10 Dos and Don'ts- College Fair Style

What a long overdue post about this subject! For all that have attended a college fair, you know how overwhelming the experience can be. There are sometimes hundreds of college reps and thousands of students to navigate through in order to get the information you really need. Hopefully a few pointers below can help you through the process. And remember, college fairs are fun and informative!

Do:

1.Fill out inquiry cards. This will ensure that a college can update your information, send you materials relevant to your academic and extracurricular interests. There are also a good number of schools (like Stonehill) that track a student's interest in a school. When we read your applicant file we can see that you met a representative at a college fair- we know you mean business!

2. Bring pre-printed labels. The savvy student knows that filling out inquiry cards can be a pain! Pre-printed sticky labels with your address, email, class year, high school name, DOB, academic and extracurricular interest will save you a lot of time and help avoid writer's cramp...plus it's easier for us to input in our computer system. Win win!

3. Ask questions- that's what we're there for! Your guidance/college counselor may be able to provide you with a list of good questions to ask or you could brainstorm on your own. Either way, it's never a bad idea to have a few questions in mind regarding academics, campus life, housing options, etc.

4. Do your homework! Most fairs will provide a list of colleges to expect at the fair. Try to come up with a list of schools that you want to visit to help make good use of your time. It's also not a bad idea to check out their websites to get some basic information and know what you want to talk about with the college rep.

5. Keep an open mind. Try to visit schools you may not have heard of and explore all that the fair has to offer. You never know what you'll find.


Don't:

1. Dress inappropriately, this may be your first and last impression! It's hard for us to take you seriously when you're wearing Sponge Bob PJ pants. Keep the sleepwear, sweatpants and other lounge wear at home.

2. Be afraid to speak up. While we love talking with parents, we want to interact with you as well. Introduce yourself and make sure we get to know you!

3. Hesitate to ask for the contact information of a rep. if the table is busy and you have more questions. We try as best as possible to speak with every student but this can be difficult at busy fairs. We never want you to walk away from our table with unanswered questions.

4. "Grab and go" a.k.a. take a brochure from every table- it's just wasteful! There is no possible way that every school will be a good match for you or that you'll be able to read every single one. Try to talk to a rep, see if the school is a good match and then take their materials. Consider this a good move for the environment as well :)

5. Travel in packs. Just because all your friends like a school, it doesn't mean it's the best place for you. Try to branch off on your own and go see the schools that you're really interested in attending.

Early Action or Decision?

Well it's October and that means two things:

Playoff Baseball is here (go Sox!) and Early Admissions deadlines are around the corner.

Our Early Admissions Deadline is November 1. Still trying to decide between Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED)? Maybe you're not sure if you should apply EA or Regular. Read on and I will do my best to clarify your options...

• Remember that while both ED and EA are "Early" admissions options, ED is a binding program.By applying ED you are telling that institution that you will definitely attend if you are accepted and your financial need is met. Because of this, ED should only be used if you are 100% sure that the school is for you. In most cases you must commit by the end of December, which is 5 months earlier than the normal commitment deadline of May 1st.
  
• EA gives you a chance to sit on the fence for a while.EA can be a good alternative for students who have a strong interest in 1 or 2 schools but maybe aren't as ready to make that commitment so early. typically colleges notify their EA applicants of a decision in early January, some 4 months before they have to commit.
  
• Want to compare Financial Aid packages?By applying EA you have the ability to compare financial aid packages with other institutions. When you apply ED and are accepted you must withdraw all other applications so there is no chance to do some comparison shopping. If Financial Aid will play a role in your decision it may be best to avoid ED altogether.
  
• Is it easier to get in EA vs. Regular Decision? Statistically our acceptance rate is higher for EA applicants vs. Regular applicants. Having said that, I bet you would see this trend with a majority of schools. Reason being, those who apply Early typically are the higher achieving students. The academic profile of EA applicants on the whole are stronger, which leads to the higher acceptance rate. So while I won't say it is necessarily easier, EA does give those students who are "on the bubble" a chance to be deferred and re-reviewed with the Regular decision pool.
  
• Are you applying early so X school knows you're really interested? Well you don't have to! One of the biggest trends lately is to apply early at more and more schools. Some students even feel pressure to apply early because they see all of their friends doing it. If you need the extra time to complete your application, don't rush to get it in for Nov. 1. If you are worried that by applying regular will lead the school to believe that you aren't that interested there are some steps you can take to show otherwise.

Go on an official visit.Many schools track who visits. By taking the time to visit the school in person you are showing interest in the school. Check out what each school offers. Some offer Group Info Sessions, Tours, Class Visit Programs, and a combination of all 3.

Include a supplemental personal statement. By taking the time to write a short statement about why you are interested in "X School", you can show that you have "done your homework" by discussing why specific programs and opportunities that the College has to offer are perfect for you. You can also talk about why you applied Regular as opposed to Early. Maybe you are taking the SAT or ACT again and want to wait for those score results. Maybe you are doing really well in your senior year and you want "X School" to see both first and second quarter grades. By taking these extra steps, in my mind, you have applied early!

Still nor sure? Contact your Admissions Counselor.Each Admissions Office has a counselor that is assigned to your area. Reach out to them and ask your questions. We are a friendly bunch so questions are ok with us! By reviewing with you your individual situation we can try to advise you the best route to take for applying.

In the end, the decision is up to you. But remember that it isn't when you send us your application that matters, it is what is IN your application that is the most important. Good luck!

Stonehill and the Windy City

Hello everyone!

