Centuries before universities ever existed, people organized human knowledge into seven major categories known as the “Seven Liberal Arts.” When the first universities were chartered in the medieval cities of Europe, these were the main fields that were taught. The first North American universities, such as Harvard, Yale, and William and Mary, modeled themselves on the great English universities at Oxford and Cambridge, where undergraduate education was based on an updated understanding of the medieval concept of the liberal arts. Students accepted to such universities were (and still are) affiliated with a smaller unit within the institution, called a college. When smaller schools, such as Williams College, began to take shape, they resembled one of these subdivisions of the larger universities, and their curriculum also reflected those schools’ liberal arts emphasis. That is how we ended up with the strange-sounding term “liberal arts college.”

School size actually has very little to do with the definition of a liberal arts education. Although liberal arts colleges are small, a liberal arts curriculum can be found at a variety of institutions. Whether you study at a large state university or a tiny, private college, you will probably have to fulfill a range of breadth requirements in your first two or three years, including courses in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. These are the modern building blocks of the liberal arts education. In this respect, liberal arts schools are different from those with a highly focused and specialized curriculum, such as engineering schools or music conservatories.

At a liberal arts school, an art history major ends up spending some time in the biology lab or working calculus problem sets, and an astronomy major cannot avoid a dose of poetry and history. The benefits of this sort of education are many. Imagine that you disliked science all through high school, but when you sign up for “Physics for Nonmajors” your freshman year in college, you discover that you actually love physics and want to learn more about it. Or let’s take a less extreme example of the math major who enrolls in a Shakespeare course to fulfill a requirement and discovers an enthusiasm for theater that becomes a lifelong hobby. The journey of discovery that is a liberal arts education will enrich your approach to whatever career you pursue, because it will give you the ability to think broadly and insightfully across categories.

Ultimately, in any career, the people who rise to the top of their chosen field are almost always those who can think outside the box, challenge conventional wisdom, and synthesize information from diverse sources. The liberal arts are the boot camp for these skills.

When you know the dates you will be visiting a campus, check the college’s website under “Visiting” usually linked off the Admissions page.  You can get an idea of the times of campus tours, information sessions and admissions interviews.  Call the school to arrange a tour and an interview IF you are very interested to knowing more about the school.  Emails are not always answered in a timely manner through admissions, now most appointments are scheduled online.  College admissions offices DO NOT like drop in visits, so try to plan ahead. Colleges like you to book tours 3 WEEKS in advance.

Try not to visit more than two college campuses per day (Only exception would be cluster schools like the Claremont Colleges or the 5 College Consortia in Amherst).

1. When scheduling a time, be sure to find out where tours meet and write down the address.  It is always best to go when school is in session.  Program the Admissions address into your GPS (not the school address) and get parking directions to take along.

1. Download and print a campus map.  Try to find the Admissions or Tour meeting locale in advance.

3.   Arrive 10-15 minutes earlier than the tour.  Often you will be handed materials about the school, courses, majors, dorms, costs, etc. that you can read over before taking the tour or hearing the information session.  Better to be early than interrupt the presentation by arriving late.

4.  If a student wishes to stay overnight on campus, ask whether the Admissions Office will make those arrangements.  You can request to stay with an athlete or a student majoring in a specific area of interest.  Ask for the student’s email address to contact them before you arrive.

1. If family is traveling, ask for nearby hotel suggestions.  Many colleges have bed and breakfast or small inns on campus that are most convenient to stay.

1. At some schools you can request an admissions interview that is compatible with your tour. Usually the interview follows the tour so you can ask more informed questions.  If your parents accompany you, this is a good time for them to visit the financial aid office and find out about payments, fees, costs or scholarship information. Take your resume!!!

7.  After the interview is a good time to stop in to the cafeteria or bookstore to get an idea of the campus feeling.  Don’t be afraid to sample some of the food, and look around at what students are like (Details are important here.  Notice what students are wearing.  Do you feel comfortable in this environment?  Are they smokers but you hate smoke? ).  Take time to walk or drive around the nearby community.

8.  If there is a major or particular interest, or if you wish to visit an athletic coach, professor or specific department, you can make appointments with the individual you wish to see usually after the tour. This is typically done in advance via online registration (coaches) or a phone call to the department.

Tip:  Be sure to present the interviewer with your resume and try to talk about things you do or have accomplished. Try to remember: don’t wear jeans or shorts, especially to the East Coast schools.  Male students from the East Coast often wear sport coats, and female students wear skirts with nice shoes.

Watch college video tours of every major college in the US. Social network connects you with students, admissions, faculty, and alumni.

She is a certificated college-bound counselor, a specialized designation currently only offered by UCLA. Her experience covers financial aid, scholarship and merit money search, extensive work with personal assessments and important tools used in both college and career counseling. Additionally, she holds an M.A. degree in “Career Counseling and Personal Development”, and an MBA degree.

As a career counselor, Ms. Rifkin has worked with mid-life career-changers and career seekers alike. She is a member of Higher Education Counselors Association, Western Association of College Admissions Counselors, and the National Career Development Association.

After many years in the business world, she recognized a great need for counseling young people to not only prepare for college, but to think beyond and find a suitable career. She believes there is a right college and career match for every student; her specialty is helping young people find that match.

· Focused and personalized college search methods
· Personal assessment and interpretation
· Online resources
· Essay coaching
· Financial aid and scholarship information and search
· Application assistance
· Resume writing (for college admissions)
· Interview skills
· Campus tour

Choices for Career:

· Assessments for preferences and personality type
· Interpretation for assessments
· Coaching on how to conduct a search
· Information interviewing
· Resume writing
· Job skills coaching
· Interviewing techniques
· Online resources

Step 1 – “What do I want?”

Doing self-assessments that include values, desires, interests, activities, geographic location, personality (yours and the college’s) are some of the important things to consider.

Step 2 – “What’s out here?”

Exploration and search is a critical part of the process. This involves creating a list of possible schools and seeking colleges that are the best fit. The student must become involved in the research to gain the knowledge needed for an informed choice.

Step 3 – “What’s right for me?”

Now that the research and self-assessment are complete, it’s time to sort out location, school size, academic program, college majors, athletic opportunities, sororities and fraternities, rigor, affordability and all the specific aspects of your personal college choice.

Step 4 – “Where shall I apply?”

Narrowing the list of colleges to 8-9 schools can be challenging for the student. Grades, test scores, extra-curricular activities, essays, letters of recommendation, etc. all come together at this point in finalizing the colleges that might be best suited for the student. If the process has been well researched, it is easier to know what schools are the right ones for you.

From this point, the steps fall easily into place.