College Spotlight: Marist College

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 its 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 at the center of the campus is a gorgeous lawn facing the Hudson River.

General Information

Marist College has just under 4,800 students, and boasts a 16:1 student to faculty ratio, allowing for a ton of personal attention between professors and students. Today, Marist is an independent private school, but it does have a Catholic background, as it was founded by the Marist Brothers. Their retention rate from freshmen to sophomore year is a superb 93%, and the total cost of attendance (tuition, room and board, fees, etc.) is $47,000 - reasonable compared to many other private schools in the country.

Academic Information

• Marist has 6 academic schools, housing 35 Bachelor's programs and 12 master's Programs.
• There are no lecture halls on campus and the biggest class is only 35 students.
• The School of Communication and the Arts has unique internship opportunities, such as a Marist in Manhattan Program and Art Internships in Florence. They have very close connections with NBC, Guggenheim, MSG, New Line Cinema, and ESPN. They also have a very popular fashion program and often participate in fashion week in NYC.
• The School of Computer Science and Mathematics is very demanding and their most competitive program on campus. Marist has a very close relationship with IBM, as they have given over $95 million in technology to Marist. Close to 95% of information and technology and computer science majors secure jobs before graduation at companies such as IBM, USAA, UBS, and Goldman Sachs.
• The Marist School of Management  is AACSB accredited and offers degrees in areas such as economics, accounting, and finance management. There is a full, live trading room on campus, and they have many internships with Fortune 100 and 500 companies.
• The School of Liberal Arts offers majors in areas such as English, History, and Political Science. They also have a pre-law advisory program with a 100% acceptance rate to law schools. Marist is also 1 of 6 schools in the country that works directly and grants internships with presidential libraries (FDR Library and Museum, for example). 
• The School of Science has many common Science majors, and has medical track programs including pre-dental, pre-medicine, pre-veterinary, and an athletic training program. The School of Science also has a great medical technology program that has a 100% job placement rate by graduation since 1982.
• The School of Social and Behavioral Sciences  has majors in education, psychology, social work, criminal justice, and more. All students in this school are required to do an internship by the time they graduate. They are also connected with the United Nations, NYPD, FBI, Homeland Security, and the CIA.
• Finally, some students have the option of spending their freshmen year at Marist in Florence, Italy - a unique opportunity calld the Freshmen Florence Experience.

Admissions Information 

• Marists' middle 50% accepted scores for the SAT is 1600-1840 and their average GPA is about a 3.5. The acceptance rate is around 32%.
• When reviewing an applicant, strength of program (academic rigor) is very important, as are the letters of recommendation.
• Marist is a test-optional school, although 77% of students do submit scores.
• Demonstrated interest in attending is very important to Marist Admissions, as is the 'Why Marist" supplement on the Common Application.
• They are in the process of building a brand new science building, potentially relieving the acceptance rate a bit for students interested in pursuing a science-related degree.

Personal Feedback and Pictures

I have always known a good amount about Marist, but I was honestly blown away when visiting the school for the first time in official college counselor capacity. This school has a little bit of everything and I think it is a perfect fit for many students. The location is ideal, only being 2 hours from the city, but located in a stunning part of New York State. It is clear that Administration has the students' best interests in mind, and that they are committed to ensuring students have a great overall experience while at school in searching for a career post-graduation. This is truly a school I believe most students should consider for its location, scenery, academics, career development, and overall community. 

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

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 # 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

Student Debt Help

As we all know, student debt in college, graduate school, and post-grad programs is a bit outrageous, intimidating, and all-around scary. Unless you have a rocket for an arm or can jump through the roof, receiving that full scholarship is not easy. Although the cost of a school should not be the only determining factor in college admissions, it should definitely be a big consideration. The cold hard truth is that most college students will graduate in debt. However, the range of debt can vary thousands and thousands of dollars, so it’s important to be smart with your decisions before and during college. From a paid internship to closely monitoring your expenses to choosing the right loans, your decisions will have a direct impact on your wallet. Take a moment to visit: http://www.debt.org/students/

This is a very comprehensive website with a ton of information and tips on ways to reduce or eliminate student debt. Also check out these pages from the website: 

debt.org/students/college-budgeting-101/

debt.org/students/parents-pay/

debt.org/students/loan-forgiveness/ 

debt.org/settlement/vs-consolidation/ 

debt.org/students/internship/ 

Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

January 1st has Passed...Time for FAFSA and More!

