By Bernadette Andrews of Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio

Our daughter completed her first semester at NYU. Hallelujah! After breathing a sigh of relief for the way things have worked out, I’m reminded of Oprah’s famous line, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” The preparation began very early on– we stressed her capabilities and reinforced her self esteem as a means of establishing a firm foundation in an uncertain world. Some may say that we were radical in our approach, but we felt it necessary, if not critical, to plant the seed early. Our daughter knew without a doubt that school was to be taken very seriously, and we would not tolerate academic mediocrity. These values would define her academic performance and position her for college despite the challenges of being a military child who was forced to move three times during her four years in high school. Recognizing that each child is uniquely different, here are some suggestions that worked for us as we navigated the very complex task of preparing our daughter for college as a military family:

Focus early

NYU has numerous campuses abroad

It is never too early to set expectations. Even kindergarteners are not too young to understand the importance of doing well in school. Furthermore, middle school is a major transition for most students, therefore, a child’s successful adjustment to growing expectations and demands during these pre-adolescent years prepares him/her for future success. We knew our work would be much harder in high school if we failed to maintain high standards from the very beginning.  Since change is constant for military families, a good head start is always wise so children do not fall through the cracks resulting from frequent transitions.

Different is good

Like most parents, we had read or heard about the factors that are focal points during the highly competitive college application process—AP courses, community involvement, leadership, sports, etc. Oftentimes, parents will stress academics but a balancing act is necessary so students can find their niche. Perhaps an unusual interest may serve as an advantage in highlighting differences in a process where so many are striving for homogeneity. For many years we viewed moving as a negative instead of recognizing that change provided unique opportunities that were unavailable in a single location. The two years spent in South Korea provided cultural learning opportunities and a variety of exposure that would not have been possible domestically. Unusual experiences such as representing Model United Nations as a delegate in Japan; playing in international basketball tournaments; and touring the Demilitarized Zone differentiated her from her peers. In an increasingly globally-focused society, military families should embrace the opportunity to travel, particularly abroad, knowing that colleges are looking for students who can bring uniqueness, creativity, and a different perspective to their campuses.

Aim High

Because our daughter had not targeted any particular college, we started the admission process with visits to several campuses in the fall of 2011. Initially, we concentrated on schools in Georgia thinking proximity to extended family was a key concern as we were unsure where the military would station us. Well, the good news is she was accepted by all three schools she applied to in Georgia, however, there was no financial incentives provided so we quickly decided to broaden our focus.

We encouraged her to submit more applications to the schools we had labeled as “long stretches”. The worse that would happen is a denial letter, but, at least, we would have given it our best shot. In the spring of 2012, we received acceptance letters from New York University,Notre Dame, University of Virginia and George Washington University. Each institution granted an academic scholarship, however, NYU’s offer of full tuition coverage, including international study aboard programs, was the most generous, by far.

Bernadette Andrews has traveled the world with her husband, an Officer of the US Air Force. She has lived in California, Virginia and Ohio. Bernadette and her husband are now enjoying life as empty-nesters and look forward to traveling the world.

As mentioned in the first post of this series, College Board develops the AP curriculum. Here are the 34 Advanced Placement courses available in high schools across the country:

College Board runs the SAT, as well. Parents, SAT I is the reasoning that you may be familiar with. The SAT II, however, is a subject-area test that students can take. Students can use the SAT II to demonstrate advanced competency in a subject area. Here are the 21 available subject areas for the SAT II:

• Literature
  

  Dartmouth recently announced that it will no longer accept AP credits.

• U.S. History
• World History
• Math Level 1
• Math Level 2
• Biology/EM
• Chemistry
• Physics
• French
• French with Listening
• German
• German with Listening
• Spanish
• Spanish with Listening
• Modern Hebrew
• Italian
• Latin
• Chinese with Listening
• Japanese with Listening
• Korean with Listening

Essentially, the SAT II is similar to the AP tests. For this reason, students can leverage their AP preparation by taking the SAT II in a similar subject area. Let’s say a student is taking the AP US History course. (Affectionately known as “A-Push.”) The APush test is administered in 2013 on May 15 at 8 am. (Many a student has cried over this test . . . it can be brutal!)

There is a May and June test date for SAT II. Thus this student can take the SAT II in US History either month. The SAT II is an hour-long test and students can take up to 3 tests on one date. I prefer that students take any SAT II on the June date instead and here’s why.

