Focus on the finish grant

Just a quick update today, I wanted to let you guys know about a new grant that’s been made available for incoming students. College can be pretty expensive, so to save hard working students some money, GVSU has started a program called the Focus on the Finish Grant. If a new student completes 90 credit hours within three years of enrollment at Grand Valley, they receive $1000 over the next two semesters of enrollment. That’s an average of 15 credits a semester, which is already what we suggest for students who want to graduate in four years. I guess that kind of gets to the point of Focus on the Finish; GVSU wants to keep their students “focused” and on track in completing their education. Transfer students can also take advantage of this grant, if they achieve 90 credits total and average 30 credits for each year at GVSU.

The only stipulation that I’ve found so far is that once you become a Grand Valley student, any credit taken elsewhere won’t apply to the 90 credit requirement (meaning you can’t take summer classes at a community college or other university and have them count for the grant). This isn’t true of classes before becoming a student here, though: dual enrollment or AP credit earned in high school will count towards the grant. If you’d like any more information, just visit www.gvsu.edu/grandfinish for more details, or give our financial aid office a call. I have to say, I’m pretty jealous of new students; looking back at my transcript, I had 88 hours completed after three years plus enough AP credit to have earned the grant. But hey, I guess it’s just proof that I’m old and already saying “when I was your age, I had to walk through the snow, uphill both ways.”

-Kyle

Nondescript summer post

Summertime is moving slowly forward, and we’re not terribly busy here in admissions, at least not just yet (things usually pick up once high school break starts). There really aren’t any major events approaching this summer, but we still have some important activities going on or starting up soon. Orientation is going to continue through August, we’ll have the office open for tours and appointments all summer long, and we’ll have previews every day starting in late June. One thing that might slow down, however, may be larger group visits. In most cases, these groups are organized through high schools, so they usually diminish during the summer (but they won't not stop altogether).

Speaking of which, I’ve given tours for some of these groups lately, and a pretty common question they’ve been asking is “how’s the food?” Well, it’s great, but I didn’t really want to write about dining again just yet. Another frequent question is “why did you choose Grand Valley?” There’s several reasons to attend GVSU, but mine are kind of odd. It’s not so much what made me decide to come here, but what has made me satisfied, and kept me from transferring out. I didn’t do a particularly good job of researching colleges before attending, I only made a small handful of official visits. This was kind of a mistake; I didn’t really let myself know what was out there, and what was available. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in, and thought that I had to know that to choose a college (you don’t). As a result, I didn’t take to the college search with much enthusiasm, but I wound up getting very lucky in selecting Grand Valley. I know that I made the right choice, mostly due to my academic experience. So far, the time learning in and out of the classroom has been my favorite and the most notable experience, on account of the focus on the student; small class sizes and attention from the faculty have meant a lot to me. One feature that I overlook a lot is the fact that classes here are only taught by faculty, not teaching assistants, which I love (not that I have anything against TA’s).

Again, Grand Valley was the right choice for me, but I’m not suggesting that it’s the best college for everyone. What I am suggesting is that any of the readers here who happen to be starting their senior year should learn from my mistakes, and start visiting any college their thinking about (though we would certainly love it if you started with a tour here). This summer or early this fall is a great time to do so, because it will most likely leave you with enough time to take everything in and make the best possible choice for yourself. Don’t get me wrong, we would love for all of you guys to be students here (hence why I’m suggesting you start your college tours here), but I will still say that it’s important for a student to see all of the options they have.

Let me know if you’ve got questions,
-Kyle

Orientation

Well, after a week off, we’re right back at it with Spring Semester. Also, it’s that special time of year again, but not the same way that a holiday is a special time: it’s orientation season. If you’re not familiar with orientation, it's essentially when incoming freshmen register for their classes. The whole thing amounts to an all morning event where students select classes, meet with faculty and upperclassmen, and tour some of the housing options (at either 9:00 in the morning or 3:30). There’s also a math placement test in the morning, at about 8:30, I think. A student’s qualification for this test is based upon ACT scores and the number/caliber of math classes attended in high school, though I’m relatively fuzzy on the actual requirements for taking the test. If you’re attending orientation this summer (there are about 40ish sessions between now and the fall), don’t sweat what schedule you wind up with. The orientation leaders are well trained, and will make sure that each student not only has a workable schedule, but is taking classes that they either need or are deemed helpful for their college career. If you’re a junior right now, keep in mind that you’ll want to keep an eye out for orientation information this winter. I can never recall the exact month, but sometime shortly after the new year students who have applied and have been admitted either receive an information packet on orientation or will hear from us about signing up for orientation. It’s a pretty important step in attending GVSU, so if you’re planning on doing so, keep an eye out in the winter.

On an unrelated, personal note, I’m currently in the midst of applying for an internship, which is pretty exciting. My interview was yesterday, and if everything works out, I’ll be applying through the advising office to earn credit for the experience. I was really surprised at how flexible the system is for interning; it’s clearly understood that businesses don’t operate on semesterly schedules, so I don’t have to begin the internship at the start of a semester, I just have to apply for credit for it before spending two weeks employed there. Even though the position I’m applying for is unpaid, I’m still really excited, since the experience will be invaluable in trying economic times. I’m not required to complete an internship for my degree, but I’ll be happy for the experience.

But with that, I’d better get going, I was planning on swinging by the gym before heading home. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to submit them.

-Kyle