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Julie Shields-Rutyna: [00:00:00] All right, so we’re, we have a recording and um, you’ll receive a link to that in the slides tomorrow in case you need to leave or if you also, if you want to share that with others. So we’ll go from there.

All right, I’ll tell you a little bit about MEFA. MEFA is a state authority. We were created in 1982 with the mission of helping families plan, save, and pay for college and we do the same thing today. So we have savings plans. We have savings plans. You may have heard of the 5 29 plan, the U fund and we have the U plan prepaid tuition plan.

We also have low cost loans for families who need that type of financing outside of the financial aid offer. Other than that, everything we do is help families at whatever stage you’re at, plan, and, um, that’s what we’re doing this evening. So I hope you will come back [00:01:00] often during this time and look at our website.

We have a podcast, uh, we have emails. We have lots of ways that you can connect with MEFA and stay very informed and up to date about everything to do with college admissions and financing. So tonight, we’re going to focus on the admissions part, and we’re going to talk about current trends, we’re going to talk about how a student will build their college list, and then we’ll also talk about campus visits, the application process.

And we’ll touch upon financial aid at the end, but I will encourage you to attend another webinar that is completely about financial aid, because that’s a whole topic in and of itself. So I encourage you to join that as well. So let’s talk about some of the trends, um, but before, before I do, I am going to look at the, um, question and answer again, and just [00:02:00] make sure everyone, no one is communicating with.

Is anything wrong? Wonderful. So yes, let’s talk about some of those trends. So one trend is that over the years, it seems that students apply to a greater number of colleges. And we just, we see that trend continue every year. And part of the reason for that is that, uh, college is competitive, and students really want to make sure that they have options and choices in the spring of their senior year.

So, you’ll see that, and you may see that your students school. Counselors may be encouraging them to apply to, you know, a couple more schools than maybe they, they originally planned, um, but I would encourage students to only apply to colleges that they really want to go to, um, because of, because students are applying to a number of colleges.

Sometimes I see students just at a college here or there, [00:03:00] even though they don’t really think that they would like to attend. So don’t waste that list. So students should, um, really, you know, apply to a good number of schools that they would like to attend. Um, and then, because students are applying to more colleges, though, that makes demonstrated interest a factor.

And what is that? That just means that, uh, in the past, when students applied to fewer colleges, a college could count on the fact that if a student submitted an application to that college that the student really wanted to attend that college. But now colleges know that students do add colleges to their list and you know, they may or may not really want to attend.

And so what colleges sort of look for to try to determine that is, has this, has the student really demonstrated any interest besides just submitting an application? Have they attended an information center? Session. Have [00:04:00] they visited the college? Have they called us and asked some questions? Have they interacted with us on social media?

So it’s a it’s a good idea for students to uh, connect with a college that they’re interested in and that they’re applying to. Some colleges won’t pay any attention to that demonstrated interest. But others will. Um, another trend is that social media is now a great way for students to connect to colleges.

They can learn a lot about what’s, you know, what colleges are posting on their social media accounts. It’s really a nice connector. So that’s a positive. Um, but one thing to just be wary of is that colleges can look at student social media profiles as well. So it’s a good idea for students to have those profiles, um, be aware of what’s going on.

Such that they would be happy to have a future employer, a future college, all of that see their social media profile online. [00:05:00] Cost continues to be a very big factor, um, and in some ways that’s a good thing. When a student and a family are deciding on a college for a student, there be lots of ways that decision is going to be made.

But cost should be a factor, because you want to make sure you choose, um, An affordable college, as well as one that meets all of your other needs, um, during the pandemic colleges. really changed the way they do business. And instead of having students come and visit college, they had online virtual tours and information sessions and more ways to interact virtually.

And then they kept them. So that’s really nice for students in that, um, you’ll see I’m still going to encourage students to, you know, go visit a campus or interact in many ways with, um, with people on a college campus, but they can also do a lot [00:06:00] virtually, which is very, very helpful, especially if students are interested in colleges that aren’t close by where they live.

Um, there are more test optional colleges, meaning that many colleges don’t require a standardized test like the SAT or ACT. Um, so students should be aware of that. Um, and because of that, that has made, uh, More applications come in to test optional schools, resulting in more selectivity, so that’s why students should know this process is competitive, colleges are selective, um, a nice reason to put together that nice list so that they will be left with options and choices, um, and sometimes that even means longer wait lists, and we’ll talk about what that, what that means.

So if I can encourage a few things, the first would be to stay organized with this process and find a system that works for [00:07:00] you. MEFA has an application manager that you can download and use, but you can also just set up a simple spreadsheet or something in your phone or however, however you like to organize things.

Um, and I know students have all kinds of ways to do that, but it’s a really good idea to keep track of all the colleges you’re interested in. and what their admissions deadlines are, financial aid deadlines, do they require a standardized test, any notes, um, you think you’re going to remember everything but this process can get a little bit overwhelming so make sure you stay organized with it and you don’t want to miss any deadlines.

But the fun part It can be this beginning stage where you as the student can really begin to research different colleges and actually a good place to start sometimes is right online before you really get out there and visit college campuses. And here are some websites, uh, College Navigator and [00:08:00] College Scorecard, um, as well as Big Future from the College Board and MEFA Pathway from MEFA.

Um, ways that you can go in and put in information about who you, the student are, and then it will scan through a list and, and present to you colleges that meet what you are saying you’d like. I would like to go to college in Massachusetts. I would like to go to college in New England. Um, I would like to look at colleges all over the whole country.

I’m, I’m interested in engineering. I’m hoping to play soccer. You know, all of these things you can put into these searches and then start to review colleges that may be a good match for you. And you can see over to the right, um, that these You know, these searches will also give you lots of information.

So this is UMass Boston, and it will tell you what the average annual [00:09:00] cost is, the graduation rate, the median earnings of graduates, all of that. So this is just a start, but to get you, get you going on the college search. And then you want to think about all of these factors when you’re considering Where you want to go to college.

So number one, institution size and location. And again, you may not know that as a junior in high school or senior in high school. Um, but that’s something you want to be thinking about. And maybe when you visit a couple of colleges, you start to get a sense of you want a really large institution where.

The whole time you’re in college, you probably won’t meet everyone there and you’ll keep meeting new people. Or some students might like an institution where they really do get to know, um, the college and over time it becomes smaller and it feels almost like a family. Um, so those are, [00:10:00] um. You know, factors that you can consider when you start looking and comparing different colleges.

And do you want to be in a city? Do you want to be in a more rural area? Those are things that you can get from asking a lot of questions and visiting a campus. Above all, you want to have a good academic fit. And what does that mean? That means you want to go to college probably with students who study like you do and who get the type of grades that you do.

And you can tell that by By colleges have a profile of the last incoming class and they can tell you about their GPA and their standardized test scores if they collected those. And you can get a sense also from visiting campus, talking to students on the campus about how will you, will you fit in academically.

Of course you want to challenge yourself, but you want to be successful too. So you want to make sure you’re a good academic fit. [00:11:00] And you definitely want to make sure that the college has your intended major. So if you want to be an engineer, you need to make sure that the college has an engineering program.

Um, many, many students don’t have an intended major and going to college open, with an open mind, and that’s fine. Um, and you can do that, you have more choices that way. But if you do have an intended major, you know, nursing, um, theater, then you really want to look at those specific programs. You also want to think about maybe your learning style and how that’s worked for you in high school.

And that can kind of sometimes even play into institution size. You know, do you like to be in a setting where maybe you’d be in a large lecture and you’d take it all in, take notes, and go home to your room and study? Is that maybe Maybe what works for you, or do you like to be in a small classroom where there’s conversation among 10 to 15 [00:12:00] students every class?

You might know some of that from high school. So those are things you could find out by getting to know colleges a little bit better. And then you want to think about the campus culture, you know. Is it a college that has a huge athletic program? Is there a football game every Saturday in the fall? And do you love that?

Do you love that the whole student body comes out and really supports that? Or would you like to be at a college where you can go hiking? Because it’s, you know, in an area where there’s a lot of that available. Or would you like other arts? Do you, do you want? A place where there’s a lot of music, maybe in a certain city or town.

So, think about that campus culture, and again, ask questions of current students. And then, most colleges, I’ve visited so many colleges, and most colleges have a wide range of activities. Have study abroad programs, have career and internship [00:13:00] services. So, um, you’re gonna find those most places. But, if you have special interests in any of, any certain activities, or if you know you want to study abroad, um, yeah, look into those and ask questions about those on campuses too.

And again, I mentioned this, you do want to make sure it’s affordable, so you definitely want to, um, learn about financial aid up front as well.

So, anyone can visit a college campus at any time, and we really encourage students and parents to go and visit campuses, go to a sporting event, go to a theater production, a dance production, um, you know, a musical production, walk around a campus, see what the students seem happy, are they having fun, that’s great.

Thank you. A really good way just to, um, you know, begin to think about college. But once you get to [00:14:00] be a junior in high school, you really should go on some formal visits. And that means by formal, letting the admissions office know that you’re there. You can usually sign up online on the admissions website or call.

And when you’re there, you probably want to take a tour. Um, or attend an information session and learn as much as you can. Um, during a tour they’re going to take you to the dining hall. They’re going to take you to see maybe a dorm. Um, they’ll take you to some classrooms. And, um, you will, once you begin to do that from one college to the next, you’ll really begin to start to see what you like about some schools better than, than others.

And that’s really, that can, you can make a, that can be really fun.

I’ll look at the Q& A.[00:15:00]

So I have a question here that’s a really good one. And I have to think about the answer. Can you recommend a know thyself questionnaire for college applicants? Um, you know, I, I, I have to think about that. And I will see what I can find and maybe send it out when I send the follow up. But one thing I would say is Um, for students to think about what they are like as a student.

What, what classes do they like best? Why do they like those classes? What do they like to read? What activities do they like to do with their friends? Um, And then I’m going to show you a list of essay questions, uh, or essay prompts in a little bit. And those might get students thinking as well. Because that exercise of knowing thyself is really important.

So I’m glad you brought that up.[00:16:00]

Alright, another place you can get to know some colleges is through a college fair. So there are two big organizations, NACAC and NEACAC, that have college fairs all over the country. You can go to those websites. And NACAC has the Boston National College Fair. This year it’s going to be in March at the convention center in Boston.

And NEACAC has Smaller fairs all around so check that out. You can sign up and Check out which colleges are going to be there beforehand. It’s it’s usually hundreds and that way maybe you can Circle the colleges you want to make sure to talk to and it’s such a great chance to be able to talk to colleges from all over the country because you can’t be visiting everywhere, but that helps you narrow down the colleges.

You really want to apply to. There’s sometimes information sessions at these fairs as [00:17:00] well. You’ll talk to representatives from many colleges. It really is a great way to continue to learn about And then eventually you will have to decide where am I going to apply and we call that sort of the final list of colleges you’re going to apply to when you’re a senior, and we say that you should apply to a number of colleges where it’s likely that you will be admitted.

And what does that mean? That means that when you look at the profile of current students, you seem to fit that profile of grades and test scores. If that’s, you know, and when you go to visit the college or you talk with the admissions folks, they seem to think that you really fit that profile. Um, so, likely, you want to apply to many schools that you’re likely to be admitted to.

That’s going to leave you choices and [00:18:00] options. But, I mentioned that this is a competitive process. It’s something Colleges are very selective, they are small, and they bring in students from all over the world or all over the country, so it can’t always be likely. So then you want to apply to some colleges where it’s possible you’ll get admitted.

And that means you basically fit the profile, um, but You know, it’s a very competitive college, so it’s possible that, that you’ll get in. And, you may fall in love with some schools that are very, very competitive. I would say this about all of the Ivy Leagues and that elite group of colleges that compete with the Ivy Leagues.

It’s a reach for everyone. I mean, you could have perfect test scores and, uh, perfect grades and have done many wonderful things in high school and still just not be admitted. In a given year, just because of the number of applications and the fact that colleges take so many students from all over the world [00:19:00] and they only take, you know, a small number for a freshman class sometimes.

So that can mean that those type of colleges are a reach for everyone. But you should still, you know, if you really love a college, that is one of those very, um, demanding colleges, you should still apply, but just make sure you have the likely and the possible colleges on your list as well. And let’s talk about the, the different college application types.

So regular decision, that means that usually your college application is due in early January. The college will let you know an admissions decision in March or April, and then on May 1st, that’s National College Decision Day, you have to let the college know that I’m going to come here, I’m not going to come here.

That’s the day you let people know. However, many colleges now [00:20:00] have early admissions programs too. And the first type is early action. That just means that you can apply early, either November, December, and May. The college will send you your admissions award earlier, um, and then you still don’t have to let them know until May 1st, if you’re for sure coming or not.

But there’s something also called early decision, and those are early decisions. You send in your applications November and December, and the college will let you know soon after that. Maybe sometimes in December, January, but that’s special. That’s a binding agreement. When you apply early decision to a college, what you’re saying to that college is, if you admit me, I will attend.

You’re sort of making a promise upfront. So what I would say has to be in place to apply early decision is that you have to know far and [00:21:00] above this one college is your favorite above all the others. And. If you are admitted, you will attend, and that means you’re promising to withdraw all of your other applications if you’re admitted to that college, and so what that also means is you don’t get to hear back from the other colleges, um, about their admissions decisions or about their financial aid.

So that’s tricky. So you really have to know if you are applying early decision. Yes, I want to go here. And yes, I’ve done the research. I’ve talked to people in the financial aid office. I’ve done some calculators. And I believe to the best of what I can find out right now that we can afford this. So, early decision’s a little tricky.

Uh, the positive of early decision can be that demonstrated interest I talked about. When you’re saying that to a college, they know you’re interested. And when you’re saying you want to apply early decision. So, that can be helpful on the [00:22:00] admissions side. But, You really are not going to be able to compare financial aid offers among all of the institutions, and then there’s rolling admission, and that just means a college opens up the admissions process, and you can apply any time between November and May.

I would say if you know you’re going to apply to that college, apply the earlier, the better, just also for financial aid purposes, just if they have institutional monies that they’re awarding, um, that could run out at some point. Um, so That’s what I would say about rolling admissions and then open admission.

That’s, for example, like the community college system. So, the community colleges admit most students for most programs anytime. Um, it doesn’t mean all programs. There still are some programs, such as nursing, I know is one that comes to mind, that they have limited slots. And so, it doesn’t mean that every student can get into a nursing program [00:23:00] at a community college.

But, most students can. can get into most programs, um, all the time. And so, um, that, that is great. Um, one other caveat I’ll say is now that community college is free tuition and fees free in Massachusetts for everyone, which is wonderful. Uh, there are more students going to community college. So, um, I don’t know if that will mean at some point.

Um, that, you know, students will have a harder time getting into certain programs. Um, so, but for now, what I, what I said is still correct, but just know that, that, um, more and more students are applying to community colleges because of that wonderful financial benefit.[00:24:00]

So I have a question about early decision. Could college deny me later, even when I inform them that I’m interested? Um, I guess I don’t You might have to follow up and tell me a little more. In other words, when you apply early decision, you are saying that if you admit me, I will come, I will attend. Um, and so then if a college admits you, then, then you need to, you know, you probably need to go to that college.

Um, they wouldn’t, so I don’t, I guess you need to follow up a little bit more and tell me a little bit more. I think I’m not understanding your question fully. Okay. Thanks for that one. And I’ll come back.

All right. And then colleges, you will go to the admissions [00:25:00] Part of the college website and on that that college website they will tell you what you need to do for admissions and they will tell you this is the application form we use and Many times that’s going to be the common app that’s a very common college application and that’s you fill that out once and then you Send it to all of the different colleges.

