First impressions are important. And how often do you get a chance to write a thousand words to perfectly embody who you are? When you are applying to one of the world’s most prestigious universities, you need to stand out from the rest of the pack. From the stacks of essays they receive, what will make the words jump off the pages that contain yours? How will you convince them that you deserve a shot?
Well, we’ve compiled a list of tips that will help you get started when you’re first putting pen to paper (or fingertip to keyboard).
1. Authenticity gets you far
Choose topics, themes, and points of view that truly reflect your own. This will help you take a more honest and passionate approach when writing, which will be evident to the reader. Skip the big words and the jargon if that’s not who you are. Tap into your unique humour, intelligence, and natural way of speaking.
2. Get them hooked from the beginning
You’ll be competing with thousands of other essays, so getting the reader interested from the first paragraph will help your case. Seize their imagination in the first paragraph. Start with a statement that will get the reader scratching their heads. As many action movie directors would have proved, it’s better to drop the audience into a loud and fast scene and get to explanations later.
3. Dive into deeper and more meaningful themes
What makes you tick? What are the pivotal moments in your life that have led you to write this essay today? Committees are rarely impressed by dry numbers and stats but can be moved by an honest story. They want to see your drive and ability.
4. Showing is better than telling
Don’t just tell them you have dozens of awards, tell them your favourite one and the story of how you got it. The point is that you should use anecdotes and storytelling to showcase your accomplishments rather than just stating them outright.
5. Go against the strain
It’s difficult to be different if you try. The best you can do is look at it from your unique perspective. Don’t say what you think they want to hear, but the truest version of your story that they NEED to hear
6. Think about who’s gonna be reading, then write
Keep it smooth and easy to read. Use transitions between paragraphs and build sound arguments from start to finish. Knowing who you’re writing to, will help you answer the questions they may ask while reading the essay, and include the answer.
7. One draft is never enough
Start the process as early as possible. If you have multiple months in hand, use them all. Write your first draft, and set it aside. Come back to it a week later and see if your perspective has changed. The first and the final draft are very rarely the same.
8. Read it out loud
When you read it out loud, you often hear clunky and badly formed sentences that you can improve. After multiple drafts, it can be easy for things to get overseen.
9. Ask others to read your essay
Be open to criticism. You don’t have to show everybody, just the people whose opinion you would like on the matter. Criticism does not come from a place of malice but is in your own self-interest. Take notes, and consider how you may be able to adapt the content according to the feedback. Check with your parents, siblings, teachers, or close friends.
10. It’s about quality, not quantity.
Though there may not be a strict word limit, keeping things concise and impactful will work better than having the reader lose interest midway. Check if your font is readable and do multiple spell checks.
Are you looking for the perfect course to give you that extra edge over your competitors? We got you covered.
The Harvard Youth Leadership Conference, conducted by Harvard Mentors trained by the Leadership Institute at Harvard, develops high school kids like you into self-assured collaborators, communicators, and problem-solvers who will address global concerns and drive change for the future.
Over the course of the five days, students collaborate in mentor-led groups to comprehend a global issue—whether it be poverty, mental health issues, or climate change to create a social change project and address it. After completing the program, participants have the option of receiving mentorship for a full year to carry out their project.
The program is distinctive in that our mentors are current Harvard University students who have gained priceless experience and knowledge at a young age and know what it means to create social impact.
We really hope you get that admission and can be the 4% of applicants that actually make it to your dream school Harvard!
Researching for school projects was always, always a fun task to do. The nature of school projects in our early grades was usually arts and crafts. It would involve a couple of runs to the stationary store to buy cutouts of famous political leaders or birds, or countries and flags too! And then the whole family would collect together to stick them on chart paper and make one great collage of it all. And we, as children, would proudly roll it up, put an elastic band on it and carry it with us on our school bus. And before the project was due, we would exchange notes on who did a better job with all our fellow students.
As we got older, research projects got harder. We had to use four or five different kinds of books to pick out information that we thought best suited the point we were arguing about. We took the books from school libraries and would pour over them, till we found what we needed. It was a different kind of thrill, making our arguments from books.
