Tag: Admission

Registering For Classes – What’s that like?

Registering For Classes – What’s that like?

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One of the biggest aspect of colleges is class. Unexpected, right? Not nearly so much as you would think. There are also other essential components to the college experience, but class is pretty high up there on the list, definitely a tie for first with whatever you love. After all, it’s kind of the reason you’re at college – or the reason you get to complete it.

In the movies, there’s barely any representation of classes that you go to, or if there is, they take way less precedence that the drama between characters. Admittedly, a movie about an ordinary college class would not be very exciting. But classes are! Since you have freedom to choose which class you want, you can take anything that you need, love, or want to pursue.

There’s just one catch: you might not get into it on your first try. (It’s not as scary as it seems, I promise you.)

I just want to share with you all about the class registration process, because it can get pretty crazy. I know it always causes me panic, as a very schedule-oriented person, so I fix that by making alternate schedules upon alternate schedules, calculating what to do if I don’t get into this class or that. We have something called the Four-Year Plan, a layout on Excel that provides an easy layout for planning all of your classes, if you’re like me and want to check that out.

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The way our registration works can seem weird, but it makes sense. Depending on your credit hours, you get to have registration priority, or if you are in a program that requires you to take classes in a specific order or amount, such as Honors.

Registration takes place entirely online, unless you need to talk to an advisor about something specifically – they can override things and pretty much have magical schedule powers. Before registration even opens, however, you can put classes into your ‘shopping cart’ after picking out the time, teacher, and class that is offered that best works with you. That way, when you do get to register, you don’t have to waste precious time scanning through the inventory – you can just click ‘enroll’ and you’re set!

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Unless, of course, your class is filled by people with an earlier registration time than you. For freshman classes, that’s very unlikely, but it gets more common the longer you’re here. It’s all dependent on credits – so, credit Seniors get first pick, then Juniors, Sophomores, and so on. It’s pretty neat because many people come into college with transfer credits from AP classes so they could be a credit Sophomore while still being a freshman, allowing for earlier registration. Very cool.

Really, as an incoming freshman, you shouldn’t worry about getting into classes too much. You might hear this piece of advice a lot, but I’ll tell it again: don’t take 8 am classes. Later in your college career the professor becomes more important than the time, but I have seen so many freshmen regret their decision to take an early class. Just trust me.

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Picking a College

Picking a College

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Wow, a hefty topic. Crazy how big the decision is, too.

I don’t mean to scare you. But I do want to remind you that decisions are due May 1, and if you haven’t started thinking about what you want to do, well… Now is the time.

So that’s where I come in! As a student who made her own choice less than a year ago, I can tell you the tips and tricks I used, saw, and have learned about deciding where to go to start the Next Big Adventure!

Let’s get things straight from the get-go: whatever you do, it doesn’t have to be permanent. You can always transfer, or (though I don’t encourage it) drop out. You are not locked into a path that will define you for your whole life after this month ends. I know people who have transferred in their junior year of college, or transferred twice, or even chosen to leave Ivy League schools. Whatever you do, whatever you tell a college, you still have options.

And who knows? The person you are now might fit in perfectly at the school of your choice, but the person you might be in two years might say: this is no longer who I am, nor what I want. And that’s okay.

Now onto the key stuff: choosing a college.

A lot of people will tell you they just ‘clicked’ with a campus when they stepped onto it, and if that’s you, congratulations! Follow your heart.

A lot of people will get excellent scholarships and decide to attend a school solely based on that. Congratulations if that’s you! Very practical.

But sometimes people are strongly torn between two, three, or even four schools where all the factors seem the same.

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Consider your life when you’re looking at colleges. Where is the college? How far is it away from home? Will you be okay being so far or so close to places you’re comfortable with? Do you like to explore and see new things in a city atmosphere, or will you just stay on campus or do outdoorsy things on a campus that is farther away from the urban jungle? Will you be able to be smart for the weather?

Would you be better at a large school, a medium, or a small? Are you undecided, or do you know what you want to pursue? I’d advise that either way, you attend a school that offers other things you’re interested in, just in case. Just trust me. Even the most stubborn people I know have gone on to change their major.

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Now, if you’re sure you’ve considered everything, from financial aid to campus aesthetic, but you’re still torn, I’ve got ideas to help you.

