Eric

Eric

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How To Make The Most Of A College Visit

Dobler College Consulting

Note: I will be conducting a free college admissions workshop titled, “Navigating The College Admissions Journey” on February 26th. Please scroll to the bottom of this post to learn more.

Last week I gave you 8 great questions to ask on a college visit. As we inch closer to March and more moderate weather a lot of you will be visiting colleges. And you should. This is a great time of year to visit. But you also need to make sure you are making the most of these visits.

Typically, colleges will have you sit in on an information session where you will hear from an admission counselor and possibly a current student or two before you go out on an hour to hour and a half long tour.

You will learn a lot about the school but you want to get beyond the basic facts so that you really get a feel for the campus, the people who teach and work there and the students who go there.

And here’s how you do it:

1. Sit in on a class in your major

This is a great way to get a feel for the academic quality of the school. Obviously one class is not going to tell you everything, but it should tell you some things. If you can shadow a student in your major for a day and actually attend a few classes and meet some other students, that would be even better!

2. Meet with a faculty member

If there’s one thing faculty like to do, its talk about what they teach. Their lives revolve around their work and if you are very decided with your major and want to know more about what you can expect from this school, scheduling a meeting with a faculty member who teaches in your major is a great way to go.

3. Attend a game or event

Check the college’s schedule ahead of time and see if there is anything going on when you will be visiting such as a basketball game, a visiting comedian or even a guest lecturer. This is a great way to get a feel for just how into their school the student body really is. If you find that there really isn’t a whole lot going on, that should tell you something about life outside the classroom.

4. Have lunch in the cafeteria

Leave yourself some time to have lunch in the cafeteria or even the student center. Let’s be honest, food is important and you want to get a feel for the quality of it. But this is also a great way to sit back and people watch. Can’t make it for lunch? Breakfast or dinner will also work.

5. Stay overnight

Some colleges will have formal overnight programs and others will not. You should always ask because if there’s a chance you can spend a day and then stay overnight in a residence hall with some current students, you will learn so much about the school.

If you’re interested in doing any of these items, especially the ones that need to be arranged, make sure you call and ask several weeks ahead of when you plan to visit. If you just show up at a college and expect them to get you into a class or into a meeting with a faculty member on the spot, it’s not going to happen.

If you have any questions you would like to ask, use the comment box below or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com. If you think this makes a lot of sense, consider sharing it with someone you know.

 

Learn More at Dobler College Consulting’s College Admissions Workshop

I will be hosting a free workshop titled, “Navigating The College Admissions Journey” this Tuesday, February 26th at the Huntington Branch Library in Shelton, CT. For more information or to reserve your seat, head over to my Events page.

The workshop shares strategies to help your son or daughter navigate the college admissions process while eliminating mistakes that tend to reduce their chances of admission. Topics include college lists, online resources, essays, interviews, campus visits and what you need to know about making college more affordable.

All workshop participants will receive information handouts and will be eligible for special discounts off private college counseling services.

Don’t live in or near Shelton? You can easily get in touch with me to set up a free 60-minute consultation to help address your pressing college admissions-related questions and issues.

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Eric Feb 24, 2013 , , , , , , , No Comments
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8 Great Questions To Ask On A College Visit

Dobler College ConsultingNote: I will be conducting a free college admissions workshop titled, “Navigating The College Admissions Journey” on February 26th. Please scroll to the bottom of this post to learn more.

 

With the long weekend upon us and a need for a change in scenery after 30+ inches of snow last week, I decided to visit some colleges. On Friday, I drove up to the Boston area and spent the day at two excellent business schools: Bentley and Babson.

While the tour guides at each school did a great job sharing information and talking about their classes and overall experience, I was really surprised that the students and families visiting had very few, if any, questions to ask. And it wasn’t for lack of opportunity either. The tour guides at both schools repeatedly invited questions but, for the most part, were met with silence.

So, I thought I would use today’s post to give you some inspiration for things you want to know more about when you are visiting a college campus:

1. Can a student in (insert your major here) graduate in four years but still complete internships and/or study abroad?

If a four year program becomes a five year program due to experiential opportunities being added in, you need to decide if the additional cost and time are worth it.

2. What’s it like to study (insert your major here) at this college?

This is a variation of the “Do you have my major?” question, but it is likely to yield a more informative answer since it asks the tour guide or admissions counselor to qualify what your four years will feel like.

