Lateishia Spencer
02:00:11 PM
Hello and welcome! We'll get started in just a moment. Feel free to introduce yourself in the chat and tell us where you're from!
Agus
02:01:13 PM
Hiello, my name is Agustin and I am from Argentina
Asher
02:01:14 PM
My name is Asher and I am from Tennessee
Toluwani
02:01:16 PM
Toluwani from Lagos, Nigeria
Natalie
02:01:17 PM
I'm Natalie MacDougall and I'm from Lafayette, Louisiana!
Abigail
02:01:25 PM
Hi, I'm Abigail Richardson and I'm from Allen, Texas.
Emma
02:02:01 PM
Hi, I'm Emma, and I'm from Alexandria, Virginia!
Jocelyn
02:02:01 PM
Hello, my name is Jocelyn and i am from Tennessee.
Kate
02:02:01 PM
I'm Kate from Southern Kentucky :)
William Rocky
02:02:05 PM
I'm Rocky and I'm from North Carolina.
Liza
02:02:07 PM
Hi! My name is Liza and I am from Charlotte, NC.
Cate
02:02:10 PM
Hi, I am Cate from Montgomery, AL.
William
02:02:31 PM
Hi, I'm William, and I'm from Hoboken NJ.
Crystal
02:02:36 PM
Hi, I'm Crystal and I'm from Jamaica!
Alaster
02:02:57 PM
I'm Alaster, from Franklin, TN
Hi everyone, welcome to Tiger Tip #3. My name is Latisha. I am one of the admission counselors here in the office of admission and I'm so happy that you all are joining us and I'm so happy that you all are using the Chattan are introducing yourself. I love to be able to just see where everyone is tuning in from. We have someone from Nigeria we have someone from Jamaica and just folks from all over the US. So that's really really cool to see. So if you haven't already.
Emmy
02:03:04 PM
Hi! I’m Emmy from Charlotte, NC
Bianca
02:03:14 PM
Hi, I am Bianca from Fairview, TN.
Lulú
02:03:30 PM
Hey! I’m Lulú from Bentonville AR
Feel free to introduce yourself in the chat and so I love that you are using the chat because that is the way that you will be able to ask any questions that you have throughout the session today. So if you've been following along with our Tiger Tips series, you know that this is a great way to just kind of get some tools and some tips to help you as you kind of dive into the college application process. So again, a little bit about me. My name is Latisha I and actually a regional counselor through Suwannee and so I lived in Maryland. I work with students.
Camila
02:03:55 PM
Hi, I'm Camila from Colombia
In the Mid Atlantic area and so really you know, I'm here to offer up some information specifically about researching colleges and universities, but I'm also happy to answer any other questions that you have about swaney or you know anything that kind of comes up throughout the session. So let's see before we get started. I'll let you guys read this again. Just some housekeeping items as I mentioned. You will use this same chat that you are introducing yourselves in to ask any questions and then.
You know, if you're having any issues with sound video, just try refreshing and again this will be recorded so you will have the opportunity to refer back to this at some point. If you miss anything, so don't feel that you have to kind of write down everything that you're going to see on the slides. There is a lot of words and information, but that's just kind of for your benefit, but again, it will be recorded and so continue to introduce yourselves if you have not already and then feel free to use that chat for questions as we go throughout so.
I will try to leave some time at the end for questions, but you can definitely ask them as we're going along. So with this tiger tips over on tiger, tip #2 and so really today we are talking about researching colleges and universities. And so when you are on that journey to kind of discovering where it is that you may want to attend college for four years, it's an important task and it's something that really takes time. An researching schools is definitely one of the first steps that you should do.
Mahesh
02:05:20 PM
Hi, I am Mahesh from Nepal.
It's important because there are so many colleges and universities in the United States and even more if you are looking at internationally outside of the United States and so you know you may always hear stories about where your parents went to school, where your teachers went to school, your mentors.
You know any from your friends and family members and just kind of you hear a lot about their experiences with college. I'm sure which is great, and those are all great starting points, but it's in very important for you to do your own research on every school just to really see if it's a place that's going to be best fit. Best fit for you. An if it's a place that you can really see yourself thriving for four years, so that's cool that you know you've always heard of. Or you've been to the football games. Or that's cool that you know your aunt went to that. She always tells you about.
You may just think, hey, I'm I. I'll just go there but really research see if they have your program. See if they have the kind of environment that you were looking for, and so we're going to kind of dive into what you can look for, what to look for when you're researching universities and great questions to ask yourself. And then we'll also dive a little bit into how best to do research on schools and kind of how to engage. So that's kind of where we will go throughout this.
OK, so here is a slide with tons of things that you can consider when you are researching colleges and universities. So some big things are things like size so you know Suwannee we are a small liberal arts college. We have just under 1700 students so we definitely fall in that small category. They are size schools that are medium size. There are schools that are very large and so it's important to know what is going to work for you. It's important to know how you learn best.
Are you a student that needs a small classroom environment? Or are you a student that will do perfectly fine being in a lecture hall with 300 students, it's really about knowing what it is that you want in a great way to do that is to think about the courses that you've had thus far, and how you've done in them. You know, are you the person that really loves that one on one attention, or do you just kind of sit in the back and take your notes and you do perfectly fine? That way you know, so I think it's it's a little. It's something to think about, and it's really easy to do just based on the experiences that you've had thus far.
But size is definitely something to consider. Location is something to consider as well. Celani, we are considered a rural campus and so it's important to really understand the campus environment and you know you can think about the way you've grown up and what you're looking for in your college experience. Academic offerings. This is huge and so you can read through them all. I won't go through every single one because you all can read and I don't want to. You know, bore you to death but.
