College Fairs- Helpful Hints to Help Your Child Stand Out

This spring, your college-bound students may be attending a number of College Fairs.  This can be a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with different colleges, many of whom may not be familiar to your high school child.  Unfortunately, students are often not given the tools to properly navigate these events, and may miss out on a valuable opportunity to make an impression on an admissions representative.

I was recently involved in a College Fair, and was surprised at what I saw and heard.  Help your child prepare, so he or she maximizes the college fair experience.  Below are some valuable tips:

1. Plan Ahead: Your child should go to a college fair with some idea of what kind of college would be a good fit for him/her.  Look carefully at the list of colleges who will be present at the fair.  Narrow down the list and prioritize the college booths that your child will visit and make his/her interest in that college known.

Use this opportunity to have at least a preliminary discussion about size, location, campus environment and other factors which are important in the decision.  Have your child do some Internet research on the colleges present at the fair and use this information to round out the list.  The effort you make researching prior to the college fair will show off when speaking with the admissions representative.  Make the best impression possible!

2. Dress Appropriately: This is your child’s chance to make an impression on the admissions representative taking part in the fair. Think about how you would recommend that your child dress for a college visit to his/her first choice school. That is exactly how he/she should dress for the college fair.  Dress to impress!

3. Speak Intelligently: If your child has done the research on the schools to be visited at the fair, use that information to impress the representative.  Ask intelligent questions about the school, its environment and students.

4. Take Notes: Your child will be speaking to many different college representatives, which can be overwhelming.  All the colleges will blend together by the end of the night.  Encourage your child to take notes after each booth.  Having notes to review later will prove to be very helpful.

5. Don’t Travel in a Pack: Assure your student that this is his/her chance to shine and to gather information. This is done much more effectively if your child is alone with the representative, rather than approaching with an entourage. It is particularly not a good idea for your child to approach a college booth with his/her significant other draped all over him/her.

6. Gum: Get rid of the gum! A person looks more adult and is more easily understood without a mouthful of gum.

7. Go as a family: Most college fairs offer evening hours, which gives you the opportunity to attend the fair with your child. This will impress on your student that, although the choice and process belongs to him/her, you will be there to act as a coach and cheerleader. Encourage your child to ask questions and be sure that you don’t undermine his/her confidence in front of the admissions reps.

College Fairs can be very informative venues. Don’t only focus on the colleges whose names you know. There may be some hidden gems in attendance that would provide your child with just the right fit.

Try to put aside notions such as ‘party school’ and to ignore the person you know who attended a particular college and was not happy. Remember that any school is a party school if that is what your child is looking for.  Your child is unique and what did not suit someone else may be perfect for him/her.

Senioritis... the Disease College-Bound Students Should Avoid

Already accepted to college? Beginning to lose interest and focus in school? Be careful not to catch senioritis!

Senioritis- a disease effecting high school seniors, especially during second semester; identified by laziness, lack of focus, repeated absences, and a strong desire to graduate.

Senioritis can sneak up on you faster than you think! Here are some tips we give students for avoiding this dread condition: 

Take a strong course load

Don’t take a relaxing course load just because you can. This is your time to shine!  Many high schools only require three years of all the basic subjects (math, science, history, etc.) and four years of English.  Go above and beyond and take a fourth year of the quality courses.  Try to avoid taking study hall or three different gym classes to get out of studying your senior year.  Admissions officers view the hard work and dedication you put forth late in the game as a good indicator of how you will perform in college.

Grades matter

Use your senior year effectively.  College acceptance is based on senior year performance. 

Colleges look at your grades for the first three years of high school.  What many students don’t realize is that grades during their senior year are just as important!  Colleges require you to submit your first quarter, mid-year, and end-of-year grades.  If you have a downward trend in your grades, colleges will notice and take that into account in determining your ultimate acceptance, your financial award, and whether you acceptance is rescinded.

The college application process is competitive and there are many students on a wait-list ready to take your spot.  Your grades senior year can make or break you.  Don’t become a red flag and give colleges a reason to revoke your acceptance.

Tired of high school classes?

Take a course at a local community college.  This is a perfect way to demonstrate your intellectual curiosity, plus you can earn college credits in the process.  Not a bad deal!

