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‘Senioritis’—coming to a high school near you

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For high school counselors and teachers, the symptoms of “senioritis” are all too familiar—an ‘I don’t care attitude’ characterized by lack of motivation and general bad behavior.

It usually strikes some time shortly after seniors receive college acceptance letters. And for those with early results, symptoms may start appearing as soon as mid-December.

School administrators report that the onset of senioritis usually coincides with warm weather and only becomes epidemic once the last Advanced Placement test has been completed.  It tends to be very contagious among second semester seniors, who are “so over” high school, they put social before school.

The CDC doesn’t track senioritis.  But judging by the uptick in daytime activity at the mall—before, after, and during school hours—it seems that many high school seniors are succumbing to advanced stages of what can be a crippling disease.

Although easy to catch, senioritis is hard to cure. Symptoms include skipping class, neglected homework, dropping out of extracurricular activities, failed tests, and way too many lapses in judgment or integrity. You can chart outcomes on a graph: as absenteeism increases, grades decline.

And devoting class time to Snap Chat, Instagram and Twitter may signal senioritis is out of control.

For extreme cases, a strong dose of discipline is required as students mindlessly indulge in troublesome behaviors including but not limited to pranks, truancy, substance abuse, or totally inappropriate postings on the Internet.

And there are consequences. Colleges accept students on the condition that grades and behavior will remain acceptable.

Decision letters contain carefully worded statements that usually read, “Your admission is contingent on continued successful performance,” meaning the last official part of your application process will involve a review of your final transcript as well as a report from your school counselor. For an interesting reference, UC Santa Cruz spells out their terms and conditions in excruciating detail on their website.

And here is an example from the University of Michigan of how the warning works

As an admitted freshman, the University of Michigan expects all aspects of your academic performance and conduct in your senior year to be consistent with the record you presented upon admission. Any significant decline in your academic performance, such as three or more C’s, any D’s, E’s or F’s, may be cause for revoking admission. Declining grades or a significant change in curriculum may also be cause for revoking admission. Although senior year grades are reported directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA) and reviewed, it is your responsibility to advise OUA of any serious decline in grades or changes in course selections previously entered on your application.”

 Failure to live up to expectations can have painful consequences such as

  • a rescinded offer of admission,
  • placement on academic probation before you even begin college,
  • delayed or second semester start,
  • remedial coursework,
  • a mandatory gap year to grow up,
  • loss of Advanced Placement credits or
  • reduced financial aid.

No kidding, these things happen.  Seniors who earn D’s during second semester may find they have no college to attend in the fall or suffer a serious loss of scholarship dollars. And those who blow off Advanced Placement exams stand to lose course credits worth a significant amount of money or a fast pass to early college graduation.

Statistics related to revoked admissions are notoriously difficult to obtain—no one really likes to talk about it. A few years ago, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) reported that 1 in 5 or about 22 percent of colleges surveyed revoked offers. And the average number of offers revoked more than doubled from 10 to 23 per school in one year.

In an interview with the Daily Pennsylvanian, Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said the Office of Admissions usually sends warning letters to admitted students if they detect a “pattern of lower grades” or a failure.  Students are asked to provide an explanation, after which a decision is made on an appropriate course of action.

And it can be really costly*:

Your case has been reviewed by the Dean of Emory College and myself. I am sorry to inform you that our decision is to revoke your admission to the Emory College Class of 20–. I realize this turn of events is of great disappointment to you. On behalf of the Admission Committee, I want to extend our sincere appreciation for your interest in Emory. Should your interest in Emory persist, you may apply again to Emory College as a transfer student next year. Please note that we require one full year of college work and have a postmarked deadline of June 1st for transfer. Lastly, I offer you my best wishes for a productive, and above all, rewarding college career. Sincerely, Dean of Admission for Emory University.”

One local family was put to the test tracking down an errant son who took off for a mission trip to a remote part of South America immediately after graduation.  On receipt of a final grade report containing two “C’s,” the boy’s prestigious university sent an email demanding an immediate explanation with a clear threat that revocation of his admission was possible.

The young man was eventually located and provided access to internet services which he used to email a detailed explanation and apology to the college. He entered his freshman year on academic probation.

Note that colleges have more incentive than ever to take back offers. With record-breaking applicant pools, unexpectedly high yields, and huge wait lists, schools have many enthusiastic applicants happy to take the places of previously-admitted students who dropped key academic classes, let grades slip, or otherwise got in trouble.

In March, the University of Virginia invited several thousand students to be on their wait list, and not all have been released yet. You can bet a bunch of those kids would jump at the opportunity to grab a spot regardless of how it becomes available.

Most seniors will finish the year knowing they’ve completed a job well-done. This warning is not for you.

