USA Today College: 5 Pieces of Summer Advice for Rising HS Seniors

Planning to spend your summer before senior year searching for colleges? USA Today's College vertical has some key pieces of advice for getting started. The article is excerpted below, but you can see the full version here: http://usat.ly/1F5tFNH 

1. Keep your options open: Though you may have your heart set on attending one particular college or university, try to create a list of several schools that interest you. This will likely increase your chances of gaining admission to a college that you truly want to attend.

2. Visit your prospective schools: This summer, use part of your downtime to visit potential colleges. Doing so can help you narrow your short list of schools. Consider shadowing a current university student if this option is available, as it allows you to gain an authentic sense of college life.

JDK editor's note: If you can't make it to all the schools you'd like to tour, try YouVisit's virtual campus tours.

3. Be productive: Rising high school seniors can benefit from working a part-time job, completing an internship, holding a volunteer position or pursuing a hobby this summer. Engaging in such activities demonstrates that you are productive and take initiative, two qualities that are highly sought after by college admissions officers.

4. Write the first draft of your admissions essay: The admissions essay is a fantastic opportunity to set yourself apart from other applicants. It should be creative and descriptive, yet well written and concise. 

JDK editor's note: JDK College Consulting offers one-on-one guidance and editing to help focus and perfect your college essays.

5. Start your applications: Colleges generally offer applicants one of three ways to apply: an institution-specific application, The Common Application and the Universal College Application. Familiarize yourself with the release dates for these applications, and begin working on them this summer, if possible. You’ll be glad you did when you have less work to do during the school year.

Happy searching!

Senior Testimonial and Advice for the College Application Process, Part 4

I asked a number of Class of 2015 seniors to write about their experiences with the college process. This next one is by William Hatheway of NYC. Enjoy!

The college process is a very exciting and important part of high school.  It is necessary to spend the time on it because it does decide the next, very pivotal, four years of your life.  It is a time-consuming process, but it is well worth it in the end.

For students just starting the process, it is never too early to start the process.  I would also say to just research colleges based on what you’re interested in studying.  Colleges that you’ve never heard of might make it to your final list as they did on mine.  You’ll be surprised how many schools are out there that have what you’re interested in, so just research all of the schools and add them to your list.  Do not dismiss a school because it may not be ranked high, or not hard to get into.   It is not so much about the name of the school, but rather about finding the right fit for you.

The most difficult part of the process is filling out all of the applications. They are very time-consuming and often require much thought and care.  Essays and supplements deserve their due diligence because they can really make or break your application. This is the chance to set yourself apart from the rest of the applicants by showing your true voice and interests.  Be personal with the supplements and appeal to what the specific school has to offer because this shows much more of a genuine interest in each school.

Visiting schools is very important because it shows a strong interest to the school, and you can really get a feel for the school to see if you truly like it. There is no point in applying to schools that you wouldn’t want to go to, so get out there and experience the schools for yourself.  I visited schools throughout the spring and summer. I wrote draft essays over the summer, which I highly recommend doing because it frees up a lot of time when school starts.  I finalized my list in September and started to work on all of the applications on the Common App. I worked during my free periods, which was very useful because I did not end up having to do much at home.  Take advantage of all of the free time you have, and use it constructively.  It will be worth it in the end.

Senior Testimonial and Advice for the College Application Process, Part 2

I asked a number of Class of 2015 seniors to write about their experiences with the college process. This next one is by Gianluca Milea of NYC. Enjoy!

The college process can be very intimidating at times.  While it is very important to have numerous options, I found it difficult to apply to a limited number of schools.  Although Xavier does not put a maximum on how many schools to which you are allowed to apply, application fees are very expensive and at the end of the day you will only be attending one college. 

