College Essay Topics: Have A “Mindful” Day
Today I found college essay writing inspiration in the New York Times ‘Dining & Wine’ section. The article is about Mindful Eating.
The idea, from Buddhist teachings, is to place a forkful of food in your mouth. Then put your fork down. Chew slowly. Take the time to experience the pleasure of what you’re eating. As the writer says, “the texture of the pasta, the flavor of the cheese, the bright color of the sauce in the bowl, the aroma of the rising steam.”
This is called mindful eating.
Most of us eat pretty mindlessly. We’ve got our hand in a bag of chips, or we’re snatching something off the counter or shoveling that next bite of food into our mouths. Before we know it, it’s been swallowed and forgotten.
That got me thinking about the other mindless things that fill our lives.
What else do we do that’s mindless?
Plenty. I’m just as guilty as anyone, starting from getting up in the morning, to plowing through lunch, to surfing the internet and talking on the phone and watching tv all at the same time.
How about you? Do you text and talk and do homework and listen to music at the same time? Do you rush from home to school to sports to dinner? Do you really pay attention when you say hi to people? Or listen to what they say back?
What if you didn’t speed through your days?
What would you notice? What would you see or hear or taste or appreciate that you don’t even think about now?
Live a mindful day.
Try it. Slow down. Be mindful about what you’re doing and saying. What do you notice? What do you appreciate? How did you live this day differently? How might it change your future days?
The answers might just make a great college essay topic. If you stop and think about it.
..Sharon Epstein is owner of First Impressions College Consulting
Need help? I work with students everywhere: in-person, over the phone, and by computer. Visit my website for more info.
Leave a comment — let me know what you think.
related posts:
Looking For Ideas for Your College Application Essay? Look Behind You
Writing College Application Essays: How to Choose a Topic
Organize Your College Search: Try Evernote
Imagine This Scenario:
You’re visiting a college. You love the architecture. You snap a picture.
You see students playing Frisbee on the arts quad. You grab a video.
You use Dad’s iPad to get more info about that cool looking dorm you saw. You bookmark the page.
You’re home. Where’s your stuff?
Everywhere. Except on your own computer.
Try Evernote. It’s an app that lets you save to different computers, phones, mobile devices and tablets, and then access it anywhere. And it’s free.
I first heard about Evernote when it was mentioned as one of the best free apps around. So I tried it. It was good, but it really proved its usefulness after last August’s hurricane when we lost our power for six days. When my husband needed my laptop, I took my iPod to the nearest library and started writing a new blog. Later, I was able to access those notes on my laptop and keep right on writing.
Here’s how you can use Evernote to help organize your college search:
Create an account on Evernote (with parents’ permission if necessary).
Take pictures, videos, notes.
Create a “notebook” for each college. Drop each piece of information into the notebook.
You’re done.
The best part? Months later, when you begin applying to college and have to write that college application essay on “Why I want to go to _________ University, ” you won’t get stuck writing “It’s so pretty,” or “I love the atmosphere,” or “I just know it’s the school for me.” You’ll know the name of that dorm you loved, and what kind of architecture caught your eye.
You’ll be able to write a great college application essay because you can be specific about what you saw, learned, and heard.
Because you saved it all in one place.
Try Evernote.
..Sharon Epstein is owner of First Impressions College Consulting
I work with students everywhere: in-person, over the phone, and by computer. Visit my website for more info.
Leave a comment — let me know what you think.
related posts:
College Essay Writing: Make it Easy! Keep a Journal
If you’re applying to medical school, you may be wondering how to write a powerful personal essay.
One technique is to tell a story. Relating an event or experience that’s unique to you and which has shaped your decision to become a physician will help you stand out from the crowd.
Differentiate Yourself
The medical school personal essay (AMCAS calls it the Personal Comments essay) is your advertisement. The essay has to speak for you, differentiating you from other candidates and showcasing your strengths. It should illustrate not only your hard skills (specific, teachable abilities that can be defined and measured), but also your soft skills (self-management and people skills), such as a strong work ethic, positive attitude, and ability to work well under pressure.
