Lecture Series
Once a year PIN hosts an evening discussion on a topic of interest to the independent school community such as SATs, admission policies, strategies for coping with the pressures of applying to schools, internet safety, sports health, and financing college.
This year the Joan Walter Lecture Series presented:
“Surviving the College Process:
How to Plan for College in a Challenging Economic Environment.”
Monday, October 19 at 7:15 pm at Meadowbrook School in Weston, MA
Featured panelists included:
- Mr. William Fitzsimmons: Harvard College Dean of Admissions: Dean Fitzsimmons addressed the topic of standardized testing. He touched on topics such as the importance of standardized testing and role standardized tests, including SAT’s, SAT II’s, and AP’s play in the selection process; the cost worthiness of test preparation; the future of the SAT in the admissions process and its ability to predict success in college.
- Mr. Stan Mark Godoff, Compass Educational Consultants: Mr. Godoff addressed the following topics: finding the “right fit” school and assessing the students’ strengths and weaknesses academically, socially, and athletically; how location, size, curriculum, fraternities, sororities, character of student body, diversity/economic/social, and learning styles fit into the college selection process; how to assess which colleges are a stretches, possibles and likelies for your child and how many schools to apply to; tips on the college visit, the group interview, personal interview, questions to ask, recording feelings and thoughts after a visit; how to make the final decision without remorse using a spread sheet and tips on revisiting top choices.
- Ms. Susan Marlenga, Partner, Compass Educational Consultants: Ms. Marlenga addressed the topic of athletic recruitment from a practical point of view: deciding between Division I and Division III schools; how and when students should contact coaches; the appropriate questions to ask; what should be the degree of parent involvement; how to protect yourself from overzealous coaches; and how to make the most of the athletic recruitment process.
- Ms. Francine Davis: Independent Educational Consultant & former TERI Educational Advisor: Ms. Davis addressed the topic of financing the college education: websites and other resources that are useful for finding scholarships; how one qualifies for scholarships; useful tips to guide you through the process of obtaining scholarships; the pros and cons of attending a less expensive school; work study, loans, transferring to save money, on campus living versus off campus living; and identifying scams or traps that one can fall into when using internet sites for scholarship money.
The lecture took place Monday, October 19 at 7:15 pm at Meadowbrook School in Weston, MA. It was open to the public. All funds that were raised go to support PIN’s Community Service Grants Program.