“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can
use to change the world.â€
~ Nelson Mandela
Education is a rich source of opportunity for us to learn more about ourselves
and the world, and be prepared to make a difference. Academics & College
resources include:
- Academic Success – practicing study tips, attending summer programs, transitioning to another school
- Gap Year
- College Planning – general resources, testing, seeking, applying, visiting, interviewing, choosing (a major), choosing (a college), financing
- College Success
ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Improve your academic success through study tips, summer programs, and school transition tips.
Practicing Study Tips
- Learning Styles Quiz
- Improve Your Concentration: Achieving Focus Amid Distractions
- Homework Suggestions
- Study Skills Tips
- Middle School Checklist: Here are some things you should be doing during your middle school years. See how many items on this list you can check off.
- Making the Grades: Stress Less for Finals
Attending Summer Programs
- San Diego Summer Day Camps for Boys and Girls
- SuperCamp
- Fusion Academy & Learning Center
- Abbey Road Programs
- Great Books Summer Program
- Teen Summer Camps
- Teen Ink
Transitioning to Another School
- Changing Schools Mid-Year:Â Parent and Teacher Strategies for Smoother Transitions
- Changing Schools Isn’t Easy: Tips for a Successful Transition
- Changing schools can be hard on children academically and socially
- Top 10 Tips for Starting Middle School (Video)
- Tips for starting middle school – Time Management, Organization and Study Skills for Teens
- Starting High School
- Going from High School to College in the United States
GAP YEAR
Looking for something to do and learn from, but not ready to go to college? Take a “gap yearâ€!
- Gap Year: Taking Time Off Before College
- Gap Year.com
- i-to-i Volunteering – i-to-i offers both teaching and volunteer opportunities abroad.
- Outward Bound – Offers over 750 safe, adventure-based wilderness courses serving adults, teens, and youth.
- City Year – Their motto is “Young enough to want to change the world, old enough to do it.” Unites 750 young people (17–24) from diverse economic, racial, and geographical backgrounds for a year of full-time service to their communities.
- Global Routes – Offers both high school and college programs that place volunteers in teaching and community service positions all over the world.
- The Leap - The Leap offers gap year placements which combine multiple locations and volunteering project opportunities in a single trip, challenging both mind and body while making a positive difference, and satisfying desires for travel and adventure, all at once.
- Global Nomadic – Provide a free platform which connects motivated and enthusiastic applicants with projects and organizations specializing in volunteer and internship placements, designed to help build careers, experience and contacts.
COLLEGE PLANNING
Start early on your college planning process. There are many resources available to help you attend the college that is right for you.
General Resources
- Federal Student Aid – an office of the U.S. department of education
- National College Funding Strategies, Inc.
- College Board
- Get Your Kid into College! A Guide for Students and Families
- 5 College Prep Tips for Juniors
- Unprepared for College
Testing
Seeking
Applying
- Facilitating the Application Process
- Recruitment & Admissions
- Apply – learn how to shine during the application process and get ready for the arrival of your admissions decisions letters
Visiting
Choosing (a Major)
Choosing (a College)
Financing
- Don’t Wait to File: Two Changes to the FAFSA Process
- Act Fast for FAFSA: Free Money for College
- How to Complete the FASFA
- FAFSA Checklist 2017-2018
- FAFSA Updates for Students and Parents
- 2017–18 FAFSA Talking Points – Messages for Counselors & College Access Mentors to Use With Colleagues, Students, and Parents
- Changes Impacting the 2017–18 FAFSA – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Explaining Financial Aid
- In Like Me
- Paying for College
COLLEGE SUCCESS
Now that you have been accepted to college, make the most of these academic years by starting out on the right foot with these tips.
- Your First Year of College: 25 Tips to Help You Survive and Thrive Your Freshman Year and Beyond
- Academic 4 Year Planning Worksheet – PDF
- Sleepless in Schools: How Lack of Sleep Plagues College Students