School Profile - Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts school located in Oberlin, Ohio (picture above is Peters Hall and is taken by wikimedia commons user Daderot). Attached to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and it is the only US institution to have be both a top ranked college and a top ranked music conservatory.

• Located in Oberlin, Ohio, a small town of under 10,000 people (as of 2000 census).
• Just under 3,000 students (~600 of which are enrolled in the Conservatory) and around 1,000 faculty and staff.
• Offers B.A. (liberal arts) and B.M. (music) degrees as well as a double degree program for those that are interested in getting both.
• Tuition is currently at $39,686 per year with the total cost of attendance coming to around $50,000 a year.
• Financial aid includes a mix of grants, loans and work-study and Oberlin's website states that the past year saw $49 million dollars in aid to its students, with 2/3 of students receiving aid.
• Alumni include 3 Nobel laureates and 7 MacArthur fellows
• Has an "Experimental College" program where students can teach their own class for a bit of credit.
• Has an art rental program where students can rent original works (including some by very famous artists) to hang in their residences

Oberlin website

Some specialized scholarships

Here are a few scholarship programs that carry some extra requirements.

USTA Serves - The United States Tennis Association offers a number of scholarships for students who participate in organized tennis. http://www.usta.com/About-USTA/USTA-Serves/Information/66422_USTA_Tennis__Education_Foundation_College_Scholarships/

Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarships - DAR runs a number of scholarship programs targeted at various disciplines. You will need to obtain a letter of recommendation from your local DAR chapter who may have their own selection criteria depending on how many students seek them out.
http://www.dar.org/natsociety/edout_scholar.cfm

Tall Clubs International Scholarship - If you are male and over 6'2" or female and over 5'10" you can apply for this scholarship by getting a member of the club to write you a letter of sponsorship and filling out the application materials.
http://www.tall.org/scholarships.cfm?CFID=624032&CFTOKEN=44571157

Tylenol Scholarship Program - Ten $10,000 awards and thirty $5,000 awards. You must be pursuing a healthcare related degree. Applications typically due in May.
http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/news/subptyschol.inc

Essay Tip - Word Spacing

Most universities will ask for at least one essay with the application and they will generally provide a fairly vague prompt. Here we will discuss the importance of word spacing. Word spacing refers to the frequency that a particular word appears in a section of writing. Rule of thumb is that the lower the frequency the better. Common words like "it" and "of" are generally exempt.

For instance, if my personal essay for a college application has a paragraph where every sentence starts with the word "I" or "My" it will quickly become monotonous and boring for the reader. The same occurs if I write about a job I held and use the same set of adjectives multiple times to describe my experience.

When writing and proofreading your essays, pay attention to the words that you are using and try to mix it up a little bit. It will help keep your essay from getting repetitive and also the reader's attention from wandering.

Test Averages

It is well known that although the SAT and ACT aren't everything, a good score can positively impact your overall application. But what do the scores mean?

The ACT's goal is to test whether a student is "college-ready". The benchmark scores for 2008 were:

• English - 18
• Mathematics - 22
• Reading - 21
• Science - 24

 These numbers were derived from the data of past exam takers and achieving those scores indicate a 50% chance of getting a B or higher in the corresponding college level course. For the high school class of 2008 only 22% of test takers managed to score better than the benchmark in all 4 subject areas. The average composite score was 20.9 in 2005 and rose to 21.1 (out of 36)  in 2008.

The SAT originally stood for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (it now does not stand for anything). The average scores for 2008-2009 were:

• Critical Reading - 501
• Mathematics - 515
• Writing - 493

The statistics released by the college board did show that high school juniors had a higher average score than seniors by 88 points (out of 2400).

When reviewing for these exams don't get frustrated if you can't get a top score on practice tests (only 428 students managed a 36 on the ACT in 2008, out of over 1.4 million who took the test). Instead, just focus on improving your score from when your first start and aim for beating the average.

Summer jobs

Many high school juniors and seniors consider getting a job over the summer to generate extra cash. But it can also be a good experience to put on your college application. Having a job shows that you were able to make a commitment and undertake responsibility.

Popular summer employers are

• Movie theaters
• Retail Stores
• Pools
• Park districts
• Summer camps
• Restaurants

Temporary or seasonal work for teenagers will most likely not be directly related to what you intend to study. The important thing is not the specifics of your job description but rather that you're demonstrating a certain level of maturity and ability to handle responsibility. The best advice is don't be too picky about the type of job. When searching for these positions, keep an eye out for help wanted signs and local job boards. You may want to ask your teachers if they have ideas or advice from their former students.

A few more scholarship programs

United States Senate Youth Program - An annual program where 2 student representatives from each state are selected to participate in a week long program in Washington DC, each student will also receive a $5,000 scholarship.

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation - This foundation focuses finding top students with financial need. They offer a variety of programs for students of varying ages including a young scholars program that targets 7th grade students and provides funding for summer programs and distance learning courses.

The Walmart Foundation - This organization is retail giant Walmart's community outreach branch and has several scholarship programs including one specifically for first generation college students.

Summer Test Prep

Although there are schools that are beginning to move away from the SAT and ACT, they are still a very important part of the college application process. Some schools require a specific test, while others will accept both. The most selective schools also may ask for SAT II's which are subject specific exams. While a bad score may not necessarily detract from your application, a good score will make you a stronger candidate. Look at the schools that you may be interested in applying to and figure out which scores they require and focus on preparing for those exams.

The summer provides an excellent time to review and prepare for these tests and the following are a few pieces of advice collected from those that have experienced the ordeal.

• A review book is an excellent resource as it provides many example questions similar to what you will see on the actual exam
• Set aside a time where you can go through a full length practice exam in one sitting and time yourself. This will give you an idea of where you need to improve and how quickly you need to solve each problem
• The best way to build your vocabulary is to read. This can also help with the reading comprehension parts of the exams
• The writing sections are graded according to specific guidelines. Most review resources will be able to give you a breakdown of what these are. Learn them and learn how to write within those guidelines. There are always many good writers who score poorly on the writing section because they get creative or use complex arguments and structures. General rule of thumb is to keep your writing as straightforward as possible
• Prep classes may be an option to consider if you're having trouble studying by yourself.
• Reviewing algebra and geometry is a big help as many of the math questions are based on concepts from those topics
• Learn the exam procedures and tricks. For instance, the SAT penalizes for wrong answers in such a way that a list of random guesses will have an expected raw score of 0. But if you can eliminate answer choices then it becomes statistically favorable to venture a guess. The ACT does not penalize for wrong answers so it is in your best interest to put down an answer for every question.

Alumni Interview - Washington University in St. Louis

Jerry M. an alumnus of Washington University in St. Louis gives us his thoughts on how he chose a college.

Q: When applying to college, what were some of the things you were looking for in a school and what stood out about Wash U?
JM:   First off, there were some obvious things I was looking for, such as general academic excellence and location.  I wanted a school that would build upon the excellent education I got in high school as well as a school that was relatively close to home.  What excited me about Wash U in particular was its flexibility and freedom.  I didn't really have any idea of what I wanted to major in, so I liked that the majors were small in terms of credit hours, and that there were a lot of opportunities to take elective courses.  The relatively small size (~5,000 undergrads) was also a positive factor.

Q: Did you visit Wash U before or during the application process? What did you learn during the visit that helped you with your decision?
JM: Yes, I visited Wash U before the application process.  Ironically, I didn't want to visit (not for any particular reason) but my parents dragged me, and for the first (and only) time on a college visit, I felt like it was the place where I wanted to be.  I was excited about it for most of the reasons listed above, and it was at the visit that I learned about the low levels of required classes, small majors, etc...

Q: While attending Wash U, where did you live? and what was the norm for students?
JM:  I lived on-campus all four years.  Freshman year, I lived in a traditional dorm.  My sophomore and junior years, I lived in suite-style dorms (6-person and 4-person suites sharing a common bathroom and living room).  And my senior year, I lived in a 4-person on-campus apartment on the north side of campus.  That was really nice, though with an on-campus apartment, you had to get the tiny meal plan and mostly cook for yourself.

Everyone is required to live in the dorms as freshmen.  That was definitely a good thing, as I made most of my long-term friends on my freshman floor.  As sophomores, most students graduate to suite-style dorms, although a few head off campus at that point.  Generally, by junior year, most everyone leaves the South 40 (where all the dorms are) and either heads to on-campus apartments on the north side of campus or off campus altogether.  I was one of the unlucky few stranded with the underclassmen my junior year, but  my brand-new lavish on-campus apartment my senior year made up for it.

 

Q: How did you choose what to study at Wash U? And what sort of classes did you take?

JM:  I more or less randomly decided I would take some political science classes to see if I wanted to major in it, and I wound up doing so.  I also minored in statistics (always an interest of mine) and economics (pretty much because I realized I would only need 2 more classes to finish the minor).  Something that is very different at Wash U than from most other colleges (at least from talking to friends) is the lax major and minor requirements.  I only needed 30 credit hours to get my major and 15 each for my two minors.  Considering I finished with 124 credit hours, over half of my classes were outside of my major or minors.  That was one of my big reasons for going to Wash U, and it definitely paid off, as I got to take a lot of fun classes that were purely for my interest.

 

Q: Outside of class, what did students do? What did you do?

JM: Wash U is what is referred to as a 'wet campus' meaning that undergraduate events are allowed to serve alcohol if requirements are met, and there is a reasonably big frat scene at Wash U - or at least, a lot of frat parties.  There are no sorority houses, but the sorority members could often be found at the frat parties.  A lot of upperclassmen went out to bars and clubs on The Loop (just north of campus) or in downtown St. Louis.  Party nights were Thursday and Friday more than Friday and Saturday.  But of course, it's also a tough school, so when people weren't drinking, they were usually studying.  The library was quite popular every other night of the week.  Work hard, play hard, that sort of thing.

Personally, although I certainly was no stranger to the bottle, I avoided the frat scene and the clubbing scene as much as possible.  I generally attended smaller parties in the dorms and apartments.  The Loop is basically four blocks of restaurants, and it was really nice to have it within walking distance of campus.  I also was a DJ for the college radio station, and some semesters, I was manning the 2 am shift on Friday nights.  And I did a lot of homework.

