Parros College Planning’s student Seamus McCurren applied to a lot of schools– 17, in fact. Therefore, you might not be too surprised to learn that Seamus initially wasn’t even thinking of attending Kenyon College before his college search, and hadn’t even heard of it. However, after doing a lot of research, Seamus finally settled on Kenyon, a small liberal arts college in rural Ohio with a reputation that draws in students from the East Coast.
When Seamus was applying to colleges, he compiled an ambitious list that included schools such as Vanderbilt. “Unfortunately I didn’t have an ACT that was up to par with what a lot of my schools were looking for,” but Seamus didn’t let that dissuade him from applying. “I think my essays and extra-curriculars are what put me on a similar level to students with high test scores.” His confidence in himself paid off, and Seamus was accepted to highly competitive schools such as UC-Berkeley, UC-San Diego, and the University of Michigan.
Seamus’s advice? “Trust the process. It’s going to get overwhelming and there will be plenty of late nights writing essays and trying to make your application perfect, but Parros College Planning is there to help you through it all. They know what colleges are looking for and how to get you into the schools you want to get into.” For Seamus, a great deal of that process was writing the essays for each of the 17 schools he applied to. “That added up to be a whole lot of essays, and Kim and Lisa helped me with just about every essay I wrote.” The other part of the process revolved around “crafting my application based on the school I was applying to to show the schools I was the kind of student they were looking for.”
So what narrowed down Seamus’s list to Kenyon College? He couldn’t decide on just one attribute, so he gave us three impressive facts about the school he will make his home in the fall. First, he likes that Kenyon was rated as the second most beautiful college in the country by The Best College.com in 2017. He also is a fan of Kenyon’s rigorous academic atmosphere that emphasizes “collaboration and cooperation” rather than competition amongst students. Lastly, Keyon’s mentorship program appealed to Seamus because of its unique pairing of a student with an alumni from the same field of study, broadening a student’s opportunity for “job opportunities and internships.”
With thousands of options available, it’s easy to overlook the college that’s right for you– especially if that school is smaller or out of state. Parros College Planning exists to help students find their right fit and expose them to colleges that they might have never applied to, and that might become their home for the next four years. At Parros College Planning, we have a personalized process that caters to each student so that they can discover what they truly want in a college setting. Schedule a consultation with us today to start this process, and minimize the stress of making such a momentous decision, so that you can explore options within and out of the state of Michigan that may be best for your student.
