Understanding AP Scholar Award Criteria

AP Scholar Awards

Every fall, the AP Program recognizes high school students who have demonstrated outstanding college-level achievement through their performance on multiple AP Exams.

AP Scholar Awards come in different levels and types.

Here is the Criteria from the College Board Website:

AwardCriteria: AP Scholar is granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. AP Scholar with Honor is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. AP Scholar with Distinction is granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

Qualification Details

• There are two steps to determining award winners:

1. The student’s average AP Exam score is calculated based on all exams taken this year and in previous years.

2. The student’s AP Exam scores are checked to see which ones count toward the various AP Scholar Awards.

• A student must meet all criteria to be eligible. For example, a student who has a 3.25 AP Exam score average but only received a 3 or higher on 3 exams will not receive the AP Scholar with Honor Award because the minimum requirement is a score of 3 or higher on 4 or more exams.

• Exams taken multiple times count only once; the highest score will be used for the award calculation.

• The AP Calculus AB subscore for the AP Calculus BC Exam and the aural subscore and nonaural subscore for the AP Music Theory Exam are not used in the AP Scholar Award calculations.

• The AP Scholar Awards are academic distinctions that students may cite among their credentials on applications, résumés, and so on. Students do not receive any monetary award from the College Board.

• When you receive your AP scores in July, it will state if you earned a Scholar Award.
  If you would like to learn more about high school courses, higher education and the college admissions journey, contact Suzanne for a free consultation.

Demonstrated Interested

Demonstrated Interest is a factor that some colleges and universities use to gauge your interest in the school as they weigh your level of interest in the admissions decision. In other words, they are trying to decide if you will attend if you are admitted.

Here are some tips on how to show demonstrated interest to a school.

1. Now more than ever, colleges and universities are tracking demonstrated interest through their websites. Make sure you register your email address with each school you are interested in. Input the student’s email address NOT the parent’s email address. *And please use a personal email address not your high school email address.*

2. Start to ‘follow’ and ‘like’ college and university social media accounts. TikTok and Instagram have college and university accounts for different schools and departments. Start to follow them. But remember, you should always be professional in ‘liking’ their posts and reels.

3. Respond to and click on university emails; If a school sends you an email message make sure to open it and respond to it, if need be. Always be professional in your communication.

4. If a school visits either in person or virtually be sure to attend. Attend college fairs and sign in with your QR code.

5. Complete an in-person tour on campus or virtual tour to show demonstrated interest.

6. Apply Early Decision or Early Action if the college or university offers these options; applying early decision shows demonstrated interested because it is binding if you are accepted, you must enroll and attend.

7. Complete an interview if offered. If the school offers admissions interviews, sign up early either with an admissions rep or with an alumni or senior year student.

8. Say thank you. If you visit a school say thank you to the tour guide, admissions reps and anyone else you meet with.

9. If you are unsure if a school tracks demonstrated interest, ask! They will let you know if it is considered as part of the admissions criteria.

Want to learn more about college admissions and working with Suzanne? Click here.

Reserve Officer Training Corp: ROTC

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ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corp) Training and Scholarship

ROTC offers a competitive scholarship program that can make education affordable and help advance a student’s personal and professional goals. It is offered at many traditional four-year colleges and universities, senior military colleges (all branches except the Coast Guard) and junior military colleges (Army and Navy ROTC only).

While it can vary by college and branch, each ROTC program will include some form of classroom instruction, field training exercises, leadership labs and physical fitness.

ROTC General Scholarship Requirements

The requirements for the scholarship may differ by Service branch, however, to qualify for an ROTC scholarship, the applicant must:

• be a U.S. citizen

• be at least 17 years of age

• have a high school GPA of at least 2.50 (3.0 for Air Force)

• have a high school diploma or equivalent

• submit ACT or SAT scores

• meet physical standards

• Interview

• agree to accept a commission and serve as an active-duty service member or in the Reserve or Guard

Applications are typically submitted by the end of the first semester of a high school student’s senior year. Questions. Click here to connect with Suzanne about how to work with her.

College List Building 101

There are many factors to consider when creating a college list.

Here are some thoughts on what to focus on from the beginning.

