College Prep Milestones

by Katherine O'Brien, Certified College Planning Specialist, Founder of Celtic College Consultants

 Like any long journey, the journey to college has a number of stages. Knowing where you are on the journey is essential to attaining the desired outcome - acceptances into great colleges with strong programs in a desired field at a manageable cost. The Three Pillars of College Success are:

 Excellent Student Prep

Savvy College Selection

Abundant Funding

 

 

Here are some major milestones on the journey to college:

Juniors Your college list is nearly finalized. Some application essays are already in process.

Sophomores Your criteria and budget for colleges getting on your list is set. You have an idea of your desired major and program.

Freshman Goals for personal development, explorations of possible fields of study and careers are well underway. College budget is estimated.

For the full timeline, with milestones from grade 5 to grade 12, email Katherine: KOB@CelticCollegeConsultants.com   Let her know whether you'd like the standard timeline or the timeline for Catholic families.

Over the past decade, my College Success Program students have each been offered, on average nearly $250,000 in merit scholarships! Get on track for College Success. Meet with me, get your questions answered, and join the program today! Email to schedule your family's private college prep meeting with Katherine: KOB@CelticCollegeConsultants.com

Post It Flags Can Change your Life

 by Katherine O'Brien, Certified College Planning Specialist, Senior College Consultant, Celtic College Consultants

A friend recently shared:

About a year ago, I decided that before I read the words of anyone else, I wanted to first hear what my Father had to say to me.

I'd been reading the daily Mass readings for a while, but decided I'd shift to reading them first thing in the morning.

There was a problem though.

I got the readings emailed to me, which meant that they were sitting in my inbox each morning...

...along with a whole bunch of emails from other people that had come in overnight. 

I'd try to force myself to read the readings first...but invariably there'd be another "really important" email I had to read so I "didn't forget"...and I'd end up reading other people's words first.

(And 9 times out of 10, they did not inspire me like God's word would.)

I was about to give up on the idea that I could even do something like this when it suddenly came to me:

Why didn't I just mark the readings in my Bible the night before and eliminate my phone from the process altogether?

I bought these little Post-It flags, and now each night, I mark off the readings for the next morning in my Bible.

 

Now, instead of reaching for my phone "to read the readings," I grab my Bible and truly do have God's word be the first thing I read.

(It's made it so that most mornings, I don't even need to look at my phone until after I've been up for at least an hour. )

The solution to my distraction problem was really simple — $5 Post-It flags — but it took me months to figure it out.

Because I was trying to make a system — emailed readings — work for me that just. plain. wasn't.

 -snip-

 

** Breaking down a problem and really noticing what’s not working is key to achieving your goals more effectively. **

 

Have you tried figuring out the way that works for you to help your teen (and your wallet) prep for college? That matches your goals?

 

If your teen is in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade it’s time for us to chat. Time to check in, clarify your college goals, and discuss what's working and what isn't. It's time for you to get your questions answered, fears allayed, and start to develop a strategy to effectively accomplish your goals

 

 

Doing college prep by yourself seems like it’s better, easier, cheaper, but it’s not. I save my families time, money, stress, and help them get better results.

 

I’ve helped countless teens find their voice, build their confidence, try something new, dive into what they love without fear of “what admissions will think,” craft powerful essays and effective applications, and get into colleges where they thrive, not just graduate.

 

Over the past decade, year after year, my College Success Program students have been offered nearly $250k each in merit scholarships, on average.

 

Let's explore the difference it would make to bring me onto your team to help guide your teen during these crucial years. Email kob@CelticCollegeConsultants.com, mention this blog article, and receive $100 off your personal college prep consultation with Katherine.

 

(Pro tip: Having a seasoned guide makes the journey to college a joy, not a burden.)

