The Iowa ACAC Inclusion, Access, and Success committee chaired by Juana Hollingsworth and Jesus Lizarraga-Estrada recently hosted another successful L.E.A.P Conference (Leading, Excelling, Academically and Professionally). The leadership conference is for underrepresented high school students in the state of Iowa. The conference this year was hosted at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Ankeny Campus on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. Last year's conference was hosted in Cedar Rapids at Mount Mercy University.

This sounds like a great opportunity for secondary and postsecondary professionals in Iowa - ANYONE can join! You don't have to be an Iowa ACAC or NACAC member (but we'd sure love to have you!)

Whether you’re new to the team or an admissions lifer, you probably have an excess of items in your office that you no longer need.

Did you know only 8% of people actually keep their New Year’s resolution? There are many reasons people can’t stick to their resolutions, from setting too many of them to getting derailed by small failures. A fantastic resolution you could keep this year is to attend Visit the Hill and make a difference!

We’re barely into 2019 and I’m already tired of the expression “New Year, New You.” According to U.S. News & World Report, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. Upon hearing this, my initial reaction was ”I wonder how realistic those resolutions were…”

The theme for the 2019 conference is “Change is Necessary for Growth” as the landscape for college admissions continues to evolve. 

As we travel the state of Iowa recruiting students this fall, it’s important to be aware of other resources that can help students and families navigate the college search process. One resource that we can reference students and families to is ICAN, a nonprofit that provides college and career planning and financial aid resources to students and schools across the state of Iowa. Formerly known as the Iowa College Access Network, the organization has changed its name this year, along with changing some of their programming to better serve students and school counselors. In addition to focusing on financial aid and college planning, the organization will also focus on professional development for school counselors and educators. ICAN’s Director of Communications, Britt Morey, shares more about the organizations changes:

If its fall, most of us are busy with college fairs, school visits, campus visits, travel itineraries, applications, and endless emails. It’s hard to find a day when the entire staff is in the office at the same time.

School Guidance Counselor - The American School Counselor Association (ASCA), in conjunction with NACAC, recently published a report that shows school counselors in Iowa average 418 students on their caseload, but we all know school counselors with many more students!

Iowa ACAC is excited to announce the first ever Colleges to Counselors (C2C) Events coming for the 2018-2019 school year!

The 2018 R.I.D.E. is in the books, and what a successful experience it was! Thirty-one professional school counselors from every corner of Iowa, and even a special guest from Minnesota, took some time for some “college knowledge” by participating in Iowa ACAC’s 15th annual three-day learning trek.

A school counselor’s perspective...

Over 40 students attended L.E.A.P. 2018 at the Mount Mercy University Graduate Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This annual leadership conference for underrepresented and first-generation freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in Iowa, is organized by the Iowa ACAC Inclusion, Access, and Success Committee. This year’s participants included students from Iowa City, Postville, Muscatine, West Liberty, and Columbus Junction. 

The Iowa ACAC Inclusion, Access, and Success Committee is excited to host the third annual L.E.A.P. Conference on Wednesday, April 4, 2018!

"May 1 is so ingrained in me, I can’t imagine a world without it."

Our Iowa ACAC blog series "Things I Wish You Knew" focuses on survey responses received from admissions counselors, school counselors, upper level admissions staff, recent college admits and their parents to offer a new perspective into their lives, which will hopefully impact the way you interact with these individuals. Watch for a survey in the future in your Inbox!

As we are all very familiar, during the spring we often see two different types of students wanting to visit campus:  admitted students making their college decisions and prospective juniors starting to think about college. This can be a confusing time for many, not knowing which visits are offered for whom, which would be the best fit, and, of course, the May 1 college decision deadline swiftly approaching.

Visiting universities, searching their websites, and meeting faculty, staff, and students are all very important steps in the college decision process. When proceeding with these steps, it is important for prospective students and their families to optimize the time they have on each campus.
One way to do that, is to ask questions to help make the decision easier! Here are 5 questions that each student should ask as they go through the big college decision process: