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Archive for the ‘Admissions’

I Love My New Walkway Cleaning And Pressure Washing Illinois Colorado

June 18, 2008 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions No Comments →

When I was younger and living with my parents, I’d stay home from my college classes when something needed to get done. If the cable was being installed, I stayed home. If a phone line was being put in, I stayed home. I even stayed home for a Residential Deck Staining. So when I moved out and got my own apartment deeper in the city, I expected one of my parents to stay there while I got my cable or phone line put in while I was at work. Unfortunately they did not see it the way I did, so they never came to wait while I was working . They both claimed they didn’t have the time. When I was younger, I really didn’t have the time. I missed out on a lot of important notes I could have been taking during my college classes. I once had to miss a test because the plumber was coming that day for a pipe that had broken . In that case I did reschedule the test but it wasn’t like I could study while the plumbers were there, my mother is very possessive of her things and didn’t want strangers around them, as they might feel the urge to take her antique glass elephant . My main point is I went out of my way to help them and they don’t do the same for me when I need it. It’s not like they gave birth to me and put up with my sorry butt for twenty three years of my life for free while I free loaded in their house during my college years, I must say that I am a sorry excuse for a son and very ungrateful for all that was given to me .

Success is about Choosing

May 28, 2008 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions No Comments →

You can choose success. Do you believe this? If you do not then you have chosen (yes chosen) a different route and success will not be a prominent feature! Success is about choosing what you want in life and taking the necessary steps to achieve that goal. Success is not stopping until you get there!

Read the last two sentences again. Easy to say but how do you get there? What are the choices made by the successful? What are they doing differently from everyone else?

Choose to remove whatever is holding you back. Has something happened in the past to affect your self esteem? Do you immediately have negative thoughts as soon as money and success come to mind? If you are not choosing success then it is likely that something is blocking your ability to change and follow a new path. To remove the block you must have focus. To have focus you must first have an all consuming dream of where you want to be. Only when you have defined that dream can you start to focus on it. Focus so intently that everything you do is done with your dream in mind. Only then can you move toward that dream.

Choose to live your success. Live your life as if you were successful, as if you had already achieved the goal that you are focusing on. When you are at work, visualize what your workplace will be like when you have reached your goal, and place yourself there. Sit at your desk as if you were running the multimillion dollar business that you are focusing on. When you get into your car, visualize what your dream car will be like and see yourself sitting in it. Visualize yourself driving away from your dream house. When you are in your home - look around it and see your new surroundings. Get inside the feeling - really be there.
Goal Setting

Refining your writing process is key to your writing success

May 27, 2008 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions No Comments →

Many struggling writers are convinced there is a secret to the success of more confident writers. There is in fact a secret but it is one that you too can embrace to improve your writing. The simple truth is that refining your own personal writing process to your unique strengths and weaknesses can not only make writing easier it can also improve writing as well. Every writer’s writing process includes the same basic five elements: inventing, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing; however, in order for the writing process to improve writing that process must be tailored to fit the individual writer’s strengths and weaknesses.

Invention is one area that many beginning and struggling writers simply do not spend enough time on. Many beginning writers believe any time not spent writing is a waste of time. However, experienced writers know that the more time spent thinking about and preparing for the writing task then the less time that will need to be spent on actually writing. Invention might simply include thinking but writers can also use various methods to brainstorm from free writing to clustering. Experiment with many types of brainstorming and invention to determine which methods work best for you.

Organization is also a key part of writing preparation that many novice writers do not give proper attention. Depending on the length and complexity of the writing task this can take a lot of time or very little time, but do not overlook this important element.
Raymond Le Blanc writing

Many struggling writers are convinced there is a secret to the success of more confident writers. There is in fact a secret but it is one that you too can embrace to improve your writing. The simple truth is that refining your own personal writing process to your unique strengths and weaknesses can not only make writing easier it can also improve writing as well. Every writer’s writing process includes the same basic five elements: inventing, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing; however, in order for the writing process to improve writing that process must be tailored to fit the individual writer’s strengths and weaknesses.

