2014-15 Common Application Essay Prompts
Basking in the hot sun to get a deep golden tan may have been discredited by doctors, but summer still has its uses. For example, summer is just about the best time for most high school students to prep for the SAT & ACT. But that’s not all: summer is also the best time for rising seniors to work on that all-important admissions essay! One of the keys to an AMAZING college essay is selecting the right prompt. Fortunately, the prompts and directions haven’t changed from last year, so here are your options for the 2013-14 Common App: Instructions. The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer…
Seven Steps to Seize your Senior Summer
We at Chariot Learning talk a lot about how to make that glorious road to college as smooth and successful as possible. However, we’re usually focused on the stretch of road that leads up to admissions. Tests, grades, essays, and interviews obviously deserve serious attention and discussion, but what about the parts after those acceptance letters arrive? Luckily, Mike Metzler has a lot to say about that final stretch of road that students travel from their homes to their freshman year dorms. Mike, a Rochester resident and heck of a nice guy, is the author of Carpe College, the fun guide to making the most of your college experience. I enjoyed this book and recommend it as a great gift for any high school graduate. I also recommend heeding Mike’s advice on how to optimize the college experience. If you are (or know) an incoming freshman, make the next month count.…
Walls Are There For a Reason
The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people. ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
College-Bound Buzz (June 2014)
What’s going down for the college-bound? Not much, unless you work at Starbucks and want to get an online degree… Starbucks Coffee Co. today announces an unusually large tuition reimbursement for employees. It’s in partnership with Arizona State University’s highly ranked online program. Starbucks employees who sign up for ASU’s online courses as freshmen or sophomores will get a partial scholarship plus need-based financial aid; entering juniors and seniors with previous college credits will be able to finish their degrees with the public university for free. (full article) And if you’re thinking of majoring in certain social sciences or humanities programs, just make sure you’re not in it for the money… Salary.com suggests that you should carefully consider the college degree you take, and factor in the potential return on investment (ROI). Research shows that some degrees are unlikely to lead to a well-paid job. The list ranks salary…