To begin the process, I visited a myriad of schools, some of which were unrealistic options for me.  After visiting four schools in two days, I decided to create guidelines for my potential college.  While academic rigor is essential, there are many other factors that go into a final college decision: food, campus life, off-campus life, greek life, religious affiliation, athletic programs, housing, location and possibly two of the most important things, tuition cost, and how comfortable you feel on the campus tour.  Ultimately, this will be your home for the next four years, and while it may seem like high school flew by, you want to make sure that you enjoy your time in college as much as you were fortunate enough to enjoy your time at Xavier.  These parameters allowed for me to narrow down my search and my college list to a comfortable number.

Something that I was unaware of before beginning my college process is that many universities give automatic scholarships for activities outside of academics.  For instance, Catholic University has a scholarship if you know someone that attended their university and also a Parish Scholarship for weekly churchgoers.  Many schools have similar scholarships and they can be a great way to estimate a tuition (as you will definitely receive some type of financial assistance) and make sure it is affordable before spending money on an application fee.

I would also highly recommend keeping the number of schools that you apply to without visiting to a minimum.  Getting a feel for a campus is essential in the process and should not be overestimated.  Personally, I visited all of my schools except for a couple of reach schools, and will eventually visit them pending my admissions decision.  After visiting I would suggest using Naviance; it is a great website to keep order during a hectic time.  Naviance allows you to make a list of “Colleges I’m Thinking About” and rank them in your order of interest.  Another helpful feature of the website is that it gives scattergrams, which give you the opportunity to compare yourself to past Xavier students.  Overall, Naviance is a great tool that Xavier offers its students and you should really take full advantage of it.

Finally, while the college process can be overwhelming, it is completely worth it.  Make sure that you do not miss out on the opportunity to apply to a school because you were too lazy to write a supplement.  It is a great feeling when you hit ‘send’ and all of your applications have been submitted.  All in all: do your research, visit schools, make a comprehensive list, do not wait until the night before to apply, and then relax and wait for the decisions to roll in.  Good Luck!

Introducing Micro-Scholarships for College from Raise.me

We are all familiar with the high costs associated with pursuing a college education. But remember, there are many options out there to collect scholarships and financial aid. And some are more out-of-the-box than you may expect.

Take Raise.me, for example. I recently had the opportunity to meet with folks from Raise.me, a new organization that is partnering with colleges across the country to help families rack up "micro-scholarships" against the astronomical costs of higher education. Starting in 9th grade, students can accrue these small, conditional scholarships from colleges for accomplishments such as getting an 'A' in science class, making the Varsity swim team, being involved in community service, partaking in various extracurricular activities, and much more. If you wind up attending a school you've selected through Raise.me, the micro scholarships you've built up will be applied to your tuition.

The process is very simple; go to their website, create a free account (Name, DOB, High School, and graduation year), select any or all of the schools they partner with, input your accomplishments, and watch the scholarships grow. The Raise.me platform is retroactive, meaning even juniors and seniors can enter any high school accomplishments to count toward Raise.me scholarship money (as long as the college's submission deadline has not passed).

Currently, this organization is partnered with 65 colleges, including Tulane and Temple, but will be adding an average of one new school per week. Students may choose to connect to as many colleges on Raise.me as they want, and are under no commitment to attend those schools. However, if they do choose to attend a college selected through Raise.me, the school is bound to give them the amount in their account. The scholarships range in amounts, and can be small, but receiving any scholarship money for your accomplishments is a great way to offset college costs. Parents, this is also a great motivator for high school students to become more involved in school activities, sports, or even work harder in the classroom. Of course, getting that 'A' in Calculus is a win on transcripts, as well, but it won't hurt to also get $500 from a college for receiving that grade!

Raise.me launched for student-use 6 months ago, and has grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, and UPenn. So students, check out the website, connect with colleges, begin listing your accomplishments, and watch the potential scholarships accrue in your account! If you haven't had motivation yet to get involved in the classroom, on the field, or in extracurriculars, maybe a little money towards your college education will help.

Best of luck with this experience, and as always, happy searching!

