Happy Halloween and College Essays

Happy Halloween! I hope you had a good day. I don't know if it is just me, but Halloween isn't nearly as much fun as it would be if there were little kids around, but hopefully you were able to make some little kids really happy as you passed out candy to them and complimented their costumes. (For the 2nd year in a row I gave out full size candy bars and LOVED the priceless expressions from the little kids when they saw what they were getting.  It was so much fun!)

This picture is of my niece and nephews heading to go trick-or-treat in their Halloween costumes for this year.  Carly is an Indian, Brady is a Cow and Colton is a Cowboy. (This isn't the best picture, but it is the only one I have received so far that shows all 3 of them.)

Yesterday for school Brady was Mickey Mouse and Carly was Wonder woman (no picture), but those didn't match the family theme so they had to adjust for family trick or treating.  :-)  

Colton was the only one who stayed consistent with his Cowboy costume.

They are too cute! :-) I know, I am biased, but that only natural for an Aunt, right?!  :-)  


I know that for some of you this Halloween is not really for celebrating because it is bringing you another step closer to your college application deadline and you are feeling haunted by the dreaded college essays.  If you are working on your college essay this weekend, perhaps these articles will help you.

9 essay writing tips to ‘wow’ college admissions officers

6 tips for writing great personal statements

Infographic: What makes a strong college essay

8 things admissions officers wish people would stop doing

Don’t make this common college application mistake

College admissions: Common App Prompt #5

Don’t ghostwrite college application essays

3 steps to write a standout college scholarship essay

Violins, Trash and Calculus: 6 paths to better college-entry essays

Countdown to college: “Why this College?” You need a good answer

How to choose a topic for your common app essay

5 things to know about writing a great college essay

College essay tips for parents and students

 No matter if you are celebrating or writing - I hope you have a great weekend!

A Crisis Reminder

My last few posts have all been career related and I didn't want to switch gears away from talking about careers without mentioning how thankful I am to have a rewarding job working with students and families that I love.  You cannot even begin to imagine how grateful I am that you give me the opportunity to be a part of your lives and walk along with you during your journey through high school.

Sometimes that journey includes some really difficult days.  You have had to deal with many up's and down's and, for some of you, those have even included dealing with the critical illness or even death of friends or a parent.  It breaks my heart that so many of you have had to face tragedies at such a young age.

I was selected to present at a statewide counselor conference that is coming up next week and I am talking about what to say and do if someone from the school community dies.  And so, as you can imagine, while putting together the presentation, my mind has been very crisis focused. 

I thought this might be a good time to review the importance of communication when crisis situations occur. It is important, as a school counselor, to be aware of any major incidents that impact students from the school as soon as possible so that we can help prepare an appropriate response. For the record, I tend to check my e-mails over weekends, holidays, and the summer for any critical incidents, but I do not check my school voicemail, so the best way to pass along important timely news is e-mail. Obviously, my sincere hope is that this information is never needed and that we will not face any crisis situations in the future, but I also know that it is better safe than sorry.

Delaware Area Career Center

When students enter 9th grade, many are excited about the different choices and opportunities available in high school. Unfortunately, the reality is that the first two years of high school really don't have all that many choices. There is a great deal of flexibility though as students reach their junior and senior years. One of those options includes the possibility of attending the Delaware Area Career Center.

On Tuesday, during English classes, all sophomores listened to a presentation about the Delaware Area Career Center (DACC) and the programs they have available for students. This is a great opportunity to earn your elective credits in an area that interests you rather than taking electives that you are selecting simply because they will fill up your schedule. One of my students, Andrea Carson, did a great job as one of the student ambassadors who spoke during the presentation.

It was interesting to hear about all of the different programs that are available for students to explore. There are some unique experiences and opportunities available that can really stand out to colleges. If you are interested in participating in the field trip to the DACC, please be sure to return your permission slip to the counseling center right away so that they can plan for your visit.  The field trip is scheduled for Friday, November 20th.

More Career Search

A few days ago I talked about the Ohio Means Jobs website which is a wonderful resource.  There is also an app that I recently learned about that I think could interest you in exploring possible careers and how they might impact your future.

The app is called PathSource.

