Category Archives: Guest Posts

Guest Posts, parenting

Talking to College-Bound Teens About Risky Behavior

risky behavior

You’re likely to feel a little anxious about the idea of your teen going off to college. Your years of being able to protect and coddle your child are about to end, and you know how cruel the world can be. 

One fear that you might have about your teen going off to college is that of drug and alcohol abuse. Many teens face problems such as peer pressure and the need to fit in with the “everybody’s doing it” crowd. 

Here are some tips for talking to your teen about the dangers of succumbing to peer pressure and risky behavior in college.

Avoid Sounding Too Autocratic

The tone of your conversation is the most critical factor in reaching your college-bound teen about an essential topic like alcohol and drug abuse. 

Young persons tend to get defensive if they feel as though a parental figure is “laying down the law” or restricting their lives. You should approach your child as if you are a friend and not so much a parent. 

The best way to approach this subject is to wait until you can have a calm discussion about the matter. You might want to discuss it after dinner or while you’re driving somewhere with your teen.

Reassure Your Teen of Your Love and Trust

Your teen needs to know that you respect their independence and that you trust their judgment. At the same time, you must help them understand that unfamiliar situations are going to arise. They’ll have to deal with people who don’t have the best intentions. 

Let your teen know that he or she will come across people from a variety of family backgrounds and cultures. Those backgrounds and cultures might clash with the ones that you established as you were raising your teen. 

Tell your child that it’s okay to stand his or her ground and not go along with suggested behavioral changes just because it may seem trendy to others.

Draw From Your Experiences

Storytelling is an effective way to reach your teen about alcohol and drug recovery. It will help you to connect with your teen emotionally, and it will display your empathetic nature. 

If you can think of a time that you overcame peer pressure, you should tell your teen a story about it. Tell your child who presented the peer pressure and what you did to overcome it. 

Alternatively, you can share an experience that you had experimenting with drugs or alcohol. Be honest if you ever had to seek alcohol and drug recovery.

Use Scientific or News-Based Quotes

Sometimes, young people don’t believe anything until they can see hard evidence that it’s not good for them. In that case, you might want to gather news reports and statistics that pertain to drug and alcohol recovery. 

Find articles and statistics about the health hazards of drugs and alcohol. Collect news stories about college students who have suffered the negative effects of drugs or alcohol. 

Many students have failed out of college, gotten into accidents, and lost their lives because of substance abuse. Your teen needs to know the reality of such incidents. Don’t sugarcoat the truth at all.

Boost Your Teen’s Self-Esteem

It’s important to point out your teen’s good qualities when you’re discussing peer pressure. 

Many teens fall victim to peer pressure because they need to feel as though they belong to a particular group. They desire acceptance, and that desire for acceptance sometimes gets them into trouble. 

Spend some time giving your teen positive affirmations that will help encourage self-esteem. Your teen will be less likely to fall into the trap of peer pressure if he or she is aware of all the positive qualities that make that person unique. 

A person who has a strong sense of value won’t feel the need to fit in with anyone else.

Establish Positive Communication Lines

Finally, you must establish healthy communication with your college-bound teen. Your teen should feel confident that you will be available for questions or concerns or to tell you about each day away at college.

Let your teen know that you are available to talk at any time of the day or night. You might even want to set up a regular day and time that you can voice or video chat with your teens to let them hear your voice or see your face. Your teen might find a lot of strength in knowing that you’re present even though there’s a distance between you.

The tips mentioned above should help you communicate your concerns to your teen without causing him or her to get offensive. Hopefully, your son or daughter will go on to have a fruitful experience in college and live to his or her full potential.

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Author Bio: Patrick Bailey is a professional writer mainly in the fields of mental health, addiction, and living in recovery. He attempts to stay on top of the latest news in the addiction and the mental health world and enjoy writing about these topics to break the stigma associated with them. 

Sources

financial aid, Guest Posts, scholarships

Use This Merit aid Strategy to Avoid the Student Loan Trap

merit aid

Over a lifetime there’s a huge financial payoff for going to college, but how can students avoid taking out outsized student loans for their education in the short term? The key is to make your ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses as low as possible. You can do this by putting strong merit aid colleges on your list. Applying to colleges that are likely to give you merit aid is one of the best ways to make ‘financial fit’ choices and save thousands of dollars a year. 

The largest pool of non-loan money available directly from colleges is merit aid scholarships. Colleges award over $8 billion dollars in merit scholarships annually. Understanding how colleges award these scholarships requires a thoughtful strategy that can result in significant savings. Merit aid awards are mostly given to applicants who show academic excellence and are in the top 25% of a college’s most recently admitted freshman class. Since many colleges offer merit scholarships, you don’t need to have straight A’s or a 1600 SAT score to be awarded merit aid. Each school has its own top quartile stats. 

