This week, it’s my privilege to be interviewed by Power Women Magazine about my Parents Countdown to College Toolkit and college preparation. If you have any questions about college preparation or have wondered about the content of my Toolkit, tune in LIVE:
Category Archives: college guidance
High school seniors gear up for college
Fall is in the air (at least in most parts of the country) and seniors are gearing up for a busy year of college-related activities. To help parents and students stay organized and on top of the college to-do-lists, I’m sharing my senior list from my Parents Countdown to College Toolkit and Parents Crash Course.
My good friend and colleague Paul Hemphill has another take on the senior “to-do-list” (3 Things High Seniors should do early) that you will also want to share with your college-bound teens.
FALL
- Continue to follow a rigorous program of study and verify that your course plan is consistent with college admissions criteria. Keep tabs on your GPA and your class rank; double check your transcript for any errors.
- Start collecting recommendation letters. Gather any that were done over the summer and if you need to add additional ones, ask for them early when school begins.
- If you need to take admissions tests again, register for and take the SAT and/or ACT and SAT Subject tests. Fill in the proper codes for each college to assure they receive your test scores.
- Lock in your college choices and visit any on your list that you haven’t already checked out.
- If you are applying to a military academy make sure your file is current and in the possession of the person from whom you are seeking the nomination.
- If you are seeking an athletic scholarship, send a copy of your game schedule to the appropriate coaches; ask your high school coaches to help with contact names.
- Finalize portfolios, audition tapes, writing samples, or other evidence of talent to send with your college admissions application.
- If you are going to apply for early decision or early action, be sure to submit application materials by the deadline.
WINTER
- Gather all the data for the FAFSA and encourage your parents to complete income tax returns early so that you can file in January. Complete the CSS/Profile as well if necessary.
- Continue your scholarship search process focusing on those for 12th grade students. Request any college specific scholarship applications and apply.
- Apply to the colleges that you have chosen and assure proper completion of each application package.
- Verify that your mid-year transcript has been sent to the colleges to which you have applied. This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Follow up and verify that the colleges receive the transcript.
- Review your SAR Report for accuracy and submit corrections if necessary.
- If any college requests additional materials or forms send them promptly and verify they are received.
- Apply for State Financial aid which may require additional forms.
SPRING
- Plan to take AP Exams. Check with your colleges and verify that once the tests are taken you will receive college credit.
- Compare college award letters and financial aid packages. Contact the school’s financial aid office if you have questions about your award. If you would like to dispute your award due to extenuating circumstances, follow the guidelines outlined in the toolkit.
- Visit colleges that have invited you to enroll and talk with students, professors and admissions advisers to help you make your final decision.
- Complete any loan paperwork if you will need to take out parent or student loans.
- Make your final decision and notify the college you will be attending, along with the colleges you will be declining admission. (Remember: there are students on wait lists that will be waiting for spots to open. So be respectful and notify ALL schools of your decision).
- Accept or decline your financial aid awards in writing. You have the option to accept all or part of the aid awarded.
SUMMER.
- Attend Freshman Orientation and gather information regarding your course offerings to begin searching for textbook offers and deals.
- Write thank you notes to the people who recommended you and thank them for taking the time to write those recommendation letters.
- Apply for a summer job and save that money for college expenses.
- If Federal Work Study is part of your package it’s your responsibility to secure a job and follow up with the financial aid office when you arrive on campus.
Print the list–email it to your teenager–post it on the frig for easy reference. It will help remind YOU and your college-bound teen that senior year is NOT the time for senioritis to kick in.
Using Facebook to Jumpstart your Collegiate Experience
As parents, you may not quite completely understand the utility of Facebook. Even when I was in high school, I thought that the friends of mine who were on the earlier social networks like My Space were just plain silly. However, when I matriculated to pursue an undergraduate degree, Facebook was just starting to take off throughout the world, and I cannot begin to describe how using the social network made inserting myself into a vibrant social world so much easier. If your child is on the cusp of going to college for the first time, here are a few useful ways to employ Facebook and make that college transition easier.
