Wednesday, December 3, 2014

What happens AFTER we receive your application???

Today, I’d like to take you INSIDE the admission office at Millsaps College. 

You and your student have done your part – dutifully completed your application, spell-checked their essay, diligently followed up to ensure that ACT or SAT scores have been sent from the testing agency, and asked the high school counselor to send us a transcript – so then what happens?

Ten years ago, you would have seen a photo of endless shelves of manila folders, sorted and stacked alphabetically, containing all the pieces of paper pertaining to a given applicant.  These days, colleges receive most application materials electronically, and we use database management software to collate, organize, and review those materials.  Think of it – if each applicant sent only ten pages of documents, that’s nearly 30,000 pieces of paper for one year’s worth of applications to Millsaps.  With electronic records, we’re saving a LOT of trees!

Besides the application forms your student filled out online, and the scores sent from ACT or SAT, we also ask high school guidance counselors to submit their documents electronically.  Services like SendEDU provide fast, free and secure upload of school transcripts directly into our database, dramatically shortening processing time, and reducing errors and misplaced information.

A dedicated team of professional staff members – Peggy, Christian, Abbey, and Tammy –  sort and catalogue your materials, scan any documents received on paper, and work to ensure that all your stuff is matched with your correct files.  We also use the software to allow you to check your status and review which materials we received.  We also send regular reminders to applicants who’ve started but not yet finished their application process.

Once the operations team has catalogued all your documents and your application file is complete, our counseling team can view the complete records in a virtual file bin, ready for their review.  Our counselors work with students from specific geographic territories so they can get to know the high schools, their grading scales, and their staff and students. (Click HERE to see which counselor covers your area)  The counselors review the transcripts with a fine-toothed comb, plus all the materials provided in an applicant file, to look holistically at an applicant’s likelihood to succeed academically and contribute positively to our community. 
 
Just as there are no bad colleges, there are no bad applicants, just better fits between students and institutions.  The application and admission process is about assessing the match for a particular student at a particular school.  When the counselor makes his or her recommendation, some students are admitted and others reviewed by the full admission committee, or deferred until additional information is received.  Sometimes, waiting until a student can submit senior year fall term grades can be very helpful in tipping the scales in their favor.

Remember, we’re the office of admission, NOT the office of rejection, so we’re trying to give you every possible consideration to offer you a place at Millsaps College.







Monday, September 15, 2014

10 Tips to Make the Most of Your College Visit

There are no bad colleges or universities in the U.S., only bad fits between students and institutions.  One of the best ways to find a great college that fits your student's interests, needs, and goals is to pay a visit to a campus. 


Campus tour during Curiosity & Catfish event at Millsaps College

 Here are a few tips to help you plan a great college visit trip:

  1. Start local, and start early. When your student is a sophomore or junior, visit a few colleges near your home, even if they’re not on your student's list of colleges.  Visit a big university and a small college; see a rural campus and a school located in a city.  A few "practice" visits allow you as a family to see a diverse set of schools and become comfortable with the visit experience. You'll hear a lot of facts and figures, some of which you may be familiar with, but others might demand a follow-up question to explain what those numbers mean.  Listen to the questions asked by other families who are visiting.  Let your child get comfortable taking ownership of questions about the application process, academics, and extracurricular activities.  As the search process becomes more serious, all of you will be more prepared when you visit colleges where you have a deeper interest.

  2. Explore college websites.  Most colleges have lots of information about visiting posted on their websites under "Admission" or "Prospective Student" pages.  You can often find directions, travel advice, information about lodging, and the tour and information session schedules.

  3. Arrive prepared to ask questions.  Most of the basic facts about a college will be listed online, in brochures available in the admission office, or relayed during the information session.  If you can familiarize yourself with some basic information before your one-on-one time with the admission staff, you can ask questions with some depth.  Hopefully, the answers will provide a level of understanding that you couldn’t get from the web or in print.

  4. Make your visit official.  While it’s best to plan ahead, even if you stop by a college unannounced, you should go to the admission office and let them know you’re there.  Even if you’ve missed the scheduled session and tour, they’ll likely have a map or a self-guided tour to help you navigate the campus, and an admission officer might be able to say hello and answer a few questions. Plus, many colleges track who has visited the campus as a marker of demonstrated interest in the school, which might be a tie breaker or get your student on (or off) the wait list if their application is borderline admissible.

  5. Thank your tour guide. More than likely, the student who showed you around isn’t paid for their time, and volunteers because they really love their college.  Show him or her some gratitude and let them know if they did a good job.  I promise they will appreciate the feedback.

  6. Treat your visit like an interview; even when it’s not, it actually might be.  Some schools offer formal interviews during a campus visit (or even off-campus), but every interaction you and your child has with a school official is likely being recorded, and could be factored into their admission decision.  Dress for success, act appropriately, and stay engaged – you can send that text message from the car after your visit!

  7. Customize your visit.  The visit experience will serve as a proxy for the experience your student will have after they enroll, so make the most of it! Ask if your student can sit in on a freshman class, meet a professor, or attend a meeting of a club or team they might really want to join later.  If a school treats you like a number when they’re trying to recruit you, conclusions can be drawn about how actual enrolled students feel.  Make sure you can get what you need out of the visit.

  8. Expand your visit off campus.  Particularly for a campus in a residential or urban area, ask about where students go off-campus, and include some time to see the sights.  If they say that students easily get internships nearby, but the business district is far away or not easily accessible, make a mental note.  If you hear about a fun college-town atmosphere, ask for specific spots to check out!

  9. Meet some students, and not just your tour guide (who generally receive significant training on what to say).  If you have the opportunity, meet a bunch of students in the dining hall or outside the bookstore, and ask them how their real-life experience compares to what you heard during the tour and info-session.  But remember, one apathetic student might not be a representative sample either, so talk to a few groups or individuals.

  10. Get an insider’s view.  Most colleges hold large open house events, which can be great opportunities to visit on a weekend and get lots of information from a cross section of administrators, faculty, and students.  But don’t let these big events replace an opportunity to let your child experience a typical day as a student on that campus, when classes are in session.   You might also want to experience campus during the busiest times of the day, and in the evening (a future blog post will include tips on how to assess safety and security on campus).  Particularly before finalizing a decision between a short-list of a few schools, your son or daughter will benefit from visiting on a weekday and going to classes, eating in the dining hall, and just hanging out with real students.  The school on their short-list may look very similar on paper, so your student might need to use their gut, and their visit experience, to make a final choice.

Of course, you’re always invited to visit Millsaps College, and I think you’ll have a great experience.  Use this link to review our visit recommendations and call Stacie for help customizing your day at the most prestigious liberal arts college in the Gulf South… and let me know if we do a good job of following our own advice!

A Glossary of Terms

Here's a helpful list of terms I found on the College Board's College Admission Glossary: Learn the Lingo

What’s a transcript? What's the difference between early action and early decision? When applying to college, you are bound to come across unfamiliar terms. This glossary can help you make sense of all the information you’re sorting through.

ACT

A standardized college admission test. It features four main sections: English, math, reading and science — and an optional essay section.

Admission Tests

Also known as college entrance exams, these are tests designed to measure students’ skills and help colleges evaluate how ready students are for college-level work. The ACT and the College Board’s SAT are two standardized admission tests used in the United States. The word "standardized" means that the test measures the same thing in the same way for everyone who takes it. Read more about admission tests.

Articulation Agreement

An agreement between two-year and four-year colleges that makes it easier to transfer credits between them. It spells out which courses count for degree credit and the grades you need to earn to get credit.

Candidates Reply Date Agreement (CRDA)

An agreement many colleges follow that gives applicants until May 1 to accept or decline offers of admission. This agreement gives students time to get responses from most of the colleges they have applied to before deciding on one.

Class Rank

A measurement of how your academic achievement compares with that of other students in your grade. This number is usually determined by using a weighted GPA that takes into account both your grades and the difficulty of the courses you’ve taken.

College Application Essay

An essay that a college requires students to write and submit as part of their application. Some colleges offer applicants specific questions to answer, while others simply ask applicants to write about themselves. Colleges may refer to this as a “personal statement.” Learn more about college application essays.

College Credit

What you get when you successfully complete a college-level course. You need a certain number of credits to graduate with a degree. Colleges may also grant credit for scores on exams, such as those offered by College Board’s AP Program® and CLEP. Learn more about AP and CLEP.

Common Application

A standard application form accepted by all colleges that are members of the Common Application association. You can fill out this application once and submit it to any one — or several — of the 475-plus colleges that accept it. Go to the Common Application.

Deferred Admission

Permission from a college that has accepted you to postpone enrolling in the college. The postponement is usually for up to one year.

