College Visits

I know that it has been hard for seniors (and for juniors as well) to only search for colleges remotely.  In talking with some of the students, we related it to buying a house and that while it is nice to look at things online to see if you think you will like it, there is still value in being able to explore and see things in person.

Colleges know that this is the case too and so they are in the tricky position of trying to allow for future potential students to be able to come to campus and learn about their school first-hand while also protecting their current students and staff from outside exposure to the coronavirus.

While many colleges remain closed to admissions information sessions and tours, other colleges are doing small groups or family only tours where they will take just you and your family members or just a small group of students through a campus visit experience.  So, for students who are struggling to fully embrace the college application process becaues you are still struggling to figure out if you will like a campus up close, it would be worth your time to check the campus website and see if they are allowing visits to campus.

If your preferred campuses are still not allowing visits, you will likely have to apply to a range of schools and plan to make visits in the winter or spring when hopefully more progress against COVID has been made and you will then be able to visit the schools where you have been accepted.  Remember too that we have highlighted lots of other ways to learn about campuses and so those are still worthy of your time as well, but maybe, just maybe, you will still be able to make that campus visit this fall!

AP Tests

I realize there is so much changing right now, but it is important to plan not just for being back at WKHS this week, but also for the AP Tests in the spring (May 3-14).  CollegeBoard is in charge of AP Tests and they have fall deadlines related to the tests so you need to be sure you understand all of this so that you don't miss out on a key step related to the class or testing.

By now, all students should have “joined” the AP course online at the beginning of the year to access resources from the CollegeBoard throughout the year.  You will need your CollegeBoard account information to login and join the AP classes you are taking.  (If you have taken the PSAT, SAT, or AP Exams in the past then you already have a CollegeBoard Account.)

If you have a CollegeBoard account, it is important to use that account (and not to create a new one) as your scores from previous CollegeBoard assessments (PSAT, SAT, AP exams) are linked to your account.  If you already have established a CollegeBoard account, please visit myap.collegeboard.org and make certain that you can log in. If you have forgotten your password, you may call 1-888-225-5427 or email apstudents@info.collegeboard.org for assistance. 

If you have not already established a CollegeBoard student account, please sign up by going to myap.collegeboard.org. Make sure you write down and save your log-in information for future reference.  Remember, when you are setting up your CollegeBoard account, you do NOT want to use your school email account as your wscloud account cannot accept emails from outside of the district.

If you have questions, about establishing your account or linking it to the AP resources, please contact College Board at 1-888-225-5427 or email apstudents@info.collegeboard.org.

Once again this year students will register for the AP Tests in the fall rather than in the spring.  This is a significant shift for students who frequently would wait to decide how well they thought they would do on a test before registering to take the exam.  Below is information about the costs for registering for the AP exams and the deadlines for registering.

Exam Fees:

    Regular exam fee - $100 if ordered by October 30

·         Late exam fee $140 ($100 exam fee + $40 late fee)

o   Exams ordered between October 31 and February 26

October 30 – Regular Deadline

·         Last day to order exams at regular exam fee ($100)

·         Register for AP exams through My Payments Plus account

·         After October 30, all changes to exam status must go through Worthington Gifted Services Office

February 26 – Final Deadline

·         Last day to order exams with $40 late fee ($100 exam fee + $40 late fee = $140)

·         Last day to make changes to exam status

Questions? Contact Amy Reynolds or Suzanne Palmer in the Gifted Services Office, 614-450-6056/ areynolds@wscloud.org or 614-450-6055/ spalmer@wscloud.org.

Hybrid Starts Tomorrow!

Are you excited that we are back in the building starting tomorrow?  I am anxious to see all of you again and have missed you so much!  Lexi is going to be ECSTATIC to have all of the students back in the building this week so hopefully you will make time to stop by and say hello to me and to Lexi too.

For Tuesday/ Wednesday the bell schedule will be different in order to allow time during 1st period for Freshman classes to be able to tour the school building.

Bell Schedule:

Per. 1 -- 7:45 - 8:54

Per. 2 -- 9:01 - 9:46

Per. 3 -- 9:53 - 10:42 (4 minutes longer for Announcements)

Per. 4 -- 10:49 - 11:34

Per. 5 -- 11:41 - 12:26

Per. 6 -- 12:33 - 1:18

Per. 7 -- 1:25 - 2:10

Per. 8 -- 2:17 - 3:05  (3 Minutes longer for Paced Dismissal)

In addition to us coming back to WKHS for hybrid learning, this week also marks the mid-way point of the first quarter.  Hopefully you and your parents have been checking your grades on a regular basis, but, if you haven't started checking your grades on Infinite Campus yet this year, I strongly suggest that you take a look and make sure you are on track for the quarter.  Your teachers are updating their grades at least once a week so that you can check and have an ongoing update for how you are doing in each class.  This continual information provides you with the chance to celebrate if you are doing well and to identify what you might need to change if you are not meeting your own expectations for the goals you had set for the year.

I have heard students say the program is a bit more difficult to use on the computer, but that for people with smart phones, the free app from Infinite Campus is very easy to use and is a great tool.  If you are interested in downloading and using the free Infinite Campus app, you will need to know that the District Code is: YCWTRL

Just one final reminder in case you aren't fully clear on this... nearly all of my students are in Blue Group.  This means that you will be attending school in the building on Mondays/ Wednesdays and every other Friday.  So this week, you will be in the school for classes on Wednesday and Friday.  On Tuesday and Thursday you will have independent work to do on your own.  There will not be zoom times that will be required - it is on your own time and it will be important that you remain focused and disciplined to stay on top of your out-of-the building days assignments.  Finally, remember, I am still available to you remotely on Tuesdays/ Thursdays as well as in person when you are in the building.  I can't wait to connect with you more soon!

Essays

Are you working on your essays?  Remember, one of the great opportunities you have with your essays is to show the college a well-rounded view of who you are and all of the wonderful aspects of you.  This is important because you want to make sure you are able to show different characteristics/ interests of you with each essay topic that is requested from each college.  The essays don't have to be big moments - in fact, those small moments are essential because they provide genuine glimpses of you.  All of your essays combine together to give more context to the colleges of you and your lived experiences.

We have talked about this during the essay writing workshops, but in addition to your general Common App essay, you will have a COVID essay question that you will want to answer.  With your COVID essay, don't forget that you can focus on the challenges or the positives that you have experienced during this pandemic.  The colleges don't know what you don't tell them so they need the information in your application to help provide insight about knowing you and your life and how you approach the experiences such as this global health crisis.  Some ideas that you can consider as components of this essay would be anything that explains the context of your life during COVID.  Try to focus on the insight you might have developed or gained about how it impacted you, how you were able to derive meaning from it, and how it will impact you moving forward.  Specific things to try to reflect on to help you in identifying topic ideas for this essay could include: How have your activities of involvement changed and how has this impacted you?  What have you been doing with your time now that your activities were cancelled? Have you started any new/ different activities? How have you redirected your interests? How do you want to be different coming out of COVID? What have you done to help someone else? What struggles have you or your family experienced during COVID?  Remember, colleges know that COVID didn't effect everyone in the same way, but it impacted everyone in some way so this is your chance to help frame that for them so that they can get that additional glimpse into your life.

A few reminders about your essays in general...

- What you write should align with your personality.  Don't try to be someone you are not.  Don't try to write about something that you think they will want to know.  Be YOU!

- You are writing a story, but you must also include reflection and analysis!

- As you finish your essay and start sharing it with other people, rather than asking them if it is a good essay, ask them if it sounds like you.  You can also ask what they learn about you and make sure that is what you were hoping they would learn about you too.

- Don't hesitate to dig deeper.  You don't want to write a nice story, but leave them thinking "So What?" If that is the case it typically means you have forgotten to include the reflection/ analysis.

- Even though your COVID essay is shorter, remember that this doesn't necessarily mean faster or easier.  Be intentional about your words and making sure they they convey you well.

- If you are writing a "Why this college essay" remember that they are not looking for facts, prestige, rankings or for you to profess your love for the college.  They want to know what your past experiences have been that make you feel like you will be a good fit at this college and what experiences you hope to throw yourself into their college.  

- If you are being asked about your major go beyond that it interests you and explain to them WHY it appeals to you.

- Try to be original but not gimmicky

- If you are struggling with topics I will encourage you to go back to your brainstorming worksheet.  But if you are still having a hard time, try to focus on specific ideas, memories, or stories that really stick out to you about your life and especially high school and why those moments mattered to you.

Here are additional articles related to essays that might interest you:

How to write about coronavirus in college essays

What makes a personal statement great webinar

How to write supplemental college essays

Admissions officers discuss 3 common essay topics

5 ways to avoid that cringe worthy essay

Tulane - COVID essay

Ultimate Guide to picking perfect essay topic

5 essay writing tips to get you through the fall

3 types of essays: The Good, the Bad and the Risky

Stray from the Cliche

Why Us Essay

Transcript Request Form

I wanted to remind everyone that if you are in the process of applying to college you need to make sure you fill out the transcript release form.  This process must be completed for EVERY college where you are applying!  The transcript request form is a Google Form and there is a link to it on the WKHS Counselor website.

If you are applying to schools utilizing the Common Application or Send EDU, your transcript will be submitted electronically.  You will need to report me as your school counselor on the Recommendation page so that I am assigned the transcript data responsibility and given access to submit them on your behalf.  If you are unsure how to do this, we can meet via zoom on your "out of the building days" once you have completed the majority of your application and we will fill out the counselor assignment component together.  

If you are applying to schools that don't use the Common Application or Send EDU, we will send your transcript through an electronic system or by regular mail (depending on if they are a college that will accept them electronically or not), but you will need to make sure we have the appropriate mailing address to submit them for you.

Some students have asked me if you have to be done with your applications to request your transcript and the short answer is no - although you want to be sure that you are definitely applying to that college before you request for your transcript to be sent to them.  