Merit aid grants are unlike other forms of aid in several ways. Federal government grants like Pell are primarily targeted at low-income families and are limited in size. Private scholarships are generally not renewable and require a separate application. And loans, of course, have to be repaid with interest. Merit aid, on the other hand, is not income dependent, doesn’t require a separate application, doesn’t have to be paid back and it’s renewable.

Finding  merit aid can be tricky and time-consuming. Using a college’s Common Data information will provide some information. You can find lists of colleges that give merit aid awards online, but those lists won’t show you if a particular college is likely to give you aid based on your profile. A new tool called MeritMore uses your stats to match you with  colleges most likely to give you aid and shows you how generous those colleges have been to students with similar profiles. You can check to see if your top schools are likely to offer you merit aid and then compare aid offers against each other. MeritMore also finds colleges generous with merit aid that match your criteria, but may not have been on your radar. This is a great strategy for finding financial fit gems.

The best way for families who don’t qualify for need-based aid to avoid paying sticker price is through merit aid. Awards can be in the thousands and tens of thousands of dollars per year. These scholarships help make college more financially accessible and help families avoid getting caught in the student loan trap. 

empty nest, Guest Posts

Offering Students a Taste of Home

When I come across a product that can help parents of college students, I’m happy to share it with my readers. For parents whose students will be heading off to college this fall, this product will you stay in touch and show “love” for your students.

Do you have a student entering college for the first time? How about a student returning to school?  Either way, they’ll be working hard and missing home.  For those that are leaving home for the first time, being away will be exciting and scary.  They will be trying to keep up with their work, while at the same time balancing a new social dynamic.  Thoughts of home will be a safe haven from the hectic schedule they will now be keeping.  For those students who are returning, they will be trying to maintain the school lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to.  However, they too will look to reminders of home for solace when things get a little too crazy.

While it’s common for parents to send their students care packages to help them stay fed, most of these care packages are filled with junk food.  Processed, unhealthy junk food.  Why not give them a true reminder of home each month by ordering them a subscription to A Taste of Home Cake Crate by Kentastic Cakes?  A Taste of Home Cake Crate is a monthly subscription of homemade, from scratch baked goods that are shipped directly to their door(or school Mailroom) each month.  All items within A Taste of Home Cake Crate are created from scratch using only fresh ingredients.  Nothing is processed and everything tastes AMAZING!!

A Taste of Home Cake Crate can be ordered by the month or in longer durations at a discounted price. We also offer our COLLEGE PLAN, which is specifically meant for your student and follows a typical school year.  With the COLLEGE PLAN, your student will receive a Cake Crate from September through November and from January through May.  They will NOT receive a Cake Crate in the month of December, as most students go home for the holidays.  Crates are shipped on or around the 20th of each month, with the exception of May.  May crates will be shipped the 1st week of the month to be sure your student receives it before leaving school for the summer.  We also offer a First Semester and Second Semester Plan.  A NUT FREE option is also available.

taste of home

Each month, your student will receive:

  • A Large Cake In A Cup (almost a full pound of moist cake and creamy buttercream frosting)
  • 4 Yummy Cake Pops – Flavors change each month.
  • 3-6 Fresh Baked Cookies(dependent on size and type)
  • A Mystery Item – Past Mystery Items have been French Macarons, Baklava, S’mores Bars and Chocolate Covered OREOS.

Kentastic Cakes has been creating beautiful, delicious custom cakes since 2012.  In addition to weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and birthdays, Kentastic Cakes has been enjoyed at high profile events, such as the Boston Strong Benefit Concert after the marathon bombings and the Vans Warped Tour 20th Anniversary BBQ.  Our cakes have been eaten by members of NKOTB, Aerosmith, celebrity chef Ming Tsai and more.  We’ve even made cake pops for legendary rock band, Motley Crue on their Farewell Tour.

A Taste of Home Cake Crate just celebrated its 1 Year Anniversary and is excited to send your hard working student awesome treats each month.  Please visit mycakecrate.com for more detailed information and pricing, as well as some FAQs at our College Plan page. 

Orders received by July 1, 2020 will save, as prices will increase on July 1.  Save even more by using Code: COLLEGE to save an additional 5% off your order.

As we always say, “Just because they can’t be at home, doesn’t mean you can’t send them A Taste of Home.”

PLEASE SHARE!

