Go West, Young Admissions Officer

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With the start of the application season, I find myself looking back at all of the great students I met over the fall. In the past two months, I visited over 30 high schools, 4 college fairs, 3 states, 2 regions of the United States, and 1 World Series winning city (I had a little bit of a stopover in San Francisco…during the World Series). During that time, I met a wide range of students from all over the US with all sorts of backgrounds, stories, and academic passions that they want to pursue in the future. Being a first time counselor, it was really exciting to travel to new places I’ve never been to before and to meet so many enthusiastic students who are going through a process I went through not too long ago. With that in mind, I want to take some time to share my experiences “going west” with you all.

First stop on the three state tour: New Mexico. This trip was my first one to the state, and I wanted to make sure I saw everything I could in the Land of Enchantment. Luckily, on my flight out from Baltimore, I sat next to this lovely lady from Santa Fe. Anyone who knows me knows I love to strike up a conversation and meet someone new (good thing I’m in Admissions), and this flight was no different. The New Mexico native told me about all the beautiful mountain ranges and outdoor scenes I’ll run into on my drive. She described the Spanish influence that informs everything from the architecture to the day to day life. Most importantly, she let me know that I could not leave the state without trying any New Mexican dish with good helpings of Salsa Verde. Anyone who knows me also knows I’m a big foodie, so this last piece of advice was much appreciated. By the end of my 5 day trip, I would have done all of that.

While I was out in New Mexico, I attended two fairs: The Hidden Ivies Fair and The RMACAC Fair in Albuquerque, New Mexico. These two were my first college fairs on my own on travel, and as evidenced by my tweets and pictures back to the office, I was pretty excited. I got to meet a lot of great students who came from a wide range of backgrounds and interests here in the American Southwest. Students were coming up to me talking about the strength of our international studies programs or how famous our Bloomberg School of Public Health or our engineering programs were. It made me really excited to see how far our message has gotten all over the country. Afterwards, I was able to spend a nice dinner with a few other Admissions colleagues at a pretty well-known Albuquerque restaurant, El Pinto, and dined on delicious New Mexico food (I had a huge carnitas burrito with fresh avocado and HEALTHY helpings of salsa verde, because I know you wondering about it). Overall, this was a great first trip to New Mexico, but work always calls. With that, I was off to the Pacific Northwest.

Next stop on my trip was a 3-day stop in Washington. As soon as I landed in Seattle, I knew this was a place I could learn to love. I’m a big outdoors guy who loves his landscape full of trees and his weather crisp and cool. Washington was certainly all of this. Seattle was even better with its international flavor, metropolitan style, and maritime feel with its multitude of boats and harbors. I had a morning to myself the day after I landed, so I took the time to go out for a run and take in the sights of Seattle. I stopped by the famous Pike Place Market and took a picture of the first Starbucks (any admissions officer will tell you that Starbucks is essential to any travel season, so I had to stop and pay homage). I snapped another shot at the famous Pike Place Fish Company (they really do throw fish around and sing). Finally, no trip through Seattle would be complete without a trip to the Space Needle.

During my three days out here, I went to two college fairs hosted by the Seattle Area Independent Schools and 3 high schools in the Seattle area. Again, I was struck by the variety of major interests and passions that the students I met had. At Hopkins, I was always very happy with our liberal arts style and the ability to take two very different majors and bring them together (I was a neuroscience and languages guy myself). It was great to take the time at Hopkins to explore all of my passions and many other classes in fields I just wanted to learn more about (big fan of Intro. to Art History 2, Shakespeare, and Intro to Comparative Politics). For me, with this view of the college process, I have to say that it is really nice to see students who are drawn to Hopkins for that same freedom and ability to discover new fields. It also struck me how so many students in Washington seem to really want to add Comp. Sci. to whatever they want to study (making Bill Gates proud!). While I wanted to take some more time in Washington, maybe go out on a hike or camp out for a few days, I had to keep moving and catch a flight down the coast.

My last leg of the trip was in sunny Northern California, the region I represent in our Admissions Office, where I spent a little more than a week visiting high schools and hosting my first Explore Hopkins program. While I had been to Southern California and visited LA a few times, this was my first trip to San Francisco and NorCal. Again, I was a big fan of the international flavor of the city, with Ethiopian and El Salvadorian restaurants next to sushi and dim sum options. San Francisco is a very walkable city with plenty of public transportation from the modern buses and subways to the traditional cable cars, a staple of the past and San Francisco today. I got shots of said cable cars, visited the TransAmerica building, and dined on the famous sourdough bread at Boudin in Fisherman’s Wharf.

During this week, I traveled around the entire Bay, starting in San Francisco, going east to the East Bay, traveling down to San Jose, heading back up through Palo Alto, stopping up north in Marin County, and settling back down again in San Francisco proper. I covered a lot of miles traveling up and down the bay visiting high schools, but I was so happy to do it. Being a graduate of Hopkins, I found myself really enjoying all my conversations about the university. While I have conducted information sessions in the past, those sessions have a more formal set up to them. With the high school visits, I really got the chance to connect with students and talk about my own personal experiences. I really felt like I got to drive the point home about why I loved Hopkins so much and why I thought they would too.

In the end, I returned to Baltimore with a few more states I’ve visited under my belt, a bunch of great meals I’ve eaten, and plenty more great experiences I now share with you all. I found the trip to be really rewarding and really got to see why Admissions professionals love the field so much. As one final note to students out West, know that I was really happy to take the time to visit you all and where you come from. With any luck, I did a great enough job that when you decide to come visit Hopkins you’ll have plenty of students from your neck of the woods to talk to as well.

JHU Around the World: The Caribbean

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Welcome to JHU Around the World, a collection of my thoughts and musings as I travel the world representing Hopkins! I’m Dana M., and this is my fourth year back at JHU working in admissions (I’m also an alum – I graduated in 2001 as a Political Science major).  I have traveled abroad on my own and for Hopkins before, but this year, I am literally spanning the globe!  By the middle of November, I will have traveled to 8 countries on 3 continents, with 5 languages and 8 currencies.  Just don’t quiz me on what day or time it is, and I should be fine!

You can read about my past travels:

China

London

Turkey

Paris

After two very short, jet lagged days back in Baltimore (there was so much delightfully, trash tv on my DVR and football to watch!), I set off again for group travel in the Caribbean.  Initially, I was supposed to join Alec from Columbia, Denny from Tufts and Jodi from U Penn for an 11 day trip to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Trinidad; but Hurricane Sandy through a wrench in the plan, requiring a (somewhat) dramatic escape from Jamaica (more on that to come!).  I am writing this blog from the Philadelphia suburbs (I read PA too), and at the risk of sounding paranoid, I feel like Sandy followed me….

But back to the beginning!  Alec and I were the first to arrive in Puerto Rico, so we met up at the airport and headed into San Juan to check into the hotel and settle in.  Our hotel was located right on the beach, and with a few free hours, I decided to bring my book down (still A Storm of Swords) and read ocean side.  I don’t know if I was just tired from all of my travel or if the ambient ocean noise is really that relaxing, but I read all of 3 pages before falling asleep under a palm tree.  It certainly wasn’t the worst way to spend the afternoon, and I met up with Alec that evening to head into Old San Juan and scope out the dinner scene.  We walked around a bit and then picked a traditional Puerto Rican restaurant.  I’ve loved all of the local cuisine so far, and Puerto Rico was no exception.

The next day, we met up with Denny for a mourning tour of the old city and some afternoon school visits.  Old San Juan is quite charming -- it’s an old colonial city and reminded me a lot of  other former Spanish colonial cities like Managua, Nicaragua.  The architecture is quite lovely and there are a number of artisan shops sporting traditional Puerto Rican carnival masks, called vejigante.   Alec purchased one, but he had is safely wrapped up before I thought to take a picture.  Any google search will show you these amazing creations.

