Off To College!

C-Day is here. The day all high school kids look forward to. Or is it? Every teen is supposedly eager to run away from their friends and family, and live as far away as possible. It's great to live without your parents, and friends, and everyone who has helped you come this far, right? I mean, every teen loves to do their own laundry, make their own bed, and they love cooking their own food. If they have any problems with their school work, they of course will pay for a tutor to help them. The truth is, college should definitely be a time of education, and fun. However, it may not be such a bad idea to live a tad bit closer to home. If you think about it from a parent's perspective, their child leaving for a college that is far away, may equate in their mind almost to losing that child. It will never be as merry in the house, and if their child has any siblings, living without that child will be even tougher because the siblings aren't used to living without that child. It's like a void in everyone's life. Many parents cry the day their child leaves for college, instead of being happy, because chances are, that child won't come home often, or even call home. Leaving for college is an important milestone in every teen's life. They should just consider staying close to home, to help out their parents and siblings. P.S. C-Day is an acronym I made up for College Day.

Teachers and Students

College can be a time of partying, sport playing, and leisure. Unfortunately, I also have to study and be in frequent contact with both students and teachers. Many people don't take close note of the atmosphere a certain college has when they visit it. They don't notice that the teachers are sulky and don't care about the students, because they are too busy looking at the college's pub, and recreation room. The truth is that the teachers and the students make up as much, if not more of the college than the facilities, and extra-curricular activities. I don't want to go to a college where there's a great place to play billiards, but where the students are rowdy and careless, and the teachers don't put effort into their classes. I want to attend a college that has a good balance between the two. I want to have a memorable college life, but I can't lose track of why I'm in college in the first place: to get an education. I want to leave college with a medical degree, not a talent in billiards, and partying. I want to go to a college which has extra-curricular activities that support my main goals, not hinder them. The perfect college will take a lot of research finding. There is light in the tunnel, and hopefully, this tunnel has a good ending to it.

College Sports

Ok, it's time to talk sports. In addition to packing my laptop and my nook, I have my cleats and rackets packed and ready to go. I look forward to playing on a varsity team, in soccer and in tennis. So another factor that I look for in colleges, is the quality of their sports teams, and specifically those sports that I play. I want to be in a college that has competitive teams, and where I can contribute. I probably will be assigned to the third flight in tennis as a freshman, but I don't want to be assigned to the bench. I need to study who my competition will be, and what skills I can bring that will allow me to play and contribute from the start. I'm also realistic. Everyone spends some bench time. The trick is to limit that bench time. Another consideration, and not a minor one, is where I could get an athletic scholarship. It's nice to compete for a college, it's even nicer when your costs are covered. Plus, whether or not I go to the pros, it tells my future employers something of my work ethic and commitment, because athletic scholarships are not just handed out. They are awarded to players who commit to long hours of practice, as well as long seasons of competition, while they are taking rigorous academic courses. I bet you didn't see this blog coming did you?

Summer Internships and Programs

One of the things that I look for when I evaluate a college, is what it offers during the summer. If a college has a rich array of its own programs, as well as good internships possibilities in its own area, or even in
Washington D.C. these are attractive factors because I can learn a lot outside of the classroom, get a leg up on a career, and meet some interesting people through internships and programs. While many internships are competitive, the place you go to school is an important factor. For example, Harvard College students are looked upon highly favorably by the State department, Justice department, and other important cabinet offices that offer internships. We may pretend that there are no "old boy" networks, but the reality is different. So, I'm also looking for colleges that have strong alumni support and help, for younger students. That said, I'm also looking for colleges that have good relationships with universities in other countries. When you take a course or two during summer term A and B, that's just summer school. When you have a summer abroad in the south of France, well, you're in the south of France. So, the idea for this blog is network and support.

How Not to Get Mugged

I may be a little too careful. But better safe than sorry. I read up on  crime statistics on campuses, and realized that like any place, campuses are little cities- some not so little. And like cities, there are good parts of town, and there are bad parts of town. As a newcomer, I wouldn't know which was which. I heard of horror stories of a famous university, where its immediate environs is crime infested. Needless to say, I'm sure my parents have already done some research of their own on crime statistics, I don't want to compare notes with them. What I propose is that we discuss the first campus visit will be to an urban school, with a reputation that may not be so good. We need to be there and actually see the place. We want to talk to people on campus, like students, teachers, and staff about their daily experiences. I know I will play even more attention to the staff, because they are likely to know the town better than the students, and they will have more candid opinions. Now we have to make the decision: when will we visit the campus in order to see as much as possible, and talk to the widest variety of the campus community. I need to know where the safe parts of town are, and where the dicey parts are.

Meet The Locals

Unlike many prospective college freshmen, I'm actually remembering that I will live in a town as well as in a dorm. My life is not going to be in a bubble made up of the school, the dorm, and sports. I actually will leave campus, which means I want to know what the town is like, and get a sense of the people. I have always heard about town and gown rivalries, where sometimes the locals hate the scholars, and the scholars hate the locals. I want to fit in, and be perceived as me, not just some kid at a university. And who knows, maybe I'll meet the woman of my dreams, and settle in that town. But of course, more immediately, where are the pizza places, other cheap eats, good bookstores, and sports bars? This is what a college student will need for at least the next four years. So, with that in mind, I asked for some brochures from the local visitors' bureau, and highlighted all the places the towns featured. Now I got smart. I went to the college website, and found email addresses of students. Basically, I emailed them, and asked them about their honest opinion of the college and town, because I didn't want the hype from the visitor's bureau to be my only source of information. This is painstaking research I know, as I reach for another slice of pizza, but it is absolutely essential, because I will live in the town too.