Somewhere along the way, we built the Internet. And Google. And then research for our papers became a breeze. A simple search on Google gave us 1000s of articles to read from. And in a couple of years, we knew which websites gave us the best information, so we would make all our arguments from those. And with this, more students were submitting similar research papers or assignments.
Being a student in today’s world is a little more complex – yes, we have super-speed Internet, and we have tons of research papers available at our fingertips, but we also have AI. So, how are Digital Tools and Artificial Intelligence going to change the game of education? Will it change forever? Or will it be an academic’s downfall? Read on to find out!
Digital tools have already changed education in several ways and will continue to do so in the future. We leave the ‘for better or worse’ argument for you to conclude at the end of this blog.
Accessibility
For starters, digital tools have made education in general, way more accessible to the modern world, and to a wide range of students. All one needs to do is to have access to a smart device, and a decent internet connection. And there is no dearth of that, for any price range. With the widespread availability of the internet, students can now access educational resources and courses from anywhere in the world. This opens up opportunities for students who might not have been able to pursue higher education or otherwise gain knowledge and skills.
Digital tools such as smartphones and tablets have made it possible for students to learn on the go. This means that students can study and complete coursework from anywhere, at any time, as long as they have an internet connection. Digital tools also enable teachers to personalize learning for individual students, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. This helps students learn at their own pace and ensures that they receive the support they need to succeed.
And for differently-abled students, digital tools often include accessibility features, such as screen readers and closed captioning, that make learning more accessible in today’s world, compared to before. Online learning and open-source educational resources can help to reduce the cost of education. This is especially important for students who might not be able to afford the cost of traditional education.
Digital tools have made education more accessible by providing students with more opportunities to learn, regardless of their location or financial situation. This has the potential to greatly improve educational outcomes for students and create a more equitable educational system.
An individualized approach to learning
Digital tools have made learning highly personalized and tailor-made for every student. You learn at your pace, with your strengths and weaknesses.
Digital tools allow teachers to track student progress and performance, providing them with real-time data to inform their teaching. This data can be used to personalize learning experiences for individual students, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. AI algorithms can analyze a student’s performance data to identify areas for improvement and recommend personalized study materials. This helps students focus on the topics they need to work on the most, making their learning experience more effective. Hence, making digital tools a medium to create learning experiences that adapt to each student’s abilities and pace. This means that students can progress at their own pace, without being held back by the pace of the class.
And of course, it allows a teacher or professor to make customized content for every student. Digital tools make it easy for teachers to create customized learning experiences for individual students. For example, teachers can use online learning platforms to create tailored lessons and assessments for each student.
And lastly, digital tools make learning more interactive and engaging through gamification. Teachers can incorporate games and other interactive elements into their lessons to make learning more fun and motivate students to learn.
Collaboration
We use our smartphones for nearly everything! From instant messaging to social media to research and coursework. But what we don’t often realize is the power of digital tools for collaboration with education.
Digital tools such as email, instant messaging, and video conferencing make it easy for students to communicate and collaborate with each other and with their teachers from anywhere in the world. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn provide students with opportunities to collaborate and network with their peers and with professionals in their field. Online forums and project management tools enable students to collaborate on projects and assignments in real time, regardless of their location. These tools help students stay organized and on track with their work, improving their ability to work together effectively. VR and AR technologies are rapidly changing the way students learn and collaborate. For example, VR can create virtual learning environments where students from different locations can work together in real time.
This leads to more productive and engaging learning experiences, which can improve experiential and exponential educational outcomes.
Blended Learning
Just like Work From Home, educators across the globe are choosing to be flexible about learning when students want to learn, and where they want to learn. An experience that was available to students way before COVID-19. Digital tools provide students with more flexibility to learn at their own time and pace. This means that students can choose to attend traditional classroom-based classes or complete coursework online, according to their schedule and preferences. With the personalization of education through digital tools, blended learning helps to ensure that students receive the support they need to succeed. Real-time data on students’ performances allows educators to track a student’s progress, even with blended learning. Digital tools provide students with access to a wealth of online resources, including video tutorials, interactive simulations, and e-books. This enables students to learn at their own pace and receive support when they need it.
