Monthly Archives: March 2014

Wednesday’s Parent: Student-College power shift

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Wednesday's Parent hosts #CampusChat from @CollegeVisit

Wednesday’s Parent hosts #CampusChat from @CollegeVisit

Many believe colleges hold all the power in the college process but the reality is there is a power shift between colleges and students. I think of it like a tennis match. These are the times the ball is in each side’s court:

Beginning of the college process The student has the power because he is deciding where to apply. Colleges vie for the student’s eye by various marketing techniques including mailings, social media, college website, college fairs, recruitment, college visits, and meeting invitations from alumni, current students and their parents. These expensive efforts are produced to get students to apply but students have the power to decide if they want to do this.

Middle of the college process The colleges hold the power once a student sends in her admission application. It is the school that will decide whether or not to offer acceptance in its next class. It also determines what it will offer in financial aid to help students pay their college bills. Students are the ones trying to demonstrate their interest in the college via grades, test scores, essays, volunteering, extracurricular activities, campus visits, college interviews, social media and IRL (in real life) interactions with college staff/alumni/current students. These enriching endeavors are made to convince the college what a great catch the student is, which will lead to the college exercising its power to offer acceptance and a generous financial aid package.

End of the college process The student gets the power back since it is his decision whether or not to accept a college’s admission offer. Colleges will offer an amount of financial aid they think will be enough to reduce the college bill so students will be willing to pay the rest to attend their school. Schools also will host outreach activities for admitted students on and off campus, send mailings, use social media and IRL contacts to convince them to attend.

The power shift ends here for most students satisfied with their acceptance and financial aid award. For students placed on the Wait List or those with a low aid package, the power shifts back to the college. Wait List turning into an acceptance is a long shot. An appeal process is in place usually through the college’s Financial Aid Office for students requesting a review because the financial aid award does not reflect their family’s financial situation and need.

Meet the expert

Jeannie Borin is recognized by media, clientele and colleagues globally as a leader in college admissions consulting and new media. She is a Fr/ NYC and a Juilliard School of Music alumna, holds a Masters Degree in psychology, education and counseling, and is President of College Connections. She is a member of several prestigious educational organizations including the IECA, HECA, WACAC and NACAC.

On #CampusChat tonight, Wednesday March 26 at 9pm ET/6pm PT, hosted by Wednesday’s Parent Suzanne and me, Jeannie will share her tips to empower students and parents during each phase of the college process. Follow Jeannie @JeannieBorin, #CampusChat’s founder Z. Kelly Queijo @CollegeVisit, Suzanne @SuzanneShaffer and me @pocsmom as we discuss the Student-College power shift with our wonderful #CampusChat buddies. Please join the conversation with your questions and comments.

Read this to learn how to join the chat.

Read Suzanne’s blog for more info about the Student-College power shift.

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Suzanne and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/9pm PT/6pm. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.

Wednesday’s Parent Night on #CampusChat!

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Wednesday's Parent hosts #CampusChat from @CollegeVisit

Wednesday’s Parent hosts #CampusChat from @CollegeVisit

I’m excited to share with you that Suzanne and I will be hosting the #CampusChat Twitter chat on the fourth Wednesday of each month, starting March 26, at 9pm ET/6pm PT. #CampusChat is brought to you by SmartCollegeVisit.com and is one of the longest-running higher education Twitter chats.

Smart College Visit is an award winning college-search and travel planning resource that works with college and university admissions offices to provide efficient on-line and mobile products for college-bound students and their parents. The site’s Explore Colleges contains profiles of more than 3000 colleges and universities with travel logistics to help families plan visits to each campus.

I hope you will join Suzanne (@SuzanneShaffer) and me (@pocsmom) on March 26th and the fourth Wednesday of each month at 9pm ET/6pm PT for Smart College Visit’s #CampusChat with Wednesday’s Parent as we share tips for parents of the college-bound from our #CampusChat buddies and expert guests. Come chat with us and bring your questions and comments!

