15 Questions to Ask at College Fairs

As you go throughout high school, particularly during your Junior year, you ought to start thinking about which colleges you may want to apply to and form a preliminary college list. To help you narrow down your college choices and decide what schools would be a good fit for you, you can attend College Fairs in your school or local community.

College Fairs involve representatives from various universities coming to a school or community and pitching their university to prospective applicants. As a high school student, College Fairs are a great opportunity for you to show your interest in a particular college or university and ask questions to those who are most knowledgeable about the college.

It’s always good to come to College Fair prepared, and one of the best ways to do that is to prepare some questions to ask the college representatives so that you come across as an informed and serious applicant. To get you started, here are 20 great questions you could ask a college representative at a College Fair. Even if you don’t decide to ask some of these questions, you should still try to find their answers before you finalize your college list.

Academic Questions

    1    Does your school offer [major/minor program]? If so, can you tell me about it?

You shouldn’t ask a college representative about which majors and minors the university offers because oftentimes a college offers too many programs to list. Instead, you can show that you’ve given your college and career some thought by asking about a specific major or minor that you may be interested in. If you haven’t quite narrowed down your prospective major all the way, you can ask about a specific discipline like the sciences or humanities.

    2    What program(s} is the college noted for?

Give the college representative a chance to brag about the college (they love doing that)! Ask them what majors or minors are the most accredited at the university and why. This will give you some good insight into what degree program gets the most resources and which majors are the most competitive for admission. After all, you may not want to major in philosophy at a university where most of the funding, attention, and resources goes towards the engineering department.

    3    How do first-year students choose their classes?

This is a more important question than you might think. At some universities, freshman are given priority enrollment and can thus begin taking required courses for their degree as soon as they enter college. In other universities, however, freshman enroll later than other students and are given last priority, making it extremely hard to get into the classes they want. So if you’re trying to graduate early or pursue multiple majors in college, you should ask this question to clarify whether that would be possible at the university in question.

Admissions Questions

    1.    In what SAT score range/ACT score range do most of the admitted students score in?

If you’ve already taken the SAT/ACT and have received your scores, this question can indicate where you stand in comparison to admitted students and what your chances are of getting admitted. You can also use this as a gauge of whether you need to take the test again to try and achieve a higher score.

On the other hand, if you haven’t taken the SAT/ACT yet, this question can give you a goal score range to aim for.

This question is also a good gauge of the competitiveness of the college or university. The higher the average standardized test score for the university, the more competitive the school’s college admission is likely to be.

    2.    Are there any specific requirements for certain programs at the university?

Some colleges require extra application supplements like a portfolio, special interview, or audition (that one is mostly for performing arts majors). These requirements are not always obvious so it might be good to clarify with an admissions expert from the university.

If it turns out there are special requirements for the program you’re interested in, you can use the college fair as an opportunity to ask about and learn more about what the college wants to see in this extra supplement.

    3.    What percent of applicants are accepted to the university?

This question is a great way to gauge the competitiveness of a university’s college admissions. The lower the acceptance rate, the more competitive the university is. You should have a good mix of universities with low acceptance rates and high acceptance rates on your college list so that you apply to a good mix of safety and reach schools.

Financial Aid Questions

    1.    What financial aid programs does the college have?

This is a pretty vague question, and you may not receive a very specific or detailed answer. What may happen, though, is that the college representative will ask you about your financial situation, starting a bigger conversation about financial aid options that tailor to your specific needs or qualifications. Alternatively, the college representative could refer you to a website or an office that you can contact to find out this information.

    2.    What is the amount of the average financial aid package awarded to students at the university?

This is an important question not just for you as an applicant but for your family, who may be thinking about how they are going to afford to send you to college in a few years. You can use this question to decide whether attending a certain college is financially feasible, and you can also use the representative’s answer as a guideline for how you should be budgeting your money and saving for college during these next few years.

In general, you’ll probably find that private universities, while more expensive to attend, offer more financial aid, whereas public universities are cheaper but don’t always offer the same level of financial aid.

    3.    Are there separate deadlines for admission and scholarship applications?

Sometimes, colleges include their financial aid applications within the college application itself. In other instances, there’s a separate application, or even multiple applications, for financial aid awarded from the university.

    4.    Can you tell me about other fees and costs in addition to tuition?

Tuition is definitely not the only fee that universities charge, and it does not even remotely take into account the everyday costs of living in college. There are room and board fees, textbook fees, meal plan costs, etc. These costs tend to vary per university.

It’s worth asking this question to see how expensive it is to attend a particular college in comparison to other colleges you are considering. You can also use this question to see if the college representative mentions any college costs that you hadn’t thought of before.

Campus Life/Activities Questions

    1.    Does your university have [name of club/organization/activity]?

If there is one activity or club that you know you want to continue participating in in college, feel free to ask the college representative if it already exists at the university. Just keep in mind that they may not know the answer if it’s a club that is not very common or well-known on the college campus.

Always keep in mind that if a club doesn’t exist on campus, you can start one! So if the college representative says that an organization isn’t yet established on campus, you can follow up and ask if it’s possible for students to create organizations on campus. This demonstrates initiative and enthusiasm to the college representative.

    2.    What do students at the university usually do during their free time?

This question invites the college representative to tell you about the different on-campus and off-campus amenities along with various places to hang out. It’s an insider’s perspective that you may not be able to get by looking at an admissions website.

While the college representative is describing what students do in their free time, imagine yourself doing those same things. Do you see yourself doing the things a typical student at that university does? Use that answer to assess whether you think the college would be a good fit for you.

