Speaking of ... College of Charleston

Demystifying College Applications, Tips from Jimmie Foster, VP of Enrollment Planning

• Jimmie Foster • Season 3 • Episode 6

Share episode

Send us a text

On this episode of Speaking of…College at Charleston, we talk about the college admission process with Jimmie Foster, Vice President of Enrollment Planning at the College. The conversation covers various aspects of preparing for college, from when to start thinking about applying to understanding the importance of grades, extracurricular activities and campus visits. Foster addresses common misconceptions about college admissions, the reduced significance of standardized tests like the SAT and the holistic review process adopted by many colleges. Foster offers advice for parents on supporting their children and emphasizing the importance of finding the right fit financially, academically and socially.

Foster’s take away advice is that campus tours give students the opportunity to preform a bench Test. “Every student should have that moment where they can sit down for just five minutes by themselves on a bench somewhere on that campus and just watch and get that feel of campus to know if they can see themselves here.” 

Featured on this Episode:

Jimmie Foster Jr. is vice president of enrollment planning as of May 2023. In this role, Foster leads the Division of Enrollment Planning, made up of the Office of Admissions, the Visitor Center, the Office of Financial Assistance and Veterans Affairs and the Office of Enrollment Information.

Foster returns to this position at the College of Charleston after spending three years as vice president of enrollment management at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Foster's experience at the College spans more than a decade where he held several roles including vice president of enrollment planning and director of first-year student admissions. Foster also served as dean of admissions and orientation at Northeastern University in Boston. He began his career in admissions at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

Before moving into higher education, Foster worked on national political campaigns, including time on a U.S. Presidential campaign. He has been a presenter at national professional development conferences including NACAC, ACT/NRCCUA and Ruffalo Noel Levitz.

Foster has enjoyed being a part of the College's First Year Abroad Experiences where he has been involved with the UK Soccer Experience course since its inception in 2012. Foster is passionate about English football and enjoys having the opportunity to work directly with first-year students by co-presenting the eight-week long seminar that culminates in leading study-abroad experiences to the United Kingdom based on the theme of the sociology, history and economics of soccer.

Resources from this Episode:

Office of Admissions Hours
 Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Phone
843.953.5670

Email
 Office of Admissions
 admissions@cofc.edu 

International Students
 international@cofc.edu 

 

Mike Robertson:

Hello, and Welcome to Speaking of College of Charleston. I'm Mike Robertson, Senior Director of Media Relations at the college. Today, we will demystify the college admission experience and hopefully, help students and parents get ready for the move from high school to college. My guest is Jimmy foster vice president of enrollment planning at the College of Charleston. Let's get started. According to Forbes magazine, over 7 million students applied to colleges in 2023. Now despite all the guidebooks and all the blogs and advice from parents, neighbors and fellow students, there seems to be a lot of anxiety and confusion concerning the college admission process. Jimmy Foster is the vice president of enrollment planning here at the College of Charleston. Jimmy, I want you to kind of pull back the curtain on the admission process and talk about prospective students and what they really need to know in order to get to college. And let's start with the basics. When should a high school student start thinking about applying for college?

Unknown:

Mike, it's great question. You're right. I think demystifying this process is one of the most important things we can do to help students start looking at colleges, you know, the process can start really at any time, most students really begin their sophomore year in high school. But I always recommend that they start thinking about it a little bit earlier than that. It's not uncommon for eighth grade or ninth grader to start thinking about the courses they're going to need to take in high school. And that that plays a role into the kind of colleges that they can apply to where they could be admitted to so that initial conversation with a with a parent and their students, eighth or ninth grades not not completely unrealistic. As you start thinking about the higher level maths that you need the English the curriculum that you need in place in order to be college ready. That's the time to really start thinking about it. Now, of course, as you get a little bit further along in your high school career, that's when the students are going to start thinking about okay, what kind of school do I want? That's when the process really starts to pick up? What

Mike Robertson:

let's talk about that, as you I'm sure has spoken to 1000s and 1000s of prospective students over the years. What are some of the big misconceptions they have about applying to college? Yeah,

