What If I Didn’t Do Well In High School? Can I Still Get Into College? Should I Even Go to College?

You worked hard in high school, devoted yourself to your studies, got really good grades, played on a team or two, and spent weekends reading to retired soldiers, and then you had to choose among the 10 colleges who wanted you to enroll, right?

Not everyone’s that lucky, smart, mature, motivated, talented, aware in their teens.  Not everyone has the grades to have a choice of colleges.

What do those kids do?

First you have to figure out why you didn’t do as well as you would have liked in high school.

Academic challenges.  If high school was too hard for you, chances are you shouldn’t be going directly to a standard four year college.  College learning isn’t easier than high school learning. Sure, you’ll be able to take classes that are closer to your interests, but most colleges require students to take specific classes in the first year or two, and then specific classes within a major.

Motivational challenges.  It’s hard to get motivated to turn in that project if you don’t see the point of it.  If you don’t have a vision of what you want to do with your life, it’s likely that you don’t feel like working hard in any class.  If your parents nag, if your friends are out partying, if you indulge in a little recreational substance from time to time, if school starts too early, it’s hard to work up the drive to do that next geometry worksheet or take chapter notes on that assigned novel.  I have bad news for you: it’s even harder to get motivated in college where they don’t take attendance, they don’t assign daily assignments, and they don’t call your parents if you’re falling behind.

Sometimes, kids just wake up too late.  If you didn’t put any effort into grades 8 through 11, you may find yourself in a common situation.  You can get really good grades now, but is it too late?

Here are some solutions:

Go to a very easy college, work hard, and then transfer.  If you’re perfectly capable of doing college-level work but just woke up to the value of good grades too late, you can explain it in your application essay. Lots of kids don’t realize the value of hard work in high school at 15 or 16 and don’t put in any effort until they’re nearly ready to graduate.  There are many colleges that accept those students. You probably won’t get a scholarship, and you might never have heard of the school, but there are legitimate schools where you can go and experience college and college life. Hey, you may even wind up liking that school and want to stay, but if you do well, you most certainly can transfer if you choose.

Go to a community college and take some remedial classes in areas where you faced academic challenges.  If high school was too hard for you, it might have been because you just never got the academic attention when you needed it in middle school.  Perhaps you never really got math.  Perhaps you never learned to write a cogent essay.  Perhaps you always found literature too challenging.  Community colleges usually offer classes where you can work on those weaknesses until your academic level is ready for college.  You don’t even have to live home.  Several community colleges have the option to live in dorms while you are enrolled.  For some students, an associates degree is sufficient for their career choice.  Others can transfer to a school that they are proud to attend when their skills have improved.

Join the military.  Like the ads say, they’ll train you in a career and pay for your college when you’re done. If your problem was motivational, you might just need a little time to mature.  The military will do that for you – quick!  You can help your country while you help yourself.

Choose a career that doesn’t require advanced education.  Despite what it seems, college just isn’t for everyone, and it doesn’t have to be.  Use your personality and go into sales or public relations.  Use your talent and become a musician or artist or photographer.  Use your ability to work with your hands and become a carpenter or plumber or auto mechanic.  Imagine how much farther ahead you’ll be – your peers will be first looking for a job in four years but you’ll be well into your career.

Remember too that there’s no rule that you much go to college immediately after high school. There are programs where you can go abroad for a year or so before you think about college. Google “gap year programs” and you’ll be surprised by all the opportunities.  Many students find that a year abroad gives them time to grow up and refine their goals, and gives them something to offer a college when they’re done.

There are so many options.  Don’t succumb to what you perceive as societal pressure.  Find the path that looks like it might work for you and get going.  Even if you change directions somewhere down the lane, at least you will have begun the journey.

Wendy Segal

http://www.wendysegaltutoring.com

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Quick Question: Do I Need to Take the PSATs This Year?

Here are a few questions I get all the time:

I took the PSATs in 10th grade.  Do I need to take them in 11th grade, too?

And I also am asked:

I took a practice SAT at the library.  Do I need to take a PSAT at all now?

The answer to both is an unequivocal YES!

It only makes sense that if your student did well on the PSATs in 10th grade, he or she will do even better in 11th grade, parents tell me.  First of all, if that turns out to be true and your student did well on the 10th grade PSATs, why wouldn’t you want your student to retake them in 11th grade when a superior score might get a National Merit Letter of Commendation or even a National Merit Scholarship?

No matter how well you do on the PSATs in 10th grade, only the 11th grade PSATs are considered for the National Merit scholarship.

On the other hand, more often than not, it has been my experience over the past 27 years that students who have done very well on the 10th grade PSATs and who skip the 11th grade PSATs have their scores GO DOWN on their first SAT.  The students are shocked, the parents are disappointed, and now there is much less time to correct whatever the problem is.  To make matters worse, some schools require that you send ALL SAT scores when you apply.  Too bad the student in that situation didn’t retake the PSATs in 11th grade.  Then, if the score go down, the colleges won’t know and the student has many months to work on improving.

