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Independent college admissions and career counseling for students in 8th grade and beyond with the mission to make the college-going experience less overwhelming and more exciting.

How to Make Social Media Work for Your College Application @socialassurity

7/28/2017

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Photo courtesy of https://socialassurity.com/

​Social media is everywhere and everyone seems to use it: teens, parents, coporations, comedians, actors/actresses, political figures...almost everyone that has access to the internet has some form of social media. But, social media can be helpful or hurtful depending on how you use it. Social Assurity provides some helpful tips where you can use social media during your college admissions process.
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photo courtesy of: http://www.reactivegraphics.co.uk/instagram-update/
  1. Make profiles that college reps can easily find with information that shares your characteristics and reflects who you are. Using various social media profiles that are unique and easy to find can impress college reps and allows you to show them that you are more than a test score.
    1. Facebook, twitter, or instagram is easier to use and easier to find.
    2. LinkdIn, Pintrest, and Google+ is unexpected and easier to find.
    3. Snapchat, Tumblr, Whisper is expected and harder to find.
  2. Show engagement in activities that reflect your passions and interests.
  3. Be authentic and honest about the community service you've participated in where you were doing with others not just doing for. Don't let social media contradict what you've outlined in your college application.
  4. Quality not Quantity: Go indepth with what you have done and don't focus on "bragging" to showcase that you've done everything under the sun. Show character, achievement, commitment, service, and leadership which can be done from one particular activity that you've been involved in over the years.
  5. Use social media to find out about the college. Get a better idea of what the school has to offer you via the content they provide their students on social media.  
  6. Interact with schools on social media to show that you're interested. Don't be shy reaching out to them via social media. More often than not you'll hear back from them faster than via email.
  7. Demonstrate you have a voice, opinion or perspective regarding a particular concern.
  8. Make the content worth it. Colleges will recruit, but only if they see on your social media profile one that is respectable, shows integrity, and everything else the college is looking for in their students.
  9. Use your name. Get rid of the alias. Have it work for you rather than against you. Beside these days you are always discoverable.

To learn more about how social media can work for you during the college admissions process join Social Assurity on July 30th at 9 pm for a free webinar. Help yourself stand out among college representatives with the use of social media.


Info courtesy of: https://medium.com/@socialassurity/the-5-elements-of-digital-leadership-83deb7ad53f0 and https://socialassurity.com/social-media-insights/2014/6/20/5-reasons-why-social-media-prep-must-be-part-of-the-college-planning-process
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6 Tips for Writing the College Essay

7/4/2017

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If you're entering your senior year summer time is an opportune time to tackle the essay for your college applications. However, many can get stuck and forever stare at a blank page. The prompt can help, but if your essay is profound to the point of acceptance and consideration for scholarship then the prompt won't matter as much. Here are some tips to help get the writing juices flowing.
  1. Ask the people around you how they would describe you and what your strengths are. The point of the essay is to allow the college to know your character outside of academics. Describing yourself can be hard. Ask others (teacher, mentor, parents, friends, coach, etc.) for an outsiders perspective of what makes you, you.
  2. Be original! People get into college writing about their favorite food. The point again is to express who you are, what makes you unique and how you'll be a great addition to the campus. Your essay shouldn't be the standard 5 paragraph essay you've been taught to write in your English classes. Instead, be creative with what you write and how you write.
  3. Start writing and don't worry about editing, spelling or grammatical errors. Allow your stream of consciousness to take over and become words on a page. The more detail in your first draft the better.
  4. After you have a 1st draft give it to someone else to read. Have them pick out the nuggets that really help you shine.
  5. Don't write what you think they want to hear. Again be creative!
  6. Edit, edit, and edit some more. Allow plenty of time to allow for editing. After you have a draft put it away for a few days before you begin to edit again. Also, consider different atmospheres like the library, coffee shop, or different room in the house when you edit.
If you do find that you are stuck and can't seem to get any words on the paper use the essay prompts. That's why they are there. This year the Common Application has changed the essay prompts for the 2017-18 school year. Those can be found here. If you will need to use the Coalition Application the prompts have not changed from last year and they can be found here. The essay prompts for the Coalition App will plan to change for the 2018-2019 school year, however.Photo courtesy of: http://blog.testrocker.com/wwwtestrockercom/blog/15-tips-about-writing-an-effective-sat/act-essay
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    Serena Ostrowsky, M.Ed.
    College Admissions and Career Counselor  

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