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Men’s Scholarship Program – $50,000 to be Awarded.

About the Program

The scholarship is designed to identify and reward outstanding high school seniors who have demonstrated an ability to excel in the fields of academics, extra-curricular school activities, and community involvement. The scholarship is available to any male, graduating senior from an accredited high school who is enrolling in a four-year undergraduate college program that commences in the fall. The scholarship is awarded through the Foundation for Fraternal Excellence, a registered 501(c)3 organization. Current or future membership in a fraternity is not required.

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Must be a graduating high school senior in the United States
  • Must identify as male

Scholarship Timeline

  • January 17, 2023: Scholarship application live, click here to apply
  • April 3, 2023: Scholarship application closes
  • June 2023: Scholarship recipients notified
  • June-August 2023: Scholarship funds distributed

Apply here: https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/79371-Foundation-For-Fraternal-Excellence-

The College Planning Calendar – for high school freshmen and sophomores

Most of the fall and through the end of the year I focus my column on seniors since they’re in the middle of the application process; writing essays, getting letters of recommendation, applying for scholarships and financial aid and so much more.

But now, it’s January, and counselors like me get to change their focus to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.  Here’s what freshmen and sophomores should be doing and thinking about over the next several months. Next week I’ll go deep into what’s important for juniors.

FRESHMAN YEAR

It’s never too early to plan for the future!

  • Build strong academic, language, mathematics, and critical thinking skills by taking challenging courses.
  • Study hard and get excellent grades.
  • Strengthen your vocabulary by increasing your reading.
  • Become involved in extra-curricular activities.
  • Meet your high school guidance counselor and discuss your plans for the next four years.
  • Browse through college literature or research colleges online to get an idea of what kinds of schools may be of interest to you.
  • Take career assessments, and college major assessments to determine if you should apply to specific kinds of colleges.
  • Check out what high school courses colleges require.
  • Know NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) requirements if you want to play sports in college.
  • Keep an academic portfolio and co-curricular record.
  • Research career possibilities.
  • Start saving money for college now if you haven’t already done so – consider 529 plans and consult with a financial advisor to understand how, how much you save and where you put it has impacts down the road.

SOPHOMORE YEAR:

Concentrate on academic preparation and continue to develop basic skills and co-curricular interests.

January

  • Keep studying!
  • Volunteer—a great way to identify your interests and to develop skills.
  • Start thinking about your summer (academic programs, community service, job-shadowing/internships, etc.)

February

  • It is never too early to start researching colleges and universities. Visit your guidance office to browse through literature and guidebooks or surf the Web and check out college and university home pages.

March

  • Apply for summer programs.
  • Create your initial college list.

April & May

  • Continue to research career options and consider possible college majors that will help you achieve your career goals.
  • Make arrangements to visit a few college campuses over the summer.

June – July – August

  • If you work, save some of your earnings for college.
  • During the summer, you may want to sign up for a PSAT/SAT prep course, use computer software, or do the practice tests in books designed to familiarize you with standardized tests.
  • Make your summer productive. Continue reading to increase your vocabulary.

September – October

  • Take the PSAT (pre-SAT) and the PLAN (pre-ACT) if they are offered at your school. The results will not be used for college admission, but provide a great opportunity for students to “test-drive” each of the tests and hopefully determine that one suits them better.
  • Sign up, if you have not done so already, for extra-curricular activities that interest you. Colleges are most concerned with a student’s level of involvement and accomplishment, not the number of activities. One of the biggest changes in the college admissions process is that colleges would rather see depth than breadth and are more impressed with a student’s commitment to one or two activities than a laundry list of clubs that haven’t had much impact on their lives.
  • Think about how you want to get involved in extracurricular activities at your school. Admissions officers prefer to see students commit to one or two activities where they can have an impact, rather than jumping around and dabbling in a dozen activities that aren’t as meaningful.
  • Keep a record of your extra-curricular involvement, volunteer work, and employment (all year).

November

  • Make sure you are “on top” of your academic work. If necessary, meet with your teacher for additional help.
  • Save your best work in academic courses and the arts for your academic portfolio (all year).

