Narrowing Your College List

There are 5,300 colleges and universities in the United States.  Trying to narrow down the list from more than 5,000 to a reasonable handful of schools to which you will actually apply can feel daunting.  It can feel overwhelming to know that there are so many choices available - colleges you have not even heard of previously - and yet you are being ask to select and apply to the schools which will be a part of your future. The good news though, is that the process of narrowing your college list starts with YOU and what YOU want in a school.

On the WKHS Counselor website there are a variety of pages specifically geared toward helping you in the college search and with lots of information and questions to consider for yourself.  These include Tips for Investigating a College, What do You want in a College, and a Self Reflection page.  We dedicated a lot of content to this search process because it is true that before you really start looking for the “right” school it is important to figure out what you WANT in a school and that can only be found by looking in yourself and determining what factors are most important to you.

You'll find a lot more on the website (which I hope you'll check out), but a few examples on factors that might differ for various students... for some students distance from home may be a big deal. Being close can have it’s advantages – like being able to come home and have a free home cooked meal or a place to do your laundry and also not having to worry about flying half way across the country any time you would want to come home for a visit. Going to school at a college far from home can also have it’s advantages – often a different climate, a new experience and adventure where you can be independent, and no concerns about mom or dad just dropping in unexpectedly. And, of course, there are some students who will elect to find a school that is not too far and not too close. (Remember, that by communicating with your family about what you are looking for in a school you may find that a college outside of your comfort zone is still worth considering because you and your parents may be able to reach some mutually agreed upon ground rules – so the concern that they might come see you or you might come home too often can be eliminated by talking about those issues up front.)

The size of a school is another factor for many students. Small, Medium, Large or somewhere in between – the challenge is that many students will say, “I don’t know” and that is where making a variety of visits to different sized schools can be advantageous. You can explore a small school and see if the experience of knowing lots of people on campus and in your classes is better for you than a medium or large school where you may have a class in a lecture hall with hundreds of other students. As you visit the schools you may find that there are experiences or advantages that a larger school can provide that a smaller school can’t such as a wider variety of clubs or groups for students to be involved. The key is to figure out what size school fits you and then you can narrow your search to explore more schools in that range.  However, it is important to keep an open mind about size because there is only 24 hours in a day so the way you will spend your time is going to be very similar no matter what size of a campus you select.

Other factors that often influence a student’s college decision will include the types of majors or programs offered at the school, their athletic programs – both collegiate sponsored and intramurals, the food, the dorms, the cost (but don’t necessarily eliminate potential colleges simply based upon cost because often the private schools are much more expensive, but also offer a much larger financial aid package to make it competitive and comparable to a public school), extra-curricular opportunities, career placement services and on and on.

Again, I cannot stress the point that everyone is different and what is best for one person is not necessarily the ideal school for someone else. All too often I listen to students who are only looking at the 2 or 3 schools that their best friend or sibling looked at rather than trying to find the school that fits best for them. Also, I truly believe that it is about being a good match – for both you and the college and that there is not 1 perfect school.  You will be successful no matter where you end up attending.

I know, it can be a bit intimidating to search for a school and to try to figure out what you really want in a college and for your future, but it is also supposed to be fun so try not to put too much pressure on yourself to find “perfection” and try to take a step back and figure out what will make you happy. It really can be fun, but I know it is also overwhelming so remember that I am here to support and help you in any way that I can.

Make this your Rock Bottom

I'm sure you have heard the phrases about people hitting rock bottom.  And most of the time when I hear people talking about getting to those low places in their life they speak of it as if they can't get any worse.  Nothing else could go wrong beyond what has already happened.  And then, at that point, they are ready to make a change.

Here is the reality... for some people, that is absolutely how this has to work because many of us (1) don't like change, (2) find comfort in the familiar even if it is all falling apart around us, and (3) don't want to admit that we are struggling.