I'm just going to touch on a few and then we'll dive into a few of these a little bit more in depth as well, but academic offerings is huge because this is what you're going to college for, right? You are going to get a degree and to eventually lead yourself into a career, and so it's important to know what they have to offer academically and if it's going to be aligned with your career goals. So knowing the majors and things like that, knowing the faculty and what our faculty involved with, our faculty doing research.
Ishrak
02:08:40 PM
Hi all! Take greetings all the way from Bangladesh . This is Ishrak here, a high school junior, joined this amazing Sewanee event at 2am late at night whereas whole of my surroundings are asleep. Heading forward to getting to learn the subject matter in depth today!
Are there classes taught by faculty members or do they have a lot of graduate assistants or teaching assistants? Teaching courses for undergraduate students, and so it's really, really important to just really think about a lot of these things. Think about the things you'll be able to do recreationally in socially, because yes, you're going for an academic program, but your social life is a huge part of college as well. So think about the things that you want to do, the things that you are kind of looking for in your experience, and it's important to know if those colleges that you're looking at also have that.
Mary
02:09:18 PM
Hi! I’m Mary from NYC
My personal attention that you'll get, how diverse is the student body, is their religious affiliation. You know here at Suwannee we are affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and so we are definitely a school that is available for students of all faiths and all religions and all beliefs. We definitely have an interfaith community, however we are founded and have those foundations of the Episcopal Church, and so you won't ever be required to take religion courses or attend services at the Chapel, but it is there and again.
We have an interfaith community that is welcoming of all students, but again, it's just important to know these kinds of things and think about your experience in on a college campus.
OK, so diving into academics, and so I've pulled out a few of these that just kind of rise to the to the top of the list. There are so many questions, even more questions than than what was on the previous page that you need to ask yourself as you research colleges online. As you visit campuses, but when it comes to academic, these are just some questions. These are definitely a starting point to see if this college aligns with you academically and so thinking first in terms of just.
Being admitted and applying to the college, you know, are your grades and test scores in line with those of the students that they admit to that university. It's definitely OK to have schools to strive for and so, but building out that balanced college list is definitely going to include schools that you know that you are in line with academically, and so it's really important to know that as well, to know their steps and know the information in terms of the average GPA of students that they admit the average test scores. Are they a test optional school?
Here at Suwannee we are a test optional school so you know just knowing all of those things and having all of that information is going to be super important and so you know like I mentioned earlier, the classroom environment is crucial and I think that you know when I was looking to go to college. You know, I don't know if I thought about this as as much, but it's definitely something that you want to really take into consideration an understand, you know, going to a larger school means that you may have larger classes going to a smaller school obviously enjoy.
Smaller classes and so you know it's really just about one is not better or than the other. They're just different, and so it's about learning what works for you in the classroom environment that you need to learn and to do your best. And so again, taking a look at the courses that you've taken this far is a really great way to start with that. What academic support services are available that's important to know? Will you have access to tutoring? Do you have academic accommodations and support available? If you need it?
So I'm really kind of getting answers to those questions. Is super crucial as well like I mentioned does do. Does a college have your intended major that is major and that is something that you should definitely be looking at, but then going a step further to see how big is that department? What opportunities are available for students in that department. If you are a student that is wanting to go on and continue your education into graduate programs, really knowing about that college and.
What are their rates of students that are applying to Med school or law school or or PhD programs and really kind of getting into those fools? What what does that pathway look like? What are the outcomes for the students that are currently in those majors? What what's going on with those at that university? It's important to know. Are there general education or core requirements?
An important question here at Swanee we have learning objectives, and so we're basically we do have kind of a core curriculum. It's somewhat unique in the sense that we have these learning objectives, but you're still able to choose the courses that you would want to take within those, so it does still allow you some flexibility in terms of what you're taking, but we are in liberal arts college, so we are wanting you to be a lot to be very well rounded and to have many, you know tools in your toolbox, just not.
One major but kind of be well, knowledgeable all around and many different areas.
Do courses emphasize hands on experiences or is it more lectures on is there a lot of teamwork? Is there a lot of discussion based courses? It's really important to know that again because that goes back to how do you learn best? And then how does that university typically teach their students in the classroom environment? Very important to know. Average class size student faculty ratio. This again is drawing on what I have mentioned earlier, but it's important to know these things as well as Swanee average class size is 17.
And students, faculty ratio is 12:50, so again, those are just the numbers for Swanee, but it's important to know that information and again drive back to how best you learn and how best you you know what you need to do your best and then what research opportunities. What internship opportunities are available for students to participate in?
Alright, and then moving on to social factors so it's really important. You know, academics is 1 crucial part of the puzzle, but so is you know what you will do socially and so understanding things like housing, meal plans, student clubs and organizations, Greek life, sporty know, really understanding university and really understanding what things are available and what things are there for you to take advantage of. What do students typically do on the weekends?
Is it a college where everyone goes home on the weekends? You know these are all things that you need to be considering and asking as you're researching schools and colleges and so is a meal plan required. Do you have options to eat elsewhere besides the dining hall on campus? You know what options are there off campus? These are all things that you definitely need to ask and be aware of. What clubs in organisations do that? Do they have on campus and you know really, think about.
What things are you involved in now? What things bring you joy? What are your passions? Does that university have those? It's really important to research that in that way you know that you have opportunities to be involved in to be engaged outside the classroom as well. Also, a lot of schools like Suwannee if it is something that they that we do not have currently. There is also the possibility for you to bring that to campus. So it's important to know is that a possibility?
Are you able to do that? Because you might be into interested in something very cool, but maybe it's something that we don't currently have on our campus, and so it's definitely important to understand that you do have that flexibility at many schools, but it's important to research to see if that is available at schools that are on your list. Annex schools that you were looking at. How do students give back to the local community? And even beyond? How do students get involved? How to students get involved in community service opportunities?
If this is something that is really near and dear to your heart, it's important to again be able to continue to do things that you are interested in. Once you get to college and so understanding what our students are doing on campus and how students are getting back to the local community and the broader community is very important. And so, for example, he had some money. We have our office of civic Engagement that really allows students to get engaged. Whether it's right in the community at Suwannee, or whether it's on a broader scale.
Outside of Swanee, and so it's a really great office that students can go to to find opportunities, whether it's service internships, whether it's trips abroad, or whether it's kind of volunteering right here in swanee's backyard, you have all kinds of opportunities to kind of get involved. Is there Greek life on campus in if this is something that you are interested in, then it's important to know the answers to these questions. An if, on the flip side, if it's something that you are not interested in and you find out that.
You know 90% of students on campus are in Greek life. You know, maybe that's another important tip. Bit of information for you to know, and so it's important to understand that. So here at Suwannee we do have Greek life on campus, about 50% of our students are involved in fraternities and sororities, and so that is a part of the social aspect of celani. I would say how is housing assigned? What are your housing options? Is housing required for the first year first two years? What does that look like?
And so all of those questions are definitely good ones to ask when you are kind of.
Gathering information and learning a lot more about schools. And so again here at Swanee we actually have housing available on on campus for all four years, so our students are pretty much we are a residential campus. Our students are pretty much living on campus all four years. You do have your options in terms of you know if you are dreaming of living in an apartment with your friends, you know when your junior year sophomore year, you still have that opportunity. So after your freshman year you were able to request your roommates and you are able.
West, your living space on campus. But if you've ever been to campus, you'll notice that off campus housing is a little bit different at Swanee, and so pretty much all of our students are living on campus in a lot of our faculty and staff are living on campus as well. I think that's what makes us pretty unique, and I think that's what kind of adds to the fabric in the community of Suwannee. So again, just giving you all some Swanee information. But again, these are very general things and very general questions that.
You definitely need to ask all the colleges that you are looking at and that are kind of on your list.
And then what varsity or club? Or in a mural sports are available? If this is important to you, it's important to know this information, and even if you're not looking to actively play a lot of the times, varsity sports can have a huge impact on the school culture. An on school spirit, and so if you know going to games is always something that you've envisioned doing. It's also important to ask these kind of questions and so at Swanee, we have 24 Division Three teams, and so I would definitely say we have.
Useful spirit and about 30% of our student body are athletes, and so it's important to know that there's always going to be opportunities for you to get involved. We also have club and Intermural sports, so if sports is something that you're interested in, there's definitely those opportunities for you to get involved. And if you are just looking to actively go to games or kind of have that experience in your college.
And here you also have that opportunity at swine. Alright, so a few other things to consider. So these are some other things that you can consider when you were looking at in researching colleges and universities. So cost cost is a huge thing and I have not talked about this yet, but this is something that you definitely need to consider and something that you definitely need to think about as you are building your list of colleges and so knowing what merit scholarships are available and how they are awarded is very important.
And so some universities have certain deadlines for scholarships. So you have to apply by a certain date in order to be considered for their scholarships. Some schools have separate applications for scholarships. Some schools have certain scholarships for certain majors or certain programs or certain degrees, and so it's really important to just understand that and make sure that you are aware of all scholarship opportunities and that you don't miss out on any in the application process.
And then also you know you'll need to have that conversation with your parents about the colleges you can afford about your family's financial situation. And then you. Also, you know, I would. I always tell students not to count out any schools based on a sticker price cost because you know, it's really important. If that's cool, is high on your list, you can always apply under a non binding option found direct option and then you can just wait the scholarships in a financial aid package that you do receive. So it's important to make sure that you are meeting all deadlines that you're filling out financial aid documents.
Because you always have that and you always have time to kind of review that information before you make a final decision.
So again, it's just really important to note that here at Suwannee we are a school that meets full need, So what that means is we require the fast food. This CSS profile when you apply and so these are two kind of financial aid applications that are going to. We are our financial aid office is going to look at in order to consider you for a dexa Lonnie and so merit scholarships. That process happens automatically when you apply. We're automatically looking at you for merit scholarships and awarding those based on your application.
But then, financial aid is a separate piece and that is something that we do meet full demonstrated need. So based on those forms we are meeting full need with a mixture of merit, aid, grants, loans and other things that you may be eligible for. So it's important to just understand what is available at the schools that you're applying to, and you know, don't put this off until the last minute and just really get as much information as you can.
That way you and your family can make really informed decisions that that worked well, because fit is not just about that place you love. It's also about it being a great fit financially for for you and your family, and so diversity diversity is huge as well. And So what does diversity look like on campus? That's a question to ask yourself what percentage of our student body is international? What's the male to female ratio and then? What initiatives have schools put into place to support such diversity?
These are all things that you can ask an it's important to be aware of when you are going through your college search, you know, and so here at Swanee you know we have students from 30 other countries. 80% of our students come from outside the state of Tennessee. We definitely have a pretty diverse student body. We always are striving to increase that diversity on campus. But it's important to really ask those questions and no kind of what's going on on the campuses that you're applying to.
Upper development what career services are available? Do they have a Career Center? How many students get internships? What opportuities are available for you as a student on that campus? And then it's important to kind of know information on their outcomes as well. So how many students do secure a job within six months of graduation and then, like I mentioned earlier, what are the acceptance rates into business schools along medical or other Graduate School programs? If these are things that you were thinking about if going to Med school is something that you know.
Is important to you, then it's important to ask those kind of questions, for example, and so just understanding what things are available. Because you know colleges.