Unknown:

I think the big misconception is that it's impossible to get into college is so difficult. I saw a statistic by Rafal, no Levitz a couple years back that showed that, you know, it's just as easy to get into college today as it was in 1985. Despite everything you hear in the media about how much harder it is to get into schools. EAB shows that less than 75 schools have an admit rate of 25% or lower. So you think about that most schools in the country are well above the 50% range and admission standards. So there's a school for some everybody out there. Just a matter of finding it. Right. Yeah, it's a matter of finding it. And I think that's that's, that's the key. Students are applying to more places than ever before. Almost 8.5 is the average this year, according to EAP. That's a lot. I mean, in the 90s, it was less than three. So the increase in students looking at the common app has really taken off. Schools have done away with their own individual application. So it's made it easier for students to apply. And applying online is a big thing. Obviously, that's how it's done now. So it's a lot easier to click a button and add another school than it used to be.

Mike Robertson:

Well, I tell you what, when I was growing up, I remember one of my biggest anxieties had to be when you walk into a school cafeteria on a Saturday morning, holding that number two pencil getting ready to take the LSAT exam. How important is LSAT now? Yeah,

Unknown:

well, the sa t has probably it really has declined, I think in terms of its importance. At the majority of schools in the country, we've seen the rise of test optional really take off during the pandemic. And I think it's here to stay. Most people don't realize, though, that schools began moving test optional as early as 1985, Bates College was the first to do so. And for decades, there was a website called fair test.org, which was an organization that categorized all the schools that were test optional. But since the the pandemic where fewer students took the test, were able to take the test, a lot of colleges and universities said, We can do this process and the selection process without it. Although I will say most of the most selective colleges in the country still require it. Or they're going to want to see it to be academically eligible to enroll that institution.

Mike Robertson:

Well, let's talk about the process itself. What happens when the College of Charleston receives an application? Tell me about the process.

Unknown:

Yeah, so when the application comes in, we usually wait for deadlines when we review files Based on those deadlines, but when the applications come in our committee is going to take a look at each of those applications, they're going to be spread out. Across the committee based on region, we read by territory. So our admissions counselors are on the road, they're recruiting in a territory. And then they're the first read for those applications when they come in. So what they do is they take a look at that with another colleague, and they try to make a recommended decision. Later on a higher level of committee, some folks that have a little bit more experience will go through those decisions, and agree with them and push them forward, or maybe push them back to have the committee continue to take a look at them. And then we release our decisions, usually between four and eight weeks after the deadline. And then they go out for everybody to make up their mind on where they want to attend.

Mike Robertson:

Now, when you're looking at students, how important are things like grades or participating in sports and clubs and things like that?

Unknown:

Yeah, the holistic review processes is really what it's about at the College of Charleston, many institutions like us, we're going to want to see not just your grades, but we're going to see everything you've been involved with, we're going to want recommendations from your teachers, we want to see potentially a writing sample if you're applying to the Honors College or an essay. But the most important part of an application doesn't matter where you apply. I think all my colleagues across the country would agree it's your grades and the courses that you've taken us the courses that you've taken, as you look at your courses, you want to make sure as a high school student, that you're taking courses that challenge you, but not so many that your grades suffer and finding that balance is really one of the most important things that you can do. I see all the time students have pressed themselves so hard to take all AP and IB only to get B's and C's in those courses far would have rather seen that student take a couple of the shows they're capable of doing that. And get A's in those courses are BS in those courses, and save, save their time for some other things that they are interested in and showed more of a well rounded student.

Mike Robertson:

As you look at these applications, are there things that jump out every once in a while things you should not do things you hate seen when you see these applications?

