Why THIS College?

Last week I talked about the importance of your college essay and making sure that you answered the question and taught them something about you.  But what happens when they are asking you why you are interested in their college in particular?

These questions are taking you back to the basics.  Why do you like a particular college?  What is it about the school that made it stand out to you and left you with the impression that this would be a good place for you to spend your collegiate years?

Hopefully, you have an idea about what you'd answer for both of those questions for each school that you are including on your list of schools where you are going to apply.  And, let me clear - you should like something about every college that you are considering and you should feel good about each of the schools if you are applying there!

In addition to those answers mattering for deciding where you are going to apply, your answers to these questions are essential when you are trying to answer college-specific essay questions - especially if they ask you a question related to what you like about their school.  They may phrase it in different ways, but the bottom line is that they are trying to determine why you believe their school is a good fit for you.

Remember, the admissions officers who work for the school already think their school is great and they know about the wonderful opportunities available so you need to take it beyond saying that they have a great location, outstanding professors, and wonderful weather.  You need to take it to the next level by identifying specific aspects at the school where you can see yourself contributing to the school and the particular offerings that you plan to take advantage of while you are in college.

Good luck in searching for the right college fit for you and for conveying why it's a good fit in your essays.

Teens and Cell Phones

For parents, figuring out how to navigate cell phone use with your teens is an ongoing challenge that is common among many families.  During this month's Lunch and Learn, the WKHS Counselors will share information about the data on teens and cell phone use as well as discuss strategies that teens and parents alike can use to try to minimize some of the negative impacts from cell phone use.

We hope that parents will join us on Zoom this Friday, October 4th from 12-12:30 for the conversation on Teens and Cell Phones.

As always, the link to the zoom presentation will be posted on the Counselor website and emailed home to families on Friday morning ahead of the session.  We hope that all parents/ guardians will grab your lunch and join us for this conversation.

College Athletics

For many Kilbourne students, being a part of a sports team is how you found your fit at WKHS.  And the idea of not having sports be a part of your life in college can be a scary prospect.  There are some students who will want to move on and play at the varsity level in college.  For other students though, the idea of making sports a job (which it definitely is - especially at the Division 1 level) and not just something you do for enjoyment and to be around your friends can be less than appealing.  But that doesn't mean that sports can't still be a vital part of your life in college.  Many colleges have club sports or intramural teams that students can get involved in on campus.  And other communities have adult rec leagues that are thrilled to have college aged students get involved.

But, if you are a student who wants to be a college athlete in the future, I thought this webinar put on by Estrela Consulting earlier this summer was a well done and helpful look at the process of trying to become a college athlete.  So, if you are interested, check out their webinar, "So, you want to be a college athlete."

Articles of Interest

I read a LOT of college related articles and watch a lot of webinars related to college and school counseling in general, not to mention listening to podcasts and reading journals and books.  But periodically I think, "I bet my students would want to read this."  And sometimes it is an article that relates to a particular student or situation we have been discussing and so I will forward it just to that person.  Other times it is something I think could interest many people and so I save the link in my notes about my blog and when that list of interesting articles starts to grow too long, I try to share the links with you all here on my blog.  Today is one of those days.

Read through the topics mentioned below and if you are interested in learning more about them, click on the link and check out the article.

Why Students need to understand Opportunity Cost

Why applying to all 8 Ivy League could hurt your chances of admission

How introverted students can thrive in college

4 college admissions trends shaping top schools’ decisions in 2024

Luckocracy

Famous people who attended community college

Colleges with the most Olympians

Follow the Directions

Today and in the past week or so I seem to be having two very common conversations related to college applications.  Some students are surprised at how "easy" it is to apply to college.  Others are surprised at how "hard" it is to apply to college.

There are a lot of factors that play into how each of you perceives the college application process - probably the biggest differentiating factor is how many colleges you are applying to and how similiar or how different their application requirements are for the colleges.  Those students who are applying to just a few colleges and their requirements are all about the same seem to find the process pretty straightforward and easy.  But for those applying to a larger number of schools with lots of varying requirements and needs are often much more stressed about the process.

