Parth Shah and Kabir McDowell - Game Plan for College Application

06/21/23 • 37 min

In today’s episode, our ex-student and good friend, Parth is sharing his story about transitioning from high school to university. He is giving plenty of tips and tricks that he has learned along the way. As an international student, Parth has years of experience with different cultures and school systems, and now he is at Boston University, USA.

Listen to learn why 9th and 10th grades are important for planning your future, what to do when you don’t know what to do, how to choose a good school, what is the difference in the USA school system, and what is the best approach to get into the school you like.

This episode will give you valuable insight and information that could make a real difference in your future because Parth is also busting some myths and explaining what is really important to become a happy and successful student - and you might be surprised by some of his info.

Notes:
🌏 Parth is an international student: his journey from Israel, Dubai to Boston, USA. 01:16
😇 Start planning early: tactics and preparing for the courses and applications. 02:41
🤔How to figure out what you want to do and study: spark your interest and explore topics using these tools. 06:40
🧐 How to choose a university: 10th grade is the key, and don’t choose a school based on prestige. 09:56
3️⃣ Three categories of schools: safety schools, target schools and reach schools. 13:27
🤓 MIT and CIT are not looking only for good test scores: holistic application process and what that means for universities in the USA. 16:53
✍️ The importance of essays and aligning yourself with the university: people from the university are the best source of information. 20:42
👂 Power of listening and gathering information: different sources and spreadsheets. 25:22
🇺🇸 How Parth felt for the first time in Boston University, USA: culture shock, freedom, and doing all on your own. 26:46
🙃 Why personal and study discipline are important: don’t expect the perfect semester. 29:09
✌🏽 City exploring, meeting people, and winter break reflections: second-semester takeaways. 30:37
😎 Support for freshmen students in universities: connecting with other students similar to you. 32:12
🎯 Enjoy throughout this entire process: your future is filled with unlimited possibilities. 35:52

Connect with us:

https://ascendnow.org/

Connect with us:

https://ascendnow.org/

Previous Episode

Mark and Scott Schaffner - Making History Discussions Fun

Mark is speaking with his history teacher Scott Schaffner about making history classes fun and interesting to students.

When we observe history as events we didn’t see but just hear about from others, it opens new perspectives on a different way of approaching the discipline of history. Questions like how and why something happened are so much fun because we get to analyze history and not just accept it.

It is important to dig a little deeper into history because it will provide us with answers and solutions to today’s problems.

Show notes:
🥱 Scott is a history professor and Mark is his student: why do students think history is boring? 00:54
🕵 Keys on how to make history classes interesting: less memorization because everybody's version of events of what happened is different. 04:16
🔁 History repeats itself: understanding the how and why has an impact on our life now as well. 08:13
🤔 Rise of Hitler: understanding a German person in 1933 and all reasons and patterns that impacted life then. 10:12
🤓 History is written by winners: Churchill wrote about his leadership during WW2, and Woodrow Wilson would be considered a racist. 11:43
🗝️ Without knowing history, there are no solutions: history is giving answers to understanding how and why things are in the world that we live in now. 15:40
👀 Looking at all perspectives - analyzing is the key: war in Ukraine. 18:39
✨ Making classes fun: engaging students to think about why behind historical events. 22:36

Links:
Connect with us: www.ascendnow.org

Next Episode

Maia Lopin and Mr Hang Chong Tan - The Current Education System is Developing Curious Youth Advocates

In this super cool episode, Maia and Hang Chong dive into some serious stuff about our society. They're talking about how skills and talents are valued differently, and how we often overlook the health of our planet and the needs of future generations.

Hang Chong Tan is a member of the Foodscape Collective and an environmental educator. Hang Chong is all about a different kind of leadership and living simply so that everyone can thrive. His organization empowers people to make greener choices and push for eco-friendly laws in Parliament. Get ready to be inspired and start making a difference!

Notes:
🏕️ Joining the scout movement helped Hang Chong a lot to prepare for challenges in life. 01:00
🌏 Hang Chong loved geography: getting into the environmental field by accident. 03:18
⭐ Options for teenagers to forge a different career path: share knowledge and make a difference in your community. 07:33
⚠️ Concept of infinite growth: there are limits to ecological stability on planet Earth. 10:39
!!️ Understanding the basic human condition: we don’t have a lack of food on Earth but a lack of distribution. 14:55
🌱 Collective Food is trying to build a fair, circular food system for all: all started by getting into urban farming courses. 19:36
🎯 Our behavior has the power to change and impact others: uplifting each other is the key - not preaching. 23:07
🥬 Free food packages Hang provides to his neighbors: foods are thrown away indiscriminately. 26:25
🚰 Food loss and food waste: water footprint is enormous, and it depends on our food choice. 30:43
😍 Sustainability and learning from birds: living a simple life, so others can live after us too. 34:32
😇 You can help in sustainability: being minimalist is beautiful. 38:40
💎 Hangs tips to climate-anxious: find your tribe and start living an abundant lifestyle. 41:34

Connect with us: https://ascendnow.org/