College Visits

As summer vacation winds down, I am looking forward to meeting with students again and hearing about their summer experiences.  I am particularly curious to see who went on college visits and what they thought of the schools that they saw.  While it isn't imperative to visit a school prior to deciding to apply to it, it can be helpful.  At the very least, be sure to visit a school, preferably overnight with visits to the dorm, classes, etc. prior to deciding to attend!

The NY Times recently posted a blog entry on the subject of college visits and the economy. 

Of the 41 colleges that responded recently to an informal e-mail survey by The Choice, nearly three of every four reported an increase in summer visitors — with some universities experiencing as much as a 50 percent rise.

SBCC's Transfer Admission Guarantee

Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) has a program called the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG). 

Guaranteed Admission is more commonly referred to as a Transfer Admission Guarantee program.  A TAG is a contractual agreement between you, SBCC, and a four-year college or university.  Students who meet and maintain stated admission and major requirements are guaranteed admission to a specific four-year college or university.

Seven UC campuses offer guaranteed admission to California community college students who meet specific requirements. By participating in a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program, you can ensure your admission to a specific campus, which offer an early review of your academic record, early admission notification, and specific guidance on major preparation and general education coursework. 

For students who want to go to a community college for their first two years and then transfer to a four-year institution, this is an excellent program to know about.   SBCC has agreements with 3 out of state institutions (ASU, Portland State University and Syracuse University), 2 private institutions (Antioch University and Brandman University), 3 Cal State schools (Bakersfield, Northridge and San Francisco) and 7 UC schools (all except Berkeley and LA).

If this sounds like something for you, please check out this page for more information.

Writing the College Essay

Here is a link to one admissions officer's advice on writing the college application essay.

Writing the Essay: Sound Advice from an Expert

The best essays are crafted not from a formula for success but by a voice that is practiced. Those who are willing to take a risk, to focus on that part of the world that matters to them and to show the passion and the practice it takes to write about it well, will help their chances of admission through their essay.

Included are short excerpts of bad, good and risky writing.  Take a look and then think about your own essay drafts!

Whittier College

I thought I'd try and highlight some of the smaller private liberal colleges here in California from time to time.  One such college is Whittier College, in the city of Whittier.  It is a four-year residential college with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 1300 students.  Tuition runs about $35,000 and there are scholarships and financial aid available.  According to Cappex's profile of the school, their admit rate is about 72%, with the middle 50% SAT verbal scores ranging between 470-580 and SAT math between 470-590.  ACT composite scores range between 19-25 for the middle 50%.  They are a member of the Common App and the fee to apply is $50.

To help facilitate a smooth transition to college life they have what they call LLCs:

Entering Whittier College, all first-year students are assigned to a Living-Learning Community (LLC) in one of three designated residence halls: Johnson, Stauffer, or Ball Hall. Typically, an LLC will consist of about 15 students who, as a group, live together as roommates and/or in rooms in close proximity, and are co-enrolled in two classes together: a Freshman Writing Seminar (FWS) and another "linked" course. The purpose of the LLC is to engender an immediate connection between smaller groups of entering students to ease the transition to college life, beginning with a common academic grounding and growing to include social activities and events.

If you have a school you would like to see profiled here let me know!

More Tuition Increases for UC/CSU schools?

I was reading the Ventura County Star this morning and happened upon this article: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jul/10/tuition-may-go-up-again-at-state-universities/

CSU is considering raising fall 2011 tuition by 12 percent — an additional $588 a year. The board of trustees will vote on the proposal Tuesday. If the increase is approved, annual tuition will be $5,472, not including fees or room and board.

UC could raise tuition for this fall by 9.6 percent — an additional $1,068 a year. That would boost annual tuition to $12,192, not including fees or room and board. The UC board of regents is set to vote on the increase Thursday.

 Both of these state options are still inexpensive relative to many private colleges and universities, but to see the UC tuition over $12,000 is sobering.

A reminder that the UC system has the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan for low-income families.  You can read more about that here: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/financial-aid/grants/blue-gold/index.html.

UC's Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan will cover your educational and student services fees if you are a California resident whose family earns less than $80,000 a year and you qualify for financial aid — and that's just for starters. Blue + Gold students with sufficient financial need can qualify for even more grant aid to help reduce the cost of attending.

What Are My Chances?

I want to share a couple of resources for students that may help them gauge how likely they are to be admitted to a particular school, based on the courses they've taken in high school, their standardized test scores and their GPA.

On College Board's web site, you can search for colleges of interest and then click on the "How Do I Stack Up?" link.  From there the student enters his/her high school classes (number of years of English, math, etc.), SAT scores and GPA and then receives a report showing how they "stack up to students who got in and enrolled".

Another resource is a free web site called Cappex.  Students need to create an account first, and then they can get similar feedback as what the College Board tool provides.  (I wrote about Cappex here in an earlier post.)  Cappex also allows schools to contact students via the Cappex web site when there might be a good fit.

Summer and Gap Year Opportunities: Rustic Pathways

An organization called Rustic Pathways made a presentation to the high school students today during advisory.  You can visit their web site at www.rusticpathways.com.  They offer both summer programs for high school students as well as a gap year program for high school graduates.  Programs include community service as well as adventure and travel experiences.

About Rustic Pathways:

Rustic Pathways offers travel programs for high school students, families, groups and college students. Summer programs are available for students from 12 years of age. Rustic Pathways also offers scheduled family adventures and customized family trips, as well as organized overseas programs for school, universities, groups, and clubs of all kinds. The company runs programs year round to Australia, New Zealand, The Fiji Islands, Tanzania, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, China, India, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Mongolia, Transylvania Mongolia and the United States. Rustic Pathways summer programs are suitable for most students.