What do smores and college applications have in common?
When you close your eyes and think of the college application process what do you see? Piles of paperwork? Stacks of brochures? Applications ad nauseum? Overwhelm? Panic at the Disco? And not the cool band?
Yeah-that’s about right. I get more calls from parents for their students the spring of junior year because colleges start peppering their mail with glossies of all the things they can offer. While marketing teams insist that is the way to get noticed, my experience is that it evokes terror. The more that arrive, the more parents and students become acutely aware of what is about to happen and how that happening is beyond overwhelming. This overwhelm encompasses how to tell your story, how to pick schools to apply to, how to understand cost…gheesh how to even start.
My favorite part of a conversation with families is when they realize they aren’t alone. That there is someone there that can explain it to them. That my team and I will help them find their place in the world. That the application process can be enlightening and soul searching. Hell, it can even be fun. Watching tension come off families never gets old. It gives me joy EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Case in point, I very intentionally have never had a brick and mortar (even pre-COVID) or have students call me Dr. Most of them don’t even know that I am a Dr until recommendation letters come around. Credentials matter to parents as a consumer. Students need something totally different. They need connection, humanity, knowledge, and trust. The more institutional or clinical the surroundings, the more our work takes on the feeling of the process. What a kill joy. No one in the equation enjoys it-not even me. The process can not only be more enjoyable, it can be more effective if less stressful and more introspective and joyful.
One of our favorite ways to address the college application process is through our summer camp. Students are able to manage the application process with amazing professionals, while being in an idyllic setting in nature. We have class in the a.m. and take in all our surroundings have to offer in the afternoon. Our philosophy is that applications shouldn’t be just about dates, deadlines, and checkboxes but also who that student really is, what they are passionate about, and where they should place their talents in society. There is so much opportunity while applying to college to learn about your authentic self and then find ways to tell that story to an admissions crew.
How do we get there? Through expert instruction and dynamic coaching, ziplines, college faculty built lectures and workshops, canoe races, essay coaching, journaling, research, dodgeball, time management and organization techniques, floating in the lake while eating snow cones, and campfires. Lots of campfires. S’mores by the shore, anyone?
Why you should choose camp for your college application process:
1. A deeper understanding of the process. IMO, colleges have done an absolutely stellar job of making the application process beyond complicated and mind numbing. It’s like a labyrinth-or maybe more like a corn maze. Camp will provide you with a much better understanding of the process, what colleges are out there and what they are looking for, dates and deadlines, how to change your mindset on how you approach your selection, and how to fund school.
2. A team who is as invested in your future as you are. The Bloom team has an amazing array of strengths, talents, and know how. Not only do we have a variety of backgrounds and skills to aid your personal and academic growth, we are fully invested on our students and their future. This comes from passion. I mean, seriously-who wouldn’t want a job where we kick at the lake with a bunch of cool cats and talk about the future. #winning
3. Crazy expertise. The Bloom team is there for you the whole camp. In addition, we bring in guest experts for areas you may need some additional perspective. College faculty who specialize in areas such as social justice and diversity and inclusion help you understand topics that you will need to tackle in the writing portions of essays, but also benefit from having a deeper understating as you write the next chapter of your life.
4. A killer essay. An essay can make or break your admission and scholarship opportunities to the college of your dreams. By the end of camp, we will have identified a topic that tells your story, gets the attention of the admission team, and allows you to grow through telling your story.
5. Memories for a lifetime. Self explanatory. You aren’t in this alone. You and a group of other students will be going about this together. You’ll be able to form relationships, have an amazing time, and do some of the most important work of your life.