Saving for College

Death, taxes, and increasing college tuition are some of the things we are all guaranteed. This article highlights some of the growing alternatives that parents and students are investigating to help with rising college cost. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/business/personal_finance/15589061.htm

Admission Anxiety

Going through the admission process can be overwhelming for most. Both parents and students know that the slightest mistake could either place you on a waitlist or even worse, cause you to be declined. Educational consultants, like my firm College Strategies, were created to help families helps feel more confident about the admission process, by providing professional guidance, however the stress students are feeling is real and unfortunate.


This CNN article talks about the pressures many are facing as they go through the process, and one woman’s call for change. http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/09/18/admissions.game.ap/index.html

College Planning Starts Early

My company College Strategies constantly stresses that families should start even as early as elementary school to prepare themselves for getting their children ready for college. The experience has a huge impact on the family financially and child personally, this article also stresses the importance of starting early. http://www.robesonian.com/articles/2006/01/05/news/news/story07.txt

Cordially,
Chrystal

Letter of recommendation

Letters of recommendation are crucial for college applications that require them. Even for the applications that don’t, I would still advise you to include at least one. The following article has excellent information about the role high school teachers play with letters of recommendation. http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-optre054877859sep05,0,2194849.story?coll=ny-viewpoints-headlines
Cordially,
Chrystal

College Fairs Part II

This next tip may seem simplistic, but it is a necessary part of making the most of a college fair. The tip is to carry a small notebook and pen with you. The notebook can not only be the place you can reference questions that you determined before hand, but you can also write down important information shared to you by the different representatives you meet with, such as application deadlines.

To many times, students think they will remember what they heard someone say, or think that they will be able to find the information later. However I would advise you to be on top of your game and compile in one place all the information you received during your visit. Doing so helps you recall conversations, as well helps you remain organized.

Until next time,
Chrystal

College Fair Season- Tip #1

The Labor Day holiday is not only the unofficial end of summer, but it is the unofficial start of the college fair season. For the next few post I am going to offer you tips and suggestions on how to make the most of your time at any fairs you decide to visit.

Aside from collecting information from colleges, they are interested in collecting information about you. To create more time for you to actually talk to the college representatives I would advise you to invest in creating labels either yourself or professionally that contain your information. You will want to include things like: your full name, mailing address, your high school name, your GPA, class rank, SAT/ACT scores, academic areas of interest, and any activities you would be interested in participating in while at college (like the student paper, student government, etc.).

You can then just stick the labels on each information card and save yourself more time than you can ever believe. You will also appear prepared to the representatives, and when they are going through their cards at the end of the fair, they will likely remember your conversation with them since they were likely impressed by you being so prepared.

Until next time,
Chrystal

The Power of the College Essay

Your college admission essay is a critical part of applying to any school that request one. Often, this is the only part of the application process that you have total control in regards to the message you want to send about yourself.

My company, College Strategies LLC, is one of many other companies that assist students in communicating the messages they want to relay to the person reading their essay. Check out this Wall Street Journal article that highlights the lengths that students are going to prepare the perfect college essay.

Cordially,
Chrystal

The Price of College

The Price of College

Last night I watched a really interesting show on Fox News about the rising cost of financial aid and if it is worth it. The Fox News website has some excellent information regarding college tuition, paying for college, and dealing with the college financial aid offices.

Cordially,
Chrystal

Think Outside the High School Box

For high school students who are doing well academically but would not mind a challenge, consider taking general education college classes at your local community college or with an accredited online institution. The benefits are two-fold. First, you get exposed early to what college will be like. Second, you will earn credit that can be applied when you really do start college.

When I look back, I often credit taking college classes early as the main reason I was able to experience as much academic success in college as I did. The commitment is a big one, but if you want to get ahead go for it!

Cordially,
Chrystal

Time Management

Another great skill students should attempt to perfect as high school students is time management. Time management is the one area I have witnessed all types of students struggle with and then suffer from the repercussions when managing their time poorly.

If possible while still in high school, devise a system that works for you. Your system could include carrying a daily planner, creating electronic entries into a PDA, or using some type of online calendar.

Determine how you will allot time for studying, relaxing, working, sports, travel, even sleeping, and anything else you are involved. Once you find the method that works best for you, stick with it! You will find out in college that you have perfected the one tool that can help you handle your new demands and life.

Cordially,
Chrystal

What are your goals?

Many high school students assume they are going to attend college once they complete high school. However many of the same students are hard pressed to articulately communicate the goals they want to achieve while in college or after they complete their degree.

Although your plans may continuously change, try to write down the goals you truly want to set for yourself. Clarifying to yourself what you want to accomplish will not only help you find direction in your life, but it allows you to appreciate all that you are accomplishing.

It is never too early, and you are never to young to identify who you want to be, and understand what it is going to take to get you where you want to go.

Essay Help

As the school year approaches we are busy getting set for the college admission season here at College Strategies. One area we get asked a ton of questions is related to college essays. Many students are looking for something that can help them find those exact words that express exactly what they want to say. White Smoke is an excellent resource you may want to investigate.

