Class of 2019/2020 Summer Program Opportunities

**Additional summer programs and opportunities can be found on Naviance under "Enrichment Programs" or in earlier blog posts

Brandeis University Pre-College Programs
Young Leaders Conference on Israel Studies
BIMA
Genesis
Find more information, visit brandeis.edu/precollege

McGill Summer Academy (MSA)
July 15-28th, 2018
Students will be able to live and eat in one of our residences and see for themselves why Montréal was rated the #1 Student City in the World (QS Best Student Cities 2017)!
 
Registration will be online and open on February 7, 2018!

Students interested in learning more about the McGill Summer Academy can refer to our website: https://www.mcgill.ca/summeracademy/ and may join our mailing list for more updates on the 2018 program!

UMass Lowell Francis College of Engineering High School Summer Camp
Engineering for a Connected World
July 8-13
Engineering for Sustainability
July 15-20
For more information visit uml.edu/futureengineerscamp - Registration opens February 1

Summer Springboard Pre-College Programs
Many summer opportunities at either UC Berkeley or Yale University
Apply online at www.summerspringboard.com/apply

Washington University in St. Louis Summer Experiences
High School Summer Scholars Program
Session A: June 10 - July 14
Session B: July 15 - August 17
Session C: June 10 - August 4
High School Summer Institutes
Various programs on various dates
For more information on programs, fees, scholarships, and application requirements, vist: summerexperiences.wustl.edu
Deadline is April 1, 2018

8 Social Media Tips To Improve College Admission Chances

Posted By Jane Danes on Nov 17, 2017 | 0 Comments

The general rule of thumb when posting something on social media is not to post anything that you don’t want your mother or grandmother to see. 

Guidance counselors warned college applicants to be wary of what they post on social media. If you’re applying to Harvard University, don’t be like these students whose admissions were revoked because of offensive Facebook posts.

But not all colleges rescind admission because of online offenses. However, more and more colleges are using social media in evaluating college applicants. 

Online scrutiny of applicants for college is increasing. College admissions officers stated that they check Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to know more about their applicants. 

To improve your chances of being accepted, here are some ways to ensure that college admissions officers will like what they see on your social media accounts.

1. Clean your social media accounts

It doesn’t mean that you should delete your social media accounts. Instead, review your posts and photos. If there are things that showed you’re doing anything illegal or offensive, then remove them.

And not just your photos or posts. Review the links and pages you liked. And unlike them, when necessary. You can do all of these things on your other social media accounts, like Twitter, Tumblr, and other social media. 

If you like posting selfies, you might want to remove them all, so you don’t look conceited. You want to show the admission officers that there’s so much more to you than your face or abs.

2. Remove tags

After cleaning your pages, you should also remove all tags from your friends. It’s especially true if your friends posted photos that aren’t safe for college admissions and they tagged you in them. Scour and remove those controversial photos. Even if they don’t show up on your page, you must still untag yourself.

3. Never brag about wrongdoing

College admissions officers don’t check the social media accounts of prospective students routinely.  Although very rare, there are occasions that they do check them out. It’s especially true if the subject is serious enough.     

4. Edit your social media usernames

Your current usernames might be funny, and they look good to your family and friends. But they might send the wrong message to some people, especially college admission officers. Thus, edit them to make them look and sound professional. 

Apart from deleting your inappropriate posts or photos, you should also consider being mindful of how you treat others online. If you are fond of making lewd comments or trolling other accounts, you should delete them. They could affect your college application.

5. Check Google

Some admissions officers are using Google to know more about their applicants. Thus, you should do it, too. No matter how careful you are about what you post on your social media accounts, you may still be surprised at what might pop up. 

If you found something that might hurt your reputation, you should remove it. Now, if you couldn’t remove it yourself, make sure to ask the owner of the site to take it down. 

You can also stop the search engine from tracking your web activity. To do so, just go to your account and choose “Manage your Google Activity.” It’s located under the Personal info and privacy tab. Once you’re in that tab, you can find the data that Google uses to track you. You can disable this feature by clicking the blue slider icon. 

If you wish to be extra cautious, you can delete all your web activities by going to the My Activity page on your Google account. Choose the Delete activity by and click the All-time option. However, if you wish to choose just a specified period, then you can select specific dates in the menu.

6. Opt to use LinkedIn

Having a digital resume is what you need to improve your chances of getting accepted from college. With the help of LinkedIn, you can include all your academic achievements. 

Not just your academic activities but also your after-school jobs. By updating your LinkedIn profile and make it look professional, it can help in making your profile stand out.

