At what point does stress become unhealthy? We tend to think of stress as becoming unhealthy when we are no longer coping well, when we are becoming dysregulated, and when it is negatively impacting us and our daily functioning. When stress and anxiety have outweighed our resources, we have begun to experience unhealthy stress, and unhealthy stress needs to be addressed. Remember the Cornell University graphic that was shared here last month - that as we increase stress past peak performance, we move into imbalance and performance breaks down. When we or people we care about experience that overload, what can be done? Last month, we explored boosting our strengths and coping skills, and that is always good practice. However, if the stress continues to feel overwhelming and insurmountable, it can be helpful to add additional resources. The good news is that resources abound. There are numerous apps and online supports available to help with stress management, and many can be accessed at low or no cost. Just a few links are provided here:
Should we need them, professional supports are also available in our community. If you or someone you care about is struggling with overwhelming stress or anxiety, professionals can be found that can offer help and support. Treatment is possible and accessible. Possible professionals that can offer support include but are not limited to:
If you need help finding a resource, please consider contacting your family doctor or call the counseling office anytime. This is one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year for students, parents, and admissions representatives all across the nation. The first round (early action, early decision) of college applications are due, and everyone wants to know the secrets on how to get into universities all around the country. The National Association for College Admission Counseling releases a report every year with responses from college admissions representatives and secondary school counselors on what they consider to be the most important factors in college admissions. At the bottom of this segment there are links that will take you to the data reports. According to the research, the top three factors that are of considerable importance to universities are: Grades in all courses, grades in college prep courses, and the strength of a student’s curriculum. Colleges and universities want to see how students perform in their classes, and are they challenging themselves with a rigorous curriculum. There are other factors that are mentioned in the study that have importance in the admissions decision, so please look through those as well. The research also stated that institutions that were more selective placed more emphasis on grades in college prep courses and the strength of curriculum. Those colleges also rated more highly on the essay/writing samples, counselor and teacher recommendations, extracurricular activities, and work. The report also provides information on the increase in applications across the country, and the admittance rate among certain institutions. The national average acceptance rate for all four-year institutions in the country was 66.7% in the fall of 2017. From 2017 to 2018, the amount of applications from first-time freshman increased by 6%. If you would like more information on this report, or other college admissions related data please click on the links below. https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/publications/state-of-college-admission/ https://www.nacacnet.org/ https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions-insider Counseling Calendar
Nov. 4th – 10th Grade: Game of Life (7th Hour) Nov. 5th – 10th Grade: Game of Life (7th Hour) Nov. 5th – Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Nov. 6th – 10th Grade: Game of Life (7th Hour) Nov. 9th – D’Evelyn Open House (9am – 12pm) Nov. 11th – Scholarship Workshop (7th Hour) Nov. 12th – Counseling Advisory Council Meeting (2:45 pm) Nov. 15th – Girls Mentoring (7th Hour) Nov. 19th – Sources of Strength (7th Hour) Nov. 20th – Student Voice (7th Hour) Nov. 21th – New 8th/9th Group (7th Hour) Nov. 22nd – Boys Mentoring (7th Hour) Nov. 25th – 29th – Thanksgiving Break SENIORS Early Application Deadlines ‘Tis the season for early application deadlines! Seniors please pay attention to those deadlines as some have come and gone, and others are due soon. The majority of universities that have early application deadlines will have due dates on or around: Nov. 1st, Nov. 15th, and December 1st. If you need any assistance for those applications please feel free to stop by the counseling office. Also be sure to ask teachers for letters of recommendation sooner rather than later. They typically need at least 2 weeks to construct a letter for you. They will need the req questionnaire found on Naviance to be able to complete your letter. Scholarships Everyone wants to find a cheap way to attend college. There are a million scholarships out there and the hardest part is figuring out where to start. Counseling will be hosting a scholarship workshop for students on November 11th. During 7th hour we will meet in the counseling office to go over where to search for scholarships, the DEF scholarships, and give students time to apply for scholarships. We will also introduce students to Going Merry. This is a non-profit organization, created by graduate students from Stanford, to help students through the scholarship process. This program is known as the common app for scholarships. They have a computer system that matches all of the students’ data to scholarships across the country. Students do not have to sign up for this program, however, we believe it will be a great resource for students when looking for scholarships. We Are Looking For Candy Donations! As a counseling department we try to make our activities fun and relaxing for students at the end of the day. One of the ways we do this is by engaging them in activities and conversation with prizes to be given away. The most common and fan favorite of prizes is candy. Unfortunately, with the counseling budget candy and other treats are hard to come by. We are looking for candy bag donations for this upcoming school year. After a long day of working in the classroom we want to provide the students with a treat before they leave for the day. We would greatly appreciate any type of candy bag donation. If you are able to help support our program please drop any candy you have to donate off in the counseling office with Sue Brown, or any counselor available. We want to thank every single one of you for your support! |
Jon Watson Archives
April 2022
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