July 25, 2024 • 18 mins
On this episode of Speaking of…College at Charleston, we talk about the college admission process with Jimmie Foster, Vice President of Enrollment Planning at the College. The conversation covers various aspects of preparing for college, from when to start thinking about applying to understanding the importance of grades, extracurricular activities and campus visits. Foster addresses common misconceptions about college admissions, the reduced significance of standardized tests like the SAT and the holistic review process adopted by many colleges. Foster offers advice for parents on supporting their children and emphasizing the importance of finding the right fit financially, academically and socially.
Foster’s take away advice is that campus tours give students the opportunity to preform a bench Test. “Every student should have that moment where they can sit down for just five minutes by themselves on a bench somewhere on that campus and just watch and get that feel of campus to know if they can see themselves here.”
Featured on this Episode:
Jimmie Foster Jr. is vice president of enrollment planning as of May 2023. In this role, Foster leads the Division of Enrollment Planning, made up of the Office of Admissions, the Visitor Center, the Office of Financial Assistance and Veterans Affairs and the Office of Enrollment Information.
Foster returns to this position at the College of Charleston after spending three years as vice president of enrollment management at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Foster's experience at the College spans more than a decade where he held several roles including vice president of enrollment planning and director of first-year student admissions. Foster also served as dean of admissions and orientation at Northeastern University in Boston. He began his career in admissions at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Before moving into higher education, Foster worked on national political campaigns, including time on a U.S. Presidential campaign. He has been a presenter at national professional development conferences including NACAC, ACT/NRCCUA and Ruffalo Noel Levitz.
Foster has enjoyed being a part of the College's First Year Abroad Experiences where he has been involved with the UK Soccer Experience course since its inception in 2012. Foster is passionate about English football and enjoys having the opportunity to work directly with first-year students by co-presenting the eight-week long seminar that culminates in leading study-abroad experiences to the United Kingdom based on the theme of the sociology, history and economics of soccer.
Resources from this Episode:
- Admissions website: https://charleston.edu/admission/index.php
- CofC Quick Facts: https://charleston.edu/admission/rankings-accolades/quick-facts.php
- How to apply: https://charleston.edu/admission/apply/index.php
- College at a glance: https://charleston.edu/about/college-at-a-glance.php
Office of Admissions Hours
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Phone
843.953.5670
Email
Office of Admissions
admissions@cofc.edu
International Students
international@cofc.edu
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mike Robertson (00:14):
Hello, and Welcome to Speaking of College
of Charleston. I'm MikeRobertson, Senior Director of
Media Relations at the college.
Today, we will demystify thecollege admission experience and
hopefully, help students andparents get ready for the move
from high school to college. Myguest is Jimmy foster vice
president of enrollment planningat the College of Charleston.
(00:36):
Let's get started. According toForbes magazine, over 7 million
students applied to colleges in2023. Now despite all the
guidebooks and all the blogs andadvice from parents, neighbors
and fellow students, there seemsto be a lot of anxiety and
confusion concerning the collegeadmission process. Jimmy Foster
(00:59):
is the vice president ofenrollment planning here at the
College of Charleston. Jimmy, Iwant you to kind of pull back
the curtain on the admissionprocess and talk about
prospective students and whatthey really need to know in
order to get to college. Andlet's start with the basics.
When should a high schoolstudent start thinking about
applying for college?
Unknown (01:20):
Mike, it's great question. You're right. I think
demystifying this process is oneof the most important things we
can do to help students startlooking at colleges, you know,
the process can start really atany time, most students really
begin their sophomore year inhigh school. But I always
recommend that they startthinking about it a little bit
earlier than that. It's notuncommon for eighth grade or
(01:41):
ninth grader to start thinkingabout the courses they're going
to need to take in high school.
