That’s a reasonable expectation, says Senior Admissions Consultant Nadine C. Warner – but only up to a point. Moreover, the advantage gained by summer program participation is not quite the one some people think it is.

“Summer programs can be a great way for high school sophomores and juniors to earn college credit while gaining a first-hand look at undergraduate life,” says Nadine. “These programs can range in length from a few weeks to the bulk of the summer, and cover topics as diverse as architecture, theater, medicine, and law.”

“But participation in a school’s summer program is not a guarantee for later admission to the college involved,” Nadine stresses. That’s partly because there is usually no overlap between a college’s summer program administration and its admissions office. The two offices have separate staffs and often use different selection criteria. That means that being selected for a competitive summer program doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a strong candidate for undergraduate admissions.

“All the same,” says Nadine, “participation in a summer program is viewed favorably by admissions committees. It shows initiative on the applicant’s part and a genuine interest in a given area of study.

“To get the most out of a summer program experience, students should make an active effort to get to know their classmates and professors. They should also make time to explore the campus and the surrounding city.

“Remember, a summer program gives students an opportunity to learn more about a target college than viewbooks, websites, or even campus visits can provide,” says Nadine. That experience can be invaluable when it’s time to address the ‘Why College X?’ question in your application essays.

– Senior Admissions Consultant Nadine Warner previously served as Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Chicago and now works for AdmissionsConsultants.com.

CLEP is the most widely accepted credit-by-examination program is the U.S. today. As I have previously posted, Advanced Placement courses are usually for the above-average student, but CLEP exams can benefit the average student and the non-traditional adult education student as well. Over 2,800 colleges and universities will award credit for satisfactory scores on these exams.

The CLEP program will save time and money, as well as help students advance to more specialized courses. The CLEP exams will give students the chance to demonstrate college level knowledge they have gained through their prior studies, professional experience, cultural pursuits and background and independent studies. What the student receives in return is course credit or course exemption, or even advanced placement toward their degree. Every credit of class time costs money, therefore the CLEP exams can put the average student on the fast track toward a college degree. High scores on CLEP exams can earn students as much as TWO YEARS’ of college credit!!!

If you are a student not yet enrolled in a college, you should first check the list of colleges who grant CLEP credit. If you are enrolled, check with the school for their policy regarding CLEP exams before you take one.

Anyone can take one or more of the 34 exams available…more

Read Entire Article

GreatCollegeAdvice.com has some great tips to help you take full advantage of your campus visits.

ASK QUESTIONS. When I was at Macalester, it was preview day for admitted students. Scads of families wandering…more

DON’T LET THE PARENTS DO ALL THE TALKING. A word to the wise, folks. It’s not a good idea for parents to ask all the questions. It makes the students look…more

Read more and get the complete list here.

Tom Bottorf is the founder of GetCollegeFunding, Inc. and is responsible for a fabulous seminar entitled “The Missing Link in Planning for College”. It gives valuable insight on the financial aid process so I’m encouraging all parents and students to take a look.

As a parent your goal should be to find a good school for your child(ren) where they can get a great education at an affordable price. As Bottorf points out, there are common mistakes that parents and students make when searching for that school which can be avoided when you know the ins and outs of financial aid.

The two types of financial aid are based on need or based on merit. It is very important that as a parent or student, you determine your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) to find out what type of aid you will be eligible for. Your EFC is the amount of money that your family is able to contribute toward college. If you don’t know your EFC you may make some of those common financial aid mistakes.

EFC is based on a Needs Analysis Formula:
Cost of attendance - EFC = Financial Need

Your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) can be lowered if you understand this formula and know how to work it. The lower your EFC is, the more aid you can get! So stay tuned. In later posts I’ll get into more detail about the EFC, how it is determined and what that might mean for your family. If you have specific questions, post a comment and I’ll reply.

In the meantime check out the Missing Links seminar to find out more. Or visit www.getcollegefunding.org. You’ll find additional financial aid information and even an EFC calculator.

More on EFC coming soon!

The Department of Education put out a really great Guide to Federal Student Aid. It has so much information that I almost had a brain aneurysm while reading it! You’ll see that in the future I will be referring to this manual a lot because it’s such a great resource. In the meantime, here are a few things that might help you:

There are three basic types of financial aid which are described in the guide.

Grants: No need to repay these puppies unless of course you leave the school and owe a refund

Work Study: These allow you to work and earn money for your education

Loans: This is when you borrow money and have to pay it back, with interest

So are you eligible for financial aid? Well I’m not sure, but I can tell you a few basic requirements you’ll need to meet to be eligible:

• You must demonstrate financial need

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

• Have a diploma or GED certificate

• Meet state standards

• Remain in good academic standing once you are in college

There are other requirements and you’ll find them in the Department of Education Federal Student Aid guide. The Department also provides another great resource where you can get an early start as a high school junior in determining your aid eligibility. It’s called the FAFSA4Caster. If you use this tool, it will be very helpful when you go to fill out your actualFASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) forms to receive aid.

