It is the time of year when seniors and their families start to stress- again.
Many have not heard back from their top school. Many start to worry that no news is bad news. Others start to apply to every college they can think of because they wonder if all of their schools were too far a reach. To those to whom this rings familiar, relax, it will work out. But then there are the students on the other side of the coin, those who were accepted early or decided that college was a “lock” and they take their foot off the gas, drop or fail a class, or their GPA tanks se
nior year. “It’s the online learning.” “The IB program is impossible senior year.” Maybe they are burnt out?
There are times when these students argue with me about why it’s”not a big deal” to not get the IB diploma or skip to the AP exams. Why should they finish strong? I’ll tell you why. If high school is stressful and hard, you have not seen anything yet. Colleges are looking for students serious about learning and willing to go out of their way for their education and to achieve their learning goals. It is important to your self esteem to continue to do you best. There have been situations where offers are rescinded and, if you were defer
red, it will be those senior year grades and exams that may be just what you need to be accepted at the last hour.
It is important to know, at a deep level, that you put forth your BEST effort at all things “college application” and more. But, I have come to realize that, if these students had the mentality of always going out of their way to do their best, they would not be having these conversations with me, their parents, or themselves.
Regardless of where you are in the college admissions process, here is some advice: Good things come to people who work hard. If you plan to always do your best, you will always get the best of whatever life has to offer or come pretty close to it (or, at the minimum, you will have the personal satisfaction that gave it all you had). Minimal effort will give you that exact return on your investment.
At the end of the day you have to take responsibility for your actions and decisions. I do not make the final decisions on admitting or denying students. What I do, is seek to bring a students best effort to the forefront and differentiate them in the admissions process. I can not motivate a student, that comes from within and is not teachable. So seniors, keep on truckin’, it means something. Juniors, get ready for an amazing ride filled with opportunities that only YOU can choose to take.
You are now driving the car. Your parents are in the stands watching the race. And we, the counselors, are here to put the wheels back on and add some gas.
The driving is up to you and the destination will be reached with determination, planning, and using all of your senses. Remember that the choices you make in high school (academic or otherwise) will likely have long-term impact on your college plans. Best efforts today will translate to best possible results tomorrow, and mediocre efforts … may leave you in the pit or on the shoulder. Drivers ready? Set? Let’s go. Keep your foot on the gas until the very end.
Lee Norwood’s visionary ideas led to the establishment of College Sharks, which today helps thousands of families get the help they need as they embark on the college process.
There are only a handful of brands and platforms worldwide that have genuinely upped the game in their sector and gone out of the conventional realms to create a unique niche. These brands have also made a positive difference in the lives of others. Founder Lee Norwood is one such founder, the heart and soul behind College Sharks, a virtual college consulting platform that has been consistently revolutionising the education sector, empowering families with affordable and expert college consulting. Focusing on how to pay for college, how to find the right-fit college, and how to help your student stand out, College Sharks has risen today as a groundbreaking virtual college consulting platform that aims to help families with expert college consulting.
In short, College Sharks helps families navigate the overwhelming college admissions process, showing them what steps to take, when to take them and why they matter. Lee aims to provide expert guidance at a fraction of the cost of traditional one-on-one private consulting services. Her passion for easing the college process for all led Lee to the forefront of the industry already. She has become a leading figure in college consulting, thriving on perseverance, passion, resilience and innovation. She spent 23 years in pharmaceutical sales and one day realized she sought a more fulfilling career path.
During the pandemic, she seized the opportunity to purchase Annapolis College Consulting and successfully expanded it fivefold, reaching more students and adding new consultants. This led her to earn several prestigious awards and accolades, including being featured in USA Today, CEO Weekly, and MSN Business Insider. She loves speaking at national industry conferences such as IECA and HECA and mentors within the consulting community while also being a trainer for leading college consulting software CounselMore.
Lee explains how choosing the right college often serves as a daunting task for many families. With the student-to-counselor ratios in high schools averaging over 400 to 1, personalised guidance is often scarce. It is easy to feel lost in the evolving landscape of college admissions, from selecting the right school to navigating financial aid options. Lee understands these struggles first-hand and has made it her mission to bridge the gap. Her desire to reach more families with expert advice in a cost-effective and accessible format led to the establishment of College Sharks.
Some primary reasons that have helped College Sharks stand out include its step-by-step guidance, high-quality consulting at affordable rates, expert insights from seasoned professionals, fun and interactive content, and practical strategies to maximize available scholarships and aid. Lee is known for her authenticity and no-nonsense approach to the admission process. With College Sharks, Lee is dedicated to offering a fresh and engaging approach to college admissions consulting. Its virtual platform offers monthly, bite-sized guidance for parents and teens through an easy-to-use virtual platform.
Lee’s visions for College Sharks go beyond helping individual families. In the near future, Lee Tracy Norwood envisions College Sharks to take off and help more families feel more comfortable with the college process. She aims to have a non-profit division that can offer the product to underserved communities. By democratising college consulting, she hopes to ensure that every student, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to succeed. She is focusing on how a high school system can be paired with College Sharks to help schools serve more students, even at the school-level. College Sharks helps families embark on the college admissions process with ease and confidence.
