AIMS College Fair Thursday, April 26, 2012

THE 26TH ANNUAL AIMS COLLEGE FAIR

FOR HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS AND THEIR PARENTS


AT THE CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL
2004 GREENSPRING DRIVE
TIMONIUM, MARYLAND 21093


FIRST SESSION: 5 - 6:30 P.M.
SECOND SESSION: 7:30 – 9 P.M.
(**College Reps will not be available from 6:30-7:30)
More than 200 colleges will be represented

Wait List Advice (from College Board)

What to Do if You're Wait-Listed

Boost Your Chances of Getting In

You’ve sent in your applications. Now you’re waiting for a letter from each college you applied to, either offering you admission or turning down your application. And there’s another possibility: a college may put you on a waiting list.
This can happen when you meet the admission requirements, but the college has already accepted the number of applicants it has room for. If a spot becomes available later on, you may be offered a place.
The college won’t make you this offer, though, until after the May 1 decision deadline has passed. If you’re on the waiting list, it’s hard to know what your chances of acceptance are.

If you get wait-listed by one of your top choices, let admission officers know why you're a great fit for their college.

Decide Whether to Stay on the List

Your next step is to respond and let the college know whether or not you want to stay on the waiting list. It makes sense to keep your spot on the list only if you’re really interested in going to the college.
Before you decide, find out whether there are any conditions attached to being wait-listed. For example, since you’re notified later than other applicants, you may have fewer housing and financial aid options.
Even if you decide to remain on the waiting list, prepare to attend another college. Choose the best fit from the colleges that accepted you, fill out the paperwork and send a deposit. You’ll forfeit this deposit if the college that wait-listed you offers you a place and you accept. Still, you need to be sure you have a place in an incoming freshman class next fall.

Take Control

If you decide to stay on the waiting list, be proactive. Here’s what you can do to boost your chances of being accepted.
Get a sense of your chances of admission. Contact the admission office to find out if the college ranks wait-listed students or if it has a priority list. Most are willing to let you know your status. The higher you rank on the list the better your chances of being accepted.
Write a letter to the admission office. The college has already decided that you have the academic credentials for admittance. Now’s the time to mention any additional nonacademic factors that might help your case — any new achievements or supplemental information. Emphasize your strong desire to attend the college and make a case for why you're a good fit. You can tell them that you'll enroll if they accept you, but only if you're absolutely certain you will.
Study hard. This is no time to slack off. If you're wait-listed, you may be reevaluated based on your third- and fourth-quarter grades.
Stay involved. Show admission officers you're committed to sports, clubs and other activities.
Request another (or a first) interview. An interview can give you a personal contact — someone who can check on the status of your application. You can also enlist the help of your high school counselor or someone you know who graduated from that college.
Realize that you've already achieved something. You were wait-listed, not turned away. Many students were not as successful.
Reconsider the colleges that accepted you.  If you would be just as happy at one of your other choices, send in a deposit and plan to attend that college. Then turn down the spot on the waiting list. You'll be surprised how much better you feel after your decision has been made.

College Visit Advice

College visits don’t have to be cookie-cutter

By Jenna Johnson, Washington Post Published: March 23 | Updated: Saturday, March 24, 1:15 PM

It was a gorgeous spring day at American University, the quad dotted with students playing Frisbee and studying on blankets, when I tagged along on a campus admissions tour led by an energetic student guide who peppered her listeners with school stats and personal stories.

As we passed three students camped out with their laptops, the guide called out to them: “Do you love AU?”  “Yes!” they all shouted in response, laughing. The guide turned back to us: “See, they love AU!”
A couple of parents laughed out loud, and a dad standing near me rolled his eyes dramatically at the exchange. But most of the prospective students barely reacted. They just stayed in the polite trance they’d maintained throughout the tour, the result, I had no doubt, of visiting too many campuses in too short a time.



It’s that time of year again, when thousands of parents pack their high-schoolers onto a plane or into the SUV and set off on road trips across the nation to a half-dozen colleges or more, hoping to find that one special school that’s the right fit for their student.
These visits are often the deciding factor for many juniors figuring out where to apply and for seniors picking where to enroll. And colleges know this. The admissions tours they offer are nothing more than a sales pitch — their last chance to nab you with a dazzling display of their offerings.