So seniors…you are beginning to hear back from the colleges you applied to and most are happy to hear that you have been accepted to many of the schools. However, in the majority of cases, that initial joy inside you and your parents goes away when you see the amount of merit scholarship you are receiving. Sure, $10,000 is a big amount of money to earn in merit scholarship awards and is a great start…but for numerous schools, this is just 1/5^th of the total amount it costs to attend. As countless private schools are reaching $40,000- $50,000 each year to attend, a $5,000-$10,000 merit scholarship just is not enough. So what do you do? Are you just expected to give up on a college that you think it a perfect fit? Well before you do that, check out these options that can help subsidize the total COA (cost of attendance) of college!

FAFSA  - January 1st is the official start date to complete and submit the FAFSA to colleges. Many colleges have deadlines (that are not that far away) to submit the FAFSA, so make sure this is finished soon! Most people have heard of the FAFSA, which stands for the FREE Application for Federal Student Aid; however some families choose not to take the time to apply because they do not believe they will receive any aid. Although this is a family decision, we really do urge all families to complete this form. This is one of the only ways a student can receive government aid (also check out the CSS Profile, which some colleges use to calculate financial aid.) Schools receive the FAFSA report that gives them the EFC (Expected Family Contribution), and colleges will decide how much financial aid they will give to families. So please, take the time to get this application completed and sent to all of the schools you apply to!

Naviance Scholarship Page-  All juniors, seniors, and their parents should have a Naviance account. Check this page out for additional college-specific scholarship, and organizational scholarships. Details on each scholarship, including how to apply, amount awarded, and due date are all there. This page is updated throughout the year, so please check the site regularly!

Online Scholarship Finder Websites- There are a multitude of online sites available to find scholarships to college. For many of these, all you need to do is put in your basic information, and it will find scholarships that match your criteria. The three that come highly recommended are: CollegeBoard, Fastweb, and FinAid. Also check out www.collegescholarships.org. Just click on the links, and start applying!

Loans- Although it is ideal to avoid loans, it is not always possible. Here are two websites that help out with understanding and getting started with federal loans: www.direct.ed.gov and http://www.studentloans.gov/

Project on Student Debt -  This has a list of schools that have made the pledge to limit or eliminate student loans from financial aid packages, which reduces cost of college for students and their families. It may be too late for seniors, but juniors should definitely look at this list and see if there are any schools of interest.

Call College Financial Aid Departments- Often families will receive financial aid reports from colleges and will feel that they are not receiving nearly enough of aid for their income and family situation. Since on the FAFSA you are using the previous year’s tax return, it is very possible that there have been some changes in parents’ job and income situation. Also, there may be some special circumstances that financial aid counselors at colleges are not aware of (i.e. high medical bills). You have every right to call the counselors at the colleges and explain your situation. Schools will respond differently, but some may very well give you more financial aid, so it is definitely worth a shot!

Also, please remember that every school is required to have a Net Price Calculator on their website. This can also be found on CollegeBoard. A Net Price Calculator will give families a better idea of what they may have to pay out of pocket or borrow for each college earlier on in the college search process. 

Finally, please check each college’s website in which you were accepted and see if there are any additional merit/need-based scholarships you can apply to. Remember to apply to as many scholarship opportunities as possible, because every dollar will help!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

No Desire in Paying College Tuition? Check out Antioch College

If you are a student who doesn’t mind a small school…and I am talking about a very small school, you may be interested in a college that is offering free tuition for all four years, for the incoming freshmen classes of ’12, ’13, and ’14. The college is Antioch College in Yellow Spring, Ohio, and estimated at $26,500 a year for tuition; students will be saving $106,000 in college tuition over four years!

What’s the reason for the free tuition? Well in 2008 Antioch closed its doors due to financial problems and poor management. However, alumni were appalled with the closing, so they put big bucks up to re-open the doors. The school now believes their finances are settled, and are offering free tuition as an incentive for students to apply. Right now, Antioch is offering 12 majors, and they still offer a strong co-op program for many of their majors.

Last year their freshmen class had a total of 35 students. Moving forward they are looking to accept 65-75 students within each freshmen class. So again, if you are looking for a school with thousands of students, historic sports teams, and hundreds of majors, Antioch definitely is not your school. But if you like the idea of an intimate setting where you would know basically everyone, you are interested in co-op programs, and you like the idea of building a school back up, take a look into Antioch. It certainly is worth a look!

The regular decision deadline for applicants this year is February 15^th, and the free-tuition incentive will last for the next three freshmen classes. Please click the following link to the school’s website: http://www.antiochcollege.org/

For a longer list of tuition-free colleges and universities, please check out this USA News article.

