College Connections of Kansas

05/23/2019

I will be speaking at the Veterans Memorial in Wichita on July 4th as part of a dedication of the Revolutionary War site. 10 to 12 AM jULY 4

05/19/2018

Congratulations to all the new high school grduates and best wishes as you prepare for your next steps in your educational expereince. Have fun and enjoy summer orientation at the college of your choice. Remember do not try to join every organization look around and choose carefully. Rember, that GPA will be important when job hunting time rolls around in a few years. Look and explore internships and start your networking the great employer might just happen through great networking. Doors will open and be ready with a polished resume and interviewing skills. Get familiar with the Career Center on campus early in the game. BEST of LUCK class of 2018, Mr. Hapward

01/05/2018

Juniors, sophomores your quest lies before you. The PSAT scores and the attention from colleges will begin momentarily. Be ready the avalanche of information is about to descend on you. Take it in stride but enjoy the experience anyway!! Colleges have selecte4d your name by region, major, career, zip code, state along with many other criteria. In the beginning it will be fun but for many of you it will get old fast. On average you might receive info from as many as 45 to 75 colleges around the nation. Some you will have never heard of but maybe a unique one might surface for you. If you respond the schools will send more if you do nothing most likely one or two more contacts and it will mostly likely cease. I wish you the best as your college search widens and the daunting task of selecting schools begins. Good luck, several great schools are out there for you to perhaps generate interest.

12/24/2017

Well, we need to look at the calendar and know there are lots of sad seniors out there nationally, the number one choice is gone in some cases and hopefully the second choice came forward. If the choices are realistic the sadness drifts off with time. Hopefully parents are satisfied and the ego of the family is not dampened with the disappointment. Working with seniors and hoping the original choices were as mentioned realistic decisions life goes on.as we have seen for decades. I think what will be interesting is if too many high end schools took bigger hits in their app pool and families face the realistic tuition nightmares. I recall conversations at conferences talking about the escalating tution fees and costs abd ut aooears tgat time has arrived for many institutions. How do Presidents

09/17/2017

What sets the fall apart: time to examine colleges before your senior year gets too hectic, and class projects start to back up. The campus visit continues to be the most important part of the college decision-making process. You can pick schools out, start to apply, forward unnecessary application fees. So, continuing on here: what are the key objectives of a visit, I have always been an advocate that it is a war plan. Plan well and accomplish all the key tasks you lay out. Many schools still have what I refer to as the "Peanut Experience" you know the group moving together in unison, with a tour guide barking out explanations of buildings, monuments, whatever. You need to be prepared with your smartphone and take pictures, REMEMBER, a decision will not be made for months, have your pics organized and note what impressed you or left you with way too many questions and uncertainties. If you do have the Peanut Experience, stay as close to the guide as possible, being in the back or middle will leave you and your parents frustrated. Inquire about an interview with a staff member or certainly a member of the faculty or athletic staff if interested in sports teams. When in the car, a debriefing needs to take place, stop for food to discuss what you just saw. Create a column in a notebook: (find these online) for pros and cons of the visit. Always remember: your parents are about to embark on a $100 to 200 thousand dollar investment.
Also, be mindful about the so-called end of the journey, what I mean here is how is the career center, does the staff do a solid job in preparing you for job interviews and resume building. Many college graduates are clueless about the job search.
Back to the campus visit: things to check out, your major or career field: check out the online catalog and drill down to your major: do they have your field of study. If you want a specific field such as Middle East Studies and the school does not offer more than a few courses, this should be a warning sign. Read the online catalog, the web sites and online viewbooks are slick and done by marketing firms to draw you in. Do you see most things you are interested in. Ask students questions: you may receive answers you were not prepared for or the opposite can be true.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Again,you are not visiting to be entertained, this is a fact finding mission you are embarking on. Mom and dad also have a role in this adventure, too!
All the best as you traverse the many great schools around our nation!!

08/16/2017

Its's August Seniors!! Take a deep breath, one of your keys is to stay focused, organized and work thru your list of tasks to accomplish. It can be daunting but you can do it. Oh by the way its your senior year, have fun, enjoy your classes and good luck to each of you!!!!

05/10/2017

May 1 has come and gone, now the task of finalizing choices, sending in deposits and taking care of the final details with the Admissions offices. Be sure to notify all schools of your decision and be absolutely certain your housing, residential plans are set with deposits submitted. Next, look for orientation materials and if not already signed up be sure to check off this one on your TO DO list.
Now relax and enjoy graduation and senior trips.

02/26/2017

Working with college bound students and their families has always been a marvelous and fulfilling role in my life and especially these past few years as a college consultant.
My recent clients have had enormous success with each of them narrowing their choice to ONE school and deciding to apply EARLY DECISION. Each client with an excellent academic profile, strong portfolio for admission was granted ED. I am thrilled for each of them and gratified that they were chosen to be in that institution's entering freshmen class.
I work with just a few families annually and this allows for a strong relationship with each family. Each family was terrific throughout the eighteen month process and each student did a fantastic job of keeping totally on task. Early decision, of course can be nerve racking and unsetlling at times but if a student identifies a school and a major that fits their personal profile then the journey was more than worth it.
To my clients, these past year's I continue to wish them well!

03/13/2016

Seniors: the time is approaching - April lst. ED, Early Action you are committed and looking at scholarships, continue to do so because you will find some gems out there. Seniors: spring break will come and GO, keep up the hard work, continue to learn, explore the subjects you are involved in. Try, try to avoid senioritis
and stay focused, NOT easy. You waste vaulable learning experiences if you back off now. There may be concepts in math you do not want to miss, or writing techniques in English IV or another course such as Art where something new will come along.
Stay the course, folks!
Watch for deadlines, do not stop communicating with your school stay on top of all correspondence.

10/13/2015

As the weeks wind down toward EA, ED for many outstanding high school students, essays are being polished, edited and prepared for submission. Students are advised to seek out English faculty, counselors and others to give that final preview of their work, it never hurts.
Teacher recommendations, 1st quarter grades, test scores, should be submitted or ready on Naviance.
Scholarship search should be well under way checking www.fastweb.org or finaid.org.
Remember, deadlines vary month by month.

Search for scholarships for college students with our free matching service for scholarships. Also learn about financial aid and student loan options to find money to pay for college at Fastweb.

09/05/2013

It's September so time to head to NACAC! This year Toronto!
Lookin forward to great restaurants, oh, yes the Yankees are in town to play the Blue Jays. Look forward to exploring a great city.
Our college fair gives me a great opportunity to visit with college representatives from all over the country. Networking opportunities abound.

06/26/2012

Bill Gates never finished college, but he is one of the single most powerful figures shaping higher education today. That influence comes through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, perhaps the world's richest philanthropy, which he co-chairs and which has made education one of its key missions.

The Chronicle sat down with Mr. Gates in an exclusive interview technology. His

Bill Gates never finished college, but he is one of the single most powerful figures shaping higher education today. That influence comes through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, perhaps the world's richest philanthropy, which he co-chairs and which has made education one of its key missions.