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Conquer the Common App in 8 Minutes

Planning on completing your college applications over Christmas Break?  Don't go it alone.  Purchase our workbook based on our highly successful workshop "Distinguish Yourself On the Common App".  It gives you step-by-step guidance and advice for each section of the Common App including the core essay and college writing supplements.  Now available for download on Amazon, nook, iBooks and Kobo.

Selective College Acceptance Counseling: Get Accepted to Your College of...

Applying to colleges just got easier

Step-by-step guide to completing to each section of Common Application  now available as pre-release eBook. 

Rochester, NY, September 24, 2014:  -- Selective College Acceptance Counseling (SCAC) has released the workbook from our highly effective workshop, Distinguish Yourself On the Common App, as a self-help book for students applying to college for fall 2015 admission. 

Holly Asposto, SCAC’s President and Founder, states “I frequently meet students who are looking for support with the Common Application but who cannot commit the time or money to enrolling in a formal program.  I always hate to send them away empty-handed, but did not have anything I could give them that would help them complete applications on their own.  There are a lot of books on applying to college, but none of them are specific to the Common App, which is used by 500 colleges and 750,000 students each year. Due to heavy academic and activity schedules, students are working on their applications whenever they have time; often into the midnight hour.  This book provides support for kids on their terms (something I can’t always do)”.        

Distinguish Yourself On the Common App is a step-by-step guide for students completing the 2014-15 Common Application. It gives specific guidance for creating a strategic plan for each college and completing every section of the Common App including the core essay, activities page, additional information and writing supplements. The book includes advice and brainstorming activities for each core essay prompt, directions for creating compelling and effective writing supplements for each college, as well as strategies for requesting impactful letters of recommendation, and maximizing the activities page to demonstrate not only qualification, but "fit". Distinguish Yourself on the Common App is a must-have companion for students applying to colleges through the Common Application. Students who have completed the workshop on which this book is based have a 93% acceptance rate and have been accepted to UPenn, OSU, Lafayette, University of Rochester, UW, Univ. of Washington St. Louis, UC Berkeley, UA, Delaware, Boston University, Villanova, UVM, Drexell, Northeastern, LSE, RIT, Cornell, University of Wisconsin-Madison and more...   

The book is scheduled for nationwide release in mid-October and will be available on Amazon, iBookstore, Barnes & Noble NOOK Store and Kobo Bookstore.   Advance copies are available on Lulu.com for $12.99 at http://www.lulu.com/shop/holly-asposto/distinguish-yourself-on-the-common-app/ebook/product-21816957.html

Selective College Acceptance Counseling also offers a 24-point evaluation of completed applications for those students who want extra assurance that their applications will make a favorable impression on college admissions reps.  Asposto says, “It is time for all students to have access to affordable, on-demand college counseling services”.   

An Odd Definition of Success

Last Friday, I watched the film The Odd Life of Timothy Green on HBO.  Most of you probably saw it months ago, but try to remember with me.  A married couple discovers that they will not be able to have children.  In the process of letting go of this dream they make note cards of all their hopes and dreams for their child, place them in a pine box, and bury it in their backyard.  Surprisingly, a child springs up from the ground and comes into their lives for a season.  Right away they realize that Timothy is the answer to their prayers.  He fulfills everything item on their wish list one at a time.  So when it comes to the last soccer game of the season, the just KNOW that Timothy will score the winning goal because this is what they requested: “Just once, our child will score the winning goal”.  If you remember the beginning of the film, they even practice how they will react with cheers and high-fives.

On the day of the big game, Timothy is on the bench serving water as usual.  But his Dad is saying “this is it! Just wait” and won’t let anyone leave the game.  Before the last play, a teammate is injured and the coach has no choice, he has to put Timothy in.  The excitement builds as Timothy gets the ball.  HE dribbles, he runs, he passes to a teammate, he shoots he scores.  For one second, his parents are going crazy until they realize he scored on his own goalie and won the game for the other team.  His parents are crushed.  They are embarrassed.  They turn on each other and start arguing about whose fault this is.  Timothy’s teammates mock and shun him.  I personally could not stop crying, but not for the reason you think.

I have worked with literally thousands of parents in my career and I have seen this type of thing many times.  Parents who put all their hopes and dreams on their kids.  Parents with high expectations.  Parents who measure success by outcomes and not progress. What made me so sad about Timothy Green is that he DID score the winning goal.  He dribbled and passed the ball for the first time in his life, He scored the only goal he would ever score in his short time on earth and yet no one; not even his parents, celebrated his personal victory.  No one seemed to notice or care how greatly his soccer skills had improved.  No one noticed the increase in coordination and confidence that it took to score that goal.  All of Timothy’s personal achievements were lost because he ran in the wrong direction.  To me, this is heartbreaking. If I were Timothy, I would surely never play soccer again.

As parents, it is only natural to expect our kids to do their best.  It is essential to hold them to a high standard and to believe that they can do anything the set their minds to.  This is the basis of self-esteem.  However, I think we often lose sight of those small everyday victories when we are too focused on outcomes.  We have to learn to celebrate EVERY success.  If your child grew and matured over the last school year, you have to call it a successful year.  If he earned honor roll marks all year long and bombed a couple of final exams, you still have to call it a successful year.    We have to develop a definition of success that measures growth and progress regardless of external results.  We have to develop an “odd” definition of success that is unique to each child and allows for the occasional mistake.  We have to value the process over progress toward stated goals.  Our kids are after all, “wonderful becoming”.   

