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KEVIN KILHOFFER, JOURNAL GAZETTE & TIMES-COURIER Academic counselor and coordinator of new student orientation Heather Nohren, left, talks with Lake Land College student Carson Goff, right, at the Luther Student Center Counseling Services at Lake Lake College on Jan. 13.
High school, early college students have counselors as valuable resources By JARAD JARMON jarad.jarmon@lee.net CHARLESTON -- For academic counselors in the area, both at the high school and collegiate level, the troubles students go through during the transition from high school to college have largely remained the same over the years. According to local guidance counselors, both admissions and academic, said students today still ask about the staples -- from
what to do when preparing oneself to getting into the college space. Joelyn Akers, school counselor at Charleston High School, said much of what students ask them is whether college is an affordable option, where to start looking for colleges, and what steps should be taken moving forward to get into a particular college. However, these local counselors said there have been notable changes in what students are focusing on as they
reach the time to either look for a college or the time they are finally taking classes on the college campus. Changes have been noticed even in how the students are applying. Krista Burrell, Lake Land College academic counselor, said she has noticed the growing importance of where the college will be taking the student. “Before they will choose (a major), they want to know ‘What's the job outlook for a business in this area?’ or
‘Can you tell me where your students are getting hired and how much are they making?’” Burrell said. “I didn't get those questions when I started 14 years ago, not nearly as much.” Burrell said the job market in whatever field they are interested has been brought up with more frequency, at least to her. Young people want to know, once out of the college space, where they will be going and if there is even a place to go. She added she doesn't
think students feel like they have much of a luxury of just following a passion if the prospect of jobs is not clear. More often they are looking for a likely timeline to their first job, she said. For Burrell, it seemed like there was less pressure on students for what jobs might come out of a major in past years instead of now. Burrell said she thought there was more interest in just learning what fits one’s interests in comparison to knowing where they are looking and
www.jg-tc.com what will come out of their time in the college. Akers said the research tools available when searching colleges have completely changed how one might find a college. only with searching colleges, she said numerous internet services offer an idea to certain professions and what they entail. The online field has given students a great breadth of what they can expect from a college, Akers said. On a similar note, Omar Solomon, Eastern Illinois University admissions counselor, said social media has become a more prevalent part of the research process than in years past. He said students are now getting their information about a college through their Facebook and Twitter feeds. Solomon said more often than not, he is contacted through social media about something a student heard through their newsfeed of choice. Solomon said he has also noticed a diminished urgency in getting all of the necessary things to reach college done before actually setting foot on the campus for the first day of classes. Solomon stressed that hitting deadlines for a particular university enrollment or even hitting deadlines on financial aid and scholarships is crucial to staying on the track to a successful transition into college. Solomon said he has had to more often advise students of these deadlines to ensure they can get into a particular program in which they are interested in time. “They are 18, but they are halfway to 36,” Solomon said. “(Counselors) remind them and empower them that, ‘Hey, you need to take advantage of this college process. You have to be aware of your due dates, priority deadlines, financial aid deadlines.’” Solomon said he has also noticed growing interest in what is happening on the campus in terms of activities, groups and events to participate in. He said stu-
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KEVIN KILHOFFER, JOURNAL GAZETTE & TIMES-COURIER Charleston High School students make their through the hallway on the first day of the new school year in August. dents want to know what is going on across campus aside from classes. Aaron Hale, Mattoon High School academic counselor, said for the most part, though, many students have no idea where to even start when it comes to heading to a college or university. Hale noted that many are first-generation college students. While it is not different from that of previous years, Hale noted that students often don't even know what to ask should they be entertaining the idea of college, which is why he stressed the importance of going to a counselor when considering the notion of heading to college. This is fine, though, because that is what the counselors are there for: to be a conduit for students as they transition into the college space or whatever path a student wishes to take, Hale said.