Post-College Questions

    1.    Is there job placement help for graduates?

At the end of the day, you are going to college so that you can eventually get a job and begin your career. However, in a competitive job market, a college education won’t always guarantee you a great first job. Sometimes, you need some resources and assistance from your university like a career center, information sessions from companies, resume help, interview prep, etc to set you apart from other job applicants. You ought to make sure that the college you are attending has at least some of these career resources so that you’ll be set up for good job placement in the future.

    2.     What do most graduates from the university go on to do?

Perhaps the college in question is great at getting students into graduate programs or med school, or perhaps their graduates are highly sought after by the Fortune 500 companies. You ought to attend a school whose alumni go on to do things that align with your post-college goals. If you do that, you’ll probably have an alumni network that can give you tips and potential job opportunities when it comes time for you to pursue your career.

    3.    How big/helpful is the alumni network on campus?

Colleges who stay in touch with their alumni are often able to get those alumni to provide tips and resources to current students such as connections with grad schools and companies, interview and resume tips, and even just a friendly face to chat with. The bigger and more extensive the alumni network, the more resources you’ll have while attending the university.

For More Information

Come talk to us to get information about colleges and questions about admissions!

5 Tips for Students moving to Class 9

Class 9 is a big deal. You’re finally starting high school! High school can be exciting, stressful, and at times, overwhelming. It’s also a time you should be exploring, trying out new opportunities, and making the most of your experiences. Here are five tips for starting off high school on the right foot.

Find Your Niche

Now that you’re older, you have more flexibility as to how you spend your time. Search for groups and activities that align with your interests. Not sure where to start? Try out different clubs at your school. 

Joining different clubs and trying out activities will allow you to meet new, like-minded people. It will also help you hone your area of specialization, or area that aligns with your interests and talents and path you want to pursue. This can guide your academic and career focus.

Try New Opportunities

In a similar vein, freshman year is a great time to try out new things. While every year matters, this year is lower stakes than the other high school years. Even if you’re not sure if you’ll like something, try it out and see. You can always cull your list of activities later. 

Get Organized

You may have heard that your grades don’t matter this year, but that’s not really true. While it is true that colleges won’t pay as much attention to this year as other years, you should get into the habit of studying and being productive now. That way, you’ll be in good shape later on. 

Think About the Future

It’s not too early to think about college. You don’t need to start filling out applications, of course, but you should be setting goals. Think about the path you need to take to achieve these goals. Set incremental “sub” checkpoints to help you achieve your larger aspirations. For instance, if you’re hoping to become the editor of your school newspaper, consider the steps you need to take to get there, such as attending meetings, writing killer articles, and bonding with and learning from the current editor and the newspaper’s advisor.

Use Your Support System

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from parents, teachers, guidance counselor, older students, and even peers. If you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed, it can be helpful to talk to someone for support and guidance.

Take some time to get to know your teachers. You’ll probably have more than you did in middle school, and your teachers, in turn, probably have many students. Developing connections with your teachers can be a substantial addition to your support system, since it will give you another resource for academic help. Additionally, when it comes to ask teachers for college recommendations, your teachers will be able to speak to your character, not just the papers you’ve written.

High school won’t be easy, but try to get the most out of the challenges it brings. Take your time seriously, and create a plan for success. While you’ll face challenges along the way, having a plan, trying out new opportunities, and using your support system will help you manage your time well and prepare yourself for the future.

Why You Should Consider Colleges You’ve Never Heard Of

As you go through high school and start thinking about which colleges you will want to apply to, it can be very tempting to stick with the familiar. You’ve heard of the Ivy Leagues, a few highly ranked out-of-state colleges, and a few in-state schools that would lessen your cost. That’s already a pretty comprehensive list. Should you make that your college list and call it a day?

Unfortunately, that simple approach will not necessarily give you the highest chance of ending up at the school that is the best fit for you. While you’re evaluating colleges in order to form your college list, you need to do some research and figure out which colleges best align with your requirements and goals. Take into consideration things like geographic location, majors offered, cost of attendance, and other factors so that you can make an informed decision.

While doing your research, you may come across a school you’ve never heard of that looks perfect for you on paper. Should you rule that college out because it doesn’t offer the coveted “brand name” that employers look for? We at EdBrand recommend applying to colleges regardless of their brand or prestige as long as they seem like a good option for you. Not convinced? Read on to discover many reasons why it’s worth it to consider colleges you’ve never heard of.

The Lesser Known School Might Be Perfect For You

It is tempting to think that you would be able to get along at any college. However, not all colleges are right for every student. In fact, college admissions officers are aware of this and sometimes take that into consideration when making admissions decisions. Thus, it’s important, when considering colleges, to choose one that you think would be a good fit. What does it mean to fit with a college? Check out our previous blog post on the subject.

Some things you may want to consider when deciding whether a college is a good fit for you are:

    •    Location: Is a college far enough or close enough from home? Do you like the weather patterns of that geographic region?

    •    Size: Some students are comfortable with a large school with thousands of students and some prefer smaller universities with more individualized attention to each student.

    •    Majors: Does the college in question have a good academic program in your area of interest? There’s no use in applying to a college where you can’t study what you want to study.

    •    Student Life: Is the college known for having a thriving social scene? Is Greek Life popular at the college? Do the students who attend that university seem like people you would get along with?

    •    The Campus: Do you think you would enjoy being on that campus every single day? Is it aesthetic? Does it have the resources you need?

Finding a good fit is extremely important when it comes to choosing a college because you are probably going to spend the majority of four years at the university you choose. So if you find a college that isn’t well-known but seems like the perfect fit for you, it’s definitely worth applying to. You may be extremely happy there.

