What Does Authentic and Impactful Service Look Like For High School Students?

Volunteering Won’t Get You Into College & Is Not Required to Apply To College

Some students come to us with the mythical concept that they ‘must get involved’ or do ‘community service’ before they apply to college. This is not a prerequisite, and in fact colleges are savvy to the fact that high schools may have volunteer hour graduation requirements. I was recently reviewing the Common App with a student, and one college directly asked if they had done any volunteering that was not a school requirement.

Take your time choosing your cause

What is it that you are truly very passionate about? Do not rush into the first thing that comes to mind or something that sounds good to you on a whim. If you are going to dedicate yourself, truly, it may be something you are going to spend a lot of time on. So you don’t want to become disenchanted (or bored) midway through. You’ll need passion, drive, and commitment to work through the tough times when things don’t seem to be going as planned.

If you like…animals: Contact your local Humane Society or animal shelter. They are almost always looking for cat or dog companions and people to help with daily operations. Try contacting an aquarium or zoo and see if they could use a volunteer assistant.

If you like…working with children: There are many organizations that work with children including day care, family shelters, emergency food pantries, counseling services and hotlines. You could volunteer your time at your local Boys and Girls Club or become an after-school tutor or mentor.

If you like…arts and culture: Museums and cultural organizations are constantly looking for volunteers. Your local newspaper or city website probably has a calendar of events which might include opportunities like this. Search for events that have an art or cultural component (such as a festival) and contact them to see if you can help out in any way. Do you have more than one thing you love, and can’t make up your mind? Combine them! For example, if you love kids and are also artistic, visit your local children's hospital and offer to lead art activities for young patients. If you love animals and like to be outdoors, call your local animal shelter and inquire about becoming a dog walker.

Grow naturally, don’t rush it

You should be enthusiastic about your cause! However, this does not mean you need to try to “save the world” in one go. Great organizations start small and grow slowly to serve more and more people (or animals or communities, etc.) over time. Staying within your means is incredibly important; it does no good to anyone if you become overextended and need to shut down operations.

Don’t be a perfectionist

Everyone should strive to do their best. However, doing your best does not mean doing everything perfectly. It may not be very hard for you to get a 100% on a test in school, but the real world is quite a bit different. Things rarely work out perfectly, and it often takes a great deal of flexibility, compromise, persistence and patience to get things done. The ability to laugh at situations (or yourself) when things do not go your way will help a great deal as well. Skeptics – No matter what you do in life, there will always be people who doubt your abilities, your motivations and your dedication. This is just an unpleasant fact of life. Try not to let these people get you down. It is difficult sometimes to stay focused in the face of doubters, but over time as you become

It's Time to Build

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen recently wrote a widely circulated essay on how ill preparation and not building the ‘right’ things contributed to the coronavirus’ massive global impacts.

What lessons can we learn and should we learn? We definitely aren’t out of the woods yet, in fact, we’re still finding a path out. Looking forward, as we must, Andreessen says we’ve gotta create.

“Building isn’t easy, or we’d already be doing all this. We need to demand more of our political leaders, of our CEOs, our entrepreneurs, our investors. We need to demand more of our culture, of our society. And we need to demand more from one another. We’re all necessary, and we can all contribute, to building.

Every step of the way, to everyone around us, we should be asking the question, what are you building? What are you building directly, or helping other people to build, or teaching other people to build, or taking care of people who are building? If the work you’re doing isn’t either leading to something being built or taking care of people directly, we’ve failed you, and we need to get you into a position, an occupation, a career where you can contribute to building. There are always outstanding people in even the most broken systems — we need to get all the talent we can on the biggest problems we have, and on building the answers to those problems.”

— Marc Andreessen

One of the main goals we have for our students in the process of working together before applying to schools is to bring something new into the world that didn’t before exist. The “what” of your creation, and more fundamentally the “need” is up for debate, and also deeply personal.

But none of the problems of the past, present, or future have been or will be solved without creators. So, what will you create?

Should You Take A Gap Year Because of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic?

+ Author's Note

We are living in days of great uncertainty. As much as I have roamed around my living room in between meetings with students and other work, I consider what insights and information I can share that will be relevant to students and families regardless of what’s to come. Because right now, we don’t know.

While whatever awaits us in the coming six months to the next few years is still unknown. But it’s safe to say that some people’s plans—to take certain tests, to visit colleges, to attend summer programs— are being reconsidered, postponed, already, or soon-to-be canceled. How will this impact graduating seniors? Students applying to college this fall?

We face complicated questions with answers that will continue to evolve. What’s most important in this time is to realize that this, like everything else, will pass. It’s most important to stay healthy, physically and mentally, do the work that’s in front of you and do it well, and devise alternative plans based on existing facts and well-reasoned projections.

For these reasons, I am writing a series of articles addressing different issues related to US Admissions in the Time of Coronavirus. First for seniors, who feel this change most imminently. Graduating students and families receiving college acceptances deserve congratulations for your hard work. Yet, it is utterly bittersweet to enjoy college acceptances and planning for your future but to do so alone, without being able to celebrate successes with your classmates and teachers, coaches and teammates who were integral to your last four years. Graduation ceremonies via Zoom, who would have thought?

Moving toward university for international students this fall-- how will I-20s and visas get processed as consulates are shuttered for indefinite periods of time. Will colleges and universities re-open in time for fall? Will they try to offer a curriculum online for international students who can’t arrive on time? Would that be worthwhile? Every level of every education institution is scrambling in the same way Chinese schools were two months ago to figure out how to solve the issues of online education in the short-term, but thoughts about fall, and reassuring you, aren’t far behind.

Since we work on behalf of students and families only, we think about what’s in the best interests of you, in the short and long-term. Suitable solutions and plans for some would be terrible for others, so it’s critical to honestly reflect your situation and needs, not your classmates’, not your social media circles’, not that of the #1 student in the grade.

Families and students have started to ask us more about the concept of a gap year—is it good? Is it dangerous? Is it wise during this period of time? In fact, I took a gap year myself and deferred college for one year. The ways in which my gap year shaped my outlook and career are profound. Given ongoing unknowns, it’s good to consider all options, and a gap year might be one.

What is a Gap Year? 

A gap year is typically “a break” of an academic year. In this case, I’m referring to a year taken between graduating high school and starting college. During a gap year, you usually do something that is not official, formal ‘school,’ but can still be very educational. The term ‘gap year’ itself is actually a bit misleading; students who are on a gap year are not ‘resting’ or taking a life hiatus. In fact, a gap can be intense, engaging, and highly impactful. A “bridge year” may be a more appropriate term, but because ‘gap year’ is the most commonly used one, we’ll stick to that.

A gap year is an especially popular topic of conversation right now but have been around for a long time. They are most common in the U.K. and are generally more common in countries that require military service. In recent years, they have also gained popularity in the US. President Obama’s daughter, Malia Obama, deferred Harvard for one year to take a gap year. The Associated Press reported a 22% increase in gap years in 2015 over the previous year, and data suggests roughly US 30,000-40,000 students take a gap year every year. More and more colleges, such as Harvard, Princeton, and Tufts explicitly encourage students to take a gap year before coming to campus as a freshman. Princeton, Duke, and Tufts even have programs to allow students to do a year-long program through the university.

Survey Responses on Why Students Chose To Take A Gap Year

Who Might Benefit from a Gap Year?

 YOU! If…

• You feel burnt out from high school—with some combination of overworked, overwhelmed and struggling to imagine how to sustain it for another four years

• You are still unsure who you are, what you want, your purpose and direction

• You want to get more “real-world” experience to help guide, validate, or confirm what you want to study in college

• You are somewhat of a late bloomer trailing your peers in personal, emotional, or academic development

• You don’t feel like your high school grades, standardized test scores, or other parts of your application are ‘ready’ to show your full potential by college deadlines

• You weren’t pleased with your college acceptances, or really got overconfident and applied only to a few reach schools, whoops

The Gap Year: An Antidote to Burnout

Today’s Gen Z faces a variety of challenges—some research shows Gen Z 1 in 7 young adults has mental health conditions. One interesting perspective is in Dr. Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business and the co-author of the book The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. He writes, “Kids learn most from acting on the world and receiving feedback from the world," he says. "They don’t learn nearly as much by adults telling them how the world works."

Fundamentally, most kids have been brought up in a regimented, scheduled, and prescriptive universe. Real, transformational growth happens organically, through direct experience, nuanced observation and interaction. Especially in times like these when the world order feels totally upside down and sideways, it is rare for a high school student to find time in their busy schedule to pause for self-reflection—what’s my why? In other words: what is my purpose?

Many reports point to evidence that Z’ers are more likely than any other generation to report mental health issues —the stress of the modern era takes a formidable toll, and it doesn’t get better by ‘staying the course’ and brushing off high school stress and directly entering college. Time to re-center, reflect, and recall what all this education is for would not be time poorly spent.

“‘He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.’”

