Choose Widener

This is the moment when you set your life in motion. Choosing the right college is the first step.

Widener University will prepare you to be a Leader. It is not a school for followers. Widener will prepare you to take the lead by offering challenging, relevant coursework combined with hands-on, real-world experience. At Widener, everything we do is designed to give you the courage, competency and character to be a leader in your career, and your life.

Our virtual tour is now live, check it out and see if Widener is a good fit for you!

Important Dates – Mark Your Calendar

February 15th – FAFSA priority deadline
March 24th – Widener Accepted Students Day
May 1st – National Candidates Reply Date

The calendar is an everyday part of our lives.  We use it to plan, meet deadlines and what time to set our alarm clocks.  My personal favorite is going to the gym on January 1st and seeing all new faces as New Year resolutions are put into action.  Proof that the calendar modifies our actions and behavior.

Recently some professors have recommended that we synchronize dates with days.  In other words, the same dates and days of the week would be the same year after year.  I suppose that wouldn’t be bad if your birthday fell on Friday or Saturday every year but not so great if it were Tuesday or Wednesday.  Certainly, I could see some advantages and disadvantages to this proposal.  I know one pre-requisite when I buy a watch is that it must have a date feature because I tend to look at it a minimum of once a day. 

The college search and selection process can put organization of your personal calendar to the test.  Deadlines are common and students are penalized for missing them.  Early Decision … Early Action … Financial Aid … all of these typically come with a deadline.

Since the new year is in full swing, there are fewer but perhaps more important deadlines that will help with finalizing your college selection process.   The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) should be completed by February 15th.  Financial Aid packages are mailed in early March.  This is the 1st time during the entire college selection process that you will be able to start comparing apples with apples.  The middle of March is probably the 1st time you can compare the cost of attendance between the schools you have received an offer of admission.

The most important deadline of all is the National Candidates Reply Date (May 1st).  This is the date that students must commit which school they wish to attend.  Colleges are required to hold a seat for all the students they have admitted until then.

 

 

 

Widener 2015 … One Big Family!

It has been fascinating to read on Widener Facebook Class of 2015 how everyone is bonding.  Plans are already underway to meet prior to the fall at Hershey Park (or somewhere) just so everyone can meet in person.  This class has a special alliance.

Do you plan to enroll at Widener this fall?  Is Widener University your first choice school?  We have deposits rolling in each day and expect a freshman class of over 725!  If Widener is your 1st choice, there are several advantages to paying your deposit ASAP.

1. On campus housing will be assigned in the order deposits are received.
2. Students can select their Summer Registration dates on a first come first served basis.  This determines your class schedule.  So if you don’ t like 8:00 a.m. classes …
3. Within 24 hours of receipt of your deposit, students will be e-mailed information to get a Campus Cruiser account (Widener’s email system).

Still not sure if Widener is the right fit?

We have several opportunities for you to visit Widener or get answers to your questions between now and May 1st.  Here is just a few of our options:

1. We’ve added a 2nd Accepted Student Day on April 9, 2011.  You can register electronically as well as see pictures and videos from the first Accepted Student Day held on March 26th.
2. We have plenty of chances to visit campus.  We have three tours a day (Monday – Friday),  and opportunities to shadow a current Widener University student.  Details for all visit options can help you decide which is best for you.
3. Check out videos from current Widener Students sharing what they like about Widener!  It is part of our 60 videos in 60 days campaign.

Still have questions?  Please feel free to contact me directly at erwright@widener.edu.

Good Luck!

March Madness – College Admissions

Most people associate March Madness with college basketball.  This year, not a single #1 seed made the final four and cinderella will definitely be playing in the championship game since #8 seed (Butler) will be playing #11 seed (Virginia Commonwealth University) in one of the semi-final games and they will face either #3 seed (Connecticut) or #4 seed (Kentucky).  If you filled out a bracket this year, you are probably mad!

Widener Basketball

March Madness isn’t a term that just applies to basketball.  College Admissions Offices across the country are hoping that March (and April) will be their chance to shine!  Many of us have hosted an Open House or Accepted Student Day to convince our admits that we should be National Champions!

High school students have thousands of universities and colleges to choose from in the United States.  In fact, there are 4084.*  Many students started this process in 10th or 11th grade (some earlier and some later).  Did Widener even make the tournament?  Were we in the top 32? 16? Did we make the Elite Eight?  Final Four?

We held our Accepted Student Day yesterday.  Close to 600 students and 1600 people came to campus to kick the tires, look under the hood and see if we are worthy to be National Champions!  We hope we put on a good show and you liked what you saw.

If you were unable to make it, we are going to have another Accepted Student Day on Saturday April 9th.  Here are just some of the images or some of the fun you missed!

When the fall rolls around, we hope that many of the familiar names and faces we worked with throughout this process will make us worthy of National Champions and you will be part of the Widener Class of 2015!!!

* source: census.gov