Test Score Submissions

One important step to keep track of with college applications is your test scores.  If you are applying and planning on having the colleges consider your test scores then you will need to make sure that the colleges receive the score results directly from the testing agency. You have/ had the option to send your scores to 4 colleges for free when you are registering for the test and there is an additional charge for any extra schools you want to send your results to after those initial four.

You can log in to the ACT and SAT websites to review the locations where you selected to send your scores to make sure that every college you are considering has received a copy of your scores. 

Sending your scores is an important step as you are working on the college the application process. So, in addition to making sure that you have completed your application form, written your essay, secured your recommendation letters, and submitted your transcripts, please make sure that you have sent your test scores to each of the colleges where you are applying (unless it is a school you are applying through the test optional policy).  And since you can do this part in advance, it is worth just knocking that component off of your "to do" list now.

College Visits

We are getting ready for the Junior College Information night which will start shortly and so I have been thinking about college visits - not just for juniors, but for all students and the fact that the long weekend coming up on October 15th will be a great chance for many families to make visits.

When can you make your visit?
Anytime!  Students often schedule visits to colleges on times when it fits with their parents schedule.  You are allowed to miss school for college visits - it is an excused absence, but please be sure to still have your parents contact the attendance office.

While you can make visits at any time, I encourage you to try to select days when you know you will have a positive experience.  There are many colleges that will host a major specific day and those days often include lots of unique experiences in that field of study including meeting professors, talking to students, seeing their projects, etc.  You also want to maximize the positive experience of going on the visit by not creating problems with your high school schedule and commitments.  For example, if you know that you have a game and therefore have to be in school for at least half the day, then that is probably not the best day to try to squeeze in a college visit.  You also know that there tend to be a lot of tests, quizzes and projects on the last day of the semester, so I encourage you to avoid that day as well.

How should I set up the visit?
The student should be the one who communicates with the college - not the parent!  Remember, you are the one who is going to college - not your mom or dad.  You are trying to show the college that you are mature, responsible and ready for the college opportunities and that begins with having the ability to communicate effectively with the admissions office.

Some colleges have online visit registration options and others only take reservations by phone.  You will definitely want to sign up for the visits in advance!  And remember, due to COVID, they are likely restricting the number of people who can be on campus or participate in a tour or information session at any given time so you need to try to plan ahead!

Should I attend on a "major specific" day?
As I mentioned in an earlier question, there are many colleges that will host special recruitment days for students looking at a particular major.  For example, there may be an engineering day, a nursing day, a communications day, etc.  These are GREAT opportunities for students to consider visiting the campus - not only for those of you who have made up your mind that you are interested in a particular field, but also for those students who think they might like to study that field.  So, for example, if I think I might want to study something connected to business, but don't know any more than that, going to the college's business day can be a great learning opportunity for me to gain insight into the different aspects available within that major and that college.  If you attend you might walk away excited about a particular opportunity or section of business or you may leave realizing you thought it seemed terrible and that would still give you the information to help you know that this is not the best job field for your future.

What else should I keep in mind?
- Take a picture!  Don't forget, I want a picture of you on every college campus you step foot on!

- Use the questions that we have posted on the counselor website to help guide you on possible things to ask.

- Pay attention to the details around you to learn all that there is to know about the college.

- Remember, a lot of outside factors can influence the quality of the visit positively or negatively. For example, the weather… if it is a gorgeous sunny day with perfect temperatures you may think it is the most beautiful school and if it cold, rainy, or dreary you may think it is miserable, but try to remember that the weather changes from day to day and judge the school without being overly influenced by the weather. (Please also remember that if you are traveling to areas in different climates than Ohio that weather may truly be an appropriate factor to consider, so I am not making a blanket statement to always ignore the weather.)

