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[00:00:00] Well, good evening and welcome everyone to this MEFA webinar where we’re gonna hear from four college admissions experts on how to get a jumpstart. On college admissions, and it seems like this is a very popular topic tonight. We have a lot of people joining this webinar and we’re so happy because we have a really terrific panel for you.

And I will introduce them in a moment and they’ll tell you more about themselves. But first, I’ll let you know that my name is Julie Shields Rina, and I am the director of college planning education and training at MEFA. And I will be your host and I am joined by my colleague Jennifer Bento Pinon, who is the director of MEFA Pathway.

And she will also, um, be here with us tonight and answering some questions and monitoring your questions and, and helping us as [00:01:00] we go along. So I’ll just. Also let you know that if you want to share along with this type of content anytime with MEFA, um, you can follow us on social media. And I’ll point out here that mi a’s new Instagram account is at MEFA ma.

Alright, A few other logistics. Um, you do have control of your audio. So you can, you can, uh, put that up high if you wanna hear everything that we’re saying this evening. Um, also if you have questions, why don’t you type them into the q and A section and we’ll make sure to answer many of those, hopefully all of those, um, at the end of the webinar.

And if you need to have close captioning, you can hit the live transcript feature and you’ll be able to see the words that we’re speaking. And if you need to leave, you can always exit using the red button. And what I’ll say to you is that you will be. [00:02:00] Receiving communication from us tomorrow. And you’ll be able to find the recording of this, of this webinar and the slides and all of that, so you don’t have to take too many too, not the slides, but, but all of the, um, recording and everything that was said, so you don’t have to take too many notes.

All right, and now I will stop sharing and I will introduce, uh, you to our panelists. We have Drew Carter, who is from the College of the Holy Cross, Kate Gertin from Dickinson College, Caitlin Provost from Texas Christian University, and from UMass Lowell. For experts and what I would ask you all, I’ll have you just introduce yourselves and give a little information about, about your background and your current position and a a little bit about your institution.

I think that families would [00:03:00] love to hear a little bit about that as well. So I guess I have, uh, Caitlin right here on my screen. So I’ll ask you to start, Caitlin. All right. I will start off. Good evening everyone, and thank you so much for joining us. My name is Caitlin Provost and I am the Northeast Regional Director of Admission for Texas Christian University.

I am based in a regional office in Northampton, Massachusetts, and I work with all the students from New England and New York. This is. Going into year 12, I believe, for me at TCU 17 in college admissions. So I’ve been around for, for a little while now. Um, a little bit about TCU. We’re a midsize liberal arts and sciences school located down in sunny Fort Worth, Texas.

Um, I like to call us the Goldilocks School ’cause I feel like we’re just the right size. It’s about 10,000 undergrads and about 1500 graduate students. We have about 115 different academic majors at TCU. So definitely so much in terms of, you know, things to study. We are part of the Big 12 athletic, um, conference Division one.

[00:04:00] So a lot in terms of sports and school spirit. Such a wonderful area, such great hospitality and community and amazing things to do. So, you know, if you’re a student who’s looking for that really nice mid-size school where you still get the small classes and individualized attention, but at the same time, you know, the big school spirit and activities that I was mentioning, be sure to te check out TCU And I look forward to, uh, speaking with you a little bit more.

Thank you. And Ed, why don’t you tell us about UMass Lowell? Sure. Thanks for making the time tonight, folks. My name’s Ed Searo. I’m a senior Associate Director of Admissions at UMass Lowell. I’ve been at UMass Lowell since 2003, so next year will be 20 years, which is, uh. Fun fact. Um, um, and in my time, you know, it’s really been an exciting time to be at UMass Old, especially the last five to 10 years.

We’ve actually grown enrollment 60% in that timeframe. We’ve also opened or built 16 buildings during that same timeframe. So quite a lot of growth while also [00:05:00] increasing the quality of every incoming class every year. We’re a national public research university located in the northwest suburbs of Boston, in Lowell, Massachusetts, which is a city of 110,000 people.

Um, really strong emphasis on experiential education. We have a really diverse, um, student body. We have about 42% students of color. Um, and you know, we have over 120 academic choices, division one athletics. We compete in America East and Hockey East, um, over 50 bands in ensembles. So similar to what Caitlin said about TCU, um, we probably have something either exactly what you wanna do or something very close to it.

So I’m happy to answer more questions about that and, uh, look forward to the rest of tonight. Thank you and Kate. Hi, good evening everybody. My name is Kate Ton. I am director of Northeast Recruitment for Dickinson College. I’ve worked in college admissions for about 17 years now, but, um, rounding out year five with Dickinson and like, uh, Caitlyn, I’m actually based [00:06:00] regionally for the college as well.

Dickinson is a small liberal arts college, about 2,400 students located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Um, but I’m based out of a regional office in Marlboro, Massachusetts. And so I work with students from a few states up here in New England, but oversee the recruitment done in all of New England and New York State.

Um. Dickinson is a wonderful place to consider if you’re looking at a small, uh, small liberal arts colleges. Um, beautiful campus of limestone brick buildings, and Carlisle’s a great college town. Great option to consider if you’re thinking about leaving New England potentially for school. Um, but it attracts a lot of students who care about a global education.

That’s something we’ve cared about. Global citizenship from day one comes with robust study abroad programs, but a really inclusive community that cares about and wants to learn from one another. Um, we also are very sustainable place. We’re rated number two in the nation for sustainability. We are a carbon neutral campus as well.

That core value kind of transcends through everything we do at the college. And just a notion of doing good things for, for other people is [00:07:00] really important to our community. I’d say students and faculty and staff, um, members of the Dickens com community, uh, are thinking about their education, how to use their education for the common good and what that looks like.

Person to person can be totally different. Um, but really a place that cares about the world and the environment and one another. It’s a campus school of really nice people. So hopefully if you’re thinking small liberal arts, you’ll, you’ll put Dickinson on your list. Look forward to talking with you all later.

Thank you. And Drew. Hi friends. Um, I’m Drew Carter and I work in the admission office at Holy Cross. Um, so many things in common with TCU. We make purple look good at Holy Cross. Like, just like, uh, Caitlin and her friends at TCU, uh, while TCU is located in sunny Fort Worth, Texas. Holy Cross is located in Sunny Worcester, Massachusetts.

And, um, if, if TCU is Goldilocks, then I think Holy Cross is probably baby bear at 3000 students. [00:08:00] Um, and, uh, it’s a residential school, so we tend to attract the kind of students who wanna live on campus for their college experience. Um, and while, uh, your lives as high school students are filled with adults asking you what you wanna study when you go to college, uh, we at Holy Cross won’t ask you that.

And that’s because everybody at Holy Cross starts without a major and takes whatever classes they want. Um, and our students will declare their major by the end of their sophomore year. It will not stop your uncle, uh, from asking you what you wanna study throughout the entire Thanksgiving dinner. Um, but we won’t contribute to that.

So excited to be here tonight and can’t wait to, um, uh, can’t wait to hear your questions, and can’t wait to hear from my co-panelists. Thank you. Well, I think that, that the students and, and parents who are joining us today, they, they are wondering how they can get a jumpstart on the whole college admissions process.

I. Over the summer, you know, the, [00:09:00] the school year is ending and, um, what, what, what can they be doing that will really be helpful for them once fall rolls around? And I know that all of you have lots of tips and lots to share about that. So, Kate, I’ll start with you. Maybe you can, you can start with some tips on, on what they can be doing.

Sure. Um, I guess my, my tip, my, our first tip maybe for you all is, um, when you’re thinking about summer and thinking about how to spend your summer and what to do with your summer, um, I would just encourage students engage in things that bring you joy, that foster your authentic interests. And you should probably are, are probably doing that to some extent already in terms of the clubs and activities and the things that you do during the year outside the classroom.

Um, but when choosing activities, I’d say when you’re choosing what you’re involved in during the academic year, and then also how you choose to spend your time in the summer, I would encourage you all to not think about it as a way. To build a [00:10:00] resume or doing things because you think those things are going to look good to colleges?

I think, you know, we can certainly tell when a list of activities looks like maybe a student was trying to build a resume versus charting a path for themselves that’s clearly guided by things that they enjoy. I would say when I’m taking a look at what students are involved in across their years of high school, sustained commitments tend to stand out.

Um, maybe you’ve had a job for the past two summers and continuing that into this summer, showing a sustained commitment there, right? Um, the amount of time you devote to things, um, tends to stand out. Maybe you’re starting something new or you have a new interest and you’re devoting a lot of time to it.

Those types of things are gonna stand out and any leadership roles you take on. Um, and it doesn’t even have to be traditional leadership. It could be mentorship, it could be taking on a supervisory position. It could be, um, just stepping into some more of a guidance role and something that you’re doing.

Those things tend to stand out. So I would just say as you think about the summer and think about all of that, ask yourself questions like, [00:11:00] what are my sustained commitments and how might I pursue those further in the summer? Did I recently pick up a new interest? Maybe something that now that I’m not in school, I have the time to maybe explore a little bit more.

Um, what are some things that I do during the school year that again I could engage with maybe even a little bit differently? Is there an opportunity to gain new or different leadership skills within something that I really enjoy or do already? Um. Is there a community outside of my school community that I can engage with over the summer that maybe reinforces my interest and gives me a new experience?

I would say think about that piece. Involve your thi self in things that make sense for you. It doesn’t have to be flashy, but it should be genuine. And if you’re asked about what you’re involved in and things that you do and how you spend your time, there should be a why statement behind all of that.

And I think that’s an important piece to keep in the back of your mind. Not only as you’re thinking about how to [00:12:00] spend time in the summer, but also when you’re about to share with us and you’re sharing in your application the things you’ve been involved in, um, throughout your time in high school. Um, really having an understanding and a a, a passion for the why piece.

Um, that’s what is important. That’s what shines through for us. That’s very important. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. And what, what other, what other things would you all advise that, that students can take on this summer? I think one little quick thing I would mention is obviously I think, um, we all would, uh, mention visiting colleges and certainly, um, can be a nice part of keeping us in business in the admission office, in the admissions world.

I also wanna say, I think sometimes we build up, uh, college visits to be too precious. Um, while it’s, we love if you come for the campus tour and the information session, sometimes a visit is just a quick drive by, on your way home from the beach, on your way home [00:13:00] from grandma’s house, on your way home from visiting your cousin in another town and you’re on the highway and you see a sign that says, Dick’s this school at that exit.

Get off, spend five, 10 minutes driving around that college campus. Um, that’s adding content for you. It’s adding, uh, you know, exposure, it’s giving, starting to build up a set of preferences in your mind. So those matter and those count, uh, we still want the, the official visits as well, but don’t shortchange the quick drive through the walk around for five or 10 minutes.

Those can be really valuable as well. I would really agree with that Drew. And I would also say too, and, and I’m speaking as the college who’s the farthest distance on this panel that, you know, there were not a lot of silver linings from the pandemic, but if I could name one, is that it really pushed colleges and universities into that virtual space.

So there is so much more in terms of visiting that there used to be, because you can take a virtual visit. I know up on T C’s website we have three different kinds of virtual [00:14:00] tours for you. We are offering live virtual student panels in the summer live information sessions. I mean, there’s so much now to check out.

So I would say that that’s definitely a really huge piece of what you can be doing this summer if it’s not in person at least checking out some of those virtual options. Um, I would also put in a big plug for using the summer to get organized and really starting to think about that college process. Um, I think as you sit on more of these webinars and panels and hear from more colleges and representatives, you’re gonna hear the words.

It depends a lot. And the reason why you’re gonna hear those words is because every single school handle handles their admission process a little bit differently and has all of the different deadlines and all of the different applications. So a great way to keep track of all that and to start in the summer is to make a simple Excel sheet or a Word document that says, okay, I’ve got Holy Cross in this, you know, column.

This is the application they take. These are the deadlines, this is the scholarship process. Okay, Dickinson is up next, you know, et cetera, et cetera. So you [00:15:00] have all of that information written down. So when it comes time to really submitting all those applications and looking into those scholarship opportunities and all of that, you’ll have everything organized and things won’t come as a big surprise to you.

Good advice. That was exactly what I was gonna say, Caitlyn. Exactly the same two points. I guess what I would add to though, in addition to the silver lining of. Um, you know, being able to do things virtually is that it actually expands your ability to explore a lot too. So we all have preconceived notions about, you know, which schools we think we wanna go to, or the schools that we know and all that.

But this really is a time to explore and, and look into some places that you either never heard of or you think you have some notion about what it is, but I guarantee you it’s a lot different than what it, you know, is, or, um, you know, drew mentioned an uncle on Thanksgiving. Thi this process, everyone in your life will have an opinion.

And, and that’s fine. It’s okay. Um, but it’s really [00:16:00] the student’s experience and, and parents, you know, what I would say is it’s not unlike parenting in general, like let them do it, um, but be there as a parent. You know what I mean? Um, and so there are times when you don’t necessarily want the 17-year-old steering the steering the ship, right?

Like you, there are times when you gotta say, you know, hold on, have you thought about this? Have you thought about that? Um, and I think that’s important to know. I think, you know, we put a lot of pressure into this whole process. Um, and, and you know, we’ll get into that in a little bit. But, but I think that we all sort of collectively, especially just given a couple questions here about like mental health and so forth, I think we all need to just put a pin in the pressure balloon and take it, take the air outta that.

Um. You know, and that starts at home, right? And so it starts with your process. This really is an exploration time. Um, there is no pressure right now to do anything. In fact, you know, I, I appreciate the idea of doing certain things, um, you know, to explore whatever, but some people need to [00:17:00] work, you know?

That’s okay. You, if you need to work a summer job, absolutely. You should be doing that, right? And be unapologetic about that. Um, in fact, in in a lot of schools when they’re looking at, at students, you know, somebody works a job and they, you know, they have a, um, you know, they write about, about that like in a significant way.

Like that can really help you in the application process, you know, so I just throw that out there to say some people are in that category where they really don’t have the option to do other things, and that’s totally okay. It’s really important to, um, be who you are authentically. I agree, ed, and I think, um, in terms of taking pressure off, I think this process can become sometimes for people totally all consuming students and parents.

Um, and so, you know, I don’t have children old enough yet to go through this process. My sister does. And I think, you know, they’ve done a really nice job of not letting it consume ’em and that, you know, have one night a week that they talk about college and they talk about different [00:18:00] aspects of it and then, you know, go about the rest of their week.

And, and I think if you can kind of think through as a family, some sort of, um, schedule or process like that where it doesn’t become the thing that you’re talking about all the time, um, that can be really helpful in kind of taking the edge off of this process too.

I’ll just ask one, one other specific question about, um, what people can be doing over the summer and what students could be doing. Just some, I wanna say a few words just about maybe. Beginning the college essay, just working on the college essay, because I know that that’s something that students, uh, that can, that can be a stress if it’s held off till the fall.

So I, oh, sorry. I was gonna say, I’ll, I wanna hear what Kidman has to say. That’s what I was gonna say. Well, well, I mean good because, okay. So, and just, just to, before I get into that, I will say that [00:19:00] planning over the summer and starting the college essay and looking into different supplement questions of colleges, you’re sure you’re going to apply to that is definitely a good use of your time.

However, I would also caution folks, um, that, like when you look at T C’s website right now, for example, the information about our essay questions and supplement. Questions are from the application process from this previous year, because applications for a lot of schools tend not to open until August 1st.

That’s when the common application opens. So if you’re thinking about doing some of this work ahead of time, just be aware that it might be smart to look on a website, found who, who your admission counselor is, and reach out to them and say, Hey, are these questions going to be the same for next year? I literally got two of those emails today and had to tell folks, Hey, I’m really psyched that you’re looking to do this early, but hold off just a little bit because we may be making some changes.

So I would say that’s just something to consider first and foremost. Um, when it comes to the essay, I mean. I can really only speak for myself, but I’d be surprised [00:20:00] if my colleagues on the screen didn’t agree with me. Um, unless a college is asking you for one specific topic, I don’t think there’s one topic for an essay that’s better than another.

You know, we have students saying all the time, like. Oh my goodness. I hear students writing about all these really sad stories, but nothing bad has ever happened in my life, so I don’t have anything to write about. Well, thank goodness we are so happy to hear that you know, something that instrumental has not happened to you, because it doesn’t have to be about that whatsoever.

It doesn’t have to be about overcoming a certain issue or a time in your life. You can write about absolutely anything you want to, in my opinion, as long as it’s telling me something unique about you and I’m hearing it from your specific voice, whether that be an activity you’re involved in or a vacation you took, or about your backpack.

In all honesty, I’ve read amazing essays about all of the above, so please don’t feel like you have to write about tearing your ACL, um, or, you know, not making captain of the hockey team. If you feel like that is [00:21:00] a story that defines you, sure, feel free to write about it. But again, it doesn’t have to be that, that big overcoming struggle, struggle topic.

And I’m sure my colleagues can all speak to different parts of the essay as well, but I’ll, I’ll stick there for now. Yeah, I’ll just chime in. Caitlyn. Um, that I, you know, I think, again, I, I hear that too, where students are, but I just don’t know what to write about. We wanna learn something about you. At the end of the day, that’s what the essay’s about, is to give us another window into you.

And so I think a really important question to ask yourself almost at every. Phase of your, of writing your college essay is, what do I want the reader to know about me? Ask yourself that question as you’re brainstorming and making lists and, and, um, you know, drafting. Ask yourself that question after you’ve written a full first draft and hand it to someone and have them read it and say, what did you learn about me?

And, and their answer to that question should be exactly what you hope it would be and what you’re aiming for it to be. Because we should read an [00:22:00] essay and at the end of it, have something that concrete that we’ve learned about you. So even if you’re choosing to write about an experience in your life, or a person who’s been impactful in your life, ultimately it should come down to something that we’re learning about you.

So that’s my piece of advice as you’re kind of starting to draft that essay this summer. That’s great. I think the only thing I would add, um, to those great comments are is, is something about us, um, you know. One thing to do this summer with regards to the essay is listen to admissions people when they talk about the essay, it is, uh, we tend to talk a lot about it, um, not because it’s the most important part of your application because it’s not, but it’s because it’s our favorite part of the application.

Um, it can be really stress inducing to write an essay for a stranger. Which is kind of what you’re doing in the application. Um, and yes, I guess in, in some way, we are strangers in the admissions world, but know that it’s a [00:23:00] stranger that is legitimately excited to read what you have to write. Um, that we really don’t care what you write about and that we will get out of it, whatever you put into it.

So if you find meaning in that topic and essay, we will find meaning in it. If you find joy or silliness, those are the same things we’ll find. So, um, if you accomplish, uh, if you don’t get any drafts done of your essay this summer, um, I hope that what you do accomplish is the, the understanding that we, the admissions world are really, really excited to read your essay.

Charles, just to add to that, it, I think it’s helpful, um, at times if, if, well, what I always talk to about students, I do a lot of essay workshops. Sometimes you do one and, and you review it and you’re like, you didn’t this, you just, this is the first crack. Right? This wasn’t what you really wanted to say because they, and they’re like, no, not really.

Generally when you’ve landed on your essay, it’s something that you were actually excited to write about. And, and that can be a lot of different things. And one thing [00:24:00] that I would say too is admissions people are all very different people. Um, even in the same office, I. You know, different readers have completely different perspectives.

You may be applying to a school where two people read your application and they have wildly different, um, points of view and preferences in an essay and so forth. And all of this is not to say there are no answers. It’s actually actually like kind of freeing in a way, in that you should write about what you’re excited about.

And again, going back to the authenticity piece, um, some of the best essays I’ve read are, you know, like one of my favorites ever is about a, a kid who was a senior, but he was on the JV basketball team and he wrote about his opportunity to lead. And it was like incredibly, like endearing and compelling and all of those things.

It’s not the most glamorous subject ever, but I could really get a sense of what that kid would be bringing to the campus, um, just simply through that loan thing. And like some others have said, [00:25:00] it is your only opportunity to inject your voice into the whole process, right? Everything else is everybody else talking about you and also your transcripts that are SAT or a CT.

So, um, it is your opportunity to tell us something about you that we can’t tell by looking at everything else. Now, I, I am thinking about something else you said, ed, about how everyone, when, when families are in this process, everyone has an opinion, can be a relative, a neighbor. And so there’s a lot of information flying out there and that can get confusing.

So I’m gonna ask you each to talk about, um, a myth that you hear that you wanna set straight. How about, how about that?

Drew, I’ll, I’ll start with you just because you’re on the left of my screen there. Yeah. I think, uh, one myth I would like to bust is, uh, the idea of sticker price. Um, every college has a published, um, tuition room, board fees, and I think, uh, [00:26:00] sometimes families can be really put off by how expensive a school’s list price is.

Saying that coming from a school that has a very expensive list price, um, but understand that at some schools, certainly the school I work for, a majority of the students don’t pay the list price, um, through a combination of loans or work study or grants, um, merit scholarships, um, it, uh, that list price can be adjusted based on the family’s needs and sometimes based on academic qualifications.