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Striving for Fit: What to Look for during the College Search

‘The importance of fit’, when it comes to choosing a college to attend, is an expression that students and parents will be accustom to hearing during the college search process. But what does ‘fit’ really mean and why is it so important when choosing a college? As students in the college search process, you all want to find the right college, but this is often harder than it sounds. There are a multitude of elements and factors that should go into choosing a college, but often students and parents will look over some or all of the factors that need to be addressed. Instead, students may choose a college purely based on ranking, how good their sport teams are, if there significant other attends the school, and many other reasons that should not be a part of a very important decision.

1 in 3 students who enroll into college will transfer at some point during their time at college. This is an alarming statistic and although in some cases this cannot be avoided, many times this does not need to occur and would not occur, if the student spent more time researching colleges. Avoiding a transfer to another college will save a student and family time, money, and energy. Very early on in the college search process, students need to examine within themselves and start discussing with their parents and counselors about their own personal skills, interests, and values. Understanding what they may be can greatly help students connect to certain schools out there, which match who they are as an individual. Remember, it is not about the best college, but the right college for you!

When discovering who you are as an individual, and finding colleges that meet your needs, you most likely will discover that there are multiple colleges that are right for you. This is a good discovery! When finding these colleges that are a right fit for you, not only will students be happier there, but chances are, they will have a better shot of being accepted! If you follow these five considerations while searching for colleges, you will be in great shape when it comes to making the final decision in spring of senior year!!

1) Academic Rigor- When searching for and applying to schools, students need to explore the classroom and academic environment specific to that college. Students must try to find the colleges that provide a style of instruction that is best matched to the way the student learns. If you are an individual who strives in the most competitive of environments, working on your own at most times, and rise to occasion when working with the toughest of teachers/professors, then look for similar collegiate programs. However, you may be someone who needs a little more guidance and support from professors, and do much better with courses that are not so competitive. You know who you are, and this is perfectly OK, but you want you realize this before attending a school in the fall.

2) Geographic Location - Get to know the campus and surrounding area of possible colleges. Realize that for the most part, this is where you will live for the next 4 years of your life! So it would make sense that you should be happy with the location of where you go to school. Are you happier in the city or in a rural environment? Would you prefer going to a college with 45,000 students or one with 1,500 students? Would you like to be less than 2 hours away from home, so you can come home whenever you like, or are you adventurous and would like to live out on the West Coast for awhile? We all have our preferences on where we are happiest and no one is wrong here! You may find a school that meets all of your other needs, but if you absolutely love the city, a school in the middle of Idaho, most likely will not make you happy! So make sure you are honest and accepting with where you are happiest, and visit the colleges you are most serious about! All schools look warm and welcoming on the internet, but you can only get a real feel by visiting colleges!

3) Major/Program Offerings- It is extremely important to apply and eventually attend a school that offers a program that matches a student’s interests. It is perfectly normal not to know what you want to do for a career in high school, but you can surely breakdown your choices to a few that best interest you. Make sure the college offers numerous majors you may see yourself doing, and this will surely help in the process.

4) Cost of Tuition/Financial Aid- Far too often, students will find a college that is really great for them, but find out in March, that they just are not receiving enough financial aid and the college will just cost too much to attend. Taking out loans is definitely an option and may be inevitable, but do yourself a favor, and create a list of schools that have a wide variety of cost of attendance. I think it is best for all students to apply to 6-8 schools, for many reasons, but one reason is that some colleges may help out financially much more than others. So if you research schools diligently and apply to 6-8 colleges that you love, the deciding factor may come down to money. If this is the case, it may make it much easier to choose the school that will not have you in debt until you have grandchildren, because you have done the research and you love the school!

5) Chances of Admission- You must be realistic when it comes to applying to colleges. Students should all be applying to 2-3 safety schools, 2-3 target schools, and 2-3 reach schools. If your list contains all reach schools, you may be in trouble come March. I  absolutely think all students should strive for ‘reach’ schools, but there needs to be schools on the list that students are confident they will be accepted into. So you should not only be making sure you apply to the schools that are right for you, but be realistic with your chances of getting in!

So, remember, there are a multitude of factors that need to go into making this life decision. Students and families should not focus solely on any one factor, but the combination of all of them. College is not just about going to the classroom, but is about growing and living in the right environment and community. Please try to remember these basic ideas when searching, applying, and eventually settling on the college that is the right fit for YOU!

-Joseph D. Korfmacher, MASC