Bonnie R. Rabin, Ph.D.
Personalized Educational Advising & College Application Services
561.509.0021 | 833.MY.ESSAY
Experience the Difference!
Expert Knowledge & Caring Support
Congrats!!! A SAMPLE of of recent Acceptances Include:
Carnegie Mellon,Brown, Cornell, Georgia Tech (Engineering, Bio-Chem), NYU, Bowdoin, WUSTL, Reed, Michigan (Engineering & Other majors), U.Illinois (Engineering & Others), Boston U., UNC, Notre Dame, Miami, Dartmouth, Duke, SCAD, Tulane, Drexel Honors, Parsons, Berklee College of Music, U.Arizona, Penn State, UT Austin, Pittsburgh, SUNY Stonybrook, RIT, UF, plus many more...
My students include aspiring STEM, Business, Pre-Med, Pre-Law, Visual & Performing Arts & Humanities majors
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uniors (2020) - Attend our Fall
Sunday Series WRITERS' BLOCK COLLEGE ESSAY WORKSHOP
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| Meet Bonnie R. Rabin, PhD |
Professor Emeritus
Cornell University Florida Alumni Rep.
Educational & College Admissions Consultant
30+ Years Experience
College Admissions &
Academic
Advising
Serving Clients In-
Person in South Florida &
Remotely Nationwide
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IS YOUR STUDENT ON TARGET?
Build your personalized Educational & College Admissions Plan!
Bonnie R. Rabin, Ph.D.
guides her clients to define and realize educational and career goals.
With over thirty years of experience as a university professor & admissions committee member you're invited to leverage her extensive knowledge of university curricula and career opportunities to
BUILD YOUR COLLEGE PLAN!.
Be inspired!
College Admissions & Academic Advising
Educational & College Admissions Consulting:
- Academic assessment and extracurricular planning
- Customized solutions for effective study habits, time management and test taking strategies
- Assistance with college research and program majors to create a list of target, reach and likely admit schools.
- Negotiating and maximizing your financial aid award, including targeted scholarship search
- Guided college application assistance including application deadline management.
- Admissions essay- finding your niche, topic development and guided editing of multiple drafts of your Common Application core and supplemental essays and Scholarships
Career Services:
- Resume, cover letters and networking
- Coaching new graduates
- Graduate School
CLICKABLE LINKS TO RECENT NEWSLETTERS & YOUTUBE VIDEOS:
STEM COLLEGE PLANNING
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| STEM College Admissions Plans- STEM Essays, STEM Scholarships Engineering Pre-Med, Business, Arts |
This resource will help sophomore and junior families understand what's ahead and the connection between cost/financial aid to college choices. For seniors, some insights on negotiating your financial aid offers.
This note provides insights on what you can accomplish in a campus visit. Whether you're just starting your college search or an admitted senior, please look at some valuable tips.
No student should be enrolled in seven AP classes. Please review this note discussing the balance between selected classes and your extracurricular life to increase your chances of a successful undergraduate experience.
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| College Admissions Planning- Start Early- Increase Your Chances of College Acceptance |
A discussion of the value and importance of early academic and college planning so that each young adult enjoys a meaningful high school experience leading to a seamless transition to their undergraduate college.
A discussion of the value and importance of early academic and college planning so that each young adult enjoys a meaningful high school experience leading to a seamless transition to their undergraduate college.
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NEWSLETTER CONTENTS:
College Planning
The Importance of Exploration
Summer Readings & Project Ideas
Summer Reading Recommendations
Ideas to Recharge and Explore
Seniors - ('20)
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Greetings Students & Families!
As summer vacation is underway, I'm eager to hear about internship and volunteer experiences as my students journey to Costa Rica, China, Spain, Greece, England and Russia, further exploring their emerging fields of interest while spending time in organizations and also volunteering with children and families in need within global communities.
Here at home, students are getting ready to head out to tackle challenging assignments and research in engineering, pre-medicine, business, philosophy and more at university summer programs! In addition to the learning opportunities being afforded within classrooms, high school students are able to adjust to managing their own time and navigate the daily challenges living on a college campus!!!
In my earlier note
COLLEGE PLANNING: WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS SUMMER?, I talked about the types and value of attending various collegiate summer programs. If you're heading off to collegiate program, that's awesome and you will most certainly have an amazing time learning and living within a diverse campus community of learners from around the globe. Thinking about summer 2020 or 2021-- speak with me to learn to begin thinking about options.
Recently, in
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ASSISTANCE: WHO ARE YOU? EARLY COLLEGE PLANNING!, I discussed the importance of ongoing discovery through extracurricular experiences, included self-directed reading and projects. Some of these readings and projects may become the basis for submissions to Competitions in STEM, Politics, Business & the Visual & Performing Arts. Some suggestions for competitive venues across these fields were provide in
COLLEGE PLANNING TIPS: COMPETITIONS, EXPLORE AND DISCOVERY Competition not only builds confidence but increases your chances of college admissions acceptance. Need suggestions? Need guidance on preparing an essay or project for submission?
Did your student realize this year's goals? Let's evaluate!
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PLANNING TIP: EXPLORE AND DISCOVER
If you want to minimize the stress associated with the college admissions process, build your Educational and College Admissions Plan as early as 8
th
grade! This will allow you to carefully select classes and extracurricular opportunities to encourage academic and personal exploration preparing you for success as a high school and undergraduate student.
Don't follow the crowd nor march through high school without a smile ! BE INSPIRED!!
What is your student passionate about? Now is the time for discovery!
SUMMERTIME is the PERFECT TIME to RECHARGE & DISCOVER
Summer is first and foremost a time for students to
recharge, essential to facing another challenging and successful school year. Students should NOT be over-programmed, but should also keep their
"learning muscles" in use through guided readings, activities and programs to further explore.
I often hear from students who seem to think they have already decided the field that they want to study as undergraduates and even as graduate students! Their enthusiasm is wonderful, but at times these early academic/career choices rest upon preconceived notions about their interests and misinformation about a given field of study. Sometimes, choices are driven by a misguided weighting of the importance of what the future may hold in terms of earnings.
Parents, school guidance counselors and private college advisors are a team supporting and encouraging each student's exploration of potential fields of study that align with personal strengths and interests leading to joyful and impactful pursuits.
Students arriving at our first meeting are not always ready to think outside that box. The middle and high school years are the time to learn more about EVERYTHING and rule out nothing. The essential process of discovery includes exploring a variety of academic disciplines many of which may yield a rewarding and joyful educational and career path.
SUMMER PROJECTS & SUGGESTED SUMMER READING
AT HOME & AWAY
I'd like to offer some suggestions for projects students of all academic levels and interests can do at home or even if away at summer camp including providing some suggestions for summer reading.
Tip 1: Coding is an Essential Skill - STEM, Business, Humanities & the Arts!
Interested in Learning to Code? Toy Story 4 will be released June 21. A few thousand people collaborated to produce what will be the latest installment of an epic series. Most of the Toy Story team has an understanding and awareness of the fundamental principles related to coding.
Are you thinking about heading to the financial sector, possibly engaging in marketing, or perhaps have aspirations of managing a political campaign or evening contributing to a multi-disciplinary team that addressing global warming or revolutionize how we treat disease?
Each of these fields requires knowledge of how to manipulate and analyze large-scale data sets to lead to successful outcomes. Coding is fundamental to contributing to these and a vast array of projects underway that improve our quality of life.
This summer- consider learning to code by enrolling in a coding class online or at a local enrichment center.
My favorites:
Multi-disciplinary problem-solving is typical in the fast-paced and incredibly competitive technical sector. Students in all fields, including video-gaming/artists, filmmakers, financial gurus and even aspiring physicians are at a competitive advantage having acquired basic programming skills.
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence continue to influence all fields.
Understanding the basics of coding is essential to success in STEM and many disciplines.
Have you considered "Computational Finance" or "Computational Biology" as potential majors?
Is there a GAMER in your house? The team of computer scientists, mathematicians, artists, musicians, and business majors that bring you
TWITCH- LIVE GAMING STREAMING are incredibly passionate about what they do and are well educated team players who earn some very impressive starting salaries. Parents - if you don't know about TWITCH- you're dating yourselves!
Tip 2: Self-Guided Exploration -
So your biology teacher ignited an interest in "Genetics" or maybe your social studies teacher or a newsfeed item has you wondering about genetics, global warming, nutrition or your own approach to time management.