  1. Grab your most no-nonsense friend, a friend that’ll tell you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it. Give them a coin. This one’s for if you’re torn between an even number of schools, because, well, coins have two sides. Have your friend assign one school to one side, another to the other. Have them flip it, and tell you the answer. Now, I’m not saying this to have chance decide for you. When they tell you the answer, listen to your heart. Are you sad? Glad? Disappointed? Whatever your initial reaction was, take note of that. Add that in to your considerations. (Any other arbitrary decision-making process can be substituted in, like picking petals or eenie-meenie-miney-mo.)
  2. Tour them like crazy. Even if you’ve been on the same tour five, six, seven times, do it again. Are you bored of the tour? Do you tire of seeing the campus, or would you rather break off and enjoy it on your own time, in your own path? Interact with the school as much as you can – after all, you might end up there for the next four years.
  3. Talk, talk, talk. Contact your admissions adviser. Contact whomever would be your First Year adviser. Leave a comment here and talk to me. Go on Facebook and talk to other potential students from the school. Talk to current students that you meet on your tours. Even if it’s about the weather, interacting with people can tip the scale.
  4. Write it out. Physically grab a piece of paper and divide it in half, or however many sections you need. Then use a pen and write out the pros of the school – and then the cons. If you find it’s very easy or too hard to write them, take note of that. Pay attention to what you’re thinking.

 

I chose Loyola because of a combination of good factors, from scholarship to location, even though I didn’t love it immediately. But now that I’m here, I can’t help but think that I could have avoided a lot of mental agony and decision-making stress by looking into myself and realizing why I kept it on my list of ‘to-consider’ was because it was really great, I was just being stubborn. I may be one of those people who make the most out of everything, but even still, I love Loyola and I’m glad I came here. I hope that, no matter where you end up going, you’ll love yours the same.

(And if you don’t, see above paragraph about how nothing is permanent, everything is permitted.)

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All About Me

All About Me

First Soccer Game I attended ! By the way, I am the short girl at the right. :)
First soccer game I attended ! By the way, I am the short girl at the right. 🙂

Hello Future Ramblers, welcome to my amazing journey at Loyola.

First of all, my name is Emily Carreno and I am just beginning my journey at Loyola. I am majoring in nursing and minoring in psychology. Many people ask me, “Why Loyola?” and I tell them because of the fascinating nursing program they offer. Loyola University Chicago has an outstanding nursing program where I am able to pursue my undergraduate degree. Also, the nursing program is rigorous and it will strengthen me as a student and prepare me for a career. I am thrilled to be one of the few incoming freshman accepted into Loyola’s selective nursing program.

Loyola also provided me the opportunity to be part of a TRiO program called Achieving College Excellence (ACE) at Loyola. ACE provides additional help to students to achieve college goals and has free one-on-one tutoring and individual advising and guidance. ACE gave me an opportunity to attend a transition program to help ease my transition to Loyola and college life. Another reason why I chose Loyola is because it is close to home. I wanted to see my two-year-old sister grow up from being a baby to being a toddler and teaching her many new things. But that’s not the only reason I chose Loyola, I chose it because of the mission they hold. They believe in expanding our knowledge through learning, justice, and faith and are “preparing people to lead extraordinary lives.” Loyola was just right for me and now here I am telling you why I chose to become a Rambler.

 

 

Facing Finals

Facing Finals

 

Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, you’re final exams are incredibly important to your collegiate futures. Colleges pay close attention to your freshman – junior year grades when making admission and scholarship decisions and colleges can revoke admission or scholarship awards from seniors who let their grades slip. All of this just stresses the importance of final exams no matter your year in high school, so below, I’m sharing a few tips on how to do your best on these tests:

  • Sleep: Make sure to get some sleep two nights prior to the exam. Not only does the night before matter, but so does the day before. You’ll want to make sure you’re rested and alert, so avoid pulling all-nighters.
  • Eat: Make sure to eat before your test as you don’t want to be distracted by your growling stomach or the number of minutes until lunch.
  • Maintain a Routine: Sitting in your normal seat and retaining your normal schedule before the exam can help you feel more at ease and might even help your memory.
  • Ask Questions: Ask as many questions as possible about the test so you know what to expect. Make sure to clarify any uncertainties with exam content with your teachers before the test. This means you’ll have to study and review early enough in advance to figure out what you don’t know; then spend the rest of the time learning those items.
  • Learn how to Study: Not everyone learns the same way, so figure out if study groups, re-reading the textbook, making note cards, writing outlines, etc. works best for you. It might even be more beneficial to study a couple different ways to make sure you’ll be ready to ace the test.
  • Avoid Senioritis: Even though there is so much to be distracted and excited about, you need to maintain your focus and motivation to do well on finals. As listed above, there can be some very serious and expensive consequences if you let your distraction get the best of you!

GOOD LUCK!!

Defining Different Types of College Visits: Which visit is right for you?

Defining Different Types of College Visits: Which visit is right for you?

 

Enjoy your Campus Visit

The Little Things Add Up.

The Little Things Add Up.

 

Here’s a secret – this is really a list of common pet-peeves among admission counselors. Most of us really love our jobs and really love assisting you through your college search/decision process, but those of you who do the following will definitely make us loves our jobs that much more.

