Advisor Interview with...

Laura Jeanne Hammond, Editor in Chief of Next Step Magazine, a publication for college bound high school students



 

To the person who has never read or heard of Next Step Magazine - how would you describe it?

The Next Step Magazine is a glossy magazine that covers life after high school! We focus on college, career and life-planning for high school students. Our articles are advice-driven. We include a lot of info from recent and current college students, so it’s a lot more interesting than something you might get from your school counselor!


What audience(s) - does NextStep try to connect with the most - who can pick it up and gain value?

We have articles for all kinds of students—from athletes to thespians, freshmen to seniors. We cover topics like how roommates are picked, how to get sports scholarships, how to ace the SAT and more. Our main readers are high school juniors and seniors, though, because they’re the ones going to college the soonest!


Laura, you are the Editor in Chief of the magazine - what does an EiC do for a Magazine?

As editor in chief, I do a little bit of everything! I’m responsible for managing writers, designers, deadlines and making sure the magazine gets from the computer to our printer and out to schools on time. I also write a lot of articles and press releases, come up with most of the article ideas, assign writers to cover stories, hire and manage interns, coordinate our cover-photo shoots, answer reader e-mails… Editors really are the faces of their publications. They should like what they cover and be accessible to readers! Oh yeah, and we edit the magazine to make sure stories are short or long enough, clear and correct!

 
The NextStepMag.com web site is loaded with information, contests, resources - what are some of the more popular and in your opinion, useful aspects of the web site?

My favorite parts of www.nextSTEPmag.com are the contests! At nextSTEPmag.com/giveaway you can register to win $5,000 and cool prizes like blow-up furniture for your dorm room! At nextSTEPmag.com/SuperTeens, you can enter our annual Super Teens contest—winners get their pictures on the cover of the January edition of the magazine! If your high school has a cool Web site, you can enter it in our Super Site contest (www.nextSTEPmag.com/SuperSite). The most useful part of our site is probably the College Match Wizard, which lists the colleges that match your major or location criteria. You can even apply online! You can also read more than 1,000 articles about life after high school, enter a teen writing contest, Instant Message me (my AOL screen name is NSMAnswerGirl)… There’s a ton of stuff to do!

Tell me the top misconceptions about the college admissions and selection process?

Myth 1: You have to go to a well-known school.
There are thousands of educational institutions in the U.S., not to mention everything that’s available abroad or as close as Canada! Don’t limit yourself to the couple of Ivies. School is what YOU make of it, no matter where you go!

Myth 2: If you don’t do well on the SAT, you’re toast.
Ask anyone over the age of 21 what they got on their SAT, and half probably won’t remember. Colleges look at more than your SAT score when you apply (thank goodness), and you shouldn’t base your intelligence on one Saturday-morning exam!


On my web site, I always preach that student athletes should find the right fit academically, socially and athletically. Not just focus on the sports. To do the research to find the right fit, what are the most important things a student should do and how can the Next Step Resources assist with that.

Amen to that! One way to start would be by using nextSTEPmag.com/collegematch to find colleges that have your major. That will help you narrow your list.
Visit as many colleges on your list as possible. That will help you know when it’s time to go with your gut and pick the perfect college for you.

It’s OK that the perfect college for you isn’t the same one that’s perfect for your best friend, boy or girlfriend or twin brother. If you wouldn’t be a good match at a college if you broke your arm, leg or whatever, then don’t go there.

Remember that while athletics can be an integral part of your college experience and career, you really are at school to get an education, to learn how best to use your talents in the rest of your life!

Thanks Laura, great interview and keep up the amazing work you do at Next Step Magazine.

No problem, Ray! Thanks and we plan to keep working hard to help college minded students and student-athletes!