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Creating an Admissions Appropriate Online Persona

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The advent of technology certainly has made the college admissions process easier and more accessible to the nearly 2 million high school seniors who apply each year. But it has also made our lives so much more transparent and visible than ever before. And college admissions officers, trying to glean as much as they can about their candidates, have begun turning to the Internet to do so.

While many kids choose to turn off their social media accounts during the important admissions season, I would recommend letting admissions officers into your online lives a little bit more — but do so very carefully.

Most teenagers these days have Facebook accounts, Instagram accounts, and more and more are tweeting regularly. Some are even on LinkedIn hoping to get a jump start on their networking. And while teens typically look to social media for staying connected and keeping up, it can also be a huge opportunity to show admissions officers what you do in your free time.

So follow these steps for creating an admissions appropriate online persona:

• Privatize whatever you don’t want admissions officers to see, whether pictures or posts. While you cannot control what others post, you can control what others see. You should become familiar with the different privacy settings and test them out as soon as possible. If there are pictures up that you definitely don’t want viewed by admissions officers, or anyone, kindly ask the people who posted them to remove them. If your online self simply does not show you in a positive light and no amount of fidgeting with settings will change that, then block anyone you don’t know from seeing your information. But you should also then think about what you post going forward. These sites are not going anywhere and admissions officers and even employers will be checking them out in their decision making process.

• Watch the language. Whether you are tweeting, writing wall posts or making comments, be aware of your language. Definitely no cursing allowed. Write intelligently and thoughtfully. Don’t write anything you would not want your mother to see. Don’t write something that you wouldn’t say in person – just because you have the mask of your social profile, make sure whatever you are saying is something you would be comfortable saying in-person. 

• Do damage control. Go through your online profiles for the last two years. If you are unsure about something that is posted, delete it. Err on the side of being too cautious. While admissions officers will not spend hours digging through your profiles, you only have one opportunity to make a first impression, so make sure that any click one would make on your profiles would lead to something interesting and positive.

• Post about the positive things in your life! If you had an amazing debate round, or really connected with someone you volunteered with, or had a really amazing volleyball match, feel free to post. If you philosophically disagree with a theory you are learning in economics, are excited about spending the holidays with your favorite cousins, or are counting down the days until the next school dance, feel free to post.

• Be yourself and post about things that are important to you. Doing so will let admissions officers learn more about what you think about in your spare time and how you interact with others. If you love to blog about current events, make those blogs public. If you watch all the new movies and immediately write reviews, make those reviews available. You can still be a teenager. You certainly should not try to be someone you are not. Rather, this is an opportunity to highlight what you want others to see — exactly what you are trying to do in your college applications.

Social media makes it easier for people to see what you don’t want them to see, but it can also be a great opportunity to give others a glimpse into who you are. Rather than wasting that chance, make the most of it by making the most of all that technology has to offer.

Set Goals for The New Academic Year

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Summer is a great time to really think about the past year and to set goals for the upcoming one. While you might want to block out what happened the previous academic year, remember that we have to learn from our successes and our failures. This will help you to set appropriate goals and strategies for the upcoming year. Find a time when you can really sit down and think about the past year. Even if you had the best academic year of your life, there is still value in reflection. Think of this as New Year’s resolutions for the school year. The key is making them stick.

The first thing you want to do is to take stock. Either think about or write down your responses to the following questions.

• What could you have done differently or better? This can be general or specific to each one of your classes in school. Be as specific as you can here. Something general like “study more” does not really help you at all. And an answer like that is really the easy way out. How could you have studied differently? Would you change the location or the time of studying? Would you study two or four days in advance?

• What habits would you like to improve? How could this have helped your performance last year? Examples of habits include time management, study skills, sleep, etc. Before you fall into the same bad habits again, pick the few that you really want to improve upon.

• Reflect on how and where you were most successful. What was it about those experiences that led to your success? Success does not just happen; you work for it. Don’t just dwell on the instances when success was not at your fingertips. Think about the times when your efforts were rewarded. What can you learn from those?

• How did your strengths shine through? We all have strengths. By better understanding those strengths, we can use them to be more effective. You might realize that you are really great at managing and leading others. You might want to take the lead on group projects. You might find that you are fantastic at editing papers. Perhaps you can help a friend edit a paper and she can help you with the format of a lab report. Now, I am not advocating for cheating here, but rather using your skills to help others and vice versa.

