Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 7, 2010 in
Goal: Connect,
Goal: Organization AS you can see, parents come to discuss more academic concerns:
But they say they could come and talk about other issues:
And believe the counselor creates a safe place:
And they are generally very satisfied. Note the people who rate it one, skew the results. Very few people selected 2 or 3.
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 7, 2010 in
Goal: Connect,
Goal: Organization
- Stress
- time management
- recieving poor grades
- test anxiety
- dealing with change
- parental expectations
When you review these items it is clear how many demands our students place on themselves, their parents place on them, and the school experience itself does.
We will focus on the top three in our early link groups.
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 7, 2010 in
Goal: Connect,
Goal: Organization 
I would like to see all these numbers go past 4 next year.
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 7, 2010 in
Goal: Connect,
Goal: Organization 
I am surprised how low I am ranked in career advising and general emotional support, but then again, kids and family primarily view us in the role of College counselor.
Action plan:
1) Introduce after school career talks once a month delivered by counselors (with help from community members) once a month. This will be called careers in focus.
2) Designed course advisement to be one to one.
3) Introduce links groups which will allow us to
a. deliver content
b. connect with the students via small groups
4) Reaffirm guidance newsletters for parents by grade level.
5) Reaffirm and publicize guidance shared calendar.
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 7, 2010 in
Goal: Connect When we undertook developmental assets we wanted needed comparative data. I sught out both through research online and discussion with Search institute information to compare our student resulst with “national norms.” Moreover I sought on information from other international schools.
This has been presented to parents and admin. 
Due to the sensitive nature of the information, the keynotes are available upon request.
“We used this survey at Seoul Foreign School as well, and I found it to be a valuable resource in assisting us to obtain data on affective elements of the school’s vision. I’m glad that the process is utilized here as well. You have a supporter of this effort as superintendent.”
From a parent:
Mr.Shaun McElroy is an excellent Counselor and is very easily approachable. The information he shares during the HS coffee mornings are very helpful. Thanks a lot!
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 7, 2010 in
Goal: Organization This year I implmented a shared google calendar for the counselors to use. We kept guidance dates in there as well as college visits. My goal is to share that with students and parents next year.
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 2, 2010 in
Goal: uniquest In 210 BC, Xiang Yu led an army against the Ch’in Dynasty. While his troops slept, he burned his ships and smashed all the cooking pots. He explained to his troops that they had to either fight their way to victory or die. His troops won 9 consecutive battles. Eliminating options improved the focus of his troops.
We feel compelled to preserve options, even at great expense, even when it doesn’t make sense.
For Uniquest:
- Less is more.
- Focus on the few.
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 2, 2010 in
Goal: uniquest 
“If anything you do influences the way people choose, then you are a choice architect,” Thaler said. “If you remember one thing from this lecture, remember the following: Choice architects must choose something. You have to meddle. For example, you can’t design a neutral building. There is no such thing. A building must have doors, elevators, restrooms. All of these details influence choices people make.”
Choices: universities we recommend:
- Not the usual suspects–our kids do not need help finding universities.
- Colleges that visit us–they should be rewarded
- Colleges kids have had success at
Choices: Tools:
- UCANN
- Youtube
- College Prowler
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 2, 2010 in
Goal: uniquest Uniquest is a new approach to developing the college list.
Step 1: Take True Colors personality profile.
Step 2: Click on your color.
Step 3: Select a college from the page:
Step 5: Use the tools embeded on the page to evaulate the college as suitable for you.
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Posted by Shaunigan on Jun 2, 2010 in
Goal: uniquest I was blown away how detailed many students were in their investigations for uniquest:
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| 1. |
Your True Color your are focusing on for this College result: |
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Blue |
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| 2. |
Name of college: (Must come from the True Colors college list): http://search.saschina.org/hs-counseling/Truecolleges/College_Types/College_types.html |
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Macalester College |
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| 3. |
Please list, in order, your Top Five Strengths from Gallup’s Strengthsfinder you did last year: |
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Empathy |
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Strategic |
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Maximizer |
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Adaptability |
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Communication |
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| 4. |
You will focus on ONE of your Signature Strengths in assessing if this college is or is not a good fit for you. Strength Selected: |
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Communication |
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| 5. |
Comment on how this college will allow not only match your strengths but allow you to really build your strengths. |
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Macalester College can help build my strengths in strategic abilities and communication. It was named as “America’s Hottest Liberal Arts College” by the 2006 Kaplan/Newsweek “How to Get into College” Guide. According to the magazine, America’s Hottest Colleges “have one attribute in common: they’re creating buzz among students, school officials and longtime observers of the admissions process…each reflects a place that is preparing students well for a complex world.” This college provides an environment that readies students for the real world, helping me build on my strategic abilities. As for communication, I am interested in Macalester College’s student-run newspaper called ‘The Mac Weekly’ which also features a satirical section named ‘The Mock Weekly’. Most of the staff are volunteers and I think this would be a great way to build my communication skills in a creative manner of expression. Macalester College also requires that students spend the first two years living in dorms, which will provide more opportunities for me to learn to use my communication skills and get to know more people on campus. |
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| 6. |
Based on the TWO IDENTIFIED STRENGTHS from Gallup Strengthsquest above, how is this college NOT a good fit. Be specific. In some cases, you may find no negatives. |