If your essay does its job, the reader will feel that he or she knows you and understands the special strengths that will make you an excellent physician; someone who deserves a closer look by the admission committee.
So how do you stand out in a sea of applicants?
Create Instant Impact
Consider who is reading your essay. In a busy week, admission officers might read forty or fifty applications per day. Your goal is to get your medical school admission officer to take notice. Your goal is to draw him or her into your essay from the first sentence and maintain that interest until the last word.
Start with a Story
One of the best ways to differentiate yourself and create instant impact is to start your essay with a story.
A well-chosen, well-told story will establish a framework for your essay, and serve as an interesting place to start and engaging way to end. It will showcase your hard and soft skills, and create immediate and compelling interest.
Medical School Essay Example: From Boring to Extraordinary
Here’s an example of how a story transformed a medical school essay. I worked with a young man who planned to be an emergency room physician. This is how his essay began:
“When I was in high school I had the privilege to take an honors Emergency Medical Technician course as part of my regular course work. I had recently joined the fire department in town as part of my community volunteer service and was quickly thrust into the world of emergency medicine. Soon I gained my certification and began running calls to help protect my friends and neighbors: one of my first motor vehicle accidents involved a longtime friend and one of my first calls working a cardiac arrest was a close friend’s mother. Dealing on a daily basis with patients whose ailments range from psychiatric issues to severe traumas gave me a whole new perspective on life. Spending a considerable amount of time interfacing with nurses and physicians in the emergency rooms of local hospitals gave me firsthand experience in the world of emergency medicine, particularly trauma surgery.”
There are three major problems with this medical school essay:
1. It doesn’t grab the reader’s attention.
2. It’s too generic. No other student should be able to write your essay, especially the first sentence. How many medical school applicants can write that they took an EMT course? Plenty.
3. There’s no story.
For his second draft, I asked the student to think about an event that portrayed him at his best, one that compelled him to act in a way that showed he’d make an excellent physician and co-worker. I wanted the experience to have a powerful emotional connection for him, because that would generate greater interest for the reader. I also wanted him to use dialogue to bring his experience to life.
As we talked, he realized the story he wanted to tell was already in his essay. Its mention, however, was so fleeting that he hadn’t even given it a sentence: “…one of my first calls working a cardiac arrest was a close friend’s mother.”
With that story in mind, here’s how the student re-worked his essay:
“3:24 am. Drowsy, trying to wake up. Redding Ambulance for an unresponsive female… Adrenaline kicking in. EMS pants on… CPR in progress.
Damn.
For the past six years, I have immersed myself in the world of emergency medicine. When I was sixteen I joined the fire department in town and began running calls to help protect my friends and neighbors. Dealing on a daily basis with patients whose ailments range from psychiatric issues to severe traumas gave me a whole new perspective on life and spending time interfacing with nurses and physicians in the emergency rooms of local hospitals gave me firsthand experience in the world of emergency medicine, particularly trauma surgery. I was able to help my patients not only in the field but also in the critical early stages of emergency stabilization in the ER. My level of competence became extremely important to me as my patients lives depend on it. I enjoyed being able to help my neighbors and make a positive difference in their lives; something told me that this was the field I should be in.
3:31 am. Sirens. I recognize my friend’s house as soon as we arrive. I walk inside to find chaos: my friend’s mother on the ground, police performing CPR… struggling to untangle AED wires. I evaluate the officer’s compressions and prepare to drop an oropharyngeal airway. Stand clear.”
In the rest of his essay, the student intersperses more punches of time as he and the team try unsuccessfully to resuscitate his friend’s mother; until finally:
“3:38 am. My earlier drowsiness is long gone. I spike an IV bag while the paramedic searches for a vein. I pick epinephrine from his bag and hand it to him. No time to dwell on the tragedy at hand. The ambulance slams towards the hospital.”