On your LinkedIn, upload a photo that makes you look approachable and professional. Thus, don’t use a picture with your cat. It’s not the best choice unless you’re applying for a college of a veterinarian.

7. Share the good stuff

Although you need to get rid of those questionable posts, it doesn’t mean that you need to stop posting online. Instead, use your social media posts to your advantage by sharing only the good stuff.

You can share your photos showing your volunteer work. If you wrote an article on an authority site, you could add links to that article. What you need here is to show your talents, skills, and passions.

8. Clean your profiles regularly

Don’t stop scrubbing your profiles. It’s beneficial to avoid leaving a less-than-stellar profile that an admission officer can see. 

And even after graduating from college and you’re applying to a graduate school, it’s still vital that you continue making your social media profiles look good. 

Keep in mind that graduate admissions do look at online profiles. Thus, untag yourself from the photos of your friends’ keg party. Graduate schools are looking for students who are more professional. 

Before posting anything, make sure that it’s college material. In that way, if a college admissions officer reads your profile and sees your status update, the post must be a positive reflection of yourself. 

 

In all your posts, you have to be seen as level-headed. Since you’re applying for college, you must maintain excellent spelling and grammar. When making a comment or opinion, ensure that it’s backed up with facts and analysis. 

And if you think that not everyone needs to read your post or comment, then it’s better not to post it. When you share some personal news, use the right words. Don’t appear as a bragger, especially if you’re posting about your achievements.

Boston Leadership Institute 2018 STEM Programs

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

SUMMER 2018

The Boston Leadership Institute is now accepting applications for summer 2018 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) programs designed for high-achieving high school students. Participants engage in experimental research with faculty experts in cutting-edge areas of science. Programs are offered in fields that are generating high demand, high-paying STEM jobs.

Programs provide:

• Hands-on, in-depth research experience that can be included in college admissions essays
• Research skills that afford students an edge in obtaining internships and research positions
• A platform to explore potential college majors and careers
• An opportunity for students to vault into the upper echelons of college applicants by demonstrating initiative, drive and mastery of upper level STEM subject matter

Beautiful science labs and facilities provide the type of summer experience that is highly valued in college admissions. Programs take full advantage of Greater Boston locations where world-class colleges such as Harvard meet world-class biotech and medical centers to provide field trips and guest lectures. Last summer, over 400 top students were drawn to BLI summer programs from across the country and 32 nations. Day or overnight options are available. Programs include:

        SCIENCE                                    ENGINEERING                      MEDICINE    

Biological Research                          Applied Physics/Engineering     Genetics & Clinical Trials            

Chemistry Research                          Engineering Research                 Biomedical & Surgical

Marine Biology                                 Electronics & Robotics               Veterinary Medicine

STEM Entrepreneurship                   App Development                       Contagious Disease

Mars Mission                                    Biomedical Engineering             Emergency Medicine

Biotech & Pharma                                                                                Neuroscience

Scientific Writing for Publication                                                        Anatomy & Surgical

Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry                                                       Forensic Science

The Boston Leadership Institute has received numerous awards and distinctions including being named among the top science (2012–2017) programs, top summer programs of any type (2013),

and top biomedical engineering programs (2017) in the country. Alumni now attend top-ranked universities such as MIT, Harvard, Penn and Yale.

Visit our website and apply online at: http://bostonleadershipinstitute.com

Three-Week Tuition Only: $2200  Tuition & Residential: $3997

     One-Week Tuition Only: $599  Tuition & Residential: $1198

Admission Anxiety - And Twelve Steps to Reduce It

Tulane University Admission Blog - Jeff Schiffman  Director of Admission

I want to share some of my tips for reducing anxiety in your hyperactive high school lives.  It’s my hope that by doing a few of the things below, you can start to see some positive changes and maybe manage this crazy stressful and anxiety-inducing time of the year.

source; aanchalloshali.wordpress.com

1) Meditate. All I'm saying is to try it. Give it a shot. You have nothing to lose. Even just ten minutes a day. Remember, they call meditation a “practice” for a reason: you’re not going to master it the first time you try it. Or even the first ten times. But keep at it for a few weeks. I promise you, you’ll see remarkable results, just like going to the gym. I use Calm when I meditate and I can't recommend it enough. Try the 7 Days of Calm, it's a free trial. I know others love Headspace. Marines, pro athletes, CEOs, and millions of Americans have introduced meditation into their daily life. This stuff is the real deal.

