CLEVELAND, Ohio — Top seniors from the Cleveland schools are headed to some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges in the fall.

Although the district has high poverty rates and is ranked in academic watch by the state, a few of its graduates will enroll at campuses such as Harvard, Cornell, Stanford and the Berklee School of Music.

Read the rest here!

When writing an essay, the conclusion can be the hardest part.  Too often, students find themselves simply repeating what they’ve just said, often settling for a clincher that is no more that a restatement of the thesis in slightly different words.

I always encourage students to aim a little higher, to use the conclusion not simply to repeat the argument but to win it, to drive it firmly home in the hearts and minds of readers.  With this goal in mind, one way to view a conclusion, then, is to imagine your readers getting to the end of your last body paragraph and asking “So what?”

And one way of answering this question is with a “call to action.”  With my students I use the example of a murder trial to demonstrate this call to action.  If I began with the thesis that “Sally Smith murdered Joe Jones on April 7, 2011,” rather than simply restate the thesis, my clincher will go a step beyond, suggesting what must be done with the evidence which has been presented:  “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, do your duty to keep our streets safe by putting this heartless murderer behind bars!”  (Wouldn’t you agree that with that single word “murderer” I have adequately restated my main point?)

Finish Strong

Just as an essay is more compelling when the writer considers the question “So what?” at the end, so too I believe the end of a school year can be made much more meaningful if this question is addressed.  Of course you will want to review and study so that you will do well on your exams.  I would encourage you to look just a little more deeply as you look back over the material you’ve studied this year.  In this way, all those year-end headaches—final exams, projects and papers—present not just one last set of hoops to jump through to get to summer, but rather one final opportunity to take stock of all you’ve learned, to make sure that it becomes part of who you are.

I’ll close with a single illustration.  Let’s say you’ve been studying U.S. history or environmental science this year.  I hope along the way you might have developed a perspective on—some opinions about—what is going on in American civic life today.  Why not use this summer to explore that newfound perspective, and to apply it, by incorporating Time or Newsweek into your summer reading habits, by volunteering in a local concern of importance to you, or even by getting involved in the 2012 election campaigns that will be heating up over the summer?

Good luck,
–Tim Tibbitts

But not all colleges look kindly on college courses taken in high school. While some community college courses are challenging, others may not prepare a student for advanced college work. If you are planning to apply to highly selective colleges, college courses should not be a substitute for AP courses. Admissions officers will wonder if a student is taking community college courses because they are not as rigorous as AP courses, or because the student wants to avoid AP exams.  If a student has exhausted the AP offerings at her school, taking college courses would obviously not be seen as trying to avoid more rigorous classes. Or if a student is interested in a subject not taught at the high school, taking a college course would be evidence of intellectual curiosity. Some students who take a summer class at a community college gain confidence in their ability to handle more rigorous coursework and go on to take AP or honors classes.  If you plan to take a community college class or even a summer course at a four year college, make sure you chose one that is likely to be accepted for transfer credit.

Questions about getting an early start on college?  Contact Patty at patty@mycpcsite.com.

Patty Saddle, the College Planning Center
www.mycpcsite.com

The brag sheet can be helpful for a variety of purposes, including:

• Providing teachers with information to write your reference letters
• Writing college applications and essays
• Preparing for college admission interviews

When composing your brag sheet, here are a few things to remember:

• Lead with your most significant accomplishments:  Your resume should start with information that shows your leadership potential, innovation, and creativity.  Activities and other accomplishments for which you are merely a member or participant can be added after the highlights.    

o Example:  I founded my high school’s recycling program; to date; we have collected 10,000 pounds of material and earned $5,400 for library resources.

• Be specific and descriptive: Give details with quantitative facts whenever possible. Provide details that set you apart.

o  Example:  My GPA as of 12/31/10 is 3.45, and I’m ranked in the top 25% of my graduating class.

• Use powerful action verbs: Replace “am”, “have”, and “got” with more compelling word choices that speak to leadership, management/supervision, and people skills.

o  Example:  led, created, earned, won, organized, executed, implemented 

• Emphasize your leadership, management, and people skills:  Highlight the experiences you’ve used to develop these skills, and the results.

o  Example:  I managed a staff of 5 fellow students at the school store, which doubled the previous year’s sales and provided $1,500 to purchase uniforms for the wrestling team.

• Include your community service/volunteer work that you have participated in since your freshman year of high school: If you are lacking in this area now is the time to start.  College admission counselors like to see that you have given back to the community.

For further assistance with your brag sheet, contact Patty at patty@mycpcsite.com.

Patty Saddle, the College Planning Center
www.mycpcsite.com

The Whole Kid has been volunteering with College Now Greater Cleveland to provide academic support and ACT tutor training in Cleveland and East Cleveland. An exciting opportunity has arisen to help 20 college-bound East Cleveland sophomores by way of mentoring. If you might be willing to help out, please email tim@thewholekid.com or Julie Szeltner (jszeltner@collegenowgc.org) right away!

