So, juniors. Spring break is coming up. And let us guess: you haven’t toured any colleges yet. You have two options: 1) tour some colleges or 2) visit some colleges. That was a trick because those two things are the same. This is the time to take advantage of your upcoming break and start visiting colleges, doing your research, forming opinions, and making decisions. If we’re being honest, it’s late for you to be starting the college visit process (you should have already visited at least a couple of schools by now), but here we are. You can do it.
Spring Break Guide: Juniors Who Have Already Toured Colleges Edition
How to Decide on a Summer Program 2018
So, you’re a little bit of an over-achiever and you got into all of the summer programs to which you applied. Congrats! Not a bad problem to have. Now, how are you going to choose between them all? The bottom line is, you want to create a singular message to send to these schools, kind of like how companies align on a singular brand identity. Some might say that JetBlue is all about a fun and friendly in-flight experience. Tesla was the first eco-friendly, luxury vehicle, and Toms is all about comfort and community. So, take a moment to identify the brand identity you’ve been developing in yourself for the past three or so years.
How Many Summer Program Applications Are Too Many?
As is often our prerogative at TKG, we’re going to be real with you; this is not the smartest question and if you’re asking it, you’re probably already in trouble. Consider that asking, “how many summer program applications are too many?” is the same asking “how many college applications are too many?” You’re missing the point. When applying to summer programs (and college for that matter), it’s all about quality, not quantity.
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls: How to Choose Your Safety Schools, feat. Wisdom from TLC
It’s time to pick your safety schools. And while you’ve tried different ways to imagine that you’re not going to have to resort to going there, it’s all the same: your test scores are what they are and each school has an average range. The good news is, there are THOUSANDS of schools in this country. There are bound to be three to five you don’t hate.
Quit Playing Games with My Heart: How to Choose Your Target Schools, feat. Wisdom from the Backstreet Boys
To state the obvious, we often think of target schools as being that beautiful sweet spot between so-called “reaches” and “safeties.” While target schools are a crucial component towards achieving matriculation success, they’re a little more semi-sweet than totally milk chocolate. In fact, what you need to know is that target schools are not a guarantee. At all. While the whole college process can, at times, feel like nothing but a heartache, we’ve come up with a strategy to help you develop your target list.
Get Your Act Together You Will Be Just Fine: How to Choose a Reach School, feat. Wisdom from the Spice Girls
Some of you might read the headline of this post and think “Forget spicing up my life! I just want to get in somewhere…anywhere!” Others might think, “Rules are for fools. Harvard’s my fallback.” For the duration of this post, we encourage you to set aside your fears, your ego, and relax your mind. In fact, conventional wisdom would lead us to believe that applications, like harmonies, are nicer when diversified. Au contraire, mon frère. Adding more reach schools to your list ensures nothing. Fun, right? Okay, so what’s the point of even trying if applying to more reach schools doesn’t mean you have a shot at getting into any of them? We’ve come up with a simple guidebook on how to hedge your bets. So, here’s the story from A to Z:
The Difference Between the SAT and the ACT
The SAT and the ACT are exams that you’re required to take to gain admittance to college. There are some similarities and differences, and we want to break it down for you. While a lot of the content is similar, it’s important to take note of the structure, timing, and how the tests are scored. Read on to get the lowdown.
Summer Activities for Students Interested in Environmental Activism
2017 was colossal in many ways. While you were cramming for the SATs and doing a marathon tour of colleges, America was backing out of the Paris Climate Agreement and Antarctica was losing a chunk of ice the size of Delaware. So, now that you’re free from the clutches of AP U.S. History, you might be considering taking to the streets to join the Climate March on Washington. In this post, we have provided some ideas on how the environmental activists among us can spend their summer while impressing college admissions counselors.
How to Choose Your 12th Grade Science Class
Summer Activities for Students Interested in Politics
Student government may be over for the year, but this summer, Congress will still be very much in session. 2018 is a watershed year for politics. With more women and people of color running for office than any other time in history and arguably more people marching in the streets than any administration since Nixon, the opportunities to get involved are endless. So what if Sarah Blair became a state legislator when she was practically your age? YOU are going to do something other than read Fire and Fury for the seventh time this vacation. In this post, we will discuss the ways in which students interested in politics can leverage their summer vacation to get ahead in the polls.
Summer Activities for Juniors Interested in Healthcare
Summer is a great time to get ahead in the college application game. While your competition is busy binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy, we recommend kicking it into high gear and setting yourself to pursue health care in college. There are a number of different ways you can impress the admissions committee, from taking a great internship to spending the summer in a serious college course. Whatever you choose, make sure you challenge yourself and make sure you get specific. There will be hundreds, perhaps even thousands of other applicants who want to pursue careers in healthcare. In order to set yourself apart, you should spend the remainder of your high school career developing yourself as the best within a niche within healthcare. In other words, market yourself as the kid who is going to be the best nurse in the pediatric ICU, the top doctor in medical bionics, or even a successful healthcare marketing professional.
How to Pick Transfer Schools
How to Write the Harvard Transfer Application
So you want to transfer to Harvard. Welcome to a very large number group, with a very low success rate. By very low, we mean minuscule. Harvard accepts less than 1% of transfer applicants on average, and some years they don’t accept anyone. Seriously. That’s a 0-1% acceptance rate. Does that mean you shouldn’t try? Not at all. We’re all about beating slim odds, but first, you have to accept that no matter how hard you work, or how great your grades are, or how many times you’ve walked on the moon, or how many Disney shows you starred in, you’re not getting in. Accept it, embrace it, and then try anyways.
The Transfer-Up Myth
As we’ve shared before (in our post about writing transfer essays), more than a third of college students transfer, and nearly half of those who transfer will go on to transfer at least one more time.
How to Transfer
Millions of people transfer schools each year for a hugely diverse number of reasons. Some are looking for an academic program they didn’t know they’d pursue; some want a smaller community; some feel claustrophobic in the small school they picked because they thought it’d feel cozy; some are just unhappy with their original choice but can’t quite put their finger on it.
Should I Transfer?
Summer Ideas for Juniors Who Are Interested in Culinary Arts
While the temptation to sit and watch Ratatouille for the 10th time might be strong, don’t succumb to the couch just yet. Instead, we encourage our students to take advantage of the opportunity to blow top-choice colleges away with just how dedicated and brilliant they are. Summer is a great time to develop a niche that will set you apart from your competition. So, if you’re interested in pursuing culinary arts after high school, consider the activities below:
Summer Ideas for Students Interested in Hospitality
While the urge to lounge pool-side following a year of grueling SAT prep may be strong, we recommend that kids interested in pursuing hospitality studies stay off the beach blanket and take advantage of one of the industry’s peak seasons. Since the hospitality connoisseurs out there are probably going to be helping their families book relaxing travel plans and accommodations this summer anyway, they might as well make it count towards getting into college.
Summer Ideas for Juniors Who Are Interested in Teaching
While most educators get summers off, for those aspiring to become teachers, summer break is, perhaps, the best time to get ahead. We have highlighted a few ways in which you can spend your summer investing in your college admissions process while your competition is taking it easy. Before we get started, there are a few things you should keep in mind: