GVSU Laker Talk

Not much more to say

2010-12-23T08:18:00.001-08:00

When it’s all said and done, what is an education worth? A student spends four years in a college (on top of the twelve or so years it took to get there first), working away, spending time, money, and effort, and what does he or she receive at the end? Well, a diploma, if you’re looking for a physical, tangible product. And a degree, if you ask about something that’s not physical, but still pretty easy to understand. A college education certainly makes an individual a more lucrative employee; ask anyone and they will probably say that an educated workforce is good for everyone involved. But there’s more to it than that. A laundry list of intangible, nebulous benefits comes with a college education, and the vast majority of them have nothing to do with a slip of paper stating that you completed a series of course requirements.

College is an experience. On tours all the time I will say that “if a student just goes to class, goes back to their dorm, studies, sleeps, and repeats, college will probably be a boring time.” And I’m not just referring to relaxing and having fun (which are still important), but instead I’m talking about a little introspection and self reflection. Not to sound too philosophical, but college is one of those times when people young and old can “find themselves,” seeing as you spend four years trying a variety of classes or activities, and, in some cases, living on your own for the first time. I would go as far as to say that a college experience wouldn’t be complete without a little self exploration.

But education is still the goal of college; it’s called “higher education” for a reason. And yes, a professional education that focuses on a major and a presumptive career path is vital, but, again, there’s more to it than that. Universities date back pretty far, and the mode of operation hasn't really changed: people who want to learn come together to listen to the words of men or women who are wiser than they (admittedly, tuition has risen since the time of the Greeks, but who’s keeping track, right?). Someone spends all of this time studying and, in return, they learn. They learn a profession, learn how to solve problems, or learn about the world around them and how their choices or actions interact with that world. Though on this count I may be biased; having a liberal education lends itself more to a broad understanding of the world, if you ask me.

And, to be honest and simple, a lot of growing up happens in college. In a very pragmatic sense, college can teach a student how to become an adult. Not just if you're living on your own, but in a host of other ways. For the first time ever (in many cases), you’re paying for your education, whether through out-of-pocket money, loans to be paid back later, or scholarships earned and kept through good grades. No one is chasing after you to complete homework or spend time studying. A pretty large portion of my instructors have told my classes, “I want you all to succeed, and I will provide the tools to help you get there, but ultimately, that journey is on your shoulders.” There’s no designated “lunch period” or “free time,” you’re planning your own day out. The resources to succeed or catch up if you fall behind are readily available, but it is the student's responsibility to seek those out. It boils down to the fact that college is a process, one which is remarkably difficult to complete without growing into a hard working, mature individual.

Plus, it’s totally fun. Seriously, I wouldn’t go as far as saying “best four years of your life,” but if you make the most of it, it will be pretty far up there. And that’s kind of the centerpiece of this whole argument: college is what you make of it. 30 seconds ago, I said that college is a process, and I still say that it is, but it may be more accurate to call it an opportunity. It can be as great or as dislikeable as you want it to be, or anywhere in between. Someone always tells me that I should be a "glass half full" kind of guy, and that's true when looking at one's education, as well. Your experience depends upon what you want to get out of it, how hard you’re willing to work for it, and how you react to the results.

I know there are several, several more reasons why a college education is worth the time, effort, money that it costs, but I’ve already droned on and lectured all of you for way longer than I should. Since we’re in the middle of the holiday season right now, I suppose I should wish everyone happy times and a safe new year, and, as always, ask questions if you have them.

-Kyle

More photos

2010-12-23T07:25:00.000-08:00

I figured, since I'm more or less on my way out, I'd leave behind one more large set of photos. I wish I could say that I have some pictures of the downtown campus to share, but I'm afraid I don't. You'll just have to trust me when I say it's great. I should probably add the disclaimer that about 90% of these photos were taken five months ago; the campus sisn't this green in the middle of winter.

It's not a great angle, but this is an average classroom at Grand Valley; the average GVSU class is 28 students and one professor.

Here's a view from inside the Shakespeare Garden, one of my favorite spots on campus. You can't see it from this angle, but right next to me in this photo is a bust of William Shakespeare's head which, interestingly enough, was made by a member of the psych department.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Eh? Eh? Too much?

Some students playing some soccer in the Laker Turf Building.

The number 50 bus is the Campus Connector. During the weekdays, one of these buses comes through GVSU every six or seven minutes, and it takes about a half hour to reach the downtown campus.

Some students relaxing in The Connection.

What, no saxes?

Here's a hallway leading to the Neimeyer Great room.

The 20/20 Info Desk is the place to go (or call) with any GVSU related questions, or if you want to pick up free student athletic tickets. I don't actually know these two people behind it, but they were nice enough to say "sure, take a photo!"

And speaking of people on campus, here we are. Or at least our office, as seen from an elevator. Caitlin looks surprised.

The Carillon Plaza and Tower in the summertime.

Hopefully we'll get some images of the downtown campus up at some point, and maybe a few winter weather shots, but until then, this will have to do.

-Kyle

Commencement

2010-12-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

There's absolutely nothing special about this picture, and it has nothing to do with today's post, I just thought it looked nice

So here we are, on the last day of exams for the fall semester of 2010. It’s definitely quiet on campus, seeing as quite a few students are leaving or have already left for the holidays. As for myself, exams went pretty well. My senior project was submitted last week, I’ve been receiving feedback on presentations and tests, and there have been lots of end-of-the-semester festivities for clubs, organizations, and on campus jobs. Also, I graduated last week. I would shout “surprise!” but that doesn’t usually come through clearly in text. Did I just spoil the twist ending to this entry? Oops.

Well, as long as it’s fresh in my mind, I suppose it’s worth talking about. Commencement was last Saturday, which made coming back for exam week kind of weird, but what can you do. The event was at Van Andel Arena, and a shade more than 1000 seniors walked that day. It was actually pretty fun; I found another admissions student (she was walking for her masters in OT), found a few students I knew from classes, and listened to some commencement speeches. The recognition ceremonies for some of the distinguished faculty and the awarding of a pair of honorary doctorates was great, but the highlight (for me, at least) was the speech from former president Lubbers. It was fitting, since this fall GVSU celebrated its 50th anniversary, and while modern Grand Valley has been shaped by many hands, the work of Arend Lubbers played a very big role in the institution we see today. In 1969, when the university was still just Grand Valley State College, President Lubbers was 37, one of the youngest college presidents in the nation. Fast forward 32 years, to 2001, and he retired as the longest serving president of a public university in America. And from listening to him, anyone can tell that he had and still has a passion for the world around him, both as an educator and as a citizen. If you want to read/listen to his whole speech (it’s worth it), check out this link: http://www.gvsu.edu/gvnow/?articleId=F6841701-D940-0E19-D8717ED5AB0F18E9. There should be another link on that page to a youtube video of the address. But even aside from the great speech, it was very fulfilling to walk across the stage and acknowledge the hard work that went into getting there. I would encourage any student (at least any Grand Valley student) to walk at commencement.

And with that’ we’re drawing to a close on the last week of this semester and my college career. Admissions will still be open during most of next week, and I’ll still be here, so you can probably expect one more post (I’m not going to shut up just yet), but we are definitely nearing the end of the season. So post away if you have questions, and have a great weekend.

-Kyle

Faculty attention

2010-12-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

The main entrance to GVSU's Honors College (this picture actually relates to today's topic)

Here we are, at the end of the semester, with less than a week left of regular classes. Exams will start next week, on the 13th, and wow, am I ever not ready. This semester seemed to last forever up until the start of November, and now I can’t figure out where the time went to. Still, my first exam is on Monday, so that leaves six days for me to prepare. That’s still enough, right?

Finals worries aside, there was another topic that I wanted to bring up today, and that was the close attention that students receive from instructors on campus. This is one of my favorite subjects, and probably something that I already bring up so much that I bore everyone to sleep with it, but there are two stories from yesterday that I wanted to share. The first is an Honors related tale: yesterday morning, I dropped by the Honors office to clear up a few details regarding a recognition ceremony, something that I’ve been communicating with the office about by way of email. At first, I thought I would have to run through my entire story again to explain my issue, but the girl at the front desk stopped me about three words in and basically said “no, that’s okay, I know what you’re worried about.”
After kind of an awkward pause, I asked if it was because she knew me, and she very calmly replied “yep.” Which wouldn’t really be that significant, except that I don’t make it into the Honors office very often. I drop by every once in a while for senior project concerns, or to drop guests off to explore the facility or during scholarship competitions, but I don’t live in the structure, and as much as I love the Honors community, I don’t make it into the office very often. Yet despite all this, the staff in the buildings central office knew exactly who I was, without looking me up on file despite the fact that the total Honors population (freshmen through seniors, living in or out of the building) is pushing 1000. If that’s not an endorsement for quality of attention found in the Honors College, I’m not quite sure what is.

The second story relates to an individual class: for about the last month, one of my courses has been “out of class,” not because we haven’t been doing anything, but because the entire class has been taking part in a number of individual presentations with the professor during the time that the class would usually meet. Keep in mind that my presentation was on the first day, November 8, and we just received our evaluations and grades yesterday, December 6. I scored relatively well on it, but I had a few questions, so I walked with my professor while he was on his way back to his office, and talked with him as we moved. The impressive part was the fact that as we’re walking, my professor is talking to me about some pretty specific details regarding my presentation, which occurred 28 days ago, without me having to remind him of my subject or talking points.

So I guess the long story that I’m trying to make short here is the fact that a GVSU student is not, by any stretch of the imagination, just a faceless number (and my imagination can stretch pretty far). Faculty on campus go out their way to learn who their students are, and you mean more than just “seat #117, who got an 84 on his exam.”

But I’m on my way out, so as always, be safe, send in applications, and ask any questions you please.

-Kyle

Almost out the door...

2010-11-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

A lounge in the corner of South C Apartment Complex

Well, I suppose there’s time for one more update before the holiday. I hope everyone has a fun weekend (but restful certainly wouldn't hurt, either).

As long as I have the moment here, I wanted to mention how impressed I have been with a lot of the GVSU administrative staff lately. I’ve been interviewing several members of varying levels of administration over the course of this semester, and there are quite a lot of cool people working here. Aside from the fact that they’re all very enthusiastic about the jobs they do, I have a very strong understanding that the experience and welfare of the students at this university is top priority for them. I’ve had the chance to talk to a few staff members who have been here for quite some time, and it’s been very interesting to hear some of the stories of how the campus has changed or how the social atmosphere here has evolved, and most of them have more than a few humorous anecdotes to share. And that’s about all I have to say; just a little praise for Grand Valley administration. I’ve known for years now that GVSU has top rate faculty, and that the staff in dining, athletics, facilities and maintenance are some of the best you can find, but I didn’t realize until recently that this university is in as good hands as it is in terms of policy and direction.

All that aside, I think I speak for everyone in the admissions office when I say that we’re wishing all of you guys a safe and fun holiday weekend. Take care, and we hope to see some of you soon.

-Kyle

Odds and ends

2010-11-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

Some of the artwork inside Padnos Hall of Science (photos are back)

Well, the weather has certainly taken a turn for the colder, and with Thanksgiving break just around the corner, it means we’re at the end of the fall. You might say that it’s the autumn of… well, autumn, I guess. Anybody have big Thanksgiving plans? I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m just looking forward to having an extended weekend. Classes finish up on Tuesday of that week, but Admissions will be open on Wednesday, and then it’s four days off. But I wouldn’t say it’s all break that weekend, I still have a senior project on my mind.

So lately I’ve been working on a few other projects for the admissions office, and have had a chance to talk with a lot of current students in an informal capacity about GVSU and the services offered here. There’s been a lot of talk about activities on campus, meaning that it’s probably a good time to make an update on campus life. Clubs and student organizations have surpassed 320 at this point, meaning that there are no fewer than 320 ways to get involved on campus (and, as always, it only takes four students to start a new club). Athletic events are going quite well lately; we have the first football playoff game of the season on Saturday, and tickets are free (which is nice; I didn’t know for sure if playoff games were covered for students). It also looks like the Padnos International Center is having a few on campus events, such as information meetings for students considering study abroad programs or a study abroad photo contest. And with the holidays approaching, there are quite a lot of fundraisers and charity events ramping up on campus. Blanket drives, book/toy drives, and winter clothes collections, they’re all taking place in the coming couple of weeks. It’s nice to see the student body get as excited as they do for on campus events, and to see as much spirit as you can find on campus for athletics, but it’s also great when the student body joins together and reaches out to the community.

But things here are getting a little too sentimental for me, so I figure it’s a good time to sign off, before I need a box of tissues. Post any questions or any break plans you have.

-Kyle

Visits, interviews, and competitions

2010-11-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone, it’s been a little bit longer than I’d like, but things are back up and running smoothly again (hopefully). As always, it’s been a whirlwind of activity around here; our counselors are right in the middle of their travel season, so keep an eye out, you may have one of our representatives visiting you soon. If you’re interested in visiting the campus, definitely consider giving us a call soon; a lot of our visits are starting to fill in for the remainder of this semester. Not that I’m trying to rush anyone, since there’s still plenty of time to make final decisions on college (refund dates haven’t changed, it’s still May 1 to withdraw most deposits), I would just really encourage any student considering Grand Valley to get an application in. December 31 is the deadline for the merit award scholarships, but don’t think that you have to have visited the campus to apply.

As a last note on career services, they seem to be pay off for me. Maybe. The update here is in the fact that I had a major interview this morning, and all week long I’ve been asking advice of staff members and working with career services (I had a staged interview just this Wednesday). From the looks of things, this has all helped; the interview went pretty smoothly, but I’ll know in a couple weeks for certain.

As far as admissions events go we’re just around the corner from scholarship competitions. The deadline for these isn’t until December 31, but for anyone who has already applied for admissions, been accepted, and been notified of award qualifications, December 4 is the first day available and a great chance to get in and take care of your merit competition early.
But it’s just a quick update for today, and hopefully setting us back on your regular blogging schedule. As always, post any questions that you have, and let us know about any college visit plans.

-Kyle

Career counseling and other services

2010-10-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Happy early Halloween, everyone, I hope nobody’s overdosed on chocolate yet. I think trick-or-treating this year is a day early, on the 30th. I can understand that kids have school on Monday, but I still think it’s strange not celebrating Halloween on the 31st. Then again, I’m too old for trick or treating (or at least too old to get away with it), so I don’t suppose my ranting actually means anything.

Not that it has anything to do with Halloween, but I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the Career Service Center as of today. A potential employer told me yesterday to email a copy of my resume, and suddenly remembering the advice I always give younger students, I realized that I should really have someone look over my resume and give me some pointers. But I didn’t have an appointment, so last minute (this morning) I ran into the Career office and asked if anyone was available, and one of the career counselors had happened to have had a cancellation, so I managed to jump in on short notice. And wow, was that time well spent. It’s funny, because we played around with the format and style a little bit, and we definitely expanded on the important points of my education and work experience, but the core items and bullet points didn’t really change, we just kind of expanded them and explained the benefits to my pool of experience.

That’s a great example of how helpful and accommodating the Career Service Center is, the fact that they had the time so they jumped to fill me in, but most of the counseling services across campus will tend to be about that helpful. I’m sitting in the Admissions office at the moment, and one of our other tour guides just mentioned that he has a mock interview scheduled for next week, and that’s another function of Career Services, but the Tutoring Center is just beneath us as well as the Advising Center and Disability Services. Across the way from those three is the Counseling Center, who just finished a depression awareness program earlier this month for National Depression Screening Day. I haven’t noticed all of the student support offices until the last couple of years, but the truth is that there are quite a lot of services available to GVSU students; I’ve only started noticing them as I’ve made better use of them.