One of the cool aspects that I like about it is that there are over 2800 informational videos from career professionals who share insights about their jobs and what they like or don’t like about their jobs.  It also includes career assessments, job opportunities, salary and budgeting and more.

I also recently tried out the free career and major search website MyMajors.com.  If you want to try to reflect on your academic history, what you like and dislike, this is a great resource to use.  I would suggest that you use this worksheet first and then take the quiz and see how the results play out.  I would love to have you come and share your career insights when you have used them - no matter what site you are using to explore.

And I have had a few students ask me how to access the Ohio Career Information System (OCIS) - the website is www.ocis.org and the username is kilbourne and the password is ohiocis03.

Have fun exploring careers!

Ohio Means Jobs K-12

The Ohio Means Jobs website features a student section to engage students in grades Kindergarten through 12^th grade to start thinking about their careers.  It is an addition to the OCIS website that some of you may have already used in middle school or previously in high school to complete career interest inventories and other explanation.

If you go to the Ohio Means Jobs website you can take a guided tour on the site.  I encourage you to create an account so that you can save your information and refer back to it in one place in the future.  For example, if you complete career interest inventories or other assessments, the information is all saved in your “backpack” on the site.  All of your information on the site is saved for you so if you started using the site when you were in elementary or middle school it will still be there for you to access and reference when you are in high school.

There are cool features on the site including the opportunity to create a budget including rent or house payment, grocery costs and utilities.  The site also helps you know if the job areas you have indicated that you are considering will be adequate enough to meet your budget.

The site allows you to find out which colleges in Ohio offer majors in your areas of interest.  So, for example, if you are interested in studying architecture, you can get a list of all of the colleges which offer architecture.

There are practice tests for ACT, SAT, Compass, ASVAB and AP tests along with areas to help with your current classes.

It is a fun site to get on and explore and can help spark areas that might interest you in your career exploration.

Career Exploration

Trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up can be difficult.  It isn’t exactly realistic to think that you – 14 – 18 year old students – would know the precise career that will make you happy and fulfilled in the future.  The data on how many careers a person will hold in their lifetime is difficult to track, but most statistics indicate that on average you will have 7 different jobs in your adult working life.  It seems pretty clear to me that most of those adults never imagined changing jobs so many times and if they couldn’t predict what job they would want in their careers as adults it isn’t necessarily realistic to think that you will know exactly what you want to do when you are still in high school. 

You don’t know about fields that you haven’t been exposed to yet – how could you know if you’d like anthropology or astronomy when those are areas you haven’t studied.  That is why it is important to take opportunities to be curious, to explore, to learn, to ask questions, to observe and to find out more about anything which interests you.  Seek opportunities to shadow, interview career professionals, volunteer, or work a part time job – even if it isn’t in a field even remotely interesting to you because it will still help you to learn workforce skills.

What you can know though are the characteristics and skills that YOU possess which are YOUR strengths and could help you create happiness and fulfillment in your selected jobs.  These personal strengths do not rely on a particular job and they will cross over to any jobs that you have throughout your lifetime.

So how do you figure out your strengths?  You can always do self-reflection about what you believe to be your greatest strengths.  You can ask your family members and friends about what they believe to be your greatest strengths.  Or you could do assessments about your strengths.  Gallup has a book called Strengths Finder 2.0 which has an online assessment that allows you to complete a questionnaire and ultimately gives you your top themes about your individual strengths.  This information can then be utilized to help provide insight into the types of career fields which could work with your strengths.

Ultimately, I hope that you see career searching as a fun and exciting opportunity rather than a stressful task to be added to your “to do” list.  Remember, every day you are preparing yourself for your future.  You are learning and applying skills that will help you for the rest of your life like listening, organization, problem solving, critical thinking, analysis, time management, taking personal responsibility, completing quality work, meeting deadlines, working with others (including those you might not like) and so many more.  There is no doubt that you have a bright future ahead and you will be prepared no matter what (or how many) career(s) you have in the future.

Deadlines are Real!

Deadlines are real! Often times I worry that the tendency we have in high school to set a deadline and then extend it or accept late materials creates a major problem when it comes to college applications and the rest of the world. The reality is that outside of high school, deadlines are real. If they say you need to have something done by a particular day, then it is essential that you have it done by that day. College applications fit into this strict rule so this is your friendly reminder to watch your deadlines!