Invention is one area that many beginning and struggling writers simply do not spend enough time on. Many beginning writers believe any time not spent writing is a waste of time. However, experienced writers know that the more time spent thinking about and preparing for the writing task then the less time that will need to be spent on actually writing. Invention might simply include thinking but writers can also use various methods to brainstorm from free writing to clustering. Experiment with many types of brainstorming and invention to determine which methods work best for you.

Organization is also a key part of writing preparation that many novice writers do not give proper attention. Depending on the length and complexity of the writing task this can take a lot of time or very little time, but do not overlook this important element.
Raymond Le Blanc writing

Sat Test Score: What You Need To Know

May 26, 2008 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions No Comments →

Most students and their parents worry about getting into college, and worry more about getting into a good college. Many people have their own idea as to what colleges look for in potential students and how college admissions decide on who gets to attend their school. Of course, what type of student you are will influence what worries you most about getting into college. Colleges say that about 35 to 50% of their decision is based on your high school record. A few things that colleges say will influence their decision are what courses you took and how well you did in those courses. And yes, they do look at whether or not you took difficult courses and how well you handled them, they will check to see if your grades improved during high school, as well as whether or not you let your grades slide a little during your senior year.

They also claim that about 25 to 40% of their admissions decision is based on test scores. Both the ACT and SAT test are used to evaluate applicants, showing them how well you would handle problem solving, reading and other basic skills. This is one reason why SAT test preparation is vital if you want to do well and improve your SAT test score.

A SAT test score can provide the college with valuable information; however, they are also interested in you as a person. Anywhere from 5 to 20% of their decision may be influenced by community service and other activities, as well as the same amount for essays and recommendations. College admissions want to know what is important to you. They are interested in both your strengths and weaknesses and how they are likely to affect you in college life.

Taking SAT preparation classes and a few practice SAT preparation classes improves your chance of getting a higher grade and that along with taking AP (advanced placement) courses shows the college admissions what you are capable of and that you are serious about furthering your education. This is essential if you already have a particular school in mind, as the grades and whole high school time period are under scrutiny.

How To Prepare For Your DMV Road Test

January 16, 2008 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions, Education No Comments →

Before anyone is allowed to get their first driver license they must take and pass a DMV road test. This test is required to make sure the driver knows and understands the rules and regulations of driving before they allow them to legally drive on the roadways. To make sure you pass this test it is always a good idea to practice before hand to ensure you will pass the first time. To help you do this, below is a list of some of the things that you will need to know how to do to pass the DMV road test.

Your overall performance will be graded by an examiner when you go to take a DMV road test. He or she will ride along with you and give you instructions on where to drive and what to do. You will need to follow these instructions completely while using the proper procedures required. They will take points off for not doing things correctly so you will need to make sure you know and follow all the rules of driving. They will make sure you are familiar with your vehicle and that you look and use your mirrors before pulling out into traffic.

Another thing that will get points taken off is slamming on your brakes. It is important that you know how to come to a slow, smooth stop. It is also imperative that you can take off smoothly as well without jerking the passengers around inside the vehicle. The examiner will be grading you on whether or not you position your hands correctly when steering your vehicle and making turns. They will also be checking to make sure you are comfortable enough to use the basic features of your vehicle. This involves being able to use your wipers, signals or turn on your lights while driving if it is necessary.

The examiner will be grading you on how you judge distances and whether or not you obey the posted speed limit signs. You will need to be able to back up your vehicle and know how to do all parking including parallel parking correctly. Merging in and out of traffic is important and must be done smoothly and carefully. One more very important thing that you will you will be graded on will be your courtesy. You are required to be a courteous driver to help avoid unnecessary accidents. Making sure that everyone receiving a license has the ability to drive safely is the main purpose of the DMV road test.

