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Author Archives: Kat Swantak
Someone asked me why I work at Juniata College
So, I thought that was kind of strange. It’s almost the kind of question you get in a job interview that forces you to spitball something about job satisfaction and professional development. But, the mother of a student that I’ve been working with since her junior year asked me this a while ago. They’re from NYC, and had their world completely flipped upside-down when they came to rural Pennsylvania. I get it, I grew up in a large town where you can get falafel, acupuncture, and Wegmans within a mile of each other.
“And then what did you do, Kat? We await your response with baited breath!” said no one. Well, I did as I was writing this. Internally though.
(more…)Financial aid questions parents actually ask
The hard part is over! Your child was admitted to college. Now comes the “paying for it” part. We totally get it. Paying for college is a huge investment and one that should be taken with great care. There are all sorts of loans and grants and work study opportunities and a whole host of other kinds of financial aid. It’s hard to keep track of them all, let alone understand what each school’s financial aid award really means since they all look different.
Parents and families of admitted students ask a lot of questions about financial aid, as they should. It’s complicated, and I’d be skeptical if you told me that you didn’t find it confusing at least at some point in the whole process. There are the standard questions that families tend to ask, like these, and they’re good ones. I mean, we wouldn’t put it on our website if they weren’t, right?
But let’s go a little deeper. Parents, let’s get real for a moment.
(more…)12 gifs that are too real if you applied to Juniata
Wait, where did this year go? Like, actually. I can’t find it. I think I left it in 2019 somewhere. I feel like I just started reading applications a week ago, and now it’s half way through April. Many of you have already found your future home at Juniata, some of you are still deciding (Don’t worry, we’re still here!). You all have one thing in common. You all applied to Juniata. Did your journey look something like this?
When you discover that Juniata even exists in the first place:
A Juniata admissions life hack that will, you know, change your life.
Are you ready? This life hack is super simple and it takes only a couple of minutes, then BOOM! Life = Changed
Are you sure?
Reeeaaaallllly sure??
Alright let’s go!
(more…)My own college rejection story
Now that our office is busy at work sending out decisions, I couldn’t help but remember my devastating college rejection story.
Way back when, I applied Early Decision to a Particular Highly Selective Liberal Arts College Which Shall Remain Nameless thinking, “Ooo! This will definitely help me get in since I’m committing so early. They’ll definitely notice my demonstrated interest!” Yeah…it doesn’t really work like that, Kat.
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