As promised! Here are the highlights from the videos, articles, and sites I have scoured to learn how you can get great college letters of recommendation from your teachers.
1. Plan ahead: Give your teachers the information and stamped, addressed envelopes at least 4-6 weeks ahead of the applications’ deadlines so they can get it done. This means that you must know which schools you are applying to (and why).
2. Chose teachers from junior year core courses-math, history, science, english; and, if you are going to specialize in biology in college (for example), and you believe you will get a good recommendation letter from the bio teacher, ask that teacher! Nothing ventured nothing gained!
3. Ask the teachers you chose, “What do you think you can say about me?” or “Are you willing and able to write a letter of recommendation for me?”
4. Prepare for an appointment with each teacher by: gathering materials/the work you completed in that teacher’s class-papers and projects, and your resume.
5. Make an appointment to sit down and talk with the teacher about the materials you gathered, and talk about your passions/what subjects interest you so that the teacher can write about you as a person.
6. Tell the teachers why you want to go to that/those particular schools-why those schools are special AND why you are a great fit for those schools.
7. Letters are not only about academics, they can also describe additional aspects of your personality-leadership skills or citizenship, volunteerism… so you may want to mention those experiences also.
8. If another teacher-in art, health, music-or a coach knows you well then you want to submit a supplemental recommendation letter. BE SURE to ask the college first, to be certain that you are permitted to submit a supplemental recommendation letter, and then talk with the teacher.
9. If you were enthusiastic and successful in class… maybe you didn’t get an A, but you contributed and worked hard, that teacher may be a good person to approach for a supplemental recommendation letter.
10. If you are worried that teachers or the guidance counselor doesn’t like you-yet you need a recommendation letter, make an appointment, sit down with the individual and explain your interests in the colleges-take initiative.
Feel free to send me an email or call me with your questions about getting the very best letters! I’d love to help!
It’s the beginning of November so let’s review who needs to be doing what right now!
Seniors
√ Check in with/Create (!) your calendar -> test dates, fees, deadlines for various pieces of college applications
√ Take second round of SATs and subject tests, and take the ACT
√ Work on college applications – check list of schools that accept common application
√ Write supplemental essays for colleges requiring them
√ Complete financial aid applications/meet the deadlines
√ Complete search for scholarships and add deadlines to your calendar
√ Visit colleges: Visit classes, stay overnight, do interviews
YIKES! That’s a lot to handle!!! To add one last thought to that lengthy list…It’s my hope that you are completing packets for your guidance counselor – your resume, transcript info, recommendation forms for teachers… all those niggling details…
I’ll talk more about how you can work effectively with the guidance counselor/college adviser next week…
Juniors
√ You have taken the PSAT… how did it go? What are you plans for scoring higher on the SAT? Study on your own, taking a class, or getting tutoring? Make a plan
√ Start your self discovery process – What are your strengths, needs, wants, challenges?
√ Think through preferences for areas of study and/or careers of interest, and generate a list
√ Talk with guidance counselor/college adviser. Begin the process of helping them know you better so they can be even more helpful.
√ Talk with your parents about college costs, the range of costs – yet don’t eliminate any types of schools yet!
Seniors you’re nearing the homestretch of your search and selection process… while juniors, it’s time for you to fully engage… the sooner you start the easier it will be for you to enjoy this adventure!
Remember to create a plan and commit it to your calendar!
And if you’re looking for support with your search, join my fr*ee Preview Call, click here How to Jumpstart Your College Search! on November 10th at 8 pm (ET)
It’s October, and that means that it’s time to get organized so that you can accomplish all that’s a part of the college search AND enjoy your junior year!
It’s way too easy to get caught up in the details (test prep, testing, reviewing college websites and brochures, doing research, visiting campuses), feel overwhelmed, and begin to despair. I’d like to suggest that you take a deep breath and think of the big picture…
With the gorgeous fall weather today, I think about the look and feel of campuses. When you close your eyes and imagine… What type of campus comes to mind? Do you prefer
> traditional, ivy covered buildings or more modern architecture
> a compact campus in a city or one that’s big and sprawling in the countryside?
> a campus busy, teeming with students, or moving at a slower pace?
What feels right to you? Or, is all this talk about environment irrelevant to you?
When I went on my solo roadtrip to check out colleges throughout New England, I saw four different schools in the same number of days. By the time I got to the last school I walked from the parking lot to the admissions office, did my interview, got back in my beloved, secondhand car and headed for home. By the time I got home I decided that I wanted to apply Early Decision to the last school I visited. I gave them a call that afternoon to check that I still had time to do so. I did, and the rest is (happy) history. I have to tell you that the look and feel of the campus were not really important to me… though for some students it makes all the difference…
Figuring out what matter most to you is the key here… Take some time this weekend to get clear on who you are: your strengths, needs, challenges, and wants. As you become clear on who you are and what you want, it becomes easier to sift and sort through the wealth of information available about colleges. Know yourself first and the search becomes simpler!
It’s September!
Have you started your search for the colleges that are the right fit for you? If colleges are not uppermost in your mind, and you plan on being on a campus next fall… It’s time to dive in to the process!
You have some time… yet you need to get started NOW! Get right past that case of nerves that has you anxious (maybe paralyzed) about how you’ll get it all done. It’s time to get into action! If you haven’t thought about the BIG four questions:
What do I know?
What do I have yet to learn?
What are my worries and concerns?
What is my plan?
… then run do not walk (so to speak) to the bonus page on www.facebook.com/majorinyou to download and complete, The 4 Questions You Must Answer Before You Begin Your College Search! It will jumpstart your big, exciting, sometimes challenging, college search. If you have questions about the questions (!), contact me!
Once you have done this foundational work, it’s time to act on your decisions, check out campuses (online, in catalogues, and in person), read the college guides (don’t forget the alternative guides), talk with friends, family and guidance counselors/college advisers, and move into the process. You can complete the process by late November if you jump on it… it will take persistent and consistent action on your part. Let me know if I can help!
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!
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
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.