But the good news is that this does NOT have to be the way it works!  We all have the power to pick our bottom.  To say, this is as low as I can let myself go or get.  Know though, that making this change will require ACTION and COURAGE!  But, you have that inside of you and you CAN do this!  You can decide that enough is enough and that you are ready to make changes any time you want.  

I don't know about you, but I think that is a really encouraging thought.  I like control and being able to take some sense of control over my own life is a helpful thought for me.  But, that is also when fear and complacency can set in because if I want this to be the lowest that I get in my life then I am going to have to DO something DIFFERENT!  This might mean making different choices.  It could mean asking for help.  Perhaps it means spending time with new people.  Everyone's circumstances and areas of concern are different, but by digging deep inside yourself to find the courage to take action, change is possible and your life and the challenges you are facing can improve.

And, in case you are out there reading this and thinking, "that sounds nice Miss Abbott, but, no, I can't fix the fact that my mom is sick or my grandpa died."  And you are right.  There are absolutely heart-breaking events that will always cross our paths.  This is a part of life and it is not fair and it is hard, but you can get through even those difficult days by finding ways to take better care of yourself, by learning new coping strategies, by sharing your sadness with others so you aren't left feeling quite so alone in it all.

So my question for you today is how much lower do you need to go before you decide to make a change?  I know it can be scary to try something new or to admit that you need help, but the benefits can be beyond what you could imagine.  For example, I watched a video last weekend which included a high school boy who was really struggling in some of his classes.  He didn't like most of his teachers and he was challenged to do something new and different.  He was asked by one of his mentors to pick out the class where he was struggling the most, where he didn't feel connected to the teacher and to walk up to that teacher and say that he was struggling and didn't feel connected to the class or the teacher and that he wanted to change it.  I was floored as I heard this awkwardly phrased conversation play out.  But the reality is the boy said that being real and honest with his teacher had changed everything and now if he had problems in any class or with stuff outside of school he knew that he could always go to that teacher and that he was now one of his favorite people and biggest supporters in his life.  All because he had the COURAGE to take ACTION and make a CHANGE.  He decided that he was done with his classes and grades getting worse so he established his bottom and he did something different.  Never doubt that you can do that too!

It's helpful to keep in mind that no matter how low your bottom might be, once you are at your bottom, there is nowhere to go but up.  And if you are needing help or support in that climb back up, remember that I am here for you!

Pack Period

Tomorrow will be our first Pack Period of the school year.  For students new to WKHS, when you think about a Pack Period you can also think of it as something like a homeroom where announcements are shared, particular topics are addressed or discussed, or timely activities are completed.  Our Pack Periods at Kilbourne are typically held as a component of your 2nd period class.  (Sometimes specific grades will be called for an assembly during the Pack Period time to come to the auditorium for a group presentation.)

Pack Periods are held on Wednesdays approximately every other week.  The Pack Period is a time for students and staff members to forge stronger connections, share important information, and to build on student success skills for learning and for life.

One of the main items that all students will be asked to complete during tomorrow's Pack Period is your annual Counselor Connection Form.  This form is tailored with questions to allow us to get to know you a little better.  There are different questions for each grade level and I promise that we read them all!

These forms are a great way for me (and the other school counselors) to learn more about you and they also help us to capture information about you that can be helpful later when you are trying to think about college applications, brainstorming essay topics, and more.  So I do ask that during the Pack Period tomorrow that you try to give me thoughtful, genuine responses because it really does make a difference for me.

We are on a different bell schedule to give you an extra 24 minutes to be in the Pack Period.  This also  means each class is 3 minutes shorter - so your 2nd period class will begin 3 minutes earlier than normal (a really important point to be aware of if you are a student with late arrival and no class during 1st period so that you're not late to 2nd period on Pack Period days.)

Thanks again, in advance, for filling out your counselor connection form!

Meet the Teacher Night

On Wednesday evening, WKHS will host our annual Meet the Teacher night for parents/ guardians. This event is sponsored by our PTO.