Sorry it's been a while! Since we last spoke I've logged over 2,00o miles by land and air in 5 different states. One of these states was Illinois where I spent 4 days in the Chicago area for some High School Visits and College Fairs. A few thoughts about my trip:

• Windy City is not so windy...Maybe it's just me but I didn't notice the wind all that much
• Lack of Boston accent disappointing to students...I swear at almost every school I visited students would want to know where my Boston accent was. (I don't really have one) You could tell they were devastated. I did my best impression of one and that seemed to work well!
• Wrigley is a great place to watch a game...When I found out I was coming out to Chicago the first thing I did (before buying my plane ticket and finding a hotel) was to see if the Cubs were home during the time I would be there. And they were! Myself and my friends from P.C. and B.U. came to the game with me. We had a great time but it was odd to be sitting in a ballpark in September watching two teams play a game with zero playoff implications. Leaving that night I vowed not to ever take the Red Sox and their consistent run at the playoffs for granted
• Train system is amazing. I have to hand it to Chicago they have the public transit system down to a science
• SAT? What's that?...This is ACT country. The SAT was hardly brought up by the students.
• You never know who you might meet at a College Fair...At a fair at Loyola Academy I met a 3-time NBA Champion from the Chicago Bulls. No, not Jordan, but former back-up center Bill Wennington. He was easy to spot at the fair since he is 7 feet tall and his son was 6' 10".

Overall it was a great trip. The school counselors I met with were very receptive, and many of them knew of us already. They said if students are thinking of the Boston area in the search, they add us to their students' lists.

Next post I will recap the NACAC annual conference which brought together over 3,000 Admission and School counselor professionals from around the world. Needless to say it was an interesting week.

Stonehill Invades Pittsburgh

Greetings from "the road!" I'm currently in Cleveland after spending several days in Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Rochester. Since I had high school visits and fairs on Friday and Monday I had the opportunity to stay the weekend in Pittsburgh and see all the sights! It was the week before the G20 summit so the city was abuzz but luckily I was out of there early enough to avoid all the traffic, flight delay, protesters and general craziness that surrounds an international event of that magnitude.

I have a few friends from college in the Pittsburgh area so it was great to catch up with them and let them show me around the city a bit. On Saturday we caught a football game which was a new experience for me. Coming from a small high school, attending a college with DIII athletics and working at Stonehill (Division II) I've never really experienced the wonder that is BIG football. We got tickets for Pitt v. Navy and had a blast...especially since Pitt won! Chris is the world's biggest Steeler fan so he was just excited to be in the new Heinz Stadium for the first time. That's him with the Superbowl Trophy. I was more excited for tailgating and food! I ordered a hotdog and this is what I got. As you can see by my face it was a daunting task.

Despite the rain, Chris and I headed to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. They were feeding the Komodo Dragon when we were there which was really cool to see. We're both huge fans of penguins (who isn't?) so the aquarium was the best part for us. I've attached a live action video of a penguin diving and playing peek-a-boo with Chris.





It was a great weekend to relax a bit before travel really gets underway. This week I'm in Cleveland, OH visiting high schools from Monday-Friday. In October I travel from Hartford, CT to Springfield, OH and finish up with Philadelphia, PA.

We'll update soon with some frequently asked questions we receive during travel season and what types of questions you should be asking reps at college fairs and visits.

On the Road Again!

Well it's that time of year again- fall travel! The Admissions Team is hitting the road and coming to a high school or college fair near you. We'll be traveling all over the country for the next 6-8 weeks and blogging live about our adventures!

I'm currently in Pittsburgh, heading to Rochester, NY on Tuesday and finishing up September with Cleveland, OH next week. I'll have mostly local travel for October before I finish up in Philadelphia. Look for a post about my exciting weekend in Pittsburgh soon! One word: football.

Eric is currently in Chicago, IL and I'm sure he'll have a post since it's the first time Stonehill has traveled to Chicago in at least a decade!

Below is the college fair schedule for the entire office. Check in with your college counseling office to see if we're visiting your high school as well!

http://www.stonehill.edu/x11047.xml

We can't wait to meet you!

Busy school year? Same here!

What the best way to know if a school is right for you? You have to visit!

We're offering some new ways to visit Stonehill this fall. We're now offering TWO sessions on select Saturdays to come visit campus during the fall. Group Information Sessions followed by campus tours will start at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on September 19th, October 10th and October 17th. Please call the main Admissions line at 508-565-1373 to make a reservation. Space is limited so please plan in advance.

The Senior Class Visit Program is also in full swing! Seniors are assigned a current student host that takes them to class, lunch and a personalized tour. This is a great program for Seniors that are thinking about applying to Stonehill and have already done a Group Information Session or a Tour. We require one week's notice to sign up so we can notify professors and find suitable student hosts. Please call the main Admissions line at 508-565-1373 to reserve a spot. Space is limited.

Friday, September 18th (Rosh Hashanah)
Monday, September 21st
Friday, September 25th
Monday, September 28th (Yom Kippur)
Tuesday, September 29th
Friday, October 2nd
Tuesday, October 6th
Thursday, October 8th
Friday, October 9th
Wednesday, October 14th (PSAT Test Date)
Friday, October 16th
Tuesday, October 20th
Friday, October 23rd
Monday, October 26th
Wednesday, October 28th
Friday, October 30th
Thursday, November 5th
Friday, November 6th

New Dunkin Donuts!

While the new science center has been open this summer to students doing undergraduate research in the S.U.R.E. program, there has been one important component missing from the building.....Dunkin Donuts!

Yes, the time has finally come! The entire campus came out in full force last week for the Grand Opening which included free coffee, donuts and tons of samples. Included are some photos of the *new* Dunkin Donuts which is located right outside the atrium with beautiful floor to ceiling windows. This space can be set with tables (see photo) or chairs for presentations, speakers and hopefully Open Houses in the spring for the Admissions Office!

It's also another exciting time: back to school! The academic year officially started yesterday with the first day of classes. Congratulations once again to the Class of 2013 and best wishes on their first week of college!