College Visits:
College Open House/Information Sessions:
Bridgewater State University
Office of Undergraduate Admission
45 Plymouth Street
Bridgewater,
MA 02325
College of Education & Allied Studies
Saturday, October 27, 2018, 9AM to 1PM
Ricciardi College of Business & Bartlett College of Science
and Mathematics
Saturday, November 3, 2018, 9AM to 1PM
UMass
Dartmouth
Fall Open
House Sunday, November 4 at 9am
285 Old
Westport Road, Darmouth, MA 02747
RSVP
umassd.edu/openhouse
Western
New England
Fall Open
House Sun 11/4, Sat 12/1, and Sun 3/10
1215
Wilbraham Rd, Springfield, MA 01119
Register
at: WNE.edu/visit or call 413-1321
Stonehill
College
Fall Open
House Saturday, 11/10
320
Washington Street, Easton MA 02357
Emerson
College
Fall Open
House Saturday, 10/27 and Saturday, 11/10
120
Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116
RSVP at
www.emerson.edu/ugvisit
Special Programs
Bryant
University Sales Discovery Program
Compete in the
Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition, and see how you match up against
opponents from the top schools in the Northeast!
Put your skills to the test in this tournament-style competition. Compete for cash prizes, receive individualized feedback and coaching from experienced sales professionals, attend skill and leadership building sessions, network and explore potential internship and job opportunities!
Event
Timing: Saturday, December 8, 2018, 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM
Event Address: 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI AIC Forum
Contact us at 401-232-6000 ext. 20922; lgarrone@bryant.edu
Event Address: 1150 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI AIC Forum
Contact us at 401-232-6000 ext. 20922; lgarrone@bryant.edu
Lindsay
Garrone, Sales Program Logistics Coordinator
Register here: Register Your Team!
Henry David Thoreau
Scholarship for MA high school seniors
Win
up to 20K tuition scholarship for Environmental Studies.
Submit
an online application by 2/1 of your senior year via
Seton Hall’s sustainable
development challenge
1st
place winner $2500 cash plus 10K scholarship to attend Seton Hall University
2nd
place winner $1000 cash prize plus 6K scholarship to attend Seton Hall
University
300-500
word statement that describes an innovative approach or idea you have for
addressing one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
All
submissions must be received by Sunday, March 3, 2019
Blog Thoughts
THE COACH’S GUIDE TO COLLEGE ADMISSION
A few months ago I
wrote about no longer coaching my son’s soccer team. This fall I have moved
on from that 9 year-old boys’ team to my daughter’s 7 year-old squad. Let’s
just say it’s been… a transition. The 9 year-olds, especially in those last few
seasons, had really developed their skills and understanding of the game. We
had progressed to using phrases like “check,” “square,” and “drop.” When they
came to practice, they would (generally) listen, execute the drills, and
understand what I was instructing them to do.
It did not take me
long to remember what it’s like coaching 7 year-olds. In the first practice,
one girl literally fell to the ground when I said, “drop” (I’m not sure what
she would have “checked” had I used that term). When I asked them to
stand five yards apart and work on two-touch passing, I got a few blank stares
combined with distances that left me wondering if it was their understanding of
“five” or “yards” we needed to work on.
And then we had our
first game. It felt like trying to verbally control Foosball players. I found
myself calling out from the sideline, “Now you kick it to her, then you kick it
to her, and…” Yeah. It didn’t work. On the ride home I realized I needed to
re-think my approach and expectations. I decided on three simple
priorities for the season: stay “jump rope” distance apart; dribble—don’t kick;
and encourage each other.
If you are a parent
(or “coach”) in the college admission “season,” I think these goals (pun
intended) apply to you as well.
Jump Rope Distance
Clearly, the kids
needed to see what five yards looks like, so I brought a jump rope to our next
practice and had them take turns stretching it out and holding it. We talked
about that being an appropriate separation to keep while you are on the field.
At that distance, you can pass to each other and help each other defend.
Maintaining that length keeps you from bumping into each other or knocking each
other over while trying to get the ball.
As a parent in this
process, you are a coach—not a player. You are a parent—not an applicant.
Sometimes you may need to go for a walk or drive to re-examine your game plan
and check-in: have you recently said something like, “We are taking
the SAT next weekend,” or “Our first choice is Purdue”? We have all
winced while watching through the slits in our fingers as a coach forgets their
role and runs out onto the field, attempting to play for the team. Don’t
be that coach! This means asking questions about college essays and
making helpful edits or suggestions—not re-writing them with words like
“lugubrious” or “obsequious.” This means backing away when you are at a college
visit and letting your son or daughter ask their questions of a tour guide or
an admission counselor. In a short year or two, they will be on a college
campus. They will need to be able to advocate and navigate for themselves. Are
you coaching them to be ready for that?
In a recent Washington Post article, Scott
Lutostanski discusses executive function skills, which include organization,
time management, and planning. He asserts parents need to be disciplined and
cognizant of taking opportunities to empower their kids to grow and develop in
these areas. Searching for, applying to, getting in, getting disappointed, and
ultimately deciding upon a college are all opportunities to help your student
enhance these invaluable skills. Don’t steal the ball. Remember: Jump rope
distance.
Dribble—don’t kick.
In practice, I let
them simply kick and run after the ball. When they did that, the ball often
went out-of-bounds or a defensive player quickly took it away. They realized
they were out of control and ineffective. Since then we’ve been focused on
dribbling—keeping the ball close so they can cut or change direction when
necessary. As a parent/coach, that’s your job too. The college admission process
is not Foosball where you simply turn the rod and control the players or the
game. You cannot control admission decisions. You cannot control merit
scholarships or financial aid packages. You cannot control the competition in
any given applicant pool. Slow the game down. Keep perspective. One play at a
time. One game at a time. Dribbling allows your team to keep things close and
make choices, adjustments, and intentional decisions when the unexpected or
uncontrollable happens. Dribble—don’t kick.
