Apr 28, 2008
COMMENTARY
Five things to do on a college trip
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by Stephanie Klein Wassink
Optimizing a school trip can make the application process much easier. Here are a few tips that will get you on the right track.
It may seem obvious, but call first. Some schools require prospective applicants to reserve a spot in the information session and tour. Since information session and tour times vary seasonally, confirming the time will prevent mix-ups.
While you have them on the phone, make sure you are on the school’s mailing list and find out about the other resources available to prospective students.
Interview ... even if it is not required. Interviewing showcases an important component of your application: interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills are difficult to demonstrate in an essay.
If possible, interview with an admissions committee member on campus versus an alumnus. It will be, after all, a member of the admissions committee who will be evaluating your application.
An overnight stay is the best way to get a sense of how you would fit in on campus. Unlike anything else, it gives you a chance to experience a college’s classes, dorm life, campus safety, cafeteria food, and social life up close ... blemishes and all.
Pick up the school newspaper. Hopefully you took clear, meaningful notes while sitting in the information session and taking the tour. All too often things were clear when you visited, but later everything is mush.
School newspapers differentiate the school and highlight issues students and the administration consider important. Referring to the college paper will come in handy, especially when you are answering that all-too-difficult supplemental essay question, “Why this college?”
Take the tour. It is a great way to get a sense of the campus. While on the tour, be observant. Is the campus well cared for? That can be an indication of whether alumni give money to the school. Alumni who have had a great experience and feel their school was a part of their success often give back.
Stephanie Klein Wassink, of Redding, runs Winning Applications, a college and graduate school admissions counseling firm. For more information go to www.winningapplications.net.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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