Going Merry: Making College Scholarships Easier

A big part of the college process for most families is finding a way to pay for the cost of tuition, room and board, meals, books, travel, and other expenses. If the total cost of college isn't terrifying enough, the search and application process for scholarships certainly is daunting, to say the least. Most colleges will offer merit scholarships to students just for applying to college and getting accepted, but for the majority of students, there is still a gap that needs to be met, and financial aid does not usually cover all of that. So because of that, most students are forced to sift through hundreds of outside scholarships, find out which ones they are eligible for and then spend hours completing the scholarship application, often requiring a ton of personal information and writing samples.

This hard work often can result in receiving free money to use toward's college expenses, but in general, the entire process is arduous, time consuming, and students often give-up before they really even begin. I hear about this frustration all of the time, that is why I was excited to have the opportunity to talk with Charlie Maynard, the co-founder of Going Merry , which is an online platform that makes it extremely easy to search and apply for scholarships, all in one place, basically making it the CommonApp of scholarship hunting.

So what makes Going Merry so useful? When it comes down to it, it just makes everything so much easier...and here is why:

• Students make a profile once, and then the platform will auto fill the student's information for any future scholarship applications
• Students can apply directly to multiple scholarships, never leaving the main Going Merry website
• Every application has an estimated completion time and difficulty level, which helps students prioritize them
• Scholarships are grouped by essay to help minimize the amount of essays students need to write
• Going Merry will help match scholarships to students they are right for
• It is all free!

Going Merry is a very new organization, but they already have reviewed and approved close to a thousand scholarships, which can now be found (and applied to) on their website. I hope this can help and best of luck with the search!

Joseph D. Korfmacher

College Spotlight: Fairfield University

General Information

Another stop on my recent northeast college tour was Fairfield University, located in Fairfield, Connecticut. Fairfield is a private, liberal arts school with just under 4,000 total undergraduates. It is located on a lovely campus with views of the Long Island Sound. The 200-acre campus is in the suburbs, but students are only minutes from city life and the beach, and only about 90 minutes from New York City. The campus has green rolling hills throughout, which creates a perfect place for students to study, throw the frisbee, or just take a nap. When I was there, I even saw the archery club setting up for a practice. Also, it's hard to miss the turkeys that call Fairfield's campus home throughout the year, so be on the lookout if you choose to tour the school.

Fairfield University is one of the 28 Jesuit Universities across the country, and focuses on developing "the whole person" while establishing a sense of community for everyone there. The academics are strong and community service/helping others is an important part of life for Fairfield students. The vast majority of students on campus are from Connecticut and neighboring states, but Fairfield draws students from across the country and all over the world.

Academic & Admissions Information

The total cost of attendance at Fairfield is $58,625, which is high, but fairly common among private universities. However, four levels of scholarships are offered: Magis - $25,000, Bellermine - $17,000, Loyola - $13,000, and Xavier - $7,000. If covering the tuition is a concern, they are advised not to apply Early Decision. They are a test-optional school, meaning students do not need to submit test scores for admission (last year 30% of applicants applied Test Optional), and interviews are recommended for applicants. This past year, Fairfield had a 63% admission rate and right now the male to female student ratio is 37:63 and is looking to enroll a bigger percentage of males in years to come. The averages for accepted students are: GPA: 3.4; SAT: 1150; and ACT: 26. Demonstrated interest in attending is also a factor in Fairfield's Admissions' decision-making.

Fairfield University offers 41 majors and has the common ones that most students are familiar with. Their four main colleges are the College of Arts and Sciences, Dolan School of Business, School of Engineering, and the School of Nursing. At Fairfield, the majority of classes will be small, and students are guaranteed a hands-on learning experience and close relationships with their professors.

Fairfield University has always been a popular college for students on the east coast, and after visiting and learning more about their academics and community, I can see why it is a common destination. This is a great place for students who want to go away to college without being too far and have access to a beautiful campus and access to nature (hiking trails, views of the Long Island Sound, beaches, woods are all nearby). Students will be pushed academically, but supported throughout their time at Fairfield. 

