There are lots of components of the Common Application and some look at it as simple and straightforward, others feel daunted by the amount of work ahead of them.  Here are some basic things to keep in mind as you start to put together the application.

• Get organized: there are lots of deadlines, essays, and various requirements.  Get organized, start a spreadsheet or check list, anything that'll help you track what you need to get done.
• Essays: typically the most feared part of the essay, but they don't have to be.  Have the right expectations going into them - similar to a major final paper for a class (or even more important!), you'll want to revise it over and over again with help from peers and other trusted adults.  Get the essays organized so that nothing falls through the cracks (be sure to check all the tabs for supplemental short answers and writing prompts).  We have a lot of tips on how to put together the essays on our blog as well; they're stylistically very different from most of the writing completed in high school.
• Activities: there's a section where you can list 10 of your activities.  But, the section allows 50 characters for a title and 150 for a description...characters, not words!  It's hard to cram all that you did in so few words, so you'll want to set aside special time to take a look at this section.  You can use this section in tandem with the Honors/Awards section in the Education section to maximize usage of space on the application.
• Word Real Estate: as mentioned in the prior bullet point, don't repeat yourself!  There are only so many words, characters for each section allowed, so use them wisely.  Think of the application holistically.

• Some popular activities that I've seen students experiment with: tutoring younger students, learning to program, volunteering at a hospital, getting involved in other community based non-profits (food bank, senior centers, etc.), new sports, new instrument, school clubs (or starting one!).
• Really let interest and enjoyment lead the way in exploring the different activities.  While you don't want to quit after the first meeting, you also don't want to stay beyond your true interest's expiration so that you can dedicate more time to activities that you truly enjoy into the next few years.

10th grade:

• Start sifting out the activities that are not worth the time that's put into it; for example, many times sports fall into this category where the love or skill level of the sport won't outweigh the 12+ hour commitment per week a school sport requires
• Consider moving into entry level leadership for the activities that you're in.  This might look like taking on a treasurer or secretary role at a school club or taking on larger projects at a non-profit or coaching younger athletes of the same sport.  Leadership doesn't have to be traditional, there are lots of ways to have big impact without a title (just as there are individual contributors and many industries that are very important such as within the engineering world).  This might look like starting or vastly increasing success in a fundraising for a club at school or taking on full responsibility for a sensor project for a new robot in your robotics team.

11th grade:

• This is when you might narrow down even further and deepen interests and increase leadership in the activities in which you're involved.  This will look different for each person and each activity.  For a cellist that might mean taking on first chair, coaching younger students, teaching private lessons to younger musicians, and competing more frequently.  For a school club member, that might mean taking on VP or Presidency 11th or 12th grade, starting new projects/ideas for the club (new fundraiser, new ways for the group to be more productive in its goals), or train new members to take on a leadership role you might be leaving in order to take on a bigger role.

Summers:

• Don't waste them!  Do something with them.
• Consider deepening interests in one of the activity areas you most enjoy.  For example, if you love to volunteer at the hospital, consider looking into summer programs that help children that are hospital bound or look into shadowing a doctor.  Or, if you are a swimmer, consider taking a life guard course or exploring other water sports.
• If applicable, summers can be a time to explore possible future careers.  If you're interested in becoming a dentist (as I was growing up!), you can ask a local dentist how you can volunteer in their office and learn more about what their day looks like.
• Of course, there are incredible summer programs put together for various activities (science research, robotics, math, writing, music).  The general rule of thumb for these programs is, the less it costs, the more its worth on a resume (typically because the more competitive it is to be part of).  Typically, these programs will have applications open during the winter of the school year prior and are great practice for future college application essay writing.

Utilizing the internet has made all parts of our lives easier - finding long lost friends, making reservations for date night, and finding x or y product with the best reviews.  Similar to our daily lives, admissions officers have also started using the internet in higher numbers to aid their admissions process. From a Kaplan Test Prep research study, 35% are searching out applicants and 68% consider it fair game to do so, but not all of them actually put it into practice.  From the same study, they found that admissions officers were finding positive supporting information for applicants as often as they were finding information that would negatively impact a student’s application.

Generally, admissions officers are hoping to find a more holistic version of some students through online searches and social media accounts - looking for additional, positive information about applicants.  However, it’s possible to turn off an admissions officer with remarks, posts, and images that violate (or do not align with) the expectation of how students are in a school's student community.  Here are some tips and cautionary words about social media for those applying to college/university.

