 You researched colleges, you visited campuses, you agonized over your choices and finally narrowed it down to your one chosen favorite – the lucky winner of your Early Decision (ED) application. After submitting the application in early November, you moved on – there were other applications to complete, midterms to take, and Thanksgiving break plans. But all of the sudden it is now December! You could actually hear back as early as next week from some schools (though most schools will notify applicants more towards the middle of the month).
How can you stay calm while waiting for what feels like the most important decision of your life? Focus on the great schools you have already been accepted to. This time last year, one of our clients applying ED to Cornell had already received a generous scholarship to Tulane University. Another had been accepted to the Honors program at the University of Pittsburgh. A client who applied Early Decision to Bates College had been offered a substantial merit award from Clark University, and a student applying ED to Tufts was excited to have already been offered a spot at his dad’s alma mater, Indiana University. We encourage all of our clients to apply to at least one school with rolling decisions or early notification. That first acceptance does wonders for students’ stress levels! Stay off of social media. If your school is one of the later ones to release decisions, or if you didn’t get the news you were hoping for, do you really want to see pictures of your friend Johnny sporting all of his new Duke gear? Make sure all of your other applications are in. I know it is tempting to let your regular decision applications sit – after all, they aren’t due until January, and you may get good news from your Early Decision school in mid-December. But what if you don’t? Then you’re in a bad mood, it is Winter Break, and you’re doing a sloppy rushed job on your remaining applications instead of enjoying the holidays. Plus Murphy’s Law says that if you invest a lot of time on the other applications, you’ll end up getting into your Early Decision school, right? And at that point, you’ll be so happy you won’t care about the wasted time or application fees. Focus on your grades. Senior grades matter. A LOT. Particularly for regular decision schools, and any Early Decision or Early Action schools where you are deferred to the regular pool. These schools will all be waiting for your fall transcript, and these are the grades that tell them the most about the student you will be when you get to their campus. And if you are admitted Early Decision or Early Action, schools will still want to see your final transcript before you officially enroll. Last year I had a client who was questioned about her dramatic drop in grades second semester, and she had a rocky 48 hours in June where she wasn’t sure if the school was going to revoke her acceptance. Spend time with your family and friends. After all, in about nine months, you’ll be moving away – possibly to the next town, or possibly across the country. Cherish the time you have with your family and friends while you can. Have your mom teach you how to do laundry and boil and egg. Remember that there is more than one “perfect” school. You have a variety of schools on your list for a reason. They all have something to offer and if you put together a thoughtful list then they should all be schools where you know you can be happy and successful. Every one of my clients who did not get in to his or her ED school has ultimately been excited about his or her options. Continue doing the things you love. Hopefully all of those activities weren’t just for college applications. So keep volunteering at the soup kitchen, training for the half-marathon, or teaching kids to play piano. Hobbies are one of the best ways to relieve stress. I hear that some people find baking brownies to be very calming – if this is you, I can send you my address! Good luck making it through the waiting game of the next several weeks and/or months. For two great New York Times articles on coping with the stress of college admissions decisions, check out: College Advice for the Cost of a Single Post-it Noteand How to Survive the College Admissions Madness. And just remember Frank Bruni’s sage advice in his best-selling book title, “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be.”
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 Denison is a liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio with about 2,300 undergraduate students. Currently two former Vinik EPS clients are happily attending – one is a freshman studying Political Science and the other is a junior studying Exercise Science. Today Annie and Laura met with Ryan Motevalli-Oliner, a Senior Assistant Director of Admission, and we learned about several exciting new updates.
THREE new majors
TWO new academic concentrations
ONE new performing arts building The Michael D. Eisner Performing Arts Building is scheduled to open in early 2019 and will provide a new home for the Departments of Music, Dance, and Theatre. Michael Eisner was a member of the Denison University Class of 1964. We enjoyed our visit yesterday to Juniata College in the small town of Huntingdon, PA. Juniata is about 3.5 hours from Washington, DC and is located halfway between Altoona, PA and State College, PA. With about 1,600 undergraduates, Juniata offers a close-knit community at a liberal arts college known as one of the "Colleges that Change Lives" (www.ctcl.org). Here are some pictures from our visit and some interesting facts we learned after a campus tour and a meeting with our local admissions representative, Steven Simons.
