COLLEGE PREP SUMMER SERIES 2020
Select from Six College Prep Courses to be College-Ready By Senior Year
- EARLY COLLEGE AWARENESS (Grades 9-11)
- COLLEGE RESUME BUILDING (Grades 9-11)
- COLLEGE EXPLORATION (Grades 10-11)
- SAT/PSAT/ACT TEST PREP (Grades 11-12)
- COMMON APPLICATION (Rising Seniors)
- COLLEGE PERSONAL ESSAY (Rising Seniors)
Performance Prep & College Admissions, LLC understands that these last few months have been more than challenging for students trying to juggle classwork, standardized testing issues, and college prep. That is why we are offering a series of online college prep workshops to help students navigate the college application process.
These workshops are tailored to specific grades and designed to inform high school students at every grade level how to use their time, interests, and energy effectively, and to develop, capture, and present their unique strengths and skills to deliver a standout college application. These workshops will be virtual and interactive.
Join Eileen Sullivan Studdert, President of Performance Prep & College Admissions, LLC, and Tara Carter, Chair of the New Haven Cornell Alumni Admissions Network, as they share essential tips and strategies about how to successfully navigate the college admissions process with a strong emphasis on the impact of COVID-19.
Students will leave each workshop with a grade-specific roadmap, college criteria checklist, four-year timeline, personal essay outline, or a jump-start on the Common Application process. In addition, students will receive personalized course materials culled from top resources.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
EARLY COLLEGE AWARENESS: How to create a four-year high school plan that will serve as the foundation for success during the college application process.
This introductory workshop is ideal for rising 9th through 11th-grade students and their families.
Students should use all four years of high school to prepare for college. Early planning can help ensure students have successful high school experiences and develop unique strengths that they can confidently present during the application process. Students can and should proactively take charge of their high school learning, interests, and involvement from choosing a rigorous curriculum, developing strong study skills, exploring their passions, and getting involved in their communities.
Price: $30/90 minutes
~ 15 minutes will include student break-outs and 15 minutes will be reserved for Chatroom Q&A
~ Minimum: 4 students
~ Sessions will be on-going beginning the week of July 6th
~ Performance Prep will contact you to schedule convenient days/times
In this workshop, parents and students will learn how to:
- Choose a smart range of rigorous classes and take advantage of online and dual enrollment options
- Set short and long term goals
- Demonstrate leadership inside and outside of school
- Match interests to meaningful community service/extracurricular activities
- Develop strong study habits and master time management
- Practice advocacy skills and build an academic support network
- Identify key differences between the SAT and the ACT
- Demystify the SAT/ACT registration process including choosing the best test centers, taking National Exams and ordering reports, and understanding why the PSAT is not just a practice test for Juniors
- Plan an effective test prep timeline
- Create a digital filing system/portfolio of achievements and activities
COLLEGE RESUME BUILDING: How students can present their unique strengths and interests amidst a competitive application pool.
This workshop is ideal for rising 9th-through-11th-grade students and their families.
Students need to be involved outside the classroom to gain a competitive edge during the college admissions process. Building your college resume as early as possible, for rising 9th graders, is key to creating a fluid and well thought out narrative to convey to colleges. Additionally, it is never too late for rising 10th and 11th-grade students to add key dimensions to their resumes as well. Just as students should build a strong GPA, transcript, and test scores over four years, so too should they assess, develop, and communicate their passion in meaningful ways. While college admissions officers expect academic excellence, they also want to see students that demonstrate an interest and investment in their passion and the world around them.
Price: $30/90 minutes
~15 minutes will include student break-outs and 15 minutes will be reserved for Chatroom Q & A
~ Minimum: 4 students
~ Sessions will be on-going beginning the week of July 6th
~ Performance Prep will contact you to schedule convenient days/times
In this workshop, parents and students will learn how to:
- Use personality assessments* to increase self-awareness and understand what makes you unique.
- Develop a community service/passion project with actionable goals and successful outcomes
- Translate your individual strengths, interests, and accomplishments into a personal narrative (brand)
- Utilize multimedia to showcase your brand (social, media, and publishing networks)
- Acquire an internship or job shadowing opportunity to learn about potential majors and careers
- Manage your online presence
*For a more in-depth self-exploration inventory, check out the Southbury Parks & Rec Workshop: What’s Your Major? Presented by Susan Nardelli of Uniquely You!
COLLEGE EXPLORATION: How to use top resource tools to research and build your best-fit college list academically, socially, and financially.
Register for the College Exploration Workshop
This workshop is ideal for 10th-to-11th-grade students and families.
Naviance is the preferred college search engine for many high school students since the software company contracts with many K–12 institutions and acts as an online filing cabinet for student data as early as sixth grade.
In order to do a thorough college search, students and their parents should use a variety of resources to determine best-fit colleges. Additionally, aside from a general checklist of college criteria such as size, location, and cost, families should dig deeper. It is critical to understand % retention rates, % of students accepted Early Decision versus Regular Decision, and Average Net Cost vs. Sticker Price, as well as other data that will help round out a robust college list that gives students the best chance at college success.
