In the last post I began a discussion of resources with which to help students find colleges to which to apply. I reviewed the site collegeboard.com which is invaluable in this effort. Unlike other college match sites, one of the first questions it asks the student is whether they're looking for a two or four year program. If the student responds, "No Preference", the college match results produced will not preclude two year programs. A lot of people may falsely stigmatize two year programs as being a last resort for students who "can't get in anywhere else". While sometimes true, that's an unfair generalization.
There are numerous reasons not to rule out a two year program. This post will concentrate on some major ones.
-Some students are interested in careers that require Associate's Degrees or even Certification rather than a four year Bachelor's Degree. Many of these jobs are in the technical or applied sciences. People interested in being a Veterinary Technician or Drafter often are employed with certification or a two year degree (Associate). For students who are unsure of their level of interest in a certain area, this can be a very good option rather than spending upwards of $30,000 a year to find out. Once employed in the field, they can decide if they are interested in advancing to a career that requires further study such as Veterinary Medicine or Architecture.
-Students who decide late that they even want to go to college may be able to "prove themselves" to a college with tougher academic and testing requirements than they acquired in high school. I call this "pulling a Rudy". That's a reference to the movie where the character, Rudy, used his good record in a two year program to transfer to Notre Dame. Many two year programs have bridge programs or articulation agreements with four year colleges where, upon completion. a two year graduate can enter into the four year college as a junior. The Baccalaureate Degree you get at graduation reads the name of the four year college or university, not the community college where you began.
-You've probably already figured out that the transfer option previously mentioned is a great way to save money as well. On the average, a community college costs less than half of what a four year state school charges. At a community college you can take core degree requirements at a much lower cost. Just be sure that the four year program you want to transfer to has an articulation agreement with the two year college or will accept the majority of your credits. Consider your college budget. I went to a very fine state university which was relatively inexpensive. Students who had to transfer there from pricier programs were seldom happy. You always want to trade up.
-If the above reasons aren't sufficient to at least pique your interest in alternatives to applying to a four year program immediately after high school, consider the USA Today article of January 18, 2011. The article by Mary Beth Macklein, which can be found at www.usatoday.com is entitled "Report: First Two Years of College Show Small Gains". In it she refers to a report based on a book, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses.
One of the study's conclusions is that, "Nearly half of the nation's undergraduates show almost no gains in learning in their first two years of college." The authors also found that students spent 51% of their time socializing and recreating; 24% sleeping; 9% working, volunteering or in student club activities; 9% attending class and only 7% studying. Sounds like a sweet deal but, unless you have no need to take loans to subsidize this life style, is it really worth going into thousands of dollars in debt?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Choosing a College
By this point you should have an idea of what you would like to do and how to prepare for it. Does your career of interest require college, trade or technical school or even apprenticeship, a topic we'll investigate in the future? For those who require a college degree, the biggest dilemma which now presents itself is which college to choose. An invaluable book which I've referenced in the past is, Choosing a College by Dr. Thomas Sowell. The book doesn't seem to be available from Amazon.com but you may be able to find it in the library. (You remember the library, that brick building somewhere near the center of town with those pre-Kindle paper things called books!?!) Dr. Sowell is a brilliant economist who is quite prolific in writing about economics, education and history. As stated previously, the book was first published in 1989. While some of the information about specific schools is dated, the philosophy and technique underlying the college choice process is relevant and that's the major purpose of the book.
There are numerous resources available to help you in your search. Since I wrote about the College Board in the last post outlining use of PSAT results, I'll begin with that. There are many features of www.collegeboard.com that are excellent resources for students, parents and education professionals. The college search and match features are well worth investigating. If you know of a college in which you're interested, you can search it by name and get a complete profile of one of over 3,500 schools. If you haven't a clue or only have a school or two that you know of, use the college match feature. You are asked a series of questions which, based on your responses, will match you with specific schools that meet your preferences as to size, cost, majors and a host of relevant characteristics. You can then use the list of results to further refine your choices.