If you are looking for a small liberal arts experience and don't mind the rural location, consider adding Juniata to your list! Our next postcard comes from the other side of the country – Katie Wells at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. Officially known as the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA Tech is well known for its programs in Engineering, Business and Architecture. In addition to solid academic programs, the nearly 25,000 undergraduate students enjoy competitive Division I sports and Southern hospitality. What is your title/role/department there? Director of Advising at the Pamplin College of Business How long have you been there? I was a student from 2002-2008 and have worked here since 2010 - with a short stint at George Washington University from 2011-2012. City life wasn't for me :) What is your favorite thing about the school? It's hard to narrow it down to just one thing... so I'll say the beautiful campus and the tight-knit Hokie community. What is your favorite spot on campus? I like spending time at the Duck Pond. It's a great place for thinking, getting some exercise, or eating lunch on nice days. I also like to take my two young daughters there to feed the ducks and fish! What is unique about this school, as opposed to other institutions where you've worked or studied? I love the way campus is centrally located in the heart of Blacksburg. Downtown Blacksburg (Main Street) borders the edge of campus so it really creates a tight bond between students and community members (as mentioned above). It's a large land-grant university with a small-town feel. Any fun factoids about this institution? The official school colors, Chicago maroon and burnt orange, were established in 1896 because no other college utilized that particular color combination. Best pizza on/near campus? PK's Bar and Grill - the buffalo wing pizza and the "Hokie" sticks are a must! Best ice cream on/near campus? The Frosty Parrot For our second postcard in our "Postcards from Campus" series, we will remain in the state of Washington but will hear from someone at a very different type of institution, University of Washington, which is a large, public research university with about 28,000 undergraduates and almost 40,000 total enrollment. Shelley Stromholt is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Science and Math Education in the University of Washington's College of Education, and has been at "UDub" for 8 years. What is your favorite thing about the school? Right now, the cherry blossoms! What is your favorite spot on campus? Rainier Vista: beautiful old buildings, a big fountain, and Mt. Rainier looming large in the distance. What is unique about this school, as opposed to other institutions where you've worked or studied? UW is less an ivory tower than a community partner. So much of the work done across campus is grounded directly in the challenges faced by community members and groups, locally and nationally. Undergrad and graduate students will find there are a million ways to get involved in the community, gain real-world experience, and make a difference. Any fun factoids about this institution? UW is the site of the book Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The airplane hangar that was built in the early 20th century and then converted into boat storage is still on campus (and it's where I store my sea kayak!). Best pizza on/near campus? Pagliacci Best ice cream on/near campus? Full Tilt
Our first postcard is from Mary Raschko, Assistant Professor of English at Whitman College. Professor Raschko has been at Whitman since the fall of 2014. Whitman College is known for being one of the "Colleges that Change Lives" and for providing an excellent liberal arts education to students who love outdoor fun in the Pacific Northwest. What is your favorite thing about the school? I love its exclusive focus on undergraduate liberal arts education - that means everyone's focused on the same mission, there are no graduate or professional schools that compete for funding or attention, and the scholarly work we do on campus involves undergraduates. What is your favorite spot on campus? A wooded area with a waterfall that the students call Narnia. What is unique about this school, as opposed to other institutions where you've worked or studied? Especially in fall and spring, Whitman tends to feel like summer camp. We have a main field, rather than a quad, where students are often playing ultimate frisbee, volleyball, flag football, or lacrosse. Our library (open 24 hours a day) sits next to this field, with big windows that look out on it. So it's easy to switch between work and play. We also have an extensive outdoor program - you can rent skis or snowshoes in the winter or equipment for camping or standup paddle boarding in the springtime. Students can sign up for lots of different excursions around the northwest (sea kayaking, a moonlight hike, and rock climbing are advertised at the moment), many of which are targeted toward beginners. Any fun factoids about this institution? One of my favorite events is the "Instant Play Festival," where Whitman students write, rehearse, and publicly perform plays in a 24 hour period. We're a pretty informal community in which lots of professors go by their first names. There is cool art almost everywhere you look - in the student center, the library, the academic buildings, even in the stream that runs through campus. Best pizza on/near campus? My favorite is the pizza truck Why Not Pizza? Best ice cream on/near campus? The Patisserie, a few blocks from campus, has great gelato and amazing baked goods.  By now, many of you are probably thrilled to be finished with the college application process. While I do know of a few February 15 or later deadlines, all of our senior clients have finished their applications and have either sent in a deposit or are waiting for some decisions to be released next month. So, is there anything left to do on the college admissions front? Here are a few things to consider:
Enjoy the rest of your senior year, but not too much!  Canada has become an appealing destination for U.S. undergraduates because of the opportunity to get a world-class international education at a more affordable cost and without crossing an ocean.
