Education is often regarded as the road to a successful life, and that road often ends at college where students are shaped into foundation of the future of our world. For students to be successful, the preparation needs to start long before their junior year. This worktext is a tool book that explains and guides students throughout high school as they work to discover their interests, motivation, and goals by documenting their progress every step of the way. Parents can join in on the process and facilitate students' development and engage in meaningful discussions about their child's growth as a student and as an individual. The book comes with explanations about the college admission process and exercises for students to engage in, so they not only understand what needs to be done but also undergo reflective exercises that will give them opportunities to cultivate their strengths and uniqueness.
About the Author: Rocky is an English teacher and an Independent Education Consultant based in Taiwan. He went through several years of elementary school education in Taiwan before moving to Toronto, Canada and received his undergraduate degree in History and Geography from the University of Toronto. From there, he became an entrepreneur and studied advertising before finally committing to the field of education. Later in life, he eventually earned his M.A. in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University and spent six years in Japan before returning to Taiwan. Over the past several years, he has worked with high school students and graduate school applicants in Asia and the U.S. and provided guidance to students who have been admitted to schools, such as Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, NYU, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and many others. With his wealth of experience in the education systems of the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Taiwan, Rocky generally works with students over a period of several years to discover their identity and to maximize students' potential. His motto has never been about helping students getting into the highest-ranked university possible. Instead, he focuses on the personal growth and development of each student. His prerogative is to facilitate the growth of each student by providing opportunities for students to discover themselves. His uniqueness as an education consultant derives from his experience as an underachieving student throughout most of high school and college before discovering his motivation and passion in life - education. As someone who had stumbled in his own development but was fortunate enough to eventually find his own way, Rocky is able to share his experiences and lessons with his students and help them discover their own motivation in life. As a result, this worktext was not composed with the goal of helping students getting into the top colleges in mind. Instead, it focuses on helping students become successful in school and life by setting goals, planning, executing, and reflecting, which are all essential elements to every student's personal development and finding the college that truly fits.