Seasonal and Regional Adjustments

This category really has two different areas. The first for out of town colleges, is to get a good sense of how the weather will be during the school months. For example, will I need to get an entire new winter wardrobe, or do I need to buy more beachwear? Related to that, if I plan to stay at that college during breaks, will there be jobs to help sustain me? What about housing, are the dorms closed during breaks? Sometimes colleges close dorms during major breaks. I need to know this in order to better evaluate different out of town colleges. Those that make it easier for me to stay, will take preference to those that make it hard to make seasonal adjustments. Even for colleges near home, but this will apply for both, what about internships, and year-abroad possibilities? Those that facilitate these between breaks, educational opportunities will go to the head of the list because they will allow me to either explore my major more fully through the internship especially, or to perhaps make a change in my study plans through my exposure in a college experience abroad. In the case of the latter, this could include a language immersion that would support my major. These seasonal and regional adjustments are too often overlooked, usually overlooked to one's chagrin.

The First Visit

How to select the first college that I will visit? What pre-information do I need to schedule the visit at the right time? I want to arrive at a college at perhaps its most normal week. It can't be a time when some special event is occurring at the college, or its surrounding town. I want to avoid both crowds, and an overly positive picture of the college. I want to see it for what it normally looks like. Visiting at homecoming, or alumni week, will make the college appear like a scene from a movie. It would all appear too glamorous, and a little too pretty. I want to see the college when a typical student sees it, when it's not too fancy, when alumni are not visiting in droves, and when the college is not putting its best face forward. This will give me the sense of whether I really like the place, and the people. After all, most colleges look great during homecoming. I also need to be practical. I need to be able to get hotel rooms for my parents and me, when we visit. If we pick the busy season, that in itself, will be a hassle. So selecting the time to visit is critical. One way to arrive at that decision is to visit the college's website, and take a look at upcoming events. The less events that are scheduled in a particular, will be the best indication that it is time for me to visit.

Thinking it Through

Before I can decide on a major, a college, or my future life, I need to take a hard look at what I really enjoy, what I can't live without, and what I can't live with. Some of this is high level, and some of it isn't. Do I enjoy making long trips from college to visit family? Do I really enjoy washing my own clothes, preparing my own meals? Or do I like to linger at home a little longer. There are no easy answers, and the are pros and cons to each decision. Living independently is a big step, but am I really an adult at age eighteen? Perhaps it would be advantageous not to subject myself to too many choices, and decisions so early in my life. School is hard enough, without trying to be an adult about it. I need to portion out time for fun, time for study, and even time to have a part-time job to earn some money. Of course, I don't need to make these decisions immediately. That is part of thinking it through. So my first job, is to develop a checklist of those things that I consider essentials, and those qualities that I value, and perhaps break them down into two categories. Colleges near home where I could still live near my parents, and colleges not near home where I would have to live independently. If more of those qualities that I find essential can fit only in the colleges near home category, that would be an easy choice to make. I think.

Scoping Out a Major

It's not too early for me to think of what my college major will be. After all, I need to make sure that I am on track with my high school credits, especially in math, english, and science. For all three, I need to be able to have under my belt the highest level offered. This will ensure that I don't have to take any repeats in college in order to qualify for courses. So now, my job is to both look forward, and look backwards at the same time. I'll explain. Forward by checking prerequisites for courses I can expect to take for my major, and of course I need to think that I will be in a pre-major situation for my first year. But everything goes in sequence. If I go "light" on my pre-major, I will probably have to take extra classes, and won't graduate on time. And now backwards. I need to say where I am at present to plan my senior year, and select those courses that will allow me to start my freshman year at the next level up. Each step will be the natural progression. I won't need to make my life more complicated if i stick to a schedule where I pick a course that has a prerequisite of the one I'm taking, and serves as a prerequisite to the next one that I will need to take.

The First Test

True to my word, the first thing I'm adding to my plan is to find out the deadlines for the SAT, and ACT. This was easy to do. The web makes everything so much simpler. Now I have the dates, and I'm a little worried because they are a little too close for my liking. Not only are they too close, they're not much apart for each other. I can anticipate two long Saturday mornings, sitting in an auditorium, and laboring tests that will determine my future. No pressure. Knowing the times for the test, I begin a very initial look at financial aid, and find that the basic form involves an incredible amount of paperwork, and probably more details than my parents would like to disclose. But it is part of the process, I have to plan for it, and allow time for it. The subject of scholarships is almost an entirely different ballgame. There are many of them, almost too many of them. How do I really focus on the scholarships that I should apply to, and ignore the rest? Some of them are based on intended majors, and while I think I know exactly my major, this seems that I will be making a decision about my future, close to two years before I step on the campus. If I don't apply to major specific scholarships, I could miss out on opportunities. So I need to decide; come up with an intended major, or just send out applications for general scholarships. Either way, I need to decide. But somehow, I have a feeling my parents would want me to declare my major. So again, this is not a decision that only I am making, it is part of my transition from a youth to an adult!

The Plan

I finally arrived at a time that once seemed distant to me. I'm now a junior in high school, and my next step is not really my senior year, but applying for college.  So now I need to plan for college. The question is: what exactly do I need in order to plan for college? Do I need to have a timeline of things that I need to send, or tests to take? That makes sense, there have to be deadlines. So I guess my first priority is to find out what those deadlines are. My first task is to make a short list of what deadlines I anticipate. First on the list: the dates for the SAT, and ACT tests. By dates, I also have to include when I apply, as well as when I actually take those tests. I have to think about financial aid, scholarships, loans, and I'm sure each will have their own separate deadlines. Now, I probably should start thinking about geography, as in where I should go to college. Should I stay at home, or should I break the ties, and begin college somewhere else. My own rite of passage. I feel like a young man in a tribe, trying to prove himself worthy to everyone. I'm moving from kid to man!