Is it okay to write my child’s college essays?
For many high school seniors, this coming week is an important milestone: the first round of early decision and early action deadlines is November 1. These students are busy completing their Common Apps and polishing their personal statements and supplemental essays. This is the moment when some parents feel tempted to step in and write (or rewrite) portions of their student applicants' essays. Do not give in to this temptation. Here's why:
1. It's cheating. Passing off someone else's work as one's own is unethical.
2. You're almost certainly hurting your son or daughter's chances of being accepted at their dream college. College admissions committees read thousands of student essays each year. They know how teenagers write. They know how parents write. They know the difference between a lightly edited essay that is in the student's voice and a polished essay that is in the parent's voice. You won't receive a letter of rebuke from the admissions committee, just a rejection.
3. Suppose you succeed in fooling the admissions committee. Are you now planning to do their assignments for them at a college that's more academically rigorous than they're prepared for?
4. Consider the harm you're doing to your child. You’re teaching your child that when the stakes are high enough, it’s okay to be unethical. You're also teaching them that their own work in their own authentic voice isn't good enough. Maybe they would have been accepted at their dream school without your intervention. They'll never know.
5. Consider a shift in your mindset. Send the message to your children that you trust them, that you value and respect their independence, and that you believe they are capable of making their own decisions, managing their own lives, and taking responsibility for their own success. Allow them to make mistakes during this process and learn from them.
When you sign up for a package at Confluence College Admissions Consulting, you'll have peace of mind knowing that an expert is overseeing your college applicant's progress, while at the same time being mindful of their ethics, autonomy, and self determination.
Falling in “like” with colleges
When students are in the midst of researching and visiting colleges, it’s always nice to hear them report that they’ve fallen in love with a particular school. Visiting a college, you can get a good feel for the personality and atmosphere at that school, and as a visiting prospective student you may immediately feel welcome and at home there.
While it’s great when this happens, I caution students about developing tunnel vision and focusing on a single school. If it’s a selective school, there’s always the chance you’ll get rejected there—even if your application materials are strong. There’s also the possibility the school will offer less financial aid than you were expecting, or none at all. For these reasons, I encourage my clients to “fall in like” with multiple schools.
A few thoughts along these lines:
While it is true that a great personal statement or letter of recommendation can make a difference on a college application, unless something really stands out on your list of awards and activities, most colleges and universities will default to “measurables” such as GPA and test scores. If these are well below the average of the school’s most recent freshman class, your likelihood of being accepted is low.
Being rejected or waitlisted is part of the process. Most students who apply to at least one “reach” school experience this. Do not attach your sense of self-worth to the outcome of a college application.
It’s okay to fall in love with a “reach” school or two, so long as you “fall in like” with some schools where you are more likely to be accepted. As the process unfolds, you may discover that a school you thought was a “backup” or “safety” turns out to be the one that’s the best fit. If that happens, celebrate!
Try to maintain a flexible mindset. Trust the process. This will serve you well not only during the college application process, but in life.
If your high school grades are low, your options will be more limited. But don’t worry. Consider attending a less selective college, community college, trade school, or a gap year program. Or do an internship. Or apply for a job. Once you demonstrate you can perform well in this setting, you can potentially reapply or transfer later to one of the schools that was originally higher on your list. But you might not want to, once you’ve started building relationships with faculty and peers.
Finally, working with an independent college admissions consultant isn’t something that’s only beneficial to students applying to Ivy League schools. Even if you weren’t a star athlete or an academic wizard in high school, there’s probably a great school out there for you—and I’d love to help you find it. To learn more, schedule your free consultation today!
Merit-based scholarships
Most of the clients I work with come from families whose incomes are too high to qualify them for federal need-based financial aid. At the same, most of these families do not have incomes high enough to comfortably pay the full cost of tuition and fees at, say, Franklin & Marshall College, where one year of college can cost over $80,000. Because of this financial landscape, our conversations inevitably turn toward affordability, and how to pay for college education.
Scholarships are one way to help defray the cost—and they are great because they are free money! Students with particular strength in an academic subject area or intercollegiate sport may qualify for some great scholarships. Another way is federal loans, which are not so great because they have to be repaid. Worst of all are private loans, which can have high interest rates and limited options for deferral or forgiveness.
If you’re looking for a way to save not just thousands, but tens of thousands of dollars on college education, consider schools that offer generous merit aid awards to incoming freshmen. Alas, most of the best known and most prestigious schools offer little to no merit-based aid. Why? Because these schools don’t need to offer merit-based financial aid in order to attract top students. As a result, even if you are accepted to Princeton, Brown, or Williams, they’re not going to offer merit-based financial aid (although these colleges do tend to be quite generous with need-based aid).
If you’re curious about schools that offer generous merit-based financial aid, you’re not alone! This data can be difficult to track down, and some schools are reluctant to make data about their merit aid practices public. As a member of IECA, however, I have access to databases compiled by independent educational consultants that can help to demystify this process for students and their families.
So let me just give you a little data on a college I happen to like. (There are many others, which we can discuss in more depth when you sign up for one of my packages.) Let’s take Kalamazoo College in Michigan as one example. Total cost of attendance is estimated at about $69,000. But 97% of their students not qualifying for need-based financial aid receive merit-based aid of some sort, with those students receiving an average of $33,000. This can bring the cost of attending Kalamazoo College into the affordability range for many families.
The amount of merit-based aid you’re offered by a particular school may boil down to how you compare academically to their overall student population, or how you might contribute to their student culture, or how you may add to their geographical diversity, or all of the above. For this reason it can be advantageous to apply to one or more schools where you might be a “big fish in a small pond,” so you can see how your finances there might stack up, for example, against in-state tuition at a public university. Sometimes small liberal arts colleges will surprise you. Sometimes they might even offer a full-ride scholarship. And once you’re there, you’ll have a great chance at being successful academically.
The financial picture in the college admissions process is complex, and I am constantly learning more. I am eager to share with you what I know to help you make the most informed possible decision about where to attend college, and how to pay for it. Schedule a free consultation today!
Help with the Common App
Each year, over 800,000 students in the United States start the Common App to apply to colleges and wind up never completing their applications. The process can be quite confusing to students, especially those who don’t have a college counselor or admissions consultant to walk them through the steps.
The AXS Companion is a free, open online resource designed by professional consultants to be used side-by-side with the Common App as you work through your application. Each section includes explanatory videos, helpful tips, a glossary of application terms, and links to resources mentioned in the videos. It’s pitched to all students, but it is especially valuable for students at under-resourced schools and those who cannot afford to work with an independent consultant. It covers everything from FERPA waivers to financial aid, and everything in between.
As you complete your Common App application, a good approach is to have the AXS Companion open on another device and move through each step of your application in a linear, step-by-step manner. You will find that for each section of Common App, there is a corresponding section with explanatory videos in the AXS Companion. If you cannot complete a section of your Common App application in one sitting, it can be saved and completed at a later time. You can choose to navigate the AXS Companion in any order that is most helpful to you. If you have a question about a specific section, it is possible to skip ahead within Common App and the AXS Companion. You can search for key words by clicking on the “Search in book” link at the top right of the AXS Companion.
Many thanks to the folks at IECA and Oregon State University for putting together this helpful resource.
Check it out here!
Should I take the SAT or ACT?
If you are a sophomore or a junior in high school (or maybe if you're a senior), you are probably deciding whether or not you’ll take a standardized test such as the PSAT, SAT, or ACT for college applications. A lot has changed in the past few years, so let me take you through some of the basics.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: I don’t like standardized tests. I think they put students through a lot of unnecessary stress, and I am not persuaded that they are a good measure of a student’s intellectual ability or college readiness. They give an advantage to students who are good test takers to begin with, as well as students with the financial resources to make use of test prep courses and private tutors.
After decades of research, and in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities have been moving away from placing heavy weight on standardized test scores in their admissions process. Most schools appear to have settled on a test-optional or test-blind admissions policy. Of all the colleges and universities my clients are applying to this year, only Georgetown University and Georgia Tech require either the ACT or SAT.
What does this mean? It means that if taking standardized tests is unduly stressful for a student, or if it seems like a waste of time and/or money, there are plenty of schools that are test optional, and thus lots of great options for every student. That said, if you have your heart set on MIT or another school that requires standardized tests, you’ll need to take the SAT or ACT at least once.
What’s my advice? For most students, especially those who are undecided about where they want to attend college or at least want to keep their options open, I suggest taking the PSAT in the spring of sophomore year, and then either the SAT or ACT (or both) in fall of junior year. If you want to improve your score(s), you can retake the test in spring of junior year and/or fall of senior year. Since most schools are test optional, test scores in most cases will only help your applications. And they can help you qualify for scholarships and honors programs at colleges and universities that don't otherwise require them.
