News Graphic 04/18/2013

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Page A6 / News Graphic Thursday, April 18, 2013SOUTHERN OZAUKEE

I would have done things differently.” This is not a phrasewe hear uttered by many high school students, for it takesyears and the accumulation of wisdom for this insight bulb toilluminate. There is no shame in adolescents lacking thesequalities and when it comes to the entire college searchprocess, not for their parents, either. This phrase is one of themost common laments I hear from clients. Of course, the goalshould be to know and understand relevant information in thepresent so that one does not have to experience this emptyfeeling down the road. In my advising, I often think of somecommon (and not so) quotations and their applicability (or lackthereof) to the college search, application and financial aidprocesses. Let us take a walk through some.

What you don’t know won’t hurt you This often-heardsaying leads the pack in its NON-applicability. Ignorance is notbliss. On the contrary, a better phrase would be, “It's not whatyou don’t know, but what you don’t even know you don’t know.”The entire college landscape has changed radically since yourparents’ day, leaving students and families unaware of evenwhich questions to ask. Especially for first-born children andtheir families, “it is their first rodeo.” Whether it bedetermining “right fit” schools, maximizing admissionchances, creating an activities résumé, exploring all financialaid opportunities and gauging affordability, deciding on amajor, researching retention and graduation rates, etc., the listof things to know is nearly endless. Far too many students andtheir parents enter the college search somewhat blindly,resulting in a final set of college options that is too narrow anddoes a disservice to all. Options are good, and maximizingthem should be a basic goal of a student’s college search.

The early bird gets the worm After completing my workwith families, nearly all state that, in retrospect, they wish theywould have started the college search earlier. Most do not begin

to get serious until the spring semester of junior year. Althoughwaiting until then is not necessarily disastrous, manyopportunities for students to construct their most appealingprofile have already passed them by. The initial courses astudent takes when entering high school (especially in mathand science) often have a tracking effect, and it is wise to beginwith courses as rigorous as one’s ability allows, thusculminating in honors and AP courses. Also, the majority ofadmission decisions are made based on a student’s transcript atthe end of their junior year. Thus, it’s a bit late to start gettingserious about improving your grades that April. Regardinghigh school extracurriculars, resist being a “jack of all tradesbut a master of none.” Colleges like to see evidence ofleadership and passion, and initially focusing on a select fewactivities where you can show commitment and depth is thebest way to proceed. On this same theme of starting early, areyou aware of how important submitting your collegeapplications early can be? Whether a school uses a rollingadmissions policy, regular decision and/or Early Action andEarly Decision, there can be significant advantages to gettingyour foot in the door early in terms of admission chances andeven financial aid. (By the way, if you do not know thedifferences between these various admissions policies, see theparagraph above about not even knowing what you don’t know.)

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing overand over again and expecting different results Althoughoften attributed to Albert Einstein, it is a perfect description ofmy golf game. (I digress.) Actually, this phrase frequentlyresounds through my head when I speak with clients who havetaken the ACT or SAT multiple times. Are you aware that whena student takes the ACT a second time, approximately 70percent have a composite score that either goes down, stays thesame or rises a mere one point? Too many individuals thinkthat simply taking such standardized tests over and over againautomatically will result in higher scores. Not! For things tochange positively, there must be some sort of intervention(think of my golf swing and other addictions), and studentsmust proactively seek other test strategies and habits if theyhope to beat these dismal odds.

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts Most high school juniorsare currently being inundated with marketing flyers fromcolleges, making students (and their parents) seem as if theyare prized commodities. Much of this literature gives the

impression of easy admission and vast quantities of financialaid. As the Trojans found out, beware. Colleges obtain theirmailing lists in multiple ways, such as the ACT, College Board,and numerous other sources. If you have an interest in any ofthese schools, by all means follow up. Please remember, though,that with applications come application fees, and colleges canincrease their revenue flow by maximizing the applicationsthey receive. Since colleges have only so many freshmen slots,when they can increase their application flow, their admissionrates fall, making them seem very selective. Since selectivityand low admissions percentages contribute to colleges’rankings, be careful of not becoming a victim of this rathercynical game.

In the interest of space, here briefly are a few other aptquotations:

The squeaky wheel gets the oil Since the CommonApplication and the UW System application make it extremelyeasy to apply to multiple schools, let schools know that you areserious through what is known as “demonstrated interest,” i.e.,requesting to be placed on mailing lists, official visits, emailand phone contacts, etc. This can increase admission chances.

A place for everything, and everything in its placeStaying organized regarding college literature, application andfinancial aid deadlines, priority dates, etc., is crucial. Havinglarge piles of college materials accumulate on the kitchencounter is highly discouraged.

Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off untiltomorrow what should have been done yesterday Enoughsaid!

Luck is the residue of design Especially for moreselective, “reach” schools, luck alone will not get you in butdesign may.

To conclude, the old Boy Scout motto is as good as any: “Beprepared.”

Tom Tonnesen is the director of College AdmissionsPathways (CAPs) and works with students and theirfamilies on the entire college search, admissions, test preparation and financial aid processes. He is a member of the National Association for CollegeAdmission Counseling (NACAC). Contact information:tonnesen@caps2college.com; 377-0302 (home/office); (262)389-4588 (cell); or www.caps2college.com.

THE INS & OUTS OFCOLLEGE ADMISSIONS

TOMTONNESEN

“If I had only known then what I know now ...

Cedarburg — An opening reception was held April 7 forthe 66th Annual Ozaukee County Art Show.

The exhibit and sale features approximately 200 works oforiginal art by amateur and professional adult artistsresiding, teaching or working in Ozaukee County, as well asoriginal works by students from Ozaukee County highschools.

The show is on display in the Columbia St. Mary’s Galleryat the Cedarburg Cultural Center through April 28.

The Cedarburg Cultural Center and Ozaukee County ArtCommittee announced the ribbon winners of this year’sshow.

From the Adult Professional Division, ribbons wereawarded to: Judith Bandurski, Paula Christensen, BeccaMulenburg, Jack Pachuta, Alice Struck, Gina Studelska andAlison Whitney. Professional Division artists arecategorized as having two or more years of training, and/or

earning part or all of their income through art sales. In the Adult Amateur Division, ribbons were awarded to:

Jamie Freier, Katherine Lange Nohr and Fred Thorne. From the Student Division, ribbons were awarded to

Mackenzie Bauer, Julia Lindsay and Ursula Reid ofCedarburg High School; Danielle Jurjevic and NaomiShelvik of Grafton High School; Kelly Kasper, LaurenKearns, Erin Leaf, Noah Mitchelson, Collin Murray, ErinOchocki, Jacquica Smith and Lilli Wiederman of HomesteadHigh School. Works included in the Student Division wereselected by art faculty members of Ozaukee County highschools.

The Exhibition was judged by Nathan Kilps. Kilps holds aBA in art education and fine arts, as well as an MS inenvironmental education. He has been an art educator tostudents in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Currently, he is a K-12 environmental educator at

Concordia University Wisconsin. Kilps is a member of theWisconsin Art Education Association, National ArtEducation Association and Wisconsin Association forEnvironmental Educators. He has been published inWisconsin Art Education Association’s “Art Times.”

Concurrently on display in the center’s East Gallery isThe Gallery of Student Art, featuring approximately 300original pieces of art by Cedarburg students from FirstImmanuel, Parkview, St. Francis Borgia, Thorson andWestlawn elementary schools plus middle school studentsfrom Webster Transitional School. Artwork will be ondisplay through April 28.

Exhibits at the Cedarburg Cultural Center are sponsoredby Tri City National Bank.

The Cedarburg Cultural Center is located at W62 N546Washington Ave. in Cedarburg. For inquiries, call 375-3676 orvisit www.CedarburgCulturalCenter.org.

Kelly Kasper, a Homestead High School student,received a ribbon for “Sad Clown,” an oil pastel.

Jack Pachuta was awarded a ribbon in the professional division for hismonoprint titled “Dragonpad.”

Katherine Lange Nohr was a ribbon-winner in theamateur division for her acrylic,“Resurrection.”

Winners allReception heralds the opening of the 66th annual Ozaukee County Art Show

Above and left: Nathan Kilps, serving as the show’s judge,discusses the merits of one of the entries.

Above: Whimsical sculpture is on display aspart of the show. Right: Winning sculpturesare accompanied by their ribbons.

This wall ofstudent art willbe on displaythrough April28 at theC e d a r b u r gC u l t u r a lCenter.

Above:Middle school 3-D art is on display as part of theshow. Below: Youngsters cast a critical eye at some ofthe pieces in the show.

Photos byMark Justesen

andCedarburg

CulturalCenter