More Changes are Coming

Are you getting excited about returning to the building next week?  I can assure you that I have missed you and am excited to see you, but it is Lexi who will be the MOST THRILLED to have you all back in the building!

I know there are lots of questions about how it will feel and how things will work.  Hopefully you have seen the videos that the administrators are creating to share insight about what to expect and the rules you will need to follow.  I have total confidence that even though it will be different than what you have experienced before, it will still be manageable and a success because we will all be thankful to be back in the building together.  

And, for those of you who are nervous... please know that this is also totally normal and completely ok!  Remember, I am still here for you and would love to talk to you and help support you.  I actually think far more people are feeling anxious about what hybrid will feel like and how the dynamics of this latest "new normal" is going to play out.

By now all of my students have received an invitation to join my Remind class for your graduating year.  And, if you didn't have a phone number in IC for me to directly invite you then I have sent an email to you asking for you to join on your own.  And you might be wondering why... So, with the COVID/ Hybrid policies, we cannot have students just hanging out in the front of the Counseling Center waiting for a chance to meet with their counselors.  And we also cannot send passes to classrooms to request for students to come to meet with us.  As a result, we are transitioning to using Remind as a way that students can text us and we can text back to you.  So, this means that if you want to meet with me, you can simply stop by my office and see if I am available (just like you always did in the past) but if I'm busy with someone else or behind closed doors instead of waiting up front for me to finish or leaving me a note, you will just text me through Remind to let me know you want to meet with me.  As soon as I am available I will text you back that you can come to see me.  It should be a great option for those students with text message capabilities.

And if you don't have texting or a cell phone?  No worries!  Like always, you can still stop by my door, but if I am not available, instead of sending me a text message you can send me an email to let me know you'd like to meet.

Today I ended up getting to text back and forth through Remind with several students and it seemed quick and easy and I am excited about this transition.

I also need to remind you that this job is not a part-time job just like you going to school is not a part-time commitment!  Why do I say that? Because even though you will only be in the building 2-3 days per week, you will still have academic responsibilities to do on your out of the building days.  The rule of thumb is the amount of work you will be expected to do on your own days will be about equal to the amount of time you are in classes.  So, if you have 6 classes (which is typical for most students) then you will be doing about 6 hours of work on those days that you are out of the building.  This means it is really important that you don't think of the days as "school days" and "off days" because you will definitely NOT be off on those non-building days!  The good news is that I am not off either!  And, because I have about 350 students, I can't possibly fit every meeting and conversation with every student that I want to have into just the in-person days.  So, I hope you will continue to reach out and meet with me via zoom in addition to our face-to-face conversations on the in-person days.

One of the strategies we are going to try out for your hybrid remote days will be a Rapid Assist Time.  During this time I will be available for an hour to answer those random, quick questions that often pop up. There will be a waiting room through zoom and I will take each student in order just as if you were standing in line at my door to ask those quick questions that don't need a full appointment slot or a long conversation.  My Rapid Assist Time will be on Tuesdays from 1:30-2:30pm and the Zoom link is available on Schoology.  (I know that there are some students/ parents who are not in my part of the alphabet who read this blog - please note that your counselor will also have a Rapid Assist Time from 1:30-2:30, but it will be on a different date.)  I am really hopeful that this will be a useful and easy way for students to connect with me as well.

I will close by reminding you that all change isn't bad.  (And yes, I really do mean that which is amazing since I am NOT a fan of change!)  But, the reality is, I am really hopeful that using Remind and implementing Rapid Assist Time will be two great opportunities and resources that will make our work together even more effective.  So, if you haven't already approved my request to add you into my Remind class, please do so or follow the instructions in your email to sign up!  I appreciate your help in this effort.

Grade Point Average

The "easy" explanation for how your Grade Point Average is calculated is that every class you take at WKHS taught by a Kilbourne teacher with traditional grading is computed into your GPA.  Some students begin taking high school courses while still in middle school.  Those grades will appear on your transcript, but they are not calculated into your GPA.  This is done to assist you because many times middle school students haven't recognized the impact that their grades have on their high school GPA and the long-term impact on their future college applications.  Additionally, any classes that you pass that were taken as pass/ fail appear on your transcript but will not be calculated in your GPA.

All regular and honors classes are unweighted which means that they are all based on a 4.0 scale.  AP, IB and CC+ courses are weighted on a scale of 1.25.  Below is a chart that shows how GPA is calculated.

Letter Grades	Percentage	GPA Scale	AP/ IB/ CC+ Weighted Calculation	AP/ IB/ CC+ Weighted GPA
A	90 – 100%	4.0	4.0 x 1.25	5.00
B	80 – 89%	3.0	3.0 x 1.25	3.75
C	70 – 79%	2.0	2.0 x 1.25	2.50
D	60 – 69%	1.0	1.0 x 1.25	1.25
F	0 – 59%	0.0	--	--
S	Satisfactory	--	--	--
P	Passing	--	--	--

All classes are granted credit based upon the semester.  This means that when you pass the 1st semester you have earned that credit and it is computed into your grade point average.  Each semester class is worth 1/2 a credit excluding physical education courses which are worth 1/4 a credit.  So, if you earn a B in the first semester of English 1 and a C in the first semester of Physical Science, then your GPA for these two semesters of classes would equal a 2.5.  Plusses and Minuses in your grades are still calculated based upon the base grade as we don't have different GPA weights for a B+ vs a B or B-.

