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Scholarships for Immigrants and Undocumented Students

Here is a document created by Ashley Sievers a Counselor in TN with some scholarships available specifically for Immigrants and Undocumented Students:

Scholarships:

La Plaza Scholarship Fund: https://www.laplazaindy.org/portfolio-item/scholarship-fund/

DREAMer’s Roadmap: https://www.dreamersroadmap.org

Equal Chance for Education: https://www.equalchanceforeducation.org

MALDEF Scholarship Resources: https://www.maldef.org/resources/scholarship-resources/

The Dream US: https://www.thedream.us/

Scholarships A-Z: https://www.scholarshipsaz.org/

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarships: https://www.jkcf.org/our-scholarships/college-scholarship-program/

Immigrants Rising Scholarship Fund: https://immigrantsrising.org/financial-support/scholarship-fund/

National Immigration Law Center’s Access to Postsecondary Education Scholarships https://www.nilc.org/issues/education/estimates-of-eligible-students/aid-scholarships-groups/

Look tomorrow for a blog with some helpful websites for Immigrant and Undocumented Students

College Application Choices

The Common Application is the big kahuna in the college application world. Their numbers have soared in the last decade, more than doubling to over 900 colleges and universities that accept their application nationally and internationally.

There is another player in the field – The Coalition Application.

Both platforms:

  • offer students a way to apply to colleges and track their applications
  • are free to use
  • have students pay the fees for each of the colleges where they’re submitting applications.
  • require an essay

What are the differences between the two applications: 

The single biggest difference is the size of the membership: Common App (CA), which was created in 1975, has 980 members and Coalition(C), created in 2015, has 150 members.

CA permits students to rollover their information from one year to the next. C encourages students to maintain a “locker” with items such as essays they’ve written for school, their resumes, research, artwork, videos and projects that they anticipate will be part of their college application.

Guidance counselors and teachers are more comfortable with the CA and are learning about the mechanics of the Coalition application.

The Coalition was envisioned as one way to increase diversity in the applicant pool. Its mission is to make it easier for students from underrepresented backgrounds to apply to college. It emphasizes affordability.  Currently, Coalition only partners with institutions that offer generous financial aid and makes a valiant effort to help students graduate with little to no debt. As an example, rather than just listing their activities,  students can select “Family Responsibilities” —which allows working-class families to describe the commitments that may prevent them from participating in more traditional extracurriculars and clubs.

The Coalition offers students a “collaborative space” where they can invite teachers, counselors, recommenders, and family members to review their applications.

Since the CA has been around for nearly 50 years, they’ve tweaked and fine-tuned their technical support, so it is typically responsive. However, with over 3 million users each year, things can get bottlenecked in the week or so before major deadlines. The safest bet is always to try and submit your applications two or more weeks prior to the deadline, in case there are challenges or tech issues.

One of the biggest differences you’ll find is in the Activity List. CA provides a max of 10 activities which students rank in their importance but they are limited to a description of 150 characters for each one. The Coalition offers eight spots with 255 characters for describing your responsibilities and accomplishments.

In the course listings section of the applications, Coalition applicants are required to list all grades and courses throughout high school whereas CA applicants need only list their senior courses with no grades – transcripts must be sent. How to decide which platform to use:

Students should research their own college lists to see which ones accept neither, one or both of the platforms:

Common App: www.commonapp.org;

Coalition: www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/ 

Lee Bierer, Bierer College Consulting, has been an independent educational consultant since 2006. www.leebierer.com; leesbierer@gmail.com, 704-907-5685.

NACAC is looking for member feedback – $100 Amazon gift card if you would like to participate

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has just begun an in-depth effort to improve its membership experience and service to the college admission counseling profession, and they are actively looking for your ideas in order to make that experience as professionally and personally satisfying as possible.  Your feedback can help enhance the services and benefits NACAC provides and to reveal the best ways to encourage your colleagues to join or renew their membership.

They will be hosting an online Bulletin Board Focus Group (BBFG) to improve the value of membership and elevate their offerings to the college admission and counseling communities. Members who take part in the focus group will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card.  This research is being conducted by their partner, Marketing General Incorporated (MGI).

