| | Most importantly, we hope you and your family are safe and stay healthy as we continue to navigate this challenging time. We wish our best to you, your family and your friends.
We wish the Varsity Concierge Class of 2020 congratulations and best wishes as the celebrate their decisions, graduations and begin their college readiness. They have certainly endured quite a bit over the past 3 - 4 months but hopefully they will have opportunities to properly celebrate and salvage at least some of the summer.
We are very excited about the tremendous success they had with their student’s college application, admissions and financial aid process. Our goal is that all of you will have the same success in the future, so please participate as much as you can and let us know how we can help.
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| Helpful Information to Always Keep in Mind:
Introduction to the Concierge Service: (For your information)
- NEW!! You can now access your videos and other materials from your Road2College account. No more wading through emails. Your Road2College Members Area gives you access to your schedule and session recordings. Sign in here.
- At the beginning of each month, we’ll cover a few important/timely topics (Training Sessions @ 7:00pm EST, one Sunday per month. Check Concierge calendar here or within your Concierge Members Area for full schedule)
- Each month we will also offer one Office Hour session (@ 7:00 pm EST, one Sunday per month. Check here or within your Concierge Members Area for the full schedule). Office Hours are designed to answer any general or specific questions that you have regarding ANY aspect of the college planning and application process.
- Use the Facebook group to share information with one another and ask questions that are on your mind. In addition, check communications within this group for special announcements, posts and information shared by Road2College. We’ll look here before Office Hours and attempt to share collective concerns, interests and needs as they arise.
Visiting schools (online and virtual)
- Research or Online Visit different types of schools near you (big/small, public/private, urban/rural). Even if your student has no interest in that particular school, they’ll get a feel for the type of school and can use this to guide future school visits.
- If you can’t get to campuses during the school week, it’s still good to visit on the weekend or during the summer (though it won’t quite be the same as a school day, there are many advantages to visiting over the summer).
- Do Russ’ VERTICAL VISIT, not a Horizontal visit. Talk with students, deans, financial aid, admissions reps, professors, etc.
- “Visit” schools online through school websites, YouTube tours, follow them on Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Attend their Virtual Information Sessions if available.
- Have your student email the admissions rep for their high school to get specific information on the impact of the “stay at home” initiative.
- Don’t ignore college fairs in the future. They can be very helpful and cost effective.
SAT/ACT Tests
- If your student is completing Algebra 2 sophomore year, they can take a practice SAT and ACT at the end of the school year to see if early testing makes sense.
- If your sophomore tests very well on the practice SAT at the end of their school year, they may want to consider some prep for the PSAT October of their junior year for National Merit consideration.
- Future consideration: Make sure your student ALWAYS includes Writing with their ACT and at least one test with Writing for the SAT.
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What We Covered Last Month:
- Ongoing updates on college changes and the impact of the current situation on the process.
- “Stay at Home” techniques for success.
- Standardized testing impacts of the cancellations
- Dr. Joel Ingersoll findings on how the pandemic has impacted teens and how they can prepare for a non-traditional school year
Action items to be aware of in June:
- Speak with your student to decide if there are immediate questions to ask our team during Office Hours and email. Addressing these things early on can help alleviate stress and anxiety as you all go through the process.
- When school is complete sophomores who have just finished Algebra 2 should take a practice ACT and SAT (for free) with the assistance of a local tutoring company or by finding tests online.
- Have direct conversations with Admissions & Financial Aid to get college specific information regarding how they are expecting to be impacted by the impacts of the pandemic.
- Speak with your student to identify your college criteria to develop your list and do online virtual Information Sessions & Tours to confirm your criteria are present at the schools you and your student are considering.
- See if their criteria has changed as a result of this new, but temporary, experience. Some students may be hesitant to travel further away and are looking at staying closer to home.
- Continue to research the financial stability of the colleges you are considering.
- Start developing a preliminary college list and let us know if you have questions about them.
- Consider having your student take an assessment (assessment.com, DISC, etc.) to identify any majors that may impact the colleges they are considering and/or their ability to be accepted.
Best,
Russ & Debbie
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