Spring Parents Weekend

The Current Landscape of College Admissions: Ruth Teague, Hobart William Smith Colleges

Ruth Teague has served as an admissions officer at Hobart William Smith Colleges for the past thirty years. She will share her life time of experience and perspective on college admissions in the new millennium. Ms. Teague will remove the veil of mystery from the admission process and help parents to understand how the process works from the inside out. What does it means to read an application from a “holistic” perspective? What are current trends in college admissions? How does one determine the best match? How important is the visit or the interview?

The Current Landscape of College Admission

Breakout Sessions (to run concurrently- choose two)

Selective College Admissions in 2010
Ruth Teague, of Hobart William Smith Colleges will continue the share her experience as an admissions officer and will answer any and all questions about the college admission process.

Financial Aid in a Troubled Economy
Michael Fraher, Director of Financial Aid at Vassar College since 1983, will lead a financial aid workshop designed to help parents understand the intricacies of the financial aid process at a private college. What is the difference between “need blind” and “need aware” admissions? What is merit aid? What is the FAFSA, the CSS profile? Who is eligible? Who is not? Leave this session feeling empowered and ready navigate the financial aid application process.

The Role of Athletic Recruitment in the College Process
Todd Marble, Kent’s Director of Athletics and Summer Programs, will lead a discussion on the complexities of athletic recruitment in the college process. What is the role of the student, the parent, the coach and the college counselor? What is the difference between Division I and Division III recruiting process? Come learn how to help your student-athlete negotiate the many demands of athletic recruitment.

Managing the College Process with Family Connection
Kent School subscribes to the premier web-based college management tool, Family Connection. Come learn more about the power of this software, its many applications and opportunities for communication. How do you conduct a college search? How do you determine the difference between a reach and a safety school? Which schools are test optional? What are the admission requirements at any school? Learn to become a power user of this dynamic program.

School Bookstore is open on Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and on Sunday, 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. The following college guides will be available at the bookstore:

• Selective Guide to Colleges by Edward Fiske – As close as you can get to knowing what a college is like without visiting the campus. An excellent resource.

• Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope – An excellent source for students who know they want to attend a small liberal arts college. It gives in-depth examples of schools that may be lesser known (at least by some people), but still have excellent programs.

• Princeton Review’s The Best 369 Colleges – This book reaches its conclusions based on the reflections of independent counselors. It is a bit more entertaining than some of the others – it ranks schools by quality of food, intensity of study, levels of drinking, and degree of “granola”…all of which you may or may not find helpful.

• The College Admissions Mystique by Bill Mayer—Written by a veteran college counselor with over 30 years’ experience, Mayer demystifies the process of college admission. He covers practical issues, including discovering colleges, narrowing the search, finding financial aid and using college counselors to the best advantage. He also deals with the emotional side of the process, as this is a time of transition and growth for the whole family. He has a healthy and helpful approach to an anxiety-ridden process.

• The Gatekeepers by Jacques Steinberg – Steinberg had nearly total access to the Wesleyan admissions office for one year. What follows is an insider’s account of the admissions process at one highly selective liberal arts college. It reads like a novel and is both informative and well-written.

• On Writing the College Application Essay by Harry Bauld – Every student applying to college should read this book. It’s utterly entertaining, relevant and very, very helpful.