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Attention sophomores and juniors: Important college admission advice ahead

February 19th, 2019

What’s the most important document in your college application?

You already know the answer – your transcript! Colleges will review your course selection and rigor, in addition to your GPA, to ensure you’re prepared for college level classes. Course selection always entails a fine balance of challenge and manageability while continuing a strong and broad program of academic solids.

Taking a difficult course load may look great on your transcript, but only if you’re able to excel. Your teachers’ recommendations and your own intuition will help you decide on the degree of challenge you can manage effectively.

We’ve linked to an article below from Yale University as it contains excellent guidance on course selection for all students, not just those applying to highly selective universities.

In addition to choosing classes for next year, many of you are studying for the ACT or SAT. It may seem like a daunting task but the winter months are a great time to prepare. Juniors should all have a clear plan in place at this point for SAT or ACT test dates. As both exams are now offered in the summer months, some students are now incorporating a summer test date into their overall testing plan. A final note: SAT Subject Tests remain important for a small number of colleges, so be sure to keep an eye on admission requirements for each college of interest.

Article referenced below from Yale University Admissions

Many high school sophomores and juniors (and their parents) want to know what courses to take to improve their chances for admission to Yale and other highly competitive colleges. With the caveat that every situation is different, here is some advice to help guide you as you make these decisions.

A Holistic Approach to Admissions

The high school transcript is almost always the most important document in a student’s application. But it is hard to conceive of a situation in which the appearance (or absence) of any one particular class on a transcript would determine the applicant’s outcome. The admissions committee does not make its decisions based on a piecemeal review of an applicant’s recommendations, test scores, activities, or individual elements of a high school transcript. It considers each application as a comprehensive picture of that student.

Make the most of your summer

February 5th, 2019

The recent warm-up after a bitter cold spell has me thinking that now is the perfect time for students to think about summer plans!

The long break from school provides a perfect opportunity to explore your interests more thoroughly. Nothing matters more than a student’s growth during the high school years and by making great choices with curriculum, extracurricular activities and summer engagement, you can become a stronger and more compelling individual. A great bonus: you’ll also become a stronger and more compelling college applicant.

I want to share an article from The Princeton Review titled, 14 Summer Activities to Boost Your College Application. Now, while I can’t promise that each of the items listed will “boost” your college application, I do know that having fun while also working on self-growth is a win-win.

Article referenced below from The Princeton Review

Did you know summer activities can push your college application to the “yes” pile?

Colleges want to see that you are committed to extracurriculars throughout the school year, but they also love it when you are making the effort to expand and stretch yourself over summer vacation. What you do with your time can help you stand out from other applicants who have similar test scores and GPAs.

What Should High Schoolers Do Over the Summer?

Your summer vacation is the perfect time for college prep and to explore potential careers. All summers in high school are important, especially the summers after sophomore and junior year. Check out these summer activity ideas that are fun, creative, and will make admissions officers take notice.

Freshman files: Dartmouth impressions

January 22nd, 2019

Each year after the holidays I love to reconnect with past Shrop Ed students and check in on their first semester of college. This provides a great opportunity to share their experiences as college freshmen, shedding light on important elements of the transition from high school to college. Excerpts from their responses are extremely helpful to our younger students who will soon begin this journey as well, and I’m grateful to past students willing to share their thoughts publicly.

The first freshman files excerpt of 2019 comes from Isaac, a first-year student at Dartmouth College, a small research university within the Ivy League. Isaac’s commentary provides a deeper understanding of the many extracurricular opportunities and academic resources available outside of traditional classes, so important to making connections which can improve any college experience immensely.

Regarding Dartmouth, I love it here! The academics are in no way easy, but I’m finding them manageable this term. I’m doing very well in all of my classes (Intro to Anthropology, Computer Science 1, and my mandatory writing class) with the exception of a bump in the writing class … That being said, I did well on the last paper, so I think I’m getting the hang of it!

I joined Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering and am currently working on a project to improve the design of cots at a local shelter in hopes of preventing them from breaking so often to hopefully cut down on long-term expenses. I am also in Investment Club, SIBS (Big Brother Big Sister; I get paired with my Little in about a week and will meet them once or twice before break and then kick it into full swing once I’m back for winter term), and the Dartmouth Outing Club.

I also opted to do a couple of supplementary classes. I did Learning at Dartmouth which is a 14 session long informal course to help improve study skills and help first years learn about all of the resources they have available to them. I also participated in a 4 session long Koru Mindfulness class in hopes that it would help with stress management. It went pretty well and I think helped some but wasn’t a cure-all solution for me.

First Year Trips was an absolute blast! I loved all of my trippees and my trip leaders were great. I still often hang out with my trippees and keep in contact with my trip leaders. It was an amazing experience. Social life has been good too. I’ve made a lot of good friends who are really accepting of everyone. My roommate is one of my best friends. I really like him and we’ve both made friends through each other.

We’re grateful that Isaac agreed to share his experiences and wish him continued success as he finishes his first year!

Tagged: College, Freshman files, Ivy league

Ring in the new year with kindness and communication

January 9th, 2019

January presents an opportunity for a fresh start and with the new year we often try to make changes that will create a better future. College applicants are already considering how their new year will be different; graduating from high school, possibly moving away from home, and starting a new school will all come in 2019. What if I told you that being mindful of communication and kindness could help smooth these transitions?

In the article linked below, Forbes contributor Brennan Barnard has come up with ways to improve the college application process for everyone by adding communication and kindness. It seems so simple, and as he explains how it can help each aspect of the admissions process you will appreciate why it is so important. I hope this year brings you health, kindness and communication along with a great transition into this next phase of life.

Article referenced below published on January 1, 2019 by Forbes, written by Brennan Barnard

My family had a New Year’s tradition that was different than most, one that often led to tears and retribution between me and my brothers. At breakfast on January 1st every year, we gathered around pancakes, and instead of crafting our own New Year’s resolutions, the group would decide what each family member should commit to change or improve in the coming year. Having a spotlight on our shortcomings was no picnic, as you can imagine, but in retrospect, it was a valuable exercise.

College admission is an imperfect system. With each new year, it grows more complicated, and produces more anxiety and finger-pointing, for everyone involved. It’s easy enough to assign blame, but rarely are we willing to address our role. So, in the spirit of the Barnard family tradition, I want to suggest two simple New Year’s resolutions to all the constituents involved in college admission: communication and kindness. Imagine the ways that our culture could start to heal if we all stopped blaming each other, and instead of defaulting to extremes, embraced the ways we can contribute to a healthier global community. Whether you are a student, a parent, or a high school or college educator, this coming year I beg you to continually ask yourself, “what am I doing to be a better communicator and to be more kind?”