These Colleges are Often Cheaper

Brand name colleges are often expensive. Colleges know that there is high demand for their college because it is so well-known, so they are able to raise tuition costs if they see fit. Sometimes, these high costs can be a deal breaker for the student who is looking for an affordable college education.

On the other hand, sometimes lesser known colleges have lower tuition and other costs associated with attendance. In many ways, you could be getting a very similar education as someone at a brand-name university for a much cheaper price. If the lesser-known college has good programs that you desire and meets your other criteria, it makes financial sense for you to consider or even attend that college.

Smaller Student Body = A More Personalized Learning Environment

Oftentimes, you’ve never heard of a college because it has a smaller student body than most other colleges. Don’t take this as a strike against the college, though. It may not be that students don’t want to attend that college, but rather the college keeps its student body low so that each student can receive personalized attention and resources from professors, counselors, employers who visit, etc.

In this way, going to a smaller, lesser-known college could be the best decision for your learning. Rather than being thrust onto a giant campus and becoming another face in a sea of students, you could have a more personalized learning environment with less competition and more resources for you to succeed.

Less Competition

In big, popular universities with a giant student body, there’s a lot of pressure to outperform your fellow classmates to get those coveted positions in clubs or those prestigious internships. This can get overwhelming as you suddenly find yourself competing with thousands of highly qualified and accomplished students like yourself instead of a few hundred students from your high school.

In a smaller, lesser-known college, the student body is much smaller, and the resources are more available to you. Therefore, the culture of competition is significantly reduced, and you don’t always feel like you’re competing with everyone on campus. This can take a little bit of the pressure off of your (sometimes overwhelming) college experience.

Brand Name Colleges Only Get You So Far

The common view is that going to a prestigious, well-known college will help you get a good job and help you get a successful career. This is true to a certain extent. The college you go to can go a long way in helping you get that coveted entry-level job right out of college, and it can definitely give you some unique tools and resources that will train you for the professional world. However, once you’ve gotten that entry-level job and have been in the workforce for a few years, the brand name college doesn’t matter as much.

After a while, it will no longer be where you went to college that will define what positions you get in the professional world but your work ethic and accomplishments. This means that a brand name college will only do so much as getting you a great entry-level job. After that, you have to work your way up like the rest of the world.

Thus, if you attend a lesser-known college, that doesn’t mean you won’t have an illustrious career. Hard work and employable skills matter equally as much in the job market.

Making your college list and confused? We can help! 

How do I get an internship?

Why Should I Get an Internship?

While they may seem like regular jobs, with the addition only of a fancy name, internships offer important insight into the professional world and can lead to valuable connections and contacts. In many cases, having strong connections in the professional world will give you a big leg up after you finish your education, no matter how well you perform in school. You can consider it a foot in the door.

Furthermore, by working and living the life of a professional in the field of your interest, you can decide whether or not a particular line of work is actually the great fit for you that you had always imagined. You may also discover a new line of work within that field that you had not known of before.  You can also add your internship to your resumé to show not only that you have experience, but also that you are seeking exciting and challenging positions to help you grow as a student and as a professional.

Unfortunately, some internships do not pay much – or anything at all – and often require long and demanding hours. While this is difficult in the short-term, if you do a great job, you may be hired back to the company after your internship is over, or receive a bonus at the end. And, at the end of the day, experience now will put you in a great place later when you are applying to long-term jobs and determining your career path.

What Internship is Right for You?

Your first step should be to figure out the area or field of study in which you would like to get an internship because once you know this, you can refine your search to more specific positions. If your interests do not immediately come to mind, consider the classes you enjoy, the extracurricular activities you participate most in, where you meet your friends, and so on.

If you have an idea of a general area – say, food – you should ask yourself how that could be more specific. What do you like about food? Cooking? Baking? Studying the economics of food distribution? Watching cooking shows? Eating and writing about food? If you know where you want to go with a broad subject, narrowing down the options available is easier.

On the other hand, if you don’t know what you might want to do, look around at the types of activities you enjoy doing. What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning? How might this activity translate into the professional world? Perhaps you like writing letters to pen pals. In the work world, this might show that you are interested in writing and sharing ideas and that you have strong communication skills. Or perhaps your interests are a bit more clear cut. Say you really like painting murals. This could be a sign that you want to get into community artwork, and you should check out careers in that area.

The point is: even if your area of interest may not immediately seem like “internship material,” the truth is any interest has the potential to be perfect for finding an internship if you consider it with a new perspective!

How Do I Get an Internship?

Once you have an idea of what your interests are, start looking for internship positions near you. A quick and easy way to start this search is to check online. There may be official intern programs in your area that can help set you up with a position or guides to places near you that usually hire interns.

Additionally, reach out to people you know. Family members and friends can often point you in a good direction and, because of your close connection, can suggest internships based on your personality and interests in a way that the Internet cannot gauge. Teachers and guidance counselors at your high school may also know of positions that suit you, especially because they see you in more of a work type of environment than most of your family and friends.

Finally, you should be sure to reach out to businesses and non profits to see if they would be receptive to take you on as an intern. Often, when you reach out to organizations and show interest, they are more likely to take you on because they see that you are making an effort to connect with them. It’s always worth asking.

Keep in mind that if a non-profit group or local government does not have an official intern program, you may still be able to come on as a volunteer, which will provide you with the opportunity to learn many of the same skills an internship would teach. Unfortunately, for-profit businesses cannot accept volunteers by law, but you can still check to see if there are other part-time positions for which you could apply that might teach you some skills in the industry.

We hope this helps your internship search! Come see us if you have any questions!

How to Manage Stress like a Pro

By now you have gone through enough iterations of the same exam that you might have some of the nerves under control but its magnitude can still be challenging. 

Manage your pressure or stress triggers

By understanding what triggers you to feel stressed you can begin to identify unconscious perceptions that you hold and identify some super coping strategies to help you deal with these safely and quickly. By taking control you will feel empowered to manage the situation and this will improve your well-being and resilience. 

• Note down the last time you felt really under pressure or overwhelmed

• Note down what you were doing and where you were

• Note down whether you were with someone

• Note down how you felt emotionally at that time

• Note down how you felt physically i.e heart started to race, tummy felt

• What happened next i.e. what was the result, what did you do and how did you feel for the rest of the day

• What made you feel better.

How to spot if you're stressed

You could be showing signs of stress if you're: 

• Feeling more tired than usual

• Struggling to focus and feeling overwhelmed

• Feeling anxious and feeling as though your self-esteem is crumbling

• Feeling teary and more emotional than usual

• Struggling to sleep or stay asleep throughout the night

• Waking up from sleep and feeling exhausted

• Suffering from regular stomach upsets

• Losing appetite

• Feeling run down

• Beginning to experience panic attacks
Experiencing one or more of these things doesn't necessarily mean you're "stressed"; we all have very different levels of tolerance to exam situations. Have a think about how your body and mind feels day to day and if you start to notice that you are developing these kinds of signs here are some positive actions you can take to keep yourself well. 
 

Keeping well

The three vital things your body needs to keep well is food, water and sleep. 

Water

The NHS states that  women should drink about 1.6 litres of fluid and men should drink about 2.0 litres of fluid per day. That's about eight glasses of 200ml each for a woman, and 10 glasses of 200ml each for a man. Keeping hydrated is important for brain function, distributing nutrients around our body and removing what we no longer need. 

Food

Nourish your body with lots of healthy grub. Fuel your body and mind with lots of greens, fruit, nuts and seeds for healthy energy boosting snacks and make sure you have a balanced diet of three meals a day. If you don't feel fulfilled your regular tummy rumbles will make it incredibly hard for you to concentrate. Try and eat as naturally as possible and stay away from refined sugars found in sweets, fizzy drinks and chocolate. Yes they'll give you a boost initially but very quickly you'll notice a slump, leaving you feeling sleepy. 

Sleep

Sleep is so important, it's your body's healing time, when the cells repair and your brain archives and detoxes the millions of thoughts that have raced through your mind during the day. 
If you find that you have started dreaming a lot, it's because there has been a lot playing on your mind during the day. If you can identify what these things are, write them down before bed. By acknowledging what they are you should sleep soundly. Try to keep to the same sleep pattern that you maintained prior to exams. 
To help you get into that sleepy zone, give yourself 30 minutes to wind down, that means no TV and no smart phone. Pick up a story book and switch the light off as soon as those eyelids start to droop. 

Keeping yourself focused

When you wake each morning don't rush to the nearest set of notes or textbook. Sit quietly in bed or look out of the window, place your hand on your heart and begin to breathe deeply. Once you have found a rhythm that works for you say one thing you are grateful for and set an intention for your day. 
Focusing on your breath and heart is a powerful tool, doing this regularly will help you begin your day with energy, mental clarity and balanced emotions.

Stick to what makes you happy

A routine is so important, if you're a gym bunny, love to run regularly, or like to have a kick around at the park keep it up. It releases happy hormones and keeps you feeling grounded. Exercise itself won't make you completely stress-free but getting sweaty does help you to detox the emotional intensity that you have been feeling, giving your brain a re-boot and improving mental clarity. 

If you are a creative sort and enjoy painting, sewing, drawing keep going. These kinds of activities will help you to zone out, giving the body and mind a much needed rest. 

Let it go!

Accept the things that you can't change. Your exams are coming, they will happen and then they will be over. Instead of leaking energy on worrying about them create solutions and focus on what you can control:

• Working through your revision plan and achieving your study goals

• Working through past papers

• Give it your best shot on your day.

15 Surprising Career Opportunities for Potential Humanities Majors

While most humanities majors don’t offer a direct career path as some majors in other fields do, they are still important degrees. The skills you learn in these majors are very beneficial and can often be applied to numerous professions. Because of the breadth of the curricula, humanities majors often learn skills that employers value, such as critical thinking, communication, complex problem-solving, research, and time management. In fact, many employers seek out humanities majors for this very reason, so your major may make you an even more attractive candidate.

Some non-humanities programs require humanities credits because they teach such desirable skills. For instance, some business programs are beginning to require these types of courses, so their students have skills that courses within the business fields won’t necessarily teach.

Many degrees in the humanities fields can be applied to a wide variety of professions. Additionally, your major allows you to leave your options open, since you aren’t in a program that’s limited to a specific profession.

Professions That Usually Don’t Require Graduate Level Degrees

• Writing: Writing is relevant—and often central—to many careers, including content or copywriting, journalism, screenwriting, editing, and grant writing. Because writing is integral to so many majors and professions, your humanities degree will be very useful in a numerous fields.

• Marketing/Advertising/Public Relations: Marketing, advertising, and PR are different fields, and there are a number of job possibilities within them. They have many overlapping features, including the need for strong communication skills and the ability to relay your client’s message in creative ways that inspire action.

