Summer jobs

Many high school juniors and seniors consider getting a job over the summer to generate extra cash. But it can also be a good experience to put on your college application. Having a job shows that you were able to make a commitment and undertake responsibility.

Popular summer employers are

• Movie theaters
• Retail Stores
• Pools
• Park districts
• Summer camps
• Restaurants

Temporary or seasonal work for teenagers will most likely not be directly related to what you intend to study. The important thing is not the specifics of your job description but rather that you're demonstrating a certain level of maturity and ability to handle responsibility. The best advice is don't be too picky about the type of job. When searching for these positions, keep an eye out for help wanted signs and local job boards. You may want to ask your teachers if they have ideas or advice from their former students.

A few more scholarship programs

United States Senate Youth Program - An annual program where 2 student representatives from each state are selected to participate in a week long program in Washington DC, each student will also receive a $5,000 scholarship.

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation - This foundation focuses finding top students with financial need. They offer a variety of programs for students of varying ages including a young scholars program that targets 7th grade students and provides funding for summer programs and distance learning courses.

The Walmart Foundation - This organization is retail giant Walmart's community outreach branch and has several scholarship programs including one specifically for first generation college students.

Summer Test Prep

Although there are schools that are beginning to move away from the SAT and ACT, they are still a very important part of the college application process. Some schools require a specific test, while others will accept both. The most selective schools also may ask for SAT II's which are subject specific exams. While a bad score may not necessarily detract from your application, a good score will make you a stronger candidate. Look at the schools that you may be interested in applying to and figure out which scores they require and focus on preparing for those exams.

The summer provides an excellent time to review and prepare for these tests and the following are a few pieces of advice collected from those that have experienced the ordeal.

• A review book is an excellent resource as it provides many example questions similar to what you will see on the actual exam
• Set aside a time where you can go through a full length practice exam in one sitting and time yourself. This will give you an idea of where you need to improve and how quickly you need to solve each problem
• The best way to build your vocabulary is to read. This can also help with the reading comprehension parts of the exams
• The writing sections are graded according to specific guidelines. Most review resources will be able to give you a breakdown of what these are. Learn them and learn how to write within those guidelines. There are always many good writers who score poorly on the writing section because they get creative or use complex arguments and structures. General rule of thumb is to keep your writing as straightforward as possible
• Prep classes may be an option to consider if you're having trouble studying by yourself.
• Reviewing algebra and geometry is a big help as many of the math questions are based on concepts from those topics
• Learn the exam procedures and tricks. For instance, the SAT penalizes for wrong answers in such a way that a list of random guesses will have an expected raw score of 0. But if you can eliminate answer choices then it becomes statistically favorable to venture a guess. The ACT does not penalize for wrong answers so it is in your best interest to put down an answer for every question.

Alumni Interview - Washington University in St. Louis

Jerry M. an alumnus of Washington University in St. Louis gives us his thoughts on how he chose a college.

Q: When applying to college, what were some of the things you were looking for in a school and what stood out about Wash U?
JM:   First off, there were some obvious things I was looking for, such as general academic excellence and location.  I wanted a school that would build upon the excellent education I got in high school as well as a school that was relatively close to home.  What excited me about Wash U in particular was its flexibility and freedom.  I didn't really have any idea of what I wanted to major in, so I liked that the majors were small in terms of credit hours, and that there were a lot of opportunities to take elective courses.  The relatively small size (~5,000 undergrads) was also a positive factor.

Q: Did you visit Wash U before or during the application process? What did you learn during the visit that helped you with your decision?
JM: Yes, I visited Wash U before the application process.  Ironically, I didn't want to visit (not for any particular reason) but my parents dragged me, and for the first (and only) time on a college visit, I felt like it was the place where I wanted to be.  I was excited about it for most of the reasons listed above, and it was at the visit that I learned about the low levels of required classes, small majors, etc...

Q: While attending Wash U, where did you live? and what was the norm for students?
JM:  I lived on-campus all four years.  Freshman year, I lived in a traditional dorm.  My sophomore and junior years, I lived in suite-style dorms (6-person and 4-person suites sharing a common bathroom and living room).  And my senior year, I lived in a 4-person on-campus apartment on the north side of campus.  That was really nice, though with an on-campus apartment, you had to get the tiny meal plan and mostly cook for yourself.

Everyone is required to live in the dorms as freshmen.  That was definitely a good thing, as I made most of my long-term friends on my freshman floor.  As sophomores, most students graduate to suite-style dorms, although a few head off campus at that point.  Generally, by junior year, most everyone leaves the South 40 (where all the dorms are) and either heads to on-campus apartments on the north side of campus or off campus altogether.  I was one of the unlucky few stranded with the underclassmen my junior year, but  my brand-new lavish on-campus apartment my senior year made up for it.

 

Q: How did you choose what to study at Wash U? And what sort of classes did you take?

