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The Glossary: public universities

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The Glossary: public universities

When it comes to college admissions, it seems like private, “elite” schools get all the attention. The Ivy League schools, Stanford, M.I.T., University of Chicago, places like that. But almost three fourths of U.S. college students are at public institutions, not private ones.

A while back I asked a question on my personal Facebook page:

Plenty of public education advocates—including myself—think nothing of sending their children to private universities. I’ve heard none of the arguments for keeping all children in public schools used for keeping all young adults in public colleges. I wonder why that is? Do you have any thoughts on our different attitude when it comes to higher education? Let me know!

One of the responses I got, which I wasn’t expecting, is that a lot of people probably don’t fully understand the difference between public and private universities. It’s not always easy to tell the difference (more on that below). Both are expensive and difficult, and neither guarantees you admission, much less success. So let’s talk about public colleges and universities.

Postcards and envelopes

Postcards and envelopes

It makes complete sense to prefer postcards over envelopes. They’re more fun, more immediate, more likely to be from friends than strangers. Envelopes require more effort, and they’re more likely to be junk mail. But still, it would be absolutely crazy to only look at postcards and refuse to open envelopes. You’d miss really important mail. You’d miss bills that need to be paid; you’d miss checks sent to you; you’d miss longer, more personal letters. Before online applications, you’d miss your college applications and you’d miss college acceptance letters. Just saying “I don’t open envelopes” and expecting any kind of success would be unthinkable.

And yet, in these more modern times with the internet and smart phones, too many high school students do the same thing. They’ll read texts, Twitter DMs, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp…almost anything but email. I’ve heard way too many high school students casually say “I never check email.” And I want to make clear that never checking email and expecting any kind of success is equally unthinkable.

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Jenna is narrowing down her choices

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Jenna is narrowing down her choices

Jenna has certainly reached the point where she’s narrowing down her list and getting a better sense of where she’s going to be at college next year. However, she’s still got incomplete information as she waits for some more financial aid offers. That could end up changing everything. Read the full interview below, and keep coming back to see what surprises are (or maybe aren’t) in store!

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Katie's been auditioning. A lot.

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Katie's been auditioning. A lot.

Katie answered this month’s questions while on her way back from doing 10 auditions in two days. She’s applied and been accepted—and offered scholarships—to a number of schools, but she’s still working to get into their BFA programs for musical theater. It’s a reminder that for many applicants, getting accepted to college is only the first step. Katie’s looking to get accepted into a particular program within the college with its own admission requirements. In her case it’s for musical theater, but students across the country are aiming to get into special honors programs, arts, programs, science programs, and so many other programs that are above and beyond just getting that first acceptance. Read her full interview below.

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Three Quick Questions with Bucknell University

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Three Quick Questions with Bucknell University

The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

This response is from Carrine Gadoury, Admissions Counselor at Bucknell University.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to Bucknell University?

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Good news for eliminating "test optional"

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Good news for eliminating "test optional"

This week, Northern Illinois University announced that they’re doing just that, going test-blind for undergraduate admissions and honors consideration. The school feels strongly that a student’s high school GPA is a much better indicator of potential, and that “once we know a high school student’s GPA, one standardized test score is irrelevant.”

So is this the end of admissions testing?

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Jenna has a plan

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Jenna has a plan

Jenna made some las-minute changes to her college list by applying to a few that weren’t initially on her radar. She’s also dropped a few. But Jenna also has enough acceptances already that she’s building a plan. We’ll see how it changes over the next few months, but for now she has some school spirit to plan and a visit to her top-choice school. Read all about Jenna’s holidays and January below.

Seniors, send thank-you notes. Now!

Seniors, send thank-you notes. Now!

If you’re a senior who’s sent out all your applications, it’s a weird time. After all that working, now you’re waiting. Waiting to hear back from everyone—both in terms of acceptance and financial aid—before you make a final decision. While you wait to hear from schools and think about how to choose from your acceptances, take some time to write thank-you notes. Write a thank-you note to everyone who has done something for you along the way: teachers who wrote recommendation letters, counselors who sent off transcripts, college admissions personnel who answered questions, people who took time to interview you. Everybody. They gave some of their time to help you, and you should thank them if you haven't already.