Today we attended a lunch meeting with representatives from The University of Guelph (Guelph, Ontario), Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario), Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec) and Bishop's University (Sherbrooke, Quebec) to learn more about the benefits of studying at a Canadian university. Here are some noteworthy facts we learned:
If you can stand the cold, it may be worth considering whether you might like to #LookNorth for your undergraduate education!  Does your daughter need help figuring out what to do with her English major? Is it time to make that high school resume look professional for internship applications? Concerned your son is going to graduate college with an impressive GPA but without the skills to market himself to employers? Real World Ready teaches college students the essential skills necessary to make the leap from college to career. In a series of one-on-one meetings and follow-up homework assignments, Laura will guide your child through the process of exploring his or her interests and goals, polishing written job search materials, and developing a detailed job search strategy. Your child will learn critical job search skills that will be both useful in the short-term and invaluable for the future. Real World Ready is divided into three phases: Assess, Advocate, and Accelerate. Each phase includes two Skype meetings (a total of six meetings) and all e-mail correspondence regarding assignments. For more details, visit www.vinikeps.com/realworldready
 Image credit: Teen Vogue What is Early Decision II (ED II)?
Early Decision II, similar to Early Decision I, is a binding commitment -- if you are admitted, you promise that you will attend. Once admitted, you must withdraw all other applications. Typically, ED II deadlines are the same as a school's Regular Decision deadline (though in some cases, i.e. Grinnell College, it can be earlier). What types of students should consider ED II? Early Decision II can be a great option for several types of students: -Students who were not admitted to their Early Decision I or first-choice Early Action school. You should hear from most Early Decision I and Early Action schools by mid-December, and most ED II applications are due in early January. -Students who only recently decided that a particular school is their top choice. You may not have been ready to commit by the ED I deadline but are now sure this is the right school for you. -Students who did not apply ED I because they were waiting for fall test scores or grades to bolster their applications. You are now a better candidate. Does every school offer ED II? Early Decision II is offered at many small liberal art schools that also offer ED I, and more schools are adding this option every year. Here is a good list of schools with ED II, but always check a school's website to confirm. According to a 2015 New York Times article: “Of the more than 625 colleges that use the Common Application, about 30 percent offer E.D. I; 13 percent offer both E.D. I and II. Among the latter are selective liberal arts colleges (Colby, Pomona, Swarthmore) and small private universities (Brandeis, Emory, Vanderbilt). But hardly any publics offer E.D. II., and no Ivys.” Does ED II carry as much weight as ED I? Applying early and making a binding commitment to a school nearly always improves your chances of being admitted. Many schools report their Early Decision statistics without distinguishing between ED I and ED II. But anecdotally, it is typically (at least slightly) more advantageous to apply ED I. For example, for last year’s freshman class, Hamilton College accepted 42 percent of ED I applicants and 32 percent of ED II applicants. Hamilton’s regular decision acceptance rate was 23 percent. What if I already submitted my application? Can I change it to ED II? In many cases, a school will allow you to convert your regular application to ED II, if you submit the required forms. Contact the particular school for details on how to proceed. Some schools will even allow this after the deadline has passed, if they have not yet reviewed your application. Can I apply ED II to the same school if I was not accepted in the ED I round? No. Once a decision has been made on your application, you may not apply to the same school until the following application year. When will I receive a decision? This varies by school, but many ED II deadlines are in January and decisions are released in mid to late February. |
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