The BBFG will take place from Tuesday, April 12, 2022 through Thursday, April 14, 2022. Participants will be asked to log into the online research discussion for a brief period once a day on each of these three days.

You will be asked a set of questions that should only take about 20 minutes to complete, but you may log in as often as you want and also respond to the comments that other participants have made. Occasionally, the group moderator may ask a follow-up question for clarification, and you also may receive an email asking you to rejoin the discussion to answer any follow-up questions.

If you are interested in sharing your opinions in this online discussion, please complete this contact form. All information collected, and all information provided in the discussion will remain completely confidential. They will randomly select individuals to participate. All those selected will be notified and will be sent login/password information to participate.  

To express their gratitude for your time, NACAC will send you a $100 Amazon Gift Card. Only those who complete the discussion will be eligible for this incentive.

March is Social Work Month

Happy National Social Worker Month! National Social Work Month was first organized in the 1960s, and officially recognized by the White House in 1984, as a great way to bring attention and give thanks to professional social workers. Today, nearly 700,000 provide social work support and services nationwide — the demand for social services has never been greater.

Each year, the National Association of Social Workers chooses a theme to highlight during March. This year, that theme is “The Time is Right for Social Work.”

As the Illinois Chapter of NASW recently explained in a blog post, “The time is always right for social work. However more people are entering the field because the life-affirming services that social  workers provide are needed more than ever. This is especially true as our nation continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism, economic inequality, global warming, and other crises.”

As a way to celebrate this year’s National Social Worker Month, we wanted to highlight some free resources that might be of interest. These resources are designed for prospective and current social work degree program students and include:

  • A Guide to Social Worker Code of Ethics: Ethics is a key component of the social work profession. This guide covers social work ethics, how ethics guide social workers’ behaviors and actions, and how professionals build their knowledge and skills around ethical dilemmas. In addition, state requirements for ethics training are covered, as is a discussion around how social work ethics apply to our now largely remote-working world. 
  • A Guide to Social Work Field Instruction: Field instruction is a critical part of a social work education. While traditional coursework gives you an idea of the types of situations you may encounter in your work, there is no substitute for practical real world experience. In field placements, students have the opportunity to put the skills they are learning into practice while receiving guidance from an experienced supervisor.
  • MSW Online: This is the gateway into a number of other degree, career, and professional resources all geared towards prospective social work students and early career professionals. In addition to free guides and resources, degree pages contain “ask an expert” profiles, which are short interviews with social work professions from around the country. 

Free Webinar: Extracurricular Activities and College Planning

A free webinar is offered to all Counselors by Michele McAnaney of the College Spy on Extracurricular Activities and College Planning.

This presentation is for parents of students in grades 8 through 12. The webinar will cover extracurricular activities in great detail and answer the following questions:

  1. What are colleges REALLY looking for?
  2. How important are extracurricular activities in college admissions?
  3. What should my child do if he/she/they don’t have many activities to list on the application?
  4. How should my child fill out the activities section of the application to maximize chances of acceptance?

It will be held on March 22nd at 8:00 PM Eastern. Here is the link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1316473996093/WN_24YbiS0WT7iqsQvSonXzMg

Free Webinar: Your Neurodivergent Student and the Launch to College

Anticipating the shift from high school to college can feel overwhelming for many parents and teens; neurodivergent teens may face even more challenges in navigating this transition. This presentation will help parents approach the change as a gradual process, helping their child take charge of their academics and build the self-advocacy skills needed to become a successful college student. Parents will learn to pivot from the role of high school parent to the role of college parent by helping their student create an awareness and narrative of their specific learning needs; prepare for the important differences between high school and college academic expectations; understand what it means to seek learning accommodations and other support resources in college; and expand their teen’s ability to independently problem-solve.

