IECA Chicago Takeaway
My Alaska Airlines flight just hit 10,000 feet, the throngs of people that constitute O’Hare on a late Friday afternoon are behind me, and I am excited to be heading for an 80-degree and sunny (surprise!) weekend back home in Seattle. The IECA conference was valuable, Chicago was at its best, and I am excited thinking about what’s ahead for Corsava after getting such great feedback from so many users. The cards made it into the College Essay Guy’s popular (and fast!) “60 College Application Tips in 60 Minutes” session, and it always makes my day to hear user stories about the impact the cards have had on so many students.
During their presentation, “How Colleges Use Merit Aid to Shape Their Class,” Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy shared a lot of interesting data for use in building lists, but the standout were their great tables that are updated every year after digging deeper on the numbers in conversations with admissions offices around the country. These tables (click the resources tab) include great financial and merit aid numbers for both domestic and international students, which Jennie said she uses as a first meeting discussion item with families. In addition, the Early Decision and Early Action tables provide some very enlightening information. Jennie’s point that Early Decision pools are often full of legacies and athletes is a good reminder that while these admit rates look a lot higher, the pool is actually a lot more competitive. Never a dull moment in college admissions.
Super ACAC is Coming!
And last, I am looking forward to presenting at the upcoming Super ACAC meeting in Phoenix in a few weeks with a great group, particularly as our topic, “Looking Beyond The Rankings: Using Emotional Preferences To Find The Right College Fit,” is so important to me.
Counselors Share Their Stories—Part IV
Lynne Bossart—The Legacy Foundation of Hartford
The other day I was chatting with Lynne Bossart, an independent counselor in Connecticut, who shared a great story that developed while she was working with some of her students at The Legacy Foundation of Hartford, where she serves as the college counselor. I have Lynne to thank for catching the typo on one of our hardcopy cards last year. The International Student Body card read “International Study Body.” Go figure! While my guess is a lot of counselors noticed, she was the one intrepid enough to let me know.
Lynne is the first college counselor at The Legacy Foundation of Hartford, which was founded by Greg Jones to address disparities in health and education in the North End of Hartford, CT, with a specific emphasis on creating opportunities in the most challenged demographic areas of the city. Lynne uses Corsava with her students as they start the college process, and one afternoon while she and some of her students were sitting around a table going through the Corsava cards, a math teacher walked by and Lynne asked him to join them. Jordan Romine, who volunteers with the Legacy Foundation and teaches full-time in the Hartford Public Schools was curious and sat down to join in.
Lynne has her students select a few of their Must Have and No Way cards, and they talk about them in more depth, which I think is such a great idea. As Jordan sorted through his own set of cards, he began to tell the story of his own college journey from Alabama. For financial reasons, he had made the choice as a first-generation student to attend a college that was not his dream college, but he was glad that he did. He emphasized to the students in the room that he would not have traded this amazing experience, and it was important to go to a college that you could afford without incurring a lot of debt. As is usually the case, this serendipitous story shared by a valued mentor went a long way with the students.
As a nice break from the computer, Lynne prefers using the hardcopy cards with her students who are more visual and others who have learning differences and would benefit from the one-on-one experience. She likes to share the results of the card sort in the Corsava Report, so using the hardcopy cards means inputting the results manually, whereas sharing the link to the cloud version with her students makes the report generation easier.
She likes the conversation that the Big Fish in the Little Pond card generates, while the Merit Aid card opens discussions on money early on. The Campus Diversity card elicits interesting debates on the different types of diversity that exist, the Gap Year card opens more possibilities for her students to consider, and some majors resonate with students who never knew they were an option. And as many counselors discover, the Liberal Arts card provides a good launching-off point to teach students just what this is and what it could mean for them. It was interesting for me to hear from an international counselor at the conference this week that she would like to rename the Big Fish card, reminding me that while my students may benefit from a discussion of standing out in a particular environment, translating this concept can sometimes be challenging.
As in many of our offices, a college map hangs on her wall, but Lynne would like to see general regions rather than just individual states be a part of the Corsava interactive map in the future. The individual states were added as some counselors wanted to be able to identify their state schools as a Must Have for their students, but we are looking at ways to offer both. Lots to consider as we build features, so thank you, Lynne, for your ideas and for catching our typo!
"What Matters to Me"
One last tidbit from the conference: The Ursinus College in Pennsylvania VP and Dean of Enrollment Management Shannon Zottola explained that they ask their students to explore four questions during their four years on campus, one of which is “What Matters to Me.” This resonated with me, as this is just what I intend Corsava cards to do for high school students as they think about their college options ahead. Understanding what’s important before making any big life commitment is a good path to follow.