business - College Admission Counseling

Educational Consultant Reviews Wake Forest University in North Carolina

Jared Hobson — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 14:08:07 +0000

Mark Montgomery, expert college admissions advisor and educational consultant, reviews Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. At just under 5,000 students, Wake Forest is a medium-sized university. And features Division I sports, great academics, strong departments, and a beautiful campus to boot. Mark recommends that anyone interested in attending college in the South take a look at Wake Forest University.

TRANSCRIPT:

We are now on the campus of Wake Forest University. A beautiful park-like campus completely fenced in located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Architecturally harmonious with kind of a soft, tan brick, you can see the library behind me.

A few things to know about Wake Forest

It is one of the top universities in the South. It has Division I sports. One of the smaller Division I sports universities in the United States, and very, very competitive athletically; solid academics all around; it has just about under 5,000 students; and a variety of really strong departments including a business school.

Facilities

Also, I think a few things that I am really impressed with are the facilities. They everywhere they took us on the tour. Of course, they take us to the nicest buildings, the nicest dorm, the nicest classroom buildings. But clearly they invest money in the facilities. I also have to notice the landscaping is absolutely phenomenal. Housing here, the dormitories are required for students for the first three years and then guaranteed for four.

Greek Life

In addition Fraternities and sororities are big here. About 40% of the students belong to fraternities and sororities, but they are integrated into the housing system. They do not have a separate Greek row or Greek houses. The Greek organizations are actually based in the dormitories themselves in college-owned space. So, that probably helps ensure that the parties do not get too wild because the college can keep an eye on things, at least the facilities here (who knows what happens off-campus, of course), and a strong performing arts that even the non-major can be involved with.

This is really a nice-sized university, academically challenging, in a beautiful location, and a nice city. I have been really impressed with it. I had a great tour here. The one thing I will say, too, that I was interested in was listening to the information session. They really personalized it.

The guy who was giving it personalized it very much and gave a lot of examples from his own experience as a student here, and that really helped I think make it much more of a compelling presentation rather than just ripping off a gazillion facts and figures, so it is interesting to take these information sessions and see what different colleges do, and they make it more personal by not just a spewing of the facts, so that was cool.

A very impressive place, I enjoyed my visit here very much, and I am going to take another quick look around, and talk to a librarian, and see what else I can learn. If you are looking for a medium-sized university in the South with great academic opportunities, as well Division I sports, Wake Forest is a great place to check out.

Mark Montgomery
Expert Educational Consultant

The post Educational Consultant Reviews Wake Forest University in North Carolina first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Drake University – Great Internship Options Through Local Graduates and Businesses

Jared Hobson — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:00:12 +0000

When considering colleges, it is always important to think about getting that practical experience. Internships during college are a great way to test out the fields you are interested. One of the best ways to get an internship during college is to connect with someone who graduated from the university you are attending and works in the field you are pursuing. During a recent visit to Drake University, in Des Moines Iowa, I had a chance to learn a little bit about how their proximity to Des Moines, and their large local alumni base, helps students get internships.
I also talked to two current students about why they chose to attend Drake University. One student mentioned their great business program and the other student mentioned the excitement around Drake Relays.
p.s. Apologies for the sound of traffic in the background of the video!
p.p.s Three guesses of the Drake mascot? I tried to find as many bulldogs as possible during my visit.

The post Drake University – Great Internship Options Through Local Graduates and Businesses first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Drexel University–A Professional Education For the Self-Directed

Jared Hobson — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:28:36 +0000

Drexel University, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is professionally oriented university. In this short video, Mark introduces what makes Drexel different from many other universities. The bottom line: if you have no idea what you want to major in, then Drexel is not likely the best place for you. Drexel best suits students who know what they are seeking from their college education.

Or, if you prefer, you can read the transcript below.
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

*****************
I’m here on the campus of Drexel University in Philadelphia and I just got finished with a conversation with an Associate Director of Admission and I was asking about a lot of different things including financial aid and the kinds of programs, the majors that are strong and weak here and I said, “Well, so what kind of student belongs here” and she said, “You know, it’s the student who really knows what they want out of college, that they really have decided what they want and can hit the ground running”.
Drexel is a place where you do need to declare your major before you come in. There are many campuses in the United States, including many of the state universities, where you really don’t need to decide upon entry what your major’s going to be. Here at Drexel it is important. This is a professionally oriented university. It has a co-op program so there are a series of internships. You could take up as many as three six month internships while you’re here, extending your undergraduate experience by a year to make a full five years but it doesn’t cost anymore and you get all of that professional experience along the way. So the student who is really going to do well at Drexel is the student who: number one, really wants an urban environment because this is Philadelphia but also the student who is very well directed, who wants the kind of education that is going to prepare for a certain set of professions and that they have clearly defined professional goals because that s what Drexel is set up to do.
It’s not the place for the really undecided; kind of I want to explore kind of kid. It’s for the student who understands what they want and that Drexel is one way that they can get it.

