Mr. K's College Knowledge

Hey Everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the last month of your summer! I wanted to share with you a past Xavier student's recount of his college process, to hopefully help you as rising juniors and seniors. Below is the college process of Sal LaRussa '15 and his advice for all students going through it now. Enjoy! When many students begin the process of applying to college they are nervous, confused, and do not know what they want to do with the rest of their lives which is completely acceptable. This was true for me as well, and I hope to explain my college process and advice that I have for students. My college process first began when I received letters sophomore year from many colleges and I was completely confused. I had just gotten comfortable at Xavier and now I felt I was being kicked out. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life so I continued to keep up my grades and study. Junior year came by and I began studying for the SAT. Many of my friends were ...

For the past decade, there has been two main avenues to apply to college: the Common Application and applying through the college website. Well, it's about to time to add a third option in there, as the Coalition Application has opened for business for the 2016-2017 college application year. In this post, I want to help students and parents understand what the Coalition is all about and how/when/if it should be used during the college process. We will all know much more as the fall approaches, but as of June, 2016, this is what I know... What is this Coalition: The official name of the Coalition is " The Coalition for Access and Affordability ". This idea was put into motion two years ago when the Common Application infamously crashed during the peak application season, causing students, school counselors, and admissions professionals to basically panic. It was not a pretty scene, and a few top colleges began thinking of new ways to improve the entire application proces...

S o you are officially a senior...this is exciting right? Only one more year of high school and then you are off to pursue the major of your choice at hopefully the college of your choosing! Although many students would like the college application process to be over already, you still have many months left. Some of the more important months throughout this process are June, July and August. The summer is a crucial time to prepare, search, and begin to formalize your college application plans. It is definitely not a time to sit around and do nothing. So look at these following tips on ways you can best utilize your summer days to best prepare yourself for the fall when you finally apply to college! Get Involved:  Depending on the selectiveness of the colleges you are applying to, admissions counselors are looking for applicants who have done something positive during their time off. Whether it is traveling, taking a pre-college summer class, volunteering, or working, make sure...

Overall Information The last college I visited on my tour, (don't worry I will be writing about the other schools soon enough) was Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. When you ask most people in the Northeast to say something they know about this college, most will say Steph Curry. Yes Steph Curry, who recently won the NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors, graduated from Davidson and dominated the national college basketball scene. However, what people do not know is that Davidson is home to one of the very best liberal arts educational institutes in the world. You do not hear about them too much, but Davidson is an incredible place to study and turns out some of the very best and brightest every year. The school has just under 2,000 students and is located in a quaint little town of just 18,000 residents. And for being a small school in the south, they have a large presence of students from all over the country, including 20% from the Northeast. For such a ...

General Information One of the stops on my college trip was also in Poughkeepsie, NY at Vassar College . As soon as I walked onto the campus, I knew I was at a college. It was an absolutely beautiful campus with tons of space and architecture that just screams college. Vassar College is a small liberal arts college with just under 2,500 undergraduate students. It was originally an all-women's college, but went coed in 1969. It is a liberal campus with students from all different backgrounds. Vassar was actually recently awarded 1 million dollars for being the most socially economically diverse college in the country. They devote over $60 million each year towards financial aid and the average financial aid package per student is $40,000. Any student that comes from a family that makes under $60,000 will be given financial aid packages that do not include loans. While walking the campus I was impressed with the immense diversity throughout the campus, which was great o see.  Academi...

Last week, I visited 10 colleges and universities in Connecticut and New York. Over the next two weeks, I will discuss my thoughts on these schools, share valuable information, and post a few pictures from each school. The first school I want to share with you is Marist College, located in Poughkeepsie, New York. Located only 2 hours north of New York City, it is situated on a beautiful 200 acre campus on the banks of the Hudson River. As soon as you pull off the main road onto their campus, you are struck by the beauty of their surroundings. Lately, Marist has put a lot of time and money into their campus and buildings, and it shows. Most of the buildings are a similar color of gray stone, all of the Division 1 sports fields are located throughout the campus, and their center of school is a gorgeous lawn on a small hill facing the Hudson River. General Information Marist College has just under 4,800 students, which is a really nice size, and boasts a 16:1 student to faculty rati...

The next senior testimonial is from William Hatheway. Enjoy! The college process is a very exciting and important part of high school.  It is necessary to spend the time on it because it does decide the next, very pivotal, four years of your life.  It is a time consuming process, but it is well worth it in the end.             For students just starting the process, it is never too early to start the process.  I would also say to just research colleges based on what you’re interested in studying.  Colleges that you’ve never heard of might make it to your final list as they did on mine.  You’ll be surprised how many schools are out there that have what you’re interested in, so just research all of the schools and add them to your list.  Do not dismiss a school because it may not be ranked high, or not hard to get into.   It is not so much about the name of the school, but rather abou...

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with two admissions representatives from Saint Anselm College for a presentation about their school. Saint Anselm College is located Manchester, New Hampshire, only about 4 hours from Manhattan. Saint Anselm, also referred to as Saint A's is a Catholic Benedictine Liberal Arts College with about 1,900 underclassmen. I will admit that I did not know as much about St. A's as I do with other schools, but after learning more today, this is a school I am eager to visit, and will recommend to many students in the future. Saint Anselm is situated in the beautiful city of Manchester , on a picturesque campus in New Hampshire. The school is only 1 hour from Boston and the ocean, and only 10 minutes from the airport. This is a place that embodies what a true college community is all about. It attracts students who are eager to participate in a liberal arts education where they will be challenged, but supported by peers, professors, and administrato...