I do certainly hope that whatever plans everyone has for Halloween that everybody stays safe. Have fun, but don’t do anything you wouldn’t do any other night of the year, and make sure you guys are all still working on college requirements and keeping deadlines in mind. Do keep working on those college applications, don’t eat any home-made candy, especially if it comes from your parents. Seriously, Mom and Dad, just leave it to the professionals.

-Kyle

Midsemester blues

2010-10-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

I suppose you could say we’re right in the middle of fall semester at this point; the truth is, I never really keep track of the weeks. After the first couple classes some time goes by and then I’m just kind of surprised when someone talks about winter break. Maybe that’s just me, but I always seem to lose track of what's going on at this point in the semester. Although part of that may just be all of the activity at the moment in class and on the job; I had two exams last week, an ongoing, major class project I’ve been trying to dive into, and my senior project more or less looming over the whole thing. Here in admissions, we just had one visitation day last Saturday, and our next is this Friday. We’re also trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to generate a little interest in focus groups for current freshmen, hoping to better understand how well we’re doing in communicating with them as they prepare for college.

The weather has certainly been kind to us lately; it’s raining for the moment, but that’s little more than the punctuation at the end of about two weeks of gorgeous fall climate. Maybe I’m crazy here, but I love this time of year, and I think it’s one of the best times to visit campus. Aside from being beautiful outside without being too hot, visiting around this time will give students an opportunity to see the campus and still enough time to apply before deadlines start rolling in.

But I’m on my way out right now, so as usual, post any questions, and don’t hesitate to give us a call and schedule a tour of the campus.

-Kyle

Reminders for students

2010-10-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well, this is partly that I don’t have any big subjects to cover today, but it’s also convenient that now is a good time for some reminders and notifications, just so all of those potential students can keep an eye on the future. We’re about five weeks into the semester, and there are a few big events just around the corner. No deadlines have passed just yet, but a couple are on their way.

First things first, I want to remind everyone that there isn’t an application deadline per se; the admissions deadline is determined by a student’s desires as far as scholarships, housing, and orientation. As a rule, I always say that sooner is better than later for a student’s application for admissions (at least here at Grand Valley). Students can’t even sign up for orientation until after the new year, so we’ll skip that topic right now, but one reason for an early application is to be sure that you meet the scholarship deadline. Students who want to be considered for a couple of our automatic scholarships need to make sure that they have a complete application in by December 31.

Along those lines, if any seniors right now are planning to retake the ACT or have not yet taken it, there are a couple more dates you can do that. The October session is of note in particular, just because if a student takes the ACT then, there is still enough time for us to receive the scores by the scholarship deadline (just make sure you select GVSU as one of the schools you want the scores sent to). If you’ve already taken the ACT once, you may be hesitant to take it again (read: really don’t want to spend your Saturday in school taking a larger-than-normal test). From personal experience, you want to avoid this attitude. I took the ACT twice, and the second time my score only rose a couple points, but that was enough to bump me into a new scholarship bracket. Yes, it’s a terrible way to spend a Saturday, and I’m sure I hated doing it when I was a senior in high school, but I’m pretty happy about the money that I’ve saved over the last four years due to that new ACT score. But hey, that’s just my opinion, take it for what it’s worth.

The housing deadline isn’t until May 1, but potential students still want to be thinking about Grand Valley housing, because it’s all distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis, meaning the sooner you apply for housing, the more options that are available to you (students can apply for housing as soon as they’re admitted to the university).

Finally, I wanted to remind everyone that we have a couple of big events coming up soon, namely, the Student Visitation days. These will be large events held in the field house of the Allendale campus on Saturday October 16 and Friday October 22. There will be presentations from admissions, financial aid, and housing, as well as sessions with a wide range of academic departments, student panels, and tours of the campus. So it’s basically one stop for just about any questions you may have.

And one last note before signing off, be sure to leave enough time for your high school counselor to send us your transcripts. Even if you submit your application to us on one day, it doesn’t count as a complete application until we have all of the components (application, application fee, ACT scores, and high school transcript). Keep in touch with your counselors and keep an eye on how much time they need to process and send your transcripts. But that’s about it for today, ask any questions you’ve got on your mind.

-Kyle

Grand Rapids

2010-09-28T18:13:00.001-07:00

I suppose I would be surprised if I wasn’t saying this, but the start of this semester has been quite busy, the most recent weeks of which have been no exception. Classes have been in full swing for a while, clubs and organizations have already finished their first meetings, athletics have been doing quite well in several sports, and on campus events (rallies, concerts, guest lecture speakers) have been going strong for some time now. The weather, however, has been a little bit less consistent, but hey, I wouldn’t want anything other than variety in that category.

Lately, I’ve had my mind on the big city down the road. Grand Rapids, aside from being the home of our downtown Pew campus, is also a pretty active city. With a population around 190 thousand, it’s the second largest city in Michigan, and Grand Valley students have easy access to this city with free busing, and there is a lot to do in the city. Gerald R. Ford Museum is phenomenal, the restaurants are great (although you may need reservations for some locations), and there’s dancing and music in warm weather or ice skating in cool weather. I would say that the local art galleries and sculptures around the city are also great (which is true), but most of the buzz lately regarding art has come from Art Prize in the fall and the Festival of the Arts in the summer. Art Prize, in particular, is kind of a big deal, because it’s happening right now, and this year is already looking great. I’ve barely even scratched the surface of the tip of the iceberg myself, and that’s mostly because it’s huge this year. Over 1700 displays, in 192 venues spread across the city, making for one colossal festival of creativity.

What’s funny is that this post isn’t really even about Grand Valley. Sure, students basically have free, easy access to all that Grand Rapids has to offer, but anyone could also check out some of these events and locales. As much as I would like all of you readers to take this info into account as you weigh your college choices, I think anyone could benefit from a visit to Grand Rapids. But on that note I’m signing off, so post away if you have any concerns.

-Kyle

The value of a (GVSU) education

2010-09-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I won’t say things are slow at the moment. Last week was a day shorter than a usual school week, and it was still about as busy as could be. Which was kind of funny, since we didn’t have very many high school seniors visiting the campus, being the first week of high school for most of Michigan. I suppose that’s a sign that I just had a lot of class work right away (not that I’m complaining; I’d rather be active than bored). And we finished it off some athletic achievement, so there’s a plus.

Speaking of last week, someone on campus happened to talk to me about the merit of college on Thursday, and whether or not higher education was worth the cost. So is it really worth taking on heavy student loans to attend a college or university?

Yes. Easily. Everyone talks about how college grads will make more money over the course of their lifetime than high school grads, but instead of just writing that here and calling it good, I wanted some hard numbers. According to a 2002 report by the US Census Bureau, over the course of an (average) adult working life, a high school grad will earn about $1.2 million, an associate’s degree holder will earn $1.6 million, and a bachelor’s degree holder will earn about $2.1 million (again, these are all averages).

Of course these are just strictly economic benefits, and there’s a lot more to college than economy. I’m a far more critical thinker now than I would have been without a college education, and I definitely feel as though I’m a socially, politically, and culturally more aware person for my time spent at GVSU. That’s not counting the number of friends that I’ve made here or the connections that I’ve made with faculty who also work in their respective fields of study. And I don’t mention the experienced faculty just to say “look at how professional the professors are,” but to point out a general advantage of education in the first place. College is a location where students can gather and learn from others rather than from trial or error, making them far more prepared for the world ahead of them regardless of the path that they may choose. College is an investment, one where a student spends time, effort, and money in an institution which will allow them to enter into their professional lives at a higher level or perhaps even enter into a higher profession than if they had chosen not to attend.

In my opinion, Grand Valley presents this service of education in a far more extensive variation. I can’t speak to other universities, and whether or not they offer this same value, but with GVSU I feel as though this idea of education extends far beyond my professional life and into all facets of who I am. Yes, I will be professionally more able upon graduation, but I will also end up leaving this institution with an advanced understanding of myself; my social, emotional, cultural, political, and ideological values and the ways in which those interact with the world around me. If time spent at Grand Valley can be marked by one word, it would probably be “growth.”

Does that mean that it comes without a price? No. You still have to pay for college, and you still have to work pretty darn hard after you’ve paid for it, but in the end your education will pay you back beyond that which you’ve put in.

But I’ve already taken way longer to explain a topic that I could have just finished with “yes, trust me,” so I think that’s my cue to sign off.

-Kyle

Fall semester underway

2010-09-03T18:16:00.001-07:00

It has been an eventful week, to say the least. Classes started on Monday, the buses are back to a regular schedule, and campus dining is finally on its normal school year hours. Speaking of which, I had a chance to check out The Connection yesterday, the newest dining facility on campus, and calling it a nice building would be an understatement. I didn’t get a chance to eat there; I was just walking through taking photos, so keep an eye out for those in the future. I also took a quick spin through the newest housing units on campus; also a great addition.

It was a little bit rainy yesterday and today, but the Lakers won the first football game of the season, 34 to 31. Ladies soccer and volleyball have also had an impressive start to the season, both with wins this last week. Classes are definitely looking up this semester, for me at least. My senior project is still kind of a looming obstacle, but one that I’m looking forward to diving into. But I’m on my way out the door, at the moment, so it’ll just be a quick update today. Feel free to ask any questions, and everyone have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.

-Kyle

Move in week

2010-08-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

With class beginning on Monday, all of the freshmen student body finished moving into the living centers just yesterday. Maybe I’m just never there when it’s really hectic, but it always seems as though moving in goes remarkably smoothly. Traffic is usually funneled through one of the upperclassmen/commuter parking lots that isn’t in use yet, and from there families can drive right up to the structure into which a student is moving. After dropping the student off by the living center, parents or guardians can go park the car and come back to haul everything into the dorms. Which would be a huge hassle, if you were hauling all of those items yourself. Thankfully, GVSU has a wonderful move in staff to help all of the new students out. Volunteers range from housing employees, to faculty and staff, to current students. If I recall correctly, President Haas also made an appearance to help carry microwaves and bins of clothing up staircases.

After students are all moved in, they have a chance to participate in Transitions, a program loaded with icebreaking activities and chances to explore and familiarize you with the campus. Clubs and organizations pile into the Kirkhof Center to allow students to sign up, credit unions stop by to talk about student banking, and RAs take the time to get to know their residents. The poster sale always takes place around this time in the Carilon Plaza, but I was kind of disappointed; I didn't get a chance to swing by and see what was available this semester. The dining hours are still not quite back to normal, but food is available at pretty regular hours across the campus.

On a different note, changes seem to be a running theme here in admissions. Among other things, there are quite a few new handouts, materials, and information for potential students, and several new faces in the office. But I hope you guys all enjoyed the summer, and are looking forward to a new school year.

-Kyle

Updates and changes

2010-08-19T14:20:00.001-07:00

With fall classes right around the corner, activity around campus is picking back up to the regular fall schedule. Sports camps are taking place all this week, freshmen will move into the living centers next week, and fall semester begins August 30. So to make a long story short, summertime is at an end. Can’t say I’ll miss the heat, but there’s something to be said about missing the general feeling of a summer break.

Still, I’m excited for classes to start, because, quite frankly, I could use a few changes around here. I still have to buy my textbooks, so I’m hoping that used versions are still available. I usually procrastinate when it comes to my school supplies, so do as I say and not as I do: buy your books and supplies early.

With the freshmen class moving in next week, there’s a lot of last minute cleaning being done. New lights are being put up in the housing area, fresh paint on all of the field house doorframes, and a lot of landscaping. This time of year also means, unfortunately, that tours on campus will no longer have access to all three styles of housing; they’ll only see the apartment style. Today was actually the last day that the tour guides even had keys for all of the living styles. Still don’t feel like you’re missing out if you didn’t physically visit all of the options, just be sure to ask your tour guide to describe the other options, as just about all of them can give pretty vivid accounts of the styles they lived in or what they’ve seen of the other options. Also, be sure to check out the housing website since all of the choices for an incoming student are listed online.

We’re also going to start a slightly different schedule up here on the third floor, beginning with the start of classes. We won’t be offering GVSU previews every day any more, but we still have standard tours five days a week and counselor appointments based on availability. A few weeks into the fall we’ll begin having previews two or three times a week, but we’ll also have Saturday visits available starting on the 11th of September.

At this point, though, I’m pretty much out of info for today, so I think I’ll sign out. Post away if you have any concerns, and be sure to enjoy the rest of the summer.

-Kyle

The cost of higher education

2010-08-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Without too much intro today, I thought it might be smart to mention the cost of attending GVSU, mostly because I’ve been working with our financial aid office a little, taking care of loans for next semester. But before covering anything I should make a quick disclaimer: I am not a financial aid advisor. I’m in no way, shape, or form capable of giving any financial advice, student related or otherwise, and, frankly, wouldn’t want to be responsible for someone else’s choices regarding money. I just thought it would be great to give a student’s eye view of the costs. Seriously, if you’ve got questions, give our financial aid office a call, because I don’t really know any situation other than my own.

All of that aside, cost is something that I should have covered sooner, because if a student acts fast enough, they can reduce it by a lot. The cost of attending Grand Valley is broken into four components; tuition and required fees, room and board, books and supplies, and stuff you don’t actually have to pay. As you may have guessed, the last one is optional.

All of the numbers I’ll mention here are based off of the 2010-2011 school year, and will typically change from year to year. Tuition can seem a little complex at first, but it’s really not. Students pay a per credit amount for zero to twelve credits at $395 per credit, but just a block rate for twelve to sixteen (meaning that taking sixteen costs the same as taking twelve). The block rate is $4544, so a student with 13 credits and a student with 16 credits both pay $4544. If a student takes eighteen credits, they pay the block rate, plus the cost of two extra credit hours (meaning $4544 plus $790).

Room and board and books and supplies are far more variable than tuition, depending on where you live and what classes you take. There are way too many housing options for me to list them here, but if you’d like to see them all, definitely check our housing website or search “tuition and fees” from the GVSU homepage. Typically, though, housing for a freshman will cost between about $3700 and $4200, depending on which living center you choose (that cost includes the 14+ meal plan). We also suggest setting aside about $900 for books and supplies, but again, this depends on what books you’re using and whether or not you got the message about printing on campus (it’s free, don’t bother buying ink).

Which brings us to costs that you don’t have to pay. These are just items that are available to students, but you don’t need them. You don’t even need them to get a totally fulfilling experience here at GVSU. For instance, a parking permit costs $155 per semester, but there’s a free busing system. Fitness classes cost about $20 or $25 per semester, but just using the gym is free. Some club sports have travel costs associated with them, but there are some intramurals with no cost. You get the picture.

In total, an average student for the 2010-2011 school year can expect to pay $17,612 if they take 12-16 credits and live on campus. But bear in mind that this is what you might consider a “sticker price,” or the cost of GVSU before grants, scholarships, and loans, not to mention whatever a student receives after filling out the FAFSA. So even though $17,612, it’s very unlikely that any student will pay that total in any given year.

And with that, I’m going to wrap things up here. Post any questions you have, but don’t hesitate to give GVSU’s financial aid office a call, as well.

-Kyle

Technology, computers, and labs

2010-08-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

Getting right down to business today, I thought I should discuss technology across campus (mostly because I’m sitting in a computer lab at the moment). I may or may not have covered this topic previously, but at this moment I’m not feeling the urge to sift through a year and a half of posts to find out for sure. As far as access to technology on campus goes, GVSU is certainly not lacking. There are multiple computer labs across campus, with two large facilities in Henry Hall and Manitou Hall, as well as a facility in Lake Ontario Hall that houses both Mac and PC labs, and a myriad of other, smaller locations. For example, there is an entire row of classrooms on the second floor of Mackinac Hall devoted to small computer labs, and, in the same building, we have the Modern Language Center, a large, three room lab for students with foreign language classes. There are also labs on the downtown campus, with at least six rooms of computers, and a mixture of operating systems. The hours aren’t half bad, either; Henry Hall, for instance, is open until 1:00 AM weekdays during the fall/winter semester, and while the other labs still have great hours, they’re not quite as convenient as Henry is.

