Thanks VCU!

Student Gym Facility

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to visit Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. VCU is a large public university in the heart of Richmond. Known for their top quality art program, they also offer a wide variety of majors in business, engineering, and the liberal arts. My impression of VCU included a few surprises. First, I didn't realize how large the school was, as I typically think about large colleges being set in small town land grant settings. However, this school with 23,000 students somehow fits into the city of Richmond, right alongside the Crape Myrtles. The school was also shockingly diverse. The South has an admittedly spotty history with race relations and diversity, but only at Lawrence University in Wisconsin have I noticed so many groups of students that were not divided by race or ethnicity but instead walking, talking, and socializing together. New York students who want to attend a college with a meaningful number of students of color, should put VCU on their list. There was also a very strong sense of humble authenticity on campus - meaning the students did not exude privilege or superiority. They were excited to be in college (I was there right after freshman move-in) and ready to work hard. Another appealing feature about VCU for NYC students is that fact that it is in a city. Not to say that there are not drawbacks to city living, and VCU is certainly not immune to all of the traditional issues that face colleges in urban settings (including town/gown relations, crime, constraints on space, etc). However, for a student leaving the 5 boroughs, I think they would find Richmond to be an acceptable place to spend four years full of gorgeous architecture, great restaurants, quaint shops, and enough to see and explore to stay busy when they are not in class. The last thing to take note of: tuition. Because VCU is a public school, even as an out of state student the full sticker price of tuition and room and board will come in only about $5,000 more than the full price of a SUNY. Not cheap, but not $60,000 a year either.

Glass Blowing!

Glaze Samples in the Ceramics Studio!

 Our tour consisted of things like an extended visit to the Nuclear Engineering lab, a glimpse of probably the most impressive student gym facility I've ever seen (rock wall, check. SALT WATER pool, check, brand new cardio equipment, check . . .), and top notch art studios.  I haven't even mentioned the Division I sports and high levels of school spirit.

Thank you to VCU for hosting me on campus. I also had the opportunity to stay at The Jefferson Hotel, a true Americna gem. I can't resist posting a picture of the amazing lobby!

Common App 4 is Live (But That Doesn't Mean You Should Press Submit)

 

No doubt, there are some high school seniors out there (hopefully none from ElRo!) who have already submitted their Common Application for Fall 2014 admission. For those high school seniors, I feel sorry for you. Your intentions were probably good, but you have most likely rushed to be the 'first in line' to a party that hasn't even been set up yet. What I mean by that is colleges and universities are just now setting up their fall high school visits, they certainly are not checking the time stamp on your application to give any bonus points for students that applied the first week of August.

For those that are going through this process for the first time, let me give a little background. The Common Application is a website that hundreds of colleges use to allow students to have one portal where they can submit their college applications to participating colleges. The participating colleges all agree to accept the same main application (hence, it is 'common') and then have the option of requiring a supplemental application. The benefit of this is that students can type in their 'common' information just once (things like their name, address, extracurricular activities, personal statement aka essay, etc) and then schools can ask school specific information (like prospective major, housing status, etc) on the supplement.

The Common App 4 is the 4th version of the website and it made its debut this month. Like the FAFSA before it, the new Common App is going to be a 'smart' app so it will personalize questions based on student's previous answers. The other major change is there will also be a firm word count limit imposed on the essay, so be concise!

My advise to seniors is this: you should absolutely create your Common App account and feel free to start filling it out. However, you should NOT submit any college applications, including any application on the Common App, until you have your senior meeting with me this fall. Why? Because our second meeting can sometimes change the nature of your list and I would hate for you to put in time, effort, and money of submitting applications only to change directions later. I also urge you to wait to press submit because rushing is something you absolutely do not want to do in this process. You want to take your time, go section by section, and double check everything before sending it in. Finally, the online application is definitely a huge part of the application but it isn't the only part. Your application file won't be looked at until your school items and test scores reach the college. Why rush to get the first part in when the other parts are at least 6 weeks away? *Note, these comments apply only to applying to college in the summer. I do find great benefit to submitting college applications well in advance of the deadline, just not 5 months in advance.

There are a few instances where applications are time sensitive, but there are none that require application before school is in session. What you should be doing in the last weeks of summer is visiting colleges (remember, college visits are not a reason to be missing days and days of school), beginning to draft your personal statement and supplement essays, and researching the schools you are considering to be sure that your list is balanced. If you are retaking the SAT or ACT, now is the time to get your ticket if you haven't already and now is the time to do any additional test prep, before your school work starts up again in September.

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