Guest Posts, Student debt, student loans, Uncategorized

How to Borrow Wisely for College

borrow wisely

With a new school year quickly approaching, many parents are figuring out how their child is going to afford college. According to CollegeBoard, the average student budget for the 2019-20 academic year was $26,590 for students attending a four-year university. This figure includes the cost of living on campus, which may be required of incoming freshman students.

This means your child’s education could cost well over six figures. And no parent wants their child to start their adult life with that amount of debt.

As a parent, you can help guide your child to make smart decisions that will impact their finances for years to come. This begins with choosing an affordable school.

There are also other ways to help pay for the cost of attendance and living expenses. Here’s how to help fund college costs and ways to borrow wisely.

Apply for financial aid opportunities before borrowing

Before you or your child take on debt to pay for college, you should exhaust all other available resources.

Your child can access financial aid opportunities, like grants, scholarships and work-study programs, by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The FAFSA filing window is October 1 to June 30 for each upcoming academic year. Keep in mind that some financial aid is available on a first-come, first-serve basis, and cutoff deadlines vary by state. Encourage your child to complete their application as early as possible.

Also explore third-party scholarship opportunities through your employer, local community organizations and online databases. Each additional scholarship or grant — even if it is only for a few hundred dollars — can prevent your child from taking on more student loan debt.

How to borrow wisely for college

Once your family has explored all financial aid opportunities and pooled existing resources (e.g. 529 college savings plan and other family contributions), your child may still need to turn to student loans.

Whether your child is taking out loans in their own name or you’re borrowing on their behalf, it’s important that your family only borrow what is needed to fill the remaining financial gap.

The first way to approach student loans is through federal loans. Federal loans have more flexibility and have certain protections and benefits. This is why it’s best to maximize federal loan opportunities before taking out private loans.

For example, your child can enroll in a repayment plan that matches their financial situation and may be eligible for loan forgiveness opportunities.

Your child should borrow funds in this order:

  1. Direct Subsidized Loans. Subsidized loans typically have the lowest rates, and the government will cover any interest that accrues while your child is in school.
  2. Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Unsubsidized loans aren’t need-based, so any student can qualify for them. However, your child is responsible for the interest that accrues during school.
  3. Private loans. Your child will likely need a cosigner to qualify for a private loan. Shop around with various private lenders to find the lowest rate and best terms for your credit.

You may also have the option to take out a federal Parent PLUS loan in your name to help fund your child’s education.You’ll be solely financially responsible for the loan — not your child.

Make a debt repayment plan

Student loan borrowers should always be aware of interest charges that will accrue during school and after graduation. These charges should be included in their overall financial plan.

Your child should also start making a debt repayment plan as soon as possible. Popular student loan repayment methods include enrolling in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan or refinancing student loans after graduation to get a lower interest rate.

When considering refinancing federal loans into private student loans, it’s important to understand the consequences of losing out on federal benefits and protections, like loan forgiveness and forbearance.

The earlier your child plans for their educational costs, the more likely they can save money during their college experience and beyond.

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Our guest post today is by Travis Hornsby, CFA, and Founder and CEO of Student Loan Planner. He lives with his wife in St. Louis, MO, where he loves thinking up new student loan repayment strategies and frequenting the best free zoo in America. As one of the nation’s leading student loan experts, he has consulted on $500 million of student debt personally.

academics, college guidance, Guest Posts

Why Plagiarism Checkers are Essential for your Student

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plagiarism checkers

You may have seen them; memes about plagiarism checkers pop up here and there. They either scoff at the tools’ malfunction or the distrust they provoke. What triggers such a reaction?

Plagiarism checking has become an integral part of the evaluation of papers, and now students’ perception of academic dishonesty has changed. More of them know how to cite, whether it’s appropriate, and how to avoid accidental plagiarism. The problem, however, is that a great many peers look for ways to beat the tools or still believe that plagiarism isn’t a big deal when it occurs only occasionally.

There must be something that forces them to think along these lines. As it turns out, it’s the pressure to succeed and the stress it causes. One study, “The Effect of Anti-plagiarism Software on Students’ Plagiarizing Behaviour” reveals that 59% of the surveyed students feel pressure when being checked, and 41% either think that plagiarism tools aren’t a necessity, or they feel neutral about them.

These attitudes toward plagiarism checkers are quite understandable. Just imagine yourself taking a lie detector test—would you feel anxious? More than likely.

But these attitudes may prevent your children from improving their writing skills. After all, checkers shouldn’t be making students obey, like a sort of policing agency. Instead, they should educate and point them in the right direction. So, let’s treat checkers as helpers rather than accusers.