Furthermore, I don’t trust those library practice SATs.  They’re usually not an actual SAT.  They’re an approximation of the SATs based on what a company seeking to sell you SAT preparation services believes is similar to an SAT.  Real SATs are tested over and over.  I’ve found substantial errors in SAT prep books prepared by Princeton Review, Kaplan, and all the others (and so have many other tutors of my acquaintance).  The SATs given at the library tend to be either too hard (“You see, you really do need our tutoring service!”) or too easy (“See?  With just a little help, you can rock this test!”).

If your student really wants to know how he’d do on a real SAT, have him take a real SAT, either from the book by the College Board or on online from the people who actually create and administer the SATs.  You don’t need a library and you don’t need a detailed analysis that you probably won’t understand (but the prep center will be glad to explain it to you, and show you why you need them).

The PSATs are given in October.  The score report from the PSATs is sent home to you some time in December.  If you’re not happy with your student’s scores, take them to a qualified tutor who can help your student work on her weakness as well as polish where she’s already doing well.

So yes, unless you’re ill on the day of the PSATs or you have a wedding to attend, no excuses!  Just take that 11th grade PSAT.

Do you have other questions about college entrance testing?  Let me know!

Wendy Segal

http://www.wendysegaltutoring.com

Applying to College: Where Do I Start? When Do I Start?

If you’re going into your senior year of high school in the fall, you probably have a nagging feeling that you should be doing something about college, but I bet the whole concept feels overwhelming.  (If you’re going into your junior year and you’re smart enough to be reading ahead to be well prepared, give yourself a big gold star!)

Where should you start?  Is it too early to begin the college process – or are you already behind?

Let’s think this whole application process through, step by step:

– You want to hear back from colleges as early as possible and get as many yeses as possible, so you want to apply to several schools early action.  That means applying by October of senior year.

– To apply by October, you have to work on your applications, especially the application essays, over the summer before senior year. (That means NOW!)

– To work on the essays over the summer, you have to know which colleges you’ll be applying to more or less by June of junior year.

– To know which schools you want to apply to by June, you have to have visited several  schools in March and April of junior year.  (Most schools discourage tours in early May when finals are in session, and most college students leave campus by mid-May.)

– To know which schools you’d like to visit, you need a list of potential schools by FEBRUARY of junior year.

So are you behind?  Unless you have a solid list of schools to which you intend to apply, I’m afraid you are!

How should you start building that list?  I’m sure your high school guidance counselor has suggested you start with Naviance.  Feh!  The sample on Naviance is just too small.  If someone from your high school got into Big State U, is it because he was a sports star?  Did his parents go there?  Is he a coveted minority?  Was he an expert at the French horn?  You’ll never know from Naviance.

Try the College Board college search.  (Yes, I used to recommend Princeton Review, but they’ve tinkered with it so much in the past few years that you now need a college degree to work their program.)  US News & World Report also has an excellent college search tool. They charge $30 to access it for a year, but it has very specific, very accurate information.  Between US News and the College Board, you’ll have all the college information you need to start building a list.

Think of how far away from home you want to be.  Think of what majors you want your school to have.  Do you care if your school has a big football team?  Is on-campus housing important to you?  How do you feel about Greek life (fraternities and sororities)?

You want your list to be huge at first, maybe 30 – 40 schools.  Include every possibility.  Then start narrowing.  Are religious schools out?  How about urban schools without a campus?  Please don’t eliminate a school just because you haven’t heard of it, and don’t include schools that don’t fit your needs just because your friends are talking about them.  Build a list on your own.

Once you have a list, group your schools geographically.  Can you visit all the New York State schools over a three-day trip?  What about Pennsylvania schools or Boston schools? You’ll probably want to take a few weekends to visit schools, so start looking for weekends that work for your parents.  They’re much more likely to cooperate if you have a plan.  For example, you might say, “Mom, I want to take three trips.  I want to see the Pennsylvania/ Delaware/Maryland schools in one trip, the Boston area schools in another trip, and the New York State schools to the west in a third trip.”  Mom’s bound to be impressed! Then go online and find out when those schools have available tours and/or information sessions.

Don’t forget to make appointments for school tours and information sessions.  The most popular dates fill up quickly.

While you’re online, definitely fill out the “send me more information” page at each school.  That’s how they know you’re  considering them.  Once the schools get specific information from you, they can send you targeted brochures for your interests or major or any scholarships that you might fit.

After you  make your list, go to visit schools.  You don’t have to see every school to which you might apply.  You don’t have to visit your reach schools.  Face it, if you get into Harvard, you’re going.  Who cares what the dorm rooms look like!  Visit the schools that are most likely to admit you.  Visit different categories of schools:  urban, suburban, rural, large, small, northern, southern – whatever your categories are.

Next, start writing your essay.  The Common App is live as of August 1st.  You can read the essay prompts here, so get started now!

Please don’t wait until school starts to begin the essay.  Sure, some English teachers give you time to work on your essay in class, but they don’t have much experience with the new prompts (prompts changed just last year and are radically different from prompt over the past 10 years or so) and they don’t know you particularly well.  Don’t tell me you work best under pressure.  They’ll be plenty of pressure in the coming few months.   A well-thought-out essay may require several drafts.  You may pick one topic, begin writing, and realize the essay is a dud and you’d be better off with a different topic.  You don’t have to polish it up now, but you should most definitely begin right away.  Get off Facebook and start writing!

