How to master the long-effect horizons

Today, I want to talk about our four main categories of college admission...

1. High school grades and rigor of classes taken
2. Standardized Test Scores
3. College essays
4. Your story

...and each has an effect horizon.

Long-effect horizons :

High school grades and rigor of classes taken (4 years)
Your STORY (you are building this everyday constantly)

Medium-effect horizons:

Standardized Tests (9-12 months)

Short-effect horizons:

Personal Statement (6 weeks)

But here's the thing...students today are different than students 10,15, 30 years ago.

We live in a digitized era where instant satisfaction is a norm. If you are bored, you scroll on TikTok or Instagram. If you need something, Amazon gets it to your front door in a matter of hours.

There is a constant feedback cycle where wants are met with fulfillment.

What has this done?

It makes finding motivation for these long, sometimes even medium, effect horizons so much harder.

What do I recommend -

1. Watch Jack's video on tips to help you avoid burn-out and succeed.
2. Learn how to envision!

When I was waitlisted at Vanderbilt, I printed out a picture of myself and pasted it onto a picture of Vanderbilt's campus. I left this up on the fridge so I could see it everyday. Did my family think I was CRAZY...absolutely! But it worked!

When I felt defeated by the process, unsure if all I was doing would pay off - I used that picture as my reminder, as my motivation.

What is amazing about this, is it works for ALL effect horizon.

Maybe you want to make the varsity basketball team, get straight A's this semester, or run a marathon - find a picture that represents that future to you and print it out, make it your screensaver, or even favorite it in your camera roll.

Look at it when you need the motivation to keep going!!

As always, if you need more guidance in any of these categories, schedule a call with us today!

Best of luck,
Melina Kazanas

P.S. - Have a high-performing high schooler w/ a 3.7 GPA or higher? We'll help get them into at least one of their top 5 dream colleges...and if we don't get them into at least one of their top 5 dream colleges, you don't pay us a penny.  Seriously.  College admissions isn't rocket science...but it is a science.  And we've cracked the code...year, after year, after year.  You can learn more about our world renowned all-inclusive, start-to-finish college coaching here and to see if your family qualifies for an introductory call.

P.P.S - Our most common question is "When should we start?!"  The answer is, if you truly care about giving your high schooler the best chance of college planning success, you should start NOW. 9th grade is not too early to start! 10th grade is certainly not too early to start! And 11th grade is far, far too late! (supporting data here to show just how much of an advantage you give your child by starting the process early).