Puerto Rico was both very hot and very rainy when we were there (had I known what was coming, I might have been happier about it), so after our walk around we headed out to our school visits and evening program.  I’ve been getting my fill of political ads now that I’m back in the US (and in PA!), but it was interesting to be in a common wealth where there are very particular issues of statehood that dominate local politics (the three positions as I understand them are for statehood, for secession, and for the status quo as a protectorate).  One of the guidance counselors from Baldwin was actually running for local office in addition to managing a heavy load of seniors (talk about being well organized! I asked what day it was at least 10 times over the trip!).

The next day, we had one more visit before heading to the Dominican Republic.   The Dominican Republic is one of those countries that collects revenue by making you purchase a visa at the airport to enter (Turkey does the same thing), but Denny had to pay an “extra tax” to the passport control agent before getting his passport back.  Looking back on the experience, what I find most amusing was my reaction: shock and indignation!   Prior to working in admissions (and campaigning in 2008), I spent three years working as a white collar criminal defense attorney.  I have represented individuals accused of far worse than soliciting a $10 bribe, and the idea this surprised me shows just how long I’ve been working in my ivory tower! (I say this lovingly, of course, but college admissions is far more idealistic than either of my previous professions: law and politics.)

So we entered the Dominican Republic under somewhat auspicious circumstances, but it was by far my favorite part of the trip.  That evening, we were taken out to sushi by a great alumni couple (the husband when to Columbia and the wife to Tufts.  The daughter was far to young to recruit to JHU at under 3 yrs old, but I thought about planting a covert bumper sticker or two).  You might think sushi was an odd choice but just remember that the fish is very fresh and very local.  Some of the best sushi I’ve had has been in the Caribbean, and the plate of sashimi we ordered was divine!

We began our school visits the next day and met two very interesting students at Carol Morgan, who were working on an environmental project affecting the ocean life in the Dominican Republic.  The guidance counselor, Michael, showed us a fish tank in his office containing two lion fish.  I myself am a diver and a fan of the BBC series Blue Planet (it’s excellent!), so I knew these were very aggressive fish that have to be kept away from other species in tanks, lest they eat their companions.  What I did not know (and the students told us about), is that the lion fish are not indigenous to the Caribbean and that in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, many pet owners opted to release them into the ocean rather than have them suffer an untimely demise.  These fish have rapidly increased in population and are a real threat to the ecosystem.  They have no natural predators in the Caribbean waters, spawn twice a month, and eat up to 100 fish a day.  Lion fish are successful predators because they have venomous fins to sting larger prey with, and while they are not dangerous to humans, they are generally thought of as poisonous by locals in the caribbean. In Asia, lion fish are delicacy, and these two students were working on an environmental project to encourage local fisherman (and students in elementary schools) to fish and eat them.  They are also working to feed small chunks to sharks in the hopes they acquire the taste.  Fascinating!

Saturday was our day off on the trip, and after such an informative prior day, I opted to spend the morning diving.  I did two see lion fish on my first morning dive, and though they are quite beautiful in person, I gave them the evil eye.  I also saw several eels, rays, a scorpion fish, arrow shrimp, and possibly my least favorite sea creature of all -- a school of jellyfish!  They swam bye during the descent on my first dive (easy enough -- down I go!) and again near my safety stop on the second dive, when I was supposed to remain still (to avoid decompression sickness and quickly eliminate nitrogen from their blood, divers will stop 3 -- 5 meters below the surface).  Let’s just say I was squirming during that stop…

I was also given a banana to take down on my second dive and feed to the first school of (non-jelly) fish I saw.  I had no idea fish liked potassium so much, but it was quite an interesting experience!

httpv://youtu.be/u8zJKVT8N9Y

After my dives and a nap on the beach, I met up with Alec, Denny and Yishiro (the Columbia alum, sans JHU bumper sticker) for a very lovely beach side lunch of ceviche and grilled octopus (delicious!).  We also walked around Santo Domingo afterwards (another pretty, Spanish colonial city) and found ourselves at an outdoors art festival/live music performance.  One of the performers downloaded a whole zip drive full of Dominican rap and hip hop music for Alec, which I have waiting for me and my gym mix on dropbox (the internet is amazing!).

On Sunday, we headed for Jamaica, via Miami.  Though the two islands are very close together, there weren’t any direct flights (apparently, people living in one island don’t need to vacation in the other, which makes sense once you remembered that you yourself don’t live on a tropical island…).  Despite meeting some great students, riveting conversations with local guidance counselors, and eating some truly delicious jerk chicken, we had pretty lousy luck in Jamaica from the get go (or maybe we just used it all to get off the island on Tuesday!).

Jodi from U Penn had been traveling in South America, and was supposed to meet up with us in Miami for the second half of our Caribbean trip (Jamaica and Trinidad).  Her flight from South America was delayed, so she missed our connecting flight and had to fly out the next morning (which had her missing our morning school visits as well!).  Alec and Denny both had their packages of college materials seized by customs and had to return to the airport on Monday to retrieve them (fun).  I myself received an unrequested wake-up call on Monday about an hour before my own alarm was set (and couldn’t go back to sleep), but the hotel offered me a free massage to compensate for it, so I’m not sure that actually counts as bad luck.

On Monday morning, Alec, Denny and I spoke to a packed house at Hillel Academy in the hills of Kingston.  In Kingston, the wealthier citizens live in the hills, well above sea level; a fact I found interesting (it’s both geographically more desirable and more secure), but less relevant prior to Sandy.  After Jodi arrived, Alec and Denny returned from the airport with their boxes, and I had my massage (again, not such a hardship), we set off for an afternoon Education USA college fair and then an evening program at the American International School of Kingston. The evening program was very well attended (as they had been in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic), and we were asked lots of good questions by our visitors.

After the program, Cheryl-Ann took the four us to a fantastic, local jerk restaurant.  I am still thinking about the chicken and the festival sticks (they are kind of like donuts, but appropriate for dinner time consumption, or so I have told myself).  During the ride over, she started to tell us about reports of a hurricane making landfall in Jamaica Wednesday morning.  You would think we were abreast of this situation already, but Sandy hadn’t really been on the national radar much before that Monday and during my travels I have had very limited access to TV and the internet.  It actually reminds me of my days as a freshman at JHU (I didn’t even have a cell phone!).  I was so wrapped up in what I was doing -- from meeting new people, to attending new classes, and joining new clubs -- that I spent very little time in front of the TV or reading the news.  The internet certainly existed when I was in college (yes, I had email), but it was nothing like it is now (no Facebook, no Twitter, and the word blog was non-existent!).  My life freshman year was really consumed by the life I was leading, and this trip has felt very much the same.  For most of the day, I remain disconnected from the outside world, and spend very little time on the internet or watching TV when I can (timezones and language barriers don’t help either).  So you can imagine my surprise when dinner conversation turned from college admissions in Jamaica to the impending hurricane!

Our plans the next day involved a college fair and tavel to Trinidad on a 7:40pm plane.  We tried to move our plane up, but their were no more direct flights that day, and the airlines required that all changes be made at the airport (about an hour away), so we opted to keep our original schedule.  I am lucky to have an all-around fantastic family, and one of the things I learned from my father is how to be calm in moments of extreme stress.  I am sure you have all had the experience of hanging out with two or three friends, where one person’s bad mood influences how you all feel about the day.  Now add extreme stress and danger to the situation and change bad mood to panic, and you can understand why it’s important to the group dynamic that you remain calm (and even be a southing voice).  So all day I kept saying, “It’s going to be ok,” “We are going to be fine,” (true) and “We’ll make it to Trinidad” (wrong).  Denny took to referring to me as the “optimist,” and I think the mantra did as much to calm my own nerves as it did to help our group.

And of course there were bad signs throughout the day.  It rained all day on Tuesday, with the downpour picking up as the day went on.  The fair ended early and schools across Jamaica closed at noon.  Jodi’s alum cancelled their lunch because she lived in a flood prone area and wanted to get home early to batten down the hatches.  The airport Fedex (Jodi also had her packaged siezed!) closed hours early at 1pm and it took her twice as long to return to the hotel -- between the flooding and traffic -- as it did for her to head out.