So, um, that’s a nice benefit that you can do the same is with the universal college app. You can fill that out once and send it to the colleges that take that application. Then there’s something called the coalition app. Similar. Um, sometimes colleges might take two different types. You could choose. So, um, those are three of the common type of applications that you can then send to many colleges at once, which is helpful because you’re only filling out the application once.

Uh, some colleges will just use an application [00:26:00] that’s on their website. And sometimes, especially these community colleges, we were just speaking about sometimes they might have a paper application. The common app opens on. August 1st. So you can start going in and completing that. And I think some of the others, too, as early as August, but then you make sure you send it to the colleges by their admissions deadline.

And then here are some of the other components to an application. So, And it might vary, this varies from college to college, and that’s why you want to keep that organized spreadsheet. So, they’re all going to have some type of application form, like the ones we just mentioned. Um, they’re all going to ask for your high school transcript.

Super important. If they require a standardized test, they will ask for your test scores. But again, we mentioned many are test optional or test blind these days, so you won’t need to send that to all [00:27:00] colleges. Many will ask for letters of recommendation between one and three. Many will ask for an activity list or resume.

And for example, on the common app. They ask you to put all of your activities in there, so that’s one nice way that, that goes to all the colleges. Many ask for a personal essay. And then the last three, uh, very few colleges ask for the last three. Um, The next one is an interview. Now, some colleges ask for an interview, and if a college asks for an interview, then you need to, you need to do that interview, but many colleges don’t do interviews, uh, so you won’t see that with every college.

And then, say an audition or portfolio, that’s usually when you’re applying to a specialized type of a program, like a music program, um, or a design, [00:28:00] an art and design program. So you won’t see that always. So what are colleges looking for when they’re going to admit you? So the first thing they’re looking for is rigor.

They’re looking at, are you ready to come to this college and be successful? I mean, that’s the most important thing that they want. They want to see That you’re going to come to the college and you are going to succeed. You’re going to do well, you can handle the work at the college and you’re going to really thrive there and have a wonderful experience.

So that’s why they’re very focused on your academics. They want to make sure that your high school curriculum was rigorous enough that it prepared you. So that’s key. Um, and one question we get really often is, you know, would College rather see that a [00:29:00] student took a more challenging class and honors class and AP class and receive a B or take a college prep level class and receive an A.

And the truth is that colleges do like to see that students have challenged themselves. So they do like to see that if your high school offers honors classes, advanced placement classes, that You are taking advantage of that as a student. So, they would rather see you challenge yourself and really work hard at that.

And that doesn’t mean you need to take every advanced class. Um, but it’s nice, especially if you’re interested in a certain subject, if you’re able to take some of those advanced classes in the subjects you’re interested in. Um, so colleges like to see that, um, but they also want you to have a successful high school.

Experience as well. They also like to see improvement over time, knowing that sometimes high school is a big transition. If you [00:30:00] get a bad grade as a freshman, but you show a lot of improvement, you don’t have to, you know, really worry about that freshman year. Not so great grade. They do like to see you exceeding minimum requirements.

And they like to see that you get, get decent grades in those subjects that, um, are relevant to your possible college plan. If you, um, you know, would like to be in biology in college, how did you do in your, in your biology classes in high school? And just know that there is a Sliding scale for Massachusetts public colleges and universities.

You can Google that and you can see, um, what you need to have for grades to get into, say, UMass Amherst, the other four year universities, all of that. And, um, sometimes that can be balanced out by standardized test scores.[00:31:00]

So we’ve talked a lot. Let me just, I’m just gonna. Check on the Q and a

yeah, so there’s a question. Let’s say a student. Um, and we didn’t get to this yet. Uh, we will, but if a student applies early, early decision or early action, and instead of being accepted, they’re accepted. Into one of those programs just gets deferred to the regular admissions pool, which happens. Um, what can a student do to show their interest in the college?

I mean, the fact that they were not denied in one of those programs is a great thing. Um, you know, they just, they just weren’t accepted early, but they’re not denied early either. They’re just bumped to the regular decision pool. So that’s a good, that’s a good [00:32:00] thing. That, that means that they’re still very much in the running.

It’s just that the college wants to see the whole decision pool before making those final decisions. So, I would say the student could, you know, submit a mid year grade report, or if the student receives any additional awards, anything else is happening, they could always send in something else with their application, but know that, um, that they are still very much in the running.

The college just has, um, a pool of students that They want to see the whole pool to make, to make that decision. Good question. So let’s talk about standardized tests. Many students take the PSAT. Early on, and that’s a practice for the SAT and that’s a good way for students to receive their results and see, you know, what they answered correctly, what they could study up on a little [00:33:00] more.

Um, and then they can take the SAT, um, or they can take the a CT and um, students who are applying to colleges that require. A standardized test can take either one. So, I’ve heard people talk about this for a long time and advise that maybe students take a practice test. of both and see which one they like better.

See which one they feel more comfortable with. Um, they’re just a little different and, um, it, it really comes down to the individual student and which one they like better, which one they feel like they were more successful at. And then study for that one. Use all of the free online prep tools out there and, um, really focus on.

What you know the the sections where you need to practice and do a little bit better and practice it in [00:34:00] a time setting to and, um, and then you can decide whether to send the scores if it’s a test optional school. So if it’s a. required test school. They have to send those those scores. And if it’s a test optional school, you only want to send your scores if you think that’s going to boost your application.

And then FairTest provides a list of over 2000 test optional schools.

