Extra-Curricular Activities That College Admission Offices Like

It's hard enough to get good grades and high scores on SATs, but your dream college might also have a very keen interest in extra-curricular activities as well.  As you prepare your application letters, consider what universities are looking for.

Quality is better than quantity. 

Anyone can join a club or volunteer for a day or two. Stuffing your application with a hundred extra-curricular activities simply looks like you lack focus in your non-school activities, or worse yet, you’ve just tried to pad your application. The college admissions officer is no fool and has seen it before. 

What impresses colleges is commitment to something; sticking with a team, club, or cause for a year or more shows that you have the kind of focus and perseverance needed to succeed in a high-quality academic program.

Demonstrate leadership. 

Leadership roles still have a lot of pull in college admissions.  Not everyone can be class president, but any experience with team leadership or mentoring skills should  be highlighted.

Tie extra curricular activities to your chosen college program.

Ideally will be at least some correlation between your extra-curricular activities and the program you're applying to.  Applying to a leading engineering school with an application full of theatre and music credits is not a winning endorsement. Similarly, applying to theater school with nothing but tech extra-curricular activities will seem equally strange. 

This isn't to say that you can't do some things just for fun – after all, balance in life is important – but if you don't have something connected to your program of choice, the admissions department might question how committed you'll be to the program.

Give yourself credit! An amazing number of students leave extra-curricular activities off their applications because their personal interests are so much a part of them that it doesn't occur to them that those activities might impress a school.  All your jobs, all your clubs, all your sports, everything you've volunteered for... make sure the college knows!

Stress Management for Students

Getting into college will be one of the most rewarding and exciting parts of your life.  It'll also be the hardest. The process is generally long, complex, and can be difficult. Anything difficult will cause stress – and unless you learn to manage stress, it will manage you.  Don't allow stress to build up and negatively affect your scholastic endeavors or your health.

 To fight stress, do these things:

1. Stay healthy.  Poor eating, exercise and health habits will do more to you than just make you gain weight; they sap energy, worsen your mood, and add to stress.  Stress is not just a mental state; it's a physical state, and if your body is not well equipped to handle it, you'll be less able to deal with stress.  Eat healthy food, get a good night's sleep, and exercise. 

2. Budget study time.  Ignoring an exam and then cramming the night before will add to your stress (and it doesn't work anyway.)  Having a study plan will not only pace your brain, but just knowing that you have a plan will relax you. For more tips and tricks, read our blog post “Managing Your Study Time”. 

3. Stay social.  You don't want to party your scholarship away, but it's important to stay social. Make friends.  Find clubs.  Play games and sports. Keep in mind that the students you meet today are the co-workers of tomorrow, so it pays to get out and meet new people. Take the time to get to know your colleagues and the time to relax. The mind is well rested by new activities, and socializing will cut down on your stress. 

4. Engage support.  It’s very common for both high school students and college students to feel overwhelmed by it all. If concerns are eating away at you, tell someone - confide in a friend, call your parents, or talk to a professor. Find groups that provide support. Hard though it is to believe when you’re awash in a sea of stress, someone's always ready to help if you just ask. 

Stress management is critically important to any long term effort that requires a lot of time and effort, and your college-bound journey is exactly that. The skills you learn today to manage stress can carry through the rest of your life!

6 Tips for Writing College-Level Essays

College admission essays are one of the most stressful points in the admission process for high school students. A proper essay will tell your professors everything about you as a student; your command of the topic, your work ethic, your ability to research, and your logical thinking.  When you start tackling college essays, keep these six points in mind:

1. Assemble your research first.  Don't get halfway through your essay only to stumble across facts that contradict the last thousand words you just wrote.  Its okay to keep researching as you write an essay – for upper years it's almost necessary – but you should start your essay having already done enough research to know where it's going.

2. Understand the structure of an essay.  Unless your college gives you a different or limited sort of assignment, an academic essay is a piece of writing that makes a claim and provides evidence to support the claim.  Your essays should present a thesis – an assertion that something is true - provide evidence that the assertion is true, and then conclude by summarizing the major points of evidence.  You can't go too wrong by sticking to that structure.

3. Plan your essay.  An essay plan can be as short as a hundred words.  State your thesis in ten words, each of three major points in twelve words; a few notes for each of the three major points, and you have an essay plan.

4. Use multiple resources.  Don't just parrot one book.  If you're at a good school, your professor very likely knows all the best books.  He or she might have written the best books!  The purpose of an essay is to show you are learning how to think, not that you know how to read. 

5. Learn the rules of attribution.  In other words... don't plagiarize.  Plagiarism can end your trip to college or make it much more unpleasant than you've planned.  Any quote you use, any passage you borrow, or any fact you cite should be in a footnote or an endnote.  If you don't understand the basics of academic attribution, ask your instructor.  Your college's bookstore will have writing guides as well.

6. Get someone to proofread it.  No matter how good you think your writing is, no matter how carefully you proofread it yourself, get someone who has a sharp eye for language to proofread your essay.  You will be amazed how many errors they'll find and suggestions they'll have.

