This concept has been around for a while now so I did some looking into it yesterday and it really surprised me how many schools do this. The college I am attending for my master's program had this, and frankly at the time it appealed to me because of how expensive it was to apply to grad school. For students wanting to apply to multiple colleges the multiple applications can really start ringing up the dollar signs at $30-$75 a pop to apply. Ouch.
So some schools are bucking the trend and making their online application completely free of charge.
Do a quick search on our website and look up these colleges:
Simmons College
Concordia University (OR)
Clarke College
Central Methodist University
Aquinas College
Averett University
Silver Lake College
Hamline University
Regis University
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
Ranken Technical College
Viterbo University
Ouachita Community College
Unity College
St. John's University (NY)
Green Mountain College
Totally free to submit an application to these schools. There may be a lot more but this was just on a quick sweep through our member colleges on the site, and what I could find on the first page of the online application.
What I wonder is if this will cause students to apply to schools they may not have or may not be as interested in... I wonder how many attend a school because of being able to apply for free. What I also wonder (I'm very curious today apparently) is how much extra work this might cause an admissions department to weed out students who just applied online because it's free... I don't know. I can't imagine applying to a college I wasn't interested in just because I could, but then again I've seen what my younger brothers who are in high school do when they're bored!
What do you think? Would you submit an application to a school you're not terribly interested in just because it's free? Do you wonder too?
Showing posts with label applications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label applications. Show all posts
Friday, April 17, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Hurray, US Dept of Education!
Not too often that you see that as a blog title, right?
Last week they did something really cool- yet very simple- for people using the web to try and navigate some of the higher education websites that they have. The web address for the Department of Education has always been http://www.ed.gov/- which makes sense to many of us who work in higher education, but not always to the every day person who is trying to figure out their (or their child's) Federal Financial Aid. The other government departments aren't abbreviated like that, for example there is http://www.justice.gov/ or http://www.treasury.gov/... but http://www.education.gov/ took you to an error page.
Not anymore! They have updated it to take you to the REAL US Department of Education page.
Why is this such a big deal? As also shown in this article, there are many websites that will take advantage of students who don't know as much about the FAFSA (free application for Federal Student Aid... free being the key word) and will charge them to file it through their site. Yep- that's right you can pay a fee to file your FREE application for Federal Student Aid through other sites. These sites were coming up instead of the education site
One service advertises that for the "low fee" of around $80 they will help you fill out your FAFSA, review and submit it. Maybe I'm biased working in higher ed, but I've been doing my own for years (including when I was a dependant student) and I thought the thing was pretty easy to do myself. Even students who I worked with who had never done it before found out it was easy after they got over the initial jitters of filling the form out. The FAFSA literally puts what line on your tax form you'll find the information on so you can go right down the line and fill everything in!
Last week they did something really cool- yet very simple- for people using the web to try and navigate some of the higher education websites that they have. The web address for the Department of Education has always been http://www.ed.gov/- which makes sense to many of us who work in higher education, but not always to the every day person who is trying to figure out their (or their child's) Federal Financial Aid. The other government departments aren't abbreviated like that, for example there is http://www.justice.gov/ or http://www.treasury.gov/... but http://www.education.gov/ took you to an error page.
Not anymore! They have updated it to take you to the REAL US Department of Education page.
Why is this such a big deal? As also shown in this article, there are many websites that will take advantage of students who don't know as much about the FAFSA (free application for Federal Student Aid... free being the key word) and will charge them to file it through their site. Yep- that's right you can pay a fee to file your FREE application for Federal Student Aid through other sites. These sites were coming up instead of the education site
One service advertises that for the "low fee" of around $80 they will help you fill out your FAFSA, review and submit it. Maybe I'm biased working in higher ed, but I've been doing my own for years (including when I was a dependant student) and I thought the thing was pretty easy to do myself. Even students who I worked with who had never done it before found out it was easy after they got over the initial jitters of filling the form out. The FAFSA literally puts what line on your tax form you'll find the information on so you can go right down the line and fill everything in!
