College Admissions Related

I realize that the college application process for this year is winding down and the waiting, for many of you, is just beginning. For other students, the application stage is next fall or beyond, but this is timely information to keep in mind at all stages.

Inside the Admissions Office:
The Wall Street Journal and Unigo.com present the heads of 8 college admissions departments sharing insight into the process of reviewing college applications. I have mentioned the unigo.com website in the past and strongly recommend that you check it out. Here is a blog posting that talks about and links to the broadcast.

More Unigo.com Information:
This article also highlights the great information available on the Uniogo.com website with a list of links to some of the recent webcasts that might interest you.

Surprise! How it can help you get accepted is a blog posting highlighting the benefits of using surprise in your college application essay to catch the attention of the admissions officers reviewing your application.

The Answer Sheet, a blog from the Washington Post, recently had an update called “Between the Lines of the College Admissions Process” by the admissions dean at William and Mary College that I believe you will also enjoy and find useful.

Winter Break

I don't know about you, but I am relieved that we have reached winter break. I do find it a bit scary that we are nearly 1/2 way through the school year though. Does it seem to be flying past for you too? I hope you have plans to relax and enjoy the upcoming days off. I am nearly finished with my shopping (thank goodness because I hate to shop!) and I am quite proud of myself because I have already accomplished mailing out my Christmas cards and wrapping all of my gifts.

Friday ended up being a little bit crazy for me so I didn't get to wish you all the best for the holidays. I hope you enjoy it with your family and are safe throughout the break. Also, as you have probably figured out, I will blog several times over the holidays, but not every day - as this is a vacation for me too. :-) Looking forward to hearing all about your holiday fun after we get back to school. Again, have a great break!

11 Days Remaining

The countdown is on... we have just 11 days of school left this quarter before semester exams. I *know* some (or maybe all) of you don't want to hear this, but it is REALLY important that you start studying now for exams. Today I skimmed through the interim grade reports and was sad to see how many people are struggling. If your grades are not where they should be at this point in time, please make use of the resources available to you - the academic assistants in room 209 and, most importantly, your teachers. I am also here to help you with studying strategies and tips if needed. For many students, your final grade for the semester will come down to how you finish out this quarter and how well you do on semester exams. Please don't neglect this opportunity to make the most of the remaining time and use winter break as a chance to start reviewing for exams.

Balancing Hopes and Expectations

Yesterday many students across the country (and at WKHS) who had applied to colleges under the Early Decision and Early Action plans received their admissions decisions. As I heard people talking about college decisions today, I wanted to remind you that it is important to find a balance between hopes and expectations. Not only is this important when you are waiting for your own admissions decisions, but it is also essential that you keep in mind that your friends are facing the same worries. While it is normal to be curious to find out if someone in your class was accepted to a particular college, please remember that it could be very hard for your friend to announce to everyone that they had not been accepted. As a general rule, allow your friends and classmates to inform you of their admissions decisions on their own. Trust me, if they receive acceptances they are going to share the good news in their own time.

Late Start Reminder

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow you are on a late-start schedule. 1st period starts at 9:10am so I hope you enjoy sleeping in tomorrow morning. (And yes, I am very jealous!)

Interim reports were also e-mailed out to your parents and I hope that you are taking the time to really stop and reflect on where you currently stand in your classes and what you can do to finish out the semester in a strong way. Looking at the lengthy list of "my" students with D's or F's in one or more classes was very scary. If you are struggling in your classes, please be sure to talk to your teachers before we leave for winter break to see what you can do or should be focusing on during the time off from school.

E-Mail

I realize that many of you do not utilize e-mail at all or even regularly, however, it is very important to have an e-mail account of your own when it comes to college application time. College applications will ask you for your e-mail address. Often times the colleges will use your e-mail as their way to communicate with you including notifying you of your admissions decision. (This also points out that it is important to regularly check your e-mail.) Some questions to ask yourself, Do you have an account? (If not, you need to create one. There are tons of free choices available - gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.) Do you have an appropriate account? (In other words, is the name of your account appropriate as the college admissions officers will be seeing the e-mail address when reviewing your application.) Is it YOUR account? (A lot of times students just rely on their parents e-mail addresses which works a lot in high school, but when you are at the college application point it is important to have your own account as the colleges will ask for your address and your parents address.)

In addition to having an e-mail account, it is also important to remember to use proper etiquette when communicating with college representatives via e-mail. For example, when you need to e-mail admissions officers for any reason, as well as any other college representatives (advisor, professor, etc.) that you communicate with, please remember that the way you write your e-mail is a reflection of you. Please do not use text talk, avoid ALL CAPS, be mature, and write it in an official format “Dear _(insert their name with Mr/ Mrs)_, Text of your message, Sincerely, _(insert your name)__”.

Apply!

I was reviewing the college application data for my students so far this year and it began to make me quite nervous as there are many students who have not yet submitted any applications or who have applied to just 1 school. Please make sure that you are paying attention to the application deadlines for your college and remember, the transcript release forms should be submitted at least 10 days in advance!

As a reminder, when applying you need:

- College application (apply online)

- Essay (if the school requires it)

- Test scores (most colleges will require it be sent directly from ACT or SAT to their school)

- Transcript (with any required forms for me to fill out for you)

- If required, teacher recommendation letter(s)

Stop by and see me if you are needing help with your college applications!