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Three Quick Questions with Hawaii Pacific University

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Three Quick Questions with Hawaii Pacific University

The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

This response is from Alex Miller, Assistant Director of Admissions at Hawaii Pacific University.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to Hawaii Pacific University?

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Three Quick Questions with Penn State University

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Three Quick Questions with Penn State University

The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

This response is from Katie Immel, Admissions Counselor at Penn State University.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to Penn State University?

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Three Quick Questions with the University of Washington

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Three Quick Questions with the University of Washington

The three questions are meant to probe some of the things that make a school unique but that aren’t easily captured as a stat to go in a book or web search.

This response is from Joseph Franco, Admissions Counselor at the University of Washington.

What is a course, tradition, program or event that is unique to the University of Washington?

A good example of a family doing it right

A good example of a family doing it right

Whether you’re a student or a parent, I’d really like you to take a few minutes to read an article by Melody Warnick, “I Killed my Teenager’s Fancy College Dreams. You Should, Too.” It was on Slate a few weeks ago.

Warnick explains that she and her husband decided to “scare the hell out of [their daughter] about taking on student debt.” Their scare tactics worked, and their daughter—a current high school senior—has only applied to a few colleges she’s confident they can afford without taking on any debt.

One of my Five Foundations is to talk to your family about money, soon. And this family gives a fantastic example of why it’s important and how to actually do it. Let me highlight the things I especially love about Warnick’s approach.

What should 9th graders do this spring?

What should 9th graders do this spring?

Work at being good at high school

You're half way through your first year of high school, and there's so much to deal with. There are often a lot of positive things associated with this time: establishing new friendships and networks, trying out interesting electives, learning practical skills. But there's also plenty of negative things to deal with: disappointment, feeling overwhelmed, feeling disorganized, having difficulty figuring out where you belong. Take time--not just once but at least once a week--to identify what's going well and what isn't. What are the positives to accentuate and the negatives to eliminate? Being self-aware and honest with yourself is going to help you get through this year, and if you'll stay in that habit will help you every year of high school and beyond.

What should sophomores do this spring?

What should sophomores do this spring?

Work at being good at high school

Everyone’s experience is different, I get that. But there’s a really good chance that this semester is going to be your Golden Age. For one, you’re almost half way through high school and have got the hang of it. You’re not a clueless and picked-on Freshman any more. You’ve cultivated relationships with fellow students and, hopefully, a teacher or two. And also, the big jump to more rigorous courses and more college pressure usually doesn't begin in full until the 11th grade.

So now is your time to shine. There are a few things you should do:

What should seniors do this spring?

What should seniors do this spring?

Dates & Deadlines

There are two more SAT tests, on March 14 and May 2. There are also two more ACT dates February 8 and April 4.

There are few good reasons to take another test. One is that you took the test only once, in the fall, and there was a problem. Maybe you were sick, or you couldn’t find your contact lenses and took the test half blind, or the person sitting next to you was smacking gum really loud. Maybe (I’ve seen this happen before) you were taking the test in a large room with lots of big windows, and there was a huge thunderstorm and the room literally shook every 20 seconds with thunder and you thought maybe the windows were going to blow into your face and so you were maybe a little distracted and not at your best.

But even in these cases, you would only take the test because a college asked you to as part of their conditional acceptance, or because you’re hoping to apply somewhere that accepts very late and/or rolling admissions. Most 12th graders are done with standardized testing. Except, of course…

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Katie's still in the thick of it

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Katie's still in the thick of it

Early January means the end of the application phase for most seniors. And while Katie is technically done applying, her musical theater ambitions means she still has a lot of auditioning to do on top of regular applications. That and a bout of pneumonia have kept her a little more stressed into the new year. Read her entire interview below!