While all of these factors are very important, it is also important to consider the campus’s surroundings.  Is the college situated in a city? Is it in a rural setting? A student’s personality and goals should fit within that broader environment.  To think that she will not have any interaction in the “bigger world” is naive.  I once spoke with a student who had attended a college in a rural community.  In spite of the excellent academic programs, learning support center, and friendly peers he was absolutely miserable.  The pungent smell of cow manure was overwhelming, a feature of this college that he had failed to recognize during his initial visits to the school.  Having grown up in suburban Philadelphia, he was accustomed to a more urban lifestyle.  The rural surroundings of his college were slow-paced and failed to spark his interest.  When he realized that the highlight of the year was the annual pumpkin picking festival, he knew that he had to make a change.  Luckily, the student found a suburban college that better met his needs and he transferred there during his sophomore year.

A student might also want to consider a school where the university and town life are mutually inclusive. I recently visited the Claremont Colleges in Southern California — a conglomerate of private, small liberal arts colleges — comprised of Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, and Scripps. Many of the students I spoke with expressed how much they love the fact that the town of Claremont is oriented around the colleges.  Whether it is at one of the local eateries or at the town library, students and residents of Claremont often interact. On the tree-lined streets in the family-friendly neighborhoods I overheard meaningful conversations between these two groups.  The residents are happy to share their community with the students, and similarly, the students are thrilled to feel so welcome in this tiny town. 

At the opposite end of the spectrum are colleges in major cities.  The action and fast pace of urban life attract hundreds of thousands of students every year, but what some students don’t expect is the anonymity that can come with city life.  When a city serves as the school’s campus, it can be very challenging to find one’s niche.  These issues might not matter, however, to the person who loves the unmatched exposure to culture and art that the city affords, along with plentiful job and internship opportunities. The student and his family should keep in mind that in a city like New York, the cost of living is high, and some students might find it difficult to acclimate to such an environment.  In general, a student with characteristics such as independence, direction and flexibility should fare well in a big city.

So, as you visit colleges, pay special attention to student activities on campus.  Look at class sizes and dorm room accommodations.  But do not forget to look at the environment surrounding the colleges you are visiting.  As remote as it may seem to you, the world that exists beyond the gates of each campus needs to meet your needs just as much as the college itself.

Variables such as household income, savings, mortgage, and number of other family members in college will be considered;  the calculator will crunch those numbers and produce an estimated cost of attending the college.  How merit and need-based financial aid will be factored into these calculations remains to be seen especially when a student hasn’t even applied yet. Many details still need to be worked out, but colleges have a lot hanging in the balance as this new federal requirement could have a powerful impact on admissions outcomes.  To read more about net-price calculators, follow this link.

Source: The New York Times

Don’t automatically assume you won’t qualify. Your income or your grades may or may not make you ineligible and so do your research.  Don’t rule out a college because you think it’s too expensive because the higher the cost, the more aid you could receive.

1. A rigorous high school curriculum that challenges the student and may include AP (Advanced Placement) or IB (International Baccalaureate) classes.
2. Grades that represent strong effort and an upward trend. However, slightly lower grades in a rigorous program are preferred to all As in less challenging coursework.
3. Solid scores on the SAT and ACT that are consistent with the student’s high school performance.
4. Passionate involvement in a few activities, demonstrating leadership and initiative.  Depth, not breadth, of experience is most important.
5. Letters of recommendation from teachers and guidance counselor that give evidence of integrity, special skills, positive character traits as well as an interest in learning.
6. A well-written essay that provides insight into the student’s unique personality, values and goals. The application essay should be thoughtful and highly personal.  It should demonstrate careful and well-constructed writing.
7. Special talents or experiences that will contribute to an interesting and well-rounded student body.
8. Demonstrated leadership in activities. Colleges want people who will arrive prepared and willing to take leadership of student activities and events.
9. Demonstrated intellectual curiosity through reading, school, leisure pursuits and more.
10. Demonstrated enthusiasm to attend, often exhibited by campus visits and an interview.

www.collegeapps.about.com  This website is presented by Allen Grove, an English professor and freelance writer, with degrees from M.I.T. and Penn.

As you might imagine, his writing tips are excellent. The site currently features a piece by Grove about how to approach the short answer section of the Common Application. With refreshing candor, he cautions students about 5 pitfalls to avoid in this part of the application: vagueness, repetition, clichés and predictable language, thesaurus abuse, and egotism!

Other topics Grove addresses are “Common Application Sample Essays and Tips,” “10 Bad Essay Topics,” and “5 Supplemental Essay Mistakes.” Grove thoughtfully answers questions posted on the site’s College Admissions Forum and moderates others’ responses as well.

Both parents and college-bound students will enjoy browsing this site.

www.mychances.net  This website was designed by graduates of Yale and Stanford to demystify the college admissions process. It claims to be able to predict with over 90% accuracy your chances of admission at any American or Canadian 4-year college.

The service is provided free of charge–you just have to create an account and complete a 5-minute questionnaire. The site also includes student blogs, college rankings that they claim are “less arbitrary and more meaningful” than those of U.S. News and World Report, feedback on essays, and a fun feature called “College Matchup” which answers the question: When a student is admitted by two colleges and picks one, which school will they most likely attend? Just type in the names of any two schools and see which one dominates!

Register:  949.425.5100

Location:  Crown Valley Park, View Room, Laguna Niguel, CA

Activity # 2013/Sep 25/Thursday/7pm/Free

Julie Armenta, M.A. Educational & Family Specialist, will educate both parents and teens with helpful tips for getting into the college of their choice.  Reduce the anxiety of the application process by being educated.  Julie will guide you through topics such as GPA requirements, test scores, and making your application stand out.  Walk out of this workshop with a clear time-line of where you should be and to help understand the process of college applications.  Due to limited seating, pre-registration is require for this free workshop.