White Smoke is a program that can be used with a variety of computer programs, like Microsoft Word. Check it out, it may provide you the help you have been looking for. There is a link on my sidebar.

Cordially,
Chrystal

Essay Tips

As the college application season approaches I think it is important for seniors to give a lot of thought about how they will approach writing admission and scholarship application essays. The essays should be personal and should help the reader discover exactly who you are, so I would highly discourage finding someone who will write the essay for you, especially if you will have to interview. The application process is not to fool anyone, it is a process that allows you to show a school who you are and allow them to decide if you would be an asset to their school. You can’t force a fit.

If you still think you need some type of help to write your essay, there are a variety of companies, like College Strategies, that can help guide you in your writing and make sure that your essay is communicating the message that you want to get across. It doesn’t hurt to have as many qualified people as possible to provide you a little constructive criticism.

There is an excellent resource about writing college essay’s on the Santa Ana College web site. The site provides a variety of tips, as well as some links to other sites that could help.

Until next time,
Chrystal

Standardize Test

Regardless of what grade you are in, it is never to early to start preparing for the standardize test. Check out the ACT and SAT websites and find out now what you need to prepare for.

Cordially,
Chrystal

Make the Right Decision the First Time

The college search process can at times be overwhelming, even for the most prepared or academically sound students. Unfortunately too many people wait until their junior, and even sometimes their senior year in high school to begin their college search and selection process.

Even if you kind of have an idea about where you would like to attend and what you would like to major in, I would still encourage you to explore multiple options. If you know you did everything possible in your school search and financial aid process you can remain confident in your decision once you are a student. Too many students select their college without performing a true college search; and when enrolled spend much of their time complaining about their experience and then begin to devote their attention to transferring because they are convinced the grass is greener on the other side.

In my opinion college is too large an investment to not do the proper prep work. I know it is time consuming, but you have to devote time and attention to your search process to ensure you will have the results you want.

Cordially,
Chrystal

The Phones Will Be Ringing

Telemarketing, or as some in education like to call their calls, telecounseling, has become a vital component in the college recruitment process. I previously worked in an institution that placed a heavy emphasis on the fact that admission counselors and student callers should call the students we were recruiting on a regular basis.

I do not think it is possible for students who receive average grades and scores on their preliminary or standardize test make it through their college search without being contacted by at least one institution over the phone. But as many of you will find out, your phone may not stop ringing because so many institutions are calling you.

When many students start receiving calls they are flattered by the attention. I think it is a wonderful opportunity for student’s to talk to admission and student representatives. The conversations can be very informative, as well as allow you the opportunity to “hear” what a college has to offer.

As a means to make the most of the phone calls that you will most likely receive from different schools, I would strongly advise you to prepare questions ahead of time. Having general questions you would like to know from any school can help you have more control over the conversation. With you taking a more participatory role in the conversation requires the other person to concentrate on communicating the information that would be important to you, rather than you relying on them telling you what they think is important or having a short conversation because you can’t think of any questions off the top of your head.

Also, having questions readily available when schools call will make the caller believe that you are serious about your college search, which will hopefully improve the impression the school is forming about you. Just so you know, most institutions require their callers, both admission representative and student callers, to keep notes about the conversation, and the notes are likely added to the information the college is maintaining about you. (Yes, schools have information about you even if you have not officially applied, how else do you think they had your phone number and knew your name?) The information also may come into play if you do decide to apply to the institution.

By asking the questions that are important to you, you may end up considering a school you had never heard of or one you may not have initially. Take ownership of your admission search process by preparing for those phone calls that are likely coming your way.

Until next time,
Chrystal

Grade Recalculation

Grades, by all means are important in the college admission process. However, many students may be surprised the variety of ways college admission offices incorporate grades into their admission decision. Grade recalculation is a common practice in many admission offices.

The link below is to an excellent article that discusses some of the different ways that admission offices review their applicant applications.

Why Grades May Not Matter.

Enjoy!
Chrystal

E-Mail Addresses and College Applications

When I worked as a freshman admission counselor there was always one place I would start reading when I had to review an application. Not the persons name, the high school the student attended, their G.P.A., or even their standardize test scores. The first place I would always start was the student’s contact e-mail address. This information would have a large influence on how critical I would be when reviewing the remainder of the application.

This may surprise some of you. I know there is a cloud of mystery that surrounds the college admission process, and people are always trying to guess what will be deemed important by admission counselors. In short, everything is important, including something as simple as an e-mail address.

I could not help to always ask myself how a student could submit a flawless application and include the e-mail address of SexyJen@... Or Dumbjock@... (which are actually really tame names compared to the ones I actually read). An admission counselor has the responsibility of shaping the institution by the type of students they choose to admit, so your application has to make them believe in you. For myself, when I read a crazy e-mail it really made me think if everything else the student included on the application was scripted and the e-mail address was revealing the true personality of the student I was trying to know and make a decision on.