The post Drexel University–A Professional Education For the Self-Directed first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

Drexel University Offers Strong Programs For Students Who Know What They Want

Jared Hobson — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:16:05 +0000

Visiting campuses and talking to professors, librarians, admissions representatives, and individual students can really help me to understand what sorts of students a particular college or university is seeking. Such visits help me identify clients who might–or might not–fit at particular places.
A recent visit to Drexel in Philadelphia helped to reinforce the fact that Drexel is a strong, professionally-oriented university that is best for those who know what they want out of their higher education.
This short video explains the educational mission of Drexel, and helps to describe the sorts of students that would be a good fit at Drexel. If you prefer, you can read the transcript below.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant
***************
Transcription:
I’m here on the campus of Drexel University in Philadelphia, and I just got finished with a conversation with an Associate Director of Admission. I was asking about a lot of different things including financial aid and the kinds of programs, the majors that are strong and weak here, and I said, “Well, so what kind of student belongs here.” And she said, “You know, it’s the student who really knows what they want out of college, that they really have decided what they want and can hit the ground running”.
Drexel is a place where you do need to declare your major before you come in. There are many campuses in the United States, including many of the state universities, where you really don’t need to decide upon entry what your major’s going to be. Here at Drexel it is important. This is a professionally oriented university. It has a co-op program so there are a series of internships. You could take up as many as three six month internships while you’re here, extending your undergraduate experience by a year to make a full five years. But it doesn’t cost any more, and you get all of that professional experience along the way. So the student who is really going to do well at Drexel is the student who: number one, really wants an urban environment, because this is Philadelphia but also the student who is very well directed, and who wants the kind of education that is going to prepare for a certain set of professions and that they have clearly defined professional goals because that s what Drexel is set up to do.
It’s not the place for the really undecided; kind of I want to explore kind of kid. It’s for the student who understands what they want and that Drexel is one way that they can get it.

The post Drexel University Offers Strong Programs For Students Who Know What They Want first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

How GroupTable Revolutionized the Way I Manage My Group Work

Jared Hobson — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:48:34 +0000

Alexandra Gramatikas is a loyal reader of our blog. She wrote in with the suggestion that many of our readers might be interested in how to improve their group work, whether in high school or graduate school. She is not a salesperson, nor a shill. Rather, she is sharing her experiences with others so that that they may benefit.
So I asked if she’d like to write a guest post. And she agreed. So here is her suggestion on how to improve group work: use GroupTable.
*****
The day that I finally decided to go back to school was also the day that I decided that “I was going to do things right.” When I initially departed for the next chapter in my career of education—the elusive college experience that every high school senior dreams about—I was excited about what I was going to be when I departed four years later. Well, that four years, came and went in the blink of an eye; and I was shocked when I primarily found myself happy that I was able to graduate on time! Between countless experiences that you are forced to navigate on your own for the first time, getting involved, keeping events and due dates in order, and a million and one other things that you are forced to balance, finishing on time was an accomplishment in itself—my diploma should read “Bachelors in Multi-tasking.” So when I made the decision to go back for my masters a year later, I wanted to make sure that I was prepared for the organization that would be demanded of me between both my full time work schedule and my courses.
The first semester was trying, as I suspected it would. Keeping track of work, social, and school life became my new pastime. The upside was that I was much better at prioritizing—my Saturdays were spent doing school work, rather than at the bar with friends. The downside, however, was a big down. In the Masters program, your fellow classmates are also working individuals—many with families—making it nearly impossible to meet or collaborate for group projects—which are a defining characteristic of the graduate program.
Group projects quickly became the bane of my existence in my first semester of graduate school.
Until, one of my group members in my second semester course suggested we use an online program called GroupTable. Immediately, I retorted that we should just use Google groups, or something similar. However, she insisted that GroupTable was the answer to our group project woes—and within a week, we were all praising her for her persistence.
GroupTable is a group collaboration software that allows you to effectively manage all of your group projects, study groups, organizations and any other groups looking to improve their productivity. We were able to:

Share and revise documents in our group’s online binder.
Assign tasks and deadlines to keep projects on track.
Create events where we can share meeting minutes, files and discussions pertaining to the event.
View our group calendar to see all upcoming tasks and events.
Meet virtually through GroupTable’s live chat, allowing us to communicate without having to be in one location.
Communicate through the group discussion board—enabling us to contribute on our own time, while organizing all our discussions in one spot. No more filtering through multiple email threads to find that file or comment from a group member.
Receive alerts via email each time an update was made.

GroupTable immediately improved the quality of life for each one of us. No longer was my Saturdays spent wasting time gathering multiple variations of papers, meeting in a distant location, or cleaning up the mess after a miscommunication over who was supposed to write what and when.
I loved GroupTable so much that I used its e-vite feature to invite my friends from undergrad to a group specifically for us, for our “Clown-cations” (inside joke). Now we’re able to coordinate all of our schedules—there are ten of us—to determine our next vacation! We’ve even placed this year’s football schedule into the calendar, and are commenting on the event “wall” to determine who is going to which game this year, and who will be responsible for what at the tailgate!
Not only has GroupTable allowed me to find organization among my school life, but it’s coordinating my social life as well. My group has already set up our classes for next semester, and my girlfriends and I have already determined who’s in charge of the air mattress and beer for the Oklahoma vs FSU game. The only thing that is frustrating about GroupTable is that I didn’t know about it in undergrad.
As someone who is getting a second round of practice on organizing multiple elements in life, my only advice is to utilize the tools around you—and for me, that tool is GroupTable.

You can learn more about Alexandra Gramatikas in the following ways:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandragramatikas
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AlexGramatikas

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

The post How GroupTable Revolutionized the Way I Manage My Group Work first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

University of Delaware

Jared Hobson — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:06:58 +0000

I recently visited the University of Delaware right around finals time. The campus was abuzz with activity. I took the opportunity to record some of my initial impressions in this short video.

If you prefer, you can read the transcript.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant

For a chuckle, you might also want to take a look at this visit from the University of Delaware’s admission office.

*************
I’m here right now on the campus of the University of Delaware. It’s in the far north of the state of Delaware, not too far from Philadelphia but also close to Baltimore. This is a wonderful public university, sort of a hidden gem, really, partly because Delaware is a small state.
I think about this school a lot when I talk to my Chinese students because it’s a large public university. There’s a lot going on. The DuPont building is right across the way, so, Chemistry is kind of big, certainly a comprehensive university.
The other thing that I like about it, it’s not so large. It’s also close to several different urban areas, but not right in them, so, you can feel a part in sort of the Ivory Tower, if you will, but certainly can get into some of the major metropolitan areas in the United States by train.
It’s just not as well known as the Universities of Virginia, Michigan, North Carolina, Berkley, UCLA, the usual suspects when it comes to public universities in the United States. So, if you’re looking for a comprehensive university that’s not overwhelmingly large but has a solid undergraduate education program, this is definitely worth a look. It’s gorgeous.
Again, I’m here on a nice spring day around the time of finals, but there are students out on the lawn and the downtown area, the little main street with all the funky cafes, lots of people and a lot of people are studying too. I see people going to the library behind me, so, a lot of people are heading that direction. A very nice university and I’m really glad I had a chance to visit myself.

The post University of Delaware first appeared on College Admission Counseling.

A Chinese Woman Majors in Accounting at the University of Wyoming

Jared Hobson — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:27:23 +0000

During my recent visit to the University of Wyoming, I met a woman from Suzhou, China, chattering away in Mandarin with a friend. I had learned that there were significant numbers of international students on the campus. In fact, my tour guide that day was from Zimbabwe.

But I wanted to learn a bit more about how this woman made her decision to attend the University of Wyoming. Below she explains.

I was impressed by two points she makes. First, accounting is accounting is accounting: it doesn’t really matter all that much where you study accounting, as long as you learn the principles of accounting and are able to use those skills. So this woman chose her university based more on location, the price, and the general safety of the campus-factors that were most important to her and her family.

Second, this emphasis on price is especially important for international students, who may be unable to apply for financial aid. So international students often are keenly aware of the value of their education. The University of Wyoming offers an outstanding value in this respect, as another Wyoming student pointed out to me in an interview.

Mark Montgomery

College Consultant

Technorati Tags: Wyoming, China, Suzhou, university, college, BA, USA, accounting, consultant Del.icio.us Tags: Wyoming, China, Suzhou, university, college, BA, USA, accounting, consultant

The post A Chinese Woman Majors in Accounting at the University of Wyoming first appeared on College Admission Counseling.