Where is Spring?!?

Hello and greetings from the Admission Office at Tusculum College!

Does anyone know where Spring is?  I understand we have to go through seasons, and in order to reach Spring we must first endure Winter, but I believe Winter has worn out its welcome.  However, before we enjoy the warmer weather, there are a couple of tasks that you may need to complete before Spring's arrival. 

First, if you plan to come to Tusculum for Block 6, you must have all your information, including all your transcript and/or AP score information in to Tusculum by Wednesday, Feb. 3rd to ensure you have enough time to be reviewed, make your enrollment deposit for the Spring semester, and register for your classes. 

Keep this date in mind: February 15th.  This is Tusculum College's priority deadline to file your FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  If you've not done so yet, you can file your FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.  Remember that it's the Free application, so if you go to a site that says they will charge you, leave that site immediately!  You do not pay to file the FAFSA. 

For those students that have already been accepted to Tusculum, and have already completed and submitted their FAFSA (thank you!) you will soon receive a phone call from your Admission counselor.  We want to make sure that you did receive your Financial Aid award letter, and answer any questions you have about it or about making your enrollment deposit.

Once you've completed your FAFSA and have made your enrollment deposit, it'll be Spring!  If you have any questions, please feel welcome to contact your Admission counselor.

-Nicole

Show Me the Money!

Let’s talk about one of the most important factors in any high school student’s college decision making process.  That’s right, MONEY.  How much will it cost me and my family to go to Tusculum College?  That is a very popular question for every student trying to decide which school to go to.  Luckily for you and your family, Tusculum takes great pride in the process of answering this question.

Beginning this week, our financial aid office is sending out the financial aid packages for several students who have already completed their FAFSA.  This is much earlier than most colleges and institutions.  So, check your mail for these because they are probably the most important letter you will get from Tusculum.  Not only will you get a chance to see every avenue for financial assistance, your admission counselor will call you and speak with you about each one of the loans, grants and scholarships that appear on this package.  It can become confusing, and we understand this.  That is why we work hard to have a formal conversation with each student regarding the make-up of their financial aid package.  At the end of this conversation, you should have better feel for the answer to: How much will it cost my family to go to Tusculum?

If you haven’t done your FAFSA yet, do it as soon as you can.  You don’t even have to wait for your parents’ tax information to come to your house.  You can base the information on last year’s income!  You can find the FAFSA by clicking on this link (remember, the FAFSA is always FREE--don't pay money for it!). TC's FAFSA code is 003527.  If you need some help with the form, contact our Financial Aid Office at 1-800-729-0256 ext. 5377.

--Aaron P

TC Students Learn About Coal Mining History in West Virginia

Students, faculty and staff from Tusculum College recently spent time learning about the difficult lives coal miners and their families faced during the early days of coal mining and living in mining communities, as well as the economic difficulties many of those towns still face today.

Sixteen students and their staff and faculty mentors visited Whipple, W.Va., as part of a cross-curriculum study on the book, “The Glass Castle,” by Jeannette Walls.

The book, set in part in West Virginia, is a memoir of the author’s difficult upbringing dealing with parental alcoholism, neglect and difficult economic circumstances.

According to Amanda Waddell, director of career development at the College and a staff mentor for the Murdock Circle Living Learning Community, the trip was a culmination of the group’s study of the book across several courses, including English, psychology and environmental science courses.

Participating in the educational excursion were students from the Murdock Learning Community and the Quest Learning Community.  The learning community concept at Tusculum College includes students with similar interests or backgrounds living together and taking the same course load in order to create a shared learning environment.  According to Waddell these communities allow for support, in addition to what is already provided by the College, through shared experiences and additional staff and faculty mentors.

The groups read “The Glass House” for their English class, but also addressed the plot’s concepts of extreme poverty and parental neglect in their psychology class and the environmental effects of coal mining in their environmental science course. The trip to West Virginia was a culminating experience for the study unit, said Waddell.

The Whipple area was selected because of its similarity to the setting of the book, a destitute coal mining town in West Virginia.

To continue reading this article, please click on this link.

Spring is here... kind of.....

I hope everyone out there enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year's this year! The folks on the Admission staff enjoyed having some time off for the holidays to spend with our families. While our staff has been back on campus for about a week now, our students began their spring semester today. I use the term "spring" loosely, as we've had snow on the ground here for the last few weeks! Like the rest of the nation, we're having an unusually cold winter, which means snow, snow, and more snow!

Like most other colleges and schools in our area, any closures on Tusculum's campus are announced through local media as soon as a decision is made by our administrators. Of course this also affects us in the Office of Admission, as we schedule campus visits throughout the week, as well as Saturdays. If you have a visit scheduled and bad weather arises, please be sure to put your safety first when it comes to traveling to campus. It is no problem for us to reschedule visits if needed. Also, you are welcome to contact your admission counselor to see if our office will be open, and if alternate plans may be needed. We as counselors are big fans of communication with our students! So anytime you have a question or concern, please be sure to ask!!

~Becky