It is important to know that some students have taken classes at other schools and are transferring their credit to WKHS.  Those classes will also appear on your transcript with the grades, but are not computed into your GPA.  This is because your Kilbourne GPA will just reflect your Kilbourne classes - any classes you took in another district or an online school will have the GPA that you earned at that school.  So, for example, if you transferred to WKHS from a surrounding district, your classes and grades will be transferred over to Kilbourne, but they won't be included in your Kilbourne GPA.  This means that students will not have a grade point average until after a semester at WKHS.  The reason that this is important is that some students have transferred from schools that have different grading scales and it doesn't allow equitable comparisons.  When students are applying to college you will submit both of your transcripts so that they have the complete picture of your grade point average.

You can see a copy of your transcript on Infinite Campus and it also shows your grade point average.  

Now, to make things more complex... there are many colleges that will recalculate your GPA so that it is on a standard scale so that they compare students in common ways.  

College admissions officers look at the school profile submitted with each application to make sure they have an idea of how your GPA stands up to other students from WKHS, but that only helps them gather an idea about you as a Kilbourne student.  It is hard for colleges to figure out how to compare the grade point averages for students from different high schools because each high school determines their own system for calculating GPA's.  For example, at WKHS we weight grades for AP, IB, and CC+ courses, but other schools might weight grades for honors classes as well and yet another school may not give extra weight to any classes.  Additionally, some high schools calculate different GPA levels for grades with plusses/ minuses - so a B+, a B and a B- each have a different weight while others (like Kilbourne) do not compute plusses/ minuses as being different than a standard grade - a B in the example mentioned.  As a result, you can imagine how confusing it would be for colleges as they are comparing the GPA's if they don't use the same scale.  

However, please know that not every college will recalculate and unweight your GPA - it depends on their own policies and procedures.  If you have questions about if colleges will recalculate your GPA or not you can always ask the admissions office.

One other GPA point that I want to remind you of is that all students with a GPA of 4.0 or higher have a rank of 1 for WKHS.  We don't release a rank for any other student because it would not help you for admissions purposes.  For example, in the Class of 2021, there are 70 students with a GPA of 4.0 or higher.  70!!!!  That is a SHOCKINGLY high and IMPRESSIVE number of students who have been excelling in the classroom over the last 3 years and all have a rank of 1.  But with 323 students in the class, that also means that the top 20% of the class shares the top rank.

If you have any questions about your GPA, please let me know!

What size of a college?

How big of a college campus do you want?  It is a question that we ask students a lot and to be honest, I kind of hate it as a question.  How could you possibly know how to give a number to say that a certain size was what you were looking for in a campus?  I would like to encourage you to think about the size of a campus that will be right for you in comparison to your learning and social experiences in high school.

For example, these might be some reflection questions you should ask yourself...

- When learning do you like to establish a positive relationship with your teacher and does that impact how much/ well you learn in the class?

- Do you enjoy meeting lots of new people and look at opportunities when you walk into a room where you don't know anyone as the chance to meet new friends?

- If you walk into the commons without knowing who will/ will not be there are you going to be comfortable or nervous?

- If you are eating lunch somewhere and saw your teacher walk past, would you be comfortable saying hello to them or would you rather blend into the background and hope that he/ she wouldn't know/ recognize you?

Why is it that I think these are more helpful questions? The answers you give to these questions will help to guide your thinking on if you would do better with a smaller environment vs a larger environment.  But it's also important that I point out that small and large are relative.  How would you refer to the size of our high school?  Most people would just say it's "normal or average" but that isn't really true - it is just what you are familiar with.  In fact, the average high school in the United States has 752 students while WKHS has over 1300 students.  So you might think that you don't want a small college (and you might not), but if you are making that choice based on size, you need to remember that the smaller college which might have like 5,000 students is actually still 4 times as large as WKHS.  So it would be like your college graduating class size being comparable to the whole student body at WKHS and you definitely don't know everyone at WKHS.  Along those same lines, you might think you want a large college, but what is large to you?  Is large 20,000 students or 40,000 students?

Here's the reality, you only have 24 hours in a day.  A solid chunk of that time will be spent sleeping not to mention the time you will spend in class and studying.  So you will only have a limited amount of time left in the day.  So sometimes people inaccurately think that they have to go to a large school to get a college that will have plenty of opportunities for them.  And even though it is awesome to see that a college has hundreds of groups that students can get involved with, you won't have the interest to join most of them and then time will also limit how many groups you'd be able to join at once.  So this means that if the smaller college (who may have just dozens of groups to get involved with) has the same top 2-3 groups that you actually would have had time for at the larger college, then your on-campus experiences with those groups would actually be similar.