These types of e-mails did not show up on only a few applications, every admission counselor in the office could share with you a ridiculous number of applications they too were reviewing that included inappropriate e-mail addresses. Some of the names were so outrageous we had to talk about them with each other. We had regular conversations in staff meetings about what new and interesting names were included in the previous week’s applications. The office also considered running a list of all the e-mail names included on applications for the previous recruiting season so we could vote on the best of the worst for that year.

For those of you who are curious about how your applications are reviewed, I can honestly say in my experience, that every bit of the information asked on an application is important in some way, shape or form. Otherwise the school wouldn’t take up the space on the application to ask the question. (Believe me, there are a lot of things we want to include, but really don’t have the space to do it.)

So if you are interested in some generic advice about filling out a college admission application, or any application for that matter, include an e-mail address that is appropriate. That means boring, general, plain, whatever you want to call it. Believe me, your admission counselor really doesn’t want to know you intimately, so skip the cutesy or clever e-mail names. Your application is often the only way you can make an impression with your admission counselor so make sure you are presenting yourself in the best light.

Plain is sometime good.

Cordially,
Chrystal

Multiple Career Planning

For many students in high school, college, and even some college graduates it is really hard for them to figure out what they really want to do. Over the years I have spent a lot of time talking to students trying to help them figure out their professional goals.

There are a lot of things you can do to try to figure things out including hiring a private educational consultant, like myself (College Strategies LLC), visiting a career counselor, or even taking career aptitude test. These resources and tools can help you narrow your choices so you can explicitly analyze what you like and what type of career opportunities may be available to you in your area of interest.

When I talk to students about how they are planning for their careers I often discover they feel restricted in having to make a single career choice. Many students feel they have to try to identify just one thing they would like to do or one career they would like to pursue. However, I am a firm believer that it is better to look into 2, 3 or even 4 possible career goals and use your time in college to prepare accordingly.

You have several options as a college student to prepare for multiple careers, you can double major, pick up a minor or double minor, or sometimes just taking classes in an area may be all the prep work you may need to do to get the initial experience necessary for a particular career. For example, the skills I gained from one desktop publishing class I took in college has come in handy in almost every job I have ever had.

Through careful planning you may find that adding a major or minor might not add too much time to your time in school. If you plan early enough, you may find that you can take classes in an area outside of your primary major and have them count as elective credit in your major, as they satisfy the credit you need for another major or minor. But I have to stress you really do need to plan to do this at the very beginning of your college career to make the most of your time and money.

As most find out, college is about planning. Getting into college requires planning, staying in college requires planning, and getting a career after college requires planning. So try to find people, resources or tools that will help you establish your plan. Once your plan is established constantly evaluate it in so you know what you have accomplished and what you have remaining to do. And finally, be alright with determining and preparing for alternative opportunities for the just-in-case moments that could occur.

Cordially,
Chrystal

Manage Your Time NOW Part II

The summer I returned to the Nuggets as a sales associate was life changing. Once again, I didn’t feel the pressure of real life and could really learn the job, live the job, and continue to develop professional relationships around the organization. As a sales associate I was primarily involved in making cold calls to businesses to get them interested in purchasing season tickets. (For you sports fans, this was waaaaayyyy before the Camello Anthony era), so anyone in ticket sales for the Nuggets had their work cut out for them.

I welcomed every opportunity, and actually made a significant number of sales. The best compliments I got that summer were from some of the business leaders I was cold calling. They were impressed with my tactics to actually get them on the phone, as well as convince them to buy tickets. So I actually got quite a few job offers from the companies I was trying to sale to.

But that summer also helped me to begin considering what my life would be like if I continued on that professional path. Although I had no real life issues to deal with, my co-workers did, and I could not avoid noticing the pressure they felt in needing to make sales so they could do things like pay their rent. They felt the stress of the job and showed me the reality associated with a commission related job. This made me think about if I really wanted to stay in professional sport ticket sales. I considered how closely my life was tied to how players did on the court, or elements I completely had no control over. So even though the sport industry is an exciting industry, I wanted to have a little bit more control over things.

If you work hard, especially before you get to college, the right people will eventually take notice. On top of that, the right people will likely talk to you, mentor you and provide you professional insight if they meet you while they are still young and not necessarily needing anything from them but a little guidance and influence. Try to be different than so many others who wait until they are in college or have graduated college, because then a lot of people assume you are eventually going to ask for a job, making them less likely to meet with you or give you that initial opportunity without going through the official channels (in other words, submitting a resume, interviewing, ect.).

And the best part is, if you decide you really didn’t like the experience, time is still on your side and you can start seeking out other opportunities. So as you continue on in the same field or another area, you now have some professional experience, professional contacts, and a clearer idea about what you would or would not like to do as a career. Think about it as being in your own episode of MTV’s “Made.”

So I will say it again, make the time for professional development activities while still in high school. It’s never too early to start trying on your future life for size and making sure it fits.

Cordially,
Chrystal