  • Research ahead of time. Most of the questions we get are easily answered by spending 30 seconds our our website or Google.
  • Ask the questions that actually matter to you. Don’t ask what the most popular major is at Loyola. Instead ask about experiential learning opportunities or about class offerings for a major (or majors) that you are actually interested in. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if our most popular major is Biology if you are interested in Business or History, those are great majors too. Skip the generic question and ask what you really want to know about.
  • Ask questions yourself instead of having your parents or counselors call or email on your behalf. This is your college search and decision process, not theirs!
  • Learn how to write a professional email. It should have a greeting, a body, and a signature. Your email address should also be appropriate. All text in your email should have proper spelling and grammar (don’t forget your punctuation).
  • Don’t send generic emails to multiple schools at once. This makes us question your interest in our respective schools, so take a few extra minutes to send us individual emails.
  • Spell Check. And double check that you have spelled the school’s name and the counselor’s name correctly.
  • Make appointments with us. Show up on time. Show up prepared. We love meeting with you but if you show up 25 minutes late and don’t have any questions, you won’t get the most out of this appointment and we’ll be scrambling to give you a ton of information in a short amount of time.
  • Remember that we are human beings. If we don’t respond to your email or voicemail within minutes, don’t panic, don’t send us 10 more emails. We’re busy trying to make sure we provide you all with the best support but that takes time, so be patient.

Even if you have already made some of these mistakes, it’s not too late to change! We’re quick to forgive and we’ll be pleasantly surprised by seeing any one of these changes made in your communications with us.

 

Only 13 Days Left!

Only 13 Days Left!

 

13 days or 312 hours or 18,720 minutes or 1,123,200 seconds… until our priority deadline: December 1st!

That means you better request your transcripts, test scores (ACT or SAT), and letters of recommendation right away so schools, counselors, teachers, and testing agencies have time to send it all over to Loyola before our postmark deadline. Also make sure you submit your application, your essay, and your optional resume. Meeting this deadline will allow you to be automatically considered for all of Loyola’s merit-based scholarships, which are based on high school GPA, test score, and class rank (if available).

Please be patient if you have requested materials be sent to Loyola in the past 3 weeks and they are still not showing up as received in your status page. It typically takes 3 weeks or so for us to upload or process a document and update your status page.

If you have already submitted all of your materials, be sure to check your applicant status page regularly for a decision! Click here for tips on what to do while waiting for a decision. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns!

Writing Your Resume

Writing Your Resume

 

While resumes are NOT required as part of the Undergraduate Admission application process at Loyola University Chicago, I highly encourage that you submit one anyway. Resumes are a great way to show your Admission Counselor who you are outside of the classroom. Not to mention, they can also potentially help with scholarship opportunities. As many high school seniors do not have a resume of their own, here are a few suggestions for creating one:

  • Research. If you have never seen a resume yet, you can see tons of samples online or by asking your family members to share theirs. While your resume is not expected to be at the same level as your parents’, having seen a few resumes will help you to understand the purpose of creating one.
  • Don’t Forget Anything. Start working on your resume now. Just keep a running list of everything you’ve been involved with (e.g. sports, clubs, organizations, part-time jobs, volunteer work, leadership positions, internships, research, service, ministry, productions, music, art, dance, hobbies, achievements, awards, etc.) You likely will have quite a list and it can be difficult to recall it all while under the stress of filling out applications and scholarship applications, so starting now will insure you don’t miss out on anything important.
  • Be Concise! Your resume should NEVER exceed one page. While I completely understand the challenge of limiting your academic, professional, service, and extra-curricular experiences, but professionals with forty years of experience can do it, so you can, too! In order to keep it short and sweet, don’t include any experience or involvement before high school. If your resume is still too long, eliminate the experiences that are of the least importance to you or that occurred the longest ago.
  • Spell Check. Like your essay and every other aspect of your application, you will want to be sure that all spelling and grammar are exemplary.
  • Make Your Name Stand Out. Literally, make sure your name is on your resume! If you send in a resume without your name, it will be challenging for us to match it to your application. Including other items like your email or birth date can also be helpful.
  • Show off Your Style. Your resume is meant to represent YOU, so don’t be afraid to add some style or formatting to represent yourself (especially if you are interested in design or art!) However, a plain and simple bullet-ed list will perfectly suffice for your college application, as we’ll mostly be focusing on content.

Reminder: You can always email your resume to admissionforms@luc.edu or to your Admission Counselor and they can add it to your file if you’ve already submitted your application.

 

 

Don’t Miss Your Chance to Explore Campus!

Don’t Miss Your Chance to Explore Campus!