Counselor tips on how to handle getting to college • Take a tour of the campus Students largely cannot know if a college or university is right for them unless they head to the campus and see it for themselves. • Use both high school and college resources Whether it is online services that quiz students on what professions might be good places to look into or what scholarship and financial aid support is available, the schools have resources available that can help make deciding, applying or transitioning to the campus easier. • Talk with admissions and academic counselors about questions regarding the college transition process Counselors are there to help guide students to the things they need to think about and do when heading to college. • Think about college early Counselors try a push students to think about the courses they are taking as freshmen in order to make sure that coincides
with what the student hopes to do after college. • Use dual-credit courses during high school tenure High schools offer dual credit courses that can help easily knock out early required college courses or help sway students to a particular profession. • Have fun College, especially finding the perfect one, should be just as much fun as it is scary or daunting, as it will likely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. • Look into financial aid and scholarship opportunities Counselors said many students have no idea of the opportunities available to help pay for college tuition. EDITOR’S NOTE: Counselors from Mattoon High School, Charleston High School, Eastern Illinois University and Lake Land College offered this advice for starting the college process.
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Lake Land College recognized as sixth best community college in the state The national website Schools.com ranked Lake Land College among the top 10 best community colleges in Illinois. Schools.com named Lake Land College sixth in the state. The site highlighted its online class enrollment and affordability and value of the college’s tuition and fees, including textbook rental. “Lake Land College continues to be one of the best values in the state and nation for college students. Our tuition and fees are about one-fourth of a state university and our academic quality is recognized in the success of our graduates,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said. “We are proud to be the number one choice among the recent high school graduating class in our district.” Lake Land College’s tuition and fees are about $3,800 for
one year, making it one of the most affordable colleges in Illinois. In addition, the college’s textbook rental program saves students an average of $1,400 per year. Lake Land is one of the few colleges in the nation to offer textbook rental to students. Online enrollment at Lake Land College is robust with about 32 percent of students taking at least one online class and 11 percent taking all online classes. The college has about 170 offerings online each semester. The site also recognized Lake Land’s commitment to creating a sustainable campus. During the past eight years, the college has been replacing old infrastructure with new green technology. Lake Land has one of the largest geothermal well fields in the country, as well as a growing set of solar panels.
The college has a recycling center available to the community and uses LED lighting and virtual machines to reduce energy consumption throughout campus. Not only are these initiatives sustainable, the infrastructure provides a living learning laboratory for Lake Land College students.
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“Awareness of human impacts on the environment is high at Lake Land College, and students and faculty work together to ensure that [Lake Land] makes as little negative ecological impact as possible,” Justin Boyle wrote in an article published on the website. Boyle stated researchers at the site analyzed “seven categories of data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and
other independent agencies. We looked at total attendance cost, student-faculty ratio, distance education focus and transfer rate to four-year institutions, among other factors, and we came up with a pretty clear who'swho of top Illinois community colleges.” More information about Schools.com rankings can be found at www.schools.com/ community-colleges/top-community-colleges-in-illinois.
Campus Guide Spring 2017 Produced by JG-TC (Mattoon Journal Gazette & Times-Courier) 700 Broadway Avenue E. Ste 9A Mattoon, IL 61938
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Student employment opportunities available EIU Student Employment On-campus employment is one of the most popular ways to help offset the costs of a college education. It also allows you to gain valuable work experience and meet new people on campus. One aspect of on-campus employment is The Federal Work-Study program. Students receiving Federal Work-Study funds must file for the FAFSA, demonstrate need, perform work-study employment for six to eight hours per week, and be paid no less than the federal minimum wage. The Federal Work-Study program provides on-campus employment for students while they attend college. Students who receive Federal Work-Study funds must: • File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) • Demonstrate need to be eligible for work-study funds. • Be paid at least federal minimum wage, but it is related to the type and difficulty of work that is done. • Perform work-study employment anywhere from 6-8 hours per week. ¨• Must be full time (12 hours) per semester (summer 6 hours). To apply for Federal WorkStudy, simply indicate on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid that you are interested in work-study. View all current positions and openings at www.eiu.edu/finaid/employment.php.
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Lake Land Student Employment • Federal Work Study Program: On-campus, paid employment. Learn more at www.lakelandcollege.edu/financial-aid/work-study/ or call: 217-234-5231 • Work and Learn Program: On-campus employment for full tuition waiver.
Learn more at www.lakelandcollege.edu/work-andlearn-project/ or call: 217-234-5232. • Career Services: Off-campus, paid employment job listings from local and regional employers. Learn more at www.lakelandcollege.edu/career-services/ or call: 217-234-5288.