2) Treat your brain like it’s your roommate. Here is something I learned from the concept of mindfulness and specifically from this great book I read called The Untethered Soul. Basically, your brain is like your roommate. It’s always going to be nagging you, talking to you, reminding you of things, giving you it's opinion in an endless narrative. The most important thing to remember is this: you can choose what you listen to. Just because your brain is always talking to you, doesn’t mean you have to listen to it. Imagine if all the negative or anxious thoughts that you have came from an actual person saying those things to you; they'd kinda be a real annoying jerk who you'd never listen to in real life. After all, if you could control your brain’s thoughts, you’d only think positive things, right? As soon as you starting thinking “I’ll never get into this school,"  "I am going to bomb the ACT," just remember — you don’t have to listen to negativity. Just like that annoying roommate, you don't have to listen to it.

3) Download the Moment app on your phone. Moment tracks the amount of time you spend on your phone and WOW is this an eye opener. The data from studies linking phone addition to anxiety and depression is eye-popping. On Sunday, I downloaded the Moment app and nearly threw up when I saw how many hours I spent on my phone in one day. So, on Monday morning when I was leaving for work and going for my standard phone check before I got into my car, I thought no Jeff don't check it, you don't need to and I drove to work. Shortly thereafter, I realized I'd actually forgotten my phone at home altogether. I spent the day worrying that my grandma was texting me "I love you" on her final death bed (she wasn't; she's not even sick) or that my boyfriend had some massive emergency (he didn't; I emailed him just to be sure). I got home Monday night to find I'd missed exactly zero important calls, texts or Insta stories. A whole day away from my phone! I'm going to stick with this Moment app to really see how I can cut down on my phone use. Give it a shot with me.

4) Try a little mindfulness. Take a few moments to listen to a podcast about mindfulness. When I did, it was the first time in my life I’ve ever been exposed to the concept, and to be honest, there is something to it. If you’d told me a year ago I would have typed that sentence, I would have laughed at you. My sister got me turned on to Tara Brach — look her up in the Podcast store and give her a listen. If you'd rather read, check out the book Dan Harris from ABC News wrote after his on-air anxiety attack called Ten Percent Happier. We've even got a Mindfulness Collaborative here at Tulane.

5) Don’t look at your phone before you go to sleep or right when wake up. See tip #3. When you are on your phone right before you go to bed, the stimulation from the phone keeps you awake and also keeps your mind racing. Instead, read a book. Meditate. Do something besides sit in bed and stare at your phone. If you have to look at your phone before bed, adjust the Night Shift on your phone before you do so. This takes out the colors that make it hard on your eyes in the evening. Right as you wake up, don't grab your phone and check Snapchat or email. Just let yourself wake up. Also, drink a full glass of water as soon as you wake up. I don't know why, it just helps somehow.

6) Add the Momentum add in for your laptop. It gives you gorgeous shots and inspirational messages to greet you every day.

7) Don’t post your college application decisions on Facebook. If you get into a school, that is great! No need to blast it all over social media, even though I know you are super pumped. Because as you get in, many of your classmates will not. Keep your results off social media and you'll be inadvertently helping those around you. Once you select a school to enroll at, by all means post about it. But in the crazy ED/EA season, it goes a long way to show some humility.

8) Take it a step further and take a little break from social media altogether. This one is tough, I know, especially in the world we live in. It's remarkable how much anxiety it can give you when you are consistently comparing your life to your classmates and experiencing FOMO. One small step I recommend is getting rid of the Facebook app on your phone and just checking it when you happen to be on your computer. Or pick one to commit to: Insta Story OR Snapchat, not both. See tip #3 again — as it turns out, you're not missing as much as you think you are. Case in point — the people who don't use social media at all are always cooler than me and never seem to have any anxiety about not being on it.

9) Learn to respond, not react. This is one that is going to take some time and won't happen overnight. But by practicing some mindfulness and maybe a little meditation, you'll get there. Simply put, reacting is the knee-jerk reaction to a situation. Responding is taking a breath, collecting your thoughts, mulling it over, and then replying. Next time someone emails you something obnoxious, instead of immediately reacting with an equally obnoxious email, sit on it, even sleep on it, and write a well-thought-out response. You'll be glad you did. Great example: if you get deferred from a school, don't react. Respond. You'd be shocked how many students send me expletive-laden emails when they are not admitted to Tulane. That is called a reaction.

