University Decisions? No Secret Decoder Ring needed!

For those of you who have applied to Queen’s for Fall 2008 and for those of you who are waiting to do so – BIG reminder that February 1st (tomorrow) is the last day to apply if you are studying in North America and February 15th is the last day to apply for those in all other corners of the globe – one of the things that will be happening over the next few months is the process of making decisions on your applications.

One of the things to point out is that sometimes the world of university jargon and lingo can seem like a language unto itself and we realize this so not to worry!  When using the ASQ system you will see a small description telling you what the status of your application(s) is and this can change over time according to where we are in the admission cycle or depending on what information we still might need from you.  One day it could say “Your Application is Missing Information” and the next it could be “Your Application has been Kept Open for Future Consideration”, but what does all of this mean?  You think you know but do you?  That’s why at the bottom of the ASQ page you will find a link that will take you to our University Decision Code Glossary.  This glossary will further explain the definition you see on ASQ and will hopefully save you a phone call and stress as you try and decipher our secret codes.  So there you go, now when you head to the grocery store to buy cereal you don’t have to look for the box with the secret decoder ring inside – instead I’ll suggest something with a bit less sugar!

Dan Seneker – Senior Admission Coordinator

So many blogs…So little time!

Are you bogged down with keeping track of your blogs?

I have to admit, I’m a borderline Millennial, sitting on that fine line in between this generation and Gen X’s so this should be easy for me, but there is so much blogging out there I was getting overwhelmed! And then I found my answer!

Have you ever wondered if there was an easy way to know when new information was posted to a blog without having to visit the site every day? Do you open up a blog and see all of these new entries and have no idea where to start? Well the answer to our questions lies in one little icon!

If you look at the address bar in your browser right now you should see this little icon at the very end . I had always known that it dealt with blogging, I just had no idea how it could make my life so much easier! One little click allows you to subscribe to our blog with your choice of applications. And if you really want to be on top of the game, you can even add it to your iGoogle homepage as a gadget! Just click See “Queen’s University: Admission Services” on your Google homepage and add!

We are constantly updating it with useful information like Important Dates, a current student’s Exchange Experience, the sacred House Hunt, and London Calling!

So brush up on your feed icons and start blogging with ease!

Happy reading,

Allison Tapak, Admission Coordinator, Mid-Western Canada and USA

London Calling

So last night you were perusing your friend’s Facebook wall, when you noticed that the older brother of this guy you met at camp three summers ago is now in first-year at Queen’s. Hardly noteworthy in and of itself, were it not for his most recent post: “Dude,” he writes, “just got back from a field trip to Westminster Abbey – it was AMAZING! You’ll have to come visit me at the Castle sometime soon!”

Huh? Castle? What in the name of Hogwarts is this crazy person talking about?

Well, after a visit to the Queen’s web site, this seemingly hallucinogenic post makes a bit more sense. Turns out, Queen’s has an overseas campus in England. And – get this – the campus is a 15th Century castle in southeast England! A FREAKIN’ CASTLE!!

After a bit more research, you discover that if you’re doing an Arts degree at Queen’s, it’s actually possible to spend your entire first-year studying at this castle in England. After first-year, you come back to Queen’s and resume your studies in Kingston.

Très cool, I know. But it gets better…

Instead of your first-year Psychology class rivaling the population of a small town, it’ll have less than 30 students. That’s because there are only 180 students at the castle, which means class sizes can be kept nice and small. And, as you might expect, small class sizes translate into higher marks!

Sitting next to you in your classes will be students from all around the world. You see, this isn’t just a “Queen’s bubble” in England. On the contrary, the castle welcomes students and professors from universities worldwide.

And of course there are the weekly course-specific trips throughout the UK. Not to mention the many optional excursions and the week-long midterm trips to Edinburgh and Paris!

“But it must be expensive,” you say. And sure, the fees are higher than a traditional Arts programme, but they’re not unreasonable and just look at the added benefits: small class sizes, top students and professors from around the world, living in England, and traveling throughout the UK and Europe. Oh, and did we mention it’s a FREAKIN’ CASTLE! And if the price tag is what’s holding you back, consider also that there is a very generous bursary programme for castle students. Twenty years from now you won’t even remember that you might have paid a bit more for your first-year of university; what you will remember is the amazing year you spent going to school in a castle!