It's definitely up. Academics is definitely about the social aspect, but it's also about preparing you as a full person to really be ready to go out into the workforce. And So what kind of career development or professional development opportunities are there going to be for you at that school is really, really important. And then are there any special programs? So if studying abroad is something that you want to do does, that's cool, have it. How do they make it affordable for their students? Are there any honors programs that you can apply for in the application?
Process or once you are a student and there are there any other academic programs based on your major or interest? If you are a dancer, do they have dance teams? If you are a musician, do they have opportunities for you to play or being an orchestra or band? You know it's just really important to consider those things. The things that you enjoy doing right now. It's important for you to be able to continue those and to know if that school has those things that you're looking for.
OK, and so lastly ways to gather information and so we went through a lot of things to consider questions to ask yourself as you're going through the college search process. But really, it's important. How do you actually gather that information? We are in weird times. You know, with COVID it's things are getting a little bit better, which which I'm very thankful for. But you know, it's still can be limited, you know. And so if you are not able to physically visit campuses that you're interested in at this point.
You can do an gather a lot of information virtually so that is the one nice thing that has come out of all of this. I think. Is that a lot of schools and a lot of you know universities have kind of upped their virtual offerings and the way that students can find information virtually in, you know, reaching out to admission counselors and things like that. So college websites. That's always an amazing place to start. Start on the college website for example. Our website at Suwannee has pretty much anything and everything you would.
Want to know about Celani? You can probably find it on that website and so you know if you are interested in the psychology program and you want to see a breakdown of all of the courses that you would take over the four years and any opportunities that you have for internships, you can find all of that on our website. For example, if you want to get more information about study abroad, you can find that on our website and so on. Our website, for example, we have a really full search bar. It's a little magnifying glass that you'll see on the right hand corner of the Swanee home page.
And you can type pretty much anything into there and find the information that you need, so a college website is a great great place to start using your support network, so your college counselor. They are very, very knowledgeable about colleges and universities. That is their job. They can help you suggest universities to you. Like we mentioned, there are so many there are thousands of schools just in the United States alone, let alone you know, not even considering schools that are outside of the state. There are so many schools to choose from and a lot of the times your college counselor is going to be very knowledgeable.
Of those universities, and they're also going to know a little bit about you and what may be a great fit for you. So I'd say if your college counselor is suggesting any schools to you, it's because they know you may know how you learn best, how you work best. They know what kind of things you're interested in, an even if it's a school that you haven't heard of, I would say take their recommendations and do your own research and really kind of get to see. Get to know that school and see if it could be a great fit for you. Mentors, other folks that you know, teachers, coaches. They can also be a great place to start.
Again, because they know you and they may know where you may do well your family as well so you know, thinking of where families are looking at and where families have where your family members have went to school or just again them knowing you and knowing where you might be interested in. So that's a great place to start. They can also help you if you help you sift through information they can help you attend college visits, you know all of those kinds of things, so use your support network as you're going through this process.
Reach out to college admission counselors. I cannot stress this enough. So college admission counselors, that's me. That's all of my colleagues in the office of admission at Suwannee. This is what we do and this is what we are here for. I know that the college process can be very daunting. It can be overwhelming at times, even stressful at times, but it's also very fun. You get to visit all these college campuses and you know kind of embark on this new journey. So it definitely has its ups and downs but.
We are pretty much experts in all facets of it, so reached out to your college admission counselor. That's what we're here for here at celani, we take one on one appointments with students. We are available by email, by phone and just really happy to help. Pretty much every step of the process. So even if you're not quite ready to you know, apply just yet, or you're just still at the information gathering stage. Reach out to us. We are happy to help and really happy to get you any information that you may need.
So we're definitely kind of there to be your point person throughout the process, so reach out to us and use us. I promise that's that's what we're here for. An 10 virtual events like this one like you're doing right now, so this is a great way to get to know the school. And so I know that this is a pretty general one. Our tiger tips are pretty general really. Just to help you in the process, and so hopefully you've learned a little bit about Swanee here in there in this session. But these again are intended to be a lot more general, but we do have information sessions that we host.
On a regular basis and we have other things that are going to be a lot more Swanee specific. If you aren't interested in just gathering information about Suwannee, so you can always attend those virtually. We also will have those in person. You can visit campus. You can reach out to a current student, so those are all things that you can do as well. Also in the fall also admission counselors we are going to be traveling to your high schools so a lot of those visits were virtual in the past year. I think this year will start to see a few more in person ones.
Maybe college fairs in person again, but whether their virtual weather there in person you know you can meet with that college Rep when we visit your high school. Again, that's what we're there for, is to kind of bring the school to you an answer. Any questions that you have about the process admission life at, you know, that's cool. Anything like that and so meet with us when we scheduled business at your high school and then college fairs. I know college fairs are a lot sometimes, and they can be overwhelming. But again, that's.
Natalie
02:31:58 PM
Do you have any recommendations of any databases to start the search? I know what I'm looking for but I don't know how to narrow down all of the colleges that are out there. My college counselor isn't especially involved, so I feel somewhat overwhelmed!
Us coming right to you and that is a great time to learn more about the school to get more information and to really just, you know, take this time over the summer to gather all the information that you can so that you're well prepared when you go into the college search process.
Alright, so it looks like we do have a question which is great so please feel free if you have questions, pop them in the chat so this question says do you have any recommendations of the databases to start the search? I know what I'm looking for but I don't know how to narrow down all of the colleges that are out there. My college counselor isn't especially involved, so sometimes so I feel somewhat overwhelmed. That is a great point and I know that depending on the school that you are at, your college counselor you know could have. You could have one counselor for the entire grade or.
