College Advising
Applying to College
Over 120 college representatives visit Cheverus each fall. The 2017 Visit Schedule can be found here. Visit season is from September through Nov 15. Students must ask permission if they are to miss a class to attend a visit.
Students & Families: For background information on why colleges visit high schools each fall, read this NY Times article & watch the Today Show video.
Colleges, Military Recruiters, Trade Schools: please read our Visit Policy here. Email coddaire@cheverus.org to book a visit. We begin booking fall visits in June.
Does your college require extra testing in the form of SAT Subject Tests? Find out by looking at this list or by reading the Admissions Requirements page of the website of the college you are interested in. (Note: only FIVE colleges require these extra tests!)
UMO admission secrets based on Fall 2018 info session: Engineering requires 1170 SAT, nursing requires 1120 SAT firm. Overall 3.27 gpa. Four years math with precalc for business preferred. Admission application is free. Merit money begins at a 3.0 and certain test scores. Visual & Performing Arts scholarships are stackable on other merit money. (dance, music, theatre, art)
SMCC Info
(based on info from an April 2017 campus visit)
Southern Maine Community College has a new pre-engineering program, where you spend 2 years at SMCC and take through Calc 2 and then go to UMO to complete your final 3 years. Electrical Engineering is the most popular major to begin at SMCC and then complete at UMO. This is referred to as a "2+3" program and saves you lots of money. This might work for a student who wants to major in engineering but is taking Algebra II as a senior, not the ideal class for engineering. That student is not ready for Calc I at UMO, and should begin at SMCC instead. First semester, students take an Intro to Engineering course and design projects. Engineers develop ways to solve problems in a conceptual manner. Engineering Technology might be for you if you would like to implement those techniques in a hands-on manner. Compare the cost of starting your engineering degree at SMCC ($7000/year tuition) versus UMO ($22,000/year tuition, room & board).
Computer Science is a new major, involving hardware, software and math. After your 2 years, you would go on to USM for your bachelors or secure an entry-level job. Great job prospects for any computer science majors! Lots of openings and not enough candidates. Take classes in robotics, C++ programming.
Business majors often start at SMCC and then go on to earn their bachelor's degree at USM.
SMCC typically has a wait list for health related majors. For nursing, radiography and radiation therapy, there is often a wait list. In the meantime, you can take your core courses while you wait for a spot to open up in the program. The nursing program is popular because in 2 years you are prepared to become an RN. Looking to get a job quicker than that? Try the Cardiovascular or Respiratory Therapy programs, one year only, and they are known as 'high tech - high touch' in that you are qualified to work with the special equipment and you work with patients by helping them use the equipment that improves their lives. Good news, SMCC has a 100% pass rate for credential exams in paramedicine, respiratory therapy and surgical tech. There is no wait list for medical assisting or dietetic technician.
Apply to SMCC online at their website.
If you have certain SAT scores, you may be able to skip their Accuplacer placement exam: 450 CR and 490 Math. If you score low on the Accuplacer, you might be placed in remedial math or remedial English, not college level math or English. It might take you longer to earn your degree if you are not placed into college level math or English right away. So, prepare and do well on the SAT!
Did you know there are 2 residence halls on campus that house 140 students?
Excellent article about academic scholarships likely providing students more money than athletic scholarships
Want to study in another country? This guide helps you figure it out if you'd like to study in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherland, New Zealand, and the UK.
Personal branding is one way to set yourself apart from the sea of qualified candidates.
Go behind the scenes of Holy Cross Admissions in this WGBH audio story.
Even if you aren't applying to Yale, they offer great advice on the college application process. Take a look:
- Looking Beyond the College Rankings
- Selecting your Senior Year Course Schedule
- Where to Apply
- Putting together your Application
Over-involved parents are a problem in the college admission process. When you do it for your kid, you are saying they can't, and you don't have faith in them to get it done. Let them be the applicant. Students need to know that they got themselves into college.
They loved your GPA but then they saw your tweets
"At Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, admissions officers are still talking about the high school senior who attended a campus information session. Throughout the presentation, she apparently posted disparaging comments on Twitter about her fellow attendees, repeatedly using a common expletive." Read the article!
Middlebury College in Vermont has a great page on their admissions site entitled “Top Ten Ways to Enjoy the College Application Process”.
Among their tips:
- you shouldn’t apply to 15 colleges! (good thing! who has the time to do that?)
- breathe deeply…you’re going to college!
Here’s a link to the Tips page:
http://www.middlebury.edu/admissions/start/enjoy
Great tips from a collection of admission reps. A sampling:
- don’t apply to 20 colleges
- be yourself: your 17-year-old self is what they expect
Source: Boston Globe 1/15/08 Applying for College: Be Authentic, not Bizarre http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/01/15/applying_for_college_be_authentic_not_bizarre/?rss_id=Boston.com+–+Education+news
What not to send in with your application
“College hopefuls try the creative approach, but gimmicks rarely work”
Clip: “The ultimate question is, ‘Does this help the student get in?’ ” said Debra Shaver, Smith College director of admission. “And the answer is no. It certainly entertains the staff, but it doesn’t help the student get in.”
Read the whole article here, with examples of humorous items that applicants send to colleges: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/01/15/college_hopefuls_get_creative_to_a_fault/?rss_id=Boston.com+–+Education+newsSource: Boston Globe 1/15/08
More ‘what not to do’ advice
If you earned very high PSAT scores junior year you might qualify to become a National Merit Scholar. Some colleges offer scholarship money specifically for NMS.
This site lists some U.S. colleges that offers generous merit money to National Merit scholars.
Check out the blog for the proper role of parents in writing the essay (hands off!) Writing the CommonApp essay? Here's some advice.
Don't be nervous, just be yourself! Find great advice and sample questions here. Always bring your own questions to ask them; they will expect that you are curious about their school. Want more details? Check out this document with possible questions you may be asked.
What's your next step if you are wait listed? Research how many students were pulled off the wait list last year here. (Look up your college and click on the Admission tab. Scroll about 1/2 way down the page to see W/L statistics.)
You must register with NCAA to be cleared for college sports. Visit their website and check out these tips.