Moving to Wordpress

FYI - this blog has moved to http://www.missionadmission.wordpress.com/. There will be no further entries on this site, but I promise there will be more frequent entries on that site! Please be patient as I set it up - and thanks in advance for visiting! I promise great, useful information on college admissions, financial aid, and issues concerning college life. Hope to see you there!

I'm It!

OK - apparently I've been tagged by Craver VII and though I know absolutely nothing about any of this and I am usually reluctant to talk about myself, my husband likes this guy and all his online pals - they seem like good people. And I'm sure they are probably curious about this wife of his, so here ya go:


1. Post the rules of the game.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Here are my eight facts, for better or worse:

1. I married my high school sweetheart - we met when we were 16 and 17 and have been married for 12 years this summer. Yes, that's Marcus.
2. I don't like ice cream, and contrary to what my husband says, this does not make me a Communist. I have sensitive teeth. I'd rather have a piece of cake.
3. I saw Beauty and the Beast 9 times in the theatre when I was in high school. Yeah, I really did. Imagine that much free time and disposable money.
4. I am playing Titania this summer in a local Kerrville community theatre production of Midsummer Night's Dream. "What! Jealous Oberon...."
5. I sing tenor in our church choir. I have been mistaken for a man on the phone.
6. I love to cook and bake, especially Rachel Ray's recipes, although they aren't the lowest in fat in the world. I am actually addicted to baking - sometimes I will make a cake just because I feel like it, then I'll send it to work with Marcus so I don't eat it (see the next fact).
7. Speaking of fat, I am a Lifetime Weight Watchers member, having lost 25 pounds two years ago after my son was born.
8. I can actually put my entire fist in my mouth. However, don't ask me to do it as I gave myself TMJ in high school by doing it to often and now I am too old.

OK, now that I fully embarassed myself, now it is these people's turn. I do not know 8 people who are online, so I will do my best:
Marcus Goodyear, Jessi Lane, Leah Rocha, Sarah Martin, Jenness Rouse, Will Garcia.

That's it - 6 is close enough. I apologize to those 6 but I would love to hear from you. Thanks, Craver VII. This was fun.

Make It Count with Making It Count

I just discovered another great resource for students and parents (and educators, too). It's called Making It Count. Not only do they have some great online articles and resources, including a blog from a first year college student called Year One, they also offer a free program to schools with various presentations designed for different age groups.

In fact, the Making Your College Search Count presentation will be offered at Tivy High School here in Kerrville this Friday morning at 8:50 a.m. Anyone in the area who might be able to attend would benefit. The info they present is not exclusive, but it is well organized and put together in an interactive, entertaining package (see videos on the site for examples). This presentation is designed especially for second semester juniors - the perfect time to get serious about college search.

You never know what you'll find when you browse around - the internet is your college info friend!

High Calling Site - Check it Out!

OK - so I finally figured out how to insert an image! So here is the new High Calling website. See what I mean about the pretty green!?

Enjoy.

High Calling Blog Tour

I am participating this week in the High Calling Blog Tour to help introduce the new website for The High Calling of Our Daily Work. I am doing this partly because my husband, Marcus Goodyear, is in charge of it, and partly because as a Christian in business for myself and as a work-at-home mom, the importance of remembering that my day to day activities can, and should, be glorifying to God cannot be overemphasized. From counseling students and speaking at schools to changing diapers and fixing lunches, I am demonstrating God's love for my students and my children with every action, every attitude, every word.

So check out the new site - besides being really attractive and in my absolute favorite shade of green, it's really easy to use and full of great stories and bible studies. I especially like the personal stories - if you're wondering how the truly mundane and sometimes gross activities of parenthood can glorify God, read John Poch's Changing Diapers for God. Since I'm still struggling with getting my almost three year old son out of diapers, that was a great word for me! If you join the High Calling you can get great emails with daily devotionals, notices when new material is posted, and access to the incredible collections of material from writers like Eugene Peterson, Earl Palmer, and many others.

This folks are also participating in this tour because they are great people, so check out their blogs, too:
Gordon Atkinson, L. L. Barkat, Gina Conroy, Craver VII, CREEations, Milton Brasher-Cunningham, Mary DeMuth, Karl Edwards, Emdashery, Every Square Inch, Green Inventions, Marcus Goodyear, Al Hsu, Jennwith2ns, Charles Foster Johnson, Mike McLoughlin, Eve Nielsen, Naked Pastor, Ramblin Dan, Charity Singleton, Stacy, Camy Tang, Writer… Interrupted

And, in admissions news, check out the April 16 issue of US News and World Report - great information on financial aid - how loans work, insider's view from aid offices, great last-minute resources for money. As always with most mass media, take it with a grain of salt, but read it as it is a good jumping off point.

Higher Education in Mourning

All of us who have ever worked with college students in a campus setting are in deep grief over what happened yesterday at Virginia Tech. No words are adequate to express it. College campuses are to be places of self-discovery, learning, fun - places to build the future. And they still are. My sincere hope is that as you navigate the process of college admissions as students and parents, you will realize the potential impact you may have on your fellow students, for good or ill. There is no explanation or excuse for what this young man did, but my question comes back to - how could things have been different for him? Who could have reached out? I don't know - maybe no one. But I still have hope.

Colleges are wonderful, safe, exciting places to live and learn. Let us do what we can to make them so for all. May the Lord reach out His divine hand of peace to the families in Virginia, and to the community of higher ed as a whole.

Thanks!

I apologize for the gap between posts here. Various illnesses among children, birthday parties, church things, etc. - life happens. I hope to be more regular in my posting from now on.

Thanks to all the local folks who made it out to the College Information Night last night at FBC in Kerrville. I hope the evening was interesting and informative. I was excited to see a few parents of 8th graders there last night! It is never too early (or too late for that matter) to prepare for college.

March is an important month for college planning. Here are the things you should be looking at this month:

Juniors - visit schools! Spring Break of your junior year is a great time to visit campuses and start narrowing down your choices. Find out when your colleges have open house days and attend those if you can - many are scheduled in the Spring.

Seniors - right now it's all about financial aid and scholarships. Get that FAFSA in TODAY!! Start checking scholarship deadlines closely and get those in before the last day. Acceptance letters will start coming in - respond accordingly. If you know where you are going, send that housing information in ASAP. You don't usually have to let the schools you are not going to know, but it is courteous and will keep them from continuing to check up with you.

Good luck - get to work!

College Info Night

FYI - I will be presenting a FREE College Info Night in Kerrville, TX at First Baptist Church on Tuesday, March 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. If you are in the area and are interested in some good college application and financial aid advice and tips, please attend.

Yeah for UTSA!

I just found about a great new financial aid package available at UTSA (The University of Texas at San Antonio). Starting this fall, the school is offering grants and scholarships to cover tuition and fees for any student who graduates from a Texas high school and has a total family income of $25,000 or less. Students must meet UTSA admission requirements, enroll full-time, complete at least 30 hours a year, and maintain a 2.0 GPA in order to renew the funds. Guarenteed to ALL who fit the criteria. This is part of UTSA's new UTSAccess Program - check it out!

Face Your Foe: FAFSA Tips

Quick tips for facing the dreaded FAFSA:

1. Complete your tax return first! This makes gathering the info for the FAFSA so much easier and prevents you from having to submit changes if you guesstimate and then end up wrong.

2. Use the FAFSA on the WEB worksheet and the complete your FAFSA online. It faster and easier than doing the paper form, and results tend to come back quicker.

3. Apply for a PIN online so you can sign the FAFSA electronically and you don't have to bother with sending in the signature page - www.pin.ed.gov.

4. Check out Student Aid on the Web - it has a lot of very helpful information on the financial aid process and really detailed explanations of grants, loans, work study programs, etc. It is a useful resource to use when your receive your Student Aid Report (SAR).

5. DO IT NOW!! The best tip for FAFSA completion is doing it as early as possible. This will set you up for the most reward that you are entitled to and the smoothest process with lots of time for decision making and paperwork.

Juniors - This year, 2007, is the year that your freshman financial aid will be based on. Keep that in mind when thinking about your application next year.

Cold? Warm Your Heart with MONEY

OK, so the title is cheesy, but after being stuck at home with my children for two days under ice and snow, my mind is thawing out and losing grip. But not enough to where I have forgotten about my promise to give you tips for spring semester college preparation.

My word for seniors and juniors today is the same - MONEY. The spring is the perfect time for begin/continue financial aid and scholarship applications, both for seniors and juniors. Seniors should be getting the FAFSA done and checking out local scholarship opportunities which often have deadlines in February and March. Juniors can begin checking out national scholarship competitions through Fastweb (some allow juniors to apply) and looking into special opportunities at your schools of choice to attend summer workshops and camps for high school students (this looks GREAT on future applications).

The key this month for financial aid is not to slack off or give up because you think it's too early or too late. If you get on the ball, you can pay for college. Countless stories can be found out about individuals who practically paid for college by gathering as many scholarships as they could find, both large and small. Check out the Scholarship Coach - he paid for Harvard through his hard work!

Good luck, and let me know how I can help.

AAHH!! It's JANUARY!!

Don't panic! It's not too late to get started with the admissions and financial aid process. In the next couple of posts I am going to lay out a plan for the Spring semester for seniors and juniors with guidelines and ideas for students no matter where they are in the process. Keep checking back daily for new posts and information and, as always, comment with any questions, concerns, etc.

If you would like to meet with me face to face this semester (and you live in the Hill Country area), I will be available Mondays and Wednesdays at Tivy High School during the lunch hours (10:30 a.m. to 12 :30 p.m.) in the Tivy Tutoring Center (Library Lab A). No appointment necessary - parents welcome, too!

Additionally, I am teaching two Community Education (Club Ed) classes in February - Saturday, Feb. 3 and Saturday, Feb. 10 - from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Feb. 3 class will focus on the college search, admissions, and application processes. The Feb. 10 class will center around financial aid and scholarships. Both classes will be held at the Auld Center in Kerrville. Visit the Club Ed website for additional information - www.clubed.net.

A quick tip for today......
Seniors: The FAFSA for school year 2007-2008 is now available online! Click on the FAFSA Online link in my Links section and get started ASAP. Just make sure your parents have completed the 2006 return first!
Juniors: Start searching for scholarships and scheduling campus visits now! Spring of your junior year is the best time to really get going. Check out Fastweb in my Links section for a free online scholarship search, and make the most out of your Spring Break by scheduling tours of AT LEAST your top three to five choices.

Welcome to Mission Admission

Welcome! This is really just a test post to see if my new blog is working. I look forward to sharing tips and advice on the college admissions and financial aid process with you. I hope that this venue can be a great resource for my current clients as well as a source of information and assistance to anyone browsing the internet looking for help! Keep checking back as my blog develops, and do not hesitate to comment or email me with questions, issues, concerns, etc.