Strake Jesuit College
Preparatory
FALL COLLEGE INFORMATION
NIGHT
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Factors Which Influence How a
College Crafts a Class
A. Application Review
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Holistic Review
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Decisions based primarily on quantitative data
B. Quest for Diversity
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Economic
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Regional
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Racial/Ethnic
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Gender balance
Factors Which Influence How
a College Crafts a Class
C. Extracurricular Achievement
• Athletics
• Art, Music, Debate, Theatre, etc.
• Summer activities
• Volunteer work
• Leadership
D. Special Ties- Alumni/Development Connections
E. Institutional priorities
Students should consider:
A. Quantitative Data: Can I get in?
• Rigor of curriculum
• High School GPA
• SAT/ACT scores
• SAT subject test scores if required
Students should consider:
B. Different types of colleges: Public, Private
Liberal Arts, Jesuit/Religious
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Public:
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Lower stated tuition costs
Usually large campus
Variety of program offerings
Diversity of population (?)
More bureaucracy; sometimes crowded
Can be easy for students to get “lost in the shuffle”
Many courses taught by teaching assistants
Students should consider:
• Private liberal arts colleges :
• Higher tuition, but sometimes less expensive overall
• Smaller class sizes
• More opportunity for engaged student participation
• Likely that professors teach all classes
• Maybe fewer majors offered
Students should consider:
• Jesuit/Religious:
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Campus culture may offer safety and comfort to our students
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Shared values and beliefs
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Many opportunities for community service
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Jesuit colleges and universities often are more generous to
graduates of Jesuit high schools in terms of admissions decisions
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Many Jesuit colleges and universities offer scholarships to graduates
of Jesuit high schools
Students should consider:
C. Academic Culture
• Available majors
• Internships, practicums, research opportunities
• Ability to access dual majors/minors, create own major
• Teaching styles: lectures, seminars, discussions
• Who teaches? (professors, adjuncts, graduate students)
• Class size, course availability, graduation rate
• General education requirements, grading system
• Semesters/quarters
Students should consider:
D. Location/Campus Surroundings
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Weather,
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Accessibility (how far to airport?)
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Backdrop (urban, suburban, rural), close to shopping, entertainment?
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Do students have cars, bikes, take bus, walk?
Students should consider:
E. Campus Culture
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Where are students from?
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Diversity: socio-economic, ethnic
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Campus housing (guaranteed?/for how many years?)
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What do students do for fun? Extracurriculars/sports/Greek life
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Religious life?
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What do students talk about?
Students should consider:
F. Cost
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Use net price calculator to estimate cost to you
• Merit scholarships, financial aid, loans/no loans
G. Prestige?
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Selectivity ≠ Prestige
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Perceived Prestige ≠ Success
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College fit → Success
To learn more:
A. Meet with College Reps
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Access scheduled college visits in Naviance under COLLEGES
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List updated regularly so should review often
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Teacher permission required
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Announced on SJET and Crusader Connection student
newsletter
B. Visit campus
C. Visit college websites
To learn more:
D. College Fairs
• Catholic High Schools College Fair
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October 8, 2014
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Strake Jesuit College Preparatory Competition Gym
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6:30 pm
• Houston Performing/Visual Arts College Fair
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October 20, 2014
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Rice University, Alice Pratt Brown Hall
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7:00 pm
• NACAC College Fair
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February 12, 2015
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NRG Center (formerly Reliant Center)
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9:30 am -12:30 pm, 6:00-8:00 pm
TEXAS A&M UPDATES
December 1: Application deadline; rolling admissions
Students are encouraged to apply early to impacted programs
Architecture Business Engineering Natural Sciences
Students should complete optional ApplyTexas essay AND upload a
detailed resume through their A&M portal.
Mays School of Business
Students will initially be admitted in the Business Administration program
and then transfer into upper level classes after the first year.
Engineering
All students initially placed in general engineering program; apply to select
specific discipline after pre-requisite coursework complete
TEXAS A&M UPDATES
A&M statistics
• 21,892 total admits, 17,226 admits to main campus
• 10,836 (62.9% of main campus admits) top 10%
• 3,447 (20%) Automatic Academic Admits
• 2,943 (17.1%) Review admits (admit rate of 17.7%)
• 600 Summer Gateway admits
• 566 Engineering Academy at Blinn admits
• 3,500 Blinn team admits
University of Texas
Updates
December 1: Application deadline; some honors
programs have Oct. 15 priority deadlines
Most competitive programs:
Architecture
Business
Engineering
Natural Sciences
Applicants from Texas high schools:
• Top 7% are automatically admitted; 2016 – top 8%
• Top 7% admits comprise 75% of entering class
• Admission to the university does not guarantee
admission into 1st or 2nd choice major