Category: Counselor Blog

Tips for Parents

abrown2726 / / Counselor Blog

Tips for Parents

Next to watching your child pass their road test and officially receive a government issued ID, witnessing their choice of college can be just as scary. Over the past 17 years, they have actually…grown up. As you watch their daily routine: getting ready for school, studying for a test, and making it to football practice on time, keep in mind that they will need to put the same amount of effort into their college search. There is no right or wrong way to go about seeking out the best school for your student, but your son or daughter will be the most important piece of the puzzle. Listed below are a few ways to remain sane, maximize time, and guide your student through the process of making one of life’s big decisions.

4. Talk to your student: You may be thinking Princeton, they may be thinking the local university.  Take time to listen and to discover the meaningful things that your student has to say about their goals and their college preferences. Try to get a feel for why they are considering certain schools and then go from there. Whether or not you think it is a great choice, you might be surprised at what you discover. Campus visits tend to be very telling, so start with a short list of colleges and grab a calendar.

3. Plan ahead:   Speaking of calendars, one of the best investments you can make during your student’s college search is to purchase one of those inexpensive little calendars that can be found at the Dollar Tree or the Dollar General store. I do not recommend using any Smartphone technology or work calendars because this particular calendar will need to be tangible and accessible for all members of the family. The best place to keep it is in the kitchen, near or on the common denominator appliance: the refrigerator. On the calendar, you will want to add campus visits, open house dates, times that admission counselors will be in your area, and admission/scholarship deadlines for each school your student is considering. (If you’re anything like me, you might want to get creative by matching the ink to the schools’ colors.) And voilà, you now have a road map.

2. Don’t hesitate to contact the admission office: Yes, this is your student’s college search.  Yes, this will be partially their decision.  But, let’s be realistic: parents have a huge influence and rightfully so…you have brought them successfully to this important moment in their life. Ask questions about the process or next steps, not about the secret to getting your student admitted or bragging about how amazing they are (We know that already.  We have hundreds upon hundreds that are amazing, and that is what makes our jobs very difficult.).   Rest assured that the counseling staff at Furman is knowledgeable, seasoned, and passionate about our work. They don’t call us admission counselors for nothing.

1. Be a parent:  You have invested a lot of time, money, sleepless nights, and prayers into your children. This next chapter will be just as nerve-wracking as it was to decide what they should wear for Kindergarten picture day and hoping your plans for their graduation party will be to their liking. Just as before, when they have questions, listen and help them to find an answer. If they don’t appear to have any questions or concerns, ask them what they’re thinking. And last but not least, keep the prayers and well wishes coming from now until forever!

Allyson Brown, Assistant Director of Admission

Application decision plans..how to choose

jkerscher / / Counselor Blog

So, fall is here and it is THAT time—time to apply to colleges! What could be more fun, right? Well, the good thing is there are several application decision plans to choose from, depending on how far along in your college search you are. You are probably wondering which decision plan is the best way for you to apply to Furman. We want to give you the flexibility of applying one of 3 ways: Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision. A few tips as you navigate this process:

Don’t stress about it. Honestly, there is no true advantage of one decision plan over the other; you should really decide based on the timeline that best aligns with where you are in your college search and how early you want to make your decision.

Only apply Early Decision if Furman is your clear FIRST choice! If you know without a doubt that you will attend Furman if admitted, then ED is a good option for you.  It allows you to apply early (by November 1st) and receive acceptance notification early (by December 1st.)   You can only apply ED to one school. Also, keep in mind that it is a binding decision, meaning that you are committing to attend if admitted.  I would not encourage you to apply Early Decision if:

  •  Financial aid and scholarships are a big part of your decision. Although you will be considered for merit-based and need-based scholarships in ED, you are committing to attend without knowing this information.
  •  You want to compare admission and financial aid offers from several colleges.

If you want to be notified early and have the most amount of time with your admission decision in hand, Early Action is for you! EA is a great choice for students who are ready to submit application materials early (by November 15th), who want the flexibility of applying to multiple colleges, who want to be notified early (by February 1st), but still have plenty of time to visit/explore/investigate before the May 1st deadline.

If you want the most time to prepare your application, apply Regular Decision. Because the RD deadline is not until January 15th, you have the most time to work on your admission essays, gather your application materials, etc. But, you will only have your admission decision in-hand one month before having to make your final decision. Within this plan, you will be notified of your admission decision by April 1st and your Statement of Intent will be due by May 1st.

Pay attention to deadlines! Deadlines have a way of sneaking up on you, right? Pay close attention to deadlines for each decision plan and make sure all of your application is submitted by the deadline. Even better, make sure things are turned in BEFORE the deadline.

Talk to your high school guidance counselor so they are aware of which way you’ve applied. This ensures the parts of your application that THEY are submitting arrive in time as well! Official transcripts, School Report, Letters of Recommendation are sent directly from your high school.

No matter which way you apply, come try us on for size!  Visit campus and then visit again.  Each time you visit, you deepen your knowledge of Furman. You connect with different people, places, and opportunities each time you step foot on campus. Talk to students, faculty, and staff… and come see if Furman is the right fit for you!

Application Tips

eahlstrand / / Counselor Blog

Application tips. “What an ambiguous topic,” you say. How can one go wrong, guided by the required fields and checkmarks in the Common Application? Where are the ambiguities in providing biographical information? What finesse is there to be had in listing my extracurricular activities? Filling out a “form” such as the Common Application seems like a pretty straight-forward task; however, we see students every year who do not take this opportunity to give us a full picture of their candidacy, and I want to lend you some advice to help you portray your talents in the best way possible.

 1.   “What’s in a name?”

Turns out, there’s more than our girl Juliet thought. When you are telling us your biographical information, including your family’s information, take time to get all the specifics. Think Grampa Joe went to Furman but you’re not 100% sure? Do your best to find out, because being a legacy student applying to Furman has some perks. Is your name Josiah Edward Bartlet but everyone calls you “Jed”? Make sure you let us know so we can make sure all of the components of your application (transcripts, letters, addenda) make it to the right place.

2.   Spell things out for us.

I completely understand – “Advanced Placement Environmental Science” is a mouthful, so you and your classmates refer to it colloquially as “APES.” If, and only if, you are enrolled in a class studying primates (which is awesome), should I see this listed in your “Current Courses” section. Some students also disregard this section entirely, which can be problematic when we are trying to consider the classes you are working so hard in during your senior year of high school. These are not always listed on your transcript, so be sure to include those.

3.   Prioritize your extracurricular activities.

Don’t hide “brokered international peace agreement” at the bottom of your enumerated list of activities. Be sure to put what is most important to you and what you are most proud of first. And along those lines…

4.   Brag – it’s okay!

Tell me what you’re doing in all of the organizations to which you have devoted so much of your time. A little blurb on what you have done with “Link Crew” or “U.B.W.C.*” or “Beta Club” can be very helpful, especially with so much variation between schools. Tell me the championships you have played in, the recognitions you have received, and the awards you have won. Our students are passionately involved in what they do – we want to see you share that passion with us!

5.   Don’t try and fit a square peg into a round hole.

The best supplemental essays not only answer the prompt, but do so with specific information relating to your future at Furman. Some students try to write one essay that they can recycle for each school. We intentionally avoid the “Why Furman?” prompt so we can learn more about what impact you plan to make at Furman and what impact you want Furman to make on you. Use this opportunity to share why you think you could be a good fit for Furman.

6.   It ain’t over until the green check marks sing.

You’ve finished your Common Application – congratulations! We still need a few things to ensure your application is truly complete. Be sure that we have received your transcript, school report, test scores, application fee, and any recommendation letters you sent by visiting your status checker. Until we receive those items, your application will be incomplete, so be sure to follow up online to ensure everything is in so we can continue getting to know you through the application process!

* – Underwater Basket Weaving Club