Here is what I would like to remind you... the difference is often in the details!  Please, be focused, get organized, and give the colleges EXACTLY what they want and are asking for in their applications.

If they want a 250 word supplemental essay - give them one that is that length.  If they are asking for a list - give them a list.  If they ask for an interview - schedule one in plenty of time.  Yes, I realize that it takes some up-front effort to figure out and keep track of what each school wants, but it will make a difference when the college is looking at and evaluating your application because they will be able to tell who just said, "Oh well, good enough..." and those who truly put forth the effort to make sure that they were presenting a complete and well thought out application.

Take some time today and go through your intended college list and map out exactly what they are asking for so that you can prepare accordingly and then follow their directions including hitting all of their deadlines.

College Essays

Seniors, how are your college essays coming along?  I have been seeing a LOT of essay drafts lately so I know that some of you are making great progress and I have also heard that some of you are still struggling.  It is definitely time to start moving on the applications and drafting your essays is a big part of that.

When writing your essay you want to make every word count.  But you can't really do that unless you have a plan for your writing so that you do not just ramble.  Whenever possible, start your essay with a catch – something that will engage the readers and compel them to continue reading.  As you are writing, try to keep in mind that this is a formal essay so you need to make sure that you are using proper grammar, punctuation and varying your sentence structure.

Be sure to use your voice and stick to the word count.  (An important hint: I know it doesn't seem like it, but I promise, it is always easier to cut words than to try to figure out how to squeeze more detail in later, so answer the question fully first before worrying too much about word count, but plan ahead enough so that you are at least in the ball park of your word limits... you want to cut 50-100 words not try to cut 2,000 words.) As you are writing you want to maximize your word count to provide details and depth.  

There are 3 main aspects you want to keep in mind while drafting your essay:

Answer the question!

When they give you a prompt or question – be sure that your essay is answering what they are asking!  These are smart people – they know when you are just taking a different essay and trying to make it fit for their question.  Put in the time to write an essay that answers the question they are asking.  Also, be sure that you respond to all parts of the prompt and fulfilling exactly what the college is asking you to do (list, define, explain, compare/ contrast, evaluate, etc.)  Yes, you will be telling your story, but that is only part of the process - you have to also reflect back on how that story relates to you and your life in whatever way they are asking.

Show me - Don't just tell me.

Great, so you told me that you are organized and honest… good qualities for their future college students, but are you demonstrating that to them with your essay?  Show them what you mean with vivid examples – that will usually be specific, concrete stories to illustrate your point.  It can be helpful to describe the scene or the person with sharp nouns and active verbs or by using details that will invoke the senses. How did it look? feel? smell? sound?  Don’t just say that "Uncle John was odd." Show us by talking about his unique decorating style of mixing plaid and polka dots.

Did I learn something about you?

The whole point of these essays is so that the college admissions officers will learn something new about you.  (And trust me, they are learning something about you – even if that lesson is you didn’t appear to care enough about getting into school to pay attention to details like spelling.)  So, step back and look at your essay again – did they learn something about you that they wouldn’t have known prior to reading your essay?  I tend to frustrate students a lot when they come in with their drafts and before I even look at it I ask, "What am I going to learn about you when I read this?" If you don't have a good answer to that as you start writing then I am going to encourage you to pause and reflect before you keep writing.  You have to write with the end in mind when drafting college essays and the end is that the college admissions representative is going to learn something about you.

Good luck with your writing and if you are feeling stuck, please stop by and see me!

Academic Progress

I wanted to make sure that all of you were aware that the last date to drop a 1st semester course without having it appear on your transcript is this Wednesday, September 25th. Remember though, you can only drop a class if you will still have above the minimum number of classes required (6 for freshmen, sophomores and juniors and 5 for seniors). Wednesday is also the last date to submit a request to have a 1st semester class graded on a pass/ fail scale instead of the standard scoring. Please make sure that your requests for these options are turned into the counseling center before the school day ends on Wednesday!