What follows are some arguments that can help relieve the stress that college students face and let them see the value in using a plagiarism prevention tool.

Stop stressing about being checked for plagiarism

Stress is the response to a challenge—the challenge of getting good grades, maintaining a scholarship, or meeting their parents’ expectations.

The stress of being checked is a response to uncertainty or lack of understanding of what constitutes plagiarism, how to conduct research, what sources to use, how many of them should be enough, etc. If the knowledge gap grows, students experience more stress at college. So, one of the most effective stress management techniques is to learn to write without the threat plagiarism, accidental or otherwise.

This video by The Texas A&M University Writing Center sheds some light on writing with integrity and provides comprehensive advice on how to do it right:

If anxiety is still difficult to overcome, parents need to act proactively and explain why there’s no need to stress out.

So, why is being checked a normal thing?

Equal opportunities. Educational institutions lay special emphasis on academic integrity. This is a kind of ethical code that ensures everyone behaves responsibly. No cheating, no unauthorized collaboration, no plagiarism. By checking for originality, a college or university creates equal conditions for all. If a student makes every effort to write originally, others should also attempt to be honest.

Learning moments. Advanced plagiarism prevention solutions provide reports that contain all sorts of information about the scanned paper: a score for text matches, a list of sources used, quotes made, etc. Some of these reports also highlight references and citations, which makes it simple to see what citations are incorrect, if any sources need attribution, and more. Students can quickly get a handle on what’s right and what’s wrong to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Developing student voice. When students write originally, they begin to develop their own voice. Students can’t simply stuff essays or theses with quotes or research data provided by outside sources without providing their original thoughts. Plagiarism checking pushes students to not rely heavily on the opinions of others, and that’s a good point.

How can plagiarism checkers encourage fair assessment?

Plagiarism checkers alone can’t motivate students to write with integrity, but they can create favorable conditions for fair assessment.

If everyone knows that they won’t receive good grades for plagiarized works, they’re more likely to take the effort to write originally.

To fully assess work, teachers need to involve students in the process. Plagiarism prevention tools make this simple. Students can check the work of their peers, exchange reports, give advice on how to cite properly, and add more original insights. By doing so, students grow their confidence in writing and, therefore, become less inclined to cheat.

Fair assessment with plagiarism prevention software helps students take control of their learning success and boosts their responsibility.

What makes originality detectors irreplaceable assistants?

Apart from being great motivators, originality detectors can help students to avoid accidental plagiarism and the recycling of their own writings.

Essays, research, reviews, or any other type of written assignment requires a high level of concentration. If students are too pressed for time, they may forget to include sources in the reference list or fail to put someone’s words into quotation marks.

This oversight leads to a lot of stress and anxiety. Here’s when a plagiarism checker like Unicheck can be of great help to students. Advanced tools usually deliver search results in the blink of an eye and provide hyperlinks to matching sources. As a rule, navigating such reports is quite straightforward, and you can always use the tools to educate your child and show your support that way. 

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Note: I was provided access to the Unicheck software to test it myself. I found it helpful in determining whether content was original. It provides you with the exact text that is similar, along with checking any citations and/or references in the article. In my opinion, this software would be a beneficial tool for your college student.

financial aid, Guest Posts

How to Prioritize Your Financial Aid Options in College

As the costs of college keep rising each year, many students and their families find it necessary to rely on financial aid to help pay for college. There are many different types of financial aid available, and knowing which one best matches your situation is key to not only choosing the right type of aid, but also maximizing the amount that you can qualify for—and minimizing your debt obligations later on.

Financial aid is a critical part of the college application and attendance process. It can make college a reality for many students and help bridge the gap between family contributions and the overall cost of attendance. Some types of aid don’t need to be paid back; others can leave you in debt for years to come.

With that in mind, it’s important to understand how to best approach the financial aid process, and how to set yourself up for financial success later by putting thought into the process now.

What Should You Start With?

The first step in the financial aid process should be completing the FAFSA. Short for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA walks you through a complete picture of your finances. If you’re a dependent student—most first-year students are—then it also includes questions about your parents’ financial situation and their potential ability to assist in funding your education.

The federal government is the biggest source of financial aid for college students, and before it’ll consider you as eligible for aid, you’ll need to complete the FAFSA, which serves as your application for all federal aid. The FAFSA is completed online, it’s free, and there is plenty of help available to assist you and your family in filling it out.

What’s the Takeaway from the FAFSA?

Once your FAFSA is submitted to the federal government along with your choices of colleges, a Student Aid Report, or SAR, is generated from the information you entered. The SAR explains how much your expected family contribution (EFC) is. The government takes the position that it’s your responsibility to pay as much as you can to your own education first; the EFC is how much the Department of Education thinks you and your family should be able to contribute to the total cost.

