Writing a College Essay

Writing a college essay – it can be a frustrating, challenging process, but this is your opportunity to put your best foot forward and show the colleges what makes you special. Ideally the college admissions and scholarship officers will learn something about you and see how well you write.

When colleges review your application they can read things like your grade point and test scores, but they still want to know more about YOU – the person behind those grades, scores, and activities. It is important to remember that your essay will be one of hundreds or more-likely thousands that the admissions committee members will read. (Can you imagine reading all of those?!?) Try to interest them in what you have to say and be sure that it is written well so that it will hopefully stand out. Think of this as your opportunity to introduce yourself to the admissions and scholarship officers reading your application. Be open, honest and real.

When you have to write an essay you need to keep a few important points in mind:

1. Answer the question!
When they give you a prompt or question – be sure that your essay is answering what they are asking! These are smart people – they know when you are just trying to take a different essay and trying to make it fit for their question. Put in the time to write an essay that answers what they are asking. Also, be sure that you respond to all parts of the prompt.

2. Show me – Don’t tell me.
Great, so you told me that you are organized and honest… good qualities for their future college students, but are you demonstrating that to them with your essay? Show them what you mean – that will usually be specific, concrete stories or examples to illustrate your point.

3. Did I learn something about you?
The whole point of these essays is so that the college admissions officers will learn something new about you. (And trust me, they are learning something about you – even if that lesson is you didn’t appear to care enough about getting into school to pay attention to details like spelling.) So, step back and look at your essay again – did they learn something about you that they wouldn’t have known prior to reading your essay?

Let me assure you – they really do read the essays! Don’t think you can just throw something down on paper and have it be “good enough.” These are formal essays for an application to a college that will be the launching ground for the rest of your life. I know that it is intimidating, but relax and start writing – and editing – and then do some more writing and editing… One of the biggest challenges as you write your essay is controlling the tone. You want to come across as confident but not boastful, self-assured but not aggressive, accomplished but not perfect. Try to avoid claiming that everything you've ever done has been unbelievably great. Don't be afraid to admit that you are human. Colleges want real, interesting people. Because it's so hard to control the tone of an essay about yourself, you will want to ask several people – teachers, friends, your parents, or even me – to read and respond to your essay. Get a variety of reactions, and then decide how you want to revise the essay. Remember, when getting help with essay revisions it is important to go into it with the thought that you want to get revisions so it can be the best possible essay (instead of going in hoping the editors will just say – good enough.) And yes, that also means you can’t procrastinate and put it off until the last possible second. :-)

There is a ton of information and resources available online to help you in writing your essays. I really liked the content shared on the EssayEdge website.

Here is some additional college essay writing information that I really liked and copied from another high school counseling website:

PICKING THE TOPIC
More than likely, if you look at all of the essay prompts you are going to find that they all contain the word “you.” For example, they may ask you to write about a significant experience in your life. No matter what you choose to write about, the essay should say something about who you are, what you value, how you think, and/or what you hope to accomplish. As you search for a suitable topic, be sure to think about the relationship between YOU and the experience, issue, or person.

Be creative. Don't make the mistake of adding one more routine essay to the pile. Many topics that jump to your mind may also jump to the minds of thousands of others applying to college this year. Instead, explore a new angle. Explain how you are different from everybody else, or investigate an unusual opinion.

Don't be afraid of controversy. If you have strong opinions about your topic, let them be known. It's probably a mistake to say what you think your readers want to hear just to keep from offending them. Instead, write what you believe. Admission officers often welcome strong opinions, especially if convincing facts and examples support the ideas.

Remember all the times your English teachers have said, "You write best about what interests you most?" Take their advice. Find a topic that excites you, one about which you have strong feelings. If you bring genuine interest to your writing, your readers will find it interesting as well.

COMPOSING THE ESSAY

Your English teachers have given you other good pieces of advice to remember too. Show your topic, don't just tell about it. Use vivid examples. Describe the scene or the person with sharp nouns and active verbs, using details that will invoke the senses. How did it look? feel? smell? sound? What, exactly, did the person say? Don't just tell your reader that "Uncle Henry was odd." Show us his collection of paper clips and his pet slug, Seymour. Don't just say you've been involved in "various leadership positions." Show us how you talked the school board into changing the study hall policy and how you turned the annual church youth group chicken BBQ from a poorly attended, money losing embarrassment into a standing-room-only, budget-busting, finger-licking success.

REVISING THE ESSAY

After you've finished a draft, take a break-a couple of days if you can-before you begin to revise. You need to take a fresh look at the essay. Does it reveal who you are? Does it represent your best academic ability? Does it sound like you? Be sure to examine the overall structure of the essay. Does it make a stunning point at the beginning and then fizzle, or does it steadily build in interest and intensity? Have you made clear the relationship between your ideas? Is the essay well organized?

The essay needs to read smoothly. As you revise and refine the piece, be sure that it has an attractive introduction, carefully crafted body paragraphs, and a confident conclusion. Look for clear transitions between paragraphs, and try to vary sentence length and structure. Pay careful attention to the verbs of each sentence. They should be active rather than passive (not "A decision was made," but "I decided") and should give your reader a clear picture of you in action. Although the essay needs to be personal, you shouldn't overuse the pronoun "I." Use it, of course, but don't start every sentence of the essay with it. Sometimes putting another word in the subject position of the sentence will help. (Compare: "I cut lawns every summer during high school, and I learned a lot." "My lawn care business taught me to work hard, to manage my time and my money, and to communicate well with my customers.")

TARGET: PERFECTION

If you ever write an error-free essay, this needs to be it. Grammatical and mechanical errors may ruin the entire application. Ask a knowledgeable person to help you proofread, and be sure that you type it carefully or-if the application insists-write it neatly by hand. Don't let careless last-minute flaws keep you out of the college you want to attend.

Isabelle

I just have to share this story with you…

This is Isabelle. She is 9 years old and *loves* Annie. I first met her when she was 5 and waiting for a transplant. She looks amazing considering she has received a new liver, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, and kidney – don’t you think!?!

Isabelle was REALLY sick while awaiting her transplant and she was very jaundiced (yellow). More often than not she didn’t feel good and yet she was always trying to make people around her smile. The one way to cheer her up when she was down was to simply mention Annie. She would proudly show off her Annie earrings, necklace, or dress. She even wanted to go to New York to see where Annie lives. (Yes, more often than not I think she has believed Annie is real. Even last year, when she came with me to one of the basketball games she met Ali Besser and we told Izzie that Ali was Miss Hannigan for Kilbourne’s Annie production and Isabelle made a face and backed away from her. It was too funny.)

While waiting for her transplant the Broadway production of Annie traveled to Columbus and they allowed Isabelle and her sister, Madeline, to do a walk through during one of the shows and at the end of the night everyone – including the cast – turned and gave her a standing ovation. It was emotional especially because at that time I still was not sure if she would live long enough to receive her transplant. Fortunately, she did receive her gift of life – in fact, Izzie will celebrate her 3 year transplant anniversary at the end of next month.