In many ways it feels surprising to realie that we are already beyond the half-way point of the first quarter.  As you are hopefully aware, you and your parents have the opportunity to check your grades on an ongoing basis.  But, if you haven't started checking your grades yet this year, now that we are about half way through, this is a great time to check because it will give you a good feel for how you are doing in each of your classes.  I strongly suggest that you take a look at your grades and make sure you are on track for the quarter.

Hopefully you and your parents know how to access Infinite Campus which is the system that has your schedules, attendance, grades, and transcripts.  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.

One challenge for me is that I cannot see the same things you see when you look at Infinite Campus.  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

If you haven't figured out how to access Infinite Campus at all, please visit the Worthington Schools Website at www.worthington.k12.oh.us and then you will click on the Portal Login Icon. 

Because of You

On Friday at school we had the chance to honor and celebrate the impact of others on your life.  #BecauseOfYou was the point behind this video and it was also the message so many of you had the courage to share and recognize during the day today.

For all of the parents or anyone who, for whatever reason, didn't have the chance to watch the video during your 3rd period class today, I hope you will take a few minutes and watch this powerful PSA that was created by the Ad Council.

I have watched the video many times as we were preparing for today and the final message that, "Because of You someone's entire day can change, Because of You someone's entire year can change, and Because of You someone's entire life can change", continues to touch my heart.  And here is the reality... we don't always see that in ourselves.  We don't recognize the impact we are having on others.  But we are often keenly aware of how much others help us.  The reason we wanted to focus on that today is that it is important and valuable to realize the depth of an impact you are having on someone else - even though you might not realize it at the time.

I loved seeing the kids and staff that participated both with dry erase board signs and with individual notes of appreciation. But even if you didn't participate Friday during lunch, there is no time like the present... hop on social media and share the message #BecauseOfYou to recognize someone who has had a positive impact on your life.  Who knows, perhaps by doing so you will inspire someone else to recognize someone too.  And, if you don't feel comfortable posting your gratitude on social media, then remember, you can still send someone a text, email, or tell them face to face how much they have changed your life for the better.

This world has enough negativity.  Stress levels are high.  Frustration runs deep.  Disappointment and hurt seems never-ending at times.  But there is good.  There is so much good!  We need to focus on it today and every day.  Because by doing so, perhaps it will end up multiplying.  Someone will decide to be a little kinder because they know that it had made a positive difference to someone else in the past.  What a gift and blessing that would be for not only you, but for our school, our community, and our world.

Thank you again to all of the students who participated in the #BecauseOfYou day.  #BecauseOfYou Kilbourne is a better place!

New to District

Last week we held our Welcome Breakfast to celebrate the students who have come to Kilbourne from other school districts.  As of right now, we have 91 new students.  These students will come to our school with unique experiences, perspectives, and traditions to share that will make our school even stronger.  There are students from just down the street (who might struggle deciding where they want to sit during tomorrow night's battle of Hard Rd.) and students who came from countries far away.  There are 6 primarily languages along with English spoken by our students and many more cultures and countries than that represented.

Moving to a new school is really intimidating and requires a great deal of courage.  I am so impressed by how each of these new students are making that adjustment and embracing Kilbourne.  Many of our new students are already involved in sports and looking forward to joining clubs and other activities.  And yet, I am sure that there are some new students struggling to find their place.  If you see someone around the halls of WKHS who doesn't seem to have people that they are sitting with or talking to, I hope you will make the effort to connect and say hi.  It doesn't have to be bigger than that.  Whether they are new or not, the simple reality of someone recognizing you and saying hi can make a complete difference in their day!

Don't forget, tomorrow is the suicide prevention #BecauseOfYou day during lunch periods and the school day will end with the Homecoming Pep Rally.

