Happy 1st Birthday, Dr. StrangeCollege!

A year ago today I launched this blog with Counting Down to College.

I’m sure Katie Couric would call with birthday wishes if only she weren’t busy giving a speech today. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After a full year of following Mod Squad Pete through writing essays, asking for recommendations, working through applications, and waiting for news, today we know where he will attend college. (As it turns out, today is also the day his college, the University of Virginia, is holding the 2012 Final Exercises with one very famous alum, Katie Couric, giving the commencement address.)

Next week Pete will graduate from high school; his work there is done. He has already shifted his focus mostly to summer, but also, in response to correspondence from UVa, to applying for housing, registering for summer orientation, scanning the course catalog, and tagging some courses for his SIS-based academic planner.

I’ll expand the focus of this blog to learning and writing about having an adult child in college. Since, as I’ve said all along: this is about our journey.

Next week M.S. Linc will become a rising 8th grader. A number of his 8th grade courses will show up on his HS transcript. The first week of June M.S. Julie becomes a rising 11th grader, with the added emphasis on college prep and academic rigor the junior year brings. Fortunately for both of them, they have about ten weeks of summer first.

Finally, I’ve updated the website and blog links in the right-hand column. These changes reflect connections I pay attention to as well as the new college student focus. (Hello, College Parent Central!) I’ve also added a few college-prep sites I think are helpful, that is, if I can ever get the Mod Squad to check them out:  DIY College Prep, SAT Dude, and Khan Academy (though I have seen Julie use Khan videos for test prep).

Thank you to the visitors, viewers, and subscribers who’ve come along for the ride. I truly appreciate your readership and your comments. I have learned so much by writing DrStrangeCollege; your response has made it even more fun for me. Thanks!

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Want to fly to Mars? [Or, get into an Ivy league school?]

In case you missed it in Sunday’s paper, Stephan Pastis illustrates the dilemma high school students face.

See the full strip here.

[Hat/tip to Mod Squad Julie and Mod Squad Linc for their strong endorsement of Pearls Before Swine.]

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National College Decision Day: Pete’s going to college.

Mod Squad Pete and his chosen college.

Sunday afternoon Mod Squad Pete moved from being a prospective student to a member of the University of Virginia class of 2016.

That final step didn’t seem to take very long, given all that had gone into the undertaking.

Six and a half months after submitting his first Common App, after refereeing a soccer game and before heading out to bus tables, Pete took five minutes to sign on to the SIS and click on the accept button.

Then one minute to post it on Facebook, natch.

Later he sent notes to the other colleges that had invited him to attend. He still has a few things on the to do list: thank yous to his recommendation letter writers, sign-up for orientation days, etc. None of the items on that list, however, carry the emotional weight of the ‘trying to get into college’ to do list.

In fact, after four AP exams over the next two weeks, he may have arrived at the fun, do-almost-nothing part of senior year.

Congratulations, Pete, on working your way through this decision. And congratulations to all the high school seniors:  best of luck at your new schools!

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• College decision month: how to choose THE college? (drstrangecollege.wordpress.com)

College decision month: “So, where’s he going to college?”

There’s the question Mod Squad Dad and I have heard all month. We’re not alone; I’m sure most parents of parents of high school seniors across the country have been asked this by their friends, neighbors, family, colleagues, everyone.

Mod Squad Mia's only question: "Who's feeding me?"

Pete has heard it, too; perhaps more than I imagine.

The context of the college question has changed through the school year. In the fall it seemed more speculative, sometimes jocular, as in “Where’s he want to go to college?” [The world is full of possibilities!]

When we were in the midst of the application season, October through December, the question was often stated more gently, “Where is your son thinking of applying?”

During the past month, when the acceptances are in hand and the decision awaits, the question gained urgency, “So. Where’s he going to college?” Or was that urgency only in my mind?

Pete completed his first applications in mid-October. He received his first decision December 14th and his last decision April 12th. The colleges require a commitment May 1st.

Swopes the parakeet: "College? What's college?"

Perhaps we should have enforced an early deadline for committing to college, as we did with applications. I didn’t have the heart.

Lovely to have the dramatic finish to the month to write about… but it would have been sweeter for Pete to have an easier decision to make.

