6 Reasons to Attend College Fair

College Fair alert!

This Sunday from 1-3 pm at Heritage Hall.

50 colleges and universities.

OU, OSU, Tulsa, DePauw, Hendrix, Washington and Lee, Vassar, Arkansas, TCU, SMU and the list goes on.

So if you are a 10th grade and 11th grade student and parent then I hope you take the time to attend on Sunday afternoon.

Just recently The Denver Post published an article entitled,"It's Prep Time: 6 Reasons to Attend a College Fair."

Here is an excerpt from the article.

1. PERSONAL CONTACT. Fairs enable direct contact with representatives from hundreds of colleges and universities in one place. They're an opportunity to talk to people instead of surfing the Internet for information.


2. FORCED FOCUS. College fairs force students to sharpen their focus on college options and start making some decisions.

3. AID INFORMATION. Many fairs have separate presentations on financial aid options and how to obtain the most financial assistance. Colleges also cater to this issue, with many handing out separate pamphlets on their own options.

To read the full article click here.

See you there.

Counselor-O-Matic

Emily Orthwein, a junior, came to see me yesterday. She wondered where to start her college search. Geography? Academic interests? Reputation?

My advice.

Start with your prospective list. Mr. Cernick and I put a lot of time and thought into playing match maker. Consider us like a dating service. Not for a guy or girl, of course. But a college or university.

Remember: our philosophy is best fit for you. Not best school out there.

Beyond that I'd recommend the Princeton Review Counselor-O-Matic. It's a lot of fun. Kind of like a dating service. You provide the program lots of personal information. They spit out a prospective list of their own. Compare and contrast our list with Princeton's. And it is free.

To play around with Princeton Review's Counselor-O-Matic click here.

OU or Bust!

So far 6 of our seniors have accepted scholarship monies from OU for next fall-ranging from National Merit monies that will cover $43,000 in expenses to Presidential Leadership scholarships that rewards $750.

M.K. Blakley and Erik Lee will both be sporting crimson and cream next fall.

* M.K. will participate in the Presidential Leadership Club. This honor includes a Fall Retreat, weekly meetings, and opportunities to help host dignitaries with Mr. Boren at formal functions. M.K. couldn't be a better ambassador for Casady and OU. Boren will be lucky to have her!

Scott Bennett, a National Merit scholar, will have the opportunity to spar openly with President Boren in his political science course at the Honors College - a Deep Red versus a Moderate Shade of Blue. Sparks should fly!

Congrats to all our future crimson and creamer's.

Boomer!

Sooner!

Boomer!

...

To learn more about the OU's National Scholars Program that Scott will participate in next year click here.

To also learn more about OU's outstanding Honors College click here.

Article on SAT- Hmmm?

Richard Clements sent me a thought-provoking article on SAT's.

Here are a couple excerpts from the article.

And who can blame them? Critics of the SAT are eager to remind you that its intellectual genealogy traces back to the intelligence tests that eugenicists, racial theorists, and other creepy types promoted in the early 20th century as a way of purifying the gene pool.

This spring three more selective and well-known schools--Fairfield University, Connecticut College, and Sewanee: The University of the South--took NACAC's advice, announcing that they would adopt a "test optional" admissions policy, telling applicants they no longer were required to submit SAT scores but were free to submit them if they wished. The schools join dozens of well-regarded peers--Bates, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Holy Cross, and Wake Forest among them--in striking a blow against the SAT, and in being very proud of themselves for doing so.

Wake Forest's president, Nathan O. Hatch, announced his school's SAT policy in a much-discussed op-ed in the Washington Post. "By opening doors even wider to qualified students from all backgrounds and circumstances," he wrote, "we believe we are sending a powerful message of inclusion and advocating for democracy of access to higher education."

To read the full article click here.

A Parable of Persistence

Patrick Wert reaally wanted Boston U. His reasons. Big. Cosmopolitan. Brimming with diversity. Boston. The Sox. The Celtics. 100 colleges and universities within 100 miles. 1 in 4 Bostonians college students. An urban ethos humming with eclectic energy.