So universities go to great lengths (and lots of expense) to ensure that their campuses, their dorms and their students stand out from all the rest. Often that means locating the admissions center next to the most convenient parking, providing free coffee and casting the friendliest students as tour guides. Even the music you hear in admissions offices as you wait for your tour has probably been carefully selected — maybe even by students — to set the tone for your visit.

But as a higher education reporter for The Washington Post who has taken lots of campus tours with kids trying to make that big decision, I’ve learned that most of this is just window dressing. The only way to get a true feel for the culture of a university and its students is to simply hang out. My best advice? If you’re heading out on a college visit, give yourself enough time to pretend to be a college kid for a day: Lounge in a coffee shop near campus, read the student newspaper, attend a women’s softball game or an a capella concert, go jogging across the campus, have dinner at a bar with sticky floors, or simply ride the campus bus for a different kind of tour.

Food for thought

                    

Andrew S. Doctoroff

Former journalist; Detroit lawyer

Dear Eighth Grader: So You Want to Apply to Harvard? Some Words of Advice...

Posted: 02/21/2012 5:27 pm

Dear Eighth Grader:
College interview season is drawing to a close. Hundreds of thousands of high school seniors would like to believe that they have secured admission to prestigious colleges by impressing alumni like me with their sterling credentials and conversational aptitude.

Our meeting will not take place for four years. I hope you don't think it too presumptuous of me to give you some things to think about now, at this early juncture -- to help you prepare.

I have three kids of my own, including an eighth grader like you. My house will still be pretty noisy in 2016 -- so, let's meet at Einstein's, the bagel place. I'll be the one doing the crossword puzzle.

I've been conducting Harvard interviews for many years. Even though I graduated from Harvard, I feel somewhat like a poser. I know to a moral certainty that, if I were to apply to the college today, the chances of my getting in would be less than zero. Admission standards have grown more rigorous over the last quarter century. Sometimes, it's good to be older.

I interview applicants because it's fun. I like hearing about what's going on in your youthful world, one that is now largely foreign to me. And, unlike my own kids, when I ask questions, applicants have to answer. I like that, too.

A friend recently asked me whether I interview because I like to wield power -- like Commodus in Gladiator, whose "thumbs up" gesture in the Coliseum meant life or death.

But my powers are hardly imperial. I am not a gatekeeper. A lot of kids about whom I write enthusiastic recommendations do not get in to Harvard. Some people say that the whole interview process is just an elaborate ruse intended to increase alumni donations. Still, my reports must count for something, because, when they are late, I receive testy emails admonishing me.

The first thing you should know is that great test scores and grade point averages do not, standing alone, excite me. If I had one candy-coated chocolate for every kid I've interviewed with an ACT score of 34, I could fill an industrial-size bag of M&Ms that Costco sells for $8.99. High grades? These days, in this era of hyper grade inflation, who doesn't get a four point gazillion GPA?

February Newsletters

Seniors: February Newsletter 

Sophomores/Juniors: February Newsletter

As a Broader Group Seeks Early Admission, Rejections Rise in the East

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA and JENNY ANDERSON

Published: January 13, 2012        

Early admission to top colleges, once the almost exclusive preserve of the East Coast elite, is now being pursued by a much broader and more diverse group of students, including foreigners and minorities.

 

The democratization of the process — and the overall explosion in applicants — made the early-admissions game much tougher this year for the group that has long dominated it: students in prep schools in New York and beyond where the vast majority of seniors apply to their top choices in November in hopes of avoiding the springtime scrum.

“Their odds have definitely decreased,” said Christoph Guttentag, dean of admissions at Duke University. “You can sort of envision the appeal of early decision radiating outward, from the most affluent to the middle class, and westward from the East Coast and then across the Pacific.”
Duke, for example, received 400 early applications this year from California or overseas; in 2005, it was fewer than 100. Haverford College, outside Philadelphia, saw early applications from abroad double this year from last. And at the University of Chicago, there were double-digit rises in the percentage of early applications from black and Hispanic students.