10) Be patient with others. I was on the airplane last week with a mom and her baby. The baby would NOT stop crying. Everyone was glaring at the mom with a "shut that kid up" look on their face. Now, think of it this way — who is the only person on that plane who wants that baby to stop crying more than you? Right. The mom. So be patient. I bet that baby will stop crying a whole lot sooner if the other people on the flight gave the mom a few compassionate looks of patience. Patience with others (your school counselor for example) can lead to a remarkable amount of anxiety reduction of your own.

11) Let Thanksgiving be a college-free zone. Everyone is going to ask where you applied, where you got in, where you want to go. Set some ground rules with the fam.  Mom and Dad, you might have to lead this charge. Let this be a time with your family to decompress, truly enjoy each other's company, and leave all that college-talk for some other time. There's not much that can be changed now, so getting into stressful conversations over the turkey won't help anyone. Go play some football instead. Speaking of which...

12) Exercise. But like, REALLY, exercise. One of the absolute best ways to reduce your anxiety is to get a really good workout in. Not just a casual jog, but something where you really push yourself. Take a boot-camp class, maybe even a spin class, but do something that pushes you harder than usual. If you're a freshman at Tulane, your first spin class is on me! Or go try Joe for his infamous ABT class.

If you had told me last year I'd be writing a blog encouraging you to meditate, I'd think you had lost your mind! But here I am doing exactly that. Like I've said before, everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end. You'll get in somewhere, you'll go somewhere. You'll do fine in school and the drama with your friends will come and go. This goes back to deciding what you listen to in your brain. It's not always going to be perfect, but you can be assured, eventually things have a way of working themselves out. I am not saying all will be completely stress-free all the time, but over the course of the next few months, if you try a few of the tips above, you might just experience reduced anxiety in life, even at a time when you'd expect it to be higher than ever.

Class of 2019 and Class of 2020 Summer Program Opportunities

Duke Summer Session
This summer, we are offering more opportunities than ever to engage in one of our transformative programs:
Summer College – A four-week, credit-bearing program for US students currently in 10th or 11th grade and international students currently in 10th – 12th grade in which they take undergraduate-level courses
Summer Academy – A three-week program for students currently in 9th – 12th grade in which they take a certificate course.
Intensive STEM Academy – A one-week, STEM-based program for students currently in 9th – 12th grade that consists of a variety of laboratory tours, faculty lectures, and workshops.
Check out our website for more information: http://summersession.duke.edu/high-school-students

 Reynolds Young Writers Workshot at Dension University
Dates: June 17-24, 2018
Application opens January 3, deadline of March 4, 2018
Get more information at reynolds.denison.edu

Summer at Tufts 2018
Tufts offers 3 Pre-College Programs and access to many Summer Session courses, including credit and residential options; programs offered July - August
Visit go.tufts.edu/precollege for more information, the application, and deadlines

WPI Frontiers
Application Opens Dec. 15
Frontiers is a two-week residential, on-campus summer program for high school students that challenges participants to explore the outer limits of their knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and math with laboratory techniques, exploring unsolved problems across a wide spectrum of disciplines. There is need-based financial assistance available.
For students entering Grades 11 & 12

Dates:

Session I: July 8 - 20, 2018

Session II: July 22- August 3, 2018

Cost:

Session I or II: $2995.00

Sessions I and II: $4795.00

 

Phillips Academy Andover would like to invite you to our 28th Annual Summer Opportunities Fair.
2018 Summer Opportunities Fair
Sunday, January 21, 2018 – Noon to 3 PM
PHILLIPS ACADEMY ANDOVER -- SMITH CENTER
Programs for Middle & High School Students
FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Representatives from 100 local, national, and international programs.

Focus on academic programs, language study, community service, camps, sports, arts, research, internships, outdoor adventure, international travel, & gap year opportunities.

How to Survive Thanksgiving - College Admissions

Do HS Seniors Really Need Another Thanksgiving Survival Guide? Yep.

11/20/2017 08:00 am ET

Conde Nast publishers shuttered Gourmet magazine in 2009. The last issue, fittingly, was the Thanksgiving one. I still have it, tucked away with a decade’s worth of other turkey emblazoned editions. I know I’ll never cook any of the recipes. I’m a creature of habit and am not one to rock the gravy boat. Still, I enjoy revisiting them each November. It’s comforting, like the holiday itself. It’s tradition.

Tradition. That’s what Thanksgiving brings. Turkey, parades, football, traffic—and advice columns on how to navigate dinner with family members who only want to talk about your college applications. Like this. And this. And also this.

