by Dr. Kara Tobaben
Are Lutheran secondary schools doing everything they can to help rising seniors craft competitive college applications? Of course, offering a challenging high school curriculum within academically rigorous courses is important. College admissions teams agree earning good grades in difficult classes is a critical factor for acceptance. Yet marketing our schools as “college prep” entails so much more! The following paragraphs outline a successful process for helping students craft a competitive college application that will set them apart from their peers.
Start Early
Meeting with freshmen is imperative to their future success. Many ninth graders require a firm reminder that their choice of courses and grades earned “count” on their official transcripts. Additionally, students need encouragement to use their first three years of high school to build strong resumes in supplemental sections like leadership, service, and accolades. Time in already busy schedules can be carved around the more popular extra-curriculars like theater, robotics, and athletics.
Leadership
Schools can foster leadership by extending a number of opportunities. Two popular leadership organizations are National Honor Society and Student Government. Other suggestions include offering students the ability to create and launch their own unique clubs. Students can use their talents during weekly chapel services by playing instruments, singing, reading Bible passages, running lights and/or sound, and leading prayers.
Service
Acts of service can take place on or off campus. Local food banks and donation stations are always looking for dependable volunteers. The holidays are a popular time to encourage students to give by holding gift and food drives. Blood donations are needed year-round and many organizations will bring a donation bus to campus making donating for high schoolers (and faculty) convenient. Mentoring and tutoring in core courses fosters teamwork among the student body and builds relations when high schoolers offer their services to local feeder schools.
Internships
By eliciting the assistance of parents and church members, a shadowing and internship program can thrive. Students get a peek into their future with hands-on, real-life experience in various occupations. The commitment can range from shadowing for a day to interning for a year. College admissions counselors are impressed by students who take the initiative to think beyond high school. Shadowing and interning provide opportunities for natural conversations regarding best-fit universities and degrees.
Applications
Once students’ resumes are built, it is no easy feat to translate the information to a college application. With a 150 word limit on some applications, words need to be chosen carefully. Crafting a strong personal narrative is difficult due to it being an entirely different style of writing with which most high schoolers are unfamiliar. Oftentimes it takes multiple iterations to perfect. Offering a college application boot camp in the summer benefits the students, their families, and Directors of College Guidance in the fall.
Individual Attention
Typically, Lutheran secondary schools have a smaller number of students per counselor as compared to their public-school counterparts. This is an incredible advantage allowing time for ample individual attention to be given to each student and his/her unique path. Walking students through interest inventories and their results helps students define potential majors. Researching academic institutions with strong programs comes next. Creating college lists also includes preferences like location, size, cost, and extra-curricular options.
Alternatives
Truly knowing each student is imperative in order to provide the best possible guidance toward life after high school. For some, life after high school does not include attending a four-year university. Often students are greeted with the well-meaning question, “What school are you going to?” An open-minded alternative offered here is the question, “What are your plans for after high school?” The latter gives students the acceptance and support they might need to embrace attending a trade school, entering the work force, or taking a gap year.
God’s Promise
Each student is created with a unique set of God-given gifts and talents. The four years attending a Lutheran secondary school serves as a solid foundation (academically, socially, and spiritually) on which students can build their blessed futures. When students know their identity is in Christ, they are equipped to live a Christian-based life and serve as examples of Jesus that this world so desperately needs. As it is written, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21 NIV).
Dr. Kara Tobaben is a FACT 3 graduate and currently serves as the Director of College Guidance at Prince of Peace Christian School in Carrolton, TX. She can be reached at kara.tobaben@popcs.org.