Travel Tunes

We have a special tool that we use in the Office of Admission when the drives get long and the layovers are frequent. It comes in the form of a CD, and it includes selections from all 10 admission officers. Who among us rocks out to Gangnam Style in a hotel room and who prefers to listen to Eric Clapton as they drive through the fall foliage? See if you can guess! Check out what we’ve been listening to over the last few months:

1) Make the Road by Walking–Menahan Street Band
2) Free–Ben Kweller
3) Brick House–The Commodores
4) Bright Side of the Road–Van Morrison
5) Chelsea Dagger–The Fratellis
6) Who Loves You–Four Seasons
7) Goodbye Porkpie Hat–Charlie Mingus
8) Into the Mystic–Van Morrison
9) Some Nights–Fun.
10) Autumn Leaves–Eric Clapton
11) Ain’t No Sunshine–Betty Wright
12) Mad Season–Matchbox 20
13) Madness–Muse
14) The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down–The Band
15) Gangnam Style–PSY
16) I Want You Back–Jackson 5
17) Wagon Wheel–Old Crow Medicine Show
18) What a Wonderful World–Louis Armstrong
19) Coming Home–The 88

Imagery From Our Travels, Part II

As more officers return from both domestic and international travel, I’ve accumulated more pictures to share with you all! Tillie recently returned from spending a week in British Columbia, visiting both Vancouver and Victoria. Check out some of the beautiful scenery she saw in between speaking with prospective students!

1) Tillie in downtown Vancouver, BC
2) The view from Brentwood College School in Victoria, BC
3) Victoria at night

Imagery From Our Travels, Part I

As we approach a time of year when many of us are out of the office, traveling from college fair to high school visit, we often have the opportunity to share stories from our adventures only after we return home to Walla Walla. But this travel season, through this blog, we’re able to share images and tales from our travels not only with each other but with all of you!

For this first installment of visuals from of our time on the road, Joshua Ian Smith, Associate Director of Admission, has sent us a few pictures from his time in Asia. Take a look at the wildly beautiful passion flower, a produce stall in Bangaluru, and the skyscrapers in Hong Kong.

Travel Season Begins!

Just as Whitties begin to settle into their classes and activities for the semester, we Admission Officers get ready to hit the road!

Joshua Smith, our International Admission Coordinator, was the first to set off on fall travel; a good thing, too, because he has the longest way to go! Joshua will visit schools in Hong Kong at the end of this week and will be in Singapore by early next week. Meanwhile, two of our regional officers, Bruce Jones and John Loranger, will conduct interviews and visit schools in New England and Seattle, respectively. Esther Weathers will be the next to go when she heads down to California next week.

As two of the new additions to the office, Katherine Buckley and I will travel with Tony Cabasco to Seattle, where we’ll join John in speaking with students about Whitman. We’re extremely excited to get on the road and to talk to students in person. We’ll have the chance to meet students who already have their eyes set on Whitman, as well as to “describe the Whitman experience and the town of Walla Walla to people who may not have traveled here,” as Katherine noted.

To all the prospective students out there: look out for all of us across the country (and across the globe!) as we visit cities and towns near you this fall!

–Sadie Nott, Admission Officer

On travel, deadlines, and reubens

Growing up I used to go to this place named “Kelly’s” for lunch with my family. As you may imagine, at place named “Kelly’s” you couldn’t go wrong with the Reuben sandwich, well as long as you had a BIG appetite. This heaping ovular plate of corn beef, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, bubbling Swiss cheese and a couple well hidden slices of rye bread one needed to attack with a fork and steak knife was enough to intimidate even the biggest of appetites. Believe it or not, I see travel season as the California regional admission counselor for Whitman similarly. California is a large state! When I hit the road 53 days ago the flights, miles, visits and interviews were daunting, just like that steaming Irish culinary creation of my youth. My approach now is like my approach then, one bite at a time. Before I knew it, given some time and my fair share of iced teas the plate only had a few more bites, like my travel schedule today. The black travel bag and I only have 10 more days out on the road and I can’t help but feel satisfied by the accomplishment.

