William Paterson University Aim High Academy 2013 The Road to College Day 2.

William Paterson UniversityAim High Academy 2013

The Road to CollegeDay 2

The Road to College:An Overview

• The Key Ingredients– Narrowing the field– Crafting My Action Plan– Extra-Curricular Activities and Letters of Reference– Understanding The Common Application– Applying for Financial Aid / Scholarships / Grants– Staying Organized– Standardized Testing: ACT or SAT?– The College Application Essay

DO MY ACTIONS MATCH MY WORDS?WHY SHOULD THE COLLEGE THAT I WANT TO ATTEND … WANT ME? PART TWO

Today’s Topic:

The Road to College

HOW DO I STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD?Personal Achievements:– Do I have a special talent?– Am I a scholar?– Am I a star athlete?– Extra-curriculars and Community Service?– Have I demonstrated Leadership or

Entrepreneurship?– Do I have a winning personality?

Today’s Goal: Navigating the Interview and Making a Great Impression

Practice Makes Perfect

A BRIEF REFLECTION

We’ve talked about co-curricular and extra-curricular activities– Have I been involved enough?– Am I spreading myself too thinly?

• The most important thing to me is …• By being involved in ____ I have learned ___• Who inspires me and how?• What have I accomplished?

My College List …

THE COLLEGE INTERVIEWYour opportunity to:– Ask questions of the college concerning academic

programs, study abroad, the social landscape, etc.– Explain an academic challenge that your transcript

reveals.– Speak with enthusiasm about your greatest passions.– Provide context for various choices you’ve made

(dropping a class, breaking a rule, doing community service, etc.).

– Showcase your delightful personality.– Make a memorable, favorable impression.

You Should Plan to Interview!General rules of thumb• Call colleges at least a few weeks in advance of your visit to inquire

about interviewing. Many colleges fill their interview slots early. • If you can’t interview, be sure to stop by the admissions office to

pick up information, take a tour, and give your name to the receptionist; this is a simple way of “demonstrating interest.”

• Allow plenty of extra time to get to the interview. Tardiness detracts from your ability to make a good first impression.

• Try to schedule your first interview at a safety school (but not a school where you know you’d never apply). It can be a practice run where the stakes aren’t as high.

• Bring copies of your college resume and transcript. Your interviewer may or may not want to look at them; however, you should always offer them

TALKING ABOUT MYSELF!

• Not always an easy thing to do …• The secrets to making it seem effortless are:

•PREPARE–and

•PRACTICE

Did you ask for some videos??• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMyX-azmA00

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xponx42eG5E&feature=related

• http://vimeo.com/31795605– WSPN … Wayland HS, Wayland, MA

AFTER THE INTERVIEW• Wander around absorbing the “feel” of the campus.• Pay special attention to the library, bookstore, housing units,

and any facilities that fit your special areas of interest.• Read the student newspaper. Try to find other student

publications—department newsletters, alternative newspapers, etc.

• Scan bulletin boards to see what day-to-day student life is like.

• Eat in the cafeteria.• Visit the student center. Approach students and ask them

about their experiences at the school. • Walk or drive around the community surrounding the

campus.

AFTER THE INTERVIEW

• IMPORTANT: –When you get home, send a personal note

to the interviewer thanking him or her for meeting with you. – You should also give feedback on your

impression and compliment the person or facility that most captivated your interest while you were there

AVOIDING ONLINE MISTAKES

TAKE “OOPS” OUT OF THE EQUATION!

Managing Your Online Presence

• You should assume that your online postings will be examined as part of the process of reviewing your application.

• Check your digital trail and keep it clean. 24% of college admissions officers in a survey by Kaplan said they have visited applicants' pages, while 20% Googled them to learn more – and 12% said what they found negatively impacted their admissions chances.

• Search yourself on Google, Yahoo and other search engines, and clean up anything that doesn't put you in a positive light!

• What is visible? Check and see!

FACEBOOK

• Limit your profile searchability. – Facebook's default settings allow anyone to find

your profile online. You can disable this so that search engines won't link to your profile.

• Keep your profile photo appropriate. – Be aware that even if you set your privacy settings

so you're searchable but only friends can see your posts and pictures, your name and profile photo are still visible. If so, make sure your photo is what you want to present if someone pulls up your profile.

• Control who can contact you on Facebook. – By default, anyone on Facebook can send you a

message. You can change this setting to "friends of friends," so only people who have a mutual friend can contact you.

• Remove your past posts from public view. – A recently added privacy setting, "Limit The

Audience For Past Posts" will change content that may previously have been publicly posted to be only viewable by Friends in your network.

• Take control of tagging on your profile. – Facebook's default settings allow friends to tag you

in their photos, profile posts, and even check you into places – which can be public without your knowledge. Change these settings so only friends can see these posts. Go to "How Tags Work" under Privacy settings and opt out. You can also choose to review all tags before they are linked to your profile so that your friends don't have the chance to link embarrassing party photos without your permission.

HAVE YOU TWEETED LATELY?

• Make your Twitter account permission-only. – If you have a Twitter account, by default, anybody

can view your tweets and follow you. To protect your privacy and tweets, go to Settings - Accounts – and then check "Protect my tweets." That way people can only follow you and see your tweets if you've given them permission to do so.

• Or, change your Twitter name. – If you want to make your Twitter account public

but not associated with your name, change your name by clicking on "Settings" on the drop down menu at the top right corner of your profile page (click on the upside-down triangle). Go to the "Accounts" tab and the first listing is "Name". You can create a different name for yourself.

THE INTERNET NEVER FORGETS

• Be smart and think about everything you post online before you do it. – The Internet has a LONG memory. After all your

hard work, the last thing you want to keep you out of your top school or program choices is an inappropriate Facebook photo or offensive tweet.

– Posting that a school is your "safety" school can come back to haunt you.