Does the story grab you from the beginning? You bet. Specifics? No one else can tell this story. Emotion? We feel like we’re right there, experiencing the student’s compassion for his friend and his friend’s dying mother as he works with the other medics to save her life (examples of both soft and hard skills). More than one admission officer commented on this essay during the student’s interviews.
What’s Your Story?
What event made an impact on your life and your choice to be a physician? Tell it. Use your story to frame your essay. Incorporate detail that’s unique to you, and gives the reader an understanding of who you are, what you’ve been through, and what you’re capable of.
Don’t leave your medical school essay in need of CPR. Breathe life into it. Tell a story.
..Sharon Epstein is owner of First Impressions College Consulting
Need help? I work with students everywhere: in-person, over the phone, and by computer. Visit my website or blog for more info.
Leave a comment — let me know what you think.
related posts:
College Admission Essays: Finding Your Authentic Voice
Writing College Application Essays: 5 Editing Tips
links:
2012 AMCAS Instruction Manual
Writing College Application Essays: 5 More Ways to Handle the Common Application’s 500 Word Limit
It’s been quite an essay-writing season. The Common Application capped its personal essay at 500 words, and more than a few of my students struggled with that length. After all, how do you say everything you want to say in only 500 words? That’s a fair question.
Don’t be discouraged. It can be done.
1. Don’t Choose a Topic that’s Too Big
This is perhaps the most important thing to remember. If you write about your entire summer vacation, or an idea or event that’s going to take 3 paragraphs just to explain, you’re in trouble before you begin.
2. Write about a Moment in Time
If you can find a moment — something that happened in a brief period – you can be well on your way to tackling the 500 word limit.
For example, I had a student tell me about the time he spent playing catch with his brother. It started out helping him improve his baseball skills, but then he found it drew them together as brothers. He used that game of catch — that moment in time — to write about their friendship.
I also had a student write about babysitting for kids who played video games instead of using their imaginations, and she talked about how imagination was so important to her. She used that night of babysitting as her jumping off point to write her Common Application essay. It was her moment in time.
Remember, moments can be easily related in 500 words. If you want more examples, I’ve written more about moments in an earlier blogpost.
3. Write about an Idea
What do you love? What is it about you that makes you different, interesting, or unique?
Let’s say you love music. Why? What does it do for you? How does it shape who you are or how you see yourself in the world? Use the IDEA to craft an essay.
Connecticut College has a great page called “Essays that Worked.” On it are different Common App essays from admitted students, including a couple of examples of how students write about an “idea.” One student writes about why she doesn’t watch television, another writes about why she’s so comfortable when she’s curled up. While these essays are over 500 words (they were submitted before the new limit), an idea can definitely be tackled in 500 words or less.
4. Leave time to Edit!
I can’t stress this enough — leave enough time to edit your work. If you’re long and you don’t know what to do, ask an adult who has good writing skills to help you. But you can’t finish at 11 pm before your deadline and expect to edit your essay.
Well-edited essays are stronger, clearer, and easier to read.
Editing shows you took the time to review and polish your work.
Impress your college reader. Edit.
5. Does the Common Application Essay Need to be 500 Words???
This is a great question, and one that’s being answered in different ways. The Common Application says it expects students to adhere to the limit. I’ve talked to admission counselors who say that going over a little isn’t going to hurt anyone. Others say if you’re over by a lot, it doesn’t say good things about you being able to follow instructions.
Here’s what I have to say:
1. If you want your Common Application essay to be more than a few words over the limit, contact the admissions counselors at the schools you’re applying to. They’re the only ones who can give you a definite answer.
2. Boring is boring, no matter how long or short it is. So be interesting, be yourself, and write a wonderful, 500 word essay.
..Sharon Epstein First Impressions College Consulting
Need help? I work with students everywhere: in-person, over the phone, and by computer. Visit my website for contact info.
related posts:
2011 Common Application Essay: 500 word limit (overview)
Succeeding with the New 500 Word Limit
More Ways to Succeed with the New 500 Word Limit
Join me Monday October 17, Danbury College Fair
It’s almost here! Danbury High School’s College and Vocational Fair is Monday October 17 at the Danbury Fair Mall from 5 to 8:30pm. I’ll be there, along with over 250 representatives from colleges and vocational schools from around the country. Wow. That’s a lot of resources at your fingertips — you’ll be able to meet college reps, ask questions, set up interviews, get information on financial aid programs, and begin to get a real sense for which schools feel like a good fit for you. There’s no charge — it’s all free.
