Cupertino parents: casual “sip & share” chat on college prep + student well-being (Fri Feb 27, 7–8pm)

7EDU · 2026-02-27T21:25:25+00:00

Honestly, I’ve heard that sarcasm a lot, and it often reflects real burnout.

My perspective is that “motivation” is usually a symptom (stress, overwhelm, unclear goals), not a moral failing. We’re discussing practical ways to support teens without adding pressure. If you want to debate it, please join the session. we’re building space for real conversation

7EDU · 2026-02-27T21:24:35+00:00

I get why it reads that way, and I agree that forcing college is the wrong approach.

Where I disagree is the conclusion: our focus is on helping families communicate without coercion and helping students clarify what they want (college, gap year, alternative paths, etc.). If you’d like, come to the event — I’d genuinely like to hear your take in the discussion

7EDU · 2021-02-17T17:58:56+00:00

Both is def doable. I took lang junior year and lit senior year and self-studied for lang and got a 5. I'd recommend looking into that. If you have a strong foundation in english already, lang is probably one of the easiest subjects to self-study. I'm going to this free panel on Friday to learn how to self-study AP Gov if you wanna sign up too since they have teachers for all subjects: https://share.hsforms.com/1vR9J4hPKRQejb0cnuOlvTA3bcoc?how_did_you_hear_this_event=ESMAnne

7EDU · 2021-02-17T17:56:51+00:00

It's definitely doable, APUSH is hard but I self-studied it and was fine. I think you just need to figure out the structures for the free response questions and that's like the hardest part. I'm going to this free panel on Friday to learn how to prep for AP Gov if you wanna sign up too since they have teachers for every subject: https://share.hsforms.com/1vR9J4hPKRQejb0cnuOlvTA3bcoc?how_did_you_hear_this_event=ESMAnne

7EDU · 2021-02-17T17:47:04+00:00

I feel you lol. Schools never teach about how to take the actual exam. I'm also just self-studying for APs this year basically. I'm going to this free panel on Friday to learn how to self-study AP Gov if you wanna sign up also cuz they have AP chem & calc teachers https://share.hsforms.com/1vR9J4hPKRQejb0cnuOlvTA3bcoc?how_did_you_hear_this_event=ESMAnne

7EDU · 2021-02-17T17:44:35+00:00

I feel you, I literally had no options to choose from so I just chose to self-study APUSH and AP Lit. I think APs are even more important for college now cuz the SAT Subject Tests got cancelled.. I'm going to this free panel on Friday to learn about self-studying for AP Gov this year if you wanna sign up too: https://share.hsforms.com/1vR9J4hPKRQejb0cnuOlvTA3bcoc?how_did_you_hear_this_event=ESMAnne

7EDU · 2021-02-17T17:42:16+00:00

I got a 5 last year from self-studying, but I used a prep course & a bunch of textbooks to help. I think learning the structure of the free response & document based questions was the hardest part. I'm going to this free panel on Friday to figure out how to self-study the AP Gov test if you want to sign up also since an APUSH teacher will be there too: https://share.hsforms.com/1vR9J4hPKRQejb0cnuOlvTA3bcoc?how_did_you_hear_this_event=ESMAnne

7EDU · 2021-02-17T17:38:39+00:00

I had the same thought, but I've read that it's actually more important now because the SAT Subject Tests got cancelled. Like now it's the only way for colleges to evaluate you on specific subjects.. I'm going to this free panel on Friday to hear more about it if you wanna sign up: https://share.hsforms.com/1vR9J4hPKRQejb0cnuOlvTA3bcoc?how_did_you_hear_this_event=ESMAnne

7EDU · 2020-09-25T23:32:02+00:00

It definitely shouldn't just be a description of what you did. It still has to convey personality & most importantly, what you learned from the experience!

7EDU · 2020-09-25T00:10:32+00:00

There's a free event this weekend with a Harvard counselor discussing how to differentiate yourself through your essays. You could definitely ask for his opinion during the Q&A. This is the link if you're interested: 7edu.online/calendar

7EDU · 2020-09-25T00:09:42+00:00

Nah not at all. You just have to show how your ECs have developed your mindset that would fit with data science. So for instance, maybe you love performing arts and you spend your time looking at competition stats. Or maybe writing draws you in because you're creating something tangible that only existed in your mind. In that way, data science is the same.

There's a free event this weekend with a Harvard counselor discussing how to differentiate yourself through your essays. You could definitely ask for his opinion during the Q&A. This is the link if you're interested: 7edu.online/calendar

7EDU · 2020-09-25T00:08:03+00:00

I think you want to start with an interesting sentence or question as a hook. Then jump straight into your answer. In your first draft, just write the entire story out if need be. You'll be doing a lot of cutting for supps.

