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There seems to be an interesting trend happening amongst undergraduate liberal arts programs all across the country.  While it seems a course in finance or general business was hardly what undergrads were looking for, there is now a higher demand for such courses.

Business Week’s reporter Adam Fusfeld claims: “For liberal arts students, a little bit of business knowhow is a powerful thing, giving them the confidence they need to work in a business setting.”  For students vying for full-time jobs after graduation, schools don’t want them to appear at a disadvantage.  Hence, courses like Introduction to Accounting, Business Management, Human Resources Management and Business Communications are becoming options for Philosophy, English and History majors.  Why the sudden interest in business courses?  Could it be the recent ongoing economic recession?

Some schools, like Northwestern, which terminated its undergraduate business program 41 years ago, are offering certificate programs for students who have fulfilled a certain number of credits with a B-average GPA.  Such types of certificates appear to appeal to students, as it’s something they can add to their resumes when applying for internships and full-time employment. Since the start of the economic downturn in 2008, there has been an increased interest in such business certificate-like undergraduate business programs all over the country.

While the United States still holds a firm stance on the importance of a broad liberal arts education during one’s undergraduate years, perhaps a basic understanding of finance and business would be advantageous to all students, no matter what their eventual focus may be.  While the recession has certainly caused some negative effects on the workplace, perhaps this is an unusual advantage for all undergraduate-bound students in the future.

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The acceptance rate of the super-selective Ivy League is extremely low. There is a record number of high school students who are applying for college straight out of high school – more than 60 percent, according to David Hawkins, director at the National Association of College Admission Counseling. Meantime, the number of students applying for college is increasing each year. According to the federal Department of Education, this year will feature the highest number of high school graduates, 3.2, almost a million up from five years ago.

Recent admission trends indicate that even though you have a high GPA and good or perfect SAT scores, it’s not a given that you’ll get admission to your first choice school, so it’s wise to have as many back-ups as you can to optimize the final result of your college application process without waiting for another entire year. As a matter of fact, many students are applying to as many as 10 or 15 universities. This is primarily attributed to the Common Application form, which can be downloaded from the Internet and sent online to as many as 300 schools nationwide.

However, the results of this survey of first-year college students is relieving: 70% of these students say that they ended up at their first choice school, and most students are ultimately happy with their choice of college.  At first this may seem surprising, especially since schools like Yale accepted fewer than ten percent of the 20,000 students who applied last year, and both Harvard and Columbia accepted just more than 10 percent, but there are many reasons why students end up at specific schools, as both the students and the college make great endeavors to find a right fit.

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Applying for college is a crucial step in a person’s personal and professional developments. As an applicant, what do you hope to get out of your college years and what expectations do you want to send along with your applications? Be sure to think seriously about the environment that will be most likely to bring the best out of you:

• Know Yourself and Set Your Goals Clearly

If you haven’t decided on a college major, start taking inventory of your academic successes and interests – which were your best classes?  Favorite classes?  Also think about your favorite extra-curricular activities, sports, music, and even your favorite weather.

• Student Body Characteristics

Do you want to be surrounded with type-A go-getters, or coffee-shop philosophers?  A highly competitive student body isn’t to everyone’s taste, and neither is a laid-back one.

• Class Size and Dynamics

What type of relationship do professors and students have with one another at your favorite schools?  Large classes may mean little contact with your professors, which can be unappealing for students who want a personal relationship with their favorite academics.  However, just because your favorite school is a large one, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to slip through anonymously! 

• Advisory System

Will you have an advisor at your favorite school?  How much do advisors guide the students’ choice of classes?  Think about how much help you’ll really need – or want!

• Social Groups

How are social groups organized at your favorite school?  Does Greek life dominate, or do athletics, clubs, classes, dorms, or local hangouts determine who your best college friends will be?  If the social structure is different from your high school, do you think you’ll easily adjust?

• Feedback from Current Students.

What do current students really appreciate about this school?  What is their biggest complaint?  Are these issues you can handle?

The best way to answer all of these questions is to visit your favorite schools in advance, and keep a checklist of the most important issues for your education.  If you can’t afford to visit, or the school is too far away, try to speak with as many people as you can by phone or email about the school.

A quick way of learning about university statistics is by checking out ranking websites, such as the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (www.nacacnet.org) or College Navigator (http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/).  These sites can help you sort schools by tuition, scholarship/financial aid opportunities, available majors, student body demographics, sports, even the quality of campus security.  Also check out books like the Fiske Guide to Colleges, which have even more information about schools, quizzes, and student testimonials.

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With the high price of college tuition in today’s uncertain economic climate, most students who apply for university admission will attempt to secure some financial aid.  The most common form of financial aid is based on need, and is determined by the FAFSA form submitted by the student along with his or her application.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) determines a student’s eligibility for federal loans and other aid packages; much like submitting the application itself, sending in your FAFSA early increases your chances of receiving aid from this limited amount of funding.  If you are applying for college entry shortly after high school graduation, your parents’ finances will be examined in addition to your own.

Many colleges and universities offer Merit-Based Scholarships.  These are sometimes offered to students on the basis of their academic achievement in high school, or for exceptional SAT scores.  Frequently, lower-ranked colleges will offer merit-based scholarships to encourage good students to attend, which improves the quality of the student body, and often makes college affordable for good students with less money.  Do inquire about school-specific scholarships through your guidance counselor at school, or through the university’s financial aid office – you may need to do more than just keep earning good grades!

This brings us to Non-Institution-Based Scholarships and Grants – the least-understood source of funding for college applicants.  These scholarships and grants vary widely and can be researched in many different ways.  Did you know that you might qualify for a scholarship because…

• You plan to pursue a specific major?
• You belong to a specific ethnic or religious group?
• You have a specific career goal?
• You or your family has worked at a specific company?
• You have participated in specific volunteer work?
• You have a disability?
• You can speak a particular foreign language?
• You are an athlete?
• You or a family member is a veteran?
• You and/or your family have experienced a particular hardship (Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, etc.)?

You, as an individual, may qualify for many different scholarships, many with quickly approaching deadlines, so it is important to stay on top of things.  Check out some scholarship books, like the College Board’s Scholarship Handbook, or Peterson’s Scholarships, Grants and Prizes.  Register yourself on scholarships.com, fastweb.com, finaid.com, or any of the many scholarship websites right away; they may notify you when a new scholarship that fits your profile appears, so don’t forget to keep your profile up-to-date with all of your latest successes!  Scholarships listed on these websites are frequently nationwide or international, and receive many applications, so don’t forget to research Local Scholarships as well, such as grants from:

• Alumni of your high school
• Local businesses and corporations
• Community groups, like the Elks, the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, or Masons
• Your local Department of Education

The best way to learn about Local Scholarships to ask your school or the organizations directly in a respectful and mature way – don’t have a parent write or telephone on your behalf!

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What do both National and Local Scholarships frequently require?  ESSAYS!

Scholarship Essays must not only be interesting and well-written, but must address the specific nature of the scholarship itself, and answer in a clear, decisive way any question that may be asked in the scholarship application.  Sometimes these questions are very explicit: “Why do you deserve this scholarship?”  To be quite frank, even less direct questions, like “What does being a Polish-American mean to you?” or “What is the most important lesson you have learned as a high school student?” or “How do you think your education has prepared you to enter the field of engineering?” all require you to answer: “Why do you deserve this scholarship?”  Persuasion is the goal of scholarship essays.  Remember: even though there may be fewer applicants for a specific scholarship than for your favorite college, frequently there is only ONE winner.

Some tips to make that ONE winner YOU:

• Use very specific examples from your life experience (this may help you with your SAT writing section as well!)
• Adhere to the length requirements of the essay – your 500-word essay might be great, but will lose out when the word requirement is 1000 – or 250!
• Learn about the organization that sponsors the scholarship, and not just the basics.  You want to appeal specifically to the attitude of the organization.  Read the website, get in touch with employees, or, even better, last year’s winner.
• Make sure your style of writing matches the style of the essay question.  Some organizations ask light, informal, or even humorous questions, and others are deeply earnest and serious.  Don’t mix them up!
• Even if you write one hundred scholarship essays, don’t send out a single one without proofreading and asking a teacher or mentor to read it first.
• Don’t expect to do double-duty with your scholarship essays and win over the deciding committee; they’ll know if you just swapped a sentence or two from your college personal statement!
• Don’t lose out because you didn’t submit a neat, organized, attractive application!

Writing scholarship essays may seem like a daunting task, especially with the busy lives of most students, but remember this: the more essays you write, the easier it becomes.  Practice will not only improve your writing, but improve your chances at winning the scholarship you need to afford college.

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