Unknown:

Yeah, the essay is probably the most common place that you see that right? You see students who will, there's a formula to it right. And once you've seen as many essays as I've read through the years, you start to see some real trends and things that just and one of the things is when you see a student is trying to talk about, they're trying really hard to show they've accomplished this or that or there's one achievement that they want to go on and on about what we really want to see is is a whole look at the student, you have one opportunity to tell us about yourself, I would go beyond just one thing, right? Why are you interested in this institution? What makes the school a good fit for you? What have you done over your career as a high school student inside and outside the classroom that shows us you're a good fit for that. So I like to see a student that takes a more expansive approach to talking about themselves and that sort of just hanging their hat on one or two things.

Mike Robertson:

We'll get back to more admission stuff in just a few minutes. But I want to take a second or so to talk about the campus tour. Very important that you visit the campus. Why? Tell me why? Well,

Unknown:

I think it's about a feeling that you get, you know, people are, will go to places that they like, right, there's a personality, everybody has a sort of things that they like and they don't like. And a big part of that is if you're going to spend four years at a place it needs to really fit a place that you're going to be comfortable place where you can be academically and socially successful. And so finding a place that is comfortable is really a big part of that and the campus tours, how you can do that I think in person, you know, we've seen tour numbers really rebound during the pandemic, those numbers really declined nationally, they're back to to really strong rates like they were before the pandemic. And I think it's because parents and students alike want to see and feel that I had a former boss, they called it the bench test here at the College of Charleston. And he said every student, if they have the chance should have that moment where they can sit down for just five minutes by themselves on a bench somewhere on that campus. And just watch and sort of get that feel, you know, to be one with the campus, if you will, to help them really see if they can see themselves there. Now, not every student gets that chance, right? I mean, being able to travel to 810 campuses can be difficult, Mike, but one of the things that students can do now that you and I didn't have the luxury of when we were looking at colleges, the virtual tours that are available to students and all the video content that's out there. I really advise students to start there even before they visit a campus now. The big advantage is being able to take a look at all the content that's out there. Take 1520 minutes to really explore a campus before you put it on that list as a place as a must see, right. That's a big advantage that I think today's student has, I really recommend it. Now

Mike Robertson:

of course if you take the campus Who are you, you get a feel that the campus you find out buildings and things like that. But what about after the tour? What do you recommend students and parents do after the tour is over with? Yeah,

Unknown:

you know, it's real common for a family to come in, and then they head out and go to their car and it's over write, I think this is where the personal exploration needs to start. If you have the time, I always recommend walking up to a student, random student and asking you a question or two, taking a look at a student production, if you have a chance to do that, to be able to look at the signs that are on campus to see the level of activity to see if there are things that interest you. Back in the day, I would have said pick up a student newspaper to see what's going on on campus. But you can do that online. And I tell students do that all the time, following their social media to see really see what that's like. But I think asking a student, if you get a chance, even faculty, we do that all the time, I've had families walk back into our visitor center, and they say, you know, we just stopped in the school business, or we just stopped in the School of Education. And we just walked into a faculty member's office and guess what they talked to us. And the end, if that's the kind of personal attention you can get at the college that this is the place for us. Our faculty are really good at that. But I think, by and large, if you have the chance to do that, when you're on campus, and you have the time, you should stop and not not be fearful doing it. Because I think by and large, most people were really proud of the places they work and they want to be able to talk about

Mike Robertson:

the idea is to have the perfect fit. How do you know if a school is the perfect fit? Yeah,

Unknown:

I tell I tell students this all the time, especially parents, I get this question a lot. They say, you know, my student is so focused on just finding that right school. And I think the truth is with, you know, there are almost 4000s institutions of higher learning in the United States, there's bound to be more than just one perfect fit. I would argue that there's probably scores of perfect fits for a student. But really one of those pieces that you have to think about is not only a perfect fit in terms of your field for what you want to learn, and where you want to study and the kind of networking community you want to be a part of. But I think price comes into play, right, affordability, is it are the right financial fit, is that the right investment? does the family have enough resources to make that institution that feels like a right fit work for that student? So that adds another layer to that. So I think you can find the right fit, but maybe it's only the right fit socially and academically, maybe it's not the right fit for you financially, as well. So I think that that's those are the three keys when you're looking at a school is does it have the areas that I want to study? Does it have sort of the community that I'm looking for socially? But then also, does it have that sort of foundational piece? It's so important, can I afford that institution? You have those three things? You I think you're finding a school that's close to the perfect fit for you,

Mike Robertson:

as a parent, how do you make sure that you're not overbearing, and steering the conversation and steering a student toward a particular school?

