Have you ever heard that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know? You probably have, and for good reason. Your knowledge and experiences are certainly keys to success, but it’s in meeting new people and growing your network that pours gasoline onto the flame of opportunity. As Leonard Andrew Consulting works with more and more high school students and their families, we frequently discuss the importance of young people beginning to focus more seriously on their network, specifically their professional social network on LinkedIn.

Its an uncomfortable realization that, even if you meet all the qualifications for a certain job, and have the GPA, diploma, and experiences to back your reputation, you still very likely need connections to get good job out of college and get your start on the path of success. LinkedIn is a great place to connect and meet people when it comes to growing your network and increasing your chances at employment (both in college, and well into the future). Some may wonder if high school students - especially junior and seniors - are 'too young' to be active on a LinkedIn account. The answer: definitely not. Like Facebook, LinkedIn is an extension of your social media footprint and online resume, albeit a professional one. And yes, this makes it even more important for younger users to think through each of their posts, likes, and interactions.
When creating a LinkedIn account in high school, you are of a small (but growing) percentage of kids joining the network. Of course, you will be a younger user, but that will, make you stand out and it will also help you get a head start on your peers. And, in joining, you show a level of self-awareness.

LinkedIn, like TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram, which are currently used by many high schoolers, is a place where you create a reputation for yourself. However, LinkedIn is not for nonsense, silly entertainment, or grammatically lackadaisical posts. On LinkedIn, you develop and connect the dots to a future career. 

High school students and social media platforms are often seen in tandem, and may not be considered a great mix by some employers. Establishing a presence on LinkedIn shows professionals that as a younger person, you harness a level of maturity and preparedness others your age may not have. You show that you are serious about your future – future education, future jobs, future entrepreneurial endeavors, etc. To that end, LinkedIn is a place where you can show your work experience and accomplishments, and can connect with future goals and aspirations in mind.

LinkedIn may also be a great resource for high school students to learn about their future line of work, or to explore their interests. Many juniors or seniors are not sure what they would like to major in, or truly what their passions are, and most have little idea what they would like to do after college. With LinkedIn, students can learn about various lines of work and different opportunities that may interest them. When you are on LinkedIn, you are engaging in learning about what it takes to achieve your goals, get a career you want, follow your passions, learn a skill, and understand what networking is all about.
​
Being on LinkedIn as a high school students will do what it already does for many - help you make numerous valuable connections in growing your network. It likely goes without saying, but going into college with a multitude of connections is great. And, with that, thae old adage of 'who you know' may become truth for you.

Vericant is the most widely trusted video interview service available for international applicants, and all of our students in Mainland China will need to register and showcase with this program.  So just what is Vericant? Here we've summarized the basics of the service -- with any questions, concerns, or to understand best practices, do not hesitate to reach out to LAC today!

The Vericant Interview:

An interview with Vericant has three components:

A 30-minute proctored writing sample to demonstrate written English ability.

A 10-12-minute recorded interview to demonstrate spoken English ability where an interviewer will ask questions about your interest, hobbies, preferences or daily life. The interviewer will show the applicant two photos and ask that they describe what they see. Next is the in-depth section where you are asked more detailed questions about your life and past experiences and at the end of the interview you have two minutes for free speech that you can use to further introduce yourself or tell the schools anything else you’d like them to know about you.

You also receive a SEE score which is a holistic reflection of how language is used for the social purposes of real-life communication, rather than just the speaker’s technical mastery of grammar and vocabulary. In other words, the SEE reflects a speaker’s ability to communicate accurately and appropriately in a conversational interview setting.

Vericant Interview Application Season usually starts from July 1st to June 30th of the next year. For example, 2020 Application Season is from July 1st, 2019 to June 30th, 2020.

The Vericant Pre-Interview:

The Vericant Pre-Interview is a mock interview designed to help students understand what the Vericant Interview experience will be like, and is specifically intended for students who are applying to high school abroad for the Fall 2019 enrollment (or later). Just like the Vericant Interview, students will be interviewed by a trained interviewer in one of Vericant’s interview studios.

Some of Vericant’s partner schools only accept the first interview in their application, while others accept the most recent. Experiencing the interview environment will help a student feel more confident and ready for their official Vericant Interview.
​
Add-on to your Vericant Pre-Interview: The SEED (Spoken English Evaluation & Diagnostic) Report is a comprehensive report about your performance during a Vericant Pre-Interview. It includes a breakdown of how you did in each of the five categories of our rubric and professional feedback on the strengths and weaknesses you displayed during the interview.

