Making The Most Of College

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Making Your Extracurricular Activities Count In The College Application Process

Dobler College ConsultingLast week I talked about expectations in the college search and application process. If you missed the post, check it out and come on back. I wanted to continue that trend this week but I wanted to put the focus on one specific area that tends to come up frequently this time of year:

Extracurricular Activities.

I’m often asked questions like, “What are the best activities for me to be involved in?” or “Is it better for me to continue playing music or join the student newspaper?” Problem is, these questions are only answered in the context of who you are as a person.

If you’re interested in music then getting involved in your school band or writing your own lyrics is what you should do. If you want to be a writer, or work in public relations you should write. If you want to be a nurse, volunteering at the local hospital is where you should be. Engineer? Join a robotics club or participate in a competition. Criminal justice? Talk to the local police department about a ride-along program or join the Young Explorer’s Club.

In other words, the best extracurricular activities you choose will:

– Be something you VALUE

– Be something in which you have a true INTEREST

– Be something that relates to your PERSONALITY

– Be something that allows you to show off your SKILLS

Your values, interests, personality and skills make up what I call your VIPS. And these VIPS should help you develop and sustain your brand as a person. And it’s your brand that will stand out to college admission counselors as they review your application and ask the fundamental question, “Who is this applicant?”

Keep in mind that admission counselors are reviewing thousands of applications. That’s a lot of writers, music lovers, and future engineers. But by investing your time in activities that relate to your major and which are supported by your VIPS, you’ve taken an important step in making the most of your college application.

And that’s an important factor in this process. You have to really think about what you are going to do with your applications, how you are going to make the most of the opportunities presented to you and what you want admission counselors to know about you.

If you can get behind that idea, very good things can happen.

If you have any questions about extracurricular activities, branding or VIPS, please use the comment section below.

You can also email me directly at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com for help with any aspect of your college search and application process.

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Eric Apr 23, 2013 , , , , , , No Comments
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Great Expectations? Let’s Just Start With Appropriate Ones First

Dobler College ConsultingLast week I talked about how some of you, as high school seniors, are trying to make your final decision on where you will enroll for the fall. It’s definitely not an easy decision to make, especially when there are probably several people chiming in with opinions. If you missed the post, check it out here.

This week, I want to talk about a decision that those of you are high school juniors are trying to make: what you will major in.

While some of the students I work with have been locked into a major for some time, I have others who are struggling with the decision. The reasons for the indecision are numerous but I would bet that you would recognize one or more of these:

“I’m afraid of picking the wrong thing. What if I go somewhere for one major and find out I really wanted something else and that school doesn’t have it?”

“I really love music, but I just don’t know if I can do anything with it in my life.”

“It’s hard. I have a lot of interests and what ends up happening is that whatever I am most into at the moment is what I think I want to do. But then something else comes along, and I want to change my mind. I just like so many things.”

Sound familiar?

If any of these stances do, my best advice to you right now is to relax. That’s right. Just relax.

First of all, it’s April of your junior year. It’s too early to be worried about a major right now when you should really be focused on doing well in your fourth quarter.

Secondly, unless you are interested in a pre-professional program like engineering, accounting, or nursing, your major may not even matter.

There. I said it. Let me say it again: Your major may not even matter.

Notice I said “may” and not “will.” Sometimes it will matter and I wrote a piece about this very idea last year. But, for the most part, it won’t matter.

What will matter is connecting with your professors and helping them get to know you so that they can introduce you to people or opportunities where you will develop professional skills.

What will matter is completing an internship or five of them. Experience is EVERYTHING.

What will matter is working hard, not just to acquire knowledge for a test but to become the owner of that knowledge for a lifetime.

What will matter is joining clubs and organizations and learning how to network with your peers and other professionals. Someday, you may work with some of them. Someday, some of them may work for you.

Now, this is not to say that you should just blindly begin your college search and application process with total disregard to a major. But it is to say that you shouldn’t set such great expectations for yourself. So, don’t worry too much about what you think your major is or even what it should be right now. Instead, spend some time figuring out what your VIPS are and then let them help inform your journey.

If you have any thoughts on picking a major or setting (un)realistic expectations, please use the comment section below. If you want some help figuring out your VIPS and what they mean for you, email me directly at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com or call me at 203.525.4096.

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Eric Apr 08, 2013 , , , , No Comments
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When Choosing Your College Isn’t Easy

Dobler College Consulting's College Admissions WorkshopsMaking decisions is a funny thing. If you’re like me and big decisions are something you would rather put off sometimes, this time of year can be tough if not completely agonizing.

The national commitment deadline of May 1st is just four weeks away. By now you have your acceptances and financial aid awards in hand and are trying to decide where you will spend the next four years. If there is a clear cut choice, good for you! If not, here’s some ideas for you to consider as you try to decide:

1. Think about why you applied to these colleges in the first place. What was it about each college that you were drawn to and are these reasons really in line with your VIPS? If you don’t know what your VIPS  are, take a step back and figure those out first.

2. Majors. Some colleges may have admitted you directly to your major while others may have admitted you as an undeclared student. You will want to consider this point carefully if your goal is to major in a highly competitive and technical field. Sometimes the road to such a major isn’t a big deal while other times it can be incredibly difficult and frustrating. Just ask any student who was not admitted to a nursing program.

3. How much is college going to cost you? You really need to take a good, hard look at your financial aid awards so that you fully understand how much money the college is giving you and how much you are taking out in loans. Then project out that loan amount over four years and use an online loan repayment calculator to figure out what your monthly payments will be. These are REAL numbers. If they feel good, that should make your decision a lot easier. If they hurt, you need to pay attention to that pain.