Keep these tips in mind for before, during and after college acceptances.  Poor form after the fact can mean that a college rescinds their offer of admissions (this includes poor grades as well, don’t let senioritis get to you!):

Things not to do...

• General rule of thumb, if you don’t want your parents/grandparents to read something, don’t post it to social media at all
• Avoid any and all comments posted that can be seen as offensive such as  discrimination against race, groups, etc. - this includes comments meant to be funny or sarcastic; when in doubt, just don’t post it, you never know how something could be taken by someone else
• Generally, posts that violate a schools code of conduct will negatively impact an application if seen or share with an admissions officer (here’s info from Yale’s code of conduct equivalent: http://catalog.yale.edu/undergraduate-regulations/policies/)
• Be careful of posts that might even be semi-protected such as those on Facebook or a public Instagram story that's meant to go away after 24 hours; comments and posts can be saved with a screen shot and passed along, this includes memes, posts, stories, snaps, other images, etc.

Consider doing…

• Polish the public parts of your facebook page (e.g. about section, public images)
• Highlight your interests and accomplishments, there might be an opportunity to showcase information that you can’t expand upon in your actual application or a new hobby you're exploring
• Open a LinkedIn account: include work, research, and volunteer experiences; there is also a summary section to talk about aspirations and accomplishments
• Use Instagram to showcase unique experiences, hobbies, and new interests that may not be highlighted on the application
  
• If you write in a journal or are thinking about chronicling your life in a public space such as a blog, this might be a great place to showcase interests and extracurricular activities if put together earlier on in high school

​Last thought: don’t get too wrapped up in tailoring your presence as the research statistics don’t necessarily merit a lot of effort on this front (for now!).

As students transition from high school classes to the more challenging complexity and higher volume in AP and college coursework, many need to adjust their study habits to the needs of these more demanding courses.  Here are a few tips that we’ve aggregated from several educational articles and studies that we think students can experiment with.
Not cramming.
This isn’t a secret - but there are studies that show that when you distribute your studies throughout a period of time, the retention is higher.  This is similar to the studies regarding summer learning loss, a phenomena many are familiar with.

Create a schedule.
This is taking the prior note a step further.  Take the time to plan and strategize for when you’ll do homework, study, take additional notes, and review other materials.  Since we know that cramming doesn’t work, plan for spurts throughout the week to study. Many studies show that finding the same space and similar times during the day to study have shown better results.  In this section, I’d also include finding a space in which you’re able to consistently focus for long periods of time (such as quiet room at a library or noise cancelling headphones).

Skillful reading.
Once you do sit down to study, it needs to be productive and likely more thorough than in the past with courses that may have come more easily to you.  There are several ideas to experiment with around this.
Try reading summaries of text before reading the entire section

• Take notes while you read to keep for studying during a later session
• Compile notes from different areas of learning (practice exams, study sessions, book, lecture), this can serve as a good exercise to review, but also as aggregated notes to use in later study sessions or exams (like a final)
• ​Synthesize and summarize each section of material in your own words

Practice the same questions that will show up on exams.
Although it seems obvious, most students actually don’t do this.  Creating flashcards and practice tests for a study buddy are a good way to practice this method.  In many challenge courses in college will include exam questions in which students have never seen before, having a study buddy to stretch your understanding of the material through inventive practice questions will be helpful in exploring material that you may not have yet spent much time or depth in.

Known when you need help.
Learn to get a good feeling of when you’re falling behind or not grasping the material as thoroughly as you hope (or an exam shows).  When a course moves quicker and with more depth, it can be easy to fall behind. And since material can oftentimes be cumulative, it’s best to stay ahead of the game!  There are several options for high school or college courses to start off with such as joining a study group, finding a peer tutor (many high schools and colleges have this set up already), attending office hours, scheduling time with the teacher for additional support, and of course, tutoring.

Get enough sleep.
​Self explanatory!

We've put together an easy to follow, high level overview of the college admissions process including the four major components that admissions officers evaluate: academics, extracurricular activities, standardized testing, and the application (and essays).  This is actually a very truncated version of a presentation that we hold (for free!) in the spring time frame in both NYC and SF.  We're hoping to add more YouTube videos in shorter chunks of time on the most asked frequently asked questions from our clients.

