College of St. Elizabeth (CSE)

Looking for a Catholic women’s college in central New Jersey?  The Women’s College at the College of St. Elizabeth has about 600 students and about 80% of freshmen live on campus in one of two dorms.  If you want a college with a small, close-knit group in a welcoming and supportive environment, CSE might be for you. 

On the college grounds there are also college classes for adults, and a high school.  Most students study the liberal arts or are pre-professional.  Students can double major or major and minor.  There are a number of 5-year combined Bachelors/Masters programs in areas such as Education, Counseling Psychology, Business, and Theology to name a few.  The most popular majors are Education, Biology, Business and Psychology. Internships are generally available starting in the freshman or sophomore year.   An unusual CSE major is Food and Nutrition, with an option for a 5^th year Dietetic internship.

Class size is small with typically 12 – 15 students per class.  The college has study abroad, free tutoring, a medical facility, a counseling center and more.  There is cross registration with nearby Drew and Fairleigh Dickinson.  There are two required religion classes, but no required chapel.  Typically, students with a 3.8 GPA or higher qualify for the Honors Program. 

There are eight NCAA Division III sports.  Students like watching the basketball and softball games.   Community service is popular with students working at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, and non-profits like the Red Cross. There is an Olympic sized indoor pool. Mass is available daily.   Some residential students go home on weekends and some stay on campus. 

The average GPA of applicants is 3.0 and the mid-50% score for the SAT is 1350 – 1500 (for Critical Reading, Math, and Writing).  Merit aid is available.

Across from the college entrance is the Convent Station train station.  Florham Park and Morristown stations are just one stop away.  CSE is less than an hour away from New York City by train. Students can walk to Fairleigh Dickinson for classes or social activities.  Cars are allowed on campus all four years. 

What is your experience with CSE?

Gettysburg College

In October, I had the pleasure of learning about Gettysburg College from Gail Sweezey, the Office of Admissions Director.  Here are some highlights:

Academics:  The most popular major at Gettysburg is political science.  Other popular majors are Organization and Management Studies, Psychology, History, English, and Biology. 

About one quarter of students do a double major.  About 35% of students have a major and a minor.

Gettysburg has a music conservatory which opened in 2005. There are over 150 students who major or minor in music.  Students must audition to be a major or minor.  Students can double major with a major in the conservatory (BA) and another major outside of the conservatory.  25% get a degrees in music performance (B.M.), 25% in music education (B.S.), and 50% in music (B.A.).

Gettysburg College houses the Eisenhower Institute, a center for leadership and public policy.  The Eisenhower Institute has offices in Washington DC as well as operating in the historic Gettysburg home once occupied by Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower.  It combines dialogue among policy-makers with a learning experience for undergraduates in a variety of fields, including energy, nuclear nonproliferation, foreign relations, Middle East affairs, U.S. politics, the U.S. presidency, economics, international security, and environmental sustainability.

There are over forty choices for the first year seminar.  One seminar was on homelessness.  In addition to classroom work, the students lived in a homeless shelter for a week and worked in a soup kitchen. Freshmen live with students in their first year seminar.

The first year orientation includes a walk to the national cemetery, followed by listening to the Gettysburg address there. 

Study abroad: Gettysburg is 5^th in the nation for sending students abroad for a semester or longer.  Their financial aid travels with them.  There are also shorter 2-3 week study abroad programs.  Students can participate in a 3-semester bridge course where they study an issue for a semester at Gettysburg, study abroad about that issue for a semester, and spend a semester writing/publishing about that issue.

Career planning:  70% of students were involved in an internship before graduation.  Other career planning options include week long externships, shadowing opportunities, and networking dinners.

Location: The college is in Gettysburg, PA which is very close to the Maryland border.  Students are close enough to Baltimore and Washington, DC to intern there.

Housing: 92% of students live on campus and 95% stay on campus on the weekend.  

Extracurricular activities: Greek life, football games, the marching band, orchestra concerts, theatre and dance performances are all popular pastimes.  1 in 7 students is involved musically.  80% of the marching band is not in the conservatory.