Do we need another? Not really. But kind of. There’s not much novel to say on the topic. At the same time, that doesn’t mean the advice isn’t worth repeating, especially if it helps you avoid an unwanted spotlight.

Applying to college is an emotional journey filled with equal parts excitement and anxiety. It can consume your days. You know that, and so do your parents, who have a courtside seat for the ups and downs. But Thanksgiving can be a holiday that brings together family members who don’t see each other very often. It’s only natural that they would want to hear about what’s going on in your life. The problem is that the very topic you want to take a break from is the one they’re most curious about.

It can be frustrating, and how you respond is up to you. Fortunately, you have options that don’t necessarily involve hurling mashed potatoes at your loved ones. Here are three to consider.

Enlist help. Before people gather, ask your parents or siblings or anyone else who understands where you’re coming from to lend a hand in guiding the conversation. Your parents could say, “She’s been working so hard on her applications. We told her she could take a day off from thinking about it.” Or maybe an older sibling or cousin could step in with a comment on how nice it was to take a mental break when they were applying.

Return the question. Be ready with a polite but brief reply like “I’m making good progress” or “It’s all my friends and I talk about” and then follow with, “What was it like when you applied to college?” That could help people satiate their craving for talking about the topic without actually focusing on you.

Be honest. There’s nothing wrong with saying that you’d rather not talk about your applications. Depending on your personality and your relationship with the person asking, you can make the point with humor or fatigue or simple matter-of-factness. But make the point.

There’s no guarantee that these strategies will work, but they’re worth a try. Hopefully, people will get the message and move on to the great cranberry debate. If all else fails, you might consider grabbing a pen and pad to take some notes. If anyone asks what you’re doing, just tell them you’re jotting down ideas for your college essay. That should do the trick.

Chicago Tribune Article - 'No worse fate than failure': How pressure to keep up is overwhelming students in elite districts

By Karen Ann Cullotta, Karen Berkowitz, Kimberly Fornek and Suzanne Baker   Pioneer Press NOVEMBER 13, 2017, 7:46 AM W hen Naperville North High School student Tessa Newman heard about the suicide of a classmate last school year, she was outraged. Furious, not at the classmate, but at a culture she said exacerbates the pressure she and many of her fellow students feel. So Tessa took action. "I was just so angry and overwhelmed, I got on my Chromebook at 2 a.m. and essentially wrote down my feelings," says Tessa, 17, now a senior at the school. Within days, Tessa had posted a 1,458-word essay on Change.org. The petition, "Naperville North

Pressure Culture Must Change," soon went viral, striking a chord nationwide and prompting fierce debate on the topic. 

 

"At Naperville North there is one path to success," Tessa wrote in the piece. "From the age of 13, every prospective Naperville North student understands that this path makes no exceptions, and those who wander off or fall behind are left for failure. Everyone here understands that there is no worse fate than failure." 

If nothing else, the essay and the response it generated show how much the topic of student stress and educational anxiety is on the minds of kids, parents, teachers, counselors and administrators — some of whom are calling it a burgeoning mental-health crisis. 

"When I first wrote the essay, it wasn't meant to be shared, but I knew I had something important to say," Tessa said. "I thought to myself, 'if I don't do it, who will?'" 

But Tessa — and her fellow students at Naperville North — aren't alone. High-performing teens at elite public high schools criss-crossing the suburbs, from Highland Park to Hinsdale, and La Grange to Lake Forest, are feeling the same strain. 

"Many parents want their children to either meet or surpass what they have achieved, but there's not a whole lot of room to surpass the success of a parent who is a CEO of a Fortune 500 company," said Timothy Hayes, assistant superintendent of student services at New Trier High School. 

For months, the Pioneer Press has explored the problem of student anxiety and school-related stress. Reporters spoke to students, parents, administrators and public health experts and examined school data on topics ranging from how often kids are sidestepping gym class to how many request school counseling services. 

The research showed a pervasive, increasing and potentially dangerous problem that impacts every aspect of students' lives — from their emotional and physical health to their future college and career paths. 

In many top-performing schools, students and experts describe an atmosphere of intense, sometimes disabling, pressure connected with test scores, college admissions and AP course loads. 

Those interviewed say the issue clearly is not comparable to the trauma and stress felt by students in violent or impoverished neighborhoods. But, the experts argue, academic anxiety has real consequences. 

Parents are sending their kids to therapeutic day schools at hospitals that treat adolescent mental health issues. Teachers are changing their curriculum to factor in students' anxiety and stress. And kids are facing what they say is a constant, grinding strain throughout their academic careers.