Recommendation Letters

I have a love/ hate relationship with recommendation letters.  When they are needed, I am more than happy to write them for my students and I love taking the time to try to show you off and make sure the colleges know just how lucky they will be to have you as a part of their campus.  But there is so much confusion that surrounds rec letters and I really do hate when teachers or I are asked to write letters that never go anywhere at all.  Many colleges have moved away from requiring letters of recommendation - in part because all students will pick teachers that like them to write letters on their behalf and so the letters often sound similar and therefore it doesn't really help them to differentiate between the students.  So, your very first step connected to recommendation letters is to figure out if the colleges you are considering will actually need any letters of recommendation - and if they don't then you just saved yourself and your teacher a lot of time.

There are some colleges that will want a recommendation letter and others that will want multiple letters.  You will want to look specifically at what they are asking for you to provide.  Some colleges will require teacher recommendation letters, some counselor letters, others may be open to coaches, bosses, religious leaders or other adults who know you well, and yes, some may even want multiple letters.  Each college gets to make up their own mind and determine what information they want to have as a part of your application package.  OSU, for example, does not require any recommendation letters. (Can you blame them? Imagine trying to read 80,000 recommendation letters on top of the applications and essays that they receive.) Harvard, on the other hand, will require 2 teacher recommendations and a counselor recommendation. After reviewing the college websites, if you are still having problems determining if the colleges you are considering require recommendation letters – just stop down to see me and I can try to help you figure it out.

If you find that you do need recommendation letters, you have some work to do.  First, give some thought about who you would like to ask for the recommendations. Look at the requirements specified by the school – are they open to coaches or community representatives writing letters or do they want them to come from academic teachers? If it requires that the letters come from teachers can it be from any subject area or are they only open to the core subjects of English, math, science, and social studies? Are you looking at a career in a specific area that a teacher at WKHS can write about your strengths in that field? For example, if you are considering majoring in Spanish perhaps a recommendation letter from one of your Spanish teachers would be appropriate. What teachers know you best? Who can speak to your work ethic and classroom contributions? If possible, it is often ideal to show your strengths across multiple subjects, so if you have a few teachers to pick from and 2 are math and 1 is science perhaps it would be beneficial to ask 1 math and 1 science teacher rather than the 2 math teachers simply to show that diversity. Remember, in recommendation letters from teachers the colleges are asking for information about you as a student and your potential for handling the academic rigors of college.

Once you have figured out the teacher or teachers that you want to ask for a recommendation (if needed) it is then time to ASK them if they are willing to write a letter for you. It is really important to be reasonable in the amount of time that you are allowing them to have to write your letter. (Think at least 30 days - preferably more!) They are very busy with their classroom work and grading homework and papers and of course life in general and many teachers are often bombarded by students requesting recommendations. If a teacher is unable to write a recommendation letter for you – either because they don’t feel that they know you well enough to write a strong letter or because they have too much on their plate, don’t take it personally, simply ask another teacher. You will be thankful that you didn’t force them to write the letter because it wouldn’t be as solid of a recommendation letter if they were rushed or only had vague highlights to discuss.

After you have asked a teacher to write a letter on your behalf (and they agreed), then you will want to provide them with the teacher recommendation letter forms that can be found on the www.wkhscounselors.com website or in the Counseling and Career Center.  You will also need to be sure to invite your teachers electronically if you are applying through Common App.  It is rare that you will need any of your recommendation letters as a hard copy, but if that is the case you are responsible for providing your teacher with an envelope addressed to the appropriate college.  Please be sure that you have indicated to your teachers your application deadline.  You can submit your application through Common App even if your teachers have not uploaded their recommendation letter, but your application packet will not be complete until all parts (including the rec letters) have arrived at the college.