- Find people who will be living in your dorm. As soon as you get that letter informing you which building and room you will be living in, you can be sure that there has already been a Facebook group created with your dorm’s name on it. Running a search of your dorm building is a great way to find people who may already live there, find the roommate your school selected for you, and it’s also fun to become friends and begin chatting with other matriculating freshmen who are just as excited as you are.
- Find housing and furniture if you are no longer living on campus. If you do not intend on living on campus your first year, or if you have completed your first year and want to try moving off-campus, Facebook is a great way to find both new roommates, a new house or apartment for lease, and some cheap used furniture. Facebook Marketplace is helpful, but sometimes just looking through college groups or friends’ and acquaintances status can be just as effective. The way I found my off-campus living and roommates was simple. I scrolled through my news feed, randomly found that an acquaintance had found a 3 bedroom apartment but needed one more housemate. After a few days I was living in a wonderful apartment with two friends. That beats going through a realtor to find off-campus living!
- Keep up with events happening on campus. If you join a group that is associated with your school, or if you “like” your university’s official page, then often you will be updated on your news feed if any interesting events happen on campus. This way, you don’t have to rely on fliers or word-of-mouth to attend events where you can have fun, be involved with your campus community, and meet new people.
- Join study groups. Once you’ve begun to get in the swing of things academically, it will be likely that someone in a few of your classes will have started a Facebook group for that class. If so, joining it, or starting a group yourself, can reap many benefits. For one, you can organize study groups more easily, you can discuss class material in a forum format, and you can borrow notes or books if you happen to miss class.
These are just a handful of ways that you can use Facebook to enhance your first few weeks and months in college. Remember, Facebook was founded by college students for college students. If you use Facebook for anything, use it to become more acquainted with your college and fellow students.
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This guest post is contributed by Barbara Jolie, who writes for online classes. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: barbara.jolie876@gmail.com.
Prepping students for life as a college student
Parents, you have spent nights up with your kids when they were sick, read over homework assignments, and been a listening ear to their rough days at school. Fast forward to their senior year of high school and now your child is an adult. While no one can turn back the clock, there are several actions you can take now to ensure your child is prepared to smoothly transition to a college student.
- Encourage responsibility–While you are still the parent and have an important role in your future college student’s life, promote independence. For example, set boundaries with your child if you will be sending money regularly. Also, determine consequences if your child abuses money that you send such as by not sending additional funds until the next semester. Let your child know that you will be available to listen and offer suggestions, but the ultimate responsibility lies with them. There has to be a balance between being a parent and treating your child as an adult.
- Encourage your child to avoid getting into debt, when possible–Many students and their families receive financial aid packages that include grants and loans. With this in mind, encourage your child not to incur further debt such as credit card charges or overdraft bank fees. Offer suggestions for your child to save money and establish a budget to cover the expenses that come with the college life. Examples of suggestions would be to work part-time on campus, purchase food at the grocery store, and limiting entertainment expenses.
- Encourage your child to use the resources available on campus–The college experience is more than attending classes, but will hopefully allow your child to learn new things and meet new people. So, when your child needs help with talking to a professor, dealing with a rude roommate, or finding an internship, advise him or her to seek out the appropriate organizations and individuals for assistance. While you maybe tempted to speak to someone to help your child, keep in mind that ultimate responsibility remains with your child.
- Encourage your child to maintain balance–Don’t be surprised if your child calls you from college and mentions his or her increased stress levels from classes. Remind your child to seek out attending counseling, participating in fitness courses, eating properly, or taking a brisk walk around campus with friends. Certainly, preparing your child for college will be a time of anxiety for you because you ponder over whether you taught your child and equipped them with the tools necessary for survival in the world. Now is the time to trust yourself that your child is ready to attend college and be available to encourage him or her along the way!
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Today’s guest post is from Ashley Hill, founder of CollegePrep Ready. Ashley brings her knowledge, expertise, and compassion to helping junior and high school students and their families to successfully prepare for college. She founded CollegePrep Ready in July 2010 in response to her personal journey to achieving success in her undergraduate program. She is dedicated to developing an individualized plan of action for every student and family because no two students are alike.