Should you submit your score? It depends. With test optional schools, I recommend submitting test scores if your score is at or above the average test scores of students the school admits. So if you’re applying to DePauw University, where the average composite SAT score among first-year students is 1260, and your composite score is 1280, I recommend submitting.
There’s plenty to consider here—and lots more to discuss when it comes to actual test-taking strategy and preparation. If you’d like assistance from a professional college counselor at any stage of the college readiness process, starting with freshman year, that’s what I’m here for! Schedule your free one-hour consultation today.
Should I apply early?
Many colleges and universities have Early Decision and Early Action deadlines coming up, some as soon as October 15. One of the strategic decisions I often help students with is deciding whether or not to apply early. Here are a few general thoughts I share with my clients on the different options:
Early Decision: This is a binding agreement with the college where you agree to attend that school if you are accepted during the Early Decision process. You may only apply Early Decision to one college or university at a time. Applying Early Decision can increase your odds of being accepted at that school, so it can be a great option for students who have a clear first choice. The downside is that you probably won't be offered any merit-based scholarships via this route.
Early Action: Early Action is a non-binding way to get an admissions decision back from schools long before the regular admission pool. This may help you to eliminate schools from your college list, and it can also provide peace of mind knowing you have been accepted to one or more schools that you like.
Regular admission: This is a good option for students who want to weigh acceptance offers from multiple schools before deciding which school they want to attend. If you want to wait and see what your financial aid offers are, and if you want to know whether or not you’re eligible for merit-based grants, it can be best to enter the regular admission pools at multiple colleges.
Rolling admission: Some schools do not have a specific deadline for admission. It can be nice to have a rolling admission school or two as backup options in case you are not granted admission to one of your top schools.
Above all else, recognize that your situation is unique! You don’t have to apply Early Decision just because your friends are all doing it. Conversely, it can be kind of nice to have your college decisions for next year made before the winter holiday break—if that’s the right choice for you. This is a great discussion to have with your college admissions counselor. At Confluence College Admissions Consulting, we can help you think these decisions through with your unique situation in mind.
#ieca #iec
Bridges and Bonds
If you or someone in your family is a graduating senior applying for college, you're probably experiencing the stresses that come along with the college admissions process. These can range from being overwhelmed by all the complex aspects of the college application process to feeling worried about the financial implications for your family.
I'm excited to announce that I am teaming up with resonant healing coach and family constellations facilitator Ann Malabre to offer a free six-session workshop, "Bridges and Bonds," in which we'll tackle these and a number of other thorny topics surrounding college admissions. Structured around a series of circle discussions, we'll form a supportive small community of people seeking to build stronger relationships between parents and graduating teens in the midst of the transition from high school to college. These will be opportunities to share strategies and information, and troubleshoot problem areas together.
We'll meet twice a month from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. in the Cottonwood Room on the second floor of the Bozeman Public Library. Our first meeting will be this Thursday, October 5. Future dates are as follows:
Thursday, October 26
Thursday, November 9
Monday, November 27
Monday, December 4
Monday, December 18
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions: jim@confluenceadmissions.com. I hope to see some of you there this Thursday!
College visit: MSU Northern
This week I toured the campus of Montana State University Northern, a four-year university of about 1100 students located in Havre, a community of about 9,300 people and the "crown jewel of the Hi-Line,” the east-west rail line running between Havre and Whitefish.
One of the things about MSU Northern that became most evident to me during my tour was that everybody on campus knows each other by name. Many colleges boast that they have small and intimate campus communities, but this was the first time I've ever been on a college tour when everybody we passed greeted my tour guide by name, and I counted six people who either high-fived him or fist-bumped him as we walked by. Students are noticeably friendly and welcoming toward one another in a way that was impossible not to see.
MSU Northern serves students nationwide, as well as some international students, but at the same time, its flagship programs are well tailored to the needs of the largely agricultural communities of northern and central Montana. Northern's Bachelor of Science in Diesel Technology is recognized nationally as the premier program for diesel technicians who are aiming for a career in the industry, from technicians through management positions. Northern's program provides students with a balanced, detail-oriented education that not only teaches the principles and systems used in the industry, but also includes hands-on training on a wide variety of industry-standard machines and equipment. Through this well-rounded, in-depth program, Northern graduates receive a technically sound education that can open doors all over the world. The Diesel Technology Center facility houses a line of big bore engine technology utilized in the railroad and shipping industries.
