Students find the features that provide the a genuine look at campus life to be extremely helpful in making their decision. Prospective students can get an inside-look at what to expect when they attend by reading the blogs of current college students over the course of several months. This creates a feeling of connectedness that can begin before an application is submitted and extend through the decision to enroll.

That length of time is what makes student blogs such a strong recruitment tool. A video, website, or even a campus tour is likely to connect only one or two times, but a blog, with new content provided on a regular basis by current students, can grow connections throughout the admissions process. So, consider adding student blogs to your admissions website, or make sure the blogs you have are being utilized to their full potential.

Remember that when you interview at a school it is very important that you be yourself! When you try to be someone else it just creates extra stress, and who needs that!? Don�??t you want to go to a school that will be perfect for you? Don�??t you want the school to want you? If you don�??t show the admissions reps who you are, then there will be several problems. First, you won�??t come across as real. Believe me, people can tell when you are putting on an act and it�??s not something they are looking for. Second, most colleges are looking for all different types of people. When you are too afraid to talk about the real you, then you might be leaving out something that they really like. Third, you may end up at a school that isn�??t right for you. You need to realize that you aren�??t the only one being interviewed. The college interview is a chance for you, the potential student to get a feel for the school. When you are being yourself you�??ll be much better able to tell if that school is for you. When you are excited about a school and the school is excited about you, now that�??s the best fit of all.

For more tips on how to conquer that college interview, check out this article!

1. Reveal your personality, passions and character

Colleges use essays to gain deeper insight into the true “you”, and this is your chance to show a different side of yourself than grades and extracurriculars. A great way to express your personality is by telling a personal story - something that exemplifies your positive traits or a major event that helped shape who you are as a person.

2. Use solid structure

A basic structure you can use begins with an attention grabbing anecdote or quote that clearly fits the main idea of your essay. Then, everything written in the body supports your main idea clearly and concisely. The conclusion should refer back to your intro to create a nicely wrapped and focused essay.

3. Keep the focus on you

While you’re telling stories and funny anecdotes it is easy to get distracted from your purpose. Don’t forget that colleges only want to learn more about you - not your Uncle Ned and his crazy antics.

4. Don’t just list everything that makes you so great

Colleges do not want to read another list of all your academic awards, honors, and ping-pong trophies. Remember, this is your chance to show them something different. It’s hard not to come across as a braggart when your writing an essay that’s supposed to reveal your best qualities, so try to use a tone that expresses some humility and schools won’t think your head is too big to fit on their campus.

5. Don’t whine

Perhaps nothing is worse than an admissions essay filled with excuses and complaints about why your academic achievements are not up to par. No one wants to hear sob stories about why your SAT score or GPA isn’t higher. If you didn’t do as well as you would have liked in certain areas, write about how you’ve learned from the experience.

6. Get feedback from those you trust

When you are finished rewriting it once or twice, have your parents or teacher take a look at your essay and let you know their honest opinions. Constructive criticism can be difficult to take, but it can be extremely helpful when it comes from people you trust.

7. Use good mechanics

This one is obvious, but I still have to say it. Proofread. Proofread. Proofread. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes will have a negative impact on how colleges perceive you. Mechanical mistakes make you appear lazy and careless since you didn’t take the time to read it over carefully.

8. Take it easy on the thesaurus

When you write to impress, it is tempting to bust out that trusty thesaurus and fill your essay with words that you can barely pronounce. Too many words that are not in your normal vocabulary will affect your overall tone, your ability to appear genuine, and possibly your ability to make sense. All of these things are not in your best interest, so keep the thesaurus under control.

9. Don’t procrastinate

Do not wait until the day before the application deadline to start on your essay. You should revise and rewrite at least three times. Plus, you’ll need time to get feedback from others and proofread the final draft.

10. Be funny, but not too funny

Don’t be afraid to add some humor. It shows your personality and makes your essay more memorable. One warning to all the comedians though, too much humor will make both you and your essay look foolish.

1. Enough with the brochures and printed college information! Use college websites for research and bookmark pages that interest you.  Ask colleges to send you materials electronically rather than sending you a massive packet in the mail!
2. Visit only the campuses that interest you the most. Did you know that a lot of colleges offer virtual tours on their website? Many colleges have taken this step to be more green while offering high school students a chance to see the campus before they arrive.
3. When visiting campuses, carpool! What could be more fun than visiting college campuses with your high school friends? Less cars on the road means less pollution and a blast of a road trip!
4. Attend a virtual college fair! Virtual College Fairs are a perfect way for you to go green during your college search. You can attend these fairs from home, download materials, go on virtual tours of colleges and even apply to schools online. No paper, no driving and no waste!
5. Submit your application online. Most schools offer online applications as a way to apply to their college. Take advantage of this. It is easier, faster and greener than the traditional paper applications!

 So, new plan. As you continue your college search, do more research ahead of time. This way you can narrow down the number of schools you plan to visit to 3-5.

