Getting in the College Mindset

For 16-year-old Morgan Walton, an interest in psychology may take her more than 2,800 miles away to the University of California, Berkeley.Although college is two years away for Walton, Duke Admissions shared with her and a crowd of more than 150 Duke employees and their children that it’s never too early to start creating a college list and meeting with counselors.“Kids want to relax in the summer because school has been stressful. Parents get anxious because their kids need to be doing something productive,” Christoph Guttentag, dean of undergraduate admissions, told the audience at the first of two “College Admissions 101” seminars this week. “And somewhere, there’s a happy medium in there. There’s not one particular thing you need to do, but you need to do what’s right for the student and what’s right for the family.”The Duke Office of Undergraduate Admissions offered the free program Tuesday and Wednesday to Duke employees with high school juniors or seniors. The seminars provided general advice about college admissions, as well as information about financial aid and the Duke Children’s Tuition Grant. The seminars did not focus on admission to Duke or any other specific college. Each session had between 150 to 170 attendees.“Both programs this year filled up all of the available slots within days,” Guttentag said. “The need and the interest are clearly there, and the response from participants has been overwhelmingly very positive, very appreciative, and we’re just delighted to be able to offer this.”Walton, the high school junior who wants to apply to University of California, Berkeley, said her dream is to open her own psychology practice. Part of that dream hinges on excelling during her last two years as an upperclassman and getting accepted into a good college, and as her mom, Sandra, puts it, the more they know about the college application process, the more that knowledge “helps ease the unknown.”“I want to make it as stress-free as possible,” said Sandra, who works as an administrative coordinator in the Duke Academic Council Office. She took notes throughout the seminar. “We’re just trying to learn as much as we can.”Fay Tripp, an occupational therapist in the Duke Eye Center, and her 16-year-old son, Christopher, also attended the seminar on Tuesday. He’s her first child to go to college, so preparing for that next step is completely new for their family.“I’m hoping to gain some direction on what to do now, in terms of college admissions and planning for college and just to cut down on the mistakes,” Fay said. Duke Admissions is planning a similar seminar in January for Duke employees with eighth- to tenth-grade students. Additional information will be provided in the coming months.