All that being said, though, I do kind of encourage a student to buy their own computer. It is most definitely not a necessity here at Grand Valley; any student could easily survive off of GVSU resources. But I would definitely call it a convenience, and while it’s not required of students at GVSU, I would say that (in my opinion) it is becoming a norm for Americans to own a personal computer beyond college. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, you are not required to purchase your own computer to attend class at Grand Valley State University, I just think that it’s helpful to have one. But I do really discourage most incoming student from buying a printer right away, because printing is free for students on campus. No lab fee, no charge for paper or ink, no page limit, all you need is your GVSU login.

If you do buy a computer, understand that we have no requirement in terms of operating system. So whichever side you identify with on those “I’m a PC, I’m a Mac” commercials, just choose whatever you’re most comfortable with. Laptops are helpful, since all of the classroom structures are wireless, but they aren’t a requirement, and each instructor can choose to or choose not to allow laptops in class at their own discretion. But all of the academic centers have wireless internet, so it is possible to access the internet from any given classroom. A majority of housing has wireless internet, but not 100%. All of the living centers, however, do have Ethernet outlets, so every room has internet access, it’s just not always wireless.

Well, that's about it for today, but as usual, post any questions you have.

-Kyle

Bonus pictures

2010-08-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

At this point we're returning to your regularly scheduled blog, but I'v got a handfull of images that weren't included in previous entries. They aren't really connected in any way, shape or form, but I took them, so I figure it's worth using them.

Here's a nice view of the Kirkhoff Center, Carillon Tower, and Student Service Center. It probably wouldn't look bad on a post card.

I'm not sure why, but I love the stained-glass paper airplanes. These are in Kirkhoff, right in the middle of the building.

There's also a small fountain on the inside of Padnos Hall of Science, right next to the lecture halls.

Here's a quick look at the great room in Neimeyer Living Center. All of the housing units have these commons areas, but each one is slightly different.

I'm not sure why, but there's an obelisk right in the middle of the campus. It's next to Fresh Foods company, which is geographically pretty close to the center of the campus.

And here's the last photo I took. It has nothing to do with Grand Valley in any way, shape, or form, and for the life of me I can't remember why I asked to have it approved, but it's a photo that was taken by me on campus, so here it is.

-Kyle

Pictures part 2

2010-07-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's day two of photos. And yeah, it's sort of "facilities on campus," but it's also mostly "more pictures, yay." So here we go.

It's probably worth it to start with a familiar sight. Coincidentally, this angle of the Carillon Tower is also a really popular view for GVSU brochures.

The University Book Store can be found inside the Kirkhoff Center, where you can pick up textbooks, campus apparel, study supplies, etc.

The largest classrooms on campus can be found in Loutit Lecture halls, part of Padnos Hall of Science. The max occupancy of these rooms is right around 200, but the largest class I've ever seen listed was around 160 or 170 students, and those will break into discussion groups once a week. We don't usually get to show these lecture halls on the tour, just because classes are typically taking place here, but at least here's one view of it.

Here's another view of Mackinac Hall, our largest classroom structure. Among other things, Mac houses the math department, statistics, history, and modern languages.

Fresh Foods Company, a buffet style dining hall, is my personal favorite spot to eat on campus, but it's just one of the many locations that a student could spend their meal plan. It's also conveniently next door to Mackinac Hall.

Speaking of Campus Dining, here's a look at the outside of Kleiner Commons. While it's not a buffet style hall, it's very convenient; located in the middle of freshmen housing, and the main cafeteria there is open until midnight (the convenience shop is 24/7)

Here are two of our athletic facilities, with the outside of the rec center on the top and the pool on the bottom. Both of these are free for student use.

Here's a quick look at the inside of the library. We can't show the library on the tour, because it's a quiet structure.

And to finish up, here's a glance at the inisde of the honors college. The main office for the structure is down the left hallway, just past the staircase

But, I'm off, so send a question if you've got it.

-Kyle

Pictures, part 1

2010-07-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

If you remember, back in May or so I alluded to doing something new and relatively big. Flash forward to now, and now there are photos on the blog. I figure it's a refreshing change from about a 15 month wall of text, but it's mostly because I'm drawing a blank on a subject worth talking about. I was thinking about starting with landmarks and landscapes on the campus, and then moving on to facilities on campus, but it will probably just turn into "pictures this week" and then "pictures on the next week."

The Student Service Center is where our admissions office is located, and typically one of the first sites incoming students see.

The fountain is one of my favorite spots on campus, but I wouldn't suggest dancing in it with any friends.

The Carillon Tower is another recognizable sight on campus.

Here are two different views of segments of Mackinac Hall, the largect academic structure on campus.

This is a hidden courtyard, somewhere in the middle of the Neimeyer Living Center, part of the Honors College.

Here is the Transformational Links sculpture, as well as a little courtyard in the middle of the Neimeyer Living Center.

And finally, here's a nice view of Zumberge Pond, which lies between Zumberge Library and the Kirkhoff Center, with the tower visible in the background.

Looking back, I'm sure I could have just as easily pulled promotional photos that looked better off of the website and filled them in, rather than taking my own, but hey, where's the fun in that?

-Kyle

Student employment

2010-07-08T13:56:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Independence Day, preferably without too much Will Smith included. As summer marches along, we might as well mention student employment.

The two things that college students seem to typically have in short supply are time and money. Which works just fine for student employees, because the work load is usually very manageable, but still provides a steady source of cash. During the academic year, GVSU employs between 2500 and 3000 students for on campus jobs. These can range from working in campus dining to monitoring the rec center, from landscaping to tutoring, and even working as a campus tour guide (a position held by yours truly). The pay for all of these positions varies, and while I know a few rates, I don’t know them well enough to post here.

If you’re interested in working on campus, one of the best things you can do is check out the Employment web site. Just head over to www.gvsu.edu/studentjobs or search “student employment” from the home page, and it’s really easy to sign up from there. On the web site is the university’s Job Board, an exclusive posting of GVSU on campus jobs and students looking for jobs (though there are a few instances where off campus employers can also post there). That’s the best first step, but the best second step is to physically walk around campus and ask different employers if there are positions available, and apply in person (which is how I found both of the campus jobs I’ve had). We also encourage students to apply early for on campus jobs, as they will tend to go very quickly in the fall. This seems to set incoming freshmen at a disadvantage, since you guys won’t be here until the Fall Semester, but realize that you can apply for a job during the summer preceding the fall that you would be employed.

Another common question is “can I qualify for work study?” And the answer is “maybe,” but not everyone really understands how work study works at Grand Valley. Here at GVSU, work study is a form of need based financial aid; in so many words, if you qualify for it, the government will subsidize a portion of your wages, meaning that even though you get the same paycheck, GVSU pays for less of it, making you a pretty lucrative employee.

A lot of students are also unsure if they should even take on a job, being a full time student. The best answer here is that you should evaluate your own situation and determine how well you can balance your time, but the employment website also cites studies that show that work and learning go hand in hand. Additionally, on campus employers realize that you are a student first, and your schedule and workload are based around your classes. Finally, don’t think that the only jobs are on campus; between Standale, downtown Grand Rapids, and Rivertown Mall, not to mention everything inbetween, there are plenty of businesses where a student could work during the school year.

But that's about it, so go ahead and post any questions.

-Kyle

Midsummer (Night's post? No?)

2010-06-28T13:02:00.001-07:00

If there was ever a beautiful day to visit a college, you could say it’s today; sunny, with just a little cloud cover, a nice breeze, just a little warm for my tastes, but I’m not complaining. The summer semester is about two weeks in, and orientation is on a short break. Which doesn’t mean that there isn’t work to be done; there’s a lot of catching up being done on behind the scenes tasks. It just means that there aren’t quite as many visitors on any given day as there would be during orientation. Still, freshmen will come back and start registering in a couple of weeks, and summer session will continue rolling along, so you could say that we’re kind of at the midpoint of the summer.

The construction on campus is looking great, it just looks as though some of the buildings will need to be cleaned out, but the new dining hall and housing structures look to be pretty much done. I’m really looking forward to the new dining hall; as much as I love the current locations, a little variety never hurts. But most of all I’m just excited to check out the interior architecture of the building, and the dining room layout.

On a personal note, my internship is going great; things have been a little slow over there for the first half of the summer, but it’s really picking up over the next couple of weeks. Combining that with work here in Allendale, plus getting prepped and starting the initial research for my senior project means that I’m a pretty busy guy. But I certainly don’t mind. Speaking of which, I should probably wrap up and finish some other jobs around the office, there’s still a lot to be done.

Let me know if you have any questions.

-Kyle

Advice from admissions students

2010-06-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m feeling rather lazy today, so rather than come up with a topic to write about myself, I decided to ask some of the other tour guides what they would tell incoming students. So as a result, today you get “College Advice 101” from Leslie and Caitlin.

Leslie said that the defining feature of her experience was that college is a lot of fun, and one should enjoy it and take the time to take it all in. Yes, classes are pretty important; in fact, they’re the central reason that one would attend college, but there are more facets to time spent at a university than academics. Also, she wanted to let students know that GVSU creates a great sense of community amongst its students. Whether it’s through classes or housing arrangements, or perhaps through clubs and organizations, one of the best features here at Grand Valley is the ability to be a part of a welcoming, friendly, and active body of students and peers.

Caitlin echoed Leslie’s advice, but with a slightly different twist. Her advice was for students to get involved across the campus (although this is really applicable no matter where you go for higher education). College probably won’t be an enjoyable experience for someone who simply goes to class and then just goes back to their dorm/apartment. In order to really enjoy the experience she (as well as most students you’ll talk to) suggests being a part of activities beyond the classroom. Whether this is a club, a study group, or just a group of friends who you can spend time with, it’s important for a student to break out a little and see all that a college has to offer. Her second piece of advice was to take advantage of your resources; if you are struggling, it’s not tough to find help. Tutoring is free for all 100 and 200 level classes, there are a number of help offices across the campus for different departments, and students have free access to academic, career, and personal counseling. Even if you’re just struggling to get involved on campus, that’s not a problem; just drop by the student life office or website, and they can help you find an organization you might be interested in.

And just so I don’t seem too uncommitted, my advice is for any student who will be a senior this fall to start their college visits soon and see a lot of places. Not that I’m trying to put pressure on you guys, but there are a lot of options out there for post high school studies, and if you look around during the summertime, you have less to worry about once school starts in the fall. Plus, as much as I love Grand Valley and love taking classes here, I know it’s not a perfect fit for everyone, and even though I’d love for all of you readers to come here for college it is important to see a wide variety of options and choose what fits you best. Also, I strongly suggest that you guys never think to yourselves “college isn’t for me.” Sometimes students are concerned about the academic challenge, or the financial burden, or simply don’t want to spend any more time in school, and I really recommend that those students reconsider. A college degree is a vital asset when filling in a resume or a job application, and there is assistance available for any and all of the above objections for attending college (at least at GVSU).

But, I think that’s a good place to finish. We all hope to see you guys come by for a visit sometime, and hopefully you’re enjoying your summer so far.

-Kyle

Renovation, construction, and other stuff

2010-06-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

With June in swing, things are starting to get busy again in this office; most high school juniors will be finishing up in the next couple of weeks, so we’re expecting a lot of you guys to come by and visit the campus. Things are a little quiet around campus right now, students are just finishing the spring semester, but there’s a lot going on locally.

The Festival of the Arts was just last weekend downtown, which was great for the city. I was able to see a little of the festival; my internship had me working at an event in the gallery, but I still had a little bit of time to investigate other events and exhibitions.

Since summertime is in bloom, so is construction across campus, mostly just a few renovation/cleanup projects. The Commons roof is being redone, Kirkhof Center’s main entrance was refaced, the pool lobby is being fixed up, and a couple of the smaller bridges and walkways on campus are being taken care of. As far as big projects go, a couple that should be finished up this fall, south campus dining and housing, in particular. Half of the new dining hall will be open as early as August, I think, with the rest opening up when the school year starts. The new housing will be finished this fall as well, but I can’t recall for the life of me who will be living in those facilities. There’s also a new project along the western border of the campus. I don’t really know any details on the project, but I think it’s going to be an outdoor turf facility, which would be great for soccer, lacrosse, and rugby, and just nice I suppose for general student use. I think it will be done by the fall, but again, I haven’t heard any of the details on that project.

But I’m about to head out of the office and grab some lunch, so if there are any questions, post away.

-Kyle

Focus on the finish grant

2010-05-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

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

Finals week... again

2010-04-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

I’ve decided that I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with exam weeks. On the one hand, there’s a lot less required class time, since we only meet once this week for the exam. On the other hand, I have to do about twice as much time outside of class for studying, just by virtue of it being exam week. Or at least I should do that much extra time, I suppose you’ll have to ask me next week about the time and effort I wind up putting into my studies compared to the results that I get out of them. But we are in the middle of another set of finals, and I’ve come to realize that I’m starting to live my life in semesters. I don’t think of it in years, or count months, it’s like my year is made up of two 16-week halves with a surprise break every summer.

Finals week also means book buy-back, which is also usually nice. Again, I suppose you’ll have to ask me next week, as I’m still using three of my textbooks and don’t know how much they’re worth. On top of that, I may keep one of the books. My capstone class has been pretty difficult, but also very educating, so I may keep that one for future reference. Still, it’s money that I didn’t have before, so I’m not complaining. Another nice bonus of finals week is the 24-hour schedule for the library; it’s certainly not the only study-spot on campus, but I would go as far as to say that it’s the best. Though I do wind up spending a lot more time in the Grand Rapids campus library, rather than the Allendale location.

Finals week also usually feels kind of odd, in that there’s only this week left in the semester. Maybe I’m strange, but I don’t usually count down the days until class is out, so I feel like I’m always surprised when one session is over and the next begins. Speaking of which, after this week there’s going to be a week of nothing, followed by spring classes. Spring/summer semesters are always really interesting; I’ve only taken classes during this period once and didn’t mind it, but the accelerated 6-week semester is a lot more fast paced than a usual period. Also, it’s pleasant to get out of class and then consider going to the beach.

But I had probably better get going, after I finish up work I’ve still got three exams to study for and a final paper to review. Let me know if anybody has any concerns.

-Kyle

Week before finals

2010-04-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well, this “big thing” I mentioned a couple weeks back is kind of taking longer than I thought, so for the time being it’s on the back burner. Have I dropped the idea altogether? No, I’ve still got something special planned, but we may not see it here for a couple more weeks.

So what is going on at the moment? Quite a lot. It’s the week before finals, so everybody is busy in classes with final projects and exam reviews. I’ve got an easier exam schedule this semester; four, as opposed to the six I had last semester. That doesn’t mean the classes are easier or I have fewer final deliverables to take care of, it just means I only have four exams next week. Final papers and the like are being taken care of this week, I’m just happy that next week is a little bit lower stress than previous semesters.

I do also have a pretty important update for you guys: if anyone will be visiting here from the east side of the state, you’re going to want to leave yourself a little extra time when driving to Allendale. Whether or not you’ve noticed, I-196 is under heavy construction, and the entire segment between Fuller Ave. and US 131 is completely closed down, so we’re encouraging visitors to leave an extra half hour or so to get here. The best way to do so is probably to either continue along I-96, past the 196 onramp until you reach 131, or else to avoid the entire thing by taking M-6. But then again, I’ve gotten myself lost before on a straight road, so you probably don’t want to take directions from me.