You do not need a perfect score on the math SAT to know that if more people are applying — many top-tier colleges say the number has doubled or tripled over the last five years — competition is stiffer. So in certain precincts of Manhattan, parents of those who were deferred or rejected in December have been swapping stories ever since about the seemingly perfect senior at the Spence School who did not make the cut (“If not her, who?” lamented one parent) and the six Brearley School girls who were deferred from Yale (“I thought Yale loved Brearley,” cried another, pointing out that 20 Brearley graduates have gone to Yale in the last five years, more than any other university).

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

(Link:) Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, ensures that all eligible individuals can benefit from federally funded financial assistance for education beyond high school. We consistently champion the promise of postsecondary education to all Americans —and its value to our society.
Federal Student Aid plays a central and essential role in supporting postsecondary education by providing money for college to eligible students and families. We partner with postsecondary schools, financial institutions and others to deliver services that help students and families who are paying for college.
Today, Federal Student Aid performs a range of critical functions that include, among others:

• Educating students and families on the process of obtaining aid;
• Processing millions of student financial aid applications each year;
• Disbursing billions of dollars in aid funds to students through schools;
• Enforcing financial aid rules and regulations;
• Servicing millions of student loan accounts, and securing repayment from borrowers who have defaulted on their loans; and
• Operating information technology systems and tools that manage billions in student aid dollars.

This is a complex, multifaceted mission that calls on a range of staff skills and demands coordination by all levels of management. Consequently, Federal Student Aid, a Performance-Based Organization (PBO), emphasizes tangible results and efficient performance, as well as the continuous improvement of the processes and systems that support our mission.

Scholarships for Scholars

Scholarships for Scholars, Inc., is a nonprofit organization formed to reward scholastic excellence.  The scholarships are awarded to graduating students who attend Anne Arundel County Public Schools, other Anne Arundel County educational institutions that are in compliance with all requirements of the Maryland State Department of Education, and home schooled students registered with the Anne Arundel County Board of Education.  The applicant must physically reside in Anne Arundel County.  The awards are to be used by students toward tuition, fees, and books at the institutions of higher education (community colleges, four-year colleges or universities, and private trade and technical institutions) of their choice. 

Since the specific qualifications differ for each of the available scholarships, it is important that you read the attached directions very carefully and provide all of the information requested in your application packet. (See Mrs Rudder in College Counseling for an application packet.) The application, checklist, and scholarship requirements are also available for downloading and printing online here. 

**You may submit separate applications for a total of two (2) scholarships offered in Sections I and II of this packet. Applications which are not complete or do not meet all the minimum criteria as outlined in the attached packet will not be accepted or reviewed. 

By law, the results of CEEB Advanced Placement exams can not appear on high school transcripts.  Therefore, if you wish the results of your exams to be considered, you will have to provide that information as part of your Scholarships for Scholars, Inc. application(s).

Your completed application packet(s) must be given to the appropriate school official by the close of the school day on February 3, 2012.  Applications may not be submitted online.

We look forward to your participation in this scholarship program.  Successful scholarship recipients will be our guests at the annual Scholarships for Scholars, Inc., Awards Presentation on April 30, 2012  We wish you the very best.  Please contact Debra Hardie at 410-626-7013 or scholarshipsforscholars@yahoo.com should you have any questions.

College Counseling December Newsletters

Link: Newsletter for Seniors

Topics include:

*Remaining Transcript Requests – due now!

*College Decision News – keep us posted!

*ED/EA Back-up Plan

*Early Notification Etiquette – be considerate of your classmates’ feelings.

*College missing documents? – come see us.

Link: Newsletter for Juniors

Topics include:

*Scheduling a College Counseling Family Meeting

*Family Connection

*College Admissions Testing

*College Night for Parents of Juniors, Part II

*Counselor Preference



College Spotlight: United States Naval Academy (visiting 11/30)

Link: USNA

 Mission

The Naval Academy has a unique clarity of purpose, expressed in our official mission:

"To develop midshipmen morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government."

This puts everyone-faculty, staff and midshipmen-on the same wavelength. It also encourages a sense of spirit and pride found at few other schools.

Program

The moral, mental and physical elements of our program are equally important, all contributing to the qualities of an outstanding naval officer.

Academics

Every midshipman's academic program begins with a core curriculum that includes courses in engineering, science, mathematics, humanities and social science. This is designed to give you a broad-based education that will qualify you for practically any career field in the Navy or Marine Corps. At the same time, our majors program gives you the opportunity to develop a particular area of academic interest. For especially capable and highly motivated students, we offer challenging honors programs and opportunities to start work on postgraduate degrees while still at the Academy.