Time Magazine also has a great article about combatting senioritis: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1191831,00.html  

A Smarter FAFSA and Other Changes

The FAFSA due date is fast approaching (March 1^st).  Maybe you’ve noticed changes, maybe you haven’t.  This year FAFSA 2012-2013 has a few changes that make the application process run more smoothly.

1. Skip logic- The FAFSA is now finally ‘smart’. It takes answers you already provided and eliminates repetitive or unnecessary questions.  Makes the process much quicker!

2. Better navigation- The FAFSA now knows where you left off.  The application auto resumes when you log in.  No more wasting time finding the section you were on!

3. Easy editing options- The FAFSA changes address editing information.  In previous years, you were directed to a different page to make edits which had a completely different look and feel.  Now the edit page looks like the rest of the FAFSA.  Much more user friendly.

4. Advanced notifications- you can choose to set up automatic notifications from FAFSA.  For example, you can get a reminder to update financial information after tax season.

5. IRS DataRetrieval Tool- Starting February 1^st, you have the option of downloading your financial information directly from the IRS to your FAFSA application

Import information to remember

FAFSA becomes available January 1, 2012 and is due March 1, 2012. Colleges set their own deadlines so make sure to check with each college.

FAFSA is based on income from the 2011 tax year.  If possible, file your taxes prior to doing the FAFSA so you have an accurate account of financial information.  If not, you can estimate financial information and correct it after filing taxes.  As always, the sooner you submit all the information the better!

For some grants, financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.  Take advantage of this and turn in the FAFSA as early as possible.

There are many resources out there about FAFSA and different financial aid questions. Take a look at these for additional information!

For the FAFSA application: www.fafsa.ed.gov/index.htm

A great New York Times blog that addresses financial aid is: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/

Why Should You Consider Hiring an Independent Educational Consultant?

Independent Educational Consultants bring a wealth of in-depth information to the college choice and application process that families often forget about as they begin to  make decisions for their students. We are professionals who spend a great deal of time actually walking college campuses and speaking with admissions counselors so that we can keep our fingers on the pulse of the industry. A good college consultant can help separate what is marketing on the part of a college and what is truly important to the choice your student will make. A college consultant will conduct an in-depth review of the student’s academic record, standardized test scores, activities involvement, and special talents that the student brings to the table. In addition, the consultant will spend the time necessary to get a real handle on what both the parents and the student want from the college experience. 

To choose the right college consultant for your family you should look carefully at the credentials that the individual offers. First and foremost, the consultant should be a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and be actively involved in the work of one or both organizations. If you can find someone who is also a Certified Educational Planner (CEP), you have hit the jackpot of professional accreditation and a person who subscribes to ethical standards of conduct that place your student at the center of the process. Choosing a college is about fit and match; it is not trophy hunting. An ethical and reliable consultant will know what schools are a good fit and will help the student develop self-awareness and to be empowered in the process. More and more colleges, both public and private, are beginning to understand that students who use a consultant are more likely to complete a degree at the college where they started than are those who conducted the process on their own. Therefore, using a consultant can result in parents spending a lot less overall to educate their student. If you don’t transfer, you don’t lose either time or credits, both of which cost a great deal of money.

The investment in a well-credentialed consultant offers protection for your academic dollar. While consultants are not inexpensive, neither is the amount you spend on tuition, room and board, and peripheral expenses for the student. You would not think of buying or selling a house without a good realtor to protect you. Why would you spend between $100,000 and $200,000 on a college education without having professional  help that is focused on your student?

 

High School Students: Time to Get Back to Work

Summer is over and it is now time to get back to school. No matter what you have done in previous years, this is an opportunity to reinvent yourself and become the student that you want to be. As you get closer to graduation, you need to begin thinking about college or a job. That means that it is time to grow up and recognize that your parents will not be there to hold your hand and fight your battles for you. What you have learned and how you approach your responsibilities will determine the college who will accept you, the job you will get, and the success you will have. No one else can do that for you or shield you from the realities of life. Knowing this should encourage you to begin to do your best work, take the most challenging classes, take your work seriously and, most of all, feel the thrill of success that you know you have earned.

If you are a high school senior, it is not too late to find a college that will want you. There are many great colleges that will help you learn and grow. If college is your goal, don't let anyone discourage you from trying no matter what your high school record looks like. There are schools that will help you get the education you want, if you are willing to do your part. We are here to help you find the college that will fit your style and your family finances. Don't give up the dream!

