tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18773395982697885932012-01-29T16:33:36.508-08:00mycca.net sharing is done here!Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-63289002415059009082012-01-29T16:29:00.000-08:002012-01-29T16:33:36.518-08:00

Note: Our guest blogger today is Jo-Ann Beserra.  She is an independent consultant in Boulder, Colorado. Operating an office is no easy task. Jo-Ann gives you tips on managing your office. As an educational consultant, the technology options available to enhance my business are numerous. To simplify, I look at my business from two perspectives and keep one key center stone product as home

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-50198614761289901082012-01-23T10:10:00.000-08:002012-01-23T10:10:58.322-08:00

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Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-41836819998072929692012-01-11T00:03:00.000-08:002012-01-11T00:03:58.418-08:00

Now it is time to state my New Year’s Resolutions for my consulting firm, McDonald & Associates.   By sharing them with you I am implementing #4 tip from last weeks blog. This week I am sharing the goals we have for the operations side of the practice.  Next week I will write about goals focusing on marketing. Operations goals: Empower Students more. Move our office toward being

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-22108318975012226012012-01-01T08:18:00.000-08:002012-01-08T08:23:45.398-08:00

Making resolutions is a tradition we all share as a New Year rolls around. Some people hate making resolutions. I embrace them. To me it is acting on the promise the New Year holds. I want to seize the opportunity of a new beginning and make it my own. It gives me a chance to stop, take stock of my past year, and make goals for the next year.  Although this is important to do in my personal life,

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-13492478894365008342011-11-02T23:57:00.000-07:002011-11-03T00:05:32.578-07:00

Note: This week's blog is written by Renae Bowen, a student I worked with in high school. She is now preparing for graduate school. I asked her to assist us in checking, once again, published college application deadlines.  Her task was to compare published dates of the Common Application to the dates within mycca.net, and confirm both with the colleges. You will find her experience very

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-80781624916744305492011-10-11T21:20:00.000-07:002011-10-11T21:26:35.576-07:00

The update to data is now almost complete.  The current data for over 2000 colleges has been uploaded from Wintergreen into the Mycca.net database. If you have a question about when the data in a college record has been updated, just view the college record. College Record: update date NEW!  Adding EA 2 & ED 2 dates This summer mycca.net did research on ED 1 & 2; EA 1 & 2 data. 

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-72411735652071758042011-09-21T13:11:00.000-07:002011-09-21T22:13:21.088-07:00

Guest Blog by Daniel Stern, President of College Essay Organizer Dan agreed to do a blog posting for us while Cyndy is at NACAC. Learning anything new takes motivation, risk, and patience. Learning new technology is notably challenging, especially for those who have spent decades hammering out a specific routine.  During the webinars hosted by mycca.net and College Essay Organizer, we've

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-86131738776259102962011-08-30T23:37:00.000-07:002011-08-30T23:37:16.574-07:00

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Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-22119336337873318632011-08-21T23:12:00.000-07:002011-08-21T23:13:22.370-07:00

As students are launching back into a new school year, parents and college advisors both have the same question in mind, "How do I motivate my child?"  This is a question we receive often in connection to the student portal: -How do I get my students to use the student portal? -They have Naviance where they have to add information, how do I encourage them to add it to the student portal? -If

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-43965160813497944962011-07-23T13:56:00.000-07:002011-07-23T13:57:19.291-07:00

The calendar is my best friend and worst foe. It shows me time is running out or time is moving too slow. I would like to embrace time as a warm, fuzzy friend, but so often it is my tense, over-bearing boss. I see offers of online tools that will help me manage time down to the minute. I pause to ponder if that would help me. Only for a moment do I consider it. I refuse to give up the last

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-51790693023785002032011-07-06T23:26:00.000-07:002011-07-06T23:28:37.913-07:00

Check the weather online.  Order movie tickets on your phone.  Receive a text message your plane is late.  So many tools are available electronically now.  We can do so many things now without having to print a ticket or create a report.  Viewing data electronically is how our world revolves, especially the teen-age world.  We are adding more and more features to the student portal in

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-78942262723228421992011-05-23T00:13:00.000-07:002011-05-23T00:13:19.809-07:00

Drum roll, please.... and you are going... where?  This is usually, for us, the hardest part of the college counseling process; finding out all the schools a senior has been accepted (or denied) at, and where he or she decided to attend next year. Once students write their last essay or polish off that last application,  they breathe a sigh of relief and move on to the next task on their senior

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-67388339894374054692011-04-21T00:44:00.000-07:002011-04-21T00:48:47.338-07:00

Working with students pursuing performing arts majors has special demands. These high energy creative students have very demanding schedules as well as lofty dreams and aspirations. It is important that counselors help students review their options and make a plan for application. The application procedure often varies from the norm. Possible supplemental applications, early deadlines and

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-87865377022435379252011-03-03T20:55:00.000-08:002011-03-03T20:55:27.168-08:00

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Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-40223500177309294872011-01-31T22:58:00.000-08:002011-01-31T23:01:04.327-08:00

A new year brings the opportunity to start afresh. It is exciting to have a new slate to draw our life upon. We use this opportunity to make new resolutions to lose weight or to get into shape; to work less and laugh more, worry less and pray more, or to just savor what life has to offer. I am excited to see what this year, the beginning of a new decade, has to offer me. One thing I have in my "

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-36157053251912677462010-11-10T16:33:00.000-08:002010-11-10T16:33:43.632-08:00

Last week one of our students stated, "I wish I could come here every day." I responded, "You would like to come in and work college applications every day?"  (I was a bit incredulous.)  He responded, "Yes, I think it is fun.".  This is NOT a feeling anyone else I know would share.  Working on college applications is not usually described as "fun".. This is a stressful experience for seniors,

