Troy's Blog

Why you should Hyde!

This past weekend kicked off this year’s early action Hyde Interviews.  Although it is not required for a prospective student to do an interview in order to complete their application, it is highly recommended.  Back when I was applying to DU in 2004-2005, DU actually required all prospective students to complete an interview.  However, in recent years DU has received so many applications that it is unable to interview all applicants.  Nevertheless, I believe it is to your advantage to go through the Hyde Interview process, as it helps you to get to know individuals associated with the University and it helps the admissions office to put a face to your application.

The interview is short, about 20 minutes and the questions will revolve around your openness to differences and new ideas, your motivation to learn, and your concern about honesty and integrity.  The interviews are more like a conversation about you, so I would say it isn’t a process to worry about.

 If you are planning to apply to DU for regular decision, your interviews will be held in February, but you can already sign up for a slot in various cities across the nation. 

If you did apply for early action and still want to apply, there still may be a few spots left in a city near you.  Check out the Hyde website, as we are all over the country during these two periods conducting interviews.

I believe the Hyde interview for me, played a large part in my decision in attending DU.  I had my interview through the Phone with Hawaii admissions counselor Margret Korzus, since I was not near a Hyde City.  It was great speaking to her and it gave me a big positive impression of the type of University DU was all about.  DU really stuck in my mind as a school that I wanted to attend after interviewing with Margret. 

I would say to make sure you do a Hyde interview when applying to DU, as it is definitely worth the time and extra effort.  In the end, statistics show us that the majority of students who end up getting accepted and eventually attend DU actually have gone through the Hyde interview process.  Good luck!    

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

Halloween Recap

What did you do for Halloween?  Well, usually I am not a big fan of the holiday, but this year, I decided to dress up and join the spirit.  The Office of Admission also threw a little Halloween Party, and here are some great pictures of the staff below...

 Here is the amazing admissions staff all dressed up and festive for Halloween!

 

Here is me and my twin - we have the same shirts!

 
 
 Me, Dean of Admission Margret Korzus, and Enrollment Specialist Dnyee Kayl.

In addition to the Halloween fun with the office staff, I was able to hang out with a few of my freinds for movie night...  Not very eventful, but in my opinion, a great way to spend Halloween.  Many of the campus activites like the Homecoming Parade which was slated for Saturday were cancelled due to the snow, but the campus for Homecoming and Parents weekend was still very festive and fun.

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

Questions Answered: Living on Campus

One of my readers of the blog asked: “If I know someone that is coming to DU, can I room with them?”

The answer is absolutely!  Once you get accepted to the University of Denver, you will have to send in both an admission deposit and housing deposit.  Along with your housing deposit you will also have to submit a housing contract.  During this time you can choose whether to live in Centennial Halls or Johnson-McFarlane, checkout my commentary on this.  You also will need to fill out a short survey of your living habits (just in case you want to be placed with a roommate randomly). 

Finally, you can also fill out a preferred roommate.  Please note that both individuals need to specify the opposite person in order for the request to go through.  Hope this helps and good luck on the college search!

 

Nelson Hall, a Sophomore Residence Hall here on campus.

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

 

Happy Halloween

What are you doing for Halloween?  A few of my friends and I went Halloween costume shopping this weekend and got some great pictures…  I usually don't dress up, but I thought I should this year, just for the fun....  I will take some pictures on Halloween and share it.

 

 
 
 In addition here on campus – it is Homecoming Weekend so many parents and alumni will be coming to campus to celebrate…  Since it is Halloween this weekend, students will have the opportunity to dress up for the Hockey Game on Saturday and win some great cash prizes for the best DU themed costume.  On Friday, they will also have a costume contest in conjunction with our DU Tailgate.  We will also be having our annual parade on Saturday in conjunction with Homecoming, where all student organizations participate and make floats.  It should be a fun filled weekend, with lots of great events.  There is never a dull moment on campus.  

 

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

Active Learning @ DU

Have you ever wondered what students here at DU inside and outside the classroom to enchance their learning?  Well, DU just came out with this really cool video about active learning here on campus, profiling a few of our students.  It also speaks to what the University is all about in terms of the values that it hopes that students take away once they graduate.  Take a look at this video and see what a DU education can give to you!

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

Navigating College Fairs

About two weeks ago, I was able to attend a college fair put on by the College Fairs of Greater Denver to recruit for the University of Denver.  College Fairs are really important first steps, especially if you are a Sophomore, Junior (or even Senior) to get a feel of the type of colleges that are out there.  This fair was held at Cherry Creek High School and is an annual event.  Your college guidance counselor or school bulletin will probably list any college fairs near you.  In my opinion, it is definitely a must do during your college search.

When attending however, there are a few tips on successfully navigating a college fair, as if you go there blind, it may be a bit overwhelming.  Here are a few of my personal tips:

 -  Try to see if there is a list of schools that will be at the fair (usually online or on the flier marketing the event).  Then start listing the colleges that you must visit.  There will be so many representatives that you may find yourself overwhelmed, so making a list of ‘must see’ booths will give you a place to start.