December

  • Receive results of PLAN and/or PSAT. Read materials sent with your score report. Consult your guidance counselor to improve on future standardized tests and courses to discuss which may be required or beneficial for your post-high school plans.

Lee Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte. Send questions to: lee@bierercollegeconsulting.com; www.bierercollegeconsulting.com

Remote Learning Tips for Students of All Ages

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, students of all ages have had to dive into remote learning at some point in their educational careers. Whether their first experience with distance learning is in kindergarten or college, it can be a tough transition.

Remote learning has many benefits, especially when it’s unsafe to attend in-person classes. Some students thrive on distance learning and choose to continue with an online college program after high school. With that said, it also comes with many challenges, which vary from student to student.

Distractions at home, a lack of resources, and difficulty engaging with the material and the class are all obstacles students have to overcome when attending classes remotely. However, it’s sometimes necessary for students of all ages to use distance learning tools to ensure that they don’t fall behind. Here are some tips to help them succeed.

Set Goals

Teachers will have their own goals for online learning. However, it’s important for students to set their own goals and have some ownership over the learning process. Taking the larger goal of a class and breaking it down into more manageable steps will help students feel less overwhelmed by the assignments and learning objectives.

Create Routines

Whether students have to attend class at a specific time every day or the lessons are pre-recorded, routines are important for distance learning. Getting up, brushing teeth, getting dressed and having breakfast before class are routines students perform before attending classes in person — why shouldn’t they stick to them when attending school remotely? Having routines will help students focus and maintain the attitude they need for optimal learning.

Routines are helpful for carving out study time too. If a student always studies for an hour after dinner, they will be less likely to skip it and will be more likely to succeed in their distance learning classes. 

Eliminate Distractions

At home, there are distractions everywhere. Students of all ages can easily get sidetracked by everything from a younger sibling to the television in the background. Digital distractions are especially powerful and can keep students from paying attention in class or getting their homework done.

Students can eliminate distractions in several ways. Setting up a dedicated and quiet area for virtual classes and homework is the first step. Putting phones in silent mode (or keeping them out of the room altogether!) and turning off other devices can help students stay focused. Some students can also benefit from website blockers, which temporarily prevent them from visiting distracting websites. Keeping tech on lockdown during school hours can really help students achieve their academic goals when learning remotely.

Don’t Let Breaks Get Out of Control

Breaks are very important for students — they need time to rest and recharge in between classes and tasks. However, short breaks can easily stretch out into huge blocks of time that take away from learning.

Again, taking technology out of the equation can help. Students might want to consider taking a walk, having a healthy snack, or reading a chapter of a good book during their breaks, instead of reaching for their phone and scrolling for a while!

Maintain Privacy Online

When learning online, it’s important for students to understand the real issue of cybercrime and how it can affect their safety. For younger students, maintaining privacy online is primarily the job of parents and school officials. For older students, who have more freedom and knowledge of these types of issues, precautions are important.

Many students don’t realize just how dangerous cyberattacks can be. While stealing student information isn’t as serious as cyberterrorism, for instance, it can still cause a lot of problems for individual students. Students need to be educated on why cybersecurity is so critical and how they can protect their information while engaging in remote learning.

Emphasize Participation

Remote learning can make students feel isolated. They might be afraid to speak up on camera, ask questions, or reach out when they need help. Many students have trouble staying focused during class, even if they are taught live.

The good news is that participation can help with this. Students should try to get involved in class discussions, whether over video or in written form. This kind of participation helps boost engagement and focus and reduces any feelings of isolation coming from remote learning. It also helps students learn so they can boost their grade.

Remote Learning Benefits and Struggles.

Some students have very little trouble in the remote classroom. Others will struggle significantly. As a counselor, you can help set students up for success by giving them remote learning tips that will allow them to stay more focused and engaged with the material and class.

550 Words to Know for the Digital SAT

Many of your students will be taking the digital version of the SAT at some point so it’s a good idea to start building their vocabulary!  I’ve been collaborating with a few other tutors in the National Test Prep Association to scour through the 4 practice tests that have been released and compile a list of the most challenging words.  Use the link at the bottom to access our full list.

Methodology

If you’re curious as to our methodology, here’s what we did.  (By the way, methodology is one of the words on the list!)  Each tutor looked at either one of the four digital SAT tests in College Board’s Bluebook app or at one of the linear tests.  The tests in the Bluebook app are what most students will experience when taking the digital SAT.  The linear tests were created as an accommodation for students who are unable to look at a screen for an extended amount of time.  While most students won’t be permitted to take the linear test for an official score, there’s no reason you can’t use them for extra practice!  Each of us selected the most “interesting” words from our assigned test and then combined all the words into the list you see here.

Interesting finds

Unsurprisingly, some of these digital SAT words were selected by more than one tutor.  In fact, each of these words made it onto four tutors’ lists: foster, interpret, mimic, speculate, and validate.  We also noticed that there were several passages about scientific research, so words such as hypothesize, conjecture, credited, fluctuation, and parasitic all need to be understood in a scientific context.  There were also quite a few words that are derived from old-fashioned Latin roots.  For instance, beneficial, beneficiary, and benign come from the Latin word bene, which means good.  Impartial, impenetrable, imperceptible, impractical, inadequate, and indecipherable all start with the Latin word for not.

Click here to download the complete Digital SAT word list.

About the Author: Heather Krey

Passionate about helping her students achieve their college dreams by being their coach and cheerleader as they prep for the SAT and ACT, Heather Krey is an experienced instructor with teaching certificates in math, physics, chemistry, and English. She knows the best tips and strategies for these tests – and she also understands that students need encouragement and practice to do their best. With dual bachelor’s degrees in industrial engineering and psychology from Lehigh University, she also holds masters of education degrees in mathematics from DeSales University and in teaching from Kutztown University. Heather lives in Allentown, PA, with her husband and three children.

12 New Year’s Resolutions for Job Seekers

1. Update Your Resume

If it’s been a while since a resume was refreshed, set aside some time to revise it in January. Chances are, job seekers have new skills and experiences to add that may be missing from their current resumes. Once updates are included, ask a trusted friend or a career coach to review the resume for holes, unnecessary lingo, and areas for improvement. Most importantly, don’t forget to customize the resume to align with each job.

2. Clean Up Social Media

It’s easy to post something to social media and think nothing more about it. But when job searching or trying for a promotion, it’s extremely important to keep social media pages clean. Social media can be a powerful job search tool, so it really pays to make sure all profiles are up to date and professional. Plus, recruiters and hiring managers are looking at social media, meaning an applicant’s misstep on social media could cost them the job.

3. Solidify Your Professional Brand

To stand out from others and make an impression, job seekers need a solid and consistent personal brand. Workers can start by evaluating their professional goals and aspirations, then building an online presence that shows who they are as a professional and why others should want to employ them. This is a good time to create an elevator pitch that can further solidify a candidate’s brand and expertise. If there are past work samples to showcase, a personal website can also give recruiters insight into a worker’s skills and experience.

4. Find a Mentor

A good career mentor is a person who is a few years in a given field and is willing and able to meet on a regular basis to provide guidance on how to handle job search and career-related questions. Ideally, a mentor is someone to count on and be objective in a way that close friends and family cannot be. 

5. Grow Your Network

A solid and well-nurtured network is the foundation for continued job search success. It’s also important to continually grow your network to increase job prospects. As a job seeker, explore the different areas to meet and network with new people. Consider attending in-person or virtual career fairs, joining a professional organization, and reaching out to others via social media.

6. Spruce Up Key Skills

Professional development can enhance resumes and show potential employers that a candidate has a growth mindset and is willing to continually grow their skills. Search through job descriptions to see what employers in a given field are looking for, and determine if your education and skills are a match. If not, take an online class to stay ahead of the curve and be more hirable in your intended field.

