Uptown Psychology’s Fall Executive Functioning Intensives

Uptown Psychology’s Fall Executive Functioning Intensives

As the school year gets underway, now is the time to address the executive functioning challenges that can impact your child’s academic and emotional success.

Uptown Psychology’s Fall Executive Functioning Intensives are designed to help children, teens, and young adults build the skills they need to stay focused, organized, and confident throughout the year. Now is the time to solidify these before returning to school. Intensives support students who struggle with:

✅ Staying organized and managing time
✅ Starting and completing tasks
✅ Regulating emotions and attention
✅ Planning ahead and following routines

Led by licensed therapists and former teachers, this structured, evidence-based program includes:

🧠 Individualized skill-building based on each student’s strengths and needs
📅 Short-term, goal-focused sessions that fit into busy school schedules
💻 Flexible options for in-person or telehealth participation
📍 Convenient Upper East Side or available virtually

Whether your child is navigating new academic demands or long-standing executive functioning challenges, UP’s executive function intensives can provide the support they need to succeed.

Learn more by booking a 15-minute consultation here!

Free summer AP prep courses for high school students

Free summer AP prep courses for high school students

The Gilder Lehrman History School program is back!

History School is open to all high school students and available free of charge. All courses are led by a History Teacher of the Year-winning educator and consist of 6 one-hour-long classes held weekly via Zoom.

Registration is now open for the following courses:

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Final Call for Inspiring Girls* Expeditions 2025 Applications!

Final Call for Inspiring Girls* Expeditions 2025 Applications!

🚨 DEADLINE TODAY!

Applications for Girls* on Ice Canada are due tonight at 11:59pm PST!

📅 Upcoming deadlines for the rest of our expeditions are:

        February 9th for Girls* in Icy Fjords and Girls* on Rock (in two days!)
        February 14th for Girls* on Ice Schweiz, Girls* on Ice Suisse, and Girls* on Ice Austria
        March 2nd for Girls* on Ice Alaska and Girls* on Water

Share this with teachers, parents, and students who might be interested! Appy here. 

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Course Planning: All Five Cores, All Four Years!

Course Planning: All Five Cores, All Four Years!

Colleges have long-loved students who take English, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Language every year of high school. It’s my most despised suggestion so I’m sharing College MatchPoint’s blog as backup. I do believe there are exceptions depending on the student, their school goals, major, the selectivity of their list, and where they go to high school, but either way, read more here!

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Why Extracurriculars are Essential, Not Extra

Why Extracurriculars are Essential, Not Extra

Sharing a JHU CTY Online Event (that applies to everyone!). Your extracurriculars are very, very important when it comes to applying to college, not because you need a laundry list of interests and accomplishments, but because they show admissions officers what you care about, how you engage with your community, and what excites you intellectually and academically.

We place so much emphasis on what advanced learners learn in school, but what they learn outside of school is also important. Join CTY executive director Amy Lynne Shelton, PhD, as she talks about why learning outside of school is critical and how families can make the most of this time to help their advanced learners develop skills, explore new interests, and learn what they love.

More information and register here.

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Insights on Test Optional Admissions

Insights on Test Optional Admissions

In an op-ed published in Inside Higher Ed, David Blobaum, the director of outreach for the National Test Prep Association and the co-founder of tutoring company Summit Prep, argues that it is in college hopefuls’ best interests to submit test scores, even if a school does not require them.

When accepting – or rejecting – applicants, admissions departments cite often-clandestine “institutional priorities” having to do with students’ backgrounds or areas of expertise. According to Mr. Blobaum, however, “Rhetoric and reality often diverge.”

He contends, unequivocally, that “test-optional institutions have a preference for students with high test scores” and that students applying to test-optional colleges and universities are less likely to be admitted if they do not submit test scores. “If a college does not value SAT or ACT scores, then the college would not use those scores.”

Citing data from Dartmouth’s watershed report, which led the institution to return to test-mandatory admissions, Mr. Blobaum argues that traditionally marginalized students have the most to gain from submitting test scores: “a disadvantaged student with an SAT score between 1450 and 1490 is 3.7 times more likely to get admitted if they submit their score than if they withhold it.”