-  Popular schools will have a line and many students clamoring to see the representative from the school.  However, patience is important and actually speaking to a representative will probably give you a nice feel of what the University is all about.

-  Before going to a table, I would recommend having a few questions in mind to ask the college representative.  You won’t believe how many times I have seen students come up and don’t have any questions or don’t know what to do.  Rule of thumb, even if you don’t have a question, just have a back up questions, to show that you are interested.  Some go to questions could be:

-  What is the undergraduate population at your University?

-  Is there a __(insert major here)__ offered at your University?

-  What are your most popular academic programs?

-  How much is your tuition, room and board, and fees?

-  What is the average class size?

-  Do you have study abroad programs?

-  Is your school Mac or PC friendly?

-  What are your scholarships or need based aid?  Are there additional applications for scholarships?

-  Get appropriate brochures from each of the schools that will give information on the overview of the University, Financial Aid, and possibly visiting campus.

-  Fill out the information cards at their table so they know you are interested in their campus!

-  If you want to be really prepared and move from one table to the next, make labels to put on inquiry cards at each table.  The labels should include your first and last name.  They should also include your mailing address, date of birth, home phone number, e-mail address, high school name, graduation year, GPA, SAT score, & ACT score.   With these labels you won’t have to take a long time to fill out cards from each of the colleges.

-  Find schools that you may not have thought of applying to and get as much information from as many schools as you can.  This is the opportunity to explore options before really sitting down and figuring out where you really want to apply and also visit.

Good  luck and check out those college fairs!  

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

Our Student Newspaper: The Clarion

Did you know that you can now read the student newspaper, The Clarion online with their cool new reader?  It is pretty cool and really gives you the true experience of the reading the paper.  The Clarion has been really becoming slick and has some great articles about the campus.  I would recommend taking a look at it if you get a chance, as it really gives you a glimpse of the University of Denver community both positive and negative - or as you could say - the full story.  It is a weekly publication and is available all throughout the campus during the school year.  Unfortuantely, they don't the paper during the summer.  Best of all, if you want to write for the Clarion, you can get paid for it.  Take a look at their cool new reader below....  In addition, you can checkout their traditional online articles and website.

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

Open House @ DU

This past Sunday and Monday we kicked off our Open House Programs here at the University of Denver.  Open House allows students to get a true feeling of DU by staying overnight in the residence halls with current students on Sunday and getting a great campus experience on Monday.  We allow students and their parents to get a tour of campus, get an information session, experience the dining halls, hear from current students on a panel, and departmental fair to see what type of majors are offered.  This is a great way to see if DU is right for you and I hope that you decide to join us at our next Open House on October 25-26 or at one of our daily visits.  There is no better way to get to know a University – by visiting and feeling what it is really about.  Take a look at some pictures below from Open House.

 

 

Nashwa Bolling and Craig Dionne both admission counselors welcome students here at DU to Open House.

 

Students sign up for Hyde Interviews with the help of admission counselors Stephanie Cuddihy and Shanna Hamblin.

 

Students find out about different majors at the Departmental Fair.

 

Financial Aid speaks to students about the next steps on applying for financial aid.

 

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.

Daniel L. Ritchie

This is an interesting video that was made by our Chancellor Emeritus Daniel L. Ritchie.  If you know Dan Ritchie, he is an individual that is extremely respected here at the University of Denver.  He actually donated upwards of $50 million dollars to the University and also served as Chancellor from 1989 to 2005 for a mere $1 per year!  He is a fearless leader who now serves as the Chairman and CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  This is just one example of how our namesake of the Daniel L. Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness will make some bold moves to ensure the success of the organizations that he leads.   Take a look at this funny video of this highly successful businessman, trying to get some attention for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which by no coincidence is one of my favorite places to visit here in Denver to watch some of their great performances.  In fact in the next two weeks I will be watching Wicked and will let you know what I think.

Trekking around Colorado

These past two weekends have been filled with mountainous activities.  Last weekend was my edge weekend for the business program in Florissant, Colorado.  This past weekend, me and one of my friends, John decided to take an adventure to see the fall colors of Colorado.  If you have been an avid reader of my blog, you will see that this is the second annual trip that we have taken.  This time however, we decided to try a different route in seeing Colorado.  Instead of going north, we went west, taking in the western slope of Colorado.  We passed through Breckenridge, Vail, Frisco, Glenwood Springs (where we spent the night), went down to Aspen and finally came back through Independence Pass – the Continental divide of the United States.  We didn’t really spend much time in one place or another, but it was great to see the scenery of Colorado.  With numerous places to experience, it always is a must to take advantage of the great outdoors that surrounds us here at DU.  Take a look at some awesome pictures that we took over the weekend.

In Aspen. 

 

A view of the City of Aspen. 

 

Me and the Mountain!
 

 

Twin Rivers. 

 

It was cold!
 

If you have any questions about DU that I can answer for you -you can e-mail me at thashimo@du.edu and I will answer your questions for you and you may even be featured on our blog to help other students as well who may have the same questions, so ask away!

Who is Troy?  Read his Bio.