1. During your junior year, you will meet with your school counselor in late winter or early spring to discuss your courses for senior year and to also discuss a potential college list. This list is the beginning of what you can call a ‘work in progress’ list. It will be a work in progress up until you actually apply the following fall.

2. There are many factors to consider and since every human is unique, these factors will vary in type, style and importance. Here’s a brief list of what to think about:

   1. Location: How far from home would you like to be? Urban, suburban, college town, rural, study abroad: These are the type of location categories you need to consider.

   2. Size of School: Under 1,000, or over 20,000? The size of school can help you determine which schools to consider.

   3. Academics: Is there a certain field of study that you are interested in or do you have no idea? Think about which type of school and which degree(s) you may want to pursue. Did you have an IEP in high school? Inquire about the Accessibility Resource Center at each school. This will help you decide where to consider applying to.

   4. Extracurriculars: Are you looking for a strong theatre department? A big rah-rah sports team to cheer for? Strong LGBTQ+ community? What about Greek life? Are you interested in pledging for a certain fraternity? It’s important to visit as many campuses as possible so you can determine what type of campus life fits your personality.

3. By the beginning of your senior year, you should have visited a few schools and made your list as final as possible as it’s time to apply. 12 schools is your target number. Visit a small, medium and large school to start so you can compare how different size campuses feel. Some students have a range of schools on their final list. There is no right or wrong list.

   Consider the following aspects while making the list:

   1. Your list should have a range of ‘safety’(likely)-’target’-’reach’ schools.

      1. Safety (likely) schools: An applicant falls well above the 50th percentile of all applicants.

      2. Target schools: An applicant falls in the middle of the 50th percentile of all applicants.

      3. Reach school: An applicant falls well below the 50th percentile of all applicants.

      4. Read online, follow colleges’ social media accounts and attend local college fairs. This will help you firm up your college list.

4. Diversify your list from where students at your high school apply to. Don’t add schools to your list ‘because everyone else’ applies there. Contact me if you want to know why. The reasons are unlimited.

College Fair Tips

Fall is a busy season for taking standardized tests, visiting a college campus or two and for attending college fairs.

 Attending a Fall College Fair is one of the best first steps in your college search.

 Here are a few tips to consider.

 1.   All high school students should take the time to attend. I’ve been asked if it’s ‘really worth it’ for an underclassmen to attend. Yes, it is.

2.   Upon arrival, pick up a map of the fair and look to visit the tables for schools you may have already identified.

3.   Introduce yourself to the college representative. That’s right, shake the rep’s hand and say hello. It’s great practice to talk with adults informally but in a respectful manner.

4.   If you have any specific interest, make sure to ask about them such as study abroad options or a certain major you are looking to pursue.

5.   Do not specifically ask what is your ‘chance for admission’ but ask what is the range in GPA, test scores and personal qualities the school is looking for in applicants.

6.   Visit two or three schools for which you have never heard of. This is a great way to expand your thoughts about where to attend and to learn of different types of schools: private universities, small liberal arts colleges, public and state universities, etc.

7.   Make sure to have your QR code scanned by every table you stop at. That way, the college can contact you in the future and you can ask questions going forward.

Have fun. Attending is a fun and exciting time to see what colleges and universities are out there! Contact me here for more details and customized guidance.

Some Tips on how to succeed at College: from my academic coaching years….

As an academic coach, advisor and First Year Seminar Professor, I have decades of experience working with college students on how to manage their time, the heavier volume of course work in college vs high school and adjusting to a new life.

Here are my basic tips for everyone.

Academic:

1. Chunking: What is that?

   Chunking is a term where you divide your time in chunks: Think of your semester and break it down into months, weeks, and days. Look at each course syllabi and map out what assignments are due and plug in each due date, quiz and test into your calendar. Then you can see your entire semester schedule and how you can go about chunking your daily schedule. Do you have a Politics essay due next week? Chunk out some time this weekend to prep and write. A quiz in Biology? Chunk some time each day to review class notes, and readings to stay up on what the professor emphasizes!

2. Tip: The most common place a professor takes questions for a quiz or test is from their lectures and class time. So, take good notes and review class slides!

