campus be influenced by the tour guide; it's only one person and one perception. The good news is with social media, prospective students can log on and chat virtually with current students and inquire about their majors or clubs and activities from campuses to get a flavor of the respective campus. Students who have a clear interest in a particular department can always get in touch with the chair of the department and schedule a conversation and perhaps even discuss with current students in the department. 

When you ask tour guides why they chose their campus, you probably won't get an 
entertaining response like these Yale students put together, but you will learn about how they made their decision. 

Another consideration is WHEN you visit a campus. If it is during finals week, spring or winter break or on the weekend, the campus might not have the same "vibe" as it does when fully in session. I've visited large CSU campuses on weekends when there are literally only a handful of students walking around, not to mention that most of the buildings were closed. During the week, you are happily dodging pedestrians, bikes, and skateboards!

Did you know community colleges even offer campus tours? You can register online to take such a tour. For example, Foothill Community College offers tours that last about 45 minutes. They also offer self-guided tours. For more information, visit their website. 

For students who do not have the time or financial means to visit every college on their prospective list, virtual tours are the next best thing. Two websites many of my former students have found helpful are College Week Live and Campus Tours. Many of the colleges will visit local high schools (inquire with your high school for more details) and NACAC offers a spring college fair in the Bay Area. These options allow students to demonstrate interest and meet admissions officers without having to travel to their respective college campus. 

I would also recommend visiting colleges AFTER you have been admitted if your budget doesn't afford costly travel expenses. Keep the physical college tours for the short list. Some colleges will offer fly-in programs for low income students. Typically, the college covers housing and meals and the family covers travel expenses. Inquire at your colleges to learn more about this possibility and to determine if you are eligible to apply. Alternatively, visit local campuses that have similar personalities such as the campus size, the setting—city vs. suburbs, the same or equivalent academic programs, the opportunities for financial aid, etc. That way students at the very least can get a feel for what a campus with 6,000 students versus 35,000 looks like. The size of a campus and whether it is in a city or a small town are features that can be found in any state across the country. Even if local campuses are not an exact match, they will at least provide perspective.

Here are some questions commonly addressed during college tours and informational sessions:

Admissions Information Session 
What are your graduation/retention rates? 
How many students applied/accepted last year?
Parents should ask what the process is if their daughter/son is a victim of a sexual assault/physical assault/bullying by a fellow student, and also what safeguards are in place to protect the accused student from being unfairly treated.

Majors/Academics
Ask specific questions in the area(s) you are interested in.
What is the faculty to student classroom ratio?
Does the campus offer research programs for undergraduates? 
Are the classes taught by professors or teaching assistants? 
What is the average amount of time students study outside of the classroom? 
What is the grading system like (curve, A-F, evaluation based, etc.)
If your campus is religiously affiliated, you will want to find out what those requirements are.
What career opportunities does this major offer and how successful have former students been in finding an agreeable, well-paying position?

Housing 
If they can't show you a dorm, ask very specific questions.
How many students to a room?
Are there co-ed buildings or same sex floors?
Does the campus offer themed floors/dorms, etc.? 
How many students live on campus and how many commute? 
What are the housing requirements (some campuses require you to live on campus two years)? 
Are freshman allowed to have cars on campus (this is a popular question)?
What does the college do if my roommate and I are not getting along?

Financial Aid (if this is applicable) 
How many students receive Fin Aid? 
What is the average Fin Aid package? 
Are there merit-based scholarships? 
Does the campus offer work-study jobs?
Will the Fin Aid office work with me on payment plans?

Campus culture
If there is a club/activity you are particularly interested in, ask questions
What is the campus culture like? 
What type of clubs/organizations are offered? 
What do students do on the weekends? Specifically if you are at a campus where students tend to go home, you want to make sure you have a built-in community; otherwise, you are on campus bored and alone on weekends. 
What kind of activities are available off campus? 
What types of Arts and Cultural events are offered on campus or in the surrounding community?
If your campus is religiously affiliated, you can clarify is attending a religious service (i.e., mass or chapel) is mandatory or optional. 
Are there social and support programs available for first-generation students?