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College students were described by their President Brian C. Rosenberg based on their rankings and honors, as “cheap smart hotties with a conscience”. I especially took notice of the “with a conscience” part. I went through a list of the clubs Macalester colleges offers. Though it seems that it is relatively easy to start up a club, the current ones do not do much to attract my attention. Very few of these clubs work at helping people from a direct approach. Some, such as the Macalester for Justice in Palestine are working towards helping people but it is through raising money and awareness. I don’t see where I would be able to build my skills for empathy. My skill for adaptability is one I like to use. I enjoy balancing different responsibilities and obligations. A review of the activities Macalester College provides leaves me with the impression that I won’t have much I want to do other than academics. I am used to having many extracurriculars but little emphasis is placed on theater in Macalester College. The other clubs don’t interest me. Macalester College focuses much on athletics, which I am keen on supporting but not participating. I don’t see much space for me to improve my adaptability. |
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| 7. |
Based on your Naviance Career Interest Survey results, look at one career recommended. Which Career Did you select: |
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Actor |
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| 8. |
Does your college offer a major that will allow you to pursue that career? If yes, which major? |
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Theatre and Dance |
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| 9. |
Evaluate how strong the college is in this particular major–focus on evidence from the college such as career services pages, the department pages, student profiles etc.) |
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Macalester College has a page regarding the Theatre and Dance program. One of the sections includes a summary of the requirements of the theatre major. The list sounds like it will prepare students for a well-rounded education in theatre. However, there is no further information on the structure of each course. I don’t know if Introduction to Theatre Studies means reading about styles of theater, learning to use our instruments or studying the different theories. Comparing against a college such as Brown University, Macalester College has far fewer productions. Majors and minors are required to audition for all productions but there do not seem to be as many opportunities. Their required senior projects seem very minimal and simple. One example given is to act a main role in a mainstage production. This does not necessarily show that the student is utilizing what he/she has learnt. There doesn’t seem to be many requirements to the senior project which suggests a lack of structure of the program. |
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| 10. |
Review your Do What You Are Personality Profile, look at your your preferred learning style—to what degree does this college meet your approach to learning? |
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My learning style requires much stimulation in the campus environment. I like a wide variety of activities and a varied schedule. The school should allow for plenty of opportunity for interaction and collaboration. It should provide a friendly, casual, stimulating, and flexible learning environment. I need to be appreciated for my need to “think out loud” and given chances to perform in front of classmates. The college should encourage me to develop alternative ways of completing assignments and reward me for imaginative, creative solutions. I do not feel that Macalester College is suffice for all of these points. There are not many activities that I am interested in. A lack of emphasis on extracurricular theater may limit my desire to express creativity. There is nothing on their page that suggests it has a casual, flexible learning environment. Their latest issue of ‘The Mac Weekly’ has a poll asking students whether the college should change the number of study days between the end of classes and the beginning of finals. This could show flexibility in the college but it is unclear whether the school listens to ‘The Mac Weekly’ and whether the students writing the columns take any action afterwards to change policies. |
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| 11. |
Review your Do What You Are Personality Profile, look at your the list of careers (Pick a different one that your CIS results). Which Career did you focus on? |
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Counseling Psychologist |
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| 12. |
Which Major Does the College Offer that will lead to that Career |
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Psychology |
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| 13. |
Provide evidence from the college that they are strong in this (look at the career services page, the department pages, student profiles etc.) |
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The college has a National Psychology Honor Society - the Psi Chi. I assume that this major is very popular on campus. Laboratory activity, observation in non-laboratory environments, internships and independent projects supplement the curriculum, allowing students to have a choice in what they want to do. The variety of opportunities allows me to be flexible with how I want to approach the subject. The school occasionally hosts psychology conferences and archives of famous psychologists. However, the summary on the psychology program page is limited. It does not offer information about the requirements, the courses or the faculty. Most of what is included on the page seem trivial compared to the academic aspects they should be focusing on communicating to potential students. |
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| 14. |
You should have two or three key criteria—such as location, size, activities, international student population, costs etc. that are important to you. List two below: |
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Size |
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Activities |
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| 15. |
Evaluate how strong the college is at meeting each of those two criteria listed above: My Criteria 1 and My Criteria 2 – |
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Macalester has seven academic buildings, 10 residence halls, 5 language houses, a library and technology center. The academic buildings and library include state-of-the-art technology and the residence halls have a variety of living experiences. All 10 residence halls are different in the style and arrangement of the rooms. Videos on the website show that the students are comfortable and happy with their dorms and the cafeteria. In 2007, Princeton Review rated the college “#1 best quality of life”. As I have mentioned before, the college really doesn’t offer enough activities for me. The clubs that are listed are ones that I am not interested in joining. |
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| 16. |
What is one thing that surprised or impressed you about this university? |
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I was surprised that it was rated so well by Princeton Review, Kaplan and Washington Monthly Guide Review. Many of the honors listed on Wikipedia impressed me. |
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| 17. |
Approximately how many minutes did it take you to research this college and answer these questions? |
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100 |
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