Why High School Students Should Be On LinkedIn

Why High School Students Should Be On LinkedIn

By Brittany MaschalMay 18, 2020

No, admissions officers are not specifically looking for applicants to have LinkedIn profiles yet, although some colleges do have a space for a profile link (or other media link, like your YouTube channel, GitHub, or blog) on their Common App “Questions” section. 

Building a comprehensive LinkedIn profile is a vital first step to setting yourself up for max exposure in your early career, and maintaining a presence on the site is just as crucial as you navigate career changes, pivots, launch new ventures, and make other notable moves.

So why create one in high school? 

Even prior to COVID-19, students were online, and colleges were there, too. But today, and likely moving forward, online platforms are going to become increasingly important for sharing information — and not just between friends and family. Colleges have been trying to meet students where they are (in the past, Facebook and Snapchat, today, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok), but many students are not taking advantage of the forum for connection that LinkedIn provides. We believe they should!

Beyond connecting with colleges and having a formal (and lifelong) space to record your career and extracurricular progression (extra coursework, publications, volunteerism, etc.), LinkedIn is the perfect place to connect to favorite teachers, coaches, counselors (me!) and mentors, and make it easy to stay in touch. “Networking” (aka building meaningful relationships) does not start when you enter the workforce, it starts now. 

LinkedIn publishes guides for students. Here is one to get you started:

https://university.linkedin.com/content/dam/university/global/en_US/site/pdf/TipSheet_BuildingaGreatProfile.pdf

A few additional tips:

  • Keep your profile current! If there are only two things you always keep updated, make sure you have an accurate headline and location. Set a calendar reminder to update your profile every 3-4 months.
  • Customize your public profile URL. Mine is https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanymaschal. Fancy!
  • Use professional and accurate photos. No cropped shots where the shoulder of your best friend shows in the corner! Invest in a professional headshot, have a friend take one that looks like a professional headshot, or use your school photo/yearbook photo. Including a simple background photo is also a nice touch.
  • Don’t be shy! Showcase your accomplishments, ask people who have taught you or who you have worked with for recommendations, and connect with everyone you know!

Want help setting up your LinkedIn profile? Contact me today!

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Advice, Career, Career Advice, College Application, Common Application, Extracurriculars, High School, Internship, Networking, News, Off to College, Research & Outreach, , , , , , ,
Common Application Adds Student & Counselor Question on COVID-19

Common Application Adds Student & Counselor Question on COVID-19

By Brittany MaschalMay 13, 2020

Next year, on the 2020-2021 application, Common App will provide students who need it with a dedicated space to elaborate on the impact of the pandemic, both personally and academically. The goal of a “common” space for this information is to provide consistent questions and language that colleges and universities can use to review applications.

Below is the question applicants will see:

Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces.

  • Do you wish to share anything on this topic? Y/N
  • Please use this space to describe how these events have impacted you.

The question will be optional and will appear in the Additional Information section of the application. The response length will be limited to 250 words.

The question will be accompanied by a more detailed FAQ to help students consider the kinds of impacts they may wish to report, including illness and loss, housing and employment disruptions, and shifting family obligations. **Please note, this is not a space to discuss all impacts of COVID — everyone has been impacted by it, but not all impacts speak to what schools are looking for here**

The new language will not replace the current Additional Information question inviting students to discuss circumstances and qualifications not reflected elsewhere in the application. That question, along with its 650-word limit, will remain.

Counselors will also find space in their Common App counselor forms to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on their school communities. The following optional question will be located within the School Profile section.

Your school may have made adjustments due to community disruptions such as COVID–19 or natural disasters. If you have not already addressed those changes in your uploaded school profile or elsewhere, you can elaborate here. Colleges are especially interested in understanding changes to:

  • Grading scales and policies
  • Graduation requirements
  • Instructional methods
  • Schedules and course offerings
  • Testing requirements
  • Your academic calendar
  • Other extenuating circumstances

This new question will be a text-entry response with a 500-word limit. Counselors may choose to use the space to offer details or to direct admission officers elsewhere to find the information, such as an uploaded school profile or web page url. Counselors will be able to provide this information only once, and it will populate the forms for all their students.

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

College Application, Common Application, Essays, High School, News, , , , , , , ,
The Power of Early Decision

The Power of Early Decision

By Brittany MaschalMay 07, 2020

In 2018-19, Trinity College accepted 79.2% of early-decision applicants vs. 8.2% of regular-admission applicants.

At Tulane… 32.2% vs. 1.4% ED to RD.

To everyone who applied to college 15+ years ago, Tulane is not a safer school!. No one gets into Tulane in RD.

