North Carolina: three days, five colleges

Elon University

A classic New England campus in the south, with new buildings designed to fit with the original 1889 “neighborhood.” Happy students (many from the northeast) choose business, education, arts and sciences, and Elon’s communications program, which is consistently top-ranked, along with its study abroad. No need to choose a major till sophomore year. ABET-accredited engineering program in beautiful new building; D1 sports, Greek life (spring rush); direct-entry nursing.

Wake Forest University

Rain shortened my tour but I met with our longtime NJ rep. He clarified the rolling admission policy: apply after August 1st but don’t delay. Answer those creative essay questions and schedule your interview (choose the latter only if you are enthusiastic and driven academically). Wake’s sprawling, wooded campus features formal gardens and a new wellbeing center. STEM students study in their own modern downtown Winston Salem campus. Traditions and culture abound, and D1 Demon Deacons games draw crowds, especially for basketball.

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

The oldest US public university, founded in 1793, UNC is a dream school for many. Downtown Chapel Hill and campus offer students, who bleed the trademarked “Carolina Blue,” all they need. Hopeful applicants should know that NC-Chapel Hill received 57,219 first-year applications for fall 2022. The overall acceptance rate was 16.8 percent – 43.1 percent for North Carolina applicants and 8.2 percent for out-of-state. A top-funded research university, two individual UNC epidemiologists helped develop Remdesivir and the Moderna vaccine.

University of North Carolina at Raleigh

Though only 9% OOS were admitted in 2022, I saw why UNC State is so popular! No need to declare a major until sophomore year and no major is capped. Ten colleges, 100 majors, including pre-health, pre-law, and pre-vet (#4 veterinary school in the US), and professors and facilities are all top-ranked. Robots get students' books at the Hunt Library. Campus-based companies hire students for co-ops. Adjacent Hillsborough Street offers a Target, coffee shops and restaurants. The top D1 Wolfpack teams-especially basketball-are cheered on by all. “Think and Do” is the motto!

Duke University

I did a self-guided tour and met with a general admissions counselor (Duke no longer offers regional reps). An unbelievably beautiful campus set in 8,300 acres of southern forest, Duke’s Gothic architecture, landmark chapel, and gracious feel make it classic on the level of Oxford or Cambridge. World-class in every academic regard, there are two colleges only: Arts and Sciences and Engineering. Duke’s sports fanaticism is legendary.

Contact me for more details!

Which Summer Programs Do Colleges Like to See?

Part #2: Travel Programs

Teen tour to Alaska? Mission trip to Costa Rica? Challenging hike through the Rockies?

Which has the most value?

The teen tour offers the exciting experience of seeing a striking new landscape, learning about the habitats of animals and indigenous cultures as well as greater environmental issues. Before my students leave, regardless of the destination, I tell them to keep their eyes, ears, and minds open. For many, the trips are purely social. But the tour is not a bad choice, just a missed opportunity for those unready to appreciate it.

The well-intended mission trip often spurs the classic clichéd essay: (“We went there to help poor people, but they wound up helping us when our bus broke down. I learned how fortunate I am…”) However, students who genuinely care about a specific mission’s purpose can learn how the environment and economics and politics (think supply chain) impact every aspect of people’s lives in the developing world. Students can get in touch with their power to help, as well as their powerlessness in complicated situations. They can observe how people problem solve with few resources, sometimes more successfully than those with more advantages. Best of all, students on mission trips can create relationships that transcend a language barrier and last longer than a summer.

What about an adventure trip that challenges both bodies and minds? An activity that benefits the student alone may result in a personal triumph. But when students team up, share tasks, and depend on one another for safety on a perilous hike, they bond in an intimate way that makes the joys of the experience unforgettable. These character-building personality traits put students in touch with their strength, vulnerability, and place in the universe.

Summer travels can enlighten students and spark powerful essays and interviews. It’s all about readiness and depth of engagement.

Which Summer Programs Do Colleges Like to See?

Part #1: Academic Programs

Parents often ask me me this question.

First off, summer programs that do not require acceptance are no more valuable than summer jobs, which help students earn money rather than cause parents to spend it. Jobs teach students valuable skills: independence, how to deal professionally with people of all ages, on-the-spot problem solving, time management, and sometimes mastering new technology. The opportunity to see how a business is run and even come up with creative suggestions to present to an open-minded supervisor is better stiil. Over the years, these experiences have yielded many engaging Common App personal statements and college-specific supplemental essays.

But there is a prevailing belief that a summer program, especially at a college, is better. These programs, while housed at colleges, are usually not connected to them, thus not enhancing chances of admissions (with a few exceptions). So while I don’t agree that pay-to-play programs, which are those that do not admit students based on their credentials and application, grab attention in the admissions office, they can personally benefit students who seek major/career direction while in high school, or those who have interests they would like to foster. The best programs allow students to produce something, which may include research, design, writing, working with a group on a presentation, or videos. Programs that are more passive (listening to speakers and lecturers, touring) have less value; students would do better to learn about a topic of interest by taking a free or inexpensive online course. Colleges are impressed by students who have academic curiosity, and with an online course, the point is developing knowledge.

If you want to choose a program with an eye towards admission, read about what happens in it. Choose one that is project-based. There’s still plenty of time for summer fun and exploration! Next week, I’ll focus on travel programs.