• Sales: As with marketing, communication and interpersonal skills need to be strong in sales, because you’ll be working with clients directly. You’ll also need critical thinking skills to persuade customers to buy your product. One benefit of sales is that it’s often a high-paying field.

• Language: If you have a strong background in a foreign language, there are many possibilities for employment as a linguist through foreign service, airlines, travel agencies, and other businesses that require translators.

• Human Resources: Working in human resources requires strong interpersonal skills, and you’ll need to be able to work well with people. in an HR position, you may be recruiting job candidates, as well as planning programs and benefits for current employees at a particular organization.

• Museum Curation: An art history degree will provide you with a strong background and foundation to be a museum curator, but you can apply many other humanities degrees to this field as well. In this role, you are essentially a content specialist who acquires and manages your museum’s collection, as well as helps display and exhibit the works.

• Film and Media Production: Producing films, short works, and other forms of media requires plenty of creative skills. 

• Publishing: When you think about the publishing field, editor is probably the first role that comes to mind. But there are many different roles in the book and magazine world, and they often go to people with humanities degrees—marketing, publicity, sales, copyright, and design, to name a few. Most of these roles also require strong reading skills.

• Graphic Design: Most companies require graphic designers. Your art major will be useful in branding and helping convey organizations’ messages.

 Professions Requiring Graduate Level Degrees

• Teaching: Nearly any major you can think of can prepare you to be a teacher. You’ll also need to get teaching certified after you finish college. Some positions will also require you to receive a master’s degree, but it can usually be in your specialty.

• Postsecondary Education: In most cases, you’ll need at least a master’s degree to teach at the college level, though there may be some research and administrative positions at colleges that don’t require one. To be on tenure track, you usually need a doctorate.

• Law: While many lawyers major in history or political science as undergraduates, there are generally no specific requirements or courses you need to be admitted to law school. Public speaking and communication skills are key to this field.

• Public Policy and Administration: Strong people and critical thinking skills can give you a big boost in the public policy field, where you’ll help communities and societies plan and function better.

• Librarianship/Archival Studies: There are many different possibilities for working in libraries or archives. You must have good communication and research skills, and your ability to process and understand information is necessary. Being well-read also comes in handy when you’re a librarian.

• Government: Many humanities majors, such as history and political science, provide a solid foundation for working as a government officer.

Use Your Humanities Degree

There are many career options for nearly any degree. Just because your major doesn’t offer you a clearly defined path doesn’t mean you can’t start planning and taking steps towards your future. If you have a career in mind, start thinking about what you can do to help you get there, such as internships, jobs, and clubs. For instance, if you think you’d like to become a journalist, look into internships at a local newspaper, or join your school’s newspaper staff. If your prospective career requires graduate school, research the programs available and the requirements you’ll need for admission.

While your initial salary may be lower compared with those of your peers in high-paying fields like computer science, it will increase significantly as you gain more experience in your industry, so don’t be discouraged. The skills you learn as a humanities major will be invaluable throughout your life—inside and outside your career.

Still confused? Come talk to us! 

9 Easy Ways to Help Your Teen Become a Better Writer

As a parent, you know how important it is in the long run for your teen to have good writing skills. Whether it be an e-mail, a memo, or a college academic paper, your student will probably have to write in some capacity throughout college, their career, and beyond.

However, as teenagers, many students view writing as a chore rather than an essential skill. In their world, writing comes mostly in the mundane form of essays and term papers for classes and standardized tests. All the writing on the SAT, ACT, AP exams, and many high school classes are either assigned as homework or are part of a timed, high-pressure setting. It’s very difficult for most high school students to view writing as a fun, creative activity.

As a parent, you are probably looking out for your child’s future and want to make sure that your teenager has the writing skills that they will need to succeed later on in life. Here are some ways that you can help your teenager view writing as a positive experience and improve their writing skills at the same time!

Play the Coach

Understandably, your teenager is unlikely to respond well to you coming up to them and saying, “Buddy, you need to become a better writer. I’m going to look over your essays and correct all of them”. This might make your student might feel like they’re being harshly judged or being called stupid by their own parents.

So, instead of telling them what to do and correcting their writing without their consent, try to take some time and create a conversation about their writing skills first. Ask them about their last writing assignment, whether they thought they did well, and what they feel they need help with. Then, you can offer to look at their writing not to correct or judge, but just as a second set of eyes that they willingly allowed to view their work.

It’s also important that when you’re first doing this to not completely tear apart their writing or tell them to start over. Start with some basic grammar and spelling corrections, let them see that you’re just trying to help, and then eventually become harsher with your opinion. This way, you help your child get better grades on their writing assignments, they don’t feel bad about you correcting their work, and they become better writers.

Practice, Practice, Practice

In high school, students may get writing assignments in a class once a week at most. While this may seem like a lot of writing to the average high school student, that amount of writing is not at all enough to cause a dramatic improvement in writing skills. Ideally, students should be practicing their writing on a daily basis.

In order for your child to improve their writing skills, try motivating them to practice their writing every day. This daily writing can take the form of journal exercises, free-form topic writing, warm up writing, etc. There doesn’t have to be a format to the writing, and it doesn’t have to be long. They just need to practice correct grammatical structure, spelling, punctuation, and most importantly, forming a coherent thought on paper.  

Edit Their Writing

You can be the person who helps your student submit quality writing assignments. You don’t have to completely rewrite their papers and essays, but you can offer to do some basic Spell Check-type editing. This includes fixing the grammar, spelling, and punctuation usage of your student’s writing.

While there are many apps, websites, and Spell Check functions that can edit in this way, you can stress to your child that there is no real substitute for proofreading.

