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HOW TO PACK FOR COLLEGE
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TIPS FROM MAINE SCHOOLS
PREVIEWCOLLEGEPREVIEWCOLLEGE A Special Advertising Section of the Bangor Daily News • Friday, Sept. 23, 2022
Tuition breaks, flexibility, wide range of promising future — what looking right
options and a
for
here in Maine
Deciding what’s essential versus what to leave behind
MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE
find
From location to cost,we’ve got all the factorsto consider in choosingthe right school for you
this on your own, or will you need help? Loans, scholarships, financial aid, part-time jobs and the military offer a few ways to make your post-secondary dream a reality, but short of having a rich uncle somewhere, the onus of paying for your post-secondary education is on you. This means figuring out how you can afford your education. When you find out what your estimated financial contribution (EFC) is, if the number is still too high, you can write the lovely people in the financial aid office a letter explaining your situation. If it’s still too much money, then dial your expectations back to see what you can realistically afford. Honestly, you’re the one who has to decide how much ramen you can stomach.
BIG OR SMALL?
CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLLEGE...
CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF THERE?
This is also the bad news. It’s on you to decide — not your parents, not your guidance counselors, not even your wellmeaning and equally college-savvy friends.
CHOOSETOHOWCHOOSETOHOW
02 COLLEGE PREVIEW 2022 • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • September 23, 2022
BACK IN THE LATE 90S when I was contemplating where to apply to college I felt like I was deciding my future. If I chose this school then I’d become a journalist, but if I choose that school I’d end up teaching English. If I attended this college the city would be my campus, but if I went to the other place I’d end up in the country, hiking and camping on the weekends.
Flash forward a few decades and I’m an English teacher and a columnist who avoids big cities and has never willingly hiked or camped anywhere in my life.
BY EMILY DENBOW MORRISON
HOW MUCH?
You don’t have to visualize yourself eating alone in the cafe. Plenty of people have de cided to go to a school without stepping foot on campus and have discovered, much to their relief, they’re happy with their choice. But if you can travel to where you want to go and take a look around, I strongly en courage making the trip. You can take all the online tours you want and watch those first-year vlogs one after another, but there’s nothing quite like walking into a li brary and smelling the books, running onto
Time to talk practical matters. Will going to this place put you or your parents in the poor house? Is there a way for you to afford
Choosing the right school for you isn’t about figuring out what program(s) you want to study or what place you’ll like better before you get there. It’s about focus ing on what kinds of things are most impor tant to you and what structures you need to learn and Considerthrive.thefollowing questions to help you hone in on what matters most.
state university, liberal arts school, commu nity college, vocational center or adult educa tion program is your first step to walking the walk that’s right for you.
WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS?
The second step is figuring out whether the place you’re looking at has more than one of your interests. Is it known for one pro gram, or are there several programs and extracurriculars offered if you change your mind? How do you know what you’d like to study, right? Think about what already perks your ears up. Do you like working with people? With your hands? Doing re search? Crunching numbers? Dissecting dead animals? Singing in the shower? Act ing on stage? What excites you? Does the school you’re looking at check off a lot of these boxes? If it does, then this is a good indication you’ll have room to explore many of the areas that interest you. If you only see one or two paths ahead, chances are you may be limiting your choices in the future. The more boxes you check off now, the more options you’ll have later.
The takeaway: the school you go to doesn’t decide your future. You do. You can become anything you want to become anywhere you go. This is the good news. The deciding factor in your future is and always will be you.
Would you prefer to go somewhere you can blend in with the pack, or do you need a smaller setting with smaller class sizes? If you don’t mind sitting in a first year seminar with a couple hundred other people, then by all means sign up. There are plenty of stu dents who simply need access to an educator, a textbook and a slideshow and they can stay engaged. If you know this isn’t how you learn best, consider looking into smaller schools where the likelihood of taking giant classes is relatively low. Knowing whether you prefer a
long as you focus on how your school fits you — not whether you’ll fit there — you can’t go wrong. Once you find that fit, you’ll be a happy camper (or inside dweller) for life. You got this. YOU
Remember,again.as
Ultimately, there are many different paths to happy-ever-after, and if you’re serious about making your dreams come true, deciding where you go to school isn’t that big a deal in the scheme of things. Whatever choice you make will bring you one step closer to figur
your future soccer field or stepping inside the auditorium where you’d like to per form. There’s also nothing like exiting your dorm and almost getting run over by a bus. Sometimes you have to go there to know whether it’s right for you.
COLLEGE PREVIEW 2022 • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • September 23, 2022 03
FOR
ing out what you want to do, which sur prisingly enough, will change many times over the course of your life. If you find yourself out of your comfort zone, don’t sweat it. Everyone else feels like an aco taco (awkward taco) too. Give your self a while to settle in and get used to your new home. And if after a semester or two you’re still feeling like you’re in the wrong place, you can always ask yourself these questions
DELIVERING VALUE — A QUALITY EDUCATION WITH AFFORDABLE TUITION
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Across Maine’s Public Universities, you’ll find renowned, PhD fac ulty, many of whom continue to work in their fields — even involv ing undergraduates in their work — while also teaching. Our loca tions and partnerships stretch across the state — in the heart of southern Maine to the beauty of the northern woods. We deliver in credible value: affordability, accelerated degree pathways, several hundred undergraduate programs and graduate programs including Doctoral and Law degrees, access to competitive internships and clinicals, and a high-level of program flexibility within and across individual universities.
TRANSFORMATION
The University of Maine System is an EEO/AA employer and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities.