Isabelle lives in Pittsburgh now and one of the area community theaters was auditioning for Annie so Izzie tried out and (thankfully) was cast as an orphan. This was an absolute dream come true for her because now she was *really* in Annie singing the songs and speaking her lines. Last night after school I drove over to Pittsburgh to see the play and she was ADORABLE! She did a great job and it was so moving to see her and to be present as her dreams were coming true and she was on stage performing in Annie.


It was a long day – I got home around 3 am – after hitting a deer while driving home (totally different story) but so worth it. I just wanted to share it with you all because it was so special to me. Please remember, that your dreams can come true and it is always worth holding on to them… Izzie is living proof!

PSAT

The PSAT (practice SAT) will be administered at WKHS on Wednesday, October 17th. Registration for the test will begin next Monday, October 1st. Juniors and interested Sophomores can register in the Counseling and Career Center by bringing in a check for $14.00 made out to WKHS. This is an important practice test for the SAT and it is also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship competition. Even if you took the test as a Sophomore you should re-take the test as a Junior!

I had previously highlighted some useful information that I found on a College Admissions Counseling blog and this is some that I found on preparing for the PSAT.

A test prep company, ePrep, is now offering free PSAT prep including 2 full PSAT practice tests. I assume that the company is offering the free PSAT prep in the hope that students will then buy their SAT prep program. I don't know anything about this company other than what I read on their website but it rarely hurts to practice for any standardized test. There is little available on the web involving free PSAT prep as most sites just focus on the SAT.

This weekend will be exciting with Homecoming festivities. Good luck to the football team as they take on Pickerington Central tomorrow night! And then I will be one of the chaperones at the dance Saturday night so I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Smile

Lots of reasons for me to smile...

My family means the world to me – I especially adore my niece and nephew. My niece, Carly, is 4 and a half years old. Cole, my nephew, is 1 and a half. They live in Kentucky so I don’t have the opportunity to see them as much as I would like, but that makes great pictures even more special. I decided that rather than rambling on (again) in some huge lecture that I’d share some photos of my sister’s family. Yes, I am biased, but they are really too cute. I particularly love pictures 4 and 27 which are both of Cole being totally himself.

Tomorrow night is the season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy – the only show that I am completely addicted to watching so I am excited to see it again tomorrow night. Speaking of TV shows, there is a show coming to ABC mid-way through the season called Miss Guided about a high school counselor.

I will say that the PATHETIC way my fantasy football team has been playing doesn't give me any reason to smile, but that's OK since it's just for fun.

I am sure that this was a bit of the easy way out for an update, but I’m ok with that… hope you are too. :-)

College Costs - Public vs Private

Thank you to all of the students (and parents) who attended tonight’s Senior student and parent college night. I enjoyed talking to you and hopefully some (or all) of the information was helpful to you.

One of the topics that came up during tonight’s meeting was affordability of colleges.

Lots of students are scared away by the costs of private schools and do not even consider them as reasonable alternatives – even if the college has all of the features that they are looking for in a school. Please don’t do this… Look for the right school first and then worry about the costs and determining if it is going to be a viable option later. The reason I say that is that the data shows that the total difference in college debt between a public and private Ohio college over a 4 year time period only end up being about $1,000. Yes, I know, a thousand dollars is still a lot of money, but in the whole scheme of things it really isn’t and so it isn’t worth eliminating a school that you might really like because the initial cost seems too high.

And in case you were curious… here’s the specific data and the source: According to The Project on Student Debt, 2006 – The average student loan debt for seniors graduating from Ohio colleges and universities in 2005 was $18,854 for Ohio public universities – which ranks 10th among the states. And for Ohio private colleges the average debt was $19,938 – ranking 29th among the states.

In Ohio, private schools have a wide range for tuition and fees – This year the lowest costs $7,980 and the highest comes in at $38,140. The average tuition rate is $21,284. 26 schools come in below the average tuition amount – 4 of those being below $10,000 in tuition and fees.


Don’t forget tomorrow night is the Homecoming Bonfire.

Senior College Meeting Reminder

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, September 25th is the Senior Student & Parent College meeting. It will start at 7pm and we will meet in one of the larger classrooms upstairs – I think we will be in room 213, but there will be signs directing you to the right room.

Yes, I REALLY do want you to attend WITH your parents! Yes, I am asking YOU to come! (Remember, this is your future we are talking about – not your parents and not mine… so the responsibility ends up on your shoulders and you need to know what lies ahead.) This meeting will provide the opportunity to have all of you (“my” seniors) and your parents together as one large group. (The other counselors will be meeting with their students and parents in other rooms.) We are going to discuss the application process and all the fun aspects that includes and I am going to have LOTS of time for questions and answers. I sincerely hope it will be a productive night for all of us because I do NOT want to waste your time or mine!

(And yes, after all of your complaining, I know that this is the first day the new video game comes out and that you want to stay home and play it, but seriously, it is one night – please, pull yourself away from the video game for a little while and let’s look forward to college.)

Several of the Seniors won’t be able to join us because they will be in action tomorrow night. Good luck to Philip, Joey, Sam, and Brittany in your WKHS soccer/volleyball games!

I am looking forward to seeing the rest of you and your parents tomorrow night.

By the way - I also owe a HUGE thank you to Alex and John for giving up their late arrival this morning to come in and help us put together the packets of information we are handing out tomorrow night! I really appreciate it - thanks for getting up early to help. :-)

Recommendation Letters

Woo Hoo! I have officially finished my first recommendation letter. I have another one that I started and abandoned because I wasn’t happy with it (4 pages later) and am now working on a third person’s. This is, without a doubt, one of the most time consuming aspects of my job. I love the part when I get to sit and talk with you about your high school career before I sit down to write the letters, but the actual writing of the letters… not so much. Oh well, it is a necessary part of the job and so I am happy to do it.

The need for counselor recommendation letters is a great reminder of why it is important for students of every grade level (Sophomore, Junior, and Senior) to drop by my office throughout the year to allow me to get to know you better. I am confident that I know this year’s senior class better than I knew the class of 2007’s seniors at this same time last year. I sincerely want to expand that to include the younger students so that I am more comfortable with talking about some of the incredible things that you all are involved in and are accomplishing during your high school careers.

Have you started looking at your college applications to see if they are going to require recommendation letters from me or from your teachers? Some schools will require it and some will not. OSU, for example, does NOT require any recommendation letters. (Can you blame them? Imagine trying to read 22,000 recommendation letters on top of the applications and essays that they receive.) Miami University, on the other hand, will require 2 teacher recommendations and a counselor recommendation. If you are having problems determining if the colleges you are considering require recommendation letters – just stop down to see me and I can try to help you figure it out.

If you do need recommendation letters, give some thought ahead of time to who you would like to ask for the recommendations. Look at the requirements specified by the school – are they open to coaches or advisors writing letters or do they want them to come from academic teachers? If it requires that the letters come from teachers can it be from any subject area or are they only open to the core subjects of English, math, science, and social studies? Are you looking at a career in a specific area that a teacher at WKHS can write about your strengths in that field? For example, if you are considering majoring in Spanish perhaps a recommendation letter from one of your Spanish teachers would be appropriate. What teachers know you best? Who can speak to your work ethic and classroom contributions? If possible, it is often ideal to show your strengths across multiple subjects, so if you have a few teachers to pick from and 2 are math and 1 is science perhaps it would be beneficial to ask 1 math and 1 science teacher rather than the 2 math teachers simply to show that diversity. Remember, in recommendation letters from teachers the colleges are asking for information about you as a student and your potential for handling the academic rigors of college.

Once you have figured out the teacher or teachers that you want to ask for a recommendation (if needed) it is then time to ASK them if they are willing to write a letter for you. It is really important to be reasonable in the amount of time that you are allowing them to have to write your letter. (Think 30 days or more!) They are very busy with their classroom work and grading homework and papers and of course life in general and many teachers are often bombarded by students requesting recommendations. If a teacher is unable to write a recommendation letter for you – either because they don’t feel that they know you well enough to write a strong letter or because they have too much on their plate, don’t take it personally, simply ask another teacher. You will be thankful that you didn’t force them to write the letter because it wouldn’t be as solid of a recommendation letter if they were rushed or only had vague highlights to discuss.

In the Counseling and Career Center we have new forms that you can use to ask your teachers to write a recommendation for you if needed. It is also helpful to provide a resume or the type of information which is frequently seen on a resume to your teachers. (To make this easier, if you don’t have a resume, we have copied a recommendation information sheet on the back of the recommendation request form mentioned above.) It is also really important to specify the number of letters that you need, for which schools, and to provide envelopes as well as any forms required by the schools for the teachers to complete. (For example, the common application has a 2 page form for the teachers in addition to their recommendation letter.)

Once your teacher has completed his/ her recommendation letter they will either give it directly to me to add into your application packet when we mail it or they will give it to you to bring to me. You are the one ultimately responsible for making sure that the recommendation letter is submitted to me so if you are unsure if your teacher has provided me with the letter, stop down to see me.

If a counselor recommendation is required it is beneficial to come and see me as soon as you realize it so that we can set up a time to meet. (Yes, I do require EVERY student that I am going to write a recommendation letter for to actually come in and TALK to me… what a crazy concept!) I write the letters on a first come first serve basis. It is the only way I know how to be fair. As I mentioned last night, I have a *bit* of a perfectionist streak and so I try to put a lot of time and effort into the letters – last year it took me an average of 5 hours per letter which adds up quickly. (I am hoping that this year since I have known you all a little longer that it will go faster, but if this weekend has been any indication… well, let’s not go there…) So please, watch your deadlines and try to help me write the best letter possible by allowing me to have the time with it. You might wonder why it takes me so long to write a recommendation letter and it is because each letter should (hopefully) capture the essence of you – and each of you are very different. When writing recommendation letters generalized praise is wasted space so I need stories and examples to help give people a true image of you and to make it more than just what they can read about you in your application. I can’t say that I reach that goal every time, but I promise that I try my best.

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend – back to a full week of school this week with the homecoming football game coming up on Friday night and the dance Saturday night.

Record Breaking Run

Congratulations to John Batchelder who broke the school cross country record last week! John smashed the previous record (15:59) by completing the course in just 15 minutes and 38 seconds. Several other members of the cross country team also ran personal best times in the race. Congratulations John – I’m proud of you!

I did head out today to watch the guys and girls cross country teams running through the hills of Lancaster. I’d suspect most of you have never attended a cross country meet and I hadn’t either until last year, but there are LOTS of people in my part of the alphabet that are runners so, of course, I realized that I needed to see them run. It is a demanding sport and the athletes push themselves. It is entertaining to stand back and observe the parents who run the course to watch their kids. (It really is sweet that they are so supportive and encouraging to their children!) One thing that I had expected when I went to my first cross country meet was that you would just watch them run past you at the start and wait around until they ran past you again at the finish, but on most courses with just a short walk you can see the athletes run past you several different times. The cross country teams are running at Thomas Worthington on October 6th and it is a fast course and easy to watch the athletes pass you on multiple occasions.

pro·cras·ti·nate / [proh-kras-tuh-neyt]–verb 1. to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost. 2. to put off until another day or time; defer; delay.
pro·cras·ti·na·tion, noun —Synonyms prolong, postpone.


While I can justify (also read as rationalize/ make excuses) why I *had* to go all the way down to Lancaster to watch the cross country teams today – such as that on October 6th there might be bad weather and I will be hanging out with my 4 year old niece and 1 year old nephew and if it is raining or cold they won’t want me to drag them out to stand around to watch other people run, etc. But, the reality is… there was a tad bit of procrastination on my part. I NEED to be working on recommendation letters and I have started brainstorming and outlining for a few of the letters already, but I have completed ZERO letters. So instead of sitting here at my computer writing letters I drove to Lancaster to watch the kids run. I have also completed several loads of laundry. I am presently watching my UK wildcats blow their lead against Arkansas (recall that I previously mentioned the ugly Razorback pig creature…) while still being impressed that UK is ranked in football – that hasn’t happened since before you were born. And now here I am updating my blog, but still no letters. That is one of the problems with being both a perfectionist and a procrastinator.

(Update: Just in case you were curious, UK ended up pulling off the win and moved to 4-0 and 2nd in the SEC East Division... I am so happy for them! Remember, the years that I was at UK I watched the football team work incredibly hard without being able to win... we were 1-10 my freshman year... so this is very exciting.)

I guess I should go write some letters… at least 1 letter… or maybe I need to dust or run the vacuum or something??? :-)

Colleges Visiting Kilbourne

I don’t know about you, but this has been a long tough week for me. The highlight of my week has easily been all of the former students who have been e-mailing or calling to update me on life at college. It is great to talk to them and hear about their new adventures! I’m so proud of the incredible things they are accomplishing and will do in this world. Since they are contacting me that probably means they are a bit homesick, but that is normal. Before long you will be at a new school and feeling that loneliness for home and I will be thrilled to hear from you too!

In order to go away to school, there is 1 *minor* detail that you must do… pick a school. We have talked a lot about going on college visits, but I haven’t mentioned much about the fact that college admissions representatives also come to WKHS in order to visit with you. Stop for a moment and think about that – the schools are paying someone to come to Kilbourne in order to meet with you and showcase the opportunities available at their college.