Each year, colleges publish an amount called the cost of attendance. It includes all the expenses that go into attending that school: tuition, room and board, textbooks, fees, and other things like living expenses throughout the school year. Your EFC is subtracted from the Cost of Attendance, and the resulting balance is considered your financial need. The federal government sends your SAR to the schools you listed, and they compile a financial aid package to offer you.

Your federal financial aid package could include a variety of aid products including Pell grants, unsubsidized and subsidized federal student loans, and more. You should always consider Pell grants and subsidized federal aid first. A Pell Grant is a type of aid that does not require repayment, and subsidized loans do not accrue interest while you’re attending school.

After looking at your offer, you may find that your financial aid package isn’t enough to cover the entire bill, but there are other options to consider such as scholarships.

Should You Consider Scholarships?

The short answer is “YES, absolutely!” Scholarships, like grants, are essentially free money that you don’t have to pay back. They should always be a consideration regardless of what year you are in college. You can apply for new ones every year, and there are tons of sources to find scholarships. They can really make up the difference up between the cost of attendance and your financial aid package. Start early and often. If the FAFSA wasn’t so important, this would be the first place to start.

There are thousands of scholarships available every year, but they’re highly competitive. Each program has its own application criteria and deadlines, and the best way to maximize your chances of winning one is to ensure that you follow the program’s directions and meet all of the deadlines—preferably applying as early as possible. The best way to go about winning scholarships is to just keep on applying to any legitimate opportunity you can find.

Is There a Last Resort?

If you find there’s a funding gap left over after scholarships, grants, and other federal aid, then you still have one option: a private student loan. There are distinct differences compared to federal student loans do, but sometimes they’re a necessary tool to cover that funding gap.

Offered by banks, credit unions, and other lenders, private student loans are based upon your creditworthiness; as a result, most students find that they need a qualified cosigner for approval. Further, you may find even the best private student loans still have high interest rates compared to federal loans. After all, interest rates are generally higher for private loans. Also, they don’t come with a grace period like a federal loan. That means you’ll need to start paying it back immediately, just like a car loan or mortgage, even if you’re still in school.

It is clear that private student loans are not as desirable compared to their federal counterparts; however, sometimes they’re a viable option if it’s crunch time.

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Today’s guest post is By Matt, the site manager & webmaster of The Student Loan Report – a student loan news and education website.

Guest Posts, SAT, test prep

Tips for Taking the SAT

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sat

Ah yes, the dreaded SAT – one of the most popular standardized tests out there. As a test taker, there are several things you can do in advance to increase your chances of scoring higher on test day. In addition to these 3 must know tips for the SAT, here are a few more things to keep in mind:

Know how the test is scored

Not all tests are created equal, and not all tests are scored the same way. Luckily for us, the current version of the SAT has a great scoring policy – your raw score is simply the number of questions answered correctly. That’s it! There are no deductions or penalties for incorrect answers. If you answer 40 questions correctly and 4 questions incorrectly, you’ll get the same raw score as if you answer 40 questions correctly and just leave 4 blank.

This means that you should answer every question (even if you are guessing) because an incorrect answer will not count against you, but guessing will at least give you a chance of getting the answer right. But wait…there’s more!

The SAT’s multiple choice questions have 4 answer choices (A, B, C, and D). Since each answer choice has an equal probability of being correct (1/4 or 25%), you can maximize your chances of being correct by guessing the same letter every time (unless, of course, you know it’s wrong). However, if you guess randomly, you’re just chasing a moving target. So, just pick a letter (A – D), and if you have no idea what the answer is, just bubble in that same letter every time.

Study using the official SAT materials first

Standardized tests, like the SAT, tend to be pretty tricky. The word problems are intentionally confusing and can throw off even the most experienced test takers. For this reason, it’s very important to see as many different types of questions as possible, so that you can be exposed to the variety of ways a question can be asked.

The best way to get used to SAT questions is by studying official SAT material published by the CollegeBoard and concentrating on test prep. The more practice problems you will see, the more familiar you will become with the way they are structured, worded, and presented. So when it comes to taking the real SAT, you’ll be in a much better place to say “I’ve seen this type of question of before, and I know what they are looking for!”

There is a ton of third party material out there, but it may not look like the real thing. So it’s best to practice with official material right on the CollegeBoard website!

Look for shortcuts

The beauty of a standardized test where showing your work doesn’t count is….it doesn’t matter how you get to the correct answer! The only thing that matters is that you get the question right. This affords test takers the ability to solve problems in any way they choose!

The math section is a great place to take advantage of this luxury! Instead of solving the problem using the “high school Algebra II way,” is there a simpler way to get to the correct answer?

  •  Can you just plug in the answers?
  • Can you eliminate answer choices that are obviously too big or too small?
  • Can you use your graphing calculator to find solutions or intercepts?

As you work through practice tests and sample problems, see if you can find faster ways of solving the problem. In a timed test, a few seconds here or there can really add up, so knowing shortcuts can help you out big time!

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Today’s guest post is from Leo Rusinov, the founder of TutoringBoston, an education company specializing in K-12 Academic and SAT tutoring in Newton, MA. TutoringBoston is focused on providing both content and strategy instruction, and is committed to helping students achieve their academic goals through customized lesson plans, tailored instruction, and content differentiation. Tutoring Boston serves students in the Greater Boston area, as well as all over the country through online lessons.

Guest Posts, social networks

Defanging Social Media

 social media

Do college admissions officers check prospective students’ social media feeds?

Yes, some do.

As a parent of a teenage boy or girl, should I panic?

No.

According to Kaplan Test Prep’s latest college admissions survey, about 35 percent of admissions officers check social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. And of course, some report finding little nuggets of gold—the applicant who started a business with her mother—and some nuggets of less than gold—the applicant bragging about their partying exploits.

And with each Kaplan report, headlines scream the obvious while offering the obvious in terms of suggestions to parents for managing their child’s social media presence and brand. One writer, a corporate CEO, implores parents to undertake a sophisticated social media PR campaign complete with professional photography, oversite of all posts to assure alignment with strategic messaging and college application materials, website with weekly blog posts and videos, engage in search engine optimization practices, and use strategic social handles and email addresses.

No wonder parents and kids are so stressed out.

The fact is, there are ways to leverage social media that:

  1. Reduces stress rather than increases anxiety
  2. Demonstrates your child’s unique value to a college or university
  3. Levels the playing field and gives him or her an edge

In the following, we will help defang stress, leverage social media as an ally, and offer suggestions for innovatively using social media to level the playing field and give your child an edge that extends well beyond college admissions.

Defanging Stress

There are already too many sources of stress if you are a parent of a teen or an actual teenager. Social media as it relates to college admissions shouldn’t be one of them.

First, let’s put things in perspective. Did you start a business with your child? Does your child post photos on Facebook of him or her drinking and bragging about skipping school?

If the answer to both is no, you fall somewhere within normal. Social media, as are smartphones, is ubiquitous in the culture, especially for teens. And most teens post silly, gossipy things, things they are proud of, and things they think make them look cool or funny to their friends. Therefore, admissions counselors that look through applicants’ social media feeds know what teenagers are like. They work with them all day long.

What they look for in social media is a fuller picture of who that kid is. Is there positive information that didn’t make it into the essay or onto the Common App? Is there a clear warning sign that this kid is not college ready? Or are they like every other teenager in the country?

Second, while 35 percent of admissions officers routinely check social media, 65 percent do not. For example, the University of Vermont does not check social media as a matter of policy. Further, the depth that the 35 percenters go to investigate social media is unclear.

Third, you and your teen can take a few simple steps to make his or her social media presence an ally that demonstrates his or her value rather than looking like every other teen in the country. Understanding this piece of the college admissions puzzle will go a long way toward easing stress because you go from I know social media is important to I can do something about it without too much effort.

Social Media as Ally

  1. Be Generous, Authentic and Open

Think of applying to college as the convergence of a few different communication channels. There’s the application, essay, letters of recommendation, a letter from you the parent, test scores, and transcript. Social media and links to online content—awards, important life and educational experiences, what s/he is proud of, diversity of friends, etc.—can powerfully demonstrate your child’s unique value.

Make it easy for admissions to find this content.

Openness also helps establish authenticity, which helps establish trust. Visiting the college, doing an entrance interview, application materials, and your letter about your child helps establish a relationship, but creates a partial picture. Access to social media and other online content helps admissions see your child in a way that is authentic and holistic rather than scripted and prepared.

  1. Do Some Pruning

The summer before filling out and sending applications, go through your child’s social media presence with him or her. If there are posts that are unflattering or run counter to the image you want to present to college admissions, remove it.

Teens love going through their social media with their parents and will see this as a bonding experience.

Just kidding.

They will resist. Show them how off-color posts can damage their ability to get into college (and move out of the house into a dorm) and always play to their aspirational nature. They may not show it, but they want to succeed and build a life of their own.