If you are applying to schools that do not need teacher recommendation letters, please do not waste your teacher's time by asking them to write a letter. Also, only ask the number of teachers that you need recommendations from - so if you are applying to two schools and both need 1 teacher recommendation letter, just ask one teacher to write a letter that will be used for both schools. You do not need to ask for more letters in case one is "better" than another - if you are not sure the teacher will write a positive letter for you, then you need to pick someone else. If you trust the teacher enough to ask them to write the letter, then you should trust them enough to be able to send their letter (without seeing it) to the college.  In fact, you should not be reading your recommendation letters - they are supposed to be confidential.

For those students that will need a counselor recommendation, please be aware that I write the letters on a first come first serve basis. It is the only way I know how to be fair. Recommendation letters are incredibly time consuming - especially when I have so many to write because unlike with teachers, if your college requires a counselor recommendation letter you don't have a choice about who you are asking to write your letter.  So please, watch your deadlines and try to help me write the best letter possible by allowing me to have the time with it. As with the teachers, please plan to give me at least 30 days to write your rec letter.  Also, there is a Counselor Recommendation Letter supplement form that we ask each student to fill out and a Parent Brag sheet that we ask you to have your parents complete and turn back in to me to use when writing your letter.  Please, be detailed and thoughtful when completing these forms because I want to be able to showcase you in the best way possible.  Each of you are unique and have wonderful qualities that you will bring to a campus, but when writing recommendation letters generalized praise is wasted space so I need stories and examples to help give people a true image of you and to make it more than just what they can read about you in your application. Once you have turned in your 2 forms, I will add your name to my recommendation letter list.  Also, if you have developed a resume or list of activities and awards I would love to have that because this information can also be helpful when writing your recommendation letter.

Before I close I want to point out that the need for counselor recommendation letters is a great reminder of why it is important for students of every grade level (Sophomore, Junior, and Senior) to drop by my office throughout the year to allow me to get to know you better.  I sincerely want to know students of all ages so that I am more comfortable with talking about some of the incredible things that you all are involved in and are accomplishing during your high school careers.

Class Rank

When completing college applications you will find that most colleges will ask “What is your class rank?” and if they can’t get you to give them an exact rank they might also ask you for a percentile ranking. (Some schools may not ask you and may ask on the counselor form that I am required to complete for you.) The official answer is “We Do Not Rank.”

That is what I write on all of the forms that I complete for you and what you should indicate on your application – UNLESS you are one of the students with a grade point average of a 4.0 or higher for your high school career. If you have greater than a 4.0, then you are automatically ranked #1 in the class. (So yes, that would mean that there are multiple Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores ranked first in their respective class.)

As you already know, WKHS is an academically competitive high school and we would not want a class ranking to hurt you in any way. For example, a GPA at WKHS might rank in the top 20% , but at a less competitive school the same GPA might rank in the top 5 or 10%. So, unless you have a 4.0 or better, do yourself a favor and write “Do Not Rank” when completing your applications.

GPA

Grade Point Averages (GPA's) are a big part of high school lingo... and yet some students might not  know how grade point averages are computed.  Your transcript is a record consisting of every high school class you have ever taken and the grade you earned in each class. 

The "easy" explanation for how your GPA is calculated is that every class you take at WKHS taught by a Kilbourne teacher or a CC+ instructor 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 Weighted Calculation	AP/ IB 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 they have completed 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.  If you have any questions about your GPA, stop by and see me.

Homecoming Week

First, before I jump into the week ahead, I just want to say thanks for your patience last week.  I was out sick and have been struggling to get caught up and so my blog had to be set aside for the week.  But I'm (finally) feeling better and just in time because this is a BIG week ahead!

One of the traditions that the student council coordinates are spirit week themes for the entire week leading up to the homecoming football game on Friday night and the dance on Saturday.  This is a great way that students can support Kilbourne and show your school spirit.

Monday - PJ Day (because you didn't really want to get dressed up in real clothes on a Monday, right?)

Tuesday - Thrift Store Mis-Match day

Wednesday - Pink Out

Thursday - Jersey day (wear your favorite sports team's jerseys)

Friday - Beach/ Hawaiian Day 

It is important to remember that your attire for all of these days is still required to abide by the requirements of the student dress code.

In addition to the spirit themed dress, this week will also feature:

- A canned food drive on Tuesday during lunch periods.  The donated food is part of the Battle of Hard Road with Dublin Scioto (who WKHS plays on Friday) to compete for which school can donate the most food for the food pantry.

- Friday during lunch periods we will have a Suicide Prevention day activity where you will be invited to acknowledge those people in your lives who are positive connections for you.  Why?  Because knowing that we are never as alone as we sometimes feel is important to remembering that we all matter in this world and are needed here every day!

- Friday afternoon will feature a Pep Rally in the football stadium.  In order to allow for the whole school to participate in the afternoon pep rally, we will have a modified bell schedule for Friday.

- Battle of Hard Road football game (Kilbourne vs Scioto) with additional canned food collection happening on each side of the field.

- Dance out in the Stadium on Saturday night.

Clearly, it will be a BUSY and Fun-Filled week ahead.  I hope you will make the most of embracing the energy and excitement of the high school festivities.

College Rep Visits at WKHS

Every year college admissions representatives travel across the country to meet with students and to talk about the opportunities available at their campus.  It always surprises me that more students are not flocking to these chances to meet with the admissions representatives.  Because even though you are technically there to learn about what they have to say about their school, perhaps even more importantly, you are expressing your interest and desire to attend their college! The admissions representatives who are traveling to the schools keep track of who they see. Many colleges can go back and tell you exactly how many times a student has come to tour campus, contacted the admissions office, or had an official interaction with a representative of the school. You never really know what can make a difference when it comes to admissions or getting a scholarship from a school, so if you are able to attend a meeting with a representative, it can only help you.  And, as if that isn't enough, at many colleges the regional representatives who make the visits are also the ones reading your applications and making admissions decision recommendations.  You have the chance to make a positive impression on them when they are at Kilbourne.  My hope, above all, is that the impression they leave WKHS with is that when you apply they don't look back and think, "hmm, they weren't even interested enough to come and meet with me when I was at their school."

College reps will start their visits at Kilbourne next week.  We have a list of the upcoming college visits posted in the Upcoming Events calendar on the Counselor website so that you can see which schools are coming to WKHS.  There are about 50 schools already scheduled and, as of this morning, only 14 students registered to meet with the reps. If there are schools that you'd like to meet with, please be sure to sign up on the google sheet within the event calendar and then write down the dates and times so that you don't forget to come to the Counseling Center.  When you get there, a secretary will introduce you to the admissions representative and after your meeting with them is over the secretary will give you a pass to return back to class.

Juniors and Seniors have unlimited opportunities to attend these sessions. Please be reasonable though. If a visit is scheduled during a time when you have class, you should get your teacher’s approval in advance of attending the information session. You are responsible for all missed work and teachers are not supposed to excuse you from tests, quizzes, or labs. 

Freshmen and Sophomores are also invited to attend the sessions with the college representatives, but are limited to participating in the visits during your lunch or Academic Prep periods. 

These are great opportunities to talk directly with the college admissions representatives so please take advantage of their visits!  While meeting with a representative cannot replace the actual experience of walking on campus, seeing the people, and experiencing the classes, it can be a very important piece of your information gathering process. 

Activities Section - College Apps

Seniors, how are you doing with your college applications?  Are you making steady progress?  I know that there are so many things in your lives right now that it can be easy to think that those deadlines are far away, but I'd like to remind you that time is passing quickly and you need to be working on your applications.

One of the struggles that a lot of students face when working on the Activities Section in the Common App is trying to figure out how to word your involvement in the very limited space allowed.  You want to be sure that you are fully highlighting your involvement in the activity and not just saying something like: "Activity: Cross Country/ Description: I ran as a member of the team."  While yes, that is certainly true, you are missing out on the opportunity to share with the college reader what this involvement meant to you and what you achieved as a result of your engagement.

The College Essay Guy came up with an activity that he calls BEABIES (which stands for Best Extracurricular Activities Brainstorm I've Ever Seen).  You can access information and the questions to help guide you through the BEABIES process at this link.

But I know that it can be hard to put that into action.  And so another college admissions leader in AI who uses the phrase Tech-Neill-ogy has transitioned the BEABIES prompts over into a prompt that students can use with ChatGPT that will walk you step by step through the BEABIES process to help you use AI to craft your activities section descriptions.  We have this AI Prompt linked here and you can also find it on the counselor website on the Common App page.

My guess is that after you have walked through the process with one or two of your activities it will help you get a good feeling for what your descriptions should ideally look like which will help you craft the rest without all of the steps, but if not, the steps are always there for you.

College App Deadline Terms

As you start through the college application process you will be exposed to a variety of new terms. One area that can be confusing is what all of the different application deadlines such as Early Decision, Early Action, Regular Decision and Rolling Admissions mean.

Early Decision

The key to remember with Early Decision is that it is a final decision and a COMMITMENT! Applying to a school in this program is considered a contract between the student and the college. You can apply to only one school as an Early Decision school. If you are accepted, you are promising to withdraw all other applications. Few students will ultimately apply to a school Early Decision because you are promising to attend the school - without seeing their financial aid package - and most students are not 100% certain that they want to attend one particular school. If you are considering applying to a school under the Early Decision program, please stop in and talk to me as there will also be a form I need to complete for you.

Early Action

This is a non-binding option and TONS more students will apply to schools using this option. Early Action has an earlier application deadline and students will typically learn if they have been accepted to the school much earlier than regular decision dates. (Some schools will defer an admissions decision to the Regular Decision deadline if the student is on the bubble and they want to wait to see how the rest of the applications will look.) Early Action is not a contract and, as a student, you are not obligated to attend school at that institution.

Regular Decision

This is the deadline that you will generally see publicized from colleges as it is the most common. This means you are applying and will hear your decision on their regular time schedule. There are no commitments or early notifications. It is important to note that the Regular Admissions deadlines are often AFTER the deadline for scholarship consideration – which adds in a whole additional set of deadlines to watch, so if earning scholarships to help attend college at a particular institution is important to you then you need to be sure you hit THOSE application deadlines whenever they are for that college.

Rolling Admissions

This means that the colleges look at each application as they arrive and they make a decision as they go. So, if you apply quickly to a school with rolling admissions you are generally going to receive your admissions decision quickly. Schools that function with a rolling admissions policy of evaluating applications will still generally have a regular decision deadline which is the final date that the college is willing to accept any applications for the fall class.  

It is really important to be watching your deadlines carefully – I can’t stress that enough!  You need to know what the timeline is for being able to complete all of your applications so you can start with the end target date in mind if you are going to be able to plan and organize your time effectively.

Parent Lunch & Learn

Parents, the WKHS Counselors will be kicking off our monthly Lunch & Learn series this Friday over zoom and we hope you will join us!  

For each Lunch & Learn session we will share information about a specific topic for 15-20 minutes and allow 10-15 minutes to address any questions you have about the topic so that in just 30 short minutes of your time, parents/ guardians will walk away more aware about that topic and hope it impacts their kids.

Each lunch and learn session will run from 12-12:30pm over zoom so that parents can grab their lunch to eat while tuning in to learn about the topic of the month.  We will post the zoom link on the Counselor website the day of the workshop and it will also be emailed to all WKHS parents.

This Friday's topic is focused on the College Admissions tests.  This will be a chance for us to talk about the ACT/ SAT along with the PSAT and Pre-ACT and a test prep plan.  (This is also a reminder that registration for sophomore and juniors to sign up to take the PSAT for free is happening now.)

I hope to see you online Friday, September 6th at noon for this year's series kick-off.