You know two councils for the entire grade, and it can sometimes be hard to kind of get that one on one, and so I do understand that, and so if your school uses any has any resources your college counseling office will be aware of them, so you could always ask them if they have any specific specific databases, but they are really great tools online as well, like Fastweb College College Board website, really? I mean a break. Google Search would find.
Would help you find some of those opportunities for searching online, but really I would say even if your college counselor can't sit with you one on one, hopefully they would have some resources and some databases that you all could use. Especially like if you all use Navionics or anything like that. Those are all really, really great resources to kind of. Start your search in, but on the College Board website Fastweb is great as well.
And so it's some other opportunities online, but a break Google search can kind of help you.
Narrow that down a little bit, I would say.
Natalie
02:33:47 PM
Okay thank you!
Hey, any other questions? So we are at the end of the presentation and so really this is a great time for me to answer any questions that you all have about structuring the college. Search things to do.
It's good to note that our tiger tips will cover a lot of a lot of different things throughout the next few weeks on campuses. I'm sorry throughout the next few weeks, virtually, and so I am going to.
Lateishia Spencer
02:34:21 PM
https://new.sewanee.edu/admission-aid/tiger-tips/
In the website for the Tiger Tips, where you can find all of them, right now we are just on tiger tip #2, so there's a lot more that will come your way. They are coming out weekly and so if you missed the first one, the first one was just a blog with a lot of admissions lingo things that you words that you may always hear, or things that you will start to hear in the process and they may be wondering, OK, what exactly does that mean? So you can always go and take a look at that and then we will have 10 tiger tips in total throughout the summer so.
That is where this website that I just dropped in is where you will be able to find those again. All of the sessions will be recorded, some will be podcast, some will be blog posts and some will be these sessions that you are in right now. So all of those things will live on that website. So if you ever miss one throughout the week, you can always go there to hear the reporting or be linked to the podcast or the blog post, but they're really great sessions to really just kind of help you throughout the summer. Get more information on everything.
I'm writing your essay to creating your common app and to financial aid and everything in between and so these are really great tips to just kind of help you throughout the process. Again, if you're looking for more Swanee specific information, you can find that on our visit webpage we do have virtual information sessions. We have virtual tours. We have opportunities for you to connect with current students, and then we are also having tours in person as well. Like I also mentioned our mission staff, we are taking one on one appointments.
Lateishia Spencer
02:36:06 PM
https://new.sewanee.edu/admission-aid/admission-counselors/
So if you are just really, really ready to get a jump start on things, you have questions at this point over the summer. You can always schedule an appointment with us, so I am going to also pop the link in the chat for our admissions staff.
So that second link is where you could go. You can put in your high school and you will be able to find your high school state and you will be able to find your admission counselor. The person that you can work with directly throughout the process. So again, please if you have questions, put them in the chat. I will hang around for a little bit. This session was slated to go for an hour, but I figured we wouldn't take the whole time, so I am here. If you have any questions, I'm happy, happy to answer that. If not, I thank you so much for coming and tuning in, and I hope that you.
Found some good takeaways throughout this session and and feel empowered. You kind of know where to start and what questions to ask throughout your college search. So again, there's definitely way more things that you can do and explore. My advice if you are visiting colleges is try to talk with current students and and really kind of see their experience.
And then I would say just definitely do that or. But if you can do exploring on your own as well, just get to know the place, get to know the neighborhood, get to know the city if it's a city that you are not from, and really just trying to get a full experience while you were on that campus to really see if it's someplace that you would be able to spend four years.
Crystal
02:37:35 PM
does sewanee provide full tuition scholarships for international students?
While you are a student there and again we are here. The admission counselors are here and we are able to help with any questions that you have.
Alright, another great question. So does Suwannee provide full tuition scholarships for international students? Yes, we do. So we only have we have.
So our scholarships. We have scholarships that range most of our scholarships range from 5000 to 30,000, and so that's where most of our students will fall on our merit scholarship. However, we do have two more premier scholarships that include full cost of attendance and one is full tuition. So each year one student is selected for our full cost of attendance, scholarship and then a few more students are selected for our full tuition scholarship.
So those are definitely very competitive, and so it is available for all students and is not just limited for domestic students, and so it's it's available to all students that are applying to the university. We also do have our meeting full need option does apply to an international students as well. You would need to fill out a different form, not the fast food, but you would fill out a different application for financial aid, but you do still have that opportunity as well. Of course, it's definitely going to be competitive for aid.
that is something that is available again to international students as well.
William
02:38:54 PM
I have heard of the word "programs" thrown around a lot, but I'm still not sure what it means. Could you clarify?
Yes, this is a great question. I've heard the word programs thrown around, but I'm still not sure what it means. Could you clarify? Absolutely, and I thank you so much for asking that question because this just goes to show that sometimes we you know are just doing this work and we're just throwing these words around and we don't. We're so familiar with them, but not really understanding that.
It's they're not common. They're not common words, so that's such a great question for you to ask. So programs usually means major typically, so it's usually the major that you are selecting. So when I say we have different programs, it really just means majors or minors. Some there could be some other things that are programs as well, so like.
Program could kind of mean something like a pre professional program or a track that we have. So let's say that you are a biology major, but then you also want to be in the on the pre Med track. Some people may call that the premed program someone may call that you know the medical program. So really program just means like academic program, but more specifically it usually just means major and so those are some things that are just used interchangeably.
But program usually just means major academic major. So whatever it is that you want to major in or whatever program you're looking to go into, that's usually what that means.
Emma
02:40:25 PM
Would you mind going over the main differences between colleges and universities (especially if they both have a smaller amount of students) in general?
Great question. So would you mind going over the differences between colleges and universities, especially if they both have smaller amount of students in general? Really these terms are pretty interchangeable. These pretty much mean the same thing. There is not one thing that's kind of considered a university or college, it's just some schools have College in the name. Some have university in the name and so it's just colleges and universities. But these these terms are pretty interchangeable and pretty much mean the same thing.
They're just used differently depending on the school and whether the name says university or the name says college.
Ishrak
02:41:07 PM
Is there any opportunities for Cricket at Sewanee campus?
Let's see, are there any?
Emma
02:41:15 PM
Perfect, thank you!!
Are there any opportunities for cricket at Celani on campus? That's a great question. So really right now I do not think we have a cricket team on campus is definitely a possibility of something that you could start. It's just about having enough students that would be interested in it as well. But currently I I don't think that we have cricket on campus and that is a great question.
And if you are confused, it is kind of like a moderated chat. So when your questions come in, I have to see them and approve them first, and then that's what makes them pop into the chat. So if you're asking a question and you don't see it right away, that's just why.
But again, feel free to ask any other questions that you have.
Lateishia Spencer
02:42:07 PM
https://new.sewanee.edu/admission-aid/admission-counselors/the-passing-hello/
I will plug in because that was such a great question about the programs I will plug in this. This was the blog post that went out last week and this was about.
Learning the lingo and so that was such a great question to ask, and really sometimes it's overwhelming it. It's hard to understand, so this link that I just put in there. I mean, there's tons of articles online about it, but this link I put in there is just a very very, very long blog post that has pretty much every a lot of common terms that we use in the admission cycle.
It really just kind of common things that we say in in use a lot of colleges and universities, but may not be so common to you as you're starting the process. So that is just a great place to kind of start. You could always bookmark that and go back later, but there is a lot of definitions on there that may help.
Crystal
02:43:04 PM
is it okay for international students to apply for early admissions ?
Great question, so this says are there. Is it OK for international students to apply for early admission? Absolutely so we have different options on in terms of applying to university, so we have early action and we have regular decision. So early action is a non binding option. So early action you apply. Earlier you find out your decision earlier but you're not kind of bound to attend the university. Early decision is a early option that we have that many schools have.
But that is a binding contract option, and so I would say we have early decision one and we have early decision two and so I would say that early decision is a great option and I would give this advice to anyone, not just international students. It's important to understand that early action is a commitment and so you know you would literally sign a contract in your admission. Sorry your college counselor would signed it in your parent or guardian would sign it as well, just basically saying that.
If you are admitted to the university, then you are required to attend, so I always tell students that that is a great option for you. Know students and families if you for one know for sure without a doubt that you want to attend that university, but also that you are financially prepared to you know, pay what it may cost to attend that university. Again, we are school that meets full need and so that applies to all students across the board, the gamut, but.
Ishrak
02:45:09 PM
If not there I'll surely be forming a team on cricket when I come to Sewanee.
We always tell students you know that binding contract option is not necessarily continued on what kind of scholarship you get, or you know what your financial aid package looks like. So it's important to just really be aware of finances and be OK with that school financially. If you were admitted because then you're going to be required to attend no matter what your scholarships look like no matter what your financial aid package look like. So it's important to just know that, and so you can definitely apply.
Early, but just kind of knowing that information is going to be crucial, but early action is a great way to apply. The deadline is December 1st for us. You find out a lot. You find out kind of sooner in the process early into the new year, and then you kind of have that out of the way. But it's non binding so you can find out if you're admitted. You can then find out what scholarship you got. Well, your financial aid package looks like and then you kind of have some wiggle room in terms of.
When you find all of that information now and when you have to make your decision, so you could always find that information out and then kind of weight your options, so those are both 2 great options.
But it's just important to kind of know the difference between them.
Ishrak
02:45:55 PM
Is the early action acceptance rate high as much as early decision?
Alright, is the early action acceptance rate as high as early decision? That's a great question, so are exceptions. We overall is last year was about 47%, and really that that is across the board, so our high acceptance rate for early decision is usually a little bit higher. I'm strictly because those are much smaller pools and not as many students are applying in them, but also it is we are school that looks at demonstrated interest. I mean that is like.
The ultimate, you know way to show your interest in in university and so it definitely is taken into consideration. But we are not necessarily looking at students differently. We're still looking at students the same no matter which application option you choose. But I will say that it's you know first wannian. For other universities it could get more competitive as the as the options go on. So let's say you know if you're choosing between early action and regular decision.
If that is a school that is high on your list, I always advise to apply early unless you have a reason that's really going to strengthen your application. If you wait so a reason for that, maybe if you know that you're doing really, really well in school, the first half and you don't want to apply by December 1st because you know that your grades are going to come out in January and they're going to be amazing, and that will really strengthen your application, then applying regular decision might be a really great option, because then we can look at those grades that you did.
Really, all your first half senior year and take that into consideration. Another great option that will strengthen your application is if you are applying with test scores or you applying to school. That's not test optional and you are retaking that test sometime in there and you won't have decision your scores back until you know the regular decision deadline and that is definitely also a great option if you do a lot better on that test or something like that. That can definitely striking the application, but other than that if you're just looking to kind of.
Wait it out or have more time to apply. I always suggest to apply early because things can definitely get more competitive as we get into the later options because we've already admitted students from 3 application rounds before that one. So it just depends. It depends on the pool, but you know it's always kind of a safe bet applying earlier.
Crystal
02:48:23 PM
okay, thank you!
Ishrak
02:48:25 PM
What opportunities may I find at Sewanee using the 13000 acres massive Domain? How many professional sports fields are there at Sewanee?
