A little humor to start off your week

Since we're all in the full swing of the college search process (for juniors), I thought I would start off the week with a little humor that you might be able to relate to.  I like some of this guy's stuff, while some of his cartoons are over my head (sort of like listening to Dennis Miller).  I really appreciate this one because it validates that I'm not alone!

(Click here to find more online comics by this guy.)

Colleges for Animal Lovers

Our society is becoming increasingly animal friendly. By now, it seems that most people consider pets to be part of the family, rather than mere property as was once the case.  Consequently, it is becoming harder for some students to leave their pets to attend college away from home so some schools are responding by allowing animals in their dorm rooms!

Animal-friendly dorms
The most well-known dog-friendly dorm system is at Eckerd College in Florida.  (In order to avoid my usual long-windedness, I am going to just provide you with links to various programs instead of details about each one.  Another Florida college that is recently gaining attention is Stetson, whose current president brought the policy with her from Stephens College in Missouri.  There are a few other colleges as well, and you can find various lists by doing a websearch for "pet-friendly colleges" or something similar.

It's more common for colleges to allow cats in their dorms, as is the policy at big-brain schools MIT and CalTech.  And many, many colleges allow aquariums, reptiles and small caged mammals in their rooms now.   Just have your child check out their prospective colleges' "housing" or "residential life" pages.

Then there's Sweet Briar College in Virginia--you can't bring anything but an aquarium into your dorm room, but you can board your horse there!!

Animal-related clubs on campus
Below I've listed three examples of service-oriented animal-related clubs that would probably be of interest to young people who care deeply about animals and are seeking a means of associating with kindred spirits (not to mention some opportunities to snuggle with four-legged friends in the local area every once in a while):

Penn State (PA): Small and Exotic Animal Club
Becker College (MA): Animal Health Club (note: there is music on this homepage)
Lewis & Clark (OR): The Animal Club

If your son or daughter's first choice of college doesn't already have an animal-related club on campus, just remind them that every college has a procedure for starting new clubs and it's usually quite simple. Often, as few as five students can petition for club status, and then many schools will provide them with a meager budget to get started.  Not only will this fix your child's desire for participating in such a club, but being the founder of this type of group will look fantastic on their résumé.

And last but not least...

Animal-related majors
Some people love animals so much that they want to devote their careers to their care and handling, and these students can pursue one of the animal-related majors offered at so many colleges these days.  Their options include, but are not limited to:

• Veterinary medicine
• Veterinary technician school (often an associate's degree instead of a bachelor's degree)
• Zoology
• Animal science
• Wildlife management
• Livestock management

(There are also non-degree programs in animal training and grooming that might be appropriate for some students, especially those with special needs who won't be able successfully complete a university course of study.)

Two unique program that I would like to share with you are the Teaching Zoos at Santa Fe College in Florida (not New Mexico) and Moorpark College near Los Angeles.  I'm not sure if there is anything else quite like them in the whole country. They are hard to gain admissions to because of the high demand, and their programs are very rigorous--demanding long hours and unwavering dedication to the animals in their care because this is what is required of zoo handlers in the real world.

Here is a link to the American Association of Zoo Keepers' webpage with some additional exotic animal training options.

I hope this article has helped eradicate any misconceptions that your son or daughter going away to college means they have to live without that all-important human-animal bond.  We are fortunate to live in an era where society as a whole is beginning to realize how life sustaining and stabilizing the love of an animal truly is.

How's the Weather?

By now, seniors should have some decision letters rolling in, and I hope that some of them are acceptances.  There are so many factors to consider in making your final choice--financial  package, proximity to home, size, majors, reputation of the school, athletics. But there's one element many families overlook or underestimate that actually plays quite a big part in whether a student will stick out their time at a particular college: the weather. Or more specifically, how is the weather in relation to where they are living now?

Here is a chart I threw together for random colleges around the country:

College	Avg Annual High	Avg Annual Low	Avg Precipitation
UCLA	77	50	~17 inches
Evergreen (Olympia, WA)	77	31	~51 inches
Trinity U (San Antonio, TX)	95	37	~31 inches
Florida Atlantic (Boca Raton, FL)	91	56	~60 inches
Univ of Connecticut	78	16	~49 inches
Univ of Indianapolis	85	17	~40 inches

It's very common for students from the west coast to want to go to the east coast and vice versa, but all too often, when weather hasn't been taken into consideration, they end up coming home early--sometimes after only one year (if not sooner).  Kids from San Diego, West Palm Beach or Honolulu might think it's exciting to go to school in New York or Chicago, and indeed it is!  But when the snow and wind kick in they're often ready to throw in the towel that very first winter, and then the family has to scramble to come up with a Plan B.  Even areas with similar average precipitation rates can feel very different if a student is used to lots of rain but their new home has lots of snow instead, or if the humidity is significantly different.