Some people do have really complicated taxes (or rather, parents do) and at that point if you can't figure out where to go/what to do that is what your college financial aid department is there for. They know that thing inside and out and can help you out- for free!!
So back to my original point. These outside companies were often coming up fairly high on the search pages when www.education.gov would send people to an error page, and the new Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, finally got on the tech folks around the Dept of Ed and had them update the links.
Because really, searching for a college is hard enough that getting error messages from the sites you depend on for information is not something you need!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
No really.
Guys- what's happening? We ran our demographics for the site last week and this is what we found on scholarship applications:
73% to 27% female to male?
But that's been shown in many new studies that the big push for girls to get a higher education and into math and science courses has paid off- to the point that many universities are reporting less than 40% of their 4 year degrees are being awarded to men.
A few speculate that it's due to men earning more in the workforce so going straight to work after high school is viable since they can still make a good living, whereas it's seen that women must have a degree in order to have a good income... I'm not sure about that since I haven't done a lot of research, but it's just what I've read.
Anyone else seeing this anywhere? Guys... any response to what's happening??
Guys- what's happening? We ran our demographics for the site last week and this is what we found on scholarship applications:
73% to 27% female to male?
But that's been shown in many new studies that the big push for girls to get a higher education and into math and science courses has paid off- to the point that many universities are reporting less than 40% of their 4 year degrees are being awarded to men.
A few speculate that it's due to men earning more in the workforce so going straight to work after high school is viable since they can still make a good living, whereas it's seen that women must have a degree in order to have a good income... I'm not sure about that since I haven't done a lot of research, but it's just what I've read.
Anyone else seeing this anywhere? Guys... any response to what's happening??
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Re-thinking Traditional Admissions Process
Today has been a pensive day.
I read something that made me think quite a bit about how the web is *really* changing how students look at colleges. Back in the day (ha...) you emailed or (gasp!) picked up the phone and called the college or filled out a direct mail piece and returned it to the college in order to request more information.
About a week later you would receive some lovely glossy pamphlets of the college and information about classes, dorms, activities, etc. From this you would compile a shortlist, then visit the college then make your decision.
Which is great and still works in many cases, but the web has thrown a big old wrench into this whole idea. Now, the center of many college's marketing is the college website. (And I agree- it should be. After all, the percentage of kids 16-18 who are not on the web must be minute. If I could find the stats on this I would quote them here, however there seems to be a conspiracy to hide them from me.) Everything you receive or see direct you to the website- now you will see a web address on a billboard for a college more frequently than you'll see a phone number. This makes sense as well, when you're driving I hope you don't try to write down the 1-800 number listed on the sign but rather it's pretty easy to remember "Oh hey, I should look up XYZCollege.edu and see what their school is all about!"
So again, we're back at the website. Many schools have on the front page a link to "Request More Info" or "Apply Online" which is fantastic. For some, that is as far as they want to go and getting the info delivered physically right into their hands is as easy as clicking the button, filling out the form then checking the mailbox in a few days.
However... I'm not sure how many kids go straight for those options when all of the information that they would be sent- and then some- is already on the website. Chances are, they will dig around on the website a little bit to see what they can find about their interests before requesting more info. And what happens when the student receives the information and it's something that was either already on the web, or refers the student back to the website for more in depth information! Wasn't that just a waste of all of that printing and postage?
That being said, we've just cut the traditional two steps out of the college process because the student does not need to contact the college at this point to express his/her interest in the college and does not need information sent out because there are colorful and often interactive (yay interactive!) pieces of information on the website. Truly, if a website is doing its job fully it should provide any information a student wants, so what could be sent out that the website didn't already cover? So now what?
Side note to above paragraph: Some schools intentionally put truncated information on the website to force students to request more information. There is nothing wrong with this, it's just a way for the school to get the student's contact information. In this case the information sent out will be more in-depth than what was found on the website.
The next step would have been the tour. I still believe 100% that you should always always always always always always always (point across yet?) always visit in person the campus that you are interested in attending. I don't care if it's halfway across the country the online tours and view books won't do it justice. So I really hope that the virtual tours will never fully replace the in person tour.
