August is Back to School Month

      August is Back to School Month!

   Now is the time of year summer vacations are winding down. Ads for school supplies and new clothes are everywhere. And families with school-age children are shifting out of a more carefree routine and readying themselves for the more formal scheduling the academic year brings.
 
   Back-to-school time is particularly important for families with high school students. Extracurricular activities such as sports or school clubs tend to start before the new year. Students look forward to seeing friends they haven’t connected with in months. And there is a sense that their time of youth is winding down. High school is the last time most of these students will be together on a daily basis. After graduation, they will go their separate ways. Some will enter the workforce, some will enlist in the military, and some will be off to college.

   It is an exciting time of year for students.
 
   It is an anxious time of year for students.

   The focus of this month’s blogpost will be on what students in each high school class should think about for the start of school. The Class of 2024 is now in the history books, and now is time to focus on the classes of 2025 - 2028. Each grade provides a different set of needs and goals to be met. I will discuss these needs and goals in the context of students who are planning to attend college, particularly if they are interested in attending a selective college or university. Let’s begin by thinking through the freshman year.

THE FRESHMAN YEAR
   The freshman year of high school (or Upper School, for those attending private schools) is the foundation year for success in the selective college admissions process. I would argue that students enter freshman year with the highest mix of anxiety and excitement. With respect to college admissions, this is when grades start to matter; admissions officers review transcripts only from freshman to senior year. So while applying to college may be a few years away, freshman year is the time students can start putting fundamentals in place to create strong study habits that will serve them throughout their high school career.
 
   If a student has had a successful academic experience in middle school, freshman year is when they should build upon this success and start taking the most challenging classes possible. Students should also start to integrate into the high school culture by participating in one or two extracurricular activities that are aligned with their interests, and will help them build community. This is a critical step as it is best for students to “jump” into the high school experience rather than take a “wait-and-see” approach.
 
   Enterprising students may also want to use their freshman year to think long term about their academic success. For instance, if a student is strong in STEM and plans to pursue a STEM field in college, they may want to know what will be the prerequisite courses they need to take in order to qualify for more academically rigorous courses during their later years in high school. The same holds true for students planning to pursue the arts or social sciences. Students may even want to think about taking one or two Advanced Placement courses during the freshman year if they are available and are eligible.

   Also, during freshman year, students should work to establish positive relationships with their teachers and the administration. High school staff members are always seeking to identify the next group of student leaders. It is a worthwhile endeavor for freshman year students to set up meetings with their academic advisor or guidance counselor to find out how high school works, what summer programs might be available to them, and receive advice about the best academic course of action.
 
   Lastly, students should seek to make new friends and strengthen their bonds with existing friends. Healthy, positive friendships make the high school experience more engaging and joyful. Students may also decide to reinvent themselves in high school and try new activities in order to meet new people. Freshman year is almost like a clean slate where students can take control of their high school careers and start preparing themselves to be competitive candidates for selective colleges in a few years.
 
THE SOPHOMORE YEAR
   Conventional wisdom says that the junior year is the most important year in high school when preparing to apply to college. I have a different point of view. I believe that students cannot have a successful junior year if they do not build a strong foundation for it in the sophomore year.
 
   During the sophomore year, students interested in attending selective colleges and universities will have more opportunities to enroll in advanced or honors classes, such as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or College Prep (CP) courses. Students should take full advantage of these opportunities. Students may also wish to engage in online learning opportunities if their high school curriculums will not provide them with the rigorous coursework needed to be competitive in the selective college admissions process. This is also the year students should start to think critically about how their coursework aligns with what they plan to study in college.

   Students should also seek leadership positions during the sophomore year as well, and increase their involvement in club and/or extracurricular activities. Students may also want to think about starting leadership initiatives outside of school by focusing on community service or independent research projects. Now that students have one year of high school behind them, they are more comfortable with the  experience. This comfort should lead to an increased sense of confidence, which will allow them to take more risks in launching and defining their leadership endeavors.
 
   Sophomore year is also the time when students seeking to apply to selective colleges should start to distinguish themselves from their classmates. This is a critical part of the Ivy Edge Method, cultivating something I like to call distinguished excellence. During the adolescent years, teens have a development inclination to participate in the same activities as their peers. Students desiring to attend selective institutions must behave counterintuitive to this inclination and think about how they intend to follow their own unique, individual path–wherever it may lead them. Students should define one of two areas in which they decide to fully invest their time and resources, and work to cultivate a sense of excellence in those areas.

   Lastly, students should invest in their relationships with teachers and administrators during the sophomore year. These are the people who will eventually submit letters of recommendation on the student’s behalf when it is time to apply to college. Teachers and administrators are able to craft stronger and more compelling letters of recommendation if they have known a student well for a few years as opposed to not. Students should also identify peers that share similar collegiate goals. They should build and strengthen relationships with them in order to create a sense of community within the larger framework of high school. These relationships may evolve into future partners or collaborators on ideas and leadership initiatives. As the old saying goes, birds of a feather do indeed flock together!

