2020 Conference

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This session will talk about the new partnership in the world of higher education. College admissions and Community Based Organizations CBO's.

75-minute session

Interested in establishing an application boot camp for your (rising) seniors or seeing what other schools are doing in theirs? Hear from counselors who run an Application Boot Camp at their schools to enhance what you're already doing or to develop your own program.

75-minute session

Secondary/CBO

With a more competitive admissions process, more extracurriculars, and more distractions, students need a more effective approach. Learn strategies that can help your students prioritize their time, manage their stress, and develop a mindset that leads to success in school and in life.

75-minute session

Secondary/CBO

"Individuals 18-25 years old have rates of substance use disorder two to three times greater than older adults, and comprise 20% of addiction treatment patients in the US. Therefore, it follows that universities are increasingly offering innovative recovery support services" (Recovery Research Institute). For students with substance use challenges or those in recovery, Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) can make the difference between thriving and continued struggles. Learn about connecting students to CRPs from regional professionals.

75-minute session

Secondary/CBO

What does it take to make a field trip to a college campus spectacular? How can a high school counselor prepare students to make the most of the visit? What can colleges do to set expectations and provide a visit that meets everyone’s needs? Hear from a panel of experienced planners from the college and high school sides on best practices to collaborate on a great group visit from start to finish.

75-minute session

ALL

This session aims to share useful strategies and tools that Community Colleges and 4 year institutions can use to better serve and prepare their students for a seamless transfer to a 4 year institution and a clear pathway to degree completion. New River Community College will share tips from collaboration efforts with Virginia Tech and Radford University and offer an inside look at the Hokie Corner and Highlander Hub at their 2 campus locations. Radford will highlight details of their new " Bridge to RU" program while VT will share how they have been able to intentionally engage with students via an online appointment system.

75-minute session

Postsecondary

At a time when prospective students and families have access to so much information about the college process, learn how American University has used storytelling to optimize its outward message to others. In the last two years, AU has re-imagined its digital recruitment and on-campus experience by using technology and content creation to propel its narrative forward.

75-minute session

Postsecondary

Learn how counselors at a large public high school worked with English teachers to help teach students how to write essays that wow. College counselors know what makes a quality essay topic and English teachers know how to teach writing. Bring them together and all of your students will benefit. Train English teachers on the do's and don'ts of the college essay and how to think through the lens of the admissions reader. When done well, student feedback was far more effective.

75-minute session

Secondary/CBO

Looking for staff connection and improved retention? The Office of Admissions at George Mason University wanted the same thing, so they created the Admissions Mentorship Program (AMP). The program matched less experienced staff with leaders in the office, and provided a format for feedback and growth. Come learn about how this one-year program was set-up and coordinated, and join the conversation on professional development for a diverse staff.

75-minute session

Postsecondary

"Small Town, Big Talent: Identifying and Supporting Academically Promising Students in Rural Areas" is a recent research report produced by the Jack Kent Cook Foundation. James Madison University's Valley Scholars is one of several programs highlighted in the research providing educational enrichment, academic support and access to post secondary education. Through research and practice, recommendations of best practices are offered in identifying and working with talented rural students.

75-minute session

ALL

Spark451 conducts original annual research surveys of college-bound students and their parents in order to stay abreast of the changing marketplace of college recruitment from year to year. In this session, we will share some key findings from our most recent surveys and use them as topics for discussion among our panel of high school counselors and college & university admissions professionals.

75-minute session

ALL

Upon entering college, many students feel underprepared and overwhelmed. Two high school counseling directors from Hanover County will provide best practices related to preparing students for the first year of college. We will focus on ways for students to overcome barriers related to mental illness, build resiliency, and engage in campus activities. By preparing students prior to matriculation, students are more likely to stay in school, improving retention rates of colleges.

75-minute session

ALL

The primary focus of this session is to help all understand where we are as a community, when it comes to DACA and undocumented students and families. How to recruit families of Latinx descent. What resources are available to all sides of the desk and what information is legitimate and useful as we assist students to the next level of education. Learn from four admissions professionals with different backgrounds and stories.

75-minute session

ALL

Join us on an adventure as we follow the yellow brick road into a post-Naviance world. Somewhere over the rainbow three schools successfully migrated to next generation college counseling platforms . Explore features (come see Scattergrams!), pros/cons and cost. Did we reach the Emerald City and find the great and powerful Oz or did we succumb to the power of the poppies trying to get there? One thing is for sure, "We're not in Kansas anymore." This session is for all professionals--high school colleagues will learn about our successes and pitfalls and college colleagues will get an inside look into how these platforms are used in college counseling practices.

75-minute session

This workshop is designed to help busy high school counselors and college application advisors understand how to make their students' applications stand out in this competitive admissions climate. Often, students don't share their full story with their counselor/advisors and/or they don't fully describe themselves through their essays and other parts of their application. Participants will understand how to help students share their story in a memorable and unique way.

75-minute session

Secondary/CBO

Washington and Lee's alumni interviewing program has undergone significant change in the past three years. In an effort to improve the interviewing experience for both applicants and volunteers, a working group comprised of Admissions, Alumni Engagement and Institutional Advancement colleagues closely analyzed and refined volunteer recruitment and program processes. In this session, I will share how we defined our program mission, drafted a student-centered best practices document, built an internal volunteer review process and created more dynamic training materials.

7-10-minute Anchor Talk

Postsecondary

99% of the time, college and school counselors guide appreciative students and families through the college process. However, some of us may one day encounter the 1%; angry, demanding, unreasonable, and occasionally litigious families. Working on the assumption that the best defense is a good offense, this session will spotlight some outrageous, yet true, ‘tales from the crypt’ and will provide suggestions for proactive steps by the college office, how to establish institutional support, the importance of documentation, and potential responses to our most challenging families.

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Secondary/CBO

Through a partnership with George Mason University’s Early Identification Program (university pre college program), Office of Admissions, and Honors College, a pipeline has been created to encourage talented, underrepresented, first generation students to pursue competitive academic opportunities at the University. Support is provided not only by staff members, but also through a peer mentoring program that assists with the application process and demystifying the Honors College Experience.

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ALL

In a profession ruled by recent graduates of the university, one admissions counselor tries to break the mold of the stereotypical admissions counselor. How many times have you been asked, "Oh did you go there?" It is important to understand your university and what it can offer students from all walks of life. Join me for a discussion on how to represent your current institution like a graduate of that institution.

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ALL

Whether you are 1 year or 1 month into your new job as an Admissions Counselor, you will probably be overwhelmed with travel session at some point. I am here to tell you that it will be OKAY and will be able to provide helpful tips and advice to get you ready to tackle your travel season!

7-10-minute Anchor Talk

Postsecondary

This session will help the audience understand the unique and additional challenges facing students with disabilities when applying to college. We will walk through everything from the initial review and what they look for, the campus visit and questions they might ask to the application process and what they should and should not do. We will also walk through tips to ensure the entire admissions process is accessible to students with disabilities.

75-minute session

ALL

Prospective students are eager to meet their admissions counselor at a high school visit but often hear nearly the same presentation from all colleges. “We have study abroad…a career center…residence halls!” This session will discuss effective techniques for delivering a unique high school visit whether you’re presenting to 1 students or 100!

75-minute session

Virginia Tech strategic partnerships with a local non profit and campus stakeholders have increased access to hundreds of students from underrepresented communities. We host two summer programs: The Black College Institute and the Hispanic College Institute, both free overnight programs designed to empower and educate students with the tools to succeed in their college admission process. The focus of these programs is not only to engage underrepresented students but also support their families through the inequitable process of college admission. Participants attending this session will leave with increased knowledge regarding minority student engagement and resources, using Virginia Tech as the sample model.

