University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Our family took a quick trip to Asheville, North Carolina over spring break.  We decided to incorporate a couple of early college visits for our daughter while there.  We ended up at UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University.  Both are incredibly good schools, but they couldn't be more different, in my opinion!

Our first stop was to visit UNC-Chapel Hill.  We arrived on campus about two hours ahead of our scheduled admissions meeting.  The great part about arriving early was being able to get to know Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.  Franklin Street runs right along the North edge of campus and is home to restaurants, hangouts, shops, etc.  We chose a beautiful spring day for our visit, so Franklin Street was a very busy place.  We had literally dozens of restaurants to choose from for lunch and then headed onto campus to check things out.

It didn't take us long wandering around campus to end up at "The Pit";  the obvious heart of UNC-Chapel Hill campus.  Surrounding this outdoor area are several of the most important buildings on campus:  one of the primary dining halls, the undergraduate library, student union building and student store.  The day we visited, this area of campus was packed.  "The Pit" was filled with student organizations signing students up for different activities on campus and students were enjoying their lunch at outdoor tables.

UNC-Chapel Hill is home to approximately 18,500 undergraduate students and is consistently ranked as a top tier Public School and a top 30 Public or Private National University by US News.  

For information about these rankings, check out this link:  

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill-199120/overall-rankings

UNC-Chapel Hill is a very competitive school.  During the admissions meeting, we were told they use a holistic approach for admissions, with five items considered:  official high school transcript, scores from SAT or ACT, letter of recommendation, extra curricula's, and essay.  We were told the transcript bears the most weight.  They are less concerned with the overall GPA or class rank due to the differences from one high school to the next, but they are concerned with the course rigor chosen and grades earned.  Like most universities, they are concerned with grade trends (they like to see consistent improvement).  So, what percentage of students who apply to UNC-Chapel Hill make the cut?  If you live in-state, your odds are a bit higher in the 30-something % and if you live out of state the chances are in the teens.  What do you do if you don't get in and your heart was set on UNC-Chapel Hill?  This admissions advisor suggested reapplying the next year as a transfer student.  Your odds of getting in will be improved!

Walking around campus, it is hard to forget the historic nature of this place!  The first public university to have students attend, the campus opened in 1795.  The original building still stands on campus and is still in use.

According to university legend, if you want to guarantee your chances at admission, then you need to drink from the water fountain in the gazebo at the center of campus.  This is the location of the original drinking well when the campus first opened.  "Tar Heels" who are hoping for good grades line up at the drinking fountain during finals week as well!

What's a Tar Heel, anyway?  Any student will be happy to share or you can check out this link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_Heel

You may be familiar with Tar Heel sports teams, but may not realize this public university has at times been dubbed a "Public Ivy". 

***As always, this post represents impressions I have of this school based upon visiting the school.  Admissions standards can be changed or modified by a college or university at any time.  This is not an endorsement of UNC-Chapel Hill for every student.  For more information about UNC-Chapel Hill, please visit the school. To arrange your own visit to UNC-Chapel Hill:   

http://unc.edu/

University of Indianapolis

My visit to University of Indianapolis, or UIndy, reminded me once again of how important it is to take the time to visit a college or university.  There are so many things you simply can not learn from a university website.  After spending the majority of my life in Indiana, the physical therapy major and UIndy were synonymous in my mind.  While it is true that UIndy has a large program in Pre-physical Therapy and Doctoral Physical Therapy, I spent my afternoon with a current junior undergrad student who is studying Communications at UIndy and loving it!

The University of Indianapolis campus is located on the Southeast side of Indianapolis just minutes from downtown.  When speaking to students, they love the fact that this smallish school (approx 3000 undergrads) enjoys all the benefits of beautiful Indianapolis.  A point of pride was hosting the New York Giants football team last year for practices for the Super Bowl on the Greyhound football field!  With most freshmen living on campus in a handful of dorms, the opportunity to get to know other students is great.  According to my tour guide, the RHA (Residence Hall Association) continues to work to provide fun activities and opportunities for students living on campus.

