EP 018: Top Things to Do This Summer as a Junior Applying to College [Part 1]
In this episode, Thomas talks about the top things to do as a junior student applying to college. It is an important time because the students start to feel that their time is coming, and several questions are now coming to mind.
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In this mini-series, Thomas talks about the top things to do as a junior student applying to college. It is an important time because the students start to feel that their time is coming, and several questions are now coming to mind.
Although it is normal to be confused and overwhelmed, it is also important to take a moment and start to organize things. For example, making a list of schools the student wants to apply to, visiting these same schools, gathering recommendations, and researching are all great things to focus on during this time.
It is also valuable to take advantage of the summer break. It is perfectly ok to want to relax, travel, or spend time with family and friends, but now is also the time to start preparing for the future ahead.
Key Highlights
Learn what you need to do between now and the fall.
How are you presenting yourself to the university?
Recommendations are fundamental during this time.
It's helpful to have a list of desired schools.
Get to know the university if you pay a visit.
Important aspects to consider during this time are your grades and leadership skills.
Take advantage of summertime to organize things.
About Thomas
Thomas is a parent and alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania. After earning his MBA at the Wharton School in 2003, he moved to Silicon Valley. For three years, he was director of admissions and financial aid at Wharton School. He worked closely with admissions professionals, students, alumni, and professors to create the best possible MBA class.
Thomas has been an entrepreneur his entire life in the fields of finance, agriculture, wellness, and sporting goods. As the founder of Global Education Opportunities, he works with diverse and underserved communities to help them become successful college students. Thomas started the podcast Admittedly because he is passionate about demystifying the application process for parents and applicants.
Related Links
Apply to be a guest: www.thomascaleel.com/apply-for-podcast
Follow Admittedly on Social Media
TikTok: @admittedlypodcast
Instagram: @admittedlypodcast
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Hello, and welcome to the admittedly podcast. My name is Thomas Caleel. I'm the former director of MBA admissions and financial aid for my alma mater, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In this podcast, I don't promise easy answers or quick fixes. But I will use my decades of experience to help you achieve your education goals. Now, let's get started.
For the next two episodes, we're going to be talking about juniors. That's right juniors in high school, it is your time to shine, it's your turn. And things are getting serious. The seniors have gotten their admissions decisions, maybe some of them are still wrestling with weightlessness. But by and large, the College Counseling Center at your school has turned and they focused on you, you've probably started to meet with your college counselor, your parents have probably met with them, and you're starting to fill out surveys, and forms about what you do and don't like about your classes, your preferences. And all of this is getting very serious very quickly.
So for the next two episodes, we're really going to take a step back. And we're gonna look at what you need to do between now and the fall when you're submitting your applications. And I know this is very top of mind being inundated right now with emails, DMs, texts, everybody wants to know, and what should I do? What should I think about? What's the right school for me? And these are very complex questions and very individual very personal questions.
So we're not gonna be able to address everyone's specific concerns, but hopefully give you a bit of a roadmap so that you can take a step back yourself, and think carefully about this very important next six to eight months of your life. So if you're ready, let's get going. So you're approaching the end of your school year, and things are very busy. Right now you are studying for exams, you're cramming for your AP exams, if you're taking AP exams, and you're starting to meet, as I said before, with your college counselors at your school, it's very important for you and your college counselors will ask you to do this to think about recommenders for next year.
You want to approach them now if possible before the end of of this school year, so that you're they're not scrambling in the fall, the worst thing you can do is cause an inconvenience or stress for your recommenders.
Because nobody likes to have to sit down on a Sunday night late, away from their family or the million other things they'd rather do. And write your recommendation. And if you think about it, probably not gonna get the best recommendation out of that. So really step back and we've talked a lot about the strategy, but the strategy for you of how are you presenting yourself to the university? Are you going to be a STEM Major? Are you a liberal art major, maybe studying Komplet, creative writing French?
We really want to make sure that when we're talking to our recommenders, we're bringing in teachers that know us well, and that are relevant to the courses and coursework, we want to do a college, if at all possible, right?
So if you are, for example, STEM-focused, you might pick a math teacher and a science teacher, rather than a history teacher. Now, if you're going to do a major in History, okay, fine. You know, that might even be a third recommender. And it's very helpful, I think, to have at least three recommenders. writing new recommendations, you can stack and store those in the Common Application because some schools will allow you to submit an additional recommendation, and some schools might allow you to submit a peer recommendation or recommendation from a coach, Pastor, or employer. So start laying the groundwork for that now, there's nothing, no official, no official forms or anything you need to send them now from the common app that will happen once that opens in August.
But certain schools, certain high schools, for example, might give you a form and say fill this out and give it to your proposed recommenders. And it talks about your experience in their class, how they would remember what you've done, well, what you wish you could have done better.
And those are very important documents. You really want to take your time and reflect carefully on those because the teachers if you've selected your recommender correctly, the teachers should know you might you will have been active in their class, they're going to look at their grade book, and I'm going to see that you did well, but I think it's very important that you frame the discussion for them because they've already written several if not have dozens of recommendations for the previous class.