ALL

The landscape of college finances is more complex than ever. Families are facing ever-increasing costs, college enrollment offices are under pressure to meet revenue goals, and school counselors are often caught in the middle when advising students. Join us for a crash course in college economics as we explore the many challenges in today's college marketplace, the ways that colleges and families are coping, how we got to this point, and how our experienced panelists expect college costs and financial aid to progress in the future.

75-minute session

Our presentation will frame college counseling through a diversity, equity and inclusion lens. Considering the unique needs of three different school populations in the Washington, DC area, our presentation will highlight programmatic approaches to promoting college access for all students. Counselors and college access providers will be challenged to consider the following question: Based on the needs of my school population, how is my program meeting students where they are?

75-minute session

Secondary/CBO

A detailed view of what goes on to be a recruited student athlete at the NCAA D-I, D-II or D-III levels. Will go over all aspects including NCAA Clearing house, calendars, terms and overall recruitment information

75-minute session

Parents…they’re not going anywhere. Helping parents, helps students! Come learn about ParentUniversity – a series of workshops designed to support parents of high school juniors and seniors as they navigate the college application process. The more information parents have about the process, they more confident they can feel in allowing their child to drive. McLean High School counselors Tara Lodwig and Kathleen Otal, with Career Center Specialist Laura Venos, will share their multi-year running program for a stress-less college application process.

75-minute session

Secondary/CBO

Diversity, access, and inclusion initiatives have become prevalent at many institutions in recent years. However, there is a sector of higher education that has specialized in underrepresented groups from inception: Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This session will offer a glimpse into the workings of an HBCU admissions office and how lessons learned here can help impact recruiting underrepresented students at PWIs and other institutions. Reflections from former PWI and HBCU admissions counselors will be shared.

Postsecondary

Three pairs of parents whose children have also joined higher education will discuss the evolution of our profession (admissions travel, marketing data, high school visits, recruitment, financial aid, selectivity) through generational lenses. From the humorous, “how did you travel before Google maps and cell phones?” to the theoretical, “how have these advances served our students?” panelists will share decades of wisdom as well as fresh perspectives.

75-minute session

Hear from Aimee Rose (VP of Integrated Communications & Chief Strategy Offier, recently named Higher Ed Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association), Lisa Ha (AVP of Marketing) and Matt Munsey (AVP of Admissions) from Mary Baldwin University as they discuss successful collaboration between the admissions and marketing offices. This session will highlight data analysis to determine a population group and an appropriate call to action, marketing tactics to increase engagement, the War Room approach for increased collaboration, gamification of accepted student days, and other tactics used to increase the success of MBU's overall recruitment efforts.

75-minute session

Postsecondary

With a diverse group of panelists, this session aims to educate the college counseling and admissions community on how to work with students navigating the selective admissions process. With admissions officers sharing what they look for on college applications and counselors sharing how they counsel students, we hope to share best practices and help all students navigate this process by advising students throughout the admissions cycle.

75-minute session

ALL

Join members of the Current Trends and Future Issues committee for an interactive session. Topics include the NACAC vote and implications to remove three provisions from the Code of Ethical Professional Practices, the ACT changes (computer based testing & section retakes), updates to College Board's Landscape product (formerly known as the Environmental Context Dashboard), the US Department of Education adoption of the "College Financing Plan" (formerly known as the "Shopping Sheet") in an attempt to standardize finaid notifications and more. This session is meant to be interactive--come and join the conversation about the topics that have impacted your work this year.

75-minute session

ALL

We all tell prospective students that the best way to experience a college or university is to visit the campus, but how can postsecondary institutions make the most of their counselor programs? In this session, co-presenters Mariah McLane Giardino (college side) and Hannah Wolff (high school side) will discuss the dos and don'ts for hosting a successful counselor visit. Come prepared to share your own experiences (good or bad!) so we all walk away with a better understanding of how to keep our visitors happy while showcasing our institutions.

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