Collegewise

January News for Friends and Family

The 2007 Collegewise Holiday Party

We don't need much to have a good time at Collegewise.  Just good friends, good food, and of course, Snoop Dogg* (doesn't everybody need a little more Snoop in their lives).

The Collegewise 2007 Holiday Party at The House of Blues on the Sunset Strip was a rousing success.   A total of 22 Collegewise employees and significant others attended which, as Kevin pointed out, may not seem like a lot of people if you work at Google who, at last count, had roughly 6,845 more employees and who-knows-how-many-more significant others than we have.  But Collegewise has experienced our own Google-like meteoric rise since the first holiday party which took place in 2001 with two employees in Kevin's living room.  So our little holiday party was pretty exciting for us.

*Yes, Snoop spells "Dogg" with two Gs. 

5 New Year's Resolutions Colleges Want You to Make

Lose weight?  Stop biting your nails?  Quit selling your little brother's possessions on Ebay?  Sure, you can make those resolutions (and your little brother will probably thank you).  But they won't help you get into college.  Here are five resolutions that colleges would love to see all future applicants make. 

1.  Learn what you love.

What's your favorite subject?  Who's your favorite teacher?  What subject would you like to know more about?  Students who have answers to those questions are engaged learners.  That's why colleges love high school students who enjoy learning new things both in and out of school.  They know it is those students who will ultimately thrive in the college community of learning.  So if you have a favorite class, make an effort to participate.  If you have a favorite teacher, make the most of that experience.  And if you want to learn more about anything from calculus to cooking, take a summer school course.  Always be on the lookout for what you would love to learn.

Well-diggers and punk rockers wanted

One of my students spent last summer in Indonesia, and boy, is she going places. She’s already been admitted to some of her favorite colleges, and it’s only January.

She spent her summer digging wells for fresh water, delivering medical supplies, helping to hang mosquito nets and playing soccer with the local kids on the island. Closer to home, she’s very active in the Invisible Children chapter at her high school, organizing protests, raising funds to purchase school supplies and participating in powerful demonstrations to raise awareness and inspire her classmates to help make a change.

Another one of my students is a punk-rock-loving drummer without a band. Instead of waiting for the drummer-less version of the next Ramones to come and find him, he decided to get involved with other aspects of the music, and now he is managing a band and building connections within the punk scene. He’s headed to college in the fall hoping to take classes in business management and audio recording.

Sierra Nevada College

Incline Village, NV

It’s not often that a Collegewise student comes to us with a college we’ve never heard of, but it happened this senior season—I had never heard of Sierra Nevada College. “Where is it?” I inquired. “You gotta see the website!” my student exclaimed. So, we checked it out together during our meeting…and Sierra Nevada College was pretty cool. On their website, it says they “learn on an incline,” like the mountains that surround the campus. “That’s so awesome!” we both exclaimed, and while he already knew he was going to apply, I knew that I wanted to know more about this small, liberal arts college located near Lake Tahoe.

When I clicked open the website’s homepage, I knew exactly what my student was talking about. The campus structure there looks just like a ski-lodge, which makes sense considering it is in the mountains. But it was amazing just how much this picture told; you really got the sense that Sierra Nevada College values its setting, and has built a college life for its students around its unique location. In fact, on another snippet of their website, they talk about how Lake Tahoe’s natural resources that surround the campus make the perfect laboratory for learning—I liked the sound of that, so I kept digging.

Let the wait begin

For the majority of current high school seniors, the college application process is finished.  Those who applied in the early round, especially early decision, already know where they are going to be come September.  Students who applied early action, and were accepted, at least know that they are going to college in September. 

You, too, can be a crazy fan!

We all know that Duke has some wonderfully crazy basketball fans.  There just aren't many places where students will camp out in tents (in the cold) to get tickets.  But as hard as it is for a Duke student to get a ticket to a Blue Devil basketball game, it's even harder for a high school student to get an acceptance letter from the Duke admissions office. 

Sports fans, however, can take heart.  Check out rivals.com's rankings of the 16 schools with the best home-court advantage (based, of course, on the fevered pitch of their fans).  Sure, there are some highly selective schools on the list like Duke and Notre Dame.  But there are also a lot of great schools where you'll need to be on the top of your game to get tickets, but needn't be at the top of your class to get accepted.  Check out the pictures of fans at schools like Wisconsin, Illinois, New Mexico, and perennial Collegewise cool school Gonzaga.  As their fans would say (scream), Go 'Zags!

Whatcha Doin' this Summer?

Sure, it seems like summer is eons away, and you're just gearing up for first semester finals, but have you put any thought into what you might be doing this summer? If not, you should.

For some kids, relaxing à la plage (at the beach) will be the way they fill the long days. But for saavier students, the summer days will be filled with activities, jobs, and maybe even an internship that will cause colleges to take notice. These are all types of things that colleges want to see on your applications, assuming these are things you want to be doing. Remember, there's no magic list of activities that will get you into college, but with a little bit of smart planning for your summers off, you'll be doing yourself a big favor come college application time.

There's Still Time to Give Thanks

Okay, so I’m a little bit behind in writing about giving thanks, but the important thing is that it’s not too late for current high school seniors to express their gratitude for those individuals who helped them out during the college application process.  We know that Mom and Dad probably deserve a new shirt/car/house with all the help they’ve given you and that you’ve already showered your lovely Collegewise counselor with praise and affection, but there are others that should not be forgotten.  As the articles mentioned below point out, a little thanks could go a long way.

New Year's Resolution #1

I visited In-N-Out Burger not once, but twice during the recent Collegewise holiday.  And I was struck by two things.  First, their grilled cheese is just delicious.  Second, every single employee at every In-N-Out Burger that I have ever visited seems so happy to be working there.   I don't know if it's the type of people they hire, the training they do, or the way they pump that delightful burger smell throughout the restaurant.  But those In-N-Out workers are some of the most friendly, effusive, engaged employees I've come across in just about any business.  And I think their pleasant disposition is a sincere one.  They like where they work and they like what they do.  They always make my In-N-Out experience that much more enjoyable.

So what does this have to do with college?