Encourage Each Other!
Most of the girls on
our team have yet to score a goal. We have made it clear that success is not
about scoring. Winning looks different for each one of our
players. For some it is making a good pass, while for others it is performing a
new dribbling move, or using their non-dominant foot to trap the ball. One of
the most gratifying parts of the season has been listening to the players on
the bench cheering for their teammates. Some of the loudest celebrations have
come after a teammate makes a “jump rope” pass. The entire bench starts
chanting “jump rope, jump rope!”
What is winning for your
daughter or son in their college experience? Not where, coach (and
not what you want!). What do they want
to study? What kind of faculty and students do they want to be
around? What part of your state, region, or country are they excited
about spending their colleges years in? Keep asking them these
questions.
I hope you will not
make winning about getting in to a particular college. Coach
so your son or daughter doesn’t feel like your expectation, love, and approval
is tied up in getting in (read: scoring), but rather that your
joy is in seeing them find multiple colleges that match their goals. Winning is
finding affordable financial options everyone is excited about. Winning is
staying connected and supporting your son or daughter—holding them up and
celebrating them, rather than achieving a particular outcome.
Game Plan
In documentaries or
press conferences, players do not talk about how the coach got them to something
(titles, awards, etc.) but how they got them as a person—they
built trust, believed in them, and encouraged them relentlessly. Similarly, in
retirement speeches, coaches rarely mention championships or trophies, but
rather define success by their bond with players. It’s going to be a
great season. Go get ‘em, coach!
How to Write
Admission Essays Easily!
Admission essays are the one thing everyone dreads, but also wants to nail in their college applications.They are the most challenging part of the entire application process and students – even the smart and creative ones – often get stumped.
If you’re in that list, then you’ve come to
the right place: here is a four-phase guide to make your essay stand out!
Phase
one: Pre-Essay Preparation.
You may think you can easily write your
application essay because you have been writing academic essays all your life
but you’re wrong. Academic essays include an introduction, a thesis statement
followed by a few paragraphs of elaboration and evidence to support it, and
then comes a conclusion to tie everything together. Admission essays are a
completely different story.
They are personal, and involve a great deal of
creativity. In order to be able to write naturally, practice writing before you
start working on your essay.
·
Write a paragraph a
day – this will get the creative juices flowing and set the right flow for
writing.
·
Read sample essays
before you write your own. This could be your friends’ application essays or
online samples , but familiarize yourself with how you’re expected to write.
·
Make notes from your
samples. If you liked the way one started, jot that down. Write anything you
like or notice, so later you can incorporate that in your essay.
Phase 2: Brainstorming.
This is the most important thing, second only
to writing the essay itself. And it involves a lot more thinking than you may
have imagined.
·
Let the prompt sink
in. All college essays generally ask you a question, or give you one or two
main ideas to focus on. While they may not seem challenging, don’t trivialize
them. It is easy for students to get lost and forget that their essay is
supposed to revolve around the cues given. Your essay isn’t an autobiography.
·
Read the prompt
multiple times to make sure it is embedded deep in your brain and comes up
every time you think about your application.
·
Reflect. Next step is
to think about what you’re going to write, and write down any and everything
that comes to your mind. Don’t worry about what fits and what is causing
conflicts, just write the points down for now. Give yourself a day or two for
this. Take your time to seriously THINK about what you’re going to write.
·
Narrow down what
points you’re going to use from the ones you wrote down earlier. This prevents
your essay from digressing.
Phase Three: Writing the essay.
Now that you’ve thought a great deal about
your essay, it is time to finally write it down.
·
Create a layout first.
Your essay needs blueprints too! Have a strategic plan to organize all the
information you have accumulated.
·
Know which story to
choose. Make sure the anecdote is fun to read and interesting, but also enables
you to analyze in the end. The examiner is more interested in your
self-reflection, rather than the story. Afterall the whole point of the essay
is to make sure your examiner gets to know you. And that cannot be done by
reading about an experience; it is done by what that experience made you feel.
·
Be succinct. If you
can write something in ten words, don’t beat about the bush and write it in
fifty. Make your sentences short and effective.
·
Do not digress! In
your layout, decide a key idea to make your essay revolve around. Start with
that key point, and stick to it. Don’t get lost in telling tales.
·
Be yourself. Write as
naturally as you can. Like how you would actually talk, except with better
vocabulary perhaps.
Phase four: Proof read.
This step is not skippable. It is just as
crucial as your essay and can make or break it.
·
Let your essay sit for
a while. Don’t just write it and then proof read. Walk away, and come back at
least two hours later with a refreshed mind.
·
Let your friends read
it. Get other people’s opinions too. They may give you a new perspective that
you hadn’t thought of. This will improve your essay.
·
Check for consistency.
See if the tone is the same throughout your essay. The tenses should not switch
by the second half of your essay.
Conclusion
After reading all of this, one thing is
crystal clear: good admission essays take time. They are an entire process, not
just a mere assignment. You cannot write your essay one night before the
deadline and send it in. Take your time and put in all the effort you need to,
to nail your college application with this essay!
If you’re applying for college, you will have
a couple of friends doing the same thing. Share these tips with your friends to
help them out with their essays, so perhaps you can end up in the same
university like you had always dreamed of!
