Homecoming Dance

Are you looking forward to tonight's homecoming dance?  I know that having the dance out on the football field is a lot of fun each year and I'm looking forward to seeing you.  As you get all dressed up ahead of the dance, I hope you enjoy the time with your friends taking pictures and going out for dinner.  Most of all, please stay safe and make good choices!  

I will be at the dance so if you have any problems or need anything, don't hesitate to let me know.  I can't wait to see everyone all dressed up tonight!  Please stop and say hi.

Why THIS College?

Some of your college essay questions will be asking you to help explain why you're a good fit for their college.  It's important to pause and think about questions such as: Why do you like a particular college?  What is it about the school that made it stand out to you and left you with the impression that this would be a good place for you to spend your collegiate years?

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

In addition to mattering for deciding where you are going to apply, your answers to these questions are essential when you are trying to answer college-specific essay questions.  Some colleges will ask applicants to answer supplemental essay questions and often one of these questions relates to what you like about their school.  They may phrase it in different ways, but the bottom line is that they are trying to determine why you believe their school is a good fit for you.

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

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

College Fair

The Columbus Suburban College Fair is coming up on Sunday, October 8th from 1:00 - 3:30pm at Otterbein University in the Clements Center (180 Center St., Westerville, OH 43081).  This is the largest local fall college fair and a great opportunity for our students.

College fairs give you a chance to meet with admissions representatives in person. They are all gathered together in one place in order to meet you and to answer your questions. Many schools also keep track of the number of interactions/ meetings you have with their admissions representatives during your search and application process so that they can gauge your interest level in their school.

Be prepared before you get to the college fair. Know that there will be far more schools than you are interested in or can even truly take in during one afternoon, so it is useful to come up with a list of colleges that you would be interested in learning more about by doing a search that looks for different criteria that seems to be a good fit for you. With that list in hand you now have a starting point for the colleges that you would like to talk to during the fair.

All students are asked to register with Strive Scan by visiting www.strivefair.com because this will allow for you to have a bar code specific to you.  Then, when you are at the college fair next weekend and you talk to a college that interests you, they can simply scan your barcode and that will allow the college to know of your interest. I promise you, this is a MAJOR improvement over 5-10 years ago when students had to hand write out interest cards at each college table.

I encourage you to check out the Columbus Suburban College Fair information on the front page of the WKHS Counselor website for more information about colleges who will attend and parking.

It can be useful to ask the same questions of each college so that you can compare them and their responses appropriately and I encourage you to consider thinking about the things you most want to know about the school and can’t find in a brochure or website. Everyone is different so your questions are going to be different depending upon your interests, but if you are really interested in playing a club sport in college, you might want to ask about their club/ intramural program and the numbers of students that participate. You may want to ask what the top 2 or 3 majors are on campus as that will give you an idea of what most of the students are interested in studying. If you are undecided about what you would like to study, it would be a great idea to ask them what support and services are available to help students in exploring different majors.

Take something with you to be able to jot some notes on and also a pen or pencil. It is a crazy event with so much happening that if you don’t write it down as you go you won’t remember much after the fact. The admissions representatives are giving you a small look of the college – what do you think following each glimpse?

When you are walking through the college fair with the list of schools that you want to talk to don’t forget to leave some time for browsing – you may realize that a school you had not previously considered has just what you are looking for in a college. It can be easy for us to get caught in the cycle of only looking at specific schools because that is what “everyone” else is considering.

Ideally, you will be able to avoid getting caught up in the crowds and confusion so that you don’t walk away from the college fair with a lot of brochures, but no real ideas or impressions about which colleges most interest you. At the end of the college fair you will likely have a bag filled with information about colleges. As the “Faring Well at College Fairs” article says, “Don’t succumb to the temptation of just piling all those brochures in some obscure corner of your bedroom. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a day or two away from the college search. Then get out all of those brochures, along with the notes you took at the fair, and read through them. You may find that some colleges aren’t as interesting as you first thought. Others only look better the more you research them.”

If you have never been to a college fair before, I admit that it often feels like mass chaos.  But it is also the opportunity for you to gain a lot of useful information from a large number of schools in a short period of time.  Good luck and happy college searching… I can’t wait to hear about the schools that spark your interest!

Welcome to Kilbourne

Last week we hosted a breakfast to welcome the students who are new to the district and 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 more than 70 students who are new to the district this year.  Many of them are from within Ohio, but we also have new students from across the world.  Each of these students brings knowledge of their past communities that will strengthen and enrich our school.

As I talked with 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.

College Planning Information Night

Save the date!  Next week, on Wednesday, October 4th the WKHS Counseling department will be hosting a Student and Parent College Planning Information Night. It has been a long time since we have held this program in person, but when we were, it had 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 will take place at 7:00pm in the Auditorium . 

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

Returning to School

How are you feeling about returning to school tomorrow? 

I suspect there are lots of mixed emotions and I want to remind you that I am here to listen to all of those thoughts and feelings.  It is normal to feel anxious.  Being nervous, worried, and unsettled is a normal reaction to the abnormal situation we are dealing with right now.  It is normal to feel angry.  Our school has been threatened.  Our friends, classmates and teammates are being targeted because of the color of their skin.  There is a feeling of safety that has been shattered and a sense of innocence that this couldn’t and wouldn’t ever happen here that has been lost.  These are HARD emotions and DIFFICULT thoughts to wrestle with.

I don’t know why WKHS has been the target of these threats, but there are things that I DO KNOW.  I know that hate and discrimination are not welcome in our school.  I know that Kilbourne is a great school with incredible students.  I know that focusing on safety is important – not just at times when a threat is shared, but every day.  And I know how we will get through this… TOGETHER!

I, along with the rest of the School Counselors and Mental Health Specialists, will be available to listen and talk with anyone who is struggling to try to make sense of the threats and keeping Kilbourne safe.  Please remember to bring your school ID’s with you to school tomorrow (or download the digital version).  If you haven’t picked up the actual, physical ID card, stop by the counseling center to see one of the secretaries to get your ID card.  Please remember that using your own coping strategies for stress management is essential and that support is available for you!

Worthington Industries Partnership

Worthington schools has established a partnership with Worthington Industries to help meet the needs of students looking for a strong work option and to help students get an advantage with a great local company.

As a district, we wanted to give all of our students and parents every opportunity to learn more directly from the Worthington Industries staff.  There will be an information meeting coming up next week on Thursday, September 28th at 6:30pm in the WKHS Auditorium to give you a chance to learn more about the internship experience that Worthington Industries will provide to interested students.  

Working at Worthington Industries is a great opportunity for students to have a solid, well paying job after high school.  And the 2 WKHS students who participated in the Workforce Experience Partnership last year were both hired on full time for this fall.  If you are not sure if going straight to college is your plan, please consider exploring this opportunity.

Bonus Day

Did you enjoy having a bonus day off today? Obviously, we all wish the circumstances that required school to be called off would have been different but I suspect many of you still enjoyed having the day off. 

Last week one of the questions of the day that I asked students who came to see me was “what would you do if you were given 1 extra hour in the day?”  I had heard students say they’d want to do lots of different things like sleeping, hang out with friends, scrolling TikTok, reading, exercising, and more.You ended up being given a whole day so I can’t wait to hear what you did to spend your day off.  I hope you did make use of the time today to do something that you enjoy!

On a more serious note, today is an important reminder of how critical safety is in our building and our community. We want to be a school that supports one another in good times and bad. We want to be a place where everyone feels welcome and knows that they are safe, And none of those things can happen without ALL of us working together to create a culture of awareness, empathy and support. What does that look like? It looks like paying attention to a friend or classmate who is struggling and assisting them to reach out for help. It looks like speaking up if you see something that doesn’t feel right or look right. And it looks like treating others with kindness every day. 

I love working at WKHS and I believe we have the most incredible students and school. I don’t ever want that to change. So keep looking out for one another. Get help for yourself or others when needed. And know that YOU MATTER, today and always!

Writing Your College Essay

A few nights ago I wrote about why ChatGPT and other AI tools weren't going to be your solution for writing your college application essay, so now that you know that YOU have to write your own essay, here are some tips for you.