• What was your responsibility in the things that did not go well? It is often too easy to blame others for our own shortcomings. If you had a flimsy relationship with a teacher and your grades plummeted because of a lack of communication, what could you have done to strengthen that relationship? If your group for a project did not carry its weight and produce a quality project, how could you have more effectively managed communication or the members?

Once you have really dissected the past year, you can more effectively plan for the upcoming year. So let’s set some goals:

• What grades do you want to achieve this year and how will you do it? The second part of this question is actually the most important. Think strategically about the five or six things you must do to be successful.

• Outside of academics, what do you hope to accomplish? List five things you want to happen through your extracurricular activities, and how you plan to make them a reality.

• You are likely going to be taking some standardized tests this year. Map out which ones you plan to take and how and when you will study for them.

• What are your personal goals for the year? While school and extracurricular activities will certainly eat up quite a bit of your time, remember that this is your life. You probably have interests outside formal activities and school. Think about five things you would like to have happen this year. They can be simple things like reading 10 books or learning how to cook four of your favorite dishes.

Before the last days of summer disappear and you are suddenly in the thick of the academic year, take just a few minutes to reflect and plan. Your year will go by more smoothly and with less stress.

Tips for The New Senior Class

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It is so hard to imagine that this year’s senior class has finally grown up. I have known many of my seniors since they were unsure, shy, aspiring underclassmen. Now they are the ones who are going to rule the school. Being a senior is not just a rite of passage; with the privileges come great responsibility. Here are do’s and don’ts to remember:

– Do think about your future and what you want to do after high school. It can be too easy to push off major decisions about your future until the future becomes your present. However, doing so is going to limit your opportunities down the road. Start developing your plans now.

– Don’t procrastinate on your college applications. How you work on your applications not only determines where you will get accepted, but also so much about your personality. Be thorough. Be detail-oriented. Be timely. Respect those who are helping you through the process, including your counselors and recommenders.

– Don’t forget that school still matters. Regardless of your plans next year, you are in school for a reason and that is to learn. Take every opportunity you can to learn as much as you can!

– Do remember that “senioritis” is not a real affliction. Getting bored of school is not a real medical or psychological condition. Really, it is just a made-up excuse to let school fall low on your priority list.

– Don’t’ forget to have fun! This is the last year that you will be spending with many of the people you have seen at least 200 days a year for perhaps the last 12 years. Your childhood friends will hold a special place in your life and the memories you create now will last for many years to come.

– Do learn the essential skills that you will need beyond high school. Get your license if you don’t have it already. Learn to do laundry — it is more complicated than you can imagine. Learn to cook — cereal does not count. Really learn to cook a few of your favorite dishes.

– Do get a job at some point in the next year. The money is certainly one piece of it. The more important reason, though, is that you are going to learn a new set of skills that no textbook will teach you.

– Don’t forget that this is more than another year of high school. This is another year of your life. Use this year to also pursue your personal interests. Perhaps you have been wanting to pick up the ukulele or read the entire Harry Potter series. Whatever it is big or small, explore all of your interests.

– Do savor every moment of this year. It is going to fly by faster than you can even realize right now.

All the best!

Your Insight Team

Is Working Part-Time During High School Really Possible?

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Yes! 

I started working unofficially at the age of 7, helping my aunt file papers in her small accounting practice. When I turned 14, I got my first real job, at McDonald’s — the only place that would hire anyone so young at that time. And on the day I turned 16, I went from my driving test straight to the bookstore where I would work until college. Not only did I have to work to be able to pay for the activities I wanted to participate in, but I wanted to work.

One of our other counselors was taking orders in her parents’ coffee shop as soon as she could reach the cash register. Another worked as a waitress throughout high school and college. She can handle tough people like nobody’s business. One of our students takes the bus from school to her job at an office supply store three days a week, and manages to keep a 3.8 GPA.

But more and more these days, I see parents not wanting their kids to work while in school. For some it is a pride issue — “we don’t need the money.” For others, they don’t want their kids to focus on a short-term job and lose sight of a long-term career. And for a few, they really just don’t see value in their kids having a job. But beyond the hourly wage, there are many benefits to having a part-time job while in high school and college.