Price: $30/90 minutes
~15 minutes will include student break-out and 15 minutes will be reserved for Chatroom Q & A
~ Minimum: 4 students
~ Sessions will be on-going beginning the week of July 6th
~ Performance Prep will contact you to schedule convenient days/times
In this workshop, parents and students will learn how to:
Identify College Criteria that are important to the student/parent
Understand vocabulary such as public vs. private schools; early decision vs. early action vs. regular decision; Test-Optional; Need Aware vs. Need Blind and what it means to a student’s admissions chances
Utilize personality assessments as one proven criterion to match with university profiles
Learn what college research resources are best to use and why
Dig deeper when researching to build a thorough understanding of a school’s profile/prerequisites for specific majors
Make the most of your virtual or on-campus college visit
SAT/PSAT/ACT TEST PREP: Top skills, strategies, and practices every student needs to know to reach top test score potential on the SAT, ACT, or PSAT.
This course is ideal for rising high school seniors and juniors.
This course offers rigorous, personalized instruction on the two verbal components of the SAT, ACT, and PSAT, respectively. Each session will be limited to six students so that each student will receive a quality virtual experience at a competitive price. Students will be grouped based on grade, exam, previous prep, and skill level for a customized group experience.
Price: $240/Six – 90 minute sessions
~ Each session will be broken down into three segments: 20-30 minutes of teacher strategy and skill instruction, 60-70 minutes of authentic test review combined with student breakouts, and 15 minutes of chat room discussion/key takeaways.
~ Weekly office hours will be available to answer student questions one-on-one.
~ 4 Students Minimum/6 students Maximum
~ Sessions will be on-going beginning the week of July 6th
~ Performance Prep will contact you to schedule convenient days/times
In these six-session classes, students will:
• Learn the structure, scoring, question difficulty, pacing, and process of elimination strategies that will serve as a reference guide to the most important ideas on the test
• Focus primarily on foundational concepts and test-taking strategies using authentic tests
• Gain an understanding of the characteristics and patterns of right and wrong answer choices
• Be introduced to lesson plans designed to break down every question into teachable concepts
• Become proficient in identifying challenge areas in which to reinforce practice to maximize correct answers
• Develop line reference, passage organization, and paired passage reading strategies necessary to identify the main idea and key details to correctly answer the most difficult inferential and analogous questions
COLLEGE APPLICATION: How to create a dynamic Common Application despite COVID-19-related challenges and begin your senior year ready to hit submit.
This workshop is ideal for rising high school seniors.
In any given year, it is important for rising seniors to use the summer before senior year to prepare college applications. This year, given the unprecedented challenges surrounding COVID-19, however, it is imperative. This way, come fall, students who are prepared will be able to submit their paperwork more quickly than their peers.
Price: $30/90 minutes
~15 minutes will include student break-outs and 15 minutes will be reserved for Chatroom Q & A
~ Minimum: 4 students
~ Sessions will be on-going beginning the week of July 6th
~ Performance Prep will contact you to schedule convenient days/times
In this workshop, parents and students will learn how to:
• Craft a student resume that showcases talents, experiences, and hard work
• Complete the activities list on Naviance and link it to the Common Application
• Secure strong recommendation letters from teachers, counselors, and mentors
• Understand the requirements admissions officers will focus on this coming school year (given COVID-19 challenges) including test scores, grades, activities, demonstrated interest, and summer plans
• Answer the COVID-19 essay question on the Additional Information section of the Common Application
• Address potential challenges the Class of 2021 may face given more 2020 high school graduates are postponing enrollment until 2021
• Discern recent changes for fall testing on the SAT and ACT
• Create opportunities to build positive relationships with college admissions officers virtually
• Positively present yourself to the Admissions Committee via interviews
• Prepare supplemental essays even if your college list is not finalized
THE COLLEGE PERSONAL ESSAY: How to craft an effective narrative-style personal essay that captures the attention of the admissions office.
This workshop is ideal for rising high school seniors.
The personal essay is the one opportunity for college-bound teens to reveal who they are in their own voice. While colleges have historically considered a well-written personal essay to be an essential component in the application process, this particular year, the personal essay will weigh more heavily in the absence of standardized test scores and the last two semester grades.
Well-written, your essay will set you apart from similar candidates. Each session will be limited to six students so that each student will receive a quality virtual experience at a competitive price.
Price: $240/Six – 90 minute sessions
~ Each session will be broken down into three segments: 20-30 minutes of teacher-led essay skill instruction and discussion with key takeaways, 60-70 minutes of student breakouts, and 15 minutes of a chatroom
~ Weekly office hours will be available to answer student questions in a one-on-one meeting.
~ 4 Students Minimum/6 Students Maximum.
~ Sessions will be on-going beginning the week of July 6th
~ Performance Prep will contact you to schedule convenient days/times
In these six-session classes, students will:
- Explore sample essays in-depth and learn what separates great essays from mediocre ones
- Brainstorm unique topics and explore rhetorical strategies, including anecdotes, dialogue, sensory details, etc.
- Review real-life essays were written by Pomperaug and Newtown High School students
- Bring meaning and depth to essays to showcase student personalities
- Self-edit and polish essays to make sure they are engaging, meaningful, and memorable