So you've made it through a few years of high school and you're feeling pretty solid about your classes, grades, and extracurricular activities.  There are a few more things to now focus on if you're college bound.  The most obvious - which schools should I be applying to?  Fit is incredibly important and it's something that we stress when working with high school/transfer students.  It's about a great match so that you get a lot out of the school, but the school and its community also get a lot out of you as a person.  Outside of the usual check on your numbers (SAT/ACT, GPA, etc.), here are a few pointers to consider in the process:

• GET ORGANIZED: this is important as you start to track standardized testing, deadlines, recommendations, and essays; 11th grade is a great time to get ultra organized for your test prep scheduling and starting to put together information for schools (e.g. spreadsheet with data of schools that match your background and interests, file folders via email and/or in real life to separate information that comes in from schools)
• ASK AROUND: stay open minded at the start of the process, we get a lot of students that really want to stay in state, but realize major opportunities may lie beyond the borders!  Start conversations with adults inside and outside the school setting that know you well: family friends, extended family, parents, teachers, school coach, religious mentors, etc.
• DO YOUR HOMEWORK: you're already doing that if you're reading this blog!  Great start.  Check out a few more blogs, contact college admissions offices for their materials, reach out to your school counselor, visit campuses
• HOW MANY: this is a common question and generally the rule of thumb is between 8 and 20; if you're incredibly organized, can take the additional work load that will be coming at you in your senior year, then 15-20 is doable
  • Definitely take into consideration the quality of the applications when considering a higher number of applications
  • Be sure to include a range of schools between safety schools, target schools, and reach schools
• FIT IS KING: ranking and reputation are hard to ignore, but don't forget about fit - this means taking into consideration whether you will thrive in a particular setting: 
  • Do you see yourself in a close knit, small class sized learning environment? 
  • Do you love division 1 sports?
  • How important is diversity? 
  • Does the campus look and feel like a place in which you'd enjoy life for the next 4 years?  
  • What about any majors that especially appeal to you?
  • Would you thrive as a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?
  • How would it feel to be further than a road trip away from home?
  • How is the housing and food on campus?  Or does that not matter to you?
  • How is the social life on campus?  What about off campus?  What might be your preferences?
  • What types of students would you want to be around - does the campus have a political, religious, liberal, conservative slant that you do or don't want in high doses over the next 4 years?

​Best of luck in exploring the different schools out there!  

You're at the tail end of the undergraduate application process - the testing, the interviews, the essays are all behind you now.  Whew - congrats on completing an intense process.  And, if you're reading this article, my guess is that you also have choices ahead of you.  Wonderful.  

So, which college/university? 

I've compiled a few tactics to thoughtfully review the choices at hand.

• First and foremost - don't procrastinate; it's a big decision and requires thought space/time to make
• Definitely go back for a visit, if possible; this gives you the best idea of what life might be like over the next several years; most schools have admit days or opportunities to take classes and shadow a current student; this gives you a better idea of whether this is somewhere you'd thrive and enjoy over the undergraduate years
• Compare and contrast both financial aid and the departments in which you'd likely complete your major/concentrations
• Attend local events where you get to meet admissions officers and alumni - this is a great way to get to know the school better and understand the culture of the campus, especially if you're unable to go for a(nother) visit
• Go back and revisit your initial desires and why you decided to apply to a particular set of schools, these tend to include the following topics: size, location (east coast, near a big city, by the ocean, etc.), diversity, ranking; another way to think about this is why were your top 3 schools in your top 3 originally?
• Reach out to friends and friend of friends that are currently at the schools in question; schedule a conversation with them to understand what they love about it and any concerns they see as a student
• Continually keep the conversation open with your parents and family; if you're relying on their generosity of both time and money (as many students do), also  take their thoughts and considerations seriously
• Be wary of emphasizing the following in your decision equation: partying, attractiveness of the student body, relying on rankings/reputation only, over focusing on specializing in one major/subject (many students do change their minds!), rebellion (wanting something that perhaps the parents would not want for you), following (friends, significant other)

Best of luck on your decisions!