Acceptance rates are regularly three times higher for early-decision versus regular-admission applicants at colleges such as Brown, Vanderbilt, Grinnell, Kenyon, and Claremont-McKenna….this list goes on! They are regularly at least two times higher at other institutions, including Holy Cross, Amherst, Columbia, and Rice. Even removing athletes, legacy applicants, and other institutional priorities, applying ED presents an advantage.

The advantage is typically smaller for early-action applicants to highly selective institutions, and in some cases, it affords no advantage.

Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy compile and update an amazing resource that outlines (given the data available) the ED, RD, and % of the class filled in ED at many colleges in the US. This data makes very clear the weight of ED in the college admissions process, and families should review and consider this data as they craft their college lists. Find their work here.

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

 

Admit Rates, Advice, College Application, College List, High School, News, Off to College, , , , , , , , , , ,
3rd Annual New York Times Podcast Contest

3rd Annual New York Times Podcast Contest

By Brittany MaschalApr 28, 2020

Awesome opportunity via the NYT/The Learning Network:

“We are running our Third Annual Podcast Contest right now for middle and high school students until May 19. To enter, students should submit a five-minute podcast on any subject they want, including sports, music, politics and literature. They can work individually or as a team, and they can create their podcasts from home.

If you’re not sure how to get started with podcasting, we just published two new resources that can help: our Podcasting Unit and our Podcasting Mentor Text. Each provides a step-by-step guide for creating an original podcast, and we offer 23 winning student podcasts as models.

Sign up for our free webinar on April 29 to help you learn more about our podcast contest and podcasting in general. After all, podcasting is a great way for students to strengthen their writing, research and digital media skills.”

 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Academic Resources, Extracurriculars, High School, Mindfulness, News, NYT, Podcasts, Summer, , , ,
Class of 2024 Waitlist Notification Dates and Stats

Class of 2024 Waitlist Notification Dates and Stats

By Brittany MaschalApr 17, 2020

Admit rates and notification dates for the Class of 2020 (2024 if you are thinking college graduation year) are now posted on College Kickstart. Bookmark their site for all of your college admissions data needs!

Due to COVID-19, the college waitlist landscape might look different than last year, or the year before, or the year before. How the waitlist plays out depends a lot on yield. Yield in college admissions is the percent of students who choose to enroll in a particular college or university after having been offered admission. Some schools do a much better job of predicting yield than others. These schools have a high yield, and will not go very deep if onto the waitlist at all. The schools that have not done as good a job predicting yield will head to the waitlist to fill seats as needed.

This year, coronavirus could change everything as far as yield goes. Colleges might waitlist more students just in case yield drops drastically, as predicted.

Unfortunately, students can still “hang” on the waitlist well into the summer. For all the waitlisted students out there, we feel your pain, but there are some things you can do to keep yourself busy knowing that schools might use the WL this year more than ever before.

Check out our post on what to do if you are waitlisted. And give this one a read, too. If you want help with your waitlist correspondence, reach out!

 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Admit Rates, Advice, College Application, College Waitlist, Demonstrated Interest, High School, News, , , , , , , , ,
Test Optional Does Not Mean Test Blind

Test Optional Does Not Mean Test Blind

By Brittany MaschalApr 16, 2020

Important article via Applerouth on the move to test-optional at many schools. This mirrors what we have been discussing with clients. In short, test scores can and will still matter for most clients. Read the full article here–and some highlights:

While test scores are no longer required to complete an application, the vast majority of test-optional schools still welcome test scores and value strong scores in the admissions process. 

Test-optional admissions policies were already on the rise before COVID-19 led to test cancellations this spring. For many colleges, adopting a test-optional admissions policy can be beneficial. Test-optional schools tend to see the following changes in their admissions patterns:

These factors have been at work for years!

Whether you are looking at a school that is temporarily test-optional for the coming year or one that has a permanent test-optional policy in place, the same wisdom applies: test-optional does not mean test-blind. Sometimes students think that if a school is test-optional, test scores will no longer play a major role in admissions. This is a misconception. 

Test-optional admission opens a lane for students who do not test as well or have limited access to testing and supportive resources, like test prep, while continuing to value strong test scores. There are effectively two admissions tracks with slightly different criteria. Students who do not submit scores will be evaluated on the rest of their application, including grades and extracurricular involvement, but they lack the additional evidence that test scores can provide in a competitive admissions environment.

As we move toward a landscape with more test-optional schools, be careful not to conflate test-optional with test-blind. Testing continues to play an important role for many students applying to test-optional schools and will do so for the foreseeable future. It’s only natural: in the midst of heavy competition, applicants will take every opportunity to distinguish themselves.