This is a night when your parents can come through school, follow your schedule, and meet all of your teachers. Meet the Teacher part of the evening will be over by 9pm. Each class will be 10 minutes in length and yes, your parents will have the same 5 minute passing time that you have during the day. (Hopefully they won't get lost and be late or else they could end up with lots of tardies!) :-)

Here is the schedule for the evening:

Welcome & Introduction in WKHS Auditorium by Principal, Aric Thomas: 6:45pm
1st period - 7:00 - 7:10
2nd period - 7:15 - 7:25
3rd period - 7:30 - 7:40
4th period - 7:45 - 7:55
5th period - 8:00 - 8:10
6th period - 8:15 - 8:25
7th period - 8:30 - 8:40
8th period - 8:45 - 8:55

Please make sure you give your parents a screenshot copy of your schedule or at least write down the room numbers for all of your classes so they know where they are heading for the evening!  Of course, parents, if your son/ daughter forget to give you a copy of their schedule, you can also print it off off on Infinite Campus.  We will not have schedules available to hand out so this is a really important step for families to make the most of Meet the Teacher Night!

Please make sure your parents know about this evening because I know many of them will want to attend and they usually like putting a face with a name so that if you are talking about a test in Mr. ____'s class or an assignment for Mrs. ____'s class they will be able to keep it straight.

CC+ Classes Begin

Just a reminder to all students who are taking a CSCC class through CC+, your classes begin this week!  These classes meet for 2 periods, but only twice a week.  So, those of you who are taking English Comp 1, you will have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.  If you are taking Psychology or Ethics, you will have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  There are no CC+ class meetings on Fridays.

As we have talked about in the past, you will still have work to do for your college classes outside of your designated class time and those non-meeting days are an ideal time to stay disciplined at using for work time on those courses.

One important suggestion - because your CSCC professors will all use your CSCC email, I would strongly suggest you set up the automatic forward option on your emails to send it to a gmail account which you check regularly or set up your CSCC account to your phone.  Check out the details on CSCC's website for more information on how to do that.

Good luck as your start your college classes!

Office Workers

Now that the school year is underway and I feel like we are all starting to get into the "typical" routine, I want to make sure you all know about a volunteer opportunity that students can take advantage of during the school day within the comfortable walls of WKHS.  We have office workers volunteer their time to help out in the counseling/ administrative offices. 

Our office workers each year have been amazing!  They helped run passes, update the bulletin board, put together packets or whatever else was needed.  Some days were busier than others and so there were days when they didn't have to do much of anything to help us other than be available.  

We do have an application process to be selected as an office worker, but if you are interested, we'd love to have you!  And selfishly, I'd love to have more of "my" students helping as office workers because it is a nice treat to see you each day.  Students with a period of academic prep or options in their schedule would be eligible to apply.  (You would no longer have prep or options if you chose to work in the office.)  You will accumulate community service hours as an office worker.  Applications are available in the front of the counseling center.  No more than 2 students will be selected for each period of the day.  Please apply soon if you are interested so that we don't miss out on the opportunity to have you involved!

College Data

I have been working a lot this week with the other counselors to put together tomorrow night's Senior Student & Parent College Information Night.  (Seniors and your parents - don't forget, this meeting is a key presentation at 7pm in the WKHS Auditorium.)

As we worked on putting things together we spent some time talking about the fact that when students are searching for a college, digging into data isn't always high on the list of things to do.  It is much more fun to explore the campus and meet with a professor and decide that this is "THE" school for you.  And yet the data has a valuable story to share as well.

What do I mean?

Think about Retention Data.  Information regarding retention rates means how many students who start at the college on the first day of their freshman year come back the following year.  This is important to know because it gives you an idea of how happy and successful students are on the campus.  Students that get accepted and go only to find that they are completely over their heads at the school might not have built the study and organization skills needed to be successful and so they might not return for the next year.  Or students may attend thinking every day would be fun and forget that there is a lot of work involved with college too and so they might elect not to return to school because they didn't enjoy it as much as they had hoped.  Sometimes it is because the college is not a good fit for them after all.  And so if you notice that a college has a low retention rate it doesn't mean you won't like the school, but it may be a reason to pause and really look in depth to make sure you are going to be happy and successful at the college.