Then there's the application. I will post my "Why Applying Online Is the Way To Go" in another blog... but that title sums it up. Paper is out, online is in! But what if... let's just say for a minute that you've gotten everything that you can possibly need to know about the college online. You know about the programs, who the advisers are, where the dorms are and read the student blog of what it's like to live in them and how you shouldn't eat the French Toast on Thursdays, you know that the jazz choir auditions are the second Wednesday of the semester and you're 100% sold that this is where you want to go. You click that magic "Apply Online" button and send in your application.
Whoa! This could be the first time the college has heard of you! You know all about them but all they know about you is that you are obviously web savvy, you have a 27 ACT score and want to major in organic chemistry! (Now, when I was in admissions and one of these came in I always thought "Sweet! Freebie! I don't have to convince this student that this is the place to go because he/she has already done it!")
After this you will probably be invited to create your online profile- get your University email set up and log into the registration system... again, everything is done online. (I will blog about students using or not using the college student portal systems later... that's an entire separate blog!) You can follow your financial aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov... another website), you can electronically sign whatever it is you need to sign, and get your schedule figured out with never having to set foot on campus!
Most of the back-end elements are already in place in the admissions process, but in talking with some admissions folks around the country the change in the front end of how students find and initially communicate with the college is undergoing a huge change right now! It's somewhat daunting trying to figure out what works best for these students- providing more information at the tips of their fingers (literally!) or to withhold it and force the student to contact the school to show interest?
Students? Counselors? What do you think? What works best for you personally?
I read something that made me think quite a bit about how the web is *really* changing how students look at colleges. Back in the day (ha...) you emailed or (gasp!) picked up the phone and called the college or filled out a direct mail piece and returned it to the college in order to request more information.
About a week later you would receive some lovely glossy pamphlets of the college and information about classes, dorms, activities, etc. From this you would compile a shortlist, then visit the college then make your decision.
Which is great and still works in many cases, but the web has thrown a big old wrench into this whole idea. Now, the center of many college's marketing is the college website. (And I agree- it should be. After all, the percentage of kids 16-18 who are not on the web must be minute. If I could find the stats on this I would quote them here, however there seems to be a conspiracy to hide them from me.) Everything you receive or see direct you to the website- now you will see a web address on a billboard for a college more frequently than you'll see a phone number. This makes sense as well, when you're driving I hope you don't try to write down the 1-800 number listed on the sign but rather it's pretty easy to remember "Oh hey, I should look up XYZCollege.edu and see what their school is all about!"
So again, we're back at the website. Many schools have on the front page a link to "Request More Info" or "Apply Online" which is fantastic. For some, that is as far as they want to go and getting the info delivered physically right into their hands is as easy as clicking the button, filling out the form then checking the mailbox in a few days.
However... I'm not sure how many kids go straight for those options when all of the information that they would be sent- and then some- is already on the website. Chances are, they will dig around on the website a little bit to see what they can find about their interests before requesting more info. And what happens when the student receives the information and it's something that was either already on the web, or refers the student back to the website for more in depth information! Wasn't that just a waste of all of that printing and postage?
That being said, we've just cut the traditional two steps out of the college process because the student does not need to contact the college at this point to express his/her interest in the college and does not need information sent out because there are colorful and often interactive (yay interactive!) pieces of information on the website. Truly, if a website is doing its job fully it should provide any information a student wants, so what could be sent out that the website didn't already cover? So now what?
Side note to above paragraph: Some schools intentionally put truncated information on the website to force students to request more information. There is nothing wrong with this, it's just a way for the school to get the student's contact information. In this case the information sent out will be more in-depth than what was found on the website.
The next step would have been the tour. I still believe 100% that you should always always always always always always always (point across yet?) always visit in person the campus that you are interested in attending. I don't care if it's halfway across the country the online tours and view books won't do it justice. So I really hope that the virtual tours will never fully replace the in person tour.