"There is a double-edged sword. We want kids to challenge themselves, but not at the expense of their mental well-being," said Emily Polacek, a social studies teacher at Hinsdale South High School in west suburban Darien. 

'Falling apart'
Tom Koulentes, a former principal at Highland Park High School, said that a decade ago, the North Shore school had roughly 10 students a year hospitalized for mental health issues of all kinds.
Now, he estimates, that number is closer to 60 to 70 a year — and climbing. 

"And that's just hospitalizations," said Koulentes, now principal of Libertyville High School. "There are a larger number of parents calling who have significant concerns because their children are falling apart at home." 

Public records also reveal a sharp uptick in demand for counseling services at some high schools.
In Highland Park, officials report the number of students participating in various types of support groups through the high school's drop-in center rose 58 percent in five years, from 164 students in 2011-12 to 260 students in 2015-16. The school currently has 2,026 students enrolled. 

And officials said 75 percent of students who received individual or group counseling at the high school during the 2015-16 year reported issues of anxiety, up from 35 percent five years earlier.
The same trend is evident at north suburban Deerfield High School, where 73 percent of students who received individual counseling from a social worker or psychologist were experiencing anxiety issues, according to school data.

Officials at both schools say the primary causes of unhealthy stress vary among students and can include not only academic anxiety, but also worries about family problems and social situations.

But officials say there are some common threads. Many teens are experiencing a lack of sleep, increasingly rigorous college prep courses, several hours of homework a night and the demands of juggling the multiple extracurricular activities required to burnish college applications. 

"So now, everyone is taking the hardest classes, but it's not just grades, because they're told they not only have to be involved in clubs and sports, but they need to be the leader or captain," Koulentes said. "And they also need a high test score on the ACT and SAT." 

Koulentes says that can mean some teens are in class from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by sports, music or other extracurriculars until 7 p.m. After that, it's an evening ACT or SAT prep session.
And the problem isn't all grades and class rankings. Technology has emerged as a new stressor for kids, and administrators are finding it challenging to tackle. 

Koulentes said with the expectation that grades will be updated on a digital portal and that email will be answered 24/7, students and teachers are finding it harder and harder to decompress, even on the weekends. 

"A child gets a test back in math class, and they find out they got a 'D,' so they text mom and dad, even before the teacher has walked back to their desk," Koulentes said. 

Not to mention the set of ultra-competitive teens shooting for Ivy League schools. They're feeling compelled to launch nonprofits, apply for patents or develop new apps, he said. 

"I've had conversations with former students who have told me, 'College is actually easier than high school,'" Koulentes said. "In high school, they're dealing with hard, hard classes, and then they have three, four or more hours of homework each night." 

Data from area school districts also show increasing numbers of students taking Advanced Placement classes, with many of the kids taking several AP courses at once. 

One example of this trend is Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, where the proportion of students taking AP courses has been steadily on the rise. While about 55 percent of Stevenson juniors were enrolled in at least one AP course in 2011-12, the percentage stood at 71 percent during the 2015-16 year, school data shows. About half of all sophomore students were enrolled in an AP course in 2015-16. Among seniors, the figure was about 82 percent. 

Data from other area school districts are in line with that growth, and show both the overall number of students taking AP courses and the number of AP classes in which they are enrolled increasing.

'Really startling'
Scientists have begun recognizing the issues, with both stress and anxiety the focus of national research. 

At Yale, psychology professor B.J. Casey is the director of its Fundamentals of the Adolescent Brain Lab. She said roughly one in four teens between the ages of 13 and 17 meet the criteria for having an anxiety disorder. 

"When you look at the fact that in Australia, it's only 7 percent of teens with anxiety, compared to 25 percent in the U.S., it's really startling," Casey said. 

Casey said there are significant changes going on in the teen brain during adolescence, as the different parts and functions of the brain take time to mature and fine-tune. 

When a teen is under stress, the emotional part of the brain "hijacks" the pre-frontal cortex, or rational, cognitive part of their brain, that helps someone pause and think before acting, Casey said.
Casey compares the rational part of the brain to the logical Spock from "Star Trek," saying the emotional part of the brain is more like the passionate and impulsive Captain Kirk. 

"When the brain's circuitry is not fully developed, the logical part of the brain can't talk back to the emotional part, to tell it to calm down, things will be different tomorrow," Casey said. 

Casey does say, though, that stress can have at least one positive result — it can end up making teens more resilient. 