Alright, these are great questions. Keep them timing So what opportunities may you find at celani using the 13,000 acre massive domain? That's a great question. How many professional sport fields are there at Swanee? These are great questions, so yes, so 1 E we have a pretty large campus, so if you're not aware, our campus is 13,000 acres which actually makes us the second largest college campus in the entire country. And so it's a really cool living and.
And learning laboratory that you are able to take advantage of and so you can do so much within our domain. So if you are interested in the environment at all, if you are interested in the outdoors, we have 13 likes on campus, we have a Swanee outing program that does things like weekly hikes and you can go mountain biking and canoeing and fishing and cave diving. You know we have so many opportunities for you, just kind of get involved in the outside and in nature.
We also have a university farm as well, so if you are interested in doing work at the farm, if you are interested in growing your own vegetables or anything like that, you have that opportunity. We have an equestrian center as well. We have some students work out there at the farm. I'm sorry at the equestrian center with our horses, so there's just so many kind of different niche opportunities. Whether you're involved in research, whether you are really involved in environmental programs, or interested in environmental programs.
Whether you just like being out in nature, you want to go hiking. We have a really cool perimeter trail that our students like to do. It's kind of a bucket list item for some of our students before they graduate. They they say like I want to tackle their perimeter trail. I was talking with a student recently who has done the perimeter trail two times. Believe it or not. And so the perimeter trail is over 20 miles and it's kind of like a hiking trail that goes around the entire campus.
But in total we have over 60 miles of hiking trails. So even if this is not something that you know you've ever done, you have all these opportunities to try really cool new things at Suwannee. And so yeah, you have this 13,000 acre campus and domain to kind of do it all in so there's tons and tons of opportunity.
These are great great questions and again feel free to use the links that I have put in here. If you are wanting to connect with admission counselors. If you have any other questions you don't want to ask in this large group setting, you can always reach out to your admissions counselor and they would be happy to answer any questions that you have.
And really just provide you with additional information no matter where you are in the college search process.
Ishrak
02:51:27 PM
Does attending virtual sessions like these demonstrate interest properly?
Alright, so I don't see any other questions right now. If you have any others I will. I will definitely stick around until you know the end of the hour. Great, we have another one. So if does attending virtual sessions like these demonstrate interest properly, that's a great question. And yes, this is definitely one way to demonstrate interest. This is a way for you to learn more about the university and or just learn more about college processes and things like that. And then we can see the things that you are involved in and do. And those are definitely.
Great ways to show interest throughout the process. And so, as I mentioned, when we are reviewing applications, it's a holistic process we're looking at so many different things. We're looking at your entire application, not just your grades and your test scores, but we're looking at you as a student in your entire application and demonstrated interest is something that we look at. I always tell students it will not make or break an application. You know, someone who is, you know, not quite at the level of being admitted.
It had tons of interest. It doesn't necessarily mean that they will and then someone who is an amazing student and definitely will be admitted. It doesn't mean that they won't be admitted if they have not shown any interest, so again, it doesn't make or break an application, but it can definitely help, and I think it can. We are the kind of school that thrives on community. We have a small and close knit community, so we're not just looking for you know, students to fill seats. We want to find students that are going to be.
Great members of our community and so we always kind of say the thing like we are inviting people to our dinner table. You know, that's the kind of place that Sony is and so really we just love to get to know you throughout the process. It's more so us being able to get to know you and read an application. And you know, get an application that comes across my screen. And I say, hey, I know that person you know or I remember the conversation we had in August or whatever the case may be.
Again, it's just finding great community members and so that's really the main reason for demonstrated interest. And then also it's for you to learn more about the university. That way if you do apply and you do attend, you do decide to attend. You know who we are as an institution, and you know that it's a great fit for you, and I think that that just all around adds to a great community. So again, that's really kind of where that demonstrated interest ties in. It's not necessarily we want to see students just doing things and checking boxes and just signing up for.
Things for the heck of it, but we really want students who are engaged in the process and we really want to get to know you. So that's kind of what the demonstrated interest is. But yes, doing things like this, it doesn't mean you know if you do not have the opportunity to get to campus. That is not going to count against you. You can reach out to your mission counselors. You can do virtual events. All of those things.
Ishrak
02:54:11 PM
How would the Admissions Officer come to know that I've demonstrated interest into the College? Does the Admissions Counsellors who conduct the events inform the AOs?
Alright, so it says. How would the admission officer come to know that I've demonstrated interest into the college? Does the admission counselors for conduct defense inform the admission officers? That's a great. That's a great point. So so for example, I am an admission officer here at the university, but we have a system that we can see all of those things. So you have kind of like an application record so you know it's a place where we can see we can see the events that you've attended. Or you know.
Things like that. So all of that is kind of, you know, you don't have to worry if you've registered for an event and then you logged on and attended it. That's automatically kind of marked in your file in your applicant file, so we're able to see those kinds of things. So even if it wasn't so, like for example. Again, like I mentioned, I work with students in like Maryland, DC and Virginia. You know, in Delaware, in New Jersey. And so if you don't live in those areas in your on this video chat on this, sorry.
Virtual event that's OK because it's we're going to be able to see in your record that you registered and attended this, no matter who your admission counselor is, so you don't always have to only do things with your admission counselor. But again, like I mentioned, all of us host one on one appointments, and so if you are interested in getting to know your specific admission counselor or them getting to know you, then that would be a great way to do it. We are doing those virtually so you can have a phone call with our mission staff or you can do it over zoom so you have that option. If you're really just wanting to.
Get to know your admission counselor. You know. Kind of 1 on one, but you can sign up for anything and all of our staff are very knowledgeable and able to kind of help and answer any questions that you have.
I'm so glad that you guys are tuned in. I'm so glad you're asking so many amazing questions.