Then there's the application. I will post my "Why Applying Online Is the Way To Go" in another blog... but that title sums it up. Paper is out, online is in! But what if... let's just say for a minute that you've gotten everything that you can possibly need to know about the college online. You know about the programs, who the advisers are, where the dorms are and read the student blog of what it's like to live in them and how you shouldn't eat the French Toast on Thursdays, you know that the jazz choir auditions are the second Wednesday of the semester and you're 100% sold that this is where you want to go. You click that magic "Apply Online" button and send in your application.
Whoa! This could be the first time the college has heard of you! You know all about them but all they know about you is that you are obviously web savvy, you have a 27 ACT score and want to major in organic chemistry! (Now, when I was in admissions and one of these came in I always thought "Sweet! Freebie! I don't have to convince this student that this is the place to go because he/she has already done it!")
After this you will probably be invited to create your online profile- get your University email set up and log into the registration system... again, everything is done online. (I will blog about students using or not using the college student portal systems later... that's an entire separate blog!) You can follow your financial aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov... another website), you can electronically sign whatever it is you need to sign, and get your schedule figured out with never having to set foot on campus!
Most of the back-end elements are already in place in the admissions process, but in talking with some admissions folks around the country the change in the front end of how students find and initially communicate with the college is undergoing a huge change right now! It's somewhat daunting trying to figure out what works best for these students- providing more information at the tips of their fingers (literally!) or to withhold it and force the student to contact the school to show interest?
Students? Counselors? What do you think? What works best for you personally?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Finding the Balance
I keep reading and reading and reading about students prepping to get into the perfect college, and who are throwing themselves into as many activities as possible to beef up the resume. I may have mentioned it before, but besides blogging I also coach a high school athletic team (you can probably guess the sport) which allows me to see some of this first hand.
First off let me say that I adore the kids on the team. They are, to a one, a really great bunch. But what worries me sometimes is a tendency to not be able to balance their schedule with practice and meets versus homework and school obligations. We frequently have students who miss practice and meets because they claim to have too much homework.
If this is true, then fine. I certainly do not want to see their schoolwork being sacrificed at the cost of participating in a sport. But that is just my point: if you are going to participate in extracurricular activities, shouldn't you have a handle on your curricular activities so that you can achieve a balance between them? We do make the statement at the beginning of the season that homework really isn't an excuse to miss practice/meets and that if you think you cannot handle both of these then perhaps you should reconsider being involved in this sport at this time.
I have questioned a few students too (they don't like this) on the legitimacy of this. For example, school gets out at 3:35 pm in our city. If that is the case, let's say the student is home by 4 PM, and does homework for 2 hours until 6 PM, takes off 30 minutes for dinner and resumes homework until a conservative bedtime of 10 PM. That gives 5.5 hours of homework- and when this is occurring on a Tuesday night I have to wonder 2 things. A) Has the student procrastinated on something that could have been done over the course of several nights? or B) Are schools giving out that much homework that is literally due the next day that the student is needing to spend almost 6 hours each night doing homework or C) Did the student simply not want to come to practice and use the (often parent supported) excuse of too much homework? I hate wondering this because it takes away some of the credibility of the student with me.
The other issue we run into is students who are missing practice/meets due to piano lessons, working at their part-time job, etc.
What ever happened to time management skills? Of saying "I have practice tonight from 4:00-5:30 so I can only do my piano lessons after 6:00 and from 7:00 on I will do my homework"? Is this part of the frenzy to do as much as possible in as little time as possible?
I truly, truly do not think it is good for a student (or anyone for that matter) to get involved in as much as possible but only devote 75% of his/her best effort to each activity. Believe me, you're not fooling anyone. It's frustrating to the teachers/coaches/coworkers and even more frustrating to your teammates who are giving 100%.
Plus, as a former college admissions advisor I will say I want to see someone who maybe did one activity but did it really really well and had some achievements rather than someone who was involved in ten activities but did not make an impact in any of them. I would wonder about that person's commitment levels.