I’ll be there to talk about — what else — writing great college application essays and acing college interviews. Stop by and pick up handouts with interview tips and essay-writing information, and bring your questions. I look forward to seeing many new faces.
Click here for directions and a list of participating colleges and universities.
For more information on the Danbury High School College Fair, check out this article in the Danbury News-Times:
http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/College-and-Vocational-Fair-scheduled-for-Monday-2219168.php
Join Me October 3rd at the Ridgefield Library: “The ABC’s of Writing A Great College Application Essay”
What do colleges look for in a great college application essay? That’s the question I’ll be answering at the Ridgefield Library on Monday, October 3 at 7pm. I’ll be joined by Matthew Dempsey, Assistant Director of Admission at Fairfield University.
I’ll give an overview of the college essay writing process, discuss what colleges look for, how to choose a good topic, and give writing tips that will make every essay unique.
Matthew will share a first-hand account of the admission counselor’s role, give examples of essays that have and haven’t succeeded, and talk about how essays are viewed in the context of the entire application.
Bring your questions!
This program is for high school students and their families. Registration isn’t required. For more information visit www.ridgefieldlibrary.org or call 203-438-2282.
I hope to see you there!
In a recent blog, I offered tips on how to succeed with the Common Application’s new 500 word limit.
Here are 4 more ways to come in under 500 words:
1. Start In the Middle of Your Story. Begin right in the middle of things, where your action or conflict starts. You’ll not only save words, but also create excitement and immediately draw the reader into your story. Here are three examples of changing an opening line:
Example #1:
- Before: “I spent my summer vacation interning in the emergency room of a hospital in Seattle.”
- After: “The bloody gurney wheeled past me. I closed my eyes and prayed for the strength not to pass out.
Example #2:
- Before: “I always wanted to climb a mountain, so that’s what I decided to do my freshman year.”
- After: “‘Hurry up and get your rear in gear!’ my dad yelled, as I scrambled to collect myself for another day of mountain climbing.”
Example #3:
- Before: “Last year was a rough time for me. My parents and I really didn’t get along.”
- After: “I opened the letter, not knowing how angry my parents would be.”
Tip: If you’re not sure where your action should start, write your story from the beginning. You’ll probably find your action begins in the second or third paragraph.
2. Use Adjectives and Adverbs Wisely. Don’t be a word hog. If you’re over 500 words, start by eliminating some of your adjectives and adverbs. You probably won’t miss them.
Example #1:
- Before: As he moved, his large legs made heavy, thumping sounds. He turned to stare at the amazing, dawning sunrise.
- After: As he moved, his legs made heavy, thumping sounds, He turned to stare at the sunrise.
- Why? 1. Size adjectives like “large” are often too general. Words like “heavy” and “thumping” are specific. 2. “Amazing” is an overused adjective. Try not to use it. 4. “Sunrise” is “dawn.” Look for these kinds of redundancies.
Example #2:
- Before: “He walked convincingly.”
- After: “He strode.” The writer condensed his words by choosing one word that conveyed the same idea.
3. Use Dialogue With Less Commentary. Dialogue works well in a college application essay. But when you need to pare down your words, go easy on the commentary — the words that explain the dialogue.
Example:
A father and son are climbing the face of a cliff.
- Before:
“I can’t reach it!” he yelled.
“That’s okay, I’ve got you,” his father replied knowingly.
“No, dad,” he said, scared.
“You won’t fall, son,” his father coaxed. “Slide your hand up until you feel the ledge.”
He stretched out his fingers and grasped the rock. “I’ve got it!”
- After:
“I can’t reach it!”
“That’s okay, I’ve got you.”