And that that plays a role intothe kind of colleges that they
can apply to where they could beadmitted to so that initial
conversation with a with aparent and their students,
eighth or ninth grades not notcompletely unrealistic. As you
start thinking about the higherlevel maths that you need the
English the curriculum that youneed in place in order to be
(02:02):
college ready. That's the timeto really start thinking about
it. Now, of course, as you get alittle bit further along in your
high school career, that's whenthe students are going to start
thinking about okay, what kindof school do I want? That's when
the process really starts topick up? What
Mike Robertson (02:16):
let's talk about that, as you I'm sure has spoken
to 1000s and 1000s ofprospective students over the
years. What are some of the bigmisconceptions they have about
applying to college? Yeah,
Unknown (02:28):
I think the big misconception is that it's
impossible to get into collegeis so difficult. I saw a
statistic by Rafal, no Levitz acouple years back that showed
that, you know, it's just aseasy to get into college today
as it was in 1985. Despiteeverything you hear in the media
about how much harder it is toget into schools. EAB shows that
(02:49):
less than 75 schools have anadmit rate of 25% or lower. So
you think about that mostschools in the country are well
above the 50% range andadmission standards. So there's
a school for some everybody outthere. Just a matter of finding
it. Right. Yeah, it's a matterof finding it. And I think
that's that's, that's the key.
Students are applying to moreplaces than ever before. Almost
(03:10):
8.5 is the average this year,according to EAP. That's a lot.
I mean, in the 90s, it was lessthan three. So the increase in
students looking at the commonapp has really taken off.
Schools have done away withtheir own individual
application. So it's made iteasier for students to apply.
(03:30):
And applying online is a bigthing. Obviously, that's how
it's done now. So it's a loteasier to click a button and add
another school than it used tobe.
Mike Robertson (03:40):
Well, I tell you what, when I was growing up, I
remember one of my biggestanxieties had to be when you
walk into a school cafeteria ona Saturday morning, holding that
number two pencil getting readyto take the LSAT exam. How
important is LSAT now? Yeah,
Unknown (03:55):
well, the sa t has probably it really has declined,
I think in terms of itsimportance. At the majority of
schools in the country, we'veseen the rise of test optional
really take off during thepandemic. And I think it's here
to stay. Most people don'trealize, though, that schools
began moving test optional asearly as 1985, Bates College was
(04:15):
the first to do so. And fordecades, there was a website
called fair test.org, which wasan organization that categorized
all the schools that were testoptional. But since the the
pandemic where fewer studentstook the test, were able to take
the test, a lot of colleges anduniversities said, We can do
this process and the selectionprocess without it. Although I
(04:37):
will say most of the mostselective colleges in the
country still require it. Orthey're going to want to see it
to be academically eligible toenroll that institution.
Mike Robertson (04:47):
Well, let's talk about the process itself. What
happens when the College ofCharleston receives an
application? Tell me about theprocess.
Unknown (04:54):
Yeah, so when the application comes in, we usually
wait for deadlines when wereview files Based on those
deadlines, but when theapplications come in our
committee is going to take alook at each of those
applications, they're going tobe spread out. Across the
committee based on region, weread by territory. So our
admissions counselors are on theroad, they're recruiting in a
territory. And then they're thefirst read for those
(05:16):
applications when they come in.
So what they do is they take alook at that with another
colleague, and they try to makea recommended decision. Later on
a higher level of committee,some folks that have a little
bit more experience will gothrough those decisions, and
agree with them and push themforward, or maybe push them back
to have the committee continueto take a look at them. And then
we release our decisions,usually between four and eight
(05:38):
weeks after the deadline. Andthen they go out for everybody
to make up their mind on wherethey want to attend.
Mike Robertson (05:45):
Now, when you're looking at students, how
important are things like gradesor participating in sports and
clubs and things like that?
Unknown (05:52):
Yeah, the holistic review processes is really what
it's about at the College ofCharleston, many institutions
like us, we're going to want tosee not just your grades, but
we're going to see everythingyou've been involved with, we're
going to want recommendationsfrom your teachers, we want to
see potentially a writing sampleif you're applying to the Honors
College or an essay. But themost important part of an
application doesn't matter whereyou apply. I think all my
(06:15):
colleagues across the countrywould agree it's your grades and
the courses that you've taken usthe courses that you've taken,
as you look at your courses, youwant to make sure as a high
school student, that you'retaking courses that challenge
you, but not so many that yourgrades suffer and finding that
balance is really one of themost important things that you
can do. I see all the timestudents have pressed themselves
(06:38):
so hard to take all AP and IBonly to get B's and C's in those
courses far would have ratherseen that student take a couple
of the shows they're capable ofdoing that. And get A's in those
courses are BS in those courses,and save, save their time for
some other things that they areinterested in and showed more of
a well rounded student.
Mike Robertson (06:57):
As you look at these applications, are there
things that jump out every oncein a while things you should not
do things you hate seen when yousee these applications?
Unknown (07:06):
Yeah, the essay is probably the most common place
that you see that right? You seestudents who will, there's a
formula to it right. And onceyou've seen as many essays as
I've read through the years, youstart to see some real trends
and things that just and one ofthe things is when you see a
student is trying to talk about,they're trying really hard to
show they've accomplished thisor that or there's one
(07:28):
achievement that they want to goon and on about what we really
want to see is is a whole lookat the student, you have one
opportunity to tell us aboutyourself, I would go beyond just
one thing, right? Why are youinterested in this institution?
What makes the school a good fitfor you? What have you done over
your career as a high schoolstudent inside and outside the
classroom that shows us you're agood fit for that. So I like to
(07:50):
see a student that takes a moreexpansive approach to talking
about themselves and that sortof just hanging their hat on one
or two things.
Mike Robertson (07:58):
We'll get back to more admission stuff in just
a few minutes. But I want totake a second or so to talk
about the campus tour. Veryimportant that you visit the
campus. Why? Tell me why? Well,
Unknown (08:08):
I think it's about a feeling that you get, you know,
people are, will go to placesthat they like, right, there's a
personality, everybody has asort of things that they like
and they don't like. And a bigpart of that is if you're going
to spend four years at a placeit needs to really fit a place
that you're going to becomfortable place where you can
(08:28):
be academically and sociallysuccessful. And so finding a
place that is comfortable isreally a big part of that and
the campus tours, how you can dothat I think in person, you
know, we've seen tour numbersreally rebound during the
pandemic, those numbers reallydeclined nationally, they're
back to to really strong rateslike they were before the
(08:49):
pandemic. And I think it'sbecause parents and students
alike want to see and feel thatI had a former boss, they called
it the bench test here at theCollege of Charleston. And he
said every student, if they havethe chance should have that
moment where they can sit downfor just five minutes by
themselves on a bench somewhereon that campus. And just watch
(09:11):
and sort of get that feel, youknow, to be one with the campus,
if you will, to help them reallysee if they can see themselves
there. Now, not every studentgets that chance, right? I mean,
being able to travel to 810campuses can be difficult, Mike,
but one of the things thatstudents can do now that you and
I didn't have the luxury of whenwe were looking at colleges, the
(09:33):
virtual tours that are availableto students and all the video
content that's out there. Ireally advise students to start
there even before they visit acampus now. The big advantage is
being able to take a look at allthe content that's out there.
Take 1520 minutes to reallyexplore a campus before you put
it on that list as a place as amust see, right. That's a big
(09:54):
advantage that I think today'sstudent has, I really recommend
it. Now
Mike Robertson (09:58):
of course if you take the campus Who are you, you
get a feel that the campus youfind out buildings and things
like that. But what about afterthe tour? What do you recommend
students and parents do afterthe tour is over with? Yeah,
Unknown (10:12):
you know, it's real common for a family to come in,
and then they head out and go totheir car and it's over write, I
think this is where the personalexploration needs to start. If
you have the time, I alwaysrecommend walking up to a
student, random student andasking you a question or two,
taking a look at a studentproduction, if you have a chance
(10:34):
to do that, to be able to lookat the signs that are on campus
to see the level of activity tosee if there are things that
interest you. Back in the day, Iwould have said pick up a
student newspaper to see what'sgoing on on campus. But you can
do that online. And I tellstudents do that all the time,
following their social media tosee really see what that's like.
(10:54):
But I think asking a student, ifyou get a chance, even faculty,
we do that all the time, I'vehad families walk back into our
visitor center, and they say,you know, we just stopped in the
school business, or we juststopped in the School of
Education. And we just walkedinto a faculty member's office
and guess what they talked tous. And the end, if that's the
kind of personal attention youcan get at the college that this
is the place for us. Our facultyare really good at that. But I
(11:17):
think, by and large, if you havethe chance to do that, when
you're on campus, and you havethe time, you should stop and
not not be fearful doing it.
Because I think by and large,most people were really proud of
the places they work and theywant to be able to talk about
Mike Robertson (11:31):
the idea is to have the perfect fit. How do you
know if a school is the perfectfit? Yeah,
Unknown (11:37):
I tell I tell students this all the time, especially
parents, I get this question alot. They say, you know, my
student is so focused on justfinding that right school. And I
think the truth is with, youknow, there are almost 4000s
institutions of higher learningin the United States, there's
bound to be more than just oneperfect fit. I would argue that
(11:59):
there's probably scores ofperfect fits for a student. But
really one of those pieces thatyou have to think about is not
only a perfect fit in terms ofyour field for what you want to
learn, and where you want tostudy and the kind of networking
community you want to be a partof. But I think price comes into
play, right, affordability, isit are the right financial fit,
is that the right investment?
does the family have enoughresources to make that
(12:21):
institution that feels like aright fit work for that student?
So that adds another layer tothat. So I think you can find
the right fit, but maybe it'sonly the right fit socially and
academically, maybe it's not theright fit for you financially,
as well. So I think that that'sthose are the three keys when
you're looking at a school isdoes it have the areas that I
(12:42):
want to study? Does it have sortof the community that I'm
looking for socially? But thenalso, does it have that sort of
foundational piece? It's soimportant, can I afford that
institution? You have thosethree things? You I think you're
finding a school that's close tothe perfect fit for you,
Mike Robertson (13:00):
as a parent, how do you make sure that you're not
overbearing, and steering theconversation and steering a
student toward a particularschool?
Unknown (13:09):
Yeah, and you know, we send in institutions like
college trolls, and we send ourparents and students a lot of
mail and a lot of email. And weknow the parents and important
person in this process, right?
By and large, the data and lotsof different areas that do the
research will tell you that theparent is the single most
(13:31):
important influencer in thatstudent's decision on where
they're gonna go to school, evenmore so than friends. And I
think a lot of that has to dowith the finances of all of
that, of course. But there is, Ithink, a line that you as a
parent, you need to have withyour student, to give them some
control of that process. Ialways recommend to the parents
that they have an initialconversation with their student
(13:53):
about the kind of school they'relooking for, and a realistic
conversation about the sort offinancial ability of the parents
and what they need to look foris in an in state school only is
that out of state, academically,what is going to be a stretch,
what are the sub is that a bigschool, small school? Are you
undecided in your academicinterest, that initial
(14:14):
conversation to just get astudent thinking about the kind
of place they want to go, andthen have the student go do
their research, there's so muchof their fingertips online that
they can research the the onlineguide books, the the websites
that are out there, that you canliterally identify a student
that's similar to you and thekinds of schools they've gone to
now, there's so much data outthere available too. And I think
(14:35):
that's where a parent shouldstep in, is that students can
start building some really,really long lists, right? It's
helping them hone in on thosethings that they know best about
their student. And I thinkoftentimes that that's the right
sort of balance you want to findwith your student is having them
have some ownership but alsothen you being able to help
(14:58):
steer Are them because you knowthem best.
Mike Robertson (15:02):
And you know, I'm curious, you've been doing
this since 2001, what haschanged when it comes to
applying for college, a
Unknown (15:09):
lot of things have changed since 2001, in this
process, but I think probablylet me give you two. The first
one I would tell you is theinternal one in the admissions
offices. Back then everythingwas on paper. So we would, you
know, you can imagine walkinginto a doctor's office and
seeing the colorful foldersbehind the front desk. But we
(15:29):
had rooms full of those things.
And we would bring them home andegg cartons and banana boxes,
to, to read files, and write ournotes by hand on each of these,
these applications. That wholeprocess now is electronic, I
mean, the mail we get on a verybusy day, we make it a bucket of
mail these days and admissionsoffice, back then we could get
25 or 30 buckets of mail just inone day, with transcripts and
(15:55):
the likes. So that's changed.
For the students, I think it'saccessibility, it's the ability
to apply with ease to moreplaces. It's the ability to see
content about institutions, youmight never have heard of, if
you were from a different partof the country, that now you
have that immediate access tolearn so much about. And so I
(16:17):
think because of that, theparents and the students are far
more educated about the process,and know a lot more about the
competitors and the otherinstitutions that are out there.
And I think that that everybodywins in that case, because I
think more students find theright fit. And and that's,
that's, that's what we want. Wewant to find students that we
(16:39):
want to help students find theright home.