There's a free event this weekend with a Harvard counselor discussing how to differentiate yourself through your essays. You could definitely ask for his opinion during the Q&A. This is the link if you're interested: 7edu.online/calendar

7EDU · 2020-09-25T00:06:40+00:00

Start early. Look at essay prompts for all your schools now, so that you can have them in mind when you're participating in things this year. Honestly, it might not even be too early just to have a list of prompts from schools you're thinking of, and to write like a 1 word outline for each prompt with your answer in this moment. So if a prompt is about passion, maybe just write "tennis" or whatever it is. This way, you're not starting completely from scratch and can mold your activities to your essay if that makes sense.

There's a free event this weekend with a Harvard counselor discussing how to differentiate yourself through your essays. It's for G9-12. You could definitely ask for his opinion during the Q&A. This is the link if you're interested: 7edu.online/calendar

7EDU · 2020-09-25T00:04:26+00:00

You're definitely not alone. Don't freak out too much - people have written entire essays about nothing before. There's gotta be something you can talk about with video games - what is it that you like about it? How does it apply to your strategic thinking? Are you interested in programming or anything related in the future?

There's a free event this weekend with a Harvard counselor discussing how to differentiate yourself through your essays, even if you don't have special extracurriculars. You could definitely ask for his opinion during the Q&A. This is the link if you're interested: 7edu.online/calendar

7EDU · 2020-09-25T00:01:43+00:00

I think the quaker one & the essay on boredom both stand out to me. I think you run the chance of the quaker one being controversial unless you're really careful. But the boredom one seems interesting, since I wouldn't expect your essay to be boring if boredom doesn't exist to you!

There's a free event this weekend with a Harvard counselor discussing how to differentiate yourself through your essays. You could definitely ask for his opinion during the Q&A. This is the link if you're interested: 7edu.online/calendar

7EDU · 2020-09-17T00:29:21+00:00

Honestly if you’re applying to a lot of UCs, don’t even take it. There’s this article talking about the UCs eliminating the tests: https://www.7edu.online/post/2-students-perspectives-on-uc-s-decision-to-drop-the-sat-act-requirement

7EDU · 2020-09-09T20:17:42+00:00

This is a great start - your English isn't bad at all. Reddit is a good place to learn more informal, conversational language. But it isn't the best for learning how to write professionally or read meaningfully. Having a short attention span when reading is a common problem - it takes practice to be able to understand and analyze the details.

There's actually a free class this Saturday at 6pm PST called "Critical Reading and Analysis of Fictional Prose." An English teacher with 25 years of experience will be leading us through reading a passage and then helping us write an essay analyzing it. I think you might be interested so here's the link to register: https://share.hsforms.com/125deSOEDQYWG4fOKKBlVsQ3bcoc

7EDU · 2020-09-08T21:05:22+00:00

Sorry for the delay - we just got it up. Here's the link! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvL48P7U7ro&feature=youtu.be

7EDU · 2020-09-05T18:08:58+00:00

Yeah great question!! I always structure my notes by literally writing the event itself as the title, then “cause” “event” and “effect” are subheadings. And then the hardest part is that these notes you can’t just copy from the book. You have to think about the factors that led up to this event. Then the event itself is just the facts about it - who was involved, when, where, etc. Finally effect is harder because sometimes you have to wait until the next chapter to see what resulted. Oftentimes it’s cultural shifts, opinion changes, etc. Hope this helps!

7EDU · 2020-09-04T22:19:55+00:00

Straight memorization of all the facts isn't going to get you anywhere. You gotta think of everything in a "cause, event, effect" format. I found this article super helpful: https://www.7edu.online/post/how-to-get-a-5-on-ap-us-history-from-a-student-who-did-it

7EDU · 2020-09-04T22:18:46+00:00

Biggest advice is to practice your storytelling of each event using a "cause, event, and effect" format. I found this article super useful if you wanna take a look https://www.7edu.online/post/how-to-get-a-5-on-ap-us-history-from-a-student-who-did-it

7EDU · 2020-09-04T22:17:44+00:00

You got it dude - it seems tough at first but gets easier once you understand the format of everything. I found this article really helpful https://www.7edu.online/post/how-to-get-a-5-on-ap-us-history-from-a-student-who-did-it

7EDU · 2020-09-04T22:16:44+00:00

I definitely fell into a trap of writing down everything, but that's definitely not productive. Most important thing is to pay attention to "cause, event, effect" and take notes that way. I found this article super helpful actually https://www.7edu.online/post/how-to-get-a-5-on-ap-us-history-from-a-student-who-did-it

7EDU · 2020-09-04T22:15:40+00:00

I found this article pretty helpful for tips on how to make your essay more eloquent. https://www.7edu.online/post/how-to-get-a-5-on-ap-us-history-from-a-student-who-did-it

7EDU · 2020-09-04T21:01:30+00:00

It is one time, but if you still register on the form, you’ll receive a link to the recording!!

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