Top 5 Social Media Tips for Students
Students who effectively use social media create an advantage for themselves with colleges and in the future job market. They can digitally network with professors, alumni, and fellow students before, during, and after college. Every student should invest some time in building their online presence. The days of MySpace are over, though, and your social profiles speak volumes to anyone who finds them. You never know if a college admissions rep, recruiter or employer will Google you before offering you an opportunity. For this reason, a professional filter should always be applied.
Here are my top five tips for college-bound teens and college students jumping into the social media river.
- Try new things. Facebook and Twitter are the basics. Consider expanding your reach by signing up for accounts on LinkedIn, Tumblr, or any other platform that intrigues you. And if you get your hands on a Google+ invitation, give it a test drive.
- Mind your audience. If you are using your social media for professional networking, then remember that anyone (uncle, co-worker, teacher, etc.) can find what you are saying. (Everyone from my grandmother to my boss can see my tweets.) Even if you “protect your tweets” or have really tight Facebook privacy settings, nothing is private. Anyone can take a screenshot of anything they see on Facebook, or retweet you into the twittersphere for all to see. There have been countless examples of people losing their jobs or even being denied admission because of inappropriate posts on social networks. Make sure you’re not one of them.
- Don’t be afraid to say “hello!” Social media has created the world’s largest networking event. Feel free to offer comments, ask questions, and challenge opinions. Never lurk in the corner.
- Speak clearly and carefully. Avoid spelling and grammar errors; watch out for foul language. If you want to be taken seriously, make your posts reader-friendly.
- Leverage your presence. If you’ve invested time in building your online influence, then make sure people know it. Put links to your social profiles on your resume, or consider building a personal website. Whatever your major or intended major, be it Dance, Sociology, or Marketing, your digital presence will set you apart.
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Adam Britten is a recent graduate of Syracuse University, where he worked as a member of the school’s social media team. In the fall, he’ll be pursuing a Master of Digital Marketing. He maintains the blog www.genYspot.com.
Would your student like the Sony S Series laptop?
I’ve been blogging about this laptop for about a week now in the hopes that you can make an informed choice about the right laptop for your student.
Parents usually have a few simple questions about this type of purchase:
- Is it affordable?
- Is it durable and dependable?
- Will the laptop last throughout their high school and/or college careers?
Students on the other hand want to know the following:
- Does it have enough memory?
- Is it wireless and does it have a built in camera?
- Can I use it for watching movies, streaming videos, and gaming?
- Are there enough usb ports to plug in all my devices?
- How long will the battery last?
- How much does it weigh since I’ll be carting it back and forth to class?
Since my knowledgeable geek colleagues (and I say this with all due respect) have done an amazing job of reviewing the Sony S Series laptop to answer both parent and student questions, I’m going to defer to their expertise and post links to all of their informed posts.
- Doug Schantz at CheapScholar.org
- Thomas Frank at CollegeInfoGeek
- Michael Anderson at GearDiary
- Shep McAllister at HackCollege
- Jeff Dunn at Edudemic
- Brett Napoli at College Cures
- Annie Wang at HerCampus
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DON’T FORGET TO ENTER MICROSOFT’S CONTEST to win a FREE SONY S SERIES LAPTOP WITH SHEET BATTERY!
Deadline for entering is July 17, 2011 7PM PST.
Entering is easy. Just answer the question: What would you do if you had up to 15 hours of battery life?
Enter here!
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This post is part of program called “Charged and Ready” by Sony Electronics and Microsoft, where a group of college bloggers have been given a Sony VAIO-S series laptop to test and review.
Getting In-The Zinch Guide to College Admissions
When Gil Rogers at Zinch asked me if I would be interested in getting an advance copy of this book I jumped at the chance. First of all, I love reviewing books for parents. Secondly, I knew it was going to be quality material and I was excited to get my hot little hands on a copy.