Hope everybody’s ready for nice weather, because it certainly seems to be on its way. But as always, don’t hesitate to ask any questions,

-Kyle

Common college application myths

2010-04-10T11:56:00.001-07:00

Given that we have a quiet moment this Saturday, now’s a great time for an update. What’s today’s topic, you ask? Common college application myths sounds like a good subject, so let’s go with that.

Specifically, a lot of students have objections to applying based on myths they’ve heard, so why don’t we clear the air on a few of those. Three of the more common concerns are the cost of applying, essays and letters of recommendation, and grades. First off, the application process is a pretty low cost endeavor; there’s a $30 one-time application fee that is nonrefundable, but if a high school counselor can show financial need, that fee can be waived. The other major fees, $150 for housing and $95 for orientation, are both refundable up until May 1. Other student worry that their grades aren’t high enough or they don’t have the proper high school schedule, and while we do have recommendations for incoming students, they are not carved in stone. The admissions counselor’s take a very holistic approach to reviewing applications, which kind of goes hand in hand with myth #3. Students will often ask if there is a letter of recommendation or an essay required for the application. Nope, it’s a pretty pain free application, just about four pages of questions. That being said, if there is any other information or materials you want to provide us with (including an essay, should you wish) to help inform us of a larger picture we will accept and review it with your application. A rigorous schedule, lots of extracurriculars, if you let us know about any of these, they will play a part in your application.

Another objection is “it’s too early for me to apply.” Not always true; students are able to apply as soon as they finish their junior year, and the earlier a student applies the better. Applications are reviewed beginning at about mid-September, but when students are admitted early, they are able to apply for housing earlier and (if they applied before December 31) have access to a number of scholarships, depending upon GPA and ACT. And again, most deposits can be refunded should a student change their mind on colleges.

Finally, I wanted to address a pretty big and very damaging myth about first generation college students. A lot of these students believe that there’s no point in attending a university, either because they feel that they can’t or because those around them haven’t. Fortunately, one of our student employees in the office, Cortney, is a first generation student, and she said the following:

“If you’re the first student in your family thinking about college, it’s all the more reason to go. You have an opportunity to not only influence those around you to achieve more now, but to set a precedent for everyone else in your family to continue your hard work. Especially if other people tell you that you can’t do it; there were a few individuals in my life who said I wouldn’t be able to make it, but with some help from scholarships I have a lot more doors opening for me now and in the future. I’ve met people and had experience that I wouldn’t have been able to without attending college.”

So there you have it, I tried to avoid Mythbusters jokes, but hopefully that enlightens you guys as to the truth about some common college myths, clearing out some negative misconceptions, and hopefully encouraging some students who may not have been thinking about applying to submit an application. But not all college myths are false; that one about Transformational Links on the Allendale Campus? Totally true, it’s bad luck to walk underneath it.

-Kyle

Spring break pt. 2

2010-04-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

Being the first of April, I was sorely tempted to write something along the lines of “I will no longer be writing for this blog,” but then I realized that I was going to be posting something new in the near future, so I’d rather hold on to any readership available. Still, I’ve yet to see a good April 1st joke today, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Most high schools will be taking Spring Break next week, which means that we are quite busy; a lot op people want a chance to get in for tours and meetings at times that they won’t have to skip school. And if you’re leaving Michigan for the break, you would seem to be less fortunate than spring breakers normally are. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous for over a week, so it’s not as if you’re escaping something bad. Staying home and relaxing would not be a bad decision this year. Speaking of which, does anyone have any special plans for break? Cruises, overseas travel, or inter-state vacations?

So you may have picked up on it from above, but I do have something new in mind for this blog. I won’t say anything right now, because I’m not totally sure if it will come together, but just keep your eye out here in the next couple weeks, you may see something a little different.

But in the meantime, that’s all, and I’ll see all of you next time.

-Kyle

Studying overseas

2010-03-19T14:46:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather, at least those of us in West Michigan, because it definitely feels as though winter is over. I wanted to write about studying abroad today, and, since it’s a lengthy subject, I figured I’d just dive right into it. I have not gone overseas myself, so I’m not speaking from experience here. Actually, the truth is that I have the study abroad brochure open in front of me, so just about anything that you’re about to read can be found elsewhere. Not that I don’t appreciate your readership, but seriously, this isn’t exactly a point of expertise for me. And that is actually something that I do regret to some extent; I feel as though I’ve missed out on a pretty fundamental experience in college. Especially because so many of the other admissions employees have spent time overseas, in Spain, France, and Belize, to name a few.

There are always a lot of objections that students sometimes have for studying abroad, all of which may be well intended, many of which are easily avoided. The first two are always cost and the impact on graduation date. It is true that some overseas programs will carry a higher cost than a semester at Grand Valley (a fact that is also true on the other side of that coin; some programs are less expensive), but in most cases a majority of scholarships and financial aid received to attend GVSU can be applied to a program abroad. This is in addition to grants and scholarships available specifically for studying abroad, both GVSU financed and privately funded. As far as the second concern goes, studying overseas will not set a student behind if they organize their courses carefully. Credit earned abroad can be applied to a major or minor, general ed. requirements, or be part of a student’s theme. In fact, one of the advantages of studying overseas is that students can use the opportunity to create their own theme, taking all three of the courses abroad or taking some at GVSU and some overseas, effectively catering their theme to the experience. Another frequent concern is the time commitment required, and students should understand that they can take programs as short as a couple of weeks or as long as a year.

As far as the programs offered by the Grand Valley, there are essentially three forms. Partnership Programs are what people traditionally think of as studying abroad, where students take courses over a summer, a semester, or a year. Faculty Led Programs are generally done over the summer, and can last anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months. With this option, students will travel with a GVSU faculty member and a handful of students. The third option is an overseas Internship Program, where students can gain work experience abroad. There is additionally a fourth option: if GVSU can’t offer a program that will meet your needs, it is possible to partner with non-GVSU institutions to set up an experience that works for you. In terms of choices, according to the International Center, there are 17 different nations students can visit, in six of the seven continents (my apologies to penguin enthusiasts, Antarctica isn’t an opportunity), and many of these countries have more than one university students can choose to attend.

But I’ve pretty much exhausted my slender knowledge on this topic, though I still can’t stress enough that any student should at least consider spending some time abroad, or at least more than I did. All the same, if you’ve got questions regarding overseas opportunities, feel free to post them and I can do some research to find an answer, or definitely feel free to drop by the International Center’s website.

-Kyle

Spring Break

2010-03-11T13:45:00.001-08:00

Well, it has certainly not been busy this past week. Not that I’m one to complain about having it easy, it’s just a little unusual to go from the hustle of normal life on campus to Spring Break, with hardly anything going on. On the bright side, everything’s back to normal on Monday, and this is a great chance to recharge from a half semester of school work thus far. Plus, we’ve had great weather so far; it looks like it’s about to rain, but the temperature is at least warm.

I don’t have particularly much to say at the moment, but figured it might be worthwhile to bring up Student Visitation Days. We have two dates coming up when students can drop by the campus for what is essentially a morning long sequence of information sessions. The event begins at 9:30 (check in is shortly beforehand), and goes until about 1:00 if I recall correctly. It’s a great chance to hear some presentations from the admissions office, financial aid, housing, and a couple of different academic departments. It definitely represents a larger group visit (I think somewhere between 150 to 200 visitors are expected), so there is less opportunity for individual questions, but that doesn’t mean that the opportunity is gone altogether. We do like to make sure that visitors leave without any questions in their minds, so don’t hesitate to ask us either before or after the sessions on that day. Currently, there are two scheduled for this spring: March 26 and April 9. This is a great event for high school juniors to attend, since many of them may not quite be sure what to look for yet in a college, but are still interested in what features a university might have. As for seniors, I might encourage you to give our office a call and set up an individual appointment. With some of the important deadlines approaching or already behind us, it might be a good idea to have a more “one-on-one” type of meeting. Though if you feel as though one or the other might serve your needs more, feel free to ignore my advice; you guys certainly know your situations better than I do. But give us a call if you want to reserve a spot for either type of event. And, as always, don’t hesitate to post questions.

Quiet Friday

2010-03-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

Wow, hectic is an understatement at this point. I apologize for the lack of updates in recent history; time is a commodity that I don’t seem to have enough of lately. But, on the bright side, we’re now at the start of Spring Break, so I have an entire week relaxation. Except for the fact that I’m still working all week. Which isn’t a complaint, seeing as I have no serious schoolwork for the week, but it is a humorous statement that I’d rather stay home and work than go somewhere nice. In all fairness, though, the weather has a bit of a push in that respect. We’ve had about a week of gorgeous weather, which is a welcome change from the up-and-down unpredictability of Michigan Winters.

So, getting back to business, I’m mostly updating to remind High School seniors that they should definitely start making decisions on colleges at this point. Nothing has to be finalized just yet, but there are a few deadlines that are either coming up or already past. The housing deadline, for instance, was this last Monday, March 1st. If you missed that, and haven’t signed up for housing yet, it doesn’t mean that you can’t live on campus, it just means that we can no longer guarantee a spot for you in the freshman living centers. March 1st is the date before which we know we can fit all of our admitted students into housing, so if you haven’t signed up for housing, don’t panic just yet, but I would still encourage getting your choice and deposit in soon. Housing will start filling up relatively quickly, but we can still refund your deposit up to May 1st.

I don’t have the same deadlines to worry about that a lot of you readers do, but there are still a few dates keen on my mind. Most of the ones lately have been for tests; I’ve had a fair few in the last couple of weeks, not to mention presentations and group projects. Long story short, it’s most definitely “crunch time” in terms of school work. It’s kind of strange, but the bus ride to and from the downtown has more or less become my time to “decompress.” It’s kind of therapeutic to have that half hour to myself, with no worries until I make it to Grand Rapids. Not that my life is all that stressful, but this last week in particular has been quite a whirlwind. I’ll try to make sure to give an update next week, to fill you guys in on Breaks here on campus, but until then, don’t hesitate to post questions or comments.

-Kyle

Career services

2010-02-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

After a pair of pretty busy weeks, we’re back in business. I’ve had a couple of stressful stretches of class, but I’ve got a little break for the time being, and figured it was about time for an update.

The weather on campus has been pretty varied for the last couple of weeks; everything from sunny skies to a winter storm warning. Things are relatively busy on parts of the campus this weekend, as there’s an indoor track meet going on in the turf center right now. On that note, I just finished a long day of work, so I’m debating as to whether I want to go watch part of the meet or head to the gym myself.

But I’m willing to bet that you guys aren’t interested in my weekend plans, so I thought we might talk a little about GVSU’s Career Services office. If you’re worried about the job market after college, or want an advantage in said market, this is the place to drop by. They offer a really wide range of services, from individual appointments to simulated interviews. If you have a question about resumes, this is a great place to get some tips. They have databases of contacts in several career fields if you want some real life examples, a career library, online services, and they also keep track of on campus recruitment as well as the many career fairs that take place on campus.

Career Services also keeps track of several statistics as far as job placement goes. A breakdown for all of Grand Valley’s colleges can be found in their brochures or on the website, but I believe the most recent count of alumni employment comes from either 2007 or 2008, and 96% of grads were either employed full time or in a graduate program.

But it isn’t just employment after graduation that the office keeps an eye on. According to the office, 6918 current Grand Valley students are participating in internships, co-ops, and practicals. A majority of those are in education (due to student teaching requirements), with nursing and the health sciences close behind. For those of you not sure what that number means, a little less than 40% of the campus’ full time undergrads are involved in internship or internship-like experiences outside of their academics.

To be honest, though, I’m now thinking more along the lines of grabbing food on campus, rather than heading to the gym, so I think I’ll call it a day. Don’t forget to post any questions that you have.

-Kyle

Third week

2010-01-26T12:52:00.001-08:00

It has certainly been a whirlwind of classes for me so far, and it’s only the third week of Winter Semester. I should have expected this, though, seeing as I’m enrolled in a capstone class; that in particular will definitely make for a challenging semester. But it isn’t just classes on my mind; I’ve been thinking an awful lot about internship opportunities, particularly for this coming summer. On the bright side, AMA as well as a lot of my current professors will likely serve really well in networking, so I think as long as I get moving I shouldn’t have a problem.

It’s also pretty fortunate that, despite a pretty heavy work load, I’ve managed to stay on top of my gym habits. Sort of. I’ve been making it in at least three times a week, and my goal is four times. I also say “sort of” because I should be training for the River Bank Run, but the truth is that I haven’t been doing very much so far in the way of long distance. Still, I can’t help but be reminded of how great it is to have a free pass to GVSU’s gym, especially when I actually make use of it. On the downside, I haven’t been to the pool since Fall Semester, and it would definitely be good to get a little swimming in each week.

Aside from that, I’m not entirely sure what to write about today. It’s been quite busy for me; I’ve had mostly class work on my mind, and I’m pretty sure you guys don’t want to hear the details of my MGT 495 exam. That being said, if anyone has a subject that they want to hear a little bit about, let me know. Even if it’s something outside of my knowledge, I wouldn’t say no to a little admissions research project.

-Kyle

Winter Semester

2010-01-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

For anyone who read my comment last week about being happy to be back to doing something and said “you’ll regret saying that,” congratulations, you called it. It’s Friday of the first week of the semester and wow, this is going to be tough. Which is a good thing; I’ll complain all day long about extra class work and so forth, but anyone who knows me has figured out by now that I like a good challenge, especially academically. This will (hopefully) be a very fulfilling semester.

It’s not like I really have much to complain about, anyway. Earlier this week I stopped by for an advising appointment and had a degree evaluation done, and it’s looking as though I’m in for some smooth sailing. The degree evaluation filled me in on a number of different things, namely those classes that I hadn’t yet completed, what I have completed thus far and where in my major it applies, as well as a “what if” analysis, for students thinking about changing their major. It goes pretty far in depth, though. Aside from the breakdown of general education courses, courses applied to majors, or courses for a theme, a degree analysis will also give you other helpful insights, such as which course will allow you to “double-dip” (meaning apply a single course to two different requirements. In this case, I think I had a Sociology class that took care of two categories for me). To be honest, though, most of the help doesn’t come from the analysis itself but from the interpretation of the advisor. The advising staff is great, they really know how to get all the information you need across to you in a really understandable manner. I tell most of my tours that one of the first things a new student on campus should do is get to know their academic advisor.

All that said, it has been quite a busy day, at the end of a very busy week, a week that is notably not over with (we have a scholarship competition tomorrow). It would seem that now is a pretty convenient time to sign out, so let me know if you’ve got any questions,

-Kyle

First post of the decade

2010-01-05T09:18:00.001-08:00

First post of the decade

As great as breaks are, I’m pretty happy to be back to doing something. A week and a half of nothing is very restful, but I think the term “crippling boredom” may have been applicable at certain points throughout the holiday.

On a related note, I hope that that I’m not the first to wish you guys a happy new year, seeing as it is 5 days late here, but I do hope everybody had a safe and enjoyable holiday season this year. With that in mind, I do have some bad news: Our scholarship deadline has passes. December 31 is the deadline on a couple of our scholarships, the awards of excellence in particular. That doesn’t mean that financial aid isn’t available anymore, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t get scholarships, it just means that there are a few scholarships and scholarship competitions for which you can’t apply. On the bright side, if you applied and sent in ACT scores by December 31, you may be eligible to receive some awards, so keep an eye on the mail.

Another thing to keep an eye on, which is coincidentally also money related, is FAFSA. In all fairness, it’s been quite a while since I’ve had to worry about this, but if I recall correctly it’s early to mid winter when that information has to be filed (I think March 1 is the priority deadline, but I’m definitely not the guy to ask on that).

