Prayers and buckets

With the devastation that followed the storm Irene as it swept through the east coast this past weekend, our hearts and prayers are with you.  Homes, property, businesses and lives have been disrupted and turned upside down with the aftermath of the storm.  We have heard from many people who have intermittent or no power or internet.  From afar we feel very inadequate of offering assistance. If I could, I would bring my bucket and broom to help.  As it is, what we can offer is communication assistance. If you need us to send a broadcast email out to your families due to intermittent internet connection, just let us know.  We will be glad to give that assistance.  Two things we are reminded of after this weather chaos; 1) we are nowhere near being in charge, and 2) How many blessings we each have to be thankful for.  We pray for sunshine in the sky and in your hearts in the days to come.

Cyndy McDonald

President, Mycca.net

Student Motivation- The Magic Elixir

As students are launching back into a new school year, parents and college advisors both have the same question in mind, "How do I motivate my child?"  This is a question we receive often in connection to the student portal:
-How do I get my students to use the student portal?
-They have Naviance where they have to add information, how do I encourage them to add it to the student portal?
-If students keep information in the common app, will students feel keeping information in the student portal is redundant?

Over the past 18 months of working closely with students using the student portal, I have developed some tips for encouraging teens to use the student portal.

1. Make "go to the student portal" your mantra.  The more students know you are expecting them to use the student portal, the more they will do so.  Studies show students rise to the expectations others have of them. If you have a consistent message, "Use the portal", they will respond to that message.

2. Direct students to the student portal to retrieve information you have left for them there.  Don't print a college list and give them; put your comments in the shared comments section of their college list and send them to the student portal to look at their list. If students want to see their testing schedule, send them to the student portal to get it.

3.  Show students how the student portal benefits them.  Putting test scores in mycca.net and then notifying you the scores are there saves Suzie time and energy in emailing you back and forth. Doing research using college website links in mycca.net is faster than doing all their searching on google.  As students use the student portal, they see how it empowers them. Teach them how to set up their own college application plans.

4.  Use the Competitive Student Quotient (CSQ) gauges to motivate students and parents. Student love to view where they are in comparison to other students.  Parents love the CSQ gauges as well. CSQ gauges are exclusive to mycca.net.

5.  Put the student portal upkeep into each week's assignment. Students are used to having deadlines and assignments. Utilize the student portal as part of that pattern.

As you work with your students, try some of these tips. As you build this process, you will be empowering and engaging your students in a very dynamic college planning process.  Tell us what you have tried, and how has it worked?