College Admissions 101: Interview with a Program Manager

We had the chance to interview Grant Tilus, a Senior Program Manager at Rasmussen College. In this interview, Grant shares important insight into the college admissions process including: what to look while researching colleges, common questions, college success strategies, and more.

1. What is your role at Rasmussen College?

I am a Senior Program Manager at Rasmussen College and have been in this role for just over a year and a half. As a program manager, my job is to connect with prospective students to answer any questions about going to college to discuss concerns, goals, and plans for obtaining their degree. Hopefully through our conversation I am able to show them how their dream of earning a degree can become a reality and how Rasmussen College can help.

2. What are common questions students have during the application and enrollment processes?

You may be surprised, but many students are just simply unfamiliar with the whole college admissions process, especially if they are planning on taking online courses. It’s something new to them, so I help to guide them through the process of applying, enrolling, and starting their classes.

Other common questions students have are regarding financial aid, online course set up, and even what kind of jobs students can obtain with a particular degree. Every student has different concerns, and the best thing is at Rasmussen College, your program manager walks you through the process from admission to starting your courses to make sure your transition into a college student goes smoothly.

3. What kinds of higher education questions should be asked by prospective college students?

Many students have somewhat of a good idea of what they want and where they want this degree to take them. So asking questions regarding the program specifics and what this can do for them is key. Asking about school accreditation is very important, not only for finding employment, but also for future educational opportunities.

Last, be sure to ask about student services. A few key services—like academic and technical support—will usually stand out to students; making sure the college of your choice offers them is important.

4. What are the college admissions requirements at Rasmussen College?

Rasmussen College requires our students to have earned a valid high school diploma or completed a GED. We are a qualified enrollment institution, so incoming students are also required to complete a basic assessment test to ensure that they are academically prepared to take classes at Rasmussen College. We use this test to ensure that they are prepared for the rigors of college level learning as well as for tracking our student’s academic growth.

It is also an admission requirement to have a student financial aid packaging completed before starting classes. This ensures that students are prepared and understand the investment and commitment they are making to the school and themselves as they begin the coursework working towards graduation.

Prior to beginning classes prospective students must also successfully complete a required College Experience Course. This one-week course teaches new students how to navigate the online classroom, and gain the knowledge and discipline necessary to understand the value of the investment in themselves to begin their college education. These admissions requirements help ensure that our students are well prepared to be successful throughout their time in school.

5. What types of degrees are available through Rasmussen College?

Rasmussen has a variety of career focused degree programs both at our on campuses and online. We offer in demand programs that offer strong employment opportunities for our graduates. Our degree programs range from the business, health sciences, nursing, justice studies, education, and technology fields. Our students are able to follow their degree paths by taking courses at a local campus, scheduling a mix of both local and online courses, or even earning their degree completely online.

6. What are the three top qualities you need as a student to succeed in your college courses?

The qualities that I look for in prospective students can vary since every individual has a unique situation. Three top qualities that I feel students need in order to succeed include motivation, determination, and vision. First, without motivation a student becomes disinterested or uninvolved which can lead to dropping out or poor grades which means being unprepared when working in your career field. Determination is important because going to college and completing your degree is a marathon race, not a sprint. It will take time, you will go through some trials and tribulations, but you need to believe that you can do it and remember why you are doing it; for a better life. Vision is important because it allows students to keep long-range goals in mind as you navigate through day-to-day life.

7. Any final remarks you can share with prospective students?

Of course, it’s our job as a college to help you learn and help prepare you for where you want to go in life. However, we can only do so much and the rest is up to you. Taking responsibility for yourself and putting in the hard work will pay off in the end. Remember that we can show you the path towards a college degree, but you must walk down that path yourself.

About the author

Rasmussen University Blog Team

This article was transcribed by the Rasmussen University Blog team. Are you ready to take the plunge into a new, successful future? If so, learn more about our degree programs today.