An excellent feature on this site is the side by side comparison. You can compare up to four colleges at one time. Once you put in the names, a one page "side by side comparison" results which gives you location, admissions criteria, size and cost. In addition, there is the "How do I stack up?" feature which lets you put in personal information as to your grades and test scores and results in a comparison of how you "stack up" against the competition at that school. You can save all of these results in a personal account which you can set up free of charge as a PSAT/SAT taker. This site is definitely a keeper!
There are numerous resources available to help you in your search. Since I wrote about the College Board in the last post outlining use of PSAT results, I'll begin with that. There are many features of www.collegeboard.com that are excellent resources for students, parents and education professionals. The college search and match features are well worth investigating. If you know of a college in which you're interested, you can search it by name and get a complete profile of one of over 3,500 schools. If you haven't a clue or only have a school or two that you know of, use the college match feature. You are asked a series of questions which, based on your responses, will match you with specific schools that meet your preferences as to size, cost, majors and a host of relevant characteristics. You can then use the list of results to further refine your choices.
An excellent feature on this site is the side by side comparison. You can compare up to four colleges at one time. Once you put in the names, a one page "side by side comparison" results which gives you location, admissions criteria, size and cost. In addition, there is the "How do I stack up?" feature which lets you put in personal information as to your grades and test scores and results in a comparison of how you "stack up" against the competition at that school. You can save all of these results in a personal account which you can set up free of charge as a PSAT/SAT taker. This site is definitely a keeper!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
It's January and Junior Year
When I began this blog, I thought I should begin with junior year in high school. However, there is so much preliminary work that should be done before that. On the www.college.gov site, mentioned in an earlier post, they use three main sub-headings the first of which is "Why Go?". If you have been following the blog, you have, hopefully, done the suggested career exploration and have an idea in mind as to the kind of career(s) you would like to have and the type of post-secondary training/education it requires. If not, review some of the previous posts and go from there. From this point we're going to discuss how to find the place that moves you forward toward your career goal.
By this time juniors should have received the results of the PSAT/NMSQT they took in October. Many sophomores may have taken the test as well, although they are not yet eligible for the National Merit Scholarships for which juniors may qualify. If you took the test and have not received your results, be sure to see your guidance counselor.
If used properly, these results are invaluable to help you prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test required by most college admissions offices. The ACT (American College Test) is another test which many schools use as part of their application process and will be discussed in a future post. The PSAT provides you with your scores (ranging from 20-80) on each of three subtests: critical reading; mathematics and writing skills. More importantly, they give you a percentile by which you can see how your scores stack up against other students in your grade level who took the test. A score of 48 in critical reading, roughly what would be a 480 on the SAT, doesn't seem so great. However, when you see that that score was better than 69% of the other students in that grade level who took the test, it's much more competitive. These other students are those who will compete against you for college admissions. As a visual, in a room of 100 students in your grade throughout the country who took the test, you did better than 69 of them. Looks a lot better, doesn't it?
If you don't want to bank on the rest of your group sleeping through segments of the SAT, use your PSAT scores to prepare. Your test booklet should have been returned to you so now you can actually review the specific questions you got right or wrong. The results also give you the level of difficulty of each question and the specific skill it was meant to assess. They also provide an analysis of which skill areas you can improve and provide suggestions as to how to do so.
On the second page of your results you are given a code with which you can fully access the College Board website and use its services for free. The MyRoad program offers the ORA Personality Profile, mentioned earlier. If you don't have a career goal in mind, this will help you. Even if you have a life long dream of a specific job, take the profile to see if it produces results compatible with your plans. It may even broaden the scope of possibilities.