Early Action (EA)

An option to submit your applications before the regular deadlines. When you apply early action, you get admission decisions from colleges earlier than usual. Early action plans are not binding, which means that you do not have to enroll in a college if you are accepted early action. Some colleges have an early action option called EA II, which has a later application deadline than their regular EA plan. Learn more about applying early.

Early Decision (ED)

An option to submit an application to your first-choice college before the regular deadline. When you apply early decision, you get an admission decision earlier than usual. Early decision plans are binding. You agree to enroll in the college immediately if admitted and offered a financial aid package that meets your needs. Some colleges have an early decision option called ED II, which has a later application deadline than their regular ED plan. Learn more about applying early.

Financial Aid

Money given or loaned to you to help pay for college. Financial aid can come from federal and state governments, colleges, and private organizations. Learn more about financial aid.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

A number that shows overall academic performance. It’s computed by assigning a point value to each grade you earn. See also Weighted Grade Point Average.

Legacy Applicant

A college applicant with a relative (usually a parent or grandparent) who graduated from that college. Some colleges give preference to legacy applicants (also called “legacies”).

Need-Blind Admission

A policy of making admission decisions without considering the financial circumstances of applicants. Colleges that use this policy may not offer enough financial aid to meet a student’s full need.

Open Admission

A policy of accepting any high school graduate, no matter what his or her grades are, until all spaces in the incoming class are filled. Almost all two-year community colleges have an open-admission policy. However, a college with a general open-admission policy may have admission requirements for certain programs.

Placement Tests

Tests that measure the academic skills needed for college-level work. They cover reading, writing, math and sometimes other subjects. Placement test results help determine what courses you are ready for and whether you would benefit from remedial classes. Read more about placement tests.

Priority Date or Deadline

The date by which your application — whether it’s for college admission, student housing or financial aid — must be received to be given the strongest consideration.

Registrar

The college official who registers students. The registrar may also be responsible for keeping permanent records and maintaining your student file.

Rolling Admission

An admission policy of considering each application as soon as all required information (such as high school records and test scores) has been received, rather than setting an application deadline and reviewing applications in a batch. Colleges that use a rolling admission policy usually notify applicants of admission decisions quickly.

SAT

The College Board’s standardized college admission test. It features three main sections: math, reading and writing, which includes a written essay. Learn more about the SAT.

SAT Subject Tests

Hour-long, content-based college admission tests that allow you to showcase achievement in specific subject areas: English, history, math, science and languages. Some colleges use Subject Tests to place students into the appropriate courses as well as in admission decisions. Based on your performance on the test(s), you could potentially fulfill basic requirements or earn credit for introductory-level courses. Read about SAT Subject Tests.

Sophomore Standing

The status of a second-year student. A college may grant sophomore standing to an incoming freshman if he or she has earned college credits through courses, exams or other programs.

Transcript

The official record of your course work at a school or college. Your high school transcript is usually required for college admission and for some financial aid packages.

Transfer Student

A student who enrolls in a college after having attended another college.

Undergraduate

A college student who is working toward an associate or a bachelor's degree.

Universal College Application

A standard application form accepted by all colleges that are Universal College Application members. You can fill out this application once and submit it to any one — or several — of the 44 colleges that accept it. Go to the Universal College Application.

Waiting List

The list of applicants who may be admitted to a college if space becomes available. Colleges wait to hear if all the students they accepted decide to attend. If students don’t enroll and there are empty spots, a college may fill them with students who are on the waiting list. Learn more about waiting lists.

Weighted Grade Point Average (GPA)

A grade point average that’s calculated using a system that assigns a higher point value to grades in more-difficult classes. For example, some high schools assign the value of 5.0 (instead of the standard 4.0) for an A earned in an AP class. See how to convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Back to School.. and time to get serious about College!

I'm Dr. Robert Alexander, the Vice President for Enrollment and Communication at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS.

I've been working in higher education since 1999, and helped thousands of families understand the process and find a great match for their college experience and post-graduation goals.

I've created this blog to offer insider advice for parents helping their kids navigate the college admission and financial aid process. 

You can expect to read advice about topics including:

  • How does the financial aid process really work?
  • Who decides if an applicant is admitted, and how?
  • Why does college cost so much?
  • Is college really worth the investment?
  • Tips for planning a great college visit
  • How to get a job after graduation
  • Are student loans a good idea?
  • Assessing campus safety and security
  • How to help your student find a college that fits them  

If YOU have an idea for a future blog topic, or other feedback, please use the comment feature!