Submit Your College Applications Before Pumpkin Pie
Our friend and colleague Kristin Cocquyt of Cocquyt College Consulting offers student-centered, fit-focused college counseling in Webster, NY and through the Zoom-verse. This guest post promotes the benefits of finishing those college applications early! To procrastinate is to be human, but to tackle the college application process with fortitude and precise planning is…. well, hard. The college search and application process is full of details and deadlines and for most teengers is straight-up intimidating. If you’re in the midst of the college search and application process, it can feel like another varsity sport or AP class (or two) with the required time investment and homework. Your color-coded spreadsheet of deadlines and usernames and passwords is intense, and you have multiple Google Docs going with essay drafts. The college application process can sort of take over and distract you from the other glories of senior year. I’ve coached over 600 students…
Coping with the College Waitlist
It is no easy thing to be a high school senior waitlisted at his or her top choice college or university. Waiting lists create a tremendous amount of uncertainty. Some schools never need to go to their waiting lists to fulfill their desired enrollment numbers. Other colleges may invite a handful of hopefuls from a waitlist of several hundred students. Still others may invite a considerable number of waitlisted students to join the incoming class. Both strategically and emotionally, it can be difficult for students and parents to know how to handle waitlist situations! For the student motivated to attempt to change a waitlist situation into an offer of admission, here are some tips: Firstly, once included on the waitlist, the student should contact the college’s office of admission by phone and by email to express strong interest. If this is the top choice school, by all means say so!…
Applying to the United States Naval Academy
Have you ever heard of the United States Naval Academy? Most people know it as Annapolis, since it’s located in Annapolis, Maryland, or USNA for short. It’s also, like most U.S. military academies, one of the most competitive schools in the country. For anyone interested in applying to the Naval Academy, we asked our colleagues at Gain Service Academy Admission to share some insightful tips: How to Prepare Early in your High School Career The general theme here is to make sure you challenge yourself! The Naval Academy core courses are challenging. Taking challenging classes during high school will help you prepare for USNA’s academic rigor. Start early! If you have a choice to take Advanced Placement or IB classes, do so. Focus on being in the top 20% of your high school class academically, at least. Get involved in your community and take on leadership opportunities. Find activities you…
Thinking About an ROTC Scholarship or Military College?
Choosing a school is already a difficult decision, making the choice with the ROTC scholarship in mind could make the decision easier… or that much harder. Here are some things to keep in mind that have the potential to make the decision-making process less of a headache. One important first step is to help your son or daughter to decide on a major, if they have not done so already. This can narrow down the search for the right school. Military vs. non-military college is another topic to think about. A traditional college is going to offer your son or daughter a traditional college experience for the most part. He or she will still be required to fulfill their ROTC obligations. A military service academy is not going to reflect the traditional college experience, but it will help you son or daughter learn the military culture and help them to…
Getting College Admissions Stuff Done While Life Is On Hold
Spring break is typically a time that students and families take to the road for their college search. The weather is relatively predictable (i.e. not snowing), college campuses are full of students, so the potential peer group is visible, and you might even have a set (or two) of test scores that help guide you toward possible, realistic options. For the Class of 2021, just about all of this is out the window. While it is not snowing, campuses are empty and not receiving visitors, you may not have had a chance to meet with your school counselor to get a list started, and with all the test date cancellations, it is not unusual for you to still be waiting to take a standardized test. This can feel immobilizing. Please do not feel helpless. There are a number of opportunities to use this gift of time in unanticipated ways. It…
What You Plan Gets Done
One important habit school teaches us–or is supposed to teach–is write down assignments and test dates. Your school may have even provided planners to foster this habit. Some of us revel in creating color-coded plans; others, well, not so much. Simple or artful, we learn to track our responsibilities and manage our time. When life becomes more complex with AP workloads, leadership roles, and after-school practices, a student should use a planner to make it all work. And once the “getting into college” tasks of test prep, college search, and essay drafts kicks in, the whole process can become overwhelming. At times like these, consider the old adage, “If you plan it, it gets done.” What should planning look like for busy high school and college students? Look critically at your current commitments and prioritize them. Define clear goals for your top priorities. Research shows that people who write down…