- Tour guides also form a huge impression of the school that you visit. Most colleges know that and will try to find outgoing, positive, energetic students to take you through the campus. Ideally the guides will try to get to know something about you or your interests to help point those aspects of the school out to you, but the reality is the students serving as tour guides are not always great and, let’s be honest here, we all have bad days so even some of the good tour guides can have off days where they won’t be impressive on the visit. I know it can be hard, but try to separate the guide from the school.

- If you can spare the time – stop and sit on a bench and just “people watch.” Are these people that you can imagine being your friends in the future? Remember, you are hoping that in the near future that you will be able to make friends with them and others like them on campus.  Go to the campus dining hall and grab something to eat - how is the food?  Do you like the interactions you have with the students and staff in the dining hall? Think about how you are feeling on the campus – can you imagine yourself being there and being both happy and successful at this school?

I cannot wait to hear about your experiences exploring college campuses!

Junior College Planning Night Reminder

Just a quick reminder to all junior students and parents - tomorrow night at 7pm over Zoom, the WKHS Counselors will be hosting a College Planning Night presentation.  We hope you will join us!  The link will be emailed out and it will also be posted on the Counselor Website tomorrow morning.

Care Closet

WKHS is fortunate that we have a group of dedicated, compassionate moms who make up a group called the Activity Club.  This group of parents are focused on finding positive ways to give back to the Worthington community so that we are all stronger together. 

One of the projects that they spearhead for Kilbourne students and families is the "Care Closet."  In this designated area they have stocked a wide range of personal care items that individuals may want/ need but not have the extra money to keep on hand.  For example, in the Care Closet you can find shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, shaving cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste, deodorant and so much more!  And it is all there FREE for anyone who could benefit from a little extra help.

The Care Closet is actually a set of file drawers located in the Counseling Center.  Please know that we WANT you to use this resource.  That is why they provide it for our families.  So, if this is something that you know would help you, please stop and see me and I can point out where the supplies are located.  And then, in the future, you can always go to the Care Closet area and help yourself to any materials that you or your family need.

Financial Aid Night

We are less than a week away from October 1st and, for seniors, this is a very significant day.  The FAFSA which helps determine how much financial aid a student can qualify for will open on October 1st.  The FAFSA for current high school seniors will be based upon the 2020 tax returns.  You can access the FAFSA here:  https://fafsa.ed.gov/

When students and parents are completing the FAFSA, you will each need to have an FSAID number.  This number will allow you to electronically sign your FAFSA and in the future it would let you sign promissory notes as well as complete future FAFSA's.

The student and parent will each create their own separate numbers.  You cannot use the same e-mail addresses for the creation of the numbers so if you don't have an e-mail address and have been using your parents e-mail in the past then this is the ideal time to create your own e-mail account.  And students, please remember that you should NOT use your school email account either.

You will make your own challenge questions to help you access your number if you forget it in the future so it is important to write down those challenge questions and answers to make sure you will remember it down the road.  I recommend that students and parents make a folder related to FAFSA where you store all of this information so that you will always have it when you might need it.

If you forget to create an FSAID number prior to completing your FAFSA, it will still have a link for you to be able to go back and create one, but ideally you should create it ahead of time.

Here is a link to create your FSAID numbers:  https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm

To help you with the college financial aid process we will have a Financial Aid Meeting coming up this week for parents at 7:00pm on October 7th.  We are fortunate enough to have Faith Phillips, a financial aid director for OSU Newark and COTC, sharing her expertise with our parents and students.  She always has useful insight and is able to present it in engaging ways that will help you in completing your financial aid application.  This presentation will take place live over Zoom on October 7th so we hope you will join us.

Grade Point Average

Yesterday I mentioned that the deadline to change classes to pass/ fail grading is coming up next week.  But then I was thinking that some of you may not understand the impact of pass/ fail grading and how GPA works overall.

The "easy" explanation for how your GPA is calculated is that every class you take at WKHS taught by a Kilbourne teacher 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.  So, if you think you might pass, but not do great in the class, you could elect to change the course to pass/ fail grading.  (That is, assuming the class is offered as a pass/ fail option - you will mostly just find this with introductory level electives and not with core courses.)