Retention: 91% of students return for their sophomore year.

Politics:  The students at the school are politically middle of the road.

After graduation:  95% of students are in graduate school or employed within a year of graduation.  About 15 students per year go on to medical school. 

Financial Aid:  There is both need-based and merit aid.  The Net Price Calculator is usually within $2K of their actual net price.  For need based aid, students need to complete the FAFSA and the CSS PROFILE.  The need-based aid package meets 100% of need and is made up of grants, loans, and work/study.

The largest merit aid is the $25K/year Lincoln Scholarship given to about 30 students who have taken rigorous course with grades of A and have a SAT score of 1400 or more in Critical Reading/Math. 

The Presidential Scholarship of $15K/year is typically given to students taking rigorous courses, graduating in the top 10-15% of their class and have an SAT score of 1300 or more in Critical Reading/Math.  

There are other merit scholarships including the David Wells Scholarship ($10K/year) and the Leadership Scholarship ($7K/year).  There are also scholarships for those pursing a Bachelors of Music in Performance.

Applications:  The Early Decision deadline is 11/25 and 43% of students apply Early Decision.  The school is test-optional, with about 20% applying test-optional.  Students who choose to go test optional can’t get merit scholarships.  The average SAT score is 1290 (Critical Reading and Math).  A student with SAT scores between 1100 and 1150 (Critical Reading and Math) and great grades should apply test-optional.  The college is interested in demonstrated interest and recommends that students take advantage of an interview.

What is your experience with Gettysburg?

What's new at NJ, NY and PA colleges

Admissions representatives from several universities shared highlights of what’s new at their institutions at the NJACAC fall kickoff. 

The Rider representative talked about:

•  Special activities to commemorate the college’s 150^th anniversary, including a gala, special performances, the breaking of a Guinness world record for the longest string of cranberries.
•  The Westminster Choir College getting a new building. 
• Sports management being offered as a new co-major.
• The Musical Theater degree becoming a Bachelors in Fine Arts, requiring an application by January 1.
• The current college president retiring on June 30th and the search for a replacement.

The Rutgers representative spoke of:

• The opening of the Residential Honors College housing for 500 students and faculty in September 2015. 
• Mason Gross having a new digital film making major starting in 2015.
•  Rutgers planning for a 2016 celebration of their 250^th anniversary.

Lehigh:

• Will be celebrating their 150^th anniversary in 2015 with a Lehigh vs. Lafayette football game in Yankee Stadium. 
• Has purchased two Bethlehem Steel buildings and turned them into research space. 
• Has a new college president who came from the University of Virginia. 
• Is in the midst of a one billion dollar capital campaign.

NYU:

·         Has fully integrated the engineering school into the university. Has new majors including Design and Performance Study, and an interdisciplinary Business and Film/TV.

·         Is looking for a new president. 

TCNJ:

·         Is building a Campus Town Center which will open in August.  It will have a first floor with Panera,Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, and a pizza place, and a second floor housing 430 TCNJ students. 

·         Has a new STEM facility housing natural sciences, engineering and mathematics. 

·         Will be switching to a 4-1-4 schedule to encourage a higher 4-year graduation rate and to give more students the opportunity to study abroad. 

·         Will require students to complete the CSS PROFILE in order to get financial aid.  They expect this will enable them to give more aid to students whose families make between $75K and $150K per year.

The Rowan representative spoke of:

•  Bringing in five companies, including Lockheed Martin, on property Rowan owns next to the college campus so students can do research and work with those companies.
• Two new med schools and the integration of medical studies with arts, business, and STEM.  Students can get accepted into medical school right after high school; the med schools are focusing on community/family medicine. 
•  The freshman class being 40% bigger than last year. 
• Rowan focusing on improving their graduation rate and having a goal to reach a 90% graduation rate. 

University of Pennsylvania

In early September, I visited the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), a member of the Ivy League.  While the college is in a busy part of Philadelphia, the layout of the campus gives you a sense that you are away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  UPenn has about 10,000 undergrads in 4 colleges and about another 10,000 graduate students.  The university was founded by Benjamin Franklin with the idea that the university would provide a practical, diverse, well-rounded, broad-based education with a liberal arts foundation.