[RG note, Wash U alcohol policy for undergraduate student events]

 

Q: What did you like most about Wash U?

JM: My favorite parts about Wash U were the friends I made and the academics.  There were always exceptions, but for the most part, my classes were interesting and engaging, and I had a lot of excellent professors.  It helped that I had a great advisor who steered me in the right direction, and the Wash U Course Evaluation system was an excellent tool that a lot of other schools don't have (or at least they don't provide the results to the students like Wash U does).  Especially by my senior year, I had finished most of my requirements and so had time to take courses like Music of the Beatles and Intro Jazz Guitar.  My major and minor courses were great for the most part too - they just tended to be more challenging as well.

Another positive factor for me was its relatively small size.  It wasn't as small as my high school, but I knew the campus intimately and knew a pretty good number of people in my class either personally or through other friends.  That way, I felt abreast of everything that was going on, as opposed to a bigger school, where I might only have been exposed to the workings of my department.

 

Q: Comments, thoughts, interesting stories?

JM: Excepting the loans I am still paying back, I am pleased with my college choice.  I'd say the most important factors in knowing how to pick the right college were the visit and having a few concrete reasons why I wanted to go to the school.  The key is to know, or figure out as best you can, what will make you happy, and pick your college accordingly!

School Profile - Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University in St. Louis (Wash U) is a private university located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is a very well regarded research university that ranks near the top in terms of research funding from external agencies.

A few quick facts

• Cost of tuition is listed as $39,400 for the 2010-2011 academic year. With total cost of attendance coming out to ~$52,000 per year
• The school offers a variety of scholarships and financial assistance, including full tuition scholarships
• Wash U employs just over 3,000 faculty and has ~6,000 undergraduate and ~6,500 graduate students
• It has been highly ranked by US News and World Report and Forbes (including a #4 ranking in medicine)
• The university is divided into several schools covering academic fields from engineering to the arts.
• It has hosted more presidential and vice-presidential debates than any other institution
• Wash U has over 200 student organizations supported by a student union that has one of the largest student controlled budgets in the country.
• It participates in NCAA Division III athletics

Wash U is an extremely selective school that received 25,000 applications for fall of 2010 for a class of 1,500. It is a reach school for even the top students but the quality of education and availability of financial aid means it's definitely worth investigating. Its location in St. Louis is also a plus for any prospective student looking to stay away from a small town atmosphere.
http://www.wustl.edu/

Advanced Placement Classes

Many high school juniors and seniors will have the option of taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These courses are generally more intense than the ones inside the normal curriculum. The end goal of these courses is for students to take and pass an AP exam. Most colleges and universities will give course credit for good AP scores.

It is crucial to note that you do not have to take an AP course in order to take the AP exam for that particular topic. All you need to do is register for the exam and pay the fee. The AP exams are conducted by the College Board (the same people behind the SAT).

Although having AP credit can help you get a head start in college, it does not really help your admissions chances if you take more exams than the next applicant. Instead, you should tailor them according to your own needs. When deciding on whether to take an AP course or exam it is important to consider what you might be studying in college. For instance, if you're more science or engineering oriented, you might consider the physics, chemistry, biology, statistics, or calculus courses and exams. If you're thinking of doing something business related, the macroeconomics of microeconomics exams are worth considering.

You should also look at the schools that you are considering and figure out what their policies on AP exams are, what scores they require and whether the credit offered will be useful in the degree programs that you are interested in.

college board AP website

Summer Activities

In the very competitive rat race that college applications have become, it is a very good idea to spend some time over summer doing something that you can write about. This can be anything from a job to summer sports leagues to traveling to volunteering to spending time on a hobby.

For the most part, high school curricula teach the same subject matter. Some high schools are academically better than others but good students can come from anywhere and admissions officers know this. Having a good academic record is definitely important but the competition all have good academic records. Being able to write about an experience outside of a school curriculum shows passion and motivation, which are two things that every college wants in every admitted student. 

Some examples of summer activities gathered from various college students

• Writing movie/book/tv reviews, with the internet it is very easy to set up a site and publish your articles
• Making short movies for youtube
• Working for the local park district
• Tutoring younger kids
• Taking road trips around the state and taking high quality pictures for a personal guide book
• Cruising yard sales for hidden treasure and selling the finds on ebay

School Profile - Grinnell College

Grinnell college is a small private liberal arts school in Iowa. It is a very well respected school and has been named a top institution by various rankings.

A few facts

• Located in Grinnell, Iowa with roughly 1,700 students
• Tuition for 2010-2011 is $37,482 with total cost of attendance coming to ~46,000/year
• The school offers a variety of grants, scholarships and student employment opportunities and has a policy to meet the full financial need of all applicants who are U.S. residents
• It has been ranked highly by U.S. News and World Report, the Princeton Review and the New York Times
• Offers humanities, science and social science programs.
• Has an open curriculum system where there are no required courses, instead classes are chosen with the help of an adviser from the student's department to ensure a customized program for every student.

