Hello College Freshman – Top Ten Tips

College not only poses a need for academic adjustment, but an adjustment to a new lifestyle. Juggling a new schedule and expectations that go along with it can take its toll on freshmen emotionally, physically, and academically. Many colleges are attuned to this transition and offer support to freshmen in a variety of ways.

Dorms have trained personnel called resident assistants or RA’s assigned to help students with everyday issues including roommate issues, school rules and guidelines, activities, and other school community issues. “Meltdowns” or emotional distress can occur due to grade pressure.

Mental health centers on campus offer counseling services from licensed psychologists and psychiatrists for counseling issues such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety, chemical dependency, and so on. If students need medical attention, the medical centers on campus can handle those requests. There are a variety of spiritual centers that can also offer support to students who want to continue involvement in their faith life, attending retreats, and community service opportunities. Career Centers are open to students interested in career exploration, internships, resume building, study abroad opportunities, and applications to graduate school. The following list includes a collection of suggestions made by upperclassmen for incoming freshmen. Read Top 10 Tips by clicking here!

Don’t Sweat the Essay this Summer: Make a Plan!

You’ve heard the college application essay is a big deal. Now that you are officially a rising senior, it’s time to figure out what to write about.

Are these dreaded essays going to hang over your head all summer? Most aren’t even due until late fall or even January anyway. So what’s the rush?

In my opinion, there’s no rush. But if you are smart, you will give yourself a deadline now. And make a plan. Otherwise, the pressure will start building inScreenHunter_513 Jun. 30 08.07 the back of your mind, and the anxiety of what you “should be doing” could hurt the fun you are having.

Some college counselors and essay “experts” advise students to simply start thinking about their essays over summer, and casually brainstorming ideas, and reflecting on themes such as, “What makes me unique?” or “Who am I?”

I don’t think active introspection can hurt, but I believe it’s more effective to make a specific writing plan, with deadlines, and stick to it. Worrying about these essays is the worst part.

To see the new essays for the 2016-2017 Common Application, click here. http://blog.commonapp.org/2015/03/31/2015-2016-essay-prompts/

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The GET IT DONE Plan of Attack – Read the two week approach – make a plan.

The Common Application 2016-2017 Essay Prompts

The summer break from school offers rising seniors time to focus on college planning tasks such as the college essay.ScreenHunter_1212 Jun. 05 08.27  Here are the essay prompts for the 2016-2017 Common Application. Take some time to review, mull over your ideas, and begin to develop your response to your choice.

The Common Application Announces 2016-2017 Essay Prompts

The Common Application has announced that the 2016-2017 personal statement essay prompts will be the same as the 2015-2016 prompts. By conducting a review process every other year, rather than annually, we can hear from admissions officers, as well as students, parents, and counselors, about the effectiveness of the essay prompts.

These prompts are designed to elicit information that will strengthen the other components of the application. “We want to make sure that every applicant can find a home within the essay prompts, and that they can use the prompts as a starting point to write an essay that is authentic and distinguishing,” said Scott Anderson, former school counselor and current Senior Director for Programs and Partnerships for The Common Application.

Among the more than 800,000 unique applicants who have submitted a Common App so far during the 2015-2016 application cycle, 47 percent have chosen to write about their background, identity, interest, or talent – making it the most frequently selected prompt; 22 percent have chosen to write about an accomplishment, 17 percent about a lesson or failure, 10 percent about a problem solved, and four percent about an idea challenged.

With the release of the essay prompts and the announcement that student accounts created now will roll over to 2016-2017, counselors can introduce their juniors to the Common App now, or whenever they are ready.

2016-2017 Essay Prompts 
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Find The Right College Fit

Even before you begin your college search, you need to think about what would make a college the right fit, the perfect match for you. Start by answering a few questions: Why would you continue an education?  Do you want to fulfill your dreams?  Have fun?  Meet new people and exercise your mind?  What about learning more about what you love to do and learning how to get paid doing it?   To do this, you need to understand your strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Think about your potential to succeed by reviewing your grade point average, standardized test scores and coursework, while verifying what the admissions requirements are to specific colleges.

