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Admitted Student Day: The Things You Missed About Admissions

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You can become an Eagle today!! Apply now!

In April, EWU hosted one of the largest admissions events in over 10 years, Admitted Student Day. We filled the two largest auditoriums on campus, nearly filled a third, and an estimated 1,000 people took part in the day-long event.

For those students looking to make their college decision, the day provided more than just information. Dr. Tony Flynn, a hilarious guest speaker and professor of English who teaches 20th century British and American literature, started the day off with the number one thing you needed to know about be successful in college. (Hint: it’s easier than you think. Send us an email if you’re still curious.)

Most of the day was filled with sessions which covered dozens of topics including financial aid, admissions, jobs after college, and more. Students also had the chance to attend academic fairs, to speak with department counselors, to devour delicious food, and to tour residence halls. To top it off, we had wonderful weather!

So how can apply or confirm if I missed Admitted Student Day?

There are two things you’ll need to do.

First, you should visit campus. I’m an EWU student worker in the Visitor Center, and I know that visiting campus matters whether you’re looking at EWU or anywhere else. In fact, I don’t think you can pick the right campus without visiting it first. If you missed Admitted Student Day, or if you’re planning for fall 2015, you need to take a tour.

Second, it means it’s time to take your next steps toward confirming to college.

At EWU, there are eight steps in the enrollment process after you’ve been admitted. You may already be a couple steps in, or maybe you are starting at step one, but either way, here is a link to our enrollment guide.

Let me break down some of the key steps.

If you haven’t applied yet, scroll down to the last paragraph and go from there!

  • The most important step of all, confirm to EWU!
  • Once that’s done, the next step is to confirm your housing plans. Here’s a link to our Housing and Residential Life page to answer any questions you may have. (You’ll need your official university email for this.)
  • Next, we talk financial aid. You may have already received your financial aid package, but if you haven’t, keep your eyes peeled and check your EagleNET account. Financial aid might seem like scary stuff, but if you have any questions about how the financial aid process works, our Financial Aid Office will be more than happy to help.
  • Finally, if you’ve confirmed EWU, confirmed housing, and confirmed your financial aid package, the next step is to sign up for firstStep. A summer academic orientation event, firstStep is your opportunity to familiarize yourself with the campus and to register for classes.

Now you may be asking, what if I’ve missed all these deadlines, or have yet to apply to college, but I finally decided I want to go to a four-year university? Don’t worry. Don’t stress. You can still apply now for fall, and we’d be more than happy to walk you through those steps as well. Contact our Admissions Office for more information. It’s never too late to start something big!

 

College fit: it's about you

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If you’re in the middle of your college search, you probably have one huge question: “Out of all the thousands of colleges in the world, which one is the best fit for me?”

Boxcar races at EWU

Traditionally, our society emphasizes two approaches to answering this question. One is the “true love” approach: there’s one school out there that’s going to be perfect for you. All you have to do is find that one school, and suddenly you’ll know that’s where you’re supposed to be. Stars will streak across the sky and purple glitter will rain from giant glitter clouds, and perhaps a choir will burst into song. You can’t miss the signs.

Of course, some of you probably have experience with the second approach, which is a bit like an arranged marriage: 15 years ago, before you’d even had your first nap time in kindergarten, someone picked your college for you. Sweatshirts. Water bottles. Maybe even a tattoo. Even if your situation isn’t this extreme, chances are you know someone who wants you to attend a particular school.

Both approaches have flaws. For instance, the “true love” approach is just like true love in romantic comedies: if you want to be happy in the long term, your true love needs to last. Consider this: that school that has you infatuated right now? It costs twice as much as another school you like, and that could mean a lifetime of debt. That school that seems too good to be true? Students there take classes taught by assistants, not by professors. Will you still be in love when the hard part of the relationship begins?

The arranged marriage approach has a serious flaw, too: it might not be your choice. After all, you’re the one who has to take the classes, live in the residence hall and talk to the professors. You’re the one who will spend four years or more in the college community. So is your college making you happy, or is it making the people you know happy?

All this comes down to one big point that should be your first step in any discussion about college fit: you need to decide who you are and what makes you tick before you decide which school is best for you.

  1. What makes you truly happy?
  2. What’s your learning style?
  3. What classes do you love? What classes do you hate?
  4. Your favorite teacher: what makes that teacher special?
  5. What activities and hobbies define you?
  6. What does “value” mean to you?

Because here’s the truth: you can have fun at almost any college. You’ll meet amazing, brilliant people everywhere in the world. But if you’re choosing a school that emphasizes research when you really want close mentorships with your professors, you’re setting yourself up for heartache. If you need an internship to help land your dream job but you choose a school that isn’t close to a large city, you’re making your dream harder to achieve.

In the end, choosing a college isn’t always about the college. It’s about discovering who you are, determining what you want to do after college and finding a place that helps you make it happen.

How Facebook affects college admission

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Anyone with a Twitter page, Facebook profile or personal blog knows the risks: most of what you post online is visible to anyone with an internet connection. Your friends, your parents, and even your teachers can see your pictures or read about your weekend adventures.

Normally what you post online isn’t much of an issue, but that changes once you start applying for college. Suddenly the information you share in your online profile can affect your future. What you say, what you do, even who you hang out with: all of it can influence an admissions decision.

First the good news: Eastern never looks at your Facebook or Twitter pages as part of the admissions process. Never. Naturally we love it when your reach out to us through Facebook or Twitter. It’s a great way to get your questions answered … but it’s not part of our admissions decision. We only consider the materials you submit when we make admissions decisions.

Now the bad news: according to a recent report, 24 percent of college admissions offices look at your Facebook page and 20 percent Google you as part of the admissions process. If you’re applying to multiple schools, chances are at least one of them is trying to learn more about you through social media.

Eastern Will Never Search for You

So if Eastern doesn’t use Facebook or Google to learn more about you, why blog about it? Well, we have a few good reasons.

  1. We care about the students who apply here, and we want you to feel confident that your private life is really private.
  2. We want you to know that you’re being admitted based on merit only. If you have great grades and high test scores, it doesn’t seem fair to make an admissions decision based on a few photos from your junior prom.
  3. We want you to lock down your personal info. What’s true of the college admissions process is true of the job market, too, and keeping your private life truly private keeps the focus on your achievements, not the crazy antics of your friends. In 20 years, who knows how you or your employers will feel about what you posted on Facebook when you were 17.

So What Should You Do?

If you’re applying for schools, there are a few quick things you can do.

  1. Lock down your Facebook page so that it’s not available to the public, and untag yourself in any of your friends’ photos.
  2. Delete your Twitter feed. If that’s too extreme, visit the “Account” tab and select “Protect My Updates.” Search engines won’t index protected tweets, and they’re not available on the public timeline.
  3. Make your Tumblr or blog invitation-only unless it paints you in a positive light.
  4. Google yourself and start scrubbing anything that might be considered negative.

Let colleges and employers focus on what you’re capable of … not what you did when you were 15.