— Friedrich Nietzsche

 Your gap year can be a time to find your why, and get grittier for whatever life presents.

What Are The Benefits of a Gap Year?

There is solid evidence that students who do gap years end up more satisfied with their college experiences and even their careers because of the maturity they develop, the real-world skills, and the focus they gain that carries with them far beyond their gap year experience. Many of the soft skills that employers tote as differentiators in the workforce are just those that gappers develop through their year—confidence, communication skills, maturity, global competence skills, etc.

 Middlebury College, well-known for its “Febs” entry program has tracked the data of students who took time ‘out’ before starting at Middlebury. The statistical data is clear, it shows that those students who gained real-life experience through a type of ‘gap year experience’ performed better all four years of college, as measured by their GPA.

What Can You Do During a Gap Year?

The world is your oyster, and the options are limitless! Granted, one of the reasons you are likely considering a gap year especially THIS year is because options to maintain ‘normalcy’ are undoubtedly more limited. This doesn’t mean a gap year isn’t a good idea, it just means that you may need to get more creative. Under normal circumstances, the possibilities for what you can do during a year may quickly become overwhelming. For that reason, it’s helpful and important to refer to trusted sources and experts who have helped other students. Middlebury College offers a list of resources and the American Gap Association also accredits programs and provides bountiful resources for students and families to search for more structured programs or to find gap year consultants who can help students consider how to organize a year that will personally meet your own goals, wishes, and needs.

Some of the most common activities to do during a gap year include:

• Learn/deepen a language through travel, immersion

• Volunteer with an organization or cause you care about or want to learn more about

• Gain work experience by shadowing, interning, volunteering with companies or sectors of interest

• Learn a skill, get a certification or take a class—like EMT, scuba diving, photography, cooking, etc.

 The most meaningful and impactful gap years are those that push you out of a ‘normal routine’, out of your comfort zone, and get you into a new environment, meeting new people, and trying new things. Not all students need to venture far away during the year, some can opt to prepare for success in college. Whatever it is you do, we recommend that it’s at least something that you wouldn’t have tried in your last year of high school or in your first year of college (in your present self). Gap years don’t have to be fancy or expensive, and there are certainly ways to do them on a budget.

Seriously Considering A Gap Year? What To Do Next

For Seniors Graduating 2020: Admissions officers and college administrators are already discussing what to do if the coronavirus upends the smooth start of the next academic year. Just as they are going to make accommodations for those applying this fall (many are going test-optional!), we can well predict that they are going to be just as or even more flexible on deferments. If you were already on the fence or feel a gap year might make sense for you, you should take action to come up with a Plan B.

There are many colleges that support and even encourage, admitted students to defer admission for one year. If you are a senior and have already been admitted to colleges you should research the gap year policies online or reach out to the admissions officer who was responsible for reviewing your file. Even if you are considering re-applying to other colleges in the fall, we highly recommend that you pay a deposit to one college before the May 1st deadline and then submit your intention to take a gap year in May or by early June. Typically, colleges will want to get some sense of what you will plan to do but may have different requirements for the level of detail they request.

Juniors: If you are a junior, and you are worried about how the coronavirus is going to impact your chances of success (Pass/Fail 11th-grade spring transcripts, SAT/ACT cancellations, no recent extra-curricular development, etc.) take solace in the fact that your eggs don’t have to be all in one 2020-2021 application cycle basket. You’ve always got the gap year option. We still recommend that you go ahead with plans to apply this fall as a senior doing the best that you can under the circumstances and focus on the elements that you can control. At the same time, keep it in the back of your mind that whatever happens, there are always options and there are always people to help you accomplish your goals.

Sources and A Few Resources

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/opinion/malia-obamas-secret-trip-to-bolivia-and-peru.html

https://www.gapyearassociation.org/assets/2015%20NAS%20Report.pdf

https://www.gapyearassociation.org/

https://www.globalcitizenyear.org/

Quarantine Learning from Home Resources that are FREE

Here are links gathered to TONS of free fun learning options for all ages from toddlers to AP students to adults. Some are always free and some are only free during this current situation👇

Feel free to share it far and wide.😍 If you know of a resource for FREE education (either permanent or only during this time) please share it in the comments.

