Building a College Admissions Portfolio

Nowadays, college admissions officers consider more than just academic grades. Students who will contribute as well-rounded individuals to the college community stand out to college admissions committees. One way to grab attention is to showcase your extracurricular activities and accomplishments in a college admissions portfolio. Highlighting your skills, dedication and future interests may also be appealing to selective programs. For my rising freshman and sophmores, start early! Create an excel spreadsheet or other document to track volunteer hours and activities as well as keep track of important contact for future letters of recommend or reference on scholarship applications.

Building a college admissions portfolio can be done two different ways: by compiling a document, like a pdf to showcase your work, or by developing a website with links to documents and scanned image files. Both formats come with their own advantages and disadvantages.

The benefit of the pdf format is that it's easy for anyone to look at, and it organizes your work in a clear, simple way. It can be attached to emails or uploaded along with other application documents, as well as easily modified in a different file, then saved as a PDF. You maintain control over the layout and formatting and can tailor any document for the receiving organization. The biggest drawback to the pdf is that it's not ideal for multi-media projects such as videos, audio files, or 3D designs. For my athletes, you'll want to create a separate sharing site where coaches and athletic directors frequent.

If you choose the website option, there are plenty of online options that allow users to create portfolios, blogs, or art displays relatively easily. The specific site you use doesn't matter, as long as it suits the kind of art or project you want to show off and your ability to design with it. I would caution that anything posted online is there permanently, even if deleted, thanks to programs like the "wayback machine" and software that can pull data previoulsy posted. Some suggest building your portfolio online shows admissions officers that you're comfortable using technology as well as experiencing the attention that comes along with public audiences.

I advise starting your portfolio early and updating every semester during high school. Even if the projects or artwork you produce as a freshman are not as refined as those you create in your senior year, the commitment and effort you put into improving can be noteworthy to college admissions officers. Keep in mind that you are narrating a story to the admissions team about your current self, but more significantly, about the potential for growth over the next four years. While showcasing your finest work is essential, demonstrating a progression that highlights your development is also an effective method to capture their interest.

Keep it concise! If you've been producing entire albums of electronic music during high school, don't include every track. A selection of your four best is sufficient. There's no exact number, because it depends on the nature of the work and how long it takes admissions officers to experience it. You can include up to a dozen photographs or other visual art work, but only three or four video pieces or short stories, for example. If you are showcasing academic work, upload written essays along with honors from National Honors Society or other organizations. A link to images from science or history fair projects is beneficial as well as any athletic achievements. If you are an athlete, be sure to link your MaxPreps or other athletic profile with season highlight reels and stats.

Finally, be sure to proofread! Have several friends look over the written work as well as ensure no personal data could lead individuals to your doorstep. For the PDF, avoid including phone numbers and emails as these documents are not in a controlled environment once submitted. Similar, if not stronger, protections for the website should be considered as well. Bots scrub websites for personal data and emails will generate automatic marketing in most cases. To avoid being targeted by those seeking to make money from your information, keep posts basic.

Looking for some coaching on a portfolio? Let me know. I offer consultations and create unique templates to use for your tracking and submission purposes.

College Board - AP Score Distribution (2024)

The College Board has started posting AP score distributions on their website. If you took an Advanced Placement course and completed the exam, you can expect to receive your score after the July 4th holiday. All scores should be received by July 8, 2024 - if you don't receive your score, you'll want to contact College Board at the linked website to follow-up.

Stay tuned for posts on how your score may impact your college applications as well as transfer credit. Not all schools accept AP scores the same way!

Is a credential right for you?

Are you investigating a credential program? If so, be sure to consider the future employment prospects and long-term economic trajectory of the certification.

A credential, according to the Department of Education, is a degree or certificate conferred by a post-secondary institution that is sub-baccalureate. In other words, this is recognition for acquiring a skill, a set of skills or even an Associate's degree, but all accomplished earning fewer credits than a four-year degree, which is the first level of federal funding from the Department of Education to schools and/students through financial aid.

Credentials include programs like dental hygiene, sonography, Associate of Nursing (RN), as well as certifications for programming, coding, etc. Data collected between 2000 and 2022 show an 89 percent increase in the number of certificates conferred. These programs are slowly catching on thanks to the COVID pandemic. During periods were workers were laid off or furloughed, many sought additional training or education in a new industry or field as a way to earn income. Through this, the term "micro-credentialing" emerged. Microcredentialing is stacking achievements or certifications on the way to a larger degree or program certification. Think of earning a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate on the path to an Associate of Nursing, the eventually the Bachelor of Science - Nursing degree.

These credentials may not lead to four-year degree complition right away though. Many recipients are choosing to enter the work force. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released a report in May 2024 with findings showing an increase in wages for high school graduates with a certification. This is great news for recent graduates who want to enter the job market while attending school part-time or to save money for future enrollment. These entry-level positions with credential appear to be filling employer demands, but they may not be leading to long-term careers. Most of these jobs fill a niche role and while demand may be high in one geographic location, in another location, the same position pays less comensurate with lower demand. Consequently, it may take a student longer to complete a program if collecting credentials and working along the way.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, there are several jobs projected to see an increased demand between now and 2029. The top two positions? Truck driver and nursing assistant, both with long working hours making continuing education challenging. Still projecting an increase, but lower on the list are hairdressers, medical assistants and automotive technicians. Of these three programs, many schools focus solely on degrees or certifications in these areas and offer job placement through relationships with local employers.

So while the jury may still be out on the benefits of credentials or microcredentials, many two and four-year schools are marketing current programs or offering new programs as a way to maintain or increase enrollment. Do your research on the programs of interest and ask your potential school the following questions:

• Do you offer job placement? If yes, what is your placement rate?

• How long do your placements stay with their first employer?

• What is my anticipated wage with this credential? (Note: do some math here - how long will it take you to make up what you paid to earn the credential?)

• Do you offer the next level of training, if needed, for this program?

• What is the job outlook in the area, in other areas and in the future (2030-2034 is a great range if the school has the data)

Would you like personal assistance with researching credential programs or schools offering a credential? Please use the contact form to schedule an initial consult. I am happy to help you find your best fit after high school.