3. What is the percentage of courses that close early or require signing up for a waiting list?

You want to know how the college departments handle this issue and if it prevents students from graduating on time.

4. What is the percentage of students who find work in their academic area within six months of graduating?

Four to five years of college should lead to something productive afterwards – knowing how many students in your field are finding something relevant and how quickly is worth knowing.

5. What kinds of career-related services does the school provide?

Some schools have departments specifically dedicated to career-related services that start working with students as early as freshman year. At others, the services may be minimal and not well publicized. How much career-related support the school offers matters.

6. As far as experiential learning goes, how early can students start doing internships and/or co-ops? 

While a college education is earned through time in the classroom, success after college is mostly earned through experience and the mastery of skills and abilities. In today’s economy, completing one internship is an absolute must. Completing several is even better. To do that, you have to start early. Will the college support that?

7. How is the college trying to improve itself?

Seeing active construction or a new building obviously speaks to the physical upgrading and expansion of a campus. However, improvement is not always a physical thing. How is the university or college working to improve the quality of its teaching and its services? 

8. What types of support services are offered for academics?

What is the support system on campus? Who are the advisors and what is the advising structure? Counseling? Is there a peer mentoring program or even a faculty/staff mentoring program? Is there a freshman year experience program and, if so, how is it run?

At the end of the day, tour guides are going to share with you what the colleges want them to share. Do yourself a favor by asking questions that get beyond the basics. Ask questions that affect you personally and that will help you qualify whether or not this school is the right one for you.

These are only suggestions to help you get thinking about what’s important to you, but if you have any questions you like to ask, use the comment box below or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com. If you think this makes a lot of sense, consider sharing it with someone you know.

Learn More at Dobler College Consulting’s College Admissions Workshop

I will be hosting a free workshop titled, “Navigating The College Admissions Journey” on February 26th at the Huntington Branch Library in Shelton, CT. For more information or to reserve your seat, head over to my Events page.

The workshop shares strategies to help your son or daughter navigate the college admissions process while eliminating mistakes that tend to reduce their chances of admission. Topics include college lists, online resources, essays, interviews, campus visits and what you need to know about making college more affordable.

All workshop participants will receive information handouts and will be eligible for special discounts off private college counseling services.

Don’t live in or near Shelton? You can easily get in touch with me to set up a free 60-minute consultation to help address your pressing college admissions-related questions and issues.

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Eric Feb 17, 2013 , , , , , , , No Comments
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Why Some Financial Aid Offers Will Underwhelm

Dobler College Consulting

Last week I talked about three things you need to know about the costs of college: your EFC, how admissible your son or daughter is and merit awards. If you missed the post, here it is:

What You Need To Know About The Costs Of College

Today I want to take that conversation a step further and give you an example of why it is so important for a student to know just how desirable he or she is.

When the conversation rolls around to how much aid a college is going to award, sometimes the more desirable a student is plays a significant role. According to NACAC’s 2012 State of College Admission report only 32% of publics and 18% of privates were able to meet 100% of each student’s demonstrated need.  The remaining colleges have to decide how to allocate their money and not everyone gets the same amount. If they did, every college would meet 100% of everyone’s need.

And we all know that doesn’t happen.

So what dos end up happening is that colleges have to choose which students get the most aid. To put it simply, the more desirable the student, the more aid they will be awarded. So what makes an applicant more desirable? It depends on the college and while you can’t know everything they are looking for in a given year, there are at least two things any applicant can easily figure out.

GPA and test scores.

Knowing what kind of grades and test scores you will need for admission is something you should seek out about every school you are interested in. You can find this information rather easily on the College Board’s Big Future website. As I talked about in a post I wrote in September called, College List Tip: What Are Your Chances, you will find a range of test scores, GPA’s and even class ranks. This is valuable information for any applicant to look at and understand. These figures are provided by the colleges themselves. They are real numbers and they will show you just who the college thinks is desirable and, therefore, who will receive the more generous aid awards.  Applicants should read them and understand them as they search for colleges.

There’s a big difference between a college A where SAT scores for Math and Critical Reading of 500 fall in the top 25th percentile and college B where those same scores fall in the lowest 25th percentile.

If an applicant has fallen in love with college B and is expecting a lot of aid, they are very likely going to be disappointed.

