SANTA MONICA HIGH SCHOOL PTSA
ASSOCIATION MEETING JUNE 14, 2005
SAMOHI CAFETERIA
Minutes have been approved by committee.
Treasurer's Report: Chris Thornton presented the Treasurer's Report and Maria Rodriguez moved that May disbursements be approved. Nancy Schmidt seconded and the motion passed. Chris presented the proposed draft budget for 2005/2006, which will be voted on at the upcoming September PTSA meeting. There is a $35,000 surplus this year; a result of the second direct donation letter as well as donations from Alumni. Lynn Naliboff moved that $25,000 of the surplus be spent on Samohi's photocopying needs and $10,000 be spent on whiteboards. Rick King seconded the motion and it passed.
Dr. Straus presented the Principal's Report:
ü Tomorrow is a peace rally, with Fernando Escuelas as the featured motivational speaker.
ü There are over 30 positions to fill for next year, including a new O House Principal (which has been filled by a Samo graduate), a new H House advisor, an activities director, journalism advisor, and librarian.
ü Volunteers are still being accepted for Grad Nite.
ü There has been a major change to next year's school calendar. Instead of returning from Winter Break on January 2, 2006, the first day of school will be January 3. Consequently, Monday, June 26 has been added as an official school day and report cards can be picked up on that day.
State of the State: Louise Jaffe reported that last night Governor Schwartzenegger announced that there will indeed be a special election on November 8. The governor refers to his legislation as the "Live Within Our Means" Act, but some concerned parents see it as the "Destroy our Public Schools" Act.
Program: Student Panel on College Choice: Joyce Smith introduced the panel of Samohi seniors and graduates:
Student 1 - Dartmouth junior
Dartmouth is not near a large city, but it's location is beautiful. He felt that the college visit was very important. He suggests that you shouldn't worry too much about the decision; all of his friends have ended up happy where they are.
Student 2 - Cornell freshman
Stephanie wanted something new and different. She chose Cornell because it's away from a big city, pretty, has good food and offers a great education.
Student 3 - Tisch School for the Arts of NYU freshman
Sahoua wants to be a writer or a playwright, and her application to NYU included her writing portfolio. She recommends that if you're applying to a top school, apply early and apply for scholarships early. Even if you think that you don't qualify for the scholarship, try anyway.
Student 4 - Mt. Holyoke freshman
Mt. Holyoke is a women's college in western Massachusetts. It's part of a consortium of five schools. It's location is beautiful, with lakes and trees. It's small, warm and fuzzy, and nurturing. Women's colleges are very empowering, especially for those who choose the sciences. Emma applied in early December, and recommends starting your essays in July.
Student 5 - Beloit via Alfred University
Noah started college at Alfred University, which was pretty, but six hours from anything. Beloit is small, with 1,200 students, but has everything. It's in southern Wisconsin, 1 1/2 hours from Chicago, and is warmer than Alfred. Noah recommends using an outside college counselor, especially if you're applying to private colleges or outside of California. Noah took only one AP class, but was accepted into all 11 schools he applied to.
Student 6 - Colby via Berkeley
Chad spent only one semester at Berkeley. He didn't like the large size, and felt that the social environment was dominated by fraternities and sororities. Colby is a small liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, which is one hour from Portland and three hours from Boston.
Student 7 - Purdue via other colleges
Charlie's acceptances included ASU and Indiana as well as Purdue. His schools used rolling admissions and he found the applications process easy, so he had back-up choices early. Although he did apply to Purdue, it wasn't originally his first choice.
Student 8 - Washington University freshman
Washington University is in St. Louis, Missouri. It is a mid-sized school with 6,000 students. It's close to a city but doesn't look like a city campus. Dani applied early which saved her a lot of stress, and strongly recommends it. She visited five schools last summer, and suggests not only visiting as early as possible but timing your visit so that school is in session, to see how you will fit in.