Remember, it’s important that you phrase your editing of their work as a discussion with your child instead of simply using a red pen to fix their work and handing it back to them. Your student is not going to become a better writer if you don’t explain why you’re correcting things and tell them what they’re doing wrong.

Encourage

It’s important not to just focus on the negative. While giving them ways to improve on their writing and helping them through the editing process, you should make sure to also give them gentle encouragement and remind them that they’re off to a great start while you’re going through edits and revisions.

Some ways to encourage your young writer are:

• You can point out the positive aspects of their writing or a particular passage or sentence that was done very well.

• You can tell your student how their writing impacted you, how you felt when you read it. Make sure to tell them this as a reader, not as their parent or teacher. This positive reinforcement will help your student want to improve their writing.

Ask Your Child to Read Their Writing Aloud or Backwards

It’s surprisingly common for writers at any age to miss key errors or confusing passages when they read their writing to themselves. Since you’ve written it yourself, you’re likely to read over your work quickly because you already know what it says. Thus, your scan may not catch all the errors that you made.

A great way to get your student to slow down and catch all the errors in their writing is to have them read their writing out loud. Sometimes hearing their words can help them decipher whether a sentence is correct or whether it makes sense.

If they don’t want to read their writing aloud, they can try reading their writing backwards–i.e., they can start from the last sentence and work their way to the first sentence. This causes their brain to focus more on the material and read closely because they are reading a pattern of sentences that don’t necessarily make sense. This may not help them decipher whether their writing is adequately portraying the message, but it’s a great way for them to catch grammatical and spelling errors.

Make Writing A Priority

If your student agrees, you both can arrange some time every day to work on their writing skills and help them get better at writing in general. This may take a bit of convincing given that, as high school students, they have a lot of responsibilities and very busy schedules. You can only do this with the enthusiastic consent of your student. They have to want to become better writers.

If you don’t make sure your child is fully onboard with this plan, you may end up reinforcing the idea that writing is a chore. Then, they may not want to do it later in life, when it becomes essential. In other words, be an enabler, not a drill sergeant.

Incentivize Writing

Your student may become more enthusiastic about writing and improving their writing skills if they had something to show for it besides better grades on their essays. A great way to incentivize your child to improve their writing is to encourage them to participate in writing contests or get their writing published in a school newspaper or other publication. After all, it’s far more rewarding to see one’s work in print than to simply get it back with red marks or a grade hastily written across the top. By getting your child involved in writing for rewards, you could get them excited about writing in general and encourage them to improve their writing skills.

Use Social Media and Technology To Your Advantage

Nowadays, teenagers are using so much shorthand and acronyms in their texts and social media posts that it almost stops looking like English at times. This certainly does not help students become better writers for school, college, and their career.

Thus, you may want to challenge your student to start practicing proper grammar and punctuation when they text their friends or post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Odds are they probably post on these social media channels so often already that you wouldn’t have to do much to convince them. Thus, they would be getting valuable practice forming coherent thoughts and sentences almost every day, and they may even receive feedback from their peers and social media followers.

Hire a Writing Tutor

If your student’s writing skills are far below where they should be at his or her age, or if you don’t think you have enough time to dedicate to helping your child, you may want to consider hiring a writing tutor to help get your student back on track.

This doesn’t have to cost a ton of money. You can look to your student’s high school and your local community for older students or individuals who can look over your student’s writing and help them become better writers for a lower fee than some of the professional services out there.

Don’t just leave it up to the experts though. You should still check your student’s writing from time to time to make sure that they really are showing improvement.

How to Spend the Summer as an Aspiring Engineer

Future engineers, we see you. The movers, shakers, thinkers, and game-changers-to-be of the world. And you’ve prepared, too. Science olympiad and math league are old hat, whatever math you’re currently taking is one of your favorite classes, and you’ve probably tinkered with more odds and ends than you can remember.

But then summer rolls around and school ends, and along with it goes all of the science, math, and outreach extracurriculars that operate when school’s in session. You now have this huge amount of free time that you can do practically anything with — while it may not seem like much on the surface, it’s actually a big opportunity in disguise.

There’s nothing more an engineering college loves to see than a curious self-starter who’s not afraid to get his or her vhands dirty, and taking initiative to enrich your own engineering portfolio during the summer is a good way to show the engineering adcoms just that.

Of course, some of you already have things planned out, and that’s great! But for the people who are drawing a blank, who need some inspiration or ideas, this post is for you. Here’s a list of summer plans that we recommend for aspiring engineers — some drawn from our own experiences.

The no-brainer: Summer programs

Let’s get this one out of the way first since this is what usually comes to mind for people when they think about application-boosting summer experiences. This is essentially the better version of summer camp, where you go to a college and take college-level classes, or refine your skills through real-world practice. The point here is that you’ll go somewhere that’s not home for the sole purpose of building your technical repertoire with a group of like-minded people — which is essentially what college is, for an engineer. And it’s immensely fun.

Programs like Carnegie Mellon’s Pre-College and the University of California’s Summer School for Mathematics and Science are designed to train future engineers and scientists that will go on to use their skills in college and even to participate in research beyond that.

Often, gaining admission to these programs is in itself a rigorous process, and can signal to colleges your skill and interest in the STEM subjects. Another good part about participating in these summer programs is that they can help you network and make connections with people in STEM — a good mentor relationship with a summer program’s professor, for instance, can make for a valuable recommendation letter when it comes application time. Other times, some of these program are also geared towards building leaders in the STEM fields, so they  can also double as a leadership extracurricular.