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EIU offers plenty of recreation By JUSTIN RUST Sports Reporter, Journal Gazette & Times-Courier For anyone who knows me, this is probably not a revelation -- I was not an NCAA Division I athlete. No D-I school swept in to offer me a scholarship for my negative-3-star football potential, or negative-5-star baseball prowess. Same with any D-II, D-III, NAIA or Junior College programs, and they were smart to do that. Granted, I don’t think you need to be that smart to realize a kid who couldn’t cut it at varsity, like me, wasn’t going to make it in the college scene. However, if there was a sport that pandered to being uncoordinated, I would’ve landed on many watch lists. There’s a lot of high school kids who are in the same boat as me. OK, not with being uncoordinated, but not receiving athletic scholarships and still wanting to
play sports in college. Heck, there’s even an athlete or two in high school who won’t be moving on, but will still have the itch to play at the next level. Well, there’s a way to still be on a team at certain colleges that you may attend, including Eastern Illinois University -- intramural sports. I may have been undersized and a below-average offensive lineman in high school, but I turned into a decent lineman in flag football for a pretty good intramural team when I was a freshman at Iowa State (I will leave out of this how many penalties I did end up getting called for). We ran the hook and ladder to perfection. That wasn’t the only intramural sport I participated in. I was on a basketball team -I am so bad at basketball -and volleyball team to go along with badminton and broomball. Somehow I turned out to be a decent goalie in
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broomball. But being good (or usually bad) at these sports wasn’t the reason I joined intramurals; it was the team aspect. I enjoyed hanging out with my teammates before and during the game. Usually it would be people who lived in the same hall at Iowa State or, later, the University of South Dakota. The camaraderie was the best part and sometimes you got to meet someone new who you ended up hanging out with quite a bit. EIU offers a number of intramural sports for college students. There’s the common ones like basketball, volleyball and flag football and ones you might not know about such as a home run derby in April, indoor kickball, a pool tournament, indoor soccer or checkers. Those are just a small handful of the intramural sports that EIU offers, and they are offered all year long. Plus you don’t need to just confine yourself to an intramural schedule if you want to play some sports at EIU. The student rec center, which is connected to Lantz Arena, is open five days a week during the school year. The rec center has six basketball courts, which can also be used as volleyball and/or badminton courts; and one of the courts is enclosed for soccer, dodgeball, kickball and whiffleball. There’s a ⅛-mile suspended jogging track and three multi-purpose areas for aerobic dance sessions, martial arts or other activities. Plus there are two freeweight areas, a cardio area
upstairs that includes elliptical trainers, treadmills, stationary bikes, power mills, a rower, a climbing machine, life fitness and hammer strength machines, and two stretching areas with medicine balls and exercise balls. Oh, there’s also a student lounge with a big-screen TV.
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So even though you might not be playing sports at the college level, there’s plenty to keep you busy during your free time. I mean, it is still important to make the Dean’s List. But when the time with the books is done, there’s plenty out there to keep in shape. Trust me, it’s important to develop healthy habits like intramural sports or hitting up the gym whether it’s to run on the treadmill or get some shots up on the basketball court. Plus it’s a great way to hang out with your friends or meet some new friends. I mean, who really wants to be cooped up in their dorm room all day? Get out and have some fun.
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Lake Land College announces changes to financial aid process Applying for financial aid just got easier. This year, the online form will be available on Oct. 1—three months earlier than in the past. “Most schools award financial aid on a first-come, firstserved basis. Completing the FAFSA early will ensure you are in the applicant pool for any awards for which you qualify,” Paula Carpenter, director of financial aid and veteran services said. The FAFSA is the first step in the financial aid process to receive a grant or a loan. Many scholarships also require a student to complete the FAFSA. In addition to making the form available earlier, it will be easier to complete the FAFSA, the free financial aid form, as families can use 2015 tax information which should be readily available. The form is available at fafsa.gov. Lake Land College’s school code is 007644. The following information will help families navigate the financial aid process for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Tax information From now on, the FAFSA will ask for older income and tax information that you will already have. This change means you won’t have to use estimates anymore, or log in later to update your FAFSA after you file taxes! Since chances are likely that your 2015 taxes are already filed, you may be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) to automatically import your tax information into your FAFSA. With the FAFSA available three months earlier will give you more time to meet most deadlines and to explore and understand your financial aid options. But what if my family’s financial situation has changed since our 2015 taxes were filed? Can we report 2016 tax information instead? No. You must report your 2015 tax information on the 2017–18 FAFSA. You do not have the option to report your 2016 tax information. If
your family has experienced a loss of income since the 2015 tax year, talk to the financial aid office at your school. They have the ability to assess your situation and make adjustments. Note: The FAFSA asks for marital status as of the day you fill it out. So if you’re married now but weren’t in 2015 (and therefore didn’t file taxes as married), you’ll need to add your spouse’s income to your FAFSA. Similarly, if you filed your 2015 taxes as married but you’re no longer married when you fill out the FAFSA, you’ll need to subtract your spouse’s income.
