Eric Dobler

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Narrowing Down Your College List

Ohio UniversityA couple weeks ago I was touring several colleges in Ohio with a group of high school counselors and college consultants like myself. We traveled from Cleveland to Columbus visiting John Carroll, Kent State, Ohio State, Otterbein, Ohio University, Marietta and Baldwin Wallace. I also took a quick side trip to Case Western Reserve before flying home.

Ohio has some amazing schools and while most students here in New England focus on the East Coast, there are some incredible values just several hours away in the Buckeye State. Seeing them up close and personal allows me to advise and challenge my students with a more informed and personal opinion.

While I was on the trip, I was talking with some of the other counselors about college lists and how students conduct their research (or don’t) to narrow down their list to the schools which fit them well. In my opinion, a college should fit you three ways: academically, socially and financially.  While there is no one perfect fit, striving to find this balance in your colleges helps ensure a student’s experience will be one that helps them develop as both a student and person without having to graduate with excessive student loan debt. There’s a lot of reasons why only half of students graduate in four years if they graduate at all. There’s just as many reasons why the average student graduates with nearly $30,000 in student loan debt.

One of the common denominators for both is lack of research.

Each counselor I talked to agreed that the process is tedious, but so necessary and that students need to do a better job with it. And when you consider the amount of time, effort, blood, sweat and tears that will go into applications, essays, supplements, interviews, auditions, portfolios, showcases, SAT, ACT and AP tests not to mention just doing well in your classes, why wouldn’t you make sure that the schools you apply to are good fits for you?

Why wouldn’t you make sure that each school is one that gets you excited? Where your major is strong and where the support you may need along the way is available? Where faculty help students gain experience in their field so that when they graduate, they have value to offer a business, organization or facility who’s looking to hire? Where the cost is something you and your parents can handle without having to lose sleep at night?

If you’re not doing these things, then you’re doing something wrong. The Common App will launch on August 1st and, with it, the frenzy of the college application season will be underway.

Wouldn’t you like to hit senior year and your college applications feeling confident about your options?

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you want to hear more about any of the schools on my travels, I’d be happy to talk to you about them as well.

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Eric Apr 28, 2014 , , , , , , , No Comments
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College Is About What You Put Into It

It's About What You Put Into CollegeRecently, I did a consultation with a family who had three boys. The oldest is a high school freshman and the youngest is in 7th grade. We had a great conversation about the college process, between talking about how to make the most of their four years in high school to helping them see how well they were doing already at such young ages.

Towards the end of the conversation, the boys’ mother said something that really struck me. As she looked at the two older ones with eyes that only a mom can produce, she said she wanted to make sure they did well because at some point they may have to support a family of their own and that these days, trying to do so wasn’t easy.

With two young boys of my own, I completely understood where she was coming from.

I let the statement sink in for a minute and then tried to reassure them all that they were already doing very well. Their grades were strong and their work ethic was obvious. The boys were asking great questions and seemed very interested in where their futures were going to take them and not once did it feel that the parents were pressuring them in any way. It was so refreshing to see this and I wish I saw it more often.

I told her there was a lot to like about what I was seeing and I encouraged the boys to keep exploring, to keep asking questions and to just spend time doing things they enjoyed. If they worked hard and spent time doing tapping into their VIPS, good things would happen down the road.

And that’s what all of this is about. It’s about making good informed decisions so that you can live a happy and successful life and taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. Individually, we all have to decide what makes us happy and how we define success. What is important to one person isn’t necessarily important to another just like how going to one college isn’t necessarily any better than going to another one. Opportunity can and will present itself in many forms and, you know what? There is opportunity everywhere, not just at an Ivy League school. So, no matter where you go to college, remember that it’s about investing yourself in the experience and making the most of this time to launch yourself into your life.

It’s so much more about what you put into college than what the college puts into you and I fully believe these three boys will find success and happiness because they already get this concept.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you’re in the local area, check out my FREE college planning workshops coming up this spring in Cheshire and Southbury. 

