Context

College in Context

June 07, 2019

The official e-newsletter of The Equestrian College Advisor.

From the blog:

With the announcement by the College Board (the folks who bring you the SAT, the CSS Profile, and several other college-related products) that they will assign an “adversity score” to all future SAT test-takers that takes into account a student’s environment (academic, social, and familial, specifically) in order to help college admission professionals best put test scores into some sort of context, there has been a lot of chatter online, in the media, and in college counseling and college admission offices around the country.

I’m not really going to dive into the fray on this issue today (in particular because, if I were to do so, I couldn’t express my feelings any better than Darin Bartram in a recent op ed for USA Today) but I think it is worth delving into the notion of context when it comes to a student’s college application (and overall college search process).

More specifically, let’s look at how context already appears in a student’s application and how seniors can acknowledge it (and transcend it if they choose). Read More

Parent

The summer after high school graduation inevitably includes monthslong encounters with various to-do lists.

Extra-long-sheet purchases and milk crates for future collegians. A résumé for job seekers. Thank-you notes for all. Read More

Students

A group of student journalists at Palo Alto High School has decided to break with a decadeslong, cherished practice of publishing a map that illustrates where seniors are going after graduation.

The Transition to Dorm LivingYou’ve done it! You applied and were accepted to the college of your dreams and now you’re preparing to move into your freshman dorm room this fall. Congratulations!Undoubtedly you know full well that living in a college residence hall will be different from living at home with your parents, but exactly how different it will be may be a bit of an unknown. Here are some tips to help you plan ahead for the transition:

  • Stock up on comfort items. Your dorm room will be your home away from home for the next year so you should feel comfortable when you’re there. Perhaps a memory foam mattress topper or set of sheets made out of t-shirt material are priorities for you – or a great set of towels, a killer playlist of favorite tunes, or basket of your favorite snack foods. Whatever you need to make the room home should be at the top of your packing list.

  • Assess your computing needs carefully. A laptop or desktop computer are now considered essential items for the college-bound student, but what else will you need to aid your learning process? Many campuses feature tablet-enabled technology as well, so perhaps a tablet is a good investment if you don’t already have one, but a printer might be a waste of money and resources if your new campus allows generous print credits in its computer labs. Do your research before you purchase technology to take to school!

  • Ear plugs might be beneficial. Residence hall quiet hours vary from campus to campus (and even from residence hall to residence hall) and anytime you put several hundred young adults in the same building, you’re going to create a noisy environment. It’s just a given. Thus, if you’re a light sleeper or a student-athlete who requires a lot of shut-eye to play at your best, an investment in good ear plugs or another noise-canceling device might be a good one to make.

  • Open yourself up to the experience. Living in an on-campus residence hall will introduce you to a lot of new people from a wide variety of backgrounds in a way that you won’t experience anywhere else in your life. You won’t like everyone or even agree with them all the time, but learning to accept (and live with) those differences and cope with the challenges they present is just as much a part of your college education as what you’ll learn in the classroom. It won’t always be easy – but it will benefit you in the long run!

Leaving home to attend college is one of the many rites of passage you’ll experience over the course of your life and one that will present a lot of challenges – and just as many rewards. Plan carefully for it and then embrace it when it arrives. You won’t have another opportunity in your life to live so close to so many of the people who will soon be your closest friends!