As always, happy searching!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher

NYT Article on Surviving College Admissions

I wanted to share with you this very powerful and well-written New York Times article on college admissions at the most selective colleges and how this can be a damaging process to students across the world, but it doesn't need to be. It explains how ridiculously competitive it is to gain admission to the top colleges in the country, but how students should not feel as if they have to attend the top 25 colleges in order to be successful. It shares personal stories about young men and women who were denied admission to the most selective colleges, went on to "second tier" schools, and were extremely successful at school and in their careers. These students turned the rejections into a learning experience and propelled them into taking full advantage of all of the opportunities that the school that did accept them offered.

I personally am a strong believer in finding the right fit of a college for each student, and the name of a college really does not mean much to me. Students should strive to find a place where they will feel comfortable and that will give them the chance to be happy and successful. Students don't necessarily need to go to the Harvards and Stanfords of the world to be happy or successful. I urge you to read through the entire article, and the end offers a great story of what two parents did for their son during the application process. The article can be found here, on the New York Times website. Enjoy!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher

College Spotlight: The University of Miami

At the end of January, I was lucky enough to attend a counselor-fly-in to the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida for three days. I have never visited this school and I was impressed with the high level of academics and the beautiful community of students, faculty, and surrounding environment that makes up 'The U". Miami is a research university and has just over 11,000 undergraduates, which makes it a very accessible campus, and allows for students to get to know their faculty and administration and establish relationships to help with their academics and career search. As you can see by the pictures below, the University of Miami is situated on an absolutely beautiful campus surrounding a small lake with water fountains in the middle. Right next to the lake is an outdoor swimming pool with Olympic style diving boards. The University is about 25 minutes outside of Miami, and is in the suburbs of Coral Gables, which is an absolutely pristine town.

Academically, the university has pretty much any type of major students are looking for, including architecture, marine biology, engineering, and business. Miami is a school that continues to grow in popularity, and is a school that's academics, culture, and environment, makes it a place where many students should look. For everyone who has had enough with this year's winter, when I was down there, it was a bit chilly to the locals at about 72 degrees every day! Check out some facts about the school below, and you would be smart to put this school on your map!

Miami's Mascot is the Ibis, which is a type of bird, known to be the last to leave before a storm hits and the first to come back when the storm is over, so just like their students and faculty, the Ibis is known for its resiliency.

There are 11 schools and colleges, including the Miller School of Medicine and the School of Law. The other nine undergraduate colleges are: 

• School of Architecture
• College of Arts and Science
• School of Business Administration
• School of Communication
• School of Education and Human Development
• College of Engineering
• School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
• Frost School of Music
• School of Nursing and Health Studies 

For admissions, they offer Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision, with an RD deadline of January 1st. This past year, UMiami had about 700 students apply through ED, and they accepted about 180 students, they had about 15,000 applications through EA and accepted about 6,500 students, and through regular decision they had about 17,000 applications, and most likely will accept about 5-6 thousand students. Their middle 50% for the SAT for acceptance is 1900-2100 and the ACT is 28-32. They offer a ton of big time merit scholarships including the Stamps Foundation Scholarship which is a full ride (applicants usually have a 1500 SAT or 35 ACT) and they offer 70 full tuition scholarships each year.

UMiami has a fantastic career development center, called the  Toppel Career Center. This is a 12,000 square feet building dedicated to career counseling, which is a big deal on their campus. Here they offer 1-on-1 career advising and interview labs which are focused on the student's industry they are going for, and they have cameras and microphones to record practice interviews. The career center also offers "meet-ups" with employers for their students to network. Finally, UMiami gives 1 free academic credit for an internship. Check out  www.hireacane.com for more information.

Othere highlights:
Architecture has 3 semesters focused on the art and drawing aspects of this field, they are very big on urban design and living, and students complete one semester studying in Rome.

College of Engineering offers a 6-year BS/MS Program Partnership with the University of Bologna in Italy (which is a top 10 school for civil engineering in world). This is for civil engineers only, where they do 3 1/2 years in Miami and 3 1/2 years in Italy. Students graduate with BS and MS from UMiami and a MS from U of Bologna.

The Nursing program usually has about 25-35 students per class and students do not have to apply directly to the program. If they are accepted to the University, they can be a nursing major if they want.