Watch
TED TALKS on topics that stretche your mind to think outside the box. I'd love to talk with young adults about their selections and discuss your thoughts about what you've watched and how this relates to emerging academic and personal interests. Your goal- explore something new and be inspired!
Tip 3: Suggested Summer Readings
If you chose the right books, reading is fun!
Reading continues to develop your communications skill set. You wouldn't run a marathon without having prepared. Reading is your preparation for life - life? Yes Life!
Whatever career field you may ultimately embark upon in 5 to 10 years, you'll be working as part of a team of professionals. Creativity is enhanced when people bring unique and well-informed perspectives to solve problems - problems of all sorts.
Also, when you read, you're preparing one page at a time for your SAT/ACT on the horizon in your junior year of high school. Reading also prepares you for college essays- several colleges have essay prompts asking about books you've read for pleasure. Mostly, your ability to engage in conversations about a vast array of issues is greatly enhanced when you are well-read and well educated.
Reading is a lifelong endeavor.
These are my suggestions in fiction and non-fiction.
Let's customize your list given your emerging educational and personal interests.
Non-Fiction
- The Last Lecture Randy Pausch (Also a video)
- A Whole New Mind - Daniel Pink (Visual Arts, STEM & Business majors will enjoy this one!)
- The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
- A History of Everything Bill Bryson (Scientists and Historians alike will love this book)
- You are a Badass - Jen Sincero (Inspirational !)
- Grit by Angela Duckworth (If you're a "B" Student or an "A" student - you'll find this book both inspirational and reassuring!)
- The Gene,' by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Especially for aspiring Physicians and Scientists)
- Seven Brief Lessons on Physics - Carlo Rovelli
- Soonish: Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything Kelly Weinersmith
- Hyperspace by Michio Kaku
- The Life & Success Stories Of A Shark Billionaire: Biography by Mark Cuban
- The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
- The Elegant Universe Brian Green
- The Fabric of the Cosmos Brian Greene
- Silent Spring Rachel Carson
FICTION- Both Recent Publications & Classics
If you don't like my suggestions- scroll through these well respected literary book lists for suggestions in all sorts of categories including fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, self-help and many more.
(Multiple categories include"Best Adult Vampire" )
(Assorted categories of fiction, non-fiction, adult, youth, childrens)
Tip 4-- Prepare for Next Year
All students should jump start their anticipated most difficult classes for next year. For most students, that would be an AP Math or AP Science class. Spend disciplined time 2-3x a week to become familiar with concepts you'll be learning the first semester. Buy the SATII/AP books and read them. EdX offers "on-ramp" courses.
Let me help your student create a manageable summer schedule and help monitor their progress and success throughout the summer.
Tip 5-- Where Do People Leave Their Mark?
Finally, I encourage young adults to read the amazing initiative started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet:The Giving Pledge Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are encouraging the wealthiest individuals in the world to give back to society through philanthropic initiatives that can make a difference in the world. Learn about how billionaires earned their wealth and how they are changing the world. Who do you admire most? Why? Where will you leave your mark on society?
At many of my initial meetings with Rising Seniors, families arrive with an (unsolicited) list of universities. Selecting a college prior to first knowing more about what potential majors are truly a good "fit" for a student's interests and strengths will create a situation for a missed opportunity.
That's why the years of middle and high school are so important because it's the time to generate a spark that is unique to your child! Summer is time to ignite!
With a few hundred academic majors and nearly 4000 undergraduate colleges, it's very unlikely that the middle and high school curriculum and extracurricular experiences enjoyed thus far have put all of the available and amazing options on your student's radar.
THAT IS STEP 1 of your College exploration process!!
Let me help your student explore:
- undergraduate curriculum maps, and
- faculty research institutes
to discover the "problem" they want to solve.
- Where will your student make an impact!?
- How can we create hands-on experiences to nurture those interests and strengths?
JUMP START YOUR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PLAN - GUIDED SUMMER PROJECTS
There's a project for everyone!
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math
)
students are provided with a list of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects and ideas for potential entry into science fairs this fall.
At your school consider: MU Alpha Theta (Math), NACLO (Computational Linguistics Competition), FIRST Robotics, Science Olympiad, TSA or the Google or Intel Science Fairs.
ARTISTS and MUSICIANS should be working on developing their portfolio and honing skills in disciplined creative work thinking ahead to competitive local venues.