In short, the SAT test (whether I or II) can be draining. If a student takes the SAT in May, it’s likely that they won’t have much energy to do more studying that weekend. The AP tests begin that very next week so the AP tests may be short-changed. Also, the AP exam is generally longer than 1 hour. Students need to be well-rested and have the mental stamina in order to perform at their best on the AP tests.

I would argue that the SAT II (as a 1 hour exam) likely feels less taxing than its corresponding AP test. The student may even perform better on the SAT II after they’ve had the AP test experience. Likewise, if the student is also taking a second or third SAT II in a non-AP corresponding course, they would be able to complete more course content in the other subject area.

(See student’s biggest AP complaint.)

Taking 2 or 3 SAT II tests during the June date can save time, money, and effort. Yes, it probably seems like a lot but students will “know their stuff” even better by June date.

Please let us know if you have additional AP questions that were not covered in this three-part series.

This posting is the second of a three part series on What parents need to know about Advanced Placement (AP). . . but didn’t know to ask!

In last week’s posting, we addressed the #3 Most common response about AP. Now, for this week, we provide 2 tips to address the

#2 Most common response about AP

Tip 1: Read the fine print on AP credit granting

Every college is different when it comes to granting AP credit. If your teen is taking AP to advance in a topic area or challenge themselves, that’s a good thing. If your teen is merely taking AP for the sake of getting college credit, that’s a nuanced thing!

Bowdoin has a state-of-the-art science facility where students can engage in undergraduate research

Check out the language of AP credit from this college:

AP US History

Score: 4 or 5

*Must complete a History course at Bowdoin with a minimum grade of B. If a student has scores for more than one exam (ie. AP European History), only 1 total credit will be awarded.

Bowdoin received about 6,700 applications last year. So, it’s likely that of the 1M + high school students applying to college this year, that Bowdoin is not on your teen’s college list. Whatever college is on their list, please check the guidelines for granting AP credit. The guidelines vary by college and their website should provide the details for granting AP credit.

Tread carefully with skipping any introductory college course

In some cases, a student may be able to skip an introductory course if they earn a 3” or higher on an AP test.

Pause.

Think about this option a bit more . . . .  It could actually work to the student’s disadvantage to skip an introductory college level course. The introductory college courses are typically very different from your AP course in high school. (One of the reasons that AP is being revamped.) Skipping an introductory course can turn out to be a setback for the student’s GPA and confidence in freshman year.

Next week, we will cover part three of this three-part series on What parents need to know about Advanced Placement (AP) . . . but didn’t know to ask!

This posting is the first of a three part series on What parents need to know about Advanced Placement (AP). . . but didn’t know to ask!

I get a lot of questions about Advanced Placement (AP) from parents. This posting brings together my top 3 most common responses about AP. They are written as responses rather than questions because the questions are so varied. These posts capture what parents need to know, even when the question begs for more clarity.

At University of Chicago, AP credit is not granted until after freshman year, if at all

#3 Most common response about AP

Advanced Placement is a fixed curriculum that was developed by College Board (same people behind the SAT) and delivered through high school teachers. The AP tests that students take during the first two weeks of May each year are based on the curriculum taught during the year. If there’s such a thing as “teaching to the test, then AP would be an example. Teaching to the test, in case of AP, is a measure of success. The results (scores of 1 to 5) are publicly reported each year and schools want to be recognized when students earn 3, 4 or 5 (the highest) score on these tests.

The biggest “complaint” I hear from students is that once the test ends, nothing is done in class for the remainder of the academic year. That’s not an issue if your school year ends in mid-May. However, when the school year ends in June, that’s a lot of wasted time. My hope is that students are exaggerating about what happens in classroom once the AP exams are taken.

Question to ask your teen in late May: How’s your AP class going? What are you doing in class?

Next week, we will cover part two of this three-part series on What parents need to know about Advanced Placement (AP) . . . but didn’t know to ask!

It’s January so that means it’s time to start planning for the summer. Last spring, I spoke to parents about the importance of summer for both academic and personal growth. That is still true for this coming summer! Read more about summer for college-bound students. This issue and each issue through June will feature a summer program that you may want to consider for your middle/high schooler.

As if the college admissions process couldn’t get any more complex, the early admissions decisions have been reported for several colleges around the country. Overall, the number of early applicants increased at many campuses. For example, Boston University saw a 40% increase in Early Decision applicants over last year; Case Western saw a 34% increase in Early Action applicants, while Princeton saw an 11% increase in its Restricted Early Action applicants.