default blog author

Related Content

Related Content

This piece of ad content was created by Rasmussen University to support its educational programs. Rasmussen University may not prepare students for all positions featured within this content. Please visit www.rasmussen.edu/degrees for a list of programs offered. External links provided on rasmussen.edu are for reference only. Rasmussen University does not guarantee, approve, control, or specifically endorse the information or products available on websites linked to, and is not endorsed by website owners, authors and/or organizations referenced. Rasmussen University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

logo-accreditation-acen logo-accreditation-ccne chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors-masters 0 Credits 90 Credits 180 Credits 48 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE Start Here MASTER'S DEGREE PURSUERS End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE End Here MASTER'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors 0 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS 90 Credits Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE 180 Credits End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-msn chart-credential-laddering-nursing-programs chart-credential-laddering-post-grad-np chart-credential-laddering-nursing DNP MSN RN to BSN LPN to RN Bridge Accelerated BSN Professional Nursing ADN Practical Nursing Diploma Pre-Licensure Post-Licensure icon-colored-outline-bank icon-colored-outline-certificate icon-colored-outline-circle-dollar-sign icon-colored-outline-folder-search icon-colored-outline-hand-heart icon-colored-outline-head-blocks icon-colored-outline-head-cog icon-colored-outline-head-heart icon-colored-outline-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-outline-hospital icon-colored-outline-lifelong-learning icon-colored-outline-light-bulb-analytics icon-colored-outline-location-pin icon-colored-outline-magnifying-glass icon-colored-outline-monitor-healthcare icon-colored-outline-monitor-paper-search icon-colored-outline-nurse-rays icon-colored-outline-padlock-shield icon-colored-outline-person-presenter-screen icon-colored-outline-scales ras-logo-flame ras-logo-horizontal ras-logo-stacked icon-colored-advance icon-colored-arrows-cross-curve icon-colored-briefcase-star icon-colored-build icon-colored-bulb-analytics icon-colored-certificate icon-colored-continual-development icon-colored-duo-chatbox icon-colored-folder-mortarboard icon-colored-forward-ribbon icon-colored-gears-clock icon-colored-globe-pen icon-colored-growth icon-colored-hand-bubble icon-colored-hand-stars icon-colored-hands-gear icon-colored-head-blocks icon-colored-head-cog icon-colored-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-hospital-building icon-colored-laptop-cbe-skyscraper icon-colored-laptop-checkmark icon-colored-laptop-webpage icon-colored-location-map icon-colored-location-pin icon-colored-monitor-paper-scan icon-colored-mortarboard-dollar icon-colored-national icon-colored-people-chat-bubbles icon-colored-person-cheer-star icon-colored-person-laptop-checkboxes icon-colored-person-screen-instructor icon-colored-person-whiteboard icon-colored-phone-chatbox icon-colored-police-light icon-colored-prep icon-colored-presenter icon-colored-regional icon-colored-save-time icon-colored-shirt-hat icon-colored-skyscraper icon-colored-state icon-colored-student-centered icon-colored-support icon-colored-world-experience icon-triangle-arrow-up-plant icon-triangle-calendar-pencil icon-triangle-clock-rotating-arrows icon-triangle-display-gears icon-triangle-hand-right-speech-bubble icon-triangle-laptop-coding-brackets icon-triangle-mortarboard icon-triangle-paper-ribbon icon-triangle-person-cheer-star icon-triangle-person-juggle icon-triangle-triple-people-chat-bubble icon-modality-campus icon-modality-field icon-modality-online icon-modality-residential icon-arrow icon-bank icon-camera icon-filter icon-general-chart icon-general-connect icon-general-degree icon-general-discuss icon-general-email icon-general-find icon-general-hat icon-general-heart icon-general-laptop-building icon-general-laptop icon-general-leader icon-general-map icon-general-money icon-general-paperwork icon-general-people icon-general-phone icon-general-speak-out icon-head-heart icon-info-circle icon-mail-forward icon-mglass icon-play-solid icon-quote-mark-left icon-quote-mark-right icon-scales icon-share-square-o icon-simple-chat icon-simple-desktop icon-simple-find icon-simple-hamburger icon-simple-phone icon-spinner icon-tag icon-testimonial-quotes icon-util-checkbox-white icon-util-checkbox icon-util-checked-white icon-util-checked icon-util-chevron-down icon-util-chevron-left icon-util-chevron-right icon-util-chevron-up icon-util-circle-arrow-down icon-util-circle-dot icon-util-language-switch icon-util-loading icon-util-open-window-link icon-util-pdf-link icon-util-refresh icon-util-x rebrand-arrows icon-social-facebook-colored icon-social-facebook-square-colored icon-social-facebook-square icon-social-facebook icon-social-google-plus-square icon-social-google-plus icon-social-instagram-colored icon-social-instagram icon-social-linkedin-square-colored icon-social-linkedin-square icon-social-linkedin icon-social-pinterest-p-colored icon-social-pinterest-p icon-social-twitter-colored icon-social-twitter-square icon-social-twitter icon-social-youtube-play-colored icon-social-youtube-play graduate-cap-star-coin hand-coin hand-heart nurse-stethoscope-rays card-send-smile person-yoga-pose suitcase-star