College Admissions SCANDAL!!

3/20/2019

It’s not often that my line of work is in the news to the extent that it has been this past week. There’s the occasional high school senior success story, think piece on whether the SAT and ACT are still reasonable data points for the college admissions process, or list of five test prep tips. But celebrity, FBI, bribery, indictment… those are not words that are often paired with “SAT,” "ACT," or “College Admissions.”

The day the news of the college admissions scandal broke, I shared the following on Twitter:

If you are a good applicant, and you apply to a good selection of schools, you will likely get into a good college. --erikaoppenheimer.com

There is a difference between empowering students and enabling them. "Empowering" teaches students the skills, mindsets, and strategies to succeed through their own efforts. I consistently try to use my position as a coach, guide, and mentor to empower students.
— Erika Oppenheimer (@erika_opp) March 13, 2019

I am grateful for the students and families with whom I work, and I have so much respect for their commitment to growth. I will also continue to find ways to empower students more broadly.
— Erika Oppenheimer (@erika_opp) March 13, 2019

Today's news about families who acted illegally within the college admissions process has brought up a lot of feelings and raised many important conversations, and I hope we can hold space for each other's voices as we grapple with challenging issues ❤️
— Erika Oppenheimer (@erika_opp) March 13, 2019

In addition to what I tweeted last week, I have a few other thoughts in the wake of the news stories.

Who (or What) Has Your Vote?

11/8/2018

Hi, Friends!

In the spirit of Tuesday's election, I have a short video for you today.

No matter whether you are over or under 18-years-old, what you do with your time and attention matters... it counts.

We all have the same 24-hour days, and what you choose to do with yours reflects your priorities.

Any time you spend doing one thing is time you're not spending doing something else. It's always a choice. It's always a vote. // erikaoppenheimer.com // #priorities #choices #mindfulness #testprep #acingit

Shift Your Perception to Head in the Right Direction

10/25/2018

The process of going after a goal may not be straightforward. You can't always see ten steps ahead, and because of this, you can't necessarily tell if you are making progress, if you've taken a detour... or if you've landed in a ditch.

Evaluating your progress is particularly tricky when you see signs that seem to communicate that things aren't working out. In today's video, I give two examples of counter-intuitive signs that progress is happening—one example from my life, and one that relates to test prep.

After you've watched, meet me down below the video where I expand on the video's ideas.

A supposed setback won't determine whether you are headed in the direction of your goal. Your perception of what happened and your subsequent response will.

The Paradox of Potential When You Have a Goal

10/11/2018

When I was a senior in high school, I had a blue notebook with Martin de Maat's quote "You are Pure Potential" printed on the cover.

The cool thing about feeling like "pure potential" is that you don't reach your potential; you reach for your potential. It's in your awareness of potential that you can always strive to be better, and in the process become better.

Being "pure potential" also means that no matter how far you've gotten, there's still further to go. And no matter how dire things seem, there's always the hope for better.

You don't reach your potential; you reach for your potential

The quote "you are pure potential" inspires me to connect to the part of me that feels infinite.

While this is beautiful in theory, the idea of potential is also part of a paradox. The flip side of those warm, anticipatory feelings are feelings of dread and anxiety. How could this be? Well, that's the subject of today's video.

How Your Beliefs Impact Your SAT and ACT Prep

9/27/2018

"I am" is a powerful phrase. Just as powerful is the word that follows it.

What follows the "I am" is a belief that you have about yourself.

"I am smart." / "I am stupid."

"I am capable." / "I am lost."

"I am confident." / "I am worried."

"I am strong." / "I am anxious."

If you want to change your reality, start by changing your beliefs. // erikaoppenheimer.com // #motivation #inspiration #mindfulness #qotd #studyspo #AcingIt

4 Signs You Need a New Way to Manage Your To-Do List

9/13/2018

With the new school year comes an opportunity to play around with organization systems.

Personally, that was always something I looked forward to when I was a student. One year I would have one big binder. Another year I would give each class its own binder. Another year I would give each class a composition notebook and a folder.

Coming up with a system of organizing my materials felt like breathing fresh air into the new school year. It was sort of like how it feels when you rearrange the furniture in a room. The room still serves the same basic function, but it feels different.

Out of clarity springs creativity. // #productivity #organization #productivity

Happy Less-Labor Days!

9/6/2018

With this short video in celebration of Labor Day, I hope to help make your other days feel less laborious. Having a day off is great, but experiencing more ease every day is better!

I hope you are feeling good as we launch into another school year!

Feel free to reach out with questions or feedback!

--Erika

Celebrate More Labor Less

How to Trust Your Gut on the SAT & ACT

8/29/2018

In my book, Acing It! A Mindful Guide to Maximum Results on Your College Admissions Test, I say that I want you to "trust your gut and do the work to have a gut worth trusting."

Acing It! gives you a step-by-step framework for developing a gut worth trusting, but in today's video I decided to put a twist on the idea of what it means to trust your gut because the idea of trusting your gut works on a few different levels.

In the video, I also teach you a quick (1 minute!) technique to settle nerves and release stress.

Trust your gut, and do the work to have a gut worth trusting.

What To Do When You Wish You'd Started Sooner on Your SAT & ACT Prep

8/23/2018

When I first began my formal meditation practice, my teacher informed us that, in time, we would clear our bodies of all the stress we had stored over the course of our lives. Not a bad proposition, eh? I mean, what anxiety-ridden person wouldn’t be enchanted by the idea of a stress-free life?

I began to see positive changes immediately. But I still felt anxious.

And a voice in my head would taunt me, "If only you'd started sooner, you'd be further along right now. You'd feel so much less anxious."

Today will be tomorrow's yesterday. // #Mindset #Motivation #Success #Preparation #AcingIt

That voice bummed me out. It didn't change my actions—I still showed up for my morning and afternoon meditations—but it led to feelings of frustration. Not just with my past self for not having started sooner, but also with my present self for not being further along—even though that was an impossible ask. I was where I was.

The Three Kinds of Goals That Help You Get Things Done While Feeling Good

8/14/2018

Having goals is an important part of any process. Goals tell you where you want to go and give you the fuel to get there.

But sometimes, the goal-setting and goal-getting processes feel like struggles. We feel overwhelmed, we find ourselves coming up short, or we aren't sure where to focus our time and attention.

Part of the reason why this happens is that we think of goals in a really general sense so that they encompass everything that we want to experience and have happen.

Goal setting leads to goal getting. // #Mindset #Motivation #Goals #Success #AcingIt

By being a little more specific about the kinds of goals we are setting, we can start to act more intentionally. In particular, there are three kinds of goals worth paying attention to throughout your test prep process.

Today's video is about clarifying the three different kinds of goals that you set. Having clearly identified the three kinds of goals, you can start to see how they interact with each other and begin to use all three more effectively. Perhaps, you'll see how one kind of goal in particular has tripped you up in the past or how you need to start rebalancing the three different types of goals.

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