What does it mean?
Well, congratulations!  It might feel like another rejection, but what the wait list means is that you're one of the applicants that the university finds qualified to be part of the community - just that there wasn't enough space for everyone.  Due to the competitiveness of many colleges and universities, it means that there were several students just as qualified as you, and perhaps there was something else that someone else had that the admissions officers found would contribute to the mix of this particular class.  Typically the difference between accepted students and those that are wait listed are arbitrary and minor.  Pat yourself on the back for this accomplishment.

What to do next?
If you'd like to be on the wait list, you must actively notify the university.  Follow the instructions included in the notice/letter and be sure to respond.  There are several things to do and not do to better your chances of getting off the wait list.  However, many competitive universities only accept small percentages of students off their wait lists, so be sure to put down a deposit at a school in which you'd be happy to go to otherwise.  Most schools accept students off the wait list after the May 1 decisions requirements of those that were accepted before pulling from the wait list.

Things to keep in mind:

• Do follow instructions in submitting additional information to the application if the school allows.  This might be a letter of continued interest, sometimes an extra letter of recommendation, and updated resume/activities; but be sure it's within the school's allowed submission of information.  If you do have the intention to enroll if admitted, feel free to state that in your wait list letter.
  
• Do not flood the school with recommendations, lengthy letters, and samples of your school work; this could backfire!  However, most schools do allow for the submission of a letter to explain your interest and fit in the school.
  
• Do keep the grades up and activities going.
  
• Do some research on what your chances might be in getting off the wait list; it is ok to contact the admissions office to get a sense of how many students are typically pulled each year (and there are often stats on many schools on the internet somewhere!).
  
• Do get excited about the schools you were accepted into!  While in this holding pattern with your wait listed schools, you still need to, in parallel, make decisions and move forward with one of the schools that you were accepted into.  

​
Best of luck on school decisions!

Nervousness and anxiety when it comes to standardized testing is pretty common - so, you're not alone.  The anxiety or fear is actually a sign that your body is ready to focus on the task ahead, all that remains is how your harness that energy.  Here are some tactics to keep cool and calm so that you perform your best on test day.

Months/weeks leading to the test:

• Be prepared - get the support that you need to master the materials as best as you can before the test date; this includes starting preparation with ample time, possible classes, tutoring, study materials, taking many practice tests, and getting to the test location early
• Be confident - visualized success, see yourself sitting down, starting, working on the problems with fluidity; focus on what you'll be working on and not so much what others are doing, you'll have your own system and that's the process and success you should hone in on in your mind; keep a positive outlook as you approach test date
• Practice relaxation techniques - one that works really well for our students is controlled breathing; try inhaling deeply (where the stomach expands, not chest) for a slow count of 5 and then exhaling for a count of 5, repeat for about a minute (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/well/mind/breathe-exhale-repeat-the-benefits-of-controlled-breathing.html) 
  

Day of:

• Get a great night's sleep
  
• Get to the test location early
  
• Don't go in on an empty stomach (or bring a small snack with you)
  
• Continue to visualize a great start to the test
  
• Continue to visualize a flow and good pace throughout the test; keep your thoughts moving, use scratch paper to get yourself going (especially for essay questions!)
• Practice controlled breathing before/during if needed; try a quick stretch if you feel like you are tensing up

I can't believe how much university/college tuition has risen over the last few decades!  If you're a senior that has decided (back on May 1) which college you'll be attending, you might be overwhelmed about how to fill the gaps that you likely have in your financial aid package.

After all those essays from the admissions process, you're likely to want to take a break from anymore writing or submission of applications - but  don't!  Applying to scholarships is actually worth your while as there are many students that do sit back and relax and don't even bother to apply.  This ups your odds of getting some aid.  And, many of the times, you won't need to submit  a  personal  statement.  And very likely,  you'll find that you can recycle a lot of the work that was completed back in the fall!

LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS
We highly advocate for prioritizing application to local scholarships.  There are many of them, while at a lower gift, you're more likely to actually receive the award.  There are a few places in which you can search for all types of scholarships, specifically for local scholarships...

• Talk to your guidance counselor, coaches, club/association leaders/teachers; these adults will be most in the know about scholarships related to your school and extracurricular activities
• Reach out to your local community hubs such as libraries, community centers, religious organizations, and cultural centers

ONLINE SEARCH
You can find both national, regional, and local scholarships online.  Our favorite websites for the search are:

• ​Unigo: www.unigo.com
• College board: bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search

Again, if you don't apply, you won't get anything!  And lots of smaller scholarships can make a significant dent in tuition costs.  So, while we aren't telling you to avoid the big, prestigious scholarships, we do encourage you to apply to many of the opportunities that may have smaller awards that have less competition and better your odds of securing funds.  