Taking your drivers license test for the first time can make you nervous. Make sure you’re fully prepared by practicing for your driving road test, with helpful tips at http://www.roadtesttips.com

College Essay Tips

June 10, 2007 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions No Comments →

Ten Tips for Writing the College Essay

Brought to you by the American School Counselor Association

Help Your Child Shine - Sure, you know why your kid is special. Unfortunately, you can’t sit down with college admissions people to tell them why your child would make a terrific addition to their school. The college essay is the opportunity for your child to make a statement before the admissions committee. Think of the essay as a stage where your child’s personality gets to shine.

Start Early -  Starting early buys you the luxury of revising and rewriting the essay. You can write it, put it away for a few days, then take a fresh look at it later. Walking away and then coming back brings a fresh perspective to the work — without the pressure and stress that comes with a time crunch.

Choose a Specific Topic - Many colleges ask applicants to describe a special interest, an experience that changed their life, or a person who influenced them. An essay on why you participated in the extra-curricular activities you chose in school, as well as what you learned from those choices, can be an excellent topic.

List a bunch of essay topics and then add some key points for each one. Decide which topic has the most potential; it should be something that you feel strongly about so that it really comes alive when you write about it.

Outline What You Want to Cover - Use the brainstorming process. Make a list of all the ideas you want to include–don’t rule anything out. List everything you can think of. Then go back over the list and check off or circle the major points you want to cover.

Work on the Opening Paragraph - Think of lots of different ways to begin. There are many approaches that can be used. Warm up by using a meaningful quote or definition. Starting off with a rhetorical question that fits your situation is also a good way to get started. You might open your essay with a detailed description of the setting of an important experience you’ve had so that readers feel they were really there. Pick the opener that best draws the reader in with an unusual, entertaining, or thoughtful hook in beginning.

Compose a Rough Draft - Use the outline you created to address each of your key points–as if you were having a conversation with someone. Try to be personal and, if it comes naturally, add humor. Concentrate on content, use descriptive language, and give clear examples. Imagine that you’re talking to a close friend when writing your essay. This technique should help the real you shine through. Remember, a rough draft doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be a start.

Review What You’ve Written - This time use a more critical eye. Is the essay interesting and well organized? Does it give a good picture of who you are? If it isn’t as interesting as you’d like, add more examples and details. Read your essay out loud to see if the essay flows. Make sure you’re writing about yourself–not the person you imagine the admissions counselor will find interesting.

Rewrite Your Essay - Writing the essay the first time is hard enough, but taking time to write another draft is well worth the effort. Show your essay to the school counselor, a high school English teacher, outside professional, or anyone who can give you an honest critique of it. Read your essay to your parents. Other people can often tell if there isn’t enough being revealed, whether the essay rambles, or if the humor is falling flat.

Edit Your Final Draft - While we covered a lot about content, this time really look at the mechanics of the essay. Grammar, spelling, sentence structure, style, and tone all count. Double check everything so that nothing detracts from the finished product.

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread! - When it comes to proofreading, don’t do it alone. Ask someone else to read your essay. Spell check programs on computers can only go so far in ensuring that everything is correct.

Take a Last Look for Details Is the essay clean? - Is the typing, printing, and handwriting clear? Make sure your name and social security number is on the essay so that if it’s separated from the application, it can quickly be matched up again. Pretend that you are reading the essay for the first time. Does it make the impression you want it to?

The Successful College Interview

May 15, 2007 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions No Comments →

The College Interview

Ann Svensen

Some colleges, especially the larger universities, no longer
require an interview as part of the application process. If your child chooses
to interview, and if the school allows it as an option, make sure he/she
prepares. It is his/her opportunity to become known on an individual level, and
the impression he/she makes could be the deciding factor in competitive
admissions.

Preparations

Call or check the college view book to find the school’s
policy on interviews. If the college is some distance from your home, be sure
that your child calls early to schedule the interview so you can get an
appointment at a convenient time. Advise your teen to practice for the
interview. Do you have friends whose children are in college now? Perhaps they
would be willing to do a mock interview with your child.

