CATES Blog

It’s springtime, the birds are singing, the sun is shining, you got into college, and your days as a high school senior are rapidly coming to a close. It IS time to celebrate, yes—you made it!—but it’s important to remember that high school isn’t over yet, and there are colleges that are keeping up with what you’re doing, and some that might want to see your end-of-year grades. While it’s true that the finish line is in sight, you’re not quite there yet, so here’s some motivation to stay on top of your academics:

• Prepare Yourself for Next Year
  • You are going to college—it’s really happening. It’s going to be amazing, but there will also be more distractions than you could possibly imagine, and if you think staying on top of classwork is hard now…well, just wait. Use this time at the end of your high school career to build up your focus and fortitude, and succeed academically despite the distractions of senioritis (and the possibility that most of your friends have already checked out). If you go into next fall with this experience and skill under your belt, you’ll have a great foundation for keeping a good balance between work and play at college.

• Pride
  • “We ain’t going out like that…” You’ve worked really hard to get to this point. Why stop now? Later on in life, you’ll be happy to saw things through to the finish line. When you join the working world, you may not have the liberty of “coasting” at the end of projects or deadlines, so it’s better not to get into the habit now. Plus, you’re better than that!

• Legacy
  • How do you want people to remember you? Your teachers have impressions of you, hopefully good ones, which you’ve earned over the past four years. What do you want them to think and say about you after you leave? We had one student who scored amazingly well on her standardized tests, got great recommendations, and got into a ton of schools…and then became a disruptive force in class. Her teachers were extremely disappointed in her behavior and her tenure at her school ended on a down note. You owe it to yourself to leave on a high note, so hang in there—graduation is just around the corner!

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What law school should I attend? Is there a difference?

For many people, the landscape of career opportunities after graduating from college is confusing, large, and overwhelming. Many find that they need more training and specialization even if they don’t quite know the field of work they ultimately see themselves working in. A law degree is an amazingly powerful, flexible, and rigorous choice of study that often rewards someone greatly over his or her life.

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What are some good tips to writing a successful school essay?

If you find yourself struggling with school essay assignments, and everyone does, there are some helpful guidelines you can follow to craft a successful essay. The first essay tip is simply to use all the time you are allotted. Most teachers will give you a few days to a week to work on a paper and you should use all that time. Your teacher is expecting you to.  Even if that means only thinking about the assignment at the beginning, you need to begin the intellectual process of crafting an essay as soon as you are given the assignment.

Make one point in your essay.  Every successful English paper or history paper is centered on a singular thesis. This isn’t to say you can articulate many ideas about a subject along the way, but the focus of your writing must be unitary for your ideas to cohere.  Once you’ve boiled your ideas down to a singular, central thesis, you can begin to plan your essay.

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Does eating healthy help me in the admissions and testing process?

The short answer to this question is yes.  In the doldrums of Junior year when you are burdened with SAT test prep, college visits, and a mountain of school-work keeping yourself healthy is essential.

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How do I know which SAT II to take? When should I take them?

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