All business stuff aside, it’s tough to believe that we’re in a new decade. I can remember quite a few moments from the last ten years pretty vividly, as far back as middle school and as recent as the last three years here on campus. I’m pretty excited to keep moving forward, but if anybody asked me to, I wouldn’t hesitate to do most of it over again. And yes, I would still choose to come to Grand Valley, hands down.

That’s about it today, so don’t hesitate to ask questions. I know I said I probably couldn’t answer FAFSA stuff, but ask anyway if you’ve got a concern, and I’ll be sure to ask around myself.

-Kyle

Quiet end to December

2009-12-22T10:18:00.001-08:00

Well, we all fortunately made it through exam week, and so Fall Semester 2009 has come to a close. It had its ups and downs, with a lot of stress near the end, but I think we’re all ready for something a little new. Which is convenient, because a new decade is only a little more than a week away. 2010 will mark Grand Valley’s 50th anniversary; the college was founded in fall of 1960, and wow, have we come a long way. Some of the newest housing in the state, the number one division II athletics programs, one of the nation’s top “best buys” among colleges and one of the most ecologically friendly colleges, this institution has most definitely built a strong name for itself over the years. Maybe at some point I’ll write a short historically retrospective post, but I’m not quite feeling that today.

For all of the activity on campus when class is in session, the university is certainly quiet on breaks. People ask a lot on tours if the campus empties out on weekends. The answer to that is no, but breaks are way different from weekends. I hate to be discouraging here, but I would really suggest not coming by when the campus is on break, particularly winter or spring holidays. Summer session is still a fine time to visit; we have classes in session over the summer, so the campus is still active. Winter break, on the other hand, is unusually quiet. It’s honestly unnerving; less than a week ago I had to fight crowds to find study spaces in my favorite buildings (in all honesty, though, I’m kind of picky about where I study), and now it’s quiet in most of the structures. I won’t complain too much about it, the office will close down after tomorrow and won’t open again until January 4, which means a solid week and a half of no major responsibilities for me. I’ve decided that this is a much needed chance to recharge after all of the physical, academic, and social stress of Finals Week 2009.

If a visit these coming weeks is what works for you, though, don’t let me change your mind. I’ve got my own personal opinion, but I also figure that high school is a pretty busy time, so if this is your best chance to drop by, go for it. I’m just surprised every year by how stark the contrast is between finals week and winter break.

Aside from that, I hope everybody has safe and pleasant holidays. I’ll still check back for questions throughout the break, but this will probably be my last Laker Talk post of this decade, so ask away and otherwise I’ll see you in 2010.

-Kyle

Three down and three to go

2009-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Halfway through finals is worth celebrating, right? It’s still going to be a long week, but I’m looking forward to taking it easy after Thursday. Finals week is a funny thing; you have way fewer class sessions to attend, but you’re about twice as stressed as usual. But I suppose that’s a pretty common student experience.

The nice thing is that the University recognizes that and caters to it. I’m really starting to appreciate the extended library hours, which will be 24/7 for the rest of the week. The coffee, water, and hot chocolate is also nice, though I’m not one for caffeine. It’s a pretty full week, between studying and working it’s amazing any of us can actually find time to take exams, but after Friday another semester will be over, with three weeks until the next one.

That doesn’t mean that we’re all done with responsibilities until January 11, though; Admissions is open for a large portion of the break. So if you have a chance to swing by and want to see the campus in wintry conditions, give us a call. Speaking of which, I think that our Facilities and other service fields on campus deserve a big tip of the hat. The weather’s been all over the place for the last two weeks, from rain to fog, all the way to a blizzard, and yet the campus has stayed pretty clear (I haven’t hit the ground yet). So if anyone from those departments happens to be reading, thanks for keeping the grounds traversable.

Well, now is as good a time as any to wrap up, I’ve still got a couple of hours to spend here, maybe I’ll swing by the gym, and then the rest of the day will probably be spent studying. Hopefully, at least.

-Kyle

Sports weather and finals

2009-12-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

A quick update on something I said last time: GVSU fans will be happy to hear that the soccer girls won their first national championship down in Florida in the history of the team, and football is going back to Alabama. Exciting times for Laker athletics.

In weather related news, people keep saying that we’re supposed to get blizzard conditions over the next two days. I’m a bit of a skeptic; having lived in Michigan for all of my life has told me that you can’t accurately predict Wednesday’s weather until Thursday morning.

Of course, the big thing on my mind is finals week, which is next week. Every student’s favorite time of year, right? I’ve got four exams next week, and two classes with finals this week. In other words, the semester is winding down, I think I’ve already done three professor evaluations. I’ll be meeting with a couple friends in about 40 minutes for a study session, but between now and then I have to get back to a final project. Holiday Break’s right around th corner, though.

-Kyle

Another Fall over

2009-12-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving Break, or at least not a stressful one. In weather related news, we had our first snowfall of the season last night. It didn’t stick, so I’m not sure that it counts, but it’s still definitely a sign that December’s started. Much as I love the snow, I can’t help but think of it from a commuter’s perspective. I guess that’s just one more reason I miss living on campus, and right about now I do really miss it. It’s pretty fun seeing Allendale in the snow.

Good news for any sports fans out there, both men’s varsity football and ladies’ varsity soccer are in the semifinals of the playoffs right now, which is exciting for both. In non-sports related content, we have our first scholarship competition of the year this Saturday, which I’m excited to be working at. They’re always funny to be at, because the students are a little quiet and nervous about the competition, and the parents have a tendency to ask more questions (since they’re there all morning). If you’re interested in attending one of these competitions, don’t forget to apply soon (the deadline is December 31, but I’m sure that I’ll be repeating that soon anyway).

The semester is starting to wind down at this point, my group and I turned in and presented our case report for my Monday night class before Thanksgiving, I have another final report due next week Wednesday, and most of my other classes are finishing up the course material. Finals are coming up, but I haven’t really started feeling the pressure of exams yet. That’s not to say that I haven’t been thinking about exams, I just haven’t started my reviews just yet. If I’m still saying, “hey, there’s plenty of time” next week, that’ll be a sign that I’m in trouble, but we’ll take it one step at a time.

Ask me if you have any questions,
-Kyle

Nice day for a tour

2009-11-13T14:19:00.001-08:00

Well, another week down, and I have to say that it was a pretty nice week. The weather turned inexplicably good around the middle of it, and there’s been a lot of activity on campus. Plus, I managed to swing by the gym a couple of times, which I wasn’t expecting (based on my schedule of projects/reports for the rest of the semester). Today was a pretty good day for tours, as well; a lot of visitors are coming by the campus right about this time of year. Speaking of which, December’s right around the corner, so if you’re interested in some of the scholarships we offer, it wouldn’t hurt to get your application in soon.

As for myself, I’ve got more than a few things on my mind. In terms of academics, I’ve got a couple projects yet on my hands, both for classes and student organizations. The biggest one on my mind is a case report, due the Monday the 23rd. It’s a pretty big deal, but the group I’m in is definitely on track.

So in other words, it’s been a busy week, and it isn’t quite over with yet. I have some tours to do on Saturday, some more research, so on and so on and so forth. Rent starts this week for GVSU, opening night is tonight, but I won't see it until closing night on the 21st. Even without a football game, there’s still a lot to do. Speaking of which, playoff season is here, but that’s another story for another day.

Like I said before, I had a couple of good tours today, a lot of questions were asked by the visitors. Some of the students in particular were pretty interested in the honors program, which is great, because (as I’ve said to almost all of my tours) the program is amazing. Swing by their website, or drop in for a visit of the building, if you don’t believe me. On that note, though, I think I’m signing off here. Feel free to ask any questions,

-Kyle

Not much to say

2009-11-03T09:37:00.001-08:00

People always seem to start pointing out how fast the semester is going by once we hit November, but I’m just not seeing where they get their sense of time. I would say, though, that we are on the second leg of the term, and my night class professors keep reminding me that we only have so many more class times ahead of us.

That’s not to say that I don’t have the end of this semester in mind, it’s just not in the way that people traditionally think students think about the end of classes. I’ve been trying to rework my schedule for second semester, and the good news is that I’ve finally had a little success and (hopefully) set down my classes (not that you should wait until I did to fix scheduling errors, I just got lucky). My next step is to get an appointment with an advisor and go through a degree analysis, mostly just to see if I’ve missed any bases. But degree analysis isn’t just a tool for when you’re worried about graduation, it’s also a great way to keep track of your Gen Ed. classes. It’s probably most useful, though, if you’re thinking about changing a major, since the analysis essentially shows all that you’ve completed and all you still have to do for any given program.

But I’m drawing a blank on anything else to say right now, I guess this qualifies as just an update on my activities. Feel free to let me know what’s going on with you guys, though; I’m really curious to know what you readers have on your minds.

-Kyle

Free candy, anyone?

2009-10-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

It really doesn’t feel like that much time has gone by since the start of the semester, but it also feels like there’s a long ways ahead. I guess we’re kind of in a no-man’s land of classes right now. Halloween is coming up, and I’ve decided that I’m going to dress up as an employee of GVSU admissions; that’s right, I’m working on the 31st. Those students that visiting that day are going to bring free candy, right? It should be a pretty fun day, though; meeting some potential students, hanging out with the other personnel, and there’s a football game that night. I haven’t really been keeping tabs on the marching band lately, so I’m curious to see if they do a Halloween themed show this weekend.

So what else is new? For those of you following, I didn’t do half bad on any of the big assignments/tests that I had last week. I’m going to have a chance to present the paper I wrote tomorrow in class, and I forgot to mention that most of the research (almost all of the 14 sources) for that paper came out of our library’s databases. I’ve been making sure to let my tours in on that whenever they ask about the catalog of resources we have. In admissions related news, the end of October is kind of our rule of thumb time for a good point to take care of all of your college applications. Now if you haven’t done so, don’t panic, it’s just a suggestion. All the same, it never hurts to be early with your applications, especially here at GV. I would just really encourage students to get a move on that within the next month. And don’t think that you have to visit the campus first, either. An application isn’t a commitment to us, it just gives us a chance to admit you. Taking care of that early will provide you with more time to make a decision on colleges. No pressure, eh?

Anyway, as far as questions go, ask them if you’ve got them.

-Kyle

Busy times

2009-10-20T09:25:00.001-07:00

Seven weeks into the semester, this is one of those times when it pays to be on top of things. A big test was yesterday, there’s a long paper due tomorrow, a project down the road next week, plus getting enough sleep. Actually, come to think of it, that’s a pretty sparse schedule compared to a lot of students right around this time of year. A big reason for that is probably the fact that I’m commuting to campus for the first time this year.

In all honesty, it’s not something that I particularly enjoy. That might be because I was spoiled from three years of living on campus, but who’s counting, right? Having seen it from both sides now, I’ve got to say that the difference is like night and day. Not to discourage students from considering to commute, but I’ve started to feel really removed from the campus, mostly just because every night I’ve got to pack up and go back home. It’s not that that makes it impossible to be a part of the community, just more difficult. Not that I’m implying that things only happen at night up here, but being a commuter means that I always have to keep a 45 minute drive in mind. Plus, that’s 45 minutes less sleep, and seriously, who wants to give that up?

Again, I’m not saying that commuting is a terrible experience. I just know what I’m missing out on since I’ve had three years as a resident of the Allendale campus. If I were to go back as a freshman again, I would definitely choose to live on campus.

-Kyle

Honors program

2009-10-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

After a bit of a break, I figure it’s probably time to talk about something significant. A topic some of you readers might be interested in is the honors college. The Frederick Meijer Honors College is a spectacular program, and not just because there is a brand new facility for it. In fact, I figure it’s probably best to just talk about the academic portion of the program for right now, and get back to the facilities later on.

One of the first big concerns is “how do I get into the program?” Why thank you for asking, reader. The honors college does require a secondary application, and if I recall correctly it does include a short essay as well as a submission of a previous work from High School. Your admission is also decided in part by your ACT and GPA in High School, but don’t think that these are the only factors, or that there is a minimum GPA. However, if they do have a 28 ACT and a 3.6 GPA, students are invited to apply (transfer or current students have different admissions requirements).

After being admitted, a big concern is in the particulars of the program; advantages and disadvantages, continuance requirements, etc. And believe me when I say this, there are a lot of advantages. But first we should probably talk about the requirements. Aside from needing to maintain a GPA, honors students are required to take three distinct courses. First, they have to take a civilization sequence (usually their freshman or sophomore year). This is a year long, 12 credit pair of classes that can cover a variety of subjects, such as Greek and Roman Civilization, the Making of America, European Civilization, or the Middle Eastern World. After this comes a Junior Seminar, or an intensive course of study in any one field of the student’s choice. The curriculum is capped off with a Senior Project, in which the student conducts a research project on a field within their major, with the approval of honors faculty, in an essentially “independent study” environment.

By now you’re probably ready to hear the advantages, and they greatly outweigh the costs. Honors courses require a lot of reading outside of class, and as a result, the courses themselves are extremely engaging. There’s less busy work and far more focus on significant projects or papers. Many of the courses are team taught, which means that for a single class you will have two different professors teaching from two different areas, giving you an array of perspectives on the subject. One other big advantage is a simple matter of saving time: honors students do not have to take a three course theme to graduate, as their theme is “Honors.” That of course isn’t even bringing up the fact that these students have access to some of the newest facilities on campus. And of course the most obvious reason may be that a degree that alludes to an individual’s completion of a rigorous course of study tends to look quite impressive.

Having talked myself dry and probably bored you to death, I’ll stop here. If you’ve got concerns on the honors program, feel free to ask, as a lot of the admissions students are part of the curriculum.

-Kyle

Art on campus

2009-10-01T14:34:00.001-07:00

For the second week in a row, I find myself writing an entry here while waiting for a class or meeting. Which is nice, because I really need something to keep my mind off of the busy weekend ahead. Exams, projects and papers that need to get done, not to mention a home football game. On an unrelated note, today’s topic of discussion is fine arts on campus. Keep in mind, what’s listed below is just the tip of the ice berg.

Most of the fuss lately has been over Art Prize, which, for those not in the know, is in downtown Grand Rapids for the most part. Surprise surprise, that’s next door to GVSU’s Pew Campus. Registration for voting on Art Prize has been on campus for a couple of weeks, and some of the works are even featured on the campus. But that’s just a once-in-a-while thing, right? So what about art on campus at other times? The downtown campus has some great art hanging on the walls or in the courtyards, but I personally think that the best is in the Allendale Campus. Anyone visiting should be sure to check out Transformational Links and the Heaven and Earth sculptures, or the art gallery found in the Performing Arts Center.

And speaking of performing arts, a big congratulations goes out to one of our own admissions employees (he’ll remain unnamed here, but you know who you are), who has a major role in one of this year’s theatrical productions, Rent. The musical’s going to be in November, if I recall correctly, and is just one in a long string of student productions that knock the audiences out of their seats. If anyone gets a chance and wants to see Grand Valley’s students in action, definitely contact GVSU Ticket Sales, and I can assure you that you will not regret it. If theatre isn’t your particular cup of tea, there are so many instrumental and choral ensembles that I lose track of them all before I finish reading an event calendar, so if you’re looking for jazz, men’s ensembles, or an orchestral ensemble, we’ve got it all. And that doesn’t even cover our dance program, which, if I recall correctly, has recitals that are open to the public.