Gamification
The best part about using digital tools for education is the experiential gamification that it allows a student to engage with. Digital tools make it easier for teachers to create games and other interactive learning experiences that engage students and keep them motivated. This makes learning more fun and helps students to stay focused and interested. It enables teachers to create games and other learning experiences that are tailored to the individual needs and abilities of each student. This makes learning more effective and helps students to progress at their own pace. Digital games and other learning experiences often provide students with real-time feedback on their performance, helping them to track their progress and identify areas for improvement. It makes it easy for students to collaborate and play games, regardless of location. This helps to build teamwork and communication skills, which are important for success in the workforce.
Overall, digital tools have made gamification in education better by enabling teachers to create more engaging and personalized learning experiences for students. This leads to a more effective and enjoyable learning experience.
Immersive Learning
VR and AR allow students to immerse themselves in virtual environments and experience learning in a whole new way. This makes learning more engaging and memorable. It is now possible for students to visit remote locations and experience learning in environments that would otherwise be inaccessible. This provides students with a deeper understanding of the world around them. Studies have shown that students who use VR and AR technologies are more likely to retain information and recall it more accurately than students who do not. VR and AR technologies enable students to collaborate and work together in virtual environments, regardless of their location. This helps to build teamwork and communication skills, which are important for success in the workforce.
With VR, students can experience virtual field trips to places they may not be able to visit in person. AR can enhance textbook learning by adding interactive elements to static pages.
Artificial Intelligence
AI-powered digital tools can analyze data on student performance and make recommendations for personalized learning paths based on individual needs and abilities. This helps to ensure that students receive the support they need to succeed. It can also provide instant feedback to students on their work, freeing up teachers to focus on more important tasks. This leads to a more efficient and effective learning experience. AI-powered digital tools can analyze student data and predict outcomes, allowing teachers to intervene early and provide support wherever needed. This helps to ensure that students are on track for success. It can be used to create educational content, freeing up teachers to focus on more important tasks. This leads to a more efficient and effective learning experience.
AI-powered digital tools can make learning more accessible for students with disabilities or learning difficulties by providing audio, visual, and text-based support.
In conclusion, digital tools are transforming education by making it more accessible, personalized, collaborative, interactive, and innovative. As technology continues to advance, we will see even more changes in the future. The challenge will be to ensure that these digital tools are used effectively to support student learning and provide equitable educational opportunities for all students.
How can parents, educators and students use digital tools better for education?
Yes, it’s true. While digital tools can greatly change the game of education, they also have the potential for great misuse. By establishing clear goals and outcomes, educators, parents, and students can work together to use the available digital tools for the desired outcomes. And of course, with this kind of power comes responsibility. Educators, parents, and students should work together to establish clear guidelines for the responsible use of digital tools in education. This helps to ensure that the tools are used in a safe and appropriate manner.
Educators, parents, and students should receive training on how to use digital tools effectively for education. This helps to ensure that they are using the tools in the most efficient and effective manner possible.
Educators, parents, and students should use data to inform their decisions about the use of digital tools in education. This helps to ensure that the tools are being used in the most effective way possible. It’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in digital tools and technologies. This helps to ensure that they are using the most effective and efficient tools possible.
Educators, parents, and students should collaborate and work together to ensure that digital tools are being used effectively for education. This helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals and that the tools are being used in the most effective way possible.
Though the terms “scholarship” and “financial aid” very often are used interchangeably the main difference between the two is that “scholarship” as a term and as a phenomenon in the academic and educational industry is considered to be a component of “financial aid”. Thus “scholarship” is only a small portion of “financial aid”.
Other types of financial aid are “fellowships”, “grants”, “travel grants”, “studentships”, “loans”, “tuition fee waivers”, “study allowances”, etc, but the “scholarship” remains the most popular type of “financial aid”.
Financial Aid and Ivy League Colleges
“Our goal is to bring the most promising students to Harvard—period. We’ve created a financial aid program to help ensure that admitted students can afford their Harvard education. Our financial aid officers will work closely with your family to understand your financial situation, then create a comprehensive financial aid package that accounts for the full cost of attendance and determine need based on your family’s income, assets, and overall financial circumstances.”
