by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

One measure of the success of College Week Live is that the number of days for this virtual college fair has doubled, from two last spring to four in the fall of 2009. During the dates of November 4 – 7, College Week Live will connect students from across the country and the world to the college search and application process without leaving their home, office, or school.

Among the highlights: the opportunity to speak to representatives of over 300 colleges, the chance to hear keynote presentations via Webcast (including Ted Fiske of Fiske Guide and representatives from the Department of Education, among many others), and the chance to video chat live with college students.

One of the most popular features last spring was the “Counselor-on-Call” chat area where students and parents by the hundreds were able to pose questions to professional counselors. IECA is pleased that only IECA Members will be staffing the counselor-on-call area, and are doing so as volunteers.This recognition that IECA members are the most knowledgeable, competent, and informed advisors is much appreciated. I’m thrilled that more than 50 IECA members have pledged an average of two hours each of service. They expect to answer questions ranging from testing, to volunteer service, to financial aid, and much, much more.

For more details on this wonderful event, visit collegeweeklive.com.

by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director

Clear Channel Communications, one of the nation’s largest radio station owners with more than 1200 stations across the country, is partnering with College Week Live to heavily promote a virtual New England College Fair on October 15. IECA has joined this partnership  to inform its members and their families about the fair and will provide free one-to-one online assistance to students and parents throughout the day.

The event will allow students and parents from inside and outside New England to learn about and interact with admission representatives from colleges and universities around New England. We expect many state agencies to support and promote the program as well.

IECA members from New England are invited to volunteer to answer questions about college admissions, the application process, financial aid, learning disabilities, athletic recruitment, and more. In addition to such volunteers, IECA is looking for those who can assist in preparing a frequently asked questions (and answers) list. Such an approach is a response to the similar questions which came up throughout last spring’s national College Week Live two-day event which involved more than 50 IECA members as volunteers in the online counseling center.

IECA members who wish to participate as volunteers should let me know. Students and families who want more information about the event (as well as upcoming national and regional events) should visit www.CollegeWeekLive.com.

I had a good conversation with Robert Rosenbaum, director of CollegeWeekLive. First on the agenda was to affirm the partnership between CWL’s virtual fairs and the Independent Educational Consultants Association to provide exclusive, free, on-line advice to students during the upcoming fair via the “Counselor-on-Call” feature. In March, more than 60 IECA members took part in providing these services to over 1,000 students and many more IECA members have expressed an interest for the year ahead.

We also spoke about the possibility of making IECA’s contribution even more meaningful to students by ensuring specialized advice via web-cam on topics ranging from recruited athletes and financial aid to LD admission and international study.

The next virtual fair will take place November 4 – 7, 2009, just prior to the IECA Fall Conference.

I will be working with IECA members (let me know if you are interested!) in creating a database of frequently asked questions and answers so that volunteer IECA members will have at-the-ready standard answers to questions that arise frequently, enabling faster response rates.

This continued partnership demonstrates IECA’s belief that CollegeWeekLive represents a wonderful platform for reaching students who may not have access to college fairs in their own community, as well as those seeking information and support that they might not be able to afford by hiring an independent college advisor. Likewise, CWL’s selection of IECA as the sole provider for Counselor-on-Call indicates their belief that our members are among the most knowledgeable and competent college counselors in the country.

Posted by Mark Sklarow, IECA Executive Director 

Well, the Spring 2009 College Week Live virtual college fair is now history.  According to  the managers at CWL, the IECA-hosted Counselor-on-Call Center was among the busiest and best attended parts of the show!  I have heard from nearly 40 of our participating members and all but one indicated that it was a great experience.

A few quotes from IECA participating members:

Joan Bress: “The experience was hectic, but fun.  I felt like an over caffeinated air traffic controller.”

Iraida Alvarado: “The experience was at first very confusing and overwhelming, but once I got the hang of it, totally satisfying, even exhilarating!” 

Susan Hanflik: “I have never felt more ADD in my life, and I completely am awed by our kids’ ability to multi-task conversations on the computer.”

Judi Robinovitz: “The kids (and some parents, too) asked excellent questions about SAT vs ACT, AP vs dual enrollment, deadlines, factors in admission decisions, etc.”

Terry Lloyd: “I thought it was great fun and wonder how we can develop this into something for pro bono students.”

Suzan Reznick: “For the most part the students were very grateful and polite. It was fun, but very intense last night, hard for me to type fast enough to keep up!”

Dean Skarlis: “I did enjoy the chat room, and I think the entire concept is excellent.”

Jane Shropshire: “It truly does feel like a college fair, with students clamoring for attention and appreciative, as Mark said, of informative responses.  It was a pleasure and a privilege to participate.”

After some early morning technical problems, it was exciting to watch as thousands of students and parents visited the virtual college fair. Over the course of the first day, more than 25 IECA members served as the exclusive “Counselors-on-Call” responding to hundreds (literally) of questions over 12 hours. Many questions dealt with SAT/ACT, financial aid, and applications. I saw many colleges representatives stop into the C-on-C area as well. Kudos to our members who handled the glut of questions (as many as ten at a time). The fair continues Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., EST.

The College Week Live virtual college fair is coming up and we have 56 IECA members serving as “Counselor-on-Call”—a new addition to the fair.  Most have gone through training and seem excited about answering student & parent questions throughout the event Wednesday & Thursday.  I’ll be stopping by throughout the two days and making note of frequently asked questions—and answers—which might be helpful in the future.

It was exciting to see College Week Live promote the Counselor-on-Call component and IECA’s involvement in their final ‘Friday promotional postcard’ to their mailing list.