Sometimes students want the large campus for the experiences such as a good school spirit or a positive sports culture to rally behind your team.  That is totally understandable.  Remember though, large campuses don't automatically guarantee those components.  Instead try to pay attention to how many people are proud of the campus and community.  Are students and staff proud to be associated with the college?  That would help you to get an idea of their school spirit.  For sports environment, remember that there are LOTS of different collegiate sports levels and so you can find school spirit in a variety of sizes of campus.  (Some D1 schools are bigger and others are smaller so it isn't even just by what division they compete in for their sports.)

Hopefully this helps to give you questions that would guide you towards the size that would fit better for you than just asking "what size do you want?"  The reality is you will be successful at whatever college you pick, but try to really make sure you find the experience that will feel most comfortable for you academically and socially.

Here are some articles related to picking colleges which might interest you:

10 steps to choosing the right college

The 50 Ugliest College Campuses

US News Best Colleges Rankings Released

 

Test Optional

There are many colleges that do not require ACT/ SAT test scores when evaluating applicants for admission.  This is a long-standing process for some colleges and in recognition of the fact that students in the Class of 2021 have had many less opportunities to test, other colleges have made the decision to be test-optional for this year or longer.

Many colleges will point out that test optional means test optional in that they are not going to second-guess why you have submitted scores or why you did not submit scores.  But you need to look at every college where you are planning to apply to review their specific requirements. 

There are some colleges that are test optional, but they have other requirements in place to help them in reviewing applicants.  

For example, as I have been reviewing requirements with other students, I have seen some colleges that will make the ACT/ SAT optional, but they will require AP/ IB test scores, graded papers, or additional essays.  

Then there are colleges such as Bowling Green State University who are test optional for those students who have not had the opportunity to take an ACT/ SAT, but they require students to complete a Test Waiver verifying that they couldn't take a test.  For our students, you all took an ACT so your test score would still be required meaning that for our students they are not actually test optional.  Other colleges have this set up in their requirements.

Other colleges are test optional in general, but have requirements for test scores for students considering competitive majors such as nursing or engineering.  And some of them may also say you don't have to have an ACT/ SAT score, but would need to do a placement test ahead of your application for those majors.

And then there are also many colleges who are completely test optional for admissions, but still require test scores to be considered for scholarships. 

The bottom line is you need to look closely at the colleges where you are applying, see what their requirements are and be sure to read any of the "fine print" related to what they are asking for from students to make sure you have all of the opportunities that you are interested in for the future.

This hopefully reminds you that any one aspect of your college application (like ACT/ SAT scores) does not make or break you - there are always more options to explore until you find the college that is the best fit for you.

Here are some articles related to testing that might interest you:

How to decide whether to retake the ACT, SAT or Change Exams

 

When and when not to submit test scores

Resumes may be more valuable than ever for students without testscores

Sleep

Just a short quick post tonight... but one of my favorite topics to write about is SLEEP because it is so important to every aspect of your well being.  I had seen the news that this week had been declared the first ever, "Student Sleep Health Week."  So, of course, I had to acknowledge it.  :-)

Here is the reality...

- I have had several students and far more parents send me emails telling me that 9am as a start time is MUCH better than 7:45 and that they appreciate this later start format for their learning this year.  (Of course, I have to remind you all that when we come back to hybrid we shift back to the 7:45am starts so enjoy the last week of 9am start times.)

- You should be getting 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night.  For some of you this is twice as much sleep as you are actually getting in any given night.  (And that's a problem!)

- No one can make you get more sleep but you.  Sure, your parents can try to help support your goals, but if you are wanting to stay up and play on your phone or start your homework at 9pm each night then you are going to end up staying up later and getting far less sleep each night.

- Sleep is important for your well being.  (And for my well being too... so I will be sleeping a lot this weekend in honor of your Student Sleep Health Week and I'll just pretend it is School Counselor Sleep Health Week too.)  :-)

Want to read about Student sleep health week?  Here is the article.

Taking Care of YOU

I have had conversations over the last few days with students and parents about how to help make the most of this remote learning time and how to make the uneasiness of the pandemic times a little bit more manageable.  I have to be honest - I can tell you strategies about how you can make the most of your remote learning time and I can even give you suggestions to make things more manageable as a whole, but there is a huge difference between me saying it and someone actually doing it and putting it into action.

It is hard when there is lack of predictability and that is so prevalent in our world right now, but that doesn’t mean it is all helpless or pointless.  You have way more control than you even realize!  Part of how remote learning is set up is to help create that consistency and to give you a routine.  But even still, you can plan your own days and your own weeks to help overcome this lack of predictability.  Create a schedule for your day.  Again, some of that is already built out for you by the format of having zoom classes, but you need to take that even further.  If you start figuring out when you're going to take a shower, eat, get some exercise, talk to your friends, relax and play video games, and whatever else you hope to do in a day and map that out in a way that you can stick to with some consistency then it is building predictability into your days and that will help make your time more successful and decrease some of the anxiety.  Additionally, give yourself something to look forward to in the day and the week such as planning to do something with your friends or relaxing while reading that you can then look forward to along with the rest of your "need to do" list of activities.

