parent-teen.com
an
online magazine for families with teens
ARTICLES,
ARCHIVES, &
RESOURCES
Ages
& Stages
Alcohol/Drugs
Arts
& Media
College
Planning
Coping
Driving
Fun
Issues
News
Parent
Pages
Puberty
School
Sex
& Dating
Sports
Volunteering
Working
Your
Body
COLUMNS
College
Prep
Dear
Mike
Freshman
Journal
From
the Backpack
FEEDBACK
What our readers
say
FORUMS
Discussion boards for parents & teens,
plus professional college planning advice. COMING SOON.
CONTRIBUTE
Editorial guidelines
SHOP
Coming soon.
Recommended
books for parents and teens from amazon.com. Your purchases will
help support this site.
Parent-Teen is a publication of:
Parents'
Press
1454 Sixth St.
Berkeley, CA 94710
Phone:
(510) 524-1602
Fax:
(510) 524-0912
e-mail:
ParentsPrs@aol.com
Site contents © copyright 1997-2001 by Parents' Press
You are welcome to make a single (1) copy of any article for your personal, non-commercial use as long as all rights & copyright information remains intact. Please contact us if you are interested in reprinting any material from this site.
College Prep
WINNING WAYS
Twelve Steps to Your Best College
BY DAVE PETERSON
© Copyright
2002 by Parents' Press
Originally published in the January 2002 print edition of Parents'
Press
Illustration © 2001, Artville, LLC
Wow! Already it's another new year time to step back and take stock of where you are and where you want to go in your personal growth and educational plans. So let's look at a very brief summary, almost a checklist, of the two major jobs college planning always entails: preparing for a good college, and applying for it.
Six Ways to Prepare for Your Best College
Courses. Take four
years each of the five basic academic fields: English, history,
math, science, and foreign language. After you've made room in
your schedule for these, consider elective courses in cultural
areas: arts, music, drama, humanities.
Groups. Register
for the most challenging course sections you are permitted to
join. Try to work with the most rigorous teachers of those sections
if you can.
Grades. Work for
the best GPA and class rank you can manage, but remember, a B
in an honors course is valued above an A in a regular class.
Trend? It should be upward each term or year. This is a crucial
measure of your maturity, a dimension colleges weigh heavily
as they predict success.
Tests (SATs, etc.). Your
target results as good as your grades. Prepare carefully
for each: study test-taking strategies, take timed practice tests,
focus on your result patterns and wrong answers, and use these
to correct weaknesses.
Activities. Practice
early breadth, but then develop a short list of real talents
and ways to contribute. Observe time management systems every
day (weekends and vacations too).
Your "help history."
Whether learning responsibility on paid jobs, or generosity as
a volunteer doing something for nothing, such evidences of your
character are always in high demand.
Six Ways to Apply to Your Best College
Resume. Profile
your achievements in all the areas above, and their value to
you, on a single page. Colleges don't require this, but they
love this extra effort and use it to predict your future campus
value by your current time uses. Don't just list all your doings;
focus on the meaningful aspects of only a few.
Recommendations.
In May, ask those junior-year teachers who like you for this
favor. Give them a copy of your resume to date and help them
to know the topics you want each to focus on.
Visits, interviews.
These help you choose wisely, help you know the real campus flavors,
help them get interested in having you aboard. Hit one on a bad
day? Go back!
Application packet.
Draft a copy first. Make the final version legible and complete,
but definitely not flowery or repetitious. Highlight your strengths,
differences, ambitions, and plans to contribute on campus.
Essays. Adults
may advise and edit, but you do all the deciding, writing, and
revising. Echo the qualities mentioned above, with examples.
Goals: to show your values and project your usefulness.
Choice. When you
make a firm first choice, tell that campus, in writing, signed!
Your motivation to join them is a real plus. And all year, mail
achievement updates to all choices.
OK, Where Do You Stand Now?
Even underclassmen need to assess their lives in these terms. Hang up this page where you can use it as a monthly checklist of the kinds of growth you are making and the kinds of college opportunity this can lead to. Good luck! Happy New Year!
Dave Peterson has been an admissions officer, high school teacher, counselor, guidance director, and consultant to the College Board. This article first appeared in longer form in the October 1997 issue of Parent.TEEN.
|
CLICK HERE for more College Prep articles by Dave Peterson. COLLEGE
PREP Dave Peterson is a college counselor, a former college admissions officer and a consultant to the College Board. He used to run the "old" America Online/College Board college admissions message boards under the screen name of CBD Dave. |
Home | About Us | Ages & Stages | Alcohol/Drugs | Arts & Media | College Planning | College Prep column | Coping | Dear Mike | Driving | Feedback | Freshman Journal | From the Backpack | Fun | Issues | News | Parent Pages | Puberty | School |Sex & Dating | Sports | Volunteering | Working | Your Body | Advertise | Contribute | E-mail Us