So, um, there are, there’s a variety of of aid resources out there to help you understand cost. Um, certainly every school’s website has, um, an online calculator that might help you estimate your cost. Um, but know that, uh, the list price, um, in many cases does not apply to every family that applies as admitted to that school.

So don’t immediately be turned off, uh, by a school’s list price. And at the same time, [00:27:00] you want, as you build a list of colleges to apply to, you want to think about not just. Admissions balance to that list, uh, but also financial balance to that list as well. Great. And Ed, do you have any other, a myth that you hear?

Yeah, I mean, sort of what I started talking about a few times here, um, you know, again, just sort of the idea of taking the pressure out of things, um, and the this idea that there is only one school that you will be happy at. The reality is there’s probably 50 schools that you’ll be happy at. And, and I say that to say.

Not to suggest that we shouldn’t try to use the process to land on the best choice. ’cause you know, that is part of the, of what we’re doing here. Um, and of course, take it seriously and go through all the steps and hopefully you will, you know, find your school, you’ll be admitted and you’ll love it there and you know, you’ll be, you know, hopefully meet your significant other and go to weddings and all that good stuff, right?

Like that is part of the experience and we all, we all [00:28:00] think about that. Um, but the reality is, again, there’s probably a lot of different schools that you haven’t even heard of that you would probably be very happy at. Um, some folks, um, you know, there’s close to 40% of undergraduates actually end up transferring.

Um, and so that’s not something that we talk about a lot in the process, but. It is true, um, nationally, you know, in all four year schools, that is the number, you know, so, um, not to say we shouldn’t all try to get it right, um, but just realize, again, going back to the idea of sort of letting some of the pressure out.

It’s okay if you don’t get it exactly right the first time. A lot of folks will transfer. Um, and that’s okay. Um, the other piece is just sort of thinking about like. A lot of admission. You know, going back to peop the idea of like, people having opinions and, and I think that’s included, like with, uh, a lot of what’s, uh, been, you know, a lot of the media, popular media, um, about admissions as a topic is really from the point of view of like mostly schools who have like single digit accept rates, which by, by default only applies to a single digit of the [00:29:00] population.

Right. And if you’re in that population, that’s fantastic. But again, by default, 90% of us are not in that population. And the reality is about 50% of schools nationally, uh, um, admit. About two thirds of their applicants, right? So we don’t hear a lot about that. We don’t read a lot about those types of places.

Some of those places are absolutely phenomenal institutions that are transformational, and you would be incredibly happy at those schools. So I think we should all, again, put a pin in the, in the pressure balloon, um, and realize that admissions, while we should all take it seriously, um, it is not this, it does not need to be, I guess I should say this, this pressure pack situation where there’s only like one or two right fits.

That is generally not the case. And most schools are way more inclusive than they are exclusive, and most schools are actually competing for you. So if you’re on this, you’re probably taking the process seriously. There’s probably a lot of schools that are really interested in you checking them out. Um, so don’t be afraid to, you know, look at it from that point of view as well.[00:30:00]

Thank you. Okay. Do you, what do you have for a myth? Yeah, I think, um, I think one myth out there is that we, admissions folks, admissions counselors, admissions professionals are gatekeepers. And I wanna squash that. I would say it’s the opposite. We are here working in this profession because I, I think I speak for all of us, maybe all people out there, that we love this work because we love working with students and we love getting to know you.

Um, it genuinely is my favorite part of the job getting to know and working closely with students. And so I would encourage you, um, you know, mentioned before, um, connecting with a regional counselor. You know, take a look at any schools you’re interested in. Take a look on the website. You should be able to find out pretty quickly who the admissions staff person is that works with your school and or, you know, head to your guidance office, meet with your college counselor, and they [00:31:00] may be able to help you navigate that.

Reach out, send an email, connect with us. I think you know, we are here to be connectors for you in this process here, to be a resource for you in this process here, to be an advocate for you in this process. And the more we know about you, the better we can do that. Um, you know, when I sit down to interview students, it’s as much about me asking questions and getting to know a student better, as it also is my wheels turning constantly through the conversation, thinking about ways that I can then make connections with that student, with the college, whether it’s with a current student or a faculty member or an experience that’s gonna help the student then figure out better are we a good fit for them.

Because it comes down to, again, finding places that are a good fit for you. So we are here to help facilitate that, to help do that, to make these connectors and to be a res connections and be, be a resource for you. And so, again, I’d encourage all of you to take advantage of us in this process too. [00:32:00] Thank you.

Katelin, and I guess I’ve got a bit of a two-parter. Um, but before I do that, I did want to acknowledge something. Um, many folks on this webinar are probably not familiar with TCU, so if you’re wondering what that really odd statue is behind me, that is the horned frog. That is our mascot. Um, so just an FYI, I realized this about 10 minutes ago.

Um, but my sort of myth. That I’d like to bust, um, first and foremost is that, you know, I’ve been in this profession for quite some time, and I still come across people who are like, oh, I’ve got this. I, I know what, you know, the admission process is all about. It’s all about having that GPA or, it’s all about having that certain test score, and that is not necessarily the case.

Um, the vast majority of schools out there at this. Point are performing a holistic review of your application. And yes, I’ll be honest, the academic section, uh, section is gonna be the biggest piece of review for a lot of schools because at the end of the day, our job first and foremost, is also to make sure that you can come into the university and be [00:33:00] successful in the classroom.

I mean, that, that is the most important factor, but it’s not necessarily everything. It’s not just about the GPA. We’re looking at your transcript in context of so many other things. We’re looking, um, at the strength of curriculum, you’re taking your classes. Are you choosing them wisely? Are you challenging yourself appropriately?

If rigor is available at your school, um, you know, grade trends, is there a steady grade trend? Is it upward? Is it downward? What’s. Going on there. You know, we’re looking at all of this. So many schools are out there are test optional at this point too. Test blind. You don’t necessarily have to be applying to schools with standardized test scores.

And then outside of that too, we really wanna get to know you as an applicant. So we’re looking at the essay that we get so excited to read that. We’ve talked a bit about, now we’re looking at the supplement answers on the application. You know, trying to figure out why are you really interested in our school?

And what are you gonna bring to us? We’re looking at your activities list and your resume. Have you gotten the opportunity to have a leadership position? Or are you that [00:34:00] student who’s working 25, 30 hours a week? What are you involved in? What are you passionate about? There’s no one activity that’s better than another.

We just really want to get. To know you. Um, those recommendations are super important because the counselors can speak to, you know, what you’ve put into this process, who you are maybe inside and outside of the classroom, teachers that can speak to your effort level and you know, how you handle things when the tough gets going.

Um, so it really is an entire process of things that we’re looking at in terms of that holistic review. Um, with that said though, I also wanna note that. A lot of other times I’ll hear students say like, oh, you know, well Johnny got into x, y, Z school last year and he’s a student just like me, so that means I’m gonna get in this year.

That is not necessarily the case. Um, just for what it’s worth, institutional priorities do shift and change every year for different colleges. So for example, maybe a year before the business school at a college completely over-enrolled, well chances are that next year the business school is going to be more [00:35:00] competitive to get into.

Or maybe this college built an entire new fine arts center and they’re looking to up their musical programs. Well, hey, if you play the trombone, come on down. We want that application. Um, so again, just be aware that when you’re looking at the different charts and things like that on Naviance in your guidance offices, just because something happened a year or two before doesn’t necessarily mean it’s gonna be the case this year as well.

Thank you. Well, I was going to ask about the horn frog. I was gonna wait till the end. So thank you for letting, letting us know, and I guess just listening to all of you, uh, one of the, the reasons that it’s so valuable to hear your thoughts and opinions is that you do work directly with countless students every year, and you have for many years.

So you really, um, really have a, a great understanding of how students are going through this process and, you know, what’s, what’s on their minds. So I am going to, before we open it up for questions, can you share [00:36:00] some, any other pearls of wisdom that we sort of haven’t covered yet, uh, so that, uh, students can benefit from.

From your, your knowledge, and it can be about anything as they, as they go into this process, I’m seeing in the chat and in the q and a, there’s a lot of questions about test scores. And so I think we should probably tackle that. As I would say each of us individually should probably tackle it a little bit, but Great.

Um, and I think that’s actually my main point is that, yes, the pan, one of the silver lines of the pandemic was a lot of schools went test optional or test blind or whatever the case may be. Um, a number of schools did that before the pandemic. Um, I like to tell people that UMass Little went no test in 2015, where the first public school in New England to do so very intentionally, and there’s some really good reasons to do that.

Um, but there’s still a perception that, you know, your chances are gonna be hurt, um, if you don’t submit test scores. And, and I, again, that’s one where I would say check with these schools that you’re looking at, um, [00:37:00] really look at their policy or. Um, to take somebody else’s advice earlier, talk to the admissions counselor who’s assigned to your school and ask them, you know, is there a minimum?

Like at UMass Law it’s 1120. If you have a better than 1120, go ahead and submit. If you have below that, probably a good idea to do no test. 75% of our admits were no test. You can get into any major with no test. You can even get a merit scholarship with no test. Um, and we call it no test. That’s why I keep saying no test.

But there’s different ways of doing it. Different people are test blind, test optional, so on and so forth. So just curious if folks have any other things to add. Drew, I know you guys have been, uh, you went that way a while ago, right? Yeah. This will be our 15th year test. Optional, I think. Um, and you’re right.

I think that what I’ve learned more, more than anything else over 15 years is. People’s perception of what we think not sending scores means. Um, the first problem with that is that we think anything about not sending scores, that’s [00:38:00] a, it’s an, there’s an absence of thought. There’s no, um, no conclusions drawn because there’s no conclusion to it.

Um, we don’t think about your scores if you don’t send them in. We just simply don’t think about it. So that’s a decision you make, uh, when you’re ready to apply. Um, and it’s a conversation you have with your guidance counselor as well, because you may make a different decision at one school than you might make at another school when you’re applying.

But know that if you don’t send your scores in, we’re not gonna spend any time thinking about your scores. I would highly agree with that. Drew. Um. One other thing that I would say is that, you know, again, with the piece about reaching out to different admission counselors is that sometimes test optional can mean different things at different schools.

Um, we were one of the schools that went test optional during the pandemic. And I have to tell you kind of same, like if I don’t see a score submitted, there’s no question it, it doesn’t even register with me to the point now that when I do see scores submitted, I need to remind myself to take that into the process because it’s [00:39:00] become so ingrained, um, in me now.

Um, one thing that we’ve done at TCU to take it a step farther with the test optional, is that we have adopted a do no harm policy. Um. Some students out there have outstanding, um, guidance and college counseling and have have those folks in their lives who can really walk them through the process and say, okay, this is the average for this school.

You know, this is safe to submit. This is not safe to submit. But unfortunately, a lot of students out there just don’t have, um, counseling to that effect. So they send their scores sometimes, even though they’re well below a school’s range. So at TCU when a school a student applies with test scores, we actually have two different academic profiles for them with testing and without.

We will take whichever one actually puts the student higher on our academic scale. And that’s for both admission and for scholarship purposes. Um, one other thing I would say quickly too is that. Some students will take the SAT or a CT multiple times and are really scared to submit a score from a certain date because like, oh, this score was really low that [00:40:00] day.

You know, my math score, even though this is a better, you know, critical reading score for me. And at the end of the day, 97% of the colleges out there are not looking at individual scores. It’s gonna be that top, top, top 1% of schools that have the time in their days to do that. Um, I certainly don’t have time to look through your score reports and dissect everything.

We are super scored, which means we take the highest, you know, scores and the highest section no matter what the date is. So that’s just something else to keep in mind too. And at Dickinson were a little bit different. We’ve been, we had been test optional since the mid nineties and actually, um, just went test blind or we call it test free, uh, in, in 2020.

Um, and like Drew and Caitlyn have said, I mean, we knew how to admit students without testing. Um, it wasn’t something that was new to our process in terms of, you know, we, we knew how to admit students. We knew how to award merit scholarships not tied to testing. ’cause if testing wasn’t there, we weren’t even thinking about it.

And so, [00:41:00] you know, we went in that direction. But I, what I would also say about test optional though, is to be mindful. Again, it’s one of those, it depends situations that Caitlyn mentioned. It might be test optional in general someplace, but take a deeper dive for certain merit scholarships. Is testing gonna be required for certain academic programs?

Is testing gonna be required? So, you know, I might take that little extra deep dive in some of these test optional situations to really understand what that means in, in terms of the whole process. Um, you know, previously when Dickinson was test optional, um, for certain scholarships, you know, years ago we did require that testing was submitted.

So I do kind of throw that out there as a caution as well. Great. Well, I’m thinking we could open it up for questions unless, but I, I wanna make sure that there’s not some other pearl of wisdom that hasn’t been shared maybe that you wanna make sure you get across. You think we should just take some questions?

I would [00:42:00] just say really quickly for students, you know, focus on yourself, um, not what other people at your school, you know, are doing. Just because they’re applying to a certain school doesn’t mean that that’s the right school for you. The names in some places don’t mean that it’s going to be the correct, you know, fit for your journey.

Um, and that goes for parents as well. You know, we know that you hear about x, y, Z school from a colleague or you know, a friend, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be the right choice. For your student student. I would also say too, in terms of numbers of applications, don’t feel like you need to put out 35 different applications when truth be told, you can only see yourself at seven or eight schools.

Um, it’s okay to do that research and really think of your list wisely. You know, look at sort of the facts and figures and numbers and say, Hey, you know, based on historical information, I think my academic profile, you know, really fits in here. Pick a few of those schools. Pick a few schools where you’re like, Ooh, that might be a little bit of a reach academically, but hey, I’m gonna give it a shot.

And then pick a couple of schools that you’re not like, you know what? I think I’m on the [00:43:00] higher end of their admission, you know, scales. So I think this is a really solid, you know, admit for me and give yourself some different options across the board. But again, you don’t need to apply to 35 schools. And to piggyback on that, I think when you do create that list of schools ultimately that you plan to apply to, there should be a reason why or reasons, clear reasons, specific reasons, authentic reasons why you are applying to those places.

And so whether or not you’re ever asked why that college or university in an interview setting or a supplemental essay question doesn’t matter, you should almost be able to have that statement at the ready for every single school that’s on your list. There should be a clear why that’s specific to you.

