Hott off the Press

A blog about college insights and more.


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JMU applications up 89% since joining Common App

By Karen Hott, May 2024
James Madison University, a public institution in Virginia, provided counselors with an overview of their admissions for the senior class of 2024 (JMU 2028) in a webinar on May 21. Anecdotally, I can tell you there’s been more interest in JMU than ever before, and the numbers bear that out. With nearly 40K applications this year, JMU has seen an
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Quinnipiac offers more than ice hockey and political polls

By Karen Hott, May 2024
Hott off the Press by Karen A. Hott, May 2024 You may know Quinnipiac for their political polls, or you may know them for their standout ice hockey team. But there’s more to QU. Quinnipiac comprises nine schools and colleges attended by 6000 undergraduates and 3000 graduate, law, and medical students. Most students come from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with
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Consider Eastern Connecticut for liberal arts at low cost

By Karen Hott, May 2024
Hott off the Press by Karen A. Hott, May 2024 Eastern Connecticut State University primarily serves in-state residents, with only 10% coming from beyond Connecticut. It’s a rarity in state university systems, a public liberal arts college. ECSU, or “Eastern” as the natives call it, defined their liberal arts outcomes in 2019-20. They’re implementing that curriculum now. Liberal arts learning
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Trinity College combines liberal arts, real-world experience

By Karen Hott, May 2024
Hott off the Press, by Karen A. Hott, May 2024 Celebrating 200 years of “preparing independent thinkers with purpose and pride,” Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, has around 2100 undergraduate students and a student-to-faculty ratio of 8:1. Though students hail from 47 different states and 86 countries, Trinity would like to see more engagement from their “backyard,” especially New Jersey
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Wesleyan U. attracts independent, passionate students

By Karen Hott, May 2024
Admissions at Wesleyan University
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UConn’s first-year programs ease transition to college

By Karen Hott, May 2024
Hott off the Press by Karen A. Hott, May 2024 At “the basketball capital of the world,” University of Connecticut welcomes new students into the Husky pack with programs that ease the transition to college and make a large school feel much smaller. “How do I discover this place and make it work for me?” The First Year Experience (FYE)
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The USC in South Carolina

By Karen Hott, April 2024
Karen Hott, Hott off the Press, April 2024 South Carolina is a BIG school with BIG sports and BIG spirit. Going from a high school of 2,000 to a university of 27,000+ can be intimidating for even the most confident student, but USC (we’re talking about the South here, not the West where that other USC lives) has for the
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Clemson draws East Coasters with Southern flair

By Karen Hott, March 2024
March 1, 2024 Tiger pride is literally stamped on the roads leading to campus, the big orange paw prints shouting that you’re in Clemson country now. I visited the South Carolina public university with my HECA colleagues on a rainy day in March, but the weather didn’t dampen our tour guide’s enthusiasm. Colleges Eight colleges make up Clemson University, which
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Davidson College nurtures whole person

By Karen Hott, March 2024
Feb. 28, 2024 When I visited Davidson College in North Carolina with my HECA colleagues, our tour guide stopped to proudly point out her signature on the Honor Code wall. The Honor Code is a foundation for trust among Davidson students that goes beyond academics. They say they can leave a computer unattended and know that it will be there
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Wofford College, a place to find your passion

By Karen Hott, March 2024
Feb. 29, 2024 “Hey, y’all!” I knew I was in the South when I heard every one of the four tour guides start her introduction that way.  Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is a private liberal arts college of 1800 undergraduates living and studying on a classically green campus dotted with bright white buildings. The Chandler Center for Environmental