In any case, part of being involved in these extra curricular activities, be it a sport, musical lessons/performance, part time jobs, etc. is to learn some time management skills for down the road, and sometimes that involves making choices like "I can't watch my favorite TV show tonight because I have to do homework... since I can't do my homework earlier because I have practice." Fun? Not so much. But necessary? Yes.
You'll be a much better off college student someday for it. Trust me.
First off let me say that I adore the kids on the team. They are, to a one, a really great bunch. But what worries me sometimes is a tendency to not be able to balance their schedule with practice and meets versus homework and school obligations. We frequently have students who miss practice and meets because they claim to have too much homework.
If this is true, then fine. I certainly do not want to see their schoolwork being sacrificed at the cost of participating in a sport. But that is just my point: if you are going to participate in extracurricular activities, shouldn't you have a handle on your curricular activities so that you can achieve a balance between them? We do make the statement at the beginning of the season that homework really isn't an excuse to miss practice/meets and that if you think you cannot handle both of these then perhaps you should reconsider being involved in this sport at this time.
I have questioned a few students too (they don't like this) on the legitimacy of this. For example, school gets out at 3:35 pm in our city. If that is the case, let's say the student is home by 4 PM, and does homework for 2 hours until 6 PM, takes off 30 minutes for dinner and resumes homework until a conservative bedtime of 10 PM. That gives 5.5 hours of homework- and when this is occurring on a Tuesday night I have to wonder 2 things. A) Has the student procrastinated on something that could have been done over the course of several nights? or B) Are schools giving out that much homework that is literally due the next day that the student is needing to spend almost 6 hours each night doing homework or C) Did the student simply not want to come to practice and use the (often parent supported) excuse of too much homework? I hate wondering this because it takes away some of the credibility of the student with me.
The other issue we run into is students who are missing practice/meets due to piano lessons, working at their part-time job, etc.
What ever happened to time management skills? Of saying "I have practice tonight from 4:00-5:30 so I can only do my piano lessons after 6:00 and from 7:00 on I will do my homework"? Is this part of the frenzy to do as much as possible in as little time as possible?
I truly, truly do not think it is good for a student (or anyone for that matter) to get involved in as much as possible but only devote 75% of his/her best effort to each activity. Believe me, you're not fooling anyone. It's frustrating to the teachers/coaches/coworkers and even more frustrating to your teammates who are giving 100%.
Plus, as a former college admissions advisor I will say I want to see someone who maybe did one activity but did it really really well and had some achievements rather than someone who was involved in ten activities but did not make an impact in any of them. I would wonder about that person's commitment levels.
In any case, part of being involved in these extra curricular activities, be it a sport, musical lessons/performance, part time jobs, etc. is to learn some time management skills for down the road, and sometimes that involves making choices like "I can't watch my favorite TV show tonight because I have to do homework... since I can't do my homework earlier because I have practice." Fun? Not so much. But necessary? Yes.
You'll be a much better off college student someday for it. Trust me.
Friday, January 16, 2009
If You Want Free Money...
Anycollege.com has a scholarship.
If you go to the Anycollege.com website you will see a large link on the upper right corner that says "Win a Scholarship". That is what you click to find the application. It's on the front page... not hidden at all. If there are questions you can email mail@anycollege.com and I will be able to respond to any questions about the scholarship.
That being said, I do receive a few questions each day about the scholarship: how it is paid out (directly to the college), the dates for the drawing (The 30th/31st of March, June, September and December) and whether an essay needs to be submitted (no). That's fine, those are legit questions.
Then I also receive emails from students who want an application. Again, this is fine, I'm pleased to help students who have heard of us.
I also receive quite a few emails that claim to not be able to find the scholarship application on our site. This concerns me a bit because it's pretty obvious, and anyone who has spent 15 seconds on our home page should be able to see it. One today was sent to 5-10 other places that offer scholarships, but said "I was recently viewing your web site and encountered problems finding the application section." What?! OK, that's fine that the email is sent to several places, but this clearly isn't true. Something tells me that if this student actually looked at any of these sites that he/she would have found the scholarship page on at least a few.