And so I would encourage you to kind of do that exercise for yourself, even take some of the summer to peel back the layers on some of the places you’re really interested in, to dig into that spec specificity on why that place is good for you. ’cause that’s only gonna help you down the line whether [00:44:00] you’re asked that question or not.

Create a really solid list of schools that are a good fit.

Thank you. I do see a question that someone asked about where is the best place to get information on college financing and how to use college savings plans like 5 29 plans. So I will just quickly say that, you know, my, my, my biased view, but I do believe it’s true, is MEFA has so many resources about college financing.

So please come back, come to our other, uh, webinars, to our website, and we have information on anything. And you can always call us or email us with any, any college financing questions, paying the college bill, applying for financial aid, scholarships, all of that. Um, and actually one other, uh, question I will ask all of you, because it seems to be a theme amongst people’s questions, is what about any learning [00:45:00] loss or inability to.

Do certain things because of the pandemic and even mental health issues that have come up over the pandemic. Can you just say a few words about that?

I think Ed, you might have had a couple. Yeah, I’m happy to chime in. Um, I guess what I would say is, honestly it is all relative and so what I mean is I don’t think anybody was immune from the pandemic. Obviously different people are affected in different ways. I’m saying words if it’s past tense when we’re all still in it, I guess, right?

I mean, um, but yeah, no, to seriously, we have seen a lot of, of that exact thing and I, and I totally understand the concern, especially on the part of parents where they’re like, you know, my student was doing great, and then this thing just upended them. And hopefully, so that’s kind of one of the areas where, again, it’s all relative.

So I think, and, you know, speaking for [00:46:00] myself at UMass Little and also in our committee reviews and so forth, you know, we do put that into context. We really do. Um, in fact, I actually would think about it in the search process and, and ask those questions directly of admissions counselors and also ask schools what they’re doing because, uh, apart from, um, you know, the concerns about learning loss and so forth.

Colleges are really gonna have to be ready for, you know, the various challenges we’re gonna have with this, uh, incoming classes and, and even the ones that are with us now. And so it’s a good question to ask, you know, what are you doing about things like mental health, wellbeing, um, you know, engaging in counseling, engaging in, um, you know, academic support services and so on and so forth.

So, um, you know, we actually started a, um, summer, uh, pre-calc class because we saw. Huge numbers of students who struggled a lot in math and they were not ready to start in, in [00:47:00] things like engineering, which requires a facility in calculus. You, you absolutely have to be ready to do calculus. Um, if you are not, you will fail.

Um, and so we saw students, because it’s such a sequential, math is so sequential, even as an undergrad, uh, I mean as a high school student, that a lot of folks, they got upended and they never got their way back, and they’re still trying to claw their way back. So we actually offered a summer class, you know, and said, we’re, you’re admitted based, conditionally based on, you know, successful completion of this pass.

And then you could start right in engineering. Those kinds of things are the things that I would be looking for if I were looking for schools. You know, just, is the school being responsive? Are they being mindful of what everybody’s been through? That said, you know, again, it is all relative. So, um, I. You know, I don’t know if there’s any like, it depends, you know, like that’s just the case.

Um, and so I don’t know if that answers the question, but I hope it does a little bit. It did, it did. I would say also in terms of that, [00:48:00] um, reading your application, we only know the information that is in front of us. So what’s on your transcript? What’s in your letters of recommendation, what you’ve told us through your application?

If you don’t explain something, we’re not going to know about it. So I’ve noticed that, you know, a lot of students over the past couple of years who have had some troubles because of covid, whether it be, you know, an illness and missing a lot of classes or whether it be struggling with online learning, um, you know, a, a lot of their activities being taken away and really having some, you know, emotional or mental health struggles.

Because of that, I’ve found a lot more students are taking advantage of, um. Some of the applications do give you an additional information section or there’s even been like a COVID-19 information section and that is a great place to talk about that because then we can put different things with your transcripts into context with this information.

Now, if a student, you know, [00:49:00] was a straight A student their freshman year and has received C’s and D’s ever since, will they be an academic fit for some schools? Probably not. But if students have a little bit of a bobble and struggling with some online learning, yes, we’re gonna take that into consideration.

And that’s not information we’re generally going to hold against students. But again, remember, we don’t know what you don’t tell us.

That’s great. I also think that’s where letters of recommendation can be really helpful as well. Um, we often reach out to counselors to ask, you know, has a student recovered? Does it look like they are recovering? Can you send us most recent grades? You know, and that’s where again, who, who is writing your letter of rec.

They can really put some of those things into context. Um, so make sure that you talk to your college counselor, have a relationship with them, but also if, if it’s even a teacher that you struggled in, sometimes that can be a good letter too. Um, especially if you did try to, um, to make up for that learning loss.[00:50:00]

Very helpful. So Jennifer, I think I’ll ask you, you’ve been, uh, reading all of the questions and, and hearing what people are saying, what, what would you let maybe ask a couple more questions here. What’s, what’s a big topic on people’s minds? Well, I think a lot of them have been answered live, but yes. A, a couple coming in on, um, just on students having grade drops, um, during the pandemic.

And how does that affect the admissions process? Um, you know, with these challenging times, you know, maybe a student started off with straight and then plummeted, um, over the last couple of years. So how would admissions office handle that?

It’s funny. I think, you know, we’ve always had to maintain perspective when reading an application during a particular cycle. Um, I can think back years ago, and it was like, you know, the, the California wildfire fires, we had to keep that in perspective when reading [00:51:00] those applications and the earthquake in Puerto Rico.

We had to adjust our thinking for those transcripts. But covid, it’s, it’s, it’s a permanent, um, uh, adjustment that we have to make. It’s global. Um, it’s not region by region, it’s not school by school. So, uh, and it’s also affecting our lives as well. So understand that. Um, that’s how all of us have adjusted, how we understand everything from doing webinars.

This is an adjustment, um, to the way we read transcripts and, and it’s just how we’ve, it’s how we adjust. Context is always the most important thing we establish before we read a transcript. And, um, it’s a given now that Covid has a, has had an impact worldwide. And so that we bring that understanding when we read a student’s transcript.

I’ll put in a little plug for, um, our community college friends and colleagues out there. Um, I’m not sure what other folks on the call are seeing, but we’re seeing a really big increase in [00:52:00] transfer applications at TCU specifically coming from different community college systems all over the country.

And I think that’s because a lot of students, you know, especially with the pandemic kind of said, Hey, I’m struggling with this virtual learning, or I’m struggling getting back into the classroom and either I don’t know if I’m ready to, you know, move out and head to a four year school, or maybe my academics need a bump first.

Um, that’s something else to consider that maybe like a local or community college option first is a really great idea for those students who wanna prove that they can get back on track in the classroom and, and come into these four year environments and be successful. That’s a great point. And of course the affordability with community colleges is wonderful too, so that’s great.

I, I see a question. Let me ask this, and I’ve heard this question before where someone is asking whether it is, you know, what, if you’re not completely sure of the major you want to, um, be [00:53:00] in, and some colleges require you to apply into that major specifically and others allow you to, you know, apply more generally to the school and then choose a major later.

