Teenagers are almost halfway through summer break. For rising seniors, it’s time to start preparing for college applications if that’s their plan. While most applications are due in January or February, some colleges have early deadlines in October.
The one thing college-bound teens should not put off is writing their application essays. College admissions officers say it takes an average of two months to write an essay from start to finish. October sounds like a long way off, but the time to work on their essay will significantly reduce once school starts.
Many teens procrastinate because they don’t know what topic to choose. There are prompts to get started, but the essay should show how the teen utilizes their strengths. How can a student write about their strengths if they don’t know what their strengths are?
Here are some questions to help teens identify their greatest strengths?
- How much of a risk-taker are you? Do you jump into opportunities? Or do you need data to make decisions? How has this helped you in making decisions?
- What do others say about how you build relationships? Do others say, “you are so easy to talk to?”
- How do you handle group projects? Do you prefer to take the lead to get things organized? Or do you like to take on a specific task? What are the results?
- Do you like coming up with new ideas? If yes, what ideas have you thought of, and what action did you take to implement those ideas?
- How do you organize your time to get things done when juggling school, work, and extracurricular activities? How has that helped you? What are the results?
As a bonus, these questions can also help teens prepare for job interviews, internships, and scholarship opportunities. Knowing your strengths and articulating them is a critical skill that will carry a teen throughout their lifetime, and it’s why it’s one of the many key skills we teach our teen clients.
Don’t let the essay process stop your teen from getting into their ideal college. Check out our Best Foot Forward Package. In 20 minutes, your student will receive an ego-boosting report that will give them the insights they need to help stand out in their essay.
And if you’d like additional support guiding your teen through the college application process, contact me to set up a complimentary College Assessment Plan call.