I should clarify:  this was not one of our most emotionally fraught months related to college. I’m thinking that might have been October, with Pete working on getting through the Common Application interface and getting those first applications out.

April offered three of the four admitted student events and changed opinions on top of the usual crazy schedule of a household with three teens. Both parents had out of town travel after the final decisions were in. Often I wondered when Pete would have time to even think about this.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem bothered by it.

Nor did his siblings, yet they were mostly unaware of the deadline. Sunday morning Mod Squad Linc said, “Really? He has to decide today?” Followed up by Mod Squad Julie’s contribution, “Today? Today he has to make the decision that will impact the rest of his life?”

Meanwhile, neither animal in the household asked him about it at all.

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College decision month: how to choose THE college?

With May 1st — aka National College Decision Day — just a few hours away, what happens if the high school senior can’t decide which college is the one?

Canadian Toonie

In other words, what if the senior is in the same place as Mod Squad Pete… very fortunate to have options and torn between the choices?

Purvi S. Mody, wrote for Student Advisor’s blog,  accepting more than one college is not a good idea.

…you should only submit a deposit and an Intent to Register to one university. The Intent to Register is a contract that your daughter (and you) are signing with one college that she will attend in the Fall. She obviously cannot promise two colleges that she will attend. The May 1st deadline allows students ample time to research their college thoroughly. Chances are that a couple of additional weeks will not make the decision making process any easier.

Katy Hopkins, writing for USNews Education, offered 10 Steps to Picking the Right School. Here are a couple of her suggestions:

Rank your priorities: Make an extended list of pros and cons of college life, from school size to athletic programs, and numerically rank each in order of importance to you, recommends clinical psychologist Jerry Weichman. What factors do you rank as most critical—and which schools seem to excel in those areas?

Delve into departments: College rankings can be one tool in the decision process, but don’t forget that academic prestige can be examined on a smaller scale, too. Research the departments you’d be studying in, says Roth. Is one school better known for your major? Are faculty actively engaged at school and in the field?

Julie and Lindsey Mayfield, the mother and daughter team who blog under Twice the College Advice for US News Education, wrote 6 questions to ask when making a final college decision. Here are a couple of those questions:

What does our high school counselor recommend? The last time your child spoke to the high school counselor may have been much earlier in the decision process. Now that decision time is near and the college choices have been narrowed down, a high school counselor may have some new observations or questions to ask that will help with the decision.

What do those close to me think?Avoid asking for too many opinions. Letting everyone get his or her two cents in about your college choice can confuse much more than it clarifies. Have your college conversations with a small group of close connections, such as your parents and college counselor.

Don’t let everyone’s opinions about your top schools sway your opinion. In the end, your school should be a good fit for you, not your friends.

Ralph Becker, of Ivy College Prep, wrote for Gazettes.com, What to ask before accepting a college admissions offer. His entire column is worth reading, and here are a couple of clips:

What access do students have to required classes? Access to an impacted courses (this means the number of students applying for spots exceeds those available) might be quite limited. If a college’s four-year graduation rate is below 50%, access to key courses might be the problem. You can find graduation rates on College Navigator. A recent sample of various college four-year graduation rates includes: Cal Poly Pomona, 9%; UCLA, 66%; and Harvard University 88%.

How many courses are taught by teaching assistants or graduate students? If you’re attending a major research university, there is a strong chance you’ll be taking courses taught by graduate students. If, on the other hand, you’re heading to a liberal arts college, such as Grinnell or Amherst, you’re going to be taught by faculty.

Lynn O’Shaughnessy writes at College Solutions and for CBS Money Watch. Here are her 10 Ways to Pick a College. See more details on each via the link.

1. Review the finances.
2. Check student opinions.
3. Ask students questions.
4. Know the difference between a College and a University.
5. Check a school’s graduation rates.
6. Research how happy are the freshman.
7. Check RateMyProfessors ratings.
8. Know the graduation requirements.
9. Discover how the school treats AP credits.
10. Inquire about a Greek presence.

Finally, Cara Ray, on the Great College Advice blog from Montgomery Education Consulting, wrote

Heads or tails?

