I was on a panel discussion with Fred Hargadon, the retired former Dean of Admissions of Princeton and Stanford
Appendix XIV: Colleges Not to Overlook
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Appendix XIV: Colleges Not to OverlookFrom Edward T. Custard, Educational Consultant, CollegeMasters Colleges Students Should Be Sure Not To Overlook
Caldwell, ID Albertson is a very strong private liberal arts college that also offers a very popular business administration program and a minor in leadership studies. It boasts very small classes, close faculty contact, and is a great place to prep for life in the real world; it’s produced seven Rhodes Scholars, and Pulitzer prize and Academy Award winners.
Alfred, NY Alfred U. is home to the New York State School of Ceramics, which is the strongest of its kind in the nation, and one of the best in the world. While the University is private and has a high price tag, the ceramics school is a public division and offers tuition that is far lower. Academic programs are first-rate regardless of which division one studies within. It’s relatively remote small town setting on New York State’s Southern Tier makes it popular among east coast outdoorsy types.
Cleveland, Ohio CWRU is a place with a very potent combination: a relatively small undergraduate enrollment and a high-tech research environment. Students are afforded great research opportunities, but with them come a heavy workload. Recent construction projects on campus include a new library to which students award raves, and a brand new home for Case Western’s management school. The Browns are back in the NFL, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has helped to upgrade Cleveland’s image as a worthwhile place to go.
Burlington, VT Champlain is primarily a two-year college, with a small number of bachelor’s degree programs. It’s got some great facilities, including an innovative new facility that integrates the library with computer labs and the College’s information services department. Co-op programs are available for students desiring practical career experience. The campus is just outside Burlington, a great college town that also hosts the University of Vermont.
Claremont, CA The Claremont Colleges are a cooperative endeavor between five physically adjacent colleges near Los Angeles that share access to their courses, campuses and facilities with all students. Each college fulfills a different role, and has it’s own distinct personality. Claremont McKenna concentrates on the social sciences and humanities, and boasts top-notch faculty and demanding academic programs. Harvey Mudd focuses on engineering, math, and the sciences in a very rigorous curriculum, and is perhaps best known for its institutional sense of humor. (Admissions literature is often labeled “junk mail from Harvey Mudd.”) Pitzer boasts the most liberal of liberal arts students at these five schools, and affords greater academic flexibility than its sisters. Pomona is perhaps best-known of the five, and boasts a national student body and a demanding academic program that includes a lengthy core curriculum and comprehensive exam or senior project in order to graduate. Scripps is a women’s college with very small classes and a very traditional approach to the liberal arts.
Atlanta, GA While most people have heard of Georgia Tech, not everyone realizes that it’s a public university. As a result, Tech offers one of the best tuition deals to be found among tech schools. With an extensive fiber-optic network that is one of the best in the country, Georgia Tech is on the cutting edge of cyberspace; one successful current undergraduate Internet entrepreneur recently made a donation of $15 million for the improvement of lab facilities. The downtown campus also got a big boost from the construction of $315 million worth of housing and athletic facilities for the 1996 Olympics.
St. Paul, MN Macalester seems to offer all the best features found at liberal arts colleges in one place; a beautiful campus, top tier academic programs and study abroad opportunities, nationally-competitive Division III athletic teams, students who regularly pull down more than their fair share of prestigious scholarships and fellowships for graduate study, and great financial aid. The College has a super endowment for a place of its size, and spends it generously on programs that directly benefit its students across the board.
Montreal, Canada Americans often refer to McGill as “the Harvard of Canada.” While in truth there are a few more rigorous universities north of the border, none of them are in the heart of downtown Montreal, the largest French speaking city after Paris, and one of North America’s great undiscovered college towns. The University teaches in English, and offers academic excellence across a wide range of disciplines. The student body is remarkably diverse—much more so than at most US universities—and counts student representation from over 140 countries. American students are very much sought after by Canadian universities, and due to the current exchange rate on the Canadian dollar we effectively get more than one year free!
Sarasota, FL One of the best deals in US higher education can be found on the shores of Sarasota Bay off the Gulf of Mexico, at 600-student New College. Once private but now the Honors College of the State University System of Florida, the College offers one of the nation’s most rigorous academic programs—at public prices. Degree programs, while based in the traditional liberal arts, are all self-designed in consultation with faculty and require a senior thesis and formal defense in order to graduate. The College has constructed eleven new buildings over the past ten years; as a result, it boasts what must be the best facilities of any college of its size in the nation. It’s fantastic prep for those aspiring to grad school.
Piscataway, NJ Perhaps because so many native New Jerseyans choose to leave the state for college, Rutgers is less of a household word than it should be—even though it’s the alma mater of Ally McBeal’s Calista Flockhart. The University is particularly strong in engineering, nursing, the performing arts, and social sciences; eighteen undergraduate colleges provide dozens of other quality options. Big East athletics add to the appeal; though many would be happier if the football team were competitive, the women’s basketball team is a national power. The student body is remarkably diverse.