7. Organize Your Home Office

A clean and organized workspace can help job seekers think more clearly as they apply for jobs. Make sure office areas are neat, tidy, and free of any clutter. It’s a good idea to clear out the digital clutter as well and delete unimportant files and programs to help your computer run more efficiently. 

8. Clearly Define What You Want

Once a job seeker has their application materials and home office in order, it’s time to really define what they want in a job so they can embark on a targeted, effective job search. Start by identifying the targeted fields and career categories and exploring what type of schedule and flexibility is needed in a job. Do you want to work remotely some or all of the time? Are you looking for a fully flexible schedule, or are you okay with set hours? Would you prefer an employee or freelance position? Beginning a job search with answers to these questions in mind can set workers on the right path from the get-go.

9. Target Specific Companies

It’s important to target companies that will be a good cultural fit. Using LinkedIn can be a valuable way to seek out compatible companies. Find a company you admire and would like to work for on LinkedIn, then look for the “Similar pages” section on the right side of the page to find related companies. This could help uncover businesses in a given industry that could be a good fit. Then, create a list of companies and check their job postings often, reaching out to any you’re particularly aligned with and “cold emailing” them about employment opportunities. 

10. Follow Up with Employers

Some job seekers shy away from following up on a job application. Maybe they don’t want to “bother” the employer, or they assume they’re out of the running. However, checking in is expected, and it could put your resume in front of the hiring manager. After applying for a job, make it a point to follow up with the employer or hiring manager. Reach out after a week or two to ensure that applications were submitted successfully, and see if the employer has any questions. This is also a great opportunity for applicants to reiterate how great a match they’d be for the job and company, from appreciating its culture to feeling that they can be a true asset to the organization.

11. Practice Interviewing Skills

Good friends and networking contacts can be invaluable in helping job seekers hone their interviewing skills. This is especially important when they have a conversation scheduled. But even when beginning a job search, it doesn’t hurt to practice what to say in different situations by participating in a mock interview. 

12. Prioritize Mental and Physical Health

Job searching can take a toll, and it can be easy to feel down or stressed, leading to poor mental and physical health. Prioritize and focus on your health while job searching in the new year by setting aside time to participate in uplifting activities like getting outdoors––even for a quick walk-–using a meditation app to get in a mindful state, and eating healthy.

7 Growing fields that allow for 100% remote work

Many students dream of a high paying job where they can work from home and not have to plan a daily commute where they are sitting in traffic two+ hours per day. Flexjobs recently identified these remote careers by comparing the number of 100 percent remote jobs posted in January 2022 to December 2022 across 50 career categories in its database. Each of the categories increased at least 20 percent during this time period. 

A “fully remote job” is defined as a professional-level job that allows the worker to work completely from home 100 percent of the time. The below categories are ranked in order from highest to lowest growth. They each increased at least 20 percent. All are considered strong career fields for remote jobs in 2023.

  1. Nonprofit & Philanthropy
  2. Analyst
  3. Legal
  4. Medical & Health
  5. Communications
  6. Accounting & Finance
  7. Project Management

So, if working remotely is an important consideration for your students they may want to consider pursuing one of these career paths in college.

Best Tips for Managing Parent College Essay Expectations

Several years ago, a few days before an application deadline, a mom reached out to me in a panic. I had worked with her eldest child on his application essays; she didn’t like his Common App essay.

I loved his story. Even better, he was happy with his essay, anchored around the moment he learned to “just let it go” while doing a stand-up routine in a comedy club. The story hit the mark and sounded like him, a creative, insightful 17-year-old boy.

When I called the next day, she had already gotten feedback from others. According to her peers, the essay was bad, immature, ordinary, unsophisticated, and pedestrian.

I was appalled but let her talk.

The mom had stayed up half the night, revising the essay herself, changing words and rewriting sentences to make it sound sophisticated. As a result, her son’s voice disappeared. He felt horrible.

By listening without criticizing, I was able to calm the mom and explain why her son should submit the original essay he had written. I remained composed and focused on what was best for her son: feeling confident. She followed my advice.

