Picking a College

For seniors, the countdown to final decision time for picking the college of your dreams is rapidly approaching. For juniors, you are beginning your search and trying to determine which schools you can imagine in your future.

There are so many resources available to review and consider to aid you in making your decision. Campus visits, reviewing the college websites and meetings with admissions representatives when they visit Kilbourne are all great strategies for learning more about the college and finding the school that is the best match for you. I want to remind you that a wealth of information and resources are also available in my office that you are welcome to come in and read to help you in making your choice. There are books that give perspectives of different colleges based upon the responses current college students have provided in surveys about school, others that rank selectivity of schools based upon majors, and others that provide insight about the schools from expert researchers.

I know that this process can be stressful and overwhelming, but hopefully you are also finding it fun and exciting. As always, let me know how I can help you sort out your options.

Reflect and Refocus

Yesterday began the 4th quarter. (Hard to believe how quickly the year is flying past!)  I hope that you will take a moment to reflect personally and academically on where you are, where you want to be and what you need to do to achieve your goals.  As we move into spring we will (hopefully) be fortunate enough to enjoy beautiful weather and some students tend to find it hard to focus on school when they simply want to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. I understand that, but if this is an issue for you it is important to remember that as we run full speed into spring you need to refocus on your goals. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I don't want you to enjoy each day, but I do hope that you are keeping in mind how your actions today will influence you tomorrow and in the future.

Spring Break is over...

Can you believe we have reached the end of Spring Break?  It felt like it went fast, but I am looking forward to hearing about your breaks and what you did during the week off.

Last week and the next few days are big weeks for college admissions decisions as selective colleges put out their acceptance/ rejection/ wait list offers.  This can be a very stressful time for students.  Try to take a deep breath and relax – you have put yourself in the best position possible with your applications.  If you are stressing out about the news, feel free to stop in and see me so that we can talk about it.

Also, I’d like to remind all students (in all grades) to be sensitive to the feelings of those who are receiving admissions decisions.  Getting the decision can be hard enough, but often the more difficult aspect is being asked, “Did you get accepted?” by well meaning friends.  Students who were accepted will typically be telling everyone their exciting news, but I’d suggest that you wait and allow them the opportunity to share the information with you on their own time.  If they don’t offer up the news that they were accepted or not, then be sensitive to the fact that they may not have gotten the news they wanted and don’t ask because that could put them on the spot to share disappointing news.

For those students who are among those individuals still waiting to hear from your college of choice – I hope you get the news you are wanting.  See you tomorrow!

Visits - part of the College Search

A few years ago I read an article written by a mom regarding her experience taking her daughter to start looking at colleges. On the road again, looking for the perfect fit points out the importance of trying to figure out what you are really looking for in a school and what is most important to you when selecting a college.

A few of the points I particularly liked from this mom's reflections include the fact that she encouraged her daughter to look at schools that were outside of her first instinct of what she thought she would enjoy for her future. Let me clarify that point, in no way am I saying that you should go to a college for the future where you will not be happy and do not see yourself fitting in, but I have realized that a lot of students don't really know what it is that they do or do not like about a campus. Looking at all different types of schools - large, small, urban, rural, etc. - will help you figure out exactly what you do and do not like. This will also help you refine and narrow your search to find other schools that will best fit your interests. The other point that I liked was the fact that the mom and daughter used this as a time to connect and enjoy being together. The reality is that high school flies past and you will be moving out of your parents home and starting college before long. Making positive memories together and enjoying the time you are spending while looking at schools is important. Yes, I understand that this process can be stressful, but it can also be fun. Try to approach the college search and your college visits with a positive attitude and cut your parents a break if they are driving you crazy about it all. Remember, they are trying to help, they are stressed about this too and, most importantly, they want what is best for you.

"Say Cheese!"

With spring break finally here, I wanted to remind everyone that if you are going to be out on college campuses - for formal tours, to visit friends or simply on vacation - please Take A Picture! The picture can be of you anywhere on campus... a pretty area, a building where you might spend a lot of time in the future, or (as most of the pictures on my "Oh the Places You'll Go" wall show) in front of a college sign. Enjoy your visit, make a few notes about what you think of each school, and when we are back in school I will look forward to seeing your picture and hearing about your visits!

Summer Volunteer

Volunteers make a significant impact - not only are the people that you help impacted, but the people who reach out to help someone else are also changed for the better. There is not just one choice about what you can pursue as a volunteer project. Community service opportunities are as different as each individual who decides they want to help make a difference in the world around them. The sky is the limit and I encourage you to find something that inspires you.

As the weather starts to get warmer and we begin looking toward the summer, I thought it might help you if I mentioned that the Ohio State University Medical Center allows high school students to volunteer during the summer. (They only utilize college students as volunteers during the school year, but are willing to work with high school students in the summertime.) They only accept applications for volunteers between March 1st and April 15th. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. If you are interested in applying, visit their website for an application and additional information.

Local Scholarships

All of the parents of seniors should have already received an e-mail highlighting the local scholarship opportunities. If your parents didn't share the e-mail with you or for some reason you didn't get the e-mail, please go to the Kilbourne Counselor website at www.wkhscounselors.com and scroll down to click on the link for local scholarships. These scholarships provide a great opportunity for students to earn some additional financial help for college. And, with the scholarships being local, it means that there would be less people applying for the scholarships (compared to national scholarships) which gives you a better chance of receiving one of the scholarships.

Please take the time to carefully read through the criteria for the scholarships to see which ones would be appropriate for you to apply for and then start working. When you go to the WKHS Counselors website and click on the local scholarships area (bottom of the home page) you will be taken to the listing of all of the scholarships and it has the links to each scholarship application.

Most of the deadlines for completed applications is the end of the school day on April 12th and no late applications can be accepted. I cannot stress enough the importance of planning ahead and starting to work on these scholarships now!

Also, please pay attention to see if the applications require a written recommendation letter and ask your teacher(s) for a letter as soon as possible - especially if they have not already written a rec letter that you can use for the scholarships.

Also, don't forget that a complete list of all the other scholarships that we are aware of are featured on the Kilbourne Counselor website in the scholarship area (at the top).

(This is the 2nd of 2 posts for tonight...)