submit one to any of the schools involved. If you make a good impression, your chances of admission may improve.
College catalogs/view books. These may vary from a simple, colorful tri-fold pamphlet to a 40-page catalog, complete with DVD and/or CD, business cards with contact names, testimonials from students and dozens of photographs. Read them through carefully because they can answer many of your questions.
College websites. Whether you look online at home, in the library or at school, take the time to look over the websites of some of the colleges you are interested in. They almost always have an FYI/FAQ section that will provide answers to basic questions. You also get a chance to see what the campus looks like, what some students have to say about the place (all glowing, of course!) and much more.
College alumni. For great suggestions and insight into a college, see if you can get in touch with someone who actually attended it. It might be your cousin, your father's co-worker, someone your guidance counselor suggested or a person the college itself refers to you. Make a list of questions for that person ahead of time so you are sure to cover what you most want to know. If the person graduated more than a few years ago, some information might not be as current as you need, but you can still learn some important facts.
College visits and tours. While this topic will be discussed in greater depth later in this book, it is important to say at this point that college visits must be given the value that they deserve. Nothing makes a place come alive as much as visiting it. You can read about a university in every possible source, but you can't really know it until you visit it. That's when you can personally taste the cafeteria creations, hear the conversations in the student union and see the layout of the dorms in some of the residence halls. Go on a tour with your class, counselor, friends or family. The information you will gather is immeasurable.
College online virtual tours. While going to a college in person is the best option, it is not always possible for a variety of reasons. In that case, be sure to at least go to a college's website and check out its virtual tour. You can get a better idea of whether this is the kind of place that calls to you—or not.
Guidance counselors. These wonderful people can give you a lot of helpful information about individual colleges. They may have printed material, website suggestions, contact names and more. Just ask!
The school or local community library. While this book is a great source for finding out about schools that welcome B and C students, there are tons more books out there that list college options. Check them out and look up the schools in which you are most interested. You'll find out useful information that can help you in your decision making. Spend some time just browsing through these books. You may encounter some colleges that you have not heard of before but that are intriguing possibilities.
Current college students. Are there any students in your neighborhood or community already going to a college that interests you? Ask if you can meet for a snack and a chat and have all those questions you haven't been able to ask anyone else ready. Currently enrolled students are the real “been-there-done-that” experts. They will tell you the real truth about college life, not just what the writers of the college's marketing materials want you to know. If you can't find a college student in your area, go to the college and dialog with the students there. Can't get to the campus? Give the place a call and ask the admissions officer to connect you with some students.
Decoding college lingo 101. When you are reading college literature (and believe me, you will get a TON of it), look for key words that will tell you more about how they evaluate applications. For example, they may say that they do a “comprehensive” review of a student's application. Typically, this means they will look beyond the numbers to things like background, extracurricular activities, essays, interviews, recommendations and more. Check online to see if the colleges you are interested in list information about their admissions process online; it might give you some great insight into how they make their decisions.
Right from admissions itself. Skip the middle men and the media and go straight to the college's admissions office. Call and ask to speak with an admissions officer. Be honest. Explain your situation and ask what your chances of admission are or what you might be able to do to improve those chances. You might get some fantastic insider information (the legal kind!).
My biggest piece of advice is that there IS a school for everyone and you WILL be accepted. Remember, you have power over your own life. Get connected with knowledgeable people, invest in books like this one and in the Fiske's Guide and Princeton Review's 361 Best Colleges. Check out U.S. News & World Report's “A+ Schools for B Students.”
In your junior year, start making plans. Use the summer before your senior year the best way you can. Look for opportunities that open doors and windows for you—think big. If you can't find something, start your own. My son and his friends started a driveway sealing business and did great. Paint, mow lawns—show initiative. It will be a great topic for the essay you should be working on before summer ends.
When school starts again, take the most challenging curriculum you are capable of handling. If your school is small and does not offer the more advanced courses, look elsewhere: go online, take distance learning classes or check out the community college.
—Shirley Bloomquist, MA,College and Educational Counselor
Visit Colleges Sooner Rather than Later
Don't wait a moment longer to go and visit schools. Seeing is believing! Reading about a place in a book or online is fine for background information, but it is a visit that will give you the true feel of the college's atmosphere, attitudes and activities. (To find out what college tours are like, check out the website www.campustours.com).
Patrick O’Brien, former admissions officer and consultant-ambassador for the ACT, says, “The more opportunities to visit college campuses as a junior or in the first part of senior year, the better. And don't just go for the standard college tour of the campus and facilities. Check out the dorms and dorm life,” he advises. “Insist on visiting a class in a field of interest—it will show you how the college academic system really works.”
Try not to visit colleges during summer, however. As O’Brien says, “Never visit a campus when school is not in session; that's like visiting your high school on a weekend—dullsville.” Don't depend on Mom, Dad or your guidance counselor to contact the school for a tour either. Do it yourself; it shows that college that you have initiative.
When you go for a campus tour, take part of your college-finding team with you so that you can get their impressions of each place too. Don't spend your time exploring the things you can get from the school's website. Pretend you are an anthropologist from the future and study the place like we study primitive cultures today. Watch the students interact, check out the food sources, find out how the place accepts those from different ethnic, political or religious backgrounds, gays or married couples. Read the posters in the buildings and the bulletin boards in dorms. What announcements do they have? What are some of the upcoming events and activities? Do they have a choir, band or orchestra? How about a drama group? Hang out in the student union and see what goes on there. Is there a lot of diversity on the campus? Go by the bookstore and see what souvenirs you like. Check out the shopping area around the campus. Pick up a campus newspaper to read later.
Remembering all your impressions of the places you have seen will not be easy. After you have seen a couple of campuses, facts and opinions will begin to mesh and soon you will find yourself asking which college had that great library. Do you remember what campus had those huge trees and large green lawns? To prevent this from happening, make up a form to write down your thoughts as you tour a place. You can create