What to Do After Your Applications are Submitted

by Katherine O'Brien, Certified College Planning Specialist 

Founder, Senior Private College Consultant, Celtic College Consultants

 

 1. Mark the Accomplishment! 

Keep a pdf of each application, for your records, and to document the accomplishment. It took a lot of time and effort to craft that application. Mark that. You also might want to look at it later, as you decide which college to attend. 

 2. Check your email! 

Colleges send announcements, links to their portal, messages about missing materials, invitations to apply and compete for top scholarships, to apply to their honors program or college, etc. Check DAILY. You never know when a significant, potentially life changing email will come in!  

3. Check your portals

Many colleges have a portal that they use to communicate and to take you through the next steps of choosing housing, getting your aid package, etc. Be sure to set up your portal right away and check it regularly. Keep track of your login information. This takes effort – there can be many new logins to keep track of!  

4. Take time to reconsider your top college priorities

What are the key opportunities you are looking for at college? How do the colleges you’ve applied for stack up, now that you’ve learned more about them through the application process? Are there additional colleges you want to apply to? There are colleges with later deadlines; it’s not too late to add a college! 

 5. Apply for Scholarships, 

both at your schools and private. Have you combed through their private database yet? Have you paid attention to scholarship emails your high school counselor has sent? What about at your church, bank, parent’s workplaces, clubs, etc.? Have you taken the time to explore using online search engines? Look at groups related to your ethnicity, career interests, personal traits, etc.  

6. Midyear Grade Reports 

Verify that your midyear grades have been sent to your schools, no matter whether you’ve applied early action or regular decision.  

7. Update admissions 

with any important additional accomplishments, awards, leadership roles, improved test scores, or competitive (especially prestigious) scholarships you’ve won. Email to the admissions office AND to your regional admissions representative. Be sure to include your applicant or college ID (if they’ve assigned one to you) in your email. This is particularly important if you have been deferred or waitlisted. Your letter of continued interest is vital in those situations.  

8. Evaluate your colleges more deeply 

As you are admitted, attending those colleges become real possibilities. Re-examine them, look more deeply at student life, campus ministry, clubs, academic offerings, paying particular attention to your “must haves”. Follow their social media, attend events in your area, read the online version of the student newspaper, etc. Keep up to date on your colleges as part of your deep evaluation of them. 

 9. Withdraw or decline any offers of admission that you want to reject

Doing so frees up a spot for another student and releases any scholarship money you’ve been offered. This is courteous and respectful. Just send a polite email to the admissions office, again including your applicant or student ID. 

 10. Thank those who helped you prepare your application

Give thoughtful handwritten thank you notes to your recommenders and counselor as well as anyone else who helped you along the way. Thank those people who have been invaluable in helping you become the person you are today. And take time to savor the experiences of this final semester of high school. Enjoy those last games and dances and classes….  

11. Finish well

Stay in the present. While the prospect of going to a beloved college is exciting, today is still today; today is the day you have been given. Live it well. Pay attention in class, do well on exams, projects, and papers. What you learn this semester continues to build the foundation for your future. If you change your courses this term, you need to let the colleges (both those that have admitted you and those still evaluating your application) know, which could negatively impact your situation. Finish strong, continue to build effective study skills. Prep for your AP exams as they can still turn into college credits, but only if you do well. 

For help with the college process, from 8th - 12th grades, from leadership skill development, career exploration, college funding planning, college budgeting, to scholarships, college selection, applications, essays, visit CelticCollegeConsultants.com or email Katherine: KOB@CelticCollegeConsultants.com

Catholic Training joined to Trade School?!

In recent years, four trade schools have opened. Combining training in various trades, each of these schools offers courses in Catholic liberal arts. The focus of each is to form young people to be strong, well formed and well informed Catholics who are skilled in a trade.

Harmel Academy of the Trades, Grand Rapids, MI offers men a "path to form the whole person: mind, body, and soul. Harmel students live together, creating a community of workmen that supports one another in all things. Additionally, mentoring and networking with experienced tradesmen and business owners is part of life at Harmel. Harmel requires all of its students to work 20-30 hours per week while they are students. Information about tuition and scholarships can be found here.