We need to move – that is key to our own well being so even if it just a short walk or doing a few stretches, we have to do something to move our body to try to physically release some of this stress.  It's interesting because physiologically, when we are this stressed and overwhelmed by situations in the world that we can't fix or even worse that we have such little control over, we can end up feeling stuck and not engaging in even those areas (like taking care of ourselves physically) that we can control.  This can create a pattern of poor decision making and unhealthy behaviors such as getting angry and lashing out at people inappropriately or shutting down and not doing anything at all.  We need to use the energy that is in our body in more healthy and productive ways – to create, to do something, to regulate our emotions and to engage our body in anything that involves movement.  Look up and try a free yoga class online or take the dog for a walk on a nice day or stretch.  It's important to try to find ways to help your body get a grip on your own physiological reactions otherwise you are going to end up seeking unhealthy means to try to release the tension and stress and that will just create even more problems in the long run.  At the very least (and a great first place to start) is simply taking some slow, solid, good deep breaths and intentionally focusing on letting the tension go as you breathe out.

Whenever possible, try to remember that your struggles are NORMAL!  What you are feeling is a normal reaction to an abnormal time of life.  It can be hard to feel connected to your teachers and your peers when you are only over a computer screen or engaging from behind masks and losing that facial cues that guide us.  So many times I have talked to students who share that they feel like we are the only ones who might be struggling to understand a concept or to figure out the best ways to ask for help or keep track of assignments.  You are not alone.  

Also, remember, your connections with others don't fade just because you don’t see that person every day.  There is power of seeing and hearing other people’s voices and faces so call (yes, I know… kids don’t do that, but it is time to try some different things), FaceTime, Zoom, play video games together, etc.  Those are all options for maintaining connections with friends, but also don’t dismiss this as a valuable chance to reinforce and enhance the relationships you have with your family!  Have dinner together, play games together, make music together or listen to music together (you can laugh and tell stories related to various songs that each member of your family connects to), and so many more options available.  I point out the importance of embracing and refining your relationships with your friends and your family members even now as we shift to a "new normal" and school and sports and activities are taking back over your life.  This is a time when you can actively choose to spend your time in places that matter and mean the most to you.  It can feel like this is going to last forever and that there is no end, but nothing lasts forever and even though these moments can be hard, they can also be really good.

Feeling safe is important too.  Safety for yourself and safety for others.  Perhaps you are thinking, “of course I know I am safe.” And if so, that is great, but I’d like to ask you HOW you know you are feeling safe?  So many times we don’t even realize how we are feeling and we just react to people and circumstances happening around us.  So try to pause and pay attention to what is going on inside of you so that you can make choices about what actions will be best for you based on how you feel.  You have probably heard me say it before, but you need to name it to tame it.  Name what it is that is happening within you and then you can actively make choices for how you can manage that feeling.  So if I am feeling a lot of tension in my shoulders or my stomach is in knots, I might realize that I am feeling stressed or anxious.  That would then tell me I need to do something such as exercising or talking to someone about how I feel.  Remember too that it is so important to be kind to yourself.  Sometimes we tend to beat ourselves up over how we feel and that isn’t fair or helpful.  So be compassionate to yourself.  If you wouldn’t say it to your friends then don’t say it to yourself.  In other words, instead of saying “I am so stupid that this is bothering me because this is happening to everyone else too.” Try saying, “I know that I am not alone in feeling this, but this is hard for me today.”  You are essentially saying the same concept to yourself but one is with unfair judgment and one is not.  And if your best friend came to you and said what it is that you are feeling, I am confident that you’re not going to reply back with “You’re so stupid that it is bothering you because it is happening to everyone else too.”  You wouldn’t be best friends for long if that is what you were saying.  So shift what you say to yourself as well.

I have been struggling with missing the typical quantity of meaningful interactions I normally have with students on a daily basis.  Most of the conversations I have had have been engaged on some version or form of these themes and so I am hoping that you will remember that if you are struggling with any of this or you just want to talk about something that has been weighing on you or if you are in need of support of just want to chat - I am here for you!  We can zoom, we can email, we can talk on the phone.  I miss you and am here because I care about you and want to support you!

Senior College App Steps/Stress

Seniors, you all are making me nervous.  And I don't mean a little nervous... I mean a moderate level of anxiety and concern.  I am hoping that the lack of communication from students about application progress is because you are feeling super confident and are doing great with your applications.  I know that some students have already started to receive acceptance letters so perhaps that is the situation for many of you... but... I doubt it.

Sorry if my skeptism is unwarranted, but normally, after we do the Senior College Information night seniors are at my door and flooding my inbox with messages.  That hasn't happened yet.  You do realize that you need to be working on your applications EVERY DAY for the next 6 weeks, right?

So, perhaps you need a to do list?  Here is a starting point... but let me be very clear - this is NOT an all-inclusive list for you just an initial place to hopefully help you get moving.