And here’s the really good news: It’s not too late to apply! If you go to school in Canada or the U.S., you’ve got until February 1st to make your application through the OUAC; if you go to school outside Canada or the U.S., you’ve got until February 15th. Trust me, it’ll be one of the best decisions you ever make!

If you have any questions or would like more information, please leave a comment.

Cha gheill,
Jesse Campling, ISC Admission Coordinator

House Hunting Season Has Begun In Kingston!

Walking to a local coffee shop to get my treat for Friday afternoon at the office (Remember on “its treat yourself it’s Friday!!!” you treat yourself!) I couldn’t help but notice the gaggles of students walking around the blocks surrounding main campus and who were, currently, clumped in groups inside and outside this coffee shop – no doubt trying to stay warm and getting their caffeine fix to keep up their stamina. It was then that I realized…it’s house hunting season.

As a graduate and now employee of Queen’s I had completely forgotten about this sacred and chaotic time of year. Having returned from winter holidays with renewed vigor, students start the process of finding their perfect house, and for first years, they’re very first house, a place of their own. The smart ones come back knowing who to live with and what they can handle, visiting a variety of houses and not settling yet not holding out for the elusive perfect house. Inevitably, there are the ones that start looking with…less than realistic expectations of their first student house. I happened upon a group of first year students who’d bundled up to visit a few houses and in passing heard a student say to her friends, “Alright, veto. I already hate this house…it’s too far.” Now while I’m sure I would have had the same reaction as a new student, as a learned house hunter I could only just shake my head and think… “They’ll learn”. Queen’s is one of the lucky universities to have it’s student housing so close to it’s campus, so ‘too far’ at Queen’s should really be kept in perspective.

Having had to move every year that I was at Queen’s, I can sympathize with those students in their hunt for the Holy Grail of houses. From residence, to my first house after residence, to my second house (torn down for the Queen’s Center…sacrifices) to my third apartment to now my fourth  and, fingers crossed, final house in Kingston, trust me when I say I know how frustrating looking for a place to live can be. But I can also remember how much fun it was – to realize you get to live on your own with some of your best friends; to meet up for coffee to discuss options, warm up between houses and gossip about that hot fourth year guy or girl who’s bedroom you’d just looked at, it’s great.

If you’re a prospective student, don’t be turned off by this annual race for housing. It is totally worth the end result and you gain good life skills. If you’re in the thick of the hunt as we speak, just remember that a house with a dishwasher, washer and dryer, hardwood floor, fireplace, porch, pool, sauna, built in entertainment unit etc. might not exist, but remember that these houses have character. Queen’s students have been living in them for years. In my second house, the attic closet doors had messages written on them from all its tenants from 1980 to present. Remember the history, but also remember that when you find that house, it will be perfect because it will be yours and you will make it your own. With a little loving, laughs and memories, that house will be the best thing you ever could come home to.

Happy House Hunting!!!

 

Stephanie Anthony-Brown – Admission Representative

A Canadian in Freiburg!

(Alsace region, not far from Freiburg, Germany)

Greetings from the Black Forest, Germany! My name is Helen Kneale and I am a third year Queen’s student currently on exchange in Europe. I am working towards a four-year medial (which just means that I have two concentrations) in German and Italian Language and Literature as well as a Certificate in International Studies. My first two undergraduate years at Queen’s gave me the opportunity to study a broad range of courses, including electives such as Latin, Ancient Greek and 17^th and 18^th century French literature, all of which I enjoyed immensely and which have greatly enriched my overall university education. For my third year, I was thrilled to be able to take part in the Ontario/Baden-Württemberg Exchange Program and have the opportunity to spend one year at the Albert-Lüdwigs Universität in Freiburg. My experience here has been, to describe it in one word, ausgezeichnet (German for “awesome!”) and I have learned just as much in the classroom as outside of it on the many field trips and excursions in Germany and its surrounding countries. A highlight was certainly being able to go to Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France (only one hour away!) to observe the proceedings of the European Parliament. Taking part in this international experience has not only opened up many doors for me for future study in Europe, but has also redefined my understanding of my own country, Canada. As the great German poet Goethe once said, “Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen“ (He who knows no foreign languages knows nothing of his own). Studying abroad is a transformative experience, and I know that I will draw on the things I have learned, the people I have met, and the places I have seen for years to come. I would highly recommend participating in a third year exchange to any student starting at Queen’s.