Here are some simple instructions to join a Twitter chat:

1.  Sign-in to Twitter or sign-up for a free Twitter account here.

2.  When it is time for the chat to start, type “#CampusChat” into the search bar at the top right of your screen.

3.  Click on “All” to see all the #CampusChat tweets.

4.  When the chat starts, you will now be able to see the whole #CampusChat conversation, ask a question, respond, and participate on whatever level you are comfortable with. Be sure to use the hashtag #CampusChat to tweet during the chat. That way everyone participating in the chat will be able to see your tweet.

5.  There are free sites like Hootsuite, TweetChat and TweetDeck that you may also use to more easily manage your social media interactions.

I hope to see you every Wednesday night at 9pm ET/6pm PT for Smart College Visit’s #CampusChat, with Wednesday’s Parent being the subject the fourth Wednesday of each month. Let’s chat! 

Wednesday’s Parent: 6 antidotes for spring fever

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Antidotes to spring fever. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Antidotes to spring fever. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

First senioritis then spring fever. These are the two non-medical maladies that plague students and their parents. I provided 6 great examples to cure Senioritis and now I’m giving you 6 antidotes for spring fever.

1. Smell the roses If you find yourself easily distracted and less productive than usual, take a break. Whether you are a high school student loaded with college prep and school work or a parent juggling home and job responsibilities, time is too precious to squander. Set aside a specific amount to refresh and come back ready to focus and complete the task.

2. Tiptoe through the tulips Seasons may change but work loads don’t always follow the calendar. With more daylight comes more energy. If you are feeling a bit restless, use some added pep outside and then be ready to come back inside reinvigorated.

3. Violets are blue Spring is known for replacing winter blues with a happier mood. Use the feeling of renewal as inspiration with a fresh look to review goals, complete current commitments, choose a college, decide on what to do this summer and further on into the future. Make a plan to achieve your objectives.

4. Find a four-leaf clover Take a cue from Mother Nature as she revels in new growth and look around to find something new to enjoy. Whether it be an entirely different thing or delving deeper into an existing interest, enjoy your learning experience.

5. What’s up buttercup Love is in the air in spring. Turn some of those warm and fuzzy feelings toward appreciating those that care and support you. Smile more to other family members, offer to help and don’t be afraid to ask for aid, too. Love is after all, a two way street and more may be accomplished with joint efforts.

6. Oopsy-daisy Sometimes when you can’t beat ’em, you join ‘em. When you find yourself longing to be outside, grab your work, find a quiet spot and do it outside. You can work on a laptop under a tree or climb it to read a book on a sturdy limb. Lay a blanket on the ground and do some studying or take a walk listening to a prerecorded lesson. It’s about combining what you want with what you have to do.

Read Suzanne’s blog: Spring Fever and Your Teen

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.

Wednesday’s Parent: Hunting and gathering a college list Part 2

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Creating a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Creating a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

A lot is riding on making a good college list. Your student will be applying to the schools on the final list so they better offer the best chance for student success. It’s so important that Suzanne and I are giving our tips in two parts. Last week’s Part 1 was about general criteria and today’s Part 2 is about refining the list.

Thinking of the college list process as that of gathering and hunting means discovering how well suited each college is to the student and determining where he is most likely to thrive. From over 4,000 schools, many may be ruled out by location, school requirements and college stats. The next step is to find those eight institutions of higher learning most likely leading to student success. These are the ones the student will apply to and be happy to attend.

The definition of student success varies with each student. The key is what each school will do to keep the student on track to graduate and obtain the academic/extracurricular experiences she desires. They should include:

  • set time to graduate
  • short term goals
  • long term goals

Could there be more or less than eight final schools on the list? Yes, but be mindful there are hefty application fees that do not go towards paying the college tuition bill. There should be enough schools to provide the student with options. Once those admission offers are extended, he will be reevaluating based on his own student growth and the college’s financial aid awards.