It is really important that you stay organized and submit all application materials to colleges prior to their designated deadlines. There are several schools that have scholarship deadlines of November 1st. (This means that if you want to be considered for the maximum scholarship offering that you need to apply by November 1st.) Other schools have November 15th, December 1st, December 15th, or even later deadlines, but because every school is different it is really important that you stay on top of this and meet the requirements with plenty of time. If you have a college application with a November 1st deadline and you have not seen me already, please be sure to come in and see me right away!

I'd like to remind you that college applications is just 1 piece of my job as a high school counselor. I am more than happy to help you by writing recommendation letters if they are needed by your school, but you must give me at least 30 days notice before you need the letter! Being able to outline, draft, edit and revise each letter is important so that I can share all the great things you will bring to the college. 

Don't forget, it also takes us 3-5 days at WKHS to process your transcript release and get it submitted to the colleges you have selected. Some schools (like OSU) hold firm to the requirement that their deadline doesn't just mean that the application has been received by that date, but that all supporting documentation is also in their hands by that particular date. This means that they also need to have your transcript and official ACT/ SAT test scores prior to the deadline date.

If you are having trouble figuring out the deadlines, stop down to see me and we can look it up together.

Perspective

Things have been really stressful.  I have seen it in the students I have met with recently and I have felt it in my own life too.  The push to make it to the November 1st college application deadline has a lot of seniors wishing that time would slow down and yet others are just trying to figure out how they can turn around their grades after a rocky start to the year academically.

In my world, these last two weeks of October are crazy busy - parent teacher conferences, college information night, application completion workshop, counselor safety lunch, suicide prevention planning, college credit plus requirements and recommendation letters (lots and lots of recommendation letters!) are all demanding my immediate attention.  Trying to keep all of the projects and demands going has felt like a juggling act that I am failing.  Near the end of last week I decided that I needed to post a list of the projects that needed my time during these final few weeks of the month so that I would keep focused on what I needed to do in any free moments I might find.  As I wrote out the list, I quickly realized that trying to capture random free moments would never accomplish the jobs.  Frustrated, I began questioning if I was making a mistake traveling out of town for the long weekend to celebrate my nephew, Brady's, 3rd birthday with my family.

Sometimes answers to life's questions come in the strangest ways - for me the answer was almost immediate.  As I went to post the list of projects, I attached the post-it note on my bulletin board to a quote about "real problems."  It is a blog post that I really liked and have printed and hanging in my office - the point of it is that we have things that we might call problems, we might think of them as problems or act as if they are problems, but the reality is, in the grand scheme of things, they are not REAL problems.  Yes, there are real problems in the world.  There are real problems in our community and even in the lives of students in our school.  (Perhaps even in your life.)  But no, my "problems" are NOT real problems.  They are being busy and feeling stretched thin, but I am lucky to have an incredible job.  I am thankful to work with people who are there to support, encourage and push me.  I am honored to be a part of my student's lives - no matter if we are dealing with real problems or life's other realities.  And, above all, I am so blessed to have a family (and a dog) that loves me unconditionally and is always there for me.

So even though there was a part of me that felt the smart decision would have been to stay home and work all weekend long, what I realized was that the smartest decision was in giving myself a break, allowing my batteries to recharge, focusing on the areas that matter most to me (my family) and then giving school my all once I returned to Ohio.  It was, without question, the best decision I have made.

I needed the reminders about personal perspective of what really mattered and how I should be spending my time.  And I hope that if you are in need of a similar reminder to focus on what really maters, the perspective and insight will be there for you too.  Remember, there may be hard and stressful days, but as long as you remain focused on that which really matters - your personal well being and the well being of your family and friends - you will be ok in the end.  And just to clarify - I am not saying you can put off all of your work and responsibilities until after you have fun and do things you enjoy - but rather that you need to maintain an appropriate balance.  And also, remember that I am never too busy to meet with you and listen to whatever is stressing you out or getting you down - "real problems" or not.  :-)

