Do You Know this Union College?

Union College is in upstate New York in a city with a very distinctive name – Schenectady. Union was founded in 1795 and in addition to holding to its liberal arts roots, it has been quietly evolving and adapting to today’s student needs. Union is regarded as one of the few small liberal arts colleges that has a solid balance of liberal arts and engineering. Union now offers an Environmental Engineering Major and is bringing back Civil Engineering. With only 3 classes per trimester, students really get a chance to know their professors. For intro classes, the average class size is 21 students; for upper-level classes the average is 14 students. 80% of Union Students complete faculty-mentored research or creative work and 60% of students study abroad. 85% of students complete at least one internship. 97% of Union graduates are employed, in grad school or pursuing a post-grad fellowship within 6 months of graduation.

Building Your College Profile

Tips for Current Sophomores and Juniors

High school students have been enormously impacted by the pandemic this year, and last. With activities interrupted, distance learning and disruptions to the testing industries, the mental, emotional and physical burden that teenagers have been facing is unprecedented. However, while the toll of the pandemic has demotivated many, high school Sophomores and Juniors shouldn’t lose sight of the future. While many students have had their plans completely dismantled, now is the time to refocus and bring new energy to constructing a college profile.

When it comes to building your college profile, the work needs to start early. While adolescence is a time of confusion and experimentation, it is also a time where commitment to a few key goals can really pay off. Starting Sophomore year, students can already begin crafting their resumes and projecting themselves as future college students, even if that future is unclear. Here are some tips to get the process started.

Think about your core values.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in listing off to colleges everything that you’ve done, but that gets superficial very quickly. Instead, start with this values exercise. By thinking about your top values, you can more easily link them to anecdotes that represent these values, which can end up being excellent fodder for essays. Your core values should also be able to explain the activities and courses you choose to take.

Don’t over-explain.