17 Mar
Gena L. Planning For College No Comments

3 Ways to Get Attention from the High School Guidance Counselor

If I’ve learned anything in the past from the families I’ve worked with for college planning, it’s that high school guidance counselors are busy. REALLY busy – and it’s no wonder: according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the national ratio of students to school counselors is 470:1.

Say WHAT?!!

Considering they also serve as psychological counselors, administrative support, arrange for student testing, and write hundreds of recommendation letters for students per year (a requirement for admissions to many colleges), it makes sense that students really have to work hard to get actual one-on-one college counseling at many schools.

Guidance counselors can really be a valuable resource for making the right decisions about college. So, how can you be sure your teen gets the help he or she needs?

Be the squeaky wheel.

Most students don’t take the initiative to set up an appointment with their counselor. Your teen should initiate a meeting, and then a follow up meeting, and another follow up meeting, and another – they should continue to pursue the relationship throughout their high school career. So many students fall through the cracks, especially at larger public schools; don’t let that happen! Once your teen shows this initiative, the counselor will take notice and will form a solid relationship from the start.

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Arrange for a college counseling meeting EARLY.

Freshman year is not too soon for your teen to set up a meeting with the counselor! Planning for the next four years and getting some perspective on which courses to take, scholarship opportunities, careers and majors to consider, etc. will help your student to get headed in the right direction from day one.

Get involved, Mom – Arrange for yearly meetings with the counselor yourself.

When the counselor knows the parent is involved, it’s serious business! This allows your teen to receive even more advice and support. Go to meetings armed with questions.

Guidance counselors are not the only resource for students, of course. Your teenager should be doing research about colleges, internships, courses, scholarships, etc. on their own as well. College life is coming soon – best to prepare and practice now for the independence that will be there later!

Has your teen met with the guidance counselor at school yet? How has the counselor helped? Leave a comment below!

13 Mar
Gena L. College Applications No Comments

Don’t Let The Coronavirus Derail Your Teen’s College Dreams

Today our nation is responding to a worldwide heath threat.  Counties and States across our nation have declared a state of emergency as the Coronavirus virus spreads.  There are bans put in place restricting gatherings of 100 or more.  Currently, Concerts, Broadway, Disney and Sporting Events have all been canceled.Additionally, Colleges across our nation have been forced to close their doors and move to online classes.  Our current state brings a vast mix of emotions. There are those who think everyone is over-reacting and there are those who are feeling panic or fear. Regardless, of where you fall on the scale, as a nation and people we are impacted.  In addition to the national health concerns we are seeing a negative financial impact as well.  The reality is that we will come out on the other side.  We may have a few bumps and bruises along the way, but it is how we handle the situation today that will affect our future.  I want to give you a few tips to help your focus on the future and keep your teen on track during this tumultuous time.

At this time a large majority of colleges are closed for outside visit.  Make sure that you check with the college you were planning on visiting before traveling.  President Trump is expected to declare this afternoon (March, 13, 2020) a National Emergency over the Coronavirus. I would venture to say that it would be difficult to find a university who is still holding campus tours or newly admitted student events.  So, what can you do to keep your college admissions process from being derailed. Class of 2020, if you are in the middle of making final decisions and you had scheduled college visits that have been canceled. Don’t panic.  There are a lot of great resources online that allow you to get a great overview of a university.  Many of the colleges you are attending will offer virtual tour options on their website and you can get a lot of your questions answered there as well.  You can also check out You Visit,they offer 600+  virtual college tours.. https://www.youvisit.com/collegesearch/

If you have specific questions about a university you can always send an email to your admissions counselor. Even though many universities may be closed their staff will be available and want to make sure that you are getting your questions answered. Remember they want you to attend their college, so don’t be afraid to reach out.The main thing to remember is that you have a well thought out college list and most likely you will be happy and thrive at the college you choose.  Make sure that you are checking emails as many of the colleges are providing additional resources and updates for newly admitted students.Class of 2021, As school districts are extending spring break our students are in full spring fever mode, so this is the perfect time to get a jump on the college admissions process.  First, if your teen is scheduled to take an upcoming ACT or SAT, they will need to verify that their test date has not been rescheduled.  Regardless of the situation, pulling out those test prep resources and spending time working on them will go a long way to increasing their scores.  Additionally, there are many parts of the college admissions process that they can begin working on now. This would be a good time to work on resumes, building your college list (use the resources listed above and go on a virtual college tour) and searching for scholarships. Your college dreams are still a reality so keep moving forward.In my own practice, I will be meeting with students virtually. This will allow students to stay on track and not miss a beat. I will also be holding free live trainings over the next few weeks to help families put plans in place so that your teen will be set up for success. You will find information about these free trainings on the Education Prep Centers Facebook page as they become available The most important thing during this time is that we come together and support one another.  My goal is to help you to and your teen stay on track during this difficult time.

 

03 Mar
Gena L. Planning For College No Comments

4 Tips for Staying Organized with College Planning

There’s a ridiculous amount of things to keep track of when you’re planning for college: testing timelines, college application requirements for each school, SAT/ACT registration deadlines, application deadlines, financial aid deadlines… (There are a million deadlines – I could go on for days.)

It’s helpful to have a few tools handy to make this unwieldy process a little more…wieldy. And to save at least a few hairs from turning prematurely gray.

