How do I find the best college for my student?

Erica Woods, University of Michigan Admissions Intern, offered several tips to parents and students on how to pick a college:
1. Discover what you like-large or small classes, urban or rural, many extra curricular activities or fewer, etc.
2. Visit colleges, sit in on classes, and speak to people you know who have attended that school.
3. Find out admissions requirements. Check out GPA and ACT or SAT scores. Two websites to help you compare requirements and costs are: http://www.michigancollegeguide.com and http://www.collegeboard.com
4. Use your careercruising EDP account to locate a college that offers a program that meets your career interests. If you don't know your log-in, check with your counselor. The website is: http://www.careercruising.com .
5. Research schools and their requirements beginning your junior year if not before. Use the summer to decide on whom you are going to ask for letters of recommendation and organizing information so that you can begin your application at the end of the summer, early fall.
6. Give your teachers and your counselor a resume of your activities and accomplishments before you ask them if they will be willing to write a positive letter of recommendation. Also, give them three weeks to a month to write the letter. Write them a thank you prior to due date.
7. Develop a calendar of tasks and due dates.
8. Apply early-it increases your chance of admittance and merit scholarships. Check with your counselor to see if you qualify for a fee waver. Apply to at least three schools-one that is a stretch, and a couple you are sure you will qualify for admittance.

Some books that will help guide parents and students are:
· How to Keep Being a Parent When your Child Stops Being a Child: A Practical Guide to Parenting Adolescents by Nic Cooper and Rick McCoy
· Letting Go: A Parents Guide to Today’s College Experience by Karen Levin Coburn & Madge Lawrence Treeger
· Almost Grown: Launching Your Child from High School to College by Patricia Pasick
· 100 Things Every College Freshman Ought to Know by William Disbro
· Winning the Heart of the College Admissions Dean by Joyce Slayton Mitchell
· 10 Minute Guide to Getting into College by O’Neal Turner

If you have further questions, please call U of M Admissions 734-764-7433.

Pre-College Camps & Summer Programs

On January 19, Lucie Howell spoke with Ypsilanti High School parents and students about summer camp experiences. Parents and students identified pursuing your interests, active learning experiences, and meeting other students interested in the same thing you are interested in as reasons to attend a summer camp. Lucie pointed out that students also develop important problem solving skills, organizational and time management skills, presentation skills and learn to work as part of a group. The projects students complete allow them to integrate math, science and writing.

Students should have a 3.0 Grade Point Average and be interested in exploring topics related to science, technology, engineering and math. Most camps require an application, essay and interview. It was suggested that students research the topic a bit, write their essay, include references to their research, and ask their science and language arts teachers for suggestions to improve their essay. Also, students may want to practice interviewing skills with parents, peers or teachers.

Deadlines are approaching fast! Don't forget to ask about financial aid. Some is available. A link to all University of Michigan Summer camps is: www.ceo.umich.edu

Nov. 10 FAFSA & Financial Aid

Mershon Dye, University of Michigan Financial Aid office, outlined the process of filling out the FAFSA forms and types of financial aid. Her power point presentation is attached.

Dec. 15, MME/ACT/SAT Testing

Ashley Anderson, NSBE ACT Pro Chair, shared sample questions and information about the ACT test and NSBE's TORCH program. She emphasized that the ACT requires thinking and reasoning skills beyond subject knowledge. Most of the math problems are embedded in word problems and many of the science questions require students to read graphs and charts to gather information to thoughtfully construct the answer. Just as one practices to prepare for a sports or music event, it is helpful to practice answering questions to prepare for the MME/ACT. Two free online resources are: http://www.number2.com/ and http://www.actstudent.org/ . Additional resources are available at the Ypsilanti Public Library-ask the reference librarian for help finding them.

What does an engineer do?

On September 22, 2009, the attending parents and students discussed the many fields of engineering, engineering research and the importance of math and science classes as preparation for studying engineering. Participants also discussed the importance of increasing the number of parents attending the PLC meetings.

Two sites useful to learning about engineering are: http://egfi-k-12.org and www.tryengineering.org.

April 15, 2009 Campus Visit

Students and parents view a demonstration
in the Structural Engineering Lab.

Brandon Lucas demonstrates a fabrication to the parents and students during a visit to the Nanofabrication Lab.

PLC Members Explore Tranferring from a Community College to UM College of Engineering

Katrina Williams, UM COE Admissions, spoke about transferring from a community college to the UM College of Engineering.

Members of the PLC identified: financial reasons, not sure what you want to study, the need to improve your preparation as reasons why a student might attend a community college then transfer.

Katrina stressed that students plan for that transfer, which means that they are in contact with the institution to which they want to transfer and the community college they are attending.

Some factors students should consider:

1. They will need four semesters of Calculus including differential equations during the last semester.
2. They will need a calculus based physics class, a chemistry class as well as English.
3. They should check with both institutions to see that the classes will transfer.
4. They need to check if there is an articulation agreement or a partnership between the institutions.
5. Besides meeting the math and science prerequisites to transfer; they should take classes that will fit into the general requirement areas such as English.
6. Keep in mind the residency requirements of the institution to which they are planning on transferring.
7. They will need a minimum of a 3.0 in the classes they wish to transfer.