But Patrick was deferred in December. So Patrick mounted a campaign. He made a concerted effort to get to know his representative - Roberto Trevino. He emailed. Called. Had me write and call. In response, Roberto confided to me: "Patrick is right on the fence. Good news is that he has a real upward trend in his grades."

After the second trimester, Patrick wrote a formal letter to Roberto. He sent the letter to me. I put it on Casady letterhead. And we sent it. In the letter, Patrick highlighted his academic grades for the winter, along with his new leadership endeavors as class president.

Two months later Patrick got THE text. THE good one.

Last week Patrick attended a meet-and-greet event in Dallas for accepted BU students. As Patrick walked through the doors, he was greeted by a smiling fellow. "So there is the man," the fellow exclaimed, shaking Patrick's hand, "that won us over with his persistence. Welcome to BU, brother."

It was Roberto, Patrick's rep.

Patrick Wert. A parable of persistence.

To learn more about why Patrick chose Boston University click here.

Dear Mr. Bottomly, My Son/Daughter Got this National Scholars Program Letter...

Recently I've had a sophomore parent and student ask me about a creamy vanilla envelop with a "congratulations letter" in it. It's from the National Scholars Program.

Is this letter legit?

Is it a scam?

Will this really shimmer on a resume and impress an admission committee?

Hmmm.

First. National Scholar Programs do go after promising future scholars. There is nothing "scammy" about who they recruit. Nor should you feel like a sucker if you do pay the entry fee. A National certificate of this caliber is something that you can put on your resume to underscore that you have been nationally recognized for your academic achievements.

Will it shimmer though?

Hmmm.

Here is what I've learned. If you have to pay for it, a college admissions committee will often chalk it up to privilege. If, however, you have to work for it then it speaks of responsibility.

Colleges are far more interested in honors/awards/certificates that a student earns within his/her own school. And local community.

So in the future, when in doubt, apply the "x=PoR" litmus test: Does [x] = Privilege? Or does [x] = Responsibility? This will help you weigh pros and cons of any program.

Dear Mr. Bottomly - ACT/SAT Question

Got this e-mail this morning from a sophomore parent about ACT/SAT.

I have a question for you regarding the SAT/ACT for my son. We were thinking that our son should go ahead and take both tests on the June 2009 test date since school is out and he would’t have many other distractions.

Do you have any advice or comments regarding my son and the June testing dates? Should we go ahead and have our son take the tests in June?

No harm in your son taking both tests in June. I agree that this will be the most “distraction” free period all year. Plus it will be the time of year that your son is chalk-full of knowledge. All that cramming for the final exams... His "mental jar" will be as full as it can get!

As far as the test itself, I’d encourage your son not to send scores to any colleges. "Student choice" means your son can wait and see first his scores before colleges see them. The only drawback of this option is that students will not be able to take advantage of the 5 colleges that ACT/SAT will send scores to for free. 

As far as test prep – he might want to do a few practice sessions either online or in a book. But not much. Don’t want to overwhelm. Just enough for your son to gain a sense of how the test and questions are structured. Then a good night sleep. A healthy breakfast. And go for it!

Once we see where your son scores strong and not so strong, we can address how we might shore those sections up. There are ample options there. As an English teacher, I must insert one caveat: reading for reading sake is a good thing, but reading can also help you augment your test scores. So read this summer. One suggested reading - From Ashes to Africa. Heard the co-authors are being considered for a Pulitzer. JK. Read, though. Read the Twilight series (or not). Read magazines. Newspapers. Online articles. Read. Read. Read. One thing we did on the Junior newsletter is provide a list of recommended books from English and History faculty. There are some awesome suggestions from our esteemed colleagues. Encourage your son to peruse that list.

Speaking of Junior Newsletter – have you perused the Spring edition?

The Junior edition newsletter is linked on the right side. Upper corner. See it? Good.