Some typical questions asked by admissions officersinclude the following:

  • What are your favorite subjects, and why?
  • What are your plans for the future?
  • Why do you want to attend this college?
  • What extracurricular activities do you enjoy?
  • Who do you admire the most, and why?
  • What are your strongest points?
  • What would you like to change about yourself?

Your teen should be prepared with answers that show why
he/she is a good candidate for the incoming class. Reading the school’s view
book and any other information about the school will help him/her tailor his/her
responses to that school. It’s also a great idea to prepare a mini-resume of
accomplishments, hobbies, and skills to give the interviewer.

Additionally, your child will look more prepared if she has
specific questions to ask the admissions officer. Here are some possibilities:

  • How many students will be in the freshman class thisyear?
  • What activities are available for freshmen to meet otherstudents?
  • How hard is it to get time on the college’s computers?
  • What kind of orientation program does the college offer?
  • How can I find out about part-time job opportunities orinternships on campus?
  • Is there anything else I can tell you about myself tohelp you make a fair and informed decision about my application?

The day arrives

Be sure your child is dressed neatly, as for a job interview
(no jeans!) Have him/her arrive approximately 10 minutes early. Assure your
child that it’s all right to be nervous. If he/she has prepared, then confidence
is likely to shine through the apprehensions.

About the author

Ann Svensen is the Editor of Family Education Today.
She is a trained Secondary English teacher, holding a B.A. and M.A.T. from
Simmons College. She taught in Malden and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and for the
Archdiocese of Boston before joining the FamilyEducation Network in 1995.

Avoid the Seven Deadly College Application Mistakes

May 10, 2007 By: Dr. Digger Category: Admissions No Comments →

Frank Burtnett  (This article
originally appeared in Careers & Colleges magazine)

The college admission process can be a scary one, but it doesn’t have to be.
Armed with good information and a solid plan of action, you can eliminate
mistakes that might stifle your options or kill your chances of admission.

We asked a group of college admission deans and directors from a cross
section of American colleges and universities to describe the most common
mistakes made by prospective freshmen and to explain ways to avoid them. Here is
their list.

1. YOU MISS THE BOAT ACADEMICALLY The single most important factor in
gaining admission to the college of your choice is how well you perform in a
college preparatory curriculum, according to a study by the National Association
for College Admission Counseling. (Second and third in importance are admission
test scores and class rank.)

An ideal college-prep curriculum includes the maximum number of English,
science, mathematics, social studies, and foreign language classes you can
successfully manage in high school. To be sure, other factors will enter into
the college admission decision, but nothing will have as much weight as your
performance in the classroom.

A related mistake is assuming that a high grade-point average is more
important than the difficulty of the classes selected. Nothing could be further
from reality.

"The most common reason we deny admission is because students have chosen
easy elective courses instead of more demanding college-prep courses," says Dan
Saracino, dean of admissions at Notre Dame University in Indiana.

2. YOU IGNORE GREAT RESOURCES Limited information is the No. 1 cause
of bad decisions. Many students fail to identify and use the resources (human
and material) available to them during the college exploration and
decision-making process. This often leads to the if-only-I-had-known statement
at some point in the future.

Contact current college students (perhaps graduates of your high school) for
the inside scoop on your top-choice schools. Seek out school counselors,
admission counselors, and financial aid officers for specific information
regarding the admissions process.

Parents, family members, and friends can serve as sounding boards for all
this newly acquired information. There are also countless tools — guides,
directories, videos, and software — available through your career/college
resource center, guidance office, and school and public libraries. Finally, take
advantage of campus visits, college fairs, and counseling seminars to learn more
about your options.

3. YOU FOLLOW THE PACK Don’t choose College X because your best friend
did. The reason a friend chose College X may have nothing to do with your
educational objectives and ambitions.

Personalize your search so that you can apply your values and test many of
the myths about colleges. (Examples: Small colleges are intimate and friendly.
The best colleges are the expensive ones.)

