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College Search Guide (6/16/16 Issue)
Education Jun 30, 2016
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June is a great time to look at what your children have accomplished, and what they need to achieve to propel them to the next school year. – Courtesy photo
The Road to College
By May S. Ruiz
June typically marks the end of another school year. It’s a great time to look at what your children have accomplished, and what benchmarks they need to achieve to propel them to the next school year. In the distant past, kids spent their summer just having fun, maybe working temporary or seasonal jobs, and not thinking about school for a while. But in today’s world, that’s not what’s happening. First of all, what used to be summer jobs for teenagers are now being taken by older professionals who could not find more permanent, gainful employment. Second of all, the race to be the better candidate for a highly selective college or university does not stop at the end of the school year.
An update on teen employment released last month by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement career and transition service company, reveals that only 25 percent of teens will find a job this summer, down 14 percent from last year. According to the survey, instead of pursuing traditional jobs, teenagers are volunteering, enrolling in educational programs or doing other things to pad their college applications.
Furthermore, according to Challenger, restaurants and retail outlets don’t need as many workers to meet seasonal needs. While teens continue to have job opportunities in summer camps, neighborhood pools, and amusement parks, the number of jobs available isn’t growing.
The increased competition to gain admission to very selective universities has forced teens to fill summer hours with enrichment activities and going to third-world countries to dig up latrines. While I am not advocating that your children just lie inert for three months as a reward for having successfully finished one school year, I would suggest a less frantic pace. Sometimes, letting their mind and body recharge would do more good than drilling for the PSATs, SATs, SAT IIs, ACTs, APs, and whatever other standardized test acronyms and initials are out there.
Having said that though, there is the reality that the gap between school years is so big that kids forget everything they learned then go back to school in the fall unprepared for the work. Parents should let their children have a variety of fun, educational, productive activities so they don’t become stale and uninspired.
FRESHMAN
Ninth grade is behind them! Your children’s grades should indicate that they took high school seriously and that they put all their efforts at getting good marks. They should have already made plans for summer programs, internships and community service work. They should engage in activities that truly reflect their passion. Instead of joining a group of kids building houses in Guatemala, they might consider an activity that would really mean something to them.
College admissions officers see the same pursuit on all the resumes they receive that your children would not be doing anything memorable. Encourage them to think outside the box, avoid the herd mentality. If your kids enjoy music and performance, for instance, they might consider organizing an original musical to be presented to seniors at your city’s retirement center.
In January of this year, the Harvard Graduate School of Education released a seminal report called “Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good Through College Admissions,” which was endorsed by 80 colleges and universities. It points out that today’s process puts much emphasis on personal success rather than service for others.
It recommends students engage in: meaningful, sustained community service; collective action that takes on community challenges; authentic experiences in diversity; work that helps them appreciate the contributions of the past generations; contributions to one’s family.
All the recommendations in the study, however, are courses of action that high school counselors are already preaching to students. So in that regard, it really isn’t anything new. What’s new is the strong emphasis on community service which the study wants admissions officers to use for making their decisions.
The jury is still out on whether following the recommendations this study is advocating will actually fix the college application process that so many believe is broken. In the meantime, it is incumbent upon you to encourage your children to do well in school and to put a lot of thought into what community service they want to embark on.
SOPHOMORE
Your children’s end-of-year marks in 10th grade should have improved over last year’s if they didn’t do well in their freshman year. College admissions officers want to see students who continue to better themselves.
They need to take whatever standardized tests are required – ACT or June SAT subject tests are the norm. They also need to continue the community service activity they started last summer. While it is advisable to show consistency for admissions officers to know that your kids have a passion for such work, they could do a variation of it; they don’t want to be monotonous.
They can start researching about colleges, specifically looking for the institutions offering the courses they want to major in.
JUNIOR
The school year that just ended was a pivotal one for your children as it would be the last full year that college admissions officers will see on your kids’ application. It should reflect your children’s efforts at getting the best marks they could muster, and an improvement over the first two years of high school.
Make sure your children have their community service work, internship, and enrichment program ready for summer. These activities should be a continuation of the previous years’.
This is going to be their busiest summer with standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, SAT IIs, and APs. If they have not seen the schools they are considering applying to, this would be their last chance to visit college campuses. You might consider making it a fun summer trip for the family (my daughter and I spent two weeks visiting universities as part of our summer vacation).
Your children should start thinking about their essay topic; meeting with their school counselor to make sure they have taken all the required courses for graduation and college (the UCs have their A – G requirements that need to be completed); and lining up teachers they would like to ask for recommendations.
SENIOR
Well, your children have accomplished a major milestone – successfully completing high school and getting accepted into a college or university! This period in their life will never again be repeated, so let them revel in what they have achieved. Give yourself a pat on the back while you’re at it, you’ve been a major influence in whatever path they choose to take from here.
