Activities – College Admission at Loyola

Advice from Current Ramblers

By Lindsy Fagerstrom | September 23, 2014

The start of the Fall semester is always my favorite time of year – the campus is buzzing with energy as we welcome the students back after a quiet summer. This year the student workers of the Undergraduate Admission Office decided to share their application and college selection advice for prospective students:

“Always keep an open mind. Going to college is not only about figuring out what you want to do with your life, but also to discover new passions, friendships, and values.” – Aly Crutchfield, Freshman

“Be yourself on your application. Focus on representing yourself honestly and highlighting your unique qualities rather than trying to show the admission counselors a “perfect” applicant.” – Daeja Marzette, Sophomore

“Think outside the box when writing your college admission essay. It is best to write your essay on a topic that you are completely passionate about rather than what you think admissions counselors will want to read.” – Morgan Parker, Sophomore

“Make sure to visit the colleges you’re interested in, especially during Open House events. It will help you get a feel for what the campus environment is really like, and to see if it’s the right fit for you. This also allows you to meet professors and ask questions regarding the classes you’re interested in taking.” – Melissa Vazquez, Sophomore

“Choosing Loyola to be your new home for the next four years is choosing a premier education that is always highly respected wherever you go in life and will be a strong beginning to a successful career.” – Vince Jones, Junior

“Choose a school that has clubs or activities you can see yourself getting involved in, or even starting on your own. College is the time to explore different fields and deepen your passion, so when deciding on where to go, choose a University where you can challenge yourself and see yourself grow.” – Ally Ryder, Junior

“Make it possible for yourself to study abroad in your four year plan. This opportunity will enhance your experience at any University and it will give you the ability to learn about yourself outside of the classroom.” – Samantha Cordova, Junior

“Be yourself, get involved, and don’t be too cool for school! Rambler on.” – Joe Sadofsky, Senior

Autumn Is Upon Us

By | September 26, 2013

Four days ago, September 22, was the official beginning of Autumn. Leaves are slowly changing colors, the weather is beginning to chill, and homework is piling up. After having my first couple of tests, I can officially say that every aspect about Summer is over. Late nights gazing at the stars have been replaced by staring at my textbooks until one in the morning. This is fine when what I’m reading about is interesting, but what if it’s not? What do you do when you have a lot of homework and no motivation to do it?

For starters, always find that time of the day when you are most motivated to get things done. I know that I can’t sit down right when I get home and do my homework. I focus best once everything I have to do for the day is done, which means I usually study towards the night. I work well under pressure, so I’m most focused starting at about 8 or 9 at night.

Second, know what you need to complete and when you need to complete it by. I’ve had an assignment notebook for the last 10 years because it keeps me organized. At the beginning of each semester, I write in all the tests, paper due dates, presentations, etc. I know of for the semester. This way, I know exactly when I need to focus most on a particular subject. This weekend, for example, I’ll be focusing on studying for my Project Management class because I have an exam on Tuesday whereas I just had my test for my Science class so I won’t be focusing on it as much the next week. With seven classes, my life is always about prioritization, knowing which class matters most in different points in time. This is how I have always stayed on top of my classes and grades.

Third, have your downtime to do activities that you enjoy, whether it be watching your television shows or going for a run. If you make your entire life about your homework and things you have to get done, you end up burning yourself out. In my next blog, I’m going to write about some of the activities that I have done since school started, and several of the things I look forward to doing in the next month. If I’m having fun in life, I’ll have more fun in school. I watch my TV shows during the day so that I can do my homework at night and I have fun Friday nights and designate Sunday as my homework day. If something is mandatorily due soon, I get it done, but if I have some time, I don’t want to sit and try to do homework while thinking the whole time “This episode aired four days ago and I still haven’t watched it…”

Fall’s Fun Functions Part 2

By | September 18, 2012

As promised, I am writing another blog today. To continue on my Saturday, along with having my fortune told, I got to experience other cool things, some that I had previously done and some that I had not.

One thing that I had never done before was pet and feed a Llama. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a live Llama, so getting up close to it and feeding it was really cool. Here’s a picture:

I also sang karaoke there, which was recorded, so I have a CD of myself singing the original version of “Life Is A Highway” by Tom Cochrane. I played some Frisbee there as well, realizing that I am quite horrible at it, but I am pretty good at rock climbing. There was a rock climbing wall put up there, and I got the chance to climb the harder segment of it. I got to the top, which felt pretty great considering I hadn’t done it since high school several years ago.

I also got to see some people dressed up as Batman, Harry Potter, and all sorts of other characters, and I saw the Jesse White Tumbling Team perform again.

In between activities, I ate chili cheese dogs and the best M&M cookies I’ve ever had, and I collected souvenirs from the day to keep as memorabilia. It’s great to know I have three pairs of crazy “sunglasses” now that I’ll never actually wear anywhere.

After such an awesome day, it was nice to know that I could hang out on Sunday and…study. Since I had my first Accounting exam on Monday, I spent the day brushing up on my material and touching up any final pieces of knowledge I would need for the test. Last year, when I took my first Accounting exam, I was nervous, but going into this one, I felt confident and ready because I’d taken a different approach to studying. Now I get to wait till next Monday to find out what I got on my exam, but until then, I can begin studying for my first Macroeconomics exam coming up in a week and a half, and preparing my Accounting project due soon after that.