I’ve read plenty of books on college admissions. Some are so scholarly heavy that you need a degree to figure them out. Others are so shallow you can find most of the material in your teen’s high school handouts. Zinch’s book is neither of the above. It’s geared toward the student, but is also extremely valuable from a parent’s perspective. Zinch reminds the student that while the college process often involves the entire family, the final choice must be their own. I agree with this whole heartedly. Every parent should grasp this truth.
Since this book is jam-packed with information, it would be difficult to speak about all of it. Suffice it to say that Zinch covers EVERYTHING from beginning to end. It’s an invaluable resource to have for your student (especially at the beginning of the process), because it walks them through admissions step by step.
Following are some of the highlights (and my favorite parts):
- The Truth About College Admissions-This chapter alone is worth the cost of the book. They debunk the myths about college, college rankings, and tell you the things colleges don’t want you to know. Superb!
- Behind the Scenes-This chapter goes into great detail about what goes on in a college admissions office. As a parent, this chapter will be an eye opener. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on, Zinch spells it out!
- College Input-One of the impressive components in the book is the input Zinch includes from actual specific college admissions officers. It helps you see how they think and how they view the process.
- Social Media-Zinch recognizes the importance of social media and how it can affect the college admissions process. The book talks about your student’s online presence and reminds them that Google never forgets.
- The Hook-This is the first book that I’ve seen that talks about “marketing” the student to the colleges. Zinch explains how important this is in order for your student to stand out.
- The Application process-Since this is the most important part of college admissions, the book goes into specific detail about every aspect of the application with step-by-step guides and tips.
- Three Case Studies-This is my favorite part of the book. Zinch takes three college applicants of different backgrounds and academics and presents their entire application to various colleges for review. The colleges then give their recommendations for acceptance, wait listing or rejection, giving you insight into the “whys” of the decision, along with how they came to their decision. It’s a wealth of information for both students and parents.
The book reads easily and provides many highlighted examples related to each chapter topic. Zinch tells the reader in the first few pages how to use the book:
- Read it. (to get an overview of the entire process)
- Ask your parents to read it. (to liberate the student and parent from the myths surrounding college admissions)
- Start early. (they recommend no later than junior year—I say freshman year)
- Role play. (put yourself in the role of the admissions officer and evaluate each one)
- Reread the appropriate chapter. (refer to the information as you need it)
- Work smarter, not harder. (the book provides you with the tools you need to be prepared)
If you are a parent of a college-bound teen (that means even middle school) you should pick up a copy of this book. Amazon has it on sale now for $9.86 and you can get a sneak peek inside the book as well. If you pick up a copy, let me know what you think. You can also post your comments on Twitter using the hashtag #GettingIn.
Why subscribe to The College Prep Formula?
If you’ve visited my site lately, you’ll notice the banner at the top about the College Prep Formula. Since I take our relationship (parent-to-parent) seriously and I ALWAYS support ANY product I promote here, I want to tell you a little bit about Paul Hemphill, the guy behind the College Prep Formula.
I first came in contact with Paul on Twitter. I started reading his blog and watching some of his videos. I realized that he and I were cut from the same cloth–1)he lives in Boston (my favorite city) and loves Texas (my favorite state) and 2)we are both approaching this college admissions game from the parent’s perspective. We like to call ourselves Parent Advocates! We’ve done a few webinars together and the more I learn about him, the more I respect him. Paul is the kind of guy that doesn’t mince words and comes right to the point–you are the customer; buyer BEWARE!
As you can imagine, it’s not a very popular opinion in the college admissions arena; but it’s one that I completely agree with and one that speaks the truth. Paul and I exchanged products (my toolkit and his videos) and I realized that we were on the same wave length. Why? Because we were both clueless about the college process and made some of the very same mistakes with our kids. Because of the mistakes we made, we are EXTREMELY committed to helping parents reduce the college stress and arm themselves with the tools they need to make it through this process on top!