If you are searching for scholarships the earlier you start this process the better off you will be.  The best places to look for scholarships are in your own community.  Organizations such as Rotary, The American Legion, and Kiwanis are just a few places to begin your scholarship search.  Your High School Guidance Office will also have a list of scholarships that are only offered by your particular high school. Most of these scholarships require you to fill out an application and often write an essay, so start your search early and pay attention to deadlines.  Although there are many websites that a student can search to find opportunities for scholarships, the best way to receive money for college is to put yourself in a position to receive merit awards from the college or university you want to attend.

I recently came across an article written by the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at a very selective university.  This information is helpful to students when seeking merit awards at any university you apply to.  Here are seven important factors that do make a difference when a student is being evaluated for merit awards.

• First, the difficulty of your curriculum is important.  Take AP, IB, and Honors courses at your High School if they are offered.
• Grades – Receiving an A in the courses you have taken will aid you in receiving merit money.
• Receive high scores on your ACT or SAT.
• Complete both the FAFSA & PROFILE regardless of need.
• Have a serious conversation with the admission counselor at the university or college that you wish to attend.
• Schedule an admissions interview before you are admitted to the university.
• Submit a teacher recommendation letter that transfers to excellent.

So in review, grades, a rigorous curriculum, and showing the college of your choice that you are truly interested in attending does make a difference in the amount of merit money you will receive from the college or university you wish to attend.

Patty Saddle, the College Planning Center
www.mycpcsite.com

1. Start discussing the idea of attending college early in the student’s high school career.
2. Add a college campus visit to your family vacation.
3. Take your son or daughter to visit the college or university that you attended.
4. Look into sending your student to a college that offers a summer program for high school students based on their interests.
5. Attend a summer college information session offered for high school students in order for you and your student to get an overview of the college admission process. One school that offers such a program is Allegheny College at www.Allegheny.edu

For more information or to help get the college process started contact Patty @ (216) 577-3300.

Patty Saddle, the College Planning Center
www.mycpcsite.com

One solution that I’ve found valuable is to test yourself.  That means actually writing tests!  In order to make up your own test in a subject, you’ve got to get really deep into the material.  You get a sense for how your teacher thinks when he or she designs an exam, and this can guide how you answer questions on the real test.  By this point in the school year, you’ve seen a couple of tests from each teacher.  For maximum benefit, design your practice tests in the format you’ve learned to expect from that teacher.

To make studying in this way both easier and more fun, get together with a few friends and have everyone create some questions: multiple choice, short answer, and essay (if applicable).  Pose the questions to each other, and discuss the answers to refine your knowledge and ideally identify the most important material.

Right now I’m even making tests for myself.  I have been trying to squeeze in a few minutes each day for teaching myself Italian, and at the end of each chapter of the textbook I wanted to feel the accomplishment of demonstrating what I’d learned, even if no one else sees it!  So I started writing open-ended questions and checking my answers by going back through the chapter.

You’ll find that creating questions out of thin air can be difficult at first, but it is an important way to train your mind to identify the central concepts and key supporting details.

Good luck!

Tim

Upcoming Performance

The Taming of the Shrew is commonly read in high school, and Great Lakes Theater is putting on a modern adaptation this month!  You can read more about it and order tickets here.

If I’m describing your kid—take heart.  There is a growing number of really well done books and magazines out there that might help us to nudge our reluctant reading budding scientists into the reading habit.  (If I’m not describing your kid, you’ll find great stuff here for passionate readers of fiction who may not have ventured into the realm of science.)

It can be maddeningly difficult to get an active, hands-on kid to sit down and read—or sit still to be read to—for any length of time.  Here are two possible solutions:

1. Read aloud to your child while his or her hands are busy with something else.  There’s no rule that says reading time has to be conducted snuggled on the couch.   I’ve recently had a ton of fun reading science biographies to my 11-year old while he builds Legos.   If this strategy takes hold, listening to an audio book while building (or drawing or painting or doing jumping jacks) might become part of your child’s routine.
2. Another option is magazines.  Chock full of interesting color pictures and other graphics, a magazine can be more immediately engaging than a book.  Moreover, the magazine format invites a reader to skim, reading in full only those articles which are of genuine interest.  I had a great experience just the other day with a reluctant-reading student: I grabbed three kid magazines from the library based on his interests, and I let him pick one (giving young readers choices can make a big difference).  We flipped through just looking at the pictures until a story caught his eye, which we read aloud together, taking turns every couple paragraphs.  Look for two suggestions below.

The Giants of Science series by Kathleen Krull offers excellent read aloud material which balances an examination of a scientist’s life with a healthy dose of the relevant scientific concepts.  Krull’s biographies of Darwin, Curie and Da Vinci would all be excellent places to start.

In addition, picture book biographies abound, offering good read-alone or read-aloud material for slightly readers.

Happy reading!

Tim

Recommended Reads

Click on each cover for a review or more magazine information.

Charles Darwin (Giants of Science) – Kathleen Krull

KIDS DISCOVER features a different topic in the natural and social sciences each month, and is designed for children ages 7-12.  The magazine is highly engaging, and features lots of photography.

YES Mag is an award-winning science magazine for children ages 10-15.  Each issue has an activity or experiment related to the theme, and the magazine is long enough to cover each topic very thoroughly.

Helping ADHD Kids Get Organized for School

ADHD Children at School