When evaluating questionable posts and content ask you and your teen:

  • Would I say this to my entire family?
  • Does it detract from making me look college ready?
  • Does it attract negative attention or honest discussion?

Also, look for and add likes and references in the About You sections that show his or her interests, friendships, virtues, etc. Delete those that run counter to the image you want to project.

Last, did you tour the school? Did you post negative comments and photos? Delete.

One more thing. Don’t overdo it. Too much pruning will make the content look curated by mom and dad, which means inauthentic and untrue.

  1. Plant a Few Flowers

While pruning, make sure the image of your child is complete. Is your son or daughter into painting, photography, music, acting, etc. If so, post these to Instagram or Facebook and provide links to the admissions staff.

Make sure you include organizations that your child belongs as well as any noteworthy roles in and outside of school.

Be careful not to add too much all at once. Tweets are a prime example because admissions will see that they your child posted them within a tight timeframe, and this undermines authenticity.

Think Differently to Gain an Edge

Most people—parents, social media advisors, etc.—only view social media, as it relates to college admissions, as a reputation management tool, or threat. However, some parents and students are finding unique, innovative ways to use social media as an opportunity to gather information and identify strategies to give their kids an edge.

We’ve heard numerous stories where a kid has leveraged their social media presence for valuable internships, specialized tutoring, and all manner of means to gain a competitive advantage. The best part, each of these kids was following a passion rather than forced to take on yet another unwanted responsibility.

For example, a Christmas Day 2017 New York Times piece told the story of Eli Reiter, a young man struggling with his academic future. While scrolling through Reddit, he noticed a post from a tutor near his home who helped the best and brightest prep school students prepare for the SAT and ACT. Through Reddit, Eli and the tutor could safely communicate through text, which led to informal help and then tutoring at a reduced cost.

The tutor helped Eli increase his SAT scores, which played a role in his acceptance by a well-respected college. There are two lessons here:

  1. A social media platform gave Eli access to a mentor who helped change Eli’s life.
  2. Access to this mentor leveled the playing field for Eli and gave him an advantage. For reduced cost, Eli received the same tutoring as elite prep school students, which leveled the playing field. And because he received help from a tutor of this quality, he gained an advantage most students do not have.

One other example is helpful. Social media are immensely powerful networking platforms with myriad college admissions possibilities. One of these is the opportunity for your child to seek out professionals working in your son or daughter’s prospective area of undergraduate and graduate study and career path. He or she can also find professionals with degrees from the colleges and universities they plan to apply to.

This then gives your child the ability to interview their future-self based on any pathway they are considering. This will help them find the right fit between institution, area of study, and career path before even sending out an application.

Your child can also include these relationships and learning in their application and essay. It may even lead to an internship opportunity or letter of recommendation.

Further, this information will help the college-bound thrive once they get to college and then enter the world of work. According to research by ACT (the organization that offers the ACT assessment tests), “The fit between a students’ interests and their college majors are important in understanding and predicting student outcomes.” And, according to Gallup, 36 percent of adults regret their field of study and 28 percent regret the college or university they attended.

Parent and student innovators are thinking differently about learning and the role social media can play. This is why we are writing our book, Gig Education: How to reduce stress, outsmart Harvard, and help your kids build amazing lives. We want to help kids and parents think different.

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Today’s guest post is co-authored by Jay Bakhru and James Buchanan. Jay and James are currently working on a book titled: Gig Education: How to reduce stress, outsmart Harvard, and help your kids build amazing lives.

Guest Posts, parenting

What If Your College Student Gets Sick?

 

Today’s article is from Beth Tofel, found and President of FootprintID. It helps parents easily store and keep track of their child’s medical records and share their health information with physicians, emergency responders, family members and friends—when they need it most.

footprintid

For those of us who have sent children off to college we know the anxiety and stress that comes along with the excitement.  The oldest child is often the most challenging because of the unknowns and then when the youngest heads off it can leave the quiet in our homes sounding very loud.

One of the things I hear so often is “what if my child gets sick?”.  For the first time we are not right there to “diagnose” what is wrong, speak to the doctors or nurses, or immediately participate in decisions related to a child’s health.

Worse than that, because of HIPAA laws, the doctors are not allowed to speak to us without our child’s permission.  I suppose that works fine for a cold, cough, or strep throat.  But what happens when the unthinkable happens.  Your child can’t communicate to give the doctor permission to speak to you.  This is not something we want to think about, but as responsible parents we MUST.

I spoke to a lawyer friend recently, who shared some of the stories she has heard when needed documents are not available in a situation such as this.  Sometimes parents are simply told to come to the hospital, but what is going on with their child can’t be shared.  They don’t know if they are arriving to find a broken leg, or god forbid, their child in critical condition.

