2022: Thinking ahead for Sophomores and Freshmen…

As you near the latter half of your school year, here are few topics to keep in mind and to work on going forward.

1.     Course selection for next year:

Over the next two months, you will most likely meet with your guidance counselor. You will talk through your remaining required courses and how best to complete them before the end of senior year.

For sophomores, as you move into your upperclassmen years, you will have more selection and electives to chose from. Read your high school course catalog and programs of study.

 Trying to determine if you should take a CP, Honors or AP level course? A good indicator is to determine if you are struggling at the current course level. If you are receiving a ‘B’ or better, you are most likely at the right level. If you are struggling, it may be good to speak with your guidance counselor to move into a better fit next year. And if you are sailing through and are bored, try a higher-level course next year.

2. This leads me to say to each and every one of you to make sure and ask questions if you are struggling in a course. The only person who will regret not taking ownership of his/her studies is him/herself.

 Time management and taking ownership of understanding course content is the student’s responsibility. Make sure to stay on top of both of these items by using a planner, meeting with teachers during after school hours, during lunchtime or during ‘drop’ class sessions to make sure you understand what will be asked of you on the next test. 

3.     Standardized Tests: If you have taken the PSAT already, you may want to take a practice ACT next in order to assess which test you will focus on preparing for. Students should not take both but should choose and prep for one of them. 3 attempts at a test is the maximum. Typically, students take one of the tests twice.

4.     Summer Plans: Are you traveling, working, or attending camp during the summer months? It’s time to start to think about applying to jobs, registering for camps and discussing with your parents what you would like to do over the summer break.

 You’ve got this!

How to build a balanced college list

There are many factors to consider when creating a college list. Here are some thoughts on what to focus on from the beginning.

1. During your junior year, you will meet with your guidance counselor in late winter or early spring to discuss your courses for senior year and to discuss a potential college list. This list is the beginning of what you can call a ‘work in progress’ list. It will be a work in progress up until you actually apply the following fall.

2. There are many factors to consider and since every human is unique, these factors will vary in type, style and importance. Here’s a brief list of what to think about:

   1. Location: How far from home would you like to be? Urban, suburban, college town, rural, study abroad: These are the type of location categories you need to consider.

   2. Size of School: Under 1,000, or over 20,000? The size of school can help you determine which schools to consider.

   3. Academics: Is there a certain field of study that you are interested in or do you have no idea? Think about which type of school and which degree(s) you may want to pursue. Did you have an IEP in high school? Inquire about the Disability Resource Center at each school. This will help you decide where to consider applying to.

   4. Extracurriculars: Are you looking for a strong theatre department? A big rah-rah sports team to cheer for? Strong LGBTQ+ community? What about Greek life? Are you interested in pledging for a certain fraternity? It’s important to visit as many campuses as possible so you can determine what type of campus life fits your personality. With Covid still going strong, you can always visit schools virtually by using the colleges virtual tours on their websites.

3. By the beginning of your senior year, you should have visited a few schools and made your list as final as possible as it’s time to apply. 7-10 schools is your target number. Consider the following aspects while making the list:

   1. Your list should have a range of ‘safety’(likely)-’target’-’reach’ schools.

      1. Safety (likely) schools: An applicant falls well above the 50th percentile of all applicants.

      2. Target schools: An applicant falls in the middle of the 50th percentile of all applicants.

      3. Reach school: An applicant falls well below the 50th percentile of all applicants.

      4. Read online, follow colleges’ social media accounts and attend local college fairs. This will help you firm up your college list.

How to get recruited for college sports?

There are many ways to go about getting recruited for college sports. My suggestions are broad so that they can cover a variety of sports. But recruitment varies per sport.

1. Email coaches directly: I would suggest that you target schools that fit the student both academically and athletically and reach out to the coach directly. Make your email message unique and add in a fun fact about the school to show your interest. Attach your recruitment video to the email as well.

2. Create a recruitment video: Design a video that highlights your position in the sport. Do not make your video too flashy but just show highlights of your play.

3. Fill out online recruitment forms on college’s athletic website: Complete the recruitment questionnaire to express interest in the college and team.

4. Attend showcases, camps at select colleges and play travel/club sport (if applicable). This will give you exposure to college coaches.

5. Remember when speaking to coaches to be polite and formal. Good luck.

Your teen is not an outcome. He is a human.

Many parents have reached out to me over the past week regarding the college admissions scandal. While it was surprising in content and depth, it was not alarming that people of wealth can ‘cheat’ the system. I have decided to write about what you, as a parent, can focus on. You may not like what I have to say. That’s ok, sometimes the best advice is the hardest to hear.

1. If you are positive about your teen, then your teen will be positive about himself. Focus on helping guide your teen, not tell him what he needs to do, should do, or must change to become a valid applicant to a reputable college. How you talk to your teen, talk about your teen in front of him and how you react to your teen’s mistakes directly effects how he feels about himself. Your teen is not an outcome. He is a human.

2. If you attempt to be too involved in the college application process, then your teen will feel like he is not capable of doing so himself. Don’t be a snowplow parent. You are not applying to college, he is. Do not re-write his essays. Let him write. Admissions representatives can certainly tell if a 17-year old or a 50-year old wrote the essay.

3. Snowplow parent: What is that? It’s the new term, as ‘helicopter parent’ is the old term used about 10 years ago. If you try to roll out a red carpet for your teen, turn over every stone so nothing is missed then you are setting your teen up to not gain the chance to build her own skills in time management, problem solving and how to pick herself up from a bad experience, bad test score and failed attempt at anything in life.

4. Let your teen make mistakes. He needs to learn how to build character, problem solving skills and self-confidence.

When your teen lands on a college campus, he will inevitably face new problems in life. How will he have the needed skills to problem solve, deal with homesickness and/or approach a teacher about a question if he never had the chance to do so in high school? There is no perfect teen. There is no perfect applicant.

Guide your teen but let him fall and fail. A dear friend just said to me how “Life is messy. Life is hard.” So humans need the skills to bounce back from the messy and challenging situations in life to live a fulfilling and happy one.

A few thoughts on how to make the final decision

Dear Senior,

After you receive all of your college admission decisions, you will need to assess your choices and make a final decision.

1. Lay out all of your acceptances on a table. Look at each school and think over how each makes you feel.

   1. How does the college make you feel?

   2. Review the location and size of each school

   3. At which college can you imagine yourself at most? Why?

2. Re-visit Campus: Many schools offer an accepted student day. If not, make a plan to re-visit a few campuses, if you are unsure of which to choose to attend.

   1. Meet with financial aid if you have any questions.

   2. Ask about important issues to you such as housing, res life, support services for students such as disability resource center or mental health support.

   3. Talk with current students while on campus.

3. Compare financial aid awards and contact the offices with questions.

4. While there is no rush, make sure you do not miss the deadline for notifying a college.

5. There is NO perfect school. Sorry folks, but it’s true. Just like all decisions in life, it’s part of your journey and what YOU make of college is what you’ll gain. And congratulations!

Time to make your summer plans

Although we still have a few weeks left of winter, this is the time to make your summer plans. Here are a few ideas. Remember, you can’t go wrong with plans that make you feel happy and fulfilled. But, you can go wrong if you don’t do anything over the summer. Do something, for sure.

1. Job: Job rates for summer employment are down but that does not mean that it’s looked down upon to hold a job. In fact, your resume and college application will look great with some type of work experience, especially if you find the work fun and rewarding. Every type of job has a take away, in fact, working by waiting tables, serving food or helping others teaches many life long learning skills. (I worked for the US Post Office for two summers and I learned a lot about myself from that job experience!)

2. Volunteer: To me, this too is a job and can be more rewarding than a paid position if you find a volunteer opportunity that fits your interests. I worked with a student who was interested in nursing, so she volunteered at a local hospital. She delivered menus, newspapers and magazines to patients. This position exposed her to the operation and administration of how a hospital functions. And it also helped her decide whether she definitely wanted to pursue a nursing degree.

3. ‘Job Shadow’: This entails reaching out and asking a person who works in a professional field that may be of interest to you and ‘shadow’ her for a day. The summer is a great time to do so. A student I worked with last year, reached out to her former elementary school teacher as she is very interested in pursuing a degree in elementary education. She was able to ‘shadow’ her former teacher for a day and learn more about teaching.

4. Create something new and think outside the box!: Use your time over the summer to create a business, organize a camp or create a project. For example, a student I work with, who is an avid golfer, created a golf camp for kids. It is a three day camp, that he and his former high school teammate organize and they even have a tournament and trophy on the last day. He used creativity, leadership, and management skills to design the golf camp from scratch!

5. Rest: Yes, you read it, rest. Although I do not mean to say, rest all summer but make sure you travel, rest at home, take time off to re-charge between your school years. Summer is a time to enjoy yourself!

5 Tips to prepare for midterms

1.    Create a midterm study schedule

How many exams do you have and when? Create a list of tests and add them to your calendar so you can use that to design a plan and study schedule.

2.    Use class and teacher review sessions the week before to help you understand how to study the material on your own.

a.     Organize and use review packets and study guides

b.     Use study suggestions made by the teacher

c.      What is the format of the test?

d.     Gather all of your notes from September through today and organize them with your previous tests. Using past tests to study from is key as this will help you know what your teacher feels is important. Learn from past mistakes and review.

3.    Know how you will be tested. Use Quizlet and other creative means of study. Create a method of study that matches the class content and test format.

a.     For example, if a history teacher gives you a study guide in an outline format- use this to create a test on Quizlet.com. You can create a quiz in the same format that your teacher will be asking of you.

b.     Ask your teacher how you will be tested. Then use note cards, Quizlet, study groups or practice answering in short answer or essay format.

*PRACTICE ANSWERING in the same format as the midterm.*

4. Sleep

Don’t skip sleeping. Make sure you give yourself the time to rest, hydrate and eat well, leading up to exam week.

5.    Be Confident

The only person holding you back from doing well on a test is yourself. Don’t let fear of failure, fear of success or lack of preparation hold you back. Use the above tips to help you feel secure in your ability to do well. It’s just a test. Own it! You’ve got this!

2019: Thinking ahead for sophomores and freshman…

As you near the latter half of your school year, here are few topics to keep in mind and to work on going forward.

1.     Course selection for next year:

Over the next two months, you will most likely meet with your guidance counselor. You will talk through your remaining required courses and how best to complete them before the end of senior year.

For sophomores, as you move into your upperclassmen years, you will have more selection and electives to chose from. Read your high school course catalog and programs of study.

 Trying to determine if you should take a CP, Honors or AP level course? A good indicator is to determine if you are struggling at the current course level. If you are receiving a ‘B’ or better, you are most likely at the right level. If you are struggling, it may be good to speak with your guidance counselor to move into a better fit next year. And if you are sailing through and are bored, try a higher-level course next year.

2. This leads me to say to each and every one of you to make sure and ask questions if you are struggling in a course. The only person who will regret not taking ownership of his/her studies is him/herself.

 Time management and taking ownership of understanding course content is the student’s responsibility. Make sure to stay on top of both of these items but using a planner, meeting with teachers during after school hours or during ‘drop’ class sessions to make sure you understand what will be asked of you on the next test. 

At many high schools, midterms and finals are a combined 20% of your grade. The teachers are usually available to meet with you during the week leading up to midterms. Use this time to review material from the beginning of the school year. Make note cards, use study groups, and create a test on Quizlet for you to take.

3.     Standardized Tests: If you have taken a PSAT already, you may want to take a practice ACT next in order to assess which test you will focus on preparing for. Students should not take both but should choose and prep for one of them. 3 attempts at a test is the maximum. Typically, students take one of the tests twice.

4.     Summer Plans: Are you traveling, working, or attending camp during the summer months? It’s time to start to think about applying to jobs, registering for camps and discussing with your parents what you would like to do over the summer break.

 You’ve got this!

Hey Juniors, it's 2019! It's your year to apply to college.

This is your year to apply to college. Here is a short list of items to either keep working on or to get started on.

 1.     Junior Year grades and activities: This year is the most important for your grades and activities. If your transcript shows in improvement in your grades during 11th grade, it will be looked upon highly. Keep up your studies.

ASK QUESTIONS if you are struggling in a course. The only person who will regret not taking ownership of his/her studies is his/herself.

 Time management and taking ownership of understanding course content is the student’s responsibility. Make sure to stay on top of both of these items but using a planner, meeting with teachers during after school hours or ‘drop’ class sessions to make sure you understand what will be asked of you on the next test.

2.     In May or June, you will need to ask 2 teachers for a letter of recommendation.

a.     Ask in person

b.     Say thank you

c.      Share with them why you are asking

d.     Ask a teacher that has had you in his/her class preferably during junior or sophomore year(s).

3.     Standardized Tests: Do you know which test you are taking? SAT or ACT? Create a plan on when to take it and either take a prep class or hire a tutor to help you prepare. Test strategy is KEY to succeeding on both tests. (And by all means, do not register for the June ACT if your Junior Prom is the night before.)

4.     Also plan your time to visit campuses and research schools with your parents. Spring break is a great time in April as colleges are still in session. Many offer open houses on the weekends too.

5.     Summer plans: Working, going to camp, going on a fancy vacation? Regardless, please plan on writing your common app essay during the summer months. You will not regret this.  

Good Luck!

College Fair Tips

Fall is a busy season for taking standardized tests, visiting a college campus or two and for attending your high school college fair.

Attending a Fall College Fair is one of the best first steps in your college search.

Here are a few tips to consider.

1.   All high school students should take the time to attend. I’ve been asked if it’s ‘really worth it’ for an underclassmen to attend. Yes, it is.

2.   Upon arrival, pick up a map of the fair and look to visit the tables for schools you may have already identified.

3.   Introduce yourself to the college representative. That’s right, shake the rep’s hand and say hello. It’s great practice to talk with adults informally but in a respectful manner.

4.   If you have any specific interest, make sure to ask about them such as study abroad options or a certain major you are looking to pursue.

5.   Do not specifically ask what is your ‘chance for admission’ but ask what is the range in GPA, test scores and personal qualities the school is looking for in applicants.

6.   Visit two or three schools for which you have never heard of. This is a great way to expand your thoughts about where to attend and to learn of different types of schools: Private Universities, Colleges, State Universities, etc.

7.   Fill out information cards with your name, high school and year of graduation, address, email address, etc. If you have time, make labels prior to attending to speed up the process!

Have fun. Attending fairs is a fun and exciting time to see what is out there! Ask questions a