​With the developments that Leonard Andrew Consulting has seen in recent months on an international scale, we are excited to now be collaborating with MBA students at Northeastern! Students in their Global Enterprise program are working to review our niche target market internationally, with the goal of identifying new opportunities to continue our growth.

We are so very honored that LAC was selected for this program. We look forward to working with these students as we review international expansion through the frameworks offered in this course, and we are very excited about the opportunity to have some bright business minds explore and advise on the global potential of our growing business!

Stay tuned!

​As we are getting into college fair season we've had a number of student-athletes inquire as to questions that they should consider when meeting with representatives of the schools. When meeting with colleges - especially those that you have an interest in - you want to ask questions that touch on both the academic side as well as the athletic side, such as:

What are popular majors that student-athletes have?
What academic support exists for student athletes? 
Are there tutors for student-athletes? Team study halls? Student advisers?
What are the graduation rates for the school? And for your team?
What percentage of student-athletes graduate on time?
What does an athlete’s daily routine look like? 
How does the school accommodate for classes and exams that are in conflict with any practices, games, or team travel?
What are the living arrangements for athletes? (With follow-ups of: do the athletes all live together?)
What are the dining arrangements for athletes? 
What are the type of scholarships available to me? (Via either the team or the school.)  How many of these scholarships are available?


And always remember -- get the school representative's name and contact information so that you can send a follow up note to them thanking them for their time!

Other questions about college fairs or the admissions process? Don't hesitate to contact us today!

​ 
QuestBridge is a national non-profit program that connects intelligent, motivated students from low-income families with educational and scholarship opportunities at forty of the best colleges in the country.   Students are encouraged to apply to Questbridge to be selected as a finalist in the QuestBrige National College Match.  Finalists then have the option to rank a college of their interest in the QuestBridge National College Match program, or simply apply directly to that school.  Schools, such as Yale, have no preference on the application used by potential students.  The QuestBridge National College Application is perfectly acceptable.

Unlike the Common Application, which sees applications college-specific and costly to submit, and the Coalition Application, which has the main objectives to make the college application process easier and more affordable, the Questbridge application has features that are particularly advantageous for those students that come from low-income families.  The application asks questions that bring in aspects of a student’s life that may not otherwise make it into the application.  For example, the application has questions that make it so students can discuss their backgrounds.  The application is completely free, and the essays are not school-specific.  Those students that are named finalists can rank their top school through the Match program and can find out if they successfully matched with that school.  If not, students are considered again in that school’s regular admission process. Moreover, the QuestBridge application can help students land a full scholarship to any one of the 40 prestigious schools affiliated with it.

QuestBridge is a program that “aims to increase the percentage of talented low-income students attending the nation’s best universities,” according to the QuestBridge website.  And notably, Dartmouth has decided to consolidate its application platforms to the common application and Questbridge.
 
 
 
The 40 schools that utilize it:
Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Carleton College
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Colorado College
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Duke University
Emory University
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Pomona College
Princeton University
Rice University
Scripps College
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Tufts University
University of Chicago
University of Notre Dame
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University
 
 

Do you have questions on the QuestBridge application? Or on the college admissions process? Do not hesitate to contact us today! 


References:
https://www.questbridge.org/
https://admissions.yale.edu/questbridge-application
http://www.browndailyherald.com/2019/02/27/university-strengthens-questbridge-partnership/
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/05/06/dartmouth-and-university-virginia-drop-coalition-application
https://www.thedp.com/article/2017/10/penn-welcomes-the-coalition-app-an-admissions-platform-designed-to-increase-accessibility

The Common Application is officially open for the 2019-2020 application season!
​
There are a number of updates to their online resources for students, and - as it's used by 876 colleges - do not hesitate to reach out to the team here at LAC if you need guidance:

* exploring colleges of best fit
* completing the application
* or even drafting the essay!

Contact us today with any inquiries!

May 1st is College Decision Day!  We are so very proud of the work our students and student-athletes put in! 

Some of the schools these great individuals are headed to are (in no particular order):
​
University of Maryland
UConn
Bentley University
Loyola University Maryland
University of Vermont
Bryant University
Miami University
Elon University
University of Southern California
Chapman University
Marist College
Stony Brook University
Wagner College
Henderson State University
Assumption College
Stonehill College
Endicott College
UMass Dartmouth

How can the team here at LAC help you with the college prep and admissions process? From admissions information to athletic recruiting guidance, do not hesitate to contact us with questions!