TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COLLEGE VISIT-PART I

After three years of exploring numerous college and universities with my two teenage sons, I’ve gradually developed a formula for getting the most out of our time on campus. Here are some of the tips that have helped to make our visits less of a chore and more of an adventure:

Plan Ahead
Based on conversations with the experts, including high school guidance counselors, college admissions staff, student tour guides, and college admissions consultants, the ideal time to begin visiting campuses is in the sophomore and junior years of high school. Freshman year most kids aren’t ready developmentally and senior year is cutting it a little close for both parents and teens.

There are two ways to experience a college visit, either at an Open House, an all-day event where everything is planned for you, or a more informal visit where you take part in a scheduled admissions meeting and campus tour but you’re on your own for the rest of the day. We’ve done it both ways and each has its own merits.

It’s also important to plan your visit when “real” students are on campus going about their normal routines. Visiting during summer vacation or exam time isn’t likely to give you a realistic look at the school. Our family has found Columbus Day weekend, February break, and the April vacation week to be the best times to plan our trips.

If you’re able to coordinate visits to several colleges and universities in the same geographical area you can save both time and money. A word of warning though, more than one or two visits a day will send you all into information overload and make everyone cranky so don’t over schedule yourselves.

Let Your Teen Lead
Have your son or daughter research the college ahead of time to see what the school offers visitors, including any special opportunities in their intended major. They can also be in charge of registering or signing you all up for the Open House or tours.
Once this is done, something I found helpful was to sit down with my sons a day or two ahead of the visit and make a tentative outline for the day that includes time for both scheduled and unscheduled activities (like meals).

Next up-What to do once you arrive on campus!

Recovery from Common Application Mistakes

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The world is far from perfect and this extends to the college admissions process. A major mistake is not the end of the world. In order to move forward, it is best not to obsess over the mistake. Responding depends upon the nature of the mistake.

Top 5 Application Mistakes and what to do about them.

1) Late application submission- If you submit your Common Application after the deadline, you may be out of luck at very selective colleges. Still, it is worth a call to admissions to see if you have a chance. You may need to apply to some additional colleges so that you have options at the end of the process.

2) Late fee submission- This is less serious than late application submission but it still may knock you out of contention at the most selective colleges. Submit the money as soon as possible and write a note of apology.

3) Mixing up the name of the college you are applying to- Some college names are just similar enough to be confusing. In fact, I didn't have Dickinson, Davidson, and Denison straight in my mind until I visited all three liberal arts colleges in person. This mistake can really hurt you because colleges do have pride in their name. This mistake is most common in college supplements because they often ask you , "What attracted you to apply to this college?" You need to answer this with specific names and programs which can easily be confused. You may discover this type of mistake if you re-read your application after submission. You should consider applying to a few more colleges.

4) Incomplete application- You will only discover this mistake if you check with each college to make sure they have everything. Don't expect them to contact you. You should send an e-mail ASAP to every college admissions office on your list to make sure they have received your test scores, recommendations etc....

5) Failure to Visit- If you have not visited a selective college that is less than two hours from your home, you are putting yourself at risk for rejection. Why? Because many admission offices figure that you do not really want to attend if you don't visit and are only applying because the common application makes it so easy. The remedy for this is to visit right away before your application is considered. Even if you have to take a bus to get there, it is important to make the effort if you want your application to be taken seriously.

Playlist for Completing College Applications

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Plugging into some music can help drain away stress while putting those final touches on college applications. The routine of filling out forms online can be made tolerable with some good tunes. I have asked a few students what music they like for focus and de-stressing. Those ideas helped me form the playlist below which is certainly open to additions.

The list is pretty eclectic because some people focus better with high energy music while others like a calm mood. I should mention that a few students said they like white noise either from a machine or a fan.