The Frost School of Music has about 450 undergraduates, and all students  must audition.

They also offer a music engineering major, where students get a BS in music, and take lots of math and engineering courses. Other unique majors include music therapy, music education, and music business. Although it is not mandatory, it helps to audition on campus, as this could help with potential scholarships.

The School of Communication offers five main areas including Interactive media, journalism, advertising, PR, and motion pictures. LinkedIn has named UMiami the #17 school in the country for media preparation.

Hopefully this information was helpful, and I urge you all to look more closely into The University of Miami as a potential destination! Enjoy the pictures, and as always, happy searching!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Introducing Micro-Scholarships for College from Raise.me

We are all familiar with the high costs associated with pursuing a college education. But remember, there are many options out there to collect scholarships and financial aid. And some are more out-of-the-box than you may expect.

Take Raise.me, for example. I recently had the opportunity to meet with folks from Raise.me, a new organization that is partnering with colleges across the country to help families rack up "micro-scholarships" against the astronomical costs of higher education. Starting in 9th grade, students can accrue these small, conditional scholarships from colleges for accomplishments such as getting an 'A' in science class, making the Varsity swim team, being involved in community service, partaking in various extracurricular activities, and much more. If you wind up attending a school you've selected through Raise.me, the micro scholarships you've built up will be applied to your tuition.

The process is very simple; go to their website, create a free account (Name, DOB, High School, and graduation year), select any or all of the schools they partner with, input your accomplishments, and watch the scholarships grow. The Raise.me platform is retroactive, meaning even juniors and seniors can enter any high school accomplishments to count toward Raise.me scholarship money (as long as the college's submission deadline has not passed).

Currently, this organization is partnered with 65 colleges, including Tulane and Temple, but will be adding an average of one new school per week. Students may choose to connect to as many colleges on Raise.me as they want, and are under no commitment to attend those schools. However, if they do choose to attend a college selected through Raise.me, the school is bound to give them the amount in their account. The scholarships range in amounts, and can be small, but receiving any scholarship money for your accomplishments is a great way to offset college costs. Parents, this is also a great motivator for high school students to become more involved in school activities, sports, or even work harder in the classroom. Of course, getting that 'A' in Calculus is a win on transcripts, as well, but it won't hurt to also get $500 from a college for receiving that grade!

Raise.me launched for student-use 6 months ago, and has grant funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, and UPenn. So students, check out the website, connect with colleges, begin listing your accomplishments, and watch the potential scholarships accrue in your account! If you haven't had motivation yet to get involved in the classroom, on the field, or in extracurriculars, maybe a little money towards your college education will help.

Best of luck with this experience, and as always, happy searching!

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

College Quick-Hitters

Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY)

Total undergraduates: 6,900 students

Middle 50% for acceptance SATs: 1640-1890, ACT: 23-27, Acceptance Rate: 59%

This is a medium sized private school located on a suburban campus in Long Island, 25 miles outside of New York City. Campus is divided in two with the north side housing the residential halls (38 of them and 87% of students live on campus) and the south side housing all of the academic buildings. Hofstra has 143 different majors, with biology being their top major and business being one of their most popular. They have a state-of-the-art trading room, and internships are very big across all majors. They also offer a 5-year Journalism Master’s program. Class sizes are small with an average of only 21 students per class. 2014 will be the first year that Hofstra is going test optional in their admissions process. As long as the student has a good GPA, they are advised to not submit SAT scores below 1080 (Math and Critical Reading).

University of New Haven (West Haven, CT)

Total undergraduates: 4,700

Middle 50% for acceptance SATs: 1445-1715, ACT: 20-25, Acceptance Rate: 74%

New Haven is an up-and-coming university about 90 minutes outside of New York City. It is a residential campus, near the water, with about 25% of students participating in Greek life. They have Division 2 in sports and have over 170 clubs and organizations on campus. They have a focus on connecting students to careers, and all business students are required to do at least one internship. A recent survey of 2013 graduates showed 91% of them had a job or were in graduate school. Forensic science is their top major and most competitive one to get into. They are also very popular for their music industry major. Other top majors include engineering, music & sound recording, and marine biology. Finally, about 35% of their students reside in living-learning communities on campus.