This is an excellent school and definitely worth considering for anyone looking at liberal arts. However, it is a highly selective school and admission is very competitive.
http://www.grinnell.edu/

School Profile - University of the Pacific

University of the Pacific is a private university located in Stockton, CA offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees. (picture above is taken by Gene Wright, distributed under the Creative Commons - Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 unported license)

Quick Facts

• Roughly 3,500 undergraduate students and 2,700 graduate students
• Offers 80 undergraduate programs of study ranging from Business to Engineering to Fine Arts
• Tuition and Fees for 2009/2010 was $31,730 with total cost of attendance coming to ~$41,000 per year
• Average financial aid package is over $20,000 per year (with scholarships and other gift aid making up 80% of that and loans only comprising of 14%)
• Competes in NCAA Division I athletics (Big West Conference)
• Raised 330 million dollars in 2007 to build new facilities and fund scholarships

This school offers an excellent range of majors and fields for its size and the readily available financial aid is a giant plus.
http://pacific.edu/

Extra curricular activities

Every university is seeking that almost mythical "well-rounded" individual who excels academically while juggling volunteering, sports, jazz band, student government and the math team. This is the image that most people think of when they hear extra-curricular. However, there are many other activities under extra-curricular that can make you stand out. The following are some of the activities and hobbies of people that I've met in college.

Building Rube Goldberg Machines
An Ebay business selling kid's sports equipment
Designing Websites
Creating new dessert recipes
Bicycle racing

There are many things that you can do that do not fit the 'traditional' mold and often times many students are already doing impressive things.

Helicopter Parents

Helicopter parents are the well meaning but none-the-less annoying individuals who hover over their children and try to influence or dictate everything they do in order to mold them into the perfect individual according to the parent.

Signs that you have/are a helicopter parent

• The parent asks all of the questions at tours, info sessions, etc.
• The parent calls student organizations to ask about admissions requirements (happens quite often and is extremely annoying for the student organizations).
• The prospective student asks about a program of study and the parent immediately follows up with a question about a possible minor in something unrelated because their child "wants to be well-rounded".
• If the parent(s) is visiting the school without their child (it does happen...).

What it means for the prospective student

• All of the people involved in the visit day/tour/panel/whatever are going to dislike you. A lot of the questions that helicopter parents ask also tend to be really annoying (for instance "Why would my child want to go to a University that's not in a large city?", real answer "I don't know, ask your kid", answer that is given "Well even though we are not located in a large city we do have many of the amenities that a large city offers such as ...").
• Anyone that remembers you because of your parents is another person that is not going to recommend you for admission if they were asked for their opinion (even if you're parents were charming and well-liked, they are not the ones trying to get into college).
• You don't get your questions answered and are instead left with a bunch of information that matters to your parents but not necessarily to you, making your decision that much harder.

How to counter your helicopter parent

• Pre-emptive strikes. Have a list of things that you want to know and ask your questions when given the chance before your parent starts rattling off "well I want my child to have a business minor to round out their resume, how would they do that?".
• When people try to interact with you (when they ask you what you want to study for example), don't stare at your feet and mumble. Talk, even if it's to say you don't know. Half the prospectives that visit schools have no idea what they want to study. And if you don't know, ask them about the programs they are familiar with. Interact when given the opportunity, if you don't, your parents are going to step in.
• Do talk do your parents before hand and let them know what you want to get out of the info session/tour/whatever. That way they can help you get the information you're after.

Application Tip - have someone else read your essays

This is one of the oldest and most often repeated pieces of advice. Having someone else read your essays not only gives you another set of eyes that can catch mistakes such as typos and grammatical errors but they can also provide input on how well you've expressed your point. If your reader is having trouble understanding parts of your essay then chances are an admissions officer will too.

When asking someone to proofread your essays, be sure to ask them what they think the essay expresses (ie, this candidate is very active in community service or is a superior student, etc). What a reader gets from a piece of writing may not always be what the writer intended.

School Profile - Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester Polytechnic is an engineering and technology oriented school located in Massachusetts.
Some quick facts

• Located in Worcester, Mass.
• roughly 3,000 undergraduate students, 1,000 graduate students, and 300 faculty
• The school year is divided into 4 7-week long terms with an optional summer term.
• Cost of tuition (for 09-10) is $37,440 with total cost of attendance coming in at just over $50,000 a year
• Has both need based and merit based financial aid. Every applicant is automatically considered for merit based scholarships
• National Merit or National Achievement Finalists who name WPI as their first choice school will receive at least a $17,000/year scholarship renewable for 4 years
• Ranked 68th (for undergraduate) by US News and World Report in 2010
• 27% Female, 73% Male
• ACT for the middle 50% of the entering class is 27-32
• Athletic program is in NCAA Division III and has 20 varsity teams

WPI is an often overlooked school that is very respected in the engineering and technology circles. Being a private school the cost of attendance is very high but it does offer numerous scholarships
WPI website

Boyton Hall at WPI

More Scholarships

Nordstrom scholarship - $10,000 paid out in 4 equal installments. There is a geographic limitation for this one (Illinois, Georgia, DC area, parts of California, Washington, Alaska and New Jersey) http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=211996&p=respscholarship

Coca-Cola Scholars program - 50 $20,000 awards and 200 $10,000 awards each year. https://www.coca-colascholars.org/cokeWeb/page.jsp?navigation=15

Time Warner Scholarship - $3,000 for science, engineering, technology, or math disciplines. http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/about/community/scholarships.html

Lowes Scholarship - 140 $2,500 awards open to high school seniors. http://www.lowes.com/cd_Lowes+Scholarship_125223623_

What is Liberal Arts?