To support his argument, Mr. Blobaum explores a few key examples of elite institutions that recently were or currently are test-optional:

  • Yale had a three times higher admit rate (6 percent vs. 2 percent) for students who submitted test scores over the past several years compared to those who didn’t.
  • According to Cornell’s internal research, “submitting test scores significantly increases the likelihood of admission (to its) test-optional colleges.” The institution labeled it “prudent” for students to include test scores with their application package.
  • Even though Duke claims that choosing not to submit SAT or ACT scores “will not impact (a student’s) admissions decision,” 81 percent of newly enrolled students at Duke submitted some combination of SAT and ACT. Furthermore, Duke’s admission website goes as far as advising students to “buy a study guide and begin taking practice SAT or ACT tests.”

These examples are compelling, and make clear that standardized test scores can certainly act as key differentiators between candidates who are otherwise qualified for limited class seats. These differentiators are particularly important for hyper-selective schools where the ratio between applicants and enrollment offers is especially stark.

Mr. Blobaum approached this topic with an eye toward the most elite institutions; his observations, therefore, despite their potential relevance at Ivy Plus schools, may not capture the admissions landscape at less selective—but still excellent—colleges and universities. Furthermore, Mr. Blobaum’s argument sometimes strays from hard data; he, perhaps controversially, claims that admissions departments “often outright lie” and bases some of his reasoning on the fact that “it is just common sense.”

Source: Denied? That Top College Lied (Inside Higher Ed)

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Preventing self-sabotage while applying to college

Preventing self-sabotage while applying to college

James Gross, a professor of psychology and expert on emotion regulation at Stanford University, talks about what parents can do to help teenagers avoid self-sabotage. We love the idea of weekly check-ins, especially for seniors who are in the thick of juggling academics with applying to college. Even the students who say “they’ve got it” can benefit from some extra parental touch points and cheerleading.

Here are a few highlights:

Teenagers sometimes resist input from mom or dad about how to live their lives. Do teens need parents?
Absolutely. A teenager might say, “I’d like to get great grades this term.” But then their behavior isn’t aligned with that. In fact, you may notice they’re doing the opposite of what they need to do to get great grades. Instead of studying, they’re playing video games and texting. They’re staying up too late instead of getting enough sleep. In other words, teenagers, like the rest of us, sometimes self-sabotage: They say they want one thing, but their behavior points in a completely different direction.

What can parents do to help teenagers avoid self-sabotage?
As parents, we can see what’s going on in their lives from a place of clarity. That perspective can be really helpful. For instance, on their own, without you, your son or daughter may not do so well at finding the balance between having fun with their friends, on the one hand, versus studying and being productive on the other. 

What are some dos and don’ts for parents trying to help their teenagers achieve their goals? 
Don’t get into antagonistic interactions right after school. Instead, pay attention to your own emotions and notice when you’re most likely to be patient and helpful rather than impatient and snappy. 

Don’t try to talk about homework or whatever else you know should get done when your kid is telling you how their day went. You’re missing the opportunity for them to open up and really connect with you, maybe tell you about something that they’re upset about. If they’re trying to do that, and you say, “Tell me about your homework,” they’ll think, “Wow, I feel totally unheard. Dad’s getting on my case without even listening to me.” 

Do make yourself available. For instance, I literally make sure my home office door is open when my kids come home. An open door tells them I can be interrupted. 

What if my kids never bring up their problems?
One practice that my wife and I found to be helpful was to have regularly scheduled check-ins with each of our kids once or twice a week. Basically, we would just have a conversation about whatever was on their minds, whether it was relationships with their siblings or what was going on in school or with their extracurriculars. We’d build an agenda together, like you would for any business meeting. 

Let’s say I saw in the school portal that my kid didn’t do well on a math test. My wife and I might say, “Hey, are there some things on your mind that you want to check in about? From our side, it would be really nice to check in on how things are going in math. Our sense is, that hasn’t been the easiest thing for you these past few weeks.” 

