Sep 20-23, 2023
NACAC Conference in Baltimore
Sandy joined more than 7000 college admissions professionals in Baltimore to share best practices, the latest research, and updates on significant changes–everything from the recent SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action to the overhaul of the FAFSA application for financial aid. One of the many highlights was keynote speaker and life coach Jay Shetty; another was the opening session, where U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Maryland Governor Wes Moore joined NACAC CEO Angel B. Perez for a conversation on leadership.
Sandy also attended the Counselors' College Fair, gathering the latest information for her students, where hundreds of representatives from institutions worldwide were available to discuss their campuses face-to-face. For onsite campus information, Sandy visited nearby Johns Hopkins University and Loyola University Maryland prior to the conference, where she learned about latest initiatives and new programs. For example, JHU continues to support initiatives to increase access to underserved populations (22% of admitted students last year were first generation), and Loyola has a new Nursing program on deck, with plans to open in 2025.
May 8-10, 2023
IECA Spring Conference in Seattle
Sandy joined more than 1000 colleagues for a whirlwind conference in Seattle filled with a variety of admissions presentations, special sessions, engaging speakers, a college faire, and many opoportunities to network and socialize! A standout presentation was made by representatives from four universities in the United Kingdom, who explained the student visa process for U.S. students and how best to navigate their transition to study overseas.
Nov 7-9, 2022
IECA Fall Conference in San Diego
On the agenda after the conference were tours of Chapman University, Whittier College, and the University of California at Irvine! Whether public or private, southern California offers a large variety of college options and these three cover many bases for all kinds of students.
Jun 7-11, 2021
IECA Spring Conference
To kick off the upcoming application season, Sandy learned from speakers Henry Winkler, Harlan Cohen, Kate O'Neill, and Wes Moore; and college presentions from Duke, Colgate, Swarthmore, University of Chicago, Rutgers, Clemson, Hofstra, and more. The upheaval to our lives during 2020/21 has created a whole new way to navigate college admissions!
Jan 21-22, 2021
Professional Member Virtual Retreat
Sandy connected with her IECA colleagues for two days of collaborative discussions, expert presentations, and welcome camaraderie! From changes in the testing landscape to fresh ideas for connecting with pandemic-weary students, we further developed our knowledge base to provide even better college admissions guidance!
Feb 3-12, 2020
Florida Sunshine Tour
Sandy was invited to join 29 other counselors to visit 13 campuses in Florida!
Barry Univ. | Eckerd College | Embrey-Riddle Aeronautical Univ. | Flagler College | Florida Institute of Technology | Florida Southern College | Jacksonville Univ. | Lynn Univ. | Nova Southeastern Univ. | Rollins College | Saint Leo Univ. | Stetson Univ. | University of Tampa
Dec 4-6, 2019
Counselor Advisory Council, Gettysburg College
Sandy was selected as one of 14 counselors to comprise Gettysburg College's new advisory board. The two days on campus were filled with student presentations, group discussions, and staff and faculty information sessions, to include meeting with Gettysburg's new president, Bob Iuliano; and information about Gettysburg's new Business, Organizations, and Management major, "ideal for anyone aspiring to a management or leadership position in business, government, the nonprofit sector, or any other organizational environment."
Nov 6-8, 2019
College Board Forum, Washington, D.C.
Sandy attended full days of presentations from admissions directors and other leaders in the education field to find out more about potential changes to testing and admissions requirements; the holistic admissions process within the UC system; how various institutions value AP courses; the potential impact of changes to NACAC's ethics standards; and much more.
July 23-24, 2019
Road Trip to Virginia Tech and UVA Wise
Virginia Tech admitted too many students in 2019 -- what are their plans for next year? And UVA offered admission to waitlist applicants who agreed to spend their first year on the satellite campus in rural Wise, VA -- just how rural is it?
To answer these questions and more, Sandy took a road trip with fellow IECA college consultants Nancy Griesemer and Emily Snyder and college advisor Marta Schey. Visiting campuses and speaking directly to staff provide the best opportunities for learning more about any university!
The Chancellor at UVA-Wise, Donna Price Henry, graciously gave us a tour of the pristine Wise campus and insight about student response to the unusual waitlist offer from the Charlottesville campus. At Tech, we had lunch with Admissions Director Juan Espinoza, who kindly described the admissions outlook for the new season, with some details to take back to our students about new residence halls and expanding majors.
June 17-21, 2019
HECA Annual Conference in Providence, Rhodes Island
Highlights included featured speakers Harlan Cohen (author of The Naked Roommate) and Dr. Angel B. Perez (former President of Trinity College); and visits to Brown University, Wesleyan University, Quinnipiac University, Salve Regina University, Connecticut College, Trinity College, and the US Coast Guard Academy!
May 13-14, 2019
NCAG 2019 Annual Conference
Sandy was a first-time attendee at the National College Advocacy Group conference in Seattle. NCAG focuses on college affordability and financial aid. Presentations topics included how merit aid is awarded and which students will be contenders for the largest awards; colleges that meet full need and who is eligible; how "need-blind" admission works; and how and when to appeal the college award letter.
May 5-11, 2019
IECA 2019 Spring Conference
IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association) held its spring conference in the windy city -- Chicago! With about 500 fellow members, Sandy attended a variety of presentations and workshops to enhance her services, spoke with admission reps at the conference college fair, and listened to former US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan present his thougthts about challenges and successes in American public education. The week was actually not very windy, and in (mostly!) sunny weather Sandy toured the campuses of Lakeforest College, DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University, Columbia College, and the University of Chicago.