you're considering to your FAFSA, even if you haven't applied or been accepted yet. Even if you're on the fence about applying to a particular school, add it. It will hold your place in line for financial aid in case you end up applying for admission at that school. You can always remove schools later if you decide not to apply (but you don't have to). Will FAFSA deadlines be earlier since the application is launching earlier? We expect that most state and school deadlines will remain approximately the same as in 2016–17. How-
ever, several states that offer first come, first served financial aid will change their deadlines from “as soon as possible after Jan. 1” to “as soon as possible after Oct. 1.” So, as always, it’s important that you check your state and school deadlines so that you don’t miss out on any aid. State deadlines are on fafsa.gov; school deadlines are on schools’ websites. For more information on the FAFSA changes, visit StudentAid.ed.gov/fafsachanges. For more information on how to complete your FAFSA, visit StudentAid.gov/ fafsa/filling-out.
Can I fill out the FAFSA before I apply to colleges? What if I don’t know where I’m applyiing yet? Yes, you can fill out the FAFSA even before you've submitted your college applications. Add every school
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Students save on travel with Amtrak discount Student savings just got better. Now, students age 13 25 with a valid student ID are eligible for 15% off the lowest Value or Flexible Fare when you book your travel at least 3 days in advance. Looking at schools or been a while since you've seen the family or friends? Mom's hugs and doing free laundry are just a train ride away.
With comfortable, spacious seating and outlets to keep you charged, you'll be able to relax while getting some stuff done. Plus, Amtrak lets you bring up to two carry-on bags and two checked bags (where checked baggage is available) all for free. With free Wi-Fi on many routes you can browse, post and stay connected along the way.
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Learn More About Your Amtrak Station: The Mattoon Depot There is no cost to parking at the Depot or any of the surrounding lots downtown. They are all City of Mattoon lots. We do not sell tickets or take reservations at the Depot for the Amtrak. However we do have schedules and can usually answer basic questions about Amtrak travel. Tickets need to be purchased either online at www.amtrak.com or by phone at 1-800-USA-RAIL. That phone number can also be used to find out the status of an arriving or departing train. Tickets can be scanned by the conductor on a smartphone. Otherwise you will need to print out your ticket. The conductor can sell you a ticket on the train if there are seats available. Keep in mind that often the trains are sold out, especially around the holidays. It is always best to at least get a reservation number by phone on Amtrak in order to save your seat. There are two routes to the train boarding area: the front of the building via the stairs and the elevator located through the east side door from the parking lot. The Mattoon Depot does have public WI-FI and restrooms on the track level of the building. Trains do sell a variety of food and beverages. If you are planning a long trip on the Amtrak call the 800 number to talk to a representative to help you plan an adventure.
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#1 IN ILLINOIS #6 IN THE MIDWEST
BRING ON THE FUTURE. WE’RE READY! VISIT US SOON AND SEE WHY WE’RE THE #1 REGIONAL PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN ILLINOIS. THERE’S STILL TIME TO JOIN OUR NEXT CLASS OF PANTHERS! FEBRUARY 10 EIU Transfer Open House
FEBRUARY 24 Sciences Visit Day
MARCH 1 Arts & Humanities Visit Day
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FEBRUARY 20 EIU Admitted Student Day
FEBRUARY 27 Education & Professional Studies Visit Day
MARCH 4 EIU Admitted Student Day
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FEBRUARY 22 EIU Business & Applied Sciences Visit Day
www.eiu.edu/bizvisitday
QUESTIONS? CONTACT US AT... Email: admissions@eiu.edu Phone: 877-581-2348