– Harvard Admissions Office
“Princeton is attainable, accessible, and affordable. Our aid program is designed to encourage all qualified students — regardless of financial circumstances — to consider applying for admission to Princeton. . Princeton admission is need-blind — there is no disadvantage in the admission process for financial aid applicants. If offered admission, Princeton will meet 100% of your demonstrated financial need with grant aid.”
– Princeton Admissions Office
Financial aid to Ivy League schools is only based on financial need, not academics. So if you meet low-income criteria, then most of the Ivy League schools will meet the full financial need if accepted.
To conclude “Financial aid” in the context of education is a term to describe any type of financial assistance to students and researchers to cover necessary costs of education such as the tuition fee, living costs and accommodation costs. Financial aid may be of different types and depending on the type it may be as a gift or as a debt, that should be returned within a certain amount of years.
Scholarship is a division of financial aid and only describes financial assistance as a gift with no obligation to return the received money to the scholarship provider.
The internet is exploding with blogs and articles and videos on tips and tricks on how to improve your writing skills. But more often than not, most of these sources talk about incorporating rigid practices like writing in an active voice, polishing your grammar and so on.
And while this definitely is a useful approach, we believe that just as every person is unique, so is every writer. No two writers perceive their world in the exact same way, no two writers can write in the same hard-and-fast manner and no two writers can improve their writing skills in the same rigid fashion. Each writer has a unique perspective waiting to be penned down; and their goal as a writer is to figure out just what is their best way to do so – the best word choices, syntax, tone, mood and more.
So in today’s article, we won’t tell you the usual run-down of pointers to polish your grammar, structure and so on. What we will give you, are 4 ways that can help you discover that unique, budding writer within yourself, and improve your writing skills to your maximum potential.
1. Shut your Mind
Set a timer for 4-5 minutes. Bring out your pen & paper or your laptop. And then, without thinking, just start writing non-stop until your alarm goes off.
This “writing without thinking” is a very common exercise amongst those dealing with a writer’s block. But the other wonderful aspect of this is that it lays your inner writer bare. Devoid of external expectations, formatting and imposed structure, you write based purely on your instinct. Once you are done writing, you are free to explore not only your broad ideas, but also your sense as a writer, and continue to develop it further!
2. Keep a Journal
The first droplet of morning dew settling on the cold winter glass. The muted sounds of traffic through the closed car window. The amalgamating scents of the sweet and the salty at your neighborhood grocery store. Who knows what will inspire whom?
In “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking,” Walt Whitman describes a boy’s poetic awakening upon seeing a pair of birds nesting on the beach. And it is essential to pay heed when these mini “poetic awakenings” happen to you, because they reveal what uniquely inspires you. And having a pocket journal during these times is a great way to note down these thoughts, words, and phrases. Full-fledged stories and poems will eventually come, but it all starts with that one inspiration – and there is no better writing than inspired writing!
3. Use your Voice
Across history, writing has never been confined to paper. Shakespeare’s writings were performed. Homer’s writings were sung out loud. And even today, there are few better ways to test the feel and flow of your piece than a loud reading. Do you want your writing to be conversational? Do you want it to be claustrophobic? Do you want it to be something else?
Ernst Hemingway’s flow reads as generally casual and conversational. James Joyce’s flow, often lacking any punctuation, reads as a stream of unending thoughts. Does the flow of your writing match with its content? Read it out loud to figure out and make the changes as and when you hear them happening.
4. Reading… with a twist.
Don’t like the works of Leo Tolstoy? Have a different interpretation of Emily Dickinson? Great! Hold on to that thought! All our lives, we are made to read in a dictatorial manner. We are told this author is the best, this poem has this fixed meaning, and so on.
But we envision a kind of reading where, first and foremost, you stay true to your inner writer. Read to understand yourself. Which lines stand out for you? Which paragraphs blow your mind away? Which don’t? Reading in this critical manner is a solid way to understand your own writerly tendencies, interests and passions, and use them as a stepping stone for polishing your own unique work.
P.S.
Interested in learning to read and write poetry in a free-flowing, interdisciplinary and non-rigid manner? Check out our one of a kind poetry workshop – Poetry in America – in association with Arizona State University, which also confers you a college credit while in High School! You will learn a plethora of skills in our poetry classes. Apply today.