JM:  I more or less randomly decided I would take some political science classes to see if I wanted to major in it, and I wound up doing so.  I also minored in statistics (always an interest of mine) and economics (pretty much because I realized I would only need 2 more classes to finish the minor).  Something that is very different at Wash U than from most other colleges (at least from talking to friends) is the lax major and minor requirements.  I only needed 30 credit hours to get my major and 15 each for my two minors.  Considering I finished with 124 credit hours, over half of my classes were outside of my major or minors.  That was one of my big reasons for going to Wash U, and it definitely paid off, as I got to take a lot of fun classes that were purely for my interest.

 

Q: Outside of class, what did students do? What did you do?

JM: Wash U is what is referred to as a 'wet campus' meaning that undergraduate events are allowed to serve alcohol if requirements are met, and there is a reasonably big frat scene at Wash U - or at least, a lot of frat parties.  There are no sorority houses, but the sorority members could often be found at the frat parties.  A lot of upperclassmen went out to bars and clubs on The Loop (just north of campus) or in downtown St. Louis.  Party nights were Thursday and Friday more than Friday and Saturday.  But of course, it's also a tough school, so when people weren't drinking, they were usually studying.  The library was quite popular every other night of the week.  Work hard, play hard, that sort of thing.

Personally, although I certainly was no stranger to the bottle, I avoided the frat scene and the clubbing scene as much as possible.  I generally attended smaller parties in the dorms and apartments.  The Loop is basically four blocks of restaurants, and it was really nice to have it within walking distance of campus.  I also was a DJ for the college radio station, and some semesters, I was manning the 2 am shift on Friday nights.  And I did a lot of homework.

[RG note, Wash U alcohol policy for undergraduate student events]

 

Q: What did you like most about Wash U?

JM: My favorite parts about Wash U were the friends I made and the academics.  There were always exceptions, but for the most part, my classes were interesting and engaging, and I had a lot of excellent professors.  It helped that I had a great advisor who steered me in the right direction, and the Wash U Course Evaluation system was an excellent tool that a lot of other schools don't have (or at least they don't provide the results to the students like Wash U does).  Especially by my senior year, I had finished most of my requirements and so had time to take courses like Music of the Beatles and Intro Jazz Guitar.  My major and minor courses were great for the most part too - they just tended to be more challenging as well.

Another positive factor for me was its relatively small size.  It wasn't as small as my high school, but I knew the campus intimately and knew a pretty good number of people in my class either personally or through other friends.  That way, I felt abreast of everything that was going on, as opposed to a bigger school, where I might only have been exposed to the workings of my department.

 

Q: Comments, thoughts, interesting stories?

JM: Excepting the loans I am still paying back, I am pleased with my college choice.  I'd say the most important factors in knowing how to pick the right college were the visit and having a few concrete reasons why I wanted to go to the school.  The key is to know, or figure out as best you can, what will make you happy, and pick your college accordingly!

School Profile - Washington University in St. Louis

Washington University in St. Louis (Wash U) is a private university located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is a very well regarded research university that ranks near the top in terms of research funding from external agencies.

A few quick facts

• Cost of tuition is listed as $39,400 for the 2010-2011 academic year. With total cost of attendance coming out to ~$52,000 per year
• The school offers a variety of scholarships and financial assistance, including full tuition scholarships
• Wash U employs just over 3,000 faculty and has ~6,000 undergraduate and ~6,500 graduate students
• It has been highly ranked by US News and World Report and Forbes (including a #4 ranking in medicine)
• The university is divided into several schools covering academic fields from engineering to the arts.
• It has hosted more presidential and vice-presidential debates than any other institution
• Wash U has over 200 student organizations supported by a student union that has one of the largest student controlled budgets in the country.
• It participates in NCAA Division III athletics

Wash U is an extremely selective school that received 25,000 applications for fall of 2010 for a class of 1,500. It is a reach school for even the top students but the quality of education and availability of financial aid means it's definitely worth investigating. Its location in St. Louis is also a plus for any prospective student looking to stay away from a small town atmosphere.
http://www.wustl.edu/

Advanced Placement Classes

Many high school juniors and seniors will have the option of taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses. These courses are generally more intense than the ones inside the normal curriculum. The end goal of these courses is for students to take and pass an AP exam. Most colleges and universities will give course credit for good AP scores.

It is crucial to note that you do not have to take an AP course in order to take the AP exam for that particular topic. All you need to do is register for the exam and pay the fee. The AP exams are conducted by the College Board (the same people behind the SAT).

Although having AP credit can help you get a head start in college, it does not really help your admissions chances if you take more exams than the next applicant. Instead, you should tailor them according to your own needs. When deciding on whether to take an AP course or exam it is important to consider what you might be studying in college. For instance, if you're more science or engineering oriented, you might consider the physics, chemistry, biology, statistics, or calculus courses and exams. If you're thinking of doing something business related, the macroeconomics of microeconomics exams are worth considering.

You should also look at the schools that you are considering and figure out what their policies on AP exams are, what scores they require and whether the credit offered will be useful in the degree programs that you are interested in.

college board AP website