Weekly Musings

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.

Introductions

So after perusing some other school's websites, I  came across the Johns Hopkins University blog, the Hopkins Insider. In this blog the author, Admissions_Daniel, introduces every member of the Admissions team to his readers. What a great idea! Therefore, I am stealing this concept and applying it to my very own blog....Thank you Admissions_Daniel for a fabulous idea. I will be throwing in these introductions throughout the coming weeks, so keep an eye out to get some more in depth information on your Admissions Counselor! Now, without further ado, I present to you Mr. Keith McCusker...

Name: Keith McCusker

Title: Assistant Director of Admissions 

Hometown: Asbury   Park, NJ

(The Boss’ stomping grounds)

 

Education:   BA in Criminal Justice, NU Corps of Cadets 2004
                  MS in Organizational Leadership, Norwich University - in progress

Majors You Review: Architecture, English, Communications, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics, Geology, Environmental Science, and Mathematics

 

How long have you been at Norwich? I’ve been at NU ever since August 2000 on Rook Arrival Day, so getting on 7 years now.  4 years as a student, and then 3 years in full time admissions work. 

Why did you choose to enter into the world of Admissions? I was a student tour guide, overnight host, student ambassador, and an officer in charge of helping run our Maroon and Gold Key club. The MGK club is the volunteer club of our student tour guides, overnight hosts, etc. I wanted to stay in VT after graduation, the admissions office was hiring and I had some experience around the office, so it just seemed like a natural transition. 

What do you focus on the most when reviewing an application? I try to look at everything the applicant has been involved with and come up with a mental picture of that applicant. So the more you tell me about yourself, the better I can understand you as a person not just as a paper application. Making sure you’ve taken all the right classes in high school to prepare you for whatever major you’re interested in, is also a big part of it. 

What are your Admissions “Pet Peeves”? 1) Not telling me enough about yourself in the application essay. 2) Only taking the SATs once, I don’t care how well you think you did, taking them again will help!!! 

What is your favorite part of this job? I’d have to say that is a tie between working the freshmen send off parties in the summer and Arrival days. I love standing around with NU alums and incoming freshman with their families during the summer at our send off events. I could talk for hours with the incoming freshman about how great NU really is, and typically I’ve been known to share some of my “this one time, when I was a rook stories” or some of my little tricks of the trade to surviving rookdom. Arrival day is just as great! Seeing the new freshmen and their families finally making it to campus after a long year worth of numerous emails, phone calls, and IMs with both the students and their families is an awesome feeling.

Application Tips: Get it over and done with as soon as possible. With rolling admissions, the sooner you get it all in, the sooner we get a decision back to you. I was accepted to NU by Thanksgiving of my senior year of high school, you want to talk about a great senior year after that!!!

What are your outside hobbies? I read just about anything I can get my hands on. Right now The Dark Tower series by Stephen King has been consuming my life, but other favorites include the Wheel to Time series and the Chronicles of Narnia. Anything by John Grisham is always a good read as well. I also love to cook, especially cheesecake and when I can find the time, a little PS2 action or a good movie on the coach with the wife will be where you can find me.  

What’s something about you that surprises most people? In high school, freshman year, I had a ponytail and for a while sophomore year a bleached blonde Mohawk which ended up different colors every other week or so.

Countdown to the Deposit Deadline....

So here we are, a mere four weeks away from the day when you need to decide where you'll be attending college next fall. May 1st marks the nationwide Deposit Deadline....the day you send in that check and commit to attending a school. It's a big decision and not one that should be made lightly. A lot of various factors go into your decision to attend, or not attend, an institution. Some of you know the "right" factors to take into consideration...financial aid, available majors, available activities, location, etc., and some of you don't know the "right" factors. You may be sitting there and you know that what's keeping you from commiting to a school are "fluff" factors; your best friend isn't going there, or maybe it's your boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe, just maybe, your parents aren't keen on where you want to attend school, or perhaps you're just scared to make the commitment and finally have to realize that the life you know is coming to an end. The people you've spent the last 16/17 years of your life with will be gone. You are going to have to leave your comfort zone and venture on to the next part of life, and it's scary....trust me, it can be veeeeeery scary. But it can also be amazing, and if you take the time to really investigate the schools you've been accepted to, and narrow them down to the ones who have what you're looking for, I assure you that things will be great. That being said, WHY HAVEN'T YOU DEPOSITED AT NORWICH YET???? Heh, just kidding! I know that this is a big deal, and I know it takes a lot of thinking, and overthinking, of every detail of every school before choosing. And that's ok! Take all of the time that you need...well, almost all of the time that you need. Spend the next few weeks really picturing yourself on the campuses of the schools you've been accepted to. Imagine studying there, and meeting friends there, and being a part of a team there. And if you can't do that because you haven't actually visited the schools yet, VISIT THE SCHOOLS! I cannot stress enough how important the visit is (it will be addressed in another blog), so spend the next few weekends going to as many campuses as possible. You will never truly know where you belong if you don't take the time to put yourself there and test the waters. If you haven't yet come to Norwich, go sign up for NU101, a special Open House for all of our accepted students. I promise that it will be well worth the drive and when you leave on Saturday, you'll have a much better understanding of what life at Norwich will be like.