11th grade: August
[0] Last month, you connected GPA to college and $$$$$.
That’s probably the most important thing you can do! Most students don’t really understand the impact their GPA has on their ability to go to college for free until it’s too late to change it.
If you think your student didn’t fully understand your point or it would bear repeating, hit it again!
“This is how much money you can make if you go to x college and major in y. Look - at this school that major makes $55,000/year and at this other school, the same major makes $83,000. That's a $30,000 difference.”
Use collegescorecard.ed.gov to look at different schools and compare career outcomes
Understanding what colleges want to see
Consistency
Strength of schedule/rigor
GPA -> financial aid
SAT scores -> financial aid
Long-term outcomes of college - debt, network, career, salary after college graduation
[0.5] Last month, you also worked on connecting.
Friendly reminder that connecting with your student is the most important - because when the poop hits the fan, they’ll only reach out to you if they trust you. I got a call today from a student who trusts me more than her college counselor (who knows a ton more than I do) - but she feels more comfortable with me. So be that person for your student.
Connecting with your mentee: https://yleana.org/college-access/connecting-with-your-mentee
[1] THIS MONTH: Problematize what your student needs help with in junior year - what can we do to boost their junior year GPA?
Ask them how they’re oriented with the following:
Don’t know how to study - small quizzes, tests, big tests like midterms
Have trouble with remembering, recalling, and reaping the rewards of study - after they’ve studied for a test or quiz
Share these 6 huge tips with your student (look through them first yourself so you can explain them): https://www.learningscientists.org/downloadable-materials
They don't know how to manage time for longer projects (eg. how do I manage my time and my workload for something that's an eight-week-long assignment?)
Do they wait until the night before because they don’t know how to chunk and manage their time without a deadline?
Talk to them about chunking/breaking up bigger projects into smaller ones
Have them identify the next time a project like that comes up and work on making a timeline together
Advocating: When they’re sitting in a room with a lot of other students and don’t understand what’s going on, do they:
Ask for help
Go to office hours
Write an email to their teacher to say, “This is what I need”
Find ways to be one of those five kids that's constantly seeking out support from the teacher
Talk to them about what’s stopping them and what they can do - baby steps - to start doing some of the specifics listed above
Set goals
Are they working towards specific goals?
Do they have things they want to achieve?
Make a list of goals they can work towards that will help them academically or on their college path.
Have them commit to them for themselves, but in front of you - when we make a promise in front of another person, it helps us hold ourselves to it!
Do they have a growth or fixed mindset?
Do they get really anxious about school, tests, or social situations?