Playlist:



Energy

Bare Naked Ladies: Who Needs Sleep?
Eric Clapton: Layla (long version)
Led Zeppelin: Heartbreaker
M.I.A.: Galang
Green Day: Holiday
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Snow
ZZ Top: Sharp Dressed Man

Calm

Enya: The Celts
Loreena McKennitt: Mummer's Dance
Kamal: Song of the Deep (whale song)
Sim Redmond Band: Life is Water
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells
Chopin: Nocturne in E flat Major


For songs of encouragement you could play Dar Williams' "Better Things" or Frank Sinatra's "High Hopes".

The song "Scream" By Zac Efron just may sum up the whole application madness. What do you listen to?

GUEST POST: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

This time of year, many families find themselves eagerly anticipating having their college freshman return home for the holidays. Having everyone under one roof again is exciting; however, like many things associated with this festive season, their homecoming often results in a whole new set of challenges. Teens that have become used to being independent and making their own decisions while at college may chafe at what they view as unreasonable parental rules and restrictions and scoff at family traditions that their parents and younger siblings still cherish. Here are some tips that can help make your reunion more enjoyable and less stressful:

Expect change
Be forewarned, having your son or daughter at home won’t automatically return your family to its “pre-college” dynamic. Family members have all had several months to realign themselves and take on new roles. Your college student is now a young adult and should be treated as such instead of like a wayward teen or a guest in your house. Failing to recognize and acknowledge that key fact is bound to result in a very unpleasant winter break for all of you.

Be consistent with rules
It’s helpful if parents can sit down together before their freshman arrives and develop a list of rules that will be nonnegotiable while your teen is home. Making your expectations clear right from the start of the December break will alleviate any confusion or uncertainty about what’s acceptable behavior and what isn’t. You can also use this time to talk about how you’ll handle things like borrowing the car, requests for money, and unexpected outings or impulsive road trips with friends you’ve never met.

Don’t compromise family values for the sake of peace
College students often find it surprisingly easy to forget basic family courtesies like picking up after themselves, using appropriate language and good manners, and helping out with daily chores like emptying the dishwasher, taking out the garbage, and caring for family pets.

Of course the returning college student shouldn’t be required to do extra work to make up for all the chores they’ve missed while they’ve been away (as my son’s brothers suggested!) but they should be expected to do their fair share.

Offer “quality” time together
Most returning teenagers will be excited to reconnect with old high school friends, teachers, or neighbors but that doesn’t mean that they won’t welcome some uninterrupted quality time with you.

Phone calls, emails, or texts can’t take the place of good, old-fashioned “face time”. Put the holiday chaos on hold for a few hours, sit back, and really listen to what your son or daughter is saying; you’ll learn a lot!

Crunch Time in College Admissions

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AAURGH! The primal scream (outdoors of course) is sometimes a good stress release for seniors in the final stages of applying to college. Aaron (a senior I know) runs up and down the stairs as fast as he can to try and relax. Why is it so bad? For one thing students now apply on average to 7 colleges which complicates the process. Heavy competition also translates into stress with over 1 million more applicants than a decade ago. So how to release stress? Squeezing a funky shaped stress ball (like my penguin) can help with typing fatigue. Many students de-stress by exercising prior to returning to their applications. Rocking out to music also helps get the kinks out.

Parents need to be supportive at this crunch time. What does that mean? In this case, it means offering to help the student as needed (except in writing essays). Offering is the key word. Forcing unwanted help on the student can result in blow-ups. Reminding students of things they need to do without nagging is an art and a necessary art for parents at this stage of the admissions process. Using a mode of communication that is least annoying for the student is best whether this is post-it notes or text messages. Comfort food can also help. Favorite foods like warm chocolate chip cookies can definitely improve the whole mood around the application activity. Contacting guidance about missing pieces of the application can also relieve some of the pressure on students.

College applications are due when they are due. This is a shock to many high school students who have easily received extensions on high school work. The consequences of a late or incomplete application are quite harsh. Most college admissions offices are too swamped to let students know personally that their application is incomplete. Generally, when other students are getting acceptance letters, those who have missed deadlines or failed to check on their applications will just receive a rejection letter from the colleges stating either that the application was too late to be processed or that parts of the application were missing.