While a meeting with a representative cannot replace the actual experience of walking on campus, seeing the people, and experiencing the classes, it can be an important piece of your information gathering process. Possibly even more importantly, you are expressing your interest and desire to attend their college! The admissions representatives who are traveling to the schools keep track of who they see. Many colleges can go back and tell you exactly how many times a student has come to tour campus, contacted the admissions office, or had an official interaction with a representative of the school. You never really know what can make a difference so if you are able to attend a meeting with a representative, it can only help you.

It is easy to find out what colleges have visits scheduled – simply go to the College Events section on PrepHQ (in the College area) and scroll through the list. If you are looking at the summary page on a college, you will also be able to see there if they have a college event coming up.

(The PrepHQ link from the WKHS site has not been working consistently - I am checking into it, but in case you need it you can also go to http://www.prephq.com/ and then type in worthingtonkilb for the School/ Program ID and then use your regular username and password and that should get you into the system.)

If you want to sign up to attend one of the visits it is simple – all you need to do is click on the button that says, “Sign Up” next to the college event. If you make a mistake or realize that you cannot attend, you can also cancel your visit in the same way. It really couldn’t be any easier. If you are not using PrepHQ (why not?!?) you can also stop into the Counseling and Career Center and look through the list of college visits and sign up for any that interest you that way.

Juniors and Seniors have unlimited opportunities to attend these sessions. Please be reasonable though. If a visit is scheduled during a time when you have class you MUST get your teacher’s approval in advance of attending the information session. You are responsible for all missed work and teachers are not supposed to excuse you from tests, quizzes, or labs. (You can pick up a pass to have your teacher sign in the Counseling and Career Center or you can download one off of PrepHQ in the Shared Files section.)

Sophomores are also invited to attend the sessions with the college representatives, but are limited to participating in the visits during your lunch or Academic Prep/ Probation periods. If you have academic prep, you will need to secure a pass just as the upperclassmen are required.

Enjoy sleeping in tomorrow… I am so jealous! I will be sitting in meetings all day tomorrow wishing that I could be making some progress on the recommendation letters that are piling up on my desk. Perhaps I will see you tomorrow night at the football game… if not, have a great long weekend!

PS – Seniors, don’t forget to register for the ACT – the website appears to be fixed now. And remember that next Tuesday, September 25th is the Senior Student and Parent College Night at 7pm. You really need to attend if you are applying to colleges.

College Fair for Students with Learning Disabilities

The College Fair for Students with Learning Disabilities will be held tomorrow night, Thursday, September 20th, from 6:30 – 8:00pm at Gahanna Lincoln High School.

Students who are on Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) are able to continue receiving assistance in college. This college fair will provide students with the opportunity to compare the support offerings and accommodation options at a variety of colleges.

Graduation Change... Again

The big news announced today is that the date for the Class of 2007's graduation commencement ceremony has changed - AGAIN!

Graduation was initially scheduled for Sunday, June 1st, but had to be moved to June 8th because of a change in the state minimum attendance requirements. As it turns out, Seniors are only 1 day short of their minimum requirements. So, the "powers that be" (not really sure who that includes) decided that they would find a way for the Seniors to "make up" that day in some other way - either coming to school for a senior only event day on a Saturday or during a teacher work day and they would be able to graduate as previously scheduled.

Which means - Seniors, you will be graduates of Worthington Kilbourne High School on June 1, 2008! :-) Isn't that exciting!?! Wow, just 256 days away!

(This picture is of my niece, Carly, playing "dress up" in an old cap and gown. It may not be the best picture, but she is still cute... I know, I know, I am biased - just like every good Aunt should be!)

More College Visits

Last night, after writing about the college search I was remembering when I was in high school making college visits and – in the crazy way my mind works – that started me thinking about all of the different college campuses that I have been on in my life. I tried to count and it was a very impressive list, but you will notice that I said “been on” and not “visited” because those are very different numbers!

During my time at college I traveled often to LOTS of different college campuses, but my visits to each campus was short and basically consisted of the training rooms, football stadiums, tennis courts, or gyms. I know enough to remember that if I never see the color orange and hear the song Rocky Top again it will be too soon (University of Tennessee) and that everywhere you turn at the University of Arkansas you will see the image of the Razorback which is this bizarre pig like looking creature, but truthfully I cannot tell you much about either campus and the academic offerings at those or most of the schools that I recall traveling to in the past.

So when you are making your college visits – pay attention to the details around you and all that there is to learn about the school.

Try to keep in mind that there are a lot of outside factors that can influence the quality of your visit – positively or negatively. For example, the weather… if it is a gorgeous sunny day with perfect temperatures you may think it is the most beautiful school and if it cold, rainy, or dreary you may think it is miserable, but try to remember that the weather changes from day to day and judge the school without being overly influenced by the weather. (Please also remember that if you are traveling to areas in different climates than Ohio that weather may be a factor, so I am not making a blanket statement to always ignore the weather.)

Tour guides also form a huge impression of the school that you visit. Most colleges know that and will try to find outgoing, positive, energetic students to take you through the campus. Ideally the guides will try to get to know something about you or your interests to help point those aspects of the school out to you, but the reality is the students serving as tour guides are not always great and, let’s be honest here, we all have bad days so even some of the good ones can have off days where they won’t be impressive on the visit. I know it can be hard, but try to separate the guide from the school.

If you can spare the time – stop and sit on a bench and just “people watch.” Are these people that you can imagine being your friends in the future? Remember, you are hoping that in the near future that you will be able to make friends with them and others like them on campus. Think about how you are feeling on the campus – can you imagine yourself being there and being both happy and successful at this school?

And, while you are enduring the weather, on your tour, or sitting on the bench thinking – please don’t forget that I would REALLY like you to take a picture for the “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” display. I posted it outside of my office today and I am excited for it to fill up, but you will notice that as of right now there is a ton more white space than pictures. So please, PLEASE, P.L.E.A.S.E, help me out – Yes, I am begging!

One last other important piece of news – tomorrow night (Tuesday) is the PTO Open House which is also known as “Meet the Teacher” night. It’s a great time for your parents to realize how tough your schedule is and to put names/ faces with the teachers you have in class so please encourage them to attend. It starts at 7pm and ends at 9:20.

Searching for a College

When you start the college search – the answer lies in you! I know, that sounds a bit cheesy, but it is true. Before you really start looking for the “right” school it is important to figure out what you want in a school and that can only be found by looking in yourself and determining what factors are most important to you.

For example, for some students distance from home may be a big deal. Being close can have it’s advantages – like being able to come home and have a free home cooked meal or a place to do your laundry and also not having to worry about flying half way across the country any time you would want to come home for a visit. Going to school at a college far from home can also have it’s advantages – often a different climate, a new experience and adventure where you can be independent, and no concerns about mom or dad just dropping in unexpectedly. And, of course, there are some students who will elect to find a school that is not too far and not too close. (Remember, that by communicating with your family about what you are looking for in a school you may find that a college outside of your comfort zone is still worth looking at because you and your parents may be able to reach some mutually agreed upon ground rules – so the concern that they might come see you or you might come home too often can be eliminated by talking about those issues up front.)