After Jodi’s experience, we were unsure how long it would take us to actually get to the airport, so after we all finished lunch (our hotel had excellent food), we opted leave early for the airport -- and it’s a good thing we did!  Despite being listed as on time on line, our flight to Trinidad was cancelled.  When we arrived at the airport and realized this, it felt like time slowed down.  Almost immediately, we saw our airline only had one more flight leaving Jamaica that day (and for several days afterwards) to JFK, and that they were closing check-in in only 25 minutes.  All four of us live in the North East (and 3 of us either live in NY or have parents there), so a flight to JFK was the second best option (the first, of course, being our flight to Trinidad).  Immediately, Alec ran over to the Caribbean Air help desk, and we all followed closely behind with our luggage.  After some quick pleading (very quick!), the clerk ran over to the check in counter to see if there were even 4 seats left on the plane.  We must have been saving all of our Jamaica luck for this moment, because they agreed to check us and out luggage in (quickly) and rush us through customs and passport control.

It was a very full flight, so we wound up with four of the last seats on the plane.  They boarded the plane an hour and a half early and we took off more than an hour before its scheduled departure.  As I stood online to board, the calm I felt all day started to fade away.  Airlines don’t move large planes up by over an hour unless they NEED TO LEAVE NOW.  So there was a part of me that was nervous about take-off in the rain and an even larger part of me that was afraid we wouldn’t actually take off at all.  Jamaica is not a country prepared to withstand a hurricane like Sandy.  There are many working class and poor citizens that live in homes with tin roofs, so I knew the destruction could be devastating. In fact, 70% of the island lost power and the government enforced a 48 hour cerfew in Kingston on Wednesday to prevent looting.  The thought of having to try and return to the hotel and weather the storm without preparing beforehand (there was a supermarket across the street that was no doubt bare by Tuesday night), was frightening.  I didn’t mention my stress until after we landed (panicking on a full plane is even worse than panicking in a group of four!), but I did close my eyes and quietly say a prayer until we were airborne.

We landed close to midnight, so Jodi wound up staying at my parents appartment that night (Alec lives in NYC and Denny’s Mom does as well).  Jodi left early the next morning and I spent the next two days in the city recuperating (plus my parents really missed me -- I hadn’t been home since August!).  It wasn’t I realized how completely exhausted over the next two days that I realized what a toll the stress had taken on me.  Apparently, my calm attitude is the Dorian Gray of emotions -- I pay for it later!

Despite loving my trip, there is really no place like home, and the return to NYC was very sweet.  I went for a run in central park, a swim at the UWS JCC, saw my mom installing her George Bellows exhibit at the Met (it’s a very cool process -- filled with conservators, curators, art techs, markings on the wall, and of course art.  Sadly, she wouldn’t let me photograph it, as she was afraid I’d immediately post it on line.  She’s a smart lady), and saw three college friends (Anna, Bonnie and Brian).  Somehow I knew there would be some dramatic moment in NYC (it seemed almost natural after Jamaica), and in fact I watched Bonnie leap up and give the himlich maneuver to a patron at lunch after she noticed her choking.  It was really the oddest thing -- Bonnie had also traveled to Turkey that fall, so one moment we were talking about our mutual love of Istanbul, and the next minute she was telling me to hold on…. It’s the third time she’s had to do that this year, and I have since taken to referring to her as “wonder woman.”

Of course, after all of this, I really thought I had escaped Sandy.  But as Justin Heller wrote in Catch 22: just because your paranoid, doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.

Stay tuned for my next around the world installment: Monaco and Nice (now with fewer conspiracy theories)!

Things I learned about travel in the Caribbean:
- None of our evening programs started on time in the Caribbean -- in fact, I was the only one who had expected they would!  Without fail, if we called a program for 6, that was the general arrival time of most guests.  So by the time you check everyone in, you don’t wind up starting until 6:20.  I  am chronically 5 minutes late in life (it makes my mother crazy!), so I actually found this quite charming.
- The Jamaican accent is amazing.  I’ve heard lots of different accents this fall, but this was my favorite.
- Having to escape Jamaica led to some delightfully nerdy puns on my facebook page.  My favorite came from my friend, Kimmy: “let us know if Jamaican it out ok.”  It still makes me laugh.
- Caribbean coffee is excellent.  I am a bit of a coffee snob and addict (which may explain my height and most certainly explains my crankiness in the mornings).  I had to struggle through quite a few cities this fall (occasionally opting for tea or resorting to diet soda), but finding a good cup of coffee on this trip was easy.  I had planned to buy a few bags at the airport on my way out…..

JHU Around the World: J’adore Paris!

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Welcome to JHU Around the World, a collection of my thoughts and musings as I travel the world representing Hopkins! I’m Dana M., and this is my fourth year back at JHU working in admissions (I’m also an alum – I graduated in 2001 as a Political Science major).  I have traveled abroad on my own and for Hopkins before, but this year, I am literally spanning the globe!  By the middle of November, I will have traveled to 8 countries on 3 continents, with 5 languages and 8 currencies.  Just don’t quiz me on what day or time it is, and I should be fine!

You can read about my past travels:
China

London

Turkey

When I graduated from JHU, my parents sent me back packing through Europe with a group of friends (thanks Mom and Dad!).  My trip included several stops in Spain, Greece and France.  I haven’t been back to Paris since I lasted visited, and was very pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this city and how sad I was to leave, even though it was the last country I visited on the first leg of my trip around the world (I hope I didn’t leave the coffee pot on when I locked the apartment up a month ago!).

I don’t speak French (I understand some, can read a selection of words, and of course know enough about food order off of a French only menu with moderate success), and remember feeling the Parisians were rather rude anyone who didn’t speak French.  I was traveling through Paris with my college friends Melissa and Lauren, both of whom speak French, and I distinctly remember the same person speaking to me in French and to them in English, because their accents weren’t Parisian enough.  This time around, it was a completely different story.

I couldn’t have found the Parisians more gracious and welcoming.  It almost felt like I had made the previous slights up, but when I commented to the guidance counselor, Victoria, at EAJBM about this change, she confirmed the shift in attitude. I don’t know if it is generational, the growth of the internet (and apps that let you rate businesses or services), or a function of an economy much in need of tourism dollars, but Parisians were generally warm, friendly, helpful, and switched to English quickly (or found an English speaker) once we got past the pleasantries and they realized I spoke very little French.  I did have one very rude cab driver whose English was excellent as he berated me on my lack of French, but it almost felt like a quaint throwback and was actually kind of amusing (really it’s the center square of any Parisian bingo game).

I flew to Paris on October 9th and landed with enough time to drop my stuff of at the hotel, freshen up, and head out to St. Germaine en Lyee for a school visit.  I have to confess, that as this was my 4th country, curency, timezone and climate in as many weeks, I was surprised to have made it on time and appropriately dressed (it had been over 80 degrees in Izmir!).  But there I was, talking to a great group of students at about 5:00pm Paris time (or so I was told).

I am interested in the various reasons why students abroad want to study in the US, so after our meeting, I spent some time talking to the guidance counselor, Catherine, about this.  The French system, much like other European countries, allows for very little flexibility in your studies.  Students who are undecided or are looking for a well rounded liberal arts education find the confines of this system a poor fit.  Additionally, while there might be a club sports team or theater group, campus life in France is very different.  I think of the community of students at Hopkins like a family.  They are students you live with, work with, play with, and above all, get involved in campus life with.  I had talked to students about some of our 370+ clubs and organizations and big programming run by our students (like the MSE symposium and Spring Fair) and she said nothing like that existed for students studying in France.

After a rather long day, the hotel recommended a fabulous near by restaurant.  As you may have noticed in my other blogs, I am a fan of trying different foods, and French food is fantastic!  I ate very well, though I probably consumed way more red meat and pastries than I normally do in even a 6 month period (love the pain au chocolate!).  So I had a price fixed meal at Bistro Champetre (near the night lit Eiffel Tour) that included roasted artichokes and salmon, rack of lamb, and fruit with rubarb compote (keeping it light – at least at the end).