Johnson and Wales University (Providence, RI)

Total undergraduates: 9,500

Acceptance Rate: 72%

This is a unique institution in the heart of Providence, RI. Once you are accepted, you are accepted to all four campuses across the county including Providence, Miami, Denver, and Charlotte. Students are encouraged to study at one of the alternate campuses at least once during their time at school, but it is not mandatory. Their top majors are culinary education, hospitality and management, and business. They offer a 5-year MBA/accounting program, which allows the students to quickly sit for the CPA exam. They also offer a sports and entertainment business major on all four campuses, which is very popular. They are very much a hands-on-learning institution, and résumé building is extremely important to the school. On day one of freshmen year, they start students with career advising, and work with them through graduation. Students that have a GPA of 84 and above and/or SATs of 1200 and above will receive a substantial scholarship. There are no classes on Friday for anyone, which helps students who have internships or need to travel, which is a great idea on their part.

Adelphi University (Garden City, NY)

Total undergraduates: 5,050

Middle 50% for acceptance SATs: 1520-1840, Acceptance Rate: 68%

Adelphi is a school with a ton of promise. Right now, only 60% of students live on campus, so there are a lot of commuters, but the school is working on improving their residential life. They are offering a new nursing program, and it is not a direct-admit program, meaning if you are accepted to Adelphi, then you can become a nursing major if desired. They offer a joint law program with the University of Albany, where they are given early assurance to the program. They also offer a highly ranked (#5 in the country) social work major, with an optional 5-year Master’s program. Finally, they offer a 4-2 program with Columbia, where the student would graduate with a BS in environmental studies from Adelphi, and a Masters in Science in a specific engineering degree from Columbia.

Feel free to email me with any questions, and as always, happy searching!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

College Quick-Hitters: Le Moyne College

Le Moyne College is a small, liberal-arts Jesuit school of about 2,800 undergraduate students located in Syracuse, NY. Only 4 hours from New York City, Le Moyne is situated on a beautiful campus only minutes from the action of downtown Syracuse. They have many different majors ranging from business to psychology to engineering, and have some excellent partnerships with Syracuse University. They have a 3-2 Bachelors and Masters engineering program with Syracuse, a 4-1 Bachelors and Masters Forensic Science program with Syracuse, and a 3-3 Law School Program with Syracuse and Fordham. Students in this law program with a 3.65 of higher GPA after junior year can bypass the LSAT exam and go right into law school at Syracuse of Fordham. Specifically, at Syracuse, students will also receive a 50% discount on tuition for years 5 and 6 (students do not receive this discount at Fordham). Le Moyne also has a brand new business building and a 20 million dollar science complex was completed three years ago, as well. If students apply early action, they will be notified by December 15^th, and all online applications will have no fee. The average class size at Le Moyne is 20, with a 13:1 student to faculty ration, and there are 21 different D2 sports, not to mention countless club and intramural sports. Housing is guaranteed all four years, and 85% of the student population lives on campus. Demonstrated interest is very important in their admissions process, so make sure you get up there for a visit, and make contact with the admissions counselors!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Reduced Tuition at MSU for Children of Veterans

First of all, I just wanted wanted to extend a special thank-you to all active duty and Veterans of our country's armed forces. Thank you for all you have done and sacrificed and will continue to do so to protect our freedom. On Veteran's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to inform you all of a new initiative Michigan State University has started. They are now offering in-state tuition price for out-of-state residents who have a parent that is a Veteran or is active-duty in the armed forces. This takes the overall cost of attendance from $44,230 per year to $22,450 per year...quite the difference. This is also before any additional merit scholarships or financial aid comes into play for the student. If you feel you may qualify for this, and are interested in Michigan State University, make sure to indicate this status on your MSU application. Also, be sure to look into any other schools that may have similar opportunities. As always, happy searching!

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

College Quick-Hitters: Susquehanna University

I am very happy to bring all of you some great information on Susquehanna University. I’ve personally visited their campus, and it is a terrific place for any type of student to spend their college years. Please take some time to read these highlights on the school, sent to me from their admissions team. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and as always, happy searching!

