Coronavirus = Spring Break = Gift of time. What will you do with it?

Hello and thank you for joining us at College Ready. My name is Shellee Howard and I'm the founder and CEO of College Ready. We've decided to do an impromptu Facebook Live in hopes that we can bring students some idea of what they can do now while at home to help prepare themselves for college. So please stay with us. But before we dive into the what can they do, let's first talk about some things going on in the news. So just released was information about the NCAA, and I want to read it directly to you. If you know somebody who is hoping for an athletic scholarship, this information is critical. So it says, in a response to the public health threat The NCAA effective immediately has implemented new rules to stop all in-person recruiting. And so what does that mean? That means that at least through April 15th, there can be no in-person contact. But it's also important to note that recruiting will not stop. You can still communicate via email, phone, text, and social media. And the nice part about that is you have everything in writing. So really important when you think about how to prepare yourself, if you're an athlete, the first thing you should be thinking about is how can I stay in shape? You can use plyometrics, you can use weight training, you can go for a run outside, you can go and swim. There are a lot of ways to stay in shape. Practice your skill and continue to move forward. So that's for my scholar athletes. Then I wanted to share some important news about what anybody can do to prepare themselves. So before we dive into all the details, I did want to share with you some important data to let you know that just because the coronavirus is here, that doesn't change your future and college. College applications will continue. Colleges need students and students need colleges. So please be mindful of what that feels like and what you can do to prepare yourself now. So in thinking about how we could help our students, what can they be doing while they're at home? I'm going to share detail after detail that you can take away from this Facebook Live and go and implement. Because we're in a situation where students are staying home, it's important to realize what can I do from home. A lot of students may fall into, yay, this is spring break, I'm gonna do nothing. But also there's gonna be students who really jump ahead and make a big difference. And what does that look like for you and your family? It looks like something that gives you a competitive advantage. So chances are that 10 to 30% of you will take this advice and run with it, which will give you a huge competitive edge. When you think about all the students that are out of school right now and who are choosing to stay home and just watch TV, there will be those students who are making an impact, and that impact will turn into an essay. So what does that look like? Well, since colleges still need students and students still need colleges, now's the time to be working on that essay that you know is coming. Not physically working on it, even though you can start writing it, but what are you gonna write about? So as I thought about how could I help students at home right now, what can they do right now to make a difference for their college applications? I'm going to read to you the prompts in which you will have to answer, and as I do, I am hoping that you're going to think and write down topics that will help you to answer what these essays will be. So these Common Application prompts have been used for years, and at this point we have no indicator that when this opens up August 1st that this will change. So please be mindful, I'm giving you ideas to think about how to utilize your time right now without waiting, without saying I can't. You have the gift of time. So the first prompt: some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then prepare and share your story. Okay, I hopefully that triggered something in you. Number 2, the lessons we take from obstacles like now we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you and what did you learn from the experience? We're in it. How you decide to utilize this time is going to be an essay topic. So be mindful to what that looks like for you. Number 3, reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking and what was the outcome? Again, another opportunity for you to share how this is affecting you. Number 4, describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be intellectual challenge, a research challenge, an ethical dilemma, anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain in significance to you what steps you took or could be taking to identify a solution. This is a perfect prompt for those of you who are facing, what do I do with the time I have right now? Number 5: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself and others. Number 6: Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it takes you— that it makes you lose all track of time. This is passion. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Number 7, share an essay on any topic of your choice. This gives you full freedom to share with what's important to you. So as you think about this, 650 words of pure opportunity to make a difference right now. Before I go into what you can do right now, I also I also wanna share the UC prompts because as of right now, we don't know if they're gonna change or not, but they are very common. So UC prompt number 1, 350 words max. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, that's leadership, help resolve disputes or contribute to group efforts over time. You can do group effort right now. You can make a difference by yourself or with a group of others. UC Prompt #2: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways—problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name just a few. Describe how you express your creative side. Number 3, what would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Number 4, describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or work to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. We're facing it right now. UC prompt number 5: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced, the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge, how has this challenge affected your academic achievement. UC prompt number 6: Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside or outside of the classroom. This is here, this is now. Think about this one, number 7. What have you done to make your school or community a better place? This is a perfect opportunity for you to do that in serving your community. And number 8, beyond what has already been shared in your application, What do you believe makes you stand out? Well, let's talk about it. What makes you stand out? What are you gonna do to make a difference? That's what we need to be thinking about while you're at home, while you're bored, while you get tired of being cooped up. These are some things that you can do right now. If your school is closed, I'm hoping that you're using this time to explore Colleges and majors. We have a wonderful opportunity to really dig deep. What are you passionate about? How will you utilize that passion to hopefully find a career or even explore what that looks like to find out how you want to spend the rest of your life, at least right now? Think about creating balance. And making your college list thoughtful, how many of those schools are gonna be reach schools? How many of those schools are gonna be comfort? And how many of those are gonna be safety? It all depends on how large your resume. So prepare for the SAT and ACT. We have a lot of wonderful test strategists that we work with, and we will, absolutely love to connect you to some of the best in the business. They are all online. Think about it. The test yesterday was just canceled. When are they gonna make it up? We don't know. Are they gonna do it online? We don't know. But you wanna be prepared. Right now is the best time to test prep. It doesn't get any better. Think about open colleges. You don't need to go there. When I mean open, look online. Look at virtual tours. Look at social media. Find those tools that connect and that you absolutely feel passion towards. Start brainstorming your essays. There's a strategic way. Your essay is icing on the cake. If you are not thinking about themes to the prompt, if you're not thinking about how will you answer that, you're going to sit down and be very frustrated. If you see the prompt now and brainstorm and build on your idea, that is the making of a great essay. Now keep in mind, these are not high school essays. These are not the ones you will utilize in your school English class. These have to have a hook. These have to show colleges why you want to get into that college. And then learn about merit aid. Learn about scholarships. Did you know that scholarships are available even the very beginning of your high school career? Do you know where to find merit scholarships? Do you know what colleges are very generous? These are the things we could be doing now while you're at home. There are so many more things. And I want to talk about Right now, if you had to get offline and figure out how can I make a difference, I just want to give you some really solid ideas. So at College Ready, we, we do what's called a passion project. And what does that mean? Well, all service is good, and now is a great time to prove you have a heart to serve. So if you have this heart to serve, how can you do it? How can you do it safely? How can you do it without putting yourself or your loved ones at risk? There are a ton of ways to do this, and I'm gonna get into it. But before I do, I want you to think about it. If you have a passion to serve and you use that to create change for the better, that essay is yours alone. If you just go and do something because somebody told you you had to, or because somebody else is doing it, that is not gonna create a great essay. So what am I talking about? There's good, better, and best. So as we think about how to use this time right now, you wanna think about what is good? Good service would be sending cards to our soldiers. Good service would be writing letters of encouragement. Good service would be doing things such as going online. And, and if that is your area and you like to be an influencer, use that right now. Create that YouTube channel you've always wanted to do. Help somebody get through a tough time. What is better service? Say you love children. Say you usually spend your time reading to children at a library, but you can't now. What about if you read online? What about if you read books to children online? Or what if you're in a theater? What if you actually got a group of your friends together and you acted out what was something of importance to you? These are some fun things. What about going outside? You can plant a tree, you can do beach cleanup, You can help deliver things that the elderly need and leave it on their porch. There are so many great ways to serve right now. Don't think for a minute that you're not being impactful if you're at home. You can teach classes. Say you know how to do algebra and you know that you usually spend your time through National Honor Society and tutor students. You can't do that right now, but what if you went online through any means of social media or video and you taught your skill online? What a gift you would be giving. What about cleaning up a local park? What about planting trees or planting flowers? What about things that your neighbors, you know they have broken household items Now's the time that you can volunteer and fix them. You can read, you can write articles, you can blog, you can tutor, you can donate. Now's the time to go through your closet, go through your garage, and think about all those things that you haven't used in a very long time and donate them. So when you think about what is this whole virus situation and how am I going to get through it? And I'm stuck at home and I'm, I'm already bored and it's going to be weeks. How