Another critical piece of data is how long it will take you to graduate.  Most of the WKHS graduating students anticipate that they will be in college for 4 years.  And that would be great.  But that doesn't always work out for students in the long run.  This can be due to a range of factors including how easy or difficult it is to get the necessary classes for graduation.

The https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ website provides user friendly tools to search for colleges and explore their data.

Confidentiality & Seeing Me

It is very important to me that I work to earn your trust every day. During high school there are times when you may wonder if there is anyone who cares and is willing to listen to what you are going through and I want to remind you that I am here for you. Please remember that what you say to me is confidential between us unless you are a risk to yourself or someone else or if someone is hurting you in which case I am required to report it.

If you want to meet with me - just drop by my office! That is honestly the BEST way to meet with me. You don't need to schedule an appointment in advance. I'm generally around before and after school as well as during your lunch or academic prep/ option periods for you to stop in and chat. You don't need a big reason to come down and say Hi. I am happy to see you even if you just wanted to tell me how well or how poorly you did on a test that day. If I am busy meeting with another student or parent - you can stop back down, leave a pass for me, send me a message on Remind, or send me an email to let me know you want to see me. If I don't know who you are and you have left a pass that leads me to search for you in the commons please try to help me out and let me know that "you" are the student. (I know, not always easy, but if you left a pass and I haven't tracked you down that day or the following day, chances are I can't find you in the commons - so please come back!)

Don't forget I have candy and toys in my office - so it is always worth just stopping by to say hello. :-) 

Picture Make Up Day

Did you miss schedule pick up days and therefore miss out on the chance to get your updated school pictures for your ID?  Good news - tomorrow, Tuesday, August 20th, will be picture Make Up day!  During your lunch period, please go to the Auditorium and have your picture taken on the stage in order to make sure that your updated photo is included in the school yearbook and that you will have it for your ID to be able to enter Worthington sporting events for free.

Senior College Information Night

The Senior College Information Night will be held one week from today, on Thursday, August 22nd, at 7:00pm at WKHS in the auditorium. This is one of the most valuable meetings for senior students and parents to attend because there are so many college related questions that we will be able to answer.

We will be reviewing the college application process, the procedures for submitting your items to WKHS and to the colleges, and other information you need to know. I really hope you will make every effort to attend!  I strongly encourage both the seniors and their parents to attend this night.  Why?  Because the seniors are the ones who are actually applying to college and you need to know the steps and details involved specific to WKHS.  I think it is ideal for paretns to also attend so that they can help support you in your application and they don't ask you tons of questions that you will learn on this evening.

I know it is not always possible for every senior student and family to attend, but I hope you will try. Remember, with so many seniors, it can be really challenging if we are not all starting with the same foundation of information. This evening will answer all of your basic questions and then we’ll figure out the rest together as the year continues. I’m looking forward to seeing you on August 22nd.

Back to School

Your summer is officially over and tonight is a School Night... which means many of you most likely have to try to completely flip your sleep schedule.  I know it will be hard, but please try to go to bed early tonight because the first few weeks of adjusting to being back at school full time tend to be exhausting.

As you are aware, Kilbourne is being remodeled.  Even though the construction company started working on the science classrooms last spring, those are still not quite finished, but in about another month you'll get to see those finished rooms.  There are other new classrooms that have been built, all lockers have been removed from the second floor and a new hallway has been added upstairs.  Additionally, the classrooms have all been re-numbered.  So a teacher's classroom might be in the same location as you remember, but the numbers for those rooms have changed.  (An easy example, the study hall classroom that is multi-tiered used to be Room 207, but now that is Room 201.)  These changes will take a little time getting used to and the good news, as I mentioned to some of the freshmen today when I was talking to them is that right now, everyone is in the same boat - there is no one in the school who will know exactly where they are going or how to find a particular room on the second floor.  We will all quickly adapt and adjust.  (Probably just in time for it to change because the construction will be ongoing throughout the school year and we will be flexible with moving classrooms and adapting to the various learning spaces as they open and close throughout the year.)