They've had students all year. And you really want to make sure that you're top of mind if you can schedule a time to talk to them, meet them face to face, and present this document to them. Even if your college counselor at your school doesn't give you a document, I think it's very helpful for you to see, do you have a resume? Or can you write the high points of your academic career, what schools you're applying to why you want to apply to them what you hope to study, and your memories of their class?
It's also okay to have sometimes as a third recommender, for example, a teacher whose class you may not have done the best in, let's say that you are a liberal arts student, you're a creative student, you're an artist or musician. And you took an Algebra two class and it was just fiercely hard. It was incredibly hard. But you worked just day and night, you met with the teacher, you worked with the teacher, you got the tutoring, and they really respect your work ethic, right, maybe you got to be in the class.
But if that teacher can talk about how you went way outside of your comfort zone, you asked for help you worked hard, you really did the best that you could in a challenging environment. That says a lot about you, that says a lot about your tenacity, your perseverance. And so maybe that's not a primary recommendation for you. But certainly, it could be a tertiary recommendation that provides a little bit more character for you.
For the admissions committee, likewise, pastors coaches, and employers, you do want to think about this person adding a new perspective, right, so just kind of digging around trying to find people to send letters in on your behalf. We've talked about this a little bit before, it's not good. It goes to judgment. And so if a university is inundated with all of these letters, they'll say, You know what, this applicant has poor judgment. And so that's going to reflect negatively on your file as they review.
The next thing we want to look at is your school list. Now, at this point, as a junior in high school, I wouldn't expect you necessarily to have a completely firmed up school list, I think there are schools that you may have an interest in, and now is a very good time for you to start thinking about, okay, am I applying early decision, early action? What does that mean? What do I want to study at this school? What do the resources at this school look like for my particular major, really start to do your deep dives.
Now, I know a lot of people will tell you, it's very important to visit the school. And, you know, certainly for some types of schools for smaller schools, maybe smaller liberal arts schools, they do, like students to visit and demonstrate interest. But the reality is, is that not all of us can afford to visit multiple schools, not all of us have the time, our parents might need to work might not have the freedom to go do that. And so don't get too caught up in that.
I think, after COVID, one of the advantages is that the school is really set itself up to be accessible to everyone. And I think putting a note in your application and saying, Listen, I couldn't afford to come and visit the schools. Maybe you're reaching out and participating in the online information sessions that they have, you're getting in contact with students, you're getting contact with liaisons from the admissions office, and there are a lot of ways that you can demonstrate your interest. There are a lot of ways you can learn about a school.
And I think if you are fortunate enough to be able to go and visit schools, don't just go and wander around campus and do the tour. Take some time before or after the tour, I usually recommend students go to the dining hall, go to an area where they're selling snacks, and just listen, get a sense of the vibe, if you go to a school in New York, and you're from Wyoming and you hear somebody talking about being from Montana or Wyoming, you can say hey, you know, I heard you're from the same state as me, or same city as me and I'm visiting. Do you have a second, Can I buy you a cup of coffee or a smoothie or whatever it is? And can you just talk right?
You might run into a faculty member who is willing to chat with you, employees, security guards, or people that work at the dorms, these are all great contact points for you where you can strike up a conversation and really get a sense of the school. Apart from what the school is feeding you. You can go to the library and talk to librarians.
So I think, really take some time and dig in and get a sense as much as you can of the school and your experience there. And think about it as you, for example, are in the dining hall. What's the vibe what are people talking about?
If you hear Oh, somebody's from Chicago, you lean over and say hey, Hear you guys are from Chicago. I'm also from Chicago. And they're warm and welcoming. And they say, oh, yeah, sure, come on, come sit, where do you go to high school? Oh, I know that school, I know, my friend goes there, etc. That tells you a lot about the culture of the school. If the students are all you know, if it's not exam time, if it's just a regular time in the year everybody's cramming and stressed and looking unhappy, that tells you something about the culture of the school, so pay attention.
The other thing that I would tell you, if you're visiting schools is to bring a notebook or on your phone and take notes, because the schools will blur together very quickly. And you will forget specific points about each school, I promise the first one or two, they'll be sharp and fresh in your mind. And by the fifth or sixth school, you can't you won't be able to remember what you saw where you talked to where, and those are very important points, not just for you to figure out what your school is. But also when you're writing your essays to be able to reference specific experiences you've had at specific schools.
Next thing, obviously grades, I think we can keep this short and sweet grades, grades, grades, grades, grades matter. Do the work, get the help go to you know, speak with your professors use tutoring resources on campus, bring in outside tutors, if you need to whatever you need to do, get the grades, a dip in grades junior year, doesn't need to be fatal, but it's not good. And it sends up a red flag, it causes the admissions committee to pause when they look at your file. And that's not something that you want. So really focus on the grades and make it happen. I know that's not a warm, fuzzy feel-good approach. But it's the reality of life.