"Some students think that if it’s a large college, the classes must be large,
too," says Patricia Riordan, dean of admissions at George Mason University in
Fairfax, Virginia, where the student body numbers 24,000, but classes can be as
small as 20.

You should also define what you’re looking for in a college (e.g., major
field of study, location, size) and apply these personal criteria throughout the
search. Don’t make your decision based on the needs and desires of others.

Be just as wary of "ratings" and "rankings" guides. There are outstanding
programs within average institutions and weak academic programs within sound
institutions. Create a ranking of colleges that works for you.

4. YOU DON’T TAKE THE COLLEGE FOR A TEST DRIVE Would you buy a car
without taking a test drive, or new jeans without trying them on? Well, too many
students choose their future college without conducting a thorough search, and
end up making a haphazard decision at application time.

"Some students don’t even know the programs at the schools to which they’re
applying," says Riordan at George Mason. "I had one applicant eager to get into
our architecture program–we don’t even offer an architecture major."

Proper exploration will result in a matching of your abilities, aptitudes,
achievements, and interests with academic, social, and related offerings of the
various colleges. Use the exploration period to learn about yourself and what
you want. Why are you going to college? What are your educational and career
goals? What do you want to study?

Also, think about the sort of campus setting in which you would be most
comfortable (i.e., urban vs. rural, large vs. small, all female vs. coed). Be
sure to tour your top-choice campuses to make sure the colleges’ materials
accurately portray the environment.

5. YOU DECIDE THERE IS ONLY ONE "RIGHT" COLLEGE There is no single
"right" college for you. There are probably several. Before you begin to narrow
your options, do everything you can to expand them. Look beyond the colleges
that are known to you.

Don’t apply to colleges where you cannot compete academically. By matching
your qualifications and personal characteristics with the profile of admitted
students, you’ll paint an accurate picture of your chances of being accepted.

Create a list of five to ten serious choices, using the three-tier approach.
Your first-tier colleges are the extremely competitive or "reach" schools;
second-tier colleges are those colleges that meet all your requirements but are
not as selective as the first group; and the third-tier should include colleges
that you’re sure to get into, a.k.a safety schools. Make certain you apply to
some colleges from the latter two groups.

6. YOU MAKE THE PRICE YOUR PRIORITY "You should not exclude colleges
from your list of possibilities on the initial appearance of cost," says Steve
Syverson, dean of admission and financial aid at Lawrence University in
Appleton, Wisconsin, where the cost is $26,583 a year but the average aid
package is $18,110.

"Some parents lump all private universities together as too expensive
compared to public schools. But compare the costs after taking financial aid
into consideration and the real costs are often similar."

At many American colleges and universities, one-half to two-thirds of the
student population is using some form of financial aid (scholarships, grants,
loans, etc.) So, don’t assume that your family makes too much money or has too
many possessions to qualify for financial aid.

7. YOU LET YOUR DOG EAT YOUR APPLICATION Your application and
supporting materials (high-school transcript, essay, teacher and counselor
recommendations) are all that the admission officer officers have in front of
them when they consider your candidacy. Your application is your voice. It
should be a strong voice. Read the application carefully from beginning to end.

Make sure your application is complete, accurate, neatly prepared, and
submitted on time. (To meet deadlines, create an exploration and application
calendar, and stick to it.) Also, don’t just tell the admission committee what
you think it wants to hear.

Follow all of the directions, make certain that test scores and transcripts
are directed to the proper person or department, and don’t send extraneous items
(such as video or music tapes) — unless of course, they are requested.

If you conduct a smart search and avoid the mistakes mentioned, there is a
strong likelihood that a letter of acceptance will find its way to your mailbox.

About the Author

Dr. Frank Burtnett is the President of
Education Now, an
educational consulting, training, and publishing firm in Virginia. He has
written extensively about college and career development and the transitions
that young adults must make in moving from high school to college and work.

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