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Eric Mar 31, 2014 , , , , , , , No Comments
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Making The Most Of College Fairs

College FairNow that we’re into March and headed towards more consistently better weather (and who’s not happy about that?), high school juniors should be thinking about going to college fairs to connect with admission counselors.

This is important for a few reasons.

First, demonstrated interest matters and connecting with admission counselors is one way to show how interested you are in a college. Going to college fairs allows you to talk with these counselors one on one.

Secondly, you should be asking a lot of questions about schools, their programs, and policies so that you can really say to yourself why you are interested. This goes beyond a school offering your major or being located in a state or region to which you are drawn.

So do your homework ahead of time to ensure you’re not asking questions that can easily be answered by a visit to the college’s website. Having worked many college fairs in my admissions career, I can tell you that nothing irritates an admission counselor more than questions to which you should already know the answer.

You know what else bugs them? When you let your mom or dad do all the talking while you read your text messages or go skimming through your most recent tweets.

Get off the phone. In fact, turn it off and take advantage of the opportunity in front of you. These admission counselors are real people, the people who will more than likely have a say, if not THE SAY on whether or not you are admitted to their college. They’re not going to bite and they’re not going to be mean. Talk to them, let them get to know you and help them understand how awesome you are.

Fortunately for you, the National College Fairs are coming to a town near you this spring. You can review the full list of dates and locations on the NACAC website. If you have made some progress on your college list, write down the schools who you want to know more about. Then make it a point to visit with them during the fair.

You’ll be glad you did.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact us today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you’re in the local area, check out my our college planning workshops coming up this spring in Simsbury and Cheshire. 

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Eric Mar 19, 2014 , , , , , , No Comments
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Should You Take SAT Subject Tests?

Should You Take The SAT Subject TestsSAT Subject Tests are hour-long content based tests which allow you to demonstrate just how awesome you are in a given subject. There are 20 Subject Tests in all and unlike the SAT where you have to complete all three sections, you get to choose which Subject Tests you would like to take. Subject Tests are offered on the same dates as the SAT and you can take up to three tests in one sitting.

You can check out a complete list of all Subject Tests on the College Board website here.

Now that you fully understand what a Subject Test, let’s move on to the bigger question.

Should you take one?

The answer is an easy “yes” when you plan on applying to a highly selective college. If you review their admission requirements, a lot of these schools will require or recommend Subject Tests. Pay close attention to the fine print though as some of them will recommend specific subjects depending on your major.

For example, engineering applicants to Johns Hopkins University are strongly encouraged to submit two SAT subject tests: Mathematics Level 2 and one of the sciences. Applicants for Lehigh University’s combined BA/MD degree program are “strongly encouraged” to take Mathematics Level 1 or Level 2 and Chemistry.

So, in some cases, you do have to be very strategic about which tests you take.

But what if a college doesn’t strongly encourage them? What if they just recommend taking a Subject Test? What if they say they will only use them if the scores enhance your chances for admission?

In my opinion, you always want to go beyond the basic requirements. So while there is a difference between “strongly encourage” and “recommend”, in either case the college is making a reference to them as something they like to see in their applicants’ files. When a college is telling you what they want to see, you should listen.

And if a school is only going to use them in situations where they help you, well, you’ve got nothing to lose except for a couple hours on a Saturday morning.

In today’s competitive applicant pool, especially at the most selective colleges, you can’t afford not to put together the strongest application possible. SAT Subject Tests can and will play a role in that so review the requirements for your schools and take a couple tests in your strongest subjects. Do well enough and they may just help your chances.

If you want some help and guidance on your college search and application process, contact me today to set up an appointment for a free consultation. If you’re in the local area, check out my FREE college planning workshops coming up this spring in Cheshire and Southbury. 

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Eric Mar 10, 2014 , , , , , , , No Comments