Best of luck on the scholarship search and application process!

Last week, a first-generation student from Walnut, CA gained admissions to ALL eight Ivy League schools! I was especially proud as she was born in Malaysia, where Tilia and I are originally from! Cassandra Hsiao's admissions essay hit tugged on a few heartstrings - do have a read here. 

Cassandra captures the experience of the first-generation student so well - we have all been conscious about not just what we say, but HOW we say it, always in fear that a slip in pronunciation might just betray our immigrant roots. However, delve a little deeper and we can start to appreciate the many stories that come from the mispronounced words - the struggles to learn a new language, to adopt a new culture while at the same time trying your best to just fit in. Cassandra shows us how to rise above this fear of standing out by mastering the very same language her mom struggled with - to be an amazing student writer and journalist!

At Lucent, we have helped countless of immigrant families gain  admissions into their dream school. We have always advocated for telling personal stories and this plucky Malaysian-born Californian high schooler has definitely shown what a unique and amazing experience being a first-generation student can be!

​

Here at Lucent Education, we must take it for granted that there are some pretty straightforward principles around resume formatting.  It's a fairly easy and fun design task for us to work off of your current formatting (usually) and keep your stylistic flavor while modernizing - there are rare cases when we totally revamp the resume formatting.  Here are some tips that go a bit beyond the general template of a resume:

• Margins - don't make them too narrow since sometimes the resume is still printed out, so at least half an inch on each side
• Still need to be able to read it - so 10 pt font is the absolute smallest!
• Check alignment of the dates - easy to check for, but typically missed; important because it's easy to spot and looks sloppy if misaligned
• Need more space?  Try changing a line to 5 pt font instead of a full space when you're between sections
• If you have 2 pages, be sure to number them on a footer (and to put your name there, too, in case the pages get separated)
• Many people are still using Times New Roman - time to update that to a more modern font like the standard Calibri or Calibri Light
• Generally, up to about 10 years, you can fit your resume onto one page - unless you've had some amazing experience that merits 1.5 pages

Don't forget, read your resume as if you're a recruiter.  It only needs the information on there to get you that interview (and sometimes for a hiring manager to see your experience further back).  So, it sometimes hurts to cut out pieces of your work history because you lived it (and it was important!), but the resume isn't where you dictate your entire life's work; it's a personal marketing tool to help you get an interview.

Good luck!

With the new year, many are thinking about what they'd like to accomplish for the year.  Eating and living healthier.  Strengthening relationships with friends.  Spending more time with family.  And of course, what to do about a job that you're ready to move on from.

So, here are a few resume refreshing tips to get you started...

• Formatting - this still matters as we bring resumes to interviews and pdf the document to send to companies.  Try updating the font as a start.  Many of our clients are still stuck in Times New Roman.  Calibri gives a resume a quick and easy modernization.  Another check on formatting is to be sure each section and sub section is consistent including: dates are aligned with each other, titles are formatted in the same way, and bullet points are in alignment.
• Content - focus on accomplishments.  Most people have all the tasks that they're responsible for already on their resume.  What are the top 3 accomplishments you're most proud of in that position?  Articulate it and include numbers to help quantify the scope.
• Copy edits - typos are a big no no.  Your resume represents you as a professional.  Typos and grammar mistakes will signal to a recruiter that you are not serious about the position or as a professional.  A good way to check for typos and other grammatical mistakes is to read each line of your resume start with the last line - helps to mix up that revision fatigue.

It's the end of summer, the weather's getting cooler and it's also college application time. We recently came across this very brief article on how Jessica Yeager, a graduate  of Harvard and MIT, managed to get offers from 7 Ivies!  Read more here.

Our take on this : Start early, dream big and do your research. The last point is we at Lucent Education feel that we can make the biggest difference. It's good and well to be able to get information off websites and YouTube videos, but nothing beats getting advise from people who have actually been there and have experience helping others get there too! Have a look at what our clients say about us! 

As always, drop us a message or visit our Facebook page for more info!