myUsearch blog

When kids are choosing, applying and figuring out how to pay for college, it’s important for parents to be involved. But the question is: How Involved? A helicopter parent is a term used to describe parents that “hover” over their children and try to control their decision-making process. While helping is important, being too involved (i.e.: forcing your child to go to your school of choice, writing your child’s college admissions essay for them) is not helpful to your child or the college in which they are applying to.  

So how do you provide the help your children need without turning into a helicopter parent? I discussed college admissions and helicopter parenting with lawyer, mother and author of: CEOmum - Parenting is a Full Time Job, Daille Nation-Ashley, or “Dee”.

Photo by DanieVDM.

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Although Halloween is over, your scariest concern may not be. With all this talk about the economic downturn, you might be wondering how the economy will affect your college search.  With a sagging stock market, federal bailouts, and an increasing unemployment rate, our economy might look more like a haunted house than the dilapidated house down the street.  What does this mean for your college plans?  Should you delay going to college and simply enter the work force?  Can you afford college?  Should you avoid applying to certain colleges because of their cost?  These are valid questions, but I encourage you to take a deep breath.  You’ll get through it.  And let me tell you how… 

 Photo by md91180

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When I was a senior in high school, the aspects I looked for in a college are very different from what they would be today. The top priorities of my “dream school” were: large campus, away from home with a good social scene. My parents dragged me on endless tours of colleges along the east coast. While my questions consisted of “Is the football team any good?” my parents, obviously the more practical ones, asked about tuition fees and parking policies. As a freshman, sophomore, and now junior… I realized I left a few important questions out.

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GreenReportCard.org recently released a report card, giving a grade to all major colleges and universities in North America. The grades are based on how sustainable the campus is. Not one school received an A or A+. Fifteen out of 300 schools received a grade of A-.

“Columbia University” by Sylvain Leprovost.

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Eight U.S. universities comprise the ‘Ivy League‘ – Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale. Although the term ‘Ivy League’ actually refers to an athletic division, all of the Ivy League schools rank near the top of the U.S. News and World Report college rankings and rank within the top one percent of the world’s academic institutions in terms of financial endowment. The Ivy League comprises some of the most established, prestigious, selective and well-financed universities in the world. But is the Ivy League for you?

Harvard Square, courtesy of Chaval Brasil

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People don’t just go to Ivy League schools for the architecture. After spending about two weeks at Yale, I am beginning to realize why I’m here: infinite opportunity. I had my share of anxiety this summer, wondering if I would fit in at Yale, wondering if Yale would be all they say it is. Is the Ivy League all I’d expected? The truth is: it is and it isn’t.

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Last month, US News and World Report and the Princeton Review both unveiled their annual college rankings. The frenzy around these two lists, that students and their parents treat like the Bible, raises an important question: What do these rankings mean, and what role should they play in your college search?

photo by &y

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According to a recent study, 3.5 million students took at least one online course during the fall of 2006 and the rate of online enrollments is growing nearly eight times as fast as the overall higher education population. With all of these students and schools jumping on the online degree bandwagon, I can’t help but ask: Do employers really value online degrees?

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My mom was swooning after our visit to Northwestern and loved its proximity to her sister’s family. My dad was clinging to the hope that I might stay in-state and go to Colorado College. My older sister was practically begging me to apply to a prestigious east coast school, any prestigious east coast school. I, on the other hand, wasn’t interested in any of the above. And then I received my acceptance to my dream school, Seattle University.

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In Picking the Right College for You, Part 1, we were discussing the types of colleges and universities out there. There’s quite a lot to choose from, so the best thing you can do is find the right type of education and setting that fits you and proceed from there. We already covered liberal arts colleges, the Ivy League, residential colleges, honors programs and research schools. Now let’s focus on some other types of schools.

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School selection can be an overwhelming task for college-bound high school juniors. There are literally thousands of colleges and universities to choose from.

Although every educational institution is unique, it is possible to place most colleges and universities into one of several broad categories. A helpful first step in school selection is to understand what these types of institution are and whether they fit your personal preferences and learning style. So let’s take a look at the types of colleges and universities and the pros and cons of each.

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If there is one demographic that is highly sought after by colleges and universities around the country, it’s the first-generation college students.  Because the financial aid process is so tragically unclear and never certain, first-generation college students are likely to stay close to home and attend a public university. In most instances, this is just fine.  However, limiting your applications to schools close to home can be risky because you won’t know what the financial aid package will be until you are admitted.  In other words, don’t hesitate to apply to your dream school just because it’s too expensive on paper.  Although the process seems tedious, don’t let it break your spirit.  Move forward, continue pursuing your dreams . . . (more…)

Once upon a time, YouTube was a place to watch silly videos. Now, about ten hours of video is uploaded to the site every minute and many of those videos are actually news. A Google search of “news blog” brought up over a billion hits. Many people like watching or reading the news on the internet, rather than watching it at five o’clock — It’s just more convenient. So, are journalism programs implementing new media (online videos, websites, blogs) into their curriculum?

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A master’s degree at 52? Taking art history classes at 65? These ages don’t sound like the traditional college student, but then again, baby boomers are never the type to stick to tradition. Baby boomers are conventionally defined as anyone born between 1946 and 1964, and the U.S. Census estimates more than 75 million people fall into this generation. Yet as their age increases, more and more boomers are bucking retirement and hitting the books. 

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Not all of us are born into a life of silver spoons and trust funds and thus, we middle-class folk only dream of attending private colleges or universities.

But that old adage of public universities being cheaper than private schools has recently been thrown out the window.

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Online degrees are especially convenient for those who want to back to college or work while they are in school. If you’ve decided you want to get an online degree, now comes the difficult task of choosing which program is right for you. With a smattering of commercials and advertisements for every online college possible, how on earth are you supposed to choose the right one?

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With college applications at an all-time high and fierce competition for top-ranked schools, many students are turning to admissions consultants to gain a competitive edge. But before you pull out your checkbook, make sure you understand what an admissions consultant does …..or should be doing. (more…)

When choosing a college, there is no substitute for experiencing the college first hand, but unfortunately campus visits can be expensive and time consuming. If you’re not prepared, you may end up wasting your time. So, before you hop on a plane to visit your college or university of choice, make sure you’re prepared to get the most of your campus visit.  (more…)

After interviewing several current college students about what they should have thought about when applying to college, one piece of advice constantly came up: location, location, location. But there’s more to location than a zip code. Here are four important things to consider when choosing your college location.

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Choosing a college is sometimes very simple. Some students choose their dream school before they are even in high school and others have dozens of scholarships to choose from. But for most people, choosing a college can be very frustrating. Here are a few tips to help you with the college hunt.

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