Then I mentioned colleges will probably ask for an activity list and a resume. And, you know, this doesn’t have to be super long. It doesn’t have to include everything. Uh, students don’t have to join extracurricular activities just to add them to a list. Colleges are more interested in seeing what the student does outside of academics.

And that the student has is involved in a few activities. Now, that could be [00:35:00] extracurricular activities, like sports, or music, or it could be a job. It could be, um, helping out the family. It could be community service. Um, it could be many things. They just want to see what the student does in addition to academics.

So, um, students should just share and share the roles they’ve played. They’ve played in these different parts of their lives and you know colleges just want to see how that student’s going to fit into the campus. And then the essay. So this is the part of the application that really the student has a lot of control over.

So really the student should write about something that they want to write about, that they have a lot to say, that they feel comfortable writing about, and start writing early so that you can do [00:36:00] different drafts, you can share it with friends, parents, a teacher, um, and just take some time on it so that you write a really good piece and you feel really good about it, um, as something that you want to write about.

Um, of course, things like You know, plagiarism is taken seriously. Don’t, don’t do that. You want to have no typing, spell check, spelling errors, all of that. You want it to be well written. But, uh, the most important thing is that you’re writing about something you feel passionate about. Because I’ve heard from admissions folks that if, if you read your essay out loud to yourself And you enjoy reading it.

It makes you smile. It makes you laugh. You’re interested in it. That’s probably how the admissions counselor is going to feel at the other end. If you’re reading it and you’re bored and it doesn’t really, I don’t know, you’re not connecting to what you’re writing. The [00:37:00] admissions person is probably going to feel that too.

So now here are the prompts. This isn’t that students have to write about any of these, but if a student reads through these prompts, this gets them thinking about themselves. So I’ll just pick a couple. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking and what was the outcome?

If a student sat down and really thought about that, that’s, they’re going to learn something about themselves. Or how about Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

So these are great questions that a student can use to just, as one of the people said early on, know thyself, think about yourself up front, and Start writing on some of these, and see, see what sticks. What essay do you like writing about the [00:38:00] most? And what’s really sharing something personal about you?

You, the student. Um, I’ve heard that sometimes students will, you know, write all about their grandmother or something, which is wonderful, but you really want it to be about you and your relationship to your grandmother, and, and it has to say something about you. You want to be able to share. This other piece of you with the college that they can’t see from your grades or your test scores.

And someone’s asking, is there a minimum or maximum length for an essay? The college will tell you that. So they’ll tell you, write a 600 word essay or so. And I would say to follow the guidelines. And someone else is asking, yes, I will be sending this presentation, a link to this presentation and [00:39:00] recording tomorrow, so you will have that.

And then colleges will also ask often for letters of recommendation. And they may ask for one or two or three, and I would say follow those guidelines as well too. Because if they ask for two, and you send four, they’re probably going to read two. But you don’t get to choose the two that they’re going to read.

So if you really want them to read two, then send the two. So that’s what colleges tell me. They read two if they ask for two. Um, So, it’s, they really want adults who know you well and can offer some perspective on who you are as a student. So, sometimes the guidelines I hear are junior year teachers in one of your five core subjects.

[00:40:00] Math, English, Science, History. Um, that’s kind of ideal, but it’s the other thing that’s equally important is a teacher who really knows you well and can speak, speak about you and speak about your strengths as a student. So if it happens to be a coach. Or it happens to be a senior year teacher who’s only had you for half the year.

You know, you can be flexible with some of those. Those are just MENTUS guidelines. But, um, again, that junior year, five course subjects, teacher who knows you well. Are your best bets. Ask your teachers early. The schools, your high school probably has a process. Maybe in April of, uh, junior year, there’s a form and you can send that to your teacher.

Find out what that process is and use that process. And thank, make sure you thank your teacher [00:41:00] after they’re writing it as well.

And then interviews. I mentioned, uh, less common. So not all colleges, you know, are going to require an interview, but some colleges will, and some colleges will offer what’s called an informational interview. So if you go to visit campus and you’re there on campus, you’re doing a tour, you’re having an admissions interview, Workshop that maybe you could just sign up and meet with an admissions representative, and that would be an informational interview.

It’s not really part of the application process, but it’s there for you to learn a lot and, um, to meet a representative. Um, or it could be evaluative. And if it’s required and it’s a value tip, then students, you need to, you need to do this. So find out early on when you need to do your admissions interview.

[00:42:00] Sometimes it won’t be until after you’re admitted, but some colleges require it up front. So, um, I shouldn’t say that it’s it’s not after you’re admitted. Sometimes it won’t be until after you submit your application. That is common. And it’s also common for a college to, um, to want that interview to be done even sooner before you submit your application.

So find out what the timing is. and follow that timing, sign up, do an interview, some can be virtual these days, which is nice. And if it’s evaluative, just know that that is part of your admissions application. So you can ask questions and the person will be asking you questions and really trying to see if you’re a good fit for that institution.

And as far as I love that, that question that we got early on about how can a student. Really, think about questions that are going to [00:43:00] let them know thyself. Um, really, you know, a student should take some time. They should know the college that they’re applying to pretty well. You wouldn’t want to go in and ask a question that, you know, you could find out on the front page of the website.

Um, and you want to know, think about yourself. And again, think about the classes you like the best, the teachers you like the best. Why, why, Why is that? Um, and what do you like to do after school? And what do you and your friends do for fun? And what books do you read? And, um, how do you spend your time? All those things.