On my second day, I did both a school visit at the International School of Paris and an Explore Hopkins evening program at EABJM.  In between, I had about 2 hours of free time, so I set off to see Musee d’Orsay, a truly lovely museum.  The building itself is quite spectacular, with high ceilings, great architecture, and views of Paris in every direction.  It is home to a fabulous collection of modern art, including some very famous paintings by Van Gogh, Degas (love the dancers!), and impressionists like Monet and Cezanne.  The museum and its collection is so breathtaking that I probably sighed aloud at least 30 times (which is even more akwarded when you realize I was listening to the audio guide).  Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists (although, I’m not sure what is says about me that I love the art of someone so tortured that he found himself most prolific in mental institutions) and I’d have loved nothing more than to have spent the entire day at the museum (or go back tomorrow!).

My friend Vadim, another ’01 A&S JHU alum and a former young trustee of Hopkins, arrived on Thursday afternoon (after my visit to the American School of Paris) and stayed with me for the duration of my trip.  Vadim and I traveled to the south of France and Monaco together in college, and it was great to have such a close friend visit me after spending so much time away from friends and family.  I wouldn’t say that I have ever really be alone or lonely on the trip (admissions counselors are a very social group and travel in packs over the fall), but it’s not the same thing as spending time with someone near and dear to your heart.

After allowing him to adjust a bit the jet lag (it’s a 6 hour time difference between Paris and DC), Vadim and I set out to do a little sight seeing at Notre Dame and a walk around the Le Marais district.  In contrast with some large cathedrals like the Vatican and St. Peters, there is no gold, no marble, and no jewel encrusted artifacts on display at Notre Dame.  Instead, the beauty of the church comes from the magnifiscent gothic architecture and the striking stain glass windows.  It’s truly a lovely church to visit, and gave rise to more than one bad joke (I believe I described a model of the church being built as historically inaccurate due to the lack of a hunchback.  That’s how the story goes, right?).  Les Marais is a fantastic shopping district filled with cheese and wine shops, candy confectionaries, and quite a few clothing stores.  We did a little window shopping (and candy purchasing) and then headed out to dinner in the area (yet another good meal; although, I did learn the French cook their steaks on the very rare side, which was more a problem for Vadim than me).

Friday was my last full day in Paris (so sad!).  I had one school visit, so Vadim and I spent the morning at the Champ de Mars area walking around and taking pictures with the Eiffel Tour.  A lady in a gorilla suit stopped by to photo bomb a few tourists, but unfortunately, our photos are monkey less.  In the afternoon, we visited the Pompidou (they have a huge number of Picassos and lovely balconies and views of the city) and spend a little more time walking around Paris.  We also managed to eat almost every French pastry available.  We had causants with breakfast, a pain au raisins and almond cake for a mid morning snack, and a crepe and a pan au chocolat for an afternoon pick-me-up.  At some point in the evening, Vadim commented that we should also get a waffle – because carbs was what we were missing from our entirely healthy and balanced diet that day.  After dinner, Vadim and I hit up a Tango Cabaret night spot to get a flavor of the Parisian evening scene.

It was sad to say goodbye in the morning (traveling with Vadim always so much fun and brings back such great memories!), but I’m sure sleeping in my bed tonight will be delightful (or confusing.  That remains to be seen).

How I know I’ve been traveling for too long:
My hotel in Paris was the eighth hotel I stayed at since I began my travels 4 weeks ago.  The hotel has a bank of elevators that face each other, and when you get off in the lobby or on your floor, you have 4 directions you can turn in.  For the life of me, I could never remember which way to go.  I don’t know if I had been turning one way for all other hotels I stayed at or if, in fact, my brain had just reached it’s maximum capacity for hotel room memory, but I got the first step wrong at least 80% of the time. I just hope I remember which way to go when I get home!

Stay tuned for my next travel blog on the Caribbean!

JHU Around the World (and across the pond): London

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Welcome to JHU Around the World, a collection of my thoughts and musings as I travel the world representing Hopkins! I’m Dana M., and this is my fourth year back at JHU working in admissions (I’m also an alum – I graduated in 2001 as a Political Science major).  I have traveled abroad on my own and for Hopkins before, but this year, I am literally spanning the globe!  By the middle of November, I will have traveled to 8 countries on 3 continents, with 5 languages and 8 currencies.  Just don’t quiz me on what day or time it is, and I should be fine!

This is the second of several travel blogs I will be writing. You can read about my experiences in China here, and stay tuned for entires from Turkey, France and the Caribbean.  Also, if you are from Paris, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago or Jamaica, you can come hear me talk about Hopkins!

To RSVP an Explore Hopkins or Group Travel, click here:
  Paris
 Caribbean

My flight from Hong Kong to London was incredibly long (15 hours plus a layover!) and the 7 hour time difference hit me rather hard.  Still, it was lovely to wake up in England on Friday morning.

 I haven’t been to London since college.  My good friend, Melissa, studied abroad in Oxford our junior year, and I was very curious to see what had changed since I was last here.  One of the interesting things about London is that while the stores are very modern (there’s a Starbucks on almost every corner!), the architecture and landmarks harken back to the past.  Even the cabs (PT Cruisers) remind you of another era.  And of course, they still have those iconic telephone booths throughout the city (which I can’t imagine are used all that frequently, except for photos by tourist like myself).

 

 My hotel was located near Green Park, St. James Park and Hyde Park, so it was great to start my Friday morning by stretching my legs with a run. 

 I spent my first two days in London attending the Fulbright/CIS college fair.  I began at a pre-fair session on educational system in the UK and was interested to hear about some of the changes coming to the A-Levels (like opportunities for independent study and an increased emphasis on debate and persuasive writing).  I also learned that, while the UK has always had a very strong university system, more students are looking to the US for a broad-based liberal arts education (our distribution requirements, freedom to be undecided, and opportunity to double major in vastly different subjects was a big draw) and a closer relationship with professors (or contact hours as they call them).

 I met some great students at the fair and was pleasantly surprised that word had gotten out in the UK about the strength of our humanities programs.  It’s not often I get to brag about our archeological museum and Classics courses or the research our Writing Sems and English majors can do at an event attend by 3,600 students.  Even students interested in Engineering, International Studies, Business and Medicine wanted to hear what other kinds of classes they could take at JHU.

 Sunday was my first day off since I arrived in Beijing (which seems like ages ago!).  I was still feeling a bit jet lagged, so I slept in, went for a run, and then met up with Jillian from Wesleyan for a bit of sight seeing.  Sunday was one of those dreary London days (or at least from 12 to 3 it was), so we scrapped our initial plan of taking a boat ride down the Thames and instead wandered around Big Ben and Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and headed to Harrods for a late lunch and a spin around the world famous department store. 

 I am a big history buff, so had this been a vacation and not a work trip, I would have packed my days with tours of the London Tower, Buckingham Palace (which I saw from the outside), the Globe, etc., but I did manage to sneak in a little additional sight seeing. 

 On Monday, I had about an hour or so of free time between my visit at the City of London (great students and a fun opportunity to talk in depth about my JHU major – Political Science!) and an evening visit at Highgate to talk about JHU (of course) and the U.S. education system in general.  The City of London school is right by the Millennium Bridge, which is a great vantage point from which to see the Thames and London skyline.  Across from the school is both the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe theater.  The Tate is a free museum (woo hoo!), and with not enough time to do either properly, I chose the Tate over the Globe.  The Tate has both traditional “modern” art by artists like Picasso, Dali, and Calder, as well as more contemporary modern art.  The Tate Modern is in a converted power station, and the Tanks at the Tate are currently home to some very modern video installations.  My mom is a curator at the Met (in the Modern Art department), so I confess that I feel more at home in the traditional modern art world, but the Tanks were an experience.  You enter each room through a small but pitched black corridor.  Many of the exhibits were interactive in that your presence in the room alters your viewing of the video.  For me, these rooms were as much about your own sensory experience and watching the other visitors as it was about seeing the video.

 Tuesday was probably one of my favorite days on the  thus far.  My first school visit wasn’t until lunch, so I began the day with a tour of Kensington Palace.  I had expected the museum to be a stayed interpretation of the past, exhibiting the clothes and photographs of Queen Victoria, as well as some furniture and art work.  And while all of that was present (love the clothes!), they have actually curated a very whimsical and modern museum, taking you through the last of the Stuart dynasty, the rumors and gossip of the Kings court, and what it was like for Queen Victoria to come to power in the palace.  The staff were all prepared and eager to inform you about the English history (apparently, I had mixed up my Tudors and Stuarts!), which made it all the more enjoyable.