Commuter students looking for a place to hang out between classes enjoy the lounge areas in the Schwitzer Student Center.  The only cafeteria on campus is located here as well, along with a "fast-food" line and convenient center.  As is my tradition, I stopped by Schwitzer to buy a UIndy pennant for my collection.   

Students have a variety of housing options to choose from, but any freshman choosing to live on campus their freshman year will live in either Cory Bretz Hall, Cravens Hall, or Warren Hall.  Central Hall has suite style living and is available for freshmen admitted to the Honors College.  In order to be admitted to the Honors College, you must graduate with a 3.8 GPA and have a combined score on the SAT of 1100, according to the admissions counselor I spoke with.  UIndy currently does not have fraternities or sororities.

As for academic programs, it is always interesting to discover the niches of different schools.  You don't have to look very far to find that UIndy has large Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy programs.  Beyond that, the Criminal Justice program allows students to attend the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy as part of their studies.  Check out the UIndy website for more information:  http://socsci.uindy.edu/criminaljustice/index.php The admissions counselor also shared some interesting information about their anthropology major.  For more information, check out:  http://www.uindy.edu/cas/anthropology/majors .

***As always, this post represents impressions I have of this school based upon visiting the school.  This is not an endorsement of University of Indianapolis for every student.  For more information about University of Indianapolis, please visit the school. To arrange your own visit to University of Indianapolis:   http://www.uindy.edu/admissions/visit-the-campus

Franklin College, Franklin Indiana

I can not believe I have lived in Southern Indiana for 37 years without ever visiting Franklin College!  I have several friends who attended and graduated from FC who love their alma mater and now I understand why!

If you search for Franklin College on the internet, you will quickly find out that Franklin College is a small (approx 1000 students) liberal arts college located in Franklin, Indiana.  Like most colleges and universities, web sites full of facts and statistics simply can not tell the whole story.

One of the things I have found to be consistent of most people who choose a smaller school is their desire to be a person rather than a number to the university.  Franklin College made certain right out of the gate to communicate that very idea to me. As much as I love visiting college campuses, I have to admit I was a bit reluctant on this particular day to get out of my car and face the cold winter day.  I felt incredibly appreciated by the staff when I arrived to find a reserved parking space with my name on it!  The admissions staff had a fire going in the welcome center and cookies on a plate ready to enjoy.

This same theme of connectedness is continued through a student's tenure at FC through their student advising.  Professors advise/mentor approximately 15 students at a time and students will continue to have the same advisor throughout their time at Franklin College.

When speaking with admissions staff, I quickly found out that athletic training, biology, business and journalism are some of their most popular majors.  Athletic Training has been such a successful program that FC is looking to expand this program into a Masters Degree in the future.  If you want to see FC Journalism in action, then check out The Statehouse File.  This is an innovative project which was created....  "To train young journalists and to provide more government and political coverage to media organizations across Indiana." (The Statehouse File)  

Franklin College is also engaged in a program with Purdue University which allows their students to earn a degree in Applied Mathematics from FC while also receiving a degree in engineering from Purdue University.  This allows students who desire to attend a small liberal arts school like Franklin to be able to do that while still achieving the engineering degree they're seeking.  

Something I heard about several times throughout the day was the "Study Away" program.  Many students take advantage of this opportunity during the winter term.  FC is on a 4-1-4 system where students have a semester of courses in the fall, a short term in January, and then another semester in the spring.  Many students choose to use the winter term to participate in internships, study opportunities within the United States and study opportunities abroad.  Students have an opportunity to earn scholarships for studying abroad by taking a course and earning a minimum grade point average. 

A Division 3 school, FC does not offer athletic scholarships, but nearly 1/3 of the students are athletes!

After taking a swing through the student center, I headed over to the fine arts building to spend some time at their leadership center.