Personal:

1. For first year, first semester students the ‘newness’ of college has probably faded by now. Phew! Now you need to buckle down, and figure how a more balanced schedule between studying, having fun and taking care of yourself. Make sure to join a club that is 1. Academic, 2. Fun, and 3. Something you’ve never done before. That’s at least 3 clubs, people. Go!

Career:

Go Visit the Career Services Office, now. (Even if you are a first year student.) It’s actually the best year to start. If you wait until senior year, it’s too late! Go, now. And attend presentations and events they offer. Networking is the #1 way to get internships and jobs.

You’ve got this!

Contact me here for customized guidance!

It’s October- Here’s your Application to-do list

To-Do List for Applying:

1. Complete Common Application

• All sections in the common app tab

• All supplemental sections- for each college (does the school have an essay prompt as well?)

• Upload completed personal essay in the writing tab in the common app tab

2. Request Transcript and Letters of Recommendation through either Common app, Naviance, Scoir and your guidance counselor via high school office. 

3. If needed, order official test scores from the college board for SAT or act.org for ACt to go to schools you are applying to.

4. Complete STARS, if need be, (this is a software platform that posts your transcript with all high school coursework and grades which you link to your college’s portal after you submit.) https://srar.selfreportedtranscript.com/Login.aspx

5. After you submit, check your email and set up your applicant portals! Important step. You will most likely need to do one or two things in there and/or link your STARS to it, as well as upload an art portfolio, etc. if need be. 

Good luck!

Contact me here for customized guidance.

Giving agency: Keeping your Teens accountable for their Actions

Jennifer Breheny Wallace’s published book, Never Enough: When Achievement Culture becomes toxic and what to do about it really hit home for me both personally and professionally. I have been working with teens for almost 30 years and I currently have three young adult children of my own; two in college and one who just graduated from college last spring. The pressure is real. Parenting today is different from twenty- thirty years ago. Parents today feel a an obligation to be more involved, hands-on and to be on top of their children’s activities and achievement both in-and-out of the classroom. 

This starts at an early age but when I meet with families of teenagers, I often learn of how much this pressure has affected them. The anxiety has been developing for decades and parents have been feeling it grow. With the development of globalization and hypercompetition, parents feel they need to be involved in every step of their child’s development and achievement to prepare them for their future.

Parents link their success to their child’s achievements which in turn puts pressure and causes anxiety. 

What can parents do to help their teen feel less anxious, more confident and happy? 

Here are some tips:

1. Tell your teen that they matter. They are special just the way they are and no matter how high their achievement goes, they are special none-the-less. Mattering, according to Breheny Wallace, is the most important action a parent can take to help their teen feel loved and build self-esteem. 

2. Minimize Criticism: I always tell my students that the most important voice they listen to is their ‘inner-voice’. How parents talk to their children helps develop that inner-voice. Speak with supportive words. 

3. Add Value: Make time to ask your teen how their day was? Ask about a small moment, not just how was a test or quiz which can make the teen feel that achievement is the only thing that matters to the parent. 

4. Accountability for one’s actions: This is true for all in the family. Parent and teen anre accountable for their own actions. So parents, instead of solving every problem for your teen, ask them how they will solve the problem- give them agency to solve their problems and help them only when needed.

5. Self-Care: Make sure to take care of yourself. You will not be able to be a loving, supportive parent if you do not take care of yourself first. 

6. Seek help when needed: Today’s Generation Z is comfortable seeking help when they feel they need it. Don’t be a barrier to that as older generations are typically not accustomed to seeking professional help as easily. Mental health problems need to be addressed immediately.

Contact me here for customized guidance.

Fall 2025 Campus Visit Information

As you embark on planning your fall trips to college campuses, here is some helpful information you’ll want to know: 

1. Tours, and Campus Information & Financial Aid Sessions
   A. Make a plan- start out visiting schools that are within easy access so that you do not need to take time away from work and school for too long. Visit schools in the small, medium and large range if possible to get a feel for each different size school. Then once the student gets a better feel for the type of school, you can plan a multi-day trip to visit multiple campuses. 

          B. Schedule visits. Typically on the admissions page of a school’s website, you can book your visit on their online calendar. The student’s information should be used. Make sure to use a personal email address, not your high school email address when registering. 

