Webinar Recap: Your Changing Role: How to Prepare to be a Great College Parent
Thank you to college transition educator, author, and Westfield native, Dr. Andrea Malkin Brenner for presenting a webinar entitled, “Your Changing Role: How to Prepare to be a Great College Parent” on April 6th.
Andrea focused on how high school parents can lessen their daily involvement in their students’ lives and simultaneously increase their support as students become self-reliant and college-ready. She discussed the considerable learning curve for parents who have helped support and advocate for their children for 18 years as they transition from the role of high school parent to the role of college parent. She explained the realities of FERPA, and how parents can begin early to teach their teens to understand the responsibilities that come with independence, help them prepare for college academics, practice self-sufficient problem solving, and learn to build resilience after challenges and setbacks.
Dr. Brenner draws on her 25 years of experience as a college professor and administrator at American University in Washington, DC. She is the creator of the Talking College™ Card Deck, the original card deck of discussion prompts for college-bound students and their parents and co-author of How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You’re There), a best-selling student-facing book that guides high school graduates through their transition to college.
Please click here to access a recording of the webinar: https://bit.ly/RecapZ8BetterParent
Both her book and card deck are available for purchase through Amazon and through her website. Dr. Brenner has offered a coupon code for CWC members, “CWC” for a discount on her Talking College™ Cards purchased directly through her website.
Once again, we want to thank Andrea for this great webinar. Please reach out to her directly to get more information.
For more information regarding this webinar:
Website: www.AMBrenner.com
Instagram: @andreamalkinbrenner
Twitter: @andreambrenner
Facebook: @AMBrenner, LLC
Webinar recap: Prepping Your Freshman for College
We were pleased with the response to our first zoom webinar, Prepping your Freshman for College. We recorded our event and have posted it below.
College Admissions 101: What Do Colleges Want?
Attention high school sophomores and juniors and your parents! The prospect of preparing for and applying to college is daunting.
According to collegedata.com, “it may seem top secret, but colleges are perfectly willing to reveal their most important admission factors. You just need to know where to look.” We are reposting this hour-long video hosted by our member Susana MacLean (with a special guest appearance by Tim Lear, Director of College Counseling at The Pingry School) to gain more insight into the process.
Click below for details, which include our zoom presentation and powerpoint presentation.
Webinar recap: http://bit.ly/CWCRecapCollegeAdmissions
Presentation of College Admissions 101
Here are final thoughts from our presenter, Susana MacLean:
Colleges and universities are trying to build a community of many different types of students, including historians, philosophers, scientists, athletes, activists, leaders, musicians, dancers, and artists.
When selecting applicants, colleges look first and foremost at a student’s academic achievement. They primarily determine this through a student’s transcript, particularly their grades in academic subjects (math, science, social studies, English, world languages) and their course rigor (college prep, advanced, honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate). In normal, pre-pandemic, times, most colleges also look at standardized test scores, the ACT or the SAT.
But very selective colleges look beyond course rigor, grades, and scores. They also try to assess a student’s extracurriculars and community engagement and their character and personal qualities. These characteristics are revealed in a student’s activities list, their application essays, and their counselor and teacher recommendations.
