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Messages Home!
Go to MLC's Facebook page to see all the Messages Home! And thanks to Kendra Korth and Jonathan Witte for taking our pictures. (Kendra and Jon are the last two pictures in this section!)
   
 
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First-year Parents!
First Year, Month by Month: April
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We're still snow-covered, but we may just see daffodils come late April.
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Spring? We're afraid those daffodils are only wishful thinking. March was cold and snowy, and there is not much green to be found. But who knows what April will bring? It's Minnesota!
Plans for next year: Students are registering for next year's courses. Some will change majors, and that's okay. A few may be reconsidering coming back next year. We hope they take time to pray about it and speak to parents, profs, and peers.
Housing lottery: Roommate changes are normal. Some students may have learned that rooming with their best friend did not work out the way they thought it would. Roommate choices create excitement and (sometimes) hurt feelings. No worries. The students will work it out!
Sports: Tennis, track, softball, and baseball keep many students busy.
Children's Theater: Rumpelstiltskin will be staged May 1-3. Lots of students have found a place on the cast and crew.
Summer plans: Students are beginning to think about summer employment, mission trips, and volunteer opportunities, many of which will provide early ministry experience.
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Sandy Buchholz (right) with daughter Katrina and husband, Jon
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Parent to Parent
"How we sent our daughter 1500 miles away to college - and survived"
By Sandy Buchholz - Phoenix AZ
Mother of MLC senior Katrina
I wish that I could say that I have regularly sent my daughter letters and care packages over the years, but they have been fewer than I care to admit. Technology is wonderful, but we do not touch base daily or sometimes even weekly. We do appreciate that it's there for a quick text message, a treasured phone call, or a long overdue Skype session.
We have appreciated the live-stream of concerts, chapel, and photos on the website. It has been a blessing that she has been involved with different activities on campus right from the beginning of her freshman year. We enjoyed a few trips to New Ulm over the years to see her in musical productions.
Mostly knowing that she loves life at MLC and is preparing for what she really wants to do gives us comfort and happiness. Knowing that she's using her God-given talents and growing in faith and love for her Savior makes the distance all worth it. It's not that we don't miss having our daughter home more often, but it makes us appreciate the times that she is home even more.
We are also blessed in having family and friends nearby who have welcomed her into their homes and shown her love and support. It has been a joy to watch our daughter grow as an adult and enjoy new experiences (a Kingdom Workers summer project in Canada, a summer teaching opportunity with Urban Ministry, choir tours). It will be fun to see what the Lord has in store for her come graduation in May!
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Dorms Are Great for This . . . But Not That
By VP for Student Life Jeff Schone
The dormitories at Martin Luther College are great places to make friendships that will last and last. The dormitories also function as interactive classrooms where ministerial students learn how to get along with and appreciate all kinds of interesting people. A dorm room can be a good place to study, a ready setting for discussion and debate, and a private room for careful reflection. A dorm room can be a good place for many different things.
Recuperation from serious illness or significant surgery is not something dorm rooms are good for. To begin with, a dorm and campus setting is not necessarily quiet and restful. Rooms are small and usually crowded with belongings, beds are often bunked or lofted, roommates have lives that don't stop, bathrooms are a long walk down the hall, and regular meals are served in a separate building.
Nor is it desirable to place the responsibility for supervising recuperation on busy students, whether friends, dorm neighbors, or RA staff members. I can add that administrators and housing supervisors are hesitant to assume the added responsibility and liability that significant recuperation brings with it.
I don't want to make a hard and fast rule, but at the same time I want to give my strong encouragement to parents and students: if surgery is necessary during the school year, please plan for a recuperation at home or at a relative or friend's home. This is best for the one recuperating, best for dorm friends and neighbors, and best for the school. Many thanks to you for your understanding and cooperation!