Professional and leadership training

We don't just tell you about life in the Navy and Marine Corps. After four years at the Naval Academy, the life and customs of the naval service become second nature. First, you learn to take orders from practically everyone, but before long, you acquire the responsibility for making decisions that can affect hundreds of other midshipmen. Your professional classroom studies are backed by many hours of practical experience in leadership and naval operations, including assignments with Navy and Marine Corps units during summer months.

Moral education

Moral and ethical development is a fundamental element of all aspects of the Naval Academy experience. As future officers in the Navy or Marine Corps, midshipmen will someday be responsible for the priceless lives of many men and women and multi-million dollar equipment. From Plebe Summer through graduation, the Naval Academy's Character Development Program is a four-year integrated continuum that focuses on the attributes of integrity, honor, and mutual respect. One of the goals of this program is to develop midshipmen who possess a clearer sense of their own moral beliefs and the ability to articulate them. Honor is emphasized through the Honor Concept of the Brigade of Midshipmen-a system which was originally formulated in 1951 and states "Midshipmen are persons of integrity, they stand for that which is right." These Naval Academy "words to live by" are based on the moral values of respect for human dignity, respect for honesty and respect for the property of others. Brigade Honor Committees composed of elected upperclass midshipmen are responsible for education and training in the Honor Concept. Midshipmen found in violation of the Honor Concept by their peers may be separated from the Naval Academy.

Physical training

We teach the importance of being physically fit and prepared for stress because the duties of Navy and Marine Corps officers often require long, strenuous hours in difficult situations. The physical requirements of Plebe Summer training, four years of physical education and year-round athletics also develop pride, teamwork and leadership.

Summer Seminar

The United States Naval Academy Summer Seminar is a fast-paced, six-day experience for high achievers who have completed their junior year in high school. Summer Seminar teaches you about life at the Naval Academy, where academics, athletics, and professional training play equally important roles in developing our nation's leaders.  If you think that you may be interested in pursuing an appointment to one of the nation's service academies and serving your country as an officer, you should seriously consider attending the Naval Academy's Summer Seminar. Mark your calendar! The 2012 Summer Seminar Application will open February 1st.

**Severn Students (sophomores & juniors) interested in a service academy should express that interest to the Severn College Counseling office as early as possible.

College Spotlight: United States Air Force Academy

(Cadet Craig Phelan, Severn '09, visiting 11/28)

Link: USAFA Admissions

In our rapidly changing world, the high-tech United States Air Force rules the skies. In order to continue protecting our country and its interests, we need highly motivated, top-notch people. If you've got what it takes to be a leader in the Air Force of the 21st Century, we offer you an outstanding opportunity — and education at the Air Force Academy.

As an Air Force Academy cadet, you'll spend four years at one of the best schools in the country with all your tuition, fees, and room and board paid for. You'll be continually challenged academically and personally. Upon graduation, you'll receive a bachelor of science degree and a commission as an Air Force second lieutenant.

By knowing the requirements and recommendations to receive a potential appointment to the Academy, you can help prepare your students during high school.

Requirements

The applicant must be:

• A United States citizen (United States citizenship must be finalized prior to entering the Academy.)
• Unmarried with no dependents (Note: Dependents include being married, mother/father by having a birth child, step child, or adopted child prior to graduation, regardless of whether or not you provide financial support for said dependent. Further, if such marriage or paternity/maternity were to occur but not be known to Air Force authorities until after graduation, you may be subject to disciplinary or administrative action as an officer.)
• Of good moral character
• At least 17, but not past your 23rd birthday by July 1 of the year entering (The age requirement is public law and cannot be waived.)

Recommendations

The following high school courses will help make the applicant more competitive:

• Four years of English
• Four years of college-prep math
• Four years of lab science
• Three years of social studies
• Two years of a foreign language
• One year of computer study

For questions or to find out more about the Air Force Academy's admissions process, please call 1-800-443-9266. 

**Students (sophomore or junior) interested in a service academy should express that interest to the College Counseling office as early as possible.

