By John Raftrey And Lori McCormick
E-mail John Raftrey And Lori McCormick
About this blog: We are writing this blog to give practical advice to students and parents, to reflect on issues affecting college admissions, and to provide a platform for a robust community discussion on post-secondary choices. We occasionally f...
(More)About this blog: We are writing this blog to give practical advice to students and parents, to reflect on issues affecting college admissions, and to provide a platform for a robust community discussion on post-secondary choices. We occasionally feature "guest? bloggers and invite other college counselors to join the blog team. We are members of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA) and the Western Association for College Admissions Counseling (WACAC).
Lori McCormick: I began my college advising career in 2006 at Notre Dame de Namur in Transfer Admissions. Since then, I have worked at San Jose State in the Career Center, for a local independent college advising firm, and for BUILD a college access program for underrepresented youth. I graduated with a BA in Sociology from UCSB and a MA in Psychology with a concentration in Career Counseling from Antioch University. I am an active volunteer with The Parent?s Club of the Peninsula (PAMP), the Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC) and I am a seasonal application reader for the
Maisin Scholar Award. I reside in Palo Alto with my husband and two sons.
John Raftrey: I have been advising students for the last three admission cycles. I regularly attend conferences, tour colleges, and keep up with the changing landscape of college admissions. I'll share what I learn and throw in a few opinions along the way. I moved to Palo Alto in 1991. My three sons are all veterans of PAUSD and graduated from Paly. I graduated from the University of Michigan, earned an MBA at Columbia University and hold a certificate in College Counseling from UC San Diego. In my past life I worked in TV news and high tech marketing.
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(Written by Lori McCormick)
In years past, I have worked in high school programs where I encouraged my students at the start of their college application process to write a letter to their future self. At the time, these soon-to-be college students thought it was a silly assignment. I did see a few faces light up but mostly a lot of eye rolling. Heard a lot of unhappy sighs, too.
But they did it. They hand wrote their letters, sealed the envelope, self-addressed it, and handed it back to me. Fast forward fall semester ? around the time of Thanksgiving Break, a letter, in their own writing, would arrive at their home address.
What each student discovered in opening up that letter was unique to that person. And the ones that shared with me how their letters impacted them is not for public knowledge, but I will say, the letter was profound. One common thread that I will share is that they could not believe how much they had grown in those few months. They were really proud of themselves.
My summer challenge to you is to write a letter to your future self. Here are a few links for inspiration, but ultimately, there is no wrong or right way to do this.
1.
This website stores your virtual letter and delivers it to you on a date you set.
2.
This blog is from the Huffington Post. It captures a letter written to a future high school graduate. It includes 20 questions to ask yourself.
3. This example is written by Jeannie Cerundolo. In a school assignment at age 15, she wrote a letter to herself. Her teacher mailed it back to her at age 25. She then wrote another letter to herself, which she opened when she turned 35.
Happy writing and I hope you enjoy reading your letter to yourself in the future.
