Selecting a College and Starting the Application Process
Slide 2
-Check with Guidance, Mr. Lessa, and me. We will be working
very closely with you over the next few weeks. We will make sure
that no one slips through the cracks -Start the process by first
checking out some SUNY Schools. -Stop in and look at the faculty
pages in the yearbook. Find out where your teachers attended
college. Visit those teachers with questions.
Slide 3
MOST SUNY schools have decent Business and Humanities
Curriculums. But there are certain SUNY schools that specialize or
have particularly good department-others may not have certain
departments at all (or very small departments with limited
majors)
Slide 4
SUNY Purchase has an excellent Fine Arts Department. But you
wouldnt want to go there for Pre-Med, Business, or Law. SUNY Albany
is massive-with many excellent majors, but not a school you would
go to for art SUNY New Paltz has a good mix
Slide 5
Where do you want to live? -Country -Woods -A mountain -A large
city -A small city -Near a lake or river -Close to NYC -As far as
possible from NYC? -The suburb ????
Slide 6
Make a list of what you are looking for in a college. Keep in
mind school sizes, distance away from home, gender and ethnic
variety, sports, clubs and activities, minimum requirements to get
in (GPA, rank, SAT scores)
Slide 7
Join some clubs Volunteer Get a job Pump those grades
waaaaaaaaaay up WHY?
Slide 8
Colleges will be looking closely at how well you perform at the
beginning of your senior year While most students see it as the end
of the line, colleges see it as the time and place where the work
is more demandingmore COLLEGIATE! Thus, doing well now shows that
you can handle the added difficulty
Slide 9
Download the Common App from https://www.commonapp.org
https://www.commonapp.org It looks like a LOT of information-and it
is sort of. Force yourself to sit down and start it- without
distractions! Log off FB, Turn off the cell phone and just
concentrate
Slide 10
You will need information from Guidance You will need
transcripts from the School Office You will need financial
information from your parents/gaurdians You will need (later) even
more financial information for Financial Aid You will need a
College Essay You may need additional writing samples for some
colleges- and for grants Ask your parents if their jobs offer any
scholarships. Many major companies offer money-you just need to
apply You will need at least two (2) recomendations
Slide 11
Ask Now Ask Often Email Reminders Dont ask in Class Ask after
school-or in your teachers free time. Ask and ye shall receive
Slide 12
Ask a teacher who knows you Ask a teacher who knows what you
are capable off Dont just ask a teacher you got high grades for Ask
a teacher from a class in which you started off poorly but then
salvaged through hard work Ask a teacher who has something to say
Ask a teacher who teaches a subject you may want to major in Ask a
teacher who has not written you 500 JUGs
Slide 13
At this point in the process the weather will be turning cold
and the year will be progressing infinitely faster than you thought
it could ever move Do you have a car? A friend with a car? A friend
in college? A Parent ready for a road trip? There are 50 colleges
in the city 50 more within 20 miles You get my drift. Plan a trip
that allows you to stop at as many as you can over a long three day
weekend. Get a cheap hotel and make an adventure. Take a lot of
pictures Call the schools ahead of time and see if you can plan a
tour
Slide 14
You will be completing your drafts of the College Essay.
Slide 15
Slide 16
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have
taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you
Slide 17
Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or
international concern and its importance to yo
Slide 18
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you,
and describe that influence
Slide 19
Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a
creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an
influence on you, and explain that influence.
Slide 20
A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life
experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal
background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would
bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that
demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
Slide 21
At the Beginning! Step 1-Write down a list of the first 5 ideas
that pop into your head Step 2- Expand on each thought for 3-5
sentences, write down a few more ideas Step 3-Come see me, Mr.
Lessa, Or Mrs. Morciglioliolio
Slide 22
Picking a strong idea that you can follow through on is most
important!
Slide 23
Describe the event, person, or experience. Use sensory language
HUH?
Slide 24
Sensory language is descriptive and detailed language geared
towards explaining how you saw, felt, heard, and smelled
something.
Slide 25
I will never forget the sharp THWACK of the football as it was
punted through the air. I quickly noticed it was spinning end over
end towards me. There were 12 seconds on the clock and I felt the
weight of the whole season on my shoulders WHAM! I then heard a
sound like the snapping of brush in a campfire as the 500 pound
Linebacker pulverized me into the 20 yard. I woke up later with the
uncomfortable presence of tubes in my throat and an IV in my arm.
Then I saw what no young man wants to see My legs bent at 90 degree
angles away from my body.
Slide 26
What did this event sound, taste, feel, look like? Be specific!
This is where the reader will enter your mind! Make his stay an
interesting one!
Slide 27
The second paragraph specifically outlines the lessons you
gained from the experience, the truths you absorbed from that
person you chose, or the instruction you obtained from the event.
Again, use SPECIFIC DETAIL and define that information.
Slide 28
I soon learned from the doctor that I would never be able to
walk in a straight line again, I would only be able to make left
turns. I immediately wondered if girls at college would be able to
love a non-straightwalker? It soon dawned on me that the inability
to walk in a straight line was actually a blessing! I realized that
goals in life are never reached by walking in a straight line. In
fact, you must be ready for all the right turns life will throw at
you. That day, in my L-shaped hospital bed, I realized I was ready
for anything!
Slide 29
The Finale of your room is a culmination of both the experience
you chose to write about in the first paragraph and the lessons you
learned from it. In the last paragraph you will write about how
that experience has shaped you and will ensure your success at
_______ University.
Slide 30
The realization that life does not happen in a straight line
will ensure my success at SUNY New Paltz. I know that I must be
ready for every event that life will throw at me. My ability to
deal with the pressure of changing situations and the unsure nature
of the future will assuredly help me make the best of my college
years. As I walk through the Sojourner Truth Library I will be
confident that I will be able to handle anything SUNY New Paltz has
to throw at me!