Starting a school club is a great way to create your own leadership opportunity, but there are some moves that come off as insincere or unfocused to admissions officers. Let's talk about crafting a mission statement that ensures long term impact, and demos evidence of your drive. 

Applying to colleges admittedly undecided about your major is actually way harder than centering your application around a focused intended major. You’re signing up for a very challenging strategy- persuasion about your unbridled potential, while squashing suspicions that you’re aimless. 

US high schools often build extracurricular activities into their student experience, but this might not be the case if you’re attending a high school in another country. In my years working in China, I’ve often seen students struggle to build their extracurricular (EC) activities list. If this applies to you, here are some options. 

This holiday season, highlight your leadership, ingenuity, and resourcefulness. Demonstrate your aptitude and dedication, whether or not you plan on majoring in the arts.

Good grades aren’t enough to drive admission to a top tier college. What sets you apart is demonstrable weirdness. We'll explain.

Volunteering can often be a requirement for your school, but you can leverage the opportunity to get to know yourself better. Instead of thinking of the requirement as just a quota to fill, consider volunteering a moment to define and flex your empathy.

Not everyone has the clubs and teams that meet their interests readily available. That's when taking initiative to start your own organization can come into play. It is a lot of work, so never do this just because you think it looks good on a resume—it does, but so do lots of other less draining extracurriculars! If you do decide to strike out on your own, we have some advice to help you on your way. 

It’s officially August, and that means high school starts again in a matter of weeks. Before you let an overwhelming feeling of dread wash over you, just take a deep breath. With a little planning and foresight, your high school years can be both rewarding and fun...I promise. It’s time to figure out your perfect four-year plan!

Regardless of whether you’re pursuing a career in STEM, social sciences, or the arts it is important to continue your growth in literacy. In previous book club posts, we’ve talked about how reading can act as a calm space in the craziness of college preparation, as well as develop your writing and creative thinking skills. In addition to these outstanding literacy benefits, reading regularly can provide you with new experiences, perspectives, and life lessons that will help you become a more well-rounded student and individual. With that said, here are few reads to add to your spring reading list:

Summer break is an important opportunity for students to add credentials to their college application. Students can travel, do volunteer work, study for the SAT, or participate in academic summer programs. There are countless different summer programs out there but they are not all created equal.

Volunteering in your community is a great way to give back, learn new skills, establish a professional network, and demonstrate responsibility. It's also a way to further explore and test whether you want to pursue a career in areas that currently interest you. For students interested in the social sciences, there are several types of community service opportunities that you can explore. 

We already know that community service is an amazing way to show a commitment to giving back and making the world a better and brighter place. What you may be unsure of is how to integrate your interests with your volunteer work, so Empowerly is here to help. 

So you got the internship you had your sights on! Congratulations, it's a great accomplishment and you can breath a sigh of relieve that you have your summer sorted. But there are some things you can do to prepare yourself between now and your start date, to make sure you get the most of your internship.

Are you looking for community service opportunities that relate to STEM? If you’re headed on the STEM track, you should look for volunteer opportunities that allow you to practice and provide your expertise in science, technology, engineering or math.

As promised, we are back with our book recommendations for February! If you missed our first post in January, we talked about the positive impact a love for reading can have on college readiness.