What separates a good college application from a great one?
Stellar academic performance is a crucial component in a competitive college application, but it's not the only one. Building a dynamic resume that reflects academic and extracurricular excellence is key to standing out in the college application process and capturing the attention of admissions officers at dream schools.
As you discovered in our previous article, "The College Advisor Roadmap for Success: Your First Steps," it's vital to start with your student's interests and passions. Now, it's time to translate that passion into action by building an eye-catching college resume and application.
Building a Strong Academic Record
Every college application hinges on a solid academic foundation. Colleges want students who are passionate about learning and have challenged themselves to excel. The goal is to produce an academic record that showcases your student's strength and intellectual curiosity.
This article offers key tips to keep your student on track toward academic progress.
Target Weaknesses and Seek Strategic Support
Many students encounter difficulty with all or part of a particular subject. Here's how you can work with your student to maintain academic growth and progress:
Regular Progress Checks: Have regular conversations with your student to discuss their academic progress. Encourage them to identify subjects or concepts they find challenging.
Targeted Support: When problem areas arise, consider extra support for your student. Options include working with teachers after class, seeking help from specialized tutors, or using online resources.
Standardized Test Prep: Consider enrolling your student in standardized test prep courses for the SAT or ACT. These courses can help develop essential test-taking skills to boost their scores.
Seeking help isn't a sign of weakness; it's a proactive strategy to support your student's learning. Identifying challenges and obtaining help avoids unnecessary damage to their confidence and GPA.
Design a Strategic Coursework Plan
In addition to strong grades, a well-crafted course load speaks volumes about a student's academic potential.
Choosing Coursework Strategically: Work with an academic advisor to design a coursework strategy that meets graduation requirements and considers future college entrance needs.
Challenges Accepted: Strategically including honors, AP, IB courses, or dual enrollment demonstrates a student's willingness to push boundaries. These courses showcase intellectual curiosity and growth and may earn college credit.
Leveraging Strengths: Choosing electives in subjects where the student demonstrates natural strengths and supports a strong GPA.
Finding the Right Balance
Holistic Development: While a rigorous course load is important, so is a balanced schedule that allows for extracurricular activities, hobbies, and sleep. A well-rounded student with diverse interests creates a strong college resume.
Challenge and Support: When selecting courses, consider your students' strengths and weaknesses. Challenge them in areas where they excel and provide opportunities to build confidence in subjects they find less intuitive.
Working with A College Admission Consultant
An experienced educational advisor is invaluable for designing a strategic coursework plan for your student. Your college admission consultant can collaborate with school counselors to provide academic advising services to map out your student’s sophomore to senior year coursework. This can be critical for keeping them on track toward graduation and college entrance requirements.
Maintaining good grades and taking challenging courses builds a solid academic foundation. Next, we'll examine how extracurricular activities and volunteer work can create a dynamic student profile.
Need help designing a strategic coursework plan? BestFit College Advisors can help!
Designing a strategic coursework plan requires expertise. Cheryl, at BestFit College Advisors, is an experienced independent educational consultant who guides students and families through the entire college application process. We offer comprehensive advising services that include academic advising, assistance with college essays, and tailored college counseling to ensure success.
Our college counselor, working closely with students, can help craft a course selection that highlights their strengths and aligns with their goals, whether they’re aiming for a private college or pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a public university. We also provide expert guidance on financial aid options to make higher education more accessible.
Contact Cheryl Coughlin, Educational Consultant at today at (207) 229-8603 to learn how we can help your student achieve their college dreams!
Showcasing Your Strengths Beyond Academics
Strong academics are a given, but colleges also seek well-rounded students. The extracurricular activities they choose demonstrate their interests, impact, and potential to contribute to a college community.
Aligning Activities with Aspirations
Move beyond simply "keeping busy." Consider choosing extracurricular activities strategically to display your student's interests, skills, and abilities.
Future Focus: Choose activities that align with your student's academic and career aspirations. Participating in robotics for a future engineering major or volunteering at an animal shelter for a pre-vet student showcases genuine interest and commitment.
Demonstrating Skills: Extracurriculars are a chance to develop and showcase valuable skills. Does your student's dream career require leadership? Look for activities that provide leadership opportunities. Is communication key? Encourage involvement on debate teams, student government, or organizations like Future Business Leaders of America..
Building a Narrative: Think long-term and strategically. Long-term involvement in key activities tells a compelling story of focus and dedication.
Finding the Perfect Fit: Quality over Quantity
High school offers a vast extracurricular landscape. Here's how to strategically navigate the options:
Seek Challenges: Encourage activities that push your student beyond their comfort zone. Participating in a school play can develop public speaking skills while joining the math team can hone problem-solving abilities.
Impact over Involvement: Aim for quality over quantity. Being deeply involved in a few meaningful activities demonstrates passion and allows for leadership opportunities and skill development.
Consider Community Resources: Don't limit the search to school grounds. Explore after-school programs, sports leagues, or volunteer opportunities in your community. These offer unique experiences and connect your student with like-minded peers.
Maintain a Record: Keep a detailed record of your student's extracurricular involvement. Track time commitment, leadership roles held, awards received, and quantifiable achievements (e.g., fundraising goals reached). This information is useful when crafting college applications and resumes.
Beyond Activities: Expanding Horizons
Volunteer work is an effective and enjoyable way to explore their passions while giving back to the community. Look for opportunities that align with their interests and future goals.
College fairs and summer programs offer invaluable opportunities to explore different colleges, meet admissions officers, and delve deeper into specific academic areas. These experiences help your student refine their college choices, demonstrate interest, and leave an impression on potential decision-makers.
Extracurricular activities are vital for showcasing talents, passions, and contributions. Be strategic while remaining true to your student's values and interests.
In the next section, we'll explore how to transfer these experiences into a compelling resume that grabs the attention of admissions officers.
Crafting a Compelling Resume By Showcasing Achievements
Your student actively engages in extracurricular activities, volunteers in their community, and is developing a personal talent. It's time to turn those experiences into a resume showcasing their achievements.
Why Does a Student Need a Resume?
While a resume might seem more relevant to job applications, it serves a valuable purpose in college admissions. A well-crafted resume provides a clear and concise overview of your student's accomplishments and who they are as individuals beyond academics.
Getting Started: Building a College Resume
Here are some tips to help your student build a strong resume:
Keep it Simple and Organized: A one-page resume is perfectly acceptable. Use clear headings, bullet points, and consistent formatting for easy reading.
Focus on Achievements: Don't just list activities; focus on accomplishments and contributions.
Use Details: Did your student raise money for a volunteer project? Describe the impact with numbers (e.g., "Organized a bake sale that raised $500 for the local animal shelter").
Proofread Carefully: Typos and grammatical errors create a negative impression. Proofread the resume carefully and have your student double-check it as well.
What to Include in a Student Resume
Contact Information: Include your student's name, phone number, email address, and links to an online portfolio (if applicable).
Education: List their current high school, expected graduation year, and any relevant low academic achievements (e.g., honor roll, academic awards).
Activities and Awards: This is the heart of the resume: list extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and any awards or recognition received. Focus on the most impactful experiences and leadership roles held.
Skills: List any relevant skills developed through their activities or experiences. I.e., communication, teamwork, problem-solving, public speaking, foreign language proficiency).
A resume is a living document. As your student gains new experiences and achievements, update their resume accordingly.
A well-crafted resume is a valuable tool, but it's just one piece of the college application puzzle. Next, we'll explore the importance of recommendation letters and how to approach the right people to write them.
The Power of Recommendation Letters: Voices Beyond the Transcript
Transcripts and test scores provide a snapshot of your student's academic performance. But recommendation letters underscore your student's personality, strengths, and impact on their community from people who have had direct and sustained experience with them.
Why Student Recommendation Letters Matter
Admissions officers value the opinions of teachers and mentors who know your student firsthand. Recommendations serve to demonstrate your student's strengths and character but can also play a key role in securing scholarships and selection for work-study programs.
Choosing the Right Recommenders
Strong letters from teachers, counselors, or mentors who know your student well are better than a handful of generic letters. Consider including a recommendation letter from a teacher in a core academic subject (e.g., English, Math, Science, History). The teacher can speak authoritatively about your student's intellectual growth and learning ability.
Recommendations from a coach, club advisor, or volunteer coordinator can also be valuable. They can attest to your student's leadership, teamwork, and commitment outside of academics.
Start thinking about potential recommenders early in their senior year. Choose people who have positively impacted your student and who can speak to their strengths and potential. Students should ask each recommender to forward a copy of their letters to back them so they can mark them as completed.
Charting the Course to College Success
A well-rounded college application requires a multi-pronged approach: academic planning, strategic extracurricular activities, a strong resume, and impactful recommendations.
Our next article in this series will delve into the exciting world of college matching. We'll explore strategies for finding the perfect college fit for your student.
Do you need help getting your student ready for college? A college counselor is your answer!
Cheryl Coughlin, an Educational Consultant, has a decades-long proven track record of helping students gain admission to their top-choice schools.
Schedule your FREE 30-minute consultation today! Call Cheryl at (207) 229-8603 or visit BestFit College Advisors online to learn more about preparing your student for college.
We serve students in person across the seacoast of Maine and New Hampshire, including Kittery, York, Eliot, Kennebunk, Maine, and Portsmouth, NH. We also serve students nationwide online.
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