 

 

 

 

 

Tips For Writing Your College Essay

Recently, I read an article by an admissions representative from St. Mary’s College of Maryland regarding the college essay. Their advice seemed worthy of repeating so here it goes. When asked about the length of the essay, the representative explained that “the ones that got read at our college, the ones that really showed the admissions committee the real person, and the ones that jumped out at us and caught our attention were the ones that:  1) were from the ‘heart’, 2) were ‘student-written’ (you would be surprised how many have ‘adult hands’ on them…and you can tell the difference when you read them), and 3) told us why they are special; not necessarily if they were special.  If students can do that and it happens to be a little over 500 words, don’t sweat it.” Read more tips for writing the college essay.

2015 Diversity Fly-In Visit Program List: Seniors to Visit This Fall!

Many colleges are hosting diversity college fly-in visit programs this fall. Some deadlines have passed, but if you’re interested still APPLY. Below is the beginning of a list of Fall 2015 Diversity Fly-In Visit Programs and are worthy of printing. This list is by no means complete, so if you are interested in a particular college, check their websites for more information or better yet, contact a college admissions representative directly.

* *(D) = The college has a diversity weekend that covers all costs. These programs are competitive and require applications.

* * = The college can cover expenses for traditional weekend programs.

* (D) = diversity weekend with no transportation costs.

Diversity College Weekends Click here to view programs!

College Ranking Issues

Time and time again articles are printed in magazines and newspapers about college rankings. A particular college may be rated number one by a group, but that does not mean it is the best match for the student. Each student will need to look at his or her interests and college characteristics to see if it is a good fit. These rankings hold different meanings for each person, just as the Oscars rate movies, and the Grammys rank music, not everyone will agree with the outcome. It is okay to read the college ranking magazines as long as the student and his or her family review other sources of information to make his or her decision.

News and Notes from The Common App – Essay Prompts for 2015-2016 and Other Application Changes

ScreenHunter_370 Mar. 31 16.56News and Notes from The Common App – Essay Prompts for 2015-2016 and Other Application Changes

2015-2016 Essay Prompts

We are pleased to share the 2015-2016 Essay Prompts with you. New language appears in italics:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea.  What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

The changes you see reflect the feedback and consensus of nearly 6000 individuals who responded to our recent survey. Among the survey highlights:

  • 197 individual Member responses representing 110 Member institutions

  • 5667 constituent responses (64% school counselors; 14% students; 11% independent educational consultants; 4% parents; 2% community based organizations; remainder = other)

  • 82% of Members and 90% of constituents agree or strongly agree that the current prompts generate effective essays on the whole

  • 62% of Members and 48% of constituents believe the “story/background” prompt is the most effective

  • 76% of Members and 44% of constituents would like to see the “place where you’re content” prompt replaced

  • 35% of Members and 30% of constituents feel that analytical ability and intellectual curiosity (as a combined percentage) are most the difficult attributes to convey through the current prompts

  • 85% of Members and 82% of constituents feel the prompts should be left open to broad interpretation

  • 3% of Member respondents suggested Topic of Your Choice as a new prompt

  • 6% of constituent respondents suggested Topic of Your Choice as a new prompt, with the breakdown as follows: independent educational consultants (47%), community-based organizations (7%), school counselors (5%), parents (2%), other (2%), students (<1%)

2015-2016 Application Changes

In addition to the revised Essay Prompts, next year’s Common Application will include several changes to better serve Members, counselors, and applicants.

Personal Essay Requirement Changes

Beginning next year, our Member institutions will have the choice to require or not require the Common App Personal Essay. To learn more about how we will implement these modifications, we invite you to read our blog post on essay requirement changes. A similar post on recommendation requirement changes will follow shortly.

Applicant Screen Print Option 

In another frequently requested enhancement, next year’s applicants will be able to preview their application screen by screen (Profile, Family, etc.) at any time, not just as part of the submission process. For a sample of what this new feature will look like, read this description.

More changes and additions to be announced 

Later this spring, we will be able to share a comprehensive list of all changes, additions, and revisions to the application and recommender systems for 2015-2016, including information on how we intend to support a college’s choice to require or not require a letter of recommendation. Please be on the lookout for webinars and other training resources to help you prepare to support your students.
If you have questions or ideas for future newsletters, please contact Tania Rachkoskie, Director of Outreach.