Collegeboard.com provides information on the SAT, which they also administer, and suggestions as to how to prepare. There's a lot of money in SAT preparation. Many students hire private tutors who "tutor to the test", giving them tips and exercises to hone their test skills in general and SAT taking specifically. The Princeton and Kaplan Review(s) along with Huntington and Sylvan Learning Center(s) are just a few among many companies that charge handsomely for these services. Books are available for those who are self-starters and can discipline themselves to prepare at a much lower cost. Among over 1500 titles amazon.com lists when you search "SAT prep" are: The Official SAT Guide by the College Board
; Kaplan SAT 2011; Barron's SAT and McGraw Hill's 12 SAT Practice Tests
There is an interesting online test prep program at www.grockit.com.
No matter what plan(s) you follow, don't just wing it. DO SOMETHING! At the very least, READ - not just subjects you enjoy but pick up something technical if you're a poet and poetic if you're a scientist. You can be both. Decipher it - read with a dictionary - understand it - seek the guidance of a parent or teacher. In May or June many juniors with take the SAT for the first time. (I recommend the May date, as it provides a question/answer service which can be further used to prep for the test if you decide to take it again.) Colleges use a composite of the highest scores for each section of the SAT(s) a student takes.
It may not seem so now, especially for those of us in colder climates, but Spring is just a blink away!
By this time juniors should have received the results of the PSAT/NMSQT they took in October. Many sophomores may have taken the test as well, although they are not yet eligible for the National Merit Scholarships for which juniors may qualify. If you took the test and have not received your results, be sure to see your guidance counselor.
If used properly, these results are invaluable to help you prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test required by most college admissions offices. The ACT (American College Test) is another test which many schools use as part of their application process and will be discussed in a future post. The PSAT provides you with your scores (ranging from 20-80) on each of three subtests: critical reading; mathematics and writing skills. More importantly, they give you a percentile by which you can see how your scores stack up against other students in your grade level who took the test. A score of 48 in critical reading, roughly what would be a 480 on the SAT, doesn't seem so great. However, when you see that that score was better than 69% of the other students in that grade level who took the test, it's much more competitive. These other students are those who will compete against you for college admissions. As a visual, in a room of 100 students in your grade throughout the country who took the test, you did better than 69 of them. Looks a lot better, doesn't it?
If you don't want to bank on the rest of your group sleeping through segments of the SAT, use your PSAT scores to prepare. Your test booklet should have been returned to you so now you can actually review the specific questions you got right or wrong. The results also give you the level of difficulty of each question and the specific skill it was meant to assess. They also provide an analysis of which skill areas you can improve and provide suggestions as to how to do so.
On the second page of your results you are given a code with which you can fully access the College Board website and use its services for free. The MyRoad program offers the ORA Personality Profile, mentioned earlier. If you don't have a career goal in mind, this will help you. Even if you have a life long dream of a specific job, take the profile to see if it produces results compatible with your plans. It may even broaden the scope of possibilities.
Collegeboard.com provides information on the SAT, which they also administer, and suggestions as to how to prepare. There's a lot of money in SAT preparation. Many students hire private tutors who "tutor to the test", giving them tips and exercises to hone their test skills in general and SAT taking specifically. The Princeton and Kaplan Review(s) along with Huntington and Sylvan Learning Center(s) are just a few among many companies that charge handsomely for these services. Books are available for those who are self-starters and can discipline themselves to prepare at a much lower cost. Among over 1500 titles amazon.com lists when you search "SAT prep" are: The Official SAT Guide by the College Board
; Kaplan SAT 2011; Barron's SAT and McGraw Hill's 12 SAT Practice Tests
There is an interesting online test prep program at www.grockit.com.
No matter what plan(s) you follow, don't just wing it. DO SOMETHING! At the very least, READ - not just subjects you enjoy but pick up something technical if you're a poet and poetic if you're a scientist. You can be both. Decipher it - read with a dictionary - understand it - seek the guidance of a parent or teacher. In May or June many juniors with take the SAT for the first time. (I recommend the May date, as it provides a question/answer service which can be further used to prep for the test if you decide to take it again.) Colleges use a composite of the highest scores for each section of the SAT(s) a student takes.