Jan 16-18, 2019
IECA Professional Member Retreat
Sandy spent three days in lovely Boca Raton, Florida, where she attended the IECA Professional Member Retreat, an opportunity for collaborative sharing and professional development with fellow members. She also visited the campuses of University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University and Lynn University.
Dec 3-4, 2018
IEC Event at Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is two states away, but just 85 miles north of Fairfax County, VA! With 15 other independent educational consultants, Sandy received a whirlwind tour of the historically situated campus. Highlights included presentations from the Eisenhower Institute, the Garthwait Leadership Center, the Center for Global Education, and a personal tour of the battlefields from two history majors! We were also treated to lunch with students at their acclaimed dining hall, dinner with President Riggs and her husband at their lovely home, and entertainment by Camerata (Gettysburg's chamber music choir), from Gettysburg's Sunderman Conservatory of Music.
Note: Gettysburg's personalized, student-centered focus also means that each student has a designated financial aid counselor!
Nov 6-10, 2018
2018 IECA Fall Conference
After attending the IECA Fall conference in Los Angeles, Sandy traveled 60 miles east to visit the University of the Redlands, home of the Bulldogs! The beautiful Redlands campus -- think palm trees, with lots of flowers and green space, and the mountains in the distance -- is also unusual in that it combines a student-centered liberal arts college with many preprofessional offerings, such as business, education, and communication sciences and disorders; there is a 3/2 engineering program with Columbia University.
Oct 17-19, 2018
Fly-In to Trinity University
Sandy was invited to visit Trinity University in San Antonio for their annual Independent Educational Consultant Fly-In Event. The group of 25 consultants was treated to a river boat ride, campus tour, student panel, and the chance to speak with faculty and staff about the many programs and opportunities available to Trinity's notably diverse student body!
Tip: Every year the top 20 freshman applicants are selected for full-tuition scholarships to Trinity!
Sep 26-30, 2018
2018 NACAC Annual Conference
NACAC's annual conference was held in Salt Lake City, where Sandy also visited the park-like campus of the University of Utah, a mere three miles from downtown! The conference included a college fair and a variety of presentations, learning sessions, and opportunities to meet with counseling professionals from both sides of the desk!
Sep 21, 2018
Sandy attended Penn State's first ever Counselor Event during the Scholar's Day Open House for prospective students.
Penn State's Schreyer Honors College promotes academic integrity, a global perspective, and opportunities leadership and civic engagement.
July 15 - July 20, 2018
2018 Show-Me STEAM Tour
Showcasing Missouri’s colleges and universities, with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.
June 11-14, 2018
2018 HECA Annual Conference & Houston Hustle Bus Tour
Sandy attended the Higher Educational Consultants Association conference in Dallas, Texas, where she focused on learning more about different application processes, to include the Coalition Application and how to help students select among application options; Apply Texas and navigating this unique application; international applications to the UK & Australia; and the transfer admissions and application process. She also gained insight to the college financial aid office from Texas Christian University's Director of Scholarships and Financial Aid. After the conference, Sandy hopped on a bus with 50 colleagues for half-day visits to the wonderful campuses of Baylor University, Texas A & M, Rice University, and the University of Houston!
April 26-27, 2018
Fly-In to the College of Wooster
The College of Wooster, one of the Colleges That Change Lives, hosted a group of independent educational consultants to help us learn more about this premier college for mentored undergraduate research. Our visit coincided with the campus-wide presentations of graduating seniors' Independent Study projects; we were able to sit it on several of them! We also toured campus, enjoyed entertainment by one of Wooster's a cappella groups, visited the site of the almost completed, state-of-the-art Ruth W. Williams Hall of Life Science, chatted with students, staff and faculty, strolled through the charming downtown, and witnessed the collegiality and camaraderie Wooster is known for!
April 15-17, 2018
PCACAC Annual Conference
A member of local Potomoc and Chesapeake Association of College Admission Counseling (PCACAC), Sandy attended the annual conference -- this year in Dover, Delaware. After attending two days of presentations and a college fair, Sandy walked the campus of nearby Delaware State University and took a short road trip to visit the University of Delaware in Newark.
April 8-12, 2018
HECA's Vancouver-Seattle Tour
This tour started in Vancouver, Canada, with visits to the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. Next, we visited five Pacific Northwest colleges and universities: University of Washington, Seattle University, the Evergreen State College, University of Puget Sound, and Western Washington University, all of which are in, near, or a short drive from the lovely green city of Seattle!
January 28 - Feb 1, 2018
HECA's South Carolina Palmetto Tour
Our tour began with event-filled visits to Winthrop University, Wofford College, Furman University and Clemson University, all in northwest South Carolina. Next, we had a lovely tour and lunch at the University of South Carolina, located in South Carolina's capital city of Columbia. Lastly, we landed in the historic port city of Charleston, where we toured The Citadel and the College of Charleston; and had time to wander through the downtown shops and waterfront park!
November 17, 2017
2017 IECA Fall Conference
SJC College Counseling founder, Sandy Clingman, received the prestigious Katz Award at the Independent Educational Consultants Association Conference in Washington, DC this week, one of 36 members recognized for volunteer work with underserved students as part of The Possibility Project.
The Katz Award is presented in honor of Irvin W. Katz, an IECA founder; and treasured mentor and educator to many. His life of service and commitment to young people is remembered through these annual awards, established by his family in 2006 to recognize extraordinary community service contributions by IECA consultants.