At the halfway mark in the semester or changeover in quarter, students are receiving their first progress reports. For some, grades may fall below expectations, sparking concerns about academic performance. Before hiring tutors to remediate a perceived lack of understanding, I’d recommend reflecting and analyzing the course to more effectively pinpoint the issue and determine…
As many English teachers are assigning the college essay as a classwork grade, students can maintain two separate drafts: one for their class assignment and another for their college application. Writing for a grade can constrain a teenager from writing with the candor characteristic of a personal narrative. While class assignments are a valuable opportunity…
As students prepare for the May 2024 Advanced Placement (AP) exams, knowing what college credits may be awarded for a particular score can be useful. The College Board has created a tool, which can be sorted by college, state, city and AP course. When awarded college units, students can benefit in the following ways: Creative…
A high school sophomore recently shared her thoughts on the challenges of earning an A in her Chemistry course—a grade that she, her peers, parents, and many others view as essential to be “competitive” for college admissions and a reflection of her intelligence. She realizes that she needs more time than typically allotted in a…
Starting high school can be an adjustment filled with uncertainties and anxieties: learning to navigate a new campus, understanding the academic expectations of unfamiliar teachers, meeting new friends, all with allusions to “how will this affect my college admissions?” Acknowledge the complexity Starting high school can be complicated, and it’s natural to be anxious in…
In the perceived race for college admissions, savvy students and their families often seek any advantage to be admitted. As a high school sophomore shared recently, “If every kid looks the same, how do you distinguish yourself?” And, as the extracurricular resume is one place where students can demonstrate their uniqueness (since the academic requirements…
Often, students and parents believe being ranked #1 or in the top 5% of a high school class is a guarantee of a college acceptance. In reality, class ranking is but one factoid which may or may not even be reported in the college application. The University of California (UC) and the California State University…
Now, at the mid-school year point, many families worry that a student’s fall term grades were less than expected, many concerned about a dwindling college admissions opportunities. Seeking to bridge the gap between what happened and expectations, families can rush implementation of a solution, typically hiring a tutor, without understanding what is breaking in the…
In Spring, Seniors can experience “Senioritis”, needing more effort to complete everyday homework, while coping with anxiety of waiting for college responses. In some cases, such a lack of motivation can lead to strategic missteps, from which the consequences can be destructive, especially for college admissions. All college acceptances are conditional or provisional. Often, one…
Students generally need to study two years of the same Language Other Than English (LOTE) in order to meet minimum college admissions eligibility standards. (The caveat is some colleges, like MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, do not require LOTE courses for admissions eligibility.) So, families should check eligibility requirements for first year admissions at a…
Students often ask, “How many AP’s (Advanced Placement), IB’s (International Baccalaureate), Honors, and Dual Enrollment (taking community college courses while in high school) courses should I take?” with the “…so I can be accepted into a college of my choice” left unstated. In asking, families mistakenly prioritize competitiveness for college admissions over the interests and…
22 of 23 California State Universities (CSU) calculate the college application grade point average (GPA), using academic course grades from the 10th and 11th grade, known as the A-G requirements. Extra grade points awarded for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Honors courses are capped at eight (8) semesters, or four full year long…
Each spring, California high school juniors, who are likely within the top 20% academically in their class, are invited to submit their official high school transcripts to the University of California (UC) for their potential Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) status when applying for admissions. Lastly, there is no downside for parents to permit…
Is it something in your headlights? Or is it something in your hindsights? You don’t know if it’s true. But these peeves are as real as those who are scared, those like me and you One moment in the sky, another in the ground, your fear is a smoking crater. For others it’s a swamp,…
Choosing classes for the upcoming high school year is often fraught with questions, typically prioritizing how to meet and exceed the college admissions eligibility requirements: What’s the “right” number of Advanced Placement (AP), Honors and/or dual enrollment community college courses during one year to be competitive for college admissions? How do I balance managing the…
