Three Tips to Be College and Career Ready
A short while ago, I met a young man whom I’ll merely refer to as the Vegan Paleontologist. Sitting across from my table having dinner with his grandmother and aunt was a precocious eighth-grader.
As I routinely do, sometimes to the frustration and utter exhaustion of my family, I initiated a conversation with the Vegan Paleontologist. I try to remain silent, but I can’t seem to keep my BIG mouth shut! Something inside always seems to remind me that everything that I am and perhaps more importantly whom Naeem becomes originates from conversations with people who elected to share their story. Thus, my BIG mouth opens.
I can’t stay quiet because I know that there were generous people who without reservation serendipitously shared nuggets of wisdom with me and there are folks today who continuously and intentionally pour vital information into my life so that I can share valuable lessons with my son. I will forever be in their debt.
Incapable of reimbursing them for all that they have done, I repay them as best as I can by paying forward what they gave me freely. And so, I couldn’t leave the restaurant without offering the young man a taste of my orange tofu dish and serving him a nibble of the most crucial question in the whole-wide-world – who. Specifically, who he was and whom he planned to be.
Future Paleontologist
Speaking of questions, I was going to ask if you could guess how he answered the question of ‘who’ but I think we both know that is too easy of a question (see header). As much as I would like to know if you are smarter than an eighth grader, my inquiry about your IQ will have to wait. Unlike the mainstream media, I’m not going to be responsible for giving one more person some artificial boost of intellectual self-confidence. [Exhibit One: President Trump and Kanye West meeting].
Intellectual assessments aside, I can confirm that I met a young man who is both vegan and who wants to be a paleontologist. Intrigued by the Vegan Paleontologist’s aspiration and mindful of my responsibility to pay it forward, I asked him additional questions about his interest in paleontology and the roadmap for one who intends to become a paleontologist.
The answers about his interest in paleontology were captivating. It was clear that not only did he understand the work of paleontologists but he was excited, actually outright giddy about becoming one. Unfortunately, like so many young people who envision the most incredible lives, his plan for making his dream of becoming a paleontologist needed a little work.
Do These Three Things
As is the case not only with children but so often with parents, he knew precisely the outcome he wanted, but he had no process for achieving the desired result. Recognizing that he was on a path of unnecessary difficulty or complete failure, I said: “Work backward.”
I told him what I say to every child and parent “once you decide what you want to do, the simplest (not to be confused with easiest) most straightforward route to reaching your desired outcome is to study those who are already living the life you dream.” In the case of the vegan paleontologist, I encouraged him to start this process by doing the following three things:
1. Investigate the Academic Requirements – Many paleontologists hold a Ph.D. In preparation for doctoral studies, most paleontologists earn an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science. Whether a child wants to be a Paleontologist, Nuclear Physicist, or Robotics Engineer, the process remains the same; they must know long before its time to start applying to colleges what the academic requirements are for their dream occupation.
In the case of the eighth-grader who dreams of being a Paleontologist, I instructed him to work backward now to make sure that his education track (8th – 12th grade) meets or exceeds the academic requirements for admission to an Environmental Science degree program. Don’t wait on the school or guidance counselor, investigate the educational standards on your own and work backward ASAP.
If you are a parent or child without engaged parents, this step is non-negotiable if a dream is to become a reality. The odds of making a dream the reality is substantially reduced when you do what is familiar and ordinary – wait until a student’s junior or senior year in high school to investigate the academic requirements.
2. Research The Top Programs – Sadly, when asked what a child plans to do after high school, parents and children alike routinely answer “Go to college.” What parents and students believe is a complete answer is little more than a lazy and partial response.
All colleges are not the same, and it is incredibly important that we stop pretending like a college is a college is a college. There was Trump University, and there is Princeton University. There was ITT Technical Institute, and there is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Some universities can help you achieve your dream while others merely turn your dreams into a nightmare.
Give your child a chance to realize their dream by researching the universities that for example produce the most graduates in the desired occupation, whose degree program is nationally ranked, and whose graduates earn admission to the best graduate and professional degree programs. It’s time that parents stop pretending that all colleges are equal so that more children have the opportunity to make their dream a reality.
So, start working backward today to make sure your child is prepared to be admitted to the top university, not just any university. Because I don’t care what others try to tell you, a college is not a college is not a college.
3. Examine the Profile of The Admitted Students – Each year the top schools publish the profile of the admitted students of their most recent class. These profiles are an incredible resource for parents who are serious about helping their child fulfill their potential. Included in the profile are details such as GPAs, AP courses, SAT/ACT scores, and extracurricular activities of the students who were accepted and admitted.
Parents who work backward can use the insights of the admitted student profiles to make sure their children at a minimum meet the published benchmarks. If a 1300 SAT score is required, don’t wait until your child is a senior to start preparing for the SAT. Start today no matter if your child is in 1st grade or 8th grade. If scoring 4s and 5s on AP math and science courses are musts, don’t even think about enrolling your child in a high school that either doesn’t offer the necessary AP courses or doesn’t employ faculty capable of teaching the material expertly.
It’s vital that parents accept this truth when it comes to preparing your children for success, “you can never start too early, but you most assuredly can start too late.” When you look at the profile of an admitted student today, chances are you won’t have to look back one day and wish you had done something different to help your child.
In case, you were wondering if I’ve heard from the Vegan Paleontologist, regrettably, the answer is no. I gave him my contact information so that we could stay in touch but so far nothing. I’d like to help him achieve his goal; I want to keep paying it forward. I hope he realizes that these three things are just the start and that there are plenty of other things that he will need to do!
Can you name the top 5 universities that offer the degree your child wants to earn? Can you describe the profile of the admitted students of the top 5 universities offering the degree your child wants to receive? Do you know the academic background of the faculty teaching AP courses at your child’s school?