A less-common problem, though not completely unheard of, is the student who enjoys the changing seasons (and perhaps the type of activities that accompany a good snowfall) and finds themself unhappy at a school in a year-round warmer, drier climate.

It's important to note the types of natural disasters that are common in each area, as well. Growing up with a pervasive threat of earthquakes is different than being used to an annual tornado or flood season.  Some students adapt readily but for others, having one incident of an unfamiliar natural disaster near their college can send them packing.  This is especially relevant since it seems that these events are happening with greater frequency and severity lately.

Also please consider whether your child shows symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder--a condition that causes people to sink into depression when they aren't exposed to enough sunlight on a regular basis.

There are so many things to consider when finding the "right match" for your child.  I hope you will choose to include weather-related conditions on your list of criteria.  It can only help to ensure that you are making the choice that will best set your child on the road to success.

WSJ Article: High Enrollment Strains Two-Year Colleges AND Why This Should Encourage You to "Go Private"

I think it's important to link you directly to a Wall Street Journal article (published yesterday) about the growing problem of overcrowding in community colleges.  Please take a moment to read it when you get a chance, if your child is considering this educational path.

In my position as a college counselor for high school students, I am intimately aware of the ebb and flow of changes in our local community college system.  However, it makes sense that parents are usually not privy to changes in budgetary or enrollment policies and other things that can ultimately affect their children, so I want to lay out some important considerations here.

More and more students are enrolling in community college each year.  There are a multitude of reasons, and the weak economy has driven many of them.  For example, an obvious one is the cost difference between a junior college and a university--even a state school.  Also, many adults who are either unemployed or feel their employment is tenuous are returning to school to improve their job skills or train for a new career.  These adults, or "non-traditional students," are competing for the same seats as your teenager.

NACAC National College Fairs

Throughout each school year, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) hosts a traveling college fair that typically features reps from at least 200 schools around the country as well as workshops about financial aid and choosing the right college.  They attempt to hit most of the major metropolitan areas in order to serve as many students as possible and hopefully there is one in your town in the near future.

Here is a schedule for the Spring 2011 circuit.  They are starting in Pittsburgh on February 3rd and will be bouncing around the east coast, Texas, California and Hawai'i until May 1st.  The rest of the country is covered during their Fall circuit, which starts each September.

At these college fairs you can expect lots of crowds, especially at the tables of popular schools.  But if you are patient and persistent you will eventually get to talk to the admissions rep behind the table to ask your pressing questions.  If you're like me, though, it's more palatable to just pick up brochures from colleges of interest and call an admissions rep directly at another time, when you can have their full attention.

If your child is interested strictly in performing or visual arts colleges, please check back in the fall for the college fairs specifically for that subcategory.  (If this is the case, I also suggest you look into National Portfolio Day events, but that is a whole 'nother post.)

The NACAC website also contains lots of valuable articles, book reviews and other resources for prospective college students and their parents. There are even links to college admissions-related blogs, podcasts and social networking.  They also have the Steps to College newsletter designed to "introduce and reinforce the issues students tend to neglect."


I highly recommend you take a few minutes to see what they offer. 

Sometimes it's like talking to a wall

Yesterday afternoon the student I interviewed on December 22nd, Zack Rosenberg, came to promote Paul Smith's College to our cooking class (because PSC has a culinary program).  My reason for mentioning this is neither Zack nor Paul Smith's, however. I'm here to talk about how one of my senior students reacted.

After the presentation, during which he had asked several on-point questions, this student came to my office and said he wanted to keep talking about the school.  Unfortunately I had meetings for the rest of the day so I had to make him wait until this morning. When he came in, he said something I wasn't expecting to hear.  He said:

I didn't know there were small colleges.  I really had no idea.  I'm totally excited about looking at colleges now.


Mind you, I said SENIOR student.  Which means that a) he's way behind on any applications he might choose to submit, and b) I'm baffled about what the hell was he doing for the past several years while I, his parents, his older sister, his teachers and all of the college admissions reps who have visited the school have been telling him about various types of schools.  Perhaps you have had a similar experience.

Cut to the end: I spent most of today researching colleges with this young man and it seems that there are actually some viable options available to him, even at this late date.  And I am definitely delighted that he finally made the choice to take his post-high school life seriously because he has great potential.

I have no answers or insight to provide in this post, just this story to share in commiseration with all of you parents out there who feel like they are talking to a wall good deal of the time.  I suppose if there's anything positive I can say after this experience, it's that it reminded me that most of them do, eventually, hear what we're saying.

What to do for Spring Break

I know, you're probably cursing at me right now for bringing up Spring Break when we just got back to school last week.  But we all know the reality--two-and-a-half months of lead time isn't really all that much when planning travel and coordinating family activities.

I'm here today to encourage you to use that precious week (or two, if you're lucky) productively and wisely for your college admissions process.

