College Visit and Skype Sessions Recap

This week was a busy week in the college advising office.  College admission officers throughout Texas and Oklahoma stopped by the office to visit with seniors and juniors. Colleges represented this week included Texas Christian University, Hardin Simmons, University of Oklahoma, Baylor, Austin College, and Lubbock Christian University. A Skype session with Grinnell and Furman was also held.  

To date the college advising office has held a total of 16 different visits and skype sessions. In addition to the colleges listed above students have visited with and heard presentations from, The University of Texas, Rhodes, Texas Tech, University of Dallas, Trinity University, Southern Methodist University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The college visits to campus and skype sessions offer a multitude of benefits for our students.  The main benefit of course is to get information about the college (degrees offered, campus life, housing, etc.), requirements for admission, and scholarship/financial aid opportunities.  Another great benefit for the students is to see whether or not the particular college visiting/skyping is a “good fit” in selecting a college to apply to or attend. This is why a wide variety of sessions are offered from large research universities with 30,000 or more students, to smaller private universities to liberal arts colleges to highly selective colleges like MIT. By attending these events students are letting their college admission officer know that they are interested in that college. Demonstrated interest by the student is well received and can often times benefit the student when admission decisions are made.

The school year is still young and more opportunities will be available for students to hear from different colleges and universities around the country. In the meantime students should be emailing the colleges that they interested in or going to apply to.

Visits from TCU, Baylor, OU, and Austin College This Week

Admission Visit and Skype Session Update!!

We had a change of schedule with SMU and they are back on next Thursday for a skype, Trinity University on campus on the same day and we have added MIT for Skype that afternoon! Email me at twetendorf@trinitymidland.org or reserve your spot. Free food provided!!

9/24/2014	Noon	University of Dallas	XX		Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
9/25/2014	8:00 AM	Trinity University	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
9/25/14	8 am	SMU		XX	Conference room	Seniors and juniors
9/25/14	Noon	MIT		XX	Conference room	Seniors and juniors
9/30/2014	Noon	Grinnell College		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
10/1/2014	10 am- noon	Texas Christian University	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
10/2/2014	8:00 AM	Hardin Simmons University	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
10/2/2014	Noon	University of Oklahmoa	XX		Conference Room	Seniors only
10/2/2014	2:00-3:30	Baylor	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors
10/3/2014	8:00 AM	Austin College	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
10/3/2014	Noon	Furman		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
10/9/2014	noon	Southwestern University		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors

Texas Tech Counselor Update

Two days ago I had the opportunity to visit one of my Alma mater's at Texas Tech University in Lubbock for a counselor update. Fellow college advisers like myself were greeted by several of the staff members from the office of admission and then given a warm welcome by their new President Dr. Duane Nellis. Helpful information and updates were given to us by different admissions staff members and we had the chance to listen to and ask questions to a student panel that consisted of three outstanding Red Raider undergraduates. I wanted to take a moment to share some of the highlights from my visit.

Most everyone that lives in West Texas is already familiar with Texas Tech University. Tech is a large research university with an enrollment of just over 33,000 students from all 50 states and over 90 foreign countries. Texas Tech has 10 different colleges with over 150 academic programs for students to choose from. Famous Tech alumni include Scott Pelley from the CBS Evening News, Ginger Kerrick, NASA, and Roy Seiders the founder of Yeti Coolers

Meeting Highlights:

• CALUE is the Center for Active Learning and Undergraduate Engagement. The center is available to students that wish to engage in life long learning and learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Active learning programs include undergraduate research, service learning, professional internships, and study abroad options. Funding is available for students to participate in research projects and to travel to present at national conferences. 
• Study abroad options are available to students to study in more than 70 different countries. Tech even has a campus in Seville, Spain. 
• Texas Tech has a vibrant campus life experience for students. The campus is full of different residence halls, dining facilities, campus convenience stores, rec center, NCAA sports, and countless student organizations. One of the newest dining options available to students this fall includes a food truck that can be spotted all over campus delivering various food options. Students are raving about Funnel Cake Fries and much more!
• Spirit and Tradition are a big part of the Texas Tech experience including the annual holiday Carol of Lights

Students can be assured admission under the following http://www.admissions.ttu.edu/index.php/admission-financial_aid/first-time-freshmen/

Students that fall into application review will be evaluated on their academic course selection (colleges want to see that you are challenging yourself by taking AP, Honors, and Dual credit courses that best prepare you for college) your extracurricular activities (Tech likes to see students involved in various things such as sports, band, church, community service, civic clubs, etc). and any kind of talents or awards can also help. 

Not admitted to Tech? Students can be offered wonderful opportunities to attend Texas Tech through their Gateway program and TTAP program. Check out the different options here... http://www.admissions.ttu.edu/index.php/admission-financial_aid/first-time-freshmen/

Texas Tech offers academic awards to students with solid test scores and grades. These range anywhere from over $12,000 over 4 years to $24,000 over 4 years. Texas Tech is an affordable option for many. Kiplinger;s Personal Finance says Tech is one of the top schools for graduates coming out with the least debt. 

One of the highlights of the day included a question and answer session with a panel of Red Raider students. These students mentioned the following that best prepared them for their academic experience at Tech:

1. AP and Dual Credit classes- Enrolling in challenging courses all the way through the end of their senior year
2. Time management
3. Good study habits.

The panel of Tech students said that while Texas Tech is a large school with over 30,000 students that it truly has a small town feel and a close knit community. 

There are just so many great colleges to choose from. If you are in West Texas and looking to stay close to home, or looking to come to the West Texas area and want an affordable education at a large university with a lot of variety, then I encourage you to check out Tech Tech. www.ttu.edu. You will encounter a very friendly and helpful admission staff. 

Updated college visits to Trinity and Skype sessions. SMU, Baylor, and Southwestern have been added to the list.

Date	Time	College	On Campus	Skype	Location	Student Audience
9/4/2014	Noon	Rhodes		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
9/5/2014	Noon	Texas Tech	XX		Conference Room	Seniors only
9/19/2014	8:00 AM	SMU		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
9/24/2014	Noon	University of Dallas	XX		Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
9/25/2014	8:00 AM	Trinity University	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
9/30/2014	Noon	Grinnell College		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
10/1/2014	10 am- noon	Texas Christian University	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
10/2/2014	8:00 AM	Hardin Simmons University	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
10/2/2014	Noon	University of Oklahmoa	XX		Conference Room	Seniors only
10/2/2014	2:00-3:30	Baylor	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors
10/3/2014	8:00 AM	Austin College	XX		Wetendorf's Office	Seniors and Juniors
10/3/2014	Noon	Furman		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors
10/9/2014	noon	Southwestern University		XX	Conference Room	Seniors and Juniors