Resume

If you are wondering what you should be doing this summer, one of the items that I hope you all have on your "To Do" list is to create or update your resume.

It is important to compile a detailed list of:
- all of your activities including clubs, community groups, and sports
- awards received - it is helpful to know the award name, who it was from and the reason for the recognition
- community service commitments with hours
- employment with hours

You can do this informally (just don't lose it!) on a sheet of paper or you can use a resume template.  The format isn't as essential as having an organized, accurate list.

Adding to and keeping this list updated is an important step for students of every age because when you sit down to start working on your college applications they are going to ask you over and over again to list out these types of items so having a complete list available as a reference is key. I also hope it goes without saying that not only should the list be complete, but it should also be ACCURATE! Do NOT make up activities, awards, or other involvement that you did not participate in and did not earn!

No Better Time - Seniors!

Personally, I find that I need to structure my time or else I can waste a day away and not have any idea where the time went. I am particularly anxious to hear (and see) how productive all of the seniors have been this summer. Earlier this year, when we met for your individual meetings as well as in the large junior student & parent meeting we talked about some of the things you could (and ideally should) be working on this summer to prepare yourself for the college application process.

We talked about researching colleges, making college visits, asking teachers for recommendation letters, organizing your list of high school activities and awards (into resume format or at least a list), narrowing down your college list so that you have a solidified list about where you plan to apply when we start school next month, organizing all of your intended colleges so that you know their deadline dates and what materials you will need for applying (some of this may be easy to find and some you may have to wait to obtain in the next few weeks), reading, doing any prep-work for the ACT/ SAT that you still wanted/ needed to do, working on your essay questions, volunteering, looking for scholarships, and, if applicable, completing all of your summer coursework for AP, IB or Honors classes. 

It is a pretty demanding list and a lot of times students think they'll have "more time" to work on it "later" when it isn't summer and they are back in a school mindset. Please remember, that once you start your classes you will have teachers demanding homework, over 7 hours of your day spent in school, plus athletics and other activities occupying your time.  Quite simply, there is no better time!

Summer is also a great time to be able to ask questions of your friends who are home from college about what their experience has been like. Types of questions you might want to consider asking include:

- What did they like best about college? Least?
- What best prepared them for college?
- Did their college search give them an accurate picture of what college would really be like?
- Are there particular things they would recommend that you look at or consider when researching schools?
- How large are the majority of their classes? Biggest class? Smallest?
- What activities did they get involved in on campus?
- Was it easy to make friends at school?
- If they could go back and repeat their senior year over again, would they have done anything different? 

- Would they still have made the same choice about where to apply?  Would they still attend the same college?

Those are just a few ideas to get you started. In my experience, students are always more than happy to spend some time talking about their first year (or two) of college. Take full advantage of the opportunity - it really might help guide you in your own college search, or, at the very least, hopefully it will motivate you to get started. :-)

Enjoy the rest of your summer break and if you are a senior who hasn't started thinking about your college application process yet, please get started!

AP Test Scores

Scores from the AP tests taken during May are available online as of tonight at 6pm.  Remember, scores are not being mailed home and are only available electronically. 

To access your scores visit www.apscore.org and then login using your college board account information.  (If you don’t have a college board account, you will need to create one.)

As you are probably aware, colleges determine the tests and scores needed in order to grant college credit.  Typically a 3 is the minimum score needed for credit.  Additional information is available on the college board’s AP website - http://www.apscore.org/credit.html.

I hope you are happy with your scores!

Congratulations Hana!

As you are aware, Worthington Kilbourne High School has an International Baccalaureate (IB) program.  As an IB World School, students have the opportunity to participate in a rigorous group of classes to push themselves to learn and grow.  In addition to the classes, there are exams, an extended essay and a community service project which students who want to earn the IB Diploma must successfully complete.  One of my students, Hana Estice, is among Kilbourne's first students to earn the IB Diploma.  She worked so hard, diligently putting in extra time and going above and beyond every expectation in order to achieve this goal that she had set for herself.  Congratulations Hana!  I am so proud of you!