As professionals, we each face challenging situations with parents who overstep, year after year. As college essay experts who train pros just like you and also work with families, we’d like to share some of our best tips to help you handle parent anxiety.

First, it’s important to understand why parents overstep their role before making any plans to deal with this situation. In our experience, there are three reasons:

Fear: Parents are afraid they missed something they should have done to help their children succeed. They would do anything to support their children, but since they don’t know what to do, they get involved in unhelpful ways.

Lack of understanding: Parents know very little about what a college essay is, how it fits into the larger application package, or what admission officers are looking for.

Need for control: Parents are used to micromanaging their children’s decisions and assignments. They don’t know how to step away.

Once we took the time to understand why parents overstep, it became a lot easier to find respectful ways to support students and challenge parents’ assumptions. We have since developed college essay coaching training programs that teach professionals like you how to guide students effectively on essays and improve communication with parents to better manage their expectations.

Above all else, we acknowledge parents’ concerns, while sharing why we know what we’re talking about. That expert card can go a long way! When we stay calm and confident, most parents will follow our lead. When you stay calm and confident, they’ll follow your lead too.

We also share our philosophy, process, and approach before any family chooses to work with us. When parents know what they are getting upfront, any of us can better manage any surprises and unrealistic expectations.

We communicate the expected parent role in emails before the student starts writing. We share our email templates and tons of valuable resources with every pro who completes our College Essay Experience training.

What’s your process for managing parent expectations? We’d love to hear it! Click here for a lot of great, free resources to share with your families.

Meanwhile, whether we’re presenting at a conference, training our local College Advising Corps, or offering low-cost, self-guided courses for Michigan counselors who need continuing education credits, supporting our colleagues throughout the world is a big part of our business plan.

Do you need resources for yourself or your students? Let us know how we can help.

Kim Lifton’s articles on the college essay appear regularly in print and on the web, and her work has been featured in a variety of newspapers, magazines, and online publications. She is a former newspaper reporter and corporate communications manager with a BA in Journalism from Michigan State University. You can email Kim anytime about the college essay at kim@wowwritingworkshop.com.

Free Webinar: Beginning to Build Critical “Adulting” Skills in High School: It’s More Than Learning to do Laundry

Michele McAnaney, Founder of the College Spy and Andrea Malkin Brenner, will be hosting a free webinar on January 11th at 8:00 Eastern. Here is a summary of what will be covered: Nothing in the college admissions process prepares high school graduates for the changes they will face as they transition from high school to living independently in college. Parents will finish this session with a complete list of the critical life skills first-year students should master before leaving home (and tricks for teaching these skills). Some topics include: taking care of their physical and mental health; sharing a living space and communicating with peers across differences; new responsibilities for personal safety, eating, and sleeping routines; budgeting and money management; taking advantage of campus resources; professional communication; and handling stress without the “scaffolding” of home.

Here is a link to the registration page (it’s free!) – https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8516714662377/WN_xSHmb1VQTLOSF1qBQ5ZirQ

How to Get Tech Savvy Students Interested in Coding and Programming Degrees and Careers

As our world becomes increasingly digital, the demand for coders and programmers will continue to rise. While career roles such as doctor and lawyer used to be looked at as the most estimable, today, the role of programmer is rising in the ranks of both prestige and security.

As someone whose role is to guide students to rewarding careers, taking note of tech-savvy students and suggesting a future career in coding or programming is a great way to help individuals find career fulfillment. Unfortunately, suggesting careers to students is sometimes easier said than done.

Thankfully, there are ways to make the job of planting these seeds easier. Having a grasp of some potent tips for steering tech-savvy students in the direction of these secure careers can make the process easier to undertake.

Here is how to get tech-savvy students interested in coding and programming degrees and careers.

Video Games

For most tech-savvy high school students, their love of digital technology was born in the realm of video games. From fun-filled adventures to matches with friends, video games are a favorite hobby among most children and teens today.

To pique the interest of students and get them interested in pursuing a programming degree, it can be extremely helpful to enlighten them about the fact that these degrees can prepare them for a career in the video game industry. Any tech-savvy high school student who loves video games will surely take this type of suggestion to heart.