Mike Robertson (16:41):
All right, let's end this with some closing words
of wisdom from you. Yeah,
Unknown (16:46):
well, if you're a parent or student out there, and
you're beginning this process,my words of wisdom are not to
allow the concern and the mediaand the push to say that this is
so hard that you're going to belost in this process, and so
much harder to get into schoolsthis year than last year. The
reality is, there are so manygreat schools out there that are
(17:08):
the right fit for you, it's justwilling, you just need to be
willing to sit down and take thetime to to do the ample research
that you need to find the rightfit for you so that you can
build that list, right. And I'llclose it with this. You should
have a couple schools that arestretched schools for you in
terms of academics and finances,a couple that are just the right
fit. And then some that youknow, will be no problem for you
(17:30):
as a family. So if you'rethinking about this process and
get ready to launch, that wouldbe a great place for you to
start building the
Mike Robertson (17:37):
list. All right, Jamie, thanks for the
conversation.
Unknown (17:40):
Thanks so much.
Mike Robertson (17:45):
Thank you for listening to this episode is
speaking of College ofCharleston with today's guest
Jimmy Foster. For shownotes andmore episodes, visit the College
Charleston's official news site,the college today and
today.cfc.edu. You can find moreCollege of Charleston podcast
episodes on all major podcastplatforms. I'm Mike Robertson.
(18:10):
Thanks again for listening tospeaking of college in
Charleston.
Hello, and Welcome to Speaking of College
of Charleston. I'm MikeRobertson, Senior Director of
Media Relations at the college.
Today, we will demystify thecollege admission experience and
hopefully, help students andparents get ready for the move
from high school to college. Myguest is Jimmy foster vice
president of enrollment planningat the College of Charleston.
(00:36):
Let's get started. According toForbes magazine, over 7 million
students applied to colleges in2023. Now despite all the
guidebooks and all the blogs andadvice from parents, neighbors
and fellow students, there seemsto be a lot of anxiety and
confusion concerning the collegeadmission process. Jimmy Foster
(00:59):
is the vice president ofenrollment planning here at the
College of Charleston. Jimmy, Iwant you to kind of pull back
the curtain on the admissionprocess and talk about
prospective students and whatthey really need to know in
order to get to college. Andlet's start with the basics.
When should a high schoolstudent start thinking about
applying for college?
Unknown (01:20):
Mike, it's great question. You're right. I think
demystifying this process is oneof the most important things we
can do to help students startlooking at colleges, you know,
the process can start really atany time, most students really
begin their sophomore year inhigh school. But I always
recommend that they startthinking about it a little bit
earlier than that. It's notuncommon for eighth grade or
(01:41):
ninth grader to start thinkingabout the courses they're going
to need to take in high school.
And that that plays a role intothe kind of colleges that they
can apply to where they could beadmitted to so that initial
conversation with a with aparent and their students,
eighth or ninth grades not notcompletely unrealistic. As you
start thinking about the higherlevel maths that you need the
English the curriculum that youneed in place in order to be
(02:02):
college ready. That's the timeto really start thinking about
it. Now, of course, as you get alittle bit further along in your
high school career, that's whenthe students are going to start
thinking about okay, what kindof school do I want? That's when
the process really starts topick up? What
Mike Robertson (02:16):
let's talk about that, as you I'm sure has spoken
to 1000s and 1000s ofprospective students over the
years. What are some of the bigmisconceptions they have about
applying to college? Yeah,
Unknown (02:28):
I think the big misconception is that it's
impossible to get into collegeis so difficult. I saw a
statistic by Rafal, no Levitz acouple years back that showed
that, you know, it's just aseasy to get into college today
as it was in 1985. Despiteeverything you hear in the media
about how much harder it is toget into schools. EAB shows that
(02:49):
less than 75 schools have anadmit rate of 25% or lower. So
you think about that mostschools in the country are well
above the 50% range andadmission standards. So there's
a school for some everybody outthere. Just a matter of finding
it. Right. Yeah, it's a matterof finding it. And I think
that's that's, that's the key.
Students are applying to moreplaces than ever before. Almost
(03:10):
8.5 is the average this year,according to EAP. That's a lot.
I mean, in the 90s, it was lessthan three. So the increase in
students looking at the commonapp has really taken off.
Schools have done away withtheir own individual
application. So it's made iteasier for students to apply.
(03:30):
And applying online is a bigthing. Obviously, that's how
it's done now. So it's a loteasier to click a button and add
another school than it used tobe.
Mike Robertson (03:40):
Well, I tell you what, when I was growing up, I
remember one of my biggestanxieties had to be when you
walk into a school cafeteria ona Saturday morning, holding that
number two pencil getting readyto take the LSAT exam. How
important is LSAT now? Yeah,
Unknown (03:55):
well, the sa t has probably it really has declined,
I think in terms of itsimportance. At the majority of
schools in the country, we'veseen the rise of test optional
really take off during thepandemic. And I think it's here
to stay. Most people don'trealize, though, that schools
began moving test optional asearly as 1985, Bates College was
(04:15):
the first to do so. And fordecades, there was a website
called fair test.org, which wasan organization that categorized
all the schools that were testoptional. But since the the
pandemic where fewer studentstook the test, were able to take
the test, a lot of colleges anduniversities said, We can do
this process and the selectionprocess without it. Although I
(04:37):
will say most of the mostselective colleges in the
country still require it. Orthey're going to want to see it
to be academically eligible toenroll that institution.
Mike Robertson (04:47):
Well, let's talk about the process itself. What
happens when the College ofCharleston receives an
application? Tell me about theprocess.
Unknown (04:54):
Yeah, so when the application comes in, we usually
wait for deadlines when wereview files Based on those
deadlines, but when theapplications come in our
committee is going to take alook at each of those
applications, they're going tobe spread out. Across the
committee based on region, weread by territory. So our
admissions counselors are on theroad, they're recruiting in a
territory. And then they're thefirst read for those
(05:16):
applications when they come in.
So what they do is they take alook at that with another
colleague, and they try to makea recommended decision. Later on
a higher level of committee,some folks that have a little
bit more experience will gothrough those decisions, and
agree with them and push themforward, or maybe push them back
to have the committee continueto take a look at them. And then
we release our decisions,usually between four and eight
(05:38):
weeks after the deadline. Andthen they go out for everybody
to make up their mind on wherethey want to attend.
Mike Robertson (05:45):
Now, when you're looking at students, how
important are things like gradesor participating in sports and
clubs and things like that?
Unknown (05:52):
Yeah, the holistic review processes is really what
it's about at the College ofCharleston, many institutions
like us, we're going to want tosee not just your grades, but
we're going to see everythingyou've been involved with, we're
going to want recommendationsfrom your teachers, we want to
see potentially a writing sampleif you're applying to the Honors
College or an essay. But themost important part of an
application doesn't matter whereyou apply. I think all my
(06:15):
colleagues across the countrywould agree it's your grades and
the courses that you've taken usthe courses that you've taken,
as you look at your courses, youwant to make sure as a high
school student, that you'retaking courses that challenge
you, but not so many that yourgrades suffer and finding that
balance is really one of themost important things that you
can do. I see all the timestudents have pressed themselves
(06:38):
so hard to take all AP and IBonly to get B's and C's in those
courses far would have ratherseen that student take a couple
of the shows they're capable ofdoing that. And get A's in those
courses are BS in those courses,and save, save their time for
some other things that they areinterested in and showed more of
a well rounded student.
Mike Robertson (06:57):
As you look at these applications, are there
things that jump out every oncein a while things you should not
do things you hate seen when yousee these applications?
Unknown (07:06):
Yeah, the essay is probably the most common place
that you see that right? You seestudents who will, there's a
formula to it right. And onceyou've seen as many essays as
I've read through the years, youstart to see some real trends
and things that just and one ofthe things is when you see a
student is trying to talk about,they're trying really hard to
show they've accomplished thisor that or there's one
(07:28):
achievement that they want to goon and on about what we really
want to see is is a whole lookat the student, you have one
opportunity to tell us aboutyourself, I would go beyond just
one thing, right? Why are youinterested in this institution?
What makes the school a good fitfor you? What have you done over
your career as a high schoolstudent inside and outside the
classroom that shows us you're agood fit for that. So I like to
(07:50):
see a student that takes a moreexpansive approach to talking
about themselves and that sortof just hanging their hat on one
or two things.
Mike Robertson (07:58):
We'll get back to more admission stuff in just
a few minutes. But I want totake a second or so to talk
about the campus tour. Veryimportant that you visit the
campus. Why? Tell me why? Well,
Unknown (08:08):
I think it's about a feeling that you get, you know,
people are, will go to placesthat they like, right, there's a
personality, everybody has asort of things that they like
and they don't like. And a bigpart of that is if you're going
to spend four years at a placeit needs to really fit a place
that you're going to becomfortable place where you can
(08:28):
be academically and sociallysuccessful. And so finding a
place that is comfortable isreally a big part of that and
the campus tours, how you can dothat I think in person, you
know, we've seen tour numbersreally rebound during the
pandemic, those numbers reallydeclined nationally, they're
back to to really strong rateslike they were before the
(08:49):
pandemic. And I think it'sbecause parents and students
alike want to see and feel thatI had a former boss, they called
it the bench test here at theCollege of Charleston. And he
said every student, if they havethe chance should have that
moment where they can sit downfor just five minutes by
themselves on a bench somewhereon that campus. And just watch
(09:11):
and sort of get that feel, youknow, to be one with the campus,
if you will, to help them reallysee if they can see themselves
there. Now, not every studentgets that chance, right? I mean,
being able to travel to 810campuses can be difficult, Mike,
but one of the things thatstudents can do now that you and
I didn't have the luxury of whenwe were looking at colleges, the
(09:33):
virtual tours that are availableto students and all the video
content that's out there. Ireally advise students to start
there even before they visit acampus now. The big advantage is
being able to take a look at allthe content that's out there.
Take 1520 minutes to reallyexplore a campus before you put
it on that list as a place as amust see, right. That's a big
(09:54):
advantage that I think today'sstudent has, I really recommend
it. Now
Mike Robertson (09:58):
of course if you take the campus Who are you, you
get a feel that the campus youfind out buildings and things
like that. But what about afterthe tour? What do you recommend
students and parents do afterthe tour is over with? Yeah,
Unknown (10:12):
you know, it's real common for a family to come in,
and then they head out and go totheir car and it's over write, I
think this is where the personalexploration needs to start. If
you have the time, I alwaysrecommend walking up to a
student, random student andasking you a question or two,
taking a look at a studentproduction, if you have a chance
(10:34):
to do that, to be able to lookat the signs that are on campus
to see the level of activity tosee if there are things that
interest you. Back in the day, Iwould have said pick up a
student newspaper to see what'sgoing on on campus. But you can
do that online. And I tellstudents do that all the time,
following their social media tosee really see what that's like.
(10:54):
But I think asking a student, ifyou get a chance, even faculty,
we do that all the time, I'vehad families walk back into our
visitor center, and they say,you know, we just stopped in the
school business, or we juststopped in the School of
Education. And we just walkedinto a faculty member's office
and guess what they talked tous. And the end, if that's the
kind of personal attention youcan get at the college that this
is the place for us. Our facultyare really good at that. But I
(11:17):
think, by and large, if you havethe chance to do that, when
you're on campus, and you havethe time, you should stop and
not not be fearful doing it.
Because I think by and large,most people were really proud of
the places they work and theywant to be able to talk about
Mike Robertson (11:31):
the idea is to have the perfect fit. How do you
know if a school is the perfectfit? Yeah,
Unknown (11:37):
I tell I tell students this all the time, especially
parents, I get this question alot. They say, you know, my
student is so focused on justfinding that right school. And I
think the truth is with, youknow, there are almost 4000s
institutions of higher learningin the United States, there's
bound to be more than just oneperfect fit. I would argue that
(11:59):
there's probably scores ofperfect fits for a student. But
really one of those pieces thatyou have to think about is not
only a perfect fit in terms ofyour field for what you want to
learn, and where you want tostudy and the kind of networking
community you want to be a partof. But I think price comes into
play, right, affordability, isit are the right financial fit,
is that the right investment?
does the family have enoughresources to make that
(12:21):
institution that feels like aright fit work for that student?
So that adds another layer tothat. So I think you can find
the right fit, but maybe it'sonly the right fit socially and
academically, maybe it's not theright fit for you financially,
as well. So I think that that'sthose are the three keys when
you're looking at a school isdoes it have the areas that I
(12:42):
want to study? Does it have sortof the community that I'm
looking for socially? But thenalso, does it have that sort of
foundational piece? It's soimportant, can I afford that
institution? You have thosethree things? You I think you're
finding a school that's close tothe perfect fit for you,
Mike Robertson (13:00):
as a parent, how do you make sure that you're not
overbearing, and steering theconversation and steering a
student toward a particularschool?
