Category Archives: College

The Great College Search–Part Two: The Road Trip

I seldom offer a caveat at the beginning of a post, but please consider:  All of the impressions below were OURS.  The aspects of each campus that we considered positive might not impress you or your student, and our concerns might be strengths to someone else.  But the intent of this post is not so much to ‘rate’ these schools as to share my experience accompanying my daughter on this once-in-a-lifetime journey.  So here we go….

This time next year, our oldest child will be living on a college campus somewhere, leading her own life with a new level of autonomy, freedom, and responsibility.  But the question is where?

So this summer, my daughter & I set out on a 3-part road trip.  We considered making this a family journey since her sister is only 2 school years behind and 5th grade brother is always up for going just about anywhere.  But in the end, her mom & I agreed that this trip needed to be one parent-one rising senior, and we decided I would go.

My Alma Mater

We live less than an hour from the University of Maryland, and our first tour was of my old campus in College Park.  First, we sat through a brief introduction and a pretty inspiring promotional video, available here:   University of Maryland Impact

Then we started walking, touring dorms, classrooms, the library, and the student union–all of the usual college tour landmarks.  Two resources that stood out along the way were the grammar hotline (Call from your dorm for help sorting out the wording of a paper?!) and the Math Success Program (free walk-in support with anything related to math).

Why I will be glad if my daughter becomes a Terp:  Maryland is a BIG school, a top-tier public university with world-class facilities, a wide range of entertainment options, easy access to opportunities in the nation’s capital, and as many majors as you can find anywhere.  The size of the school offers options, enough options to allow any student to redefine him/herself several times over during a 4 year undergraduate experience.

McKeldin Mall–University of Maryland

Bonus & Disclosure:  I am a two-time Maryland grad, and I bleed red, white, black, and gold–a Terp For Life.

Something to consider:  College Park is a quasi-urban campus, just 15 minutes from Washington, DC.  As a one-time commuter school that is transitioning into more and more of a residential school, Maryland experiences a constant ebb and flow of car and foot traffic with the neighboring community.  Although safety is a concern ANYWHERE, I would worry more about my daughter more at UMCP than at some other schools–at least until I know she has routines in place to protect herself.

Farther From Home

A few days later we drove 3 hours or so to State College, PA.  We stayed in a hotel the night before to ensure we would be on time for Spend a Summer Day at Penn State.   To begin the day, we parked in the football stadium lot, then caught a designated shuttle bus across campus.  We climbed out of the bus, walked through two lines of applauding students, high-fived the Nittany Lion, then walked into the largest lecture hall I’ve ever seen (even as a Maryland grad) for the welcome presentation.  Then we started walking, taking the obligatory tour of campus.  Two highlights were the writing center (the student gets help with the paper; the professor receives notice that the student took the time to seek help to do well) and the 6-tier dining plan (with options ranging from a light meal or two per day for students living off campus to what our guide called “the linebacker plan”).

Why I will be glad if my daughter becomes a Nittany Lion:  Penn State offers similar advantages to Maryland as another large, well-respected, public university.  But what sets Penn State apart from other schools is the universal sense of identity and loyalty.   The ‘summer day’ event was staffed by scores of volunteers who all appeared to be students and alumni, literally ranging in age from their teens to their eighties.  University Park is also a more ‘enclosed’ campus than College Park; although the school neighbors a college town, there was little evidence of non-university traffic on campus.

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Old Main–Penn State University

Bonus & Disclosure:  We were familiar with Penn State because my daughter had stayed and played on campus for a Memorial Day weekend volleyball tournament 6 of the last 7 years.  We both had stayed in dorms, eaten in dining halls, and walked the campus through those experiences.

Something to consider:  The dorms at Penn State, at least the older dorms that are most likely to house freshmen, are not particularly comfortable.  Small, dark, lacking air conditioning–not posh.  But a greater concern is that while freshmen are required to live on campus, housing is not guaranteed for all 4 years.  The university has built relationships with local realtors and apartment complexes, but the possibility of needing to pursue this may be noteworthy for some students and their families.

To be continued….In my next Dad Knows Better post:  traveling south, some smaller schools, and why this trip matters in our big picture.

