The College Search Process

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The College Search Process

• Making it Work for
• Albany High School
• Students Families
• March 18, 2008

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Mary Grondahl

• V.P. for Enrollment Management
• The College of Saint Rose
• grondahm_at_strose.edu
• www.strose.edu
• 454-5150

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TONIGHTS OBJECTIVE

• TO PUT YOU IN CONTROL
• -HOW TO START YOUR SEARCH
• -MAKING IT FIT FOR YOU
• -TYPES OF ADMISSION
• -STANDARDIZED TESTS
• -MAKE VISITS COUNT
• -TOOLS TO HELP YOU

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Some Background Information(Source NACAC
Bulletin, State of College Admission Report, 2006)

• In 2005, there were 3 million high school
  graduates.
• -60 enrolled in 2- or 4-yr. institutions.
• -16 million students were enrolled in college.
• -H.S. grads college enrollments will climb
  until 2014.
• -73 of colleges recd more apps last year (same
  as previous 4 years).
• - Colleges accepted 70 of applicants.

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Whats on your mind?
Will he/she be Ok?
What do I hope for?
How did this moment come so fast?
Finally, its here.
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How many colleges are there?
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How did we find you?

• PSAT SAT Lists
• NRCCUA
• Other Lists
• H.S. Visits
• College Fairs
• You emailed us

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Step 1
Know Thyself
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Develop your Personal ProfileWhats important to
me?

• Which academic programs or majors interest me?
  (what am I good at or drawn to?)
• Am I interested in attending a large research
  university or a small liberal arts college?
• Would I prefer a campus that is located in an
  urban, rural, or suburban area?

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And, more.

• Which extracurricular clubs or sports interest
  me?
• Would I prefer to live on-campus or an off-campus
  apartment or would I prefer to commute from home?
• Do I feel strongly about attending college close
  to home or would I consider going to a school
  that is far away or out-of-state?

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And, more.

• Freshman-to-sophomore return rate
• Retention (how many stay?)
• Graduation Rates
• Program Outcomes
• Student Satisfaction

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On average, what percentage of freshmen return
for their sophomore years?

• At all colleges nationally?
• At 4-year colleges?

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Step 2

• Your Application

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Types of Admission

• Which are right for you?

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Early Decision58 of Institutions w/ ED reported
increase in applications 37 in prior year.
Source NACAC State of College Admission (2006)

• Know YOURSELF what you want
• May apply to other institutions
• If admitted ED, must withdraw your other
  applications
• Turn decision down only if financial aid package
  is unaffordable

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Early Action80 of Institutions w/ EA reported
increases in apps 56 prior year. Source NACAC
State of College Admission

• Know thyself!
• Non-binding
• No firm commitment needed
• You will know earlier than with regular decision
• Leaves you more time to make a decision

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Restrictive Early Action

• Just like Early Action EXCEPT
• Institutions with REA, may place restrictions on
  apps to other institutions.

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Rolling Admission

• No firm deadlines
• However, PREFERRED deadlines are common
• Dont miss them!
• Gives you time to decide
• May 1st is usually still critical

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Regular Decision

• File by a deadline
• Receive decision along with most others
• Make your decision on or before May 1.

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Wait Lists

• -35 of institutions use wait lists
• -Chances of being admitted off wait list was
  about 1 in 3 (on average 35 of those on wait
  list were admitted). In the previous year, 27
  of students
• Source NACAC State of College Admission (2006)

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Considerable Importance (NACAC State of
College Admission, 2006)

• Grades in college prep courses (73.9)
• Standardized admissions tests (59)
• Grades in all courses (53.7)
• Class rank (31)
• Essay/writing sample (23.3)
• Counselor recommendation (16.7)
• Teacher recommendation (17.1)
• Work/extracurricular/Interview (8)
• Students Demonstrated Interest (15.1)
• State graduation test scores (6.7)
• Subject Tests (6.9)
• Race/ability to pay/geography (1.4-2.3)
• Alumni Relations (2.1)

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Figure 14. Percent of colleges attributing
considerable importanceto factors in the
admission process, 1993-2005.
Source Admission Trends Survey, 1993-2005.
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The Tests

• To SAT or ACT?

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Standardized Tests

• Which should you take?
• To SAT or ACT?
• Not great at tests? Take both.
• SAT II
• -Will you need it?
• -Will it help you?
• -Check each colleges requirements.

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How are tests used in the decision process?

• Usually as a single indicator --- among many
• Usually use the highest of all scores
• To give you the edge

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SAT I

• The 3-part test is 3-hours long
• Critical Reading (70 mins.)
• Math (70 mins.)
• Writing (60 mins.)
• --Scores are compared with the scores of other
  applicants, and the accepted scores at an
  institution
• -Can be used as a basis for awarding merit-based
  financial aid.
• -Each section is scored on a scale of 200-800 and
  is typically taken by high school juniors and
  seniors.

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SATs Continued

• About ½ the students who take the SAT do so
  twice-
• in the spring of junior year and fall of senior
  year.
• Nearly 80 of colleges and universities still use
  test
• scores in admissions.

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SAT IIs (Subject Tests)

• SAT II TESTS
• -Are one-hour long
• -Are mostly multiple-choice tests
• -Measure how much students know about a
• particular academic subject and how well they
  can apply that knowledge.

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22 SAT II Subjects

• Writing (with an essay) or Literature
• U.S. History, World History
• Math Level IC, Math Level IIC
• Biology E/M, Chemistry, Physics
• French, German, Spanish, Modern Hebrew, Italian ,
  Latin, Japanese, Korean , Chinese and the English
  Language Proficiency Test

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What do my SAT I scores tell college admission
staff about me?

• How you compare with other students who took the
  test.
• (That's because all scores are reported on the
  200-to-800 scale.)

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How you can prepare

• Take the PSAT/NMSQT.
• -Spend time going over sample questions.
• -Review the directions, learn to pace yourself,
  and study the types of questions in the SAT
  I.
• -Take the sample SAT I provided in Taking the
  SAT I Reasoning Test, (available at high
  schools, free to students taking the test).
• -The best preparation for the SAT I is taking
  challenging
• academic courses and working hard at them. There
  are
• Other things you can do to prepare for the test
  that are free.

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ACT

• The scale scores range from 1 (low) to 36 (high)
  for each of the four tests and for the composite.
• The Composite is the average of your four test
  scores, rounded to the nearest whole number.
• The Writing Test is optional.

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More about tests?

• www.collegeboard.com
• www.act.com

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Step 3 The Campus Visit
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Making the most of your visit

• Plan ahead
• -Make an appointment plan enough time
• -Make a list of questions
• -Tour with a student

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Some Visit Tips

• - Dress comfortably.
• - Be yourself.
• - Act as though you want to be there.
• - Take pictures or video (make your parents doit
  they dont mind being conspicuous).
• - Rate your visit immediately.

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How you can stay in control!

• - Make a calendar and stick to it
• - Make lists
• - Meet deadlines
• - Apply on-line
• Check guidance requirements
• - Narrow your choices
• - Ask for help

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Where to get help?

• - Your Guidance Office Youve got the best!
• - Admissions Offices
• - Web
• www.collegeboard.com
• www.act.com
• www.petersons.com
• www.nymentor.com
• www.nycolleges.com

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Cost and Financial Aid

• Never rule out a college because of cost!

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Financial Aid Sources

• U.S. Department of Education
• http//www.ed.gov
• Scholarship Sources
• http//studentservices.com/fastweb/
• NYS Financial Aid Administrators
• http//www.nysfaa.org

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• Students, be gentle.

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• Parents, be gentle.

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Congratulations Talk to each other. Do your
homework. Be realistic. Meet deadlines. Enjoy the
ride.
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• Step 4Stump your parents
• SAT Question of the Day

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SAT Question of the Day - www.collegeboard.com

• Choose the word or set of words that, when
  inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning
  of the sentence as a whole.
• Kelly was stunned that her neighbor had the
  ------- to inquire about borrowing her new snow
  blower, considering the fact that he had broken
  her old one.
• foresight
• temperament
• conviction
• audacity
• integrity

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Answer to SAT I Question of the Day
(www.collegeboard.com)
Answer Audacity The context of the sentence
implies that Kelly found her neighbors actions
to be audacious, which can mean blatantly
inappropriate. Difficulty Medium Question
Type Sentence Completions(Critical Reading)
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Thank You! Your Questions?
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The College of Saint Rose

• Office of Admissions
• 518-454-5150
• admit_at_strose.edu
• Office of Financial Aid
• 518-458-5464
• finaid_at_strose.edu