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

YouVisit: Seeing College Campuses Virtually

I have always stressed the importance of visiting college campuses. It is one of the most, if not the most important part of the college search process. Sure, you can research most of the information on the college websites and websites such as College Board and Naviance, but it is tough to get a true feeling for the school without walking the campus, sitting in on classes, eating in their cafeteria, or talking with current students and professors. It is essential to plan ahead during high school breaks and vacations to schedule campus tours at colleges across the country. However, sometimes families do not have the time or money to visit every college the student is interested in attending, this is just a fact. So the next best thing to physically walking the campus, is to "walk" the campus virtually.

To my knowledge, the most comprehensive virtual college visit website is YouVisit. This website allows you to search for hundreds of colleges across the country, and when you select the school, you are instantly "standing" on their campus. A real-life student appears and is your tour guide for the campus visit. You can just sit back, relax and have them take your all over the campus, or you can jump to specific parts of the campus and learn important information about the school. This is definitely a website you want to visit, while looking for colleges. Enjoy the world of virtual visits, and as always, happy searching!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Best Colleges for Your Money

What many people want from college isn't too complicated. They desire a good education, a safe and comfortable environment, to be prepared for the workforce, and to not break the bank to attend the school. With soaring college costs and a competitive job landscape, it is more important than ever to find that perfect fit, where students will be challenged, graduate with marketable skills, and will not have loans to pay for the next 20 years. The website 'Money' recently came out with a list for colleges that are the best bang-for-your-buck. As you will see, many of them are some of the most selective schools in the country, but it is certainly worth a look. You can view the list here on their site. As always, happy searching!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Updates at SLU and SJU

New information just crossed my desk about two great Jesuit colleges, Saint Louis University (SLU) and Saint Joseph’s University (SJU) in Philadelphia.

Saint Joseph’s University

SJU has recently welcomed their largest freshmen class in the school’s history with over 1300 students. Their physical campus has nearly doubled in size over the past few years, and they are starting to fill-up some of that extra space!

SJU has also implemented four new majors and five new minors including: Majors: Entertainment Marketing, Information Technology, Linguistics, Secondary Education, and minors in Creative Writing , Environmental & Sustainability Studies, Journalism, Justice & Ethics in the Law, and Medieval, Renaissance & Reformation Studies.

Saint Louis University

SLU has already started accepting applications for admission and will begin delivering answers out on a rolling basis beginning October 15^th.

Although many of their application deadlines are later in the year, be aware of some of the special programs with earlier deadlines. December 1, 2014 is the application deadline for our Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy programs and the preferred deadline for our Nursing program. December 1 is also the deadline for applications for the Presidential Scholarship, University Honors Program, and Medical Scholars Program.

If you are interested in visiting SLU, please visit their website at visit.slu.edu

If you cannot make it to SLU, feel free to chat online College Week Live chats twice this month on the following dates:

September 18, 3:00pm - 7:00pm EST

September 24, 11:00am - 1:00pm EST

I hope this information helps, and as always, happy searching!

-Mr. Joe Korfmacher, MA

College Spotlight - The University of Portland

The next school I would like to highlight is the University of Portland. UP is in beautiful Portland, Oregon, surrounded by a picturesque river and mountain range. It is a Roman Catholic school, and is part of the Holy Cross congregation. The two other colleges that are Holy Cross schools are Stonehill and Notre Dame. Although UP is far from the east coast, this is definitely a school worth checking out. The campus was stunning, the academics are diverse and strong, and you get a real sense of a strong and vibrant community. This is a school I would feel very comfortable recommending to my students. Below are some “quick hitter” stats about the school, and I will have my final thoughts at the bottom. Enjoy!

University of Portland Stats

Undergraduate enrollment: 3,320

Middle 50% for admissions: SAT: 1610-1940, GPA: 3.64, Percent Accepted: 66%

Average Amount of Merit Scholarships Awarded per year, per student: $13, 420

Average Amount of Need Based Financial Aid Awarded per year, per student: $21, 120

Colleges: College ofArts and Science, School of Education, Pre-Professional Programs, Pamplin School of Business, Shiley School of Engineering, and School of Nursing.

Standout Majors offered at UP: Drama, Environmental Ethics and Policy, Social Work, Elementary/Secondary Education, accounting, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Global Business, Engineering (Civil, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical), and Nursing.