Susquehanna University, located in Selinsgrove, PA., educates students in the liberal arts and sciences and provides them with real-world, professional experiences through the School of Arts and Sciences and the Sigmund Weis School of Business. The business school ranks among the top 5% of business programs worldwide to have earned AACSB accreditation, a marker of excellence.

Recognized by the New York Times as one of the 10 most economically diverse colleges in the nation, Susquehanna was also named a Best Northeastern College by the Princeton Review’s 2015 Best 379 Colleges. Our 2,200 students (from 35 states and 21 countries) graduate with the broad-based academic foundation and 21^st -century job skills—critical thinking, writing, teamwork and communication skills—that employers and graduate schools seek. In fact, 94 percent of Susquehanna students are employed or in graduate or professional school within six months of graduation!

With more than 60 majors and minors—including several new programs for Fall 2015—and self-designed majors available, students easily combine their talents and interests with their career aspirations. Many disciplines offer hands-on collaborative research opportunities beginning in the first year of study. And recent grants to the university, including $2.25 million from the prestigious Richard King Mellon Foundation for freshwater research, provide additional opportunities for student research.

Seventy-eight percent of our students complete internships or have pre-professional experience before graduation. These experiences translate into tangible outcomes for our students—for example, approximately one-third of accounting majors have job offers before they begin their senior year and 83 percent complete the 150 credit hours required for the CPA examination within their four years here.

Additionally, Susquehanna’s nationally-recognized Global Opportunities (GO) program ensures students meet our cross-cultural requirement by studying for a minimum of two weeks in a culture unfamiliar to them—either in the U.S. or abroad—and by completing a reflection course after their return. Students can choose from more than 100 programs in 75 countries on six continents. 

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

College Quick-Hitters # 2

Bentley University- This is a fantastic school right outside of Boston, which specializes in Business, but is not just limited to this concentration. Bentley has an extremely high-tech campus with seven officially high-tech buildings and they even have a 3-D printer accessible for student use. The student population of 4,200 allows for small class sizes and personal relationships with professors. Bentley is a very active campus with 80% of the students participating in varsity or club sports, and 80% of students choose to live on the beautiful green campus all four years. Their top three majors are management, marketing, and finance, and business students have access to one of the nation’s best trading rooms on a college campus. Business students are given real money from the college to trade with and learn from. With career preparation and readiness at the forefront of Bentley’s mission, they are happy to report that 98% of seniors in the past few years have been placed in jobs or are in graduate school after 6 months.

College of Mount Saint Vincent- Small, Catholic Liberal Arts School of 1,500 students located in Riverdale, NY right off of the 1 train. The biggest majors are nursing, business, and biology, and they have an excellent pre-med track program. They also offer solid business majors in areas such as marketing, finance, and business administration, where they offer a 5 year Master’s program. They are situated on a 70 acre campus right on the Hudson River. 65% of students live on campus and the majority of students come from the 5 boroughs and New England. To stay competitive with NY State schools, Mount Saint Vincent has actually reduced their total cost of attendance. They are now at $29,000 for tuition, room, and board, which is an incredible deal. This is before merit scholarships and financial aid which is available to most students.

University of Notre Dame- Notre Dame has five current colleges that include Architecture, Arts and Letters, Business, Engineering, and Science. Starting in the fall of 2017 they will open their 6^th college, which will be the School of Global Affairs, housing such majors as international relations, political science, international economics, and some foreign language program. Notre Dame in currently on an initiative to improve their engineering program to become one of the nation’s best and a ton of money is going into their program right now. Architecture majors spend five years at Notre Dame, where they spend their entire junior year in Rome and then finish their 4^th and 5^th year at Notre Dame where they complete their architecture license. The essay is extremely important to their admissions, so make sure this is done well! There is no Greek life at Notre Dame, but dorm life is very important to students, and dorms even have their own mascots. 100% of all family need is met by ND and on average, students leave ND with only $20,000 in loans. Finally, starting on October 27^th, Newark and LaGuardia airports will offer flights to South Bend’s airport. 

-Joe Korfmacher, MA