Feature Article: Answers to Common College Admissions Questions
Quintessential Reading: QuintZine's Review of Career Books
Quintessential Site: Featured Career Web Site of this Issue
What's New on Quintessential Careers
The Career Doctor: Answering Your Questions
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide Your Job Search
Notes from the Editor: About this Issue...
I am sometimes concerned when we send out an issue of QuintZine that focuses
on just a small portion of our readership, as in the case of this,
our annual College Bound issue.
But serving as a guide and resource for prospective and current college students
is an important part of our mission, so we produce this issue every year just
before the time when high-school seniors are preparing to submit college
applications and juniors are getting ready to visit colleges.
I would guess that most of our readers who are not of college age know someone
who is about to go to college or know the parent of someone starting the college journey.
Those embarking on college are in for a great compilation of inside information
from college admissions directors, the result of months-long, painstaking
research by our publisher, Dr. Randall Hansen. So, if this issue isn't about
you, please forward it to someone who can use this valuable information.
--Katharine Hansen, Credentialed Career Master, Certified Electronic Career Coach,
and editor at
kathy@quintcareers.com
Feature Article: College Admissions Questions
Answers to Common College Admissions Questions
Compiled by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
The college admissions process is all about marketing and fit. Initially, the colleges market themselves to
prospective students in an attempt to get a diverse group of applicants (and to meet certain quotas). Once a student
decides which colleges he/she wants to apply to, then it's the student's turn to market his/her unique qualifications
to the colleges. Once the marketing game has played out, the decisions by the colleges on which students to accept
and by the students on which schools they will attend all come down to fit; the college admissions staff wants to
admit students who will fit well on campus, and the students want a place where they feel they belong.
With these issues in mind, we set about trying to help you learn even more about the college admissions process;
hence this study.
After meeting with numerous high-school students, reading several books on the subject of college admissions,
and reviewing current trends and concerns related to the college admissions process, we developed questions
on these topics for our 2003 study:
Whether home-schooled students at a disadvantage when applying for admissions.
How heavily the personal essay portion of the application is weighted by college admissions offices.
The current importance of standardized test scores in the admissions process.
Important trends in admissions.
Opinions on attention-grabbing stunts, especially for the marginal student.
To maximize your job opportunities, you'll need to cover a lot of ground. One way to do that is to post your resume
on all the best job boards, large and small. It may take some time, but it's well worth the effort. If you want
to save 60 hours of research and data entry, consider using professional resume-posting service like
ResumeRabbit.com.
After filling in one simple online form, they'll instantly post your resume on up to 85 of the top career sites at once.
Within minutes you'll be seen on Monster, HotJobs, FlipDog, Dice, CareerBuilder and more, where 1.5 million employers
and recruiters search for candidates daily.
As an academic -- and self-admitted educational junkie -- I enjoy learning more and more about
the inner workings of academia, especially as it relates to helping visitors to Quintessential
Careers when it comes to college choice and college admissions. Interestingly, the more I read, the more
I am convinced, that like job-hunting, getting into the college of your choice is more about having
a solid product -- you -- and marketing that product so that you appear better, different,
unique among other applicants.
Joyce Slayton Mitchell, author of Winning the Heart, is well-versed in the art of
choosing and applying to colleges, having been a college adviser at several high schools
and preparatory schools in the Northeast for more than 35 years. And in this book, she
tells both students and their families -- in very easy to understand language -- the keys to
college admission success, a process she refers to as winning the heart of the college
admissions dean (or in reality, the college representative for your region).
Read the full review.
Read all of our Quintessential Reading book reviews.
Ad: Blast Your Resume to Thousands!
Instantly email your resume to 1000s of recruiters,
headhunters, and direct hiring companies! With the most
comprehensive and targeted network of recruiters on the
net, you can rest assured you have taken the steps
necessary to jump start your search. We are so sure
you will be happy that we guarantee our service!
This academic portal for high-school students offers study guides on numerous
subjects, a college-prep quiz, a reference collection, and great resources for college
choice and careers.
High School Hub touts itself as a free online learning center
that features subject guides for English, foreign languages, math, science,
and social studies. The site contains no advertisements, requires no registration,
and doesn't collect personal information from visitors.
High School Hub offers a careers guide, a guide to college majors, a college
search section, an area on financial aid, a study-skills section, and a listing
of U.S. Colleges. There's even a "Study Break" section with games and puzzles.
AcademicKeys.com --
where college faculty and administrators from all educational disciplines can search for
job postings, submit your resume for review for positions or post-doc research opportunities,
and find academic job-search advice. Other resources include information about conferences and journals.
Free to job-seekers.
Career Change Network (CCN) -- hosts events
that offer individuals looking to change careers or switch industries with an informal way to meet,
network, question and gain insights from each other. Events are fee-based. Free to job-seekers.
iApply -- a great college planning site for teens,
with detailed information and links for applying to college, creating a plan to pay for college, and getting
prepared for college. Also includes some career information and assessments. Free.
Jobs4Maine -- a job site for job-seekers searching
for employment in Maine. Job-seekers can search for jobs (by location or job category), as well as get numerous
career tips, and Maine-related information and links. Free to job-seekers.
Find even more career and job site additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest Additions section.
Ad: New Professional Certificate Programs Online
Advance your career in just 8 weeks with Villanova
University's Online Professional Certificates. Earn
valuable credentials in high-demand areas such as
Six Sigma (Green & Black Belts), Project Management,
Human Resources and Essentials of Finance & Accounting.
100% online from the school ranked #1 in the North by
US News and World Report. Villanova is a member of the University Alliance.
Tabitha writes: "I read about you in the magazine Private Colleges and Universities that I received
in the mail. I am a junior in high school at the moment and I am totally lost when it comes to figuring out
what colleges I want to apply to. How do I start? I'm getting a lot of pressure to develop a list,
and I am totally clueless!"
Virginia writes: "I am looking to change careers from the clerical and retail fields into working full-time
with animals, people, or plants/flowers, as my career counselor has advised. I don't know where to begin
-- any advice?"
Rodney writes: "For nearly two months now, I have been vainly trying to acquire an entry-level clerical position,
but to no avail. I've sent out 15+ resumes, complete with cover letter and all, to entry-level job postings and
I've gotten NO CALLBACKS WHATSOEVER (except for one form letter telling me that "my
skills are not the best match for their company").
What am I doing wrong? I have plenty of relevant computer skills, and a good starting amount of experience thanks
to a temp service I've been working with, and I've got references and all sorts of other wonderful things to
back me up, but I can't even score an interview! Please, I need some guidance, and I don't know where else to look."
Melissa writes: "I am trying to get my own employment history through the last 10 years. I need
to be exact with dates/months, etc. I have a general idea of the months when I started and stopped, but not the
specific dates. How do I find this information so I can report it correctly on a new application?"
Based on years of research, the Jackson Vocational Interest
Survey (JVIS) accurately measures your interests, showing how
they relate to the worlds of study and work, and mapping out
your route to an interesting career.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
As eight million college students return to campus this fall, HotJobs, a leader in the
online recruitment industry and a Yahoo! company, and
CollegeGrad.com, an entry-level job site for college students and recent graduates, announced a partnership
broadening students' access to job opportunities while still attending school or soon after graduation.
CollegeGrad.com will offer HotJobs' entry-level jobs and internships to an audience of college students
and recent graduates. The partnership introduces job-seekers to HotJobs just as they plan to enter the
workforce, providing candidates with a site that they can reference and utilize throughout their career. More than
96 percent of CollegeGrad.com users have either completed a college degree or are in the process of doing so, making
them one of the most sought-after audiences on the Internet.
Founded in 1995, CollegeGrad.com
is the largest independent job site for college students and recent grads. CollegeGrad.com provides content on
entry-level jobs and careers specifically tailored for the college audience. In addition to direct access to entry-level
job postings and internships, CollegeGrad.com provides users with information on more than 10,000 entry-level
employers as well as a listing of the Top 500 Entry Level Employers for 2003.
Recent U.S. studies are finding that fewer men are choosing to go to college after high school. More and
more men are avoiding the college experience and pursuing a career in the trades instead.
Learn more from
The Seattle Times.
In a related item, the trade-school sector is booming, reports Fortune Magazine.
Last fall, enrollment jumped more than 20 percent at three of the industry's biggest players,
Apollo, Corinthian Colleges, and Career Education. Corinthian's course guide covers fields
such as dental assisting, computer technology, and X-ray operations.
Thanks to the nursing shortage, one of the hottest sectors right now is medical support.
Fifty-five percent of Corinthian's students are studying for jobs like dialysis or respiratory-therapy
technician. Corinthian also recently acquired a school for auto mechanics which it is
betting will be a hot field in the next few years as the current population of mechanics
begins to retire. The mission of these schools is succinct: Get students jobs and advance their careers.
College students and new grads should check out this e-book,
The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need:
How to Find -- and Get -- The Job or Internship of Your Dreams!
The book contains must-read contributions from 149 of North America's top employment experts
and is available risk-free for 90 days.
If your school, organization, business or other
entity has a Web site, we welcome you to link to Quintessential Careers.
If you already have a link from your site, we want you to know we
appreciate it. If you don't have a link to us, please
send a request to your site's Webmaster to establish a
link to Quintessential Careers. Thanks so much!
For more details (including sample HTML copy), see our
Link to Us page.
QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* Letters of recommendation
* Dealing with a bad boss
* Don't wait by the phone: Following up on all job leads
* Dining etiquette
* What employers are really looking for
* New series: 10 mistakes to avoid in: resumes, cover letters, interviews, salary
negotiation, career change, networking, job-search
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
the email version of QuintZine by completing our
subscription form.
Quintessential Careers Announces Career Coaching
We now offer two types of career-coaching services!
Are you...
feeling stuck in an unsatisfying job?
facing a major change in career or job status?
searching for your ideal career or job?
seeking help in developing a job-search plan?
looking for a solution to job-search obstacles?
desiring to bounce ideas off of a career expert?
trying to discover the keys to career success?
Let Dr. Randall S. Hansen, The Career Doctor, help you work through all your college, career, and job-search concerns,
issues, and problems. He has helped hundreds of teens, college students, and experienced job-seekers identify obstacles, develop
action plans, and achieve success -- and he can help you!
And for an economical online-only career-coaching alternative,
visit The Career Clinic.
Quintessential Careers Advertisements
Quintessential CVs is Your North American Headquarters for CVs
We produce professional quality career marketing correspondence -- Curriculum Vitae (CVs), cover letters,
resumes, and more -- for job-seekers in all industries at all levels from all over the world. Quintessential CVs
is your premier North American source for:
Curriculum Vita (CVs) for Academic jobs: College/university teaching and administrative positions.
CVs for Scientific jobs: Research and all types of science-oriented jobs.
CVs for Medical jobs: Physicians, nurses, and more.
CVs for International jobs: Whether you seek a position in your own country or any other country around the world,
we can prepare an English-language CV for you that conforms to the CV traditions of your target country or countries.
Quintessential Careers also offers writing services
for those who have been asked to give a speech and
need assistance in researching and writing their
remarks.
Need a speaker for your career-oriented conference or
event at your college or organization? The Quintessential
Careers Speakers Bureau can help! Our quintessential experts
can provide presentations/workshops on a variety of
career-related topics.