Um, do you have any, any thinking, and I know it’s different at different schools as well, but any thinking, um, that you can share with a student, um, what questions they can ask themselves and all to decide whether they should apply directly into a major or wait? Yeah, I would just say again, um, I think either direction you go, um, students.

Change their minds and, um, that happens, right? And I would just say whether you are laser focused on what you think you wanna do now or if you’re coming in completely undecided, I think really important when you build your list of schools, that there is enough offered at each one of those places that interests you.

That if one path and one thing you [00:54:00] might think you wanna do doesn’t end up being what you wanna do, that there’s enough elfs academically that interests you. And I would say that about the community too. Make sure, you know, when you’re thinking about that community and that social fit, that there’s enough there that you know, you, what you may be interested in, made you in high school, thoughts might change.

And so think about, you know, make sure there’s kind of that, um, broad breadth there, ed say in both areas that if you change your mind or gain a new interest, that there’s enough flexibility. And then, like Ed said, you know, students ultimately, if a place isn’t right for a student. There are opportunities and, and defer students to transfer.

And that process, um, absolutely is fine and great too. So, um, while I know there’s this, you know, thought and pressure of finding the right place right now, if that ends up not being right, that’s okay too. And we have, we all have processes in place, um, to help students who are thinking about transferring in.

I think it’s one of those areas where you [00:55:00] definitely wanna look at the schools that you’re applying to and figure out what majors, you know, uh, and, and it’s a question that you can ask, you know, is it important that I apply to a specific major? Because there are some schools that are very focused on majors.

Not only that, but there are some majors that are significantly more competitive and therefore you have to apply to that major. Um, I’m thinking about nursing and in, in particular at UMass Lowell, you have to apply early action. It is the only major that you have to apply by a specific date. Um, and that’s true of other schools, you know, with different programs.

It doesn’t, it’s not just nursing, it can be business, computer science, it could be, you know, lots of different things. However, there’s other schools that they won’t even let you declare a major until sophomore, you know what I mean? Like that. So it really does run the gamut. And it’s, it’s, um, also there are, um, there’s a number of, um.

Like in career services offices, they can give you a, um, like a test that shows your strengths and weaknesses and how those match up [00:56:00] with particular majors. And sometimes, you know, that can be a good tool, um, for students who are in the decision making process. It is an absolute luxury to know exactly what you want to do.

Um, you know, I have, I changed my major twice. I’m sure half of us here were English majors that, that, that changed into English from something else. Um, you know, it’s just kind of the way it goes. Um, 40% of students changed their major. Like it’s a, you know, it’s a very similar, uh, rate to transferring. So yes, I.

Kate, great point. Students change their mind and that’s totally okay. And if you’re not, if you don’t know what you wanna do, again, knowing what you wanna do is a, is a luxury. And actually part of college is figuring out what you wanna do, who you want to be, you know, what actually interests you, what new things that you’re gonna be exposed to that you weren’t, um, prior to college.

So if you don’t have it figured out, totally fine. But again, definitely be mindful of who is looking at majors in particular, ’cause that really can be important. So it’s something to at least look into in the schools that you’re looking at.[00:57:00]

I’ll just say none of us majored, majored in admissions when we were in college. So understand that what you study in college may not necessarily dictate what you do after you graduate. You mean I’m not still a horseback riding instructor with an equine studies degree. That’s not what I’m doing on this webinar.

Weird. Okay. I love it. It is the most common pathway to a career in college admissions.

Well, that’s true. There are so many wonderful things to pursue in college. Right. Uh, on your way to wherever you’re going, Jennifer. Um, what else, what else? Anything else that we should address? Let’s see here. We’ve had a slew of questions come in. Um, maybe could you talk a little bit about early action, early decision, um, [00:58:00] what the pros and the cons of applying early.

This is gonna be one of those questions and I’ve, I’ve been trying to keep up with the q and a box too, and there’s been so many different things that have come through. Um, and the answer is gonna be, it depends. Um, because every single school has a different process. Some schools, um, are rolling admissions all the way through the process.

Some schools have early decision, which is binding. Some have early decision too, which is also binding, but a later date. Some Stu schools have early action. Some schools have restrictive early action. Some schools have regular decision. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. I can say, um, from kind of, from my perspective, um, at a school that does offer several of these, um, we do have early decision and as of this past cycle, early decision too, um, we’re not a school that pushes a huge, huge part of our class to apply ed.

It’s just not been part of our cycle. [00:59:00] Um, we take about 20% or so of our incoming fresh, uh, first year class through early decision. And I will say that’s for students who you are 250% sure that that’s. School is where you want to be. And I’m talking, you know, not just the admission purposes, but financial purposes because remember, it’s, it’s all combined in that I’ve had students say to me like, oh man, you know, I’m really deciding where I should ed between TCU and, you know, x, y, Z school.

And I’m like, if that’s even a question in your mind, you shouldn’t be applying early decision anywhere. Um, early action I think is probably the most ap popular application round out there for the schools who have it, because you’re getting the process done early, you’re getting your response back early, but at the same time, it’s not a binding decision.

So you still have time to compare and contrast scholarship offers, you know, financial aid packages, et cetera. And then I feel like regular decisions sometimes gets the short end of the stick these days because there’s so much pressure to apply early everywhere. But at the same time, maybe you’re still deciding on schools or maybe a school comes up [01:00:00] on your radar a little late in the process.

That’s okay. We get thousands of regular decision applications. Also, for some students, you academic profile might look a little bit better to us in a regular decision round. Um, when you apply early to the school, we only get to see, you know, your freshman, sophomore, and junior year grades. Occasionally we’ll get first quarter of your senior year in on time for review, but we cannot guarantee that.

So if you’re a student who maybe had a little bit of a struggle at one point in time and really wanna show that upward trend in academics, or maybe, you know, you’re applying to a school that requires test scores and you’ve taken some later tests and you haven’t gotten those results back in a regular decision, might be a really great round for you to consider.

I could go on about decision rounds all day, but I’ll let some other folks chime in.

Thank you. I can I ask, uh, maybe just a quick couple of, uh, words about how someone, a student with a learning [01:01:00] disability, um, might be able to navigate that when looking at schools? What questions to ask, how, how to, how to figure out what might be a good fit there.

When I talked to before about I’m here as a resource and a connector, and all of those things as students are identifying fit with the college. Certainly, and a lot I am, I’m connecting with students, with folks in our access services department. Um, I think for someone who has a learning learning difference, you know, if there are, um, accommodations you have or certain support that you need, that’s a huge decision making factor As you’re identifying a school that’s a good fit for you, do these schools that you’re looking at, are they gonna provide you with what you need in terms of that piece and have what you need in order to be successful?

And so again, I, that’s a connection I make often is with folks in that office to talk through those things. Um, [01:02:00] I think again. As mentioned before, you know, there should never be an opportunity or a moment in the application where we’re sitting there thinking to ourselves, I wonder what happened here, or I wonder why this or that.

You know, I think if you are taking a look at what you’re submitting to us and there’s ever, you know, whether it’s around a learning difference or something else, if there’s something out there that you feel like your application is not complete without us knowing about, again, as advocates for you in this process.

