PRIORITY DEADLINE TO APPLY TO MCST IS FRIDAY 3/1/24…
THAT'S TOMORROW!
https://www.mainesciencefestival.org/2024
Sloths, elephants, and horses, oh my!
World Strides Veterinary Academy Forget boring summer camps! All of the Veterinary Academy programs offer endless possibilities to explore. You can care for stray dogs in Costa Rica, contribute to wildlife conservation efforts in Belize, connect with the public about the importance of habitat preservation at the Texas Zoo, or spend your spring break studying coral reefs.
Where in the world will your passion for animals take you?
How To Read A Financial Aid Letter
Introducing… the SRAR!
“Oh goodie, another acronym to throw on the pile,” said no one ever…
Several popular colleges and universities now support the Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR), also known as the Self-Reported Student Academic Record (SSAR), which allows students to submit their courses, grades, and test results to colleges during the application process.
That said, how the SRAR is used by these institutions varies. To help you navigate it all, we've enhanced the current list of participating institutions and policies for domestic and international applicants with admit rates, test score ranges and direct links to the SRAR section of their admissions websites. Read on…
Over the last decade, gap years have now fully entered the discussion regarding postsecondary options, assisted by Malia Obama’s widely publicized 2016 experience. The COVID-19 pandemic brought more attention, as thousands of graduating high school seniors (and many already in college) elected to take time off from academics to avoid online classes. As the gap year field continues to evolve, here are the top trends that we see looking ahead in 2024. Read on…
College Visit Tips for Rookie Parents
If this spring break is going to be your first stroll on a college campus since your college graduation day, here are four tips to avoid some rookie-parent campus visit mistakes. Remember, this is about your kids, not you. Your priorities for safety, class size, spacious dormitories, and nutritious food may not be exactly aligned with those of your child. Read on…
Adventures with Admissions: Navigating the Ups and Downs of the College Admissions Process
“Wherever you go you will be happy.”
“Oh, that school is impossible to get into.”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
These are just a few of the unsolicited responses I’ve received from friends, strangers, and even my dermatologist when they’re reminded that I’m in the middle of the extremely hectic college admissions process. Are these responses encouraging? Sometimes. Thoughtful? Sort of. Anxiety-provoking? Definitely. Read on…
Students With Physical Disabilities: What To Look for in a College
What I Did on My February Vacation
I have purposefully steered clear of Maine’s “Little Ivy'' trifecta thus far because I don’t want to add any oxygen to America’s elite SLAC (small liberal arts college) obsession. Ivy League and NESCAC admissions percentages continue to descend downward as more kids apply to more places, rendering an already challenging process nearly impossible.
But Colby, Bowdoin, and Bates are good schools; are in Maine; make huge investments in the communities in which they are based; and a small percentage of our kids do actually get in every year. So I decided to use this February’s “staycation” to get to know CBB.
My plan was to visit all three so that I could develop a big picture understanding, compare and contrast, and get a feel for which school is right for which kind of kid. Unfortunately, as we set out to Bates, the promised turn of weather from snow to rain never happened; when our driver’s side wiper began to fall apart, we had no choice but to turn back home. Bates doesn’t do campus visits on weekends in the spring, so it could be a while before I do. But having made it to two out of three, I’ve still been able to glean some patterns,
Colby College
Waterville, ME
Make no mistake; Colby is a highly selective/elite admissions school. Any way you slice it, a college that attracts nearly 17,800 applicants yet can only welcome 1,142 of them is de facto elite. 6% of applicants make it through the gauntlet. To its credit, Colby makes it easy to apply: no SAT scores are required, no supplemental essays, no application fee. You can literally just check the Colby box in the Common App and apply without doing a single thing specific to Colby. They can’t help that the number of kids applying is going up, but they are ensuring equitable access at the initial point of interface.
