College Workshop Series #2 College Search and Admission: Paul Weber, Executive Assistant for Guidance Massapequa Public Schools Observations, Advice, and a Starting Point for Conversations…

A Secret Process???

“Finding Your Passion” “You have six months to find one” Explore interests Learn about yourself Focus on select activities

“Jack of All Trades, Master of None” “Depth of Commitment” VS. Leadership Time spent in activity Initiative

“Capacity to Contribute” Will you become an integral part of the campus community???

“Demonstrated Interest” 2010 Survey - Factors that are considered important (by percentage of Admissions Officers) are shown in the following table. o Grades in college prep courses 83% o Strength of curriculum 66% o Admission test scores (SAT, ACT) 59% o Grades in all courses 46% o Essay 27% o Student’s demonstrated interest 23% o Counselor recommendation 19% o Teacher recommendation 19% o Subject test scores (AP, IB) 10% o Interview 9% o Extracurricular activities 7% o Portfolio 6% o SAT II scores 5% o State graduation exam scores 4% o Work 2%

“Yield” and College Rankings The percentage of accepted students who enroll Harvard Class of 2015 – 75.9% yield rate!

“Freshman Retention Rate” A telltale indicator 2013 Averages: 2-Year Community Colleges: 54.9% 4-Year Private Colleges and Universities: 74.4% 4-Year Public Colleges and Universities: 72.3% National Avg. For All Schools: 67.6% nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator

“Relationships” The Common Denominator Counselor, Teachers, Coaches, Administrators… Why??? More personal letters of recommendation More specific advice and guidance with deeper knowledge of student Student more likely to show social confidence and maturity in the application process Connection to school community revealed Networking

“Responsibility and Independence”

Notebook on Specific Colleges Increased applications to: U. of Colorado (33% increase in one year!) Colorado State University U. of Washington Common theme here? Colleges with significantly increased selectivity in the past 2 years: Marist College Northeastern Universit

Notebook on Specific Colleges State Universities with increased out-of-state focus U. of Alabama West Virginia University Pennsylvania State System (East Stroudsburg, Bloomsburg, California U. of PA, Kutztown, Shippensburg, etc.) Small, private college looking to increase Long Island enrollment: Hobart and William Smith Colleges

College Admission Trends Population 10% reduction in college age population on east coast over the next decade or so…Challenge for public colleges in east. Financing College Students attending first choice college lowest in 4 decades!...Challenge for private colleges to lower tuition and/or provide greater scholarships/grants. Applying early Early Action and Early Decision programs – Statistically significant advantage to doing so when student meets the GPA/SAT avg. and above.

Naviance Family Connection o College search o Career interest inventories and personality assessments o Massapequa specific admissions data o Scholarship search o Enrichment program links o communication o Electronic submission of college application materials A fantastic resource! Coming to a computer near you in early December ***Individual access codes parents to be mailed home in December

ROADTRIP NATION INTERVIEW ARCHIVE

During the next 12 Months… Find your passions Reveal your commitment Demonstrate your interest Build relationships Research your future

MSD Guidance Department Paul Weber, Executive Assistant for Guidance “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” - Yeats