Now, this does not mean I won't respond to the student. He/she will receive the same email that everyone else does- "Here's the link, thanks for your interest, etc etc etc..." But I can't help at being irked a little bit that the student had to include something about not being able to find the scholarship- why couldn't the email have simply said "I am interested in your scholarship, can you please send me an application." It's a little more truthful and really, simple and direct is the way to go with something like this.
I won't get into the requests that I get for an application that have a poorly written essay attached... actually on second thought I don't know if I can resist saying a little something... I understand trying to get an edge on the competition for a scholarship (never mind that we have a random drawing), but please note: if you are going to send an essay there are three things to remember. #1: Grammar. This includes correct word usage, punctuation and CAPITALIZATION! #2 Spelling. You typed it on a computer which I'm pretty sure has spellcheck. Use it! #3: Sob Story. I'm glad you're good at dealing with adversity, that you're putting yourself through college and that you are bettering yourself. That truly is wonderful. But do I need to get 3 pages of that wonderful? As Shakespeare said, "Brevity is the soul of wit". Thankfully, I'm not doing the scholarship award based on essays, though I appreciate the literature.
So what's the moral here? Be simple and direct when asking for scholarship applications. It's OK to simply say "I need an application" without telling me that your dog died of a horrible disease and you're traumatized for life which caused you to search for three hours on our website and not find the scholarship application. I'll still give it to you, but you won't be the subject of a blog with a simple request. :)
Have a great weekend!
If you go to the Anycollege.com website you will see a large link on the upper right corner that says "Win a Scholarship". That is what you click to find the application. It's on the front page... not hidden at all. If there are questions you can email mail@anycollege.com and I will be able to respond to any questions about the scholarship.
That being said, I do receive a few questions each day about the scholarship: how it is paid out (directly to the college), the dates for the drawing (The 30th/31st of March, June, September and December) and whether an essay needs to be submitted (no). That's fine, those are legit questions.
Then I also receive emails from students who want an application. Again, this is fine, I'm pleased to help students who have heard of us.
I also receive quite a few emails that claim to not be able to find the scholarship application on our site. This concerns me a bit because it's pretty obvious, and anyone who has spent 15 seconds on our home page should be able to see it. One today was sent to 5-10 other places that offer scholarships, but said "I was recently viewing your web site and encountered problems finding the application section." What?! OK, that's fine that the email is sent to several places, but this clearly isn't true. Something tells me that if this student actually looked at any of these sites that he/she would have found the scholarship page on at least a few.
Now, this does not mean I won't respond to the student. He/she will receive the same email that everyone else does- "Here's the link, thanks for your interest, etc etc etc..." But I can't help at being irked a little bit that the student had to include something about not being able to find the scholarship- why couldn't the email have simply said "I am interested in your scholarship, can you please send me an application." It's a little more truthful and really, simple and direct is the way to go with something like this.
I won't get into the requests that I get for an application that have a poorly written essay attached... actually on second thought I don't know if I can resist saying a little something... I understand trying to get an edge on the competition for a scholarship (never mind that we have a random drawing), but please note: if you are going to send an essay there are three things to remember. #1: Grammar. This includes correct word usage, punctuation and CAPITALIZATION! #2 Spelling. You typed it on a computer which I'm pretty sure has spellcheck. Use it! #3: Sob Story. I'm glad you're good at dealing with adversity, that you're putting yourself through college and that you are bettering yourself. That truly is wonderful. But do I need to get 3 pages of that wonderful? As Shakespeare said, "Brevity is the soul of wit". Thankfully, I'm not doing the scholarship award based on essays, though I appreciate the literature.
So what's the moral here? Be simple and direct when asking for scholarship applications. It's OK to simply say "I need an application" without telling me that your dog died of a horrible disease and you're traumatized for life which caused you to search for three hours on our website and not find the scholarship application. I'll still give it to you, but you won't be the subject of a blog with a simple request. :)
Have a great weekend!
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