How Do You Impress a College?

college

The impression a college gets of your student will affect their admission decision. Dressing for success is so much more than the clothes your student wears to a college interview. It’s how your student presents himself to the colleges and what image they see of him as they look at the overall picture.

How do you impress a college? It’s a combination of showing interest, marketing yourself and making a positive impression on social media.

Show interest

Colleges want to know you are interested in attending. They don’t want to be just another name on your college list. They want to know that if you apply, and are offered admission, there is a good chance you will accept and attend. You can show interest by taking an official campus tour, connecting on social media, and meeting with an admissions officer for an interview. Colleges keep track of how many times you have showed interest.

Want to know how much emphasis a colleges places on your demonstrated interest? Check out this list from College Curators: https://thecollegecurators.com/list-of-colleges-that-consider-demonstrated-interest/

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5 Resources to Help Your Student Learn to Code

code

A recent study found that 76% of parents want their children to end up in STEM-related careers. And with an ever-growing number of jobs requiring knowledge of new technologies, it isn’t very hard to see why. From manufacturing to marketing, most jobs today are dependent on computers for their success. And computers are dependent upon code. That’s probably why so many parents are hoping to get their kids into coding.

As many as 85% of parents are encouraging their children to learn to code, according to one study. But despite wanting their kids to learn, many parents are at a loss about the best resources available to help kids to code. Where can a parent start when they want to help their child dive into this new field, especially if they don’t know much about coding themselves? We’re here to help!  We’ll help you narrow down the options by explaining the different categories of resources out there. Then, you can decide which resources best meet your needs. 

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Admissions Expert Sheds Light on What it Takes to Get Into College

admissions

From Ivy League admissions expert Dr. Aviva Legatt comes an insider’s college admissions guide that teaches students to identify and harness their authentic passions, stand out from the crowd, and achieve their dreams in college and beyond, “Get Real and Get In”

Get Real and Get In” teaches readers to think outside of the box and focus on what admissions officers are really looking for—young people who dare to be their most authentic selves. Through engaging, accessible, and empathetic prose, this book forms an inspirational roadmap for readers to uncover their true passions and leverage them to create applications that truly stand out from the crowd. Aviva encourages students to look beyond just getting into a “good” college and focus more actively on identifying and attaining their long-term goals.

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Quick Tips for the College Essay

essay

The 2021-22 Common Application launched yesterday, August 1. Your student can now begin their application for the fall semester of college and part of that application includes a college essay.

According to Chad Hemmelgarn, an English teacher at Bexley High School, in Columbus Ohio, the college essay should be looked at like “a first date”. You’re telling us the stuff that makes you special.” He was speaking as part of a panel at an annual forum in New York sponsored by The College Board.

When you think about it, that’s a great analogy. The college essay is a way for your teen to let the admissions committee get to know them and an opportunity for them to focus on their strengths.

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Teach Your Teen Financial Literacy

financial literacy

With all the talk of having student loan debt erased, I wonder what are we teaching our children? For students to think it’s perfectly fine to refuse to pay a debt, a debt that paid for their education, something has gone horribly wrong.

I agree. Student debt is crippling this generation of students. But instead of forgiving the debt, wouldn’t it be better to teach these students some basic financial literacy? Where is the disconnect? Did the parents not explain the ramifications of debt? Did the colleges not take the time to discuss repayment amounts and the consequences of borrowing too much to pay for college? I think both are at fault.

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Dealing with Teenage Drama About College

teenage drama

Are you dealing with teenage drama about college? If you were expecting an easy ride you’ve probably realized that you were delusional. Even the best of daughters has her moments; and even the model son makes you want to pull your hair out. A friend of mine once told me (when I was potty training my daughter and was totally frustrated), “Honey, potty training ain’t nothing compared to raising teenagers.” She was right!

Navigating college roadblocks, based on my experience and the experiences of other parents, can be difficult and frustrating. There are three tactics parents can use when dealing with these unexpected twists and turns along the road to college.

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Summer Boredom Crushers

summer boredom

School’s out for the summer and it won’t be long before you hear those dreaded words, “I’m bored.” My grandsons have already uttered them!

Personally, I never liked those words. I don’t use them myself and I taught my kids not to use them. They knew if they used them, I would find them something to occupy their time and they wouldn’t like it.

While you can’t jam college prep down your teen’s throat this summer, you can prepare for those “I’m bored” moments and take advantage of the opportunity to help them find something to occupy their time.

Here are some suggestions to crush the summer boredom:

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Recent Survey Shows 1 in 4 Parents Cheated to Get their Child Into College

parents cheated

If you watched the Netflix Special “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal”, you might think that only rich parents cheat to get their kids into college. But according to a new survey from  Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, you would be wrong.

What did the survey find?

According to the survey, cheating was more common among families from high-income households and parents who made less than $49,000 annually. In contrast, only 19% of cheaters are from middle-income homes.

“We’ve heard stories and scandals about college-admissions cheating among celebrity parents, but this survey reveals that it’s not uncommon for average parents to use unethical practices during the college application process,” Intelligent managing editor Kristen Scratton says. “Interestingly, 25% of our survey respondents cheated by listing false achievements, making sizable donations, or getting a test-taker to impersonate their child on the SAT or ACT test.”

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Supporting Your Teen’s Career Aspirations

career

Research shows that parents have a strong influence over their child’s college or career path. That influence may be subtle, and beyond the conscious awareness of the child, or often not so subtle. Parents have been known to push a child into a career path for numerous reasons, most have nothing to do with the child’s interests.

Parents are the number one influence in the career and college major choices made by their children.  

Growing up, my parents had some friends who insisted their children and even their son-in-laws follow the father’s career path as a doctor. They all attended college and medical school following in his footsteps. They all became doctors, but not all were happy in their careers. Most were miserable and floundered around until finally giving up and leaving the medical profession. Not only did they waste years on their education and a medical degree, but they have never recovered from what they perceived to be a failure.

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Is Online Learning the Right Choice

online learning

Online and distance learning have long been popular ways to improve your education. People across the world are relying on these methods to enable themselves to better their qualifications, offering ways to learn and build a career that doesn’t involve going to school. While popular, though, options like this can also come with some challenges. You need to think about yourself and your goals before you embark on something like this, and it will make sense to explore whether or not online learning is right for you before you get started.

Independent Learning

Going to university or college means that you have to be a good independent learner, as you won’t have teachers pushing you to do your work all the time. Of course, though, this will be even more important if you decide to study online. With very few deadlines to meet, it can be all too easy to allow your online education to drag on for a very long time. You have to make sure that you will be able to push yourself to work and learn, especially if you have a lot of other things in life to think about.

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Helping parents navigate the college maze