The College Prep Formula will give every parent of college-bound teens (and that means even middle school students) the ability to enter the college admissions process as informed consumers. This is a MAJOR purchase and you need to approach it as such. Imagine if you will, (in Rod Serling’s Twilight zone voice) being able to save thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars on college. It’s possible, if you follow Paul’s formula.
Trust me…you don’t want to miss out on this GREAT parent resource. I’ve seen the videos and they are going to help you stress less AND save money. And as Paul likes to say…they will knock your socks off!
SUBSCRIBE NOW—>The College Prep Formula
Narrowing down the final college choice
May 1st is quickly approaching and high school seniors are faced with the looming decision–which college will I attend? Following is a guest post from freelance writer Mariana Ashley about using specific factors to make that final decision.
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Hopefully all of your hard work paid off and you were fortunate enough to be accepted into every college that you applied for. While this act alone is cause for celebration, this is where the hard part comes in: you can only commit to one university. But narrowing your choice to the final one can be both difficult and stressful, especially because you want a school that will be able to meet both your educational, financial and social needs/wants in the best way possible. To help you make one of the hardest decisions you will have to make in your early life-time, consider these factors listed below.
College Tour
One of the easiest ways to select a school is to physically go to the campus and look around. Granted not all students have the time or the means to visit each school, especially those that are located on other sides of the country, but physically looking at a school is much better than viewing it through a pamphlet. If you can’t make the physical trip, utilize sites that offer college visit videos and connect with students on those sites.
Location and Size
You also need to factor in the location of the school. Do you want to be a short 2-to 3-hour drive so that you can come home a few weekends, or do you want to attend a school that is in another state so that you can live in a new surrounding? Also, do you want to attend a school that is located in the city or a small rural college town? Do you want to attend a big school or a small intimate school?
Programs
By far one of the most important factors that should influence your decision is looking into the programs offered at the school. Is the school known for offering an exceptional program in the field you are pursuing? Are there any notable graduates? What about the professors? What are their exact credentials? Even if you are unaware of what you would like to major in knowing that the school has a lot of options and great professors is beneficial.
You may also want to consider graduation and retention rates, as well as whether internship programs and career services are offered.
Social
While social interaction shouldn’t play the biggest role when selecting a school, it still matters. With that said, do a little research and see what sort of extracurricular activities and clubs are offered at each university. For instance, if you already know that you want to join a particular fraternity or sorority, does a chapter exist on that particular campus? Or, if you know that you want to attend medical school later on, are there tons of great health related organizations that will help you get in? Some also consider sporting teams because they want to attend a school that is filled with champions—but please don’t let this sway your decision too much.
You might also want to look into the demographics of the school. Do you want to attend a school that offers a lot of diversity or would you rather go to a school that has one group of people? Do you want to go to a school that has a reputation of being liberal or conservative? Demographics can play a huge role in regards to making friends. But whatever you do, don’t make a decision based on the fact that all of your high school buddies are going to a particular school. You need to attend the school that is best suited for you. Be assured that if you are separated from your high school friends, you will be able to keep in contact with them while making other new, last-long friendships in college.
Costs
By now you should at least have your top two choices. This is where financial costs will help you select your top choice. So, which school can you actually afford to attend without going into years worth of financial debt and which school has offered you a more appealing financial aid award package (if you qualify)? Make sure to investigate additional charges and fees and whether commuting will burn a whole in your pocket. Also find estimates for housing options and see which school would be more cost-effective.
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This guest post was written by Mariana Ashley, a freelance writer, who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com
Using Admission Predictors-Yes or No?
We all like to know what our chances are in life. What are my odds at winning the lottery? How likely is that my resume will be seen by the right people? What do the stats say about starting a new business in a down economy? Will the stock we purchased go up?
Recently, I’ve come across two tools that would help to give your student information about their chances related to admissions: MyChances http://www.mychances.net/ & AdmissionSplash on Facebook http://bit.ly/gkZ6NU
Mashable highlighted AdmissionSplash recently explaining how the tool works.
Here’s my question–would you want your student to use these tools? I would love to hear what you think about them. Yes or no?