I am looking forward to seeing all of you tomorrow!  It will be so good to have everyone back in the building again.  Kilbourne is a great place to work, but it truly is amazing because of our students and so it will be so nice to have you all together with us again!  Lexi is definitely anxious to see all of you!  She doesn't understand where her friends went for the summer so be sure to stop by the counseling center and say hi to Lexi and me.

Get Involved

As we get ready to kick off the new school year tomorrow with the Freshmen, it is a great reminder to 9th graders and to ALL students that it is important to get involved at Kilbourne.

Being involved in sports, clubs, volunteer outreach, or other areas of interest help connect students to the school and community.  You have special gifts that only you can share and you can make a positive difference!  

WKHS is very fortunate to have a wide range of opportunities available within the school setting for you to get involved.  There are approximately 30 interscholastic sports, over 40 clubs, and a wide variety of performance groups (choirs, bands, orchestra, and theater).  While there is obviously no shortage of established groups that you can get involved with, if you have other passions that you want to focus on, don't forget that you can also help establish a new club.  As long as you can find a faculty member who is willing to help you with club oversight, Mr. Todd or Mr. Hilson in the athletic office can assist you with the paperwork needed to establish a new club or organization.

For freshmen, getting involved makes your transition to high school easier because you get to know older students and you find a place where you can belong.  In fact, it is so important for 9th graders to get connected with groups that tomorrow during your opening link day, there will be an activities fair for you to find areas of potential interest to learn about and join.  For upperclassmen, being involved gives you the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and to grow in your areas of interest.  (And no, for the record, I don't think you should just get involved because it will look good on your college applications... you should be participating because it is meaningful and important to you, but yes, being involved is a plus for college applications too.)

CC+ Reminders

Wow - thanks to all 78 seniors who came to today's Common App 101 workshop!  It was an unbelievable turnout and we are so excited to see you getting a strong jumpstart on your applications.  It's crazy to think in just over two months many if not most of you will be DONE applying!  It sure goes fast.

I wanted to remind you that although the WKHS classes will all start this week, any of your CC+ classes that are not taught by a Kilbourne teacher have a later start date.  This can get confusing at times which is why we attached a yellow information sheet to the schedules of all students enrolled in a Columbus State CC+ class.  If you are taking Comp 1, Psychology, or Ethics at Kilbourne, those CSCC classes are taught by a CSCC professor.  You will be on the same timeline for the semester as CSCC so your classes won't begin until August 26th.  So that means you do not have to come to class for those specific classes until the week of the 26th.

In addition to the start date being different, I wanted to let you know that the instructions from CSCC about paperwork and enrolling in classes that is covered in their orientation is for students taking classes on campus.  If you are doing your courses at WKHS you don't have to worry about those extra paperwork steps because Mrs. Mann has worked with CSCC to enroll you in your courses.  You will be able to see those show up in Blackboard in the coming week or so.  (Again, they don't start until the 26th so there is time before you might see them from Columbus State's side of things and you don't need to panic if that is the case.)

Please note that if you are taking a COTC CC+ class, those courses (Pre Calculus and Calculus) are taught by our WKHS teachers and the academic calendar is the same as Kilbourne so you will start classes this week like everyone else.

Read the information sheet that was attached to your schedule and let me know if you have any questions!

Common App Workshop Reminder

Seniors, just a quick reminder that tomorrow at 1:00pm is our Common App 101 Workshop.  Please be sure to bring your laptop or chromebook with you because you will be working on your actual Common App application during the ceremony.  We will be holding this work session in the library and look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

New Names and Faces

Everything in life changes.  That is just how it works and as we start the school year we are all going to be feeling and seeing many of these changes within our own building.

1. We have lots of new staff members joining WKHS. (Which also means that some of your past teachers may no longer be at Kilbourne.)