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The Great College Search–Part One

Our oldest child is a junior in high school, so by this time next year we will know where she will be heading for college.  College has been a major goal since before she was born, so it’s amazing to all of us that she is so close.  But even though my wife and I are college grads, and even though I have spent 25 years as an educator, the process she is jumping into….of choosing a school, navigating admissions, applying for financial aid, and selecting the place that will be part of her identity for the rest of your life…is BIG.

A College Visit

A College Visit

Safety First.  The only limit I’ve imposed upon her search is safety:  Whether she decides to stay close to home or to move a plane ride away, to go in-state public or out-of-state private, my main concern is that she is as safe as possible on campus.  That means Google searches about crime and safety on campuses, and consideration of whether a campus is its own world or blends into a town or city.

Her Priorities.  Our daughter’s approach to the college search has been interesting–she is mostly interested in larger schools, but she is wary of colleges that she considers “party schools.”  Otherwise, her pool of schools has been relatively easy to fill, as her intended majors are offered almost everywhere, and “study abroad”–one of her plans since she was very young–has become far more common than it was when I was and undergrad in the ’80s.

College Visits.  So far we have only dabbled in college visits.  Her rigorous junior year course work and club volleyball schedule mean it is hard to take a weekend away.  But we have started to mix the volleyball tournament schedule with the college search–resulting in the surprising but definitive elimination of what had been one of her short-list schools a few weeks ago.  And summer is coming…

Admission Mystery?  Trusting in the consistent messages from college admissions staff, the keys to modern college admissions are solid test scores, good grades, and–the easiest factor to control–a RIGOROUS high school schedule.  The days of padding a GPA by taking an easier path are gone, with many colleges actually re-calculating each applicant’s GPA according to their own standards–focusing on academic classes and adding weight for honors and Advanced Placement.  But time will tell.

A City Campus

A City Campus

As we work through the next year, there will be plenty to learn about applications, financial aid, and scholarships, and our daughter will have to make a big decision.  It’s going to be an interesting year with one clear goal:  that she winds up in the right school…wherever that is.

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PSAT Score Countdown

Students around the country will receive their Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)® scores in the next few weeks.  When I took the PSAT, in the days when dinosaurs (along with Ronald Reagan, Michael Jackson, and Magnum, P.I.) ruled the earth, a college-bound student’s world was different:

  • We only took the test once–in 11th grade, as part of the National Merit Scholarship competition.
  • We took it on Saturday.
  • There was no direct preparation in school.

Today, high schools often offer the test for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students.  Freshmen and sophomores take the PSAT to help them prepare for their junior year attempt, which is still the score that counts for National Merit consideration.  In many cases, high schools actually pay for all of their students in certain grades to take the test, and it has become common to offer the test during weekday school hours and to align some instruction with the form and content of the test.

A Great Investment.  As an educator and as a dad, my advice is for students to take the test all 3 years, if possible.  In exchange for a relatively small fee (currently $15, although schools are permitted to add a small additional fee to cover administration costs if they choose), and a few hours of their time, kids receive great value:

  • Scores that predict their current readiness for the Scholastic Aptitiude Test (SAT)®
  • Some of the most detailed feedback offered through any standardized test, as they receive their original test booklets along with score sheets listing their answers & the correct answers
  • The opportunity to receive advertising and recruitment mail from dozens of colleges based upon test performance & geography

In addition, after taking the PSAT in October of their junior year, students with the highest scores in each state are notified that they have qualified as National Merit ‘Commended,’ ‘Semi-finalist,’ or ‘Finalist.’

Like any standardized test, the PSAT has its own ‘scaled’ scores.  These scores offer predictions of the student’s performance on the SAT.  But I encourage students to focus on percentile scores to evaluate their strengths and areas for growth.  Percentiles are much easier for most students to visualize, and they simplify comparisons between completely different types of test.

Junior Moments.  Our 16 year old daughter took the test in 10th grade and again this year as a junior–her school does not offer a 9th grade administration.  I learned long ago that when she sinks her teeth into a project my best option may be to stay out of her way.  So over the last 2 summers she has spent time working through an old PSAT prep book from my classroom teaching days–her choice, because she wanted to take her absolute best shot at her 11th grade PSAT.  In another couple of weeks she, and over a million other students, will find out just how well she did.

Note:  DadKnowsBetter received no compensation of any kind related to this post.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

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Filed under College, School