Dear Friend,
It is sometimes difficult to stay enthused about school during the dreary winter months, especially when you are in the final stages of high school. It is rather like hitting “the wall” as a long distance runner. I remember well the college cross-country course and being at the bottom of a long incline we called Agony Hill. My legs were rubber, my energy gone, and this grueling hill was in still in front of me.
And yet, most of the course was already behind me. I could see the finish line up ahead if I could just keep going. I learned to mentally picture myself pulling hand for hand up a rope to the top, one step after the other. Soon, I would catch that second wind and find a burst of energy to finish the race.
If you have hit the wall, I encourage you to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Just keep moving toward the finish line and you will find a renewed energy and purpose. Most of your student’s education is behind you now and you must stay the course in order to finish well.
You can do it!
Blessings,
Jeannette
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Feature Article: Questions to Ask a College
Choosing a college is a most important endeavor and merits plenty of time and attention. Your student will be shaped by the institution he or she chooses and it is important to get all the information possible before you must make that critical decision. While your student may not be comfortable asking questions of strangers, it is a skill that is worth developing, not only for determining their college choice, but also for researching many things for the remainder of their lives. Here are some crucial questions they need to ask.
Talk to Students/Alums
One of the most helpful things to do is to talk to alums and students in their major, particularly upper classmen and those recently graduated. There can be vast differences between departments on a single campus.
New students are still enraptured with their newfound freedom and are still very positive, older alums are loyal to their core and have forgotten many things. Schools can also change drastically through the years.
Upper classmen and recent graduates can be bluntly honest about the good points and the shortcomings of their school. Questions to ask:
What is the best thing about this school? What is the worst thing about this school? Did it prepare you for your job? Would you choose this school again? Are professors open-minded or do they have an agenda?
Ask your department of interest:
Who is recruiting their graduates? What grad schools have accepted their students? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do they compare to similar departments at the other schools you are looking at?
Where do your students find people to visit with? Everywhere. If you find out that someone you know (or a friend of a friend) graduated from one of your student’s schools of interest, have your child contact them and arrange a time to visit. Ask admissions officers for upper class students who would be willing to visit. Talk to admissions officers, professors, people they meet in the hall after visiting with professors, people having coffee in the campus hangout, people sitting on benches outside the department of interest.
It is important that your student be the one making the contacts. People are much more willing to talk to students than they are to adults, so take advantage of this fact. Training your child to be proactive in this way yields huge dividends.
If you enjoyed this essay, check out Jeannette’s new book Called to Influence which contains this entire essay plus many more dealing preparing your children for college and the application process itself.
“How to Pick a College” was originally published in Practical Homeschooling, November/December 2008. Used by permission. Copyright 2008 Home Life, Inc.
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Resources: Take Rigorous Classes
As you begin to plan classes for the coming year, remember that colleges will be looking to see if your student has challenged themselves, that they have taken the most rigorous classes available to them. If they are in a public school that offers AP classes, they need to be taking many of them. If you have the financial resources, they will expect your homeschooled student to have taken online AP classes, concurrent classes at a local university, or honors classes at home. Colleges are looking for intellectual vitality in your student and this can be demonstrated through their choice of challenging classes and interesting co curricular activities.
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About Us
Jeannette Webb is the founder of Aiming Higher Consultants, a firm dedicated to helping Christian students gain admission to great colleges. She has a heart for assisting parents as they train their children for excellence. Jeannette works to empower families to make thoughtful choices for their younger children, to confidently navigate the difficult high school years, and then ace the college admissions process.
If you liked today’s issue, you’ll love her personalized consulting services that help you map out a holistic plan for your student.
While Jeannette is best known for her clear-sighted counseling, her clients feel that her biggest gift to their family was permission to be themselves.
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