What happens if your child has an allergy, takes medication, or suffers from a condition that an emergency responder doesn’t know about.  Or there is a decision to be made as to how to treat your child.  All of this information can be critical to provide efficient, effective and timely care in an emergency.

What do parents need to do?

So what do we do?  Most importantly we need to have each of our children, upon turning 18, sign a Health Care Proxy and Power of Attorney giving permission for us to speak on their behalf and participate in care decisions with doctors.

The next challenge is to make sure that those documents are available if they are ever needed.

FootprintID can provide a solution to the challenges outlined above and assist in closing the gap that exists in the sharing of health information.

All of one’s medical information and health history, including documents such as POA and Health Care Proxies can be stored in one HIPAA compliant location.  It is then immediately accessible to parents, the child, health care providers and emergency personnel.  The information can be retrieved via web portal, smartphone app or our 24 hour call center.

Here is a link to a video that easily explains this service and how it can be beneficial to you, and your child as they head off to college.

Why FootprintID Video

The college experience is made up of many components.  Academics are primary, but also learning to manage one’s finances, health, social experiences, life is crucial to the maturation process that takes place during these years.  If we can keep our children safer by knowing their medical information is on hand and allowing us to participate in their care, at the same time that they learn to manage their own health experiences, everybody wins.  As parents it would certainly help us sleep better at night.

essays, Guest Posts, scholarships

6 Tips for Writing a Winning Scholarship Essay

scholarship essay

Essays are the mainstay of scholarship applications, and being able to write essays that stand out and woo the reader are key to winning scholarships. Scholarship essays aren’t the typical English class essay, though. You don’t get a grade based on your work, there are no good efforts in scholarship writing; you either get the scholarship or you don’t. So, to help you be more knowledgeable and more prepared for writing scholarship essays, we’ve composed some tips that you should know before writing your scholarship essays.

Use the Correct Format

Using the correct format for your essay is crucial to having a chance at getting accepted. If your format isn’t correct, your essay may simply be rejected without being read, so it is very important that you both know what format to use and that you follow it. By default, you should follow MLA format – that is, use 12 point font, double spaced, one inch margins, Times New Roman, etc. Only if a different format is required should you not follow MLA standards.   

Know Your Audience

Research the sponsor for every scholarship essay you are writing. If you know about the sponsor, you can tailor your essay, that way you look like a better candidate for their scholarship and are more likely to be accepted. Knowing nothing about the organization leads to a genericsounding essay, which will make the reader feel less connected to you and more like you don’t care that much. Research the sponsor, use that information when planning your essay, and make them feel like you’re the perfect candidate for their scholarship.   

Outline Your Essay

Outline your essay before you start writing! This is very important for writing a well-planned, concise essay, which is exactly what you want. What you don’t want is for the reader to think that your writing is all-over-the-place and unorganized. That doesn’t make for a good impression or a winning essay, so you need to plan out your essay beforehand. This includes writing a thesis – which is the topic sentence for your entire essay – and detailing each of the main points that you will be developing to support your thesis. Not only will this help you to organize your essay, but it will make writing the essay seem less daunting. Coming up with a thesis and supporting points is the hardest part about writing any essay, so get it done and the rest will come. 

Proofread Your Essay 

This one should be obvious, but is necessary to include nonetheless. It is absolutely necessary that you have no spelling mistakes whatsoever in your essay. It needs to sound fluent and be without grammatical errors as well. This will help demonstrate to the reader that you are a skilled writer and have some merit in your writing abilities. Luckily, there are software programs, like Write!, that help you not only write the essay but also count the words and spell check them in any chosen language. 

Make Your Writing Authentic

If you really want to connect with the reader – and you do – you need to make your writing sound authentic. The feeling of authenticity is created when you write your essay using real life experiences and by using emotional diction, that way you sound like a real person telling a story, not an emotionless robot. You should write a new essay for every scholarship application; do not write a single, generic essay and then turn that in to multiple organizations. This is a perfect way to sound unauthentic, which makes the reader feel like you don’t care. It also means that your writing won’t be tailored to the organization. 

Read Example Essays

This tip may seem less obvious, and like something you’re more likely to blow off, but you really should read other scholarship essays. This is like studying for a test, or watching plays in sports to try for yourself. Finding and reading good scholarship essays will show you what you need to do to impress the reader, and sound like you really know your stuff and are deserving. Just make sure that the essays you’re studying from are good essays – you wouldn’t want to study from losing essays.