DO NOT WAIT!

Is it never too late to start the college exploration process?  It may be.  On my travels through the country, I have been amazed at how many students and families I have met who are just starting their college search.  The problem?  The student is entering senior year of high school this fall.  If you wait until the summer prior to senior year you are at a disadvantage.  Other students have been preparing and researching for 4+ years.  Some have even spent summers on a college campus in classes.  Students going to the top universities do not start preparing in the summer of senior year.  Think of this adventure as preparing for "the big game" or important track meet.  No one enters "the" game without practicing and studying the game plan. 
There is so much you can do at the start of high school to prepare for leaving high school and getting into the school of "your" choice.  In 7th grade start with a comprehensive 6 year plan that outlines your strategy and gives you an advantage.  Follow and amend the plan as you go through high school.  Visit, visit, visit campuses.  Check if the school you really want to go to has a local admissions counselor.  Let the college know that you are interested.  Check college web sites frequently to see if there are changes in entrance requirements. 
All this work is difficult to do while you are studying and just trying to be a high school student.  Get your parents involved.  If they do not have the time, consider asking for them (or your grandparents) to hire a private college admissions counselor.  It may be the best money you spend.  But whatever you do.....DO NOT WAIT!  START NOW!

Small Colleges

My college hunt continues.  I just visited Whittier College in California. I love Whittier's logo "beyond the box" and their mascot "Whittier Poets" locally known as the Poet Warriors.  My tour guides, Daisy (California) and Dennis (Alaska)  really explained why they chose Whittier over other small liberal arts colleges. 

Some really neat things I learned about Whittier are:

1. An interest free loan for qualifying students;

2. A "scholars program" which allows students to create their own major and present a senior year project;

3.  A frosh writing class is mandatory but an example of a writing class is "psychological and sociological aspects of vampires"; 

4.  You can do research alongside your professor:  My guide is working with his professor on the "synthesis of new compounds and their bacterial inhibition".  He will be working on this for three years while an underclassman.
5.  While most faculty live nearby; some live on campus with their families and 85% of students live on-campus all four years allowing for a close knit academic community that reaches beyond the classroom.
6.  Daisy is an AVID tutor at a local high school and 12 of her AVID students have been accepted to Whittier for 2011.  WOW!

As you can see I came away from my tour with real insight into what Whittier offers. So, if you are looking for a small liberal arts education in Los Angeles County...check it out.  http://www.youtube.com/ACScounseling

The Great College Hunt

University of Washington Graduate Library

I've just returned from a tour of campuses in the New York State and Washington State areas.  My thoughts on campus visits have been reconfirmed.  It is a MUST to see a campus before you apply.  Web sites and web tours just canNOT give you the feel that walking the campus does. Actually talking to students who attend the university simply gives you a better indication of whether you will fit in or not.    All of my tour guides were very helpful, but I found talking to students other than the tour guides gave me additional information and insights that are invaluable. 

High school students are applying to more and more colleges/universities.  They  are approaching the application process as if they are playing Las Vegas...."the more I apply to.....the better chance I have of getting in".  If you don't do your homework.....you won't be successful.  Make sure that the schools on your "Apply To" list are ALL schools you are certain you would be happy attending.  Don't risk wasting your parents money and years of your own life! Be a smart consumer. 

As I toured each campus I posted a short video of impressions on my YouTube channel. PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT!
 www.YouTube.com/ACScounseling