If you make it through to the promised land, there is an undercurrent of equity running through every aspect of the college experience at Colby. DavisConnects (think career development office on steroids) provides easy access to funding for student initiatives, very much like the Bisbee fund at CHILLS, but it can be used to support individuals. Our tour guide accessed DavisConnects funds twice to be able to study abroad in Paris and Berlin; they actually gave him more money than he requested so that he could fully enjoy the experience and not have to live in a roach-infested flat with a dozen of his closest friends eating ramen for the duration.
Admission to all events on campus is free for Colby students. Do you want to bop in and out of the natatorium (with its Myrtha style pool), the ice rink, and the indoor track to see your friends compete in their various events happening simultaneously? You can absolutely do that–for free–in the mostly new (2020) state-of-the-art Athletic Center, which brought together and now houses all of Colby’s indoor sports. Do you want to borrow some equipment from the Colby Outing Club to climb Katahdin with some buddies at no charge? Yes! Do you want to attend the annual learn to ski night at Lost Valley? You guessed it–won’t cost you a penny. Once you’re in, Colby makes an enormous effort to ensure that students’ family income doesn’t characterize their Colby experience.
Speaking of money, Colby puts their money where their mouth is in terms of making it financially viable to attend. If you just looked at the sticker price (upwards of $80K) you might be intimidated. However, the average financial aid package is $66K, and Colby meets 100% of every student’s demonstrated financial need. Households with an income of $75,000 or less can expect 0% parental contribution; families that make $150,000 can expect to pay no more than $15,000. Colby wants its graduates to go out and boldly take on the world. It’s hard to do that if you’re scraping together several hundred dollars a month to pay your student loans, even if you come from a middle-class family that makes “too much but not enough.” If you want to see how your wallet would fare at Colby, you can do it here: https://afa.colby.edu/cost-and-aid/calculate-your-costs/myintuition-calculator/
The 4-1-4 academic calendar (4 classes in the fall, 1 class over winter break, 4 classes in the spring) and orientation programming for first-year students is commonplace in today’s postsecondary landscape. But it was not always so. “Jan Plan” and “COOT” both originated at Colby and have become an essential element of the Colby experience. And that’s just the beginning! There are so many opportunities to get involved: clubs, intramural sports and so much more!
Colby is home to an amazing array of Centers of Thought, Impact, and Action!
And… brand new (so new that it hasn’t been worked into the campus tour yet (which I pointed out to them…) is the Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts. Everything the athletic facility is to sports is equally true of the Gordon Center and the arts. Here are the upcoming events if you decide you want to Goldilox Colby (https://arts.colby.edu/events/) Don’t forget to check out the Colby Museum of Art too!
When I was at Howard last summer I learned that they have an exchange program with Colby. I had never heard of such a thing and was surprised that I had to go to an HBCU in DC to learn about something that originates in Waterville. It was never mentioned on the Colby tour, however, so I looked it up. Turns out it is part of the broader Colby Off Campus Study program. Thinking back to the tension between PWI (Predominantly White Institutions) and HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) named in The Black Family’s Guide to College Admissions, this arrangement offers a solution. You don’t have to settle for one or the other–you can do both! Three years at one, and a year at the other, unless you like your year so much that you want to transfer!
The P.I.E.T. (Postsecondary Introvert-Extrovert Testimony) Report
The Introvert’s POV:
Of course, the library offers the same graduated system of quiet as you go higher.
The upper level is absolutely silent.
There are also some great outdoor recreation venues where you can grab some quiet and solitude.
PRO TIPS
Print the Colby Map before you go and turn off your GPS when you come onto campus. Your GPS is worthless and can’t handle the winding roadways and will send you on a maddening goosechase.
ALL of the cars plugged into the EV chargers were from Maine. If you’re looking for a way to ensure that you can find a parking space, this may be the way to go!
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME
I’m still writing it up. If you’re super curious and can’t wait, check out our Instagram page chills.campus.visits for a sneak peak: https://www.instagram.com/chills.campus.visits/