Weekly Musings

Transitions

So here we are, a mere 2 days from Rook arrival. I bet a lot of you, if not all of you, are going through a pretty emotional time. Going off to college is a big deal, and can be a scary thing. But for those of you who are not only going off to college, but entering into Rookdom, you have a whole other set of anxieties. You're wondering what those first few days are going to be like, you're wondering if you'll really miss your mom as much as she says you will, you're wondering if you're strong enough to make it through Rook week, and some of you may be questioning whether or not you made the right decision to go down the Corps path. I can't blame you for being nervous...no one has said that Rookdom is going to be easy, but you should really be proud of yourselves for doing this. And if any of you are questioning your decision, DON'T. You chose to go into the Corps for a reason, so take the time to think back to what that reason was. Don't question yourself. Don't let the fact that your buddies are going off to traditional colleges sway your decision. And don't let your fears hold you back. I can tell you from personal experience that letting your fears influence your decisions is the absolute worst thing that you could let happen. Just push through it. Get through the first day, then focus on the next day. And remember...Admissions is always here if you need something so come on down and see us, if only for the free coffee and comfy chairs.

Enjoy your last days of summer, double check your bags, kiss the dog, and say "I" as much as possible because soon it will be all third person. Oh, and don't forget to say goodbye to your parents! I guarantee you'll miss them!

See you on Sunday!

Introductions Continue

Name: Brya Leigh Emery

Title: Assistant Director of Admissions

Hometown: Dummerston, VT

Education: B.S. in Business Management & Technology
                  Vermont Technical College '07

Majors You Review: All students with last names beginning with M-Z for the following:
                                Biology
                                        Physical Education
                                        Sports Medicine
                                        Chemistry
                                        BioChemistry
                                        Environmental Science
                                        Geology
                                        Mathematics
                                        Nursing
                                        Physics

How long have you been at Norwich University? Seven weeks!

Why did you choose to enter into the world of Admissions? I love helping people. I started out as a dental hygiene major and realized it wasn't for me. Then I began working in the Admissions Office at VTC and continued there for 3 years which led me to love it!

What do you focus on the most when reviewing an application? We focus on the whole person. Some people don't test well, maybe you had a bad day or even a bad year. If you let us know we can take it into our consideration of your file.

What are your Admissions "Pet Peeves"? Improper email addresses, poor grammar and spelling, and kids who don't think it's important to represent themselves and be courteous.

What is your favorite part of this job? At the end of the day, I can look back and see how I've helped someone, whether it's figuring out what they want or just answering some questions.

Applications Tips: Do everything in a timely manner. Don't wait until the last minute and proofread to make sure it makes sense!

What are your outside hobbies? I love listening to music, singing, I play the flute, hanging out with friends, driving around, seeing new places, watching movies and a lot more.

What's something about you that surprises most people? As a kid, my pets were 2 goats; Billy and Ralphie and 2 sheep; Mocha and Cumulus. Cumulus was mine and I named her after cumulus clouds because she was white and  poofy like them and that's what we were learning about in science class!

The Introductions Continue!

Name: Elizabeth "Liz" Fraser

Title: Admissions Counselor

Hometown: Plymouth, MA

Education: Norwich University '07
                    History

Majors You Review: All Social Science applicants, last names starting with letters M-Z.
                                        Criminal Justice
                                        Psychology
                                       Political Science
                                        Studies in War & Peace
                                        History
                                        International Studies

How long have you been at Norwich University? Entered the Corps in fall 2003. Joined Admissions in June 2007.

Why did you choose to enter into the world of Admissions? I want to be able to make an impact on the lives of young people and help them make good decisions.

What do you focus on the most when reviewing an application? How well-rounded they are. Can they handle multiple things and still keep their grades up or is it just one or the other?

What are your Admissions "Pet Peeves"? Calling students and consistently never getting a phone call back.

What is your favorite part of this job? The places that I get to travel and the new people that I get to meet and influence.