As you were looking at your schedules you may have noticed names of your teachers that you didn't recognize and perhaps that is because they are new. Included in the list of new staff are:

• Ms. Ayesh (Math)
• Ms. Brienza (Social Studies)
• Mrs. Carey (English/ Intervention Specialist)
• Ms. Geygan (Science)
• Mrs. Kelso (English)
• Mrs. Leiding (Assistant Principal)
• Mr. Marks (Science)
• Mrs. Orlins (Math Academic Assistant)
• Mr. Price (English)
• Mr. Ritchey (Science)
• Mrs. Spencer (School Counselor Intern)
• Mr. Sunderhaus (Math)

2. We had several staff members get married over the summer so you may see their "old" last name or their "new" last name, but they are still the same great teachers.

• Ms. Biskner is now Mrs. Ghiloni
• Miss Karlock is now Mrs. Larson

3. The Room Numbers for the upstairs classrooms have all changed.  It will be ok... there will be maps. But some rooms that you always referenced by number are definitely different.  For example, the tiered study hall room that used to be called 207 is now 201.

4. There is a new upstairs hallway that runs parallel to the hall by the balconies so now that will give you 3 hallways that run across the long width of the building upstairs. Again, it sounds strange, but there will be maps on your first day and once you walk it I'm sure it will quickly make sense.

Construction will continue all year long so there will be lots of adjustments and changes as rooms get finished and others get closed down for remodeling.  Just try to breathe through the stress of it all and know that in the end it will all be worth it.

Get Ready by Getting Organized

Next week we will start a new school year and it is important to put yourself in the best position possible to be successful.

The first step (whichis easy to skip) is to set your goals for the year.  What are you hoping to accomplish?  What do you need to do to reach these goals?  It is often easier to dream big and, quite honestly, most of you could achieve any goal that you set your mind to, but it will take dedication and commitment.

Many of you are also out searching for new school supplies.  As you buy your folders, binders, and notebooks, pause for a moment to think about what organization system tends to work best for you.  Are you a "stuffer" who just stuffs papers into whatever happens to be available?  If so, folders are probably best for you.  If you are the type of person who wants to be able to combine notes from class with notes that you take from the book, you might gravitate toward a binder with loose-leaf paper rather than a spiral notebook. Whatever system you select, make sure it is one that will work for YOU. And, along those lines, if you're thinking about school supplies, go to your backpack and look at what all you still have left over from last year before you start buying new supplies.  It is also helpful to try to think back over the previous year and reflect on what you ran out of part way through the year.  I feel like students were constantly looking for a pencil or pen (depending on what they prefer) and so if that was you, perhaps buying an extra package of pencils or pens would be a smart decision.

Preparing for success is probably most closely connected to having an organization system for tracking your assignments.  Perhaps you bought a planner or maybe you're hoping to use an app.  It doesn't matter to me what type of an organization system you have selected, but it is essential that you pick something and commit yourself to using it and then ACTUALLY USE IT!

This will be a great year!  I hope you are looking forward to getting started (even though it means that summer is over) and if you need help with setting reasonable goals or with organization, please don't hesitate to stop in and see me.

Schedule Changes

Every year the week from schedule pick up days through the first days of the school year are filled with students asking about changes to their schedules. I am happy to try to help facilitate schedule change requests, but I need to make sure you know a few things...

1. We are not authorized to make any teacher changes.  Sorry.  I can't move you from one teacher to another teacher's class.  I know that we all have favorite teachers from previous years or teachers that our siblings had that we hoped to have too.  I get it, but the administration works really hard to balance all schedules with timing and course sections and they don't want us to undermine that work by making things unbalanced. 

2. I cannot overload classes.  If a class is full, there is no way for me to add you into the class. Think about it, you know how packed many of the classes are and how many desks are in the room.  Each teacher and each period can only have so many students.

3. You need to have your graduation requirement classes. Obviously a big end goal of your classes is to graduate and so those take priority over every other request.