Seattle, WA Seattle U. is best represented by the unique opportunity it offers—to attend a small, academically solid urban university whose extremely successful campus revitalization has served to greatly influence and energize the surrounding neighborhood. The University’s Jesuit heritage and philosophy toward education is a big draw for students; its new $5 million chapel has become a major tourist draw as well. While lots of students are native to the Pacific Northwest, there’s a significant international presence that adds to the diverse flavor of the campus.
Georgetown, TX Twenty-five or so miles north of Austin sits one of the better-kept secrets in higher education, Southwestern U. This academically impressive little school offers terrific business programs and solid liberal arts combined with a highly regarded faculty and small classes. It has a great track record for internship experiences and career success. Socially, the Greek system is predominant—but students can choose to get away from it all for a while on the campus golf course.
Baltimore, MD Out of nowhere has sprung the very impressive University of Maryland – Baltimore County. Though largely a commuter school at present (about a quarter of the students live on campus), construction is proceeding fast apace on all sorts of facilities for residential, social, and academic activity. UMBC is particularly strong in computer science—especially computer graphics and information systems—and the health professions. Though its athletic teams are quite competitive, it’s chess in which UMBC makes its claim to fame. The University is 3-time national collegiate chess champions over the past few years, and offers full scholarships for their best chess players.
Sewanee, TN The University of the South, better known as Sewanee, offers a highly traditional “classical” academic environment on one of America’s safest college campuses. Situated on a 10,000-acre campus on the top of its very own mountain, the University embraces a strict honor code which students diligently uphold. By choice and tradition rather than by administrative rule students dress neatly for class, with honor students, or “gownsmen,” donning academic robes along with their professors. This small, remarkable university has produced twenty-three Rhodes Scholars.
New Orleans, LA Xavier University of Louisiana is the only predominantly black Catholic university in the Western Hemisphere. Although it is largely a commuter school with only a third of its students living on campus, there’s a great draw for students seeking careers in science-related professions: Xavier is the leading school in the nation in the number of African-American students awarded degrees in the sciences, and in the placement of African-American students into pharmacy and medical schools. Twenty-five percent of all African-American pharmacists in the nation are Xavier grads. Edward T. Custard has over 23 years of experience in college admission and counseling. He is a certified educational planner (CEP) and partner with CollegeMasters, an educational consulting firm with offices in New York, Arizona, and New Mexico. A former college admissions director, Ed has authored and/or edited four college guides, including the best-selling Random House/Princeton Review Guide to the Best Colleges. To this list, I would add: Allegheny College Carleton College Clark University Drew University Grinnell College Miami University of Ohio Reed College SUNY at Binghamton University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester Appendix XV: College Master’s© Time-line and Check list Junior Year ______ Register to take the PSAT. ______ Take the PSAT in October. ______ Gather game tapes. (Winter/Spring athletes) ______ Schedule spring college planning meeting with your school counselor. ______ Create a folder to hold all of your college planning materials. ______ Talk with your parent(s) about your thoughts and plans for college. ______ Develop a personal inventory for your college search. ______ Register and prepare for the May and/or June SAT I/SAT II exams. ______ Meet with college admission officers who visit your school. ______ Take the SAT in May and/or June. ______ Attend the New York City National College Fair. ______ Register with the NCAA Clearinghouse. (Athletes only) ______ Consider enrollment in a summer program for high school students. ______ Request admissions materials from any colleges you’re considering. ______ Read through accumulated college admissions literature. ______ Talk to students in your area who attend colleges you are considering. ______ Start college visits. ______ Work on shortening your list of colleges to between 6 and 15. ______ Start SAT test prep for the senior-year October SAT (Summer) Timeline for the College Application Process- Senior Year. September
Go over your summer progress in the college search and review your current high school transcript for accuracy. Review the calendar of tasks for the remainder of the application process. Set a target date for finalizing college choices.
SAT II subject exams are also offered on these test dates if you need to take them.
Do this as far in advance of deadlines as possible—you’ll be more likely to get a thoughtful, well prepared recommendation when you give them ample lead time.
Many colleges have special visit programs for minority students that include covering travel costs—inquire early to participate. October
October and November provide the last chances to speak with admission officers in person before you apply. Large regional college fairs are held this month and include hundreds of colleges and universities in attendance. Check dates with you high school counselor.
By the end of October you should be close to finalizing your list of colleges to between six to eight schools where you intend on applying.
As soon as it becomes clear that you will definitely apply to a particular college, begin to prepare responses to assigned essay questions or topics and gather any other materials you may need to submit. If you’re planning on applying Early Decision or Early Action to your first choice college, make this the priority. November
If you’re applying through one of these plans give that application top priority.
Rolling admission apps—where the sooner you apply, the sooner you get a decision—are with few exceptions usually more concise and require less work than the rest. Get these out of the way early and you’ll get an early response.
Getting everything in before the holiday season helps to avoid being a part of the huge influx of paper that flows into admission offices after New Year’s Day. December
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and the college’s own financial aid forms are typically due in January. Attend one of the many financial aid workshops that are held throughout the city during December and January with your parent(s).
Many will be home for the holidays; take advantage of the opportunity. January
All financial aid applications should be completed as soon as possible during this month. Do not wait until after your family files current income tax returns—colleges can update their calculations later with a copy of this year’s return.
February
These are best handled earlier in January, but there’s still an opportunity to get financial aid if you act fast. March
Financial aid awards typically arrive with admission offers or within two weeks.
As admission decisions arrive discuss options and review financial aid offers. April
Speak with an admission officer in order to submit additional supporting credentials, have an interview, or supply anything else that the admissions committee might find helpful in their continued review of your candidacy.
Look carefully to determine exactly how much you will have to pay to attend each college that has admitted you. Don’t forget to include both the amount you are expected to pay and the total amount of any loans that you will have to take.
Be certain to meet with a financial aid officer if you have any questions or problems with the financial aid package you’ve been offered.
If you have been treated poorly, there is no reason to believe that it will be better once you're enrolled—and then you'll be paying big dollars for the privilege. May
May 1st is by tradition the official national reply date for students to accept offers of admission. Your enrollment form and cash deposit hold your spot in the class.
If you have been wait-listed at one of your top choices and have not received a final decision by mid-May, it’s time to re-assess your chances for admission.
Avoid Senioritis. Many top colleges will not hesitate to withdraw admission offers or place students on academic probation for the first semester if their academic performance has declined significantly in the last term of high school Appendix XVI: Carnegie Foundation Survey- 10,000 faculty at 306 institutions
62% All Faculty 21% Research University 41% PhD Granting University 76% Liberal Arts College
70% All Faculty 33% Research University 55% PhD Granting University 83% Liberal Arts College
35% All Faculty 53% Research University 54% PhD Granting University 22% Liberal Arts College
5% To teaching and away from service 26% To research away from teaching and service 17% To teaching and service 39% No Change Appendix XVII: College Master’s © College Visit Guidelines: College Visit Guidelines/Points To Ponder Things one should definitely do (or not) when visiting a college campus:
The following suggestions are intended to provide some guidelines for compiling an effective visit report/campus assessment. Examples are provided to help visitors to focus their thoughts around representative issues; they should be regarded as such, rather than as definitive within a given category. Initial impressions: Location: (Think of your experience in getting to the campus, and comment upon the neighboring vicinity. Ex: How easy is it to get to the campus? Is there any “there” there?) Campus Look: (What are your initial impressions of its appearance upon arrival? Ex: Is it well kept, easy to get around? Is there lots of construction taking place? If so, what type?) Feel: (What is your initial sense of the environment that one encounters upon arrival on campus? Ex: Describe the campus atmosphere, energy (or lack thereof), sense of community. Does it feel safe?) Students: (Ex: Do they look happy? Busy? Engaged with one another? Comfortable? Are they friendly and approachable?) Useful information gleaned in the course of your visit: Academics: (What is most noteworthy of what you learned about the academic program here during your visit? Ex: Unusual offerings, exceptional strengths, changes—the new and the gone. Note the level of demand in evidence.) Students: (What is most noteworthy of what you learned about the students here during your visit? Ex: What are they happiest about? Least happy or upset about? Are they engaged in learning, or passively meandering their way to the Bachelor’s degree? Are they who you expected to encounter here? Why or why not? Where do they go from here?) College Life/Environment: (What is most noteworthy of what you learned about student life outside of academics during your visit to campus? Ex: Common/popular pursuits and activities; unusual offerings, exceptional strengths, new developments; campus safety information. What do the campus and its environs have to offer?)
(What is new and of significance to prospective students regarding admission policies/approaches, financial aid offerings/awards, and undergraduate recruitment?) Post-visit thoughts and impressions: (Did what you saw and learned on your visit mesh with the sense of the college that you had prior to visiting? If not, how was it different? How would you sum up the college in a brief comment? What type of student/person could you see making a good match with this place? What would you say to others regarding this college/university as an option?) Appendix XVIII College Master’s © Tips on Preparing for College College Prep Steps to Take Throughout High School (especially important for freshmen and sophomores but significant for all) Course Selection
Grades
Reading, writing, study skills Getting in to college is only part of the deal—you need to work hard for another four years in order to graduate and get your degree! The typical college requires far more reading, writing, and studying than anything you’ve been required to do in high school. The time to prepare is now, while you’re still in high school. Not only will this help your chances for admission and success in college, it will make you a better student in high school right away.
Extracurricular activities and work All highly selective admission committees and many other colleges and universities look very closely at the personal side of candidates when considering whether to offer them admission. This includes a close look at several different ways in which students might use their time outside of class. While commitment and excellence on an individual level is rewarded in the admission process, most institutions are also concerned with how an individual functions within a group or team. A combination of personal and group involvements outside of class often provides the best means for admission officers to get a sense of what makes a particular applicant tick. These activities can take place at home, at school, and in the community.
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