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-51681288308402602572010-11-03T05:33:00.000-07:002010-11-03T13:36:08.443-07:00

Cincinnati in the fall is a lovely place to be! I am here for the semi-annual IECA conference.  It will be a great week.  I look forward to greeting long time acquaintances.  I especially look forward to meeting many mycca.net users in person.  Please come by our table in "conference central" to say hello! Cyndy McDonald

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-67613575182932072062010-10-29T10:15:00.000-07:002010-10-29T10:20:34.336-07:00

We are proud to announce that CEO has now been fully integrated into the mycca.net platform, giving Independent Consultants access to the most comprehensive college planning platform on the market. Independent Consultants who purchase their CEO accounts through mycca.net will enjoy various benefits: 1 - They can access CEO directly from their counselor mycca.net accounts without having to

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-59386122939015636582010-09-14T10:01:00.000-07:002010-09-14T22:15:43.658-07:00

I walked in and looked around.  It looked like an ordinary gathering place. The area was filled with lots of talking, sharing, and greetings. I gave hugs and exchanged many hellos.  People of all ages were there; grandparents, teenagers, elementary aged children, and an adorable toddler wandering into the office. It was the foyer of a church in our town. There was a familiarity about it. It is a

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-58900392716028538292010-07-31T15:23:00.000-07:002010-08-03T22:16:18.887-07:00

University of Northern Colorado I just finished a week of visiting colleges in Colorado.  Our group included three people from California, one from Philadelphia, and two from Colorado.  Our list of colleges to visit included the usuals for Colorado; University of Colorado (Boulder), Colorado College (Colorado Springs), Univesrity of Denver (Denver). Colorado State University (Ft. Collins).  We

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-83664758739691739882010-06-02T12:37:00.001-07:002010-06-02T12:59:42.020-07:00

We just added a new page to our site: College Updates. This will give one place to keep concise notes on changes colleges announce that relate to admissions or financial aid. Check out the latest news on the University of Washington's changes to the admissions process for the senior class of 2011 and 2012. Click on the page link: College Updates above.

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-20177888521255223332010-05-23T00:01:00.000-07:002010-05-23T00:01:03.432-07:00

GUEST Blog- Jill Burstein, Chicago, Ill. is our guest blogger this week. Spring is upon us and now is the time for juniors in high school to hit the road. Take some time and go visit your top choices of colleges. You do not have to zig zag across the country but pick one geographic area and see several difference types of schools. You might want to stop at Boston University, a large city school

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-30625780985648197212010-05-17T22:45:00.000-07:002010-05-17T22:59:33.437-07:00

Senioritus. None of our students experience this at all, right?  It is that time of year again where we preach to our students about the hazards of not finishing strong.  Rather than lecture-  I wrote this "Senioritus Blues" last summer. Enjoy! <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-30635734483806144982010-03-29T15:01:00.000-07:002010-03-29T15:08:59.881-07:00

Check out the latest features added to the mycca.net network over the weekend. We have made communication easier, tracking milestones more efficient, and adding session notes faster. If you have been wishing you could text your students reminders in addition to the automatic email they receive, that feature is now a part of mycca.net. See more details on the Latest mycca.net news page.

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-21313599600757278842010-03-25T16:44:00.000-07:002010-03-25T16:53:01.110-07:00

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Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-86404101387943078762010-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:002010-03-25T14:32:33.718-07:00

It is mind boggling-  even to techno-savvy people, how to handle all the social networking tools available.  It always looks so simple from the outside :-D!  I have spent the morning trying to get a facebook page updated with pictures from a college visit.  On the first try the pictures did not download.  I had to take an extra step in the process to reduce the size of the pictures.  Then trying

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-20518189436782957392010-02-05T21:37:00.000-08:002010-02-05T21:47:11.141-08:00

As I was preparing for student appointments tomorrow, I wanted to create a Global ACT/SAT Test Schedule that I could go over with parents of the juniors I am meeting with. I created the document, using mycca.net and exporting it as an excel spreadsheet. But how to share this with other mycca.net users?  I knew there had to be a way!  I did a search on the HELP section of the blog, and found out

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-72487966150542362892010-01-22T20:50:00.000-08:002010-01-22T20:51:02.001-08:00

We are thrilled to have our new website up and functioning much better!  It has been quite a journey over the past year to get our new website off the ground. It is the same way when launching a new educational consulting practice, or any new business, for that matter.  You have bumps in the road.  We have learned a lot about setting up a website in this process.  Most of all, we have learned how

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-17754844504833593182009-12-20T21:31:00.000-08:002009-12-20T21:31:50.009-08:00

Happy Holidays! This is a special time of year for children.  And aren't we all children at heart during the holidays?  I hope that you and your family enjoy a wonderful holiday, spending time with your family and friends.  As 2009 comes to a close, and 2010 is ready to be launched, we can look back and see what the year has brought. As you reflect on the past year, I hope you see your life's

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-87151419297835492572009-11-09T12:24:00.000-08:002009-11-09T12:24:12.287-08:00

Welcome! I have been trying to get a mycca.net blog started for some time.  Yeah! It is now here.  This will be a user community blog.  I will have guest bloggers join me on this blog to share their wisdom and experiences, not only on using mycca.net, but on college counsulting in general. Keep checking back for more information and blog entries to come! Cyndy McDonald

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1877339598269788593.post-47225477854874064232009-11-09T12:21:00.000-08:002009-11-09T12:21:10.654-08:00

It is November-  we are in the heart of the college application season.  This is also the heart of mycca.net.  It is designed to make tracking and monitoring the progress of your students in their application process.  Use the colleges tab in mycca.net with it's four step process to make life easier for you now!

Cyndy Shephard McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10196010774495446502noreply@blogger.com0