will you get through it? You can become that person who creates change. You can be working on your essay topics. What do colleges look for? First and foremost, they look at your GPA, right? But you're not in school right now. So you can be getting ahead in your subject. You can be getting some tutoring online. Secondly is testing. Colleges look at your test scores. Yes, there are some test optional schools for sure, but most colleges are still looking at your SAT and your ACT and your Subject 2 scores and your AP exams. They want to know you are ready and capable for college. The third thing colleges want you to, to participate in is community service, showing a passion to serve others, working as a team, leading others to create change. These are the kinds of things we work with our students on. It will make a difference, and that essay is going to set you apart because I promise somebody is going to have a better GPA and somebody is going to have a better test score. And we need you to show them why you are the best candidate. So if you have the best GPA and you have the best test score, but you have no community service, leadership, or extracurricular or passion, guess who's gonna get that position at one of the best schools? It could be the school of your dreams. So prepare now. Use this time to make such a difference. Create change, be a change maker. So thinking about what you can do right now, you can babysit. Think of all of those people who still have to go to work, who plan on their kids going to school. What are they gonna do? You can send something out to your neighborhood. You can offer, as long as you're healthy and they're healthy, to play outside with them, to get some of their energy out. Their parents would be forever grateful. You can create new games. You can help students realize that board games are actually fun. You can help people organize and lead events. It can be online. There's FaceTime, right? There is Google Meetup. There is Instagram. There's Facebook. There are so many ways that you can connect. Please don't feel stuck. You can think about creating a library on your block. Say you have a ton of books and you haven't read them in a very long time. You can create a safe box that people can donate to and pull books from. Just be mindful that there are people who need what you have. You can host a, a reading party. You can host a a block party if everybody is safe, keeping down to just a few students. Staying online is still by far the safest, but I do know that some children are gonna have a hard time being in the house all the time. So thinking about how, who is your people? Do you love children? Do you love elderly? Do you love your peers? What is your thing? Could you create a time now where you go out and collect donations to serve the elderly or to serve the needy? Think about if a student is at home, can you teach them how to do yoga? Can you teach them how to get some cardio in? Can you teach them a skill like knitting? Can you teach them something of building, woodworking, playing an instrument. Think about what do you have that you can give and why that would make an impact. So say your extracurricular is you are right in the middle of baseball season. How can you use that to help somebody else? Maybe teach an online, um, bunting skill drill, or maybe eye-hand coordination. Let your mind think large. There is so much you could be doing with your time. You could donate stuff to animals. Just make sure everything that you give and you receive has been disinfected. Think about those things that you can do online. Think about cooking skills. You know, if you love chemistry, What about getting in the kitchen and creating something that has a unique ability? What if you wanted to make cookies to brighten somebody's day? You know, the law enforcement and the people who serve our community, the doctors, the nurses, what can you do for them? They are in a tough place right now, working hard hours and serving those in need. How can you support them? Say your idea is animals. Say you, you love animals. Can you possibly connect or train animals? Can you help to raise money? Think about what you can do in an effort to help train animals, to get animals into a better place. Publicize those that are in a shelter. Think about how you could help the homeless and the needy, the marginalized, those people who— they were already just hanging on. What can you do? Can you provide anything? Warm jackets, hats, gloves, shelter, anything that would make their life better. Can you do something to reduce crime or promote safety? Think about, is there anything that our fire department needs, our police department, our lifeguards, our The guards in our community house, what do they need and how can you help them? Think about promoting community online. Get like-minded people together and brainstorm. It's all about your mission, your passion. Helping individuals with special needs. This is a great time to really figure out what is your passion and how in the world can you express it while you're still at home. So I really hope that you enjoyed this time. And I want to leave you with a couple things. The last one is, if you can utilize this time right now to begin searching for your dream college, first develop your criteria. Do you want a big school or a small school? Do you want a private school or a public school? All girls, all boys? What is important to you? Do you want the four seasons? Do you want to live close to the beach? And prioritize those. Then identify what your criteria is. And with that, try to match your gifts, your talents with what is important to you, and you will ultimately end up at the best college for you. If you need any help, if you need any support, we are working with our students online every day to help build their applications and their resumes. So please reach out to us. For all of those who you were— if you were on this Facebook Live, you will be entered into a free iPad. So stay tuned and that will be announced shortly. Thank you and I wish you all much health.