Most high school curricula involve english, math, science (mostly in the form of physics, chemistry and biology), history, PE, foreign languages and some sort of fine arts (be it orchestra, chorus, art, etc). When one enters college, you find that the curricula are much more focused and you'll have your choice of disciplines from ever-expanding lists.

There is a concept in American universities referred to as 'liberal arts'. There are schools that are specifically focused on this and most larger Universities will have a collection of departments that fall under their School/College of liberal arts or something to that effect. Which raises the question "what exactly is liberal arts?"

Most liberal arts programs have begun to include science based majors as well and its fairly common to see schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Liberal Arts will generally include the following topics/majors/disciplines (give or take)

• Anthropology
• Classical Studies
• Communications
• Cultural Studies (generally divided into American, Asian, African, etc)
• Economics
• English and Composition
• History
• Humanities*
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Theatre and Film (may fall under Fine Arts, varies by school)
• Women's Studies

*Humanities is the set of academic disciplines that studies the human condition and can include, performing arts, literature, classics, history, language, visual arts, music etc. Although depending on the school, some of these may fall under a separate division devoted to performing arts/music.

If you see Liberal Arts and Sciences, the list of disciplines generally expands to include

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Mathematics
• Statistics
• Geology
• Astronomy
• and so forth

As always, each school will have their own way of categorizing the disciplines, but any Liberal Arts school or division within a school will include the topics listed above.

School Profile - George Washington University

GWU is a large private university located in Washington D.C.

A few facts

• The University is split into several schools to cover all of the fields of study such as the School of Business and School of Applied Science and Engineering.
• Has 3 campuses. The Foggy Bottom Campus and the Mount Vernon Campus are located in Washington D.C. and the Virginia Campus is located in Ashburn, Va.
• Has a focus on graduate study (more than half of its students are grad students)
• Considered a large school, ~2,000 faculty, ~11,000 undergraduate, ~14,000 graduate.
• The class entering in Fall of 2008 had an acceptance rate of ~36%
• Tuition for the 2009-2010 academic year was $41,610 with estimated total cost of attendance being over $52,000
• Tuition for each student is fixed at the rate that was charged when they enter.
• Offers need-based aid as well as merit-based scholarships. Average need based package is ~$22,000 (mix of grants, loans and work-study)
• All freshmen applicants are automatically considered for most of the Merit-based scholarships and if a student is awarded a scholarship as a freshman, they are guaranteed to receive it for 10 semesters as long as they 'maintain satisfactory academic progress' (I read that as maintain a certain GPA). Also offers a "National Scholarship", if you declare GWU as your first choice and are selected as a finalist in National Merit, National Achievement or are designated as a National Hispanic Scholar, the school will offer a $15,000/year scholarship.

This is a large University that houses a great deal of academic research. It can be a good place to do undergraduate studies regardless of whether you intend to go on to do graduate studies. The size of the University allows it to accommodate many disciplines and it offers a much larger variety of programs than what you might find at other schools.
GWU website

 The GWU School of Business building

Merit Aid

Finding merit based financial aid can be a intimidating, the following is a list of places to find scholarships that you can apply to.

1. Fastweb - A scholarship search site where you input some information about yourself and it will return a list of scholarship programs administered by various organizations that are good matches for you.
2. A specific school's financial aid website - Each school will offer some awards to their students based on merit and some may require specific applications which you'll be able to find here.
3. A specific department's website. Sometimes a department within a College/University will have it's own set of scholarships
4. Corporations - Many corporate entities offer scholarships as community outreach or specifically to the children of their employees. (Microsoft, GE, Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies to name a few)
5. State scholarship programs - Each State has scholarship programs for residents of that State. A quick google search will turn up the ones relevant to you.

Financial Aid Basics

A college education costs money. A rather obscene amount of money. Most state institutions are charging ~$10,000/year for tuition and when you factor in living expenses, books, fees, etc, the average cost of attendance is often somewhere around $20,000-$25,000 per year. And this is if you're an in-state student at a public university. For private schools, tuition can exceed $40,000 a year making the cost of attendance well over $50,000/year. That's a Tesla Model S a year.

Financial aid for most families is a must. There are many types of aid and the list below goes over what I consider to be the essentials of financial aid.

1. FAFSA (free application for federal student aid) - fill it out. This form basically acts as the application for federal grants and loans.
• Grants are basically scholarships and you do not pay them pack
• Federal loans can come in 2 flavors, subsidized and unsubsidized. Unsubsidized loans are like any other loan from your bank, you borrow money, you pay back money with interest. Subsidized loans are interest-free until 6 months after you graduate, the government basically pays your interest while you are in school.
2. Merit-based aid - This is most often referred to as scholarships or fellowships and are awarded based on achievement. These scholarships can come from individual schools, corporations, local organizations, etc. Applying for these awards will often require essays, a resumé, recommendation letters, and possibly other materials.
3. Need-based aid - This is financial aid offered based on a student's family's income and financial need. This will mostly come from the school or the government directly. If a school offers this type of aid, many times they will used the information from the FAFSA form.
4. Federal Work Study - Basically a part time job at the school. If a school has FWS jobs, they are obligated to offer the jobs to students who qualify for FWS first. However, if you really want a part-time job during college, it's really not that hard to find. I personally consider FWS to be not that useful, during my undergraduate career I've held a number of part time jobs that paid better than FWS and didn't require the stupid paperwork associated with it.

