PrepWell Academy prepares you for high school, college, and life

PrepWell Podcast - Ep. 16 Should Your Child Specialize In Their Sport?

prepwell podcast Jan 19, 2020

Show Notes:

Today, I make the case for sports specialization - the process by which families decide that it’s in the best interest of their son (or daughter) to focus exclusively on one sport - and so they drop all the others (along with other extracurriculars in many cases).

For example, a boy who has always played football, basketball, and lacrosse while growing up (all in different seasons), decides to drop everything but lacrosse in 10th grade. Or, a girl, who has played volleyball and softball growing up - decides to go all-in on soccer in 9th grade.

Is this a good idea? What does the timing look like? What are the advantages and potential drawbacks of this strategy?

Now, If your child is not an athlete, then you might not get as much value from this episode, but I still think there are a lot of great lessons to be learned. The episode is geared toward families who have children who have grown up playing multiple sports, and...

How Did This PrepWeller Get Into Every College He Applied To?

case studies early preparation ivy league Jan 16, 2020

Wait, what?

"Wait, what? Jimmy got into Berkeley? Are you serious? My son has the same GPA and SAT scores - maybe even better. He took just as many weighted classes as Jimmy. Why didn't my son get in? They both have the same profile."

This is one of the most common questions I hear from the PrepWell community and from random people around the water cooler, lacrosse field, and locker room.

I'd like to shed some light on this question by comparing three students that I counseled privately this year in my Private Mentoring program.

[FYI: I run a program where I work closely with a handful of PrepWell Academy students who opt to move from the online program to a full-service program in junior year].

What accounts for the difference in outcomes?

There are several factors at play here (e.g. extracurriculars, leadership, letters of recommendation, demonstrated interest, major preference, parental involvement, etc.)

However, I believe the biggest difference-maker is when a student...

PrepWell Podcast - Ep. 15 | Why Colleges Love Leaders and How Your Child Can Become One

prepwell podcast Jan 12, 2020

Here is what I discuss in this episode:

0:01:03 Why do colleges seem to love leaders?

0:04:13 How can you help your child become a leader?

0:05:55 Why is it so important to start early?

0:07:23 What happens if your child waits too long?

0:08:20 Can 9th and 10th graders become leaders?

0:09:44 What about starting your own club?

0:11:10 What about a Shark Tank Club?

0:12:05 Don’t make this mistake

0:12:45 What about Captains of sports teams?

0:14:37 How your child’s job demonstrates leadership

0:15:15 Students who lead their families

0:15:45 Tried-and-True leadership opportunities

0:16:30 How important is leadership to military programs?

If you want to support the show, here are three immediate steps to take.

Subscribe to the podcast where ever you listen to podcasts
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Give us a review
Share this episode with a friend
Join our mailing...

Will Mia Get into MIT?

case studies early preparation ivy league Jan 09, 2020

As a college admissions counselor specializing in students with big ambitions (e.g. Ivy League, Military Service Academies/ROTC, Athletic scholarships), I have seen dreams realized, shattered, and everything in between.

Case Study

In this case study, I reveal what goes through an MIT college admissions officers' mind as they review Mia's application. What do they care about, what do they disregard, what jumps out, and what factors might seal the deal for her (for good or bad)?

Mia just finished her junior year at a big public high school in CA. She has a great GPA, killer SAT score, nearly perfect SAT Subject Test scores, and some impressive extracurricular activities.

Will this seemingly extraordinary application stand out?

Here are the summary findings for Mia:

Objective Academic Metrics:

Excellent.

SAT: 1520
GPA: 4.4
SAT Subject Tests: 800 and 790
AP Cal BC: 5
AP Physics: 4
Rigor of classes: very

Extracurriculars:

Very strong. A combination of academics, work, STEM camp,...

Lesson From a Quitter Podcast | Guest: Phil Black

case studies early preparation Jan 02, 2020

To listen to the full podcast, please visit:

Listen here: Episode 47

The path that many of us have been brought up to follow usually goes a little something like this: take the right classes, get the good grades, get into the prestigious school, graduate, and then find a high paying job. We're taught that it is a linear path that you stick to and climb to the top.

Well, in today's episode, Phil Black teaches us why you should buck that wisdom. Phil has one of the most interesting careers we've ever highlighted on this show. His story is a testament to following your curiosities and always re-evaluating what is most important. Among his many accomplishments, Phil played D1 collegiate basketball at Yale, worked as an investor at Goldman Sachs, was a Navy Seal Officer, went to Harvard Business School, is a firefighter, entrepreneur, father, and more.

