I Spent My Summer Doing the Coolist Thing and I got to Put it on my College Application!

The New York Times

By JENNY ANDERSON
August 5, 2011

A group of New York City high school students recreated Leonardo da Vinci's “Last Supper” in Florence. The group spent a month in Italy this summer studying the Renaissance.

Josh Isackson, an 18-year-old graduate of Tenafly High School in New Jersey, spent the summer after his sophomore year studying Mandarin in Nanjing, China. The next year he was an intern at a market research firm in Shanghai. When it came time to write a personal statement for his college applications, those summers offered a lot of inspiration.

Students preparing to apply to college are increasingly tailoring their summer plans with the goal of creating a standout personal statement — 250 words or more — for the Common Application in which to describe “a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.” Specialized, exotic and sometimes costly activities, they hope, will polish a skill, cultivate an interest and put them in the spotlight in a crowded field of straight-A students with strong test scores, community service hours and plenty of extracurricular activities.

A dizzying array of summer programs have cropped up to feed the growing anxiety that summer must be used constructively. Students can study health care in Rwanda, veterinary medicine in the Caribbean or cell cloning at Brown University, or learn about Sikkim, India’s only Buddhist state.

As colleges look for specialization, “mastery” and “passion” have become buzzwords at many New York City private schools. Along with the perception that perfectly developed essays are essential is the sense among some parents and teachers that colleges have shifted from valuing balanced students who excel in several areas, like history and ice hockey, to demanding students who perform well across all subjects and have an area of “mastery,” like squash or fencing, that showcases one’s depth. Read More

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Irish Will Try to Tap a Famous Bloodline

New York Times

The questions about his famous dad don't come nearly as often these days for Nate Montana as he tries to carve out his own path of success at Notre Dame.

Nate Montana, who at 6 feet 4 is two inches taller than his father, did not participate in football until he was a freshman in high school. As a senior, he attempted only 19 passes. And after coming to Notre Dame as a walk-on in 2008, he spent last season at Pasadena Community College, where he was a backup, before returning to South Bend.

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I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

U. of Iowa Recruitment Success is like an airline overbooking a flight!

New York Times

While nearly every university overbooks each year, relying on sophisticated algorithms that predict just how many admitted students will probably go elsewhere, Iowa officials were surprised to learn this spring how far off they were in their math. This fall’s freshman class is likely to have more than 400 more students than last year’s, an unintended increase of about 10 percent, for a total of just over 4,500.

Though the university considers this a happy accident — much of the growth has come from outside Iowa, including from schools as far away as China and India, whose graduates typically pay triple the tuition of state residents — the looming flood of new students has left the university scrambling to figure out where they will sleep, and how to fit them into some of the most popular courses.

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I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Is Your Student Card a Little too Smart?

New York Times

ROLL CALL, THE NEXT GENERATION

This fall at Northern Arizona University, students will have to swipe their IDs at lecture halls, and professors will be able to track who shows up. Using $85,000 in federal stimulus money, the university is installing computer card readers at the 60 largest classrooms. The point is to save time in taking attendance. It will be up to teachers whether to factor attendance in their grading. Still, the idea doesn’t sit well with some.

More than 1,400 students have signed a petition against the project. “We’re grown-ups,” complains Rachel Brackett, a junior who created the “N.A.U. Against Proximity Cards” Facebook group. “We don’t need to be told to go to class. We’re paying to go to class.”

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I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Admissions Highs and Lows

New York Times - July 25th, 2010

The admissions season for 2010 has shaped up to be one of the most competitive, and uncertain, in memory.

The percentage of students accepted at many of the nation's top institutions hit new lows, while waiting lists reached new heights, says Barmak Nassirian, executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

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I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Two buses and a tram in rush hour to get to college

The New York Times - July 25th, 2010

Over the next month, more than 64,000 incoming freshmen will descend on New York City’s campuses. Nearly 44,000 of them will come from beyond the five boroughs, with dreamy expectations of what their lives will be like — four years of clubbing with celebrities, sashaying around art galleries. While acclimating to the culture of any campus is trying, the transition to New York City poses particularly daunting challenges.
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I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Florida 'Open Tour' June 28th - For Students and their Parents

A successful 'Open Tour'. One parent said "Kudos for planning the well organized and informative trip!!...." another said "You provide a real service to students and their families......"

The June 28th Florida Public University tour was unique in a few ways, over 8 different high schools were represented and of the 31 participants, 11 were parents.

Our next Florida 'Open Tour' for high shool students and their parents is on October 27th. Go to our website for more details.

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

"College Campus Trips, What a Great Idea"

“What a great idea,” people tell me when they hear about College Campus Trips.

Yet, the percentage of students who actually visit two or more colleges is very small. Some students are just convinced they know which college they want to attend with no plans on seeing others. Some students just want to get accepted and make a list of schools without knowing much about them. Others get no encouragement from parents or counselors to take this proactive step and wind up depending on word-of-mouth and the Internet to make this important decision. But a college tour is as important as any high school course and actually fun. Here’s why:

Too Personal & Expensive
If you are going to spend four years someplace it is going to be a lot more pleasant and productive if it feels right to you. The student body, the faculty, the physical environment, and the geographical location all weigh in on the decision you will make. It is surprising how often an on-campus tour leaves a positive or negative vibe with a person.

And oh yes college is expensive, big-time, unless, of course you receive a “full ride.” Most of you wouldn’t buy expensive clothes without trying them on to make sure it fits properly. The right college needs to “fit” for four years.

Do You Really Know What You Like?
I am not trying to be facetious but if you have not compared, do you really know what you like? Is it a public university over a private one or a large college over a small one? Does an urban campus seem better to you than a rural one? These decisions are very personal and you can’t possibly make up your mind without taking a tour and comparing for yourself.

Self-Confidence
Believe it or not, a college tour is a confidence booster for students whether they're sophomores, juniors or seniors. Why? Well, I’ve been on many tours and seen the transformation. I’ve seen the look of intimidation on the faces of otherwise brazen warriors as they take their first tour. And I’ve seen students after a 4th or 5th college tour. The “aha” look of realization knowing “Hey, these guys are competing for ME” is unmistakable. The experiences of college admissions and college life are no longer just stories that a sibling or a friend has shared. It is now something they’ve experienced themselves. I firmly believe that every high school student should visit a minimum of four colleges before senior year as part of the educational process, even if the student does not plan on going to college.

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Plan for 2011 and Match students with the right college

PLAN FOR 2011 AND HELP MATCH STUDENTS WITH THE RIGHT COLLEGE

College Campus Trips is aware that as so many colleges and universities are spread across the country, college placement is the toughest part of an already challenging job. We can help you help your students by providing pre-designed and customized, fully-escorted trips to colleges and universities across the United States.

Consider three options and reserve your trips now for 2011:

• A tour customized for your school
• Not enough students - share a tour with a nearby school to reduce costs
• Direct your students to several ‘open’ tours that individuals can join

For Tours in 2011 go to

collegecampustrips.com

or

Email: info@collegecampustrips.com

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com

Bridges to the Future 2010

I have just returned from the SACAC "Bridges to the Future 2010" Conference in the great city of Jacksonville!

The program included a superb selection of sessions and speakers as well as tours to visit the University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, University of Florida and Stetson University.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to be an Exhibitor during the SACAC Conference and to personally meet the Conference Delegates to share information about College Campus Trips.

Plus it is always a pleasure for me to have conversations and interaction with College Counselors at such events as this, as they provide important assistance and insight which helps in the development and planning of future campus trips.

I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!

Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com