For those of you who are involved in clubs or extracurricular activities, now is the time generally you want to start really focusing on leadership. So as they're electing, you know, are you putting your name forward for the club officers next year? Are you trying to build that base of support? Are you creating opportunities where, let's say you're not the president of the club or the vice president of the club? Can you maybe start a new initiative within the club, maybe a conference, maybe a competition, maybe outreach to similar clubs, in other schools, in your city, in your town, in your state? In your country? I think there's a lot of opportunity here to create leadership opportunities.
But on that note, now is not the time to start something new. Okay, with the caveat that if it's starting something new as a natural progression of something you've dedicated a lot of time and effort to, then that's fine, right? Let's say you are an athlete, and you get invited up to a traveling team or a different, you know, higher bracket of a team. Great, go do that. That's fantastic, right?
But it's not the time to sign up for a new club. Universities will see right through that, they'll see that you're trying to pad your application. And just, there are better ways to spend your time, much rather see you dig in and go deeper into something you care about and want to spend time on and have been involved with consistently over time, than trying to just start something new and fresh, and in hopes of making yourself look well rounded and interesting.
Now, next, we move on to the summer, Summer is looming, you've had a tough year, you're tired, and you really want to just spend a lot of time hanging out with your friends. And believe me, I get that. And I always recommend to juniors you know, look, when you're done with school, take that first week, and enjoy yourself. Go spend time with your friends, catch up with your family, sleep in, relax, and do what you want to do.
But I think we need to take and we've talked about this on previous episodes with the summer, we need a thoughtful summer, we need a summer where we're engaging in summer where we're really doing something meaningful so that when we're talking to universities, we say, Look, you know, I really want to be involved in biology. I had an opportunity I worked at this research lab as an intern last summer, they asked me to come back and actually do some actual research with the team under close supervision this year. And I'm doing that six days a week, eight hours a day. It's really something that I'm passionate about. I love I spend every waking minute when I'm at home, you know, working on my research, or whatever it is right athletics, art, whatever it is, this is your opportunity to really really dig in.
So let's take advantage of this summer. I understand all the arguments for having a relaxing summer, but this is the time that matters. Similarly for parents. You want to be really careful about scheduling a lot of travel or activities during the summer and listen, I'm a parent. I understand I miss my children terribly during the school year. I want to see them as much as possible during the summer I want to expose them to new cultures, new places family trips, etc. And there's a time and a place for that. And certainly, a week or two is not going to derail anything.
But I think we want to plan the trips around the summer activities, rather than planning the summer activities around the trips, because the summer activities are really going to drive meaning in the application. And the trips certainly are valuable for many different levels. But I'm talking about the strategy of an application here. You know, work, if you're at a loss for what to do work is great. We've talked about even going to work at a McDonald's or fast food, restaurant or retail, learning the discipline of that, you know, the consistency, all of the great things that customer service and sales teach you.
Wonderful, you know, save that money, use that money to help support the family, whatever it is, invest that money, you really want to make this a meaningful thing, not working one or two days a week, but really rolling up your sleeves and learning what it's like to work and do what you need to do. In this particular capacity. It doesn't need to be directly relevant, right? You can work retail and want to be a science major. But say, Listen, you know, I needed to save money for college, I had this opportunity. And that's the decision I made and own it. And I think you'll learn a lot of very good lessons there.
A lot of people will ask me, What about volunteering? And it's very tricky, right? Because volunteering in a lot of cases can be soft. And what I mean by that is that there aren't strict demands, right? If you're working a retail job, it's not glamorous. But if you're on schedule, you need to be there. If you're working as a server in a restaurant, you need to be there, you're on your feet, you're working hard. And there are demands placed on you that you have to live up to, or you're not going to be invited back to work more. Whereas volunteering, you can get away with a lot around that.
Now if you've been involved in a volunteer organization, and been very involved with them, and this is a chance to shadow the CEO or work with senior leadership, or take on, you know, launch a new project, for example, then that's great, you know, and really, it's a continuation and you've bracketed out the hours. And it gives you a really good recommendation as well at the end of the summer.
So as with all things my favorite answer, of course, is it depends. Want to be smart and thoughtful about how we allocate our time thinking about work, studying, or volunteering. So I think that these are all really important components of the summer. Right? How many of you will go back to school, in the middle of August?
So we're working on a very tight timeline, and a lot of juniors will say, Hey, listen, you're stressing me out, man. You're putting all this pressure on me. The applications aren't even due until now until the fall. Okay. Yes, they are. But when you think about we're in April, or at the end of April. Right now we're heading into May, 5 months, right, 6 months from now, early decision and early action applications, or if once school starts your senior year, you have to have absolutely great grades, right? Your academics need to be on point. You don't want to be scrambling to research schools, do your applications, do your extracurricular commitments, athletics, arts, or whatever might be writing your essays, it's a lot, right?
So we really want to go into August 1 When the common application opens. We want to we want that common application to open and get right to it more talk about that in the next episode. So I welcome you back for that and look forward to discussing this. Thank you.
Thank you for joining us today. Please take a moment to subscribe to my admittedly podcast and download this episode. I welcome you to share your thoughts and questions with me. You can find us on social media at admittedly podcast. I look forward to continuing our journey together.