Begging for Treats

June 29, 2014

This winter, my husband, Dave, started to bring treats in his pocket whenever he walked our dog Nellie.  I did not become aware of this practice until February when he was ill and I took over the dog-walking for several weeks.   In preparing me to take over this duty, Dave shared with me that Nellie gets nine treats on each walk around the block.  He told me that she’d know when she was supposed to get them and would let me know.

So, the first day I walked her, I put the treats my husband had prepared in my pocket.  Sure enough as soon as we got outside, Nellie stops walking and turns to me looking for her treat.  The rest of the walk she kept looking back at me and bumping my pocket for another treat every few yards.  She would not go forward!  She was not looking around or sniffing.  A squirrel ran right in front of us and she didn’t even see it as she was looking at me for a treat.  I was so frustrated because I used love walking my dog when I was single.  In the past she had taught me so much about being present to the moment and experiencing the joy of simply being alive.  The expectation of a treat had literally stolen the joy of the walk; not just from me, but from Nellie as well.  So the next time I took Nellie out, I left the treats at home.  For about three days she continued to look back at me at certain milestones to see if I had a treat for her.  I did not. 

For the next 72 hours, Nellie’s treat-seeking behavior increased.  She started to spontaneously do every trick she had ever learned in order to earn a treat.  She barked, she bumped my pocket, she gave me her cutest smile; in fact, when she was about 6 months old, she had developed a routine where she sat, gave her paw, and laid down immediately upon seeing a treat without being asked.  She even reverted behavior to this before she understood that I simply did not have any treats in my pocket for her. No matter what she did, she would not be getting a treat until we got home.  Finally, she was able to forget all about the treats and refocus on just enjoying her walk.

So, my husband had major surgery at the beginning of June.  He is not allowed to walk our 121 pound dog for the next six weeks.  By this time Nellie has been trained that Daddy carries treats on the walk and Mommy does not.  But, this morning as soon as we stepped outside, Nellie stopped walking and looked back at me to see if I had any treats.  I said “No, baby, I didn’t bring any treats for you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”  She seemed okay with that and turned her energy and attention to just walking and being.  I was thinking that it is precisely because I DO love Nellie that I do not bring treats on our walks.

This morning God spoke to me as I was mediating on the nature of my love for my dog.  He showed me that His love for us is much the same.  Very often when we walk with the Lord, we see him as a Cosmic giver of treats.  We keep our eyes on His hands and our energy and attention focused on His blessings.  We pull out every trick in the book to show God how good we are, how cute we are and how much we deserve a treat.  In fact, there are many who leave their houses every morning expecting some specific treat and absolutely assured that if they will just hold the treat in their consciousness, it will appear.  They will attract it to themselves.  I myself practiced this technique for a couple of years and wound up feeling frustrated, angry and even turned self-destructive when my day did not unfold as I had planned and according to MY will.

This morning I understood for the first time that when we begin our day seeking and expecting a blessing, we miss the simple joy of walking with the Lord.  We miss the blessing of His presence and the beauty of His creation.  Often we end up disappointed and frequently we think we did something wrong because God did not give us our treat.

Is it possible that God in His goodness intentionally withholds these small blessings in order to encourage us to refocus ourselves on the beauty of life’s journey?  We are all walking with the Lord as He lives and moves and grounds the being of every single human being.  If you doubt this search your own heart; you will find Him there. 

Remember the widely-circulated Footprints poem?  It used footprints in the sand as a metaphor for walking with the Lord.  Basically it says that most of the time there are two sets of footprints, one ours and one God’s.  At times of extreme stress and trouble only one set of footprints can be seen as God picks us up and carried us through trials.  It is a beautiful thought.  There is only one thing more beautiful; the Truth. 

In reality, there is only ever one set of footprints, because God never walks beside us.  He lives and moves and has His being within us.  Wherever we walk, God walks too.  Whatever we do God does too.  Whatever we see God sees too.  Whatever we love God loves too.  For some this is a terrifying thought.  Recognizing and acknowledging God’s presence in our hearts changes us like nothing else.  Suddenly we find it impossible to be unkind, judgmental, greedy, or violent.  Suddenly we realize that we do not have to DO or HAVE anything.  Everything we need to live a life of contentment is within us, if we will but BE aware of God’s presence within us.  His grace is truly sufficient for all our needs. 

Everything we need to live a life of love and kindness is ours as well, if we will but realize God’s presence in everyone and everything we encounter each day.  All the wisdom we need is ours if we will be realize that we see with God’s eyes and love with God’s own heart.  It is God that looks out from within us at all that He has created and He always knows the very best way to respond.  Try living in this Truth for one hour.  Try to focus your energy and attention on the God in you before you leave the house each morning.  My experience with this is that I when I live from this place, I seek nothing for myself.  I stop begging for and expecting treats and instead when I encounter creation, I search my pockets to see if God has given me anything to share with others.  Amazingly, my own pockets are always full with love and grace and mercy and kindness.  I can give out these treats all day long to everyone I meet and when I come home at night, my pockets are still fully stocked for my family.  This is abundance.  This is life. This is God!