Why is the tour guide so important?  Because, unless you proactively do some searching beyond your tour, the tour guide is going to be your primary impression of the campus and the students on that campus when you leave.  It’s simple psychology, if you like and can relate to the tour guide, you’re going to like the school and be able to see yourself on that campus.  On the other hand, if the tour guide doesn’t do much for you, then most likely, the school will fall short in your mind, too.

Most colleges and universities realize that their tour guides represent the “face” of the school, and they use their tour guides accordingly as an extension of their marketing efforts.  Tour guides are trained and guided in what they talk about, and they are hand-selected to be positive ambassadors for the school.  In some cases, tour guides are paid, and the school certainly isn’t paying them to be negative about their college experience!  Tour guides are knowledgable members of the campus community, and you should most definitely get their point of view on the school.  But, you should also ask yourself, am I getting a true or complete picture of life at this school, if I just listen to the tour guide?

On the flip side, even with a well-trained, positive tour guide you may come away unimpressed.  Perhaps, the tour guide is an athlete in a fraternity, and you hate sports and could never see yourself as part of the Greek system.  Or, maybe the tour guide is studying engineering, and you are all about loving Classics.  Whatever the case, it’s important to remember that the tour guide is only one data point.  There are potentially thousands of other students who are also on that campus who could leave you with a completely different impression.

So, what’s a confused tour-taker to do?

• Take a good look around while you are on campus.  Observe the student body with a critical eye.  Could you see yourself fitting in?
• Stop random students as they walk across campus and ask them to tell you about their college experience.  What do they like?  What do they hate?  Don’t be shy.  Most college students are more than happy to talk to you, especially if they feel strongly one way or the other about their school.  The more students that you talk to, the more you’ll get a true sense of the school.
• Try to connect with students from your town or friends of friends who are going to that school and ask them to spend some time with you while you are on campus to take you around and answer your questions.  They’ll give you a different and more candid point of view because they have no reason not to.

Johnson and Wales is not right for every student. It takes a student with a certain dedication and passion toward a specific career goal to make this campus be the “right fit” for them. It was easy to quickly recognize that this was not the place to recommend to your average 17 year old student who is undecided about their career path but that it was a great place for some highly motivated and well-directed students. So, I asked Wes and Brennan about what kind of student they thought was right for Johnson and Wales.

Video Summary:

Wes, who works in admissions, highlights the fact that students who want to go to Johnson and Wales should be extremely driven. Students with clear goals of where they want to go professionally in areas such as business or culinary arts can really thrive here. Students who are excited about the opportunity to spend significant time making professional connections, do internships, and get the “real world experience” may find  Johnson and Wales to be a good match.

Brennan, who works in student life, adds in that one thing that sets Johnson and Wales apart from some other schools, geared toward specific trades and a professional track, is that they do offer a true college experience for those students who are looking for it. They actually have a distinct college campus, an opportunity to live in dorms, campus events, student government and clubs and activities. It is a nice way to create some balance for students who want the “trade school” experience with some real college campus flavor thrown in.

While not captured on video, one of the highlights of my visit was an amazing tour guide who talked about her experience with the faculty. She said Johnson and Wales is really great for the student who wants their faculty to be coming directly from the industry they want to work in. She talked about her professors who would literally go through the textbooks and say “here is what you really need to know” and then connect her and her peers with the colleagues they knew who were still in the industry for internship or work experience.

So, again, students starting to do college visits remember to ask yourself the tough questions such as: how driven am I? How clear are my career goals or do I still need some time to explore? How passionate am I about a particular career at this point in my life? These kinds of questions may help you filter through your college list.

Then your counselor calls you in to make your class schedule for senior year.  More than anything else, you want a break! Resist that temptation!

Do not slack off when you arrange your senior schedule.  Sure, you might have filled most of your requirements for graduation, but if you’re applying to competitive colleges, this is not the time to go half day.

In your Senior year, you need to be taking the most rigorous schedule possible.  If you’ve taken one AP in Junior year, now is the time to take two APs.  If you’ve taken two APs junior year, now is the time to take three APs. You get the idea.

Some seniors are even taking five APs.  Of course if you had an extremely difficult time in junior year with two APs, it’s advisable to stick with two APs for your senior year.

The key is to not  decrease the number of your rigorous courses.  Colleges want to see that you continue to challenge yourself each year.

A difficult senior year course load can be daunting.  That’s why you want to complete as much of your college application as possible over the summer before your 12th grade year.