First and foremost, Spring Break is a great time to visit colleges--

the ones your child has been accepted to, or the ones they plan to apply to.  

If the college is on vacation, too, you may not have the option of taking the official tour but you can still walk or drive around campus.  Remember, setting foot on that campus is absolutely essential before making a commitment.  No exceptions. A bad gut feeling about a school overrules everything else.  Heed your instincts.

Even if your child is "too young" to be seriously considering college, don't hesitate to incorporate a quick drive through a college in whatever locale you are vacationing because you never know what's going to spark their interest or how their young brains will tuck that information away for the future.

For a more in-depth discussion about campus tours, please see my December 6th post.

Another great option is to have your child take what is called "an alternative Spring Break."

(I don't particularly like that term but I try to stick with industry convention at least part of the time.)

An alternative Spring Break refers specifically to doing volunteer work during the vacation rather than something more frivolous.  More and more of these programs pop up every year. Your local church and YMCA probably offer something, but you can also go with global organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, or lesser-known organizations with significant impacts like Student Conservation Association.

Please remember that although your child will be providing valuable service during these trips, there is usually a fee involved to cover housing, meals and transportation.

I will refrain from stating the obvious personal benefits of participating in such an activity, but I will point out quickly that colleges love to see this kind of stuff on an application. In fact it is looked upon so favorably that many colleges now organize their own alternative Spring Breaks.

And to be honest, any teen I've known to take this route comes back saying it was possibly the best experience of their life, so that in itself is worth some consideration.

Online College Search: "Find Your Match"

"The College Board."

The mere utterance of those words elicits a strong reaction, either positive or negative, from almost anyone in the high school or college sphere.  Most likely this is due to their two most (in)famous products: the SAT, and the AP program.

However, I'd like to point out several FREE and useful services and features on the College Board website that most people are unaware of, that I recommend you use even if your child will not be taking the SAT. (For a list of colleges that don't require or give much weight to standardized testing, visit FairTest.)

Find Your Match

The first is a feature that I use extensively when beginning my college exploration with students, called "Find Your Match."  You'll find the blue button smack-dab in the middle of their home page.  When you click you will be taken to the first page of an eight-page questionnaire about your college preferences.  For example, on the first page it asks if you are looking for a two-year school, a four-year school, or "no preference."  Public, private or no preference. You get the idea.  The second page asks about location, and so on.

To move to the next page, hit "Submit & Continue."  To see the results you (predictably) click the "See Results" button.

Once you have asked to see the results, it will give you a list of all of the colleges and universities in the U.S. that meet your criteria, with links to each school's write-up.  Click on a college of interest and you will see a plethora of admissions and enrollment facts about that school, along with a link to the college's actual website.

What if you get no matches, or no matches that you care for?  That means either a) your search criteria was too specific (like checking too many sports and activities that are just preferences and not make-or-break options) and/or b) nobody seems to be offering exactly what you want in a school so you are going to have to adjust your expectations a little.  My recommendation is to only list a preference in categories that actually matter to you and leave the rest blank or "no preference," because that will result in the best selection of schools for further research.

You can save this search by creating an account, or you can just print out the results as a reference.

Other valuable offerings
Here are just a few of the other many free features you will find throughout the College Board website:

Under the "For Students" section, there are links for college application timelines for seniors, juniors and sophomores, plus tips for writing college essays and evaluating your college options. 

In "For Parents" you will find the Financial Aid EasyPlanner, with very thorough, step-by step explanations and links to other relevant resources.  This section also has a substantial archive of articles intended to help parents do the best job possible during the often stressful and confusing admissions process.

Slightly off-topic: a pitch for the PSAT
If your child is solidly not college bound, then not only should they not take the SAT, but probably they don't need to bother with the PSAT either, and talk to your guidance counselor about vocational options.  However, any high school student that is considering a traditional higher education route should take the PSAT in 10th grade for a number of reasons.

1. To find out if a usable on the SAT is even remotely possible.
2. To find out if you should ask your high sc hool's SSD coordinator to request accommodations for your child for the SAT (e.g. extended time, small group setting, large print, use of computer for essay).
3. To get access to My College QuickStart.
4. To get access to MyRoad.

These last two things are helpful college/career exploration tools embedded within the College Board website, accessible for free only to students who took the PSAT.  (A MyRoad subscription is actually available for purchase for $19.95/year for students who don't take the PSAT.)
 
PSAT scores are not sent to colleges.  This test is merely diagnostic.  Your score report will include: the percentile your child achieved in the Critical Reading, Math and Writing sections; a breakdown of how well your child scored on subcategories within the main areas; the correct answer to each question and the answer your child selected; and an access code for My College QuickStart.  This is a wealth of information that you will not get from other tests, and all for only a $14 registration fee (2011).