To get your students started early, you can talk to them about different types of programming languages — such as C++ and Java — that are used in the video game industry. It might even be a good idea to share a link to a video that instructs one on how to create a simple video game. By sharing these key insights, you might just be able to spark an interest in tech-savvy students that leads to a secure and fulfilling career.

Salary

Though a lot of students may not be concerned with salaries when they’re young, the closer they get to graduating the more importance the topic will take on. As such, this is the perfect time for you to explain to your tech-savvy students just how much coders make.

The average salary for computer programmers across the US in 2021 was $93,000. While this is impressive enough, salaries increase significantly in some states with the median annual salary of computer programmers in Washington being a whopping $183,610. So, if you have students’ intent on moving away from home to pursue a degree, it may be a good idea for you to break down which states have the highest wages for programmers.

By laying out the impressive salary that coders and programmers make and driving home the fact that individuals can utilize this money for all types of exciting hobbies and endeavors, you’ll surely get your tech-savvy students interested in exploring degrees and careers in the programming space.

Mobile Apps

As a counselor, there’s no doubt you’ve noticed the fact that mobile technology has become an inextricable part of students’ lives. Whether it’s connecting with friends, watching videos, or playing games, most students spend a substantial amount of their time on their phones.

If you notice that some of your tech-savvy students are glued to their smartphones, it’s a good idea to let them know that they could create mobile apps themselves. If you’re able to pique students’ interests and get them hooked on the process of developing apps, you have a much higher chance of steering them toward a programming degree.

So, in addition to the video, have a list of universities with the best programs for mobile developers so they can start picturing their future and prepare to attend one of these programs.

Artificial Intelligence

Chances are, a good number of extremely tech-savvy students at your school are also deeply interested in science fiction. For students with a love of this genre, the field of artificial intelligence is a great way to get them excited about pursuing a programming degree.

To ease into the subject, it can be useful to bring up a book or movie that features artificial intelligence. You can then inform the student that they can actually have a career in artificial intelligence and work to create those very systems.

After planting this idea, make sure to provide students with some resources to explore on their own that allow them to dive deeper into the world of artificial intelligence.

Work-Life Balance

Today, people have become much more concerned with having a healthy work-life balance — especially younger people. This being the case, it’s more than likely that a decent portion of your tech-savvy students don’t intend on working a traditional 40-hour work week inside of a cubicle.

For students who seem to indicate that they’re interested in pursuing a career with more flexible options, it’s important to communicate the fact that coding and programming jobs can offer a significant amount of flexibility. From freelancing to working remotely, the field has no shortage of schedules that are conducive to a healthy work-life balance.

It can help to ask students what type of flexible work options they desire in their careers. Depending on their answers, you can have suggestions ready that show them how obtaining a degree in programming can offer them the ability to step into their ideal work schedule.

Convincing Tech-Savvy Students to Pursue a Coding Career Can Be Easy

By highlighting some key benefits that high school students find interesting, you can have an easy and manageable time convincing tech-savvy students to pursue degrees and careers in coding and programming. From utilizing their interest in video games to informing them of the impressive salary of coders, there are many ways to spark an interest in your students.

So, the next time you’re having trouble with a particularly stubborn tech-savvy high school student, try one of these suggestions and watch as their attitudes transform.

Free Webinar: College Readiness Game Plan for Parents of Autistic Teens

A free webinar is being offered on how academic success will get your autistic child ACCEPTED to college but being college ready will ease your child’s transition and allow them to thrive. In this informative webinar for parents of autistic high school students, you’ll learn: 

1. The difference between high school and college

2. The critical skills needed for college readiness

3. How to help your child build these skills starting in ninth grade

Tips on how to help autistic students get accepted to college will also be discussed.

The speakers are Michelle McAnaney, Founder of the College Spy and Beth Felsen, Owner of Spectrum Transition Coaching.

Here is a link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1216712084847/WN_ZX7UJ7bqTbmIEHmlZBwYBw

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