Other popular, high-quality majors include advertising, communications, biology (including pre-nursing), psychology, and kinesiology and exercise science.
If you're looking for a small school where you'll build meaningful relationships with your peers and faculty, MSU Northern might be the college for you!
#iec #ieca #pnacac #collegecounselor #collegecounseling #collegeadmissions #collegeadmissionsconsulting
Prescott College info session
I am excited to be working with Rebekah Dodson, Assistant Director of Admissions at @prescott_college, to present a free special college information night at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 18, at Bozeman Field School. We'll be sharing with students and their families our insights about how to get ready for college, how to apply, how to pay for college, and more. Refreshments (read: pizza) will be provided.
I'm especially excited to partner with Prescott College because they offer some really exciting experiential degree programs and follow a block schedule that lends itself well to giving students a valuable and memorable college experience. And I'm excited to reunite with my friends and colleagues at @bozemanfieldschool, the school that first brought me to Bozeman back in 2017.
Come see us next Monday evening, September 18, at Bozeman Field School! #collegeadmissions #collegeadmissionsconsulting #collegecounseling #collegecounselor #ieca #pnacac
College visit: University of Montana Western
Last week I paid a visit to the University of Montana Western, located in Dillon, Montana. Dillon is a small town of 4,200 people, and Western has about 1,300 undergraduate students. My tour guide told me that the largest classes at the university this fall are capped at 27 students. So if you're looking for a small-town feel, with a tightly knit campus community where everyone knows each other and small class sizes throughout your undergraduate years, Western might be the school for you.
One of my favorite things about the University of Montana Western is its block schedule, called Experience One (X1). With X1, you take one course at a time for 18 days, take a short break, then move on to your next course. This structure provides students with immersive experiential learning, giving them a distinct advantage in their future careers and preparation for graduate school. Montana Western is the only U.S. public university offering this unique scheduling option. (There are a handful of private colleges that do this.)
Popular and high-quality majors at Montana Western include early childhood education, business administration and management, and exercise science and kinesiology. Beyond these, Montana Western has several unique programs, including the nation's only bachelor's degree program in natural horsemanship. Students in the Natural Horsemanship program are taught the “La Cense Method,” a progressive, step-by-step process that blends the best of traditional horsemanship training with the art of training and riding horses—all in a manner that works with a horse’s behavior, instincts, and personality. Taking a positive and respectful approach, the La Cense Method gradually builds trust and frees horses to be confident in all they are asked to perform. During my visit, it felt like every person I met on campus had some connection to horses, rodeos, and ranching, and the Dillon area feels like the ideal place to pursue equine studies as a field of serious academic study.
If you'd like to learn more about Montana colleges and universities, as well as colleges nationwide, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free consultation.
#ieca #pnacac #iec
Preparing for college visits
September and October are popular months for juniors and seniors to visit colleges. Many high schools will excuse students for a certain number of college visit days. If you’re going to physically visit colleges, which I strongly recommend before enrolling at any school, here are my top five suggestions for preparing for these visits:
1. Find out who your regional admissions counselor is. Most colleges and universities have a member of their admissions team designated for your region of the country. This is the person who’ll be your strongest advocate when it comes time for the admissions committee to review your application. It’s great if you can get to know this person a little bit—by email, Zoom, or in person.
2. Participate in an on-campus tour, information session, or open house. This will give you a good sense of what the college believes its own strengths and selling points are.
3. If available, schedule a personal interview. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started, many colleges have moved away from doing in-person admissions interviews. But some schools still do them, either in person or via Zoom. If this is an option, do it! It’s a great way to learn more about the school, and it will almost certainly make your application stand out (in a good way).
4. Leave time for exploration. Take a self-guided tour of the campus. This is a good way to visit the studio art spaces if that is an interest of yours, and it’s also nice to sample the food at the school cafeteria or check out the library. You’ll learn more about the school from this informal walking tour beyond what you were able to experience as part of an official tour.
5. Visit multiple schools. Ideally, visit different kinds of schools. Visit both large and small schools. Both highly selective schools and less selective schools. Private liberal arts colleges and state universities. Through your multiple school visits, you’ll develop a sense of what kind of school feels most like the kind of place you want to spend the next four years.
If you’re looking for support with any aspect of your college process, please use the contact form on my website to schedule a free one-hour consultation!