With our unified accreditation, and choices of studying fully on campus, fully online, or even blending of the two, Maine’s Public Universities offer the utmost in the number of majors, flexibility of scheduling, learning locations and learning modalities.
DIVERSITY
WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT
Each university prioritizes the opportunity for students of all ages, ethnicities, identities, perspectives, and educational backgrounds to learn from one another, whether online or face-to-face, and contrib ute to a robust academic experience.
Our universities are recognized for fostering warm and welcoming campus communities where students feel comfortable and supported to explore academic and career possibilities as well as engaging in
Our universities approach experiential learning through opportuni ties to perform impactful and, often, groundbreaking–research start ing as early as a student’s first year. Our students can further their experiential learning through internships with state and local gov ernments, large and small businesses, non-profit organizations, school systems and art and music venues.
self-discovery and introspection. We similarly boast strong support systems for our students and close ties to the communities in which we are located.
04 COLLEGE PREVIEW 2022 • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • September 23, 2022
SO MANY REASONS TO STAY AND LEARN IN MAINE
COURTESY OF MAINE’S PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
THERE ARE MANY REASONS TO STAY AND LEARN IN MAINE. Maine’s Public Universities provide powerful academic experiences at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including doctoral programs and a law school. Driven by unparalleled com munity partnerships and research integrated with learning, Maine’s Public Universities offer many options and support, re gardless of one’s life stage.
Education equals transformation. Our universities are focused on lifting students out of their current situations and putting them on a path toward success — however they choose to define it. Students who attend our universities come away with skills to improve their lives, and the lives of others.
Learn more about the unique and relevant characteristics of each of Maine’s Public Universities at maine.edu/universities.
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06 COLLEGE PREVIEW 2022 • Bangor Daily News Special Advertising Section • September 23, 2022
WHAT YOU NEED FOR DORM LIFE
BY EMILY DENBOW MORRISON
A SMALL FRIDGE — Don’t get sucked into a bigger version. A tiny fridge and a tiny freezer will work fine for milk, ice cream and the occasional takeout container. And whatever you do, don’t get a microwave. Most dorms have a lounge or common room with a kitchen. This means it comes complete with a bigger fridge, stove and microwave. If you’ve got all that down the hall or one floor up (some dorms have lounges on every floor and some have one per building), then why waste valuable space in your room? Fuggedaboutit. You’d be better off buying an air purifier and putting that in its place. The air can get really stale in dorm rooms, even if you have a couple of windows open. Having a purification system that doubles as a fan is way more useful than being able to heat up your easy mac beside your bed.
AFTER BUYING EVERY culinary gadget, room decoration and throw pillow known to man, it’s safe to say we overspent for our kid’s first year at college. Approximately one week into campus life she called home and said, “I brought way too much stuff!”
BRINGTOWHATBRINGTOWHAT
A LAPTOP — This one’s a no-brainer. We’re living in a digital age, so unless you plan on accessing your course work from a library or computer lab 24/7, you’re gonna need a laptop. You won’t need actual folders and/or note books. Most professors encourage you to take notes online where you’ll never lose them (and also have access to their notes, syllabus, coursework, handouts, etc.). In the age of Covid, everything’s digital. If you really want to be old school, then go to your nearest office supply store and grab something to write on and a folder to put it in, but I’m 99 percent sure you won’t need this. Spend the money on a good laptop instead and wait until after you get there to take your cue from your professor and your classmates on what physical supplies you might need.
TOTES — As I said earlier, you’re living in a cell. Bring some stuff to make it feel like your cell, but remember, there’s only so much room in the inn. If you’re going to a school far from home and you know you won’t be able to come back and grab those fall sweaters (winter jacket, boots, rain slicker) then hike your bed up a few notches and keep all that seasonal stuff in a tote underneath it. The same goes for food and miscellaneous cleaning supplies. Put each kind of necessity in its own tote and shove it under your bed (the biggest hidden storage space in your room). And yes, you’re gonna need some disinfectant wipes and a way to either sweep or vacuum. Nobody wants to hang out with dust bunnies or get stuck to your desk chair because last night’s late night coffee consumption got a little cray-cray.
Whatever else you may think you need, trust me, it’s already there. Fuggedaboutit and have a happy, clutter-free year.
And she wasn’t alone.
Plenty of her friends over-packed too. Why? Because it’s easy to get sucked into those flashy ads and personal testimonials showcasing dorm room essentials, but honestly, the list of what you really need for life in a 12 by 19 foot room (228 square feet) is relatively short.
“The foundation, education, and experience Thomas has offered me has given me the ability to achieve the career and life goals I have set for myself going forward,” he said.
Sam started a full-time job with Unum as a benefits specialist in June. His experience with Thomas College’s committed professional and career development staff and Guar anteed Job Program™ helped make that possible.
Sam understands hard work, and he is grateful for the opportunities he gained at Thomas:
YOUR PATHWAY TO A PROMISING FUTURE, GUARANTEED.
IN MAY, SAM FALLA BECAME THE FIRST PERSON IN HIS FAMILY TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE.
Sam is extremely proud that he was able to finish his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in only three years through Thomas College’s 3-plus-one program.
Sam is just one of the many examples of Thomas College graduates who have found success here and are staying and working in Maine after graduation.
During his time at Thomas, Sam worked hard both academically and financially, receiving honors and high honors throughout all his semesters here and by working full time while going to school so he could pay for college on his own.
The Palermo, Maine native graduated debt free, without financial assistance from his parents or other family members. His determination paired with Thomas College’s generous scholarship offerings and personalized approach made his college experience affordable and attainable.
If you or someone you know is looking for a place to grow and thrive, this could be the place for you.
Thomas College is your pathway to a promising future, guaranteed.
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