College DU'ers - I Need Your Help

[otohara]

My son is going to visit two colleges next week. For his entire life we thought he'd go to CU - but he's an amazing lacrosse player and is being recruited by some top liberal arts schools back east.

I did not go to collge, his dad went to one of the best colleges in JAPAN. We are not going on these college visits with him. I feel like we are sending him out there naked, unprepared for the admissions interview process.

I'm looking for some advice on what kind of questions they ask, what kind of questions should he ask. Books you might recommend for the interview process, what should he take with him?

He has an incredible opportunity - I don't want him to blow his chances.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. "kind of questions they ask"

"Why do you want to go to (this school)?"
"What can you contribute to (this school)?"

Just for the record, are you at liberty to name these schools?

[otohara]

5. Sure Can

Skidmore - Wheaton - Vassar and possibly Ithica....

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. I'm no expert,

but none of those schools is a lacrosse powerhouse on the order of Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, UVa, or several other schools near Baltimore. These lacrosse powerhouses recruit heavily from both private and public high schools in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and DC suburbs in Maryland, and northern Virginia. Lacrosse has an astonishing following in those states. The Landon-Georgetown Prep game is considered by some to be the best high school lacrosse game in the country.

I'd guess that, of those schools, none has a more scenic location than Ithaca, which is adjacent to lacrosse power Cornell. Cornell has the handsomest setting of any school I've ever seen.

I see that lacrosse is a varsity sport at Ithaca. What about the other schools? Is it a club sport there?

If he likes skiing or snowboarding, he'll have to go farther from those schools than he would were he to attend CU, where Eldora is less than an hour away. When he gets to those ski areas, he'll find that "best conditions ever" means "icepack." Further, there's no lift ticket price war back east as there is in Colorado.

Gratuitous links to old rankings:

ncaa division 1 men's lacrosse, scores and standings, 28 feb 04

ncaa division 3 men's lacrosse, scores and standings, 28 feb 04

Ithaca was sixth-ranked DIII then, and Cortland State, just down the road from Ithaca, was third-ranked. Cornell was twelfth-ranked in DI. Throw in Colgate, Hartwick, Oneonta, and Hobart, and he'd be right in the middle of things.

More links:

Division I again

DIII again

Wait; I'm not done yet.

Men's Division I Forum Poll

Men's Division III Forum Poll for April 5

[otohara]

7. All Division III

schools, and none offer athletic scholarships.

He's smart and if they want him, they can come up with something, plus financial aid. My guess is - my kid will come home and want to stay in CO - where he has already been offered a position on Colorado College lacrosse team. Which is a lovely school and rated higher than Skidmore.

He's a big skier - we truly can't afford this kid.

We learned after playing in the annual "Shoot Out" in Vail - the Eastern kids rule in Lacrosse and most Eastern schools recruit from their own hood. Although Team Colorado went all the way - till the end, when Baltimore beat us.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. answer

"He's a big skier - we truly can't afford this kid.

We learned after playing in the annual "Shoot Out" in Vail - the Eastern kids rule in Lacrosse and most Eastern schools recruit from their own hood."
--------

Have you selected your Land Rover yet? That's a joke, sort of. Land Rovers might well be the most often seen vehicless parked at the site of a high school lacrosse game back this way.

He'll have to learn how to ski on ice if he wants to pursue that habit here. Naturally, he'll be able to cut a deal on lift tickets with a student ID. I hope so, because even in Pennsylvania, lift tickets are $50 and up on the weekend. For a big skiing experience, he'll most likely have to go to Vermont or Quebec. Of course, the states back east are much smaller than around Colorado, so crossing several states here is not the same as crossing several states there.

I don't read US News & World Report or the various college guides, so I have no idea which of those schools is supposed to outrank the others. I think that one's happiness at a school means a lot more than how the school is ranked.

I vaguely know of someone who attends Ithaca, in the sense that he is the son of someone I knew in school years and years ago. If you want, I can try to drop him a line to see if he wants to talk about Ithaca. I don't think he's a * fan, if that matters.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. I was going to ask

isn't Wheaton somewhat of a conservative school. I now see, though, that not only is there a Wheaton College in Illinois; there is a Wheaton College in Massachusetts as well. I had never even heard of the one in Massachusetts. Is that the one you're talking about?

[otohara]

11. Massachusetts

Much smaller, compaired to the one in IL

[liontamer]

2. are you sure he is being interviewed ?

for many schools the interview process is more idle chit chat.
I remember the interviews I did for harvard and barnard, and for the harvard one I ended up quoting from a third eye blind song, and the barnard one I talked about my name. I got into both schools. Generally the interview is just a test to see that a kid can talk effectively.

[otohara]

8. Yep, I Scheduled His Academic Interviews Today

He's scheduled for interviews and tour while there.

[amandae]

3. I'd make sure that he's also prepared

for what college life is like. Not so much the social aspect, but the basics of how to read a course requirements catalogue and schedule classes he needs, etc. Including taking advantage of career resources/advising (unless he is already clear on what he wants to major in). I know this stuff sounds basic, but it's sometimes overwhelming if you're a student who isn't exposed to this and is more of a first-generation college student.

I never had to go through an interview process for school (I only applied to two schools when I was going to college and apparently neither of them had this requirement). From the other posts, it sounds like that isn't going to be a really big concern for him.

Good luck to you and your son!!!

:hi:

[JVS]

4. I recommend "The Case Against College" by Caroline Bird

I recommend this book out of principle because I feel that far too many youngsters are pressured to go to college without there being a consideration of whether college is truly what they want and need.

As far as his questions are concerned, he should know what it is that he is looking for and ask about those things. Rigor of education, variety of courses offered, and active research within the field that he is interested would all be good things to know about. Class size, job/graduate placement and a sense of how competitive the environment is may be another factor about which he should ask. Financial aid is also a biggie.

As far as their questions, I've never had to answer any interview type questions to go to school. All that Michigan wanted was a business reply mail type postcard and an application fee and I was in. The University of Pittsburgh offered full tuition for 5 years without interviewing as well. Similarly to get into graduate school no interviews were required. Of course these are all large research institutions. Small colleges may be different.

[Nikia]

12. I went to a small liberal arts college

They ask questions about the applicant to see what kind of student and person they are. He should be prepared to talk about his activites and interests. For this reason, he shouldn't claim interest in things he knows little about. He should be prepared to talk about his life goals. If he names a career, he should know about it. He should also know something about his potential major. He might be asked what courses he likes and dislikes. He should not like a course because it is easy or dislike one because it requires a lot of work. He should be ready to explain any poor grades or dropping a lot of activites. He should have done some research on the school and have some idea of why he would want to go there.