Happy Tuesday, Transfers!

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Whew! Where did September go? Seriously, where? Yesterday I was in August, admitting the last of our incoming fall class (who are all outstanding, by the way), and today I wake up at Moraine Valley Community College, and we’re four weeks into the Fall Term already! Madness, I tell you. Just madness.

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I know I didn’t have a chance to blog over the summer, so to make it up to you I thought I’d take a second to write a little love note to you transfer students. Okay, not a Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways,” type of love note, just a nod of appreciation to transfer students everywhere.

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And just why do I like thee? It really boils down to one thing: No two transfer students are alike. Sure, some transfer students are similar to each other. But even if I have two students come in with the same coursework completed, the same grades, even with the same career goal, how I work with them could be totally different. That means that no two days are ever the same, because each one of you is different.

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Basically, transfer students are like snowflakes, only way cooler.

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And it is because no two students are the same and no two days are the same that I found myself last week at McHenry County College talking to Miss Illinois.

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That’s right. I went out to a college fair to meet you wonderful transfers, and I ending up talking with a potential Miss America winner (the competition is in January, go Hannah!).  Miss Illinois was at McHenry (where she is an alum) to talk about her Miss America platform, distracted driving (side note: stop texting while you drive, folks, she told me some stuff that seriously scared me). When she was finishing up, Nick DeFalco (our new Transfer Admission Counselor–I’ll tell you about him another time) and I went up to say hi and wish her luck in January.

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That’s how this picture happened.

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(Please excuse the color, I used my laptop to take the picture. In real life, I’m not blue…just pale.)

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Miss Illinois, Miss Congeniality (me), and Nick DeFalco. And why? Because you guys are snowflakes. Cool, unique, interesting snowflakes.

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Thanks for keeping my job interesting.

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Come see a Transfer Counselor while we’re on the road this fall…you don’t even have to royalty!

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Don’t know who your counselor is? Click here!
Is your community college not on our visit list this Fall? Comment below on where we need to visit…we’ll try and make it happen!

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-Megan

Happy Tuesday, Transfer Friends! Sorry there wasn’t a new blog last week, I was busy escorting a VIP around campus.

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His name? Flat Stanley. Here he is:

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Flat Stanley chillin' with some Peeps

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Did you have a Flat Stanley in elementary school? I didn’t, but my friend asked my to take her son Chris’ friend Flat Stanley around for a week and take pictures of our exploits. Well, we had a bunch of fun, and I thought I’d put my pictures up for you to enjoy too!

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Here’s a taste of some of the stuff Stanley and I did, and parts of the letter “Stanley” wrote back to Chris. (Chris is six, by the way.)

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On Sunday, Megan took me in a ride in her new car. On our drive, we ended up going to Chicago. Here I am with the Willis Tower.

(Megan calls it the Sears Tower, because she said she doesn’t like change, whatever that means. Silly Megan!)

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Later in the week, Megan took me to her job. Megan works at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. This is Old Main, where Megan works.

[blogger’s note: Megan works in Admission on the second floor. If you’d like to come for a visit, come check it out.]

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This is Nora, a student at North Central. She wasn’t wearing shoes that day!

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Silly Nora!

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[blogger’s note: Nora wasn’t wearing shoes because it was Toms One Day Without Shoes. This is not a North Central event or program, but it’s a pretty great cause. Check it out.]

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On Saturday, Megan had a big event for work, so she let me come along! Here we are with some North Central students.
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Here’s a picture of just Megan and me.

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She’s so silly.

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There was more to Stanley’s adventure: we went to the Chicago, worked on my thesis, and even went to Miller Park to watch the Cubs not win (next time, Cubbies!). But that’s okay…maybe I’ll get another Flat Stanley and have more adventures for you to enjoy (or not, I’m tired).

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TaTa for now!

-Megan

Hey Transfer Party People!

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Happy Week Whatever of classes to you, and Happy Week Two of classes to our current North Central students. I don’t know about you guys, but lately I’ve been feeling the pangs of Cabin Fever set in. And not in the fun Muppet Treasure Island kind of Cabin Fever and luckily not the horror movie Cabin Fever type of Cabin Fever. Something very much in the middle of those two (while leaning toward The Muppets, for sure).

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What I mean is that I’m certain I’m not the only person who is done with the cold. I’m talking about spring, people. SPRING. And luckily enough, after weeks of teasing with sudden warm days followed by cold and snow, I finally got confirmation from Mother Nature that warm weather is around the bend. How? Well, while enjoying my morning cup of coffee this weekend, I looked out my window and saw this little guy:

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Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t see this little guy EXACTLY. That would be weird, because that is actually Chippy, the North Central Cardinal, and our adorable mascot. Why would he be out my window? Of my house? On Sunday? You can see where that would be strange.

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But I did see a cardinal out my window. I tried to take a picture, but when I tried to make like a ninja and get closer I stepped on a twig and it flew away. True story. The cardinal looked a little more like this:

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In case you’re wondering where I got this picture, it is from the State Symbol page from the State of Illinois’ website.  This was a fun find for me today, because now I know that in addition to the Cardinal being the Illinois State Bird, the Illinois State Dance is the Square Dance (which I actually knew already, oddly enough), the Illinois State Animal is the White-Tailed Deer (awesome), the Illinois State Snack Food is Popcorn (very awesome), and the Illinois State Fossil is the Tully Monster (which I’m sure you already knew).

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Moving on.

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Getting back to the Cardinal, aka The Surefire-Sign-Megan-Can-Start-Driving-With-Her-Car’s-Sunroof-Open-and-Her Windows-Open-Too, seeing that little red bird made me realize how excited I am for Spring. At North Central, there are a lot of great things coming up. Outdoor sports like Track & Field, Women’s Lacrosse, Softball, and Men’s Baseball are all in season now. I’ve joined a staff softball team (more updates on that after the first few games), and I especially look forward to seeing students studying outside and playing frisbee and football and stuff.

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I am also looking forward to seeing students visiting campus. I think campus is beautiful even on the rainiest and snowiest of days, and I think it’s just lovely in the spring. I’ll be sure to post some pictures in the new few weeks when NCC is in bloom, but you should really just come and visit for yourself. Our last big Transfer Visit Day of the Year is this Saturday, April 9th, and begins at 9am in the Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center. Sign up here.

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I think that about does it for now.

See you on campus soon!

-Megan

Good Evening, Transfers and Friends!

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Well, it’s evening for me. I’m sitting in a Starbucks sipping a Grande Chai Tea Latte (my first one ever…and it’s just fantastic) and reading over my notes for my thesis. I’ve been a master’s degree candidate for a while, and now I’m finally getting my thesis together. Since I wanted to write a blog but I also want to work on my thesis, I thought I might try and kills two birds with one blog…or something like that.

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What’s my thesis about, you ask? It has a big long title (I was an English Literature major as an undergrad: we love titles), but essentially it is a discussion and project about learning how to incorporate emerging media (things like social networking, blogging, email, etc.) in the college admission process. That’s right, this blog itself is a (small) part of my thesis, and in it I’m discussing my thesis. Woh, that’s so meta. Moving on.

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To be honest my thesis has been a little slow-going. I really like the topic and reading the research, but finding the time is hard sometimes, especially when you take into account work, real life, my thrilling social life, and of course pursuing my lifelong goal of learning all of the lyrics to every Journey song–sometimes it’s hard to find time.
Trying to go “back to school,” in a sense, has been hard, and my personal struggle to get into “thesis mode” has made me really appreciate our returning transfer students in a whole new light.

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So in my research for my thesis, I found something I thought was really interesting, and I would like to share it with you. I’m about to “drop some knowledge on you,” but don’t worry, it has a point.

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While looking for scholarly resources (to make sure my thesis is as spiffy as can be), I found a quick news report* from The Chronicle of Higher Education that discussed a 2007 study called “College Search and the Millennial Generation,” by Eduventures, Inc. Here are two interesting bits of the report that the reporter for Chronicle, Elyse Ashburn, focused in on, followed by some of my personal color commentary. Enjoy.

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• “Students expected to apply to an average of 5.8 colleges.”

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REALLY?! 5.8?! That’s a lot of colleges. One thing: When you apply to the .8 college, don’t let that be North Central’s application, especially since our application is free online and only takes a half hour to complete. (And I just put a link up there. And here.)

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• “Most students (71 percent) said a campus visit was their most trusted source of information.”

