With the tutoring program on Saturday fast approaching, I thought I would share my experience as a college mentor during the fall semester of 2009 with juniors from Richmond Community High School. It was a bit hard to focus on one particular student during my time with RCHS because I had about 4 students (as did each mentor). For the first 2 visits, I allowed the students to just talk about their college expectations, including their fears and excitements, and to ask me about what my college experience had been like so far. After those visits, we moved on to colleges they were looking at, and I helped them to figure out what those colleges were looking for in applications. When it came down to preparing to apply for college, I encouraged the students to, first off, put their anxieties away and remain calm and focused. Then I related what I did to prepare for the college applications and essays. Each week, I did a bit more research on schools I was interested in and tried to narrow down the list. I also began writing down ideas for essays and elaborating on topics that I thought would be appropriate for a personal statement. Practicing writing a essays for my college application really did help me to write the "real" essay when it came time to send applications to colleges. By the end of the mentoring program, 3 of my 4 students expressed how much better and excited they felt about writing their college essays because they had utilized the advice I had given them. In the end, my goal for the program had been accomplished.
Almost all high school students who are beginning the college application process are anxious and afraid of something. However, I found that by encouraging, assuring, and sharing my experiences with them, they began to feel more at ease about the whole process. It is always nice to have someone who has been through the same situation to be available as a resource.
No comments:
Post a Comment