Making TEA
College Eligible vs. College Ready... What’s the difference? (Part 1)
Friday, January 21, 2011
With this next edition of making TEA with Coach Jill, she was kind enough to offer up a free teleclass with, or an mp3 file of a call that would be relevant to you and your college bound kid. If you are interested in learning more, just reach out to Jill at
So! What do these terms mean to you? Do you think there’s a difference? I’d venture to say that there’s a HUGE difference, yet for the most part, we think that the former is the latter.
In fact, I think it’s a myth perpetuated by most of the people in our education system-whether they do it consciously or unconsciously, I think that principals, guidance counselors, teachers, sports coaches-you name it!-believe that that if teens complete all of these tasks...
1. start to think about college in eighth grade
2. take the most challenging course of study possible in which you can achieve good grades
3. have a great GPA (grade point average) and great rank in class
4. are deeply involved in a few extracurricular activities
5. pursue challenging experiences in the summers-study, travel, work
6. begin the college search in earnest at the beginning of junior year
7. prepare for standardized tests and take them
8. tour and visit colleges during your junior year
9. start completing applications for college in the summer after junior year
10. write your applications essays during the summer between junior and senior years
11. get your letters of recommendation to teachers early
12. maintain your good academic standing throughout your entire senior year
then, they are really prepared for college.
What do you think? Would you teen be ready to leave home and succeed in college with just these skills?
My answer: Certainly not! If teens do all of these tasks well, they have practiced their academic skills (note-taking, communication, etc.), expanded their content knowledge, and managed a huge, long term project; yet, they have not addressed what I consider to be the core of college readiness skills... We will talk about those next week!
If you are interested in sharing your questions-or your teen’s questions- about the college search process for a research project, please contact me, at .
Major in You
blog her
Friend Jill
Tweet with Jill
{www.tinyurl.com/cb-dradio Check out Coach Jill's Radio Show}
So! What do these terms mean to you? Do you think there’s a difference? I’d venture to say that there’s a HUGE difference, yet for the most part, we think that the former is the latter.
In fact, I think it’s a myth perpetuated by most of the people in our education system-whether they do it consciously or unconsciously, I think that principals, guidance counselors, teachers, sports coaches-you name it!-believe that that if teens complete all of these tasks...
1. start to think about college in eighth grade
2. take the most challenging course of study possible in which you can achieve good grades
3. have a great GPA (grade point average) and great rank in class
4. are deeply involved in a few extracurricular activities
5. pursue challenging experiences in the summers-study, travel, work
6. begin the college search in earnest at the beginning of junior year
7. prepare for standardized tests and take them
8. tour and visit colleges during your junior year
9. start completing applications for college in the summer after junior year
10. write your applications essays during the summer between junior and senior years
11. get your letters of recommendation to teachers early
12. maintain your good academic standing throughout your entire senior year
then, they are really prepared for college.
What do you think? Would you teen be ready to leave home and succeed in college with just these skills?
My answer: Certainly not! If teens do all of these tasks well, they have practiced their academic skills (note-taking, communication, etc.), expanded their content knowledge, and managed a huge, long term project; yet, they have not addressed what I consider to be the core of college readiness skills... We will talk about those next week!
If you are interested in sharing your questions-or your teen’s questions- about the college search process for a research project, please contact me, at .
Major in You
blog her
Friend Jill
Tweet with Jill
{www.tinyurl.com/cb-dradio Check out Coach Jill's Radio Show}