However, most of these programs are expensive especially for international students — some of them may offer scholarships, but not all of them do. That’s the main drawback to this type of summer program; some of these programs may be just as expensive as paying college fees at these colleges. The good news, though, is that price is often inversely proportional to the prestige of the program; the less you pay to get in, the more impressive it looks on an application. In fact, you should be wary of expensive summer programs, as those are perceived as more of a sign of privilege on an application than your engineering capabilities.

The go-getter: Learning a new (programming) language

Coding is an important skill to have as an engineer today. If you’re going into software engineering, then it’s a given. If you’re a mechanical engineer, programs can be helpful in running simulations. If you’re analyzing data, you’ll need something like Matlab. Computers are some of the most powerful engineering tools we have today, and to be able to use them freely is a valuable addition to any skillset. In fact, many engineering colleges now require their undergraduates to take at least one coding class as a graduation requirement.

If you’re already a logical thinker (like many of you are), this shouldn’t be too hard. With the wealth of online tutorials, videos, APIs, forums, and other resources, all the information you need to master a new language is readily available. It might take a bit of practice and lots of trial and error, but it’ll be worth it in the end when you can create your own programs that make your life easier.

Either of these pursuits can show up as a bright spot on any application, especially since your motivation for starting this pursuit (and completing it) was entirely intrinsic. It can also be good material for a personal statement, since honestly — how many people can go into college saying they’ve built their own app from scratch?

The altruist: Teaching and sharing your knowledge

Engineering is what builds the entire infrastructure of our modern society, and engineers can definitely change the world. But what about on a smaller scale? What about helping, mentoring, or inspiring one person at a time?

Colleges like to admit community-builders, people who are willing to help other people out and people who can appreciate diversity. So, if you feel comfortable in your STEM skills and knowledge, why not spend a summer sharing it with others? Many summer educational camps and programs love having tutors work with younger children to try and foster an early interest in science and math. Science museums across the nation always welcome knowledgeable, enthusiastic tour guides who would love to answer questions for curious guests. Or you could even volunteer and start your own mentoring program — outreach is always important for STEM, and if you’re dedicated to making science and math more accessible to people, this might just put your interests in line with those of your ideal college.

Sharing your knowledge for the sake of other people shows your interest in making positive, altruistic change in the world, and may also attest to your mentorship and social skills.

While your intelligence and your academic ability are important to a college in deciding whether or not to admit you, who you are as a person also factors in greatly, as a result of holistic admissions. So in presenting yourself, applications-wise, it’s important to remember not to just show yourself as the student that adcoms want to see in their lecture halls, but the person that they would love to see around campus.

Whether it’s by taking a summer off for a STEM program, teaching yourself a new skill, or by helping others out with the knowledge you have, you won’t just be outstanding in your stats alone — these summer experiences will show these colleges that you are the type of person that they’d want to see as an engineer at their institution.

Still confused? Come have a chat with us!

Extracurricular Ideas for an Aspiring Journalist

Why Pursue Journalism?

In general, strong extracurriculars are always a bonus on a college application. They can serve to strengthen your academic profile, highlight interests not otherwise obvious through traditional school or classwork, and provide you with valuable, real-world experience.

Journalism is one extracurricular that is fairly closely tied with your traditional academic coursework. In some cases it may even be a partial requirement of some of your English classes. Pursuing journalism outside of class exemplifies your dedication to the craft and gives you some insight into the broader idea of writing as a possible career path.

It might be easy to think of journalism as a pipe dream, since in reality only the very top journalists will see their work published nationally and achieve the high end of the pay scale. But in reality many careers exist in which strong writing skills are highly valuable, be they journalistic or not. By pursuing journalism, you train for a career as not only a journalist, but also a number of other options. We’ll discuss these more in depth at the end of this post.

Career Paths for the Aspiring Journalist

It’s easy to think of journalism as a career path in and of itself, but you’d be selling yourself short if you limited your vision in this way. Journalistic skills actually prepare you for a number of potential career paths—essentially, any career that incorporates strong writing abilities.

These skills are particularly valuable in the fields of:

◦ Advertising

◦ Business

◦ Communications

◦ Digital Media

◦ E-Commerce

◦ Educational and Instructional Technology

◦ Education

◦ Law

◦ Marketing

◦ Media Studies

◦ Public Relations

◦ Publishing

◦ Radio and Television

◦ Sports Communications

◦ Technical and Business Writing

◦ Webpage and Multimedia Design

Developing your skills as a journalist not only prepares you for a career in journalism, but also develops valuable skills that can be applied broadly depending on your other skills and interests.

Opportunities to Pursue Journalism

Student Newspaper or Magazine

This is the most obvious option for students who are interested in journalism. Many schools already have a school newspaper, and getting involved is as simple as talking to the editor or faculty adviser.

Most school newspapers produce printed or online editions on a regular basis. The more often your school publishes a paper, the more writers they will generally need to keep their work flowing.

You may have to start in an entry level role taking assigned stories, but you can think of this as good training for an actual career in journalism, when you’ll likely start out similarly. Over time you may be able to work towards a leadership position or at least start to source and pitch your own stories.     

If your school does not have a student newspaper, you might be able to start one. Start by gathering a group of interested and skilled students. Choose a teacher as a potential faculty adviser. This should be someone who has taught you in the past and who has some kind of expertise in writing or publishing. Meet with that teacher to request advice and guidance.

Volunteer Your Writing Skills

Newspapers aren’t the only outlet for journalistic skills. Any organization that produces written communications has a need for strong writing. Consider reaching out to local charities like animal shelters or food pantries. You could also contact retirement homes, community centers, youth groups, or your local church.