College Application Workshop

It may seem scary how fast time flies and that college application deadlines are rapidly approaching.  I don't want you to be haunted by your applications!  Even though it may be getting dark outside, next Monday, October 26th, from 5:30 - 7:00pm, the counselors will be in the computer lab to assist you.  The most important trick is to bring your information with you.  Sometimes the essays may seem spooky and common app can be ghastly, but do not be afraid - the counselors are here to help!  No costumes are required, but we will have some treats.  You don't want to boo hoo because you miss it.  :-)

Students are in very different places in their application process.  Some of you still haven't started and so this will be a great opportunity for you to get started with your applications with our support and assistance.  Most of you have started, but are struggling to get finished and so if you need help finalizing your essays or just finding the time to be able to work through your application and get it finished, this is the perfect opportunity to complete your applications.

While I understand that coming back to school or not leaving after practice isn't very appealing, the reality is that it will make a difference.  By spending a few hours on focused application work, I am confident you will find the progress you make on your applications worth the sacrifice.  So, unless you have finished 100% of your applications, I hope you will join me and the rest of the counselors in the computer labs on Monday the 26th to work on finishing them!

Net Price Calculator

Every college features a net price calculator on their website. This is in an effort to help provide students and parents with the information needed to make more educated decisions and choices about what they can expect to pay for a college education at each school. Now, I will forewarn you that not every net price calculator is the same and some are more detailed than others. Why does this matter? Well, if it is very specific and takes all of the different factors into consideration that the financial aid office will be looking at when creating your financial aid package, then you are likely to get a better picture of what your estimated aid might be, but if it is a more simplistic calculator then there could be more variance when compared to your actual aid package.  Plus, of course, the accuracy of the information that you submit will determine the accuracy of the information that you receive back.

Without a doubt, college is very expensive and so trying to figure out the best ways to be able to finance your education is an important factor to consider in your college search and selection process. I hope that this tool will be useful to you as you investigate schools.

Homecoming Dance

It has been a week full of fun activities to celebrate Homecoming weekend. The painted windows looked great and I enjoyed seeing the students dressed up in their interesting range of themed outfits each day. Even though the football game Thursday night didn't turn out the way we had hoped, I am still proud to be a wolf.

A special congratulations to "my" students, Ben Delay and Molly Kate Cline, who were crowned Homecoming King and Queen during Thursday's assembly.

Congratulations also to (L to R): Kelly Cline, Josh Blankenship, Hannah Fahmy, Chase Brown,  and Maggie Crozier who were my students that were honored as Homecoming attendants.

I hope you enjoyed your time being dressed up, taking pictures, having dinner, and then at tonight's dance! Have fun and be safe!

End of the 1st Quarter

Do you feel like this school year is going unbelievably fast?  Yesterday marked the end of the first quarter.  This is an important point for you to pause and reflect.  Remember, quarter grades are not included on your transcript - just semester grades.  This means that you have reached the half-way point in earning the grades that will be on your transcript.  Some of the questions you should ask yourself include: Are you where you want to be?  If you are not, what do you need to do different to turn things around?  If you need ideas for how you can improve your grades, I strongly encourage you to meet individually with your teacher.  You should also take advantage of the help available from the academic assistants in the Teaching and Learning Center (which is located in room 209).  You are also welcome to stop by and talk to me and we can try to brainstorm some ideas to help.  If you are happy with your current progress, congratulations!  Make sure you think about what you have done that has been helpful to your success and continue to put forward those same actions.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Oh The Places You'll Go

With the long weekend ahead, perhaps you are taking advantage of tomorrow's day off to make a visit to a college.  Many colleges in the area have visit days designed specifically for students who are off of school.  And, with so many colleges right here in central Ohio, you don't have to go far just to explore campuses and see what they offer.  Remember, it is easier to figure out what you actually like or don't like when you have something to compare it to so even if you want to go somewhere far away for college, there is still value in visiting schools locally so that you become a smarter consumer when you make the trip to see those far away colleges.

Don't forget to take a picture on every college campus that you step foot on - even if it is a school you are not seriously considering for your future! We would love to see the pictures, plus, every interaction you have with a college shapes your views on what you are looking for in the future.

I am excited about the pictures I have received already, but I also know that many of you have recently taken or are soon planning college visits and we'd like to continue to build on our picture display! (Plus I can't even begin to count the number of people who have promised to send me their photo...)  As a reminder, the picture can be of you anywhere at the college - a pretty place, in front of a cool building or an area where you expect to spend a lot of time, or, as seems to be the biggest hit - in front of a sign featuring the name of the college.

Emily Dyer gets the recognition for giving me the first picture for the class of 2016.


Erica Chen gets the recognition for giving me the picture from the college that is the greatest distance from WKHS. (NYU)

Thanks again to everyone that has helped with this project by taking pictures! Please continue taking pictures - I love seeing them when you bring them back and hearing more about your visit to the school!

Important Upcoming Events

Thanks to everyone who participated in the PSAT today.  It went well and I am excited to hear your thoughts about the new SAT style of questions. There are several key dates coming up that I hope you have saved on your calendar.

- Tomorrow, Thursday, October 15th: Assembly Bell Schedule
Ok, I will be honest, this isn't really an important date you need to have saved, but I wanted to make sure you knew about tomorrow's bell schedule because it is definitely different than normal.
1st Period: 7:45 - 8:30
2nd Period: 8:35 - 9:20
Assembly: 9:25 - 10:00
3rd Period: 10:05 - 10:55
4th Period: 11:00 - 11:45
5th Period: 11:50 - 12:35
6th Period: 12:40 - 1:25
7th Period: 1:30 - 2:15
8th Period: 2:20 - 3:05

- Thursday, October 22nd: College Information Night, 7:00pm
This evening is primarily geared for junior students and parents, but those in younger years may also be interested in getting a jump start to know what to expect ahead.  This College Information Night will focus primarily on 4-year colleges with some information about 2-year colleges as well.  (Parents, please note that we schedule this evening on a conference night so that you can participate in conferences and then attend this information session and not have to give up two separate nights.)

- Monday, October 26th: Application Completion Workshop, 5:30 - 7:00pm
Seniors are in the midst of completing their college applications.  While I am willing to review your essays or go over your applications at any point in time, this evening is set aside specifically to allow you to finish up your applications if you have a November 1st deadline or to get started if you are dealing with a later deadline and haven't started your application yet.  We will be meeting in Room 205.

-  ALSO COMING SOON: Career Pathways and Two-Year College Information Night
This evening is for any students wanting to explore options for their future related to career searching and the programs and opportunities available at two-year colleges as well as technical and certificate programs.  Information about resources to help students with career exploration and presenters from local two-year programs will be on hand to help answer questions and provide insight.  We are currently working to finalize the date with the 2-year college participants, but we anticipate it happening during November.  Keep watching the blog for more information.

PSAT Reminders

Don't forget - tomorrow is the day when Kilbourne students, as well as many other students around the country, will take the PSAT.  

If you are one of the students who will be taking the PSAT, you will report directly to the gymnasiums when you arrive to school on Wednesday morning.  Check in begins at 7:15am and you will need to bring your student id with you in order to check in.  Please plan on leaving your book bag and your cell phone (turned off) in your locker.

You will also need to bring number 2 pencils (no mechanical pencils allowed), a calculator, and I would recommend a watch. The test will begin promptly at 7:45 and you will finish testing during 4th period.

Remember, this year's PSAT is based upon the new SAT.  So there will be no penalty for guessing, it will be more curriculum based, and there will be less obscure random words and meanings. 

As a reminder for all of the other students - I will be helping to administer the PSAT tomorrow, so I will not be available to meet with you.  Sorry.  (Hopefully things will run smooth and we will get the test process cleaned up and boxed to submit in time that I can be available to meet with you near the end of the day.)

Parent/ Teacher Conferences

Parent/ Teacher conferences are coming up in the next two weeks.  Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 22nd from 5:00 - 9:00pm and on Monday, October 26^th from 3:30 - 7:30pm.  Each conference will be scheduled in 20 minute time blocks.  Conferences allow parents the chance to learn about your student’s classroom performance from the teachers, it allows the opportunity for you to ask questions and they provide an opportunity to build a dialogue with the teachers regarding any thoughts and concerns you might have.

Parents, if you are interested in arranging to meet with one of your son or daughter’s teachers during conferences, the online system will be up and running for you to register for a meeting slot as of tomorrow morning.  Conferences will be scheduled as people sign up for them, so if you want to make sure you have times that work well for you, I strongly encourage you to register right away.  

Please follow the steps below to register for a parent/ teacher conference:

- Follow this link to take you to the conference scheduler:  http://ptcfast.com/schools/Worthington_Kilbourne_High_School 

-  Click on the teacher you would like to meet with for a conference.

-  Sign up by entering your child's last name, first name, your name and your e-mail address and then click Submit.

-  The next screen will direct you to check your e-mail inbox for a message with the subject "Select Date/ Team for Teacher Conference Now."

-  Open the e-mail and click on the link to select a conference time.  If you do not receive an e-mail, please check your junk/ spam folder.  Please note, you MUST follow the link in the e-mail in order to complete the sign-up process.

-  The link will take you to a Time Picker.  Available time slots will appear on this page.  If there are no available appointments that suit your schedule, please e-mail the teacher directly to set up an alternate meeting time.

-  After submitting your time slot, you will be prompted to finish, schedule another appointment for the same student or register another student.  Once you have completed your reservations, you will receive an e-mail confirming the date and time of your conferences and a link by which you can make changes to your date or time if you need to do so.

If you have any problems using the online conference registration system, please contact Julie Hammond at WKHS.  She can be reached by e-mail at jhammond@wscloud.org or by phone at 450-6498.

Also, junior students and parents (as well as any interested students/ parents in younger grades), don't forget that Thursday, October 22th at 7:00pm is the College Information Night.  We schedule this meeting on conference night to try to help parents minimize the number of nights that you have to be at school, so if you'd like to take advantage of both opportunities on the same night, simply select teacher conferences before 7 and then come and attend the college night in the auditorium.

Homecoming Week

This week is Homecoming Week! It is full of a variety of festivities and activities to celebrate and honor the tradition and experiences of high school at WKHS.

Here are some of the highlights of what to expect in the week ahead:

- Windows are painted in the commons - they look great from what I have seen online. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to design and create the masterpieces.

- Tomorrow (Monday) is Neon Day.

-  Tuesday is Pajama Day.

- Wednesday is American Day and Wednesday night is the Bonfire at 7:30pm behind the school.  While there, homecoming attendants for grades 9 - 11 are announced and the senior king and queen candidates are reduced to 3 each.

- Thursday is a Pink Day (which is also the theme for the football game). There will be an assembly that morning with Meteorologist Chris Bradley hosting and that is where the Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned. The football game is Thursday night at 7:00pm - a great opportunity to come out and support your undefeated wolves! (And yes, it really is a Thursday game because it is a televised game and it also starts earlier than normal kick-off.)

- I probably don't have to tell you this because I know students have been looking forward to the shortened week for a long time, but there is no school on Friday.

- Saturday is the Homecoming Dance from 8:00 - 11:00pm. 

Enjoy this week's festivities!

There is no better time!

"There is no better time."  This is a phrase Mr. Cooke (an English teacher) used to say often to his students and he is right.  There is no better time!

It is normal to tell ourselves that we will do an assignment, write an essay, or clean up our room later.  I suspect you are like me in telling yourself things like, "I have a lot of work to do tonight, I will work on it tomorrow" or "It's the weekend, I deserve to relax today, I will work on it tomorrow" or "It's for school, I will wait and do it during the week."  Whatever the phrases that you tell yourself, I encourage you to pause and see this for what it really is - a procrastination strategy.

Believe me, I do understand that this is common.  Unfortunately, I am seeing a great deal of it right now with students who need to be pushing themselves more to finish the quarter strong and especially among those working on their college applications and are struggling with drafting their essays.  It becomes so easy to think that you will work on the essay tomorrow or next weekend, but there really is no better time.  The moment you have right now is the best time to begin working on your application.  Something else will always come up - a paper, more homework, something fun that you want to do with your friends, spending time with your family, sleeping, and the list goes on and on.

So, please use your time productively.  There is no better time than now.  Enjoy your evenings and weekends, but try to enjoy them by making today productive.  It will be worth it in the long run!

College Admissions Interviews

Some colleges require all prospective students to participate in an interview with an admissions counselor or an alumni representative as a component of the application process. If you are looking at a school which requires an interview – don’t panic!

It is important to relax and be yourself. This is your opportunity to shine. Display your personality and allow your interests and passions to be expressed.

In addition to answering their questions, don’t be afraid to ask any questions you have about the school. Be sure to complete some research ahead of time so that you are not asking questions you could have easily found by visiting their website.

If there is anything about yourself that you want to be sure the admissions representatives knows – unique circumstances, experiences, or special traits they might not ask about don’t hesitate to offer up this information. This is your one opportunity to actually discuss these areas with a real person. By bringing up these topics, it may spur them to ask additional questions that you will be able to answer.

If you want ideas about the types of questions you might expect on your interview with a college admissions representative or samples of possible questions you might ask of them, check out the Kilbourne Counselor Website page about interviews in the applying to college section.

And, hopefully it goes without saying, but remember that first impressions are important – so be polite, smile, dress appropriately and arrive on time for your interview!

Test Optional

I know that the college admissions tests can be stressful to students (and parents), but it is important to know that not every college requires strong test scores... in fact, there are many colleges that do not require any test scores when evaluating applicants for admission.

The website Fair Test is the National Center for Fair and Open Testing. Their site features a list of colleges that are test score optional schools. This hopefully reminds you that any one aspect of your college application does not make or break you - there are always more options to explore until you find the college that is the best fit for you.

Concordance Tables

As a school counselor I receive questions about the ACT and SAT tests all the time - which test should I take, do I *have* to take a test, how many times should I take a test, what does my score mean, what if I didn't score as high as I think I should have and how do you figure out how the scores compare to one another... and quite honestly the list goes on and on.

Today, let's talk for a second about the score comparisons. A lot of students will take both the ACT and SAT, but then want to know which score was better. It's important to review the requirements for the schools you are considering and see what they are looking for and where you fall compared to their averages. After taking one of the admissions tests, some students will want to repeat both tests and some will elect to focus on the test they did "better" on the first time through and try to improve that score.

But how do you know which test you did "better" on? Well, the ACT and SAT actually test different information, but you can see what scores would be most comparable by using the concordance tables. These tables can help students (and colleges) compare scores for students across the different tests. I'll be honest - these tables can seem a little confusing at first, but if you read the information on the pages prior to the tables then you will understand them. Table 1 will let you compare your SAT score based on a 1600 scale with the ACT without writing. Most of you will have taken the ACT with writing (and if you didn't, you NEED to take it with writing in the future as colleges are moving toward considering the writing test more and more) so you will use the data on Table 2 to get the writing score and then you will add that to the results from Table 1 to get an accurate overall score based upon the 2400 scale.  As you know, the SAT is changing as of this coming March and so the concordance tables will also change, but for now, this would be the table to use to compare your scores.

Try not to get stressed out about the college admissions tests... I know it can be frustrating, but remember it is only one piece to the puzzle that the colleges will be considering when evaluating students!

And, of course, speaking of admissions tests and the new SAT that is coming - don't forget that registration for the PSAT is taking place now in the counseling center.  Bring your $15 check (payable to WKHS) to get signed up.

October Students of the Month

On Friday morning the first ceremony of the year to honor Kilbourne Students of the Month was held.  Students are nominated by teachers to receive the recognition as being a Student of the Month in honor of their outstanding academic commitment, their leadership, the personal effort, the compassion they have shown, or their dedication to being a positive presence in the school community.

Four of "my" students were among those being recognized.  Unfortunately only two were able to attend the award presentation.  A huge congratulations to (L to R): Rory Arthur and Erica Chen and not pictured Mackenzie Calvert and Mackenzie Cravens.  I am proud of all of you!

WKHS Counselor Website

I have written about the Kilbourne Counselor website before and yet I feel like it deserves frequent reminders.  Have you visited www.wkhscounselors.com lately?  It is updated on a regular basis – often daily.  The site features information about succeeding academically, college/ career pursuits, and personal/ social information resources.

Take a moment and check it out and please be sure to bookmark the site so that you can refer back to it often.  And, if there is anything that you think it should include but don’t see on the site, please let me know so that we can add it.