 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Academic Resources, Admit Rates, Advice, College Application, Extracurriculars, High School, News, Test Optional, Testing, , , , , , , , ,
College Board Postpones June SAT, September Test Added

College Board Postpones June SAT, September Test Added

By Brittany MaschalApr 15, 2020

This afternoon, the College Board announced that it will not be administering the SAT or SAT Subject tests on June 6th, due to the ongoing public safety risk posed by COVID-19. This latest decision marks the third consecutive SAT date postponed due to the virus, and will be particularly frustrating for students whose March and May testing dates were pushed to June.

In order to help students make up their testing dates, the College Board will be adding a September test, which means that students will have the ability to take one SAT every month from August straight through to December of 2020. They’ll be releasing more details in the coming weeks, including the exact date of the planned September test. In addition, the College Board is asking community partners, like schools and colleges, to offer additional space for these tests, so more students can take the SAT on these fall dates. They’re also considering adding an additional international SAT, but didn’t provide more details.

All of that, of course, assumes that the College Board will be able to administer tests in-person when August comes. In case quarantining procedures are still necessary in August, the College Board is “investing significant resources in developing a digital, remote testing option for all students,” much like the online AP exams. We can expect to hear more about that option if the August test is threatened by quarantine.

Students will be able to start registering in May for the fall tests, including the new September date; however, if you’re a student whose June registration was cancelled or a current Junior who hasn’t been able to take an SAT yet, you will be able to access the registration sooner. The College Board didn’t clarify what “sooner” means; the report indicated that College Board staff will be reaching out to students directly if they qualify for early registration.

If your June test date was cancelled, you can choose to transfer that registration to a future test or ask their Customer Service team for a refund.

Source: Applerouth

News, Testing, , ,
Interesting Essays

Interesting Essays

By Brittany MaschalApr 13, 2020

A while ago, I read an article in Fast Company, What does it mean to be “interesting”?

As I was reading it, I couldn’t help but think about college admissions essays. So much of what makes an essay compelling is its level of interestingness—that it surprises me or challenges me or helps me learn something that I did not know before. Yet, this is what I find students most frequently get “wrong” when it comes time to choose what to write about.

Because students have been conditioned to think about what matters in the college process incorrectly, they tend to want to focus on uninteresting topics or takeaways in their essays. For example, one of the most uninteresting topics, to me, is the winning of awards and other honors. I tend to find essays about robotics competitions, big games, and other traditional wins to be a bit boring because I have read a lot of them. These are common, almost default topics because students think talking about their accomplishments is what they need to do to impress admissions officers.

These experiences could be interesting but are primarily uninteresting topics because students approach them incorrectly. Instead of focusing on how they experienced the experience itself, how it challenged them or pushed them to think or act differently etc., they focus on the outcome. Therefore, the reader is also left unchallenged, having not been surprised or learned anything new about the writer.

Students should feel confident that admissions officers will see the outcomes of their hard work on their resume—this goes for all awards and honors! There is almost never any need to talk about outcomes of this type in an essay unless a prompt specifically asks (for a supplemental essay, for example, not the personal statement!).

 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

College Application, Common Application, Common Application Essay, Essays, High School, News, , , , , , ,
Free Digital Access to The New York Times Until July 6

Free Digital Access to The New York Times Until July 6

By Brittany MaschalApr 10, 2020

Starting this week, all high school students and teachers in the United States can get free digital access to The New York Times until July 6. If you want to sign up here’s how.

And…20 ways the paper can keep you entertained and informed. Hint: you can use it to explore your academic interests!

 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Academic Resources, High School, News, NYT, Parenting, , ,

Why You Should Read the Georgia Tech Blog (Even if You Will Never Apply There)

By Brittany MaschalApr 08, 2020

Because Rick Clarke and the rest of the admissions team are magic. I don’t know any of them personally FYI — but I sure wish I did. If you don’t, please read the GTech Admissions blog — and this post by Katie Mattli!

BEING SEEN—THIS ONE IS FOR THE JUNIORS

As I was falling asleep last night, my head was buzzing with the conundrum of painting a picture of our campus for students in this new climate.  How do I make connections? How do I share a story without the campus backdrop that tells so much without words? How do I help them see us?

Then in the dark, staring at the ceiling, I remembered: we ask students to do this every year. Every time they begin a college application, they are essentially trying to make colleges see them through their only medium: words.  At my fingertips, I have social platforms, pictures, phones, websites, webinars… a whole slew of tools beyond the written word to paint the campus story for prospective and admitted students.  If I only had words, I would have to intentionally craft a careful and thoughtful message.

So, this blog is filled with application tips and thoughts, dedicated to all those soon-to-be seniors who will only be using words to be seen in the admission process.

Head to the GTech blog to read the rest!

 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Advice, College Application, Common Application Essay, Curriculum, Essays, Extracurriculars, High School, News, Off to College, Personal Statement, , , , , ,