January is a great time in college admissions. Most of the Early Decision and Early Action decisions have come in, and seniors’ college landscapes are starting to be filled in. The majority of students have finally finished all applications, and will be patiently waiting for those regular decisions to come in, most likely in March or April. Many students are receiving many acceptances, academic scholarships, and students are finally starting to see themselves at one or two specific colleges…reality is beginning to set in! However, even though there is a ton of good things happening now, many students also received unpleasant decisions from colleges in the early round with either denials or deferrals. From my desk, I have seen a trend lately of schools becoming more and more difficult to get into, even for the most competitive students. With more and more students applying to college with our country and across the world, many college application numbers are going through the roof, mea...

New information just crossed my desk about two great Jesuit colleges, Saint Louis University (SLU) and Saint Joseph’s University (SJU) in Philadelphia. Saint Joseph’s University SJU has recently welcomed their largest freshmen class in the school’s history with over 1300 students. Their physical campus has nearly doubled in size over the past few years, and they are starting to fill-up some of that extra space! SJU has also implemented four new majors and five new minors including: Majors: Entertainment Marketing, Information Technology, Linguistics, Secondary Education, and minors in Creative Writing , Environmental & Sustainability Studies, Journalism, Justice & Ethics in the Law, and Medieval, Renaissance & Reformation Studies. Saint Louis University SLU has already started accepting applications for admission and will begin delivering answers out on a rolling basis beginning October 15 th . ...

So you are officially a senior...this is exciting right? Only one more year of high school and then you are off to pursue the major of your choice at hopefully the college of your choosing! Although many students would like the college application process to be over already, you still have many months left. Some of the more important months throughout this process are June, July and August. The summer is a crucial time to prepare, search, and begin to formalize your college application plans. It is definitely not a time to sit around and do nothing. So look at these following tips on ways you can best utilize your summer days to best prepare yourself for the fall when you finally apply to college! Get Involved: Depending on the selectiveness of the colleges you are applying to, admissions counselors are looking for applicants who have done something positive during their time off. Whether it is traveling, taking a pre-college summer class, volunteering, or working, make sure you ...

I want to bring to your attention a unique opportunity for students to obtain two bachelor’s degrees from two separate colleges, one being the University of Notre Dame. King’sCollege in Pennsylvania has collaborated with Notre Dame to offer this dual degree program. This is a chance to experience life at two different colleges, and is a remarkable chance for students to graduate from Notre Dame, who may not originally have been able to be accepted to the University.  Although different environments, both of these schools are part of the congregation of the Holy Cross, and each are committed to the same academic and personal values. So how does this program work, you may be asking? Students should have at least a 3.2 GPA to get into this specific program, and they will complete three years at King’s College, earning a BS in fields such as Physics, Chemistry, Environmental Science or Computer Science. While at King’s, students will also take courses in the liberal arts to hel...

I’m going to stay in the Pacific Northwest, with the next college to showcase. Seattle University is a Jesuit university in the middle of stunning Seattle. It has just over 4,500 undergraduate students with a diverse population of students and a myriad of top notch programs to study. When I first arrived on campus, I was struck by the beauty of the campus and how it meshed very well with the surrounding environment. Although the campus is right outside downtown Seattle, you are surrounded by water and snow-capped mountains, and the modern and unique architecture of the school buildings is quite breathtaking. I know Seattle is far for us east-coasters, but as I talked to students, faculty, and administration at Seattle University, I realized this was truly a special place with so much to offer for students across the county, and it is a place I would feel very comfortable recommending. Here are a few fun and helpful facts about the school, so enjoy! Student Population : 4,500 Unde...

With the start of senior year only a few weeks away, take a moment to review the following list to put yourself in a good position to begin the college application process! Continue to visit schools: If you are able to get to college campuses during the school year, that is great, but it is not always possible. Although high school does not begin until September, many colleges start during the last week or two of August. It is best to see the school in session, and get the feel of the student body and what the school has to offer. Make sure to contact the undergraduate admissions office prior to the visit, to see if they offer an information session or guided tour while you are there. Work on narrowing down your college list: With application deadlines right around the corner, it is now time to eliminate some colleges from your list. You should end up with about 8-10 colleges on your list. Make sure to have at least 2-3 colleges that you are certain you will be accepted in...

College visit season should be kicking off now for most juniors. Colleges are in session for only 2 more months, and it is best to visit while students are still on campus. As I have mentioned before, college visits (if possible) are one of the most important parts on the entire search process. Student cannot duplicate the experience of walking the campus, sitting in classrooms, eating the cafeteria food, and much more other than actually making the trip to potential colleges and universities. Most people would never think about buying a car without seeing it, taking it for a test drive, and asking the dealership questions. So if you  wouldn't  do this with a car, why would you even think about doing it with a college? So it is obviously very important to see the schools first-hand, but make sure you have questions ready to go for admissions counselors, professors, and students…yes even current students! One of the best things you can do while visiting a school is to wal...