Mrs. Hamrick’s Counselor Corner

This article covers a study that researched what type of student is most likely to graduate from college.  It covers some very important points, including, once again, that high grades, participation (and success) in AP’s, and living on campus all contribute to a high success rate in college.

Business Week has ranked 32 schools they deem the best business schools.  Two of our own, Georgia Tech and Emory, make the list!

“Responsiveness to the community’s needs, academic rigor, relationships with top recruiters, and dedication to excellence are among the qualities necessary for a business school to be considered one of the best. Every two years, BusinessWeek consults students, recruiters, and academic research to determine which business schools fit the bill. Here’s this year’s look at the best U.S. full-time MBA programs.”
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/11/1112_best_business_schools/index.htm?chan=rss_topSlideShows_ssi_5

If you’re thinking it’s easy to transfer to an Ivy League school, there’s some things you need to be aware of:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/strategy-t.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

www.thinkcollege.net

Youth with intellectual disabilities have not had many chances to go to college. This is changing as individuals across the country begin to create opportunities for these youth to reap the benefits of postsecondary education. This website will provide information and links to anyone interested in finding out more about the possibilities.   Pages are provided for students, families, and educators.  If you or your child suffers from a disability, you can find answers to many of your questions on this site. 

Parents!  This week, we are hosting our first annual Senior Coffee, designed to give you the opportunity to ask us questions regarding college applications, financial aid, HOPE, etc. as your senior begins to navigate the college application process.  We will have one each morning this week from 8:30 – 10:00am with a different counselor hosting each morning.  To hear specifically from your child’s counselor, please note the following dates:

9/8 - A – Co

9/9 – Cr – Ha

9/10 – He – Mc

9/11 – Me – Sa

9/12 – Sc – Z

After the meeting, we ask that you fill out a survey to let us know how we did, what we could do better, and what information you still need.

We look forward to meeting with you!  Bring all your questions and we’ll help you navigate this rewarding, but potentially confusing process.

Summary of Admission to the University of Georgia First Year Class

March 28, 2008

Applications increased again this year, the third year of record number of applications.  The Office of Admissions has continued its commitment to provide a full and equitable review of all applicants and to make the best possible admission decisions for the University and for the students. The Faculty Admissions Committee continues to assist the Office with developing processes and reviewing files.

Each year, the quality of the high school students applying for the 4800 places in UGA’s first-year summer and fall class increases and to accommodate this, the size of the first-year class has increased 50% since 1995.  With increasing numbers of students accepting our offer of admission and UGA having reached its capacity to serve our 34,000 students, we must limit the number of offers of admission to ensure that no more than our class target enrolls this year.

Yet, there are no easy admission decisions; almost all first-year applicants predict an ability to do C work or better at UGA.  Since the odds of being offered admission are driven by how strong a student looks relative to the rest of the applicant pool, first-year applicants are competing against one another for admission to UGA, with the majority of the offers of admission being extended to the students with the strongest academic records. For over 80% of the students offered admission this year, it will be their demonstrated academic performance which drove the decision.

UGA’s First-Year Admissions Process

In short, this is how the process works: Every applicant to the first-year class receives a complete and thorough academic review.  Emphasis is placed on the rigor of the academic curriculum attempted by the student, the grades earned in core courses, and the results of standardized testing.  While most families believe it was the student’s test scores that kept the student from being admitted, it is usually the choice of courses a student takes or the grades made in those courses which are the deciding factors.  The Faculty of UGA has stated that the most important factor they seek in new students is intellectual curiosity.  This is often indicated by the student’s choice of coursework in high school, relative to what is available in that student’s academic environment.  Files are also carefully evaluated for any behavior problems or disciplinary issues.  Based on this initial review alone, many “academically superior” applicants received an offer of admission.

Using this academic review, other students are not competitive for admission.  Before many “non-competitive” students were denied, however, their files received another review to confirm there were neither errors in processing the file nor extenuating circumstances to explain any academic or personal difficulties.

Thousands of students fall in the “academically competitive ” range.  Unfortunately, UGA cannot accommodate all of these students. Since students present very similar academic profiles, UGA’s Faculty Admissions Committee determined that there should be a supplemental review of these “academically competitive” students to consider additional factors such as intellectual curiosity, creativity, commitment to citizenship, integrity, respect for cultural differences, and personal maturity.  The Application for First-Year Admission solicits information in each of these areas, provides additional opportunities for students to express themselves in writing, and requires a recommendation from an academic subject teacher.  The application uses four short answer questions to allow us to ‘hear’ the students’ voice. Additionally, we require that students submit standardized scores with a controlled writing sample from the SAT or ACT.

Early Action

The non-binding Early Action program continues to be popular with students: almost 11,000 first-year applications were submitted to UGA by the Early Action deadline of October 15.  Unlike some selective colleges that use the early admission programs to fill their freshman classes, at UGA, it was not any easier to gain or to be denied admission under the Early Action plan as opposed to Regular Decision, which had a January 15 deadline.  In fact, students admitted as Early Action candidates in December are projected to account for less than 66% of the students being offered admission .  Early Action applicants received decisions mid-December.  As is the case nationally, the Early Action applicants to UGA were very strong academically and approximately 6100 were admitted.  Less than 500 of the Early Action students were denied admission and the remaining Early Action files were deferred to Regular Decision.