Unknown (13:09):
Yeah, and you know, we send in institutions like
college trolls, and we send ourparents and students a lot of
mail and a lot of email. And weknow the parents and important
person in this process, right?
By and large, the data and lotsof different areas that do the
research will tell you that theparent is the single most
(13:31):
important influencer in thatstudent's decision on where
they're gonna go to school, evenmore so than friends. And I
think a lot of that has to dowith the finances of all of
that, of course. But there is, Ithink, a line that you as a
parent, you need to have withyour student, to give them some
control of that process. Ialways recommend to the parents
that they have an initialconversation with their student
(13:53):
about the kind of school they'relooking for, and a realistic
conversation about the sort offinancial ability of the parents
and what they need to look foris in an in state school only is
that out of state, academically,what is going to be a stretch,
what are the sub is that a bigschool, small school? Are you
undecided in your academicinterest, that initial
(14:14):
conversation to just get astudent thinking about the kind
of place they want to go, andthen have the student go do
their research, there's so muchof their fingertips online that
they can research the the onlineguide books, the the websites
that are out there, that you canliterally identify a student
that's similar to you and thekinds of schools they've gone to
now, there's so much data outthere available too. And I think
(14:35):
that's where a parent shouldstep in, is that students can
start building some really,really long lists, right? It's
helping them hone in on thosethings that they know best about
their student. And I thinkoftentimes that that's the right
sort of balance you want to findwith your student is having them
have some ownership but alsothen you being able to help
(14:58):
steer Are them because you knowthem best.
Mike Robertson (15:02):
And you know, I'm curious, you've been doing
this since 2001, what haschanged when it comes to
applying for college, a
Unknown (15:09):
lot of things have changed since 2001, in this
process, but I think probablylet me give you two. The first
one I would tell you is theinternal one in the admissions
offices. Back then everythingwas on paper. So we would, you
know, you can imagine walkinginto a doctor's office and
seeing the colorful foldersbehind the front desk. But we
(15:29):
had rooms full of those things.
And we would bring them home andegg cartons and banana boxes,
to, to read files, and write ournotes by hand on each of these,
these applications. That wholeprocess now is electronic, I
mean, the mail we get on a verybusy day, we make it a bucket of
mail these days and admissionsoffice, back then we could get
25 or 30 buckets of mail just inone day, with transcripts and
(15:55):
the likes. So that's changed.
For the students, I think it'saccessibility, it's the ability
to apply with ease to moreplaces. It's the ability to see
content about institutions, youmight never have heard of, if
you were from a different partof the country, that now you
have that immediate access tolearn so much about. And so I
(16:17):
think because of that, theparents and the students are far
more educated about the process,and know a lot more about the
competitors and the otherinstitutions that are out there.
And I think that that everybodywins in that case, because I
think more students find theright fit. And and that's,
that's, that's what we want. Wewant to find students that we
(16:39):
want to help students find theright home.
Mike Robertson (16:41):
All right, let's end this with some closing words
of wisdom from you. Yeah,
Unknown (16:46):
well, if you're a parent or student out there, and
you're beginning this process,my words of wisdom are not to
allow the concern and the mediaand the push to say that this is
so hard that you're going to belost in this process, and so
much harder to get into schoolsthis year than last year. The
reality is, there are so manygreat schools out there that are
(17:08):
the right fit for you, it's justwilling, you just need to be
willing to sit down and take thetime to to do the ample research
that you need to find the rightfit for you so that you can
build that list, right. And I'llclose it with this. You should
have a couple schools that arestretched schools for you in
terms of academics and finances,a couple that are just the right
fit. And then some that youknow, will be no problem for you
(17:30):
as a family. So if you'rethinking about this process and
get ready to launch, that wouldbe a great place for you to
start building the
Mike Robertson (17:37):
list. All right, Jamie, thanks for the
conversation.
Unknown (17:40):
Thanks so much.
Mike Robertson (17:45):
Thank you for listening to this episode is
speaking of College ofCharleston with today's guest
Jimmy Foster. For shownotes andmore episodes, visit the College
Charleston's official news site,the college today and
today.cfc.edu. You can find moreCollege of Charleston podcast
episodes on all major podcastplatforms. I'm Mike Robertson.
(18:10):
Thanks again for listening tospeaking of college in
Charleston.
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