It may not seem so now, especially for those of us in colder climates, but Spring is just a blink away!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Website Review
For the final post of 2010, I thought I would list the websites I've mentioned since August and give a short description of each. The blog post in which the site was mentioned is referenced for easy access. (CAUTION: Punctuation in this piece is not grammatically correct. Periods are merely used as stop signs. DO NOT use it as a reference in your own writing!)
-http://www.collegeboard.com (August 18, 2010): Administered by The College Board. Information about registering and preparing for the SAT, college search, college match and college profile features. Information about the entire college experience for students, parents and professionals.
-http://www.myroad.com (August 18, 2010): Admintistered by The College Board. Students who have taken the PSAT/NMSQT may freely access the My Road program which includes career inventories and information and other valuable tools to help start the post-secondary education process.
-http://www.dicsoveryourpersonality.com (August 25, 2020): Gives a complete list of the career tests they sell which includes the Strong Inventory Profile with High School Profile.
-http://psychcorp.pearsonassessments.com (August 25, 2010): Sells the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey which focuses on careers that require post-secondary training/education.
-http://www.college.gov (August 25, 2010): Administered by the Federal Dept. of Ed. Provides links to other sites on career exploration, college admissions and financial aid.
-http://www.bls.gov (September 15, 2010): Administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Provides information on careers found in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, such as training, qualifications, job outlook, earnings, etc. Links to professional organizations and societies.
-http://www.onetcenter.org (September 15, 2010): Administered by the Dept. of Labor. Provides info from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles(DOT) about knowledge, skills, interests, etc. that specific careers require. Has job search info as well.
-http://careeronestop.org (September 15, 2010): Administered by the Dept. of Labor. Good resource for older students and work force re-entries/unemployed.
-http://www.njit.edu/precollege (September 22, 2010): Administered by New Jersey Institute of Technology. Info on pre-college programs for fifth through twelfth graders.
-http://www.fitnyc.edu (September 22, 2010): Administered by the Fashion of Technology. Fashion related courses for middle and high school students.
-http://www.njpac.org (September 22, 2010): Administered by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Programs in music, dance and theatre for 11-18 year old students.
-http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/-dougproj/DPPreCollege.html (September 22, 2010): Administered by Rutgers University. Provides info and applications for the Douglass Science Institute for high school girls interested in math, science and engineering.
-http://edsitement.neh.gov (October 6, 2010): Administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Links to sites dealing with the humanities such as art and culture, language and language arts, foreign language, etc.
-http://www.rcan.org/schools/links.html (October 6, 2010): Administered by the Vicariate for Education of the Archdiocese of Newark. Provides links to multiple websites such as the College Board, the Library of Congress, et.al.
-http://www.studenteducationprogram.com/precollege.html (October 27, 2010): Provides info about precollege programs.
-http://www.bc.edu/sites/genpulse/pass/summer_pulse.html (October 27, 2010): Administered by Boston College. Lists sources of information on summer pre-college programs with descriptions.
-http://www.ametsoc.org (November 3, 2010): Administered by the American Meteorological Society. A great example of a professional organization with extensive outreach to elementary, middle and high school students interested in atmospheric sciences.
-http://www.careercornerstone.org (November 10, 2010): Administered by
the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. A fantastic resource for those interested in careers in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine.
-www.unigo.com (December 1, 2010): Administered by Unigo in partnership with the Wall Street Journal. Free service aims to have "college students tell you what the colleges won't". Student reviews complement admissions office personnel segments.
-spiritprudential.com (December 8, 2010): Information about the Prudential Prestigious Awards, scholarships open to middle and high school students with strong history of volunteerism.
-snyinvitational.com (December 8, 2010): Info about the Metro PCS Leaders and Scholars Program, a scholarship for students in the Metro NY area who excel in academics and volunteerism.
-http://scholarshipamerica.org (December 8, 2010) Scholarships administered by Scholarship Management Services and links to other financial aid resources.
-http://applyists.com (December 8, 2010): Scholarships administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. Info on financial aid.
