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Road �to College

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Happiness �Precedes Success

Happiness precedes success
Research shows that happiness is:

50% Biology
10% Situational
40% Attitude

Why happiness?

The underlying hope of everyone in this room is either for you, or your children to be happy and successful.

When we think of college admission, happiness often gets lost and is replaced by stress. We become crazed with the “most selective colleges” rather than the “best fit” college for my child.

Research at institutions including Upenn, UC-Berkley, and Harvard has found that:

Happiness leads to

50% of our baseline happiness is biological.

Only 10% of it is situational – meaning if you get into college A or B…if you get that award…parents…if you got that raise or promotion. The things we think will make us happy ultimately don’t for the long-term.

The good news is that 40% of our happiness is our attitude. It’s how we choose to explain the nature of life’s events. So, if you focus on the stresses of the college admissions processes, then this will be stressful. If you are excited about the process and you focus on the opportunities, then this will be an exciting and fun college process.

You truly get to choose your own adventure…

Now, let’s be clear about something…one college isn’t going to make you happier than another. So if you think, “If only I can get into U of M, I will be happy”, you have it backwards. I promise you that hundreds of other schools in the country will make you happy and successful.

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What do colleges �look for in students?

Grades
Rigor of Curriculum
Test scores
Essays
Activities/Leadership
Letter of Recommendation
Character, Passion

Grades – grades are the most important component in your admission to a college. You need to be doing your best possible work from freshman year until senior year in order to set yourself up well not only for ad

Rigor of Curriculum – This is two fold. Not all 3.7’s are created equally.

Test Scores – national average is 21 – our average is a 29. 9^th and 10^th graders should not be taking the ACT or the SAT. The tests are normed and developed for second semester 11^th grade learning. You will not have learned everything you could potentially learn in 9^th, 10^th, and first semester 11^th grade – and you will likely not score as high and you could shake your own confidence. For highly selective schools, a high test score and average or low grades can be a red flag. Remember what is most important?

Essays – be genuine – sound like yourself, don’t write you think they want to hear – answer the question. Admissions counselors have commented that often times students dance around the question, they talk about the question, but they don’t answer the question - don’t over edit it parents…

Activities – through the years there have been a ton of articles in higher ed about quality of involvement in activities or quantity of activities. They would rather see involvement in a few things where you have a deeper connection & commitment than a ton of activities that are only involved with on the “surface”. – Story about the student crying in Melissa’s office about how she wouldn’t have been involved in half the things she was if she knew college admissions would turn out that way. “Which sport should my son join?”

Letters of Rec – think about who you are as a student in the classroom – are you the student who participates, who contributes positively? Which teacher(s) do you have a connection with? Typically a junior year teacher who has taught you in a core academic course…Great life skill to learn how to form relationships and how to ask. *Focus on this*

Summer Programs – If this is a program of true interest to you and it is not a financial strain on the family, then sure, go ahead. But, don’t think that program is going to be the icing on the cake for a college application.

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Investigate �and Evaluate

Research online through SCOIR

Heat Maps & Application Statistics
College Search Inventory & Scholarships

Students attend an IA College Visit

Sign up on SCOIR

Attend a college night or fair in your area

List of MI college nights: http://goo.gl/9n2dMI

Visit college campuses

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When is the ideal time to visit? The ideal time

to visit is on an actual school day so that you can see the campus in action.

What do you want to accomplish while you are there?
Call the Admission office to schedule a visit.
Prepare questions in advance.
Do the virtual tours!

Touring College

Campuses

When is the ideal time to visit? – It’s probably best when the college is in session. I encourage students to visit a campus during the week Monday through Friday. You want to see students walking to class, meeting for coffee…the campus will have a very different feel at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. However, most universities are open year round Monday through Saturday for families that can’t get away during the week or during the school year. Just remember that campus will not feel the same as it will when all of the students are there. I do realize that it is often times more work for you to be out of school than it is to be here but also remember that as a junior and senior student you are allowed two excused absences each year for college visits. Otherwise, take advantage of those windows of opportunity in our school schedule such as MLK day (which does happen to be the largest college visit day of the year at most colleges), February break, Spring Break, and even half days (especially before one of our breaks when you know it will be a no homework week).

What do you want to accomplish while you are there? Most colleges offer similar options. You can take a tour of the campus, meet with an admissions counselor one on one, meet with a professor or advisor in an academic department. If you believe that your major interest in going to be a big deciding factor in this process meeting with the academic departments will be important. It’s one of the most effective ways to truly compare programs. Many colleges will also provide you lunch while you are there, giving you a chance to check out the food in the dining halls.

Prepare questions in advance – For example, if you plan to meet with a pre-med advisor you may want to ask things like: What medical schools to your students get in to? Do you have a good relationship with the local hospital? Are there a lot of volunteer opportunities there for undergraduate students?

Call two weeks in advance if you would like to take advantage of the opportunities I’ve just mentioned. This will most likely be the only time you are able to visit the campus before you apply so you want to make the most of it. Give the college ample time to plan for your visit. If you would prefer to attend an open house or Saturday program you may simply sign up online.

Utilize your college contact – most of the admissions counselors who visit our school are the counselors who read our applications. At some of the smaller colleges, those counselors may be willing to schedule your personalized visits for you or at least put you in touch with the appropriate person in the academic departments to schedule those additional appointments.

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Standardized

Testing

PSAT

9^th and 10^th grade for practice at school in April
11^th grade for practice and potential National Merit in October

ACT

2^nd Semester of 11^th grade, anytime. Register at www.act.org
We recommend juniors take the ACT in addition to the state required SAT.

SAT

All juniors will take the SAT in April at the IA. Register for additional test dates at www.collegeboard.org

SAT II Subject Tests- Few colleges require these tests.

Students should check the websites of their schools of interest.

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Financial Aid & Scholarships

Financial Aid

Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
CSS Profile (Collegeboard)
Everyone should apply for financial aid

Scholarship Opportunities

Private
College Offered
Community

IA Financial Aid Night in September at 7pm

Can’t complete FAFSA till October of the senior year

All colleges need the FAFSA.

Some colleges need the CSS Profile

College Offered Sch. – most colleges will inform you if you are eligible to apply for their college specific scholarships. However, there are a few colleges that require that you seek out those scholarships and apply. Once you’ve created your college application list, I suggest you contact the admissions counselor to ask about their scholarship application process.

Community Scholarships – apply! Each year so many of these scholarships go unawarded because student don’t apply for them. Even if it’s a $500 scholarship, that could (almost) pay for books for a semester. Check in to the local Kiwanis Club, Lions Club. Some elementary schools offer scholarships to students who attended that school all six years.

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What resources are

helpful to begin with?

Events:

Tri-Campus College Admissions Panel Night in October at 7:00 pm at IA Okma
Tri-Campus Financial Aid Night in September at 7:00 pm at IA Okma

Websites:

IA Counseling- www.iatoday.org
SCOIR / YouScience
General College Websites