The afternoons after a visit to Kelly’s were understandably spent digesting, it really was gigantic sandwich! That is what I am looking forward to doing over the next few weeks with all the information I have taken in for the last two months. There are interviews to keep typing up, students to stay in contact with, profiles to organize, and lists to keep. It will be nice to be home, but to also move onto the next step, reading the applications. I have met so many interesting and promising students since September, it will be exciting to see how they present themselves. Applications will be coming soon too, the Early Decision I deadline at Whitman is November 15th. This is like sitting down to dinner in the evening after one of those Kelly’s Reubens, digestion beforehand is key. I will definitely be using early November to do just that, digest.

You all may be feeling like you are working your way through a Kelly’s Reuben yourself. There is the rigor and vigor of senior year, people like me keep showing up at your high school, you want to make a good impression on colleges, make good decisions on where to apply, and actually enjoy your senior year. The best advice I can offer is what has helped me, “one bite at a time.” Look at the applications bit by bit, don’t try to do all of them completely all at once. Otherwise you have a recipe for a hot mess that is not even worth trying to salvage as leftovers. You too will see a clearing in the ambitious plate you have before you. Don’t be stubborn like I was growing up, trying to take on a Kelly’s Reuben alone. Ask for help. Your friends and family are great resources for looking at essays and practicing interview questions. You also have some willing back-up in your college and admission counselors. We love this stuff and have an insatiable appetite. Slainte!

We’re on the Road!

It’s travel season for us in the admission office, which means that we might be visiting your high school! For some of you, this will be your first interaction with our staff and your first opportunity to ask questions.  We hope you will make the most of this time and have prepared some tips to help facilitate a meaningful discussion.

Step One: Are you visiting my town?

• Check our website to see if we travel to your town.  This travel schedule is updated throughout the fall, so if your hometown is not listed now, that may change in the future. Check back throughout the fall for changes.

Step Two: Are you visiting my school?

• If you have been in contact with our office prior to our visit, we will mail you a visit schedule for your state. If you have not been in contact with us, please be sure to check with your college or career center to see when Whitman might be visiting. Your counselor should have a list of colleges that will be making trips to your school and the times and days representatives will be on campus.

Step Three: How do I prepare for your visit?

• Do some research on our website so that you know what follow up questions you have about the application process, majors, campus life, or Whitman, in general.
• Many schools require students to officially sign up to attend college representative presentation visits. If your school does operate under that policy, make sure that you sign up ahead of time so that we know to expect you.
• Some of you will be missing class in order to attend our presentations. If you need to be excused, be sure to attain permission from your teacher beforehand.

Step Four: What should I expect from your visit?

• Visit presentations vary by college, but Whitman’s presentation includes general information about the college, as well as a question and answer session at the end. During a visit, you will also be able to sign up to receive further information from Whitman College relating to specific areas of interest.

Step Five: What do I do after you visit?

• If you are a senior, think about interviewing. Whitman offers a number of interviews on the road if you cannot make it to campus
• If you liked what you heard in the presentation and want to learn more, a great next step is to visit campus . Many students find that seeing the place in person helps them to better picture themselves as Whitman students.

While this step-by-step list is by no means exhaustive, I hope that this outline of what to expect from college visits is helpful to you as you begin to learn more about Whitman College.

Whitman on the Road

Well, fine prospective students, we’re on the road again this summer!

Next week, Tony Cabasco, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, will be traveling throughout California with the Pacific Northwest Colleges Consortium.  You can hear about Lewis and Clark College, University of Puget Sound, Reed College, Whitman College, and Willamette University all in one place! These events are an opportunity for you to hear individual college presentations and ask questions of the representatives.

We will also have a representative at the Colleges That Change Lives Events throughout the country.  Watch out for Joshua Smith and Cate van Oppen at the Bellevue, WA event on Saturday, July 31.  Anne Thatcher will be at the Portland, OR event, also on Saturday, July 31.

You can see our full travel schedule on the Whitman Admission site.  We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event!