“No, dad.”
“You won’t fall, son. Slide your hand up until you feel the ledge.”
He stretched out his fingers and grasped the rock. “I’ve got it!”
Twelve words were cut. The dialogue is still effective (even better, actually, because the action is faster), and the commentary is minimal.
4. Have Someone Else Read Your College Application Essay. Sometimes, as writers, we’re just too close to our material, and it becomes difficult to know what to cut. Ask one or more people who know you to look at your essay and give suggestions.
Have You Considered a Community College?
If you haven’t, you might want to think again. More higher-achieving students are opting for two-year community colleges as a less expensive way to start their four-year degrees.
In an earlier blog, I focused on Connecticut’s Dual Admission program, which lets students complete two years at a community college and then automatically transfer to either a state school or UConn. In this post, I’ll focus on the specifics of attending a community college, including admission, quality of education, and financial aid.
For answers, I spoke to Earl Graham, Assistant Director of Admission at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport. Let’s learn about Housatonic:
Located in Bridgeport, Housatonic Community College is one of 12 community colleges in Connecticut. The school offers Associate Degree programs in preparation for transfer to four-year schools, as well as occupationally-oriented Associate Degree and Certificate programs.
Facts:
Tuition: Approximately $3,500 (in-state)
Student enrollment: 6200
Students receiving financial aid: 90-95%
Admission: Open
ADMISSIONS QUESTIONS
Q: Earl, tell us about Housatonic Community College.
A: We’re an open admission, higher education institution. We admit all students regardless of race, creed or color. We have opportunities not only for students to get college level credits, but we also have a wide variety of non-credit programs through our Continuing Education and Business & Industry department.
Applying
Q: What is an open admission policy?
A: An open admission policy simply means that graduation from a secondary program is all that’s needed for admission. We don’t look at GPA or SAT or ACT scores. Almost all community colleges in the country work this way.
Q: What kind of students choose community college?
A: In the past it was the traditional age student who didn’t achieve the highest grades, as well as older students who wanted to wrap up a degree or get into continuing ed. programs. But now we’re finding more and more 18 year olds who’ve done really well in high school who are looking at us.
Q: Why do you think you’re attracting higher-achieving students?
A: Four main reasons. 1. Our tuition. For 2011-2012 it’s about $3,500 for the year. 2. We have good relationships with the state schools and UConn. 3. Our credits transfer to just about anywhere in the country, like Sacred Heart, Fairfield University, Connecticut College, and Sarah Lawrence. 4. We have really good relationships with Fairfield, Stratford, and Bridgeport high schools, and those counselors are recommending us.
Transferring to Four-Year Schools
Q: Explain the transfer agreements you have for students to transfer to four-year state schools.
A: Connecticut’s community colleges recently signed an agreement with the state’s four-year programs (Central, Southern, Eastern and Western Connecticut State University) called the Dual Admission Program. What it means is that students come to a community college, and within the first fifteen credits complete an application to their desired four-year program. So let’s say they want to go to Central Connecticut State. They come here and within the first fifteen credits they complete an application. Then their counselor, our counselor, and the student work together to ensure that the classes they’re taking will all transfer. All that’s needed is a 2.0 GPA, and they’re automatically admitted as juniors after they’ve graduated from us.
Q: Do you have the same transfer agreement with UConn?
A: Yes. The criterion is a 3.0 GPA.
Q: Does Housatonic have agreements for students to transfer to other schools?
A: Yes. We have an agreement with the University of New Haven, where there’s also a reduction in the cost of attending. There are also transfer agreements for graduates in certain programs, such as education (NYU and Wheaton), and engineering (Fairfield University). Many schools come to our campus and recruit. (Note: Each community college has different transfer agreements with private colleges, so check their websites.)
Q: That says a lot about the level of education at Housatonic.
A: I talk all the time about one of our famous grads who came out of Central High School, graduating 297 or so out of 300, at the very bottom. He went on to Fairfield University, Temple Law, and is now a superior court judge in the City of Bridgeport.
These schools wouldn’t be coming back every year if the students who matriculated weren’t performing. Students are leaving here well-educated and well-situated to excel at the schools that they go to for their bachelor degrees.
Support Services for Students
Q: What kind of support do you offer students?
A: We have excellent support services. We’ve always been there for the students who need us the most; students who struggle, who may need some more guidance and assistance.
We have a very small student-teacher ratio and small classes. Most classrooms are capped at 22 or 25 students. As you get into the 200 level courses, they’re down to about 10 or fewer students, so there’s a one-on-one relationship that takes place automatically.
We have a tutoring center that’s available to all of our students completely free of charge. It’s staffed by upper level students and staff as well as by faculty, adjuncts, and full professors. There are full-time staff who will assist in writing and mathematics. We have something called “mega math” which is all-day math tutoring on Fridays. We have another program called “e Tutoring,” which is the assistance of tutors online, pretty much 24-7. You submit work and get feedback almost immediately, or at least within a day.
An important part of our success is correct placement. Unless they’ve scored 500 on the math and 450 on the verbal, all students must take a placement test. That test determines what classes they start with. They may start off in some pre-college courses, which gives them the footing to be successful. In some of those pre-college courses the tutoring center is required. They must attend a couple of hours a week and learn how to use the center.
Financial Aid
Q: What kind of financial aid is available?
A: What’s great about attending a community college is, let’s say you get $5,500 from a Pell grant. Our tuition is about $3,500, so it leaves the student about $2,000. They can use that $2,000 for books and other things, and any money that’s left over is given to the student. So a student can come to a community college and have tuition paid for, books paid for, and may even have a couple of bucks left in their pocket at the end of the day.
Q: Does a Pell grant always take care of tuition?
A: If it doesn’t, we have a scholarship office for students who may need other funds to further their education.
Q: Has the recession affected admissions?
A: Yes. In the past it’s been the students who didn’t achieve the highest marks in high school who’ve come to a community college, but it’s shifting because of the financial situation in the state. We’re attracting more and more traditional age students (18-19 year olds).
Finally…
Q: What part of the community college experience most is misunderstood?
A: We can do everything in the first two years that any school can do. We are a real college with real professors and real classes. We’ll get you going, we’ll move you on to the next level. We don’t compete with any four-year school. We want you to graduate from any one of those schools; we just want you to start with us. The reciprocal agreement, the level of education, our campus – we’re right off the highway, the bus runs right in front of our campus, we’re right next to the train station. We’ve got to say to folks we’re just as valid as the first two years in any four-year program.
To contact Housatonic Community College:
900 Lafayette Blvd.
Bridgeport, CT 06604
203-332-5000
www.hcc.commnet.edu
Connecticut’s community colleges:
Asnuntuck (Enfield) www.acc.commnet.edu
Capital (Hartford) www.ccc.commnet.edu
Gateway (North Haven) www.gwcc.commnet.edu
Housatonic (Bridgeport) www.hcc.commnet.edu
Manchester (Manchester) www.mcc.commnet.edu
Middlesex (Middletown) www.mxcc.commnet.edu
Naugatuck Valley (Waterbury) www.nvcc.commnet.edu
Northwestern Connecticut (Winstead) www.nwcc.commnet.edu
Norwalk (Norwalk) www.nwcc.commnet.edu
Quinebaug (Willimantic) www.qvcc.commnet.edu
Three Rivers (Norwich) www.trcc.commnet.edu
Tunxis (Farmington) www.tunxis.commnet.edu
The 2011 Common Application has capped the personal essay at 500 words. In my experience, that’s on the short side. It can be tough to relate a story in an interesting, creative way, and keep it under 500 words. So how do you do it?
Here are 4 Ways to Succeed with the Common App’s New 500 Word Limit:
1. Know what a 500 word essay looks like. Take a look at the handout I give my students, which gives a visual illustration of 500 words. You’ll see:
- It’s one page.
- It’s five paragraphs. This is an example, so the number of paragraphs you write might vary, but not by much.