Buckling down and finishing the applications can be hard for some procrastinators. Mary is an self-acknowledged procrastintor and she deals with it by giving herself a small reward for every section of the common application that she completes. I say whatever it takes, students need to get those applications complete at least a week before the deadlines. Josh (and others) waited until the night before the applications were do to send them out. AAURGH! An inside primal scream this time. "The server is down due to unsccheduled maintenance." Avoid the indoor primal scream. Submit early!

Colleges with Short Terms Encourage Study Abroad

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I recently visited Earlham College in Richmond, IN and was taken with how many students there study abroad (more than 60%). This is certainly higher than average. I believe that one reason for the high participation is the college calendar. Earlham college follows a 4-4-1 calendar. This means that students study for two semesters and then have a short, optional May term for study abroad, an internship, or an intensive course. The flexibility of this calendar allows students to study abroad who might not be able to otherwise due to the many course requirements of a double major, an education major, or a demanding science major. Biology majors in particular benefit from taking courses in the natural environment that they are studying whether it be desert or rainforest.

The Open Doors Report of the International Education Exchange states that the number of students studying abroad last year decreased for the first time in 25 years. This could be due to a number of factors including the economy. However, the same report indicates that the number of students studying abroad more than doubled over the last ten years but that many students were staying for shorter periods than previously. These statistics bear out my thought that having a shorter time available for international study will encourage more students to take advantage of the opportunity. Students who I spoke with at Earlham were quite enthusiastic about the international opportunities. One girl had plans to study in Japan as part of her Asian Studies major. Others planned trips to China and the UK. A freshman from Chicago that I spoke with said that she hoped to study in more than one country. Our interconnected world will benefit from students such as those at Earlham who gain international experience and a better understanding of cultural differences.

GUEST POST: MAKE TIME TO VISIT COLLEGES

As the mom of a college freshman and a high school student who is just beginning the college search process, I can’t say enough about personally visiting schools your student is seriously considering.

Though college websites can give you a lot of facts beforehand, it is nearly impossible for them to convey the mood, impressions, or information that you get from exploring a campus in person.
Here’s an example. Last month my son and I attended an Open House where the formal tours and admissions meetings were very helpful and informative. But, it was the questions that we got to ask “real” students afterwards that told my son whether this college would be his number one choice or be placed further down the list.

One of the things he’s always been fascinated by is experimentation and he’s spent the majority of his relatively short life coming up with all sorts of unusual explorations and inquiries to test out. When he was little these tended to involve all sorts of strange potions and as he got older they focused more on things that he could build and take apart like trebuchets, forts, or engines. Though we never knew what he’d come up with next, the process he followed was pretty much the same each time. He’d think of an idea, make a drawing or some notes, find the materials that he needed (or convince us to buy them!), and then physically create whatever he had visualized in his mind. No matter what the project was, it was always completely his from start to finish.

At the school one of their selling points was that there were lots of research opportunities. However, when we dug a little deeper, asking enrolled students what types of research they were involved in, it turned out that the school’s process was very different than that of some of the other universities we’d looked at. What seemed to happen at this school was that professors would have a hypothesis or idea and enlist a graduate student or two to assist them. In turn, the grad students would find some undergraduates to work for them. The outcome of this was increased “drudge work” and extremely limited opportunities for discovery for the person at the bottom of the pyramid.

It was clear to both of us that this type of system would be incongruent with my teen's personal style as well as completely the opposite of what he was looking for. Instead of thriving in this type of environment, he would quickly become frustrated at all of the restrictions.

The visit also revealed to my son and me that having a self-initiating research environment is something that's really important to him when choosing where he wants to spend his next four years. This is a much better thing to discover as a high school student than as a college freshman or sophomore!