Timeline for Success Webinar August 2021

Excellent. Thank you. This is Shellee Howard with College Ready, and I am really looking forward to helping you all walk through a timeline in preparation for college. So I'm going to jump right in, and I will answer questions at the end. I'm hoping that I will have most of them covered and answered before we get started. But in case we don't, please feel free to stay on and answer or ask any questions that you would like. So thank you so much for joining. I know a lot of people have been concerned about college and what's going on, and so I just thought it would be very timely for us to talk about some things that I hear a lot of my clients asking. So let's go ahead and get started. The agenda for today is basically, if you are here and you have a child either in middle school or high school or even college, you will get a ton of great information. So please feel free to take notes and get your questions answered. We're first going to talk about mindset, how people are feeling and how to stop feeling the overwhelm or the anxious. We're going to talk about helping your student prioritize and helping them understand what is a good fit college. We're going to talk about the timeline for success, as promised, how to create a standout strategy. This is probably the number one thing on people's mind right now with test scores being so inconsistent. Uh, we'll talk about the importance of a resume and letters of recommendation. We'll talk about has your student taken the best test to show their strengths, using the student portal, um, something that, that I've established for my clients, uh, talking about essays, how important they are, picking the right college, how to explain their activities, and I'm going to share some of the most generous colleges of this season. So stay tuned, and at the end I will share how my students, class of 2021, earned over $10.7 million in scholarships, not need-based, but truly earned. So let's talk a little bit about mindset for a moment. This is where I'm getting a lot of concern as students are either going back to school in person or not, or a mixture of what is going on. Well, let's take a step back and look at what are colleges looking for and that might explain why the mindset is so all over the place. With COVID being, um, something that every family was affected by last year, it is not a situation where a student can simply say, "I couldn't because of COVID." And so I'm helping families understand that using COVID and taking lemons and trying to show some lemonade is really a lot more beneficial than trying to explain away a year. So that's where the mindset's coming in. And I, I shared two separate resumes of my students, and one of them being a very short, basic resume, and another one being a very large, detailed resume. Colleges are looking for students who are amazing, And that may not seem fair, but if you were an employer and you were looking for the best employee, you would also be looking for that very best candidate. So think about it this way. The number one thing I'm going to tell you this evening is the most money comes from the universities themselves. Maybe counterintuitive because you're thinking, wait a minute, how is that reality. Um, when my son got into 7 colleges and ended up going to Harvard for free, it wasn't because he had the perfect GPA or the perfect test score or the perfect number of community service hours or the perfect, perfect, perfect. He had a standout strategy and he had depth and he had what colleges are looking for. So I'm going to break that down for you, um, this afternoon, and hopefully it will make more sense when we get there. But think of college as a business and your student as somebody applying for the job. Try to take away the emotion of a brand name college and try to think of creating your student as the very best them they can be. You'll understand this a little bit more. So as we start planning, when is the best time? Right now, wherever they're at. College Ready, we've decided that the best time to start planning for college is when they promote from 8th grade. And that might be a little shocking for some of you, but let me explain. I'll start with the financial fit. The number one greatest fear is how will I pay for college? It may not be for your family, and if not, bear with me, but most people, even my multimillion dollar clients, they would rather put that money in an investment, um, versus having to pay $75,000 a year at some universities. So the FAFSA looks at the student's second semester of the sophomore year and the first semester of the junior year. So if you don't start planning for college until the end of their junior year or the beginning of their senior year, your financial situation is very difficult. And so the sooner you start the process, the easier it is we can set yourself up for a financial great situation. And that's how our students are working within the system. It takes all of the elements. It takes an academic fit, a social fit, and a financial fit. So what we do is we help our students and families be the best in all the categories. So when they do apply, they get the largest amount of opportunity at their dream school. They're best fit socially to be with their people, and financially they are very happy with their outcome. So I was speaking with a family earlier today, and they were a little distraught. They are a high school senior and are feeling a bit overwhelmed because they haven't done any of this, and they felt that they were just going to explain it away with COVID And what I explained to them is our students did community service hours while safely social distancing, actually while being at home, and we had national community service events and, um, you know, testing, and they didn't stop. So for a student to think that they could just not do anything and then jump into this it is really difficult for them to find out now that that is a tragedy. So start planning