BUSINESS/LIBERAL ARTS - Explore a topic of interest with an eye towards writing an essay you can enter into any number of local and national essay competitions (business, history, etc.) sponsored by a variety of organizations. Need suggestions? Start a blog on a topic you're passionate about and when school begins in the fall, bring your best Blog pieces to the school newspaper.
Another meaningful and joyful way to spend your time as well as demonstrating your passion about your interest is to become a volunteer mentor for younger students. There are many opportunities to do so through tutoring, religious organizations, middle school clubs, sports teams and even starting your own business assisting others to learn more.
SENIORS/Class of 2020:
What Should You Be Doing Now??
Increasing Your Chances of Admissions
If you've been reading my newsletters, you've come to appreciate the importance of "passion". An intrinsically motivated student is secure and naturally seeks to explore academic and extracurricular interests.
For seniors, matching a student's interests to a specific major area of study is the initial step in the college admissions process.
On the sidebar, you'll find links to my recent posts to assist you with selecting colleges and understanding financial aid.
I encourage all students to begin applications before the summer.
Our Writers Block Workshop in early June in underway- and I look forward to seeing you at our
Fall Sunday WRITER BLOCK Series - beginning in August.
All Seniors ('20)
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Have you finalized your list of Reach, Match and Safety colleges that provides you with the best fit 'academically' within a supportive community of your choice
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Have you approached teachers for commitments to write required application recommendations?
- If not away at a summer program, are you working on your Common Application / Coalition Application core essay?
- If you completed your core essay, have you brainstormed and gathered the "informed interest" content needed for your College Specific Supplemental Essays?
- Finalized your Activities Resume - including the most recent year's accomplishments and your summer activities?
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Review all your test scores and if necessary, additional practice and retesting should be scheduled.
If required for your intended major, begin work on organizing your portfolio.
- Had the important family conversation about available financial resources and recognize how university choices are aligned? Can I help you understand which campuses are more likely to extend scholarships based on your "profile".
- Essay prompts are unchanged and can be found here:
COMMON APPLICATION ESSAY PROMPTS The essay is a critical part of your application allowing you to showcase your strengths, your character, your passion(s) and how you connect to your "community".
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| Writing Your College Application Essay- College Admissions & College Application Help-- |
Students Take the Lead!
The college application process has many moving parts. While students are indeed busy, I want to stress the importance of this being a student driven process. Students are encouraged to take the lead navigating, as it is excellent preparation for the undergraduate experience ahead (course registration, summer internship and study-abroad applications, paying bursar bills, etc.).
Parents and counselors are trusted partners. Rest assured, this time next year your student will be attending graduation parties wearing their college t-shirt!
Awesome college application essays don't appear on paper in one sitting. An essay can take multiple drafts to perfect the content and message.
Writing a quality essay will enhance your chances of admission. Last minute essays run the risk of coming across as rushed and unpolished.
Whether you're ready to write your college essays or just beginning to research colleges and majors, or perhaps you want to create a customized summer reading plan to explore or deepen an academic/personal interest, I invite you to contact me to schedule
your
Educational and College Planning Assessment
available for rising seniors and all middle and high school students.
Best wishes for a restful and joyful summer!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Bonnie
Bonnie R. Rabin, Ph.D.
561.509.0021 or 833.MY.ESSAY
College Advising & Educational Planning
South Florida & Anywhere You Are!
brabin@collegecareerconsulting.com
Professor Emeritus & Cornell University Alumni Representative- 30+ Years Experience
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Get started today creating a strategic educational plan for long term educational success.
FALL SUNDAY SERIES WRITERS BLOCK APPLICATION WORKSHOP starts August 2019 |
A Sample of recent Acceptances:
Northwestern, Georgia Tech, UNC, Emory, Cornell, NYU, Rice, University of Chicago, Washington University (WUSTL), Drexel, Tulane, Purdue, Ohio, Miami, Johns Hopkins, University of Arizona, Penn State, Villanova, Northeastern, SUNY-ESF, St. Johns, Colgate, Fordham, Swarthmore, Pittsburgh, Dickinson , Colorado, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, SUNY Stonybrook, Rochester Institute of Technology, Boston, Hobart & William Smith, Gettysburg, Temple, SUNY-Stonybrook, Denison, Howard, SUNY-Binghamton, Hamilton, George Washington, American, Indiana, SMU, James Madison, UF and more
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