COMPOSING THE ESSAY
You want to focus on being creative and coming up with a plan for your writing so that you do not just ramble.  Whenever possible, start your essay with a catch – something that will engage the readers and compel them to continue reading.  As you are writing, try to keep in mind that this is a formal essay so you need to make sure that you are using proper grammar, punctuation and varying your sentence structure.

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

Answer the question!

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

Show me - Don't just tell me.

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

Did I learn something about you?

The whole point of these essays is so that the college admissions officers will learn something new about you.  (And trust me, they are learning something about you – even if that lesson is you didn’t appear to care enough about getting into school to pay attention to details like spelling.)  So, step back and look at your essay again – did they learn something about you that they wouldn’t have known prior to reading your essay?

I always love the concept of if I (someone who does know you) were to read your essay without your name on it, would it tell me enough about you that I would be able to identify who it was that wrote the essay?  If so, you're definitely on the right track with your essay!

One of the biggest challenges as you write your essay is controlling the tone.  You want to come across as confident but not boastful, self-assured but not aggressive, accomplished but not perfect. Try to avoid claiming that everything you've ever done has been unbelievably great.  Don't be afraid to admit that you are human. Colleges want real, interesting people.  Because it's so hard to control the tone of an essay about yourself, you will want to ask several people – teachers, friends, your parents, and even me – to read and respond to your essay. Get a variety of reactions, and then decide how you want to revise the essay.  Remember, when getting help with essay revisions it is important to go into it with the thought that you want to get revisions so it can be the best possible essay (instead of going in hoping the editors will just say – good enough.)  And yes, that also means you can’t procrastinate and put it off writing your essay until the last possible second.  And I hope this goes without saying, but don’t lie.  Do not make up stories that are not true or genuine.  You are the best you there is and this essay is about you so show yourself off and just be careful on tone.

Every year I have at least 1 student ask me if the colleges read the essays and I can assure you that the answer is YES – they really do read the essays!  Please don’t think you can just throw something down on paper and have it be “good enough.”  These are formal essays for an application to a college that will be the launching ground for the rest of your life.  I know that it sounds intimidating, but relax and start writing – and editing – and then do some more writing and editing… 

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 Thursday, September 28th from 3:30 - 7:30pm and on Wednesday, October 4^th from 5:00 - 9:00pm.  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.  

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.

AI and College Applications

Last year AI was not at all a conversation point related to college applications and this year, it has been a VERY hot topic!  I have read blog posts, attended webinars, sat in on information sessions by colleges, listended to podcasts and combed through articles to get a better understanding of how AI can and cannot work well for you as you go through the college application process.

Here is the reality, it can be very helpful in certain aspects, but it is just your starting point and it is not foolproof or the magic solution to admissions.  After all, you are NOT a robot, you are YOU and there is no one better at being you than YOU!

So, let's get the temptation out of the way first... can it write your entire college application essay for you?  No, of course not.  Yes, I get that this is tempting to just let one of the AI tools come up with an essay about you for the college, but it is going to lack your personality and your unique story.  Will it be gramatically correct?  Yes.  Will it answer the question prompted?  Certainly.  But is that enough?  Unfortunately, no.

So, how can you use AI effectively in the admissions process?  

- It is a great tool for searching for colleges.  You can tell it a particular area of the country, a major, an acceptance rate, and the clubs or organizations you're hoping to find in a college and AI can generate a list of potential colleges for you to investigate.

- It can be a resource for figuring out how to tackle some aspects of the application.  For example, if you type in something like, "can you help me complete the activities section on Common App?" it will give you a step by step process which can be useful.

- It can help make revisions to your essays or condense something you have written down into the word count required.  As with edits made by your parents, your English teacher, or anyone else who helps review your essay draft, it is important to make sure that in the end the essay still sounds like you.  You don't want something that has been so revised to the point that it doesn't even sound like something you'd actually say, think or feel.

- You can even use AI to help brainstorm ideas on good topics based on your characteristics and values that you want to share with the college.

One of the presentations that I attended talked about how unbelievably exponential the growth of AI has been from an industry perspective.  So this is definitely a field that is growing and changing rapidly and how it will influence college applications will grow and change just as quickly.

Right now, some colleges are saying that they don't anticipate knowing if students are using AI to create their essays, but others say that they are leaning heavily on the ethical statements students commit to when submitting their application that this application is their words, their creation and their own voice.  Some even stated that if they were to find out later that the essay was AI generated, then they would hold revoking the acceptance as a viable option.

Are you interested in learning more about AI and applications?  Here are just some of the resources I have found particularly interesting that you might want to check out:

Inside the Yale Admissions Office Podcast: August 29th episode: AI and College Essays: Wrong Question, Wrong Answer

Why you should not be using ChatGPT for college essays

Georgia Tech Admissions Blog: Seniors, Can we ChatGPT?

A real opportunity: how ChatGPT could help college applicants

Students using AI in applications

The truth about AI and admissions

Creating Your College List

As you determine your list of colleges where you would like to apply, it is important to keep a few things in mind...

1. You will only be attending 1 college next year.  

2. College is a match to be made not a prize to be won.

3. There are no absolute guarantees, but there is a LOT of data available that can inform your decisions.

4. You should only apply to colleges where you would actually WANT to attend.

Applying to tons of colleges "just because" or "just to see what happens" is not a good strategy.  It wastes your time and the college admissions reps time if this is a college where you will never plan on attending.  Additionally, if you feel like you need to apply to countless colleges it is usually a sign that you're not really sure what you're looking for in a college and so it might be a good point to pause and really reflect on what you're looking for in a college.

When we talk about creating a college list, you will often hear us (and lots of other college admissions representatives) talking about making a list that includes Reach, Likely/ Target/ Match, and Safety schools.  So I want to talk to you a little bit about this because I know it can be confusing to students and parents.  (For this blog post I am going to use the term "Likely" schools.  You may also hear people call this "Match" or "Target" schools.)

When you are trying to decide if a college is a reach, safety, or likely school, you will want to first look at your own information.  What is your grade point average?  What are your test scores?  How rigorous of an academic course load have you selected each year in high school?  Then, when you have a pretty good idea of what YOUR application profile would look like it is time to look at the college websites and look at their accepted student data and compare to see how you match up.

A safety school would be a college where you are ABOVE their criteria of what they have been accepting for admission.  These are often (although not always) colleges where students will get the most money for scholarships as well because they want to entice you to come to their school and therefore they will make it an attractive financial option for you.

A likely school would be a college where you are solidly right in the mix of their accepted student profile.  It is most likely that you will be attending a likely school.  That is why they are also called a target school or a match school.  This is where you should really be focusing your college applications.  Schools where you are more likely to get accepted and that you would be right in the mix academically with all of your peers.  Why does that matter?  Well, it means that you'll be able to have a balance in college of a social life along with school as opposed to needing to study 24/7 if you are in a school where you're struggling to stay afloat academically.

A reach school would be any college with less than a 33% acceptance rate and/ or a school where you are on the lower side of their accepted student data.  Now, let's pause for a moment and think about this. If you are sitting with a very respectable 3.7 GPA and the college you are looking at has an 8% overall acceptance rate and their average GPA is at or above a 4.0 GPA, you really need to decide WHY you are applying to this college.  Are you going to be ok getting a rejection from that school?  Because statistically speaking, you are not going to get into this college which is why, if you choose to apply there, it would be considered a reach school.  There are different levels of reach colleges.  If you are applying to that same school with an 8% acceptance rate and your GPA is above a 4.0 it is still a reach, but it makes far more sense that you'd be a viable candidate for admission.  When you are getting ready to fill out all of those applications, having a hard, honest conversation with yourself can help make sure you are prepared for any heartache that might come this spring as admissions decisions are released.

Sometimes students will ask me if they HAVE to apply to a safety school and my answer is no.  Just like students do NOT need to apply to a reach school either.  In fact, there are plenty of students who will apply to just 1 college.  This is often the case for students who plan to start at Columbus State.  We often see students applying to just 1 college if they know they want to go to OSU no matter what and will be happy at a branch or at main campus.  And I also have had many students apply to just 1 college if their top choice school utilizes rolling admissions because they can apply now, have a decision back in a few weeks and know if they need to keep applying to other colleges or if they can be done with their applications after getting that first decision back.

As a general rule of thumb, you are probably applying to anywhere from 3-7 colleges.  If you are needing help narrowing down your college application list, feel free to stop and see me so we can talk through your intended colleges.  With all of the college application fees, it will save you a lot of money and a great deal of time if you narrow down your college list.

College Reps at WKHS - Reminder

I have already blogged about the fact that the college admissions representatives are visiting WKHS.  Hopefully students are taking advantage of these opportunities to meet in small groups with the admissions representatives!  I wanted to remind you about this chance one more time because this coming week has lots of popular colleges coming to Kilbourne starting with OSU on Monday and then later in the week we have Miami, OU and Otterbein all stopping to meet with our students plus MANY others!

To see the full list - go to the Counselor website at www.wkhscounselors.com and then on the right hand side you will see a list of the Latest Events.  I encourage you to click on "View full calendar" to see all of the rep visits scheduled to throughout the next few months.  You will also register to attend one of the rep visits on the Calendar page by clicking on the specific college's detail.

Half-way Point

You've now been in school for a full month and are halfway through the first quarter.  This would be a good point to pause and really look at your grades and make sure that your year is on track to meet your goals.  If you are struggling and need help, please reach out to your teachers, the Academic Assistants, or let me know and I can help connect you to the resources to get things turned around before it is too late.

We are also in the final weeks where you are allowed to drop a 1st semester course without having it appear on your transcript or to submit a request to have a 1st semester class graded on a pass/ fail scale instead of the standard scoring. (Not all classes are allowed to be taken as pass/ fail grading - you can check the course planning handbook, ask your teacher, or see me to get clarification on if that is a choice.  As a general guidline, your main core classes are not options for pass/ fail grading.)

Students always have the first 6 weeks of school to make those changes so the deadline for this year is coming up on Thursday, September 29th. 

Applying Test Optional

A few days ago I talked about the conversations with college admissions officers that I attended last week.  It was a day full of information and updates so I could (and likely will) write tons of posts related to information from the meetings.  

One of the conversations we had with college admissions officers was about the difficult situation students often find them selves in when trying to decide if they should apply to college with their test scores or as test optional.  The admissions reps that spoke directly to this topic said that they are seeing applications pretty much split 50/50 on if kids are applying with or without test scores and that they are being very specific not to read anything into the fact that a student didn't choose to submit a score.

The decision "Should I submit my test scores?"  is a difficult question to answer because it depends.  During the educational sessions and meetings with colleges their guidance to helping you answer that question is to ask back, "Will this test score contribute to the strength of my application?"  

So how do you figure that out?  You need to look at every college you are applying to closely.  You need to double check their requirements for admission and for your intended major.  You also should review what their scholarship situation looks like regarding evaluating students with and without test scores. (For example, many colleges will grant scholarships to students with a certain GPA and test score, but to qualify for a scholarship without a test score the GPA requirement is higher meaning that some students might qualify for scholarships if they submit their test scores, but wouldn't if they don't.  And you have to look at that for your situation in particular.)  

Every college will have data shared on their middle 50% for test scores.  The middle 50% designates the range of students who are in their average pool of accepted students.  That does mean that 25% of their accepted students have scores that are above that range as well as an additional 25% who have scores below that range.  If you are in their middle 50% then you can, typically, feel confident that your scores will help contribute to your application.

Please realize that this means that you might be applying test optional to one college and with test scores to another and this is ok.  If you have questions about test optional and submitting test scores, don't hesitate to stop and see me.

Recommendation Letters

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

There are some colleges that will want a recommendation letter and others that will want multiple letters.  You will want to look specifically at what they are asking for you to provide.  Some colleges will require teacher recommendation letters, some counselor letters, others may be open to coaches, bosses, religious leaders or other adults who know you well, and yes, some may even want multiple letters.  Each college gets to make up their own mind and determine what information they want to have as a part of your application package.  OSU, for example, does not require any recommendation letters. (Can you blame them? Imagine trying to read 71,000 recommendation letters on top of the applications and essays that they receive.) Harvard, on the other hand, will require 2 teacher recommendations and a counselor recommendation. After reviewing the college websites, if you are still having problems determining if the colleges you are considering require recommendation letters – just stop down to see me and I can try to help you figure it out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Demonstrated Interest

Last Friday I attended a meeting where high school counselors meet with Ohio college admissions counselors to get updates on all of the latest news and information that we might want/ need to know to help students as you are applying to college.

One of the sessions that I attended was talking about what is happening behind the closed doors of the admissions offices.  It was fascinating to hear some of the admissions reps share about how detailed they are in tracking the interactions they have with students who are interested in their colleges.  One rep, for example, said that she has a file on every potential student in her territory where she documents each phone call, text, email, in person interaction (like a rep visit at WKHS or a college fair conversation), campus visit, etc.  

This tracking of interactions by the colleges is known as your demonstrated interest.  Their point in talking about this was sharing that they are looking for students who are genuinely interested in their schools and are striving to make sure that it is a good fit vs those who are just applying because it is another school on Common App.  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 are happening daily now) or by attending their community gathers sponsored in the Columbus area, stopping by their tables at college fairs, 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.

Parent Lunch & Learn Series

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

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

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

This Friday's topic is Student Study Skills.  This will be a great session for parents wanting to learn more about how to help support your son/ daughter with developing and improving their study skills.  

I hope to see you online Friday, September 15th at noon for this year's series kick-off.

Class Rank

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

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

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

College App Deadlines

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 because there are forms you will need to complete, your parents will need to sign off on, and I will need to sign off on and submit as a part of your application.

Early Action

This is a non-binding option and significantly more students (quite honestly, maybe even the majority) 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. 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

Rolling Admissions 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.

Thanks for Being #ThereForMe

I love our annual tradition at WKHS to promote positive culture/ climate and mental health all tied in to Suicide Prevention week and honoring the power of connection.  This year we used the theme #thereforme to invite WKHS students and staff members to thank someone who has been there for them to support them through good days and bad, to encourage them when they are struggling, or to help listen and care.  

For my picture, I couldn't limit it to just 1 person or even a group of people... so I made as many signs as I thought I could hold.  (I couldn't.)  So who am I thankful for being #thereforme

- My dogs, Lexi and Mia.  They bring me joy and continually remind me of the importance of unconditional love.

- My parents.  My mom and stepdad spoil me endlessly.  They help with yard care, dog care, and provide a daily sounding board for talking through whatever challenges I might be facing.

- My amazing coworkers.  I am so lucky to be at Worthington Kilbourne High School.  My colleagues are my friends and encouragers.  They believe in me and push me to be better every day.  They also help make school better for me and for our students.  Between my counselor colleagues, the counseling center support staff, the teachers, nurse, and administrators, I can't imagine a better team to be able to work with each day.

- My niece and nephews, Carly, Colton, and Brady.  They bring light into my world and being an aunt is one of my favorite things.  Nothing means more to me then when they call to just say hi and let me know they are thinking of me.

- And last (pictured) but definitely not least, my students & their families (past and present) who have blessed my life.  I love the relationships and connections I am able to make with students and families as a result of this job.  I love being able to work with you, to see you achieve your goals, to overcome obstacles and to explore the possibilities ahead of you after high school.  You allowing me to be part of your high school journey and the students and families who remain in touch in the years to come, helps to give my life purpose and meaning and I remain forever grateful.

There is no doubt that there are so many more people I could (and should) thank for being #thereforme like my sister, my friends, my former colleagues and volunteers, my past teachers, my mentors, and the list could go on endlessly, but isn't that part of the point?  There are truly so many people that we should acknowledge and thank.  While we can't necessarilly thank them all in one day, we can strive to thank them all at some point.

So maybe you participated in the activity in the Commons at school today.  Or maybe you didn't.  But I do hope that you will pause and thank at least 1 person in your life who has been #thereforyou because it does make a difference!

College Rep Visits

Tomorrow kicks off the visit season by college admissions representatives to WKHS.  Did you realize 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.

While meeting with a representative doesn't 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 the 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. (And this list continues to grow each week.)  If there are schools that you'd like to meet with, please be sure to write down the dates and times and come to the Counseling Center.  When you get to the Counseling Center on the day of the college rep visit, 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!