When you look at the table of Early Admission statistics, it’s interesting to note that several colleges have already admitted a sizeable percentage of the class. Now the big decision for many students who have yet to apply in Regular Decision is whether they should still apply. My response is a resounding “Yes” if they are indeed competitive. It’s hard to know at this point the profile of the Regular Decision applicant pool. And for those colleges that have Early Action or Restricted Early Action programs, students accepted in the early round may decide not to enroll. There are a number of factors still up in the air so prospective applicants should  keep their options open by applying to those colleges that are a good fit for them. Just make sure that your eggs are spread and balanced!

Case received a 34% increase in Early Action applicants.

I hope that you are enjoying your holiday break. This newsletter issue is a few weeks overdue as my firm has navigated through another wildly unpredictable admissions cycle. In short, the deferrals and denials for early admission increased. Many strong applicants were hopeful that they would have a positive answer before the holiday break. The “deferred” decision is harder to interpret and more stinging than a denial.

“Throughout my junior and senior year Dr. Pamela really helped me to navigate the college application
process. I had no idea where to even start. She helped organize tutoring for the ACT and SAT and helped me
schedule the test dates. From there we started to investigate where I might want to spend the next chapter
of my life. When it came time for me to start the applications, Dr. Pamela really helped me tackle the many
essays I had to write. We sat down and talked through my essays and collaboratively which made them much better.
Not only was Dr. Pamela an amazing help but I LOVED getting to know her. We developed a great relationship
that I plan to keep up. I actually looked forward to hanging out (our meetings). Without Dr. Pamela, I’m
almost positive I would not be attending SMU. She really is the greatest. I love you Dr. P!!!”
- Molly W. – SMU, Class of 2016

According to my campus tour guide, there’s “no such thing as bad weather [at Colgate] only bad clothing!” That’s important for families to hear because many students may overlook this wonderful campus because of its location/weather. Besides . . . there are tunnels to connect the buildings.

Reasons to attend Colgate

Colgate campus in the Fall . . . breathtaking

Colgate has a lot to offer to students who attend there. It’s a small-to-mid size college with an active student body of just less than 3,000 students.  Colgate students are active in Greek life (40%), engaged in community service (majority), and likely to study abroad (approx. 70%).

My tour guide also mentioned that community service is so important to the undergraduate students there that it’s “hard to leave without getting involved.” One popular program is Sidekicks. This is a Big Sibling-type of program, whereby Colgate students mentor local kids in the area.

One of Colgate’s themes is Global Engagement. This theme is encouraged through a number of different types of study-abroad programs at Colgate. The typical program may last for a semester-long, with courses co-taught between a Colgate professor and faculty in host country. Students can choose from 26 different study abroad groups, like the Economics group which studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Study abroad for Student-Athletes

What about the athlete who can’t spend the full semester away? There are a number of “extended study” programs. Extended study is a 3-week long program that begins with the academic class. After the class ends, the extended study abroad is then led by faculty member who taught the class.  What an innovative approach to reinforcing and applying what was learned in the classroom!

The Buxton School, located a stone’s-throw away from Williams College, is truly a unique high school. Across grades 9-12 there are about 85 students. That alone doesn’t tell you much about all the opportunities that this school provides to its student body.

Bali-Buxton Program and School-wide Trip

I was particularly impressed by the Bali-Buxton program. Do you know of another high school exchange program with Indonesia? Well, Buxton offers this opportunity for their students. An instructor from Indonesia spends time at Buxton in the spring. Students then spend three weeks in the summer learning the language, arts, and culture in Indonesia. Throughout the school year, students learn traditional Balinese dance on their home campus. When the students visit Indonesia in the summer, they perform the traditional dance there, as well.

Every year, the entire school takes a trip together. Recent trips have been taken to El Paso, Nicaragua, and even Cuba. Generally, the trips are domestic with an abroad trip taken every four years. Parents . . . don’t worry . . . the trips integrate an academic component along with taking advantage of local culture.

Nature all around campus

The outdoorsy student will appreciate the rugged, hilly setting of Buxton. The view from the main hall is breathtaking and nature is all around. In the winter, students can participate in ski and snowboard trips three times a week. Year-round outdoor activities are plentiful, like gardening and chopping wood (that’s more like work than a fun activity, huh?). The campus is on the site of a farm, so the buildings are somewhat spread apart. Students spend time outdoors every day by walking to class, going to their dorm, walking up the hill to the music or art studio. By the end of my tour, I felt like I had a real workout.

Buxton students can enjoy the outdoors everyday