What are your outside hobbies? Playing computer games, working on cars, hanging out with friends.

What's something about you that surprises most people? The hobbies that I have: working on cars and playing computer games usually surprise people.

Introduction #3

Name: Tim Reardon

Title: Assistant Director of Regional Recruiting

Hometown: Norwell, MA

Education: Norwich University, 2007
BA History, BA Political Science

Majors You Review: Students from TX, FL, NC, SC with last names ending in A-L

How long have you been at Norwich University?

4 years as a student, 1 month as an  Admissions Counselor.

Why did you choose to enter into the world of Admissions?

I loved Norwich as a student and a member of the Corps of Cadets, and thought that this would be a wonderful way to stay around Norwich and to show what Norwich as to offer to students.

What do you focus on the most when reviewing an application?

Why the student wants to come to Norwich.

What is your favorite part of this job?

Working at my alma mater.

What are your outside hobbies?

Running, reading

What’s something about you that surprises most people?

My ultimate career ambition is to be President of the United States.

Let's talk about email addresses...

So here in Admissions we have started the annual task of contacting all of those students who have inquired to NU for the fall 2008 semester. It's a tedious task, but it must be done! We all have hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of calls to make, and I must say that during this time we'll take any little laugh we can get. This is where email addresses come in. I cannot believe what some students have submitted, to a UNIVERSITY, as their email address. Yes, we all laugh over it and share our daily "bad" addresses, but really it's something that we should discuss. In this day and age where you can have as many email accounts as you'd like, please, please dedicate one account to college admissions. This address should be firstnamemiddleinitiallastname@wherever.com. Not only will you have one central place where all of your college information lands, but it allows all of us on the other end to easily identify you. It also saves me the personal embarrassment of having to verify your email address and having to say back to you, "yes is your email address still triplexplayaboy69@yahoo.com?" Really, it's uncomfortable. And you all are young adults. You should have enough knowledge to know whether or not your current email address is suitable to give to a college or university. If you hesitate, if you have to think about it, then you need a new address. However, if your current address is something like crazycat12@yahoo.com, there's no urgent need to change it. Why? Because that's not inappropriate. There are no sexual undertones, no blatant insults, nothing which crosses the line. So please, take a look at your current address and if need be, change it. Whether we should or not, Counselors take notice of these things, and it stays in our heads. 

Is this the end of my slackerdom? (is that even a word...)

Well things have still been pretty quiet around here, but we have had some activity on campus with our summer school students arriving and we're gearing up for all of our summer camps. On top of that the Admissions Office has hired four new counselors, three of which started with us this past Monday. We've spent this week training them up on how things run around here and needless to say, their brains are pretty near full at this point. We're so excited to have these guys as a part of our team, and we're already getting ready for fall 2008 recruiting! That's right, we start a full year in advance to bring in the  class. So for you rising seniors, expect your phone to start ringing in the next few weeks! We'll be calling all of you who have expressed an interest in Norwich and getting to know a bit more about you. This is a great way for you to get your first contact with your Admissions Counselor and be able to ask any questions you may have like, what exactly is the Corps of Cadets anyway? Please remember that your Counselor is someone whom you want to build a relationship with, not someone to avoid. So answer the phone! :-) And get used to us calling on a regular basis...as I've mentioned before it's a requirement of our job to call you at least once every 30 days. So ignoring us really won't get us to go away :-P

Alright well besides having our ears glued to the phone for the next couple of months, we'll be prepping ourselves for Rook arrival day, Civilian arrival day, and the start of the new semester. Although these are our quiet months, there's still a lot to accomplish so we'll surely be busy. For you incoming freshmen, don't forget to get us your new student forms! You've got a few weeks left before they're due so no need to worry, but don't forget to send them! Also, be sure to take your math placement test. The last thing you want to do when you get here is be shoved into a computer lab to take the test, so get it done this summer. And, most importantly, if you find yourself starting to get cold feet about the Corps...CALL YOUR COUNSELOR! You'd be surprised how helpful it can be just to talk to someone about your concerns, so don't be shy.