1. Finalize your list of colleges where you plan on applying.  I am hoping that you are starting to feel confident in this, but I know that COVID messed with lots of your exploration and visit plans so you need to be moving on this now if you don't already have your list finalized.

2. Get organized with what is needed for each of your college applications.  Make a chart, write it down, print it out - whatever works for you, but you need to know what the deadline is for that college, what essays you have to write for that college, and what additional information they need (such as recommendation letters, resumes, short answer questions, etc).

3. Speaking of recommendation letters, do you need them?  If so, have you already asked someone to write one on your behalf?  And have you given them the forms to help them in writing your letters?  If your colleges want a teacher recommendation letter please remember they are looking for a core teacher and ideally someone you have had relatively recently.  They are seeking input on your academic potential so think about which teachers can write about your work ethic, your dedication, your growth and not just the teacher who you earned an easy A in their class.  If you need a counselor recommendation letter I am happy to write one for you, but just as with your teacher rec letters, I need your forms back.  Right now, this may end up being the fewest number of rec letters I have ever had to write since only 2 students have turned in their forms so far.  I am guessing this is FAR from the number of people who need a counselor recommendation letter.  Please, check your college lists and see if they require a letter and from whom and get the paperwork into your teacher or my hands ASAP.  You should be thinking at LEAST 30 days (and truthfully, with how stressful things have been for your teachers lately you really want to give them even longer so that they can put the time, energy, and effort into your letter.)  Forms for teacher and counselor recommendation letters are on the Counselor Website.

4. Essays.  Hopefully you are drafting and revising and drafting again!  We did lots of essay brainstorming workshops and shared that information with several classes as well so that you could brainstorm unique, creative topics that showcase you, your personality and your values in a meaningful way.  I have seen a handful of the brainstorming sheets as students wanted to talk through their possible topics and I have been SO EXCITED about the prospect of getting to read some of the stories, but there are so many more of you who I haven't seen or heard anything from related to your essays.  And, truthfully, that is ok as long as you are making progress on it.  If you are struggling or are still at the topic brainstorming phase, please work on that brainstorming sheet that we distributed (it is also on the Counselor Website), fill it out with integrity and feel free to talk through the sheet with me so that we can work together to identify what could be possible essay topics for you to start writing.

5. Fill out ALL of the Common App sections.  In the Common App 101 workshops we walked through the areas that tend to be the most confusing to students, but there were still a lot of details that you needed to complete on your own.  Have you gone back in to do that?  If not, there is no better time.  Focus on the details and get that main application section done.

6. Speaking of Common App, you all need to identify me as your counselor so that I can complete your school forms section.  I have a handful (literally - 5 students) who have done that so far.  You are stuck with me this year... so please, identify me so that I can start my form part for you.

7. Transcripts.  Some of you are further along in the process and are ready to send your transcript.  I know this because I have the request online through Common App or SendEdu, but remember, if you haven't completed the transcript release authorization form, I am not allowed to send your transcript.  So hop onto the Counselor website and fill out the form and I will get your transcript to your school(s) asap.

8. Testing... Ugh... I know, this is a nightmare.  If you are still planning to take an ACT/ SAT in September or October, please prepare for the test - look on the ACT/ SAT websites for practice questions and be as familiar with the test as you can be so that you can do as well as you are hoping.

9. College Admissions Rep Virtual Visits.  Do NOT miss these for the schools which interest you.  You can see the dates on the Counselor website and they are also posted a few weeks in advance on your Schoology page.

10. Keep breathing... remember, I am here to support you and to help you!  I don't want any of you to think that this is too much or you are hopeless or that you will never get through it all.  Stressing out about it is a fine line... I want you to have enough stress that you are motivated to get moving because you really do need to get moving!  (Have I mentioned that yet?!?  Now... you need to work on college stuff NOW!)  But too much stress will send many of you into shut-down mode and your head will go in the sand and you will think that it isn't really happening, but it is and you have a bright future ahead so let's keep doors open by making sure you give yourself options for where you might be able to attend college by actually applying.

If you are struggling with ANY of the above steps, PLEASE reach out to me.  Let's zoom and we can break the steps into even smaller, more manageable pieces.  I am excited to help you through this process.  I love learning the stories of YOU as you realize more about yourself and as you share that information with the colleges.  You will feel accomplished as you start knocking some of these items off of your to do list so get moving... please!

Learning about Colleges and Admissions

One good aspect of the pandemic and how it is impacting college admissions is that it is causing college admissions offices to get really creative about sharing news and information about thier schools.  Chances are that many of the colleges were doing this on some level, but they have elevated their online presence and experiences for students and families.  (And for the counselors too.)  :-)

I have spent a lot of time listening to various college podcasts, reading blogs, and checking the YouTube sites for admissions offices and it has been both interesting and informative.  And because everything I have been doing is totally accessible to you, I hope that you are doing the same - at least for the colleges you are considering!

Here are a few tips that I have gained that I think could help you...