"It's so important for teens to learn how to cope, and to learn how to fail," she said.
In that vein, some argue that stress and anxiety are part of growing up, and that officials at elite schools shouldn't lower academic standards but should push for even more achievement.
Steve Deutsch, a longtime Naperville School District 203 activist, is one of those who say students of every era have vented about the pressures they face. 

In the incidents at Naperville North this year — which included student suicides and Tessa Newman's petition — Deutsch said the events shouldn't be automatically blamed on academic pressure. 

"It is too soon, and hardly conclusive, to use these incidents as an indication for wholesale or immediate change," Deutsch said. 

Michelle Fregoso, director of communications in Naperville School District 203, said the district always has listened to concerns raised by anyone in the community.

"Our students' health and well-being are our No. 1 priority," Fregoso said. "Feedback from students, parents and our community is always considered." 

Timothy Hayes, assistant superintendent of student services at New Trier High School, said a recent "Stressed Out at New Trier" event was aimed at expanding the conversation, and talking about the many ways stress can impact a kid's life. 

"We've been talking about stress at New Trier now for many years, and from our perspective, stress can be both positive and negative," Hayes said. 

For example, Hayes said, stress before an athletic competition or taking an exam can be beneficial if it helps students perform better. But he said stress can have a negative impact on teens if it affects them in a physical way — for example, leaving them sleep-deprived and not eating well.
Hayes said officials at the high school base some of their decision-making on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which asks students to describe their primary sources of stress. 

"Not surprisingly, academics is always at the top," Hayes said. "We have to ask ourselves, 'What do we do?' But there's always going to be some level of stress." 

Hayes said officials a few years ago considered mandating that every student have at least one open period in their schedule. Community response, though, wasn't what they expected. 

"The push-back was pretty intense, and kids and parents told us they wanted a choice," Hayes said. He said there are special challenges with New Trier students, some of whom have parents who are wealthy, accomplished — or both. 

Still, Hayes said it's not fair to blame successful parents with high expectations as the cause of their teen's academic anxiety. 

"I get this self-imposed stress, because kids naturally want to make their parents proud," Hayes said. "We believe every kid should go to college, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But the downside is, it isn't really the right plan for every kid to go straight from high school to college if they are just following what they think they should do, and haven't really thought about why." 

'Stressed to death'
Polacek, who also teaches AP psychology at Hinsdale South, said the stress can start to simmer in the fall, months before students take their spring AP exams. 

"They're stressed by October," Polacek said. "That's when they realize, 'I'm in over my head.'"

"The reading level is harder in an AP class, because the reading is the level of a college textbook. And we have to get through the entire textbook by April, so we have time to review," Polacek said. It's not just the AP class, she said, but the AP workload combined with the work in all their other classes. 

"Some kids can take seven AP classes and benefit," she said. "The (question) is, are we trying to push more people into AP classes, who may not be ready for it?" 

The increase in school-related stress and anxiety among teens is apparent to Beth Sosler, a Highland Park High School parent who tutors high school students. 

"We've seen more and more students with diagnosed or undiagnosed anxiety," Sosler said. "We are seeing more and more students being tutored for classes they are not ready for, but feel the pressure to be in." 

Sosler said kids are feeling pushed to take harder classes and do more. And if they don't load up their schedules with AP classes, they worry they're not doing enough or keeping up with their high-achieving peers.

But while high schools are putting more emphasis on AP courses, Sosler says more colleges have stopped awarding credit because they are finding students are not prepared to take the next level of the course in college. 

"Why aren't they ready?" she asked. "Probably because in high school, there is so much pressure that they are just going through the motions. High school has come down to, 'What boxes do I need to check for college?' Students are learning what they need to learn to take the test, spit it out and move on. They are not learning what they need to learn to be at the next level." 

Sosler said while it's entirely appropriate for some students to take the hardest classes offered, and push themselves to earn high marks, it ends up putting pressure on many other students who feel they're falling behind the pack. 
 

"What is happening is, you have students who are in over their heads," Sosler said. "They are stressed to death." 

Freshmen are told on one hand not to worry about college, then given an early version of a college entrance exam three weeks into their first year of high school, she said. 

"There has always been a very small faction of high-achieving students and parents who say the school isn't doing enough to get students into Ivy League colleges," Sosler said. 

"The truth of the matter is, our school is offering every opportunity for students whose goal of attending an Ivy League school is appropriate," she said. 

The reason more Highland Park students aren't getting accepted at Ivy League schools is that very few students anywhere are, she said. 

