National Decision Day

Tomorrow is May 1st and it is national college decision day!  The colleges have all united in the fact that they will not require you to make decisions about where you will attend prior to May 1st, but this is one of the deadlines that is firm.  As you are aware, through the college application process each college has their own timeline and often have different application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, and announce their admission decisions at different times, but May 1st is a universal deadline among all colleges requiring students to declare their decision.  Please remember that this not only means that you have informed the college of your choice that you intend to attend their college, but it also typically includes submitting a deposit.  And, no, you absolutely should NOT double deposit!  Congratulations, in a matter of hours you will know for sure where you are heading for college.

Admissions Snapshot

College admissions and who gets in and who doesn't get accepted can feel so frustrating and confusing to students and families.  It often feels impossible to understand the decisions of the admissions committees, but it is important to recognize that each admissions office has specific goals and objectives that they are trying to achieve.

I thought it might be helpful to see the exact data from a few colleges (OSU and Notre Dame) just to give you a glimpse of how some of those college goals have played out.

The first point that has become very obvious is that with test optional being a choice, many more students are applying to colleges and, as a result, more students are being denied which makes admission to many colleges more competitive than ever.

For example, OSU shared that they received a record 71,320 applications this year.  In 2019, they received 52,018 applications.  That is an increase of 37%.  (Insane).

Test optional data can be complicated.  54% of OSU's admitted students submitted test scores compared with 46% of their admitted students who applied test optional.  At Notre Dame, 67% of their admitted students submitted their test scores while 33% of those accepted did not use their test scores.

Obviously, with test scores being optional, even more consideration and emphasis is being placed on the rigor of the courses students are taking and how well they are doing in those classes.  For example, 98% of OSU's admitted students are in the top 25% of their graduating classes and 72% are in the top 10% of their class.  If you think about Kilbourne's current graduating class, the top 10% are all over 4.0's and the top 25% is a 3.9 or higher.

Diversity is a huge goal of many colleges.  OSU shared that 38% of those admitted from the US are students of color, 19% are international students, 21% are first generation students, and they have accepted students from all 50 states.  Notre Dame shared that 41% of their admitted students are students of color, 18.7% are international students, 14% are first generation students, and they have also accepted students from 100 50 states.

Colleges are inviting large numbers of students to join their wait lists.  OSU currently has 3,235 students on their wait list.  At Notre Dame, their waiting list option was offered to 3,049 students which is a huge number when you realize that they accepted 3,412 students total.  (Which goes back to my reminder from last week about the fact that if you are on the wait list you can't count on being accepted and so it is important to get your brain wrapped around the fact that you like and will attend one of your other colleges and then if you get accepted you can be pleasantly surprised.)

Johns Hopkins also recently sent us a short video clip that explains holistic admissions and so I'm sharing that too just to give you an idea of how colleges are evaluating applicants.

So why am I telling you all of this?  Well, honestly, I think it is interesting and I thought it might be interesting to you as well.  But, it also is a reminder that students determining where they want to apply to college should be realistic in their personal self assessment of their potential competitiveness for admissions.  It is hard to receive a rejection from a college... but remember, it is a business for the colleges and they are doing their best job to meet the goals of their institution and build the best class that they can.  It does NOT mean that you wouldn't be successful at their college, but it does mean that they can't accept everyone. So try not to take a rejection personally (easier said than done) and know that you WILL be successful at whichever college ends up being lucky enough to have you as their student in the future.

Common App Essays

A reminder to all juniors who are planning to apply to 4 year colleges next year... tomorrow morning at 10am the counselors will be hosting a Workshop on Brainstorming Your College Essay Topic.  I hope you will be joining us in the library tomorrow to get a jump start on your application!  

Additionally, the Common Application has announced that their essay question prompts for next year.  In case you don't know, Common Application is an application website that many colleges use allowing students to fill out one application that can then be submitted to various colleges and is one of the primary methods that students will utilize when applying to college. 

Juniors, you can take a look at these prompts and start brainstorming what your answers might be for each question.  After you list your thoughts for each question, look at which response best allows you to tell the story of who you are and will be the best introduction of you to the admissions committee.  Then it is time to start drafting and editing and drafting some more.  :-)  

Students who utilize the common app will be asked to select and answer one question in 250-650 words.  (Please don't worry about word count on your first draft - it is always MUCH easier to cut words than it is to try to add more in later.)

Below are the common app essay questions to help you get started: 

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback or failure.  How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea.  What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that made you happy or thankful in a surprising way.  How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

 
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and new understanding of yourself or others.

6.  Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time.  Why does it captivate you?  What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7.  Share an essay on any topic of your choice.  It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Negative Self Talk

We all talk to ourselves.  The question is what are the words like that you are saying to yourself?  Are you being honest and reasonable in your self talk?  Or are you tending to beat yourself up or criticize yourself unfairly?  

Sadly, for too many of us, the negative self talk which permeates our days is so common that it goes unchecked which is not accurate or fair.  

Addressing negative self talk in your life requires a daily adjustment. The first step is to acknowledge and recognize that the words you're saying to yourself are negative.  Once you have realized it then you can work on how to address it.  I liked the information that is provided in this website on how to address negative self talk.  It points out great strategies like reality checking, considering alternate stories, shifting perspectives, and focusing on your goals are all important and valuable steps to shift your negative self talk.

Remember, if you find yourself struggling with negative self talk, I am here and would love to be able to talk to you about it so that together we can work on strategies that can work well for you.

Teacher Recommendation Letters

Juniors, remember when we talked in our junior meetings about the fact that I'd remind you when it was time to start asking teachers about possibly writing a recommendation letter on your behalf?  Now is the time.  :-)

Recommendation letters are a time consuming process requiring a great deal of thought and time. Juniors, as you finalize the list of schools where you will be applying next fall, it is important to determine if you are going to need a recommendation letter from a teacher (or two). Many of the Ohio schools - Ohio State University, OU, BGSU, Kent State, etc. do not require teacher recommendations.  Because rec letters are a time consuming process, if the colleges where you are applying do not require recommendations, then do not waste your teacher's time by requesting letters that won't be needed or used!

If you are applying to schools that need teacher recommendation letters, it is very helpful and beneficial to the teachers if you can give them as much time as possible to write your recommendation letters. That means, if you know now that you are going to be applying to a school which needs a teacher rec letter, then I would like for you to ask the teachers this spring allowing them to have the entire summer to write your letter. (These next few weeks are a great time to ask!)  After you ask your teacher(s), you will want to provide them with information that can help them as they write your letter. We have several handouts in the Counseling Center and on the WKHS Counselor website that you can use for this purpose. 

And yes juniors, this is also a reminder that you need to be working now toward finalizing a list of where you plan on applying to college because, as the seniors can definitely tell you - it goes by fast!

The Week Ahead

It's the last week of April and there are a lot of notes to keep in mind so you know what to expect...

End of Course Tests:

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week we will have late starts for the rest of the End of Course tests.  We will be on the same bell schedule as with the previous late-start days where you have classes from 12:30-3:05.  On Wednesday and Friday you will go to your 1st through 4th period classes.  On Thursday you will go to 5th through 8th period classes.

On Wednesday, all students will take both sections of the Math 1 or the Math 2 End of Course tests.

On Thursday, students will take the Biology End of Course test.

On Friday, students will take the US History or the US Government End of Course tests.

My Limited Availability:

Due to some commitments that I have this week, I will have very limited availability this week.  I am out of the building all day on Monday and Friday.  On Tuesday and Wednesday I am out in the afternoons.

CC+ Forms:

Most of my students have submitted all of your required CC+ forms already, but if you are among the students who have received emails from me or Mrs. Mann that you still owe us forms, please be sure that you get those submitted this week as May 1st is Sunday.

Essay Workshop:

On Thursday, we will be hosting the essay brainstorming workshop from 10-11:30am in the library for juniors who are planning to apply to a 4-year college in the future.  Please be sure to sign up if you plan to attend.  The link has been included on the email that was sent to you or it is on the Counselor Website and you can sign up there - www.wkhscounselors.com

Tomorrow's Schedule

Just a few reminders for you...

1. Don't forget that you have through tomorrow to decide if you want to add any of the new course electives to your schedule for next year.  Please be sure to fill out the form to request any changes so that I can get them made for you asap.  As a reminder, the form was emailed to you, but it is also available on the Counselor Website.

2. We are on a modified bell schedule tomorrow in order to facilitate a Diversity Panel Conversation.  The WKHS Diversity Club has been working hard all year to plan this event and it sounds like it should be insightful and interesting.  Be sure to plan ahead on your timing so that you aren't late for any of your classes... the bell schedule is below:

1st period: 7:45- 8:30

2nd period: 8:35- 9:20

3rd period: 9:35- 10:56  (The Assembly will be within this period and you'll come with your 3rd period class.  If you don't have a 3rd period class, you can go to the 1st assembly at the beginning of the period.)

4th period: 11:01- 11:46

5th period: 11:51- 12:36

6th period: 12:41- 1:26

7th period: 1:31- 2:16

8th period: 2:21- 3:05