  • Awareness of money. Learning how to handle one’s personal finances is not a skill best learned in the classroom. On my first day of work, I remember thinking I would make enough money that day to buy the really cool pair of jeans there was no way my aunt was going to buy me. But I quickly realized that the IRS has something to say in how much money I actually take home. I also realized that working was a privilege. I worked alongside others who were trying to raise families and live off the meager wages. I learned to respect the work I was doing, no matter how mundane or menial. The jeans really did not seem important anymore.
  • Learn responsibility and time management. If you show up late for work or don’t show up at all, someone is probably going to get pretty mad at you. You might get yelled at. You might even get fired. Your parents might forgive you, but the company you work for will always remember. Working teaches teens that they are accountable to somebody and that there are consequences to not performing. And during the time they are at work, they will be forced to complete tasks on time. They will more easily learn to multitask and manage their time simply because there is no other option.
  • Deal with difficult people. There is nothing like getting yelled at by someone over a mistaken order or a long wait to teach people how to learn with difficult personalities. Customer service is at the center of most jobs teens can take on, and it is a skill that will serve them well throughout their lives. This type of social development rarely happens in schools. Don’t shield your kids from these experiences. They will make them stronger, more capable of being out in the real world.
  • Strengthen a resume. One job leads to another and another. The skills you learn from one job will help you when you apply for another, and so on. If you wait until the summer after your first in year in college to get a job, you are going to be competing with others who already have more experience than you. More importantly, you are developing strong skills — responsibility, money management, initiative, customer service, problem solving, and the list goes on. These skills are as valuable to an employer as specific technical know-how.
  • Colleges love work experience. I am hesitant to list this as a reason to work, because it should not be the reason to get a job. But the reality is that colleges love to see that students have had real-world experience, that they have ventured out of their comfort zone, and that they have learned important life skills. It likely means that you will take college more seriously.

The most important thing that teens learn when they get a job is independence, something most crave immensely but often don’t know what to do with once they have it. A job may also show them what they would like to do with their lives, and equally importantly it might show them exactly how they do not want to spend their lives. Both are valuable learnings!

So rather than discourage work during high school and college, encourage it. 

 

How Do I Find My Passion?

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I have had the great honor of sitting on panels about college admissions. One that has stuck with me was a panel to share with students the true value of a college education and how to best prepare for it. It was an opportunity to see life not as one big race to the finish with college being the first major marker, but rather as a journey that is unique and very personal. One student asked a profound question:

“Everyone talks about passion, but I don’t know what mine is. How do I find it?”

Right then, I realized that we use the word “passion” too loosely. We ask teens to define their life’s calling, pushing and pushing them until they can say at least one thing they like. Then we label that a passion and use it to box them into a category. We tell teens to write about their passions on their college applications or to explain them in the college interview. We don’t give them a choice. Or worse, we look down upon those who cannot relay their passions in life quickly and deeply.

Let’s step away from the word passion. Even the most accomplished adult might have a hard time explaining her passion. And one’s passion does not have to become one’s career, and one’s career does not have to be a passion.

When I was younger, I loved swimming and did it competitively. I also acted in several community plays. As I got older I joined about a million activities and loved each one for different reasons. But I would have been hard-pressed to call any one of those my passions when I was a teen. I love my job and I love writing, but are they my passions? Maybe. But giving my interests a title doesn’t benefit anyone, least of all me.

So rather than trying to simply define passion, people — especially teens — should simply look for new and varied opportunities and experiences. You will never know if you like something until you try it for yourself. Use high school as a playground to try new subjects, explore activities and look to your community for different ways to get involved. You may not always be successful, but failure and disappointment are the building blocks of life. Embrace them and you will more quickly find what you love.

Too many high school students feel the need to simply check off the necessary items for the college admissions process. And I get it, these teens are under enormous pressure to succeed within a specific definition. But if we as a society could give them more space to make mistakes, to take risks and to broaden their perspectives, we will actually engage an entire generation.

Rather than forcing them to memorize facts, we can create problem solvers. Rather than forcing math and science, English or a foreign language on those who simply do not have the interest or skill for it, let’s encourage students to explore and push their boundaries for the sake of learning.

My answer to that teen is, your passion in life is going to evolve throughout your existence. Rather than focusing on finding it, focus on what you love to do, what you are curious about, and where your strengths are. Then step back and look at careers that might allow you to integrate as many of your interests as possible. And don’t think that your career is the ultimate show of what your passion is. College is another great time to see more and experience more. You will get greater exposure to what life has to offer, and your interests will evolve.

Summer Freedom Can Still Be Productive!

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As final exams conclude, as you turn in your year-end projects, as you wait for AP scores and prepare for your upcoming SAT, ACT, and SAT subject tests in June, as you begin to pack for a summer trip, a new internship, or (gulp) college, please stop for a moment and take a deep breath.  No seriously, put down your phone and close your laptop.  I’ll wait for you.  Turn off the TV.  Put your stress ball down.  Shut your bedroom door and unplug the landline (I know, I know, what’s a landline?)  Make sure to take a long deep breath.  Close your eyes.  Think about where you are in your life and how far you’ve come, not only this year but in the year’s prior.  Think about your family and your friends.  Think about your goals for yourself.  Concentrate on your thoughts.  Relax for a few precious seconds.  Are you ready?  Good, slowly open your eyes.  Look out the window and exhale.  Now…

 

How would you like to spend your summer?

I know, it’s a loaded question, but an important one.  Are you traveling?  Are you volunteering?  Are you playing sports?  Are you working?  Are you studying for standardized tests?  Are you taking an online course?  Are you taking a class at a community college?  Ok, wait, I’m sorry about all the questions.  Go ahead and grab your stress ball again.  Are we back on track?  Alright, let’s try again.  There is absolutely no requirement that you engage in all or even most of the above activities I mentioned above.  By this point you have likely already discussed summer plans with your Insight counselor or at least pondered your options at home with your parents.  But whatever, you have decided, you should be doing “something.” Don’t panic – there is freedom in that word.  “Something” is inexact by definition – it lacks clarity and one person’s “something” isn’t necessarily the same as another’s.  You don’t want to copy the same summer plans of your best friend or take the most popular route anyway.  Rather, you need to do what works best for YOU.

 

Colleges respond to diversity, they respond to students who exercise unique choices. Just ask this year’s fantastic group of graduating seniors, who in just a few short months will be on their way to orientations on college campuses from California to the UK and beyond. Talk to seniors you know or ask your counselor to put you in touch with older students who shares your interests.  Find out what worked for them, what motivated them, and how they utilized the ten weeks each summer between school ending and beginning. Ask them if they have any regrets about the decisions they made (hey, there’s a nice college essay prompt for you rising seniors). 

 

But while being your own person is important, please don’t be alarmed if you are making decisions based on upcoming priorities either. In fact, that’s often crucial.  Will you be tackling your first AP class next fall?  If so, how are you getting ready?  Whether your peers are enrolling at De Anza or self-studying with a guide purchased on Amazon or doing practice problems through Collegeboard is irrelevant. Discuss with your counselor what YOU should be doing to maximize your success.  If you are signed up for an SAT in August or an ACT in September, how are you studying?  Some students thrive in a one-on-one setting with an experienced tutor.  Others do their best work in an intensive 10 day boot camp that enables collective ideas, reveals strategies, and allows for maximum practice. You can see our test prep options by clicking here. 

 

However you spend this summer, don’t be afraid to fail or try something unfamiliar.  Opportunities to explore who you are in depth are few and far between, especially the older you get.  Take advantage of this time.  And please remember, we are here to help.  We plan with students of varying ages every day.  We want to put you in the best position to thrive, to peak, to try a new activity. High school passes by very quickly.  Enjoy yourself, do your very best, and don’t forget to smile.

Ready, Set, Take the Test!

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Students are getting ready to embark on a very busy testing season. The next SAT dates are coming up in May and early June, and the ACT is following just after. Below are some tips for success during the summer study period:

 

Focus on your weaknesses and not your strengths. It is human nature to want to do the things we do well. But this is not an effective test prep strategy. The first thing you need to do is assess the content or style of question that is causing you the most trouble. Once you have done that, spend most of your study time focusing on these. 

 

Don’t just read and reread — answer questions. Often, students say they plan to keep rereading chapters until test day arrives. But this is a totally ineffective way to prepare. Most tests are not dependent on your just memorizing content, but rather on applying that knowledge. The best thing you can do is answer as many questions as possible. As you go through these questions, note those things that you want to review and then spend your time focusing on just those. With limited time, it is not reasonable to assume that you have time to relearn everything. 

 

Be organized. You may be tempted to check off other things on your to-do list, but re-prioritize based on which tests will be first and which you are least prepared for. 

 

Mimic your testing environment. Studies have shown that studying in situations similar to the real testing environment can have a positive effect on your performance. Sit at a desk or table. Turn off all distractions including your computer, music, TV, and phone. Try to time yourself as well so that you can begin to pace yourself like you will on the real exam.

 

Don’t do it alone. You are not in this alone. Rely on your friends to help you study. Create study groups. And during this time, it is important to talk to your parents about what will help you the most. 

 

Make time to relax. Find time to do the things you love. These little breaks will allow you to return to studying more focused and energized. The key is just to limit the time on these activities.

 

Right now, you probably feel like you are running a race, but it is going to be over quickly. Don’t forget that every test is just one test and not a measure of your entire life’s work. Just focus on the material, get through it, and then congratulate yourself for all your hard work! And remember, Insight is always here to help you with Test Prep Classes and Boot Camps scheduled throughout the summer. Check out our summer schedules on our website here.

Setting up Routines for High School

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Do you know how you actually spend your time?  Gone are the days of my high school life when I was waiting for the bus, I would pick up my book and read.  Now you can fill your time with Facebook, Tik Tok, Snapchat, read through your texts, Tweet, take 10000 selfies of what you would look like with and without bangs.  And before you know it, that project that was due two weeks from now is due tomorrow.  There is no possible way you can get it done in time so you fake a stomachache and stay home to finish the project. 

 

How did this happen? You started the year off awesome!  You wrote all the due dates in that school planner, you started reading ahead, heck, you even took a pre-course course for your hardest classes!  But now you are so behind, you are looking forward to Thanksgiving break so you can “catch up.” 

 

Don’t worry, all is not lost.  You can catch up before Thanksgiving.  Here are a few things you can do in order to better manage your time.

 

For the next two days, start a log of all the things you do and how much time you spend on them.  Yes, every. single. thing. Log how much time you are on Facebook, youtube, etc., how much time you spend eating, attending a class, talking on the phone, watching TV, assignments. Everything!!! There is no judgment here, don’t try to change anything you do in your normal day just yet…

 

For instance:

7:00-7:18am –  wake up, check Instagram, get dressed

7:18-7:30am – eat breakfast and check Tik Tok, check emails

7:30-7:40am – ride to school with Mom, make a Snapchat of my mom lecturing me

7:40-7:45am- get my books from my locker and go to class

class (1.5 hours)

lunch- eat lunch with my friends and talk about the snapchats or Tik Tok we posted this morning

class (30 minutes)

…… and so on throughout the day

 

This exercise should be really eye-opening to how you spend your time.  Even while studying, you may be spending way more time completing a project than estimated. Look at your daily log inventory to make serious changes. For example, wherein your schedule can you completely put away your smart phone and social media and actually focus on completing your tasks?

 

Now that you’ve found all this time you can fill, let’s fill it productively!

 

Write in your planner:

plan your day to minimize time waste

Are you just writing due dates in your planner?  If so, that’s a great start.  Yes, I said start. Go back and read over the assignments, estimate how much time each one is going to take you, and block out times to complete before the due dates.  This includes writing down when you should start studying for finals and midterms, ideally starting to review at least 3 weeks in advance of your final.

 

Make a to-do list daily:

This should include your study times and goals for you to complete.  Once you’ve completed it, check it off!  Do this daily to manage your daily schedules and track if your goals. Also take some work with you to use your downtime, like waiting for your ride or riding the bus to school, as an opportunity to get some studying out of the way. 

 

Written by Jenny Bloom

This article is written by Insight Senior Counselor Jenny Bloom.

Jenny has worked with a variety of students since 2012 to help them take the right steps to achieve their academic goals. Part of her philosophy is to guide students to consider how they will build and hone their skills and talents to make a difference in the world around them. Contact Insight Education today to schedule an initial consultation with Jenny. Read her full bio here.

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