WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO LEARN IN HIGH SCHOOL TO PREP FOR COLLEGE

1. The First Rule: There are no tricks or favors to get into college; but remember that colleges are looking for interesting and hardworking students.

2. Academics: English/writing, Math, and a strong Science foundation, Solid Alg. and Geometry foundation for humanities; calculus in high school for science and math majors. Take bio, chem., physics starting in middle school and honors or AP or college classes in high school. When you enter college, you’ll have choices about majors and directions. Don’t get locked into specialty fields in high school, you’ll limit yourself when you get to college.

3. Work Ethic:

• Express ideas in a formal essay format using good grammar, mechanics, and word choice.
  
• Do all of the problems, review sections, get old texts and do practice exercises, take multiple chapter reviews and review of other subjects to see what you’ve retained.
• Apply knowledge, don't fill in the blanks.

4. Build a solid foundation: The Project

• A. Colleges are looking for students who are excited about something. Americans have become overweight, lazy, and just plain stupid. Young peoples' interest in politics, environment, international affairs, education, or improving themselves intellectually seems to be waning. Teachers don’t require students to start initiatives because they don’t have the time to monitor the projects. Students and parents are too busy to conceive interesting ideas and don’t take the time to complete them.
• B. Select an idea that you are passionate about. If you don’t have any ideas, pick up the paper and read the headlines, stories too. Watch the news. Ask parents and others about issues or problems that need to be fixed. In your research phase, you’ll come across all kinds of ideas.
• C. Find a mentor to help you think through the project. That can be a school teacher, counselor, college prof, scientist, writer, journalist, retired professional, grandparent, etc. Pick up the yellow pages to call people in the field who may be able to guide you as you plan your project.
• D. Most projects will take 2-3 years to complete. Start early. Spend 2-3 months brainstorming; 1 month narrowing your topic based on interviews and research; 3-12 months working on the project production; 3 months on the followup, evals, write ups; 2 months writing press releases; 3-6 months doing public outreach
• E. Why do this? When you complete this project, not only will you be a leader in the industry, you’ll be the utmost expert. You’ll get notoriety, publicity, and press for your portfolio. And most importantly, you’ll know how to do just about anything upon completion of the project. You won’t be afraid to try something you’ve never done before or to enter new territory. It opens your mind so you can really start looking at career options for you.

5. GPA

• A. Still one of the #1 factors in college admissions
• B. Take the most difficult classes, challenging is a better word.
• C. Take AP, IB, classes if they’re offered at your school
• D. Take community college or university classes

i. Take the entire series if you plan to have courses articulate to the college when you enter, if you want to have the classes replace courses you’ll need to take in college, then make sure your high school doesn’t include the college classes on the transcript or considers them part of high school requirements. Colleges don’t like double dipping.

ii. Make sure that the college classes you take will be accepted by the colleges you’re interested in before taking the classes.

6. SAT AND ACT

A. Standardized tests are not going away anytime soon.

B. That said, these tests will the single most important tests you’ll take for college admissions

C. So, roll up your sleeves and learn how to take the test.

D. Use the SAT or ACT practice tests and take them under similar test environment. Use a timer, work in a quiet space, remove dictionaries and other devices from your desk.

E. Review all missed questions and consider the answers. Learn how to look at the test from the test writers’ perspective, it’ll help you improve your scores.

F. Take the practice tests as many times as you need to get your scores in the general area you need to before you take your tests. You don’t want to take the SAT or ACT 12 times; practice for a year or two, if your plan allows, and then take the test just a few times.

G. Your scores will not improve on their own. To improve verbal skills, you need to improve your vocabulary, reading fluency, reading comprehension- break trouble areas into subsections such as these in order to improve and work on them.

And finally...Let us reiterate rule #1 of this entry: There is simply no trick to replace the benefits reaped from genuine hard work!

Smart parents are setting up free child care in their homes

Imagine what you could do with the money you’d save if you didn’t have to pay for child care? For many, that could be $5,000 or more per year! In this economic climate, innovative parents are setting up programs in their homes and inviting a few other paying students to join their children. With the tuition they receive from the other students, they can pay for the teacher salary, materials, and other expenses.

Besides saving thousands of dollars per year, your children will have the opportunity to learn to read and write, get involved with math and science, and explore virtually all subjects you set up for them. One of the amazing benefits of setting up your children’s program is that you design the curriculum based on what you want your children to do each day. If you’re short on time, you can purchase a preschool curriculum.

In addition to giving your children a head start when they start kindergarten, you’ll also benefit by having in-home help. Your teacher can make meals for you and the children, run the laundry, and do light housekeeping before or after the program each day. Now wouldn’t you love to have these additional benefits? If you’re looking for help in setting up this program, The Working Mother’s Guide to Free Child Care in Your Home! is filled with forms, fliers, and advice to get you started. The author, Susan Tatsui-D’Arcy, is available online to guide you through the entire process of setting up and establishing your very own program.

3 Simple Steps to Selecting Best-Fit Colleges for your College-Bound Kiddo

Choosing the best-fit colleges today is a whole different ball game than back when we went to college. Many schools offer many courses of study- but we can be sure that every school doesn't offer every degree, and it's important to make sure that your child has many good options. So how do you know which colleges offer the majors that your children are interested in?

One of my clients, Debbie Z., a high school graduate, recently approached me regarding her four-year plan for Business Marketing at UC Santa Barbara- just before she was going to enter as a freshman! Because she hadn't done her research beforehand, she was devastated to find out that UCSB doesn't have a business marketing major. To avoid nightmares like this one, your soon-to-be-freshman needs to do his/her research!

1. Select all of the possible majors that your children are interested in. They can take career tests to point them in the right direction. That way if they have a few options, they can change majors without having to transfer to different colleges. After selecting their majors, they can search for colleges that offer the specific degrees that they're interested in.
2. Ask your children to begin their searches by visiting websites like www.collegeboard.com. These sites allow students to search for colleges by desired major. To start with, make a list of about 15 to 20 colleges. They can then begin narrowing the list by choosing colleges based on their locations.
3. Check out the college websites with your children. Read more about the departments and programs. You'll quickly see that not all colleges are equal. One might offer a business administration degree while another offers a school of business with seven majors. Then look at the statistics regarding life at that school (living arrangements, geography, potential for local activities, etc). And finally, visit your child's top five colleges! Nothing is more explanatory than first-hand observations and tours.
   

Choosing the right college takes time and effort, but the payoff is well worth all the effort spent! If you're going to spend tens of thousands of dollars on college expenses, make sure that the fit is right for your kid. High school guidance counselors as well as private college advisers can shed light on your plan today- don't wait until you realize your major isn't offered at the school of your choice- speak with Merit's Online College Advisors today to get a leg up on the decision-making process.

UCs will no longer require SAT II Subject Tests in 2012!

It's about time! The UCs have taken a bold step in reducing the number of standardized tests needed to apply to college.
Starting with the class of 2012 (10th graders this year), students will no longer be required to take or submit the SAT II Subject tests. All students will still need to take the SAT I or the ACT with writing.
Students who will be graduating in 2010 or 2011 will still need to take and submit the SAT II if they plan to apply to the UCs. Good news for sophomores and younger students! For SAT prep resources visit College Advisory @ Merit World!

How many after-school activities does your child really need to do?

ProjectMERIT

As a college advisor, I recommend that students start projects and continue to work on their projects all through high school. By doing these independent projects, students learn leadership, entrepreneurial, communication and coping skills -- skills that will help them in college, career, and beyond.

College admissions officers are intrigued by students who start non profits or rally friends to help families distressed by a hurricane. They like to see that a student had the initiative to do something that was not required of them. While college admissions officers like to see students involved in after-school or extracurricular activities, they don't want to see a list of 15 activities on their application forms.

So how many activities is enough? Try to keep extracurricular activities down to just one or two. That way, your child can focus on doing a good job and making a difference rather than spread themselves out over too many activities. College admissions committees don't want a Jack of all trades, master of none.

The old school philosophy encouraged students to be "well rounded" so students would join sports teams, clubs, non profits, and more. Unfortunately, these students didn't have time to participate and get involved because they just didn't have the time to go to all of the events. So, don't push your child to take too many activities, just a few of their favorites so they can master them. Encourage them to do a project!

Secret to getting your child into Top Colleges!

Besides GPAs (grades) and SAT/ACT (standardized tests) scores, what are top-ranked college admissions officers looking for in their incoming students? They're looking for outstanding, curious, interesting students. Long gone are the days of recruiting bookworms and science nerds. Colleges want to build a class of students who are bright and innovative. That's why doing a project is the best kept secret to getting your child into the best colleges.

By doing an independent project -- not something that is required for a class and not a community service -- your child will position himself to stand out among his peers. Rather than write about how he hopes to save the planet someday, your child could write about how his project is saving the planet. Personal statements, essays, and interviews are more interesting when students can discuss how and why they started their projects. They give the students talking points -- and that gives them an advantage in the admissions process!

If you're worried that your child can't do a project on his or her own, check out this book "Beat the College Admissions Game: Do a Project!". The book walks students through the entire process of doing a project from brainstorming to completion. And if your child needs help or support along the way, Merit College Advisors can guide them through any part or the entire process

What everybody ought to know about Study Skills!

If you're like other parents, you know your children aren't doing all they can to prepare for tests. As an educational consultant, I work with hundreds of students who claim that they study best by reviewing their notes the night before an exam, and then blame their low test scores on their poor test-taking skills. Unfortunately, students don't get much in the way of training to prepare for tests. When they get low test scores, it's most likely because they simply don't know the material! So how do you teach study skills? It's really simple; read on.

Tell your children that they need to prepare for tests FOUR days before the exam. That doesn't mean that they will be studying around the clock for four days, it just means that they should engage with the material for about 30-60 minutes per day, for four days prior. Here's why. If your children block off time in their planners to complete one task to prepare for an exam, they'll have time to absorb the concepts, practice using them, and still have time to meet with the teacher if they have any questions. For instance, if they're preparing for a vocab test, they might do the following. Day 1: Define the words and write sentences; Day 2: Make flashcards and practice them; Day 3: Take a practice exam; Day 4: Write new sentences for the vocab they're still getting incorrect.

By giving your children the skills to ace a test, you're really giving them the key to success. After all, students' grades are largely dependent on quiz, test, and final exams. Teach your children how to study so they can enjoy the great feeling they'll experience when they get A's in class!

If you wish to learn more merit has some excellent education services focused toward accelerating the learning process. Call us at 831.462.5655 to talk to Susan our Director or stop by our college advisory.