What’s the best movie you saw last summer? Um, you know, these admissions folks are just going to want to have a good conversation with you. But you want, you want to have some of that information about yourself at the ready. And other than that, you really do want to relax and be yourself, because these admissions folks love talking to 17, 18 year old students, [00:44:00] and um, you know, so try to relax and be yourself.

Alright, so now we’ll talk about the admissions decision. So, We talked about the fact that you put in these applications and you’ll get a decision back and hopefully you get back admitted, which is wonderful, although there is a little piece here, which I’m seeing more and more. Sometimes you will get, um.

An admissions letter will say you’re admitted, but you’re admitted starting in January, not in September. So then you’ll have to consider if that’s okay with you. Um, I’ve seen that more and more these days. Um, or you might get that decision if you apply early. You’re deferred to the regular pool, so I see that a lot as well, or you might be denied.

And let me just say, that means you’re not accepted, and that is [00:45:00] really hard to take. Um, because that You know, just you, it feels bad, but it’s truly, truly shouldn’t. Um, the truth is this process, you know, each college has their own strategy for admissions each year. And they want to bring in students from, again, all over the world, all over the country.

Um, they need to have biology majors and students who are going to go on and be business, go to business school afterwards, and they need nurses and doctors and, um, you know, students who can be in the theater program and in the band. So, they have to craft a class. Each year that’s very challenging to do and some of the smaller schools might only be admitting 500 students total from, you know, all over.

So if you get denied, please know it’s part of the admissions process. You’ll probably [00:46:00] receive, you know, a few denials and please don’t take it personally. Just know that that that’s part of this and you’ll. admissions letters to or you could be wait listed. And that means you’re not accepted. You’re on the wait list.

Um, And then you’ll have some other decisions to make. So, the issue if you’re waitlisted is that some waitlists are very long. And what it means is that you totally have the grades and everything. You’d be a good fit for that institution. That institution just cannot take all of the eligible students. Uh, for all of the reasons I’ve just described.

So, um, there’s no guarantee you’re going to get off the waitlist. You will have to Um, accept admission at another college by May 1st, and you might lose a deposit if you end up getting off the waitlist. Um, but what you should do if you’re on [00:47:00] the waitlist is let the college know that you’re still interested.

And then keep letting them know that you’re still interested. Because if you’re on a waitlist, the college might assume that over time, especially after May 1st, you probably made another decision. If you really want to go to that college, you still can call and say, I’m still interested. I’m still interested.

Every week, every two weeks, um, just so they know, because it’s not, you know, they’re not taking people in order off a wait list. Um, things change as the admissions process moves along and students make other decisions. So you have to both you can keep letting the institution know and moving on mentally.

To another school where you’ve been admitted. All right, I’m going to look at these Q& A here.

So, someone said they’ve tried to research SAT scores for admitted students in [00:48:00] 24 and 23, but haven’t found a good source of data. I would say you’d want to look at the, um, the student profile for, from a specific college to see what their students from those years You know what the student profile looked like.

So not just generally, but at a certain college, what the last couple of classes looked like. That’s, that’s a way just to get a sense if, you know, you, the student or your student is sort of in the running, good candidate at that college. Is it a reach? Is it likely or possible?

And then, uh, the letters of recommendation usually The question is should we send the copies and keep the original, but the way that process works is that the teachers, for example, [00:49:00] um, they send the recommendations directly to the school and do not send it to you, the student, so that you don’t have a copy.

I mean, sometimes they might give you a copy, but, um, they are sending the original to the colleges. And they don’t have to give the student a copy.

Yeah, so someone’s asking another question I receive all the time. Since students are applying to a larger number of schools, what, you know, what, how many? And, um, I think the average has been something like seven. But, I do see students Especially in areas that we are in here in Massachusetts where colleges, there are many of those very competitive institutions.

And if so, if a student is applying to many of those very competitive, selective institutions, usually, um, their school counselor will [00:50:00] encourage them to apply to a few more. Just because if you apply, if you’re applying to three Ivy Leagues or an Ivy League and a couple of other. Schools that are just as competitive.

Those are reaches for a lot of students, so they just want to make you just want to make sure you have enough likely and possible schools on your list. Um, so again, I think the average nationwide is seven, but, um, If you’re applying to a lot of competitive schools, you probably want to apply to a few more.

Oh yeah, if I submit early decision and my admissions is deferred, what happens with my applications to other colleges? Yes, if you’re not accepted early decision, then you’re not in that binding agreement. And so you have all your applications out to other colleges. And that’s fine. You can be accepted by another [00:51:00] college.

And so, again, does the letter of recommendation have to be someone at the school? Um, it doesn’t have to be. It really should be an adult that knows your student well and can speak to them as they are as a student. So that’s why Many times a teacher is the best person to write the recommendation, but again, if the student, you know, is doing some community service and has another adult who has seen them work and can really speak to the character of the student, um, it’s not that they can’t use that person, uh, just the guideline again is sort of junior year teachers, five major subjects, And, and a person who knows the student, but that knows the student well is also very key.

Just looking [00:52:00] at a few more of these questions.

And, um, yes, can one letter of recommendation be used for multiple, multiple colleges? Absolutely. So if a student asks a teacher, say, you know, junior year math teacher to write a recommendation, that recommendation, they can send it to all of the colleges. That’s a, that’s a great question.