 

After a visit at Latymer, I headed over to the American School of London for my Explore Hopkins.  Rena Barch (’09) joined me to help check guests in, answer questions, and chime in with her own experiences as an International Studies major at JHU.  Rena was an intern in the Admissions office, and is whom I did my first tag team information session with when I re-joined JHU more than 3 years ago.  In fact, I still use Rena’s research into illegal markets and music pirating as an example of independent studies at JHU!  The students and parents at the Explore were really engaged and asked a lot of great questions.  I often forget that there are cultural differences between the US and the UK and that students aren’t as familiar with terms like “Greek life” abroad.  Interestingly, essays for UK applications are exclusively focussed on academics (U.S. schools want you to be PERSONAL), so one student asked if that was why all of our Essays that Worked were so anecdotal.

 After the presentation, Rena and I went for curry on Bricklane – a must during any visit to London.  Despite being 8 years apart, Rena and I had many of the same professors at JHU.  What started as a dinner conversation about some of our favorite classes and teachers, quickly turned into a discussion of U.S. politics and current events.  I’ve felt a bit starved for political debate being away from the U.S. this September and October (4 years ago I was campaigning myself!), and our dinner discussion was reminiscent of many of the debates I used to have in college with my fellow Poli Sci and I.S. majors.  The love of learning and passion our students display for what they discover in an out of the classroom and an interest in debating current events, was one of the things I cherish most about my undergrad experience, and dinner with Rena took me right back to that place.  I believe I even made reference to Hobbs, when discussing the quality of life people who built the Great Wall must have had (nerd alert!).

 Other Things I Learned in London:

- Always pack an umbrella! True to form, London weather would go from sunny, to rainy, to cloudy and back to sunny again on any given day, but I lucked out for the most part and got to take advantage of my proximity to the parks.

- I found the differences in verbiage rather charming.  The doors to enter the Sevenoaks school are huge, and the brass doorknob is about the size of my open hand and nose level.  When I commented to my greeter that it made me feel small, she replied, “Yes, they are quite massive.”  Love it!

- London is an immensely walkable city (something I appreciate as a native New Yorker).  Not that you could walk from one end to the other, of course, but there are so many great things clustered together, that you could easily spend  your days doing walking tours of the major sights.  Even the homes and shops along the way are delightful, given the distinct architecture of the city.  Had I had more time, I would have wandered around aimlessly for hours (or at least with a map stuffed in my bag).

- I remember the tube in London being almost space aged in college (mind the gap!), but it doesn’t seem to have been updated much since my last return.  It certainly makes traveling around London affordable, but it’s probably the one part of the visit that didn’t live up to my expectations.

- All of the London Olympic gear has already gone on sale and been sold!  I had expected to come back with some absurd amount of track suits, hats, wind breakers, and t-shirts but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

- British food has gotten much tastier.  Better known for it’s global cuisine (including Indian food), London has really stepped up it’s own dining experience.  I did sit down to a meat pie at a traditional British pub, and was pleasantly surprised.

 Stay tuned for Volume 3 of my Around the World tour: Turkey! And don’t forget to register for my Explore in Paris and Group Travel in the Caribbean!

The New Counselor Chronicles: Fall Travel Planning

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Happy fall from Mason Hall! We are enjoying the cool, crisp weather here in Baltimore. The switch from summer to autumn brings the start of a new season in the world of admissions, too—fall travel season! As soon as September hit, our office was buzzing with the activity of counselors getting ready to hit the road. Boxes were packed, schedules were finalized, and flight and hotel reservations were made.

As a new counselor, this was my first experience planning my own recruitment travel. My travel territory currently includes North Carolina and several New England states. I took input from several of my fellow counselors this season, and from those ideas, along with my own experiences, I’ve compiled a list of travel tips that made my first trip to North Carolina a success.

1)       Create a Travel Binder. This lovely accessory has quickly become an indispensable piece of my daily ensemble. It goes everywhere I go when I’m on the road. It contains my carefully crafted itinerary, lists of addresses and phone numbers, daily maps of all of my stops (just in case my GPS should have a bad day), college fair and Explore Hopkins details, and flight and hotel information. Having all of this information together in one place makes it easier to see how the days flow and prevents mishaps like showing up at a school on the wrong day or arriving at the airport at 7 a.m. instead of 7 p.m. (not that these things have ever happened to admissions counselors). The Travel Binder also provides lots of opportunities for customization, as each counselor can design his or her own cover. I opted for a simply designed print-out, while Admissions_Ardi went with a hand-crafted version. 

 

2)       Send yourself a gift. Getting packages in the mail is always exciting. One of the great things about being an admissions counselor is that I get to send myself packages on the road all the time! It’s cool to walk in to a hotel and have the concierge say, “Oh, Ms. Wolf? You have a package!” and then I get to say, “Oh, really?! I do? How exciting!” They don’t have to know I sent it from the office a week ago and that it’s full of Hopkins brochures and business cards.  

3)       Confirm your visits. Before I left for my trip, I took some time to call each of the high schools I planned to visit one more time and confirm the date and time of my visit. It’s nice to touch base with my contacts one more time before I become less accessible and ask if there are any last minute details of which I should be aware.

4)       Pack a GPS and a sense of humor. Another thing I couldn’t live without on the road? A GPS system. I tend to be a bit directionally challenged, so I was a little worried about getting from school to school on a tight schedule. But my GPS, in her very polite British accent, guided me to each destination with ease. It’s also important to take the little mishaps that occur every once in a while with a smile—or at least some yoga breathing. Missed exits, angry drivers honking, hitting every red light possible when you have to be at a school in 2 minutes… it happens. Be cool.

5)       HAVE FUN! Yes, recruitment travel is work, but it’s also a lot of fun! We get to explore new places and speak with “the locals” in each region we visit. I was encouraged to ask counselors for restaurant recommendations and favorite attractions in the area to fill in the little bits of downtime I found in each day. For me, running is a big part of my routine and I love to explore each new city I visit by pounding the pavement. When I was in Charlotte, NC, I ran by the Nascar Hall of Fame!

As I continue with my fall travel in New England, I’m sure this list will expand substantially. Look out for other travel-related blogs from other counselors coming your way soon, as well as some exciting updates from the Homewood Campus! 

 

 

JHU Around the World: China

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Welcome to JHU Around the World, a collection of my thoughts and musings as I travel the world representing Hopkins! I’m Dana M., and this is my fourth year back at JHU working in admissions (I’m also an alum – I graduated in 2001 as a Political Science major).  I have traveled abroad on my own and for Hopkins before, but this year, I am literally spanning the globe!  By the middle of November, I will have traveled to 8 countries on 3 continents, with 5 languages and 8 currencies.  Just don’t quiz me on what day or time it is, and I should be fine!

This is the first of several travel blogs I will be writing, so stay tuned for entries from the UK, Turkey, France and the Caribbean.  Also, if you are from London, Paris, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad & Tobago or Jamaica, you can come hear me talk about Hopkins!

To RSVP an Explore Hopkins or Group Travel, click here:
 London
 Paris
 Caribbean

 And now back to China….

This was my first trip to China, so in addition to meeting with a host of Chinese applicants, I wanted to see a little of the country (a little - it’s a VERY big country).

I landed in Beijing on September 16th after a VERY long flight.  I observe Rosh Hashanah and this is the first year I haven’t traveled home for either Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur (I grew up in NYC and my parents still live there).  Before leaving for China, I asked our wonderful Hillel director, Debbie Pine, if she could help me find a service in Beijing to attend.  Services in China were interesting.  It was a little sad to spend the holiday away from my family, but the group was so welcoming.  It was a mix of students traveling to China (undergrad and grad, plus one Temple Law School professor who helped catch me up on the fascinating and fast changing world of Chinese politics), Americans working abroad for a year or two, and ex-pats who have permanently moved to China.  After services, I was invited to Rosh Hashanah lunch at an Indian Buffet restaurant.  If you had asked me before I left my top ten predictions for dining, Indian Buffet would not have made the list; but I like stepping out of my comfort zone, and practicing something very traditional and close to your heart in a completely different way is part of what makes life fun.

