Climb to College
Follow Climb to College on social media!
  • Home
  • About
    • Consultant
    • Testimonials
    • College Acceptances
  • Services
    • College Counseling
    • Workshops
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Client Login
  • Consultant

Are You a Jewish Student Looking at Colleges? Some Questions You Might Want to Ask.

12/3/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Happy Hanukkah! 

During the National Association of College Admission Counseling Conference earlier this fall, I attended a session titled "College Counseling for Jewish Students & Families." There were some great takeaways from this session and hope you find them helpful as well as you celebrate the final nights of the holiday.

First, if you are a Jewish student or parent starting your college search, or in the thick of it, it is worth considering how important Jewish life is to you and how active a role you want take in Jewish life while going to college. 

Here are some introductory questions you might want to ask yourself:
  • What type of Jew are you? 
  • What is Jewish life currently like at home? At school? Outside of school? How much do you want it to change? Stay the same? 
  • Do you participate in Shabbat?

Second, you may want to think about the food and the role that plays in your life. For example:
  • What will the dining hall and residence life experience be like? 
  • Will there be food you can eat every day of the week (not just select Kosher options but full meals)?

Lastly, you may want to think about life inside and outside the classroom. For example:
  • What about Greek life? (some organizations focus specifically on Jewish members)
  • What about Israel Studies or Jewish Studies on campus?
  • Are there clubs and/or organizations for Jewish students?
  • Is there Hillel?

The presenters at the session also identified some "up and coming" schools for Jewish life. Their list included: U of Richmond, Elon, Virginia Commonwealth, Northeastern University, and College of Charleston. In addition some "hot schools" on their list for Jewish students included: Bradley University, Franklin & Marshall University, Muhlenberg, Colgate University, Ithaca College, Dickinson College, Lehigh University, Trinity University and Michigan State University. 

For more resources on Jewish life in college here are some helpful websites to check out.
www.hillel.org
www.chabod.edu
www.campramah.org
www.jlionline.org
www.cajue.org

P.S. Are you an admissions counselor?  Here's a tip for you. You might want to be ready for questions during your recruitment travel about Jewish life, especially if you are visiting a Jewish high school!
1 Comment

Applying for Financial Aid? Consider How You List Your Colleges On the FAFSA!

10/30/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
A recent article in Inside Higher Education explains how some colleges are using the FAFSA against students and families. Make sure this doesn't happen to you when you file your financial aid forms this winter!

Essentially, the article suggests that when students list the colleges they are thinking of attending on the FAFSA, the U.S. Department of Education then shares all of the information on the FAFSA with the colleges on the list. Some colleges have discovered that the order in which students list the institutions corresponds to students' preferred colleges. So, some colleges are using this so called "FAFSA position" when considering the student's application for admission. 

This is very concerning because not only could this impact admission decisions for students but some college officials may actually offer smaller aid packages to those who list their school high on the list, assuming that the students are more likely to pay whatever it may take to attend his or her top choice college.

This is an article that is definitely worth a glance now and maybe again as a reminder closer to when you file the FAFSA in a few months. 

1 Comment

The Class of 2017: No Directions Needed, Just give them a GPS!

9/12/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
It's a rainy day here in Boulder, Colorado. The streets are flooding and schools are cancelled. We hope that everyone is staying safe, warm, and dry. That being said, here is some light reading while you are stuck inside today. 

Each year, just in time for the start of the new school year, Beloit comes out with their annual Mindset List. The list is intended to give a glimpse into this year's generation of incoming college students. The list is a great way for college administrators and professors to have a sense of who will be joining them on campus in the fall. It is also a great reminder to college counselors like myself of who we are interacting with on a daily basis!

The list for the Class of 2017 was released recently and you can check it out here. 

Some of my favorites from the list include:

- Gaga has never been baby talk.
- With GPS, they have never needed directions to get someplace, just an address.
- They have never really needed to go to their friend’s house so they could study together.
- Their parents’ car CD player is soooooo ancient and embarrassing.
- Their parents have always bemoaned the passing of precocious little Calvin and sarcastic stuffy Hobbes.

Have fun reading the rest of the Mindset List!

0 Comments

    Author

    Climb to College is an educational consulting company that works with high school students and their families during the college admissions process. We serve students in Colorado and Vermont as well as across the country.

    Archives

    January 2016
    June 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    July 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Beloit
    Boulder College Admissions Help
    Boulder College Advice
    Boulder College Consultant
    Boulder College Counselor
    Boulder College Planner
    Boulder Educational Consultant
    Boulder Educational Consulting
    Burlington College Advice
    Burlington College Planning
    Burlington Educational Consultant
    College Admission Advice
    College Admissions
    College Applications
    College Essay
    College Fairs
    College Fairs Boulder
    College Freshman
    Colorado
    Colorado Educational Consultant
    Common Application
    Fafsa
    Financial Aid
    First Year Students
    Harwood Union High School
    High School Seniors
    Juniors
    Nacac
    National Association For College Admissions Counseling
    Scholarships
    Stowe
    Stowe College Counseling
    Stowe Educational Consultant
    Stowe High School
    Tips For College Applications
    University Of Colorado
    Vermont
    Vermont College Consultant
    Vermont College Planning
    Vermont Educational Consultant
    Waterbury
    Waterbury College Counseling
    Waterbury Educational Consultant

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from faungg's photo, pj_vanf, Veronique Debord, Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota National Guard, RambergMediaImages, Amy Loves Yah, danieljluebke