Okay, so I’m going to move from the admissions piece and I’m just going to touch upon a few things in the financial [00:53:00] aid world. But again, I’m going to encourage you that you should, I would encourage you all to attend a full webinar about financial aid, because there’s a lot of details of information.

Okay, but just to begin understanding college affordability. One thing you want to look at is the cost of attendance. So, how much is going to cost for your student to go to a certain college? Tuition fees, room and board, books, supplies, transportation. Um, and, but we’re going to have a caveat with that, where I want you to learn about financial aid.

So what’s even more important than the cost of attendance is how much you’re going to be expected to pay. Okay, but I’ll say that. Um, another really important piece to know is what financial aid applications are required and when. So you, you’re going to find out what admit, what’s required for admissions, what’s required for financial aid.

Um, [00:54:00] how does the college do financial aid? Do they have financial aid based on financial need, based on merit? Both. So you’ll find that out. Um, and you can find that out again on the financial aid website portion of a college’s website. And I’ll show you where you can start to look for private scholarships as well.

Alright, so one way you can learn a little bit about how much financial aid you might be able to receive is that every college has something called a net price calculator. And if you type net price calculator into the search bar on a college website, you will get the calculator and you put in information as you will at some point on a financial aid form and it will ask a lot of questions and then it will sort of say, okay, you’re an estimate of the financial aid that your student could receive from this [00:55:00] college is this.

So we’ll really. Let you have a sense. So for example, if you’re trying to decide, can we apply early decision? I need to make sure I can afford it. You would want to do the net price calculator and see, does it come back and tell you you get this much financial aid? Does that seem like it will make the college affordable for you?

That’s a really good exercise. You want to have some sense of the affordability piece. piece. Now, it will ask you financial questions, uh, because a lot of the aid is need based. But it may ask SAT scores or grade point average. And what that means if they’re asking you academics is that that means the college probably has some merit based aid as well and that your student could receive some money based on their academics.

And then, this is where you find out what financial aid forms are required. So, every college [00:56:00] requires the FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid. And, we’re in 2025 now, so the 26 27 FAFSA, that’ll be for students starting college September of 26, um, should be available October 1st, 2025. And it will be asking about your 2024 income.

That’s the income that will be used. So all colleges require that. And some colleges require an additional form called the CSS profile of the College Board. About 200 colleges, um, require that. And that also will be available October 1st. Also asking about your 2024 income. So find out from every college, do they need just the FAFSA or do they need the FAFSA and the CSS profile?

Some also might have a college specific financial aid application right on their website, so [00:57:00] check that out too because that might be for a certain scholarship or something and you just want to make sure you complete that if that’s available. And I want to point out that a lot has changed of late.

with Massachusetts public institutions. Um, there are some really great programs. Um, mass transfer is a program that allows students to start at a community college and transfer to a four year college, uh, making it much more affordable and especially even more so now that there’s mass educate, which is that.

Community college is tuition and fee free for everyone. So that’s amazing. Um, that’s just huge here in Massachusetts. And in addition to that, it doesn’t say it here. Um, but this is another caveat. The state also has. More financial aid than they’ve had in decades for students at the four year colleges and [00:58:00] universities as well.

The Bridgewater State University, Framingham State University, Westfield State University. Um, there is something called MassGrant Plus, and it’s been expanded. So, You know, families who are sort of low to middle income and middle income being maybe in the 75, 000 range, um, can actually possibly go to a four year institution, tuition and fee free as well.

So again, no, um. No certain income. Everyone’s eligible for free community college, but some low and middle income families may be eligible for tuition and fee free four year institutions as well. And then there’s something called tuition break, which allows students to sometimes cross state lines, go to a public institution in a neighboring state.

and pay in state Massachusetts colleges. So you can check that out. [00:59:00] Um, and finally, the Massachusetts tuition equity law now allows students who Are not eligible to file the FAFSA because of possible immigration issues. Maybe they’re an undocumented student, um, that they now can still apply for in state tuition and state aid by filing a different form that’s called the MASFA, M A S F A.

So, um, that’s Important to know as well. And then mentioned, I’m going to send these slides to you. But here’s a, um, a calendar of what to do when through from junior year spring all the way through fall, winter and the next spring. And you can also download this. on the MEFA website. And MEFA pathway, I mentioned it at the beginning, you can explore [01:00:00] different colleges.

Um, students can also, um, go in, take a few quizzes and learn about themselves a little bit too. Here’s another place to do that and think about what skills they have. what their goals are, their interests. They can explore careers. This is a free tool and your high school might use it, but if your high school doesn’t use it, you can still create an account and play around in there and learn a lot.

So right now you can sign up for any other upcoming MEFA webinars. As I mentioned, uh, that was just touching upon financial aid. We have whole hour long Financial aid webinars. Start researching colleges. Make it fun. Um, and start creating your college list and just gathering information about different institutions.

And here are all the ways that you can connect with MEFA on social media. Facebook, on [01:01:00] X, Instagram, LinkedIn. YouTube, and our Meefuk podcast. So however you like to consume your information, we’ll keep you all educated and informed about everything to do with college admissions and financial aid. And you can also always call us and always email us.

And we have a group of college planning experts who are happy to answer quick questions, talk with you about longer issues, so please know that you have us as a resource. And I’m going to go in and see if we have any more questions. Oh, yeah. Could I please share the link for the financial aid webinar?