“17 is too young to go to college,” my theology and philosophy professor once told me in our after class discussions at Cornell.
I was contemplating taking a year off from Cornell to pursue an internship with a member of Parliament back in India and wanted to get some guidance from numerous professors at Cornell. I had already taken one year after high school to go to an American boarding school called Phillips Academy for a post graduate program (popularly known as a PG year)
Taking break from the academic life after high school and in the middle of my college education were some of the best and critical decisions that I took in my life. US colleges have had a long tradition of a “deferment” and many students avail this opportunity. I hope that all children figuring out that way forward in their personal or academic life should contemplate taking a gap year or I like to call it: “The Growth year.”
I would like to highlight some of the ways the two “growth years” in life helped me before and during my academic life in the US:
1. Academic Standing:
Being from a traditional British boarding school in India, Mayo College, I was exposed to a basic CBSE education. While I performed well in my classes, we had no exposure on research papers, citations and critical writing. At Phillips Academy, I enrolled in courses like Sports Philosophy, reading music (a mandatory requirement at the school) and even took African drumming. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed but gradually understood the importance of a core curriculum. My English classes helped me score higher on the SAT and most importantly, improved my critical thinking and writing skills. I also give the credit for getting straight A’s in college to my rigorous training at Phillips Academy.
2. Athletics:
As a national squash player, I was also looking at avenues to get better at a sport that I had consumed much of my middle and high school commitments. Initial months after completing my board examinations and during my year at Phillips Academy, I got an opportunity to train and compete with the best coaches and student athletes from around the world. I competed in the US national squash circuit and the high school nationals and met Ivy league coaches looking to recruit students.
3. Work Opportunity:
Internships are critical to our growth. I am relieved that the new education policy in India mandates every high schooler to avail this opportunity. Looking at my peers at Phillips academy motivated to me to look at internships a lot more seriously. I was tired of telling people that I was just going to play squash over the summer compared to their “volunteering work in West Africa for endangered species” or “interning at the NY trading center.” Yes, these are all high school internships. After countless emails, I interned with two companies even before I embarked on my collegiate journey. I worked in the “International procurement” division at Godrej and Boyce (a conglomerate in India) and at a German consulting firm in Bangalore on bringing best sustainability resources to India. I believe that internships tell you “what you do not like to do” a lot more than “what you love to do.” These experiences give you better insight into the social and corporate structures of the world and give valuable life lessons that can be leveraged in college.
4. Do something you love:
For me, that love was squash. As mentioned before, during my “growth year,” I tried to become the best squash player I could ever be. I travelled around the world, attended a Harvard squash camp and made sure to love every single moment. After grueling 4 years of competitive academic journey, playing squash and living a healthy life was a much needed respite from the real world. I urge all the students to seek for what they truly love, travel to uncharted territories, take a music lesson and work for your community. The emotional maturity and social skills that you will acquire during these years will remain with you forever.
Contrary to popular belief, or what I like to call “Aunt/Uncle” belief in India, students are constantly told not to take a year off in their life whether that is after high school, college or while one is engrossed in their professional life. From personal experience, the “growth year” will not only help you to lead a more fulfilling and fruitful life, but will also give you a much needed pause to reflect, battle your fears and get into college or in life with a “growth mindset.”
Big Red Education and our Ivy Early
Entrepreneur Program
In our entrepreneurial workshop – Ivy Early Entrepreneur, students go through the process of business development and leave the entrepreneur program having completed a business model canvas, competitive analysis, financial model, minimum viable product, and a pitch deck.
Students get an opportunity to learn from successful entrepreneurs who are alumni of reputed universities and are experts in their respective industries.
These experts serve as coaches guiding students through the processes of developing a business concept. Risk-Taking, Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication &
Storytelling, Design Thinking & Innovation, and Opportunity Recognition are a few of the key learning areas of our program.
On successfully completing the entrepreneur workshop, the guaranteed internship will be extended to all the students within our partner firms and with most of the mentors teaching the program. Students will be provided with a certificate of participation by Big Red Education. This certificate can be used for your college portfolio.
Ivy Early Entrepreneur
11th – 17th Jan 2022
Idea Generation | Market Research | Design Thinking | Pitching
11th – 17th Jan 2022