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/ CC+ Weighted Calculation	AP/ IB/ CC+ 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%
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 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.

Pass/ Fail & Drop Deadline

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 1 week away - next Wednesday, September 29th. That 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 next Wednesday!

Welcome to WKHS

Last week we hosted a breakfast to welcome the students who are new to the district to the Worthington Kilbourne High School community.  We wanted to take the opportunity to check in on how the new students are adjusting to life at WKHS and hear more about where they moved here from as well as what they like or dislike.  It was a great way to start the day!

There are nearly 70 students who are new to the district at WKHS this year.  Many of them are from within Ohio, but we also have new students from South America and the Middle East - not to mention our foreign exchange students who come from several different countries across the world.  Each of these students brings knowledge of their past communities that will strengthen and enrich our school.

As we listened to these newest Kilbourne Wolves, I was excited that they are a part of our school because they have so much to contribute.  Be sure to take a moment and find one of them in your classes, lunch, sports, or clubs and welcome them to WKHS.

Planning for College Night

Save the date!  On Wednesday, September 29th the WKHS Counseling department will be hosting a Student and Parent College Planning Information Night. The meeting will be over zoom, but we will be doing it live so I am really hoping you will attend.  Over the last few years, this program has received some of the best feedback out of all of the information nights we host. The students and parents who attended this meeting in the past have expressed how much this helped them get started and move forward with the college search process and developed a better understanding of what to expect along the way.  The meeting is primarily targeted at juniors, but sophomores and freshmen are welcome to attend if interested. The meeting is at 7:00pm and the zoom link will be posted on the counselor website the morning of the event. 

I hope you will plan to attend! And yes, I want your parents to watch this meeting with you and no, I don't want you to just make your parents watch instead... this is YOUR future and you are responsible for deciding what direction you will take.

Parent/ Teacher Conferences

Parents, if you are interested in arranging to meet with one of your son or daughter’s teachers during conferences, the online system will open tomorrow morning for you to register for a meeting slot.  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.  

Conferences will be held on Wednesday, September 29th from 5:00 - 9:00pm and on Tuesday, October 5^th from 3:30 - 7:30pm.  Each conference will be scheduled in 15 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.  Conferences will be in person unless you want to request a zoom conference in which case the teachers can easily make that option work as well.

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 Sharon DeSantis at WKHS.  She can be reached by e-mail at sdesantis@wscloud.org or by phone at 614-450-6400.

Infinite Campus/ Interims

Can you believe we are already at the half-way point of the first quarter?  In many ways it feels like we just got started.  We don't send home formal interim reports because you and your parents have the opportunity to check your grades on an ongoing basis through Infinite Campus.  But, since we are about half way through, this is the time when you are able to get 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 Website at www.worthington.k12.oh.us and then you will click on the Portal Login Icon that is located in the "Find it Fast" section of the page.

College Admissions Reps Visit WKHS

Did you know that many college admissions representatives come to WKHS in order to visit with you? Stop for a moment and think about that – the schools are paying someone to come to Kilbourne in order to meet with you and showcase the opportunities available at their college. We had the first college admissions rep, Ohio Wesleyan University, at WKHS today and over 40 more already slated to spend time in the building visiting with our students this fall.

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. Possibly 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.

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. If there are schools that you'd like to meet with, please sign up for the session with the link on the Counselor Website.  Please also be sure to write down the dates and times so that you can come to the Counseling Center to meet with the rep.  When you get there, a secretary will introduce you to the admissions representative and after your meeting with them is over they 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!

Junior Testing Recommendations

Juniors, let's talk for a second about college admissions tests and their practice tests that you should be considering for this school year... Here would be my general recommendations if you are planning on applying to a 4-year college after high school.

1. In October, take the PSAT.  This will be during the school day on Tuesday, October 26th.  It is the practice test for the SAT, but it is also the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarships.  The deadline to register for the PSAT (which is FREE for sophomores and juniors) is on Tuesday of this week (September 14th).

2.  In November, take the Pre-ACT.  This will be during the school day on Monday, November 8th.  It is the practice test for the ACT and it is a great, inexpensive way to practice for the ACT.  Cost will be $16 and registration will open in October.

3.  In December, consider strongly taking the ACT or SAT.  You don't have to take the test in December, but it's a good chance to take one of the college admissions tests.  If you are planning on focusing on the ACT, another great reason of taking the ACT in December is that you can also order (for an additional fee) your score questions and answers with the test which would allow you to review how you answered and what the right score is which can help better prepare you for the future tests.

4.  In March, take the ACT.  This will be during the school day on Tuesday, March 1st and is the FREE test opportunity that all juniors will get to take.

After that, depending on how you have scored you can determine the rest of your testing plan.  There will be more opportunities to test in the spring and summer as well as the early part of the fall during your senior year.

If you have any questions about these testing opportunities or why I am making these recommendations, please don't hesitate to stop and talk to me about it!  We also did a presentation to parents last week about testing as a whole and you and your parents can review the slides by visiting the counselor website.

Recommendation Letters

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 any of 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. (And you can stop reading now.)  :-)

There are some colleges that will want a recommendation letter and others that will want multiple letters.  You need to look specifically at what they are asking for you to provide.  Some colleges will require teacher recommendation letters, some counselor letters, and others may be open to coaches, bosses, religious leaders or other adults who know you well.  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 52,000 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?  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, 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 Center.  You also need to be sure to invite your teachers electronically if you are applying through Common App.  It is rare that you will need hard copies of any of your letters, but if that is the case for a particular college, then you are responsible for providing your teacher with an envelope addressed to the appropriate school.  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.  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.  I also ask you to consider doing the YouScience assessments before I write your reccommendation letter.  This is not a deal breaker, but having concrete examples of your aptitudes and being able to back them up with examples throughout your high school career can greatly enhance your recommendation letter.  (Not to mention that doing YouScience can also help you significantly when considering future careers and possible majors.)  Some students also like to give me a copy of their resume or list of activities and awards and that is fine too - I will welcome any information that you think will help me "showcase you" to the best of my ability to the colleges.

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 (Freshmen, 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.

#WordsToLiveBy

We all have phrases that we tend to tell ourselves when we need a little pick me up or the day isn't going the way we had hoped or planned.  Perhaps you have statements you like to remind yourself of when a competition/ game isn't going your way.  And, if nothing else, I am confident that you have statements of encouragement you give to your friends when they are having a bad day.

These uplifting, positive messages are your #WordsToLiveBy.

What can those sound like?  Anything that helps support you or others and your mental health.  "Life is better with chocolate."  "This is tough, but I'm strong and can make it through."  "Play the next play."  "Everyone can do something, but no one can do everything."  "Breathe and let the tension go."  "You Matter!" "Remember to add the ...'yet'."  "Be here now."  "I feel anxious, but I am not my anxiety." 

Hopefully you get the idea because tomorrow during lunch periods we are asking all students and staff members to share one of your favorite #WordsToLiveBy and post it on social media.  We want to support and encourage each other with your positive impact messages.

I am so excited to see all of my students in the commons during lunches and I can't wait to see what you come up with as your phrase to share!

College Related Article Links

I read a LOT of college related articles.  And they are helpful to me in answering student and parent questions, but most of the time I don't pass them along simply because I would never keep up with all of the various links to share with you.

I have talked before about my love for the Olympics and since the Olympics and Paralympics have both now concluded when I saw these articles about how college admissions can be explained in relationship to the Olympics it was definitely something I paid attention to and I thought you might also like this way of reframing it...

How the Olympics Explain College admissions:

Part 1

Part 2

And since I am sharing articles here are a few others which simply reinforce messages you have likely heard from me in other places but are key reminders to students as you work on your applications.

What are colleges looking for in your essays

Womp womp moments in college admissions

How to start thinking about the Common App's newest prompt

I hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable long weekend!

College Application 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.

Early Action

This is a non-binding option and significantly more students will apply to schools using this option. Early Action has an earlier application deadline and students will 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, but that is a different story for another day.

Rolling Admissions

Do you know how exciting it was when I received a phone call this afternoon from one of my students announcing that she had been accepted to her top-choice college?  It was an awesome moment!  She had applied to a college with Rolling Admissions.  This means that the colleges look at each application as they arrive and they make a decision on those applications 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! If you are struggling to find the deadlines for different schools, please stop in to see me.

Demonstrated Interest

Did you know that colleges keep track of every contact and interaction you have with them?  For colleges, they typically refer to this as your demonstrated interest.  They want to know that you are genuinely interested in their college and that applying to their school is something you have investigated and feel like it would be a good fit. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that you should call a school multiple times a week - that would definitely get on their nerves, but they want students who are truly interested. You can show that by meeting with their admissions representatives when they come to WKHS (visits begin this month) or by attending their virtual events, participating in "optional" interviews and essays, and visiting their campus.

Just because you have clearly demonstrated your interest in a college will not be what gets you accepted to their school, but since colleges are always trying to predict who it is that will ultimately attend their university out of those they accept, it works to your advantage to be sure that the college will be a good fit - not only because it demonstrates your interest, but also - and more importantly - because it will enable you to be confident that this is a school which fits your needs and goals in what you were hoping for in a college campus community and in your collegiate home.  

On a different note, just a reminder to all parents that tomorrow at noon is our first Zoom Lunch and Learn Series.  The topic is Testing 101: PSAT, PreACT, SAT, and ACT.  Except 15 minutes of a presentation about testing and then time for questions and answers.  We are excited to see you online tomorrow - zoom link will be emailed out to parents tomorrow morning and I will also post it on the Counselor Website.

We Think We're the Only One...

One of the most common stories we tell ourselves is that we are the only one who thinks or feels the way that we think or feel.  That can be such an isolating and lonely feeling.  And the challenge is that we think we are the only one, but we are not.  You all belong at Kilbourne.  There is a place where you and only you can help fill a need and each of our students help to make WKHS a better place to learn and grow both as students and as people.  But even as I write that, I know there are some of my students who are thinking that they haven't found their place yet.  And I want to stress the word yet in that statement... because there is a place for you here!

One of the best suggestions I have for every student at WKHS is to get involved in sports, clubs, volunteer outreach, or other areas of interest.  This can help connect students to the school and community.  You have special gifts that only you can share and your involvement can make a positive difference!  

At Kilbourne, we are fortunate to have a wide range of opportunities available within the school setting for you to get involved.  There are 29 interscholastic sports, over 40 clubs, the school newspaper, video news team, yearbook and a wide variety of performance groups (choirs, bands, orchestra, and theater).  While there is obviously no shortage of established groups that you can get involved with, if you have other passions that you want to focus on, don't forget that you can also help establish a new club.  As long as you can find a faculty member who is willing to help you with club oversight, Mr. Todd in the athletic office can assist you with the paperwork needed to establish a new club or organization.

For underclassmen, getting involved makes your transition to high school easier because you get to know older students and you find a place where you can belong.  For upperclassmen, being involved gives you the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and to grow in your areas of interest.  (And no, for the record, I don't think you should just get involved because it will look good on your college applications... you should be participating because it is meaningful and important to you, but yes, being involved is a plus for college applications too.)

If you are struggling to find your place, I hope you will stop to see me so that we can review the different groups and organizations that you could try to get connected with and see if that helps to build a positive network for you at WKHS.