Early College (UMaine System and Maine Community College System) Registration for Spring 2025 Semester Open November 1st!
Skilled trades gain traction with Gen Z: report
Social media is increasingly driving an interest in skilled trades careers among members of Generation Z, generally defined as people born from 1997 to 2012, according to a report from home services app Thumbtack.
Social media is the second-largest driver of Gen Z career paths, with 55% of Gen Z respondents now saying they are considering a career in the skilled trades, up 12% from last year, Thumbtack says in its Future of the Skilled Trades report. Two out of three Gen Zers say social media has made them more interested in the trades, according to Thumbtack, which surveyed 1,000 Gen Z respondents in July.
The Thumbtack report also found that 93% of Gen Z college graduates and 80% of parents surveyed said learning a skilled trade can be a better route to economic security than college. Read on…
From https://lifesuccessforteens.com/
For your teen to truly thrive in high school, they need to master:
Handling an increased workload
Self-advocacy and asking for help
Navigating complex social dynamics
Effective time and stress management
Efficient and effective study techniques
Balancing academics, activities, and social life
If you're wondering how to equip your teen with these essential skills, you're not alone. That's why I've created a comprehensive masterclass designed to fill this crucial gap in your teen's education.
In this eye-opening session, you'll discover:
Practical strategies to help your teen manage their increasing workload
Techniques to boost your teen's confidence in self-advocacy
Tips for navigating the social aspects of high school
Proven methods for effective time management and stress reduction
Study skills that actually work (and don't involve endless hours of cramming)
The secret to helping your teen find balance in their busy life
This isn't just about surviving high school - it's about thriving and setting your teen up for long-term success.
Ready to give your teen the tools they need to excel in high school and beyond? Click here to watch the masterclass now.
Let's work together to transform your teen's high school experience from overwhelming to empowering.
5 Hidden ADHD Challenges Your Teen Faces in High School
Navigating high school with ADHD can feel like a rollercoaster for your teen. If you've been wondering why your child struggles in ways that aren't always obvious, you're not alone. Here are 5 surprising ways ADHD might be affecting your teen:
Time Blindness: Suddenly realizing assignments were due yesterday? It's not procrastination, but a genuine struggle to perceive time accurately.
Motivation Rollercoaster: One minute they're excited to study, the next they can't even look at a textbook. ADHD can make motivation wildly unpredictable.
Procrastination Paradox: They know they need to start that project, but end up reorganizing their entire room instead. It's their brain seeking stimulation, not laziness.
Emotional Intensity: Small setbacks can feel like major disasters. ADHD often comes with heightened emotional responses.
Hyperfocus... on the wrong things: They can focus for hours on their favorite activity, but struggle to concentrate for 10 minutes on homework.
Dual Enrollment Boosts College Success But Gaps Remain
New Report Includes First National and State-by-State Breakdowns of Dual Enrollment Students’ Access and Success
New York, October 15, 2024 — Each year, nearly 2.5 million high school students take dual enrollment college courses, which are now offered at 90% of public high schools across the country. A new report from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, documents higher rates of college-going and completion for dual enrollment students relative to students who don’t participate in dual enrollment. The report also finds that dual enrollment students’ outcomes vary greatly across and within states, with important gaps in access and success for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students. Read On…
Early College (UMaine System and Maine Community College System) Registration for Spring 2025 Semester Open November 1st!
ELOs!
If you are intrigued by the idea of adding an ELO (Extended Learning Opportunity) but not really sure what options exist, here’s what is in the works thus far:
Athletic Training (CHILLS)
CRES (3)
CRES Spanish
PeoplePlace
PAWS
PenBay Medical Center (4)
PenBay Pilot (2)
Birch Point Wealth Management
KEA Dance Center (2)
Hill-n-Dale Equestrian
Stewardship Education Alliance
Islesboro Electric
Farnsworth Museum
Midcoast Realty Group
Jensen's Pharmacy
Equinox Climbing
Harmony Lane Farm
Reach out to kassandra.wood@fivetowns.net if you are interested, or fill out this form: https://forms.gle/stSp9jN44SQMaYK38
Jeff Selingo’s latest newsletter has dropped
In today’s issue:
Student fees for athletics, dark money in college sports, and why this all matters to every student, every college.
Changing weather patterns and higher ed.
Net tuition prices drop.
How to Find Autism Friendly Colleges
Deciding where to attend college is challenging for any student, but autistic students may find the choice even harder. Moving to college means making new friends, living with a roommate and managing new academic routines without the family support available in high school.
About 1 in 36 children in the U.S. was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in 2020, according to the most recent federal data. That’s up from 1 in 150 in 2000 and 1 in 68 in 2010.
More autistic students are going to college than ever before. Colleges are responding by designing campus support programs. Read on…
Here’s Who You’re Really Competing Against In The College Admissions Process—And It’s Not Who You Think
During the 2023–24 admissions cycle, Harvard applications topped 50,000; UPenn’s applicant pool swelled by 10%, reaching over 65,000 applicants; and Yale saw a record-breaking number of applicants, totaling 57,465. Given these staggering numbers, many students assume that they are competing against approximately 50,000 other applicants when they apply to an Ivy—but this is not necessarily the case. Read on…
ED Angst
When I started my career as a high school counselor, Early Decision (ED) was an anomaly. It had been around since the Seven Sisters first introduced it in 1958, but was rarely discussed and even less frequently pursued.