When scheduling you will most likely have the option to attend both an information session and a campus tour. Many times, schools offer a financial aid session as well. Decide what’s best for your window of time and register for one or all of the offered events. 

       C. Information session usually starts off your visit and is held in the admissions office or in a large space where many can congregate to hear the presentation. Sometimes it’s a powerpoint presentation, often it’s simply a representative from admissions welcoming you to campus and providing you with an overview of life at the college or university and giving you key details about the school that they want to make sure you go home with. In other words, this is their sales pitch!

Tour: Most campus tours will cover the following:

Academic buildings

Recreational facilities

Library

First year-residential dorm

Campus landmarks

Financial Aid Information Session:

Need based aid

FAFSA: Free Application for Student Aid

CSS Profile (if applicable)

Merit based aid

Loans

Grants

Work Study

2. Open Houses are typically offered once a month and on a weekend day. It offers the prospective student a more in-depth look at a college or university. Usually a school offers a campus tour, information session, academic and student panels, lunch or brunch and time to talk with other current and prospective students. You also have the opportunity to have a more specific tour that is geared toward what you may want to major in. For example, at an open house at Union College, they offer an engineering specific tour, led by an engineering major.

3. Virtual Tours are a great option as no one can visit every school you apply to and it gives you the same information that an in-person information session typically does. 

4. Self-Guided Tour: If you are unable to register for an official tour or visit. Use a school’s self-guided tour which is usually vis podcast or on their admissions website. 

5. Overnight Stays are great at any time in the college admissions journey but especially when you are deciding between acceptances, spring of your senior year. Spending time with a current student and staying on campus overnight is the best way to be exposed to campus life both in and out of the classroom.

6. Admitted student days take place in winter and spring of your senior year. After you are accepted, you will be invited to attend. They are very helpful in making the final decision on which school to choose. Typically a school provides tours, academic presentations and panel discussions, student panels, meals with current students and time to meet other accepted students as well. 

Visiting colleges is essential in deciding what type of school you’d like to attend. 

• If you want to learn my tips and strategies on what to do while visiting, reach out to Suzanne for a free consultation

Six Tips for a Successful Admissions Interview

Colleges and universities that offer or require an interview as a factor in the admissions process view the opportunity to hear and speak with you as an essential factor in their decision-making. 

Colleges and universities take a more holistic approach to admitting students when they include an interview. It is a great indicator that this college or university sees all qualities of an applicant, not just grades and standardized tests. It can give the student a chance to explain their application and for you and the school to get acquainted. The interview can really help a marginal student’s application, too. 

If a school states that their interviews are evaluative, do it, whether or not it is recommended or required. If a college or university merely recommends interviews, whether or not it is evaluative, it is still highly recommended. 

The college is looking to answer some of the following items:

·      Student’s level of enthusiasm and motivation for attending the school. 

·      Who you are beyond your grades and test scores.

·      Your intellectual promise, leadership, personality and sense of humor. 

6 tips to prepare for the interview:

1.   Know about Yourself

Why do you want to go to college?

Why do you want to attend ( ) college in particular?

Why are you a good match with ( ) college?

2. Be prepared to talk about High School   

Chance to talk about your school community and what/how you were involved

Statistics: Know your GPA and how many students are graduating in your class

This also gives you a chance to mention any loop holes in your studies.

3. Be prepared to talk about Extracurricular Activities

Know the organizations in which you participate.

What has been the most important to you and why?

What might you continue in college?

Have you risen to any leadership positions?

Be sure to talk about activities outside of school too.

4. Dress appropriate: Wear a business-smart look. 

5. What NOT to do during an Interview:

 Avoid yes-and-no answers.

Chew gum

Have your cell phone with you and/or on. Silence it!

Don’t be late.

Don’t over-share

Don’t swear

Don’t put your family down

6. What TO do during an interview:

Relax: There really is no way to bomb the interview.  It’s merely a conversation. 

Dress appropriately

Listen carefully. Be attentive. Smile

Ask questions. It shows you are interested. 

Write a thank you note. Always follow up with a thank you note to the person who interviewed you. 

Be confident! You got this!!

For more information click here.