While it wasn’t clear to him during his journey, he was gaining an incredibly useful skill: the ability to find his way into...

PrepWell Podcast - Ep. 14 | Top 10 Things Your High Schooler Should Have done This Year

prepwell podcast Dec 29, 2019

Show Notes:

In this episode, I share with you what every 9th, 10th, and 11th grader should have done between June and December of this year (the first half of the academic year).

I lay out these 10 DIRECTIVES by grade (9th, 10th, and 11th), with a short explanation as to why each is so essential.

If your child is a PrepWeller, who has been keeping up with their videos for the last few months, this will be old news to them. They will have heard this (ideally) and taken action and been on their way. They are my superstars. If you are the parent of a PrepWeller, who hasn’t quite kept up with the weekly lessons, well, now you’ll learn 10 of the most important things that I’ve been directing your child to do since June. Yes, these are just the tip of the iceberg, but worth noting And, hint hint, it might be a good idea for you to check-in with your child to see how they’re doing with these directives.

Here is what I discuss in this...

Will Rohan Get into USNA or ROTC?

case studies early preparation military options rotc Dec 27, 2019

Case Study

In this case study, I discuss whether Rohan has what it takes to get into the United States Naval Academy or win an ROTC scholarship. These insights can be applied to similar service academies (e.g. West Point, Air Force Academy, Merchant Marine Academy).

Click these links to find out more about military service academies and ROTC scholarships.

Rohan just finished his junior year at a big public high school in MA. He hadn't thought much about applying to a service academy and didn't even know what ROTC was. No one ever introduced these two options to him. Now, as Rohan begins to prepare his college applications, he is struck by the amount of work required during the process.

Will Rohan be too late to submit a solid application?

Here are the summary...

PrepWell Podcast - Ep. 13 | How to Keep Track of your Child’s Extracurricular Activities

prepwell podcast Dec 22, 2019

Show Notes:

In this episode, I discuss how to help your child keep track of their extracurricular activities. There are many options - some of which your child (or you) may already be doing - from doing nothing, to recording events in a notebook, collecting articles or certificates in a physical folder, updating a computer file or spreadsheet - or, doing what PrepWellers do - which is updating, in real-time, their own LinkedIn profile.

The goal of these options (and there are plenty of others) is to document important moments in your child’s life.

Today, I’m going to walk you through the importance of this process and each of the steps required to be successful.

What I discuss in this episode:

0:01:37 How do PrepWellers track their activities?

0:02:08 Why should my child track their activities?

0:03:50 A practical reason to track activities

0:04:15 How will tracking help with college applications?

0:05:25 When...

What are Non-Traditional Teen Activities?

case studies early preparation extracurriculars Dec 18, 2019

Assume a group a college applicants have similar:

GPAs
standardized test scores
and high school course loads

but participate in different "Extracurricular Activities" that could be categorized as Typical or Non-Typical Teen Activities.

TTA (Typical Teen Activities)

VP, Spanish Club
President, Student Government
Corresponding Secretary, Recycling Club
Jazz Ensemble member
Mathletes Competitor
Captain, Soccer Team
Chess Club Member
Book Club participant
School Tour Guide
Sales Clerk, Forever 21

NTTA (Non-Typical Teen Activities)

Founder, SlimeFest (World's Largest Slimemaking Convention)
Skateboard Artist and Instagram Influencer (250K followers)
Founder, Bird Scooter Services (maintenance, repair, charging)
Subject Matter Expert, 19th Century Military Leaders
Professional Nerf Gun Collector (350+ different Nerf weapons)
Khan Academy Expert (completed 750 unique learning modules)
TEDx Speaker (topic: the demise of local newspapers)
Airsoft Military Simulation World Games...

PrepWell Podcast - Ep. 12 | Should my child take the SAT or ACT?

prepwell podcast Dec 15, 2019

Today, we’re talking about how to approach the SAT and/or ACT - the two standardized tests that most colleges will use to assess your child’s readiness for college.

This is a very important topic. As with most things related to college admissions, students and parents should get involved far sooner than they think - if they want to do well.

That’s the entire point of this podcast, and PrepWell Academy - to give you the early head’s - to help you prepare early - so that your child can perform well.

Here are some questions I address:

How do I approach these tests?
When should I take these tests?
Which test should I take?
What’s the difference between the tests?
How do I compare an ACT and SAT score?
Should I take one or both?
How big a deal is my score?
How many times should I take it?
How much should I expect to improve?
What are the best ways to prepare for these tests?
What if I don’t want...

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