October 2022
JET College Fair:
Creighton, Fordham, John Carroll, Loyola U of Chicago, Loyola U of Maryland, Marquette, Regis, Rockhurst, Saint Louis U, Seattle U, U of San Francisco and Xavier U will all be at Hill-Murray on Thursday, October 6 from 2:30-3:00 for the Upper Midwest Jesuit Excellence Tour college fair. All students and parents are encouraged to attend. This event will be in the student cafeteria.
National College Fair
The National College Fair, the largest college fair in the country, will be at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Wednesday, October 5 and Thursday, October 6. Colleges from all over the United States and the world will be represented. This is a great opportunity for students to connect with colleges and broaden (or begin) their search. Make sure to register for this college fair in advance so that you do not have to fill out interest cards at every table. You’ll be given an easy barcode for the college to capture your information. We recommend you attend on Wednesday night from 5:00-8:00 PM.
MEA visits
The upcoming break from school on October 20 and 21 will be a great time to visit colleges either for the first time or for another look. Here’s a sample of schools offering special visits:
University of Minnesota-Duluth
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Scholarships
The college counseling office keeps an updated list of outside scholarships for which seniors can apply in Naviance under the “Colleges” tab. Click on this link to stay up to date on what scholarships may be available. Keep in mind that the most readily available scholarships that students receive are from their attending colleges.
Timeline reminder
October 1: The FAFSA is available for families to apply for financial assistance. Some colleges also require the CSS Profile which is also available on October 1.
October 5: Deadline for seniors to complete their University of St. Thomas application if they want to participate in the University of St. Thomas on-site application review that will occur on October 18 at Hill-Murray.
October 15: FAFSA Workshop at Hill-Murray in the faculty lounge, 10:00 am-Noon.
October 18: All-school test day. Juniors will take a practice ACT while seniors can get application help from Ms. Egan and Mr. Reid in the commons. On-site application review for University of St. Thomas applicants (see above).
October 31: All college applications should be completed.
Advice from a recent graduate
Grace Lavigne ‘22 provided the following advice:
The college hunt is both daunting and exciting. It’s challenging to know what to look for and how to know what you might want in a school. But it’s exciting to think about what the next chapter of your life could look like. Luckily, Hill-Murray does a really good job of getting you immersed into the college hunt, you just have to put in the effort and utilize their resources. Go to the info sessions that HM holds about different universities. These times are a great way to get in contact with the reps from those schools, ask questions, and learn more about what the school has to offer. Any kind of info session you can find whether that be hosted by Hill-Murray or another place in the community, take the time to attend those. Even if you don’t love the schools in attendance, it gives you a chance to have more schools for comparison. Once you start compiling a list of schools you’re interested in, look more in depth about each school and compare them to each other. If you know your interest in study, look at what classes each school has to offer for that major and if they have any programs in place to achieve your academic goals. Look at what the student body life is like: Are there students involved in extracurriculars? Are they extremely academically driven? Is it a more social campus? Is the campus centrally located? How far is it from home? In addition to the level of prestige that a university’s academics may have, these things play into what your college experience might be like as well.
All of the things mentioned above are things I’m sure you’ve heard once or twice before, however the biggest thing I can recommend to you on your college hunt is to trust your gut. You know YOU better than anyone else. If you’re touring a college campus and you have an off feeling about it, write it down in your notes app so you don’t forget. If you’re talking to a student who goes to one of your options and gives you insight as to what the school is like and you just know it’s a good fit, remember that feeling. College is a full spectrum experience and you have to be in an environment that you will not only do well in, but thrive.
If you’ve already started your college search and feel overwhelmed, just know you’re not alone. It’s hard to manage your school life, social life, and then throw college searching on top of that. If you’ve started your application process, know that it’s a lot of work, but in the end it pays off. That being said, if you have any questions about the college search or what to even be searching for, feel free to reach out and I’d love to help you out (email: gracehlavigne@gmail.com).