now wherever you're at. If you're in 8th grade or if you're in college, there's so much that you can do, and I want to encourage you to get started straight away. So what does an academic fit look like? When I'm talking about academic fit is I, I help students think about it this way. Do they want to fight for every A at a very rigorous school, or do they want to set the curve at maybe a less selective college? Do they want to have a GPA of a 5.0 in high school, or are they simply looking to be happy with a 3.5 GPA? It is a choice on how much effort they put into it. Then we get into, uh, AP and IB and dual enrollment and the amount of rigor? Are they taking AP classes and challenging themselves? Do they want to keep challenging themselves in college? Because it doesn't stop. So putting them in a situation where they will thrive, not just survive, is part of picking the best college for that student. So then we get into test scores. I'm going to dive deeper into this in a moment, but I will tell you our students were taking tests last year. It wasn't easy, but they were, and we will show them unless it is not to their benefit. And I will get into that. And then college classes. Some students have been taking college classes online for a very long time, where others are now just realizing, wait, if college is online, my student could handle that kind of class. They may move a little bit faster, but that may suit that student. So it really comes down to the academic fit of the student. Then we get into the social fit. Is your student a social butterfly? Are they a quiet intellectual? Are they mixed? Do they enjoy extracurriculars? Do they not? Do they enjoy being a leader? A quiet leader or behind-the-scenes leader? Do they enjoy community service? Colleges want to know who is your student and why does it matter. They're not interested in a student saying, well, I just want to go to your school because I like the location, it has a great reputation, it's got a good football team. They want to know what is the social fit for you to thrive. So we help students understand what does that look like, and if they don't know, we help them get there. And then of course the financial fit. We help our families understand what is the expected family contribution, their EFC, how to figure that out and how to make that adjust. The FAFSA. The FAFSA is so important. So I wanna make sure that everybody understands that regardless of how much you do or don't make, the FAFSA should be completed if your student wants any kind of money. So those are all really important things to consider. I think that when you talk about an ultimate fit, what is really good for your student, I think all three have to be weighed out and considered very important. The CSS Profile is actually something that most— not all— private schools like to ask for to get a little bit deeper into your finances. And so they will ask for things that the FAFSA doesn't even ask for or the EFC doesn't ask for. So we want you to be prepared. So what we're doing is we're helping you understand that public schools are not necessarily cheaper than private schools. It's actually counterintuitive. It's putting the best student at the right school and having that school want the student and pay for the student. How do you do that? That's where the magic happens. And that's what I want to show you. So I promised the timeline for success. And I know on the screen there is a lot to see, but I do want to let you know that this will be emailed to your inbox. So please look for it. If you don't receive it, reach out to me and I'd be happy to make sure you get it. There are some items on here that are exclusive to our students because obviously I can't give away every detail, um, because then there would be no benefit to my students, but we are giving a lot of information away. So you and your student can be successful. So that timeline is critical for your success. So now let's talk about the stand out strategy. What do I mean by truly standing out? Who is your student? It may seem odd, but colleges really want to know. They're not looking just to fill seats. They're looking for students to come to their school to truly get educated and go out into the world and be successful. Why? Because then your student is advertising for the school, and that's how it just keeps going. Everybody wants to be where success happens. What makes your students special? What are their gifts and their talents? This is something that may be hard for your student, and I totally understand that. We have a lot of fun with our students figuring this out, because if you ask one student, what would you do with a million dollars, and you ask the student right next to them, their answers are going to be completely different. If you ask a student, do you like essays or do you like fill in the blank, totally different. So the best place to start is what is their core value. So we spend a lot of time about Who are they? Why it matters, their gifts and their talents. And we help them be introspective of why a college wants me and how I need to show them I'm unique, I'm special, they will benefit by having me on their campus. Then we get into the passions and we hit hard on this at CollegeReady. We believe that a student who is passionate is an easy yes. Somebody who can show they are truly excited that they are truly excited about going to college, that they are truly excited about leading other people to create change in the world. These are the things colleges want to see. No, they're not easy, but if they were easy, everybody would do it, and then your student wouldn't stand out. So we spend a ton of time with our students talking about what is their 5-year plan, what is their 10-year plan. Do they want a secondary degree? Do they like nice things? Do they want to live in the rural areas? So these are things nobody else is talking about, and that's what helps to make them stand out. So why would a college pick your student over another student? Keep in mind the GPA— there's always going to be somebody who has a higher GPA and a lower GPA. That is a given. Test scores. Some students didn't take the test, some students did. Some schools ask for it, some schools do not. Are we going to strategically put the score in every application? 