✅The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games. Enjoy the tour! https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/

✅Tour Yellowstone National Park!
https://www.nps.gov/…/lea…/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm

✅Explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover.
https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/

✅This Canadian site FarmFood 360 offers 11 Virtual Tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows, to apples and eggs. https://www.farmfood360.ca/

✅Indoor Activities for busy toddlers
https://busytoddler.com/2020/03/indoor-activities/…

✅Play games and learn all about animals
https://switchzoo.com/

✅Play with fave show characters and learn too https://pbskids.org/

✅Travel to Paris, France to see amazing works of art at The Louvre with this virtual field trip.
https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

✅This Virtual Tour of the Great Wall of China is beautiful and makes history come to life.
https://www.thechinaguide.com/destinati…/great-wall-of-china

✅Math and Reading games https://www.funbrain.com/

✅Phonics skills https://www.starfall.com/h/

✅This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/

✅ Read, play games, and hang out with Dr. Seuss https://www.seussville.com/

✅300,000+ FREE printable worksheets from toddlers to teens https://www.123homeschool4me.com/home-school-free-printabl…/

✅Geography and animals
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

✅Math practice from counting to algebra and geometry http://www.mathscore.com/

✅Fave kids books read by famous people https://www.storylineonline.net/

✅Crafts, activities, mazes, dot to dot, etc, https://www.allkidsnetwork.com/

✅High school chemistry topics https://www.acs.org/…/hi…/chemmatters/articles-by-topic.html

✅Math and reading games https://www.abcya.com/

✅Math and language games https://www.arcademics.com/

✅Hands on Elem science videos https://www.backpacksciences.com/science-simplified

✅Voice based learning... learn through Alexa https://bamboolearning.com/resources

✅Fun games, recipes, crafts, activities https://www.highlightskids.com/

✅ClickSchooling brings you daily recommendations by email for entertaining websites that help your kids learn. https://clickschooling.com/

✅Math as a fun part of your daily family routine http://bedtimemath.org/

✅Games to get "into the book" https://reading.ecb.org/

✅Online history classes for all ages preteen through adults https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive

✅Biology https://www.biologysimulations.com/

✅ Elem Math through 6th grade https://boddlelearning.com/

✅Educational games K-12 https://www.breakoutedu.com/funathome

✅Digital archive of history https://www.bunkhistory.org/

✅Test Prep for SAT, ACT, etc. https://www.bwseducationconsulting.com/handouts.php

✅Geometry https://www.canfigureit.com/

✅Resources for Spanish practice https://www.difusion.com/campus/

✅Chinese learning activities https://chalkacademy.com/

✅Music is for everyone https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Experiments

✅Science, Math, Social Studies https://www.ck12.org/student/

✅Grammar practice for middle grades https://www.classroomcereal.com/

✅Daily free science or cooking experiment to do at home.http://www.clubscikidzmd.com/blog/

✅Chemistry https://www.playmadagames.com/

✅Reading passages for grades 3-12, with reading comprehension and discussion questions. https://www.commonlit.org/

✅Vocabulary, grammar, listening activities and games in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Korean, and Latin. https://conjuguemos.com/

✅35,000 pages of online content on the cultures and countries of the world. https://www.countryreports.org/

✅K-5th Science lessons https://mysteryscience.com/

✅Tons of free classes from leading universities and companies https://www.coursera.org/

✅Free printable K-8 Reading and Math activity packs (available in English and Spanish) https://www.curriculumassociates.com/supporting-students-aw…

✅Digital learning content for preschool through high school https://www.curriki.org/

✅A wide range of math content from middle school through AP Calculus. https://deltamath.com/overview

✅Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/…/learnathome.html

✅3 Free Weeks of Maker Stations to keep your children creating at home! Each challenge includes simple instructions using materials around the house, QR code video resources, and a student recording sheet. bit.ly/freemakerstations

✅Classes for older teens or adults https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/lp/t1/freemo…

✅Online homeschool platform & curriculum for Pre-K to 12th grade. All main subjects are covered, plus extra curriculum courses. http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/

✅Printable board games, activities and more for phonics and reading all using evidence-based methods. Can be customized to any student's needs including creating flashcards for other subjects. https://dogonalogbooks.com/printables/

✅K-8 online math program that looks at how a student is solving problems to adjust accordingly and build a unique learning path for them. https://www.dreambox.com/at-home

✅Engaging reading game for grades 2-8 that combines strategy, engagement, and imaginative reading passages to create a fun, curriculum-aligned literacy game. https://www.squigglepark.com/dreamscape/

✅Higher level math series... online video series with detailed solutions to more than a thousand publicly-released College Board SAT Math, Subject Test Math Level 1, and Subject Test Math Level 2 problems.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbQoCpvYRYRkRRvsObOPHaA…

✅Foreign languages https://www.duolingo.com/

✅Interactive video earth science based curriculum supplement. https://www.everyday-earth.com/

✅A safe research site for elementary-level readers. They are offering -- free 24/7 access
USERNAME: read (case sensitive)
PASSWORD: read (case sensitive)
https://www.facts4me.com/

✅Resources for AP students including live reviews, live trivia, and study guides! https://app.fiveable.me/

✅Educational brain breaks to help students review essential literacy and math skills, while getting in some exercise. Find over 900 videos to help your child keep learning at home and burn off some extra energy. Our site is best used for ages 4-8. https://fluencyandfitness.com/register/school-closures/

✅Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts. https://www.gonoodle.com/

✅7,000 free videos in 13 subject areas https://hippocampus.org/

✅Carmen Sandiego videos, stories, and lessons for all subject areas https://www.carmensandiego.com/resources/

✅Math Videos with lessons, real life uses of math, famous actors https://www.hmhco.com/math-at-work

✅Entertaining & educational videos for all levels and subjects
https://www.izzit.org/index.php

✅Online education program for toddler through high school... https://www.khanacademy.org/

✅Free Printables for PreK-2nd Grade https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/…/Lite…/Price-Range/Free

✅Free printables library with activities for children 0-6 https://www.littlesparkcompany.com/printables-library

✅Free at-home kids yoga lesson plans https://littletwistersyoga.com/online-store/

✅Magic Spell is a carefully crafted spelling adventure. https://brainbox.games/

✅Resources for AP students https://marcolearning.com/

✅Enter your math problem or search term, press the button, and they show you the step-by-step work and answer instantly. 2nd grade through college. https://www.mathcelebrity.com/online-math-tutor.php

✅Elem Math games, logic puzzles and educational resources https://www.mathplayground.com/

✅Poetry and music https://www.thewell.world/mindful-mu…/mindful-poetry-moments

✅3D printing projects and Coding projects, involving math and other K-12 subjects https://www.instructables.com/…/EdgertonCent…/instructables/

✅Introductory and intermediate music theory lessons, exercises, ear trainers, and calculators. https://www.musictheory.net/

✅Scads of free resources, games, learning resources, and lesson plans for teaching personal finance https://www.ngpf.org/

✅Improve your typing skills while competing in fast-paced races with up to 5 typers from around the world. https://www.nitrotype.com/

✅Illustrated recipes designed to help kids age 2-12 cook with their grown-ups. Recipes encourage culinary skills, literacy, math, and science. https://www.nomsterchef.com/nomster-recipe-library

✅Online curriculum that builds better writers. https://www.noredink.com/

✅80+ do at home science activities https://elementalscience.com/…/n…/80-free-science-activities

✅Daily lessons and educational activities that kids can do on their own https://www.superchargedschool.com/

✅Adaptive curriculum in Math and ELA for Grades K-8
https://www.scootpad.com/

✅Novel Effect makes storytime a little more fun for kids (and grown-ups too!) As you read out loud from print books (or ebooks!) music, sound effects, and character voices play at just the right moment, adjusting and responding to your voice. https://noveleffect.com/

✅Quick & easy at home projects curated for kids 2 and up
https://www.kiwico.com/kids-at-home

✅Teaches students how to write a paragraph through interactive online tutorial http://www.paragraphpunch.com/

✅PreK-12 digital media service with more than 30,000 learning materials https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/

✅Curricular content hub specifically designed for K-3 students.
https://pebblego.com/free-pebblego-capstone-interactive-acc…

✅Science and math labs and simulations https://phet.colorado.edu/

✅An online physics problem and video bank designed for conceptual, standard, honors or AP1 physics. https://www.positivephysics.org/home

✅Prodigies is a colorful music curriculum for kids 1-12 that will teach your kids how to play their first instrument, how to sing in tune & how to understand the language of music! 21 for free https://prodigiesmusic.com/

✅Free videos from around the world from grade 3-12
https://www.projectexplorer.org/

✅QuaverMusic is offering free access to general music activities to all impacted schools, including free student access at-home https://www.quavermusic.com/info/at-home-resources/

✅For students to practice and master whatever they are learning. https://quizlet.com/

✅ReadWorks is an online resource of reading passages and lesson plans for students of all levels K-12. https://www.readworks.org/

✅Critical Thinking resources for K-6 students https://marketplace.mythinkscape.com/store/redtkids

✅Music Based Spanish Learning https://rockalingua.com/

✅Science simulations, scientist profiles, and other digital resources for middle school science and high school biology
https://sepuplhs.org/