As the program director for the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship with fifteen-plus years selecting and working with the CDB Scholars and families, I’m asked this question more than any other, so I’m here to provide some inside information that you won’t find on High School Confidential or through the grapevine.

Every eligible CDB application is read thoroughly by at least two members of the CDB staff at the Institute for Educational Advancement and logged into our online data system, one folder for each CDB applicant. If any elements of the application are missing, we will e-mail the applicant well before the submission deadline. We also send a DEADLINE COMING UP!! e-mail to every applicant who has begun to fill out or worked on an application within three weeks of the deadline. Staff members evaluate each application individually with written notes pertaining to each element of the application as well as an overall score and assign a numeric to the applicant. This score is then added to an evaluation grid comprised of the totality of that year’s eligible CDB applications. This compilation is what the CDB staff uses to determine which applications will move forward to one of three national selection committees comprised of deans and directors of admission at selective high schools, colleges and universities throughout the United States, heads of independent schools, educators who work with gifted students and CDB alumni, two-three per committee. Our CDB Scholar alumni are outstanding ambassadors and having successfully gone through the application process themselves, quite capable of helping select the Finalists.

The selection committee meetings last two days and result in the selection of between 45-55 Finalists from across the country. These Finalists will be interviewed in person or via zoom (as occurred for the 2020 Scholar selection due to the pandemic restrictions on travel and in-person gatherings) throughout the summer with one or both of their parent(s) or guardian(s) present for a portion of the interview. From the Finalist pool, each year’s CDB Scholars will be selected early in September to begin working with the CDB staff to help find each Scholar’s optimal high school fit.

In reading and evaluating hundreds of CDB applications annually, here are some tips for prospective applicants:

We always offer choices in the essays to help applicants find areas that resonate with them academically and personally. We hope that you will use the 500 word count or a close approximation to elaborate on the given topic and help us get to know what drives and motivates you as an individual in response to the prompt. In my experience, it has rarely if ever been the case that a two or three sentence “essay” has the ability to wow. If anything, it feels to the readers that you’re completing the application under duress and not of your own volition.

By all means use engaging, sophisticated vocabulary and concepts IF you have a clear understanding of their correct usage. Few things stick out more to an experienced application reader than “big” words or phrases put in for effect rather than to enhance a thought or statement. Clunky word choice is not a note you want next to one of your essays.

If you identify as a math or STEAM/STEM person, you are not alone in this applicant pool, so what can you write to set yourself apart from the pack? Well, you can be creative with your words and describe what it is about math that excites and engages you, and you don’t need to be a wordsmith to accomplish this. As readers, my team and I look forward to understanding what drives and motivates an applicant to complete this long and complex application, so help us better understand you. There are few more positive notes I write than, “I want to meet this person and get to know him/her!” It means that you’ve successfully captured my attention through an aspect of your application that presents YOU as the unique individual you are in YOUR voice.

Select your recommenders with care. I cannot emphasize this enough. Since the recommenders—academic and professional—are required to submit their grids and comments directly to the scholarship, you won’t have the opportunity to see what’s been written about you. Few things can derail an otherwise solid application more than comments by someone YOU’VE chosen who either does not have positive things to say about you or who just goes through cursory motions to complete a form without providing any real insight or approbation to heighten your application. Make sure your recommenders are people who know you well and who have shown themselves to be supportive, encouraging, helpful mentors or role models—people who you admire and respect and who feel the same about wanting to encourage and support your CDB application, because they know you well enough to be a staunch supporter of your candidacy.

You are welcome to employ your parents or teachers as proofreaders, but the core ideas should be yours, as well as the writing of your essays, submission of your work sample and finalizing all aspect of the application components. The CDB application is meant to be a reflection of you as an applicant, not your parent. There is a one-page parent letter that should handle that aspect of the application. More to come on this element in the Parent Section of this blog.