Academics - Undergraduate students apply to one of four colleges:

• College of Arts and Sciences (known as “the College”) - In “the College” students have general education requirements in seven sectors of knowledge and can take two years before they pick one of the 55 available majors.
• Engineering and Applied Sciences - The Engineering and Applied Sciences offers both a Bachelors of Engineering and a Bachelors of Applied Science.  Those pursuing the Bachelor of Applied Science have more electives.  Those pursuing a Bachelors of Engineering must pick a major after the freshman year and need to do a Senior design project.
• Wharton School of Business - At the Wharton School, there are 20 different concentrations.  Forty percent of the classes students take are outside of the Business school.  Freshmen participate on teams of ten to solve a business problem for a company.
• Nursing - The Nursing School takes 90 – 100 Freshmen each year.  The nursing students begin their clinical rotation in the second semester of their Sophomore year.  There are four hospitals within five blocks of UPenn.  Many nursing students pursue a Bachelors/Masters degree in five years.

Undergrads can take classes in all four undergraduate colleges.  They can double major or major/minor in multiple undergraduate colleges, and they can take classes in all the grad schools (except the Vet school).  Students have both an academic advisor and a peer advisor.  Many of the majors are interdisciplinary.  Study abroad is popular in the Junior year, the summers, and the Fall of the Senior year.  The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships helps students find research opportunities or identify funding for research they wish to do.

The average class size is 26 students.  There are large lecture classes of up to 600 students, like Intro to Chemistry, Intro to Psychology, and Intro to Political Science.  These classes also have smaller recitation sections.

Applying - Early Decision applications are due by 11/1 and students hear if they are accepted by 12/15.  The Early Decision admit rate is 24%.  Regular Decision applications are due by 1/1 and students hear if they are accepted by 4/1.  The overall admit rate is 10%.  Students apply using the Common App plus a supplement which includes a “Why UPenn?” essay.  Students need to submit the ACT with Writing or the SAT with two Subject Tests.  Two letters of recommendation from core subject teachers are required.

Since Wharton is quantitative-heavy, they expect you have taken the highest level calculus offered by your high school.  The Engineering School is looking to see you have taken high level Physics and the Nursing School is looking to see you have taken advanced Chemistry while in high school.

Financial Aid - UPenn offers need-based aid, but does not offer merit aid.  They meet 100 percent of a student’s need and determine that need from the FAFSA, CSS PROFILE and their own supplement. Their financial aid packages do not include loans.  Their Net Price Calculator does not work well for divorced parents, parents who own a business, and self-employed parents.  If you are in one of these situations, call the financial aid office to get a better early estimate of your net price. The school is need-blind for citizens and residents of North America, and need-aware for others.

What is your experience visiting or attending the University of Pennsylvania?

Saint Joseph's University

Last week, I visited St. Joseph’s University (SJU), a co-ed Jesuit university with about 4500 undergrads in a suburban setting on the western edge of Philadelphia.  At SJU you will see flags and signs that say magis.  Magis is a Jesuit principle that inspires students to think broader, dig deeper, and work harder.

Academics: The university has two colleges: a college of business and a college of arts and sciences, with about half of the students in each.  The typical class size is 23 with the maximum class size capped at 35.  Students can double major or major and minor across the two schools.

The business school requires that students have at least one internship; two or three internships are typical.  Students in the college of arts and sciences have the opportunity to do research over the summer after their Sophomore or Junior year, while getting paid $3,000.

Two unusual majors that SJU offers are Food Marketing and Autism Studies.  The Food Marketing can be taken as a 4-year program or as a 5-year co-op program.  Students in the co-op program typically get paid $17-$24 per hour for their co-op work while gaining valuable experience in their field of study.

The most popular countries for study abroad are Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Australia.  Study abroad is popular as a semester in the Junior year, a summer program, a spring break program or a winter break program

All students must take two religion courses. 

My tour guide Dan, was double-majoring in Economics and Political Science.