The Leadership Program at FC offers many opportunities for students.  They offer a minor in Leadership with 12 credits of prescribed coursework and an additional 6 hours in electives.  Students in this program will engage in project-based learning opportunities.  Some of the topics include:  personal skills, foundational leadership (reading great leaders and theorists), professional development, sociological and psychological theory and practice and multicultural leadership.  One of the projects has the students observe a campus group and provide input to improve the leadership of the group.  If you are interested in more information about this unique program, check out this link:  http://www.franklincollege.edu/academics/minors/leadership 

***As always, this post represents impressions I have of this school based upon visiting the school.  This is not an endorsement of Franklin College for every student.  For more information about Franklin College, please visit the school. To arrange your own visit to Franklin College:  http://admissions.franklincollege.edu/visit-franklin

Hanover College Visit

As I began to transition into a new career consulting high school students about best-fit majors and places to attend college, I quickly realized that visiting a lot of campuses was going to be important.  This works well for me because I love going new places;  especially college campuses.  My goal is to visit approximately 10 campuses by the end of May.   The next big question quickly became "Where to begin?"

After doing some research, I realized that Indiana boasts nearly 50 colleges and universities.  Wow!  We all hear about the obvious IU (I'm a Hoosier), Purdue, Ball State, Rose Hulman, etc, but there are literally dozens of smaller schools across this state that might be a great fit for your student.  

Although I have several friends who are Hanover College graduates, I have never actually been to Hanover College.  I decided to begin there.  As with any college or university, it is always a great idea to begin on their web site.  I dug through all they had to offer online, made an appointment with an admissions counselor and scheduled a tour.

After driving through rural Southern Indiana for about an hour, I arrived at Hanover.  The sprawling rural campus overlooks a bend in the Ohio River which is breathtaking.  For having a small population, t his school is packed with amenities.  My tour guide, a sophomore from a large high school in Indiana, showed off his campus with pride.  He chose this school because he had attended a very large school and wanted to go to school some place smaller where he could get a fresh start with a whole new group.  He shared his favorite activities with me:  attending a small Bible Study, working at the Rivers Institute, pick up games of basketball at the Horner Health and Recreation Center and more.  I was particularly interested in what caused a kid from such a large school to attend a college with little more than 1100 student sin rural Southern Indiana.  The question was answered when he showed me a typical classroom.  With a dozen chairs set up in a rectangle around a conference table, a big part of my question was answered:  one-on-one attention from professors.  Jane Stormer, the associate director of admissions, shared with me that it is "impossible to become isolated on this campus."  My tour guide affirmed this when he shared a story about missing class during a recent bout of the flu.  His professor called him from class on a friend's cell phone to tell him the importance of the content of this particular class.  He offered to meet with him later or suggested he get to class. Obviously, this professor at Hanover is working hard to ensure success for his students.

In my opinion, one of the great gems of Hanover is the Business Scholars Program.  Simply stated, you choose a liberal arts major and add on this business program.  Students must decide by the first semester of their sophomore year if they plan to join the program in order to finish all the coursework.  The summer before their senior year, students in this program must complete a paid internship.  It seems like such a great opportunity to boost a resume with applicable skills.  

Another surprise for me was the number of students taking advantage of studying abroad.  Hanover encourages this by offering Global Scholars Scholarships to make it possible for students to meet the financial obligations of studying abroad.  68% of their students will travel off campus for study before graduation.  25% travel off campus more than once.  

Finally, if Hanover's goal is to make you feel at home, they are succeeding.  From the moment I arrived at admissions until I left, I felt super comfortable.  The staff was friendly and warm everywhere I went.

Small liberal arts schools are certainly not for everyone, but if you are looking for a homey environment with plenty of opportunities to get involved on campus, a trip to Hanover would be worth it.  If you want a more anonymous college experience, Hanover is probably not for you.

***As always, this post represents impressions I have of this school based upon visiting the school.  This is not an endorsement of Hanover College for every student.  For more information about Hanover College, please visit the school. To arrange your own visit to Hanover College:   http://www.hanover.edu/admission/visits