If you describe yourself in your CDB application as a dancer or a musician or an artist or singer or inventor or photographer, by all means SHOW US, either as a work sample or in the additional information portal. This is less about you impressing us as a superstar and more about sharing your passion(s) with our team. It’s frustrating to repeatedly read about a special skill or area of interest in your application and not see any visual or oral indication of this element of you.

It is up to you—not your parent—to check in with your recommenders and school office to make sure that the materials they’re compiling for you —recommendations, standardized tests and transcripts—are submitted well within the CDB deadline. You don’t have to make a nuisance of yourself, but go about completing each element of the CDB application in a timely fashion, so you’re not driving everyone around you CRAZY with completing the application minutes or hours before it’s due.[blockquote text=”Make sure your recommenders are people who know you well and who have shown themselves to be supportive, encouraging, helpful mentors or role models—people who you admire and respect and who feel the same about wanting to encourage and support your CDB application, because they know you well enough to be a staunch supporter of your candidacy.” show_quote_icon=”yes” text_color=”#000000″ width=”90%” quote_icon_color=”#aa230d”] 

And now to the parent responsibilities…

While you are always welcome to call or email the CDB Scholarship team with questions or information that’s needed to help with the application, please do not word your questions to us as, “I’m completing the CDB application for my son or daughter.” This is a HUGE red flag for us as to the efficacy of your child’s application and not at all what you should be doing in regards to his or her submission.

As parents or guardians, you are offered a page to let us know about your son or daughter—what makes him or her unique, special talents, areas that perhaps only you as a parent see or know from having lived with this young person more than anyone else. Please don’t use this as a forum to reiterate what’s already been noted in other places of the application such as grades or awards received. This is meant to be your personal statement, and we always appreciate you staying within the one page limit without utilizing the smallest font and no margins top to bottom or side to side. We want to know as parents, what you see, know, feel and value about your child that you want to pass along to us. If you want to tell us about particular vulnerabilities or issues that your son or daughter has had to contend with or overcome, we look upon this as informational and not judgmental. Strengths and weaknesses as well as other aspects of character only help us round out the reality and clarity of an applicant. Perfect superstars as described by parents are immediately suspect to an experienced reader. If your child meets the CDB Scholarship eligibility criteria, by all means support their application, but please do not coerce, bribe or force the issue. The decision to apply—as well as complete and submit—a CDB application should be the responsibility of the applicant. As a parent, you can certainly support the process, but from the sidelines and not as a “co-writer.”

Finally, when decisions are made—whether it’s in selecting the Finalists or ultimately the annual CDB Scholars– please understand that in any competitive process, there will sometimes be results that are not to your liking or expectation. The decisions have less to do with what your child did “wrong” on his or her application or wasn’t “enough” in any given area and more with the reality that the CDB Scholarship draws an incredible, awe-inspiring applicant pool of truly stellar young people from all echelons of the seventh grade national gifted population. The selection process is one that the CDB team takes very, very seriously and meticulously as we evaluate and discuss hundreds of highly accomplished young people and always wish we had the resources to recognize many more of these highly accomplished young people than we are able to do each year with the 25-30 CDB Scholarships we award.

I can’t reiterate this enough, but the CDB team always looks at the multiple aspects of an application, not the singularity of test scores or an applicant’s GPA. Every Institute for Educational Advancement program is centered around the whole child—his or her academic, social, emotional and character-based aspects that all work together to comprise an exceptional individual who will find engagement and fulfillment as a Caroline D. Bradley Scholar within a cohort of peers, mentors and role models spanning selection since 2002.

In the course of my fifteen years at the Institute for Educational Advancement at the helm of the Caroline D. Bradley (CDB) Scholarship program, I’m often asked, “What exactly do you do? What’s a typical workday?” So I’m here to set the record straight and hopefully provide some answers. First of all, there is no “typical” day which is precisely why I never get bored as the program director of CDB. In short, CDB runs year round with very little down time per se. The CDB team is comprised of myself and my extremely effective and efficient colleague, Mallory Aldrich. We are responsible for the approximately 150 CDB Scholars who are active within the program from 8th grade through high school, as well as maintaining contact with parents, CDB alumni, educators, organizing our CDB Selection Committees and the annual three day Bradley Seminar, collaborating with partner organizations who work with gifted students and assisting people interested in learning about and applying for the CDB Scholarship. Mallory and I are ably assisted by the IEA team who help with our marketing, tuition payments, Finalist interviews, development, data collection and all manner of IT assistance.