Extra-curricular activities: The college motto is “men and women with and for others” and 90% of students will do some type of community service while a student at SJU.  For example, during Spring Break, 500 students go to Appalachia and build homes with Habitat for Humanity. 

The Division I athletics also bring out the school spirit, especially the St. Joe's vs. Villanova basketball games.  Students can get basketball season tickets for just $80.  My tour guide recommended that visiting high school students attend a basketball game, if possible, to get a sense of the Hawks school spirit.

There are over one hundred clubs and organizations, including Greek life.

SJU runs two bus routes which take students to the train station, stores, and popular off-campus housing locations.

Admissions: St. Joe’s accepts the Common Application. They have both Early Action and regular admission.   The mid-50% of SAT scores is 1100 – 1280 (Critical Reading and Math).  The school is test-optional.  Admissions to SJU is not by major.  There is merit and need-based aid.  All students receive some sort of financial assistance.

What is your experience with SJU?

If Your Life Is Not A Bowl of Cherries

So you want to go to college, but there has been a significant problem during your high school years.  Perhaps you have been suspended, been arrested, have abused drugs or alcohol, or have suffered from a mental illness.

You might wonder what your options are, so first ask yourself these three questions:

1. Have I healed from the problem? 
2. Do I want to go to college?
3.  Am I ready to start college with the rest of my high school graduating class?

If you answered no to one or more of these questions, you may need professional help to recover from the problem and/or you may want to work or take a gap year (or more) before pursuing further education.

  

If you answered yes to all three of these questions, I recommend that you write an extra essay, a special circumstances essay, as part of your college application.  This essay should be focused on your recovery, not your problem, and should describe how the problem led to who you are today.  In this essay, you will let the college know what the reason for your suspension, arrest, drop in grades, and/or missed semester was.  You will need to take full responsibility for what happened, explain how you have changed, and what you have learned from your decisions.  

The Changing SAT and ACT Landscape

Here are the highlights of a recent HECA webinar on testing by Jed Applerouth, founder of Applerouth Tutoring Services

SAT changes: The SAT is morphing into an ACT.  It has been changing from an aptitude test to an achievement test.  In 2016, it will undergo a major shift.  It will:

• Drop sentence completion
• Add more difficult math
• Eliminate calculator use for one math section
• Include grammar questions in the context of paragraphs
• Add science tables, charts and graphs to verbal and math sections
• Include evidence-based essays
• Eliminate questions that are not aligned with the Common Core standards
• Allow more time per question.

The math will include new topics including trigonometry, radians, equations of a circle, and congruence theorems.  There will be less geometry and there will be more algebra, requiring a deeper understanding of equations. 

Students will have twice as much time for the new essay.  “[The] essay should not explain whether you agree with [the author’s] claims, but rather explain how [the author] builds an argument to persuade his audience.”

The current SAT allows more time per question than the ACT.  The new SAT will allow even more time, which will be a plus for students with slower processing speeds.

ACT changes:  The ACT changes are subtler and include:

• Essay changes - Students will be asked to analyze a complex issue, after being provided several perspectives.

• Extra scores/reporting – There will be four new college readiness indicators: a STEM score of math and science; an English Language Arts score of English, Reading and Writing; a Progress Towards Career Readiness score; and a Text Complexity Progress indicator.
• Digital assessments – Computer-based tests will be introduced in some districts and states in 2015 and will be introduced more widely in 2016.
• Reading changes – Students will be asked to compare and contrast two reading passages (as has been done in the SAT).
• Optional constructed response subject test. – Optional 30-minute subject tests in reading, math and science, that assess whether students can justify, explain and use evidence to support claims, will be added.

Timeline: The timeline of SAT and ACT changes are as follows:

• December 2014 – Practice PSAT released
• March 2015 – Practice SATs released with College Board book to follow
• Spring/Fall 2015 – Digital ACT and ACT changes
• October 2015 – New PSAT for Class of 2017 and 2018
• January 2016 – Final old SAT
• March 2016 – New SAT released and first digital SAT.

The Class of 2017 (rising Sophomores) will be able to take either the old SAT or the new SAT or both.

Are you looking forward to these changes?