Eleventh grade: looking ahead
The junior year of high school is the time I recommend for most students to begin their college search process in earnest. Here are Jim’s top 5 tips for high school juniors wanting to get ready for college:
1. Do well in school. If you’re applying to selective colleges, doing well academically is always important. But it’s especially important to rise to the challenge during your junior year. Eleventh grade is the year colleges examine most closely when they look at your application. Be sure to shore up your study habits, take care of your health, and ask your teachers for extra help when you need it.
2. Begin drafting a college list. This can begin with thinking about your high school. What do you like and dislike about your high school’s community? Do you like a small school or a large school? Do you want the option of taking honors classes? Do you like sports teams and a strong sense of school spirit? Do you prefer urban or rural? Then make plans to visit schools, either as part of family travel or as a college-specific trip.
3. Study for, and take, the SAT and/or ACT. Many colleges and universities are now test optional, but some still require standardized testing. Once you get your results back, then you can decide whether to take the test again, send your results to colleges, or omit sending scores.
4. Practice kind, respectful self talk. You may experience pressure from parents, teachers, coaches, and peers to get good grades and also perform well in sports and other extracurricular activities. This can be stressful. Remind yourself that you are doing your best, be proud of your achievements, and offer yourself words of affirmation and positivity. You deserve it.
5. Make use of your college counselor. Whether this person is an employee of your high school or an independent college admissions consultant, this person knows the process inside and out and is there to support you.
If you'd like to learn more about any aspect of the college admissions process, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free one-hour consultation.
#iec #ieca #collegeadmissions #collegecounselor #collegecounseling #collegeadmissionsconsultant #pnacac #sat
Success in tenth grade
Sophomore year of high school is often regarded as a kind of “middle child” year. Some students report experiencing a kind of existential ennui—and a resulting loss of purpose. But it doesn't have to be that way! Here are my top 5 tips for making tenth grade a meaningful year in the college preparation process:
1. Read, read, read. If there’s one thing you can do to improve your academic performance across all classes, it’s developing your reading skills. The great news here is that it mostly doesn’t matter what you read; to derive the intellectual benefits of reading, it only matters that you read.
2. Continue to grow as a learner. How did freshman year go? What do you want to build on, or improve on? I recommend setting goals that are less about results (“I will get an A in Spanish”) and more about habits. “I will show my English teacher a draft of all my papers before handing them in” is a worthwhile goal, as is “I will read one book for pleasure over winter break.”
3. Deepen your involvement. Maybe last year you joined your high school’s badminton team. Consider committing to a regular practice and training schedule to help you improve as a player and team leader.
4. Keep a journal. Write in it at least four days a week for 30 minutes. No need to show it to anyone else—this journal is for your personal use only. It’s a great way to collect thoughts, process your experiences, vent your frustrations, and celebrate your successes. Research shows that keeping a journal is good for your emotional health. This is especially important during the inevitable turbulent times that will come.
5. Prepare for, and take, the PSAT. Taking the PSAT in the spring of sophomore year sets you up to take the SAT in your junior year. That way you can re-take the SAT if you wish to improve your score. Before you take the PSAT, I strongly recommend preparing for it so that you’ll be familiar with the test format. Khan Academy has a free online course designed for PSAT prep.
If you'd like to learn more about the college preparation process, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free consultation.
#collegeadmissions
#collegecounselor
#collegecounseling
#collegeadmissionsconsultant
#iec
Settling into ninth grade
High schools in the Bozeman area are set to begin the fall semester next week. If you are a ninth-grade student or parent of one, here are some thoughts about what you can do now to get yourself set up well for life during and after high school:
1. Prioritize healthy routines. Establish a consistent bedtime and stick to it. Aim for at least eight hours of sleep every night. Put your phone away an hour before bed. Eat nutrient-rich food, mostly vegetables. Start with a protein-packed breakfast. Get regular exercise: at least 20 minutes a day, five days a week.
2. Get involved. Pick two activities to participate in. They could be activities you’ve done for years, or you may choose to do something entirely new. Ninth grade is an ideal time to explore. If you feel like joining the wrestling team, do it. If you want to try out the forensics club because you’re a true crime aficionado, give it a whirl. You’ll create new friendships, and you’ll learn new things. Make your selections based on what sounds good to you. Don’t try to guess at what colleges want.
