Don't just apply to college… Position yourself.

Posts Tagged adolescent

Why Does a High School Student Need a Resume?

Why Does a High School Student Need a Resume?

“Am I My Resume?” -Edward Kleban, A Chorus Line. Why does an 11th or 12th Grader need to create a RESUME? After all, the high school guidance department already asks for a “brag sheet,” that usually includes a template for recording one’s activities and accomplishments. The Common

Read more

The Four-Year High School Curriculum: Focus on What Matters

The Four-Year High School Curriculum: Focus on What Matters

“Always plan at least two steps ahead.” – A.J. Darkholme. As middle school is ending and guidance counselors help students plan 9th Grade courses, it will be valuable to take the long view, considering the entire high school curriculum. At first this seems like a nerve-wracking prospect: how can parents have any

Read more

When to Start the College Application Process

When to Start the College Application Process

“Learn to cultivate your own garden.” – Voltaire. Your high school guidance department probably does not officially start the college application process until January of junior year. That timing is partially driven by staffing, since during the fall of your teen’s junior year, the guidance department is focused on seniors

Read more

College Acceptances and Denials: The Best and Worst Things That Could Happen

College Acceptances and Denials: The Best and Worst Things That Could Happen

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect to your future.” -Steve Jobs. There seems to be so much at stake when college admissions decisions come out, whether it is

Read more

College Transfers: Why or Why Not?

College Transfers: Why or Why Not?

“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” – Winston Churchill. Your college freshman is home for Thanksgiving or winter break. He or she seems happy to be home, but not so eager to return to school for spring semester. Sometime between handing

Read more

College Freshmen Home for Thanksgiving

College Freshmen Home for Thanksgiving

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.”– Oscar Wilde. It’s yet another rite of passage for college freshmen. For some, it is the first time they will be home since they left for college in August. For others, it is the first time

Read more

The Move to College as “Group Therapy”

The Move to College as “Group Therapy”

“It always is harder to be left behind than to be the one to go…” -Brock Thoene. Years ago, I sat in a graduate psychology class on family systems therapy. The first day, our professor asked us to reflect on our families of origin, and introduce ourselves

Read more

Freshman Year of College: Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire

Freshman Year of College: Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire

Your teenager has graduated from high school, having been accepted to a dream college whose bumper sticker you are proud to wear on the rear window of your car, and… knock on wood, it looks like you will be able to afford it. You breathe a huge

Read more

The Summer Between High School and College

The Summer Between High School and College

“We need the sweet pain of anticipation to tell us we are really alive.” – Albert Camus. Your high school student has just completed those last (excruciatingly long) weeks of senior year. It has definitely been a grueling year, despite the many milestone celebrations, and both you and your

Read more

Admitted Students Day: A Different Kind of College Visit

Admitted Students Day: A Different Kind of College Visit

“To know the road ahead, ask those who are coming back.”– Chinese proverb. By mid-March, your high school senior has probably already received responses from some prospective colleges. Certainly in a few weeks, all the returns will be in.  You will soon have three pieces of information

Read more