Some counselors worry that the new policy will give a boost to kids who can afford to take the $45 test multiples times and sign up for tutoring sessions.  The college Board says the average score gain on the first SAT retake is 40 points and “there’s no advantage to taking the SAT more than twice, and our fee waivers let low-income students take the test (free) twice.

Admissions offices will have to figure out how to handle the new policy.  The University of Southern California, for example, opposes the new option because it obscures the context in which a score was earned, and may still require applicants to submit all SAT attempts.

But admissions officers say there are a few steps students can take to ease the anxiety and improve their chances:

• Choose among the colleges you have been accepted to, and send a deposit and commitment by the May 1 deadline. At the very least, you should arrange to enroll in a local community college. Admissions officers say the single most important action for all wait-listed students is to be realistic about the low acceptance rates for those on the wait list and make sure they have some other college alternative lined up.

• Don’t automatically ask to stay on a college’s wait list. Colleges typically ask wait-listed students to mail a card or letter stating their continued interest in getting a shot at admission in May, June, or even later. “If they are happy with their other choices, please don’t say, ‘Yes’ to the wait list,” says Eric Kaplan, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania. “They could effectively be taking somebody else’s spot.”

• Ask the school about your chances. Some schools rank their wait-listed students: Lower-ranked students have lower odds of getting accepted. But many schools don’t rank. They instead look to the wait list to replace the kind of student they had been counting on with a similar student—such as someone to fill a spot in an orchestra, a team, or a major. This system makes any individual student’s chances much harder to predict.

• Ask the school about criteria for getting on, and off, the list. Emory University in Atlanta says that the students on its wait-list are typically those with academic credentials matching those of students who were admitted but who didn’t demonstrate any special interest in or affection for Emory by, for example, visiting the campus or attending a local recruiting session.

• Be eager and creative, but not scary or desperate. There’s a fine line between admirable persistence and stalking. Most admissions officers say students can help their causes by obeying the school’s instructions and perhaps sending one well-written letter updating their achievements and explaining why they still should be admitted. Creative stunts can sometimeshelp. Jean Jordan, dean of admissions at Emory, remembers admitting a student who rewrote the words of the school song to argue her cause. But Jordan’s pretty tired of getting mailed shoes from students who “want to get their foot in the door” and is a little leery of any gift of food. “Don’t come down here and make a big plea; and hounding us can be super-destructive,” she adds.

The changes to the federal loans will very likely succeed in steering many students and parents away from expensive private loans, says Rick Vonk, who heads education lending for Key Bank.  But hose who need more than federal loans still may have trouble.  The credit crunch has caused many lenders to suspend their student loan programs altogether.  — Kim Clark

Traveling overseas has its own special allure, and many students choose to spend their gap year doing public service abroad. One of the drawbacks of service abroad can be the expense. There is the cost of travel, vaccinations, health and medical evacuation insurance, housing, and a passport or visa, not to mention program fees. A New York Times article estimated these costs could be as much as $12,000. That being said, there are many wonderful opportunities to work in education, conservation, and public health.

– In Seville, Spain you could work for Amnesty International, or the Red Cross.

– In Calcutta, India, you can teach brothel children in a red-light district.

– In Somaliland, you can work in a maternity hospital run by an extraordinary woman named Edna Adan.

– In Valparaiso, Chile you might work for a local public health organization.

– In the Dominican Republic you could help out at a rural work site run by the Peace Corps.

– In Shanghai, China you could teach English to the “floating migrant children” at a state-run elementary school.

– In Bangladesh, a well-respected development organization, BRAC, is starting an internship program.

Spending a gap year in the United States, although less exotic-sounding, can be just as rewarding.  For example, City Year is a well-known domestic educational service program whose motto is “Give a year. Change the world.” It recruits young people between the ages of 17 and 24 to serve for a term of ten months. City Year corps members serve full-time at one of 17 urban locations across the United States. Corp members might tutor, mentor, run an after-school program, or lead a youth leadership program or vacation camp. In exchange, a corps member receives a weekly stipend to help with living expenses. In addition, at the end of the term of service, he or she will receive an education award of $4,725 to be applied toward a college degree, graduate school, or an existing or future qualified student loan. Leadership development, basic health insurance, a uniform, and a cell phone are also provided during the year of service.

Taking time off between high school and college is viewed positively by most colleges, graduate schools, and future employers. Having pursued a gap year shows the type of initiative and perseverance and fosters the maturity that colleges want to see. Princeton University, for example, has championed the notion of a gap year and is in the process of creating a program to begin in 2009 that would send a tenth of incoming freshmen for a year of social service work in a foreign country prior to stepping foot on campus. Many employers realize that having spent time abroad helps in today’s global marketplace. And a gap year can translate into better grades. A recent study by two economists at the University of Western Australia indicates that students who take a year off scored an average first-year university mark 2.3% higher than those coming straight from school. The increase was even greater for males who were underachievers: they scored an average 3.7% higher if they took a gap year.

A gap year is not for everybody, but it can be a beneficial learning experience for those who choose to follow this more circuitous route to college. Whether you choose a structured program or create your own game plan, go abroad or stay stateside, you will undoubtedly be a more focused, mature individual for the experience and approach your college years with a renewed sense of purpose.

For more information about gap year, visit the following websites:

Gap Year

Taking Off

CIEE

Enrichment Alley
City Year

CCI Exchange