At the end of the day, you need to choose the college that you feel is best for you. Sure, talk to your parents and friends about your decision, even listen to their advice. But, make the choice that works for you.  This is your college experience, not anyone else’s.

And keep in mind that, no matter where you go, your success is dependent on you.

If you go to class and work hard, initiate relationships with your professors, complete several internships and fully invest yourself in all the opportunities that college has to offer, you will find success in college and in your life.

If you have any questions about VIPS, comparing financial aid awards or just choosing the right college for you, please use the comment section below. You can also email me directly at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com for help with any aspect of your college search and application process.

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Eric Apr 04, 2013 , , , , 2 Comments
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Why You Need To Explore Your Major

Dobler College ConsultingWhen I work with students, we always have the conversation about potential majors pretty early on. Not because I expect them to have a plan for the rest of their lives ready to be laminated and hung up on a wall but because I want to know what they are thinking about and why. I’m a firm believer that the first steps to a happy and successful life are grounded in identifying your VIPS.

If you don’t know what your VIPS are, check out this post I wrote a couple months ago.

Once you have a good handle on what you’re good at, what you’re most interested in and why it has meaning to you, narrowing down the endless possibilities of majors is easier. Note that I didn’t say it’s easy. Just that it’s easier to do.

Picking a major is never easy. Especially when you have your whole life ahead of you. In fact, what you end up doing as an occupation 15 or 20 years down the road may not even exist today.

Because of this, I often tell students not to worry too much about what their major is. Granted, if a student is interested in pre-professional programs like nursing, education, accounting or engineering to name a few, then yes, choosing the right major is important. But it must match up with your VIPS if it’s going to be the right choice. There are plenty of articles out there talking about majors with the highest starting salaries and majors who will have the most lucrative careers. Go ahead and read them and let them help inform your decision, but please don’t think that just because a major has the potential to lead you to a high paying career that it’s automatically the right one for you.

Let’s say you read one of these articles and find out that computer engineering is a hot major right now. Graduates are earning upwards of $70,000 right after graduation and since you’re good with computers, you think this is a good choice for you.

Not so fast.

First, look up computer engineering programs online. Pay close attention to what the program is designed to do, what kinds of courses you will have to take and then ask yourself if it still sounds good. If you’re psyched about taking Calculus I and II and two courses in General Physics your freshman year, then you might actually be on the right path. But if it doesn’t sound so great, that’s when you have to head back to the drawing board and think a little more about your VIPS and how they might help you find majors and career paths that make more sense for you.

Another great way to find out if you’re cut from the right cloth is to do a job shadow or informational interview.

In a typical job shadow you’ll spend a few hours or, if you’re lucky, an entire day with someone who does what you think you want to do. You get to actually see what a day in the life of a professional in your intended field is like. In fact, this is probably one of the smartest things you can do to start clarifying what it is you want to do with your life. Work through your family, friends and teachers to identify individuals who could host you for a job shadow.

If you can’t secure a job shadow, an informational interview is a great back-up. Think of a job interview where you have to answer questions about yourself, why you want the job, what you can bring to the table and why the employer should hire you. Now, turn it around so that you get to ask someone questions about what they do, what they love and hate about it, where they went to school and if their degree helped prepare them for their job. Cool, huh?

At the end of the day, do some homework in your intended majors. Talk to people who are doing now what you think you want to do in a few years. Ask honest questions and really listen to the answers. I promise you it will be one of the best things you do for yourself on this crazy journey.

If you have any questions about choosing majors, your VIPS, securing job shadows or informational interviews, please use the comment section below.

You can also email me directly at eric@doblercollegeconsulting.com for help with any aspect of your college search and application process.

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Eric Mar 18, 2013 , , , , , , , , No Comments
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Why Your Application Needs To Stand Out

Each year the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) puts out a report called, The State Of College Admission. The report is free for NACAC members while non-members can purchase a copy for $25. The report talks about trends in college admission as reported by college admission officers and high school counselors from around the country. One of the statistics from this year’s report that I wanted to share with you today was the average number of applications that each admission counselor reads.

According to the report, the average college admission counselor in 2005 read 359 applications. By 2011 that number had nearly doubled to 662.

Think about that for a second. You are one of nearly several hundred applications that will cross an admission counselor’s desk in a very short period of time. Having reviewed thousands of applications in my old admission days, I can tell you that admission counselors do their best to give each application the time and attention it deserves. But when your application underwhelms or does not tell your story in full color, well, that review and the decision to say “no” can be painfully quick. Admission counselors want to connect with you as an applicant. They want to get excited about you. And they want to say “yes.” But sometimes it becomes very hard for them to do just that simply because you didn’t make the most of your application.

So, instead of putting off your college search to the last minute, start researching schools now and then visit some college campuses this spring. Think about what you might want to say in your personal statement and then record your ideas for when you get down to the writing process over the summer. Think about who you would want a recommendation from and plan on talking to them before the end of the school year. Create an account on the Common App and go through each section to familiarize yourself with how it works and what information is required. This will be great practice for when the new one launches on August 1st. Start a list of your activities, honors and accomplishments – great or small, so that you don’t forget anything when it comes time to completing applications in the fall.

At the end of the day, ask yourself what you want an admission counselor to know about you and why it should matter to them. Then, as you go through the next several months, spend time putting together an application and supporting materials that ensure your application will be one that motivates an admission counselor to say, “YES!”

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 13, 2013 , , , , , , , , , , No Comments