In today's episode, I offer a way to think strategically about your child's extracurricular activities (ECAs). Why does this matter? As most of us know by now, ECAs now have an outsize impact on college applications because of: (1) rampant grade inflation (which does little to help differentiate student ability), (2) optional SAT/ACT tests (which allow students to hide their ability to perform on nationwide tests), and (3) a movement to eliminate teacher letters of recommendation (which offer a 3rd party perspective from a trusted adult). What's left? Extracurricular Activities If you're looking for a way to stand out in an otherwise generic process, listen to this episode where I break down ECAs into 3 discrete buckets that each need to be optimized...
0:02:15 The 3 ECA buckets
0:02:50 5 dimensions of ECAs
0:04:50 A perfect ECA
0:09:26 "In-school" ECAs
0:10:57 "Summer" ECAs
0:13:07 "Ongoing" ECAs
0:19:00 Blessing or curse?
0:19:30 Realistic expectations Follow us:
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Podcast Host: PrepWell Academy's Founder, Phil Black, has spent a lifetime cracking the code on the world's most competitive programs: Yale University, Harvard Business School, Navy SEALs, Goldman Sachs, Entrepreneurship, Shark Tank (2X), etc. Inside PrepWell Academy, Black teaches students everything they need to know about the college admissions process in a series of expertly-timed, 3-5-minute, weekly training videos starting in 9th grade and continuing through 12th grade [Note: this program can only be joined in 9th or 10th grade]. My specialties include military service academies, ROTC scholarships, Ivy League, and student-athletes.