After services and lunch, I ventured to Tiananmen Square and the night market with Leslie from Bard.  We were able to watch the flag lowering ceremony, which attracted a huge number of mostly Chinese tourists.  Tiananmen Square is close to a very lively, pedestrian-only shopping section with an evening food market.  They primarily served the more traditional dumplings and dim sum, but one stand had all kinds of interesting delicacies.

Both Leslie and I chickened out of trying anything and opted for a fantastic meal of Peaking Duck instead, a Beijing specialty.  My excuse was that I was keeping Kosher style on Rosh Hashanah, but really, I try not eat anything with a multiple of 4 legs or deadly stingers.  Call me picky.

I had one more day before joining up with my US university counterparts to hit the local high schools, so I opted to spend it visiting the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall is one of the 7 wonders of the world, but I was ill-prepared to be in such awe.  It’s hard to explain the experience, but I was overwhelmed by expansiveness of it and how beautiful the surrounding Chinese and Mongolian mountain sides were.  It’s also quite a workout, and I wish I could have spent even more time there.  I don’t normally reference Nixon, but this was indeed a great wall.

After two days of sightseeing (and a good amount of time adjusting to the 12 hour time difference), I met up with Jason from Carnegie Melon, Drew from Case Western Reserve, Emily from Emory (easy to remember), Julie from NYU, Jon from the University of Rochester, and Grace from Wash. U.  I think admissions people are generally an outgoing bunch (we spend a lot of time talking to strangers!), but I feel very lucky to have had so much fun working (and laughing) with such an extraordinary group of colleagues.

We spent the first day meeting with students from Beijing high schools and the next three attending a conference with about 30 US universities and 50 Chinese high schools from across the country.  There are so many differences between the education systems in the US and China, that Chinese high schools sometimes have a hard time advising the students and parents about how to go about a college search and how best to present the student through the application process.  This conference was an opportunity for us to explain the best practices of college guidance and what we look for in an applicant; and for the high schools to ask questions of the process and explain to us what is happening in high schools across China (there is so much provincial variation!).

At Hopkins, we spend a lot of time carefully selecting an interesting, dynamic and diverse class of only 1,265 from over 20,000 applications, so we want to be extra careful that each and every applicant is authentic and that the students who show up on campus are who we admit (if we catch you lying on the application, your admission will be revoked). There are some Chinese high schools and applicants who hire agents to help the students get into US schools through the use of falsified transcripts and letters of recommendation, essays written by the agents, and sometimes even fake SAT or TOEFL scores.  This practice had the unfortunate effect of tainting many qualified and authentic Chinese applicants, and this conference was a very important first step in bringing the two sides together and creating a better understanding of the process. It was also an opportunity for me to meet with principals and guidance counselors around China and hear exactly what their college counseling practices are.

After Beijing, my group (minus Grace from Wash U) headed out for a whirlwind, 1 city a day tour of Shenyang, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.  In Shanyang, we got to take a tour of the Imperial Palace, which was originally the capital of China during the 1600s, and later became the Northern palace when the capital moved south to Beijing.  The Forbidden City in Beijing was modeled after Shenyang.

Our group was incredibly impressed by the questions asked of us in China.  I often describe Hopkins as a traditional college experience, and one student at Shanghai Pinghe High School asked what it meant to have a “traditional” US college experience – a very fair and thoughtful question.  All six of us answered that it means your whole life really revolves around the campus – you eat, work and play there.  College is often described as the best four years of your life, and that’s in part because your classmates, professors and advisors become your friends and family, the people you debate issues with, join a sports team or theater productions with, and collaborate on cutting edge research projects with.  For each student, the experience is different because, unlike in high school, you have the freedom to design your own curriculum and chose your own activities (we offer 370+ at Hopkins!).

We spent less than 24 hours in Shanghai, so I am sad to report I have no fabulous pictures of the sky line or great tales of adventure.  Jon described the city as landing on the moon – the buildings are so creative and futuristic – and I hope to return soon for a longer visit (and the opportunity to meet with more students!).

Other things I learned about China:
- Beijing is very crowded.  I grew up in Manhattan and am used to big city life, but Beijing has 22 million people!  A city of 6 million people is considered small or midsized in China, and the traffic reflects this. The subway system in Beijing, however, is cheap and clearly marked in Chinese and English. Next time I won’t take so many cabs!
- There is only 1 time zone in China, so in some parts of the country if gets dark very early at night.  In contrast, the US has 3 time zones, and some states, like Indiana, have 2 (which was very confusing for me when I was campaigning there in 2008).
- Things change very rapidly in China.  Our last city, Shenzhen, is only 32 years old.  Now a “small” city of 6 million people and almost as many bright lights, there were scarcely roads, let alone high rises, there 20 years ago.
- Most English teachers pick a Chinese student’s English name for them, which seemed a little unfair to me. At 13, I could have come up with a two page list of possible names for myself, so why would some adult, who is not my mom, get to choose for me?  Thankfully, many of the schools we visited let the students pick their own.
- If you go to the pearl market in Beijing, be sure to check out Fangua on the 4th floor (ask for Maggie and tell them Dana from JHU sent you!).  The pearls are exquisite, high quality, and in so many varieties.  The prices are very reasonable (we got a good discount), the staff is helpful and not the least bit pushy, and they had a cooler of soda, water and beer for shoppers, which Jason availed himself of while he patiently waited for Emily, Julie and me to finish oohing and ahhing.  I also learned I need to return with a much larger budget!
- The food is FANTASTIC.  I’ve always been a fan of Chinese food, but this trip has ruined me for at least the next 6 months.

Stay tuned for volume 2 of JHU Around the World, my report from London!

PCACAC Summer Institute: Where the Counselors Become the Campers

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Hello from Baltimore! Summer continues to fly by and here we are, at the beginning of August. I remember this as the point in every summer when I would start to get antsy to go back to school—partly because I enjoyed going to class (I’m definitely a little nerdy, I’ll admit it!), but also because I was so excited to reunite with my classmates/dorm mates/sorority sisters, etc. I loved that sense of being with people that shared my academic and extracurricular passions—they just “got” me. It always felt pretty effortless to fall right back in.

Earlier this week, I got the opportunity to meet a new group of people whose presence made me feel right at home. I spent Monday and Tuesday as an attendee of the PCACAC’S Summer Institute at the University of Delaware in Newark. PCACAC (pronounced “PAK-ak” or “pa-KAK-ak” depending on who you ask) stands for the Potomac & Chesapeake Association of College Admission Counseling, and it’s the regional branch of our profession’s national organization, the National Association of College Admission Counseling. This group brings together professionals from “both sides of the desk,” as they say, meaning that both high school guidance counselors and college admissions counselors can be members. It’s a great way to engage with our peers from other schools in the Mid-Atlantic who might be traveling to the same high schools we are, or college counselors who work at the schools we’re visiting in the fall. I couldn’t believe how easily I was able to connect with this group—it certainly didn’t feel like I was with a bunch of complete strangers after a few short hours. I know that the counselors in our office are a pretty lively bunch, and these folks certainly reinforced this perception of college admissions professionals.

PCACAC’s Summer Institute is geared toward people who have recently entered the field of college or admissions counseling, so many of the sessions I attended covered the more basic topics of the profession. Our first group session, for example, was called “Ethics in the Admissions Process,” and gave us an overview of the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice. There are certain rules and deadlines that we have to follow as admissions counselors when we’re communicating with all of you, just as you have deadlines and rules when applying to college.  It was very interesting to look at different case studies of ethical and unethical situations—some of them surprised me! I also attended sessions that focused on making effective high school visits, incorporating social media into the admissions process, and balancing travel with student group management. It was so great to be able to attend sessions that were specifically designed to answer some of my biggest questions as a first-time admissions counselor, and I’m hoping that they will make me an even more effective ambassador of my office and school!