 

They offer three programs. The "Foundations of Skilled Stewardship" program is project based and required of all first year students. Training men in the "fundamentals of skilled work and spiritual maturity," this program can serve as a gap year between high school and college or as the preface for training in the trades. Its purpose is to help young men become "intentional, mature, and self-reliant." Additionally, the program introduces students to these trades: auto repair and maintenance, carpentry, construction, electrical work, home maintenance, HVAC, machining, plumbing, and welding.

 

The Machine & Systems Technology program is a one year apprenticeship based program designed to train young men to work on full systems within manufacturing and machining environments. Students will learn manufacturing theory while gaining deep, practical experience.

Lastly, Harmel's "God and Man at Work" Humanities program is a four semester (two year) cycle of humanities classes. Apprentices take all four semesters while gap year students only take the first two. Topics such as living in a post-Christian world, conforming one's life to Christ, the vocations of husband and father, co-creator/laborers with God, and servants of the larger community, practical wisdom, prayer, and the call to intimacy with God are deeply addressed through this cycle of courses.

Scholarships are available. See https://www.harmelacademy.org/ for complete information.

 

The College of St. Joseph the Worker, located in Steubenville, OH offers a six year program to both men and women. Students will receive training in carpentry, electrical work, HVAC, or plumbing as well as earn a bachelor's degree  (BA) in Catholic Studies. The first three years are completed onsite in Steubenville while the final three years are completed in the student's home state or other chosen qualified area. The program's focus is on the three dimensions of the lay vocation: work, family, and the temporal order. The first year includes broad training in the building trades. The NCCER program results in a nationally recognized certification in Ohio. (The College will help students obtain certification in other states as well.) The second and third years' focus is on the classroom/shop training in the student's chosen trade. The following three years are spent doing on the job training and completing the liberal arts courses online. Information about tuition and fees can be found here. For complete information, go to: https://www.collegeofstjoseph.com/

Santiago Trade School in Silverado, CA accepts fifteen new men to become students each semester into their two year program. Students gain experience on jobsites, are mentored in spiritual wisdom, and form manly friendships, ultimately leading work projects and being train in a specific trade. Friendship between students is a key pillar of the program, forming manly relationships through which the men build each other up. Students learn the trade skills needed to build their own home someday. Their practical training includes work on the actual on-site efforts to increase the capacity of the Santiago Retreat Center which sits on 800 acres in the Orange County foothills. The men are developed in a two year formation program which includes daily prayer and Mass as well as bi-weekly formation courses. For complete information, please see: https://www.santiagotradeschool.com/

 

San Damiano College for the Trades, in Springfield, IL is run by the Norbertines from St. Michael's Abbey in Orange County, CA. They hope to open Fall 2025 with 75 men. During the first year, students are introduced to arborist, carpentry, multi-disciplinary church restoration, HVAC, masonry, roofing, and welding. These students will work 24 hours per week during the first year. Apprenticeship in one's chosen trade will begin the second year and run for two years. Apprentices work 40 hours during the summer and 24 hours per week during the school year during their first year. During the second year of apprenticeship (their third at San Damiano), students will work 40 hours per week. During apprenticeship, students' work is expected to cover most or all of the fees. They will learn a trade as well as earn an AA degree in liberal arts. SDCOT also offers a non-degree program in their House of Formation. Men in this program will be formed in the moral, intellectual, and theological virtues as they learn a trade. It is expected that students will complete their program with no debt. Complete information is available on their website: https://www.sandamianotrades.org/.

Catholic human formation you seek is being offered at these schools in conjunction with the training in the trades.

 

For more information about college prep services, especially for Catholics, and our highly effective College Success Program, please visit our website, Celtic College Consultants. We do serve teens and families from all backgrounds.

by Katherine O'Brien, ThD Cand., Certified College Planning Specialist