For those who haven’t quite managed to turn in your last three English assignments, please come home from the beach now…

*From a collection assembled by Kevin J. Kuczynski, Warren Consolidated Schools

Colleges Reject Waiters and Accept Actors

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We’re not talking about servers at restaurants or performers on the stage. Instead, we’re focusing this pretty important pep-talk on students who WAIT to be asked to join a group or activity versus students who ACT on their passion without needing an invitation. Get more expert undergraduate admissions advice at http://admissions.blog.

Tips for earning grades colleges will be sure to notice

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At the top of every list of what colleges look for in applicants is a strong academic record. This means both grade point average and strength of academic program. And they go hand-in-hand—you can’t cut corners on either.

For the record, grades always should be trending upward, and although “stuff happens,” grade blips are definitely not desirable.  Two students with identical GPAs will be viewed very differently by admissions offices if one has improving grades and the other is on the decline.

But whether you’re just starting off or well along in your academic journey, here are a few tips for earning grades colleges will be sure to notice:

  1. Show up. And not just physically, although that’s a good first step. Attend class with the intent to learn. Avoid distractions such as reading other materials, texting, surreptitiously surfing the internet on your mobile phone, or talking to the student next to you.
  2. Get Organized. Invest in a planner and use it. Keep track of assignments as they are announced, check them off as they are completed and always scan ahead to see what’s on the horizon. You’d be amazed how handy a planner is—log-in club meetings, dentist appointments, or consultations with your school counselor. The more you use a planner, the better organized you will become.
  3. Sit close to the front of the classroom. Students who voluntarily sit in one of the first few rows generally earn better grades than those who sit toward the back. Sorry. It’s just true!
  4. Ask questions. If you don’t “get” something, the chances are excellent that others in the class also don’t understand. Inquisitive students are engaged students.
  5. Join class discussions. Teachers notice who is paying attention through class participation. This can play to your advantage when it comes time to giving out grades. Besides, discussions (and class content) are more likely to be imprinted on your mind if you’ve gotten involved.
  6. Take good class notes. You’ll be taking notes for the rest of your academic career, so learn and practice these skills now. Find a system that works for you and use it. But don’t count on your computer for taking notes. Studies show that technology just doesn’t work as well on this one.
  7. Listen. Listen “between the lines” for subtle messages. Many teachers provide strong clues about the most important elements in a lesson—even suggesting something about a topic’s relevance to the next quiz or test. The best students pick up on these clues.
  8. Ask for help. The key is not to wait until you’ve fallen hopelessly behind. Your front line source of help is your teacher, who should be very invested in your success. Stay after class or make an appointment for after-school help. If this doesn’t work, seek outside support. Try classmates or find a tutor if necessary.
  9. Keep up. Finish assignments before they are due. Actually turning in the work helps too. Work completed in advance of deadlines is often better than that thrown together at the last minute.
  10. Read actively. Active reading involves more than scanning words on a page. For some students, it means underlining, highlighting, or annotating materials. Others develop lists of key words and summarize materials as they read.
  11. Study daily. Successful students commit some time every day to active studying—reading, writing, and reviewing. This may also mean outlining, making flash cards, participating in study groups, or rewriting notes. Students who work steadily on coursework do better than those who study in large chunks, and they definitely outperform students who cram.
  12. Work the extra credit. View “optional” extra credit projects or assignments as required. Even if it’s just a few points added to your grade, the total can add up. Missing an A- by one point can be really painful.
  13. Upgrade writing skills. Learn to proofread, revise and correct written work. At the same time, take steps to increase vocabulary and develop facility with basic grammar. Improved writing skill strengthens critical thinking as well as listening, reading, and speaking abilities. It also pays off outside the classroom with higher standardized test scores.
  14. Limit internet distractions. There is no reason to have any social networking distraction going while doing homework. In fact, it’s likely you can complete most assignments without even turning the computer on. Consider studying somewhere away from the single biggest “attractive nuisance” in the house—your computer.
  15. Avoid overscheduling. Keeping in mind the relative importance of GPA in the college admissions process, be smart about the number of outside commitments interfering with your ability to study and complete assignments on time. Time management will become increasingly important as you go further in your education.
  16. Develop test taking know-how. Successful test taking avoids carelessness and rests on a few simple strategies like following directions, becoming familiar with different kinds of questions, and understanding how the test will be graded.
  17. Use time wisely. Even if you don’t procrastinate and are generally pretty organized, strategic use of time can reduce stress. Tackle harder work first and break large projects into smaller, easy-to-accomplish pieces. Feel free to reward yourself for completing major tasks by taking short breaks.
  18. Get enough sleep. Go to bed at a reasonable time and turn off your cellphone. Better yet, leave the cellphone in the kitchen. No text message is ever that important.

Seniors, Remember to Always Express Appreciation

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Seniors are often so busy completing college applications, taking standardized tests, leading clubs, playing sports, and completing high school coursework that they forget to thank the people who have helped them get where they’re going.