3. Focus on developing good study habits. Rather than setting goals centering on grades (“I will get an A in math”), set goals focusing instead on your own habits of mind (“I will study math 30 minutes every school night,” “I will meet with my math teacher after school one week before every exam”).
4. Plan intentional family time. Sit down for a home-cooked meal with your family at least once a week. Everyone should put their phones and digital devices away. If your parents are too busy to cook, consider volunteering. It might sound hokey, but consider planning an interesting conversation topic for your time together. Make your family memories something you’ll look back on fondly.
Consider signing up for my ninth-grade package to help with all this! And note that I've said basically nothing about college. That's intentional. We'll have plenty of time later to get you set up for success in college. Let's focus now on getting you situated in high school.
If you're ready to take a deeper dive into getting ready for college, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free one-hour consultation!
#iec
Montana Tech
Our next stop in this summer's tour of Montana colleges and universities is Montana Technological University, which I visited earlier this week. Montana Tech is Montana's premier STEM-focused university and a great option for students looking for great return on investment, in terms of their earning potential upon graduation relative to how much it costs to attend.
Montana Tech is located just a few miles from the Continental Divide in Butte, a city of about 35,000 people situated in southwest Montana. Formerly one of the biggest copper mining towns in the country, Butte's economy today centers on renewable energy and health care. It has extensive historic neighborhoods with an abundance of lavish Victorian homes and Queen Anne style cottages built in the late nineteenth century, and is surrounded by beautiful mountains with exciting recreational activities including skiing, hiking, mountain biking, whitewater paddling, and much more.
A main draw to Montana Tech is its excellent programs in mining and petroleum engineering, civil engineering, management sciences and information systems, and public health. It so happens that I toured the university with a prospective student who is interested in the university's relatively new program in construction management, an interdisciplinary degree in which students develop skills in both business management and construction technology. The business training includes a general business curriculum as well as specific coursework related to estimating, construction contracts, labor issues, safety, information technology, and project management. Students studying under the Construction Management track have been very successful in landing industry-related internships and full-time professional employment straight out of college.
Because Montana Tech has an undergraduate population of only 2,500, students get lots of personalized attention from faculty members, the campus feels compact, and there is a strong emphasis on a family-style community culture.
If you'd like to learn more about Montana colleges, career opportunities, and the college admissions process, visit my website and schedule a free consultation today!
Why today’s students are anxious
This afternoon I attended a webinar entitled "The Post-Pandemic Landscape of Educational Consulting: Key Industry Shifts and Insights." This webinar covered many useful topics, but perhaps the most important was the changes we've seen in the current crop of high school students preparing to start college, compared to their peers from years past.
I think the overarching theme I took from today's webinar is that students today are more anxious than ever before. There are lots of reasons, but here are a few general trends:
1. Today's students feel unprepared, socially and emotionally, to leave home and start college. Many of them feel that they lost an important year of social development, or more, during the pandemic, and haven't fully recovered. Many of them don't feel ready to be away from home, living in a dorm, and taking on full responsibility for their future.
2. Students feel--and in some cases are--behind academically, especially when it comes to reading and writing. They worry that they will not be able to keep up with the heavy reading and writing responsibilities they'll have as college students, and they worry that they won't understand the material.
3. They worry about the financial side of attending college. They worry that they'll take on large amounts of student loan debt and then find themselves, after college, unable to repay it.
4. They lack confidence in their own skills, sense of purpose, and decision-making ability.
5. They lean more heavily on their parents than students did in the past, especially when it comes to decision making and executive functioning.
I can help students reduce their anxiety in all of these areas. First, I get to know students so that I can understand their hopes, dreams, and fears. Second, I do interest and aptitude surveys with them to help them recognize the skills they do have and feel more confident about them. Third, I advise them while they draft their college lists, personal statements, and supplemental essays to help them see how they will contribute to a college community.
For more on how I can help reduce your student's anxiety, use the contact form on my website and schedule a free consultation!
The new FAFSA
If you are seeking need-based financial aid to help support your college education, you and your parents will need to fill out the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It gathers information about the student’s and family’s financial situation to determine eligibility for grants, scholarships, and loans. FAFSA opens doors to funding opportunities that can make higher education more affordable.
Something to know, though, is that the FAFSA is currently undergoing major revision, and this year won't be available until December. Here is what we know so far about the 2023 changes:
1. The new form is shorter and simpler to fill out. The new FAFSA has only 36 questions, rather than the previous 130-plus. Keep in mind that Student Aid Index (SAI) replaces Expected Family Contribution (EFC), although these two terms are essentially identical in meaning.
