College preparation
An Ultimate Transformation Moment
This week our Ultimate Transformation Moment switches reels a little, as I speak to our high school students and their parents—specifically high school juniors—about college preparation.
The junior year in high school is a very important time.
Students, you have the junior year and the first semester of their senior year left to review your transcript, before applying to colleges. Academically, once we enter the spring months, there are only two semesters remaining that will affect your transcripts and grade point average (GPA).
These are two areas of focus that are important when you are striving to create a very attractive package for colleges.
Here are a few suggestions for students and parents.
Students should sit down with your high school college counselors and verify that you have completed your 16 core courses. These are the courses that are mandatory, and must be completed for consideration by most colleges. The University of California has this information available on their website.
While cutbacks have caused the elimination of summer school courses over the last couple of years, if you need to take a course, you may find that they are available at some of the junior colleges. Depending on the class, it can provide the necessary credit that is lacking.
The second step is to verify your overall grade point average (GPA). This is an important component, because colleges will evaluate you based on your grades, and your grades reflect your study habits. You can go through these with your college counselor.
Third, when you sit down with your counselor, discuss the area of study you would like to pursue in college. This will allow the counselor to provide direction to those colleges that offer studies in that particular concentration. Additionally, they can confirm that you are taking the course curriculum that will make you more attractive to your colleges of choice.
(Parents of juniors should have enrolled their children in some type of SAT or ACT prep program and make sure that the student takes one of these college entrance tests before the end of their junior year. Preparation is key, and having a familiarity with the test is optimal.)
It is important to have all the pieces of the puzzle, so that when you finish your junior year, you are able to reach out to universities. By giving them a clear picture of your academic resume, some colleges are able to admit students on the spot, particularly at some of the college fairs.
Finally, I suggest you make a list of 25 colleges you’re interested in attending. Consider the location, ethnic background, and cultural breakdown of the student body. Determine whether or not they offer your academic concentration. To seek this information, you can write them letters or research the campus on the Internet. Additionally, write a letter or make contact with the financial aid department to receive any information regarding scholarships.
Take this time very seriously. This is the time in which you can lay the final groundwork of your high school career that will lead you to the next level, college.
Know that you can go to college. You’ve just got to do the work, put the time in, and you definitely increase your chance to attend.
That’s our Ultimate Transformations Moment.
Erich Nall is the owner and founder of Ultimate Transformations Training in Los Angeles. He is the author of “21 Days to Ultimate Health and Wellness.” The certified trainer, nutritionist, motivational speaker, and dedicated life coach is a regular guest and commentator on KJLH 102.3 FM’s the “Front Page” with Dominique DiPrima. As founder of Collegiate Search Youth Organization, Erich has been assisting youth in the community for more than 20 years.
Today’s Ultimate Transformation Moment focuses on building a college resume. This is particularly important for the high school students as they prepare for another year.
For children with aspirations and goals of achieving college degrees, there are definitive things that the high school student must be aware of as they embark upon any school year.
SANTA CLARITA, Calif.—With a depressed economy, a shortage of educational funds, overcrowded classrooms, and overwhelmed teachers, U.S. educational prospects have never looked bleaker. Add to this a large proportion of students already having trouble staying focused and keeping up, along with the many countries increasingly introducing better-educated, more highly trained, and cheaper workers into the job market. The result is a slowly tipping slide towards disaster.
This week’s Ultimate Transformation Moment focuses on the recruitment of student athletes, and college selection. Parents, this one is for you and your college-bound child.
Parents, you and your child/student-athlete should establish some priorities and have some idea of the type of college environment that is preferable.
One of the most important things you must understand is that your child, the young athlete, is an unlimited being with unlimited talents. They are bringing their unlimited talents to the selected university.
During today’s Ultimate Transformation Moment, let’s find a way to become centered in our lives.
In order to live the life that you want, you’ve got to find a perspective that puts you in the best situation possible—your center.
There are a few things you can do to help you find your center. We know that the distance from the center of a circle to the circumference is the same. This means you’re going to be able to look at life from a perspective that gives you the best vision of it, in every facet of your life.
Jack and Jill of America Inc. is a non-profit organization that was founded by 20 African American mothers in Philadelphia in 1938. The purpose of the group was to encourage their children–especially those in racially isolated environments–to interact with each other and prepare to be leaders.