-Zinch.com (December 8, 2010): Great scholarship finder site. Includes info for graduate students.
I've enjoyed writing this blog these past five months. I meant it to be an aid for those of you who are looking for guidance in navigating the often confusing road to college and career. I hope it has helped.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!
-http://www.collegeboard.com (August 18, 2010): Administered by The College Board. Information about registering and preparing for the SAT, college search, college match and college profile features. Information about the entire college experience for students, parents and professionals.
-http://www.myroad.com (August 18, 2010): Admintistered by The College Board. Students who have taken the PSAT/NMSQT may freely access the My Road program which includes career inventories and information and other valuable tools to help start the post-secondary education process.
-http://www.dicsoveryourpersonality.com (August 25, 2020): Gives a complete list of the career tests they sell which includes the Strong Inventory Profile with High School Profile.
-http://psychcorp.pearsonassessments.com (August 25, 2010): Sells the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey which focuses on careers that require post-secondary training/education.
-http://www.college.gov (August 25, 2010): Administered by the Federal Dept. of Ed. Provides links to other sites on career exploration, college admissions and financial aid.
-http://www.bls.gov (September 15, 2010): Administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Provides information on careers found in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, such as training, qualifications, job outlook, earnings, etc. Links to professional organizations and societies.
-http://www.onetcenter.org (September 15, 2010): Administered by the Dept. of Labor. Provides info from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles(DOT) about knowledge, skills, interests, etc. that specific careers require. Has job search info as well.
-http://careeronestop.org (September 15, 2010): Administered by the Dept. of Labor. Good resource for older students and work force re-entries/unemployed.
-http://www.njit.edu/precollege (September 22, 2010): Administered by New Jersey Institute of Technology. Info on pre-college programs for fifth through twelfth graders.
-http://www.fitnyc.edu (September 22, 2010): Administered by the Fashion of Technology. Fashion related courses for middle and high school students.
-http://www.njpac.org (September 22, 2010): Administered by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Programs in music, dance and theatre for 11-18 year old students.
-http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/-dougproj/DPPreCollege.html (September 22, 2010): Administered by Rutgers University. Provides info and applications for the Douglass Science Institute for high school girls interested in math, science and engineering.
-http://edsitement.neh.gov (October 6, 2010): Administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Links to sites dealing with the humanities such as art and culture, language and language arts, foreign language, etc.
-http://www.rcan.org/schools/links.html (October 6, 2010): Administered by the Vicariate for Education of the Archdiocese of Newark. Provides links to multiple websites such as the College Board, the Library of Congress, et.al.
-http://www.studenteducationprogram.com/precollege.html (October 27, 2010): Provides info about precollege programs.
-http://www.bc.edu/sites/genpulse/pass/summer_pulse.html (October 27, 2010): Administered by Boston College. Lists sources of information on summer pre-college programs with descriptions.
-http://www.ametsoc.org (November 3, 2010): Administered by the American Meteorological Society. A great example of a professional organization with extensive outreach to elementary, middle and high school students interested in atmospheric sciences.
-http://www.careercornerstone.org (November 10, 2010): Administered by
the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. A fantastic resource for those interested in careers in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine.
-www.unigo.com (December 1, 2010): Administered by Unigo in partnership with the Wall Street Journal. Free service aims to have "college students tell you what the colleges won't". Student reviews complement admissions office personnel segments.
-spiritprudential.com (December 8, 2010): Information about the Prudential Prestigious Awards, scholarships open to middle and high school students with strong history of volunteerism.
-snyinvitational.com (December 8, 2010): Info about the Metro PCS Leaders and Scholars Program, a scholarship for students in the Metro NY area who excel in academics and volunteerism.
-http://scholarshipamerica.org (December 8, 2010) Scholarships administered by Scholarship Management Services and links to other financial aid resources.
-http://applyists.com (December 8, 2010): Scholarships administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. Info on financial aid.
-Zinch.com (December 8, 2010): Great scholarship finder site. Includes info for graduate students.