But, having run out of things to say at the moment, it’s probably time for me to sign off. Let me know if you’ve got any questions,
-Kyle

Going downtown

2009-09-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

I just got off the bus on the Grand Rapids campus, but still have time to spare before my next class. So why not tell you all a little about the Grand Rapids campus, right? Pins and needles, I’m sure. A lot of students worry about the whole split campus set up, but as I’ve said before, you shouldn’t be concerned—the busing system works out great. But a large number of students should still be interested about the downtown campus, since we have several majors that are essentially run from this location. Chief among these are business, nursing and the health sciences, criminal justice, education, engineering, social work, and public and nonprofit administration. There are others, but these seven make up the bulk of the facilities. There are really three structures worth mentioning downtown; the Devos Center (not to be confused with Devos Place), the Eberhard Center, and the Cook-Dewitt Center for Health Sciences.

Devos is where I spend most of my time, and not just because of the dining hall there. There’s a large number of classrooms, as well as the entire Seidman School of Business office, multiple computer labs, and the Steelcase Library. It’s probably the best place to study between classes, since so many resources are available to you. But just next to the river is the Eberhard Center, which I thin is the tallest Grand Valley structure. More classrooms are here, as well as a convention center, and it’s connected to the Kennedy Engineering Hall. I was just in the engineering hall this summer for a friend’s open house for class, and it’s a great building. Finally, the CHS building is further inside Grand Rapids, on the hill. I’ve never actually been inside this structure myself, but I can tell you that it has a great location. The street that it’s on is referred to as the “medical mile,” and it’s a prime spot for students finding internships in the health sciences.

But that’s all for now. If you’ve got a question, don hesitate to ask here or give us a call.

-Kyle

Recreation facilities on campus

2009-09-12T09:38:00.001-07:00

First home football game tonight, which means the campus is pumped up. The admissions office, not so much. It’s a little quiet up here on the third floor today, so it’s probably a good chance to get a little writing done. Even though I’m tempted to talk about football, I probably won’t have much to say until after the game. But along the lines of athletics, a good subject to bring up is the campus rec. center.

GVSU has a great student gym, with three floors of facilities. The middle floor has a load of cardio machines, probably more than you could ever need. It’s also convenient if you warm up or cool down on aerobics machines, because the middle floor is also where the entrance to the facility is. Beneath that we have weight machines, free weights, a total of five basketball courts, and various medicine balls. A nice additional feature is the elevated track; the third floor has a 1/9 of a mile track with a great view of the three main basketball/volleyball courts. And what might be the best part of all is the fact that students have free access to the rec. center with their id card. The rec. center also hosts a large number of our on campus intramural sports.

But there’s more than one workout facility on campus. Students also have free access to Grand Valley’s pool facility, racquetball courts, and the Laker Turf Center. So if students want to run a few laps on the Turf Center’s 300 meter track, play a game of flag football, or just swim a few laps, all a student needs is a valid GVSU id.
But that’s about it for now, all of this talk about the gyms on campus is making me feel guilty for not working out more often. As always, if you’ve got a question, post it.

-Kyle

First week of class

2009-09-08T11:49:00.001-07:00

Today has been a day that’s given me flashbacks to the summer break; we have today off as part of the Labor Day weekend here at GVSU, and even though there are still students on campus, I think most of them are taking the opportunity to sleep in. But classes did start last week, on the 31st, with all the bells and whistles. Getting used to new professors, meeting new people, actually finding the classrooms, quite a lot happens in quite a short period of time. Having been here for a while, I forget how intimidating it can be to a new student, but it’s not as bad as you would think it is. A lot of the structures have recently been reorganized, so it’s simpler to find different locations. Mackinac Hall, for instance, was given all new office numbers and wings just last year, so it’s pretty easy to navigate now. Plus, Transitions was two weeks ago, so there were groups of freshmen being led around by upper classmen for most of that period. Which I have to laugh at, because it’s probably the most organized that a group of freshmen will be all year long. There was also a poster sale on campus last week, and best of all I had a chance to eat at Fresh Foods earlier (and yes, it was as good as I remember it). And even though it’s quiet at the moment, Student Life Night is tonight (I think), so we should see packs of students returning this evening to sign up for clubs and organizations on campus. But, that’s all I have to say right now, so if you’re wondering about anything, don’t forget to post it.

-Kyle

No more summer

2009-08-27T07:37:00.001-07:00

Well, today is the last day of move-in week, by the end of today all the freshmen will be on campus. Which means classes start Monday, which means that there are four days left of Summer. Surprise! No more break. To be honest, though, I’m ready for a change. For the last three weeks we’ve been between semesters, so it’s been an empty campus for the most part. It’s nice to see a full student body again, especially because all the activities start rolling back into campus.

If I recall correctly the picnic by the Carillon Tower is today, there’s a drive in movie this Saturday, and Fresh Foods Company finally has regular hours. And believe me, I’m probably most excited about that last one. There should be a poster sale coming up within the next one or two weeks, and student life night is right around the corner. Plus, it’s funny to watch all of the freshmen realize that things like printing or athletic tickets are free for students. So to make a long story short, we’re back up and running.

I finally got out to buy textbooks, and my advice to anyone reading this is to either buy your books in advance or reserve them ahead of time. Buying them last minute isn’t a terrible experience, but reserving them makes it a lot faster. But with that anecdote I’ll be signing off, so if you’ve got a question, voice it.

-Kyle

Middle of August-- you know what that means

2009-08-17T11:42:00.001-07:00

So the school year is pretty swiftly approaching (or at least a lot faster than it was back in June), and there are still several items that I’ve yet to take care of. Buying textbooks, finding out friends’ schedules, figuring out where my classes are, but hey, there’s still time, right? So instead of actually getting done what I need to, I figured I’d ask you guys what’s going on. With classes starting soon, what are your concerns? Is anybody reading this going to be a freshman this fall? Anybody looking to transfer in this winter?

I can argue that I’m asking about what’s going on for the readers because class is nearing, but the truth is that I’m suffering from writers block right now. Never mind that I’m not a professional writer, I’m just failing to come up with a good topic. So let us know what you’re all up to, we’d love to get some info or feedback from our readers.

-Kyle

Additional charges

2009-08-10T12:32:00.001-07:00

GVSU has been pretty consistently been labeled as one of the best value colleges in Michigan, meaning that a lot of your activities and facilities are covered by the university, so students wind up hearing a lot of "such-and-such is free" for students. That being said, there is a handful of items that have associated charges with them, so it's a good idea to know a few of them in advance.

We’ll take care of the biggest charge up front, and that’s parking. Students who want a GVSU parking pass pay $155 per semester. Keep in mind, this is not a necessary charge, since you can use the busing system to get to and from either the downtown campus or the off campus apartments, which is free. Of course, that $155 doesn’t cover your own cost of gas, insurance, buying a car, etc, etc.

After parking, extra costs practically fall off the map. Use of the climbing center is $3 for a day pass with another $2 for equipment rental, tickets for comedians or special musical guests are generally between $5 and $10, intramural sports have an initial charge (can’t think of it off the top of my head, though), and special fitness or athletic services have charges as well (like massages, personal trainers, or nutrition counseling) Use of dance and fitness classes is charged on a semester basis, $20 for mind/body classes, $25 for land/spinning classes, or $40 for all access. Students don’t have free access to the golf course, but they do get a discount; $12 for 9 holes or $18 for 18 holes (walking).

And that’s about it. Pretty much all of our additional charges can be summed up in a paragraph, I can’t think of anything else. I asked around the office, and most other activities on campus are free. Use of the pool, rec-center, turf center, computer labs, printing, guest lecture speakers, busing, internet, advising, counseling, none of these have an extra charge. Some classes in the 300 level or above have extra tuition charges for additional facilities, but these are added to your tuition, so financial aid can cover these, and while they vary from class to class, they’re never more than $20 (also, don’t forget that you have to buy your textbooks, unless you’re best friends with a publishing house). This looks like a good spot to stop, all of the dollar signs in this post are causing me to lament the current economy. If you’ve got any questions, want to know about a particular service, or think you know of a charge that I’ve missed, post it and let me know.

-Kyle

Odd Weather

2009-08-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

I would have to say that this most definitely does not feel like August, seeing as short sleeves feels like a mistake. But there you go, in most places summer is “in like a lion, out like a lamb,” but in Michigan the lion eats the lamb and then has indigestion. It hasn’t really felt like summer at all thus far, so I’m not sure if it will start anytime soon. Most people wouldn’t be happy that I’m saying this, but that’s kind of to my relief; I never cared for hot and muggy, I’ve always preferred cool and dry.

Truth be told, though, that pretty much sums up Allendale. A lot of people think that lake effect weather means massive precipitation, but I’ve always felt that the lake effect just makes the weather somewhat unpredictable (but last time I checked I’m not an anchor for the Weather Channel). If you know a week in advance how much rain or snow will be falling, you’re a miracle worker. To compensate for that, we’ve got pretty great facilities upkeep staff. I’m not sure if landscaping also takes care of snow removal during winter, but whoever does it probably is the aforementioned miracle workers. Just about all of the sidewalks on campus are always cleared off, and they do an amazing job of salting during wintertime. As far as fall and spring go, I would encourage having a good jacket and reliable umbrella, but after that your guess is as good as mine. 12 inches of rainfall? I could see it happening. A snowstorm in April? Sure, why not. Don’t think of it a rough weather, just… adventurous weather. As always, ask if you’ve got a question.

-Kyle

Sports, clubs, and organizations

2009-07-27T13:47:00.001-07:00

You’re going to attend a university to get a degree, but most of us will agree that there’s more to college than academics. Some might say that more than others, but that’s another topic. But the fact is that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (or a compulsive worker, but on the bright side it probably gives him an outstanding GPA), and student life on campus reflects that. There are more opportunities to enjoy oneself on campus than I care to count, and the truth is that I don’t actually know all of them.

We’ve got around 270 student clubs and organizations on campus, and that number keeps climbing (I’m waiting until there are 299 clubs and then making a Gerard Butler appreciation club). If we don’t have the club that you’re looking for, you only need four students and faculty approval to make a club. We don’t have a paper airplane club, you say? Well, find three friends and you’re the president of it. And that’s not to mention student government or intramural sports. If you don’t know about any of the campus clubs, you won’t have to worry about it; the first or second week of class, we have “Campus Life Night,” where all of the clubs cram themselves into the arena of the field house and advertise themselves to students.

If you’re looking for sports, GVSU hosts seventeen Division II varsity sports (counting men’s and women’s), as well as cheerleading. In addition to that we have three seasons on intramurals, with fourteen Fall, thirteen Winter, and four Spring sports. But if you’re like me, and have the hand-eye coordination of a blind sloth, there are great work out facilities for independent exercising, and all of the varsity events at home are free for students to attend.

But don’t think that you absolutely have to be a part of a club or sport on campus. We encourage students to get involved with student life, but if you’re outgoing and independent, you can still meet people and enjoy your time here through your own channels. We just happen to offer a vast array of opportunities.

-Kyle

Visit Choices

2009-07-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Presumably a majority of readers of this blog are high school students, parents of students, or potential transfer students (if you’re a current student reading this, don’t take any offense, but you could probably find a better source of information). Which means that one thing most of you will want to do relatively soon is come up and visit our campus. That’s right, this post won’t even be about the campus itself, just the visits, so if you’ve already had a tour you can go ahead and skip this entry.

You’ve got three main choices for dropping by the campus. You can take a tour of the Allendale Campus, which is what most visitors do. This tour covers dining, housing, academics, the whole nine yards, and normally includes two to four families. When you visit is completely up to you, just realize that there aren’t a lot of students on campus during the summer (despite having summer classes), and a majority of dining is closed down during that period. Summer tours do have one advantage, though, in that they have the opportunity to see more of housing, while school year tours can only see the apartment style dorm. The second option is to have a counselor appointment, which can be done individually or in conjunction with a tour. This is a chance to sit down, more or less “one-on-one” with an admissions counselor to talk about admissions, costs, the application process, etc. Keep in mind that this isn’t the same as an academic advisor; the counselors won’t be able to tell you what classes to schedule. The third option is a Preview, which is a group visit that is similar to an appointment in that the same basic information is covered, but in a much more structured format. Approximately 10 families meet in one of our conference rooms, and an admissions counselor walks through all of the basics of the school. In all of the situations there is the opportunity for the same information, it’s just presented in different formats.

One alternative to all of these is to come on one of our student visitation days, which occur periodically throughout the school year. These are the largest visits that we offer, with the tour groups breaking down to between ten and fifteen families. On the plus side, we have presentations by financial aid, housing, admissions, as well as representation by some of the faculty on campus, so there are lots of opportunities for info on these days.

If you’re interested in any of these options, call us at either (616) 331-2025 or 1-800-748-0246. You can also schedule online, but the available dates on our web site tend to be more restrictive over the phone, just due to the fact that as the online times start to fill up they’re taken off the calendar, but there are still some openings. Don’t forget you can post questions.

-Kyle

One thing I forgot to mention when I published this entry, but it would help if you check out a date about 2 weeks in advance, just for the sake of organization.

Apology for last time

2009-07-10T11:23:00.001-07:00

Well, I was looking at my last post and realized that it’s pretty bad. So to make up for my aimless, messageless writing, I’m going to cover something that most everyone is interested: housing, or at least as much as I can get to in one post. It’s a pretty big subject, so I’ll just start with freshmen housing and see where we get to.

Before getting to any of the styles, just realize that freshmen are allowed to do whatever floats their boat for housing, there really aren’t any restrictions. It’s just more difficult to get some options (such as on campus apartments) than others (such as the living centers). In general, you’re better off applying early for housing, as the freshman living centers are first-come-first-serve.

GVSU offers three styles of freshman living centers. That’s actually a complete lie, we offer four, but just choose to count two of them as the same style. Those styles are traditional, suite, and apartment styles (not to be confused with on campus apartments), all of which house two students per room. The traditional style buildings are some of the oldest structures on campus, and they’re pretty standard as far as dorms go. They’re smaller, and have a public restroom. Anyone who just read that last sentence has probably already decided that they don’t want to live there, but it isn’t what you think. Traditional style is the only housing in which the bathrooms are cleaned for you. So if you don’t want to live there, buy a toilet brush and have fun. The bathrooms are also what we call “semi-private,” meaning that the showers all have doors and locks on them, rather than just curtains or wide open spaces.

Suite style is a step up from traditional style in terms of both space and privacy. In this style, two rooms share a single, adjoining bathroom. Apartment style is very similar to suite in that it has close to the same volume of space, but has a private bathroom as well as a kitchenette set. Apartment style is the choice that offers two different versions, those being one and two bedroom, but both versions house two students. Everyone kind of assumes that the version with the individual bedrooms is the best, and I’m not really here to make housing suggestions, but you should realize that there are unseen advantages and disadvantages to each style. Two bedroom apartment, for instance, tends to be a very cloistered, secluded community, while traditional is far more social (just as a rule of thumb). That being said, you should pick the style that fits your living habits best.

This post is already way longer than I had wanted it to be, so I’m going to finish here and get to upper classmen apartments some other time. One last note, all of the freshmen dorms come with the same furnishings, all of which are fully loftable, and each has all the pre-requisite outlets for studying/relaxing.

-Kyle

Holiday weekend coming up

2009-07-02T13:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I was going to spend this time talking about campus housing, but then I realized that I’m dead tired, and decided not to. I actually had something else in mind, but again, I refer you to the line earlier about being remarkably sleepy, so as I’m typing right now I have no idea what I’ll be talking about by the end of this post. It would be exciting, if I didn’t have the alertness of a lazy tabby cat.

The weather most definitely does not feel like July, but the Fourth is this weekend, and I just realized earlier today that admissions is closed tomorrow, and while I love my job, my lack of sleep this last week makes that fact feel like sailing to India and finding America. Speaking of Independence Day (and I don’t mean movies starring the Fresh Prince), I would plan on sleeping in that day, but I’m pretty sure that a couple of guys and girls that I run with every Wednesday are going to convince me to run a race that morning. Of course if I skip it, I’ll feel guilty for mentioning it.

