In today’s episode, I provide a blueprint to help motivated juniors in high school who need a plan (or a backup plan) for Spring Break - especially for those who just had their college campus visits canceled.
If your child planned to spend Spring Break visiting colleges, cruising around campuses, eating in the student cafes, taking tours, and gazing up at the pretty buildings - they will be disappointed. It's likely that these plans will be canceled. The good news? My proposed backup plan will be better than the trip would have been in terms of your child's readiness for the college admissions process. If your child does even 1/2 of what I’m proposing, they will significantly increase their chance of getting into more colleges.
Now, your child probably won’t think this is such a great deal, because given the choice between going on a 10-day college tour boondoggle versus doing what I’m about to propose, most teens would take the former. Surprise, surprise. They’ll opt for the trip, and the hotels, and the fun.
But, for the junior in high school, who realizes that they have only one shot at this, and they want to put their best foot forward and leave no stone unturned, and they realize the competition that they are facing - a few of them will listen and execute the plan. And those are the students that will have no regrets at the end of this process. It’s a small, chosen few.
I truly believe that for a motivated junior, who wants to be the best that they can be - this coronavirus fiasco may be a blessing in disguise.
if you have a junior, who is highly-motivated in school, or sports, or extracurriculars, or all three, your child is most likely, running on empty right now. That’s what junior year is all about. It’s a test. It’s a test of endurance, motivation, maturity, and perseverance. And they probably holding on for dear life…
So, having 7-10 days off during Spring Break, where your child isn’t in and out of rental cars, and hotels, and campuses, may be the lifeline that they need to regroup before the last push.
By the way, once Spring Break is upon us (a few weeks from now for most of us), there will only be about 10 weeks left in the school year. And if you don’t count the finals period, now you’re looking at 8 weeks left. And, in case you haven’t noticed, AP exams will be in 6 weeks. Hello????
If you planned to be away for Spring Break, and now you’re not going, you have been given the gift of time - one of the most precious commodities in a junior’s life.
What can your child do over Spring Break after canceling their plans - whatever those plans may have been? This is what today’s episode is all about.
Here is what I discuss in this episode:
0:02:00 The perils of procrastination
0:03:27 Do you need a backup plan?
0:04:40 The mindset of a motivated junior
0:06:28 What can your child do if they canceled Spring Break plan?
0:06:54 Rest, Recover, Relax
0:10:54 SAT or ACT study
0:12:35 AP exams
0:13:09 Get ahead on schoolwork
0:13:56 Work
0:14:45 Shadowing
0:15:13 Finish summer planning
0:15:44 Create a backup plan
0:16:12 For aspiring college athletes
0:16:38 Review Common App Essay Prompts
0:17:06 Target list of colleges
0:18:05 LinkedIn
0:18:35 Brag Sheet
0:19:11 Scholarships
0:20:30 Do they believe?
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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, 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.