Early Action and Early Decision follow up game plan

While nothing would make us happier than if you are admitted Early Action or Early Decision to your favorite college, we also need to have a backup plan!  We ask that you submit your transcript requests for the rest of your colleges by December 1^st.  Then we can send your transcripts, counselor forms and recommendations before we leave for the winter break.  You do not have to apply until you are ready, but this way we can rest assured that your materials will arrive by those January deadlines. 

You are under no obligation to apply to those colleges, even if we’ve sent your materials.  This is particularly true with Common Application colleges; the materials we send will not even be downloaded until your application arrives.

Remember that to request a transcript, you must add it to your “applying to” list in Family Connection and click “transcript requests.”  Also, if you are applying to a Common Application college, you must add that college to your list on www.commonapp.org.

Please see your counselor with any questions.  We wish you the best of luck at those Early Action/Early Decision colleges.  Let us know the results!   

New feature added: USEFUL LINKS

Check out the newest feature added to An Admiral's Perspective: USEFUL LINKS. In the column to the right (under the Index by Subject), we have added useful and interesting links. This will be an ever expanding list as we come across links that we think you will find helpful or that you suggest that we add. The links include both websites that you are certainly familiar with (like Family Connection and the College Board) as well as other College Admissions related blogs. Please let us know if you have favorite go-to websites or blogs to share with our readers!

College Spotlight--Penn State University (visiting 11/11)

Link: Penn State Univ

The largest campus in the Penn State system, University Park is home to a diverse population of about 35,000 undergraduate students. Penn State University Park students enjoy passing iconic buildings like Old Main daily, while also taking advantage of amenities in new facilities like the Information Sciences and Technology Building or the Life Sciences Building.


Penn State University Park is located in the small city of State College, a quintessential college town with its small eateries and quirky shops that line the street marking the border between downtown and campus. Nestled near the base of Mount Nittany, the surrounding area of central Pennsylvania is known as “Happy Valley.”

Freshmen at University Park are guaranteed on-campus housing, and, in subsequent years, offered housing through an easily managed lottery system. Approximately 13,000 students live on campus. Six residence hall areas offer traditional, dormitory-style living. On-campus housing is guaranteed and mandatory for first-year students.

The diverse community hosts students from all fifty states and more than one hundred countries, with a typical annual student population of more than 40,000.

The campus houses eleven of the University’s undergraduate colleges, the Graduate School, Schreyer Honors College, and a campus of Penn State Dickinson School of Law. It is the base for the University Libraries, which serve all the campuses in the Commonwealth.

The Nittany Lions football team plays at Beaver Stadium on the campus and other Big Ten sporting events are held in the playing fields and in the Bryce Jordan Center, a multipurpose arena for University ceremonies such as commencement, sporting events, and entertainment.

Penn State University Park Virtual Tour

College Spotlight--Franklin & Marshall College (visiting 11/8)

Link: Franklin & Marshall College

Franklin & Marshall was established in 1787 with a gift of 200 British pounds from Benjamin Franklin, and is located in historic Lancaster, a dynamic city with a thriving arts scene.
The College enrolls 2,200 students. The average class size is 19 students, and the faculty-to-student ratio is 10:1. Our students receive more than $500,000 in research grants every year.

At Franklin & Marshall, we emphasize learning by doing, not just by listening and watching.

All students are lifelong members of a College House, five distinct hubs of academic, extracurricular and social engagement in a residential setting. Guided by faculty dons and administrative prefects, students govern their houses, develop leadership skills, and create their own social and intellectual programs.

Students may join one or more of the College’s 76 clubs and organizations, ranging from anime to Ultimate Frisbee. More than three-quarters of students participate in community service, and a quarter of students belong to one of 10 Greek organizations.

Our scholar-athletes compete in the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference. The College fields 27 athletic teams—13 for men and 14 for women.

Students may study abroad in any of 200 locations around the world. Each year, one-third of our students goes abroad or enrolls in a travel course. On campus, 87 percent of students have studied at least one of the 11 foreign languages we offer.

Our students seek to learn by doing, not by listening and watching. They embrace the opportunity to work side by side or in small groups with faculty members on research projects that have real-world applications. And when given the choice of being a scholar, an athlete, an artist, a leader or a volunteer, they are most apt to choose “all of the above.”

This is who we are.