Quote of the Day:
“Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.” – Dean Acheson
Today I am going to linger a bit on the topic of long-term preparation of your student’s high school experience with the goal being an extensive and exciting résumé at college application time.
It is often surprising to realize that your student really only has three years to accomplish this; the college application time is summer before, and fall of, senior year, not in the middle or end of it. So the GPA and activity sheet your student ends up with at the completion of the junior year is pretty much what the colleges will see, other than any standardized test scores from fall test dates.
So here are some hints and tips on helping your student be ready when it is time to apply (trust me, this comes up much faster than you can imagine!).
- Be nosy – either overtly or covertly (your tactics may vary with the personality of your child). Go through the backpack to locate assignments, find out goings on at the school, see recent grades, etc. In my humble opinion, there is very little implicit privacy in a household where I pay all the bills! When you are informed, you can make suggestions, keep up with important dates, etc.
- Help your student facilitate productive summers. Some ideas:
- Take art classes and build a portfolio.
- Invent something.
- Join a volunteer program that relates to one of your student’s areas of interest.
- Get a research internship in a field of interest.
- Be your child’s advocate. Ask teachers how your child can get an “A” in their class. Be on hand for your student, if only to show support, during study sessions and late homework nights.
These are just a few of my suggestions, but they are tried and true. I personally followed them when my sons were in high school, and now they are graduates of Harvard and Princeton. I am convinced of the value of these suggestions. There is much more to add to this picture, but for another time…
