Choosing the right school can be a daunting task by itself.
There is nothing more disheartening or discouraging than to learn that your application for admission into college didn't meet their entrance criteria.
You will most likely confront the prospect that you will be placed on a waiting list or refused admission without giving you good reasons. If this happens, such an outcome does not mean you are unqualified or unworthy. Don't despair, learn from your experience. You can reapply again. But it does reflect the quality of competition for admission into some other colleges or universities. These schools set their entrance requirements at higher standards because they only want applicants who have the performance, academic excellence and scored high on their SAT's entrance exams.
There is no magic formula for gaining admission but the most common mistakes that prospective students make is the lack of planning and forethought. The school's admission decisions are based on some of the factors that I will outline below.
Choose the right school. Base your decision on the school's size and location. Determine if the school you are interested in is the best fit for your educational requirements. Do your own objective research and do not rely on third party comments or that one of your relatives attended school there. Or just because your friends are going to attend there. You be the judge.
The college that you have chosen may also encourage that you schedule a campus visit.
Check your schools admission policy concerning entrance requirements. Some of the items that I raise in this article are contained in the admission policy. This may be the most important school document you will read. Ask for it at the registrar's office and study it and learn it. If you are not sure of any items contained in the policy, check with the admissions office or continuing education office for clarity. This policy sets the criteria and standards whether you meet the requirements for acceptance into their program.
If you already have your high school diploma there is a strong likelihood that you will be accepted into their program without any problems.
Are you a mature student? If you are 19 years of age or over and have decided to go back to school after many years away from the school system, you can also apply for admission into a college education.
If you don't have the minimum entry requirements, your application will be considered on the basis of age, experience and overall demonstrable ability by indicating your ability to attain probable success in your college studies.
In addition to the above, you should apply early because your application may take an extended time for consideration. You may also be required to include your experience resume summarizing work and life experience as well as the submission of academic transcripts. So get all your documents in order.
Did I mention a police record? Yes and there's a reason why I mention this to you. Although this is not an admission requirement for a particular program, but hospitals for instance, require a criminal record check of students and employees, or a daycare center may require criminal record check before granting a placement if you are taking an early childhood education program.
Get a recommendation from your guidance counselor (based on the results of your testing) and send it in for consideration. It would be worthwhile to get one from your previous teacher and one from your boss or an upstanding member in your community can also prove to be helpful in the selection process.
Previous involvement with community or extra-curricular activities, service, or voluntary work may be carefully considered in the selection process. They look for serious commitment, leadership, and earned recognition from peers or adults. They want to enroll people like you who will enrich their educational community with your talents and personalities.
Through Prior Learning Assessment Recognition (PLA) process at a college. You may be able to get college credits for your experiential learning, such as your work experience, volunteer activities, and attendance at workshops, conferences or corporate training programs that is equal to college level learning. You can also get advanced standing to earn a diploma or certificate in less time.
If you can demonstrate that the knowledge you have obtained meets the standards of a college course, you may be eligible for a credit.
It must also be demonstrated by way of a challenge process, which measures learning through a variety of methods. These include exams, interviews, demonstrations and presentations.
The Challenge Evaluation Process is a challenge test that is administered to demonstrate learning for credit in a specific course.
Be prepared to pay a fee for each course challenged and not all courses are available for challenge. Through a PLA process, you may realize just how much you have learned in the past and may become more confident about pursuing your continuing education. Contact your college for details of this opportunity.
The Portfolio Development Process is a collection of materials in which documented prior learning is used to request college credit.
If you have your portfolio from your previous upgrading, you can show this to your admissions department so they will look at the products that you created. This may be helpful for you for admission into your program. If you put together a portfolio that showcases the strongest work of your previous literacy or upgrading career, but it would not be right for you to send the entire portfolio to the college of your choice. It would, however, be all right to pull your finest essay from this showcase portfolio, such as an essay or a cover letter is a required piece of many college applications.
Some other pieces of your own work could be another sample of your original work that you created yourself out of your own construct, or your teacher's/boss's comment about yourself as a learner or a worker. Your own personal reflection on your progress and growth as a learner, self-reflection on your aptitude and identification of future goals can all be included. These required pieces can be used to help you to get credit. So polish up your pieces.
In terms of academic records. If you are currently or have previously attended a college or university, you must request official transcripts from one of these schools you attended. There is a fee for each transcript you request. However, there is no charge if you are requesting transcripts from a college or university with a lifetime transcript fee agreement. If college X and college Y have this agreement, then you don't have to pay for your transcripts!
Part of the admission process may include structured interviews. The interviews are short, about 20 minutes long. This session carries a lot of weight, whether you make or break the admission process. The teachers carry out the interviews and generally want to find out whether you are familiar with this career area, why you want to pursue this area of study and what your future career plans are. It is also an opportunity for you to find out more about the course and whether it is the right choice for you.
You should be highlighting what you want the interviewer to know about you. As just you would if you attended at an interview for a job. Do not assume that because you have an A in computer sciences that the interviewer will know that you are passionate about computers. There may be people in your class who have received an A and may not even enjoy computers. Do not assume that because you volunteer in a fire hall that an admission committee will know that this is where you have grown most in your personal development.
Prepare yourself for the interview. Be early. Dress appropriately. Make sure that your documents are in order and answer questions as best as you can. Finally, after the session, thank the interviewer.
You will be evaluated how well you answered the questions, how well you conducted yourself, before, during and after the interview.
And remember - brush up on your study skills.This can present a problem if you've been away from school a long time. There are lots of good books with advice on studying, time management, taking notes and doing exams - make an appointment to see the college guidance counsellor early on in the academic year to get more help and advice on how to study.
I would recommend How To Be A Master Sudent publication as most colleges use these books for their first year common semester students.
Review and polish up your life experience resume. You can include this in your portfolio too and submit it along with your application.
Conclusion
In short, be involved with the whole application process from get go.
Make sure that you are telling the admission committee who you are and what makes you unique.
By following this process, you will not only present yourself in the strongest light, but will have gone through a reflective process that is necessary for any lifelong learning journey.
These are some of the entry strategies and tips that you can use for admission in post-secondary education to jumpstart your education and hopefully have allowed you to understand the college admission process.
Good Luck with the process!
Robert Sissenah is the new owner of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) - About Learn-Eh! Visit his website at http://www.cybersenior.ca |
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