I've enjoyed writing this blog these past five months. I meant it to be an aid for those of you who are looking for guidance in navigating the often confusing road to college and career. I hope it has helped.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Loose Ends and Leads
Prudential Prestigious Awards recognize middle and high school aged students who have been exemplary in their volunteerism. The program began in 1995. It is unusual in that it is open to middle as well as high school students. Selectees are certified by their school or one of the following organizations: Girl Scout Councils; 4-H Clubs; American Red Cross; YMCA; and Affiliates of the HandsOn Network. Award recipients receive scholarship money and attend a week long conference in Washington, D.C. The 2011 conference will take place from April 30 - May 3. More information can be found at spirit.prudential.com
Another scholarship program of interest is the Metro PCS Leaders and Scholars Program. In partnership with the 2011 SNY Invitational, scholarships are awarded to students in the New York Metro area who excel in academics and volunteerism. More information can be found at snyinvitational.com
Mention of these two programs may seem to have come out of left field and totally out of sequence. We'll be getting into scholarships in more depth when we talk about paying for school. The reason I've mentioned them now is that each has provided a valuable lead to even more information. This is how you should be looking at the websites in your career and college exploration. In reading about the Metro PCS Program, you find that it is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Scholarship America, the "nation's largest designer and manager of scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals". If you go to their website at http://scholarshipamerica.org, you can find a list of the scholarships they administer and links to other sites, including Zinch.com. Zinch has a scholarship finder and is another great resource I'll discuss in a future posting.
The Prudential Awards Program is administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. at http://www.applyists.com
which states, "For over 23 years, we have provided scholarship and tuition program management for Fortune 500 companies, national membership organizations, family foundations, trusts and other organizations." At their site you can look up information by the name of the program or the sponsoring agency and you can apply for a scholarship. You can also access information about financial for college.
It makes sense that corporations would hire outside companies to administer programs such as these, but you might never have thought to dig a little deeper to find that out. If you explore sites critically you can find links and leads to a wealth of information and detect valuable sources you might have never considered. Go to it, Sherlock!
Two more loose ends:
The inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival was held in October 2010. It was the country's first national science festival where over 500 science and engineering organizations tried to "reignite the interest of our nation's youth in sciences". More info can be found at http://www.usasciencefestival.org
The deadline for the January 22 SAT is December 23. The January and May test dates are the only ones this semester that offer the question/answer service option. For more information go to www.collegeboard.com.
Another scholarship program of interest is the Metro PCS Leaders and Scholars Program. In partnership with the 2011 SNY Invitational, scholarships are awarded to students in the New York Metro area who excel in academics and volunteerism. More information can be found at snyinvitational.com
Mention of these two programs may seem to have come out of left field and totally out of sequence. We'll be getting into scholarships in more depth when we talk about paying for school. The reason I've mentioned them now is that each has provided a valuable lead to even more information. This is how you should be looking at the websites in your career and college exploration. In reading about the Metro PCS Program, you find that it is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Scholarship America, the "nation's largest designer and manager of scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals". If you go to their website at http://scholarshipamerica.org, you can find a list of the scholarships they administer and links to other sites, including Zinch.com. Zinch has a scholarship finder and is another great resource I'll discuss in a future posting.
The Prudential Awards Program is administered by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. at http://www.applyists.com
which states, "For over 23 years, we have provided scholarship and tuition program management for Fortune 500 companies, national membership organizations, family foundations, trusts and other organizations." At their site you can look up information by the name of the program or the sponsoring agency and you can apply for a scholarship. You can also access information about financial for college.
It makes sense that corporations would hire outside companies to administer programs such as these, but you might never have thought to dig a little deeper to find that out. If you explore sites critically you can find links and leads to a wealth of information and detect valuable sources you might have never considered. Go to it, Sherlock!