How much a school is able to offer depends largely on what a schools financial state is. Generally, private schools will be able to offer much better aid packages than public state universities. However, they also cost a lot more. In the end you need to look at its going to cost you to attend, how much (if any) debt you will graduate with and what you (and your parents) are comfortable with doing.

School Profile - Bard College

Bard College is a liberal arts school in New York

a few facts

• Roughly 1800 students and 200 faculty
• Located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, a small rural setting
• Around 3000 applicants per year with about a 25% acceptance rate
• Considered one of the most liberal schools in the nation
• Offers both merit-based and need-based aid with ~65% of its students receiving aid
• Tuition for 2009-2010 was $39,080 with total cost of attendance at around $51,000
• All courses are taught by full professors
• Offers programs in the Arts, social sciences, and some hard science/math

This is an expensive school to attend, however it does have a very decorated faculty. The small rural environment may also be a plus if you're looking to get away from the chaos of a big city.
Bard College website

School Profile - Lake Forest College

Lake Forest College is a relatively small liberal arts school in Illinois.

a few facts

• Roughly 1300 students total, with around 100 faculty
• Located in Lake Forest, Illinois (Northern Chicago area, next to lake Michigan)
• Admissions are pretty selective. Fall 2009 entering class of ~350 (out of 2200 applicants, unknown number of acceptances). Estimated acceptance rate ~20% (this is my estimate)
• ranked in top 100 for Liberal Arts colleges by US News and World Report
• Achieved a perfect financial aid score from Princeton Review (school offers a large amount of merit based scholarships)
• Tuition is roughly $34,000/year with total cost of attendance at around $43,000/year
• Offers a variety of Liberal Arts programs as well as some science programs (physics, chem, biology, engineering)

Although Lake Forest does cater a little bit to Illinois residents, 60% of their students are other other states and countries. The availability of many merit based scholarships and excellent financial aid programs makes this school a very good option to consider if you're after a liberal arts education. The student population does appear to be slightly gender skewed (school reports the fall 09 entering class is ~60% female).
www.lakeforest.edu

School Profile - Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Throughout my time in college I came into contact with people and work from many different schools. Schools that I did not find during my college search and the purpose of this post and future School Profiles is to give a brief introduction of a variety of schools that an applicant may consider.

Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
When I was applying to college, I had actually heard of this tiny little school that had not yet graduated its first class and was already setting its sights on changing engineering education. In less than a decade since their first freshmen class, Olin has turned quite a few heads in the engineering world.

A few facts

• Officially opened in 2002 with roughly 300 students total
• Located in Needham, Mass.
• Ranked in the top 10 for undergraduate engineering programs
• Undergraduate only institution
• Every admitted student is given 4 year scholarship (doesn't get much better than that)
• Signed Memorandum of Understanding with UIUC College of Engineering to cooperatively review and change engineering education
• Only 2 programs. Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering

Although the small size may not be for everyone, it's a school that every student considering engineering should look at. Even though the school is fairly new, many are taking note of their unique mix of design, engineering science and liberal arts.
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Website

Picking a major part 2

When I was investigating schools, one of the things I did was to go through the very lengthy lists of programs offered by each institution. As I read more and more, I became less and less sure about what I wanted to study. Part of the reason is that every program that is offered is run by people. And those people obviously want to attract the best students to their programs so what I was actually reading was essentially a sales pitch that highlighted all of the cool stuff that can be associated with that program.

With the advent of Web 2.0, more and more programs are producing blogs, videos and snazzy looking websites to entice prospective students into applying. When trying to pick an area study, you should first start with you. Most high school students receive a general education that exposes them to a variety of topics, this provides a good base that they can build on, but it can also cause some confusion as to what areas they are most passionate about. Take a look at what classes interested you the most, which ones you enjoyed going to and which ones you slept through. From there you can look at your hobbies and extracurricular activities and figure out which general areas you enjoy.

A college major also does not define your career. If you were to go a company and take a look at their employees you'll find that they studied a wide variety of things. One of the best pieces of advice that was given to me by a college advisor was "It's not about what you want to major in. It's about what you want to do. If you can figure out what you want to do, then you can decide on a major, and there will be multiple majors that can get you there."

For example, if you are interested in computer chips and want to work with them. You can study electrical engineering to learn about chip architecture and device physics, or physics to go more in depth about their physical operation, or chemistry/chemical engineering to learn about the process techniques to actually make the chips, or computer science to learn about how programs work and how the chip is used or materials science to learn about the material properties and what the next generation of chip materials may be.

On the flip side, if you choose to major in electrical engineering you can go on to work in rf (ie, wireless communications, signal transmission), computer vision, robotics, control systems, semiconductors (ie, computer chips), power systems (ie, electric power grids), sensing (ie, sensors and detectors) and pretty much anything else that involves an electron (or many electrons).

So it's not about what you want to major in, it's about what you want to do.

more later

Picking a major part 1

When going through the college application process, you will invariably be asked what you plan to study. In order to make an informed decision, a little knowledge on how Universities are structured will go a long way.

The majority of large Universities are organized into colleges focused on a family of disciplines (ie the College of Business or College of Engineering at the University of Illinois) and then each college may be comprised of departments that are specific to one or two closely related disciplines. If you were to switch majors, it is generally much easier to do so within a college or department. With the recent push towards interdisciplinary programs, you may find programs that are suited for you in different departments or colleges within a university, in which case you should consider the merits of being in one department/college versus another (ie, in regards to what industries you want to work in and such). For smaller universities, there may not be a  college tier of organization.

At each tier of organization there will generally be a layer of administration and it may be more useful to contact a spefic department directly for information regarding the programs they administer.

more later.

What well-rounded means

In the college application rat race, one of the most commonly used phrases is "well-rounded". Every admissions official will say "We're looking for smart, well-rounded students to admit to X-university", but what exactly does it mean?

The easiest definition that you'll hear is that it means you can't just excel in academics but you must do extra-curricular activities as well. These activities include playing sports, participating in clubs, playing musical instruments, and volunteering. By involving yourself in something outside of academics you show that there are multiple dimensions to your personality and that you bring talents that could be beneficial to the school's student community.

In an age where astronomical test scores and GPAs are no longer rare and students are better prepared than ever for the rigors of a college program, admissions committees have been bombarded with qualified applicants who, if admitted, would do well in college. It is no longer a students market. Colleges now have an over abundance of applicants that meet their academic criteria and can afford to pick and choose to construct the entering class that they want. Which means that they'll be scrutinizing what you do outside of class. The best way to show-off your multi-faceted personality and plethora of skills aside from what was mentioned before is to show them what you're passionate about. If you like tutoring elementary school kids, if you design clothes in your spare time, if you make flash games, if you crack open all of your electronic gadgets, if you write reviews for music/tv/movies, it had better be mentioned somewhere in your application.

Visiting Schools

Sometimes it can be a good idea to visit a school to get an idea of what it's like to be a student there. Some schools will have specific days set aside for such purposes and invite many prospective students and their families, other schools (especially the larger schools) will have various visit programs spread throughout the year and encourage prospectives to call and schedule their own visits.

My own experience with this lies with a large University that had an official visitors unit that ran campus tours everyday (including thanksgiving, spring and summer breaks). In addition to this there were also specific visit days where student panels, administration and even faculty were on hand to host sessions and answer questions. Each college within the University also ran their own tours and visitation programs for students who were specifically interested in certain majors. I was a member of an engineering student organization that handled tours as well as other visitation programs specific to engineering.

Scheduling a visit

This will vary from school to school. The first thing to do is to look on the admissions website where there will most likely be some information about how that particular school handles visits. If the information is not quite clear the next step would be to call/email them and ask how to schedule a visit. If they have special visit days set up it may be as easy just asking them to register you for it.

If you are trying to visit a large university, be aware that there may be programs run by individual colleges/departments and sometimes student organizations that the general admissions office is not aware of or does not know much about. The best way to find these programs is often to look on that department/college's website or give them a call. Often, individual departments might not have an entire office dedicated to admissions and prospective students, in which case look for something similar to 'undergraduate programs'. The programs run by student organizations can sometimes be difficult to find but generally they will try to get their programs listed with the office of admissions or on their college/departments websites.

What to ask for 

When trying to set-up a visit there are a few things to ask for. You may not get them but it doesn't hurt to ask and could help you get a lot more out of your visit.

• Ask to meet with a current student in the major that you're interested in. They may arrange for this student to show you around campus or meet you for lunch or something of the sort. In any case, the student will most likely not be accompanied by faculty or staff which means they spout less marketing rhetoric and gives you a chance to ask questions.
• Ask to sit in for part of a class (preferably a lower level course in the major/department you're interested). 
• Ask to see a lab (if you're looking at going into science or engineering) or a studio/performance space (if you're into fine or performing arts)
• Ask to meet a department advisor. Most undergraduate programs have some sort of advising system in place to help students choose the correct classes, balance work load, graduate on time and so on. The advisors are generally faculty in the department who are very familiar with the curriculum and can tell you about special sub-tracks or concentrations that may suit you.
• Ask for an appointment with the financial aid office. Unless you have a swimming pool filled with money, you'll probably want to find out about any scholarships that the school offers. Keep in mind that a lot of individual colleges/departments within a University also offer their own scholarships (more common in larger Universities).

What to ask during the visit

The tour guide (will most likely be a student that either works for the admissions/visitors office or is a member of the student organization that does tours)

• Ask about facilities such as labs, performance spaces, etc. and if they've used them and what their experiences were. Keep in mind that they will be of a specific major and may only have experience with a small subset of the facilities
• Ask about dorms/apartments and what most students do. In some schools the vast majority of students stay in the dorms for all 4 years. At other schools the norm may be 1 or 2 years in the dorms and then rent an apartment near campus.
• Ask about local activities, what they do in their spare time, student organizations, etc. 
• Ask what students do during the summer. Some schools are very industry oriented and have very good programs for placing students into internships, some are research oriented and lots of undergrads stay on campus to work for a professor, some are half and half.

