Is environment important to you?
I spent three days last week in sunny southern California at a meeting in a beautiful setting. Just by being there, I was reminded of how important where I am is to how I feel, and the work I am able to accomplish.
What about you? Are you the same way, or is setting of less import to you? This is a great question to ponder as you begin your college search. I believe that a campus should be, and feel, both comfortable and challenging-academically, personally, and socially. What do you think? Getting clear about the answers to these questions-really what matters most to you and what supports you in doing your best work and having a great time-will serve you throughout your college search adventure.
And, check out my newest ebook, The 4 Questions You Must Ask Before you Begin Your College Search! It’s here, www.majorinyou.com/ebook, just download and get started. Let me know what you think about the workbook and if I can help!
7.14-16.10, Nashville Tennessee, FBLA conference with close to 6,000 teens: AWESOME!
Finding the College That’s the Right Fit for You! is my most popular workshop and one of my favorites to present. Students flocked to the session! They were hungry for information! We devoted the sessions to discovering what students knew about the college adventure, listing their questions that needed answers and developing personal plans for actions.
The students worked to:
Identify the problem-Finding the rights colleges is a HUGE process!
Where do I begin, what are the steps?
What do I do when?
Who can I turn to for help?
Analyze their situations
What information do I know?
What do I have to learn?
What resources are available to help me (people, websites, books)?
Describe their worries and fears
What if I can’t find any colleges I like, that will accept me?
I have 20 colleges on my list right now, how many should I apply to?
Who should I ask for recommendation letters?
Do I have to interview?
College costs so much, where can I look for scholarships?
Plan for action
They started to answer the question: What will I do now that I am clear about…
what I know
what I have yet to learn
my worries
my resources.
In closing the session I told students about the new eworkbook I had just completed for the conference, it can be found here, www.majorinyou.com/ebook. Everyone is invited to download a free copy! I hope you will complete the feedback survey-I’d love to hear what you think!
If you want to see a short video of the beginning of one of the sessions, click here
It’s the end of your junior year…
- what have you done to date/how much have you accomplished on your path?
- what are you doing right now (well, in the month of May)?
- what is your plan for the summer?
Maybe it’s time to double-check that you have a plan for your college search… Do you?
How do you feel about it? Do you believe that you have all the pieces in place? If not, what are your ideas for pulling together all the details?
Is it feeling big, scary, overwhelming? What do you do, what personal strengths do you call upon to support you when you have a BIG project or feel anxious about accomplishing a task? I LOVE working with students to identify their strengths and then planning with them about how to use them in developing their goals, strategies and timelines. If you love doing that too, now’s the time to start-don’t wait, take action! If you’re unsure of how to move forward, find some support… Can you seek assistance from a parent, older sister/brother/close relative, guidance counselor/college advisor, find information online on sites and blogs, get books from the library, ask you parent(s) about working with a coach… there are lots of resources available to support you once you decide to take the first step.
My thinking…
Take action… even if it’s imperfect action!
PS: If it helps you to envision all the roles you need to play in this all-out effort to find the colleges that are the best fit for you, reading the article below may help!
How does your teen envision her future? What are his hopes and dreams? How will your teen become an independent, responsible adult?
What do you think about your teen and college, do they seem like a natural match? From your perspective, is it a foregone conclusion that he will go, are there some questions to be considered, or is the topic barely on your family’s radar screen? What is your teen’s thinking on the topic, what does she feel about the subject? Have you had that conversation in depth and over time? It’s never to late (or too early) to have those exploratory conversations.
What the purpose of going to college? Is a college degree necessary? Desireable? Those questions seems almost forgotten in our fast-paced lives… though it’s critically important for you and your teen to talk through and answer.
I believe that the continuing education and environment that college can provide enables teens to transition into becoming young adults even more capable of taking advantage of all life has to offer. College poses opportunities to become even more responsible for all the aspects of their lives: to make decisions about who they want to be, to solve problems of both an academic and interpersonal/social/emotional nature, and to learn to engage with others on a variety of levels-to cooperate, negotiate and resolve conflict, in ways that will serve them for the remainder of their lives.
Can teens develop the same knowledge, skills and attitudes outside of a college setting? Absolutely! Though perhaps college, or a technical school or an apprenticeship provides a more supportive, structured approach to their development. Certainly, there are entry level positions that offer opportunities for mentorship and growth.
These are the questions that lead to the conversations we need to have with teens early in their high school years. By helping our teens explore the possibilities, learn what school systems and the world outside school have to offer (art classes, sports, study abroad, internships, apprenticeships and more) we encourage them to make informed decisions about their futures… whether that includes college in the US, looking for universities or academic programs abroad, making time to enter the world of work before going to college, working and attending college, going to a technical school or beginning an apprenticeship, there are so many choices…
I believe that as parents we owe it to our teens to show the breadth of possibilities so that they can take the reins of the decision-making process and step into adulthood. What do you think? What questions do you have about the transition your teen, you and your family are experiencing? Feel free to contact me.
So really! What do you think?
What does going to college really mean to you?
What is the thinking about college life in your family?
How does society view going to college?
As a junior, you’re probably hearing a lot of talk about college, because now is the time to start making the major decisions about your future after high school… How “big” are your conversations with your family members, guidance counselors, and friends? Do they start with questions about the future and the variety of options available to you? Or, do the people talking around you, and with you, begin with the assumption that college is right for everyone, or at least everyone in the conversation?
Before heading too far down the path on assumptions about college life and what it does and doesn’t have to offer… Have you tried your best to answer these questions:
- What types of work do you envision in your future? What are you passionate about, what interests you?
- Does that field/Do those areas require a college degree? Are there vocational/technical/career training schools that would prepare you for those fields?
- Is an apprenticeship available that might provide exactly the hands-on experience required for such work?
- Have you considered studying abroad for college/university?
- What do you believe a college experience (education and environment) will do for you?
- What expectations do you have of college?
- Do you and your parents have the same hopes and dreams about your future? Have you had long and deep conversations that address your vision of your future?
Make the time now to think through, discuss and think through (again!) the conversations and answers to these questions, and more questions that are important to you… It’s the only place to begin! I can help if you like… Contact me if you want to start a conversation to get clear about what college means to you and your future.
Setting: FBLA* Conference in Hershey, PA, mid-April
Scene: After my workshop, Finding the College That’s Right for You
Participants: Two high school students and me
Query from students: “So how do we get into Ivy League schools?”
My response: “Well, what does ‘Ivy League schools’ mean to you? Are you thinking of Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth or one of the other four schools? While they are all Ivies, and share reputations for academic excellence, they are very different. Each one has a distinct ‘personality’ and some departments are stronger than others even in these schools. Do you have a clear picture of who you are, and what you are looking for in a college setting; the environments in which you will feel both comfortable and challenged, where you will enjoy the classes and the social life? Knowing the answering to these questions will help you determine which schools will be the best matches for you.
Honestly, my answer would be the same for getting in the Ivies, as getting into one of the Big Ten, or the colleges/universities that are at the top of anyone’s list of choices:
- High GPA
- High SATs /ACT
- Evidence of leadership and outstanding extracurricular activities – think quality not quantity here
- Excellent college essay
- Strong letters of recommendation from teachers, counselors, and other adults who know you well
Take the most challenging courses you can while in high school-though doing well in those course is critical. ”
* Future Business Leaders of America
Making TEA… Time, Energy & Abundance for Parents of Teens
Myth
Parents of teens no longer want or need support in guiding their children
Fact
Parenting teens at its best…
is
challenging and rewarding
requires
self awareness
love
respect for your teen
patience
tact
perseverance
strength
honesty
humility
the ability to realize one’s mistakes and apologize for them
flexibility
personal growth
time
energy
a trusted adult with whom to share thoughts and feelings
enables
a relationship with your teen, in the present, and in the future
When was the last time that you created the time/space to think about the parent you want to be?
How can you help your teen realize her/his dream?
Would you like to talk about the parent you want to be? Contact me.
What are your values?
How cool is this? A guide to colleges that “gets” what’s really important-looking at all the facets of college life and determining which colleges/universities are the best fit for you.
“This is a guide to 286 U.S. colleges and universities that have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to sustainability. While it differs from our Best Colleges guidebooks in that it does not report information based on our surveys of students attending the schools, it very much embodies our philosophy that finding your “best fit” school means looking at everything from the school’s academic offerings to its extracurricular options and now, even its commitment to going green.”
www.princetonreview.com/green-guide.aspx
Regardless of whether you consider yourself “green” and what to check out the colleges listed in the report… You absolutely want to be thinking through what is important to you.
And so, what are your values? What’s important to you?
Learning & Achievement… Working hard…
- What opportunities exist for students in class and beyond the classroom?
- Does talk about school work take place after class too? Can you engage in research?
- Are there avenues for pursuing your goals and being recognized for your work?
Playing hard…
- What do you love to do during your free time?
- What kinds of extracurriculars are offered?
- What is there to do off campus and how easy is it to get there (wherever “there” is)?
Independence/Exploration
- How much freedom do you have academically and personally?
- Are you interested in study abroad? What are your options?
- What is the college administrators’ vision of the students? What are the unspoken rules of the community?
Diversity
- What the composition of the student body, professors and staffs?
- How big or small is the campus/community?
Connection/Close working relationships with peers, professors and/or local community
- What is the student to professor ratio in classes?
- Who teaches the classes-professors and/or grad students?
- What connection is there with the local community?
Trust/Honor
- What do you think of honor codes (re: academic work, tests, etc).at college? Do you want to be in an environment where that’s a paramount value?
Bottomline: What are your values? How do you see them in action at the campuses you are visiting? The college community will be your home for four years… you need to feel comfortable, stimulated, challenged, a part of it.
To continue the conversation… What do you expect and want from a college that you’re visiting? How can the college community-students, professors, administrators-demonstrate who they are and what they value so you can make an informed decision about the environment that’s right for you?
Last week, at Clark University’s Admitted Student Open House prospective students had opportunities to:
- Meet the members of the community (in this instance, the president to be, an assistant director of admissions, the student council president and another Clark administrator)
- Get their questions answered by the current students, professors, admissions’ and financial aid staffs, and alumni
- Learn/Attend session led by professors
- Eat some the cafeteria’s food (don’t laugh-don’t you want to know what it’s like?)
- Explore student clubs and organizations
- Discover special programs, study abroad options, and the college in the Worcester community
- Walk the campus, and check out the facilities… begin to feel whether Clark is the best fit for them
And, parents had time to do much of the same: they had the time to look, to listen, to learn about the environment, and attend a session just for parents.
I think there were great opportunities to understand the breadth and depth of the university. So, in thinking about and perhaps visiting the colleges that have accepted you, in your effort to make a fully conscious decision: What do you think? What do you want to know? What will you look for? These are the most important questions; I hope that you develop your answers using your head and your heart.
Last Saturday was a COLD end-of-March day. I had been hoping for warmer weather… but I have to say it really didn’t matter because it was so fantastic to be on campus and meeting prospective students and their parents. I love the feel of Clark University-though that’s really not what I want to talk with you about… I want to ask seniors* who are about to make decisions about where they want to spend the next four years…
- How will you decide?
- What’s important to you?
- What are you looking and listening for on campuses as you visit-whether it’s for the first time or the last time-before you make your decision? (Or, what are you looking for on the colleges’ websites and in conversations with current students and alumni?)
You have some time to make a decision. I’d like to suggest that you choose with your head and your heart. Reflect on who you are: what you need and want in an environment so that you are both comfortable and challenged to do your best work and have a great time! Good luck!
* These are great questions for juniors too, as you begin visiting campuses.