Juliet Giglio

Educational Consultant in Syracuse, New York

Every year after the May 1st National Response Deadline, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) conducts a survey of colleges in which it asks colleges and universities whether they still have space available to accept students for the fall of the upcoming school year.  The first round of responses is in (colleges continue to respond for several more days/weeks), and, as of May 2nd,  over 375 schools have space for either freshmen or transfer students, and they continue to accept applications.  Here’s the breakdown of the space availability:

• Freshman space available:  362 colleges
• Transfer space available:  374 colleges

Although it may seem that there are fewer and fewer slots available for students trying to get into college, this year had more schools reporting that they had space still available after May 1 than in the previous 12 years!

Also, if you think that you can’t afford to apply to school as a late applicant because financial aid resources will be all gone, think again!  Over 370 schools reported that they had institutional financial aid still available for late applicants.

One caveat, is that you still must be considered a “qualified applicant” to gain admission at these schools.  In other words, just because they have space, and you apply, this does not mean that you will get accepted.  If you had no chance of gaining admission during the regular admissions period, you won’t get accepted during this late application period, either.

Here’s just a very small sampling of schools who are still accepting applicants:

1. Albright College, PA
2. Albion College, MI
3. University of Arizona, AZ
4. College of the Atlantic, ME
5. Drew University, NJ
6. Eckerd College, FL
7. Elizabethtown College, PA
8. Evergreen State, WA
9. Gordon College, MA
10. Guilford College, NC
11. Hofstra University, NY
12. Hood College, MD
13. Juniata College, PA
14. Kalamazoo College, MI
15. Knox College, IL
16. Lawrence University, WI
17. Loyola University, MD
18. Manhattanville College, NY
19. University of Maryland-Baltimore County, MD
20. Mills College, CA
21. New College, FL
22. Oglethorpe University, GA
23. Seton Hall University, NJ
24. Stetson University, FL
25. Smith College, MA
26. Susquehanna University, PA
27. University of San Diego, CA
28. University of Tampa, FL
29. Villanova University, PA
30. Wheaton College, MA

To see the whole list of over 350 schools, check out the NACAC site by clicking here.  The list is available and updated through the end of June.

If you’re interested in applying to any of the space available schools for the Fall of 2012, you should contact the school admissions office directly to ask them how to best do that.  But, do it soon.  Space is available for now, but may be gone quickly!

Andrea Aronson

College Admissions Specialist

Westfield, NJ

1) Sign up early for orientation. If your college offers different orientation sessions throughout the summer certain sessions may be more popular and may fill up faster than others.

2) Make sure you are signing up for the correct orientation session. Sometimes orientation sessions are scheduled based on the academic program you are in. Make sure you register for the right program.

3) Look for pre-orientation programs. Sometimes colleges offer wilderness adventure trips or community service projects to allow groups of students to bond before even attending orientation. These can be great opportunities to learn about the surrounding area and meet new friends quickly.

4) Many colleges these days offer orientation programs specifically designed for parents and families. These can be helpful sessions to learn about ways to help your student (and you) transition. They are also a great way to connect with other parents and to meet campus staff that you may need to be in touch with in future years.

5) Find out if course registration will be taking place during your orientation session. Make sure you take the time to read about the course options prior to arriving on campus.

6) Set up appointments with any specific offices you need to coordinate with. For example, if you have a learning difference and need to speak with someone regarding accommodations make sure to contact the Disabilities Services office on campus. If you have a food allergy, make sure to connect with someone in dining services to learn how to stay healthy while eating on campus.

Once you arrive at your orientation, make sure the STUDENT is taking the lead.  This is your first step into finding your place on campus. The faculty and staff on campus expect that you will be making decisions, not your parents. Carving your own way starts right now!

But I do believe that if you have a 9th grader who is taking taking HONORS BIOLOGY,  it’s worth taking the SAT Subject Test in Biology NOW- before your child forgets about photosynthesis and everything else they learned.

Taking it now will give them a jump on all the tests that will be thrown at them junior year.

SUBJECT TESTS

There are a total of twenty SAT Subject tests in five different subject areas.  These include:  ENGLISH, HISTORY, MATH, SCIENCE and LANGUAGES.  Chances are your child won’t take more than four or five of these tests.

SUBJECT TESTS TO TAKE IN 9th and 10th GRADE INCLUDE:

Math 1 –  covers subjects up to Algebra 2.

Math 2 -  covers all math up to Calculus.

Biology - best to take when you are studying this in school.

Chemistry - best to take when you are studying this in school.