So I’ve pretty much written a paragraph and a half of nothing, and have no clue what this great subject that I had in mind was, so I guess I’ll just end here. For any High School students thinking about coming up for a visit, remember that we are still open during the summer. Summer visitors don’t get to see very much of campus dining, since it’s mostly closed, but it is the one time of year that we can show all three styles of Freshmen Housing. So let us know if you’re thinking about visiting, and ask any questions you’ve got on your mind.

-Kyle

Meal Plans

2009-06-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I decided to just make this a two-parter. It worked for Quantum of Solace, right?

Meal plans always seem to be the most confusing to incoming students, but after you’ve used it for a week, there isn’t much more to learn about it. The only details I haven’t figured out are some of the secret meal exchanges (there’s probably a way to get coffee, a bagel, and some fruit for a meal, I’m just not a morning person). Ultimately the meal plan boils down to two halves: meals and dining debit dollars.

The debit dollars are something everyone is probably pretty familiar with. They act about the same as a gift debit card, or a bank’s ATM card would. If you want to buy something, the cashier just scans the total off of your ID card. And that’s about it. Really, I’m not joking, there isn’t anything else to it. Any dining location on campus will accept your debit dollars, as well as cash.

Meals are I little more complex, but they’re easy to figure out if you have a really good memory. In elementary school, we had meal tickets, and we would hand these in at the cafeteria in exchange for lunch. That’s how the meals off of a meal plan work, depending on where you spend them. At any cafeteria style location, like Kleiner Marketplace, FUEL, or River Landing, spending one meal will let you pick any combination of entrée, side, or drink, with a couple variations. Check the dining website for a list of different meal combos. Your other option is to spend your meals at Fresh Foods Company, which is a buffet style dining hall. So you spend a meal up front and can just go nuts (figuratively speaking).

We offer three different standard meal plans: 7 meals/week with $575 in debit, 14 meals/week with $275 in debit, and 21 meals/week plus $175. We do have a couple other meal plan options available, but these are the usual three. One last note to make, the meals on these three will not roll over from week to week, so if any of you wind up on one of my tours, I might suggest to you that the 14 meal plan is the most flexible, but whatever floats your boat. Say something if you’ve got questions,

-Kyle

Dining Options

2009-06-18T12:10:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone, it’s been a little while since my last post. This time though I’m going to just cut through all the formalities: I didn’t have lunch today. So since food is on my mind that means that today’s topic for you lucky readers is campus dining. As a quick note, this entry presupposes some familiarity with the meal plan, so if you aren’t familiar, check out the dining web site. Alternatively, you could just wait a couple months; someone will probably write something about it at some point.

If one word describes GVSU’s dining it’s “variety.” There are a lot of choices on campus, but as of right now, there are three main dining halls: Kleiner Marketplace, River Landing, and the Commons.

River Landing is located in the basement of the Kirkhoff Center (on the south end of campus), and has several university restaurants as well as a Subway. It’s more or less set up like a food court would be, and is a cafeteria style hall, meaning that you pick and choose items. To find out what items mix and match, try checking out the dining web site. Kleiner Marketplace is also cafeteria style and has similar restaurants. As a structure, Kleiner is built around convenience; it’s right in the middle of freshman housing, and not only does it include the Marketplace, but also the C-Store convenience shop and a Java City coffee bar, both of which stay open 24/7. Finally, we have the Commons, which houses Fresh Foods Company and the Lower Commons, (also called FUEL). The Lower Commons is very similar to both River Landing and Kleiner, in that it’s cafeteria style and has a mix of different locations.

Fresh Foods Company is our last main dining hall, and even though it’s probably bad writing structure, I gave it a new paragraph, because it will likely take that much space. It is vastly different from any other dining hall, because it has a dynamic menu and is buffet style dining. Spending a meal up front is your pass through the door and then what you eat is your own business. There are five main locations within Fresh Foods, and each changes its menu every meal period. The hours are also very accommodating, as Fresh Foods is open everyday from 7:30AM to 8:00PM.

But these are just the three main dining halls, there’s still quite a number of other locations. A bagel shop, coffee/smoothie bar, and three lobby shops are spread across campus. There are also options downtown, including a hall similar to Kleiner, a Starbuck’s Café, and a smoothie gazebo.

The wild card in all of this is the 2010 additions to campus dining. All I know about is that it will be on the south end of campus, and will include classrooms on the upstairs level. Beyond that, I know next to nothing about it. It could be an Olive Garden for all I know. Not really, but I’m just making a point here. It’s likely to be cafeteria style, and it will be new and shiny. Aside from that, your guess is as good as mine.

Remember that this is a pretty brief overview, if you want more info on dinng, their website is very thorough. So I'll leave most of you now, knowing that if anybody is reading this late at night they will probably walk downstairs and eat a midnight snack.

-Kyle

Watching Grass Grow and Paint Dry

2009-06-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

As the title would imply, not a whole lot is going on for me right now. While the campus is still busy with classes and summertime activities, I’m not actually doing any of those things. While I still get a chance to exercise on campus, eat up here, and earn some “Benjamins” (read: “Washingtons”), that’s about it for me. On the bright side, it’s finally not May, which I guess is only a bright side if you’re an aging enthusiast. Which I’m not. The weather’s nice though, which makes tours more enjoyable.

So since I don’t have anything to talk about, and can’t think of any GVSU related topics, I wanted to take this chance to ask all of you guys what you’re doing this Summer. I answered my first blog question earlier, so I’m pretty pumped about being informative on stuff that I'm basically paid to know or find out. Are any of the readers planning on visiting us in the near future, or coming up for orientation? Even if you guys want to fill us in on stuff unrelated to college visits, whether it's vacation plans or news on the job front (although arguably "lack of news" is more appropriate). As always, the floor's pretty much wide open to any questions, it's just that right now I'm really bored and want some insight as to what's going on for all of those who are reading this.

-Kyle

Academics

2009-05-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

At the end of what feels like the longest month of the year, things are relatively quiet. With weather that changes faster than my choice of major, it’s a little difficult to plan activities you usually want to do over the summer. And that’s not to mention the number of people who are taking classes or hunting for jobs in the liveliest economy since… wait, I’m sorry, that last part isn’t true. The point is that not a whole lot outside of classes, work, or the job search is happening for anyone. Without much going on, academic offerings are probably a good topic to mention.

Grand Valley has about 200 different fields of study, offering approximately 70 different undergraduate majors and 27 graduate programs (mostly masters, but we do offer two doctorates, in nursing and physical therapy). The latest major to be added to the mix is Chinese, in the modern language department, and those numbers tend to grow over time.

In terms of the undergraduate programs, there’s a myriad of different arrangements. Some courses students can simply apply for and be a part of, while others are secondary admit programs (such as Nursing or the Seidman School of Business). For those not aware, a “secondary admit program” refers to one that has admissions requirements before an individual can call themselves a member of the program, and even those come in multiple forms. Business, for example, has a noncompetitive admission. Students sign up to be a pre-business major, and once they accrue enough credits and maintain a GPA, they are admitted to the school of business. Nursing, on the other hand, is a competitive secondary admit program, meaning that only so many students are accepted into the major each year. This encourages students to strive for success in their early semesters, which really pays off in the long run.

As always, feel free to ask questions of any kind, especially if you're wondering about any individual major.

-Kyle

Timelines

2009-05-20T09:48:00.001-07:00

A lot of students have been coming through over the last couple months who have been scrambling to take care of application and admissions requirements at the last second, so today’s topic is…

Stuff to keep in mind when considering an application to Grand Valley.

The smartest thing to do first is probably check us out online. If you’re reading this, the chances are good that you’ve already done that, so the next step is to visit campus. There are lots of options for visiting the campus, but the standard choice is just a tour of the Allendale campus. We give tours at 10:00AM, 12:00PM, and 3:00PM during the week close to year round, and on non-holiday weekends during the school year. We also offer appointments with admissions counselors (not academic advisors), as well as group visits called “previews.” Keep an eye out for our Student Visitation Days during the school year, which are larger group experiences.

If you’ve decided that Grand Valley could be the place for you the next step is to apply for admission. We accept both paper and online applications, with no particular preference for either. There is a $30 nonrefundable application fee, and students have to be finished with their Junior year to apply. If students apply for admission and submit their ACT/SAT and GPA information before December 31 during their Senior year, it is possible that they could qualify for a few scholarships offered through our office. Once students are accepted, we suggest that they apply for housing quickly, because the different styles of living centers are first-come-first-serve. There is also a $150 application fee for housing, but this one is 100% refundable up until May 1, and if students apply for housing before March 1 they’re guaranteed a spot on campus (both dates apply to the student’s Senior year). May 1 is also the deadline for scheduling Freshmen Orientation, which has a $75 fee attached to it (also refundable before May 1) and is essentially the equivalent of a student’s commitment to GVSU (although you can still cancel later).

Personally, I suggest that students visit at the end of their Junior year, over the Summer, or very early in their Senior year, so they have the information they need to meet the deadlines. And always remember that sooner is defiantly better than later for college. If you want to schedule a visit you can call our office at (616) 331-2025 or 1-800-748-0246. If you have any questions about this information feel free to call us at those numbers or post your questions here.

At this point though I wanted to ask any readers what they’re concerned about. I’ve listed quite a lot of things to think about up here, but is any of it unclear, or perhaps do any of the parents or prospective students reading this have questions I haven’t addressed? Don’t hesitate at all to post those.

-Kyle

Buses and the Campus

2009-05-15T09:23:00.001-07:00

One of the nice things about working on campus over the summer is the fact that parking is free over the break. Gas, unfortunately, is not. Keeping my car’s gas tank relatively full is one of the big problems with living at home and commuting to work (aside from not being able to order pizza whenever I want).

The best way that I’ve found to save gas, though, is to only actually drive half way, to the downtown campus, and just take the bus up the other half. Over the summer, the campus connector travels between the two campuses about every half hour, and it’s about a half hour ride to and from the downtown campus. During the school year they come and go at least once every ten minutes or faster (when classes are in session). There are also two more routes that run during the school year that head to apartments off campus.

The truth is, though, that the campus is pretty self-contained. Three main dining halls, several ATMs, lots of venues for entertainment, you don’t really have to leave the campus for very much. But, unfortunately, there are a few things missing, namely grocery stores, banks, and places to dine out. Thankfully, the buses make up for that. The downtown route stops in Standale along the way, about ten minutes from campus. If you need more banking than an ATM, there are several bank branches nearby, if you need more grocery shopping than the on campus convenience shop, the bus drops you off in front of a Meijers. If campus dining isn’t working for you that particular day (and the ten pounds I gained freshman year would beg to differ on that), there are several sit down restaurants right near the bus stop. And that’s not to mention the fact that that bus continues on down towards the second largest city in Michigan.

I don’t really have much more to say, so I suppose this is a good place to stop. Don’t forget to submit any questions you guys have.

-Kyle

Done with Undergrad... Now What!!!???

2009-05-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

So, I am officially a graduate from Grand Valley State University as of about 2 weeks ago. It was a blur of excitement the day of graduation. I graduated in the afternoon with about 1,000 other students in VanAndel arena in downtown Grand Rapids. It was pretty surreal. I felt as if I shouldn't have been graduating!! Its too soon! It seems like yesterday I was moving into my freshman living center! The ceremony for graduation was awesome and they made all of us graduates feel very important. We individually walked across the stage with our name being called as we did so. I was fortunate to find a group of my friends to sit with at graduation among the thousands which made the ceremony that much more special. After the ceremony I ended up celebrating with my family and friends.

The day after graduation, life was back to normal! I didn't feel any different now having a bachelor's degree and all. Now the excitement is wearing off and a lot of my friends that I graduated with are looking for jobs and moving away. I am slowly finding it is quite the bittersweet time. As we are all moving on and starting our careers and lives, we have to leave Grand Valley and everything we have grown to love these past 4 years... I do not want to say goodbye to my friends!

I rest a little easier knowing I will be back to GVSU in the fall as a graduate student. I was accepted into the Occupational Therapy program so I will begin that in September. It is very exciting and still very intimidating! We shall see what the fall brings!

For now, I am working in admissions giving tours this summer while also doing an internship at the American Diabetes Association in Grand Rapids, MI. It has been really busy thus far but I am doing my best to soak up the sun and all of the fun that summer has to offer!

If you have any questions at all or anything you are wondering about - PLEASE do not hesitate to ask!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!!

-Leslie

Spring Semester

2009-05-07T12:06:00.001-07:00

It’s been about a week since I last wrote anything here, and things have changed quite a bit since then. Spring Semester started this Monday, so life has returned to the campus in a manner of speaking. Students are in the commons areas, walking to and from class, using the buses, so on and so on and so forth.

This is probably a decent time to talk about Spring/Summer Semesters, seeing as they’re actually happening. Both periods are accelerated semesters, so the classes take place over a six week period. There are exceptions, but usually the classes are held twice a week for between two and three hours at a time. It’s a great way to take care of just about any class, but students tend to use them to take care of a lot of base requirements. I took “legal environment of business” (BUS 201) last year during spring and it worked out pretty well. I’m not taking any Spring/Summer classes this year, since I wanted to look around for a second summer job, which, by the way, has been pretty successful (if by “successful” you mean “a total failure”). All in all, though, Spring/Summer classes are pretty nice, because it’s generally a more enjoyable and less frostbite ridden experience to go to the beach after class than it is during Winter Semester. As an added bonus, the buses are still up and running, so my gas bill is considerably lower than one would expect.

That’s all I have to say about that. As a quick note to anyone who will be coming by for a tour soon, I thought it might be a good idea to suggest that you remember to ask a lot of questions. I had a great tour today with a family that had a lot of good, relevant questions, which made the tour more fun for me and more informative for them. Or don't, but realize that I won't be singing and dancing to fill the awkward silences.

-Kyle

First Post and Refresher

2009-04-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, this is my first post to the GVSU blog, my name’s Kyle. Just since it’s been a little while since the last post from anyone, I figured I’d go over how things tend to work as a refresher (mostly, though, it’s just to walk myself through the process).

A couple other admissions employees and I occasionally write here on the day to day life and student activity here at Grand Valley State University. Check back here if you want to hear about special events, upcoming calendar activities, or just general comings and goings. As a reader, you can submit any questions you have for us in the comments for each blog post, and they will generally be answered in the comment section under which they were posted or in the next blog entry. If you’re reading this, I think I can presume that you already know how to find our blog, but just in case you happened across it some other way, you can get back here by going to the GVSU website, clicking on Admissions, then Undergraduate Admissions, and just follow the links from there. I’ll try to keep talk on my personal life or activities outside of GVSU events to a minimum; unless nothing’s going on, I’m pretty sure that nobody cares to hear what the cute girl in my accounting class thinks of me (just for the record, though, she thinks I’m a nice guy).

That being said, we’re in the week between semesters, and nothing’s going on. While the campus is normally pretty active, even when class isn’t in session, this is one of the few times a year when it is a legitimate ghost town. After about a year of almost nonstop activity around here, it's kind of unnerving to see the campus be so quiet. On the bright side, class for the Spring Semester starts on Monday, so activity will bounce back up shortly.

With nothing else to write about today, I figure I’ll just mention to any of our High School readers who are just finishing up Junior year that you can apply for admission to GVSU as soon as you finish Junior year. Bear in mind, though, that the counselors won’t start looking at applications until after Labor Day, so it will be a little while before you get news back.

