Tagged: Applications

Juniors: open your eyes to scholarship opportunities

February 5th, 2018

Shrop Ed families know that despite urban myths, most scholarship assistance is offered by colleges directly. Still, there are “external” scholarships for which students can apply, and their review processes are often highly competitive.

Most scholarship applications will be due in the fall, but there is one major scholarship deadline for juniors to pay attention to this spring: that of the Bryan Cameron Education Foundation. The Foundation limits the number of applications it will review for its Cameron Impact Scholarship and for that reason, it’s best to jump on the application well ahead of the posted May deadline. The competition for these awards is daunting, as you’ll see when you read the statistics, yet we’re thrilled to have had two seniors in the Finalist round this year, one of whom was named a Cameron Impact Scholar! Being a top student AND changing the world are important criteria for the award, and we’re thrilled to see intentional and excellent accomplishments recognized.

As we receive word of other major scholarship competitions, we’ll share information with the Shrop Ed community. In the meantime, we urge all juniors interested in scholarship funding to set up an account on Cappex, which has a scholarship search engine that will match your profile to opportunities.

Read more at Bryan Cameron Education Foundation >>

Tagged: Applications, College, Scholarship

How to conquer the admissions essay

August 7th, 2017

We’ve shared several articles in the past weeks relating to essay questions, and many of our rising seniors have made good progress. With the first day of school right around the corner, now’s the time to get serious about this part of your application if you haven’t yet done so. In the article shared below, creative writer Rachel Toor gives great insight into what really goes on behind closed doors during admissions reviews.

Toor gives specific examples of topics that work and some that don’t, with a great list of of things students should avoid. The most significant piece of advice throughout this article is to make your essay personal and help the readers understand who you are through your writing.

Many students have heard me reminisce about my years on admission committees at Tufts, Brandeis and Washington universities. The best essays that I read during that time made me feel the student was right across the desk from me, ready to talk and answer questions. Let your personality and voice shine through!

Article published below by New York Times

Picture this before you plop yourself down in front of your computer to compose your college application essay: A winter-lit room is crammed with admissions professionals and harried faculty members who sit around a big table covered with files. The admissions people, often young and underpaid, buzz with enthusiasm; the professors frequently pause to take off their glasses and rub their eyes.

These exhausted folks, hopped up from eating too many cookies and brownies, have been sitting in committee meetings for days after spending a couple of months reading applications, most of which look pretty similar: baseball = life, or debate = life, or “I went to a developing country and discovered poor people can be happy.”

Developing Personal Insight

July 24th, 2017

This week I want to share a link to a series of personal insight questions from the University of California’s college admission application. I especially appreciate these questions for their scope and direction. Whether you are applying to the UC system or not, you’ll find that the questions comprise a valuable exercise in shaping choices and reflection on what is important to you personally. The personal insight questions are also beneficial for younger high school and middle school students and their parents to consider as they look ahead to searching for a boarding school and/or college.

Personal development is something we all continue to work on each day of our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not. The series of questions provided by UC is a great way to get us to dig a little deeper and gain a better understanding of ourselves.

Intrigued? Please read the article provided below.

Article published below by University of California’s Admissions website

What do you want UC to know about you? Here’s your chance to tell us in your own words.

Directions

You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you: But you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.

Read more at University of California Admissions >>

Tagged: Applications, Boarding school, College, Personal characteristics

Take me to your leaders: What college admission deans are looking for

June 12th, 2017

Leadership: this word generates so much attention in the college admissions world. It puts pressure on young people to believe they must hold a top officer position in order to be considered a leader prior to applying for college.

But what exactly is leadership? In the Huffington Post article we share with you today, it is defined in more ways than one and may have you thinking outside the box while completing the leadership section of your college application. This article is full of direct quotes from admissions officers at several universities who give us perfect examples of what leadership means to them.

Article published below by The Huffington Post on February 20, 2017

Written by: Brennan Barnard

“The college invasion.” This is how my high school seniors describe the scene on our campus each fall. Admission visitors—like extraterrestrials—arrive in their rental cars with big smiles and stories of bright new worlds. Their message is always the same—“take me to your leaders.”

College admission officers spend weeks on end traveling the world, recruiting tomorrow’s leaders. But what exactly are they searching for? How do they define a leader? Who will they choose to take back with them? What qualities will these individuals embody? How will they be identified, wooed and culled? These are the questions silently percolating in young minds as they listen to these visitors describe fascinating futures filled with exploration and engagement.