The webinar will take place on April 12th at 8:00 pm Eastern Time. It is free to attend. Please share this with your parents that might have an interest. Here is the link –https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3816469404416/WN_sfmVotc7Rxqfuy5FYtJyTw

We Love Your College Essay Questions

We get lots of questions from counselors, teachers, and consultants. In emails. During monthly pro chats. At professional conferences. In Facebook messenger. LinkedIn. And from readers of Link for Counselors

Questions range from how to know if a topic is good enough to handling sensitive essay topics and best practices for last-minute essay reviews.
 
We love answering your questions. As you know by now, we give the basics to everyone because we like to share what we know.

As you prepare for the Class of 2023, let’s talk about that myth of getting the students to dig really, really deep into their minds to write outstanding college essays. We get lots of questions focused on tips to help students reflect to go deeper.

They need to reflect, but they don’t need to wrack their brains out trying to dive deep. Meet them where they are. Help them reflect to the best of their ability.

Ask questions. Be curious. Ask follow-up questions. Focus on the why. What does the student want to write about? What trait does this story demonstrate? Why do they want to share it with admissions?

It’s not a great idea to push a student too far if they have trouble reflecting. And that’s not what colleges want in an application essay. The job is to answer the prompt with a genuine, meaningful, and reflective story focused on the applicant. They want to know who your student is, what makes them tick, how that student might fit in at a particular college. That’s it.

We also get a lot of questions about handling parents who overstep. In fact, recently,

a counselor posted this question in the Wow Community forum: How do you help students share essays with parents and others in a way that will help them?
 
Our response: We encourage students to share the prompt, the theme, and the essay together, along with instructions for how they want the reader to respond. Here are some key points to include when asking for feedback:

  • I am proud of the work I’ve done.
  • My essay [demonstrates these characteristics/will help readers see why I’m a good fit/etc.
  • If you find any typos or have questions about clarity, please let me know.
  • But I’m not asking if you like my topic! I like my topic.
  • Also, keep in mind that I’m a high school student, and that’s what I’m supposed to sound like.
  • So, if you have a “better” way to write something, please don’t ask me to revise.

Kim Lifton, of Farmington Hills, MI, is President and Co-founder of Wow Writing Workshop, which teaches students and educational professionals a simple, step-by-step process for writing effective college essays, so students can stand out and tell their stories. Kim leads a team of writers and teachers who understand the writing process inside and out. Since 2009, Wow has been leading the college admissions industry with our unique approach to communicating messages effectively through application essays, including personal statements, activity and short answer essays and supplements. Kim is also an executive board member of Michigan ACAC and a national delegate. When she is not teaching students or training professionals, Kim likes to write her own stuff, do yoga at her synagogue, drink coffee, and swim laps (slowly but steadily) a few mornings a week at the high school she attended a very, very long time ago.

What about those elite summer programs – “pay-to-play”– worth it?

Many students have probably been impressed with the fancy mailings they’ve been receiving notifying them that “You’ve been nominated” or “Congratulations, you’ve been identified as a strong candidate for our selective program.”

Hopefully your scam antennae is up. You’re probably asking yourself, why are they spending so much money on these fancy envelopes, the personalization, the multitude of enclosures, etc. Yes, you’re right, it is a marketing ploy. I often wish I could convince these companies to reduce their marketing costs and then cut the costs of these programs.

The programs are solid, students have great experiences, learn a lot, enjoy being in an academic environment on a college campus away from their family – those are all points in their favor. The downside is that they are very pricey, hence elite and are typically not very selective at all. I refer to them as the “pay-to-play” programs. I believe they carry little or no weight in the college admissions process.

The companies behind the programs are typically for-profit enterprises that often try to present themselves an non-profit organizations. They run elaborate marketing campaigns that make the programs look as if they are incredibly selective. That is usually not the case.

The big question is, “Will these programs help get me into college?”

I think colleges are happy to see these programs on a student’s resume but it mostly indicates that the student is from an upper-middle-class background and can afford a $3,000 – $10,000 summer experience.

So, if the biggest reason you’re considering attending one of these programs is because you think it will seal the deal to gain acceptance at your dream college, think again. These programs won’t hurt you and if your family can afford it, they can provide great learning experiences and exposure to professors and other motivated students.

Another motivation might be to “test-drive” a college campus or a city to see if it represents a good fit; if that’s the case, then these programs can be incredibly valuable on a variety of levels. You may have assumed you wanted the hustle-bustle of a city, but the reality of noisy streets and a more impersonal campus and student body, doesn’t jibe with what you anticipated for your college experience. How wonderful to learn that now, while you’re still in high school, instead of finding that out freshman year.

The most important thing to do this summer is do something that matters to you; show a college what you care about, what you’re curious about, what motivates you, what makes you different. Use your summer wisely.

Lee Bierer, Bierer College Consulting, has been an independent educational consultant since 2006. www.leebierer.com; leesbierer@gmail.com, 704-907-5685.

Top 20 Must-Have Skills to Put on a Resume

Top 10 Soft Skills:

  1. Problem Solving 
  2. Critical Thinking 
  3. Flexibility
  4. Communication 
  5. Teamwork
  6. Organization 
  7. Creativity
  8. Emotional Intelligence
  9. Attention to Detail
  10. Responsibility

Top 10 Hard Skills: 

  1. Computer Software and Application Knowledge
  2. Design
  3. Data Analysis
  4. Negotiation
  5. Mathematics
  6. Project Management
  7. Marketing
  8. Administrative
  9. Writing Skills
  10. Foreign Languages


More details and examples of how to effectively organize both soft and hard skills on a resume can be found in the blog post here.

Some Social Rules that May Help Your Students

Saw this list posted on Facebook and thought they might be good to share with some of your students:

SOME SOCIAL RULES THAT MAY HELP YOU:

1. Don’t call someone more than twice continuously. If they don’t pick up your call, presume they have something important to attend to;

2. Return money that you have borrowed even before the person that borrowed you remember or ask for it. It shows your integrity and character. Same goes with umbrellas, pens and lunch boxes.

3. Never order the expensive dish on the menu when someone is giving you a lunch/dinner.

4. Don’t ask awkward questions like ‘Oh so you aren’t married yet?’ Or ‘Don’t you have kids’ or ‘Why didn’t you buy a house?’ Or why don’t you buy a car? For God’s sake it isn’t your problem;

5. Always open the door for the person coming behind you. It doesn’t matter if it is a guy or a girl, senior or junior. You don’t grow small by treating someone well in public;

6. If you take a taxi with a friend and he/she pays now, try paying next time;

7. Respect different shades of opinions. Remember what’s 6 to you will appear 9 to someone facing you. Besides, second opinion is good for an alternative;

8. Never interrupt people talking. Allow them to pour it out. As they say, hear them all and filter them all;

9. If you tease someone, and they don’t seem to enjoy it, stop it and never do it again. It encourages one to do more and it shows how appreciative you’re;

10. Say “thank you” when someone is helping you.

11. Praise publicly. Criticize privately;

12. There’s almost never a reason to comment on someone’s weight. Just say, “You look fantastic.” If they want to talk about losing weight, they will;

13. When someone shows you a photo on their phone, don’t swipe left or right. You never know what’s next;

14. If a colleague tells you they have a doctors’ appointment, don’t ask what it’s for, just say “I hope you’re okay”. Don’t put them in the uncomfortable position of having to tell you their personal illness. If they want you to know, they’ll do so without your inquisitiveness;

15. Treat the cleaner with the same respect as the CEO. Nobody is impressed at how rude you can treat someone below you but people will notice if you treat them with respect;

16. If a person is speaking directly to you, staring at your phone is rude;

17. Never give advice until you’re asked;

18. When meeting someone after a long time, unless they want to talk about it, don’t ask them their age and salary;

19. Mind your business unless anything involves you directly – just stay out of it;

20. Remove your sunglasses if you are talking to anyone in the street. It is a sign of respect. Moreso, eye contact is as important as your speech; and

21. Never talk about your riches in the midst of the poor. Similarly, don’t talk about your children in the midst of the barren.

22.After reading a good message try to say “Thanks for the message”.

APPRECIATION remains the easiest way of getting what you don’t have.

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