{"id":9777,"date":"2017-04-20t18:00:16","date_gmt":"2017-04-21t01:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=9777"},"modified":"2017-04-20t18:02:27","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21t01:02:27","slug":"prepare-college-application-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/prepare-college-application-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"how to prepare for the college application journey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><center>from our friends at <a href=\"https:\/\/wowwritingworkshop.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored noopener noreferrer\">wow writing workshop.<\/a> originally posted on the <a href=\"https:\/\/wowwritingworkshop.com\/prepare-college-application-journey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored noopener noreferrer\">wow writing workshop blog.<\/a><\/center> <\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nthis time of year, every year, many moms and dads with high school juniors (and even sophomores!) start to get nervous. seniors are either done, or at the end of the college admissions process; some have been admitted to their dream schools, while others were deferred or rejected. college talk is all the rage.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nit can be overwhelming. confusing. distressing. but there\u2019s no need to panic. <a href=\"https:\/\/wowwritingworkshop.com\/college-essay-writing\/just-for-parents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored noopener noreferrer\">we want you to get through this process with minimal stress inside your home.<\/a><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nhere\u2019s our no. 1 tip to share with students to start preparing them for the application journey: writing a college essay is all about reflection. students need to learn how to reflect!<\/p>\n<h2>how to teach reflection<\/h2>\n<p>despite what you might believe, writing is not the most challenging part of the essay. the tough part comes at the beginning, when we ask our students what matters to them and why. you can help your son or daughter explore how they exhibit their most significant traits or characteristics. that\u2019s the first step toward reflection.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nwe know that most high school students spend a lot of time thinking and talking about friends, moving out of the house, figuring out life, choosing a career and deciding which college to attend. if you teach your child how to reflect before the next admission cycle starts in late spring, you will all be better prepared for the last phase of this journey to college. find out what\u2019s important to them and why.<\/p>\n<h2>the good news: you are more than ready for this challenge.<\/h2>\n<p>at wow, when we help our students reflect and focus up front, the rest of the process moves much more smoothly. too many students start in the wrong place. they come to us full of ideas about topics, with little consideration of the essay\u2019s purpose.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nall too often, students look for activities that might lead to stories, and they waste a lot of time talking about their experiences and their accomplishments. when they do this, they do not answer the prompt, which, no matter how it\u2019s worded, is really asking students to show some insight into those experiences or accomplishments. that\u2019s reflection.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nencourage your child to start at the beginning of the process \u2013 a conversation with you. you know what\u2019s amazing about your child; help your child figure this out, too.<\/p>\n<h2>make a list<\/h2>\n<p>what makes your child so wonderful?<br \/>\nwhat do you love about this person you\u2019ve raised?<br \/>\nis your son kind? resourceful? compassionate?<br \/>\nis your daughter industrious? funny? patient?<br \/>\nthink about qualities and characteristics, not accomplishments.<\/p>\n<h2>what are you waiting for?<\/h2>\n<p>find a time to sit down with your son or daughter, then share and listen with an open mind and heart. this is a journey into self-discovery to teach your future college student how to be introspective and find meaning in life experiences.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nthis is a key conversation to help your child answer the one question that can really help hit that essay out of the ballpark: <em>what do you want to share with colleges that they don\u2019t already know about you, beyond grades, test scores and extracurricular activities?<\/em><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nonce your child can answer this question with a specific trait or characteristic, he or she will be able to find a meaningful story that illustrates that trait and also answers the prompt.<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nif you can get your child to this point, your son or daughter will be ready to continue the process of discovery \u2013 and will be prepared to write those essays this spring or summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>from our friends at wow writing workshop. originally posted on the wow writing workshop blog. &nbsp; this time of year, every year, many moms and dads with high school juniors (and even sophomores!) start to get nervous. seniors are either done, or at the end of the college admissions process; some have been admitted to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[92],"ppma_author":[24928],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- this site is optimized with the yoast seo premium plugin v21.7 (yoast seo v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>how to prepare for the college application journey - magoosh blog | high school<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/college-admissions\/prepare-college-application-journey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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