College Prep Tip of the Week: Plan Ahead

College Prep Tip of the Week: Plan Ahead

"In a speech to Congress on Feb. 24, 2009, President Obama encouraged every American to complete at least one year of education beyond high school, whether at a community college, or a four-year school, or through vocational training, or an apprenticeship. This checklist will tell you how to get ready for that education — and how the government will help you pay for it." - http://studentaid.ed.gov

The website studentaid.ed.gov provides a great road map of the college planning process for students (of any age) who haven't attended college or trade school and parents of students in elementary and secondary school.

Having a checklist such as this provides you with a plan, a compass if you will, to help navigate the path to college. This particular list is great because it talks about the academic and financial preparation families should have for education beyond high school. The page is split into sections for students and parents, explaining what to do and which publications or web sites might be useful.
The three basic principles outlined on this site are:

College Preparation Checklist

1. FIND MONEY FOR SCHOOL
2. TAKE THE RIGHT CLASSES
3. CHOOSE A CAREER

At UAF you can contact the Financial Aid Office for information on where you can find money for school; you can talk with an Admissions Counselor for questions about what classes to take in high school; and you can explore your career options with our Career Services Office.

Of course, we encourage you to visit campus so that you can meet with representatives from these offices and our academic programs. For information about how to visit, got to: http://www.uaf.edu/admissions/info.

Until then, happy planning!

In the news: Joe Alloway, Admissions Counselor and Graduation Emcee

UAF announcer finds graduation a special thrill

by Jeff Richardson / jrichardson@newsminer.com Fairbanks Daily News Miner

May 08, 2011 | 1026 views | 0 | 4 | |

University of Alaska Fairbanks admissions counselor Joe Alloway poses for a photograph in Signer's Hall Wednesday afternoon, May 4, 2011. Alloway, who will be emceeing the UAF graduation ceremony for the third straight year, is the Spotlight for the week. Eric Engman/News-Miner

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FAIRBANKS — Diplomas won’t be handed out at the University of Alaska Fairbanks for nearly a week, but Sunday’s rapidly approaching commencement ceremony is already making Joe Alloway nervous.

Alloway, an admissions counselor at UAF, isn’t among those sweating out final exams. He’s more likely having flashbacks to some of last year’s graduates, which included daunting pronunciations like Okechukwu A. Opara and Mindona M. Krzykowski.

It’s Alloway who acts as emcee at the event, reading off more than 1,000 names and dozens of doctoral theses in a little more than two hours.

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - UAF announcer finds graduation a special thrill

College Prep Tip of the Week: Be determined

College prep tip of the week: Take tough classes

So...You Wanna Chat?

Last week we debuted a new chat feature on our admissions page in an effort to make the process of deciding on, applying to, and enrolling in UAF as seamless as possible. We are happy to report that is has been a tremendous success. Students and those of us in the Office of Admissions and the Registrar are excited about the ease of navigation and the ability to have an immediate and productive interaction.

Here’s how it works: an incredible student who looks very similar to you is perusing UAF’s Admissions website looking for the answer to a burning question about anything to do with UAF. They don’t see the answer right away, so they click on the orange chat button at the bottom of the page and ask their question. Within moments, an Admissions representative provides an answer, which prompts more questions, answers, and conversation. The next thing you know the student happily exits the chat with the information they sought and a personal connection with UAF.

If you’re checking out our page in the middle of the night or at another time when we’re offline, just click on the same orange chat button to leave a message. It will be sent to one of us and we’ll respond to you via email within a short time.

What are you waiting for? Head over to the Admissions page and give it a try! You can give us some feedback while you’re at it. Do you love it? See a way we can improve it? Let us know.