 

Only 26 days until the first Undergraduate Admission Fall Open House of 2013 at Loyola University Chicago! This year’s Open Houses will take place on Saturday, November 9th and Saturday, November 16th starting at 9:00 a.m. Many students & parents have been asking questions about the event, so hopefully this post will provide some answers!

 

What is Open House?

Open House is an opportunity to explore campus, tour the residence halls, learn about academic programs, find out about admission and financial aid, and connect with current students and faculty! There will also be presentations on experiential learning, residence life, study abroad opportunities, pre-health advising, and the new Institute of Environmental SustainabilityClick here for a full schedule.

 

Who can attend Open House?

High school juniors & seniors, transfer students, and their families are invited to attend Open House. Click here to register online!

 

Do I need to bring anything to Open House?

You are not required to bring anything to Open House. Though we do recommend that you spend some time looking at the schedule before hand so you can select which sessions you would like to attend. Also, be sure to come prepared with any questions you have for admission counselors, financial aid counselors, or faculty members from your major/program of interest.

 

Do you have hotel recommendations for the weekend?

Yes, click here for recommended lodging options nearby.

 

Is parking available on campus?

Yes, we recommend that all visits park in our main parking structure on campus. Parking will be free on both Saturdays.

 

If I cannot attend Open House, is there another time I can visit campus?

Yes, you can attend a campus visit at our Lake Shore Campus on Monday – Saturday and our Water Tower Campus on Monday – Friday.

 

If you have any additional questions, give us a call at 800.262.2373 or email us at admission@luc.edu.

Tips for College Fair Attendance

Tips for College Fair Attendance

Oh man, it’s been a minute since I last blogged. But the Fall is upon us again which means another admission cycle and more importantly, COLLEGE FAIR SEASON!

While College Fair Season isn’t an official season like Summer or Fall, there are a number exciting things about the start of this time of year. College fairs are one of the best ways to see and learn about a large number of universities in one foul swoop. They’re also a great way to get excited about the prospect of higher education.

But just like any season there are adjustments that need to be made. And that’s why I’m here. I’m here to give you some tips and pointers to maximizing your college fair experience. Let’s dive on in:

Do Some Pre-Planning– Most fairs have a list of institutions attending well before the start of the fair. If you can, check out the list and note the top school you’re interested in. Then, mark some schools you’ve heard of and want to know more about. When you arrive to the actual fair grab a map and head to your top schools first (but don’t run) then your secondary schools. Once you’re done with those wonder around for a bit. Explore some places you’ve never heard of and grab their information. The point of these fairs is to learn more about the schools you’re interested in and to explore others you may have never heard of before.

Think of Some Questions Before Attending– You don’t need to have a list of written questions you ask to every table you visit, but having a couple pre-thought questions will help you utilize your time properly. Asking simple fact questions (like size, minimum requirements etc) can be avoided since most of those answers are in the hand-out materials. Instead ask more in depth questions like, “what makes your school unique?” or “what are some of the popular and active student groups on campus?” Asking these types of questions will help paint a more well-rounded picture of the college or university beyond stats /figures. If you’re stumped on what questions to ask, see your college counselor. They are a wealth of information in all aspects of the college search.

Avoid Asking, “How good is your X program?” and “What do I have to have to have get into your university?”– These are my least favorite questions to receive at a college fair. They’re difficult questions to answer when they’re phrased that way. How do you want me to judge good? How do you judge good? And when you ask about minimum requirements for admission you might be missing other (equally important) aspects of application review. Luckily, there are two extremely easy ways to ask these questions and receive the same information. Ask, “Can you please tell me more about your X program?” This allows the admission representative to tell you about the curriculum, student involvement and accolades a program might have received. The other is, “How do you review applications for admission?” This allows the admission rep to explain the  whole process beyond just the numbers.

Snatch and Grab Politely– If you want to be strictly business at these fairs, go for it. But if you’re going to just grab information from a table then go to the next please be polite about it. When you approach the table smile and say “hello” grab what you’d like then say “thank you.” Most counselors understand your time is precious and you probably have other things you need to worry about that night. But, running through the fair grabbing anything you can is not cool.

Enjoy The Fair– Seems like hokey advice, but it’s still valuable. I see too many stressed out parents and students at my fairs. They run around the fair grabbing everything they can and talking with absolutely every school. If that’s what you want to do, go for it. But, I think people lose sight of the fact that we (admission reps) are there to serve them. The college fair is your time to explore and learn more. Don’t feel like to need to get to the fair right as it starts and stay until it ends. Use your time the way you want to. Ask questions, walk around casually, see a variety of schools and make connections with admission counselors. Most importantly, enjoy this whole college search experience.

Loyola’s admission counselors will be out all over the country over the next couple of weeks. To read more about each counselor and their respective territory check out this page.