Showing posts with label application essays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label application essays. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Up to Speed - Review of Posts from January-June 2011

This post will also include some of the websites and books referred to.

January 8, 2011
Discussion of how students should use their PSAT results and prepare for the SAT. Websites of interest - www.collegeboard.org, www.grockit.com. SAT study guides are available at www.amazon.com.

January 19, 2011
Discussion of how to use www.collegeboard.org

January 26, 2011
Discussion of whether to choose a two or four year program

February 2, 2011
Information on NJ Boys and Girls State Programs www.boysandgirlsstate.org

February 16, 2011
Discussion of features of www.unigo.com, specifically College Match

March 2, 2011
Choosing a College, continued. The book, The Best 373 Colleges,
is featured.

March 16, 2011
Discussion of "feeder schools", undergraduate schools from which many graduate programs accept students

March 30, 2011
Virtual campus tours, college rep visits and college fairs www.campustour.com

April 13, 2011
College admission and the Naviance guidance delivery system www.naviance.com

April 27, 2011
Suggestions for how to get the most out of a campus visit
College Visit Checklist available at www.unigo.com

May 11, 2011
Campus Safety www.neighborhoodscout.com

May 25, 2011
Intellectual freedom on campus www.theFIRE.org
Closing of the American Mind

June 8, 2011
What juniors should do during summer vacation to prepare for senior year. Good review for those who need to catch up!

June 22, 2011
Writing the college application essay www.commonap.org, www.englishclub.com

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

I've Found Another One!

As I find websites that I think are of particular interest or particularly helpful, I intend to share them with you via this blog. Well, I've found a really good one (with the help of my lovely daughter!) about which I'm very excited. What can I say? I'm a guidance geek! WSJ (Wall Street Journal) on Campus has partnered with Unigo. Founded by recent college grad, 25 year old Jordan Goldman, www.unigo.com aims to provide a free service where over 30,000 "college students tell you what the colleges won't". Reporters from the Wall Street Journal and Unigo staff provide numerous reviews from students at different schools on a variety of topics. There are videos of panel discussions and college admissions staff members on pertinent topics as well.

There are two main sections: "Getting There" and "What to Expect". The "Getting There" section includes: College Rankings; Nail Your Essay; Recommendation Letters; Paying for School, and Facebook Scars. Clicking on the Facebook Scars heading, I found a video of an interesting panel discussion which included personnel from Princeton, Williams, UPenn, Franklin & Marshall and other institutions. They were discussing the topic, "Can What You Post on Facebook Prevent You From Getting Into College?". Other topics included their views of applicants who declare a major as opposed to those who are undecided and the importance of SAT's and other standardized tests.

There are also college match and college search features. If you create a free account, you can take a match survey. The test questions are sprinkled with interesting little factoids like: "Only four college football stadiums can hold over 100,000 fans."; and, "In 1955, 143 colleges required the SAT/ACT. Today, that number is over 1,400.". If you enter the name of a specific college in the college search section, you will not only see an updated college profile containing the usual info about size, cost, etc., but also student reviews.

The Top 10 for '10 rankings include: Top 10 New Ivies; Party Schools; Colleges You've Never Heard Of; Most Political Colleges; Most Intellectual; Hook-Up Scenes; Safest Schools, and Sports Schools. There's so much information on this site, you'll just have to explore it yourself.

With the beginning of Hanukkah tomorrow, the holiday season will get into full swing. I intend to post on December 8 and again on December 15. On January 4, 2011 (Wow, that year went fast!), we'll begin the new year with "It's January and Junior Year".
Happy Hanukkah!