1. Go beyond just the admissions office.  If you are trying to get a good feel for a college, look to see what is out there on behalf of other aspects of the college.  This could include departments of majors you are considering, areas of school such as housing or residential life, clubs and groups on campus that appeal to you.  Many have, at the very least, different social media sites where they are communicating with their current students.  Even if the message isn't targeting prospective students specifically, I believe there is still so much value at getting insight into what those opportunities would be for you if you attend there in the future.

2. Jot down some notes.  (Stop rolling your eyes at me.)  This is actually far more important than you would think in the virtual environment.  If you are taking a virtual tour or attending the virtual admissions office information session, that is great, but because you are online and in the comfort of your home, you won't have the sensory experiences from physically moving about on campus, or the emotions as you meet the admissions representatives, etc.  Those sensations are key to helping students memory about campuses and so you don't want to lose out on reflecting on what you thought about the school by just closing your computer and heading to the kitchen for a snack.  Plus, remember, if you were making a traditional visit, you'd have the car ride home where you'd likely be talking about the visit with your parents and reflecting on if you could picture yourself at that college for the next 4 years so you should still do that either by talking it out with your parents or at least writing some of it down.  Also, for what it is worth, if that college asks on their admissions or scholarship applications why you are interested in attending their school, you will be thankful to have notes to help guide that answer.

3. Virtual visits only can make it tempting to just stick with considering colleges where your family members or friends have attended and to avoid those that others had seen and not liked.  And truthfully, sometimes that is a good indication of where you might be happy, but sometimes it is a terrible indicator.  Remember, the college experience I had or that your parents had is going to be different from the experience you have on campus today.  So especially since you don't have to spend any money or dedicate large chunks of time, try to consider exploring a few colleges that are known for your intended major or that show up on a college search result page as being a good match for you that you hadn't really given much thought about because they aren't ones you were already familiar with... you just might be surprised!

4. You are the best you there is!  OK, so that is definitely not a new statement or a new awareness, but the posts and blogs I have liked the most are those written by admissions officers that give insight into what they are doing and thinking as they are evaluating applications.  And the number of times that they point out that they don't want a bunch of cookie-cutter students - that they want you to be you - is too numerous to count.  The reality is the college will have goals.  That they know you can come to their campus and be successful, but they can't all take everyone.  So they just want you to be you and then they will be the college and hopefully that will result in a mutual fit.  An interesting persepctive was that students should remember that colleges have just 1 decision in this process while students have 2.  You decide where you want to apply.  They decide who they will accept.  But then it is back in your court again as you decide which out of all of the schools where you applied you will end up attending.  (Along those lines, and this is just my insight not from any of the colleges directly, but if you are thinking that you are applying to colleges where you would NOT be happy attending, then please, adjust your college application list!  If you wouldn't be happy there then save yourself the time and money of applying and invest that time in finding other schools that would have a better fit for you academically and socially so that if you ended up attending there you would be happy.)

Here are some of the sites I have been enjoying listening to, watching or reading in case you want to explore them as well.  (And you might notice that I have strongly gravitated towards information directly from admissions officers as opposed to those that are talking about what it was like when they were admissions officers in the past or through their interactions with admissions representatives.  It isn't that those other sites and resources are not helpful because they absolutely are, but right now, I have been enjoying getting it straight from the admissions officers that are in the field themselves and I love that most are not talking about why you should apply to THEIR college, it is applicable across the board to all schools and all applications.)

Podcasts:

Inside the Yale Admissions Office

Dartmouth College The Search

College Admission Brief (from Georgia Tech)

Some examples of things to Watch:

Northwestern University Admissions YouTube Page:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqPdkyqFzuO8p6tasOpjftw

I particularly like their Applied Learning video series - this is just 1 example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njs7osQYSEM

Tulane Webinar related to Applying during Coronavirus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGRwRy0bqpM&feature=youtu.be

Notre Dame's Virtual Preview Days on Demand:

https://admissions.nd.edu/visit-engage/visit-campus/preview/preview-agenda/

Johns Hopkins has some College Search Process workshops: (Disclaimer, I haven't watched any of these yet, but I have read lots of their other stuff and participated in some of their counselor educational opportunities this summer and into this early fall so I am sure they are as good as those other experiences have been.)

https://apply.jhu.edu/campus-and-community/workshops/ 

Some articles/ blogs to read/ follow:

I love everything about the Tulane University Admissions Blog and could have shared all of them, but you can just go check it out on your own, but here are two samples.  This post is on Top 10 Application Tips

http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2020/09/our-top-ten-application-tips-for-2020.html

Here is another one that is from a while ago and is still as appropriate and important as ever. Tulane - 8 emails never to send

http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2012/09/five-e-mails-you-should-never-send.html

 

NYU shared insights on helping students to build your college list while social distancing

https://meet.nyu.edu/advice/building-your-college-list-while-social-distancing/

I feel a little bad that I don't have more to add to this part of the list because I have to be honest, I read a lot... like a LOT of admissions related articles and posts, but those are the ones which are standing out to me at the moment that are directly from admissions offices.  I think a lot of the admissions office articles tend to be focused at counselors and the rest of the blogs/ articles are usually not directly from the admissions offices.