15 D1 Sports, with soccer being one of the hottest sporting events on campus

18 years in a row, UP has been ranked as a top 10 western university by U.S. News & World Report

UP students annually spend 163,000 hours in community completing volunteer service and service-learning projects.

UP is the number 1 school in the nation among peer institutions for the number of students who have received Fulbright Awards to study or teach abroad since 2010.

Bloomberg Businessweek named UP top college in Oregon for return on investment in 2011 and 2012.

Final Thoughts

To be honest, I did not know much at all about the University of Portland before my visit there last month. I arrived eager to learn about the school, and left with a ton of knowledge on the school and I even had a little bit of UP Pilot pride. UP is a perfect place for students who are adventurous and want to go to an entirely different part of the country. For east coasters, you are looking at a 5 hour plane ride, but it’s a ride that I think is worth it. Once you arrive to UP, you will be surrounded by a beautiful green campus, minutes from the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon Coast, and Mount Hood. The environment doesn’t get much more spectacular than this, and for individuals who like the outdoors, but still want to be close to the city, downtown Portland is only minutes away from the campus. UP offers a free shuttle to downtown, where Portland is known for its delicious food, music and arts scene, incredibly friendly people, and a wealth of learning and employment opportunities.

Academically, UP has a ton of different areas for students to study. They have great study abroad opportunities, solid internship connections for all students with majors ranging from accounting to history. For anyone interested in nursing, they have a 90% job placement rate within 6 months of graduation. UP also has small class sizes, and a very caring faculty. Students are well-cared for at UP, and you know that everyone will be closely watched and supported through graduation. UP also has an incredible residential experience. With more than half of their students choosing to live on campus, they mix their years, so upperclassmen could share the same hallways as the underclassmen. This creates an inclusive community where everyone is working and living together. Finally, UP  has one of the best orientation and freshmen transition programs I have seen. They have mandatory parent and student orientation programs, for a few days, so both students and parents make a successful transition to college. Also, they also place orientation groups in at least one freshmen academic class together. This way, once school starts, students will already know a few familiar faces from orientation.

All in all, if you are looking for a school on the smaller side, a good mix of outdoors and city living, committed to service, and a caring, inclusive, and vibrant community, you may just want to give the University of Portland a look! Happy searching…

-Joseph Korfmacher, MA

College Spotlight- Saint Louis University

Recently, I have had the pleasure of traveling to nine colleges in Seattle, Portland, and Saint Louis. Visiting schools across the country give me great perspective and insight on the different programs and environments available to all students. Since I have always worked with students in the NYC area, I have noticed that most students and families are “stuck” in the 3-5 hour bubble of schools. Of course, there are hundreds of terrific colleges and universities in this part of the country; I hate to see students limit themselves. Traveling around the country has opened my eyes to some incredible places, and I am excited to share these experiences with all of you. In the coming weeks, I will highlight the schools I visited, and I hope that you will take a closer look at these schools and others, that you may not have thought about before.

The first university I would like to highlight is Saint LouisUniversity, most commonly referred to as SLU. Here are a few SLU ‘quick-hitters’:

SLU became the first university west of the Mississippi in 1818, and in 1927, became the first federally licensed school of Aviation.

SLU is a Jesuit University, and is often ranked as 1 of the top 5 Jesuit Universities in the country, and in 2013 was a Fiske “Best Buy School”. SLU also has a top 100 business program (AACSB accredited), has an incredible and unique engineering program, and is ranked as a research university.

SLU has just under 8,700 undergraduates, a 12-1 student/professor ratio, 24.4 average classroom size, and houses over 100 undergraduate programs. The most recent retention percentage from freshmen to sophomore year is an outstanding 88% and growing!

Middle 50% for admissions- GPA: 3.81 (weighted), SAT: 1080-1330, ACT: 25-29

Scholarships Available- Merit awards range from $3,000-$16,000 and there is a Presidential (full tuition) scholarship available, where applicants usually have a 3.85 and 30 (ACT) or 1330 (SAT). SLU has no limit to the amount of Presidential Scholarships they give out. The average total package they give out to students is $24,000.

