Sheila Roberts, Bob Jones High School
Posted on Mon, 10/07/2013 - 12:45
In 1979, when Sheila Roberts and her family moved to Decatur, Alabama, she looked across the Tennessee River to the town of Madison and it was just cotton fields. She was a stay-at-home mother, raising two children. No longer. Today, Madison is a diverse and thriving community -- one of the fastest growing cities in the Southeast -- drawing families from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army Post Redstone Arsenal and the University of Alabama at Huntsville. And Roberts counsels their students as the College and Career Advisor at Madison's Bob Jones High School.
Named for former Congressman Robert E. Jones, Jr., who represented the area from 1947 until 1977, Bob Jones is a public high school serving approximately 2,100 students. Roberts joined the staff in 2003, building the counseling program from scratch -- growing it from one file cabinet in a small study room in the Media Center to twelve file cabinets in what is now the College/Career Center. She says she is constantly struck by the benevolence, diversity and growth of the community. Bob Jones opened in 1974, moved to a larger facility in 1996, and -- underestimating the growth in the area -- had to relocate the 9th grade class a few years later until a second high school was opened last year.
College Admission is On the Road Again...
Posted on Wed, 10/02/2013 - 09:28
College Admission is on the road again... We'll be traveling for the next ten days to speak to students and parents in northern and southern California and Oregon. We'll still be posting and Tweeting and Pinteresting, but it will be lighter for the next week. Nevertheless, don't miss our weekly advice for juniors and seniors, the Q&A with our Counselor of the Month next Monday and the next guest post from Will Dix, aka The Crabby Counselor, who has some excellent advice for students about the college search. And, in the meantime, we'll be finding out what's on the minds of juniors and seniors -- and their families -- so we can provide even better advice about the college application process.
Juniors: Are you Taking the PSAT?
Posted on Wed, 10/02/2013 - 09:07
The PSAT/NMSQT will be administered on October 16 and October 19 to high school juniors. The PSAT is a "practice" test for the SAT and colleges do not see scores. So there is no need to prep for the test. But it can provide important feedback about where you need improvement.
Also, scores on the PSAT taken in the junior year are used to qualify students for the National Merit Scholarship competition, the best- known scholarship program in the country. So a strong score could translate into scholarship money.
Jeannine Lalonde, University of Virginia
Posted on Tue, 10/01/2013 - 10:55
University of Virginia may well have the richest history of any institution of higher learning in the country. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 -- the first class entered in 1825 -- the Founding Father, third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence considered it to be one of his greatest achievements. The school was built on land purchased by the fifth President of the United States James Monroe. And when the cornerstone of the university's first building was laid, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and the fourth President of the United States James Madison were all in attendance.
Seniors: Does the early bird always catch the worm?
Posted on Mon, 09/30/2013 - 11:56
There can be a lot of pressure to apply early at this time of year -- from peers, parents and media. Students start thinking that they must apply NOW under an early action or early decision plan. Before you succumb to that pressure, spend some time understanding how decision plans really work, what the numbers in the headlines actually mean, and whether it's a good idea for you personally. Check out the Decision Plan Chapter Excerpt on the Book page here on the website to understand how your grades and scores could figure into a decision to apply early and benefit from the input on decision plans from the deans at Johns Hopkins, Drake University, and Northern Illinois University, as well as others.
College Admission on CBS
Posted on Mon, 09/30/2013 - 11:25
Thank you to CBS anchor Marissa Bailey for a great interview! Christine VanDeVelde appeared on the Sunday morning news to talk all things college admission -- applying early, making a list that's just right, essays, and more. You can see the whole segment here.
CBS Chicago
Making the College Visit a Mini-Vacation and Other Great Advice on this Rite of Passage
Posted on Fri, 09/27/2013 - 12:25
We're delighted to welcome Mary Dell Harrington to the blog today! Mary Dell cofounded the wonderful blog, Grown and Flown, with Lisa Endlich Heffernan, which covers all things kids aged 15 to 25. (And we're so lucky to have both of them as regular guests here!) Today, we get to ride along with Mary Dell and her 17-year-old daughter as they travel through one of the wonderful rites of passage in the college admission journey -- the college visit. We personally found these visits to be peak parenting experiences and it sounds like Mary Dell and her daughter did, as well. You can, too -- especially with her excellent advice.
Our youngest child will soon finalize her college list and begin the process of uploading her heart and soul into the Common Application. By winter break, she will be liberated from thinking about SATs and self-reflective essays, never to dwell on them again! The only part of the college hunt that I hope she might recall, perhaps even fondly, are the college trips we took together. It is the singular aspect of the process that parents truly share with their child and the only one with the potential to both inform and entertain.
Based on my experience with our daughter and her older brother, here are ways we tried to make looking at colleges more like mini-vacations and less like drudgery:
1. Act like tourists
Thank you to Highland Park High School and Deerfield High School
Posted on Fri, 09/27/2013 - 12:12
Thank you, thank you… to the parents and counseling staffs of Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois, and Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois, where College Admission spoke last night.
College Admission in Highland Park's Pioneer Press
Posted on Wed, 09/25/2013 - 12:53
Thank you to Karen Berkowitz of Highland Park's Pioneer Press for the great article on our appearance tomorrow night, speaking with the parents of Highland Park and Deerfield High Schools. We'll be talking about grades, courses, essays, financial aid, what colleges are looking for and why and, most important, how to approach the college admission process with calm and purpose. You can read the Pioneer Press feature here.