The one and only early deadline was January 1.
Later, the landscape became more complex when Harvard, Yale, and Princeton celebrated our nation’s bicentennial by adding Early Action (EA) to the mix. Then came the further permutations (and complications) of EDII and EAII. And now Direct Admit (being accepted without applying) is taking off. Who knows what will be next!
By now, the general public has caught on to the (sometimes significant) advantage of applying early—some schools take as much as 50% of their incoming classes through an early admission program. ED—a binding legal contract in which you are required to commit to the school and withdraw all other applications if admitted—is not without controversy (it favors the those sufficiently affluent to make college decisions without regard to cost), but is widely utilized. To the point that many kids feel that they have to apply early or they will be throwing away their shot. Therein lies the rub.
ED Angst is a thing. Kids often feel compelled to apply ED regardless of whether they have found the “right” school or not. Because everyone else is. There seems to be a (perhaps unspoken) ethos that you MUST take advantage of the higher acceptance percentage because you CAN, but that makes no sense in the imminently rational neocortex regions of the brain. That would be like making people vote because they have the right to (never mind if they have educated themselves about the issues), or getting married because they are able to obtain a license.
Which means that ED Angst likely lives in the unabashedly emotional region of the brain that evolved to keep us alive—the lizard brain. Not to think things through with careful consideration, but to help you immediately recognize danger and start the cortisol and adrenaline pumping so you can outrun a sabertooth tiger (or at the very least run faster than other members of your community) and live to see another day.
But ED isn’t life or death. There is no danger—real or imagined—in choosing not to apply early. Yes, you might miss out on a greater likelihood of admission, but improving your chances of getting into a school that is not a good match for you, or that you have not fully researched and vetted, is actually a worse fate. It is true that you can sometimes wiggle out of an ED agreement if your family can’t afford it, but in the mean time you have withdrawn all your other applications and have no other choices. This in no way is a win.
So, let me be perfectly plain spoken: you do not have to have an ED or EA choice on your list. If you have fallen in love with a school, are reasonably certain that you will get a decent financial aid package (using Net Price Calculator), have researched it fully and have eyes for no other, good for you. If you don’t, you’ve got months more time to figure things out. That is a genuine win as well.
Tips and Strategies for Answering the “Why this college?” Question
When responding to the “Why this college?” question, it is important to convey that you are not just applying for the sake of applying – they want students that want them.
Colleges care about “yield,” which is the percentage of students that actually choose to attend the college, out of the total number who are offered admission. Yields vary greatly between colleges. So, when admission officers are evaluating your application, they look for signs of interest. They want an indication that you will accept the offer if you get admitted. Read on…
Five FAME Tools to Boost Your Scholarship Success
With millions of dollars in scholarships being awarded to Maine students each year, there's never been a better time to be a scholarship applicant in Maine. Whether you're a high school senior, an underclassman, a current college student, or someone who loves one, the scholarship game in Maine is strong. If you're looking for a place to start, check out the following FAME resources to help you with your scholarship application process.
1. Scholarship Success Video
Get motivated by watching FAME’s animated video on successful scholarship searches and applications. Learn about searching for scholarships, getting organized, and maximizing scholarships to help you pay for college. Visit the Videos page on FAME's website for more helpful animated videos on financial aid and the FAFSA.
2. Maine Scholarship Search
Use FAME's Maine Scholarship Search tool to explore more than 100 scholarships available to Maine students. You can search based on your current year in school and your desired major.
3. Links to Other Trusted Scholarship Sites
You can use other great local and national websites to search for scholarships. Visit our Maine Scholarship Search page for a list of the most highly recommended sites. Two particularly helpful sites are the Maine Community Foundation, with hundreds of Maine-based scholarships, and iGrad, with additional tools beyond scholarships to support your financial wellbeing.
4. Scholarship Tracker
Once you’ve found all those great scholarships, you’ll need a place to keep track of them—that’s why FAME created its scholarship tracking spreadsheet. You’ll find it right at the top of the Maine Scholarship Search page. Download and fill in the spreadsheet, share it with anyone helping you with your scholarship application process, and refer to it regularly to stay on track. You can also use it to reapply to scholarships each year.
5. $1,000 Future Fund Scholarship
If you’re a member of the high school class of 2025 (or the parent/guardian of one), you (or your high school senior) will be automatically entered into a drawing for a $1,000 Future Fund scholarship just by signing up to receive emails or text messages from FAME. We’ll send timely tips and information about the financial aid process directly to your phone or inbox to help you stay on track throughout your senior year. Win/win!
Call for Maine Scholarships
Do you have a Maine-based scholarship for Maine students? If so, FAME would love to add it to our Maine Scholarship Search tool. Use our Scholarship Add/Update Form to submit your scholarship for inclusion.
Financial Aid Information Sessions
One of the best ways for students and families to get familiar with the financial aid process is to attend one of FAME’s Financial Aid Information sessions. We have numerous in-person and virtual events scheduled in October and November. For a list of upcoming events, visit FAMEmaine.com/events.
Sign up here for the session at MCST on October 30!