100%. And if another student does not, is that a disadvantage? Absolutely, but it was a choice to not take a test. Community service. This is an area that our students really do well at. We have a student who just got a full ride scholarship to Vanderbilt this year, and everything led to her Passion with Purpose project. We help our students first figure out what they're passionate about, then we help them to figure out what they want to see changed in the world, and then we help them bridge the gap and lead other students to create change. So in College Writing, we have our Passion with Purpose project. Were also national certifiers for the Presidential Award and the Congressional Award, which are very prestigious awards. So by working with College Ready, they have 8 chances to win national recognition. Leadership is critical to college. They understand not everybody is ASB president, but they also know that there's a lot of quiet leaders. There's a lot of students who are maybe more reserved but have a gift and a talent to lead others in other areas. Extracurriculars— we help students who are scholar athletes, we help students who are looking for a band scholarship, we help students in every area. We work with ADHD students on the spectrum, we work with homeschool families, and so extracurriculars need to be unique to the student. There is no one better extracurricular than another. It's the best one for your student. Quality is better than quantity. Internships. Ah, we get so much questions, so many questions about internships. I will tell you, they are possible. Our students are getting them. They're amazing. They help a student stand out. These are things that we help our students find and get. Research papers. One of our students this year got to write a research paper while in high school. They helped a UCI professor talk about depression in animals, and it was fascinating, and the student absolutely got so many scholarships and opportunities because of that opportunity. Personal development— colleges want your student to constantly be making themselves better, so we give them hundreds of ideas while helping and guiding them through the process of how they can be the best version of them. Honors and awards. This is huge. Colleges have a ranking. A national or international award is so much more significant than I started a college at my high school. Well, how do you get these national and international opportunities? Excuse me. Wow, so sorry, I get all excited and that's what happens. Um, honors and awards. So when colleges look at honors and awards, They have a ranking and they don't talk about this ranking, but we know it exists. So we help students understand why an Eagle Scout is so much more significant than joining a club or organization. Obviously there's a lot more that goes into it. Therefore is looked at as a lot higher opportunity. Honor roll is a perfect example. Honor roll is a great opportunity, but do most students applying to college get it? Pretty much. So is that going to help them stand out? Not so much. So we show students where to get honors, where to get awards, because there's a section in the application that you don't want to leave blank, and that is personal development, honors, and awards. Mm-hmm. Resume and letters of recommendation. The letters of recommendation have become so critical during this strange time of applying to college. It is really important and up to the student to make a good impression. It's not up to the teacher to seek out a student, but on the opposite, it is up to a student to seek out a teacher. If a student was online last year and they kept their Zoom video off, it's next to impossible for a teacher to write any kind of letter of recommendation for them. And if that is your student and they did not go into extra office hours via Zoom or reach out to a teacher outside of class, what are they going to do and who are they going to ask? So I encourage you to let your student know how important this is. The letter of recommendation is so high up on the list right now because There's so many other things that students were not able to offer. And why a resume? A resume is something that helps the teacher who's going to write a letter of recommendation really get to know the whole student, not just the student in their classroom, but really the whole student. Teachers if they're only seeing them in the classroom, knows such a small part about your child. So I encourage you to help them understand the importance of a resume when asking somebody to write a letter of recommendation. So we have a whole strategy and a plan for our students and how to tie these two together. Testing. Here we go. This is probably the number one thing that I get asked. And this is what I tell all of my students: if you can take the test, take the test, but don't take it without learning test strategy. This is not about their IQ. This is about beating the test. Yes, they need to have taken the classes, but usually that's not the problem. What we find is a student between a 3.5, a 4.0, They're really bright. But what happens is they're used to getting all the questions right, and then they run out of time. So teaching them how to beat the test and working with our Brilliant Test Strategists, these are the things that are going to help the students stand out. And test scores are one of the quickest ways to get merit money. So If your student can test, absolutely, and it's never too late. Let me explain. If you have a senior this year and you're going, well, we missed the boat because last year was COVID and now we— it's too late. It's not too late because if your student gets on the waitlist, they need