Well, thanks for reading, and don’t forget to post any questions,

-Kyle

Crunch Time

2009-03-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

Its pretty much like I am running a marathon right now and I am at the end of the race. I really really really want to sprint just to get to the end!! But, I know that these are some of the last weeks I will have as an undergraduate before I hit the real world so I am trying to slow down a bit!

I am continuing with a group of my classmates to produce Grand Valley's first indoor triathlon like I had stated in an earlier blog. It is less than a month away and all the last minute details are being taken care of these last couple weeks. We are in the process of finding vendors and getting donations and prizes set up for winners. It should be a really cool and rewarding event in the end. It has taken lots of hard work from all of my fellow classmates that are planning it, along with all the participants that have been training for the race. Lots of press has been generated from this being the first thing of the sort at Grand Valley. We are all really excited to see how it turns out.

Classes are still really enjoyable! I am starting to see that things I had learned in past classes are being put to good use in the later, upper level classes I am taking now. But, with the end of the year comes end of the year projects... therefore, this makes my life pretty hectic right now! End of the year group projects, papers, and portfolios are on the 'To-Do' list for the rest of the year.

I am still waiting to see if I get into Occupational Therapy Graduate school at this point. Whether or not I get in will affect a lot in my life including where I live and if I need to find a job!

A lot of big things will be happening these last few weeks of school!! Keep checking up on the blog to find out how everything pans out!!!

-Leslie

March Madness!

2009-03-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hey,

I can't believe another month has gone by and we are looking at April already! Graduation is just about a month away! My student teaching experience at Kenowa Hills, a local high school, is almost coming to a close, and I am not looking forward to leaving. It has been a fun, stressful, tiring, but ultimately rewarding experience. I guess that is what life as a teacher is all about. I am looking forward to getting my first permanent teacher job as soon as possible. With that said, orienation is kicking into high gear as we approach May. It is certainly bound to be another fun summer! I can't wait.

As far as life at Grand Valley goes, things are going well. Many professors are giving their last exams shortly before they gear up for finals. So it is like that calm before the storm time. Most students are going to be getting busy in the coming weeks! It's a very nice time of year in terms of the weather though! The sun has been out just about every day this week and temperatures are getting back up into the 50's, so that is always welcome!

Thanks again for looking at Grand Valley, and don't hesitate to send us any of your questions.

Until next time,
Eric

Back from Spring Break with 6 weeks to go...

2009-03-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

Its the first Monday back from Spring Break. Surprisingly, I was looking forward to getting back to classes! There is only 6 weeks left until graduation so now it is just a push until the end!

For Spring Break, I went to Arizona with a few friends and got to see the Red Rocks and Grand Canyon... something I have always wanted to do. We hiked and did all the tourist things in each one of the cities. It was a pretty good time!

Now that we are back, I have been talking to my friends and have found that alot of them had pretty good spring breaks as well. Lots of people I had talked to went to the warm, sunny destinations like Florida and California while a good portion decided to do something called Alternative Spring Break. It is where you go with a group of people and do community service in another state for a week. Grand Valley has programs that send students all throughout the United States for Alternative Breaks. I have done two alternative breaks in the past and met some wonderful friends on the trips and had some wonderful experiences too.

Hope this finds everyone in good spirits! Feel free to ask any questions!!!

-Leslie

It's February already?!

2009-02-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Wow, this winter semester is flying by. I cannot remember the last time I felt the year was going by so fast WHILE it was happening. Maybe it is the fact that this is my last semester at Grand Valley as an undergrad? Definitely a bittersweet feeling. The weather seems to be getting warmer, which is making the walks across campus more inviting. I have taken over my ninth grade classroom full time now, and am loving it. It is definitely an intense work load and can be tiring, but my kids are very nice, and the staff at Kenowa has been extremely helpful. Other than that, I have been keeping busy lesson planning and trying to meet up with friends in any down time I have. Like Leslie mentioned, the President's Ball is coming up soon and should be a fun time!

As far as paid work goes, freshman orientation is in full swing and although I am not in the office on a daily basis to help out like I would like to be, it is going smoothly, and the new recruits have been hard at work. If you have any questions about freshman orientation, the admissions process, my specialty areas of biology, chemisty, and education, or any other academic programs, or just want to know some random Grand Valley facts and statistics, post away! We are always looking forward to new responses.

Take care,
Eric

Snow Snow Snow

2009-01-30T10:56:00.001-08:00

Snow Snow Snow Snow... That is basically the big news story on the West side of Michigan right now!

The weeks are flying by - We just got done with our fourth week in the semester. Spring Break is right around the corner...

President's Ball is coming up next week! President's Ball is a formal dance that Grand Valley puts on each year. It has been crazy to see how much it has grown over the years that I have been here. They hold it downtown Grand Rapids and close to 4000 students are expected to attend this year! The theme is " A Roman Triumph..." this year. It should be pretty cool, I am excited. I am going with my roommates and friends and we all usually see plenty of people that we know at the actual dance considering it is a college wide event. It always tends to be a fun night filled with dancing and getting dressed up!

Classes are going along well. My first exams are coming up in the next week. Its always intimidating preparing for the first exam in a class. I never know what the professor's tests are going to be like; how hard they will be, what content will be on them, what the questions will be like. You learn really quickly to just be very very very prepared and know all the material extremely well.

Let us know if you have any questions! We love answering them!

-Leslie

Winter Semester in Full Swing!

2009-01-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!

Winter semester is offically in full swing. This means everyone is settled into their schedule and the homework is starting to gradually build...

The first few weeks of the semester are always an adjustment period. You start new classes, have a new work schedule, and have different times of the day to study and get homework done. This semester is my last semester and I have twelve credits. I have a class called 'Behavior Modification' and a class called 'The Sociology of Health Care' along with a class called 'Professionalism in Exercise Science'. All of them are required to complete my degree and I enjoy all of them. My favorite is probably the 'Professionalism...' class because it deals with what we will be dealing with when we get into the work world. We work on interview skills along with our resume and cover letter that we will eventually present to potential employers. Its classes like this that make me realize I will soon be done and going into the 'real world'. Applications were due last week for my Occupational Therapy graduate program. My fingers are crossed! Now we just have to wait and see who makes it to the next part of the application process... the interviews!

I have found this year especially that after four years here, I have made so many great relationships with people that I have met, worked with, and had classes with. Not a day goes by that I dont see someone I know on campus. It is a really great feeling to have. I am really really really going to miss being an undergraduate here.

Shoot us any questions that you have!

-Leslie

Back at it...

2009-01-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a festive holiday season!

This week is Grand Valley's first week back after the long winter break! I have 12 credits this semester which is not a whole lot but it includes my fieldwork course. I am required to do a fieldwork position for my degree so I will be organizing Grand Valley's first indoor triathlon along with some other people from my program to fulfill this requirement. It will keep me busy... I know that for sure!

This semester marks the last one I will have as an undergraduate. Its pretty surreal. This semester is also really important in determining what I will do after graduation. I applied to GVSU's Occupational Therapy program earlier this year and will be finding out if I got in this semester. A good portion of my friends are also graduating at the end of this semester so it is a bittersweet thing. I don't know who will or will not be staying in the area or what everyone will be doing!

I am pretty much just trying to soak in and enjoy these next few months and keep my eyes on the cap and gown!

-Leslie

Hello!

2009-01-07T14:03:00.000-08:00

Hey! My name is Eric, and I am a fifth year senior here at Grand Valley State University. My undergraduate program is nearly complete with all my classes finished. I majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry both with an emphasis in Secondary Education, thus the fifth year of teacher assisting and now student teaching. I'm originally from Muskegon, MI, right next to the lake about 40 minutes west of Grand Valley. While attending GVSU, I have had the opportunity to take part in a number of campus clubs and organizations, as well as, to work for Grand Valley Admissions for my fourth academic year. Getting highly involved is something that has allowed me to branch out and experience an all-around view of university life inside, as well as, outside of the classroom. It also helps in allowing one to meet people and build friendships he or she would not necessarily get to just through classes.

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you! With the winter semester now in full swing, we will be posting regularly to let you know what we are doing, fun things happening on campus, and to answer any questions you might have.

Enjoy checking out the rest of the website, and thank you for your interest in Grand Valley State University!

All the best,
Eric

Finals are OVER!

2008-12-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

Finals are over! Time for celebration at GVSU... and a nice long break. This week was our last week before we get a break for about a month. Honestly, I love college so much because you get finals out of the way BEFORE you go on break so you can just relax and have fun during the holidays.

Holiday time at GV is pretty cool. Of course, it gets really really really snowy and they always have holiday tunes ringing from the clock tower that is in the middle of our campus. Its pretty cool.

Over the break, I plan on working up in admissions for a while, catching up on some reading (FOR FUN!), and hanging out with my family and friends. I have to use this time to gear up for next semester too considering it is the last one before I graduate! Wow, its weird just writing that. It has not hit me yet that I will be in cap and gown soon graduating from college. It sounds cliche but, it goes by so fast.

Anyway, hope everyone is staying safe and warm in this winter season!

-Leslie

Finals Time at GVSU!

2008-12-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! This week is finals week at grand valley so everyone is a little bit overwhelmed. I am pretty lucky, I only have three finals this week and they are spread out over three days, so I can get a lot of studying in.
The nice thing about finals week on campus is a lot places are open 24 hours. Starting the week before finals the library is open 24 hours, and they have free food and coffee in there so, it is a great place to study. It is not uncommon to see people carrying blankets and pillows into the library so they can catch some sleep during study breaks!
Many of the computer labs on campus are open 24 hours as well, that has helped me out a lot as I have been finishing up some projects this week. Because I am a senior, I have gone through finals week before and I have found that stressing out over exams does not help me. So, I have been studying hard but also enjoying watching Grey’s Anatomy with my roommate during my study breaks. The last week of school is always interesting because you find yourself working so hard, and then after your last exam it is all over, and you get to relax. I will be heading home at the end of this week which I am very excited about. Going home over Thanksgiving reminded me how much I enjoy my mom’s cooking!
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!!!
Jen

What I have been up to lately!

2008-11-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Sorry that it has been so long since the last post, this time of the semester is very busy with classes coming to a close. I am trying to get things for my final projects done before heading home for thanksgiving! I can’t wait to go home and spend some time with my family. I have not been home in about a month, so it will be nice to get some home cooked food!

On top of being busy with classes I have also been busy working in a special education room at one of the local high schools. I have been going to this classroom once a week all semester and this was the last week working there until January! I was really lucky to be able to spend all day with the students on Thursday. This was a special day because the kids got to leave their school and have “a day of fun!” Once a week the kids sell popcorn in their high school, they then save up their money throughout the trimester, and then at the end of their marking period they get to spend their money! So, we got to go to lunch at subway, and then to Wal-mart to pick out a prize for working so hard all semester. After Wal-mart we went to see High School Musical 3. The kids are OBSESSED with all things High School Musical and they know the words to all the songs! It was a good thing we were the only people in the theater because they sang along to all the songs! I have loved working with these kids every week and this day was such a good way to end our semester together.

So, that’s a little bit about what I have been up to lately! Hope you all enjoy your holidays!

2008-11-20T13:32:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone!

Sorry its been a while since a post has been put up! It has been crazy! Classes are quickly coming to a close and so that means all of our papers, assignments, projects, and tests are coming to a close as well! This means pretty long days for me, personally, on campus! At this point in the semester, I have learned by now that you pretty much just have to give yourself the goal of getting to Winter break and that wonderful month long break we have!

Along with school work, as a Senior in the exercise science program, I am helping plan Grand Valley's first indoor triathlon. It should be really cool. A group of seniors in my program are planning this for the end of next semester. We are required to have a fieldwork position to graduate. This planning of the triathlon will count as the fieldwork we need to graduate! This is the first one Grand Valley has ever had so I am really excited to be a part of it. I will be helping students train for the running portion of the race!

Hope everyone has a great holiday season and enjoys some time off of school!!

-Leslie

An Eventful Couple of Days!

2008-11-04T05:38:00.001-08:00

This past Friday was Halloween as everyone knows. It seemed everyone on campus was in a very festive mood...or maybe it was just a massive sugar high! Every faculty member or office I stepped into that day had candy everywhere. Little kids from the on-campus day care center went from building to building and trick-or-treated. For being someone who personally, hates being scared and is not a big fan of Halloween, it was a fun day.

The election is today. Part of being on this campus is getting to experience and hear all sorts of viewpoints from different people with different beliefs. There have been different speeches and programs set up to inform students around campus about issues and proposals on the ballot and the different candidates that are running. It is an exciting time and it is really neat to be on a college campus with so many diverse views while this major event is going on in the country.

There is also a "Careerfest" today downtown. Grand Valley has over 100 employers come and set up booths at the downtown Devos Center in Grand Rapids and students in search of a job, co-op or internship are able to check it out! I am going down there today to try and find an internship in the corporate wellness field. It is required for my program that I must complete an internship so I can graduate this April. This career fair will also be beneficial for me so I can look at possible job opportunities for after graduation. I feel like it will also give me a chance to practice my professional socialization skills.

All in all its been pretty busy around GV! Only a few more weeks until Thanksgiving!

Keep questions coming!

The weekend around Grand Valley--

2008-10-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it is definitely getting much colder here in Allendale; I even broke out the gloves today! This weekend we had our last regular season home football game! I didn't go to the game (the first one I have missed all season!) But I heard it was amazing! Because our football team usually wins all their games I was really surprised to hear that we were down at half time, but we pulled out a win! Off to the playoffs for the Lakers!!

This weekend was great, I did a lot of hanging around my townhouse watching movies and relaxing with friends. I didn't have a lot of homework (which is rare) so I took full advantage of not having a lot to do and stayed in sweat pants as long as I could during the day!

Right now I am in a comparative religions class and for one of the projects I have to compare two different religious services so I was able to go to those services this weekend with some friends. It was definitely an interesting experience; this class is turning out to be one of my favorites!

So, that's a little bit of what I did this weekend! Remember to start asking questions if you have any! I know I'm eagerly waiting to answer some of your questions! ~Jen~

HI THERE!

2008-10-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hi!

My name is Leslie. I am a Senior and I have been working in Admissions at Grand Valley for 3 years. I am an Exercise Science major and I am going to graduate school for Occupational Therapy. I am from South Lyon which is on the east side of the state over by Ann Arbor. I am involved in the Pre-Occupational Therapy Club, intramural sports, and Campus Ministry. I chose to come to Grand Valley because as soon as I stepped on campus I felt a sense of community on campus. All the faculty and staff that I encountered to bent over backwards to help me out and get my questions answered. Since I have been a student here, this feeling has grown and grown. Being involved in a job and clubs on campus has exposed me to so many amazing people and experiences.

If you guys have any questions just let us know! We love talking to prospective students and sharing our experiences!

We will be blogging on a continual basis so keep checking up on this blog to see what is going on around campus and in our lives as students here!

THANKS! :)

Welcome!!!

2008-10-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!
Just wanted to introduce my self and let you know a little about me!
My name is Jen Dooms and I am a senior here at Grand Valley. I am majoring in Psychology and Special Education, and I grew up in Grosse Pointe MI (It's right near Detroit)
I have worked in the GVSU admissions office for a little over a year and I love giving tours around campus. I am involved in a few different organizations here on campus including Campus Crusade for Christ and the student council for exceptional children. Getting involved in these groups has really made me feel like a part of campus and has helped me meet some AMAZING friends!
You can check back here when ever you want, a few of the students and I will be adding posts to let you know what is going on around campus!

Feel free to ask ANY questions you have about Grand Valley. We are here to answer any questions you have!!

Welcome!

2008-10-17T10:52:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody...

This is just an opportunity for anyone who has questions about Grand Valley or student life in general from a student perspective.

Let us know what you want to know about!

:)

Ask away!