Two more loose ends:
The inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival was held in October 2010. It was the country's first national science festival where over 500 science and engineering organizations tried to "reignite the interest of our nation's youth in sciences". More info can be found at http://www.usasciencefestival.org
The deadline for the January 22 SAT is December 23. The January and May test dates are the only ones this semester that offer the question/answer service option. For more information go to www.collegeboard.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!
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!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
The Glitch to Gliding
One of the key factors in college admissions is the applicant's GPA, Grade Point Average. When I first began counselling, my high school did not "weight" grades. Weighting is a formula by which grades in honors and advanced placement courses are given greater numerical value, i.e., weight, to compensate for the fact that they are more difficult in many aspects than core college preparatory courses - bonus points, if you will. It didn't take a student long to figure out that if he resisted placement in these advanced levels he would not risk his GPA. Students who didn't take the honors level courses would often rank higher in the class than those who challenged themselves with more rigorous placements. I campaigned for weighting, and, shortly after I began working in the high school, we had a weighted GPA and ranking system, much to the chagrin of those who hoped to continue to glide and not suffer any disadvantage.
Coasting through the core curriculum may have seemed to these students to be the way to go. They would be able to shine with little effort and get great letters of recommendation from teachers who welcomed their presence in class. They were only hurting themselves. One of the other big factors in college admissions is the rigor of the secondary school program. This factor is right up there with the GPA and rank in admissions criteria. College profiles in the Princeton Review's 2011 edition of the Best 373 Colleges back up this statement. Since many competitive colleges ask for a copy of the high school profile, they know if advanced placement opportunities existed for students who received A's and only took core college prep courses.
Another reason to take the most difficult classes you can handle is to challenge yourself. If you don't, you may be the one left behind in difficult college classes. Many of your fellow students who took honors and advanced placement courses may be knowledgeable about topics to which you weren't even exposed. Dr. Thomas Sowell, a brilliant economist and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University wrote a book, Choosing a College, a Guide for Parents and Students
. It was published in 1989. While some of the information about specific programs and places is dated, the philosophy of how to make this most important choice is sound and relevant. In it he states, "In the admissions game, 'winning' cannot be defined as simply getting in. At a minimum, it must also include reasonable prospects of survival...". By testing and challenging yourself in high school, you can maximize your chances of not just surviving but thriving in college.
In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday and the fact that I'm hosting dinner, I will not be able to blog next Wednesday. I wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Patience, some of your relatives may not be so thrilled to see you either!!! Remember the great Ralph Kramden's mantra - "Pins and needles, needles and pins. A happy man is a man who grins." Keep smiling!
Coasting through the core curriculum may have seemed to these students to be the way to go. They would be able to shine with little effort and get great letters of recommendation from teachers who welcomed their presence in class. They were only hurting themselves. One of the other big factors in college admissions is the rigor of the secondary school program. This factor is right up there with the GPA and rank in admissions criteria. College profiles in the Princeton Review's 2011 edition of the Best 373 Colleges back up this statement. Since many competitive colleges ask for a copy of the high school profile, they know if advanced placement opportunities existed for students who received A's and only took core college prep courses.
Another reason to take the most difficult classes you can handle is to challenge yourself. If you don't, you may be the one left behind in difficult college classes. Many of your fellow students who took honors and advanced placement courses may be knowledgeable about topics to which you weren't even exposed. Dr. Thomas Sowell, a brilliant economist and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University wrote a book, Choosing a College, a Guide for Parents and Students
. It was published in 1989. While some of the information about specific programs and places is dated, the philosophy of how to make this most important choice is sound and relevant. In it he states, "In the admissions game, 'winning' cannot be defined as simply getting in. At a minimum, it must also include reasonable prospects of survival...". By testing and challenging yourself in high school, you can maximize your chances of not just surviving but thriving in college.In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday and the fact that I'm hosting dinner, I will not be able to blog next Wednesday. I wish you all a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Patience, some of your relatives may not be so thrilled to see you either!!! Remember the great Ralph Kramden's mantra - "Pins and needles, needles and pins. A happy man is a man who grins." Keep smiling!
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