 Our virtual college fairs are a great way to gather information on schools that interest you before you visit campus. You can chat with college representatives, view pictures and videos and get a general feeling about the school. You can virtually visit many schools in one day which will help you determine the colleges that interest you the most. Plus, you�??ll be saving money! In fact, we were just featured in an article titled 10 ways to control the cost of college visits in the USA Today as a way to save money during your college search. Click here to gain free access to attend all our fairs and keep some more money in your pocket as you continue looking for your perfect school.

I was accepted to the only school I ever wanted to go to, a small liberal arts college in Western Pa. My roommate seemed really nice after talking to her on the phone and everything was falling into place. But after only a couple days of living with her, things went downhill to the point where my RA (Resident Assistant) told me that I needed to move out.

So there I was, just 6 weeks into my first year of college and I had a major crisis on my hands. I stayed away from my room as much as possible while trying to think of a brilliant plan. It was a Wednesday night and my college had a chapel service going on which I had attended a few times, so I decided to go. I certainly couldn’t go back to my room that early!

I am so glad I went to chapel that night. I went in and took a seat by Katie who I had met before. She lived in a different dorm than me with mostly science majors (I was into business) but was having problems of her own. I found out that her former roommate had dropped out of school and she was now living by herself. I told her all about my situation and with no hesitation at all she came to my rescue by asking me to move in with her. Even though I didn’t know Katie very well I knew I had to take her up on that offer, so I moved out of my dorm before the end of the week and had a new roommate by the weekend.

From that point on college drastically changed for me. I had a new group of friends and a better outlook on college life. When Katie asked me to be her roommate everything changed I’m so thankful that it worked out the way it did.

So that’s my college roommate story and it’s entirely true. I hope you can learn from my crazy experience and take away a few key points from my story. First, the college transition isn’t easy for everyone and you may not be paired with the roommate of your dreams, but give it time, it will work out. Second, there are tons of people ready to help you if you have a problem your freshmen year. My RA and school housing office helped me make the room switch and a few guys even helped me carry my stuff to my new room. Third, you will make friendships that will last a lifetime. As I’ve said before, it’s important to be involved on campus. Because I went to chapel that night, I made a life long friend who as a fellow freshmen, reached out to save me when I was in a jam.

Lastly, if you need to change dorm rooms because you’ve found yourself in a bad situation, just do it. That sounds simple, but it’s true. The housing office might tell you that you’ll have to pay a fee to do it, but in my experience they almost always waive it! When it comes down to it they care about the students and want you to be happy.

We hit if off over the telephone right away and even met over the summer before coming to school. We had arranged who would bring the mini fridge and the tv and everything was just falling into place. I was relieved.

But somehow things changed once we moved into our dorm room. I had more problems with my roommate than I would have imagined. She was so messy (and I’m no clean freak) to the point where my room would literally smell from the hallway when I got back from class. She just sat there all day watching soap operas, not going to class and inviting her much older boyfriend to hang out in our room, my room! It was awful. She would bang on the wall when the next room had their music too loud but would play hers even louder while I tried to study. The list goes on and on.

The other girls in the dorm didn’t like my roommate and frankly I didn’t like her anymore either. I knew I couldn’t live with her much longer especially since the girls in the hall were forming some sort of coalition against her. Then one day my RA told me I needed to move out. She didn’t think that the living situation was working for me and I had to agree. But move out? Where was I supposed to go? This wasn’t how I envisioned my first 6 weeks of college. I was miserable, had very few friends and didn’t have a place to live….

To Be Continued

Many freshmen are more worried about their living arrangements once they arrive at college than their class schedule and rightly so! It’s a big deal to move to a new place and it is even harder when you don’t know anyone. I know it concerns all of you now, but I definitely suggest that you try out the dorm living at least for a while.

There is no better way to meet new people and make friends than in your new dorm. You’ll find yourself in the same boat as everyone else which gives you something to talk about right from the start. I can’t tell you how many times I was asked “So what dorm do you live in?” during my first week of school. It’s an important aspect of college life and you’ll miss out on a great experience if you pass it up.

Below are a few things not to do as a parent of soon-to-be college student

• Do all of the research on colleges yourself and make decisions without your child
• Write your child’s essay
• Ask all of the questions on the campus tour (it won’t give your child a chance to ask what they want, plus you’ll embarrass them)
• Say “we” too much. Your child is the one applying to school. They were the ones who got the grades and took the tests. Even though you have been influential in their lives, do not say things like “We scored very well on the SATs and are now considering several schools.”

Remember, your student needs to make up their own mind about what school they attend. Parent/Guardian involvement is very helpful while going through the admissions process as I have mentioned before, but don’t lay it on too thick. Let your student take the lead on a campus visit and encourage them to be active during the college search. That way they can own their decision once they have decided on a school and they will have you to thank for that!