4. If the classes you have requested are during 1st or 8th period then I cannot give you 1st or 8th period off.  I'm sorry.  I know that a lot of juniors and seniors hope for late arrival or early release, but the only way the master schedule works when the administrators build it is for classes to be spread across all 8 periods.  They focus on eliminating as many conflicts as possible and so that sometimes means a class that is only offered once per day ends up being in 1st or 8th period.

5. I know that a lot of times the hopes and expectations aren't in alignment with what the reality is when you first see your schedule.  Pause and give yourself a little bit of time to process through it.  It can be hard when you think that you're the only one in a particular lunch (I promise you're not) or that you don't have any classes with your friends. Every year I end up encouraging kids to just go to class and give it a try and see who else is in their classes and they realize that a friend they had classes with a year or two ago is also in that class and they are given the chance to rekindle the friendship again. Just don't panic when you see your schedule.

6. If you want to change levels from AP/ IB/ Honors classes that had summer work to other classes without summer work, remember that you are still responsible for completing those summer assignments and the grade will go with you into the new class. (So if you're doing all of that work for the class, are you sure you really don't want to just stick with the class you had requested a few months ago?)

7. If you want to request a schedule change, I will be in my office during schedule pick up times tomorrow and am happy to meet with you. Come see me!

This moment...

This moment, the one right here, right now... are you in it?  Are you fully present in the now, savoring the details of whatever is happening for you today, now?  Or are you thinking 15 steps ahead of all that you need to do and all that is to come?  Or are you someone who tends to find yourself caught up thinking about things that are already done in the past and struggling to let them go?

The reality is it can be hard to be in the now.

I feel like at the end of summer there is a lot of challenge to being in the now moments.  We start thinking ahead to the new school year, anticipating the fall and all that is to come while also wishing that we could rewind and have a few more weeks of summer vacation.  But you do still have right now. Today. And you can choose to savor these moments.

A week and a half ago I wrote about how much I love the Olympics. And as I have watched the Olympics over and over again I have been surprised and thinking about how often the reporters questions to the athletes pertain to either things of the past or their plans of the future. I find this fascinating.

The men and women competing are elite athletes who have dedicated countless hours of their lives to their sports.  They have worked hard and risen to the top as the best in their field in order to qualify for the Olympics.  But even when they achieve the greatest success imaginable - an Olympic Medal - the questions aren't just related to what does this feel like to you, how are you savoring this moment, what will you remember most about this moment or these Olympic games.  Instead the questions tend to be more along the lines of, "Will you be competing again in LA in 2028?" for forward focused questions or "Did you ever imagine reaching the podium after __ had happened to you?" for past related questions. And ultimately, it isn't that the forward or past questions are inherently bad, but I wonder if that is part of why we also tend to struggle with being in the now, of savoring this moment at hand, and enjoying our present?

And to all of the Olympians, medalists or not, I guess I wish someone would just say, "Wow! Congratulations, you have made it to the top of your field and you are impressive for your dedication and drive. Enjoy this moment because you deserve it and you have made us proud!"

And even though you aren't Olympians (or at least not yet), I hope you also enjoy this moment (such as the final days of summer) simply because it is yours to own and celebrate in even the smallest of ways.

Excited to see the Freshman and Juniors for Schedule Pick Up tomorrow! My alpha group is first thing in the morning.

Common App Live

The Common Application is a centralized application that students can complete for over 1000 different colleges and as of today it is now updated and released for the Class of 2025 to begin working on their applications. The colleges that participate in this application commit to treating applications received through the Common App with the same consideration as if students had applied through the institutions individual applications. This will generally mean that you have to spend less time filling out all of the basic information about yourself and can mean that you have fewer essays to write (but maybe not).

On the Common App there is 1 essay that typically must be completed for all colleges, but you do have a choice about what essay to pick from a list of prompts.  There are some colleges which will identify the essay as being optional.  We probably need to talk about how "optional" the optional essay really is so before you decide to skip it completely please come see me to discuss it. 

One of the more confusing parts of the Common App for many students is that in addition to the main essay, many of the colleges will also have supplements required which are other questions of their own that they want students to complete. Sometimes it is just simple questions that weren't covered on the Common App, but would have been if you had applied through their individual application, but often times it includes short or long answer essays. Be aware and be prepared for that when completing your application and read those questions in advance so you know what to expect.  You will find this information under the "My Colleges" tab and then select each college down the left side of the page and click on "Questions" under both Application and Writing Supplement for each of the colleges where you will be applying.

Not all schools use the common app, but a lot of them do.  There are 53 Ohio schools which will utilize the common application this year, so as you are getting ready to start applications for the schools you are considering it is worth looking to see if more than one school from your list utilizes the Common App.

I have spent the last few hours playing around on the Common App website and the new format will be pretty straight forward for you to use.  A few things I want to make sure you are aware of to help as you are completing your application...

- On the College Search section where you can look for colleges that use the Common Application there are search criteria filters that allow you to select colleges that don't require recommendation letters or don't require essays.  Both are good to know if you are doing things at the last second, but for what it is worth, that is NOT the best way to select your future college.  :-)  It made me laugh though as I came across it because I am sure there are plenty of kids who will use that to help narrow their options in finding a school.

-  The general information that you will complete for all of the colleges is under the "Common App" tab.

- After you have selected your colleges and added them to your list you will see specific questions that each individual school wants to ask.  You will find these specific questions and writing supplement pages for the individual colleges under the "My Colleges" tab.  

-  If you have attended WKHS for all 4 years of high school, then you entered Kilbourne in August 2021.

-  Your graduation is May 2025.  (Yay!)

- It will ask you questions about me and so you will want to be sure that you spell my name and e-mail address right or else I won't receive the e-mail to complete your school forms.  (Ms. Brianna Abbott, Title: School Counselor, E-mail: babbott@wscloud.org, Phone: 614-450-6490)

-  It will ask you about other schools you have attended.  Obviously, if you moved into Worthington you have other schools to list, but I also want to remind you that if you took summer classes through a different school district (such as TRECA or K-12) then you need to include that school on your common app form too.

-  If you are a student who will be taking classes through College Credit Plus, you will list the schools in the Colleges and Universities section with the checkbox for "Dual Enrollment while in high school" marked.  Don't forget - if you are taking COTC math classes along with CSCC English or Psych types of classes that you would have 2 colleges to list.

-  I strongly encourage you to make a complete list of your activities and honors BEFORE attempting to fill out the Common App.  For example, you will need to give a total number of your honors before you start naming them.  If you haven't developed that resume list then you'll have a tough time filling it out.

-  In the activities section, you can write about your top 10 activities.  Be sure to put them in the order of importance to you.  You can use the arrows to move them up or down if you get out of order.

-  A handful of colleges require a student self-reporting transcript section called "Classes and Grades."  Please be aware, your transcripts WILL STILL BE SENT to the colleges so you absolutely MUST be sure that you enter the information in the system exactly like it appears on your transcript.  The good news is that you can download and print your transcript off of Infinite Campus to use when completing this section.  It is very straight forward to use, but I have to admit that you will likely find it a bit tedious.  For the record (although I suspect you know this), our grading scale is A-F and we are on semesters.  Also, when you are filling out this section the "Other Courses" section is where you will list any high school classes that you completed during middle school or summer school.

-  As you are working on each area there is a panel on the right side of the page titled "Help Center" and I found it helpful as I was going through the different areas.  Some of the typical questions kids have asked me in the past as they are completing the Common App are now answered in the help center.

-  You will have to indicate your class size - for the Class of 2025, it is 405.

Let the fun begin!  Good luck as you start working on your applications and don't forget that the Common App 101 Workshops are next Thursday, August 8th at 11am and Monday, August 12th at 1pm.  It will help you make great progress on your Common App if you come to one of these sessions with us.