Thoughts on College Admissions in the News
Hello Cultivate. Community,
We wanted to reach out to you in light of the recent college admissions scandal in the headlines and take a moment to revisit the values that drive our work at Cultivate.
We founded Cultivate. to empower students and families with self-awareness and strategy during the high school experience. The college admissions process is one of the first and most important decisions students make as they assume greater levels of autonomy in their lives. Our tagline, “grow through the college admissions process,” sets us apart from others in our space, because we prioritize students knowing and embodying their best selves. Valuing internal transformation in service of a more aware, empathetic, and intentional human being not only makes a compelling college admissions applicant but a better world.
Rebecca’s reputation is built on integrity and trust. The purpose of Cultivate. was born out of her deep desire to help students and families in more meaningful ways beyond the elements of the admissions process. As a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, she abides by their ethical standards and seizes the opportunity to frame the college conversation around this approach: where a student goes is never as important as why they choose to go there.
Jeanine’s experience inside K-12 public education and as a facilitator continue to drive and inform the evolution of Cultivate’s coaching work. She recently became a Certified Scrum Master, facilitating agile innovation processes, and she is currently pursuing her International Coaching Federation Certification. Her diverse perspectives are focused on helping our freshman and sophomores put themselves on a trajectory for growth through developing the personal, academic, and creative mindsets for success. And as she often says, “Who defines success? You do.”
While there is so much to be disheartened about in these reports, what is most distressing to us is the message this sent to these young people: you are worthless without entrance into these colleges, you are not enough just as you are. We must be mindful to empower young people, not to take their power. Our words and actions matter.
Plans are in the works to launch a teen meditation series, and we are developing our Next Steps Workshop for seniors and their parents to envision life after high school. As we focus on empowering students, parents, and our community with self-awareness during the high school years, we are developing new opportunities to gather, learn, and reflect. We will keep you posted with details soon.
Meanwhile, we are providing you a link to a blog post by Dr. Denise Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford University’s School of Education titled, “Debunking College Admissions Myths.” We encourage you to explore her larger conversation around parenting and education as well. As always, we welcome any questions and continued conversation about growing through the college admissions process.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Sherer & Jeanine Collins
Co-Founders, Cultivate.
“grow through the college admissions process”
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