Welcome!

Dear Friend,

Welcome to the premier edition of "Training for Excellence." I'm thrilled that you've joined us at this exciting time in your life. While it may seem hectic at times, don't forget to enjoy the journey. It will be over before you know it. I'm as proud as I can be of my two kids, but I have to confess I miss them terribly.

Just to catch you up on where we are, Natalie, my youngest is a sophomore at Princeton University. She is an operations research and financial engineering major - basically lots of math and computer science applied to huge business problems. She was selected for a competitive great books program last year and loved the 75 hour weeks she put in trying to keep up with all her engineering classes plus reading 60 some of the world's classics. She has a unique outreach ministry to non-Christians on her campus. Every spare moment is spent dialoging with her friends about life's big questions.

Austin, my oldest, graduated this spring with honors from Caltech. He was just awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to pursue his Ph.D. at the University of Washington in theoretical computer science. We are excited to see what God has in store for him in Seattle! This summer he has taken over my kitchen in order to practice the gourmet cooking skills he learned in California.

As difficult as the empty nest has been, it has given me time to follow up on my promise to you to share a little of what we have learned over the years. So, sit back and enjoy!

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Feature Article:
Keeping Priorities Straight

The junior and senior year in high school can be an absolute blur for many families. Juniors are taking standardized tests every time you turn around. Seniors are in the heat of the college application process with a worried eye toward all those January 1 deadlines. But, in spite of it all, we still need to keep the most important things foremost in our minds. It often falls to the mother to make this happen.

Choosing Margin

Years ago when I was a dual-career mom with a toddler, a nursing baby, and office deadlines to meet, I met myself coming and going in the whirlwind of our everyday lives.

I do not remember now how I came across the book Margin: How to Create the Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves You Need by Richard A. Swenson, M.D. but I do remember with vivid clarity the wake up call that it provided. I stepped back to reassess my life and, as a result, made drastic changes.

I walked away from the prestigious career and the comfortable lifestyle it afforded. I discovered that my first grader couldn't read but was explaining physics principles to his teacher and was therefore struggling at both ends of the spectrum. I brought him home to teach him myself, realizing full well that I was taking radical risks with his future. Within weeks he was reading well and loved the time and space to think about all the science problems that interested him. My angry three-year-old daughter turned into a ray of pure sunshine and has not stopped smiling since.

Maintaining Space Even in High School

When it became clear years later that we would be applying to top colleges and the pace of our lives inevitably increased, I still refused to give up the measured calm that had restored health and vitality to our family and marriage.

I looked around at so many Christian families and saw the busyness that was destroying their family time: teenagers looking haggard because of lack of sleep due to studying and too many activities, parents communicating with each other only through e-mail, children slowly becoming estranged from their parents. I promised myself that it wouldn't happen to us, even if it meant losing the opportunity of a stellar college education.

But you know what?

God has a sense of humor! We broke almost every rule in the "what you have to do to get into college" book and got into fabulous colleges anyway.

This e-zine will be filled with ideas on how to keep your sanity and still raise children of excellence. Stay tuned!

By the way, I highly recommend Margin as a great place to begin reassessing your priorities as a family. Only after those priorities are in place can you sit down and map out a plan for your student that both glorifies God and is competitive for good colleges.

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Resources

Free SAT Preparation: You can spend hundreds of dollars on SAT test preparation courses. Or you can try a free option that comes highly recommended. Take a look at number2.com.

But even that isn't necessary. The important thing is to take a diagnostic test at home about 5 months before the actual test and really study it. What did you miss? Why did you miss it (too rushed, missing basic concepts. etc.)? Once you figure that out, fix the problem and continue to practice under regular test conditions 7-9 more times before the actual test. It's a lot of work, but pays huge dividends.

Be advised that just taking tests or just reading the test prep book does not help you improve your score. You have to analyze every test and glean all the information you can from it. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time.

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About Jeannette

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.