Unknown:

Yeah, and you know, we send in institutions like college trolls, and we send our parents and students a lot of mail and a lot of email. And we know the parents and important person in this process, right? By and large, the data and lots of different areas that do the research will tell you that the parent is the single most important influencer in that student's decision on where they're gonna go to school, even more so than friends. And I think a lot of that has to do with the finances of all of that, of course. But there is, I think, a line that you as a parent, you need to have with your student, to give them some control of that process. I always recommend to the parents that they have an initial conversation with their student about the kind of school they're looking for, and a realistic conversation about the sort of financial ability of the parents and what they need to look for is in an in state school only is that out of state, academically, what is going to be a stretch, what are the sub is that a big school, small school? Are you undecided in your academic interest, that initial conversation to just get a student thinking about the kind of place they want to go, and then have the student go do their research, there's so much of their fingertips online that they can research the the online guide books, the the websites that are out there, that you can literally identify a student that's similar to you and the kinds of schools they've gone to now, there's so much data out there available too. And I think that's where a parent should step in, is that students can start building some really, really long lists, right? It's helping them hone in on those things that they know best about their student. And I think oftentimes that that's the right sort of balance you want to find with your student is having them have some ownership but also then you being able to help steer Are them because you know them best.

Mike Robertson:

And you know, I'm curious, you've been doing this since 2001, what has changed when it comes to applying for college, a

Unknown:

lot of things have changed since 2001, in this process, but I think probably let me give you two. The first one I would tell you is the internal one in the admissions offices. Back then everything was on paper. So we would, you know, you can imagine walking into a doctor's office and seeing the colorful folders behind the front desk. But we had rooms full of those things. And we would bring them home and egg cartons and banana boxes, to, to read files, and write our notes by hand on each of these, these applications. That whole process now is electronic, I mean, the mail we get on a very busy day, we make it a bucket of mail these days and admissions office, back then we could get 25 or 30 buckets of mail just in one day, with transcripts and the likes. So that's changed. For the students, I think it's accessibility, it's the ability to apply with ease to more places. It's the ability to see content about institutions, you might never have heard of, if you were from a different part of the country, that now you have that immediate access to learn so much about. And so I think because of that, the parents and the students are far more educated about the process, and know a lot more about the competitors and the other institutions that are out there. And I think that that everybody wins in that case, because I think more students find the right fit. And and that's, that's, that's what we want. We want to find students that we want to help students find the right home.

Mike Robertson:

All right, let's end this with some closing words of wisdom from you. Yeah,

Unknown:

well, if you're a parent or student out there, and you're beginning this process, my words of wisdom are not to allow the concern and the media and the push to say that this is so hard that you're going to be lost in this process, and so much harder to get into schools this year than last year. The reality is, there are so many great schools out there that are the right fit for you, it's just willing, you just need to be willing to sit down and take the time to to do the ample research that you need to find the right fit for you so that you can build that list, right. And I'll close it with this. You should have a couple schools that are stretched schools for you in terms of academics and finances, a couple that are just the right fit. And then some that you know, will be no problem for you as a family. So if you're thinking about this process and get ready to launch, that would be a great place for you to start building the

Mike Robertson:

list. All right, Jamie, thanks for the conversation.

Unknown:

Thanks so much.

Mike Robertson:

Thank you for listening to this episode is speaking of College of Charleston with today's guest Jimmy Foster. For shownotes and more episodes, visit the College Charleston's official news site, the college today and today.cfc.edu. You can find more College of Charleston podcast episodes on all major podcast platforms. I'm Mike Robertson. Thanks again for listening to speaking of college in Charleston.