The size of a school is another factor for many students. Small, Medium, Large or somewhere in between – the challenge is that many students will say, “I don’t know” and that is where making a variety of visits to different sized schools can be advantageous. You can explore a small school and see if the experience of knowing lots of people on campus and in your classes is better for you than a medium or large school where you may have a class in a lecture hall with hundreds of other students. As you visit the schools you may find that there are experiences or advantages that a larger school can provide that a smaller school can’t such as a wider variety of clubs or groups for students to be involved. The key is to figure out what size school fits you and then you can narrow your search to explore more schools in that range.

Other factors that often influence a student’s college decision will include the types of majors or programs offered at the school, their athletic programs – both collegiate sponsored and intramurals, the food, the dorms, the cost (but don’t necessarily eliminate potential colleges simply based upon cost because often the private schools are much more expensive, but also offer a much larger financial aid package to make it competitive and comparable to a public school), extra-curricular opportunities, and on and on.

Again, I cannot stress the point that everyone is different and what is best for one person is not necessarily the ideal school for someone else. All too often I listen to students who are only looking at the 2 or 3 schools that their best friend or sibling looked at rather than trying to find the school that fits best for them. Also, I truly believe that it is about being a good match – for both you and the college.

I know, it can be a bit intimidating to search for a school and to try to figure out what you really want in a college and for your future, but it is also supposed to be fun so try not to put too much pressure on yourself to find “perfection” and try to take a step back and figure out what will make you happy. It really can be fun, but I know it is also overwhelming so remember that I am here to support and help you in any way that I can.

Kilbourne Sports

This week my schedule allowed me to get out and watch quite a few sporting events – Volleyball, Boys Soccer (JV & Varsity), Girls Soccer (JV & Varsity), Girls Tennis, Boys & Girls Water Polo, and Football. Nearly all were victories - Congratulations Wolves! In case I haven’t mentioned it – I really do enjoying seeing all of the amazing things that you do! I still have not made it to a cross country meet yet this season and, sadly, once again this year it looks like I won’t make it out to see golf. (Sorry EB and Tim – currently my only 2 golfers)

Most people have seen a majority of the sports that Kilbourne sponsors, but until last year I had never seen water polo. It is a fun sport to watch and a fast paced game that is over in less than an hour. If you haven’t seen a game – when you watch it looks like they are drowning each other half the time and it is a very physically demanding sport. The guys are hosting a tournament this weekend and have 2 more games tomorrow (9am and 1pm) and the girls have one more regular season home game on October 9th against Thomas.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Seriously Impressive

Lots of my students impress me with their academic, athletic, or musical talents. Today I am applauding one of these fine young men, Philip Bunting, for being recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist.

Students qualify for this recognition based upon their PSAT scores during their junior year. There were 7 other WKHS students who also earned this recognition. They will now participate in a nationwide competition for scholarships based upon their academic successes.

This great news was shared in an announcement in the Columbus Dispatch.

Congratulations Philip! I’m very proud of you!

Mrs. Stamm Jumped OUT of a Plane!

It's true - tonight Mrs. Stamm, along with 4 other WKHS staff members (none of which were me I might add) jumped out of a plane. They were sky diving with paratroopers from the US Army as a component of tomorrow night's Military Tribute football game. (Sorry, I don't have any pictures to share with you of that...)

When I went to Parris Island to watch some of the process as Marines go through boot camp some of the educators participated in different activities. One of the educators from Michigan attempted a monkey bars kind of obstacle where the rungs on the monkey bars varied in height so some were higher and others were lower. She fell and broke her ankle in multiple places and ended up hospitalized needing surgery.

It is safe to say that I am not that stupid (brave) to try anything like that and about the most adventuresome thing that I did was climb up and over a wall with a rope and I still needed help getting down! LOL! (Seriously, my legs were not long enough to climb down without help...)

(Me thinking about climbing... Climbing... And wondering how in the world they want me to get down from up there. Yep, I know, still no where near as impressive or exciting as jumping out of a plane!)

So, when Mr. Weary sent out an e-mail to staff asking for volunteers to hurl themselves out of a perfectly good plane that had no problems with it's landing gear or landing ability there was NO way that I was going to sign up. Call me practical, realistic, or a chicken - all three apply. :-) Mrs. Stamm, on the other hand, was excited for the opportunity. So tonight, she sky dived with the guy from the US Army who will be sky diving for all of us tomorrow night. A video of all of their jumps will also be played at the football game for everyone to see. You will be happy to know that she did make it safe and sound to the ground with no problem and she loved the experience. She said that on a scale of 1 - 10 it was a 5o and that they couldn't stop smiling. I'm glad she enjoyed it, but I'm still glad it was her and not me. Hopefully you aren't all thinking that you want to jump ship and switch to have an adventuresome (or a little crazy depending upon your perspective) counselor or else the administrators are all going to be trying to figure out why no one wants me as their counselor any more and everyone wants to change to Mrs. Stamm's case load.

In case you needed a reason to smile - tomorrow is Friday - which means you have nearly completed your first 5 day week!

Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision

How was school today? Did you miss me? :-) I missed you! My day was pretty good – I attended the Ohio Association of College Admissions Counselors Conference. I have been sitting here and looking through the 5 inch stack of information that I gathered during the meetings today trying to figure out what is best to share with you from the conference and there is so much that I don’t even know where to start. So, between the information overload and just being tired my brain is now mush…

Hopefully you are OK if I share some of the information gathered today later. (I will mention that for some students who had specified information that they were looking for in a college, I tried to keep my eyes and ears open for you and have some resources to give you tomorrow or the next time I see you.)

One topic that can get confusing for students (and parents and anyone else in the college application process – including me at times) is the different application submission options. You will often see some or all of the terms: “Early Decision,” “Early Action,” and “Regular Decision” listed as deadlines for your applications. So let’s briefly review what each one means…

Early Decision

The key piece to know with Early Decision is that it is a COMMITMENT! Applying to a school in this program is considered a contract between the student and the college. You can apply to only one school as an Early Decision school. If you are accepted, you are promising to withdraw all other applications.


Early Action

This is a non-binding option. Early Action has an earlier application deadline and students will learn if they have been accepted to the school much earlier. (Some schools will defer their decision to the Regular Decision deadline if the student is on the bubble.) Early Action is not a contract and the student is not obligated to attend school at that institution.


Regular Decision

This is the deadline that you will generally see first as it is the most common. This means you are applying and will hear your decision on their regular time schedule. There are no commitments or early notifications. It is important to note that the Regular Admissions deadlines are often AFTER the deadline for scholarship consideration – which adds in a whole additional set of deadlines to watch, but that is a different story for another day.

It is really important to be watching your deadlines carefully – I can’t stress that enough!

OK, so one quick bit of information from today’s session since it deals with Early Decision and Early Action… The following is a list of the PRIVATE colleges in Ohio that have one of these programs:

Early Decision: Denison, Kenyon, Kettering, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenberg, and Wooster

Early Action: Case Western Reserve, Ohio Wesleyan, Ursuline, and Xavier

(I cheated – they gave that to me so I didn’t have to look it up for you – I can look up any of the public schools if you would like to know if they have Early Decision or Early Action programs. Just let me know if you are interested.)

September 11th

September 11th (2001) was one of those “huge” moments in my life when I realized the world was more dangerous than the little bubble in which I lived and functioned. I will always remember where I was and what was happening as we watched the towers come crashing to the ground. I can’t believe it was 6 years ago – and even more than that – I struggle to think that you were between 8 and 10 years old at the time… (Wow, do I feel old!)

So today, a day of remembrance for those who lost their lives on that tragic filled day, already had special meaning to me – especially every time I saw a flag at half staff. (I feel this is such a powerful display of respect so it always catches my attention.)

Today was also special because one of my former students from last year, Joda Dotson, stopped in to visit. Joda graduated in June and a week later headed off to Marine Corps boot camp. He survived the 13 weeks of intense training and graduated last Friday. He is home on his 10 days of leave and spent a little time at the school today. (As you can see in the picture - he is so skinny - there is barely anything left of him!) I am so proud of him and what he has already accomplished! If you are at the football game on Friday night and see Joda (he plans to attend) be sure to tell him congratulations. For me, his visit felt even more poignant since it fell on September 11th.

After school I took the opportunity to watch a few more sports – JV and Varsity Soccer and Varsity Volleyball. All three teams won which was great! (At least I think JV Soccer won their game – there isn’t a scoreboard and I was late leaving my office to get out to the field for the start of the game, but I only saw Kilbourne score goals…) I really do enjoy having a chance to see you participating in all of the different opportunities that are available at WKHS. It was the perfect way to end the day!

I also wanted to give you a heads up that I will not be in the office tomorrow. We have the annual college articulation meeting (where all of the Ohio colleges – public and private – give us a quick overview on what we need to know to help you with your applications) so I will be off learning all that I can to be as helpful as possible. Hope it is a good day and I will see you on Thursday!

Follow The Directions!

I have to say that today’s topic is a lesson that can apply to lots of different circumstances throughout your life. From the time you were little you probably learned that there are always rules and consequences of not following those rules. Sometimes we don’t have any problem following the rules and sometimes… well, it isn’t always quite so easy to do *exactly* what we are supposed to do.

I can think of countless examples of this in my everyday life and many of them cross over into your life too – be at work/ school on time, don’t use cell phones at school, drive the speed limit, etc. Some times these are easy and sometimes we may struggle even though the reality is – they really aren’t that difficult to obey.

OK, I am rambling – the basic point is that I’d like to remind you to follow the directions! In everything and in every way – there are consequences of not following directions. This applies to your school work and – for those of you who are seniors – into your college and scholarship applications.

When they ask you to write an essay of 250 words or less – keep your essay to that length. If they ask for a list – give them a list. If they ask a question – answer the question completely. The difference is often in the details! Please pay attention and do what they are asking you– you never want someone to have a reason to eliminate your hard work on a technicality. And yes, even if they say it is optional or preferred that means they really want it that way, so just suck it up and do it their way. Remember, in class not following your teacher’s directions might result in a bad grade, but as you get out into the real world the consequences can be much more severe and have a lasting impact.

I recognize that this all seems very obvious, but at some point we all get tired and think, “oh well, this is good enough…” So remember I’m here if you need me to encourage you to push through and take it that one extra step.

And finally, because I never make a promise that I don’t intend to keep – hello Chaitanya – I enjoyed our conversation today and look forward to reading your essays… including the optional one.

I'm a Wildcat...

Well, OK, now I am a WKHS Wolf, but I will still always be a Wildcat at heart. I went to the University of Kentucky for my undergraduate degree. So congratulations to those of you (41%) who guessed right in the poll. I did go to graduate school at the University of Dayton and that is the diploma displayed in my office so that could have been tricky. For the record, I also applied to and strongly considered Indiana and OSU before making the decision that UK was the right school for me. (Please note that I strongly believe that one school is NOT right for everyone and therefore just because UK was right for me that doesn’t mean that I think it is the school for everyone! And it doesn’t hurt my feelings if you don’t like UK… just know that if you start speaking highly about some of UK’s rivals that you might see me roll my eyes a time or two. :-) Just Kidding!)

When I was a senior in high school I applied to 5 schools – UK, OSU, Indiana, Ohio University, and Duquesne. I knew that I wanted to be an athletic trainer when I grew up and so I wanted to find a school with a strong program. I ultimately decided that I wanted to find an internship program so that I could major in something other than athletic training (I picked health education and psychology), but still earn my athletic training certification. That narrowed my choices to OSU and UK and honestly, I decided on UK because at that time the opportunities for a female in athletic training were better at UK than they were at OSU. (I know, to most of you reading this it must seem strange and it feels strange thinking that even when I was heading off to college that there were still limitations on options you had simply because of your gender, but it was the truth.) So, because I wanted the opportunity to work football and I am a female the best choice for me was UK. (And, I must also mention that a few years after I started college OSU opened up football athletic training opportunities to females as well as males.)

Here is a picture of me from this summer in front of the Nutter Athletic Training Facility at UK – this is the building where I spent nearly every waking moment of my life during my 4 years at UK.

For the record, I am still a nationally certified athletic trainer, but I never want to do that again. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change anything that I have done in my past and I will always cherish the experiences and opportunities that I had during my years at UK! I have life lessons that I will carry with me forever and I am proud of my accomplishments which is why I continue to maintain my certification. But, for me, as I completed my final semester of college and was doing my student teaching I realized how much I loved working with students and so I decided I wanted to be in education. I also realized that the hours required for athletic trainers are miserable. My typical day was to be up at 4am – in the training room by 5am until it was time for classes (8-12) and then back in the training room – often until late in the evening and then it was time to head home, grab dinner, study, do homework, catch a few hours of sleep and then get up and do it all again. I loved it at the time, but now just thinking about it makes me tired. :-) I knew that some day I wanted to be able to get married and have a family and those hours just aren’t the easiest to make that a reality. And yes, I also knew that there are different venues that athletic trainers can work other than Division-1 sports where the hours might not have been as demanding, but I pretty much wanted it all or nothing…

So, there you go – more than you had probably hoped to know, but that’s my story of how I ended up at UK and why I am often sporting UK sweatshirts on dress down Fridays.

Hope that you had a good weekend even with all of the rain. See you tomorrow for the 1st “real” 5-day week of the year. And, don’t forget, tomorrow is the last (regular rates) day to register for the October SAT.

OSU Admissions Update

This morning the Ohio State University hosted area counselors to provide us with an update about what they saw in trends last year and to give us an idea of what they are anticipating for the coming year. This is the 2nd year that I have attended this conference and while I wasn't *quite* as shocked as I was last year I still walked away shaking my head in awe.

The new freshman class at OSU (which will be moving in next week) has an average ACT score of 27. They received 22,000 applications for approximately 6,000 spots. Next year their goal is 5,800 new students to enroll as freshmen. 97% of the applicants had more than the "minimum" standards for college prep courses. For example, the average freshman took 4.8 math classes, 4.0 lab sciences, and 3.7 foreign language classes. They said that a rigorous high school curriculum is still the number one factor that they look at when considering an application.

They will be sticking with a February 1st deadline for application which means that EVERYTHING must be received in their office by that date in order to be considered - including your official test scores, transcript, and college prep form. If you want to be considered for scholarships you must apply by December 3rd - and again that means everything must be there by then to be considered.

Other news that might be interesting to you - they talked about their concerns for students that get "senioritis" and do poorly in their classes during their senior year or drop their 2nd semester classes that they had indicated they would be taking because they had already received their acceptance letters and wanted to coast for a while. Evidently, UCLA rescinded 91 college acceptances from students because of their final semester grades. Ohio State did not take it that far, but they did call the students and asked them to provide written documentation for why they had dropped the classes or done poorly in them during their final semester of high school. Wow! That must have been a shock - please don't even risk it and be certain that there are no concerns with your grades and academic rigor during your final semester!

Newsworthy Notes

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I think I jinxed myself by saying that I loved how fast 4 day weeks fly past because this week has felt long. For whatever reason today was the toughest one of the week for me to get up and so all day I have been looking forward to going to sleep early tonight, but then I remembered that the NFL games kick off tonight and now I am tempted to stay up and watch the game… we’ll see. (Since I am posting this after halftime you can see that going to sleep early isn’t happening…LOL!)

I have lots of random tidbits for you today so sorry if this seems to jump around a bit…

In addition to the opportunity to travel to schools and learn about what they have to offer many colleges will come to WKHS and allow you the chance to interact with an admissions representative. There are quite a few of these visits already scheduled and they start next week. The college events section of PrepHQ has been updated to include all of the colleges that are currently scheduled to visit. If you are interested in attending any of the presentations you need to stop into the Counseling and Career Center and you will see the sign up sheets in an organization system on the table on the right side when you walk in the door. Simply sign up on the sheet and take a pass with you for your teacher to sign granting their approval for your attendance. All of you can take advantage of these opportunities and I encourage you to do so. (By the way, if you have updated your PrepHQ college list then if any of the schools that you are interested in are scheduled to visit you should automatically receive an e-mail alerting you to the visit – another good reason to keep your college list current.)

We got a reminder in the Guidance Office this week that Eastern Michigan University automatically grants in-state tuition rates to all students from Ohio. Just thought I would pass that along in case you are interested in the school.

The year before I started at WKHS there were 4 students at my high school who were diagnosed with cancer – 2 of them were my students. As you can imagine this was tough for each of these students and everyone who knew them. They all continue in their battles – some doing better than others, but I was reminded of them all because September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. When I think about what all of the incredible young kids must face as they fight for their lives I quickly realize that any “problems” I think I have are not so important any more.

And finally, I read on the Dispatch website that today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the latest statistics on teenage suicides and there has been a significant increase in suicide rates among teen girls. I want to remind each of you that if you are ever feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to turn or if you are worried about a friend who you suspect might be considering suicide – PLEASE come and talk to me or one of the other counselors at school! This is truly a matter of life or death and you are far too important to me to have anything happen to you.

And to end on a happy note – Tomorrow is Friday! :-)

The Zips and the Roos

Over the summer I went on college visits to get a better feel for some of the schools you or other students may consider. My parents live in Canton, Ohio so Akron is just a short drive from their house so the University of Akron was early on the visit list. The University of Akron has 2 mascot nicknames - the Zips and the Roos.

I have to admit - I was a bit surprised by my visit. I didn't think that I was going to Akron with any preconceived ideas of what the school would be like, but I was impressed with how "new" the campus seemed. They have been working on updating a lot of the different campus areas and have more planned for the future. They brag about having one of the most wireless campuses in the country which is a plus. I liked seeing their rec center, but have a hard time imagining swimming in the pool or relaxing on the lazy river with the windows above and knowing that random tours of potential tours could soon appear and stare at you while the tour guide talks about the facility. We didn't get to go into the Honors Dorms, but they sounded amazing. I really would have liked to have seen one. The other thing that I thought was interesting was that our tour guide was telling one of the students on the tour who is looking at Engineering that the Engineering/ Science building has underground tunnels so that they don't have to venture out in the cold. The guide was definitely jealous of that aspect! :-)

I have a picture of the outside of the Honors Dorm and I also have a picture of me (since I beg all of you to take pictures when you are out on visits) in front of the admissions building - and yes, I will admit that I was asking my mom (who is also a high school counselor and went with me on the visit) to hurry up and take the picture. LOL! (I don't know if any of you will be impressed by this, but I am excited that I figured out how to post multiple pictures on the site and to move them into the text! :-) I know, how pathetic... but the simple things make me happy!)

Also, before I close I wanted to let you know that the Dispatch ran a story in the paper today about student loans and while I am confident most of you do not read the Dispatch and probably won't be interested in this story at this time - some day down the road as you are paying off school loans for college you will be more interested in the content so I am passing it along.

Why We Do Not Rank

When completing college applications you will find that most colleges will ask “What is your class rank?” and if they can’t get you to give them an exact rank they might also ask you for a percentile ranking. (Some schools may not ask you and may ask on the counselor form that I am required to complete for you.) The official answer is “We Do Not Rank.”

That is what I write on all of the forms that I complete for you and what you should indicate on your application – UNLESS you are one of the students with a grade point average of a 4.0 or higher for your high school career. If you have greater than a 4.0, then you are automatically ranked #1 in the class. (So yes, that would mean that there are multiple Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores ranked first in their respective class.)

As you already know, WKHS is an academically competitive high school and we would not want a class ranking to hurt you in any way. For example, this year, a 3.75 GPA ranks as a top 20% at Kilbourne, but at a less competitive school might rank in the top 5 or 10%. So, unless you have a 4.0 or better, do yourself a favor and write “Do Not Rank” when completing your applications.

And, for those of you who really want to know what your current class rank is – you can see it in PrepHQ as the data has now been updated. You can also view your current grade point average there too. Sorry for the delay in getting that information updated. Please, please, please, remember that no one else will see your class rank and we do not release it so it is NOT a reason to worry or be upset if your rank is not as high as you would have expected or guessed.

Happy Labor Day!

Hooray! We don't have school today - which means no alarm clock! I love being able to sleep in and I always enjoy having a 4 day week - it seems to go so fast. Of course, tomorrow morning when I have to get up on time I won't be happy about the fact that I slept in until 10:00 today as 5:00 will seem REALLY early. (Don't worry I will be hitting the snooze alarm a few times tomorrow. LOL!)

Love this comic - I had found it and saved it and meant to put it up on the blog to remind you that you would be having your pictures taken during schedule pick up date, but... I forgot. So, this is a reminder that all of you who DIDN'T get your pictures taken on schedule pick up date have picture make ups on Thursday of this week! You will need to find time to go to the Auditorium during the day to get your picture taken. There are lots of posters hanging around the school to remind you of this too.

By the way, I have nearly given away the college that I attended for my undergraduate degree on several different posts and am sad to see that there are only 6 people who have voiced their guess about where I went to school. Humor me please and make your guess in the poll on the right side of the page. Thanks!

See you tomorrow... bright and early! Ughh... :-)

Visiting a College Campus

What a beautiful weekend we have had so far! I hope you are enjoying it…

Some of you may be making the most of the extra day off by traveling to visit a college campus so I thought it might be useful if I gave you some information to help you during your campus visits. This is a long post, so please bear with me. :-)

During your campus visit, ask questions as you tour the school. After each visit, review the list to see if there are any other questions you might want to add. Remember, you are visiting campuses to get a feeling for the atmosphere of each place – something you can’t get from a brochure or website.


Questions to Ask During a Campus Visit:
- What activities and services are available to help students get settled (academically and socially) during their first year?
- How big are the classes?
- (Ask students) How easy is it to meet with faculty?
- (Ask students) Are you able to register for the classes you want?
- What is the total cost of attending the college?
- What types of financial aid does the college offer and how do I apply?
- Are all freshmen assigned to an academic advisor?
- Where do most freshmen live?
- Can I take a tour?
- What activities are available for students?
- Who teaches the majority of the courses for first-year students?
- How successful are the college’s graduates in finding jobs?
- What services (such as transportation and shopping) are available locally?
- What is there to do on weekends? Do most students stay on campus or leave on weekends?
- Are the dorms spread throughout the campus or clustered in one area?
- Is there any kind of shuttle service between classroom areas, the library, the student union, and dorms? How late does it run?
- Is there a security system to bar outsiders from entering dorms?
- How large is the campus security police force? Does it patrol the campus regularly?
- What services are offered by the campus health center? How large is it?
- Does the student health center refer students to the local hospital? Is there a nearby hospital? How large is it?

Ask Students:
- How many of your courses are taught by a big-name professor and how many by a teaching assistant?
- Is the teaching innovative and project oriented or is it mostly lecture oriented?
- Do most freshmen class lectures take place in an amphitheater?
- What are the strong majors? What are the weak majors?
- How hard do you have to work for your grades?
- What’s the reputation of the ________ department?
- How adequate for your needs is the campus computer network?
- Do fraternities and sororities dominate the social life of the college?
- What do students do on weekends? Do most go home?
- How is the advisement system? Do you feel your professors really care?
- How helpful are the other students if you miss a class? (Are they willing to share a copy of their notes or review the information covered with you?)
- There are a lot of organizations on campus. Are they dominated by a few groups or is anyone welcome?
- How active is the ___________ (fill in the activity in which you are interested)?

Pay Attention to/ Take note of:
- Are the dorms quiet or noisy? Do they seem crowded?
- How large are the dorm rooms? Is there adequate space and light to study?
- Does each dorm room have access to the internet and the campus LAN?
- What’s advertised on dorm and classroom bulletin boards? What does this tell me about campus life?
- How good is the lighting around each dorm, classroom, and lab buildings?
- Do the buildings and grounds look well cared for or do they need painting and general repair work?
- Is the grass cut and are the grounds landscaped?
- What’s the condition of the playing fields and the sports equipment?
- How is the quality of the food in the cafeteria or dining hall? How are the sizes of the portions? Is it healthy or fast food? Are there meal plans?
- Does it look like there is much to do outside of campus?
- How easy is it to get to places off campus?
- Are there places within walking distance?
- Are there places to get extra furniture, like bookcases, for your dorm room?
- Is there a supermarket nearby to stock up on snacks and soda?
- If you move out of a dorm after freshman year, what are the options in apartment complexes or buildings?

Things to Ask Yourself:
- While waiting how did the staff members that you observed interact with students? Were they friendly or did they approach students – both potential freshmen like you and enrolled students – as if they were interfering with the staff members jobs?
- Was the Admissions office a friendly and inviting place with a great deal of information about the school or was it cold and sterile with little information to pick up?
- What did your parents find out about the career planning services offered to graduating seniors and to graduates? What do the services include?
- Do most of the students seem to be like you or are they completely different? Can you imagine being friends with the people you see on campus?
- How would you feel being in a classroom full of these students? Sharing a dorm with them?
- Do the students try to make you feel at home? Are they happy to answer your questions or do they make you feel like you’re intruding? How do they interact with one another?
- Does the campus seem too big or too small?
- Do freshmen live in their own dorms? How do I feel about living in a single-sex or coed dorm?
- Do you feel comfortable and safe?
- Think about the kind of person you are. Are you a self-starter or do you need someone to motivate you? Do you like being part of a crowd or would you rather be alone or in a small group? How important is it to be near your family? How comfortable are you with challenging courses?
- Compare your offers – financially and what the school has to offer. Make a list of pros and cons of each school and the key reasons for your decisions. Remember some factors may be more important to you than others.

After the Visit/ Interview:
- Write thank you notes to your interviewer and anyone else you met with formally, such as a coach or a professor.
- If you spoke with any students and traded e-mail addresses, send an e-mail thank you.

And, of course, by now it should hopefully go without saying, please don’t forget to take a picture of you on campus to bring back for the “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” display! :-)

Save The Date

Hi! I hope you are all enjoying your long weekend.

I have a couple of important dates for you to know about...

The first is Tuesday, September 25th from 7:00 - 9:00pm. This evening is for Seniors and their parents at WKHS. Each counselor will be meeting as a group with their senior students and the parents to discuss more of the specifics about the college application process. I know many of you are well on your way with your college applications, but there is still a lot that you will want to know.

The next key date is the Columbus Suburban College Fair - Wednesday, October 3rd from 6:00 - 8:45pm at Otterbein College. This is the biggest and best college fair in our area and I cannot tell you how useful it can be to meet with college representatives from across the country as you start your search process. Remember, this event is for students of ALL grades and NOT just seniors!

The day before the Columbus Suburban College Fair (October 2nd) is a Multicultural College Fair that will be held at WKHS. About 30 minority admsissions representatives will be at WKHS to meet with students from Central Ohio about their opportunities.

Congratulations to the Wolves Football team on another thrilling victory last night. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!