Mr. High School Counselor

Tacoma College & Career Fair

Matt Burns — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:10:45 +0000

The 2009 Tacoma College & Career Fair was a big success! We had about 175 colleges and about 2500 visitors! I haven’t seen the final official list of colleges, but for now you can see the last update at tiny.cc/Tacoma_Fair_List.

Going Pro – What Are Your Chances of Turning Pro?

Matt Burns — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:23:28 +0000

I made these graphs from data on the NCAA web site (see the url at the end of this post) in response to an email I received from another counselor this morning. It’s no surprise that so many young people, especially young men, think professional sports will be their ticket to prosperity. Too frequently, those with the strongest belief in their ability to beat the odds are those least willing to work hard in the classroom. I hope you find this useful.

Data Source: National Collegiate Athletic Association “Estimated Probability of Competing in Athletics Beyond the High School Interscholastic Level”
http://tiny.cc/Going_Pro

Moving My Blog

Matt Burns — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:34:59 +0000

I’m trying to decide if I should keep using this bolg, or just use the one on my website. For now, I’ll keep using both for now. Here’s the RSS for the blog on my Your College Fit site – yourcollegefit.com/YCF/Blog/rss.xml

Web Pages Update

Matt Burns — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:42:21 +0000

I’ve been working on updating my college links web pages. You can see them here – yourcollegefit.com. Click on “College Info Pages.”

2009 College & Career Fair Updated List

Matt Burns — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:32:59 +0000

Here’s a link to the most recently posted list of colleges registered for the 2009 Tacoma College & Career Fair – 2009 Tacoma College & Career Fair updated 10/2/09. We’re up to about 125 colleges and there are still more that have expressed an interest and may still register. Here’s a link to a map from downtown Tacoma to the University of Puget Sound’s Tennis Pavilion where the fair will be held on Monday, October 19th, from 5PM until 8PM.

2009 Tacoma College & Career Fair

Matt Burns — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:31:05 +0000

Below is the current list of colleges that have committed to being a part of this year’s Tacoma College & Career Fair. I’ve heard from another 20 or so that they are planning to attend. The fair will be at the University of Puget Sound Tennis Pavilion. Here’s a link to a map and directions to the fair:
View University of Puget Sound – Fitness Center Tennis PavilionAddress:‎ in a larger map

2009 Tacoma College & Career Fair
October 19 5 PM-8 PM University of Puget Sound Tennis Pavilion.
This is a list of colleges & universities that will be at the fair. More will be added as they are confirmed. Check back in a few days to who else is coming. See you at the fair!
College	City	State/Prov.	Web Page
Acadia University	Calgary	AB	www.acadiau.ca
Bard College at Simon’s Rock	Great Barrington	MA	www.simons-rock.edu
Bates College	Lewiston	ME	www.bates.edu
California Baptist University	Riverside	CA	www.calbaptist.edu
California Lutheran University	Thousand Oaks	CA	www.clunet.edu
Colgate University	Hamilton	NY	www.colgate.edu
Colorado State University-Pueblo	Pueblo	CO	www.colostate-pueblo.edu
Concordia University	Portland	OR	www.cuportland.edu
Corban College	Salem	OR	www.corban.edu
Cornell College	Mount Vernon	IA	www.cornellcollege.edu
DeVry University	Federal Way	WA	www.devry.edu
Dominican University of California	San Rafael	CA	www.dominican.edu
Drew University	Madison	NJ	www.drew.edu
Eastern Washington University	Cheney	WA	www.ewu.edu
Eckerd College	St Petersburg	FL	www.eckerd.edu
George Fox University	Newberg	OR	www.georefox.edu
Gettysburg College	Gettysburg	PA	www.gettysburg.edu
Gonzaga University	Spokane	WA	www.gonzaga.edu
Grinnell College	Grinnell	IA	www.grinnell.edu
Grove City College	Grove City	PA	www.gcc.edu
Gustavus Adolphus College	St Petersburg	MN	www.gustavus.edu
Hamline University	St. Paul	MN	www.hamline.edu
Haverford College	Haverford	PA	www.haverford.edu
Hendrix College	Conway	AR	www.hendrix.edu
Holy Names University	Oakland	CA	www.hnu.edu
Idaho State University	Pocatello	ID	www.isu.edu
Lafayette College	Easton	PA	www.lafayette.edu
Lawrence University	Appleton	WI	www.lawrence.edu
Lewis & Clark College	Portland	OR	www.lclark.edu
Marquette University	Oak Creek	WI	www.marquette.edu
Marymount College	Rancho Palos Verdes	CA	www.marymountpv.edu
Marymount Manhattan College	New York	NY	www.mmm.edu
Mayville State University	Mayville	ND	www.mayvillestate.edu
Menlo College	Atherton	CA	www.menlo.edu
Milwaukee School of Engineering	Milwaukee	WI	www.msoe.edu
Montana State University	Bozeman	MT	www.montana.edu
Morehouse College	Atlanta	GA	www.morehouse.edu
Mount Holyoke College	South Hadley	MA	www.mtholyoke.edu
Naropa University	Boulder	CO	www.naropa.edu
New Mexico State University	Albuquerque	NM	www.nmsu.edu
New Mexico Tech	Socorro	NM	www.nmt.edu
Northwest Christian University	Eugene	OR	www.northwestchristian.edu
Northwest College of Art	Poulsbo	WA	www.nca.edu
Northwest University	Kirkland	WA	www.northwestu.edu
Norwich University	Northfield	VT	www.norwich.edu
Notre Dame de Namur University	Belmont	CA	www.ndnu.edu
Oregon State University	Corvallis	OR	www.oregonstate.edu
Pacific Lutheran University	Tacoma	WA	www.plu.edu
Purdue University	West Lafayette	IN	www.purdue.edu
Quest University Canada	Garibaldi Highlands	BC	www.questu.ca
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design	Denver	CO	www.rmcad.edu
Saint Martin’s University	Lacey	WA	www.stmartin.edu
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN	Nortre Dame	IN	www.saintmarys.edu
Scripps College	Claremont	CA	www.scrippscollege.edu
Seattle University	Seattle	WA	www.seattleu.edu
Shimer College	Chicago	IL	www.shimer.edu
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology	Rapid City	SD	www.sdsmt.edu
Southern Oregon University	Ashland	OR	www.sou.edu
St. Olaf College	Northfield	MN	www.stolaf.edu
Swarthmore College	Swarthmore	PA	www.swarthmore.edu
Sweet Briar College	Sweet Briar	VA	www.sbc.edu
Tacoma Community College	Tacoma	WA	www.tacomacc.edu
Texas Christian University	Fort Worth	TX	www.tcu.edu
The Evergreen State College	Olumpia	WA	www.evergreen.edu
The Master’s College	Santa Clarita	CA	www.masters.edu
The University of Arizona	Vallejo	CA	www.arizona.edu
The University of Montana	Missoula	MT	www.umontana.edu
The University of Montana Western	Dillion	MT	www.umwestern.edu
Trinity Christian College	Palos Heights	IL	www.trnty.edu
Trinity Lutheran College	Everett	WA	www.tlc.edu
Unity College	Unity	ME	www.unity.edu
University of Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage	AK	www.uaa.alaska.edu
University of Connecticut	Storrs	CT	www.uconn.edu
University of Evansville	Evansville	IN	www.evansville.edu
University of Kentucky	Lexington	KY	www.uky.edu
University of New England	Biddeford	ME	www.une.edu
University of Oregon	Eugene	OR	www.uoregon.edu
University of Portland	Portland	OR	www.up.edu
University of Puget Sound	Tacoma	WA	www.pugetsound.edu
University of San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	www.usfca.edu
University of Victoria	Victoria	BC	www.unic.ca
University of Washington Tacoma	Tacoma	WA	www.tacoma.washington.edu
Vanderbilt University	Nashville	TN	www.vanderbilt.edu
Wells College	Aurora	NY	www.wells.edu
Western Washington University	Bellingham	WA	www.wwu.edu
Wheaton College	Norton	MA	www.wheatoncollege.edu
Whitman College	Walla Walla	WA	www.whitman.edu
Whitworth University	Spokane	WA	www.whitworth.edu
Willamette University	Salem	OR	www.willamette.edu

Graduation and College Admissions for International Students

Matt Burns — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:49:22 +0000

I made a presentation about High School Graduation and College Admissions for International Students yesterday to a group of students from China, South Korea, Spain, Italy, and Germany. Some of the students are interested in attending college in the United States, but are worried that they won’t be admitted if they don’t graduate. I showed them the basics of college admissions and some information from the University of Washington’s admission site. Here’s a link to the powerpoint: international_graduation_and_college_entrance_requirements
I’m not sure they were reassured, because it seemed from the questions that most of them expect to be admitted to Ivy-Type colleges. When I work with students on college admission, my focus is always on fit for the student. If an Ivy-Type college is a good fit for these students, then great, but more often than not, they lack the information needed to make a good decision, and choose to apply to the most selective colleges in the world because of the caché provided by the name.

Another College Consortium

Matt Burns — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:02:28 +0000

While putting together a database of college contacts to use to invite colleges to the 2nd Tacoma College & Career Fair, I came across another consortium, the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. Their web site is http://www.aicad.org/. If you’re interested in finding an art college look at their site. A quick list of members is located on Wikipedia at http://bit.ly/AICAD. By the way, the Tacoma College & Career Fair will be held on October 19th at the University of Puget Sound. Here’s a link with a bit more infomation: http://bit.ly/Tacoma_Fair.

SAT Score Choice Resources

Matt Burns — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:22:47 +0000

Here are some links to information the College Board recently sent out to high school counselors.

This is a link to a tutorial for the new SAT Score Choice program. Score Choice Tutorial
The same information is also available as a PowerPoint presentation. Score Choice PowerPoint Presentation
And here is a link to the Introducing SAT Score Choice information page.

Bailout for Education

Matt Burns — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:55:41 +0000

This is a letter I sent to Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Representative Norm Dicks. I also sent it to The Tacoma News Tribune.

Honorable Senator Murray,

As a high school counselor at Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, and as the parent of a high school senior and an eighth grader, I make it my business to keep up with issues surrounding funding for public school and colleges. I am deeply distressed by the news of the draconian cuts that are in store for public schools and colleges throughout the country, while unbelievably gigantic sums of money have been shoved into the pockets of the wealthy plutocrats who caused the worldwide financial collapse in which we now find ourselves. These bankers and insurance companies, driven by their avarice and arrogance have been given free rein to continue to line their pockets, to continue to produce nothing but misery for the majority of Americans.

Meanwhile, Washington’s students are faced with dramatic cuts in their schools, cuts so deep that our community and technical colleges may be forced to end their open admissions policy. Deep enough that our state’s public baccalaureate colleges will be forced to reduce staff and therefore to reduce the number of first year and transfer students they will admit. Private colleges are likely to face the impact of this crisis for other reasons. With less money available to families to fund higher education, the number of applications and subsequent enrollment are liable to fall.

Thousands of people will no longer have the opportunity to earn a college education and will not be able to reap the benefits their hard work would have brought them in the years to come. At best, they will have to defer their dreams of higher education until the doors to the colleges are pried open again when the economy improves.

But when will that be? How many dreams deferred will become dreams lost? Our younger students will be forced into larger classes as teachers and other school personnel are laid off. Drop out rates will increase. The few districts with arts programs may lose them, while athletics and other extra-curricular programs will be reduced in scale. Building maintenance will be put off and there will be no new building or remodeling of old schools.

It’s time for a Bailout for Education, a massive infusion of money from the federal government to aid our schools. You may ask, “What will we get for the money?” We will get better educated citizens, people who will become the leaders of our nation in the future. We will get a chance to find new and creative solutions to the great problems of the future. We will get a national deficit that has a useful purpose, a mortgage that can only increase in value as time goes on.

The ravaging of our nation’s future for the benefit of a few must cease! Please take a stand and lead the Senate and the United States of America to a brighter future full of hope. YES WE CAN!!