Have you wondered as a parent, if you are too involved or maybe not involved enough in your child’s college search? According to the Higher Education Research Institute’s articleThe American Freshman, parents are becoming more involved in the college admissions process every year.

The Institute conducted a survey in 2007 to determine how students felt about their parents’ involvement. Generally, students are pleased with the involvement of their parents. In fact, a very small percentage (3%-10%) said they felt like their parents were too involved. However there were two areas that students would like more involvement from their parents: in choosing college courses and college activities. So whether you would categorize yourself as a “helicopter parent” or not, students are happy with your participation in their lives and that’s good news!

According to the Institute for Higher Education, the majority of high school students believe that their parents play the most prominent role in their college search by helping with college planning. So pat yourselves on the back! Your children want you involved in perhaps the biggest decision of their lives up to this point, and you are doing a fantastic job.

Once your child has decided on a school don’t stop with that advice. It’s very important for freshmen to get involved on campus and take the right classes and those are the two areas where they want your input!

I’ve read a lot of information lately on parent involvement in the college admissions process. Many of the comments I’ve seen from college admission reps and high school guidance counselors disapprove when parents do all of the work and take over the process.

Below are a few things not to do as a parent of soon-to-be college student

• Do all of the research on colleges yourself and make decisions without your child
• Write your child’s essay
• Ask all of the questions on the campus tour (it won’t give your child a chance to ask what they want, plus you’ll embarrass them)
• Say “we” too much. Your child is the one applying to school. They were the ones who got the grades and took the tests. Even though you have been influential in their lives, do not say things like “We scored very well on the SATs and are now considering several schools.”

Remember, your student needs to make up their own mind about what school they attend. Parent/Guardian involvement is very helpful while going through the admissions process as I have mentioned before, but don’t lay it on too thick. Let your student take the lead on a campus visit and encourage them to be active during the college search. That way they can own their decision once they have decided on a school and they will have you to thank for that!

As summer approaches rising high school juniors and seniors will begin to make campus visits. It’s important to visit the campus of your top college choices so you can get a feel for what life at that school will really be like.

Visit the campus while school is in session for an even better look at the school. Stop and talk to current students or sit in on a class. The best way to find out what each campus is like is to experience it!

Absolutely live on campus your freshman year! In my opinion there is nothing better than living in a closet sized dorm room with someone you barely know in a hallway filled with loud, crazy and different people.

Many freshmen are more worried about their living arrangements once they arrive at college than their class schedule and rightly so! It’s a big deal to move to a new place and it is even harder when you don’t know anyone. I know it concerns all of you now, but I definitely suggest that you try out the dorm living at least for a while.

There is no better way to meet new people and make friends than in your new dorm. You’ll find yourself in the same boat as everyone else which gives you something to talk about right from the start. I can’t tell you how many times I was asked “So what dorm do you live in?” during my first week of school. It’s an important aspect of college life and you’ll miss out on a great experience if you pass it up.

If you read my last post about my college roommate, you know that college didn’t start off so great for me. Let me refresh your memory.

I was accepted to the only school I ever wanted to go to, a small liberal arts college in Western Pa. My roommate seemed really nice after talking to her on the phone and everything was falling into place. But after only a couple days of living with her, things went downhill to the point where my RA (Resident Assistant) told me that I needed to move out.

So there I was, just 6 weeks into my first year of college and I had a major crisis on my hands. I stayed away from my room as much as possible while trying to think of a brilliant plan. It was a Wednesday night and my college had a chapel service going on which I had attended a few times, so I decided to go. I certainly couldn’t go back to my room that early!

I am so glad I went to chapel that night. I went in and took a seat by Katie who I had met before. She lived in a different dorm than me with mostly science majors (I was into business) but was having problems of her own. I found out that her former roommate had dropped out of school and she was now living by herself. I told her all about my situation and with no hesitation at all she came to my rescue by asking me to move in with her. Even though I didn’t know Katie very well I knew I had to take her up on that offer, so I moved out of my dorm before the end of the week and had a new roommate by the weekend.

From that point on college drastically changed for me. I had a new group of friends and a better outlook on college life. When Katie asked me to be her roommate everything changed I’m so thankful that it worked out the way it did.

So that’s my college roommate story and it’s entirely true. I hope you can learn from my crazy experience and take away a few key points from my story. First, the college transition isn’t easy for everyone and you may not be paired with the roommate of your dreams, but give it time, it will work out. Second, there are tons of people ready to help you if you have a problem your freshmen year. My RA and school housing office helped me make the room switch and a few guys even helped me carry my stuff to my new room. Third, you will make friendships that will last a lifetime. As I’ve said before, it’s important to be involved on campus. Because I went to chapel that night, I made a life long friend who as a fellow freshmen, reached out to save me when I was in a jam.

Lastly, if you need to change dorm rooms because you’ve found yourself in a bad situation, just do it. That sounds simple, but it’s true. The housing office might tell you that you’ll have to pay a fee to do it, but in my experience they almost always waive it! When it comes down to it they care about the students and want you to be happy.