something to get them off the waitlist. If they're looking for any kind of merit money, a test is a surefire way to offer that extra boost of my student is amazing. If your student has a high test score or a high GPA and low test score, what do you think colleges are asking? Was there grade inflation? Does that student maybe have test anxiety? Did they not put much into their test prep? But on the vice versa, what about if a student has a super high test score and an average GPA? Well, a school may be thinking, wow, this student is actually really smart, maybe didn't apply themself in school, maybe had a naughty teacher. But we want them to have no questions. We want a super solid GPA and a really solid test score. And then there's no questions at all. So please know both of them are really important. The PSAT, we have our students take it the freshman year, the sophomore year, and the money round, which is their junior year. So you can hear many people talk about this, but I will tell you, after earning over $10 million in scholarships, We have a pretty darn good strategy, and this is part of it. So again, more information to help you have a good test strategy. AP exams. If a school is not going to look at test scores, do you think they're going to put a lot of emphasis on AP exams? Of course they are. They need some other kind of proof that the student is who they say they are. So remember, there's a lot of opportunities, and if students choose not to take them, it's going to put them at a disadvantage. So what we do is we have created an online portal. It's cloud-based, and it helps keep our students organized. This is just our sample student Vincent, but he has a standout strategy specifically for him, which I've gone in and created all of his things he needs to accomplish, his deadlines, and helped him understand what his plan is. We've gone in and created a test strategy. We've helped him to pick the right colleges. We've helped given him all of the details, the deadlines, the due dates. We've provided him backup information to help support him. All the emails that we send out, we even put all of his schools and when they're applying on a calendar. We have assessments for students who don't know what they want to major in, don't know what they want to have a career in. We need to start somewhere. And then of course my student's favorite tab, and that's the essay tab. This is brilliant. Why they love this tab so much is once we pick their colleges and we know when their deadlines are, we then load them all into this algorithm of essays. And so it takes all of the schools and takes all of their essays and shows them where the overlap is. So instead of having to write 30 essays, they may have to only expand and contract 5. Of course they love that. It saves them time and energy. So this is something we do. If you're not a College Ready client, I recommend putting a plan together. This is the essay tab I told you about. This is also something we use to help them track their activities, honors, and awards and help them to know what to write their essays about. Because students don't realize that colleges use the essay as the icing on the cake, the bow on the gift, right? The application is a check the box: GPA, test score, community service, leadership, extracurricular. Now tell me how you're going to stand out. It's the essay. So we want the student to share What is not on their application? Tell them what they don't know and make sure they stand out while doing it. So we have this opportunity for them to create this all-in-their-essay strategy. Then when you're considering colleges, you want to have a strategy of comfort, reach, and safety. You don't want a student to apply to all reach schools because that is a dangerous situation. So we can come in here and have a student enter in any college they want in the world, and it will tell them based on who got in last year, what are their chances based on their GPA, test score, community service, leadership, and extracurricular. So if a student is lacking, they are now motivated to go get it or choose to not apply to that school. But it is a choice. It's not get to their senior year and panic, oh my gosh, I didn't do enough of this, this, or that, or my test score is not where it needs to be. So this is how a student has a college list that is easy to understand, it's balanced, and it provides opportunity for scholarships. This is how our students have been so successful. Then we help them to understand how will your student compete. So extracurriculars and their involvement are things that are going to help them stand out. There is a criteria for this, and something that a student thinks is super amazing because they put a lot of time in isn't always what colleges consider the best use of their time. And so we help them, and we help the parent and the student understand what are those activities that you want to put at the top. Because if you save them for the bottom, they may never get there. They have about 4 to 6 minutes to get through this first round, and you need to wow them straight away. So putting the activities in the right order is critical. Now is what you've all been waiting for. So the most generous colleges in 2021, these are the universities our students got into and received over $10.7 million in scholarships. So as you can see, there is so much opportunity. None of this is based on any type of financial need. That's on top of this. If we counted that, we would probably hit well into $20 million because there are some students who have need-based So you can see the list goes on and on, and colleges are very generous for the students they want. So at this point, I'm going to open it up for questions and do my best to answer them online. If you have to get off, I totally understand. Feel free to reach out to me. I'm happy to offer you a discovery session. But just remember, that timeline is going to be critical. So at this point, I'm going to turn it over for questions.