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The Cost of Higher Education
Here are the numbers. Two-thirds of American college students must take out loans. Their average debt at graduation is about $26,000. The cost of college has risen faster in the last decade than the cost of medical care or gasoline. And college debt has now surpassed credit card debt in America.
It's astounding. Maybe even a little frightening. What about MLC? Although the cost of attendance at Martin Luther College has also risen, MLC has kept its cost at less than half the average American private college.
Vice President for Administration Steven Thiesfeldt has researched the data to help parents understand the issue and plan for the future. Read to learn:
- What is the high tuition/high aid model that some colleges use-and how can you be fooled by it?
- How can you get a true picture of a college's cost-not the "sticker price," but the actual number you'll write on your check?
- How has MLC been hit by a "double whammy" that has forced its costs up?
- In spite of economic challenges, how does MLC keep their annual sticker price so low - less than half of the average private college?
- What is MLC's strategy to keep student costs low and student debt manageable?
- What can you expect to pay next year for tuition and room and board at MLC?
Read "The Cost of Higher Education" by Vice President Steven Thiesfeldt. |
Financial Aid Deadlines
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Mr. Gene Slettedahl, Director of Financial Aid
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April 15, 2014, is the deadline if you wish your student to be considered for an MLC grant for next fall. Please be sure that you do the following by April 15:
- Complete the MLC Financial Aid Application and submit it to the MLC Financial Aid Office.
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Submit your FAFSA electronically on the web. Helpful hint: Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, and your tax return information will automatically be imported.
If you do not meet the April 15 deadline, you may still be eligible for federal and state financial aid, but you will not be eligible for MLC grants.
Please note: If your taxes cannot be completed by April 15, please estimate the FAFSA tax questions. Then, when you do complete your taxes, you can update the FAFSA, or simply send your tax information to the MLC Financial Aid Office, and we will update it for you.
Did you know? More than 90% of MLC students receive financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, or loans. Many students, approximately 65% of those who apply, receive MLC need-based grants even though they may not be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant. For more information, go to our website.
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My Student Seems So Sad - Is This Depression?
College is a time of change for students. If one of the changes you notice in your students is excessive sadness, you may wonder whether it's simply that - sadness - or something more serious, like clinical depression. Here are some specific symptoms of depression, possible causes, and steps parents can take to assist students who may be depressed. More.
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Creating Clubs
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Anchor, a student service club, held a Valentine's Day party at a local nursing home.
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Did you know your students can create a club and receive funding for it? Now is the time for them to apply for "official club status" through the Student Senate. Approval will bring them support and funding. Clubs should be open to the entire student body and in some way enhance student life.
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Picture Gallery
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Scene from The Giver
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Check out these photos on our gallery!
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Mark the Date 
April 2: Preseminary & Education Convocation
Lent Vespers Service
Chapel 7:30 pm
April 4: College Choir Concert
Stillwater MN 7:00 pm
April 5: College Choir Concert
Marshfield WI 2:30 pm
April 6: College Choir Concert
Duluth MN 9 am
April 12: Wind Symphony Concert - Auditorium 7:30 pm
April 13: Lorie Line concert - Auditorium 3:00 pm
April 14-16: Course registration
Easter break begins after classes
April 22: Classes resume
April 23: Housing lottery
April 24: Housing lottery
April 25-26: Staff Ministry Conference
April 26-27: WELS National Handbell Festival
April 27: Preseminary Awards Night
May 1-3: Children's Theater performances
May 4: Faculty Anniversary Service: Rebecca Cox, Paul Koelpin, and Ross Stelljes (25 years); Barbara Leopold, Robert Potratz, John Schmidt, and Steven Thiesfeldt (40 years)
May 10: MLC/WLS softball
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Concert - Chapel 7:30 pm
May 12-16: Exams
May 16: Commencement Concerts Auditorium 4:00 / 7:30 pm
May 17: Commencement Service Gym 10 am
Call Service Gym 2:30 pm
May 18: Wind Symphony Tour begins
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