Of the nearly 40,000 students who applied to Harvard University last year, just 5.2 percent were admitted, according to the school. 

The fallout
Despite the best efforts of school officials and parents, for teens who struggle with chronic stress and anxiety, experts say the emotional pain and physical symptoms can prove incapacitating. 

Dr. Carol Weitzman, a pediatrician, researcher and a professor of pediatrics at Yale, says somatic complaints from teens — which include stomachaches, headaches and difficulty breathing — often are the early signs of anxiety. A visit to the family pediatrician is typically the first step many parents take when trying to figure out what's wrong. 

In parents' nightmares, the end result of all of this stress is a student who feels no other option than to end his or her life. Experts, however, caution that the causes of suicide are not simple nor are they easily determined, and typically stem from a serious mental illness. 

But Naperville North student Tessa Newman, the author of the online essay and petition, said a competitive culture, combined with pressure to be perfect, can help usher some kids to dark places.
"What we keep hearing from the high school is that it's inherently all about students' mental health problems, not about the system," Tessa said, adding: "I started my petition because I believe that a lot of students' mental health problems are actually caused by the system."

Share your story: Tell us about your experiences with academic stress and anxiety.

This is the first part of a three-part series examining the issues surrounding student stress and the pressure to achieve.
Part two: Later start times, less homework: Here’s what elite schools are doing to help students cope with stress
Part three: The case for shop class: How vocational schools and gap years can help ease academic anxiety
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
kberkowitz@pioneerlocal.com
kfornek@pioneerlocal.com
Copyright © 2017, Chicago Tribune
This article is related to: Mental Health Research, Medical Research, Harvard University

Class of 2018 Updates - 11/14/2017

Yellow sheets for ALL REGULAR DECISION applications is December 8.

College Updates

Please share your college news with us! We don’t receive notification from the college about the decision, so we need to hear it directly from you. Thanks!

Upcoming ACT/SAT Tests
ACT 
December 9 - currently in Late Registration
February 10 - registration deadline is January 12

SAT
December 2 - currently in Late Registration
March 10 - registration deadline is February 9

Gap Year Fair
On January 21st  from 12pm-3p, Phillips Academy Andover will be hosting a Gap Year fair as part of the 11th annual USA Gap Year Fairs national tour, giving the opportunity to connect students, parents, and educational professionals with Gap Year program representatives, such as myself. This fair is a free event and open to the public. 

Open Houses/Information Sessions
 
Keene State College Admissions Open House 
Friday, December 1 
This is your chance to meet our faculty, staff and students.  Eat in our dining commons and tour our campus. 
Register now: keene.edu/admissions/tours

Lesley University Workshop Visit Day
Saturday, November 18
9:00 am – 2:00 pm (arrive at 8:30am)
RSVP today at www.lesley.edu


Scholarship Opportunities
**an updated list of scholarships can be found on Naviance
 
Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship
Available at www.jackierobinson.org
The JRF application is the vehicle through which more than 4,000 talented young minority high school students apply to become JRF Scholars and carry on the civic-minded legacy of the Foundation’s namesake, Jackie Robinson. The deadline to submit the application for a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship is February 1, 2018 by 5:00 pm ET.

2018 GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program
This program annually provides college-bound students with $10,000 renewable scholarships – up to $40,000 total per recipient – and supports them as they lead and serve in college and beyond.

Applications for the GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program will be accepted online until January 4, 2018. Additional information, eligibility requirements, and a link to the application are available online at https://www.reaganfoundation.org/education/scholarship-programs/ge-reagan-foundation-scholarship-program/

Burger King Scholarship
High school seniors, BURGER KING® employees, their dependent children, spouses or domestic partners in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico can apply to receive up to $50,000 in scholarship awards for the 2018-2019 school year!

High school seniors must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale to be eligible, and must be active in their community through volunteering, sports, clubs and/or religious organizations.
Apply today at WWW.BK-SCHOLARS.COM
Application deadline is Dec.15, 2017. 

Collegexpress.com Scholarships
**additional ones can be found on the website: www.collegexpress.com

$500
Scholarship: Odenza Marketing Group Volunteer Award
Due Date: December 30

$1,000
Scholarship: Moolahspot Scholarship
Due Date: December 1

$1,000
Scholarship: Scholarship Detective Scholarship
Due Date: December 31

$2,000
Scholarship: Future of Assisted Living Scholarship
Due Date: December 31

$5,000
Scholarship: Easy Scholarship: Make a Bookmark Celebrating Diverse Figures in History
Due Date: December 31