Seniors: Helpful Hints for the Essay and Putting You on Paper

Posted on Tue, 11/05/2013 - 15:55

Seniors, last week we offered you a writing exercise to help get you started on your essays -- though we hope that you already have made some headway! Here's what you need to remember as you continue: the real topic is you. Whatever the essay is about on the surface, colleges care what the essay says about you. If you're still looking for the words that put you onto paper, here are some helpful hints:

Put a microscope to your life. Take a look at the little things around you. Go to your room and look at what’s on the walls, what’s under the bed, the things you’ve kept since second grade, or what about the thing you threw away that you really miss now. Where in the house do you spend the most time? Look for inspiration right under your nose. Ask yourself some of these questions:

• How do I spend my time?

• What do I like to do?

• What do I think about most of the time?

• What are the things that truly matter to me?

• What is my family like? Do we have any interesting rituals about dinners or board games or TV shows?

• What would I say about myself if I had to omit any mention of my extracurricular activities?

• When I think about who I am or what I care about, is there a particular day, moment, or event that was important in shaping that?

• If I, like Tom Sawyer, had a chance to eavesdrop at my own funeral, what would people say about me?

Kasey Urquidez, University of Arizona

Posted on Tue, 11/05/2013 - 10:23

In its earliest days, University of Arizona had a bit of a Wild West aura. Students rode their horses to school, hitching them outside Old Main, the first building on campus. And a year after the first undergraduates arrived, the dean of students asked the Board of Regents to prohibit the use of firearms on campus.

In fact, Arizona was still a territory when the University of Arizona broke ground in 1885 on 40 acres of land with a $25,000 grant from the legislature.  The first students arrived in 1891 – 32 strong – along with six teachers. But only six were admitted to the freshmen class. The remaining 26 went to a specially established prep school since there were no high schools in the territory. Seventeen years later, the university students finally outnumbered those in the prep classes and more than 20 years later -- in 1912 -- Arizona became a state.

Juniors: What is Your Learning Style? Another Important Factor When Choosing Colleges

Posted on Wed, 10/30/2013 - 16:38

Remember, the students who get the attention of admission officers are those who know who they are and what they want. So in the last couple of weeks, we've been providing you with some questions so that you can "research yourself" -- the first step in creating a preliminary list of colleges. Most recently, we asked you to think about yourself in the classroom. College is a learning environment, so you need to honestly evaluate yourself as a student in order to figure out what schools are best for you.

This week, we're asking you to examine your learning style, which will influence some of the basic criteria of your college search. For example, if you prefer to enroll in classes where learning takes place in small discussion groups, you will want to pay attention to factors such as class size and method of teaching at the schools in which you're interested.

Here are some more questions to help you evaluate yourself as a student in order to figure out what schools are best for you:

Seniors: An Exercise to Help with Your Essays

Posted on Tue, 10/29/2013 - 11:22

Seniors, how go your essays? If you’re struggling a little, we have an exercise we’ve found to be particularly effective for students whether they’re just starting or working on that fourth or fifth supplement! It’s one of our favorite writing prompts and one we often use when working with students in essay workshops: making a list.

 

Just sit down at the computer, set a timer for 5 minutes and start writing a list beginning with the prompt:

    I'm really good at…

 

And to give you a better idea of how this works, we’re sharing our own lists with you.

Here is Robin Mamlet's:

    I'm really good at:

    Envisioning possibility

    Words with Friends

    Being a mom

    Making Panini

    Growing tomatoes

    Focusing

    Drawing out others

    Snuggling with my kids on the couch

            Learning new things

 

What's Trust Got To Do With It?

Posted on Mon, 10/28/2013 - 15:33

What place does trust have in the college application process? College advisor Alice Kleeman joins us again this month to talk about trust -- as well as accountability and honesty -- among students, counselors and the colleges. Join her here to learn more about life lessons, integrity, and the meaning of signing on the dotted line.

 

The hand inevitably shoots up in the back row, just after I’ve explained to a class of juniors or seniors that they will “self-report” their extracurricular activities on their college applications. “But how do they know I’ve really done what I say I’ve done?” The question will be asked. After 19 years of speaking to students about college admission, this is a point of certainty.

 

Ah, one of my favorite topics: trust. If we stop to think about it, without trust—among applicants and their families, college officials, and counselors—the entire process falls apart like a poorly constructed house of cards. And yet it’s one aspect of college admission that we don’t talk about much, and when we do, cynicism arises on all sides.

 

Call me Pollyanna (Pollyalice?), but I’m an extremely trusting soul when it comes to the issues that ask for our trust in this process.

 

Amount Students Pay for College has Barely Changed Over Last Decade

Posted on Fri, 10/25/2013 - 09:36

The amount that students actually pay for college — because of increased discounts, grants and tax benefits — has barely changed over the last decade, according to the latest report from the College Board’s Trends in Higher Education research and analysis series.  Trends in College Pricing, a major analysis of college cost and affordability using data from the College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges, reports on the prices charged by colleges and universities in 2013-14, how prices have changed over time, and how they vary within and across types of institutions, states, and regions. It also includes information on the net prices that students and families actually pay after taking financial aid into consideration.

As the report notes, “The story is a complicated one, with different students paying different prices at the same institutions, depending on their financial circumstances; on their academic qualifications, athletic ability, or other characteristics; and on their year or program of study.”

Among the highlights:

Juniors: How do you learn? It's important when considering colleges!

Posted on Thu, 10/24/2013 - 10:45

In the last couple of weeks, we've asked you to "research yourself" as you start to create a preliminary list of colleges. 

There's no question the students who do best in the college application process have figured out who they are and what they want. We've asked you to think about your personal preferences and interests like favorite books and television shows and to take advantage of the personality inventories on Naviance and similar platforms. We've even asked you to consider which Star Trek character you may resemble. Hey, we think you can learn something about yourself there!

This week, we're going to ask you to think about yourself in the classroom. Because college is a learning environment, you need to honestly evaluate yourself as a student in order to figure out what schools are best for you.

First, consider your academic record. Keep in mind that there are no "right" answers. You're just mining for information. Here are some questions to help you begin:

What is your GPA? What is the highest GPA reported by your school?

Are you challenging yourself in the classroom with advanced classes, such as AP’s?

What is the most intellectually engaging class you have taken in high school? Why? How did it influence you?

What do you choose to learn when you learn on your own? Consider what topics you choose for research papers, lab reports, or independent reading.

What subjects have you excelled in?

What We Talk About When We Talk About College

Posted on Wed, 10/23/2013 - 13:00

Jane Kulow joins us again this month with her heartfelt insights into the college application process as her daughter contemplates the meaning of commitment and applying early decision.

 What we talk about when we talk about college:  a decision.

"Do we talk about anything other than college these days?"

Our daughter, Julie, asked me that over dinner last weekend, before adding, "It's okay, that's about all I'm thinking about anyway."

Early in the morning, two days before that dinner, Julie and I set out on one more college visit. I cannot say that will be our last campus visit, but it is the last we will undertake before she submits her first application.

Julie revisited this campus with a number of questions in mind: