College Guide 2016

8 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE COLLEGE GUIDE 2016-17

Advice from a teacher, a recent

graduate, an RA, an admissions

offcer, a fnancial advisor and more.

Picking theirBrains

Interviews by Mariah Douglas,

Jessica Good and Jenny Kiefer

9

Mary Gulley, Centre College

How much is too much? What’s an

unmanageable course load?

“Our full-time load is 12 credit hours,

which is roughly four classes. Our

crediting is a little diferent than other

colleges. We have some three-credit-hour

courses; then we have some four-credit-

hour courses, which are our labs. Twelve

to 13 credit hours a term is full-time. We

do have some students who have fve

classes, but it’s not the norm, and it’s a

lot for them to handle.”

What should I expect from the frst

year of courses? Is there anything I

can do before to prepare for them?

“At Centre, we assign a pretty heavy

reading load, so students can prepare

by increasing how much they’re reading

and maybe their efciency in reading,

but they will become profcient readers

here. It’s a hard thing to prepare for

— it’s more of an expectation of what

they’ll learn here. Students also need to

become familiar with interacting in class

and in discussion. Most of our courses

have discussion, and open questioning is

expected.

“Another thing high school students

can do is adopt a time-management/

organization system that works for them.

Our students are very busy all the time —

classroom, on campus, they have a lot of

various activities going on, and they have

to learn pretty quickly how to keep track

of everything.”

What are some common mistakes

students make?

“One is — and we have to tell our new

students this during their frst term —

don’t join every club on campus right

at the very beginning; don’t become so

overly involved that it becomes too much

to handle. A lot of our students are very

high-achieving, and they’re used to being

the leaders of the groups in their high

school, and we caution them not to have

that mentality when they start college.

That’s a common mistake of trying to do

too much too soon, and not getting to

know the college, friends, professors, and

not actually transitioning into the college

in a more peaceful way. The transition

is difcult enough without taking on

too much. Another mistake is thinking

someone else will tell them what to do all

the time, because they won’t.”

Any tips about picking a major?

“At Centre, all of our students are

undecided. They don’t declare a major

until spring of sophomore year. Now a lot

of students have direction and they might

know 100 percent what they’ll major

in, and that’s great. But we encourage

students to come to college in the frst

two years and explore the curriculum

through our general education courses.

Through those classes and conversations

with professors, they discover what

they’re passionate about. My suggestion

is to explore classes and not be too quick

to get on a narrow path.”

Should I double-major?

“I tell students they only need one major

to graduate; unless there’s a good

intrinsic reason to double-major, take

things like glass-blowing that you can

only explore in college.”

Are there any courses that will help all

students, regardless of what career

they’re pursuing?

“Any course that will improve written and

oral communication and critical thinking

skills. And honestly, that’s pretty much all

of our classes.”

Assistant Dean for Advising


Freshmen InstructorRachel Gramer, University of Louisville

What’s the best way to stay organized?

“I think organizing strategies are diferent

for every individual. My best advice is

always to fnd what works for you, pay

attention to when your strategies don’t

work, know when your really busy times

of the semester are — although they’re all

going to be busy — and be willing to be

fexible in developing new strategies too.

With that said, I am a big fan of keeping

lists, updating my calendar with all

deadlines, and taking notes in my

phone, because I know I’ll always

have it with me.”

How can a student be sure to

do well in your class?

“My top two strategies for

success are asking questions

and meeting deadlines. These

are based on the assumptions of

being present and on time. I think

keeping track of the class syllabus/

schedule is important. But I think it’s

even more important to ask questions —

in class, by email — of the instructor, of

other students, about assignments, about

deadlines, and learn not to be afraid to

ask when you don’t know something.

And the way we learn is through

practice.”

What are some bad habits students

should be aware of?

“I’ll say what seems to be an issue for

many of my colleagues: email etiquette.

Know what your professor prefers to be

called and learn the level of formality

she expects. For me, the only big

no-no is being disrespectful of other

students — in speech, in writing, by not

fulflling obligations or coming to class—

being impatient and infexible with the

instructor or classmates, and expecting

more from others than you are willing to

give yourself.”

What’s the major diference between

high school and college classes, from

your perspective?

“It’s still school — remember that. As

in high school, schools can provide

opportunities for learning, and more

education might get you something that

you want in life. In college, the cost is

usually higher, so the stakes are too.”

As an instructor, do you have any

advice as to determining a major/area

of study?

“My current mentor gave one of my

classes some wise advice: Chase

your passions, not just your interests.

The diference is sometimes hard to

distinguish early on. My best advice is

not to be afraid to explore other interests

at frst, and to take at least one class that

you have no idea where it will take/lead

you. And before you get too far in your

undergraduate career, ask yourself: What

am I best at? What can I not live without

doing, or talking about, or learning

about? And who can I talk to about

making this happen?”


Admissions Offcer

How do I avoid common application

mistakes?

“Be aware of admission-application and

scholarship-application deadlines, and

be sure to take the ACT or SAT more

than once and submit all test scores.

Also, we suggest applying to multiple

schools and planning a campus tour to

the schools you’re considering.”

How much do high school grades

really matter in applying to college?

“Grades are still extremely important,

not only for admission purposes but

for scholarship purposes and course

placement as well.”

Besides grades, what are other

important components of the college

application?

“We look at many factors and all have

equal importance: GPA, strength of

schedule, letters of recommendation,

ACT or SAT test scores, extracurricular

activities, written essay.”

In your experience, what would you

say makes a successful transition

from high school to college?

“Preparing yourself academically while

still in high school. The more academic

preparation you can complete while in

high school, the easier the academic

transition will be — and this includes

enrolling in challenging courses during

your senior year.”

Will a college take back its ofer

if my grades slump in the last

semester of high school?

“I can only speak for UK, and I

would say that would depend on

how that last semester slump afects

your cumulative GPA. But again,

we encourage applicants to take

their senior year very seriously, as it

is your last opportunity to prepare

yourself academically for your

freshman year of college.”

What makes an essay stand out?

“One of the options for the UK

written essay is to describe a

challenge or obstacle you have

overcome on your educational

journey. It is defnitely inspiring for

an applicant to provide information

about their own academic

challenges and how they managed

to move past those and become

successful.”

What if my freshman-year grades

were awful but then got better?

“There are sometimes life

circumstances that can cause

a bad semester or year, and we

are understanding of that. In this

situation, it might be something

good to provide information about in

the written essay.”

Michelle Garth, University of Kentucky

SATA+C-

ACT

Documents

College Guide 2016