2. The family’s contribution will no longer be divided by the number of students they have in college. Instead, the new SAI will represent what each student is expected to be able to pay. Siblings will no longer get a financial advantage for being in school at the same time.
3. For divorced parents, the parent who provides the most financial support has to file the FAFSA with their income and assets. In most cases, this makes the SAI much higher than if the custodial parent (who may have made much less) filed and reported, as they would have with previous years’ FAFSAs. It also includes spousal income for the remarried parent who makes the most.
4. The government will automatically collect your tax return data from the IRS for FAFSA purposes. Previously, parents had the option to import their tax data, but it didn’t happen automatically.
If you'd like guidance on how to fill out the FAFSA, about how to pay for college, or about any other aspects of the college readiness and admission process, use the contact form on my website to reach out and schedule a free consultation.
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University of Montana
The next stop on our summer tour of Montana colleges and universities is the University of Montana. Located in Missoula, a charming city of 75,000 people with its plethora of great restaurants and microbreweries along the banks of the Clark Fork River, U of M is home to about 7,000 undergraduate students. The campus has a friendly, laid-back feel to it, with tons of recreational opportunities including hiking, skiing, and tubing right from the main campus. An annual tradition, the Freshman Float, happens in August when the new freshman class meets near the Campus Recreation building and rides shuttles upstream on the Clark Fork. Groups of students then float several miles of river back to campus, where the university hosts a party on the Riverbowl with snacks, games, and music.
Popular and high-quality majors at the University of Montana include business management and marketing, natural resources and conservation, biology, social work and public health, documentary film, and media arts.
One program I'd like to highlight is the University of Montana’s Wildlife Biology program, an interdisciplinary program that was named the #1 wildlife biology program in the nation for 2022-23. This program provides students with an extensive knowledge of ecology, population biology, wildlife biology, and critical thinking and quantitative skills. U of M students become leaders, bringing science to the dynamic management of wildlife and fish populations and their habitat, communities, and ecosystems. Undergraduate students from this program are doing groundbreaking research on grizzly bears, moose, wolves, and many other species.
I asked my tour guide what first drew her to U of M, and she told me it was the Oval, the grassy area in the middle of campus with its expansive and inspiring views of the campus and surrounding mountains. It's a place for students to hang out in Adirondack chairs, relax in hammocks, toss a frisbee around, and ice skate in the winter.
If you'd like to learn more about Montana colleges, or about any aspect of the college admissions process, use the contact form on my website to schedule a free consultation.
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Free Information Session
I will be hosting another FREE college information session for Bozeman students and their families at Cold Smoke Coffeehouse on Huffine from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. on Monday, August 21. Topics covered will include preparing for college while in high school, building a college list, planning college visits, taking standardized tests, applying to college, and paying for a college degree. Please bring your questions. I look forward to seeing you!
Careers in the trades
Recently I had an exchange that I think is very important, and that I want to share with everyone who follows my page(s). I was talking with a fellow I met who works as a machine operator in Alberta. He was razzing me a little bit about my line of work.
"Why do you people [college counselors] always push your best and brightest students to go to college when they could start making bank right out of high school?"
I bristled. I try very hard not to push my clients toward any particular choices, but to help them understand what their options are. I try to provide as much information for them, and teach them how to do research, so they can make great decisions for themselves.
But this gentleman had a point. Often, when students perform well academically in high school, people assume that the logical next step for them is college—often a highly selective (and likely expensive) one. But is that really the best choice for every student?
He went on to tell me that he earns between $250,000 and $300,000 a year as a machine operator. He said he knows welders who make $500,000. Granted, those are Canadian dollars he's talking about, but that's still really good money. He insisted that average salary statistics often don't tell the full story because they may not include overtime pay, pension, non-taxable living allowances, and other attractive benefits. He said there is huge demand for people in the trades, and smart people with certifications have a huge leg up on their competition because they bring a broader range of skills to the table.
"Encourage your students to research job ads," he said. "Have them get a feel for how in-demand the industry is. Get them to understand actual incomes that they can expect as a new hire versus a journeyman. Encourage them to reach out to union halls and get a feel for wages and benefits and actual work expectations."
These are great suggestions. I share this exchange because when I work with my clients, I have no agenda other than helping them get set up for a successful career and a fulfilling life. Our work together may take us to unexpected places, and I'm here for it.
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