Here are five ways parents may help their child find their college matches:

  1. Visit A visit to a college campus accomplishes two major things. It judges the fit of a good on paper school and provides that intangible and very personal sixth sense gut reaction of yea or nay. (Warning – parents may have a totally opposite gut reaction.) Parents may help their students with a “collegecation.”
  2. Categorize Parents may help their students organize their college list. Counselors often advise placing schools into three groups: safety, target and reach. These categories are based on school requirements and student credentials to determine likelihood of admission. By going further, students will focus on nuances to pick a school based on its own unique flavor.
  3. Connect Social media provides a multitude of ways for students and parents to learn more (pros and cons) about the college, other prospective students, current students, alumni, and professors. For parents, many schools have social media and website information devoted to parents and families as well as a parent association. Sometimes parents of college students serve as college promoters so it is helpful to consider the source of all info.
  4. Rank The amount of information acquired from college research is staggering. Parents may help their students create spread sheets to organize the info according to what is most important to their child. This is about creating a personal college rating system based on pros and cons for your student to attend.
  5. Support The parent role here is to support your child because if she is not vested in the college experience, she won’t do her best. This may lead to a waste of time, money and energy. Listen more than speak to encourage your student to analyze the facts, understand his emotions, and make good decisions.

Read Suzannes’s blog Finding the Best Fits–A College List Part 2

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.

Wednesday’s Parent: Hunting and gathering a college list Part 1

Posted on by
Creating a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

Creating a college list. Photo by Wendy David-Gaines

A lot is riding on making a good college list. Your student will be applying to the schools on the final list so they better offer the best chance for student success. It’s so important that Suzanne and I are giving our tips in two parts. Today’s Part 1 is about general criteria and next week’s Part 2 is about refining the list.

I like to think of the college list process as that of gathering and hunting. That’s how the early humans adapted to their natural environment, created tools to ensure survival, and developed a rich culture filled with language and the arts.

According to a fascinating article in 2011 Psychology Today:

The hunter-gatherer way of life, unlike the agricultural way of life that followed it, apparently depended on intense cooperation and sharing, backed up by a strong egalitarian ethos; so, hunter-gatherers everywhere found ways to maintain a strong egalitarian ethos.

This describes the need for students to drive the college search as they begin their adult life and the help parents may provide.

Federal, state and college websites are chock full of info and data. Schools and organizations sponsor college fairs with the lowdown directly from college representatives. There are books and articles online and in libraries from college experts. Counselors, alumni. professors, current students and college social media provide another perspective.

Here are five ways parents may help their students gather the information they need to find colleges to consider for their college list:

  1. Answer this question I posed this question before and parents may ask this to their children: Is college a love match or a consumer purchase? In fact, it is a combo of both but how much of one over the other is the student’s ultimate decision. Keeping the answer in mind will balance realistic, practical and emotional responses during the college search and make it easier to eliminate or add schools.
  2. Focus on the end goal first Before looking at colleges, parents may ask their college-bound teen how he will use his earned college degree. Besides the increased knowledge and developed critical thinking skills, does she plan to go on to grad school, start a business, or begin a career? Checking the school’s success rate in retention, graduation within four years, graduate admission, and employment stats will narrow the college list choices.
  3. Increase options It may seem odd to increase options while whittling down choices but it makes perfect sense when it comes to increasing student chances for admission and financial aid. Colleges set their own admission requirements and students may compare their qualifications with those of current students. This is great motivation for college prep. Parents may help their children create a calendar to stay organized and get the job of a student done by earning qualifying grades on transcripts and tests.
  4. Define interests Finding a college is about finding a place that matches and enhances a student’s interests. Parents may help their student brainstorm a list of things that are important to them including programs, activities and location. Schools will show their priorities with significant funding and opportunities in these areas. Students should pay attention to department size; number, frequency and ease of taking desired classes; internships, programs and guest speakers; and opportunities after graduation.
  5. Go off campus Colleges offer academic and extracurricular programs and events on and off campus. Parents and students may form a team to divide the research to focus on both aspects. Look at the campus and surrounding community. Is it safe, student-friendly, easy to get to, easy for parents to visit, full of opportunities? What relationships does the college have with other schools, groups and businesses that may benefit students?

Read Suzanne’s blog for more help in forming a college list:

You Want to Go to College Where?–A College List Part 1

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Suzanne Shaffer and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from www.pocsmom.com to  http://www.parentscountdowntocollegecoach.com/ and vice versa.