Student 9 - UCLA School of Music freshman
Zach applied to 12 schools, consisting of six conservatories and six universities. A conservatory is a school for music, dance, and/or drama. A conservatory would have surrounded him with people like himself. Zach chose UCLA partly because of the tuba teacher. He also felt that he could have a small school experience in the music school, with a university feel because students take classes with all of the other UCLA students. Zach recommends that music students audition in person, rather than sending in a tape.
Student 10 - Diaz University of San Francisco freshman
Grace applied to USF a favor for her mom. Originally, she had no intention of attending school in California. Her advice is to apply everywhere you might want to go. USF has 4,000 undergraduates as well as a grad school, and is a Jesuit University. If you can't make a visit to the schools you're interested in, take a virtual tour and talk to people. Start now! Grace suggests that you shouldn't be afraid of the big scary price tags of private schools. For her, USF ended up being cheaper than the U.C.'s would have been. There are Cal Grants available as well as other scholarship money.
Student 11 - Dennis Colby freshman
Colby has a gorgeous campus, with outdoors programs and amazing students. Samantha applied to tons of schools. When making your final decision, she recommends asking the admissions office of your first choice school: "X college offered me $X,000 per year. Will you match that?"
Student 12 - Pomona College freshman
Pomona College is one of the Claremont Colleges, which is modeled after Oxford. Laura's choices included such different schools as Cornell, Berkeley, and Pomona. She found the final decision quite tough, but because Pomona shares libraries, dining facilities, and other services with the other Claremont Colleges, she finds that it has the benefits of a small college and of a mid-sized university as well. At Pomona the academics are very strong, and the Princeton Review's "Best 357 Colleges" ranks Pomona College students number one in happiness!
Student 13 - Marquette University freshman
For Keith, the football team was a major criteria. Marquette also offered his best financial package, and he suggests that you use search engines to find scholarships. It's important to visit the school(s) you're considering. Marquette is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Student 14 - University of Pennsylvania freshman
Oscar applied to 11 schools, looking for diversity, academics, and sports. He wanted to be close to a major city for culture, jobs, resources, and research. It's important to visit the schools. If you wish to start working on your applications early, you can often get essay prompts early by going on-line, if the school keeps the same prompts from the prior year.
Student 15 - Drew University sophomore
Simon wanted to go to school on the East Coast. Drew wasn't on his original list, but he loved the small town and the small school. Madison, New Jersey is 40 minutes from New York City. Simon felt that in the applications, the essay was very important. He suggests that you put everything into it - give it all you have.
Student 16 - Middlebury junior
Middlebury College is in Vermont, three hours from Boston. It's known for English, creative writing, and Spanish, which happen to be her three areas of interest. She spent a semester abroad in Spain. It's hard to get to Middlebury, and without direct flights, she hasn't been coming home for Thanksgiving. It's cold, but she really likes it. Julie didn't get to visit prior to making her decision, but she knew what type of school she wanted. She enjoyed doing the research and applications on her own.
Student 17 - U.C. Berkeley freshman
Celia originally wanted a smaller school, and applied to 11 schools all over. Berkeley and Santa Clara were her final choices. She eventually chose Berkeley because it has more opportunities and she is uncertain as to what she'll want to do. Celia recommends staying organized. It's an overwhelming process and there are many dates to keep track of: make charts. Two books were very useful: The Fiske Guide to Colleges and the Best 357 Colleges.
Student 18 - U.C. Davis freshman
Amanda found the college decision difficult to make. Davis is isolated, surrounded by cows and grass, which originally turned her off. However, she now feels that it has a nurturing environment and that she'll fit in. Sacramento is nearby with opportunities for internships, which is great because of her interest in law.
Student 19 - Emory University freshman
Cynthia encourages applicants to not be afraid of big numbers (expensive private school tuition) because there is a lot of money available through loans, scholarships, and grants. In deciding on Emory, she found atmosphere to be most important. Emory has a great student body, and she loves the town of Atlanta, Georgia. Cynthia has a jewelry making business, so she sent in a sample of her jewelry with her application.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm by Cheri Orgel.
Respectfully submitted by,
Leslie Frischer
Co-Recording Secretary