And then, of course, we really listened. The nice thing about scheduled check-ins is that you’re talking about issues before they become a crisis. As a parent, you want to build routines for talking with your kids about what matters to them and to you.

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Calling All Young Writers: Submit to the Adroit Prizes and the Summer Mentorship Program!

Calling All Young Writers: Submit to the Adroit Prizes and the Summer Mentorship Program!

For those looking to develop as a writer and work with a mentor…

Adroit is accepting applications from current high school students (including seniors!) for their online summer mentorship program through April 7th @ 11:59pm PT.

For guidance and answers to Frequently Asked Questions, please visit our Mentorship FAQ page.

For those with a polished piece of poetry or prose that’s ready for submission…the Adroit Prizes, awarded annually to two students of secondary or undergraduate status, are open for submissions.

The 2024 Adroit Prize for Poetry will be selected by Ocean Vuong; the 2024 Adroit Prize for Prose will be selected by Kaveh Akbar. The submission deadline for the 2024 Adroit Prizes is May 1st, 2024 @ 11:59pm PT.

If you would like to submit your work, please familiarize yourself with the submission guidelines.

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Hillel’s Virtual College Prep Series

Hillel’s Virtual College Prep Series

We’d like to share a series of three virtual events from Hillel International, the world’s largest Jewish campus organization.

Session 1 (Recorded):

College Selection: Choosing the Best Fit for You. February 29, 2024 | 12 p.m. ET | 9 a.m. PT – Choosing the right school can be a little (or a lot) overwhelming — especially with so many factors to consider. And while there’s not yet a magic wand or AI to generate the perfect college match, Hillel’s tools and resources can get you pretty close. The first session of Hillel’s Virtual College Prep Series will focus on the college selection process, and provide you with the tools you need to find the best fit, featuring top college counselors, current Jewish college student leaders, and experts from Hillel as well as partners in youth and teen programming.

Session 2:

Careful Considerations: Antisemitism on Campus. April 2, 2024 | 12 p.m. ET | 9 a.m. PT – Since the attack on Israel on October 7, antisemitism has risen to historically high levels in the U.S. and around the world — and college campuses have not been immune from this surge in hate. With antisemitism on the minds of so many in the Jewish community, we want to ensure that Jewish parents and families have the information they need about what antisemitism and Jewish life on campus are truly like right now.

Session 3:

Looking Forward: Hillel’s Exciting Opportunities for Students. May 23, 2024 |  12 p.m. ET | 9 a.m. PT – This session will explore all of the exciting opportunities Hillel has for incoming first-year Jewish college students, including scholarships, graduation gifts, early move-in, travel opportunities, and leadership experiences — for all kinds of Jewish students!

You can register in advance for the webinars here. If you can’t make a session, they are recorded, and you can watch at your convenience.

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Elevating Your Extracurriculars for Summer 2024

Elevating Your Extracurriculars for Summer 2024

The strength of your curriculum (rigor), the grades you receive in academic courses (core academic GPA), and your extracurricular activities (ECs) are what matter most in the evaluation of a college application. 

College counselors can help students choose the right courses and connect them with the learning support they might need to achieve excellent grades, but advising on the extracurricular activities that will help students stand out is much more complicated!

It’s getting harder and harder to stand out extracurricularly; a lot has been done before, and it can be tough to come up with original ideas when the internet provides conflicting information. It is easy to pay to undertake research or get published; spend time on a college campus taking a course alongside peers; or travel the world serving communities you don’t have an intimate connection to but that are exciting to visit and experience. For some applicants, these ECs do the trick—really! 

However, if you are targeting selective schools, you’ll benefit from not taking the easy path when it comes to ECs. 

Your ECs will need to not only support a clear academic narrative and demonstrate your intellectual curiosity but also highlight what matters most to you and what you care about in your world. You will benefit from getting creative! 

We understand not everyone needs or wants full-blown college counseling, but we also want to make sure students really understand the role of extracurriculars in the college admissions process and spend their time wisely. If you are interested in a standalone extracurricular planning session to maximize the summer of 2024, reach out!

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