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Newsletter  October 2010
In This Issue
Admissions Advice and Checklists
Make the Most of the High School Visit
Missouri Universities/Colleges
New College Programs
Quick Links

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Before You Hit "Send": Admissions Advice and Checklists
apple logo With the November 1 deadlines quickly approaching, be certain to check out the Educational Advocates blog for advice and checklists to help guide you through the  process.


Articles that might be of interest include:

Revision and Editing: What Makes a College Essay Work

Early Decision and Early Action: What You Need to Know

Ready, Set, Apply: A Checklist to Help You Finish Your College Application
Make the Most of the High School Visit
apple logo This time of year admission officers are traveling all over the country to meet students they hope will be interested in applying to their institutions. It's likely that many will be visiting the high school you or your child attends. High school visits are an important opportunity for admission officers to recruit students, meet counselors and learn about schools. Likewise, high school visits are an excellent opportunity for interested students to acquire detailed information about a particular college or university, its application process and how it relates to students from their school.

Here's some insight to help you make the most of high school visits at your school.

Plan to Attend
When colleges or universities schedule a visit to your high school, your guidance or college counselors should inform you. Likewise, if you're on a college's or university's contact list, you can expect to receive a reminder email, postcard or even phone call in advance of the visit. This allows plenty of time to make the necessary arrangements with your counselors and teachers to be excused from class to attend the visit. It also provides you with ample time to do some homework on the visiting school. Prepare a few questions, both about the application process and the campus environment.

If you can't be excused from class for the visit, don't fret. You'll be able to acquire the contact information for the visiting admission officer from your counselor and send him or her an email to introduce yourself and ask the questions you may have. Talk with friends who may have attended the visit first. Find out about what the admission officer discussed so you can direct your questions to those topics if possible.

Be Engaged
The last thing an admission officer, who is the midst of visiting four or five schools a day, four or five days a week for eight to ten straight weeks, wants to do is bore you with the exact same presentation he or she made at your rival high school five miles down the road or at a high school you've never heard of in the neighboring state. Lend him or her a helping hand in making the visit to your school unique. Speak up and ask questions -- thoughtful questions. If you've attended an on-campus information session or started completing any of your applications, you know the basics about what information schools use to make decisions. So instead, ask more specific questions about how decisions are made or what are the most important factors in evaluating an application. Many admission officers will relish the opportunity to talk openly with students about the process.

Also, ask questions about the campus and its students. If it's a college or university you've visited, ask the admission officer for more information about something your tour guide mentioned that interested you. Ask how the extracurricular opportunities compare to those available in your high school. These questions not only help you learn more about the college or university, they also help the admission officer learn more about your school.

Your goal should be to start a conversation with the admission officer. Make the visit feel more like a discussion than a presentation. There's important information the admission officer needs to be sure to convey when speaking with you, but beyond that you can take control of the visit and steer the conversation to topics that interest you.

Don't Over-Personalize
It's possible that you may be the only student attending the high school visit, but more often than not you'll be one of five to ten students, and sometimes one of thirty or more students. As a result, the high school visit is usually not a good opportunity to ask personal questions about the circumstances unique to your application. Doing so in a group setting can sometimes create an uncomfortable situation for the other students and the admission officer.

But that doesn't mean you can't get the answer you want. Instead of asking about how a particular grade, disciplinary infraction, disclosure of a learning disability or other personal factor might affect your chances of admission, you may ask a question such as, "How do you consider a student's grade trend?" or, "What factors do you consider besides grades and test scores?" There are ways to ask a broad question that will still elicit the insight you desire. Then, after the visit, you can follow up through an email or phone call to ask your personal question and receive a specific answer.

Be Good Hosts
It's important that admission officers feel welcome visiting your school. Your guidance or college counselors are responsible for much of this, but you are too. Being friendly, making eye contact and participating in the discussion during the visit is important. There's a very human aspect to working in admission and reading applications. Consequently, something as simple as having enjoyed a visit to a particular school can influence the reading of an application.

Hopefully you are able to take advantage of the high school visits at your school this fall. Use them to learn more about schools that interest you and possibly narrow down your apply list. The information you take from speaking to admission officers now can also help you make decisions among the schools you are admitted to in the spring. (And I'm guessing it doesn't hurt that high school visits get you out of class too.)
College Tour: Missouri

In recent years, students from Greater Boston have gravitated toward midwestern universities such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana, attracted by their strong academics, infectious school spirit and friendly campus communities.  Our recent tour in Missouri uncovered several other institutions worthy of consideration.


The University of Missouri

Just a two-hour drive from St. Louis is the college town of Columbia, home of the state's flagship, the University of Missouri, affectionately called Mizzou. The campus offers everything its Big 12 conference brethren can boast--big time sports (five consecutive football bowl experiences), top-ranked academic programs, most notably its top ranked journalism program (rivaling Syracuse's Newhouse School of Communications), as well as business, sciences and social sciences. The campus is a registered botanical garden, and though the campus is home to 25,000 undergraduates, it is surprisingly compact and easy to navigate. A solid B student in a college prep program with an average ACT of 25 or an SAT of 1178 would have a good chance of admission here (some programs are more competitive such as journalism). Generous scholarship options and an honors college for qualified students are other factors that make Mizzou worth a closer look.


Washington University in St. Louis

While the Washington University in St. Louis may still be unfamiliar to some New Englanders, savvy, academically-driven high school students are adding it to their prospective lists in droves. Wash U might have one of the prettiest campuses in the country with its white limestone buildings, plenty of green space and the beautiful city-owned Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks in America, just across the street.


A new engineering quad is now under construction and the "South 40" residential area boasts newly remodeled dorms and a new dining hall that are spectacular even by today's high college standards. Wash U, with 6,000 undergraduates, is known for its strengths in sciences (including premed), business, social sciences and foreign languages. It is adding interdisciplinary programs that focus on hot topics such as energy and sustainability and cross with departments such as architecture and engineering.  Admission is challenging, and the university's nickname of "Wait List U" doesn't come out of nowhere. Students who are serious about Wash U but are not at the very top academically should consider applying early decision. Scholarships are available to strong students (most require a separate application). Educational Advocates has five former clients now attending Wash U, studying a range of subjects, and all are very happy.


Webster University

Students interested in theatre, including technical theatre, film/animation and communications, may want to investigate Webster University, also in St. Louis. With 2,600 undergraduates in St. Louis, Webster also has international campuses in Geneva, London, Vienna, Thailand and the Netherlands. They also offer majors in business, education and arts and sciences. Webster had been a regional, commuter school, but that has changed in recent years with more residential students--60% of freshmen now live on campus. The faculty is invested in making the students' experiences positive both in and out of the classroom. Interactions we observed showed professors leading small classes, providing one-on-one technical instruction in the state-of-the art audio production facility, and mentoring students on the newspaper staff. New Englanders would need to weigh how comfortable they would feel in a partly commuter campus so far from home. However, this is an excellent option for a B student with SATs in the 500 range on each section or a 21 to 28 ACT.


Saint Louis University

Saint Louis University also known as SLU (pronounced slew) is a Catholic, Jesuit university in downtown St. Louis with just over 8,000 undergraduates. This campus is a real find with a beautiful campus featuring sculpture, gardens, fountains and an outdoor pool, known as SLU-ruba by students. With strengths in areas such as sciences (premed, nursing), engineering and communications, SLU also has unusual majors such as aviation science and has recently added African American Studies and Community Health Management majors along with a sports management certificate program. It offers a friendly culture and top-notch academic and career advising. They offer scholar programs for undergraduates who want to be considered early for their medical and law schools, an honors program and several scholarship opportunities.


Students will discover a vibrant campus life with Division I sports, a myriad of clubs and activities and Greek life that attracts 22% of students, but that doesn't dominate the social science. The average SAT for the current freshman class was a 1250 on the 1600 scale or a 27 ACT and a strong B+ (but try for it even if you are a B student).


New College Programs

From www.insidehighered.com

Register Now for College Planning Assistance

Sophomores and Juniors -- It is not too early to begin planning for college. We offer a range of services to meet a wide range of student and family needs.

Please contact Joan Casey or Josh Henry at Educational Advocates for more details.
Educational Advocates
College Consulting Corp.
1622A Beacon Street, Suite 203
Brookline, MA 02446
617-734-3700

Joan Kelleher Casey, President
jcasey@educationaladvocates.com
Newsletter editorial staff:
Joan Casey
Josh Henry
Terri Suico