You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to put this link. Let me put this link in the chat. This is just MEFA. org

slash events. Okay, and if [01:02:00] you go to MEFA. org slash events, you will always be able to see what the upcoming webinars are going to be. And if one passed, you can also go back and watch a recorded webinar. So that’s where you find all of the events. So thank you for that.

And you do fill out a FAFSA every year. So every year you’ll file a FAFSA that your student is in college.

Yeah, so, this is a great question. I get this often too. What if my student’s GPA is around 2. 75 or so? So they’re not, you know, a 4. 0, 3. 7. Um, what can they do to get into a decent college? So, thank you for asking that. First thing I’ll say is, although, you know, we all talk about the Harvards of the world, right?

Where you have to have You know, 4. 0 and all kinds of amazing, [01:03:00] uh, test scores and things, but, um, and the, you know, many schools are very competitive, but that’s that is generally a smaller group of institutions nationwide and, um, More colleges, you know, are accepting students with very much varied grade point averages, okay?

So, there are still many, many colleges who, you know, who want that B minus student, B student. That’s, you know, that student is probably going to find a good fit and thrive. At a college or university. So, um, number one, the student can try to keep up grades, you know, if they’re a junior, keep those up, you know, in the spring of junior year, fall of senior year.

Um, and So, You know, so do the best they can really try [01:04:00] and be involved in whatever activities they’re involved in. Get into those. Do what we said about share about themselves in an essay. I’m sure they can find a teacher who can speak to how hard they’re working in a certain class. Um, I think, you know, they’re, they’re I have countless stories, so many I couldn’t even begin, of students, you know, who had a very average high school experience with grades, and you know, went to college, found interesting, um, classes, and have wonderful careers, so, um, I would, I would just encourage a student to work hard, and, um, and pull together all the good things about themselves, and I’m sure they, They will get into a decent college.

Um, again, really try to make sure that research in colleges, college search part is so important. Because you don’t want this student to be [01:05:00] applying to colleges where they’re accepting students with a 3. 5 GPA and above and getting denials, right? So you want to find those colleges who have a wider range.

Yeah, someone’s asking when, um, when colleges ask about income. So on the financial aid form, you’re going to Input your tax return from that year before, so for the 26, 27, it will be the 24 income, you’re going to press a button and bring that in from the IRS, and they’re going to look at your AGI, Adjusted Gross Income, okay, and that is the, that’s what they’re going to see, they’re going to see your whole tax return, and all that information,

and do colleges look at an admitted [01:06:00] student’s grades after they have been accepted? They do. They sometimes ask students to submit that senior year spring grade update. So, we just encourage students to, you know, not, as soon as they submit that application, they shouldn’t just goof off. They need to continue to do well all through their senior year.

And, um, you know, most of the time, Students continue to be admitted, but there have been situations, I think, where, where a student has really fallen off and a college has the right to withdraw admission. So, just make sure you encourage your student. No senior slump.

And then someone asked about credible private scholarships. Yes. So, There are a couple of, um, and this is why we have a whole webinar on scholarships, the financial aid webinar talks about scholarships, but some places you can look are, [01:07:00] uh, the Big Future website from the College Board, MEFA Pathway that I’ve shown you, there are some, there’s one called FastWeb, there’s one called Going Merry, there’s one called Going Merry, Such a weird name.

Those are all scholarship searches online where a student can go in, put some information about themselves, get a list of scholarships, and then kind of weed through and say, okay, they sent me ten. That doesn’t seem to apply. That doesn’t, oh, but these four I could apply to, and then apply. So that, they can just begin now sort of trying to weed out and find a list of things.

scholarships that they want to apply to. But use these free scholarship searches. Don’t pay money for these scholarship searches. That’s, and no one can promise you they can find you a scholarship. So use some free searches. And then look closer to home. Your high school may have some scholarships. Your [01:08:00] town may have some scholarships.

Your employer may have some scholarships. Um, the story I always tell is that my dentist has a little note on the desk when you go in there that says that each year she gives two, uh, scholarships to students who do community service. So, keep your eyes open for those type of things.

So, okay, so this student is asking about SAT optional. So let’s say there’s a college that has a, a high average score on the SAT, but it’s, they have s their SAT optional. So yes, what that means is of the students who submit that, submit the test, they’re getting that high score. And as I mentioned, if your score [01:09:00] isn’t.

As high as that, you probably don’t want to submit it because you only want to submit your score when it’s going to add to your application. And so, yes, those those numbers do look inflated because students who score lower than that aren’t submitting their tests to a test optional college, if that makes sense.

So I think what you’re suggesting here of Why those scores are so high and is right is you know students are choosing whether or not they’re going to submit their score And so naturally when you see those scores, they’re gonna look inflated because it’s only the students who have the higher scores who submitted them So yeah,

all right. I don’t see any more questions. Let’s see Okay, I will stop that share. I’ll give one moment to see if there are any [01:10:00] more questions. Thank you for helping me with my, with my volume and my new computer. And I guess if there are no more questions, I’ll just say thank you for being here with me this evening.

And please do stay in touch with MIPHA, attend some more webinars, know that you can reach out anytime. in whatever way works for you through social media or through the phone or email. And I wish you good luck on this journey and try to keep it fun. All right. Thanks. Bye bye.