These types of nonprofit organizations generally welcome any publicity they can get and would be happy to have you volunteer your services. Offer to write a newsletter outlining recent changes or developments in the organization. Ask leaders for stories they would like to see highlighted or propose your own if you’re already familiar with the organization. 

Volunteering your writing services is a good way to get your work in print and begin to build a portfolio. As you progress to more professional roles, you’ll always be asked for samples of your work. Be sure to keep hard copies of everything you’ve written, especially when it has been formatted and printed as a part of any professional copy.

Get Published

Along these same lines, you can also submit your work to be published at existing publications. Many newspapers or online news sites rely on submissions from freelance writers. Even if they don’t specifically seek work from high school students, they won’t necessarily know your age when you submit a piece of writing.

Be sure to do your homework before submitting anything to a new publication. You should be aware of the specific types of writing that they are interested in and the correct submissions address to send your work.

At some publications you will only get one chance to be considered seriously. If you submit something that is off target or not polished and fully edited, they are unlikely to take your submissions seriously in the future.

Instead, seek out publications that publish exactly the type of piece you’re submitting. Proofread carefully and get constructive criticism from a teacher or peer before sending in your work. Consider submitting to smaller, local or regional publications first. Or, consider submitting your work online.

Browse this list of online publications for some ideas of where to submit. Be sure to select carefully and keep in mind that publications that pay for submissions are likely to be more competitive and hold you to overall higher standards.

Enroll In A Summer Program

Academic and extracurricular summer programs are becoming a more and more common way to pass the summer break. Many opportunities exist for students interested in pursuing journalism. In these programs you can expect to develop your journalistic skills, build important connections, and gain a better understanding of the field of journalism.

Some of the best known programs include:

• National Student Leadership Conference’s Journalism, Film & Media Arts Summer Program

• International Summer Schools (ISSOS) Journalism Programs

• Cronkite Institute for High School Journalism

• JCamp Summer Program

Many of these programs have need-based financial aid or scholarships, so if finances are a concern for you, be sure to research these options well before dismissing them.

You should also consider summer journalism programs available at colleges or universities. These programs can help you to network with faculty and students who might ultimately be able to help you with the application process.

Some popular college programs include:

• Northwestern University

• Princeton University

• Boston University

Start Your Own Online Publication

This is an easy way to start publishing your own work. Use a blog platform and choose an angle to focus your writing on. Some examples might be local news, politics, or opinion pieces. Try to publish something on a regular basis by creating a content schedule in advance. Try mapping out one topic per week for the month ahead and stick to it.

This is a great way to share your writing on a public platform, and it can act as an informal portfolio of your work. It also helps to hold you accountable to a larger audience. You can start a blog for free on many different platforms, including WordPress, Blogger, LiveJournal, or Weebly.

Once your blog is up and running, send out a group email to let friends and family know about it. If you are on social media, share a link there as well. As with any other time that you add to your online presence, be sure to discuss your plans with a parent or guardian beforehand. It’s also a good idea to limit commenting on your posts in order to filter out spam or unwanted attention. 

5 Books you should be reading right now

Every year the National Association of Scholar’s releases a list of books that colleges have been asking their students to read as part of their common reading program. This allows for deep insight into what students are learning in school, the kind of conversations colleges want their students to have, and also the environment which surrounds the school itself. 

At Edbrand, we constantly track what students are reading in college to make sure we are consistently updating our curriculum and getting our students ready for the kind of conversations they will have in the years to come. 

With this in mind, here are 5 books from this years list that we think are amazing reads with something for everyone. Comment below which book excites you! 

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Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

by J. D. Vance

The University of Wisconsin, Madison

J.D. Vance, whose family hails from the hills of Kentucky, grew up in the Rust Belt of Ohio. His memoir, projected to be one of the most popular summer reads of 2017, details the poverty, drug use, and isolation that plague low-income, white communities.

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Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

by Trevor Noah

Carroll College

This private, Roman Catholic college in Montana selected Trevor Noah's memoir for their common read. Noah, who took over the Daily Show after Jon Stewart, was born in 1984 in apartheid South Africa to a white father and a black mother. In his memoir, Noah finds humor even as he maneuvers a precarious racial landscape. "I think it set me up for where I am now in life," Noah told NPR's Renee Montagne. "But I always say to people, I think I was a comedian before I knew that comedy as a line of work existed. So I was just doing it without getting paid. And then luckily I made up for that.”

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Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

North Carolina State University

This National Book Award Winner, framed as a father's letter to his son, confronts the realities of being black in America. Toni Morrison said of Coates's work: "The language of Between the World and Me, like Coates's journey, is visceral, eloquent, and beautifully redemptive. And its examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profound as it is revelatory. This is required reading." In 2016, Between the World and Me was the second most popular required reading for college kids.

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What Is Populism?

by Jan-Werner Mueller

Princeton University

Carlos Lozada of the Washington Post called Jan-Wener Müller's book "the most useful work to comprehend Trump's appeal." In the book, Müller, a professor of politics at Princeton, defines the concept of populism—as well as a few popular misconceptions. In September, Müller will lead a discussion of the book with the freshmen class.

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Homegoing

by Yaa Gyasi

Connecticut College

Yaa Gyasi's sweeping first novel spans three centuries in Ghana, tracing the generational trauma of the slave trade—focusing on the Middle Passage, in which Africans were packed onto ships bound for the West Indies. "Nothing in history disappears," the author said. "It has an effect on every generation that comes after." Gyasi, born in Ghana and raised in Alabama, visits Connecticut College's campus in the fall.