2. Think small instead of big. Don’t try to tackle a big topic like world peace or what you did on your entire summer vacation; you don’t have the space. Choose a shorter experience or even a moment in time that was meaningful to you and reflects something positive about you.
- Here’s an example of writing about a moment: I read a college application essay the other day by a student who worked at the checkout counter in a store. One day a customer didn’t notice she had dropped some change, and the student picked it up and returned it. The customer was extremely grateful, and the student said he’d never forget the moment he understood that even a small amount of change could make a big difference to someone. Can you remember a brief moment in time when something memorable happened to you? Moments can be easily related in 500 words.
3. Never lose track of your point. Write down, in one sentence, the point of your college application essay. (For example: “I learned to trust my parents, and that every argument has two points of view.”) Then:
- Don’t veer off course.
- Every paragraph should direct the reader to your point. Think of it like pouring water into a funnel. If the top of the funnel is your introduction and the spout is your conclusion, everything has to head in that direction.
For instance:
- The student who wrote about returning the change to the customer might have wanted to talk about what the store looked like, or the people he worked with. But that wasn’t necessary to make his point. He just wrote about the customer, the dropped change, and his realization. That’s all he needed for an effective, memorable – and short – essay.
4. Edit. Even if it hurts.
- Edit out any ideas, details, or explanations that don’t move you toward your point. (See #3)
- Don’t repeat your ideas.
- Pare down your adjectives.
- Get rid of extraneous words.
5. Don’t wait until the last draft to count your words.
I’ll give you more ideas for editing your college application essay — coming soon!
Community College: Good Educational $ense?
Have You Considered Community College?
As tuition rises and the economy rattles, more students are opting for two-year community colleges as a less expensive way to start their four-year degrees.
Put your assumptions aside — this isn’t the community college of the ’80′s or ’90′s. Increasingly, community colleges are vibrant places with excellent faculty and good educational opportunities.
Earl Graham, Assistant Director of Admission at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut says, “We can do everything in the first two years that any school can do. We are a real college with real professors and real classes. We’ll get you going, we’ll move you on to the next level. We don’t compete with four-year schools – we just want you to start with us.”
Easy Transfer to 4-Year Schools
Connecticut has made it easy to transfer to a four-year school. The program – called Dual Admission – enables students with a 2.0 GPA to automatically transfer to one of the four state schools after graduation (Central, Eastern, Western and Southern Connecticut State University). UConn has a similar program, requiring a 3.0 GPA.
Individual schools have other transfer agreements, so check them out. Housatonic has a transfer agreement with the University of New Haven that includes a reduction in tuition. It also has transfer agreements with NYU and Wheaton for students graduating in education, and for engineering grads who want to transfer to Fairfield University.
Low Cost
In-state tuition for community colleges in Connecticut is about $3,500 for 2011-2012. Add that up and a student can save up to $80,000 for a four-year degree.
“In the past it’s been the students who didn’t achieve the highest marks in high school who’ve come to a community college,” Earl says, “but that balance is shifting because of the financial situation in the state. We’re finding more and more 18 year olds who’ve done really well in high school who are looking at us.”
—–
Look for an in-depth interview with Earl Graham about Housatonic Community College in an upcoming post.
—–
Connecticut’s Community Colleges:
Asnuntuck (Enfield) www.acc.commnet.edu
Capital (Hartford) www.ccc.commnet.edu
Gateway (North Haven) www.gwcc.commnet.edu
Housatonic (Bridgeport) www.hcc.commnet.edu
Manchester (Manchester) www.mcc.commnet.edu
Middlesex (Middletown) www.mxcc.commnet.edu
Naugatuck Valley (Waterbury) www.nvcc.commnet.edu
Northwestern Connecticut (Winstead) www.nwcc.commnet.edu
Norwalk (Norwalk) www.ncc.commnet.edu
Quinebaug (Willimantic) www.qvcc.commnet.edu
Three Rivers (Norwich) www.trcc.commnet.edu
Tunxis (Farmington) www.tunxis.commnet.edu