THE JUNIOR YEAR
   The junior year receives the most scrutiny from admissions officers, particularly those admissions officers at selective colleges and universities. This is the year students should plan on taking the most rigorous academic coursework possible. Junior year is also the last full year students have to develop and demonstrate their leadership abilities, so they should maximize this by choosing to hold a higher office in a club or organization.
 
   If a student is involved in athletics, the performing arts or other extracurricular activities, junior year is not the year to quit. Junior year is the year to remain consistent and build upon what has been done in the previous two years. Seeking consistency and growth in an applicant is a key part of the adjudication process of college applications. So even if challenges arise while participating in these activities, students should lean into the challenges and learn how to grow from them. Such challenges may later become valuable experiences that are shared with admissions officers through either the Common App personal statement or supplemental response questions.
 
   Junior year is also the year when students should develop and execute a standardized test prep strategy. For a couple of years during and after COVID, most colleges adopted a “test optional” policy with respect to standardized tests. Starting this past spring, selective colleges have started to revert back to pre-COVID admissions policies and require the submission of standardized tests. I predict this trend will continue for the upcoming application season and beyond. Students should plan to take either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT) during the junior year and not wait until senior year to try and achieve the desired score. 

   Students should also start to generate a preliminary college application list during the junior year as well. Students should start researching different college programs and familiarize themselves with the admission requirements for those programs. If they learn they are falling short of the admission requirements of a particular set of programs, junior year is the time to course correct and ensure all admission requirements of desired programs are being met.
 
   This is also the year students and families may wish to plan college visits. If that is not affordable or feasible, then students should follow programs on the college lists on social media outlets, such as Instagram. Colleges and universities–particularly the selective ones–regularly host Instagram live chats to answer questions about the admissions process to their schools.

THE SENIOR YEAR
   Senior year is go time! Students planning on applying to selective colleges should begin preparing for it as early as the end of junior year. It takes about four to six months to truly craft a compelling Common App personal statement, so students should start working on it as soon as possible. The goal is to submit an application package that best reflects who they are and who they will be on a college campus, so by this point, students should have a very clear idea on where they intend to apply to college and have their college application list set. They should also make sure they have completed all of the admission requirements of the programs they intend to apply to, and work to fulfill those requirements if there are any gaps. Students should also be very aware of application deadlines and make sure they are managing the application process accordingly. Good time management skills are critical to the process and students should invest in developing them if they have not done so by this time.

   Students should also decide which colleges they intend to apply to in the early round. It is a little kept secret, but most selective colleges are starting to accept the bulk of their applicants during the Early Action/Early Decision round. The acceptance rates for the early round tend to be higher than the Regular Decision round, so students should apply early to their top choice schools. Some of the most selective programs have now placed restrictions on where students can apply during this round, so students must be sure of their choices and have honest conversations with their families–and themselves–about their chances of admission to these programs and plan accordingly.
 
   Senior year is also the last opportunity students have to take standardized tests. If a student has not yet achieved their desired score on either the SAT or ACT, then they should register to take the test in late summer and/or early fall. They should prioritize preparing and studying for these tests and make adjustments to their schedules as necessary in order to maximize their probability of achieving their desired score.
 
   In addition to the Common App personal statement, students should also review the supplemental questions for all of the schools on their application list. They should start to make choices about what will be the most appropriate responses to these questions, how those responses will augment the Common App personal statement, and work on crafting those responses as soon as possible. October is the month students should be working on final revisions of their personal statements and supplemental essays as November 1st is generally the first application deadline for the early round.

   Students should also identify the teachers they wish to write their letters of recommendations at the beginning of the year and ask them if they would like to do so. The more students give teachers and administrators time to write the recommendation, the more likely it is that teachers and administrators will write compelling recommendations; they will have been given the time to do so.
 
   Before students submit their applications, they should take the time to re-read and proofread their applications. They may want to enlist the help of a trusted advisor to review their application (the Activities section as well as the written portions) and incorporate any positive comments. Again, in the fall of senior year, applying to college is the priority, so students should manage and make adjustments in the schedules accordingly to ensure final reads and proofs are completed to their satisfaction.
 
   After the application is submit-ready, students may start to focus on scholarship applications and–if applicable–working with their families to fill out financial aid forms, such as the FAFSA or CSS/PROFILE. Students will also need to keep their academics strong throughout the year as it is very possible that poor grades in the senior year may result in an admission offer being rescinded.

SUMMARY
   Back-to-school time is both exciting and anxiety-inducing. But if students use the remaining days of summer to think about what their top-level goals need to be before school starts, it can be an enjoyable time as well. I hope the tips and thoughts I have shared in this blog post have been valuable to both students and families alike.
 
   I wish all the students starting school in a few weeks a happy and successful school year!