Helen Kneale

Arts ‘09 (German and Italian Language & Literature)

Some important dates for your shiny, new calendar…

Welcome to 2008!

Today is my first day back at work after a long and restful holiday, so I must confess that this blog entry is coming to you from a bit of a turkey- well, tofurkey – and pie-induced haze. Since I have something very important to tell you, I’ll try to fight that off…

Through my food-related reverie, I happened to notice that when I changed my calendar, there are a few very important deadlines coming up in the next couple of months. For those of you who are applying to university this year, you’ve likely heard your parents and your guidance counsellors say over and over again that deadlines are important, and the fact of the matter is, they’re right. It is really important that you keep an eye on deadlines this year since they can often really affect your application. That said, since most universities have slightly different deadlines, keeping track of all of them can be a bit confusing. Since there are a couple of them coming up – and since a few of them are close together – I thought I’d highlight a few that are worth marking on your shiny, new calendar:

If you’re currently attending school in Ontario:

1. January 9, 2008 – There has been a bit of confusion about this date, so hopefully we can clear that up. This is the date by which the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) would like you to have applied. If all of you apply by this date, it makes it a lot easier for the OUAC to pass on your information to the universities and makes it easier for us to start processing your application (i.e. because of the sheer number of applications). You can still apply after that, depending on the university’s specific deadline; for example, at Queen’s, you can still apply up until February 1, 2008, but we would encourage you to do it by January 9^th.
2. February 1, 2008 – See above note. This is the final deadlines for applications and amendments, meaning that if you want to change your program options (e.g. you originally applied to Arts but recently realized that your soul is really meant to be in Engineering), you need to do it by this date.
3. March 1, 2008 – Deadline for your Personal Statement of Experience (PSE) and any other documents (e.g. TOEFL test, portfolio). After you apply to Queen’s, you’ll receive information – either online or in a paper format – which will tell you what we need you to do next. We’ll also tell you about ASQ, which is where you’ll go to find out exactly which documents you need to send to us. Please note that this is a very firm deadline, so it’s important that you submit your information by this date. This is also the deadline for Entrance Bursary (needs-based financial assistance) applications for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

If you’re currently attending school full-time in Ontario, your high school will submit your grades for you. Ask your guidance counsellor for more info!

If you’re currently attending school outside of Ontario:

1. February 1,2008, if you attend school in Canada or the US; February 15, 2008, if you attend school outside of Canada and the US – Of course, we would love for you to apply earlier than this, so please feel free to keep sending in those applications! This date is the final deadline to apply and to amend your application, meaning that if you originally applied to Commerce and now feel the urge to explore Computing, it’s important that you make changes by this date.
2. March 1, 2008 – Deadline for your Personal Statement of Experience (PSE) and any other documents (e.g. TOEFL test, transcripts, portfolio). Just as with Ontario students, after you apply to Queen’s, you’ll receive information about ASQ and what we need you to do next. We will continue to accept your transcripts and other documents (except the PSE – it must be submitted by March 1) until April 30, but if you’d like to be considered for early offers of admission, you’ll need to try to get everything in by March 1, 2008. This is also the deadline for Entrance Bursary (needs-based financial assistance) applications for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
3. April 30, 2008 – Final deadline for documents (except the PSE, which is due March 1).

Those are all the big ones! It’s important to check over letters and emails for any other little dates, but this is a good start. I think I hear your new calendar calling…

Happy 2008!

P.S. Oh, I forgot something (I did say that this blog had to fight through tofurkey and pie): don’t forget that if your address changes this year, you need to let us know! If any of your contact information changes, you’ll need to update your information on your OUAC account (then, they’ll pass it on to us). Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on your email account over the next few months!

Danyal Martin

Admission Coordinator