Another Campus Visit Bingo Blackout Award Winner!
Zach earned some quality time with Vincent van Goght (and some sweet college swag!) as our second blackout winner! He visited Maine Maritime, UVM, UMaine, RIT, WPI, RPI, Trinity, UNH, CMCC, Tufts, UPenn, Westminster, and Utah on his way to victory (Vincent is pulling hard for his favorite college WPI, home of Gompei the Goat)
Red Folder Deadlines
The next one is a biggie. If there is a chance, however slight, that you may be attending UMaine next year, you MUST apply by December 1 in order to qualify for the maximum financial aid.
UMaine only requires a counselor letter of recommendation. In order to get your materials submitted on time you need to have 1) submitted your Red Folder materials to Ms. Dowd and 2) completed your Senior Visit by November 9.
December 1 College Deadline: November 9 Red Folder Deadline
December 15 College Deadline: December 1 Red Folder Deadline
January 1 College Deadline: December 7 Red Folder Deadline
What do high school counselors do all day?
With a nod to my beloved Richard Scarry picture book from childhood… the answer is… write letters of recommendation (LORs)! As of today’s early deadline (11/1/23), the School Counseling team has crafted 42 letters of recommendation thus far; 40% of our four-year college bound seniors are applying early. Many of them are written on our own time–there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do them during school hours. For those of you familiar with document based questions (of AP fame), each letter is like a DBQ–analyzing and synthesizing primary course documents to craft well structured, evidence-based persuasive essays encouraging the recipient to admit the student in question to their institution. It is no joke–they take time and care to write. There’s no AI involved at any point, either, just your counselor and their keypad. Help us help you–get your Red Folder stuff to us on time!
College Admissions Officers Pet Peeves
UMaine Discovery Day Added
UMaine went ahead with the Fall Open House planned for 10/28–which provided participants with free tickets to the football game–but recognized that many people chose not to attend because of the Lewsiton massacre.
Given the uncertainty that many people were feeling at that point, UMaine has elected to add an additional date, with FREE HOCKEY TICKETS to see UMaine take on Boston College. https://go.umaine.edu/discover-umaine-day
There’s absolutely nothing like a game at the Alfond, and with (up to) 4 free tickets to the game, the price is definitely right!
Getting Ready for the FAFSA
Given the delay in the FAFSA’s release, you’re going to want to jump on it as soon as it is released in December. Here’s what you can do now to get ready: https://www.famemaine.com/affording-education/pay-for-school/get-financial-aid/fafsa/filing-the-2024-2025-fafsa/
Toto, I don’t think we’re in (the 80s) any more
If you have yet to come to the conclusion that college is not what it used to be back in the day, this may be your tipping point: Narcan Vending Machines. The synthetic opioid Fentanyl is deadly and ubiquitous, leading some colleges to place vending machines full of life-saving Narcan where students can easily access it. Another strategy is to encourage your student to request (they are 18 now and in charge of their health care now) a Narcan prescription from their PCP. You don’t want your kid to be in a situation in which they are unable to quickly access the drug and are left helpless in a life-threatening situation.
CORT, and then some
I’m burning most of my professional days for the year next week for an epic campus visit road trip. Earlier this year, I was accepted to the CORT (Colleges of Rochester Tour), which will provide curated tours of University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Nazareth University, Eastman School of Music, and St. John Fisher University. And that’s just by mid day Tuesday! I’m going to take the long way home, stopping at Hobart William Smith, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Bishops University (Canada).
What’s that you say, you’ve never heard of some of these schools? Well neither had I. Others I’ve known about for a long time but have never visited.
I will be reporting out all of our visits on https://www.instagram.com/chills.campus.visits/
With any luck, I’ll have time to write a complete reflection of the variety that you find here: https://chrhs.fivetowns.net/student_services/counseling/college_visits
It will be a tall order to do the latter–I have college recs to write for November 15 deadlines–but that won’t stop me from trying.
Why do I do this? It’s simple. I love discovering new schools and being able to match kids with schools that would be a good fit. I have a very happy senior who is already accepted and committed to High Point University as a Pre-Pharmacy major; I encouraged her to check it out after I visited last April, and it was love at first sight. https://www.instagram.com/chills24seniorplans/?hl=en
I’m also trying to expand our community’s collective working knowledge of schools that are good fit for CHILLS grads. I share my experiences liberally with my colleagues (and anyone else who will listen… ) The Ivies and Little Ivies are household names, but they are also super hard to get in to. Familiarity with a wider range of schools is good for everyone, which is why I’m putting in the work.