The financial aid office

• What need-based aid is there? and what are the requirements and forms to apply?
• What merit-based aid is there? 
• What percentage of students have loans and scholarships?
• How much debt does the average student graduate with?
• What are good sources of aid that are external to the University

College/Department/Major advisor

• What is a typical course load?
• What courses does the freshman year entail?
• Given my academic background, would I qualify to skip some courses? or do I need to take some extra ones?
• What happens if my interests change and I want to switch majors? (be careful asking this)
• Can I do a minor in x?
• What types of careers do graduates from this discipline go on to?
• How many students are in this college/department/major?

The don't do list

For parents

• Don't offer the tour guide a tip. They are most likely not allowed to take it, and it's uncommon enough that it may make them uncomfortable.
• Don't ask a question and upon hearing the response turn to your child and say "did you hear that? he/she said this, this and that". One, it annoys your child. Two, it marks you as a helicopter parent and every tour guide/admissions official/faculty member hates talking to helicopter parents.
• Don't ask about outsourcing of jobs. Even the student tour guides can field this question will ease but the answer you get will depend on how annoyed they are with you. This is because losing a job due to outsourcing has more to do with the specific job/industry you choose and your own performance rather than the name of the University and field of study on your degree. Although every University would like to believe that all of their students become top-notch performers after graduation, this is simply not the case. 
• Don't talk about your child's test scores and grades and ask if your child is going to get admitted or what their chances are especially at a highly selective University. One, they don't really know. Two, they couldn't tell you anyways. Three, even near perfect test scores and perfect grades from top high schools are getting rejected at top Universities, and it's very stressful for a tour guide/administrator/faculty to keep talking and answering questions after they form the opinion that your child has little chance of getting admitted.

For students

• Don't be a brat
• Don't brag about yourself. These visits have no bearing on admissions decisions so don't try to impress people. The admissions office and tour guides see a LOT of prospective students and it gets annoying when people try to show off constantly.
• Don't let your parents ask or answer questions for you. One of the first things I did when I gave a tour is to ask what majors/disciplines everyone was interested in. If the student gives an answer then I try to throw in extra information or try to arrange for a little extra time at the places related to the fields they were interested in. If a parent answers I wonder if it's a helicopter parent and disregard the response altogether. Even if the student says 'I don't know', it's better than letting the parent answer or not giving an answer. If the tour guide/faculty/whoever perceives that it's not the student that's interested then they lose interest in giving the tour or information session and you get a lot less out of it.
• Don't talk about other schools. It's fine if you mention that you're visiting other schools (because it's to be expected) but don't talk about how this other school does this better or has that program. It annoys the people who are giving their time to show you around and they'll be less likely to give you any information unless you specifically ask for it.
• For disciplines that are known to be very gender skewed (engineering, physical science, nursing, childhood education, etc), Don't ask what the gender ratio is. One, the answer you get will most likely be random (although these statistics are kept track of, most schools don't make them public). Two, it makes you look short sighted (although individual disciplines may be gender skewed, the University as a whole is almost always balanced. No one ever said you had to date someone in your field. although dating prospects may not have been your intention, it's what they're going to assume).

More later.

Researching potential schools

When starting the college application process one of the first things that needs to be done is to pick which schools to apply to. With thousands of Colleges and Universities in the US alone, it can be a daunting task. In order to make good decisions on where to apply, a little research is necessary.

If you have already taken the SAT and checked the box that allows schools to see your score than you've probably starting getting mail from various institutions. That can be a good place to start your list. Friends, family, teachers, guidance counselors, etc. can also suggest schools that you might consider. Once you've built a decent sized list, it's time to do some digging. A quick google search will turn up the schools website, a lot of department webpages and possibly a wikipedia article.

Most school websites will have a section titles 'prospective students' or 'admissions' (or both). These pages are filled with information about how to apply to the school, what test scores they require, a link to the online application, deadlines and something that presents student life. More and more schools are also starting to have blogs by current students and admissions staff. Keep in mind that this webpage is suppose to not only help you figure out their application process but also entice you to apply. You will need to sift through all of the glossy pictures and find what's important

Key things to note down about each school as you snoop around

1. Do they have offer a program in the field of study that you're interested in?
2. Where is the school and what sort of area (urban, suburban, middle of nowhere) is it in?
3. How big is the school (how many students)?
4. How big is the department that contains your program of interest?
5. How selective is the school in terms of admissions?
6. What is the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room and board, books, etc)?
7. Is the school research oriented or industry oriented (more applicable to science-y type schools)?
8. How prestigious is the school (rank)?*
9. What is that school's approach to financial aid?

Most of the information should be available on the schools website.
*Rankings can be a general indication of how good an institution is. However, they should be taken with a grain of salt. Schools will gain or lose a few ranks from year to year to make the overall listing different than the year previous, most likely to help sell the new list.

more later.