Have something to say? Use the comment box below or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com. If you think this makes a lot of sense, consider sharing it with someone you know.

 

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Eric Feb 11, 2013 , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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What You Need To Know About The Costs Of College

College Costs

As you’re building your college list, there’s no limit to the things you will consider. Is your major a program at which the school is particularly strong? Is it a cool college town? Big time football on Saturdays? Is the campus safe? Is it clean?

Depending on your VIPS, what you are considering is specific to you.

But there is one aspect that you all think about.

And that’s cost.

Let’s be honest here, there’s nothing to like about college costs. They have risen at astronomical levels over the last few decades to the point where students are graduating, on average, with over $26,000 in debt.

And that’s an average.

Back in the late fall, I wrote a post about the difference between a college’s sticker price and the real price that families pay. I then followed it up with a post about understanding your EFC. If you haven’t read them already and don’t know what EFC is, take a minute and check them out and then come on back.

There’s a lot of things to cover in the college search, but if you don’t understand the costs of college and how to reduce them, you could be in for a big time let down next year when your financial aid award shows up. So, outside of figuring out your EFC, here are a few things you can do to help yourself:

1. Don’t pay attention to sticker price:

Look for net price and, specifically, the net price for families in your income bracket. If your family’s income is over $100,000 you don’t want to be looking at net price for families whose income is only $50,000.

2. Figure out just how admissible you are:

Based on grades and test scores, look at who the college admits. Then take a good, hard look at yours. Are they similar? Sort of? Not close? The easier it is for a college to admit you, the better (read BIGGER) your award will be.

3. Check out merit awards:

Some colleges publish the amounts and qualifications of their merit awards (free money) on online and the information is easy to find and understand. Your GPA and SAT score combination earn you X amount of dollars. Others, not so much. Look it up and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, call the admissions office.

I already spend a lot of time on cost issues with the families I work with and, moving forward, I will be dedicating more of my blog to these same issues as well. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Have something to say? Use the comment box below or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com. If you think this makes a lot of sense, consider sharing it with someone you know.

 

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Eric Feb 03, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , No Comments
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5 Tips To Make Sure Your Senior Year Matters

If you’re a high school junior, you’re just starting the second half of your school year. You just wrapped up midterm exams and hopefully they went really well. Strong grades in competitive courses are one of the most important factors when admission counselors are reviewing your application. In fact, for the umpteenth year in a row, admission counselors around the country have identified them as THE most important factor according to NACAC’s State of College Admissions report.

Which leads me to my post for today.

Knowing that your courses and your grades really matter in the college admissions process, it is so important that you make the most of the courses your high school offers. As you prepare to work with your counselor on your senior year schedule, keep the following five tips in mind:

1. Continue taking courses in the five core subjects: English, mathematics, science, social studies and foreign languages. If you’ve already taken three years of a foreign language and would rather not go into a fourth, make sure you double up somewhere else

2. If you’re taking a couple honors courses this year, work on getting into an AP course. If you’re already in an AP course or two, keep that trend going. Now is not the time to take it easy.

3. Consider your eventual major and enroll in courses that compliment your brand. Graphic design major? Sign up for graphic arts. Nursing major? Sign up for AP biology or anatomy and physiology. Engineering major? You need to be in calculus. Pick courses that will get you started on the path towards your major.

4. Get the full credit for your courses. In other words, if you’re taking an AP class, sign up for the AP test and do your best to do well on it. A score of four or better can earn you transfer credit at most colleges. If you’re enrolled in an Early College Experience (ECE) course, make sure you sign up for the college credits. Strategies like this not only ensure you make the most of the academic opportunities available to you, but transfer credit can also help reduce the cost of college in the long run.

5. If you live close enough to a community college, check out the courses they offer which may be related to your major or even just your interests. Currently, one course at a Connecticut community college will cost you $482, or just over 1/3 of the cost of one course at a state university like UConn or 1/8 of the cost at a private school like Fairfield University.

However, none of this really matters if you don’t put in the time and effort to do well. Take good notes, ask questions in class, study the material and actually learn it.  Your grades will reflect the effort and you will be so much more prepared for college and your professional life that follows.

Have something to say? Use the comment box below or email me at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com. If you think this makes a lot of sense, consider sharing it with someone you know.

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Eric Jan 28, 2013 , , , , , 1 Comment