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Tagged: High school

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.

high school summer

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.

Read more at Princeton Review >>

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Fall is admission recruitment season … for boarding schools, too!

October 30th, 2018
Each October Lexington has the good fortune of hosting admission officers from boarding schools around the country, thanks to The Lexington School’s annual secondary school fair.  I look forward to the event as quite a few of the school representatives take time to visit my office, as well.
School visitors this year included:
Baylor (TN)
Brehm (IL)
Brook Hill (TX)
Cushing (MA)
Darlington (GA)
Forman (CT)
Gow (NY)
Groton (MA)
Madeira (VA)
Marianapolis (CT)
McCallie (TN)
Millbrook (NY)
Ridley (Ontario, Canada)
Webb (TN)
Woodberry Forest (VA)

Just as with college admission, finding the right fit for boarding school is key.  Some of the schools are single-gender; some are for students with specialized learning needs; some are for “high flyers” and some can work successfully with students at a wide range of academic levels.  Their settings are varied and the feel of each campus environment is different.

I love to hear admission directors’ updates about students and faculty, campus life, facilities, successes and challenges.  We also discuss bigger-picture issues, and one that featured prominently this year was the increasing evidence in student anxiety and how schools are providing programming and counseling.  There are so many interesting parallels between boarding school and college life, and these discussions connect the dots in fascinating ways.

I have always felt that the two sides of my consulting practice, boarding school and college, compliment each other and these fall conversations with visiting admission directors reinforce the benefits.

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Early Action and Early Decision: understand the difference

September 18th, 2018

Is your heart set on one particular college?  Should you apply Early (note the capital “E”) to signal your devotion?  

  

Our last blog post focused on demonstrated interest.  Applying Early Action or Early Decision certainly allows colleges to see your level of interest in attending.  Many colleges admit Early Action and Early Decision candidates at higher rates than we see in the Regular Decision pool.

Applying Early Action involves no risk for the applicant.  It simply moves the deadline to an earlier date, typically November 1, and applicants receive admission decisions well ahead of Regular Decision timetables.  We believe that Early Action programs without strings are wonderful pathways for applications.

In contrast, Early Decision is binding.  This is an enormous commitment and you must be 110% certain that this is where you would like to enroll.  As with Early Action, the accelerated timetable allows for a much earlier decision to be returned, typically ahead of winter break.  If you’re certain about wanting to enroll, this is a great pathway … but if you worry that you might look back in March and wish your other applications were still active, then it’s the wrong choice.

(Interesting aside:  Early Decision is even making its way into the boarding school world!)

A small number of extraordinarily selective colleges offer their own twist on Early Action, called Restrictive Early Action or Single Choice Early Action.  In these cases, students may not simultaneously apply for Early Decision elsewhere and in some cases, they may not even apply Early Action at other private schools.  Make sure that you’re reading the fine print when going this route.

Would you like to learn more about the difference between Early Action and Early Decision?  The article linked below from CNBC highlights exactly what you need to know to make your best choice.

Article referenced below published on November 1, 2017 by CNBC, written by Abigail Hess

This month, thousands of high school students will submit early action (EA) and early decision (ED) applications to colleges.

The deadlines for these types of applications are typically between November 1st and November 15th. Applying early action or early decision each have their benefits, but they’re very different.

“Most people pair early action and early decision because of shared deadlines, but I find that the only similarity between the two is the timeline,” says Ian Fisher, director of educational counseling at educational advising firm College Coach.

“EA is actually much more similar to regular decision, both in terms of the competitiveness of the pool and the freedom to choose from among a range of options once they’ve been admitted.”

 

Read more at CNBC >>

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Meet a new generation of doers

August 21st, 2018

In today’s world, more and more youth use the power of their voice to make a difference and we are always happy to see these outstanding young people highlighted in the media.  One way local Kentucky students are sharing their collective voice is through the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence’s Student Voice Team.  This organization gives students the opportunity to make a difference in Kentucky schools across the Commonwealth.  And are they ever making an impact!

One small idea can have a huge impact as long as hard work and ambition go along with it.  In today’s article from Family Circle we share 5 amazing teens who are making a difference in the lives of people around them.  We hope this article inspires each of you to believe in your ideas and use your talents to make an impact in this world.   

Article referenced below from Family Circle

Published by John Hanc

“Ready, set, pitch!” Seventy high school and college students come to life in a conference room at New York University. Facing them in an outer ring of chairs are adults—a cross-section of government officials, foundation board members and other deep-pocketed notables from the worlds of social service and philanthropy. They will soon vote and award three students $1,000 each to fund their projects.

This is “Speed Pitch,” the culmination of DoSomething.org’s Social Action Boot Camp, which aims to inspire, empower and celebrate young people who are passionate about community service. Throughout the daylong conference, students have shared and sharpened their ideas of social reform; this is their final opportunity to present them to people of power. Each teen came with a plan for a nonprofit project, like creating a cheerleading squad for special-needs students or crafting homemade gifts for children in local hospitals. As the students deliver their two-minute speeches, the experts listen and offer advice. When a facilitator calls, “Time’s up!” the teens move one seat over and start the pitching process again. Think of it as speed dating for social causes.

 

Read more at Family Circle >>

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