Greek Life 
How many students participate in Greek life?
How many fraternities and sororities are offered on campus?
What is the time commitment to be involved in a fraternity or sorority?
What is the pledge process like?

Weather - this especially plays a critical factor in decision-making for students moving to a dramatically different climate. 
Does the campus offer light therapy for students who suffer from depression?
How have students from (California, for example) adjusted to living in cold conditions (like New York or Boston)? 
What policies does the campus have for snow days?
What if any policies are in place for "natural disaster" situations? (Basically, how prepared is the campus for this kind of situation?). 

Dining
What is the food like? If you have a specific food requests (organic, locally sustained, vegan, gluten free, etc.) be sure there are enough options available to you.
What are the meal plans offered?
How many dining commons are provided on campus?
How are the dining establishments off campus?

Peer-to-Peer 
Your tour guides are current students. Ask them where they are from, what their major is and how they decided to attend this college. You can also ask them where else they applied or which other colleges were they accepted to. 

Campus Resources and Safety
What types of academic resources (counseling, tutoring, EOP/First Gen, etc.) are available to students?
What type of personal services (counseling, health and wellness) are available?
How safe is the campus?
How many incidents (crime, assault, etc.) are reported annually?

Be sure to allow enough time to walk around the surrounding areas of the campus. See if the neighborhoods are student-friendly (is there ample off-campus housing, safe bike routes, laundry, grocery stores, etc.). Visit a local coffee house or eatery to get a feel for the community culture and compare that to the campus culture. And, most important, students need to ask themselves if they can live, learn, and become an integral part of that college's community for the next 4-6 years. 

College Admissions: 5 Ways To Survive College Decision Season

Reposted from: http://www.golocalprov.com/lifestyle/college-admissions-5-ways-to-survive-college-decision-season

March decision season is about to commence for seniors. Each day, students will stalk the mailman, check their in-boxes a dozen times and log into admissions portals hoping for answers. The result is stress, drama and in some cases, jealousy among teens and parents. To help you survive the roller coaster, here are a few common sense things to remember:

Rejection is part of life.

While none of us want to see a child rejected, it is part of the admissions process. Very few students will get into all of their colleges. As teens enter adulthood, learning about rejection is part of the maturity process. In the future, they will face job rejections, broken hearts and other disappointments. As parents, this is your chance to teach them about accepting defeat with strength and grace.

Jealousy is not pretty.

As much as it might hurt when a peer gets into YOUR first choice college while you are rejected, you need to be happy for him/her. Senior year is not the time to ruin friendships that you have nurtured since grade school over something you cannot control. So, smile, congratulate your friend and move on to exploring your options.

Life is not fair.

There will always be someone in life who won an award, got a job or was accepted to a college with seemingly fewer credentials than you. Accept that you don’t know the whole story. Sometimes people lie about grades or test scores. They may have written a killer essay or knocked the socks off an interviewer. He or she may also have an aunt, uncle or cousin who is on the board of trustees or in admissions at the college—you REALLY don’t know!

Keep an open mind.

If you are not accepted to one of your top choice colleges, it could be the best thing that ever happened to you. There are countless stories of highly successful individuals who were rejected from their top choice school only to flourish where they matriculated. So, revisit campuses where you were accepted, research the opportunities at each school, and don’t make a rash decision. Take your time and perform due diligence.

Triumph with grace.

Although it is tempting to go running down the hall screaming, Tweet or text everyone you know when you get a great acceptance---temper your enthusiasm. Remember that someone else you know was also hoping for an acceptance and may not have gotten it. So, go home and scream, celebrate with your family and boast to your grandparents, but keep it contained and be considerate of others’ feelings.

Cristiana Quinn, M.Ed. is the founder of College Admission Advisors, LLC which provides strategic, college counseling and athletic recruiting services for students.www.collegeadvisorsonline.com.