Ok folks that's my rambling for this week. As always, please let me know if there's something specific you'd like me to write about. Input is always a good thing!

Have a great week :-)

Meaghan

P.S. I'll be at a conference in MD next week, so there won't be a posting...at last a valid excuse for not blogging!

And I Am Still A Slacker....

It's true, I am. In addition, I am the world's worst blogger...I'm just not creative enough to come up with topics all the time! So, that being said, I need your help. Email me things that you want to know about...questions you may have about the process, the school, etc. I want to make sure that you're getting the information that you want. So here's my address, mcumming@norwich.edu, don't be shy and email me!

Ok well besides me putting off my blog, things here have been pretty quiet. Summer is always a mellow time so there's not a lot of activity going on. For those of you who have deposited, make sure that you go to http://www.norwich.edu/admissions/newstudentinfo.html to print out your New Student Information Packet and get everything back to us by July 1st. Also, make sure you take the time to read through the material...yes, even the stuff you don't have to send back! There's a lot of great information in there so take advantage of it. And if you have questions about any of the forms, just call your Admissions Counselor and they'll walk you through it. Ok, now those of you who HAVEN'T deposited...time to put it into gear people! There are very, and I am not exaggerating in the hopes of scaring you into depositing, few beds left. This is  especially true for our Traditional Students. So, if you're still interested in NU for the fall, contact your Counselor ASAP so we can push through everything! And once again, I beeeeeeeeeeeeg of you, if you applied and you're just not interested any more, please call and tell us so we can take you off our list. It's painless, I promise.

I know, I'm a slacker...

I know it, I'm a wee bit of a slacker...my weekly musings were missed last week. I apologize. It's been a crazy time around the office what with spring travel, deposit deadline (if you haven't sent yours yet SEND IT!), and of course the inevitable spring illness. Oh yes, two days out of the office after being gone a week for recruiting. So I've had legitimate reasons not to post :-P. Ok now that my apology is done, let's talk about what's been going on around here. As I mentioned, things have been pretty hectic here the last few weeks. We've been pounding the phones trying to connect with all of our accepted students to find out their fall plans, working on finishing up any last minute applications, and of course pulling in those deposits! Although it's busy it's really my favorite time of the cycle...we finally see all of our hard work pay off as the students we've worked so closely with for almost a year start committing to NU. It's a great feeling! Along with this high though, there is a low. Trying over and over and over again to connect with students who clearly are no longer interested in attending gets to be quite frustrating. We understand that not every applicant is going to end up here in the fall, if that were the case our school would be double the size!, but if you've sent in an application, or been accepted, it's our job to follow up with you to find out your plans. We can't just withdraw your application because we haven't heard from you (although there are several files I'd love to do just that with!). So that being said, please please please, I BEG of you, return our left messages or emails. It's ok that you don't want to come to NU, we're not going to give you a hard time, I promise! We'll wish you the best of luck at the school you've chosen, and then we'll withdraw your application...and your phone will stop ringing. Never again will you hear "Hi this is Meaghan Cummings from the Admissions Office at Norwich University..." something I'm sure you'll be happy about, or if not you, then your poor, worn out, answering machine. Really, it deserves a rest.