When our sessions ended for the day, we headed to a local restaurant in Newark for some dinner and networking. As I said, networking with these people was anything but boring! We had a great time chatting about all kinds of things, both admissions-related and not. The restaurant had a Trivia Night going on while we were there, and some members of our group jumped right in and won the $50 prize! I was pretty exhausted by the time I reached my dorm room (oh yes, we stayed in the dorms!) and said goodnight to my roommate Jenny (yup, we had roommates!). The dorm facilities were very nice and I kind of enjoyed the nostalgia trip back to my freshman year in AMR II, plastic mattress and all. I never thought I’d be digging out my XL twin sheets again! One thing was distinctly different, however: these dorms had AC! Instead of waking up in the middle of the night sweating (eww), I woke up chilly! These times, they are a-changin.

My PCACAC experience felt a little bit like summer camp for admissions counselors, except in this case, the counselors were the campers! I have a feeling that if I run into any of my new counselor acquaintances on the road this fall, we’ll greet each other like old friends.

We’re pretty excited about meeting many of you during our travels this fall, too! Keep an eye on the “Visit” section of our website for updates about upcoming counselor visits in your area as well as on-campus events!

Time Flies

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I feel like it has been forever since my last post too, but I promise you it has been because we have been SUPER busy in the world of Admissions!

After we release decisions at the end of March, people often ask me, “How does it feel to be done?” or “What are you going to do now that the cycle is finished?” However, the reality is, we are never “done” or “finished.” So, here is the whirlwind wrap up of my very busy April, May, and June.

APRIL
As Admissions_Daniel mentioned in his last blog, our campus was bustling in April. We had admitted seniors on campus for our SOHOP programs, admitted student visit days, and current juniors and sophomores stopping by for the first time. Our lobby was always full of guests, and our counseling staff was constantly out meeting and greeting students and their families.

MAY
During May, we found out our class was complete (welcome, Class of 2016!), worked on transfer decisions, and I even did some spring travel. This year I did two very fun trips! First, I headed to Southern California for a case studies program. This was a three-day event where I visited schools (with 40+ other counselors) from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to talk about the admissions process and how it works. We met with students and parents to discuss how we read applications, and even did a mock reading with them. During this mock committee review, we looked at four different students who were applying to the same university. We discussed both the positives and negatives of each applicant, and then had to pick one admit, one wait list, and one deny. I worked with two different groups of parents and two different groups of students, and even though they reviewed the same applications, all groups chose different students to admit, wait list, and deny. It just goes to show that this some really tough decisions are made during application review and committee!

Next, I was headed off to Colombia. I had never been before, and I absolutely loved it! For this trip, I traveled with a friend, Andrew, who works with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Together, we visited Bogota, Cali, Barranquilla, and Cartagena. Each day, we toured schools, spoke to counselors, and shared information about our universities with prospective students. I enjoyed getting to meet students on the road and really understand how their schools worked. Another plus of getting to travel to Colombia was having some free time. Andrew and I had an evening in Bogota and a day to explore Cartagena.

While in Bogota, we were able to travel to the top of the mountain to Monserrate, visit the Museo de Oro, and walk around the many plaza areas and parks.

In Cartagena, we spent our morning by the pool soaking up some sun, and then we went to the old city area where we had a great dinner at La Perla.

The country was beautiful, and I hope that I can get back there soon! Oh, and how can I forget, while visiting Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogota, I was able to meet one of our newest members of the class of 2016. Great to see you Daniel – can’t wait to have you on campus in a few months!

Finally, our seniors graduated on May 24^th.The day before graduation, our office celebrated with students who have both volunteered and worked in Admissions throughout their four years here, and then on the actual day, I served as an usher and was able to see our seniors walk across stage. While I am excited to see what the future brings for our graduates, it is definitely sad to see them go!

JUNE
This past month, my summer interns and I were focused on hiring and training over thirty new tour guides for the summer. Since many of our guides head home during the summer, we train a whole new set to step in and take charge during June, July, and August.

Our counselors have also begun to think about fall travel…with only about two months before we hit the road, we need to figure out all of the stops we are going to make, whether it be at high schools, college fairs, or regional presentations.

Finally, while it has been sad to see a colleague go, in June, we were happy to welcome a new addition to our staff – Laurin Wolf. For about two weeks now, she has been going through new counselor training, and she is doing great. Don’t worry, she will be joining our blogging team, so you will get to meet her real soon! Congratulations Laurin!

Now that you are all caught up (whew!), look for many more posts this summer and throughout the next school year.

:)

Overlapping Roles

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Most of the visitors to the Hopkins Insider Admissions blog this time of year are current Regular Decision applicants for the Johns Hopkins Class of 2016, or parents of such students. This post though is not for you all, rather I will be writing to the other members of our readership who are prospective applicants to the JHU Class of 2017 or beyond. For the RD applicants all I can share right now is that there is no new news on which date notifications will be released. Everything I wrote in my March Admissions Madness post back on March 14 still holds true right now. Continued patience is appreciated, and please know that as soon as there is an update I will post a new blog entry.

For the juniors in high school or even younger I applaud you for starting your college search process early and for finding this helpful resource. Obviously, I also applaud you for having excellent taste in universities. I’m not one to brag but Johns Hopkins University is the #1 social media college in the country (see!) and in the coming week our Men’s Lacrosse team will be ranked #1 in the NCAA Division I polls (due to a thrilling OT victory over Virginia this past weekend.) As you all watch the upperclassmen in your schools fret over the release of admissions decisions throughout the month of March your own college search stresses have begun to take form too. Senior year course selection. SAT and ACT exams. Which SAT subject exams to take and when? When to visit colleges? What is this “fit” everyone keeps talking about?

As springtime arrives, every high school experiences the ending of one college cycle for the seniors and the starting of a new cycle for the juniors. These same dual cycles are occurring in all Admissions Offices as well. In mid to late February as the Admissions counselors are hunkered down reading applications 24/7, the number of campus visitors grows exponentially week after week. Once the calendar turns to March and the Admissions counselors begin the arduous committee deliberations, weekly tours and information sessions are busting at the seams. It is not until April that the true collision of those starting the admissions cycle and those finishing it is truly seen. It is during the 30 days of April that droves of high school juniors begin to make their first official college visits, just as seniors are attending special admitted student events to determine their eventual destination. When I started in Admissions fourteen plus years ago there was a bit of a break between the end of a cycle and the start of a new one … not anymore. Overlapping cycles is the norm and I must say at times it can be taxing on the mind and body of even the most seasoned Admissions professional.

As I said at the onset of this post, the coming days and weeks most of my focus will be on communicating with high school seniors and their parents, and specifically helping admitted Regular Decision students determine whether becoming a part of the Johns Hopkins Class of 2016 is right for them. But if you are a future applicant for 2017, 2018, or further in the future know that you matter as well. We might not have as much time for you in March and April as your elder classmen, and we might not provide you with as many in-depth visit opportunities, still know you matter and that attention will be lavished on you in due time.

In fact, in spring 2012, admissions representatives from Johns Hopkins University may be coming to town near you just to speak to prospective audiences, not current applicants or admitted students. We will be holding eight Explore Hopkins presentations throughout March and April to help interested students and families learn more about academics, student life, the application process, and financial aid. When and where you ask:

Austin, Texas – March 31
Houston, Texas – April 1
Dallas, Texas – April 4
San Antonio, Texas – April 5
Charleston, South Carolina – April 16
Detroit Metro Area, Michigan – April 24
Boston Metro Area, Massachusetts – April 28
Santa Barbara, California – April 28

Full details and online RSVP forms can be found here: http://apply.jhu.edu/visit/explorehopkins.html?slide.

Personally, I highly recommend the Boston area program as yours truly will be the star of the show. And don’t worry, we may not be coming to an area near you in the spring but we will triple the number of Explore Hopkins programs we hold in Fall 2012. In the meantime, you can always consider planning a campus visit: http://apply.jhu.edu/visit/visit.html.

