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March 27, 2006
Spring Break
The sun, the sand, the water, what a great Spring Break! Then I woke up from my dream at 6:30 am on Thursday and went to the admission office for work. NO, ALBRIGHT EMPLOYEES DO NOT GET SPRING BREAK OFF!!!!!!
A lot of people think that everyone gets Spring Break at colleges and universities. Unfortunately that is not the case. So while students were in Florida, San Francisco, Europe, cruising the Caribbean, or just sitting at home relaxing; I and the rest of my office were working. But we love our jobs!
Hundreds of additional financial aid packages are going out this week so check the mail. Contact us when there are questions because the admission and financial aid offices are here to help. The Preview Day for accepted student on April 8th is a great day to talk financial aid so bring your package if you are coming. We have counselors available all day to talk. At last count almost 200 accepted students are signed up for the day. Should be a lot of fun and it looks like our weather is going to make a turn for the better this week. I hope it lasts.
Maybe our Spring Breakers brought some good weather back with them. It is the least they could do for us!
Posted by Chris Boehm at 10:37 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2006
Can't forget about the Sophomores and Juniors!
College admission and recruiting is 365 days a year.
I’ve been so caught up in working with accepted students and talking financial aid that I forgot how much fun it is talking to families that aren’t familiar with the college admission and financial aid process. Attended a college fair at Upper Dublin High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania last night and I had a great time talking to families about Albright and educating many of them on college admission and college searches.
The part of my job that I enjoy the most is educating families on the process. Many are overwhelmed by the thought of starting it and others receive such bad information from various sources. I am very popular at parties with parents of 16 and 17 year-olds! It is one of the rare times that I am popular (lol)! I feel good about helping families even if the information that I give them sends them somewhere other than Albright. So ask away!!!!!
It’s off to Brandywine High School tomorrow for a panel presentation and later in the month to Pottstown and Spring Ford high schools. I’m going to miss those of you at North Penn HS because my wife is going to a conference in Las Vegas (luck her!) and I am home with my daughter all week. But Summer in our office who is a North Penn grad will be covering the fair.
On a personal note, Billy Joel concert was fabulous! It is the fifth time I have seen him and while our friend that got us the tickets was in the THIRD ROW! we enjoyed the suite we were in. Also ate at the Pod in Philadelphia prior to the show. Weird atmosphere, but outstanding food!!!!!!!! Highly recommend.
Posted by Chris Boehm at 3:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2006
Scholarship Brunch and Preview Day
Saturday was a great day!!!! Almost 200 accepted students on campus and the most fabulous weather we could ask for. Campus was alive with activity. The Lax team was playing, the baseball team was scrimmaging, winter coats were left at home, and Jake's outdoor grill filled the air with the sent of BBQ!
I had great conversations with families that I had been corresponding through via email and phone for the past few months. I got to eat with Alexandra Smith from Spring Ford and Ashley McPherson from Pottstown. I chatted with Amanda Corbett and Rebecca Herbert from St. Basil for an extended period of time and received a very nice email from Jon Wood following the program. I missed Stephanie Ferriola from Merion Mercy, Lindsay Hummel from Conrad Weiser, Shaina Whitaker from Cheltenham and a few others, but I hope to catch up with you in the near future.
For those of you that didn’t make the program Saturday’s program there is another on April 8th. There is still plenty of time to get to campus during the week to sit in on classes, meet with professor and coaches, and even stay overnight.
Remember it is always 65 degrees and sunny at Albright!!!!!!
Billy Joel concert tonight in Philadelphia!!!!!!!! Should be a great time.
Posted by Chris Boehm at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)
March 8, 2006
Even More Financial Aid
We have sent out over 600 financial aid packages to accepted students and have started to follow up with each student that has received one. Every student that receives an aid package from Albright gets a phone call from an admission counselor to explain and outline what the package consists of. Financial aid is something that can be very complicated because every school will title items differently and award funds differently.
It is our philosophy that if you are looking at comparable educations that they should come at a comparable cost. So if any of you are looking at other small, private, national ranked liberal arts schools, Albright should be as good a financial option for any accepted student. I make that promise to all families. If you are an accepted student we would like to see you on campus in August. I realize that all accepted students are not coming, but we’d like to make sure they can make that decision solely based upon the experience and education that they feel they will receive.
So, if you have financial aid packages from other schools that make Albright a more expensive option please bring that to the attention of the admission office if Albright is your first choice. We don’t want to miss out on you.
Please call or email me if you have any questions about financial aid!
Posted by Chris Boehm at 4:57 PM | Comments (0)
March 2, 2006
Stress and Euphoria
What a great time of year......................What a crazy time of year.......................What a great time of year....................What a stressful time of year........................What a great job I have................................How much more is there to do????????????????????? I wish I could just take a nap.
Sunday night we have thirty-plus students attending our Jacob Albright Scholarship Dinner. Tuesday night we have twenty-plus students attending our Eugene Shirk Scholarship Dinner and Saturday we will have over 150 families on campus for an accepted student preview day. What a great time of year. We get to meet the students that we have been calling and emailing and their families. There is nothing better than spending quality time with accepted students. Showing them around campus, answering their questions, introducing them to faculty, seeing them meet other accepted students is wonderful.
So why is it also stressful? Well, there are two reasons. First all of our 'yield' programs are scheduled when at the most convenient times for students and their families, which means time away from the family. It is also stressful because spring travel season has started. I was at Twin Valley High School in Morgantown, PA last night doing a panel presentation and was supposed to be at North Penn High School tonight, but that program was postponed because of the weather. These are more nights away from the family. And if you view past posts you can see a picture of my daughter (the cutest little girl in the world). I don't enjoy leaving her:-(.
But enough venting!!!!! It is a great time of year. Next week I will start calling all my students who received their financial aid packages to help explain the packages and work with families that need additional assistance. Counseling and educating is the part of the job that I believe our office enjoys the most. That is another reason why this time of year is so much fun. We get to help people- nothing better!
So while this time of year is tough, the good far out ways the bad.
Posted by Chris Boehm at 3:43 PM | Comments (0)