Seniors, are you ready for May 1? After mentioning a few ways to make the decision, one involving a coin, she said:

My advice? It echoes that of our NACAC 2011 keynote speaker, Jonah Lehrer. Go with your gut.

Go with what your instinct tells you. You’ve visited the campuses, spent the time researching, read all of the brochures, gone on the website hundreds of times and now the time has come to take the next step. Listen to what your gut is telling you and ask yourself, “Will I be happy here?” Is the answer yes? Then sign your name on the dotted line and start getting excited for this new adventure you are about to embark on!

Pete has used a number of these suggestions. After spending much of a cold, rainy Saturday at a track meet, he waded through graduation requirements for the two colleges on his final short list.

Turns out that could be a factor for more highly-motivated AP exam prep. Who knew?

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College decision month: Who should attend an Admitted Student event?

Mod Squad Pete, for one.

Mod Squad Pete, Admitted Student.

I guess I’ll expand on that and say, any admitted student who can.
Here’s why…

1.  The college has loads of information to share about new student timelines, orientation, policies, payments, and much more.

2.  Access to that information — in person — provides the opportunity to ask questions about any confusing details.

3.  No matter how many details are provided in the college website, the people working with first year students tend to be warm and engaging folks who help explain important aspects with memorable stories, whether amusing anecdotes or cautionary tales.

4.  The campus just plain feels different to an admitted student than to a wannabe.

5.  An admitted student who has already made his or her decision will be able to ask very specific questions, visit a dorm they may end up living in, and start making connections with profs.

6.  An undecided admitted student has even more reason to attend and ask questions. Every part of the event provides more data — whether good, bad or neutral — to aid the decision-making.

Early evening, April in DC.

And here’s why it was important for Pete to attend.

While we’ve done what we could to keep open minds about his college short list, we’ve realized that over the past few months, Pete, Mod Squad Dad, and I had all been imagining Pete at one particular school next year.

We all thought it was his favorite. These mostly unspoken, yet shared, thoughts fueled Pete’s mild disinterest in visiting all four admitted day events.

Until the event came for that particular school, and he gathered enough data to decide, perhaps:  it’s not the one.

Which moved him, on or around mid-April, back to an open decision. Hello, flipcharts, hadn’t seen you in a while!

[Reminder to self from a recent post:  Every admitted-student event brings with it the possibility that this is, or isn’t, the college Pete will choose.]

Meanwhile, have you noticed? There are not many days left in April.

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College decision month: 13 things we learned at an admitted-student event.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Earlier this week, Mod Squad Pete and I went on an eight-hour door-to-door journey –  for a sandwich and a two-hour event held in DC and five hours in the car.

There had been some discussion in this house about whether the event would be worth the trip, especially since it was on a weeknight.

Here’s what we learned. You tell me: was it worth it?

1. While we thought we’d completed all financial aid forms, turns out there’s a very good reason we had not received any information back from this college. [There's one more.]
2. If Pete chooses this college, he needs to reserve housing by June 18.
3. If Pete chooses this college, he needs to do some major research on the course calendar, select courses, and be ready to register on June 18.
4. … for both the Fall and Winter semesters.
5. If you give Pete a pen and a pad of paper with your college logo, at some point during the presentation he will write, “I want to go home.’
6. Housing choices vary from shared houses with 17 people to high-rises with hundreds and hundreds.
7. A very nice admissions officer who answers questions as completely as possible is both a good and a bad thing.
8. If before the event, you’re sitting at the sandwich shop and Pete says, “I’m really looking forward to this,” he’s talking about the food, not the event.
9. You are much more likely to ask questions at admitted-student events when it’s a college you think is your senior’s favorite.
10. That ‘answer all the possible questions’ admissions officer? When she’s surrounded by a scrum of parents and students after the presentation, they will have to wait so long for questions to be answered, that when it gets to be their turn and they’ve asked all the questions they had, they will start making up more questions. Really.
11. Every admitted-student event brings with it the possibility that this is, or isn’t, the college Pete will choose.
12. Pete follows the same path he did at admissions info sessions:  always chooses the front row.
13. One way admitted-student events differ from admissions info sessions, according to Pete: “This feels different. You’re no longer trying to decide if you have a better chance than the next person. We’re all in!”

I see a flipchart with pros and cons in our very near future.

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