Also, you should be making a comprehensive list of everything you’ve done in high school.

List:

• academic achievements (pins, awards, honors)
• after school clubs
• sports
• paid jobs (even babysitting)
• volunteer jobs
• community service

You need the name of the activity, the group you did it for or with, the dates, and perhaps a 5-word description.

Once you complete your list, show it to your parents.  You’re bound to have forgotten something!

After you really complete your list, make a resume.  Look online for samples.  The most important thing about a resume is that it is error-free. Have someone else review it.  Now you have something to bring with you on interviews, and completing college applications is SO much easier when you already have completed a resume.  Trust me!

If you follow all these suggestions, you should be busy until school starts (sorry about that!).

Need more help or advice?  Feel free to book some time with me (http://meetme.so/WendySegalTutoring ).

Good luck!

 

 

Wendy Segal

http://www.wendysegaltutoring.com

Before You Head Off To College, Remember These 8 Things

Congratulations! You’ve made it all the way through high school.  You applied to many colleges (or just your favorite), got into at least one, and are headed off to college at the end of August.

Here’s my best advice for you to get ready for the big move:

1.  GET A SHOT! I can’t say it loudly enough.  Get a meningitis shot.  The old ones lasted 5 years.  They now have vaccines that last 10 years.  If you’re not sure if you’ve had one, ask your doctor – or just get another one.  Hardly anyone gets meningitis, but it’s usually fatal if you do.  Why take a chance?  One girl did — read about it here.  Please, please don’t put it off.  Make an appointment now because they sometimes run out of vaccine.

2.  Start saving Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons.  They come in the mail.  Save them.  The store doesn’t mind your using expired coupons.  Bed, Bath, and Beyond has a good selection of college stuff starting early in August.  Marsha, a wise friend of mine, gave me this advice and she was right:  Buy everything you think you might possibly need, but don’t open it until you get to college.  If you don’t need it in your particular dorm room, your parents can always take it back to the store and return it if they keep the receipt.  They even have a system where you can pick out stuff in your local store and pick up those items at the store near your college!

3.  Start making a backpack of all the stuff you’ll need the minute you arrive at college:

• duct tape
• masking tape
• extension cords (at least one with surge protector)
• hammer
• screw driver (flat and phillips)
• flash light
• sharpie marker (there will be something you forgot to label or that your roommate has the exact same one of)
• small notepad and pen

There’s lots more stuff you will need, but these are things you might need right away to put your room in order and will certainly get lost if you pack them with the other junk.

4.  Get a new laptop.  If yours is more than 4 or 5 years old, you might want a new one.  You probably won’t need a printer (they’re handy but take up precious desktop room and every school has convenient places to print out papers), but you will need a laptop to bring to class, to submit assignments, and to drag to the library or to a friend’s dorm room for a group project.

5.  Ask what cell phone carrier works best at your school.  I know from my son that if you don’t have Verizon at Cornell, you don’t have reception.  If you know someone at the school you’ll be going to, ask about who’s got the best reception.  If you don’t know anyone there, find a facebook group of last year’s freshmen and ask them.  While you’re at it, try to get your parents to pay for unlimited text messages.  You’ll need it!

6.  Make a communications plan with your parents.  Your parents may secretly be hoping you’ll call every day.  You may be expecting to call them every few weeks. If you start off calling them every day and then don’t call for a few weeks, they’re going to be disappointed.  Your leaving will be as big a life change for your parents as it will be for you, so if you want to help them out, have a discussion with them about expectations before you go.  And don’t forget to call your grandparents from college from time to time!

7.  Expect to feel out of place for a little while. I have to confess — I cried through most of my freshman year.  I didn’t want to live home again, I just wanted my life the way it was back in high school with all my comfortable friends, with clean clothes that appeared regularly in my room, with free food in the fridge.  I thought everyone else was having a blast, and I was the only one feeling sad, lonely, uncomfortable, sick of hearing my roommate’s music.  I saw everyone’s happy faces going to class and I felt even more alone.  Little did I know that many of them were smiling on the outside and feeling exactly the same as I did on the inside.  I think if I knew that – and if I knew then that this feeling would pass by springtime – I wouldn’t have felt quite so confused.  So I’m telling you now:  It’s not only okay to feel disassociated your first few months at college, it’s normal. Really.

8. Join the Facebook group for your school’s incoming freshman class. Whether you’re addicted to Facebook or can’t remember the last time you went on, it’s how people connect.  It’s hard enough to feel like you fit in those first few days.  Do yourself a favor and act like you’ve got school spirit even if you’re not so sure you do yet.  While you’re at it, remove anything you wouldn’t want your roommate’s mom to see.  (My son’s freshman roommate, a white suburban kid from Long Island, listed “Rastafarian” as his religion.  I knew there was going to be trouble!)

I hope I haven’t made you too nervous.  I just want you to be as prepared as you can be.  Keep in touch with your old friends, your family — and me!