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This was the least surprising bit of information I found in my research. It’s one thing to read about something on our website (or my super-awesome blog), hear about it from a friend (or from your super-awesome counselor, like me), but when you see or experience something yourself, then you know you’re getting the best information you can get. So I guess that means you should come to our Transfer Visit Day on April 9th. See for your own eyes how great we are. (If I say so myself. And I do.)

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Pretty cool, right? There’s more, too. I’m learning about social networking and emailing and blogging and more. So, so, so, much more. And guess who gets to benefit from all my newly-enhanced techno knowledge. That’s right! You! Lucky.

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I have so much more I’d love to say, but for now, I’ve got to study.

-Megan

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*Ashburn, Elyse. “Prospective Students Rely on Campus Visits and Web Sites to Learn About College, Report Says.” Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 53 Issue 38. 25 May 2007. 39-39.

Happy Tuesday, Transfers! It’s Spring Break here at North Central, which means if you had already transferred to North Central, you’d already be Spring Break-ing it up, enjoying some well earned time off while getting ready to take Spring Term by the horns.

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But you haven’t transferred…not yet at least. No worries, there’s still plenty of time to get in to North Central for the Fall.
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If you are starting from scratch (haven’t done anything yet), let’s talk about what you still need to do:
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1)  Apply. That’s the first and biggest thing. The part about the application is it will only take about a half hour to complete, you just need to do it. Click on apply and it will take you to our online application, which is free. FREE. It’s doesn’t get much more FREE than FREE, people. Take some time, fill it out, and head on down to the next step.
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2)  Send in Official College transcripts. This always seems to be the tricky one, so let’s keep it simple. You need to send in transcripts from every college you’ve attended. If you’ve taken classes at three colleges, we will need…three transcripts. If you’ve taken even ONE class at a school, we will need a transcript from that school. If it is your first semester at a school and you want to wait to send in transcripts until spring grades are in, that’s fine, just contact your counselor and let them know the courses you have in progress so that we can help you and keep your application moving forward. Don’t know the counselor you would work with? Click here.
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3)  Send in an official final High School transcript, showing your ACT/SAT scores. I often get the question: “I’ve been out of high school for ______ years, do I still need to send you my high school transcript?” YES. That’s the short answer. The long answer: YES, because we need it to complete our records. Also, if you end up with under 27 transferrable hours, we will use your final high school transcript (along with your ACT or SAT scores) to help us make an admission determination and help us determine if you qualify for any scholarship.
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4)  If you are planning on filing Financial Aid, get started. Even if you are waiting to hear back from North Central on an admission decision, you can start the financial aid process, as the FAFSA will be the same for any school you are looking at attending this fall. I always encourage transfer students to apply for financial aid by using the FAFSA, because it is the best way to figure out if you qualify for any federal, state, or other aid beyond academic or fine arts scholarships. It may take you an hour or so to complete the FAFSA, but no question it’s a hour well spent.
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One note on the FAFSA: You should never, ever, ever, have to pay to file your FAFSA. If a website asks you to pay a fee to have them file the FAFSA, that site is a scam. If you want to be sure you’re going to the right site, type in the following address:
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http://www.fafsa.gov OR
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http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
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Both will send you to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. (Emphasis on FREE.) The FAFSA is meant to help you pay for college, so under no circumstances should you pay to file it.
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5)  Come Visit Campus. Visiting Campus could also be the #1 thing to do on my list, but there can only be one. I’m always stressing the importance of visiting campus, and the truth is I can’t stress it enough. During an individual visit you can tour campus, meet with an admission counselor and get an unofficial evaluation of your credits and how they’ll come in for your major, and really whatever else you can fit into your day. Meet with a faculty member, sit in on a class, watch a rehearsal or practice, if you give us the time to set it up, we’ll do our best to set up whatever you want to see. For more information, check out the Transfer Visit Opportunities page.
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If you don’t have time to set up an individual appointment, maybe the Transfer Visit Day on Saturday, April 9th, is just what you need. Meet with faculty from every academic department, hear a bit about academics and financial aid from our admission staff, and tour campus. We’ll even feed you. Again, check out the Transfer Visit Opportunities page for more information.
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I think that about covers it for now. We hope to see you on campus real soon.

-Megan

It’s finals time here at North Central. FINALly. (Haha! Puns.) Remember how last week I told you that it is really busy around here? Well, now it’s busy…plus one. All of the students are working their way to spring break, which is now only one happy day away. In case you’re wondering, this fearless blogger is not partaking in Spring Break. Why? Because I’d rather spend those days meeting with prospective students and talking la vida transfer. Click here for more info or call Kathy to set up an appointment: 630-637-5800.

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Oh, and our Transfer Visit Day is Saturday, April 9th. Breakfast, faculty from every different academic department, charming presentations by the transfer staff and yours truly, a tour, and lunch. If you can think of a better way to spend your Saturday, go do that. If not, come hang out with us.

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Okay, now that you remembered how much you want to come visit campus, let’s talk Leg Warmers and Pancakes. Delicious, right? I know. In my ongoing effort to become and remain awesome, within the same 7 days I decided to show my NCC spirit in two very fun ways: first, by going to see The Wedding Singer on campus; second, by offering my services as server extraordinaire at the Winter Term Pancake Breakfast.

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Okay, so first I went to see this year’s winter musical The Wedding Singer. I like going to the spring musicals because they are directed by our senior theatre students. That makes it fun on two levels, because not only are the performers all freshman, sophomores, and juniors, but it’s an opportunity to see the our graduating seniors take on the roles of makeup artists, costumers, technical effects folks, directors, and choreographers…they do it all. How fun to see actual physical proof that our senior theatre students have an understanding of the larger theatre picture.

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I want to take a moment to give a shout out to Chad Comello ’10, a recent alum who actually created a blog that covers the whole show from casting to curtain. In addition to pictures (which I don’t have), it offers a really great look behind the scenes of theatre at NCC. Don’t worry, it won’t ruin your theatre-going experience: just because you know a little bit about the recipe doesn’t mean the cake won’t be just as tasty. Give it a look (when you’re done reading my blog): http://nccweddingsinger.tumblr.com

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The show was so much fun. I love the movie The Wedding Singer, and am not ashamed to say that I know quite a bit of the dialog. But, even if I was predisposed to like the show, our students seriously owned the show. As you’re looking at the pictures, take a look at some of that hair. My crimper at home was begging me to crimp my hair after it saw the pictures (don’t worry, I held back), and Garrett Lutz’s Flock of Seagulls-inspired ‘do was…inspired.

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Beyond the hair-ography, our actor’s performances were great.  The three male leads were hilarious and incredibly talented, and our ladies had the talent to match. Congrats again go to some of my student workers Kathryn Lepine (who made everyone say “Drew Barry-who?”), Lauren Smith (owner of the world’s greatest side ponytail in recorded history), Emily Schmidt (everyone’s favorite rapping granny), Ali Kordelewski (AKA the entire woodwind section), and Erin Martin & Kylie Schoenecker (masters of props), who all knocked it out of the park.

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Now, let’s talk pancakes. Every term before finals the Office of Residence Life asks for faculty and staff to volunteer and serve pancakes at the Pancake Breakfast. Here’s the catch: the “Breakfast” is at 11pm, meaning that, depending on how you look at it, it is either the latest or earliest breakfast around. I’d never been to one, even as a student, so I thought it might be fun to help out. So on Sunday night I headed over to Kaufman Dining Hall, and was shocked to already see an actual mob waiting outside Kaufman. I snuck through the crowd, got inside, and donned plastic gloves and an apron. (Those pictures, you ask? They are…missing. Yeah. My…my camera ate them. Yeah.)

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Myself, along with other faculty, staff, and coaches, manned our battle stations and helped serve 459 North Central students an early/late breakfast of pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns, fruit, and donuts. Because you are dying to know, I’ll tell you: I was in charge of hashbrowns.

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It was awesome. Students were running through the line and getting some great food to feed their minds before finals started just 8 hours later. I have a few favorite bits I thought I’d share with you.

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First, almost all of them either said “please” or “thank you.” I’m not even saying that to make them sound better than they are. Our students are just that nice.

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Second, after going through the main pancakes-sausage-hashbrown part of the line, the students waited for Director of Student Development and Assistant Dean of Students Gary Ireland to receive some very delicious-looking donuts, which he assured me were “full of rich antioxidants.” Gary had about 20 left near the end of the night, and he walked around the tables giving them away (he may have thrown a few at people…it’s hard to say).

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Third, remember how “famous celebrities” like me were helping hand out food? Fortunately, I wasn’t the “biggest name” in the room (otherwise no one would have come). Guess who was handing out pancakes at the front of the line? Our College President, Hal Wilde. It just was another reminder that North Central is a different kind of place: the place where the President wants in on the fun and the Assistant Dean of Students throws donuts at you.

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And that was all just in a week at North Central. With a week like that, I can’t even image what 10 more weeks in the spring will bring.

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Peace, love, and waffles to you all,

-Megan

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P.S. Our Transfer Visit Day is on Saturday, April 9th. If you’ve read this whole blog, you definitely need to come check out our visit day. Sign up now.

Happy Week Ten, everyone!
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Wait, is that really right? Is it really Week Ten? Did time go by so very very very fast that we are already a week away from finals? As always, wow. Winter term goes by fast, but this year it has just zoomed right past me.
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What have we been up to in Transfer Admission? Well, for one thing, admitting transfer students. That’s the big thing. Oh, and driving through sun, sleet, and snow visiting local community colleges. We’ve been busy, which might be why the term went by so very very very fast.

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So just what have I been up to outside of work? Not much. But occasionally, my interests get to intersect with my job, and that leads to me having a bit of fun. In addition to film, food, and overall tomfoolery, I also enjoy literature. Being in Naperville, if you like books and authors and everything book-y and author-y, you have to know and love Anderson’s Bookstore.
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Anderson’s is a independent bookstore and is always bringing in great authors (both up and coming and well established) to come for book signings and Q & As. (In the book biz that’s short for “Question & Answer.” Yeah, you’re welcome.) I remember when I was little going to Anderson’s (I’m from a few towns over) and meeting young adult authors like Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith (of The Stinky Cheese Man and The Time Warp Trio books) and Louis Sachar, author of one of my favorite books of all time Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Bottom line: Anderson’s is great.
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So when I heard they would be hosting “Weird Al” Yankovic for a Q & A for his new children’s book When I Grow Up, of course I was thrilled. When I heard that to accommodate the signing North Central would be hosting Yankovic in Meiley-Swallow Hall, I was pretty sure that the universe was telling me that I had no excuse but to get my parody-loving, book-y, polka enthusiast self there. Granted, I am not the intended audience of When I Grow Up, but A) I read it and it’s really cute, B) My sister is having twin girls in a few months so the book is going to them, and C) I love Weird Al AND author signings. How could I resist?
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And Yankovic didn’t disappoint. After getting my food on at Quigley’s (the greatest Irish Pub this side of the Atlantic), my friend Jessica and I headed to Meiley for a Q & A with Yankovic followed by a book signing.
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Meiley-Swallow Hall is a small venue, and seats around 250 people. It’s a 3/4 thrust proscenium stage (you’re welcome, theatre nerds, non-theatre nerds, think 3/4 of a theatre in the round-type deal), so everyone was very close. Being a baby of the 80s-cough-90s-cough-whocares?, I grew up listening to “Weird Al” and yes, have a VHS of his music videos (if Yankovic was a frequent reader of my infrequent blog, he would thank me for the royalties he received for said VHS, as it came from my babysitting money and those kids were mean).
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Meiley-Swallow was packed with people, and soon after Jessica and I found some seats Yankovic came out. I’ve been to a few book signings in the past, and this would rank up high on my author experiences. Why? Well, first of all, the setting was small, allowing you to get up close and personal. Literally. Somewhere there is a kid who has video footage of Weird Al getting all up in his camera lens. Like we’re talking centimeters here.
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He seemed to have fun answering questions from his fans. And the fans came in all different shapes and sizes. I would have to say my favorite question of the night came from a little girl who asked him, “Were you popular in school?” It was cute and funny because there was this moment where Yankovic kinda paused, thought about how to answer the question, and explained that of course he was popular…because his parents had made him take accordion lessons.
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In my experience, it is very rare for authors to let you take pictures during the speaking portion and then during the signing as well. I didn’t even bring a camera because I assumed I wouldn’t be able to use it, so imagine my relief when my friend Jessica whipped hers out. Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to check out this uber-awesome shot of the three of us:
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That’s right. I’m just glad I straightened my hair, otherwise Al and I would have matched. How embarrassing that would have been!
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Well, now I have a signed copy of an ADORABLE kids book, a fun story, and a blog for you. Aren’t we all just born lucky.
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-Megan

Happy Tuesday, Transfers! (Oh, I love alliteration, it’s totally terrific.) While a lot of colleges are only starting up their second week of classes, North Central’s already been in session for 3 weeks. Amazed? You should be. You should also sign up for our next Transfer Visit Day on Saturday, February 12th. It’s a great chance to come visit campus, talk to faculty, and see our transfer counselors be the rockstars they are.
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So, I know what you’re thinking (okay, that’s patently not true. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but we’re just going to give this a whirl anyway.) TWMTSS? What is that? Well, in a world where there are abbreviations for everything (FTW – for the win, LOL- laugh out loud, PMDYHAGP – Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon), I decided to create one of my own.
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So I both receive and buy a lot of North Central t-shirts over the course of the year. I’m already at six for this year alone. I thought it may be fun for me to chronicle some of them for you. Hence the blog title TWMTSS – That’s What My T-Shirt Said.

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Today’s shirt is a whole lot of fun. Let’s check out the front:
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Wowsers. That’s pretty straightforward. Clear message.
Or is it? Let’s go to the back:
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I received this from the Office of International Programs to help publicize the Study Abroad Fair we have on campus in October. Now I know that time has come and passed, but I figure it’s never too early or too late for me to sing the praises of studying abroad, and specifically the Office of International Programs at North Central.
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As a former transfer student, I know that some folks think they can’t study abroad, because they think they can’t afford it or because they don’t think they’ll have the time. Now I’ll be honest, for some students, it may impact your graduation time line, but if you plan ahead accordingly (both academically and monetarily), it is very very very possible, and very worth your time. Repeat: Transfer students can Study Abroad. Plan ahead, and it will be great.
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I’ve been lucky to go abroad 3 times through North Central. First, I studied for the fall term at Canterbury Christ Church University in 2004. It was my first time abroad ever, and I was a direct exchange student on my own living with 6 British flatmates. “It was amazing,” is just about the biggest understatement ever. Our NCC in England fall group program now goes to CCCU, and I’m so happy that every year groups of NCC students get to have the same kind of fun I did.
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My second trip was a two week adventure to China and Japan as part of the “Crossing Borders, Connecting Cultures” Conference in the summer of 2005. Ten North Central students joined ten students from different countries in Asia (including China, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam) for an adventure through Beijing, China and Kyoto, Japan. We presented research, toured so many historic and beautiful sites, and most importantly, interacted with each other. It was an unforgettable experience.
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Finally, I was a staff chaperone for a December Term trip to France in 2008. Even though I was just a chaperone, I learned and saw so many amazing things that the only way I can encapsulate the experience in one sentence is: “It was too great to explain, and I can’t wait to go back one day.”
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That’s about it, I think. For more information on study abroad opportunities, check out the Office of International Programs. They really are just about the best folks around, globally and North Central-ly.
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-Megan
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P.S. Did I mention the next big Transfer Visit Day is Saturday, February 12th? Sign up now!

Well, the holidays are over, my transfer peeps. I hope that your break was both joyful and triumphant. Mine was both, in case you were wondering.
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The Transfer Staff, in case you were wondering, were hard at work last week. Between Christmas and New Year’s, Steve, Linda, Jon, Tim, and yours truly were hard at work getting the last of the winter term transfer students accepted and sent to advising to pick out classes. Kudos to us, the folks in Financial Aid, the Registrar’s Office, Advising, and everyone else who got these students in and moving.
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Anyway, let’s talk about what I love to talk about: movies. Now I know what you’re thinking. (Okay, I don’t know what you are thinking. We’ve established my inability to read minds, but let’s pretend, shall we? Okay, we shall.) “Megan, what does your true love for film have to do with transfer admission?” And okay, you’ve caught me. The answer is not much.
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However, during our break, I went to see a few movies in the theatre. Admittedly, Disney’s Tangled has no practical application for transfer college admission, so we’ll skip that one, even though it was great. What I want to talk about is The Tourist, starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. I’m not here to review movies (oh, don’t get me wrong,  a little part of me wishes I was), and I’m not here to ‘spoiler alert’ people. In fact, consider this an ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILER ALERT here.
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Now that we’ve established that this is not a surprise, here we go. In every review of the movie, it mentions that Johnny Depp’s character is a math teacher. While watching the movie, I saw the name of the illustrious institution he works for on a computer screen: Madison Community College in Madison, WI.
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There’s just one little problem, Johnny. (May I call you Johnny? No? Okay.) There is no Madison Community College. As any transfer counselor who has worked in college admission for more than a day will tell you, two-year colleges in Wisconsin are called “technical colleges.” Pretty hard to teach math in a school that doesn’t exist, eh, Johnny?
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Someone hand me a trophy, I’ve schooled Johnny Depp. I mean, look, I can suspend my disbelief far enough that Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp can dodge bullets and jump off buildings and boats and stuff, but teach at schools that don’t exist? That’s just silly.
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I’m kidding, of course. However, (and here’s where it comes full circle, and I kinda have a point…kinda) this made me realize that there is a lesson to be learned from Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. And that is this: When filling out your college admission applications, make sure you list the correct schools, and that you send transcripts from every institution you’ve attended.
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Why is that so important? Well, let’s say for instance that you’ve attended the Jolie-Pitt University and Depp College (yes, we’re keeping the names). When I receive your application, it lists two colleges: Jolie-Pitt University and the University of Depp. If we haven’t had a chance to touch base, how do I know that you didn’t attend University of Depp, and that your application is complete once I receive the other two transcripts? The answer: I don’t, and your application remains pending.
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So, your Jolie-Pitt University and Depp College transcripts are in, but because I’m waiting for University of Depp to come in, I never review your application. Because I never review your application, you are never accepted to North Central, you never go to school here or eat lunch at The Cage, and you miss out on a great education and the best chicken quesadillas of your life. All because you didn’t check and make sure you had the right schools listed on your application.
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Crazy, right? Well, so is not checking over your application before you submit it online and reading your college admission correspondence.
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So thank you Johnny Depp, as you’ve helped me prove yet another point.
-Megan
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P.S. Have you applied yet? If not, you should probably go here.

Happy Holidays!

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It’s that time of year: that’s right, the time of year when I get too clever for my britches and try and get creative on you. I’m sorry, it’s the Holidays…it brings out the useless creativity in me (you’re just lucky you’re not on my gift list…unless you wanted a hand-knit Minnie Mouse teapot cozy).  Last year I wrote a letter to Santa, and today, while rocking out to the radio, I got inspired by one of my favorite holiday songs.

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Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

-Megan

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P.S. Just a quick reminder that North Central will be closed December 18-27.

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All I Want For Christmas Is You (To Apply and Visit)

*(Special Thanks/No Copyright Infringement Intended, Mariah Carey.)

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I don’t want a lot for Christmas

There’s just one thing I need

I don’t care about presents

Underneath the Christmas tree

I just want you to apply

By paper or even online

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you (to apply).

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I don’t want a lot for Christmas

I just want you to hear my plea

If you’re thinking about transferring

Meeting with a transfer counselor is the key

Come on over to campus and visit

(Click here to find the place)

Santa Claus would be so happy

(Just know we’re closed on Christmas Day)

Make an appointment and get an individual tour all your own

You’ll see it’s more helpful than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you (to visit)

You baby acquaintance!

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I won’t ask for much this Christmas

I won’t even wish for snow*

I’m just gonna wait for your transcripts

From every school you’ve attended…no matter how long ago!

Request each transcript and please send it

To North Central (not Saint Nick!)

As soon as you send them

We’ll be sure to review them quick

‘Cause once they’re here in black and white

Hopefully we’ll be able to give you the green light,

What more can I do?

Baby Acquaintance all I want for Christmas is you (to send in your transcripts)

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All the lights are shining

So brightly all over Naperville

Transfer students are applying

And visiting (despite the winter chill!)

And everyone is singing

I hear those sleigh bells ringing

Santa, tell these students to contact the counselor that they need

Tell them to click here (it may even be me!)

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Oh, I don’t want a lot for Christmas

This is all I’m asking for

I just want to keep helping students transfer

And walk through North Central’s door

Oh I think you should weather the snow

Come meet with a counselor and find out what you need to know

Make my wish come true

Baby Acquaintance all I want for Christmas is

You (to apply and visit)

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All I want for Christmas is you (to apply)

All I want for Christmas is you (to visit)