Ishrak
02:56:26 PM
What should be an ideal SAT score for an international student for being considered for scholarships/Financial Aid if I want to submit scores inspire of the test optional policy?
OK, and there is another question perfect so this one is about SAT scores.
Sorry, let's see. I will see ideal essay T score for an international student being considered for scholarship financial aid. If you want to submit scores.
I'm guessing instead of the test optional policy, so that's a great question. So universitywide our average for the essay T is a 1242A1370 that is our average from the past year, and so I always tell students to really be competitive. You should be within that range to be super competitive. You would be at the top end of that range or even higher. So really, that's the middle 50% of students who did submit their test scores.
They fell within a 1240 and a 1370. Now that does mean that we did admit 25% of students that fell below those numbers in 25% of students that fell above those numbers. Now for our international students, if you are wanting to be considered for scholarship and financial aid, that is definitely pretty competitive and so I would say that you definitely would want to strive to be at the top end of that range if not higher than that range. And so again test optional is a great.
An option you know for students, and so when it comes to the AC T in case any students on here are thinking of that, our average is a 28 to a 30. So again 25% of students that we admit bubble below those numbers, 25 were percent were above those numbers, and so it's really just important to understand where our average is fall and that can really help you make an informed decision on whether or not you want to submit test scores. But again, our most competitive applicants who do submit test scores are going to fall within that range.
Be again near the top are on top of that range or even above that range, and so if you do not fall within that range are near that range. Sometimes you can have a stronger application if you choose not to submit test scores, and so in that case we would mainly be focusing for the academic piece. We would mainly be focusing on your grades, the kind of courses you're taking in the grades that you're getting. And so I meet a lot of students who do very well academically and are just not great test takers.
And so you know, doing very well academically and then submitting a score that is pretty low from or pretty off from this range can make your application not as strong because even though we are test optional, if you submit that test for then it's going to be used in the admission process. So sometimes that application is stronger if a student chooses not to submit it again, you will still be considered all the same for scholarships for admission, and so it does not disadvantage you at all to apply test optional.
So that is definitely important to note, and it's important to just think about that in the same context. For any schools that you're looking at, know what their averages are in terms of GPA or average GPA of the students that we admit is at 3.7 and so it's just important to know know these averages. Know where you fall in terms of kind of what that school is looking for, and then if there are test, optional and you don't feel that your test your test scores are great representation of your ability to do well as a student then.
Feel free to leave those off because of a school is test optional they they mean it, but it's important to know if a school is truly test optional or if they still before our test scores for scholarships. You know these are all great questions to ask here at Suwannee we are truly test optional. You can apply without test scores and you will still be considered for merit scholarships. But for some schools you can apply test optional but in order to be considered for scholarships you may have to submit test scores or you know you may have to submit them for certain programs. So it's really important to ask those kind of questions.
Just, you know, in the light of the session that we are in researching colleges and universities. That's another great thing to think about and to really be aware of as you're going through that research process.
Emma
03:00:41 PM
Do most schools allow you to "mix and match" your test scores, specifically ACT? For example, attempt #1 math and science with attempt #2 writing and reading?
Alright, do most schools allow you to mix and match your test scores? Simply acto. Yeah, that's a great question, so that's what we call super scoring, and so it's important to ask the school if they super score your test scores and so here at Suwannee. The answer is yes to that we are school that super scores so you can take the AC T 7 times you know it doesn't matter how many times you take it, we will look every time and look to see what your highest.
Or is for each section we will pull out those higher scores and we put the high schoolers altogether for a new composite score. So that is super scoring, so it's important when you are researching schools to ask if they super score if a school does not super score then you would not be able to make some Max. You just have to submit one score that is the highest and that's what you'll have to go with. If a school does not super score. But if they do then you'll be able to mix and match.
And and you'll be good to go. You usually can just submit them all. The school will super score them for you. And then for example here at Suwannee, I don't even know how many times you've taken these tests. By the time I get to read the application. So by the time an application comes to me you could have taken the AC T5 times. I have no idea, I only see it super score because when you submit all five of those we have folks in our office that our operations staff. They automatically super score it and it just goes into your file as one score.
Emma
03:02:30 PM
Yay, thank you!
So again, take the test, take it over, take it again. A lot of the times in Mission staff we don't even see how many times you've taken it. So that of course would never. You know, disadvantage you in any way, and it can always help your chances of getting a better overall score. So yes, yes, that's called super scoring and be sure to ask about that as well.
Lateishia Spencer
03:03:01 PM
laspence@sewanee.edu
Alright, so I don't see any more questions for the sake of time we are over on the hour again. I'll stick around for a little bit if anyone has any other questions, but thank you all so so much for coming and for asking really great questions and I hope you got a lot out of the session. I will put my email in the chat as well just in case anyone wants to follow up with me or ask any other questions, but again you can use one of the links that I put in there before. If you are wanting to connect with your admission counselor specifically. If that is not me.
Ann, and so I am happy to answer any questions you have. I'm happy to get you connected with your admission counselor if it's not me. Feel free to reach out and I'm so happy and so thankful that you guys tuned in a lot of you know we're on summer vacation already, so I love that you are doing these things and getting a jump start on the college application season. And we're here, we're here. If you have any questions here at Swanee. So thank you all so so much again. I'll stick around for just a little bit in case any.
Questions come in but you guys are free to log off if if you don't have any other questions so thank you so much for tuning in.
Emma
03:03:50 PM
This was all so helpful--thank you so much for doing this!
Toluwani
03:03:51 PM
This session was enlightening. Thank you very much!
Abigail
03:03:51 PM
Thank you!
Thank you all for attending.
Mahesh
03:04:16 PM
Thank you very much!