AboutValerie Broughton Expertise I can advise high school students and their parents on every aspect of the college search, application, admissions and financial aid processes.
Experience Currently, and for the past ten years, I've served the Midwest as a private college counselor guiding hundreds of families and students through the college admissions maze, matching them with the colleges where the students will thrive and succeed. Prior to starting my own practice, I was a faculty member and administrator at several colleges and universities. Prior to completing my PhD. I taught high school math and was a guidance counselor at a community college.
Organizations I'm a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, a member of the Higher Educational Consultants Association, and the Minnesota Chapter of the Association of College Admissions Counselors. I'm proud of the fact that I've earned the designation of Certified Educational Planner.
Publications Strictly High School was a publication for high school students and I had a monthly column in that paper. Copies of those articles are available on www.CollegeConnectors.com.
I'm a regular contributor to the KARE 11 morning program where I discuss college admissions topics. Those clips are available on the College Connectors website also.
Education/Credentials My bachelor's degree is in Math Education. My master's degree is in Counseling. My PhD is in Educational Research and Evaluation.
Awards and Honors I was selected and participated in the Harvard University Institute for Educational Management and was supported by a Bush Fellowship for this program. The Duluth Chamber of Commerce selected me as a Leadership Duluth participant.
Past/Present Clients You can see some testimonials from past clients at www.CollegeConnectors.com.
I am a high school junior researching different colleges and universities. I have narrowed my choices down to one, but there is one problem: on-campus living requirements. After weighing all the pros and cons of dorm/apartment life and personal options, I have decided living at home and commuting to school is the best possible option for me. I keep hitting brick walls with any university I research, though, because most require freshmen to live on-campus, which I fully understand. However, this is not the path I intend to take. The university I am strongly considering requires on-campus living for both freshmen and sophomore years. Is there any way I can get around these requirements and are they truly requirements or just highly recommended? Thank-you for your help!
~Anonymous
Answer Hi,
I'm impressed that as a junior, you're working hard on your college search.
First of all, I worry when a student only has one school on his/her list. Especially if it's the kind of school that requires students to live on campus. Those are usually pretty selective schools. So, please, keep looking around.
There are lots of schools that do not require students to live on campus. They encourage freshmen to live on campus, and some schools do require that all students live on campus for all four years. That's rare though, so please be sure that you're understanding the requirements the colleges have also.
Some colleges have something called residency requirements, usually 2 years, but that 'residency requirement' doesn't mean living on campus, it means taking 2 years of courses at that college. That insures that if they give a degree to someone, that person has taken most of their courses at that college.
So, make sure you're taking the right meaning of 'residency requirements'. I recommend that you personally visit the college to get your questions asked. Take an official visit arranged through the admissions office.