Now, for those of you who are reading this and you're still interested in Norwich for the fall, GET MOVING! There are very few spots left in the class and we're getting more and more deposits every day. If you're still trying to figure out financial aid issues, or you just got accepted (or just applied), please call your Admissions Counselor so we can give you an extension on the deadline. Yes, we give extensions and you'll be the first person we call if space is almost gone. So CALL US, EMAIL US, CONTACT US IN SOME WAY!!! Your Counselor will be thrilled to hear from you and will do everything in his/her power to make Norwich work. Just because the deadline has passed doesn't mean there's no hope...so send in those missing items, or send in that application if you're interested! As of right this minute there is still room in the class so go ahead, take a chance...you never know what may happen :-) 

Introduction #2

Name:  Meghan P. Burke

Hometown: Bergenfield,NJ

Education: Norwich University, BA in Communications

Majors You Review: CJ, History, SWAP, Poli Sci, International Studies, Psych (for students with last names beginning with A – K)

How long have you been at Norwich University? 16 months

Why did you choose to enter into the world of Admissions? I was not happy with my previous job. The opportunity presented itself to join the Admissions staff at NU. I loved my time as a student here and felt that I would like to help other students be a part of this school.

What do you focus on the most when reviewing an application? I look at the course levels students took and like to see that a student challenged themselves as opposed to taking the path of least resistance. I’m also looking to see if a student took courses that support their intended field of study. It is great to see that a student took four years of all core subjects and used electives to support their intended major.

What are your Admissions “Pet Peeves”?  Students who do not advocate for themselves, but rather have their parents do all the work for them. Students who don’t fill out their own applications. Dishonesty about trouble spots on a transcript or about concerns about NU.

USE AN APPROPRIATE EMAIL ADDRESS!!! There are some that are so vulgar I cannot repeat them. When you are emailing us use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This is a form of communication that we use to get to know you so put your best foot forward. 

What is your favorite part of this job? When I call a student who truly wants NU and tell them they are accepted.

Application Tips: Don’t wait until the last minute. Take the initiative and get things done early. Be the adult and take responsibility for the application process. While we welcome parents and families to contact us, take a stand and communicate with us on your own. It is you that will be attending the school and it is you that we need to get to know so we can make the best decision possible. Be honest with us. We can work with students far better if you are up front about questions and concerns.

Helicopter Parents

So let's talk about "Helicopter Parents" for a minute. A helicopter parent is defined as "a person who pays extremely close attention to his or her child or children, particularly at educational institutions. They rush to prevent any harm from befalling them or letting them learn from their own mistakes, sometimes even contrary to the children's wishes. They are so named because, like a helicopter, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach whether their children need them or not. An extension of the term, "Black Hawks," has been coined for those who cross the line from a mere excess of zeal to unethical behavior such as writing their children's college admission essays." Helicopter parents are the bane of many Admissions Counselors existence. Therefore, STOP! There is absolutely no need for a seventeen year old to have their mother or father complete every step of the application process. This is your education and you need to take responsibility for it. If you're not willing to do what it takes to complete the application process without your parents doing it, then how in the world are you going to survive college? It's time for all of you, and you know who you are, to pick up the phone and call your Admissions Counselor about missing items, application status, random questions, etc. And for those helicopter parents who are reading this...it's time for you to let go. Your son or daughter is a young adult and need to be treated as such. I'm sure it's a scary prospect, but really, it's time. There's nothing worse than having a parent call you and ask about what's still missing from their child's application and when you say, well we're still looking to receive his first semester grades and personal essay, and the parent goes "oh well I'll get my grades in right away." I'm sorry...your grades? Don't you mean your child's grades? And yes, this has happened. And it happens EVERY YEAR. It's also horrible when we call to speak to the applicant and the mother/father says they're not available, yet you can hear them talking in the background! "Mom tell them that I'll send my essay tomorrow." Come on now! Just pick up the phone and tell me yourself! Once again, take responsibility for this process! We're not big, bad scary people and I promise that we won't yell at you for missing items, or if you're no longer interested. Just talk to us. That's all I ask. And parents, of course we want you to be involved in the process. It's a big deal, and a big change for the entire family, we understand that. So you should feel free to call the Admissions Office to ask questions, talk about worries, etc. However, there is a fine line between being an involved parent and being a helicopter parent. So please, for the sanity of all Admissions Counselors, think twice before filling out the application for your child, and think five times before writing their essay because, despite what you may think, we can tell.