1. Buy a crazy big, dry-erase wall calendar to see the entire year at once.

It’ll take a big space on your wall, but it’s an invaluable tool for getting a good perspective on what’s needed before those applications are submitted to colleges and tracking all of those deadlines. I use the At-A-Glance Wall Calendar in my office.

I add lots of things there, and it’s honestly big enough that your whole family could even use it! Get dry erase markers in multiple colors, and then use one color for different categories or for different members of the family. All of the college stuff on mine’s in black, vacations in green, personal to-dos in blue. You get the gist.

2. Have your teen register for a separate email account.

The floodgates will open with emails as soon as your student registers on the College Board website and takes the PSAT, and when you start signing up at different scholarship sites to learn what your teen’s eligible for. Seriously, folks – even Facebook doesn’t send you this many alerts.The best thing you can do is have your high schooler register for a separate email account to be used solely for the college planning process instead of using a personal email. Gmail is a great option because it’s so easy to create an account. Name it something like “yourkidsname.college@gmail.com.” Just don’t forget about it and be sure to keep an eye on it!

3. Create a College Admissions binder.

Use this as a central place to save and file important bits of information, like the following:

  • Awards and honors received
  • Record of  extracurricular activities
  • Usernames and passwords for college applications
  • Brainstorming sheet for essay topics
  • Documents received directly from colleges your child is considering

4. Download mobile apps to help keep things in one place.

Online tools and apps like Evernote and Trello are helpful for organizing and tracking important college planning information and sharing with your teen. Google Drive is still my favorite, though – probably because I use it all the time and it seems to be a little more universal than the other two.

What organizational tips can you share to make the college planning process a little cleaner? Leave a comment below!

15 Feb
Gena L. College Applications No Comments

Why the College Essay Can Make or Break Your Teen’s Chances for Admissions

The dreaded college essay. It is one of the top three things (in addition to GPA and SAT/ACT scores) that college admissions officers use to consider for admissions, so it’s vital that your teen gets this right.

 

Why Is The College Essay So Important?

The goal of the essay is to set your teen apart from other students. When comparing students with similar GPAs and test scores, the essay can be the catalyst that makes or breaks it with admissions officers. Students need to demonstrate why they’re a good fit for the school and how they’ll contribute. They’re selling themselves here in a big way.

Imagine that Jade and Delilah each have similar GPAs, academic rigor and SAT scores. That essay will be the determining factor that sets them apart from each other.

What Should My Teen Write About?

When the Common Application announced the 2019-2020 prompts, they shared that they were actually re-using the 2018-2019’s prompts. And this is not the first time they’ve done this, either. For this reason, I always encourage my juniors to start thinking of topics they’d like to include in their essays right now, even if the questions end up changing slightly before they start their application process.

There are one of two themes your teen should consider including on the college essay – be sure to know what these are before choosing a topic!

When Should It Be Written?

The ideal time to have your teen complete the essay(s) is during the summer before their senior year. Don’t wait! There are too many distractions once school starts again and, with everything else that your kid will need on that application, it’s best to get it done sooner rather than later.

Remember This…

Some colleges require essays in addition to those found on the Common Application and others only require responses to their school’s essay prompts. Be sure to check directly with each college’s website or admissions office to verify what they require. You don’t want to find out that your teen missed an important piece of the application after the fact!

HOT TIP: I know it’s going to be tempting to help your high schooler write their essay. DON’T DO IT! Sure – you can help with brainstorming topics, creating an outline, and proofreading, but don’t write the thing! College admission officers can smell a parent’s involvement from a mile away and it’s a huge detriment to your teen in the long run.

Thoughts about this post? Leave a comment below!

04 Feb
Gena L. College Applications No Comments

The 2 Best Ways to Make the College Essay Stand Out

College admissions folks are serious about the essays they read on applications. After checking out your teen’s GPA, academic rigor, and SAT/ACT scores, they’ll look at that very important essay to be sure he or she is the right fit for their school.

There are 2 themes that I always recommend a student considers gearing their writing toward, because either one of these will help showcase exactly what officials want to see:

1. How your teen has developed as a leader over time.

Admissions folks want students with a go-get-’em attitude who will be a leader at their school.

My youngest daughter has been passionate about theatre since she could walk. When she was in high school, she was taking voice, dance, and acting lessons, fundraising for the school theatre and choir departments, and costuming, choreographing, and rehearsing for shows both at school and at our community theater. It was pretty clear that she was dedicated and had developed as a leader in this area, which made her really shine on applications.

Your high schooler likely has something he or she’s been involved in for quite some time, either in school or out of it. Think of any volunteer work done over time, passions pursued, activities or sports participated in. Are there themes that can be linked to show growth in that area? How has your student grown in maturity and become a leader?

 

2. How your teen has overcome adversity.

Successfully getting through tough times almost inevitably builds character and allows a person to develop in maturity. College officials consider students who show this kind of grit in the face of hardship as leaders and doers – and they want them for their schools.I’ve worked with students who’ve overcome a variety of hardships, such as taking care of a terminally ill parent or grandparent, overcoming a learning difference, recovering after a severe injury or illness, taking care of a younger sibling while a single parent worked. Even with these challenges, the students conquered and came out better on the other side in some way.

Regardless of the essay prompt your teen chooses to write about on the application, applying one of these themes to it will ensure they’re looked at seriously by colleges. Talk to your teen about their experiences so far to get their minds churning!

How has your teen developed as a leader or overcome diversity? Share your story in the comments below!

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