Most of all don't be afraid to ask your teachers for help.  They keep office hours for a reason and they'd much rather help you understand academic writing than mark a bad essay.  When in doubt, ask the expert!

Saving for College

College is expensive. We just stumbled on a report from the The Chronicle of Higher Education, which says there are now are 100 colleges which cost more than $50,000 per year!

In an economy when foreclosures are high and money is low, how can students and parents save for college?

Save Early, Save Often

Virtually every state now offers a 529 plan, allowing parents a tax-free or tax-deferred plan to save for their child’s higher education. The plans offer parents tax-based incentives to save early and save often for their children’s college tuition and expenses. 529 plans can be set up at your local financial institution.

The key is to get started early and contribute often. It’s become quite common for parents to start a college savings plan when a child is born (16 years of savings growth!), or when they graduate into high school (still 4 years of savings growth!)

Tip: Consider asking friends and family members to give donations to the child’s college fund at birthdays, holidays, and Christmas.

Find the Right Schools…

Is your child thinking of going to Berkeley? You’d better know that the average cost for new admissions in 2010 is over $49’000 for non-residents. If that price just gave you some sticker shock, you need to consider looking at what colleges your child can afford, and narrowing down your list of admission-worthy colleges from there.  

Rather than commit yourself to a particular college “brand”, consider what program your student is interested in going into, and then find the best schools in that field. Your goal isn’t to find the best all-round college; it’s to find the best college for your kid.

If money is tight, seriously consider in-state colleges, where tuition is typically half of out-of-state schools, and local colleges where your student may be able to live at home free. While finishing his/her undergrad, your student may then be able to save for a 1-2 year post-graduate program at a higher-end school.

… and the Right Scholarships

In the A2Z College Planning Guide “Time Management for College-Bound Students” we talk about how students should carefully choose extra curricular activities, to not only match their skills and interest, but also give them opportunities for scholarships and grants.

Each college has its own criteria for scholarships, based on a need for diversity and excellence in particular programs. Students are often automatically enrolled in college-specific scholarships and grants, but have to apply separately for private and state-based scholarships and grants.

Uncovering scholarship and grant opportunities can be a full-time job. If you’re serious about sending your high school student to a top college, it’s worth the time and 

Give Us an Hour; We’ll Give You Answers

On Tuesday, November 30^th, I’ll be hosting a FREE live teleconference for college-bound high school students and their parents to talk about college admissions, the right college, and college counseling.

“Winning The College Admissions Game - How To Get Into The College Of Your Choice” is going to be full of insider tips and tricks on defining your perfect college, and how to navigate the admissions process.

Here’s what one of our last attendees said:

“Planning for college was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I didn't know what steps to take and when I should take them. With the help of Rhonda and A2Z, I was able to complete a professional resume, apply for scholarships, and submit applications to four colleges. I am proud to say that I was accepted at 3 out 4 colleges. A2Z helped me more than I could have possibly helped myself.”

Take the first step to an easier, less-stressful college admissions process by attending this teleconference. All it takes is a phone and an hour of your time, and you’re guaranteed to get great value!

Time: Tuesday November 30^th at 6:30pm EDT

Cost: FREE

Register Here

Do you know someone else who is college-bound? Send me an email and I’ll personally reach out to invite them. 

- Rhonda Manns, College Admissions Consultant

Five Tips for Parenting The College-Bound Child

Raising a child is the most challenging thing most people will ever do, and sending them away to college is one of the toughest parts.  Helping your teenager choose the perfect college is a great start – but how can you help them succeed there? Education is your child's first real job, and college might actually be the hardest job they'll ever do. You can't go with them and can't do their work for them, but send them as well prepared as possible with these five tips.

First, prepare your child for a big step up in academic expectations.  For the vast majority of students, college is a tremendous increase in academic difficulty.  They can expect work to get harder and grades to get lower.  If your child doesn't expect this they might become discouraged. 

Second, prepare your child for self management.  In high school, it is the school's job to see to it the student passes.  In college, it's the student's job to satisfy the college that they should be allowed to pass.  Your child has to manage their own relationships with their instructors, their own administrative matter, and their own studying.  Get them to manage these things in high school, especially in their senior year.   Your child will be treated as an adult by their college, so they should get some practice as soon as possible. 

Third, help your child learn the school beforehand.  Orientations, campus tours, literature, and talking to former students is invaluable for preparing to move away and profoundly change their lives.  Even a moderately large school has the area and population of a small city and the bureaucracy can be just as hard to navigate. The more your child knows before college starts, the less shock they will experience. 

Fourth, help your child budget.  If your child is on their own for the first time the temptation to blow through their spending money can be overwhelming.  Get the numbers down on paper and show them what they have and how it can be stretched out all year.  The last thing a young student needs come exam time is to panic over a money shortage.

Fifth, don't overemphasize post-college plans.  It's good to think about careers, but as the old sports saying goes, you have to play them one game at a time.  Your child might change their mind, change majors, or adjust any number of things, but the critically important thing is to graduate from college first. 

Your child is about to embark upon a journey of four or more years.  You can’t lead them but you can at least start them off with a map and a compass! 

Should You Plan to Work While In College?

To decide whether or not you should hold down a job while you're attending college (or, for that matter, in high school as you work towards getting into your dream college) you first need to budget your school year.

First, add up the total amount of money you have to work with – not just what you've got yourself, but what you can expect from your family, from education saving accounts, bursaries, grants, and student loans. Then add up your projected expenses – tuition, residence or rent, books, supplies, food, and don't forget transportation; flying home for Thanksgiving and Christmas can make a big dent. Then add twenty percent to all your living expenses. Budget for the unexpected!

If your expenses exceed your available money and loans, consider a job. While a job can distract you from your studies, being in financial trouble will distract you more. The last thing you need come spring and exam time is to have money problems on your mind.

If you want to hold down a job, ask three questions:

1. Is it compatible with my studies? The best jobs are those related to your field of study, even if the relationship's a distant one. Taking economics or business? Try to find temp work in a small or medium business. Taking drama? Work for a theater, even if it's the ticket booth. Planning on a career in medicine? Find work at the student clinic. No matter how modest the work, future employers and school evaluators will be impressed that you worked in your field.
2. What's the real wage? Holding down a job means added trouble and expenses. A three hour shift at $10 an hour is really $7.50 an hour if it takes you an hour to get to work and back, and if you're out transportation costs, it's lower still. On the other hand, if you work enough hours, you might qualify for benefits, and avoiding debt means you're saving interest. Add up all the benefits and drawbacks, not just the hourly wage.
3. Can I handle the workload? This you might not know until you get to college and start to juggle your time. If you're not sure how many hours your college of choice will ask of you, don't be afraid to call them up and ask. Department offices will be able to tell you what your course schedule will look like. Don't forget to add time for studying!

It might seem obvious that the decision to hold a job is the trade-off between money and time, but the key is to ensure that you have an accurate picture of exactly what the trade-offs are. Start your budget and planning now... and get your resume ready!

Managing Your Study Time

If you're making the effort to get into the perfect college, you may be one of the many students who just can't seem to study enough.

But, believe it or not, it's possible to allocate too much time to studying. If you feel like you're abandoning social life or extra curricular activities to hit the books, or just feel there's not enough time in the day to study, you might want to consider better study time management. Study smarter... not longer!

Try these three tips:

1. Budget your time. Parkinson's Law states that any task given unlimited time will probably never be finished. If you don't set aside a specific amount of time for schoolwork, you might fall into the trap of feeling as if you've never done enough.

Instead, try to set yourself a fixed amount of time per evening. My suggestion is 85 minutes per day. Set an alarm for that time and when it rings, close your books and finish. After a few days you might be amazed at how your studying will become more efficient just because you're unconsciously working towards that limit.

2. Plan a week ahead. If you don't have a plan before you crack open the books, you won't be efficient in your studying. If you sit down with mounds of essays, labs, upcoming tests and readings and no idea where to start, you'll be distracted by everything you're not doing while you try to do something. Furthermore, you might find yourself spending so much time on one subject you don't leave enough time for another.

Instead of sitting down to a pile of notes and textbooks, plan your week.. Using your work due dates as guides, figure out what you want to do on Monday, Tuesday, and so on, and stick to it as closely as possible. And what you're not planning on doing tonight, get it off your desk! Concentrate on one task at a time to do it right and absorb the information.

3. Don't burn the midnight oil. If you usually go to sleep at 11, staying up until 3 isn't going to help, and in fact, it'll probably hurt. Doing work while you're tired will just result in poor work. Studying while you're tired will almost certainly result in your remembering nothing. Worse, losing sleep will reduce your energy, attentiveness, and performance in class.

Instead of cramming to the wee hours of the morning when exam time comes around, why not find other times to study? Bus and train rides, quiet time, even skimming a textbook while eating, all allow you to absorb information and come up with ideas when your brain is alert, and leave you with time to get a good night's sleep.

Your brain uses more energy than any other organ in your body. To get into the college you've always dreamed of you need to keep your brain from getting worn out!

FREE College Planning Teleconference

Are You A High School Student Or Parent Of A High School Student?

Did you know that 3.3 million High School Seniors will graduate this year?
Of those, 2.1 million will apply for college. Who gets accepted to the college of their choice and who gets rejected depends on many factors.


What Are The TOP 5 Factors In College Admissions Decisions?
Why The College Admissions Process Is So Competitive… And What You Can Do About It?
The Effects Of The Economy On The College Admissions Process.
Why College Counseling In High School Is Not Always Enough?

To receive answers to these questions, join us for a FREE teleconference: Winning The College Admissions Game-How To Get Into The College Of Your Choice? Our experts will give you the inside scoop on what matters most in college admissions.

The Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 from 6:30-7:30 PM EST. Click here to register http://www.a2zcollegeplanning.com/teleconference.html

Do you know another high school student or parent of a high school student who are planning for college? If so, please share information about our FREE Teleconference and have them visit our website www.a2zcollegeplanning.com for more information.

Best Wishes,
The A2Z College Planning Team
PO Box 13056
Durham, NC 27709
www.a2zcollegeplanning.com
info@a2zcollegeplanning.com
919-450-0171

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