New Educational Consultants

I just spent a week teaching for the IECA Summer Institute. I have volunteered to do this for the last 12 years and continue to find it one of the most gratifying weeks of the year. Not only does IECA provide a comprehensive and informative curriculum to the new or soon-to-be educational consultants who come each year, but my colleagues on the faculty bring consistently new perspectives from which I continue to learn even after having spent 15 years in this business.

The one thing that I come away with each year is the knowledge that this profession is going to be in good hands when those of us who have practiced for a long time are gone. Those seeking to follow in our footsteps are ethical, eager to learn professionals who understand that what we do is about the best we can provide to the students we serve. For college consultants, like me, that is all about fit and match and not at all about trophy hunting. At times, it is educating parents about how to subjugate their own needs and desires to what is best for their child. It is always about helping students develop self-awareness and self-advocacy skills which they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.  As my own practice has grown and changed over the years, those two facets of my work remain unchanged.

After all these years of working only with students and their families, I now have branched out to providing consulting support to other educational consultants. I have garnered great satisfaction teaching new consultants through my work with IECA, UCLA Extension, and UC-Irvine Extension and am now responding to the requests of many over the years to give more hands-on assistance for a fee to those newly in practice. Will I ever stop my volunteer efforts to educate those new to the profession? Not as long as I am given the opportunity to do so. This newer venture will allow me to give more time to those who feel that they need more.

I am confident about the future of our profession and am thrilled to be able to help shape this future by working with those who will follow me when I am no longer practicing.

Planning for College: It's never too early!

Today's announcement by the Princeton Review that they are entering the educational consulting field is a terrific addition to the college planning landscape. I know that this view from an educational consultant like me may seem odd, but let me explain. I believe that the more information available to students and their families, the better prepared they are to make wise choices in the process.

What are the different ways in which families can get information about the process and how do they differ? Keep in mind that this process is primarily the student's but it is important to teach the student  how to do the proper research. It is not just looking through college guides or making random visits to colleges whose names everyone knows. The college landscape is broad and there are many wonderful schools which might provide a better social, emotional, and academic fit for the student than the more well-known institutions. In some ways, this is comparable to randomly reading the multiple listing service lists of houses for sale and focusing only on one neighborhood in a city thereby losing the better deal on a more suitable home that is just around the corner. This is where independent educational consultants can provide more individualized services than can the more impersonal class that focuses on process which are offered by large firms.

The independent educational consultant takes the time to get to know the student and the family. S/he really listens to what both the parents and student want included in the consideration of a college. It is usual for consultants to have the student take one or more career assessments and to explain the results in an effort to increase the student's self-awareness which will lead to the ability to make better choices in the long term. Even if you, as a parent, are having difficulty recognizing that your student has the ability to develop self-awareness, I am sure you can see the benefit of exposing him or her to doing so.

Managing the process is also a part of what the educational consultant does with the student. It is often easier to have an adult other than the parent do this because the relationship is less emotionally laden than the parent/child relationship at this stage in the family's life. Most educational consultants have at least some background in family psychology and, although we are not therapists, we do know how to see all sides of an issue and to maximize the relationship.

Finally, and this is the most valuable part of the process which the independent educational consultant offers, knowledge of a wide range of colleges which might provide a good fit or match for the student. We get this knowledge by visiting colleges, attending professional conferences, and keeping our fingers on the pulse of the changes in higher education. All this comes at a price and it is this expertise for which you pay when you hire an educational consultant. In much the same way as a concierge doctor caters to the needs of individual patients, the educational consultant caters to the needs of a small group of clients at any one time. In the former scenario, the patient pays more for this service than does the patient who has an HMO; in the educational consulting world, individual service comes at a higher price than that offered by anonymous large companies. In the past, the high school counselor had the time to do some college counseling but that is becoming more difficult as counselor caseloads become increasingly more unmanageable as school districts continue to cut budgets. In addition, it is a rare Masters in School Counseling program that offers even one course in college counseling. The independent educational consultant has a variety of ways to learn how to effectively deliver services to families and the motivation to do so.

The bottom line is that you should find the help you need at whatever price point you can afford to help your student make informed choices. There is no need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to do this. Most independent educational consultants charge relatively modest fees and do a great deal of pro bono or sliding scale work in their practices. You never know until you ask.