Regular Decision

The Regular Decision pool was made up of students who were deferred from the Early Action pool and those who chose to wait to apply for Regular Decision.  Deferred and Regular applicants needed to complete the full application (Only Part I was required for Early Action, while both Parts I and II were required for Regular Decision review), and submit a recommendation from a teacher in addition to their test scores, transcripts and school evaluation.  While Early Action has been very popular, many students applied between December 1 and January 15 and represent a more typical mix of students who apply to UGA.  The 17,600 total applications received this year represent anxious students and families.  The total applicant pool for 2008 was academically very strong with the average student presenting a 3.6 GPA and SAT scores exceeding 1200.  Most of the applicants were enrolled in many honors and Advanced Placement classes.

Following the January 15 deadline for applications and completion of Early Action deferred applications, the Admissions Office once again completed academic reviews of all files. Again, the files were sorted into the “academically superior”, “academically competitive” and “non-competitive” categories. Students identified as academically superior were offered admission in late February.  The staff in Admissions spent February and the month of March reviewing over 6000 files of the students who are “competitive” and making final decisions. These reviews consider much more than just the primary academic performance of the student, as they took into consideration the secondary characteristics valued by the faculty such as creativity, leadership, and service.  The review process was race and gender neutral and did not consider a student’s legacy to UGA.

The final letters notifying students that they have been offered admission or denied will be sent by April 1.  Students may receive their decision in the mail or they may choose to learn of their admission decision via our popular, password-protected Web Status Check (www.admissions.uga.edu ). Prior to learning their admission fate, students will be encouraged to review this information in private or with their family.  In order to protect students’ privacy, no admission decisions will be released over the telephone.  We also encourage families who learn of the final decision electronically to wait to call the Office of Admissions after they receive their full packet of information in the mail.

Results

While the University will be able to offer admission to about 9300 students this year, with 17,600 applicants, many strong applicants will have to seek other college options.  Of the over 8000 students not admitted , UGA will offer some of them the opportunity to keep their options open by taking a place on a waiting list.  Students offered the waiting list will not be notified of a final decision until sometime in late May or June after we have confirmed the acceptance rate of the students already offered admission.  The attached FAQ is being made available to students not admitted to help explain the constraints of our competitive pool of applicants.

The students offered admission are academically strong having completed very rigorous academic curriculums with an average grade point average of an A- and have test scores that place them in the top 15% of test-takers nationally.  They predict to complete their first year with a ‘B+’ average. They are students who will provide leadership, creativity and service to the campus.

Waiting List

Students offered the waiting list are considered academically competitive, but our space constraints keep us from offering them a place in the first-year class at this time. Students offered the Waiting List who choose to accept a place on it can do so at www.admissions.uga.edu/waitlist.  The Waiting List URL www.admissions.uga.edu/waitlist_faq.html is being sent to between 1300-1400 students being offered the waiting list and provides more information on time frames and actions that the student should take.

What’s Next?

All admitted students who choose to join UGA’s Class of 2012 will be required to reserve their space by May 1, 2008 with a non-refundable commitment deposit of $200.  In May,following receipt of a commitment deposit, students will receive an invitation to New Student Orientation.  Admitted students are encouraged to visit a Web site set up for new students at www.admissions.uga.edu/newdawgsand, since First-Year students are required to live on campus, to go online to www.uga.edu/housing to complete the housing form.

Don’t you want to let everyone know where you’re going to college?  The guidance office is working with some of the wonderful Art department students to create a map that will display where each senior will be going after high school.  If you want to have your name added along with the college you’re planning on attending, you will need to bring your acceptance letter to your counselor.  We’ll be displaying the map after spring break, so go ahead and bring those letters in!

We are also interested in how much money you have received for college.  If you have won a scholarship, bring that award letter as well and we’ll keep track on the map as well.  In the past, we’ve announced the grand total at graduation which is always a very impressive number. 

Make sure your accomplishments are counted and bring any of the above info to your counselor.  You do know who your counselor is, right??  Right??!!

It can be a very difficult time for parents and students alike when the time to head to college draws near.  This is, for many, the biggest step in independence their kids have taken, and it can be an exciting, scary, stressful, and emotional process, all rolled into one.  Because most parents aren’t really eager, no matter how much they love their kids, for them to stay at home forever, there comes a time when they must accept that their babies are growing up and help them transition easily and successfully.  Having them attend college and live on campus is one of the best and safest ways to accomplish this feat.  They live with peers in a relatively secure environment, receive additional education to prepare them for a career and get to ease into the role of being responsible for managing their own expenses (food, entertainment, cleaning supplies, etc.) and basic living skills (laundry, maintaining a car, living by a schedule without being hounded by mom and dad, etc.).  While some may struggle with this, most kids adapt well and seem to mature quickly after getting an, albeit, small taste of the real world.

Because this is an issue that every family who has a child heading off to college deals with, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has written a very informative article addressing many of the issues that fledgeling college students and their anxious parents get to face.   Check out this article and let me know what you think!