World History – great to take when you have AP World History in 10th grade.

According to the College Board,

“Students take the SAT Subject Tests to demonstrate to colleges their mastery of specific subjects such as English, history, mathematics, science, and foreign languages.”

And lackluster  SAT Reasoning Test scores can be offset by amazing SAT Subject Test scores.  That will be helpful when you’re applying to college – when you are a senior.

Juliet Giglio

Educational Consultant in Syracuse, New York

Colleges reserve the right to take back a decision they have made. This is not a statement intended to scare you but it is a good reminder to keep your grades up at the end of the school year. Colleges reserve the right to retract an admissions acceptance if a student gives them a final high school transcript with multiple failing grades, dropped courses, or a significant downward trend. This doesn’t happen too frequently, and it does typically need to be a significant change in your transcript, but I can tell you from experience, it does happen. When I worked at the University of Colorado Boulder in admissions every year we would have to make a few of these tough calls. It wasn’t a conversation I ever wanted to have with a family who had already gotten excited about attending the university, signed up for orientation, found out who their roommate was and was planning their trip out for the fall. Keep those grades up and don’t let your final transcript change the course of your college path.

Your senior spring is preparing you for college. The courses you are taking right now, the work you are doing, the AP tests you are studying for, and final projects you are working on are all preparing you for the coursework you will face while in college. While your courses may be structured differently when you get to college (lots more reading and maybe less busy work) it is still important to be academically prepared when you head off to school.

Your performance on the tests you take now may be able to give you college credit later! Many of you students are getting ready for AP tests, subject tests, IB diplomas and other culminating exams. Try to push senioritis off long enough to get through these exams as many of them may help you achieve credit heading into college which can reduce money and time later. In addition, you may be able to pass out of introductory courses based on the scores you received on some of the tests. So, finish strong and it may pay off!

You are almost there! Keep up the good work! Summer will be here before you know it.

image credit: http://chs.smuhsd.org/bigue/art_of_video/index/mustangnews_5.html

Given that the College Board offers tests practically all year long, it makes little sense that there are no standardized tests offered during the one time of year when students actually have more time to study for them!

May 8th is the deadline for signing up for the June SAT test – aka the last test before summer.

Of course if you’d like to give the College Board an more money, go ahead and wait for the late registration deadline so that instead of $49, you can give them $75.  Personally, I have better ways of spending $26 and I’m guessing you do too.

On June 2nd, students can take either the SAT Reasoning Tests (ie, the main SAT) or they can take selected SAT Subject Tests.

BUT- Students can’t take both the SAT Reasoning test and the Subject Tests at the same time.  They must be taken on different test dates.

If you take your SAT in June, you’ll have online results in less than three weeks.  If you’re not happy with your scores, you can always take the test again in October and/or November and/or December.

Many Seniors see their SAT scores go up in their Senior Fall.  Why? Because they are more mature.

Juliet Giglio

Educational Consultant in Syracuse, New York

 Wrong.

Here’s what looks good on a college application.

PASSION!

Not the Victoria Secret kind of passion, but doing something about which you feel strongly.  Something that will spark great essays.  If you’re wondering what makes you feel passionate, think about what you really like.  If you love animals, why not volunteer at a local animal shelter.  Your experience at that animal shelter will be alot more interesting in an essay that what class you took at Stanford over the summer.

START YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

Other great things to do over the summer include starting your own business.  You don’t need a car or lots of capital.

Some students start lawn mowing businesses.  Dog walking businesses.  Even theatre camps for younger children.  The point is that by starting your own business, you’ll not only make money for yourself, you’ll also be showing your dream colleges that you have leadership skills – which is a biggie.

READ!

Read. A lot.  I can’t emphasize this enough.  Want to see those SAT Critical Reading scores go up in the fall of your senior year?

Read!  Preferably a book and not just U.S. magazine

BUT…

But if you’re just dying to do a summer program at a college and want to get an early taste of college, consider being very specific about the program.

For example, if you want to major in musical theatre, consider Carnegie Mellon where you will hone your audition skills which will help you when applying to the tiny and highly selective musical theatre programs at places like University of Michigan and Ithaca.

For every rule, there are always exceptions.  At Northwestern, there’s a summer cherub program that runs for sixweeks.  There are two programs.  One for journalism and one for musical theatre.  While there’s no hard data to support this, this college counselor believes that doing the program gives you a real leg up on getting accepted at Northwestern.

Juliet Giglio

Educational Consultant in Syracuse, New York