So congratulations on getting your college search moving along early and we hope to see you on the road or on the Homewood campus in the near future.

Postcards from the Road

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Important note: Before we commence with today’s blog entry I wanted to remind you that the Early Decision deadline is November 1 (just four days from the posting of this entry). For those of you applying ED to Johns Hopkins or still contemplating that decision, we have some very helpful resources on the Admissions website: The Early Decision Difference at Johns Hopkins.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Hopkins Insider blog post…

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Over the past two months my Admissions colleagues and I have scoured the globe meeting prospective students, parents, and guidance counselors in our efforts to recruit the next great class of Johns Hopkins freshmen. Whether a seasoned traveler or a Johns Hopkins rookie recruiter, we all have enjoyed getting to meet and chat with the potential members of the Class of 2016 and beyond. Since we all travel to different parts of the United States and abroad, we each have unique experiences and memories. This entry is a collection of short reflections on the fall 2011 recruitment travel season from myself and my colleagues. Enjoy these “postcards from the road”:

Chloe Rothstein, Assistant Director
Region: Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Mexico.

For the past four years I have had the opportunity to attend fairs organized by the American School Foundation (ASF) in Mexico City and sometimes in other cities throughout Mexico. American School Foundation schools are attended by international students, whose families happen to be living in Mexico, and by Mexican students as well. Each year the biggest is at ASF in Mexico City and usually the mascot from the Tecnológico de Monterrey, or Monterrey Institute of Technology in English, makes an appearance. Tec de Monterrey, as locals call it for short, has 33 campuses located in 25 cities throughout the country; however, the main campus is in Monterrey. The Tec’s mascot is a ram or borrego salvaje in Spanish. Last year I had a picture taken with the ram, but this year I was able to get a picture of him (or her?) signing one of our inquiry cards for prospective students! Check it out—it’s pretty funny!

Calvin Wise, Assistant Director
Region: Maryland, Oregon, and Washington

My name is Calvin Wise and this is my inaugural year here at JHU. As my first two months come to a close, I can honestly say I have enjoyed learning the Johns Hopkins culture, meeting great students, and inundating myself with all that Baltimore City has to offer. One of my new and exciting responsibilities for JHU is the travel territory of the Pacific Northwest. From October 12 through the 17, I visited the Seattle/Tacoma area meeting with students. I visited high schools, attended fairs, and conducted my first ever Explore Hopkins program. The food was great, the scenery was gorgeous, and the students possessed a sense of intellectual curiosity that we are looking for at Hopkins. Thank you for a great first impression Pacific Northwest and I’ll see you next time!

Sherryl Fletcher, Senior Associate Director
Region: Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio

Doors Open! Where is this Door?
College admissions travel has been a part of my professional fall season for 29 years and I always look forward to being in some of my favorite places in my former home state of Michigan, as well as Illinois and Ohio! As a Midwesterner, the start of the high school and college football season and the changing of the leaves mean that I have the chance to walk through many doors of high schools. I so enjoy the combination of conversations with high school students, counselors, teachers, and school administrators, along with many parents and Johns Hopkins alumni. Each event, whether it is an evening program, a high school visit, a counselor luncheon or a college fair, provides the introduction to new students who wish to know more about Johns Hopkins, a favorite topic of mine! I leave each program or event with the hopes that all will consider a visit to Baltimore, a tour of our gorgeous campus and conversations with our talented and super friendly students and faculty.

During my fall 2011 visits, I visited a high school in one of my three states (reminder for those with a short attention span: Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio!) and captured a picture of a beautiful door. Post a comment below if you know where this door is located!

Lunch with a View
Admissions travel provides opportunities to visit with high school students and college advisors in many settings. Chicago, an area with many great schools, presents the chance to visit schools in urban and suburban settings. The city welcomes all with an ease of traveling from school to school by foot or by car. Students connect with Chicago as well by traveling short or extensive distances to be a part of their high school community. Activities following the close of classes keep students engaged with a commute home in the midst of heavy sidewalk or street traffic. Yet regardless of the time of day or the wind, sun or snow in October, Chicago is one of the friendliest places to meet with students interested in Johns Hopkins!

A day of travel in the Midwest involves including a full day of high school visits with an evening reception or college fair. I try to meet as many students, parents and guidance counselors as a day will allow knowing an evening event for Johns Hopkins will include parents as well. With busy daily schedules, time for lunch is nonexistent. But if you are creative and an apple and yogurt will do, a stop at a Lake Michigan beach will be a perfect break for a light lunch with a stunning view!

John Birney, Associate Director of Admissions
Region: Connecticut and New York

Visiting New York City
New York City is sunny and warm…just the way I like it. Rainy weather in the City makes for terrible traffic, and trying to catch a cab is nearly impossible. I’m visiting during the first week of school—and my first visit was at 7:45 on the student’s first day. They didn’t even go to their first class…instead they came to see me! The students were well informed and many had visited the campus, which made my visits go really well. If all my weeks are like this, travel this year will be great.

100K miles
100,000 miles and counting. Yeah, you read that right—100K miles. In all my years of driving my territories, I’ve finally eclipsed the milestone. My favorite part of visiting Connecticut in the fall is the crisp weather and the changing leaves. I’m here after the big fall rains and the rivers are rushing and driving through a historic covered bridge offers a wonderful view. I do hope that all the interesting students I’m seeing decide to apply. If so, it’ll be a banner year!

Shannon Miller, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions
Region: Alaska, California, and Hawaii

Southern California
This fall, I spent two weeks in Southern California, where I conducted four Explore Hopkins programs, several mini-fairs, and 32 high school visits. My travel stretched from Santa Barbara to San Diego, with stops in Pasadena, Los Angeles, and Irvine. Prior to this year, I read for all of California except for the LA area, so it was great to visit the “new” schools in my territory. On my one free Saturday (we are SUPER busy when on the road!), while my colleague Sarah was sitting in snowy Colorado, I was hanging out in Disneyland. Visiting So Cal = Not a bad deal

Northern California
My Northern California swing this year was a quick one. In five days, I did three regional presentations plus high school visits, meeting over 200 students and their families! While this might have been a whirlwind tour, it was definitely a great one. Even though a city bus took the side view mirror off of my rental car (accidents do happen), the sun was always out (not common in San Francisco), and I was able to meet many talented students. I am looking forward to reading applications! Nor Cal Trip = Success.

Sarah Godwin, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions
Region: Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York (Long Island only), North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin

I’m back from several weeks of travel and VERY happy to be back in Baltimore. One of my more “exciting” trips this fall was to Colorado. I had a super early flight on Saturday, October 8. How early is early? 5:20 a.m…if you zoom in enough on my boarding pass, you’ll see it! Yes, that would mean a 4:50 a.m. boarding time. Speaking of my boarding pass, banana and water—these are essential items I see a lot during travel season. It is important to stay hydrated and keep electrolyte levels in check. It is easy to get run down.

When I finally arrived in Colorado, my trek to the fair was a bit treacherous! As you can see, it was mid-October and there was a fair amount of snow. I stopped and snapped this photo, the views were phenomenal, even with the icy roads. Luckily, I made it to the fair that day and saw tons of terrific students on the Western Slope of Colorado. I really intended to take a picture of the fair and the some of the students I saw there, but once I arrived it was a frenzy of activity until the very end.  Thanks for checking in and reading my postcard from the road!

Daniel Creasy, Associate Director of Admissions
Region: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

My fall travel took me back to New England for the 14th straight year, nine years traveling for Johns Hopkins and five years for a different school. Travel in New England is lovely during the fall and not just because of the foliage, however I have written often about my excursions up north. Instead my tale is about my trip to New Orleans at the end of September.

Each year I attend the NACAC national conference for college admissions counselors, guidance counselors, and other professionals in the field of higher education. This was my 10th conference and what a joy it was to visit New Orleans for the first time. The food, the entertainment, the food, Bourbon Street, the people, the food, and oh yeah the food were all amazing. Yeah, the conference sessions and networking was enjoyable as well. The conference ended with a social event at Mardi Gras World that was enjoyed by all. Next year, the conference is in Denver and I am looking forward to visiting the Mile High City.