#academic tips

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So how do people expect students to be able to afford housing if they cant even work enough hours next to their study.

As classes are beginning at many universities, this is the time of the semester when it's a good idea to just shoot your professors an email. It doesn't have to be anything super formal, just introduce yourself and say that you're looking forward to their class.

Establishing a line of communication will do you a world of good as the class progresses. It will make it easier to ask for help, advice, or accommodations down the road.

This is the time of year (after grades are in, during the semester break) when I send thank you emails to each of the professors that I had a class with.

Whether adjunct, fixed term, or tenured, they work very hard teaching classes, often without a lot of thanks. Sending a short email letting them know that you enjoyed their class can go a long way, and it's a good step to forming a relationship with a possible mentor.

I know that writing emails can be tricky, so here's a basic template to get you started:

Dear Dr. Lastname,

I was in your [insert name of class] this semester, and I wanted to reach out to thank you for this semester and for the effort you put into the class. I really appreciated how you worked to [something you liked about the class], and I really enjoyed learning from you.

All the best,

It is said that preparation is the key to life, and so it is with the college admissions process. 

While I am on the roll with cliches, let's add one more--college admissions is also a case of reaping what you sow.  Your student will be in the role of "proving" that she deserves to be admitted to the college. Preparing for this role is essential long before the senior year of high school. Some of the advice that is offered here stems not only from my role as a parent, but also of an educator who has worked with high school students for thirty years.

Organizational skills are crucial in school and out. Included in this are study skills. 

 It is vital that your student have a course in study skills BEFORE high school.  I feel the ideal time for this and the more impressionable time is during the middle school years.  Yes, this can be taught at the high school level, but the habits that are developed earlier are the ones that will not meet with the teen-age rebellion years! Organizational skills must be ingrained to be readily available to the student so that the most can be made of time. Organizational skills will be at the cornerstone of every good grade that your student receives once she enters high school. STRESS organizational skills with your student in various aspects of daily school preparation and try to model them yourself!  If you never seem to be able to find that paper that you have to sign for school, then how can you expect your student to do this?  Yes, we all have rough days, and we all lose things. However, if on a day-to-day basis your student sees you consistently being late for appointments, forgetting to sign a paper that is due, not being able to locate any needed papers in the house, then this is what she will use as a model.  Planning for and meeting deadlines are key components of earning high school grades as well as to the college application process. Help your student to learn them by setting a good example.

Students must be made aware BEFORE starting high school, that the permanent student record begins in grade nine.  

The all-important GPA starts the second the student starts 9th grade.  Students need to be encouraged to do their best from the time they enter high school or be prepared to settle for less when they are looking for a college. Are there exceptions to this? Maybe, but would you want to have to find out the hard way?

Encourage your student to invest time in becoming acquainted with programs to improve scores on the needed tests for college. 

Check with your student's high school counselor to determine what is available through the school, and if this is not sufficient, then seek out avenues outside of school. Yes, these test scores are important enough to spend extra time improving them.  The scores will help support a strong school record AND will be used for awarding scholarships that could be substantial at the chosen college.  For example, a merit scholarship may  be awarded for entering students who have a 3.5 GPA and a combined SAT score of 1250.  If your student has a GPA of 3.8 and scores 1150 on the SAT,  she is out of the running for this scholarship. This could be worth thousands for each of the four years. There are now several on-line sites which can help with the growth of these skills. Take a free practice exam at CollegeBoard

Are the courses that your student is taking in high school preparing her to meet the challenges of a college schedule?  If you see that your student is always selecting the "least" challenging courses, then when or how will she learn how to accept a challenge?  AND, the first semester of college IS a challenge.  Try to determine the right path for your  student between earning the highest GPA and taking challenging courses because BOTH are important for your school record.

Your student's school record will, of course, cover the academics, but to put your student in the most competitive position, activities in which she participates will be another component of her profile. 

 If your student has not been part of clubs, sports, organizations etc. before grade nine, then try to encourage her to become involved at the high school. level.  College will want to know how your student spends time and what talents she will bring to the campus.  If you need help with this, see the high school counselor for some suggestions and support.

Visit a few college web sites and download an application or two to see what colleges are looking for.  Sometimes teenagers need to see to believe, so print out a copy of several applications in order to help your student see the "big picture."

More interesting articles on this topic:

https://weatheredavenues.tumblr.com/post/159274840093/to-outline-or-not-to-outline-that-is-the

https://clumsynails.tumblr.com/post/159184487611/how-web-writing-differs-from-printed-writing