Friday Fun Facts

Just about every college town has a favorite restaurant, that local place where everyone loves to eat. So if you're headed to one of these colleges over spring break, be sure to check out the local haunts. It's a great way to get a taste of the campus culture and much better than eating a chain restaurant or coffee shop.

I'm not sure what I think about video college essays, but I can see how they might benefit some students.  Find out how Goucher College is using the video essay.

It's almost that time for college graduations to begin, so it's fun to check out who the commencement speakers will be.  I'm a big fan of author Julia Alvarez, so I wouldn't mind be at Middlebury this spring to hear her speak; then again, I'm a Robert Redford fan too (perhaps you have to be closer to my age!) so spring would be a lovely time to be at Colby College as well.

You're on a waiting list. What's next?

You've waited for months for an admissions decision, and then you find out that's it's neither a yes or a no.  You've been put on a waiting list.  We like to say that is kind of like being in purgatory because you're neither in nor out. You're in limbo.

You can decide to remain on the waiting list, or you can decide to move on to your other options. After the sting and frustration wears off, you need to consider whether or not you truly want to attend that school.  If you still feel strongly about it, then by all means, ask the school to keep you on their list, but don't just leave it at that.  Make an appointment with your college counselor to see if there is anything else you can do.  The two of you can develop a new plan that might include a personal letter from you to your admissions counselor, an extra phone call or email from your college counselor, or perhaps even another campus visit.

Now that you have that plan in place, it's time to look at your other options.  There is a very strong chance you will not hear back until after the Common Reply Date of May 1, so you will have to accept another offer,  Yes, that means you may lose the deposit you put down, so you and your parents need to consider that carefully.  

Another option is to just move on with your life.  Perhaps it would be better if you turned your attention and energy toward a school that accepted you.  That way you can go ahead and find your roommate, schedule your classes, and begin your new life as a college freshman.  If you choose this path, don't look back. Don't wonder what if.  Just make the most of the opportunities that are waiting for you.

Something tells me you won't be sorry.

Military Academies

If you are interested in attending one of the military service academies, you should consider attending the annual Military Service Academy Day, sponsored by Congressman Chuck Fleischmann.  The event will be held on Saturday, April 11 at UTC (University Center - Chattanooga Room) from 10-11:00am.  Academy representatives will be available to speak to student until noon.

Representatives from the US Air Force Academy, West Point, US Naval Academy, US Merchant Marine Academy and the US Coast Guard Academy will be present.  Students and parents are welcome.

How to Survive the Madness

As my seniors - and their parents - wait for those last admissions decisions, please take a minute and read How To Survive the College Madness from Sunday's New York Times.  The college you attend does not and never will define your worth as a human being,

And for all the underclassmen that have yet to run through the college application gauntlet, take a deep breath and understand that there are many, many paths to get you where you want to go.  If the name of your college is that important to you, then perhaps you are going in the wrong direction.

Outstanding Medical Summer Opportunitites

We have received information regarding two outstanding summer opportunities for students interested in a medical career.

1.  Erlanger Hospital's 2015 VolunTEEN Summer Program is for high school students between the ages of 15 and 18.  Applicants will have the option to choose their skills, interests, and career goals, choose shift days and times, and choose to serve in June, July or both months.

You will need to write an essay explaining why you want to be a VolunTEEN and a recommendation is also required.  Please see Mrs. Haley in the college office for the complete application and talk to either Mrs. Goldbach or Ms. McCarter regarding the recommendation.

Applications are due no later than noon on Wednesday, April 22.

2.  Sponsored by the Chattanooga & Hamilton County Medical Society the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga, and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, the 2015 Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine is open to rising juniors and seniors.  The program will be held June 1-4.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please see Mrs. Haley for more information/the application. Applications are due by Friday, April 17.  Note: I believe this one is a little more selective.

Cool Summer Program for Architecture

Have you ever wondered if you could be an architect?  Tulane University in New Orleans is offering a program called Career Explorations in Architecture from July 12 - July 31 that will help you explore the creative process, unique blend of visual orientation, academic investigation, and professional training that forms an architectural education.  Lectures, field trips, discussions, critiques, and other activities during the four-hour daily class session will be supplemented by regular design exercises to be completed outside class time.  The historic architecture of New Orleans is an excellent backdrop to this experience.

For more information, go to architecture.tulane.edu/career-explorations.

The Quiet Period

At my high school, the admissions office has what is called the quiet period.  Rather antiquated, it is a brief time when the private schools in the area give all their applicants and families a break from the admissions frenzy.  For my seniors however, the quiet period is simply a time to wait for that admission email or letter (believe it or not, some colleges still send letters the old-fashioned way) that tells them they're in or they're out.  Yes, no, or in some cases, maybe. With only a few more weeks to go, they are nearing the end of a long and often arduous process.

Because we're nearing the end of the college quiet period, some of my students are understandably anxious and tense.  For them, their future is riding on a decision that is being made in some far off room, and despite what anyone tells them, it feels extraordinarily personal.  It isn't, we tell them, but it sure does feel like it.

Recently a senior who has already been denied at her first choice school, talked about how embarrassing it is to have to tell her family, friends, and teachers the news.  It's almost, she said, as if she's letting them down in some way.  She has other great college choices, but although she's trying not to show it, this one hurts.  It most definitely feels personal to her.  Another girl was accepted at one of her top schools, but she learned she will not get any money from them, so now it's off the table.  To be fair, a big scholarship was a long shot at best, but she too can't help but feel like it's very personal.

All I can do can do is listen.  All I can do is acknowledge, that yes, it hurts.  I can, and I do tell them that they will be okay.  The hurt and embarrassment will pass.  They will still accomplish their goals, I say, they just will take a different path to get there.  And more likely than not, the path they end up taking will be the more interesting choice.  It might take them places they never thought they'd go.

This waiting period for high school seniors is a tough exercise in patience.  I wish I could make it better, we all do.  I just want them to understand, to believe that they are wonderful young women who have so much to offer the world.  Of this I am sure.  Right now, all any of us can do is wait, and in the meantime, it is very, very quiet.