The more we know about you, the better we can advocate for you in this process. So use those pieces of the application, the additional information sections, um, in interview setting, if a school offers that, um, you know, interviews won’t be offered everywhere. And again, and it depends situation, whether they’re required or not or how they’re used, but again, another way to bring your voice into a process if it is offered, um, in terms of getting to know you and how you thrive and how you’re successful.

Um, all of that can be really important. But no, use us as, again, connectors and resources to spaces and places and [01:03:00] people on the campus that are gonna be able to help you figure out, is this a good academic fit for me? Is this a good social fit for me? Is this a good financial fit for me? I mean, all of those cases, there’s a whole lot of layers to fit.

And, um, and that’s, that’s just one of them.

I think too, sometimes students will add some of this information into their application. A lot of times in that additional information section, it’s certainly not required that you disclose this information to us. And if you submit, you know, a 5 0 4 IEP, I don’t look at that information, I can’t do that.

Um, but like one thing that I’ll bring is, a certain example is, uh, TCU for, um, required classes. We do require at least two years of a foreign language when applying to the university. But there are some students out there, um, with certain, you know, learning differences or processing disorders that, you know, they’ll have a language waiver from their school.

So we’ll open up a transcript and, you know, see no foreign language if I don’t. Know about that language waiver. [01:04:00] Um, I’m gonna put that kind of as a zero on my check mark for a strength of curriculum. Um, so again, some of that information, you know, especially if it’s something that a school requires for admission, it’s helpful if we have that information because I’ll tell you right now, if a student ha has a language waiver, I will not hold that against a student in a, in an application process whatsoever.

A lot of schools have specific counselors who deal with LD applications in general, or at least are the resource, like the one person that you should speak with in that office who has particular expertise. We have a person in our office who deals with any and all inquiries related to any learning differences of any sort.

Um, it really depends. It really depends. It depends on like what school you’re interested in. Um, different schools do LD differently. Some schools have like significant support. Some schools have almost none. Um, you know, so, um, I would say though that every year it becomes more and more common. [01:05:00] I think, uh, especially as, you know, um, the years go by, there’s almost no stigma at all anymore.

Um, in fact, in a way you can say that people were proactive about, uh, you know, getting their sons or daughters taken care of in terms of, you know, uh, figuring out what they need to succeed academically. Um, so it’s definitely a question to ask. You know, like a lot of things that we’ve talked about tonight, it’s a question to ask of whatever school you’re thinking about.

How are they treating LDS in particular, if that is something that is, uh, a part of who you are. Thank you. And I’m gonna ask you all maybe to just give any parting words as we, um, say, have a great summer to all of you students and parents out there. But Jennifer, any, anything major that we missed, I’ll add that If every question wasn’t answered, uh, we will look at those and, uh, put together some information.[01:06:00]

And you can always email mefa, call mefa, um, to follow up with us, and especially if it was a very specific question. That was, uh, kind of a unique specific question. We’ll, we’ll be happy to, uh, stay connected with these experts and, and get you the information. Um, but any, anything general Jennifer that we should talk about before we give parting words?

There were a couple of questions around the financial piece, but I popped a couple of links in the chat, um, to direct them to our, um, to our website. Um, there was one a about, um, our schools no longer or most schools no longer need blind. If the school looks at financial need, how much of a factor is that?

So that’s. That’s a hot one. So what, and I’ll, I will just say exactly what you said. As we always say at MEFA, we have, we have so many resources on [01:07:00] the financial piece. So please, please stay connected, join another webinar. Does anyone want to mention the, the need blind piece at all or should we just, um, I know we addressed that in a lot of other webinars at MEFA.

I think that’s probably best because the answer to that is it depends across the board again, so we’re all gonna have answers. That’s great. Alright, so I, I assure you, you can, you can check out, um, NIFA’s WI videos for past webinars and coming up in, in the fall we will have more information, um, about, um, all of those financial topics.

So thank you. Um, all right, so I’ll just ask the panelists, do you have any parting words, um, with our audience here?

Reach out, ask questions. I think Kate started it and several of us have talked about it too. Um, at the end of the day, we are counselors. [01:08:00] We are here to help look up our contact information on website, on our websites, and not just us, but all the schools that you’re looking at. Um, and keep coming to programs like this on so many different topics.

Like mi a is such, you know, a great example of this. There’s also so many different community-based organizations, you know, that work with students in the college process. Take advantage of, you know, guidance or college counselors if you have the opportunity to. Um, I can speak for Kate and myself that there are, there is a great, um, regional representative, uh, group up here in New England.

Um, there’s about 40 or so of us that represent colleges all outside of New England. We host different events. I’ll type in the website in the chat, but feel free to look us up. Really great information. Um, and yeah, that’s my piece of advice is just keep getting all the information you can. And I always advise to, you know, again, kind of step outside the admissions piece of things, right?

Use us, uh, us as resources. But also what if you’re on a college campus, walk into the library, ask the [01:09:00] student at the counter, um, you know, I’m a prospective student. What do you love about this place? Or, you know, watch how students are walking around the campus and how they’re interacting with each other.

You know, in a virtual setting, we can, again, make connections for you how those conversations go, and, um, kind of what you learn that’s gonna tell you a whole lot about the institutions that you’re, that you’re looking at. So try to, you know, when you get down to it, take a step outside of this kind of stuff and go a little bit deeper into kind of those everyday interactions you might be having.

What your life might look like, um, in more detail at these places. ’cause that’s gonna help you further figure out what’s a great fit for you.

I would, I guess I would just say you’re off to a great start. If you’re participating in something like this. It is a tangible first step. If it is your first step. It also indicates to me some, some evidence that you’re at least conscious of MEFA, which is a good thing as well. Um, so you’re [01:10:00] already thinking that way.

So, you know, I don’t think if, if, if what I let off with, uh, you know, and what I’m gonna end with here is any sup is any surprise. But, um, again, you’re already off to a good start. Um, take it seriously. Take your time, make decisions based on, um, logical things. Um, again, everybody in your life is gonna have an opinion.

That’s okay. At the end of the day, it’s what, um, you know, the student and, and the parents who are helping make that decision wanna do. And, uh, that’s what the focus should be on more than anything else. And I think I’ll just close with a, a word for parents. ’cause this is likely a lot of parents here tonight.

Um, parents often get frustrated because they, um, their high school juniors or sophomores don’t wanna have conversations with them about college. Um, and it’s because you’re asking too many questions. Um, you’re asking them questions about their preferences for an experience that they’ve not yet had. So [01:11:00] hold off on the questions early on in the timeline, like particularly now, if you have a sophomore or a junior.

And, uh, give them exposure. Allow them to build up a set of preferences and a vocabulary. Um, and, uh, you’ll save yourself the frustration of, of them not wanting to participate in the conversation. So hold off on the questions, ramp up on the exposure and save the questions for later. Thank you. Well, thank you to all our panelists, Jennifer.

Thank you. And. Thank you to everyone who participated and have a wonderful summer and do stay in touch and I see a lot of, um, link links in, in the chat and emails, so you have a lot of places to follow up and, uh, we will see you again. Thank you all. Thank you.