SLU’s top 10 programs, in reverse order are communications, chemistry, bio-chemistry, biomedical engineering, health sciences, psychology, physical therapy, nursing, biology, and STILL DECIDING. ‘Still Deciding’ is the number one “major” for incoming freshmen. Students, who do this, can take any classes during the first 1-2 years, and as long as they have a 2.5 GPA, they can then go into any major they want (except for physical and occupational therapy).

Unique Programs:

Accounting Scholars- Students need 3.6 GPA and 30 or 1330 test scores. Can get Bachelors and Masters in 5 years and are able to sit for CPA exam right away.

Pre-Law Scholars- Students need a very good academic record and 28 or 1250 tests scores. If accepted into program at SLU freshmen, they are guaranteed entry into the SLU law school, which has a very new building in downtown Saint Louis.

Health Sciences- SLU is one of 27 schools that have a Masters track for athletic training, which is a direct admit as a freshmen. They are also only 1 of 2 schools in country that have a registered dietician (RD) and culinary arts major.

Parks College ofEngineering, Aviation and Technology- Houses the first federally certified flight school in the nation. Aviation students will graduate with over 250 hours of flight hours. There are numerous engineering degrees, including flight science, aviation management, and a global aviation track. This school also has a 3-2 program with Washington University in Saint Louis, where students can get a BS and MS in chemical engineering.

Fun Facts:

SLU has tremendous study abroad opportunities, which is highlighted by their own campus in Madrid.

SLU has D1 sports, andclub/intramural opportunities for all students. Their top sport is men’s soccer, where they have won 10 NCAA titles.

SLU has a gorgeous, green campus, with incredible academic, athletic, and housing facilities. It is also only 5-10 minutes from downtown Saint Louis. Perfect for students who want to be near a city, but still have that traditional college campus experience.

Their mascot is the “Billiken” which is a mythical creature that represents everything as they ought to be.

Overall Thoughts:

I have visited many colleges and universities across the country, and to be perfectly honest, I was blown away by Saint Louis University. This is place where I think most students can be very happy at, and I look forward to recommending it to students and families for years to come. SLU has a diverse curriculum with some cutting edge programs, and top notch academics. Students, who want to be teachers to CPAs to pilots, can all find a home at SLU. It also has the safe, open, diverse, and dynamic environment that will make people of all backgrounds feel at home. This is not a school full of cliques, but rather is a place that is one community open to everyone. SLU is a school that may not be on the radar for many families in the NYC, but it really should. SLU’s popularity is growing, and this is a special school in the Midwest. Wherever you may be thinking in terms of academics or college environment, Saint Louis University is certainly worth a look…and I doubt you will be disappointed.

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Visiting Colleges Virtually

As I am sure you know, visiting college campuses is one of the most important parts of the college research process. Unless you are commuting from home, the college or university that you choose to attend will be where you eat, sleep, and live for at least four years. College campuses vary in so many ways, and you want to make sure you are comfortable and happy with what the school offers. Elements that should be considered are the dorm rooms, the athletic facilities, classroom sizes and what they offer, technology centers, libraries, green space, and much more. When visiting schools,  you need to ask yourself if this is a college you could see yourself living at. If you are uncomfortable with the school setting and what they offer in terms of their physical plant, it may affect your overall happiness and academic well-being at the school.

Although, it is not always possible to visit every school before you apply, you DEFINITELY should visit the school before committing to attend. While you have until May 1st to make the decision, if you are short on time, virtual tours are the next big thing in college admissions. I recently came across a website called YOUVISIT. This site offers virtual tours of hundreds of colleges across the country, as has current students lead the tour. I encourage you to check out the site if you are just starting the college search process or even if you are a senior and you are still looking to add another school or two to your list. So keep up the good research and have fun visiting the colleges, whether you are actually on the campus and walking around, or sitting on your couch with your laptop!

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA