For sophomores and juniors who are planning your courses for next year, please, don't select courses based on whether or not you think you'd be guaranteed to get an A. It is absolutely wrong-headed to dumb down your course of study to boost your GPA. Colleges aren't fooled. Here's the problem: colleges don't just look at your GPA, they look closely at the courses you've been taking. The college is more impressed by a difficult course of study and lower GPA than an easy course of study and a 4.0.
Use this rule of thumb: Each year in high school should be more difficult than the year before with senior year having the most challenging courses. Take the hardest courses you can each year and get the best grades you can each year. Whatever GPA you end up with, as long as you've tried to do the best you can in each class, will be a fine representation of your academic potential. Stop thinking about your GPA and start thinking about challenging yourself academically and thereby demonstrating the hard-working and competitive qualities that colleges want.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Myth: Senior Year Doesn't Count
Juniors: its time to plan your senior year class schedule. Don't believe that old myth that senior year doesn't count for college admissions. Senior year counts, especially at highly competitive colleges. The confusion is because the manner in which senior year counts for college admission is different than the way grades 9-11 count.
It is true that during the application process colleges will not know your senior year grades. However, they will know what you are taking. If you aren't taking a more academically rigorous schedule of classes than you did in your junior year, you are informing your college that you are a slacker. Competitive colleges don't want slackers! Competitive colleges would rather accept a student who has lower grades but keeps pushing through harder and harder classes because that student is demonstrating that he/she is willing to work.
Make sure your senior year classes are challenging. Take some community college classes if your high school doesn't have anything rigorous to offer.
It is true that during the application process colleges will not know your senior year grades. However, they will know what you are taking. If you aren't taking a more academically rigorous schedule of classes than you did in your junior year, you are informing your college that you are a slacker. Competitive colleges don't want slackers! Competitive colleges would rather accept a student who has lower grades but keeps pushing through harder and harder classes because that student is demonstrating that he/she is willing to work.
Make sure your senior year classes are challenging. Take some community college classes if your high school doesn't have anything rigorous to offer.
Friday, March 11, 2011
4-year College or Community College and Transfer
A tough choice but select the 4-year college option. That is, don't go to a community college if you have the option to go directly into a 4-year college. I know, I know, I hear you asking, "But why, aren't they the same for the first 2 years?" No, they are not the same, not even close.
Community colleges are primarily filled with students who are under-prepared for college level work, unmotivated, and directionless. (Of course this isn't everyone at a community college.) These students do have an impact on the rigor in the classrooms and on the entire learning environment. Parents all know this to be true- why else would you have worked so hard to get your child into a "good" K-12 school? It is the same principle at the college level. One should try to attend the best college possible to get the best education possible.
What about cost? Isn't it cheaper to complete the first 2 years at a community college? You need to know that it is not as much of a savings as you think. Community colleges are underfunded and overcrowded. Recent studies have found that a gigantic majority (more than 75%) of community college students take five years to attain their goal. In other words, what should take 2 years to complete is taking most students 5 years. Compare the cost in dollars and time between spending 5 years at a community college and 2 years at a 4-year colleges (7 years) or going directly into a 4-year college and finishing in 4-5 years.
One more caution: California State Universities are starting to discuss the possible need to only accept community college transfer students from their local community colleges due to the financial crisis hitting the whole CSU system. This would mean that a student who attends a community college would not be able to transfer to a 4-year college in another part of the state, but would be limited to whichever 4-year college is closest to his/her community college.
Community colleges are primarily filled with students who are under-prepared for college level work, unmotivated, and directionless. (Of course this isn't everyone at a community college.) These students do have an impact on the rigor in the classrooms and on the entire learning environment. Parents all know this to be true- why else would you have worked so hard to get your child into a "good" K-12 school? It is the same principle at the college level. One should try to attend the best college possible to get the best education possible.
What about cost? Isn't it cheaper to complete the first 2 years at a community college? You need to know that it is not as much of a savings as you think. Community colleges are underfunded and overcrowded. Recent studies have found that a gigantic majority (more than 75%) of community college students take five years to attain their goal. In other words, what should take 2 years to complete is taking most students 5 years. Compare the cost in dollars and time between spending 5 years at a community college and 2 years at a 4-year colleges (7 years) or going directly into a 4-year college and finishing in 4-5 years.
One more caution: California State Universities are starting to discuss the possible need to only accept community college transfer students from their local community colleges due to the financial crisis hitting the whole CSU system. This would mean that a student who attends a community college would not be able to transfer to a 4-year college in another part of the state, but would be limited to whichever 4-year college is closest to his/her community college.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Colleges Want REAL Community Service
I am constantly asked about the need to log community service hours to get into college. Hold up, folks. Community service isn't about logging hours to get into college its about giving something of yourself to your community for the sole purpose of doing something for others.
One is either checking off items on a "college extracurriculars" list or engaged in a meaningful community service activity that is personally satisfying. Believe me, colleges know the difference. So stop worrying about how many hours of community service you need to get into college. Instead, find something to do that helps others and is a learning experience for you. Experience it fully, enjoy it, and then reflect on what you learned from your experience. You'll find you want to continue giving back to your community whether it matters to colleges or not... and that is exactly what colleges are really looking for.
One is either checking off items on a "college extracurriculars" list or engaged in a meaningful community service activity that is personally satisfying. Believe me, colleges know the difference. So stop worrying about how many hours of community service you need to get into college. Instead, find something to do that helps others and is a learning experience for you. Experience it fully, enjoy it, and then reflect on what you learned from your experience. You'll find you want to continue giving back to your community whether it matters to colleges or not... and that is exactly what colleges are really looking for.
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