We base our schedule around an academic calendar beginning anew for the year right after Labor Day in early September with the annual selection of new CDB Scholars. Roughly, the CDB year plays out as follows: the new class of Scholars is announced in early September which begins the cycle of “virtually” introducing the nationwide CDB rising 8th graders to each other and learning about them as the exceptional individuals they are. Then begins several months in the fall months of interactive research about high school programs and our follow up with each Scholar as they visit and apply to at least three high schools or programs that best suit their learning styles and academic goals. At the same time, we’re actively monitoring the transition from middle school to freshman year of high school for the entering 9th grade CDB class, making sure the returning high school Scholars are still well placed at their schools, working with the CDB high school seniors in their college application process, checking with the new class of CDB alumni as they enter college and begin work on the upcoming year’s CDB application and important program dates, organize our national selection committees who work with us to select that year’s CDB Finalists and begin sketching out the three day Bradley Seminar which encompasses travel, lodging, meals, activities, workshops and socializing for our entire CDB community of high school students, parents, guest speakers and educators with support from the entire IEA team. All of the CDB Scholars are responsible for submitting their midterm and final term grades and teacher comments to the CDB team which is followed by individual feedback we proved to each Scholar. Within the new class, it’s rare that we are not in touch with them either by phone or email every two weeks to check in and get to know them and how their high school selection process is going.

Winter involves making sure all of the high school and college CDB applications have been completed and submitted within their deadlines, as well as personal recommendation letters and CDB information to all of the colleges being applied to by our college applicant Scholars. The new CDB application is online by now, so in addition to at least three webinars we conduct to provide information and answer questions, we are available to work with prospective applicants, recommenders and schools by phone or email. Plans for the Bradley Seminar are solidifying with the theme selected and agenda being meticulously planned out. Individual Scholars are inquiring about recommendations for summer internships that we will assist with. Winter term grades are coming in and holiday wishes extended back and forth. Scholars are hearing from their Early Decision and Early Action colleges, so that always brings a round of congratulations or calming messages about hanging in there and doing whatever we can to alleviate stress and anxiety on the part of our Scholars. This is also the time we work with any of our high school Scholars who are considering transferring for any number of reasons to a different high school program or looking for an alternate educational experience. One of the exceptional aspects of the CDB program is our flexibility to handle each individual’s ongoing academic requirements and to advocate for each Scholar should they seek to expand their horizons.

Spring is the Bradley Seminar, a highlight of the CDB program for all involved and in April the due date for that year’s CDB applications when Mallory and I go into lockdown mode to process and read the hundreds of eligible applications that we receive. By early May, we have divided the top tier applications into groups of approximately 55-60 each that will be sent to the members of our mulitple selection committees for their evaluations. The end of May- early June involves Mallory, our IEA president and my travel to meet with the selection committees to select that year’s CDB Finalists who we will spend the summer traveling throughout the United States to interview them as the next phase of the CDB selection process. Spring is also when our Scholars hear the results of their high school and college applications, so it is a time filled with tremendous emotions and a lot of support extended to our Scholars as we support and work with them to finalize their high school and college decisions.

Summer brings extensive travel for the CDB team as well as support from our SoCal staff in conducting local CDB Finalist interviews and helping organize our schedule that extends from June- August when we have the heady experience of meeting a group of awesome and awe-inspiring CDB Finalists and parents from coast to coast. The end of the summer brings the selection of that year’s CDB class.

Mallory and I function as connectors throughout the work we do during the year. We help new Scholars connect with high school Scholars when they visit new schools that have current CDB Scholars in attendance; we connect CDB alumni and parents with current CDB Scholars looking for potential mentors or having questions to ask of fellow community members regarding their careers, current occupations or life out in the “real world.” We connect organizations interested in the work we do with IEA programs and initiatives as well as attend local and national conferences and conduct webinars and monthly gifted support group meetings on site to inform interested people in what CDB and IEA are about.

It is impossible to fall through the cracks, so to speak, as a CDB Scholar. Mallory and I simply won’t let that happen. We work very hard to develop ongoing trust-based relationships with all of our Scholars and communicate regularly with them as additional support systems or advocates when it comes to any issue they might be facing at school—with their classes, teachers, peers– or as they navigate finding balance in their often very fully scheduled lives. We work to impart life lessons to the CDB community about being proactive when it comes to their own educational paths, seeking guidance and assistance from teachers and mentors when/as needed and strive to help them develop strategies and skills to alleviate the stresses, anxieties and expectations inherent in being teenagers in general and being at competitive academic environments in particular.

So going back to the first paragraph of this attempt to de-mystify CDB, Mallory and my day always encompasses reading and responding to MANY emails from our Scholars, their parents, admissions officers at the high schools we work with as well as introducing new schools to the CDB program and Scholars. We attend regular weekly meetings that are part of IEA as well as appointments outside the office or with visitors by people interested in learning more about CDB who are visiting SoCal and stop by our office in Pasadena, CA. We spend time daily checking in with each other as collaborators in working with an incredibly diverse population of students in how best to support and assist them in areas as varied as course selection to confidence building when it comes to trying new activities or accelerated classes outside familiar comfort zones. We are ever-present cheerleaders, confidence builders and at times deliverers of wakeup calls when needed to help motivate Scholars to get back on track should their grades slip. CDB is a merit-based scholarship program with contractual guidelines that are monitored and enforced. That said, our motivation as the officers of the CDB program is to always work with our Scholars to enable them to be the prime movers on their own academic journeys, accounting for ups and downs as they occur. With many of our students who always expect super-human results from every test and each class grade and teacher comment, we work to “humanize” sometimes unrealistic goals and perfectionistic tendencies that can trip up even the most accomplished, high achievers among our cohort.

It is a tremendous pleasure and privilege to get to know and work with the CDB Scholar community and watch these young people develop their full potentials from the “newbies” we meet as middle schoolers, through high school, college and beyond. With nine classes of CDB college graduates since the program’s inception in 2002, we now have CDB alums who are married, have their own future CDB Scholars and are well into their adult lives. It’s not many jobs or careers that afford its staff the incredible opportunity to change someone’s life for the better and to experience tremendous appreciation and gratitude for the largesse of all that the CDB Scholarship offers and the work we do in support of this program and these fabulous young people . I feel truly blessed to experience these rewards on an almost daily basis through my colleagues at IEA and the CDB community at large. Perhaps I don’t skip into work every day, but I am so grateful for the work I get to do and the people I do it with.

Click here to learn more or to apply for the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship!

1. Write a poem or story about science.

Get writing! Tell a story about your favorite scientist as dramatically as you can, write poetry about a cool science fact, or describe a feat of engineering using your most vivid vocabulary.

2. Teach your family about something you love.

The best way to learn something deeply is to teach it. Turn your family members into your students and tell them all about something you’ve learned recently whether it’s how to build the best paper airplane or how a chemical reaction works.

3. Create nature art.

Make a leaf rubbing, stick sculpture, or tower of balanced pebbles to integrate both sides of your brain.

4. Invent something to solve a problem.

What’s something you wish were easier? Design something to meet a need, starting with a blueprint and working toward a prototype.

5. Test your brain with riddles.

Find challenging riddles on Ted-Ed or elsewhere, then attempt to solve them with your family.

6. Head to the library.

Ask a librarian to help you find books about STEAM at your reading level. Reading is a wonderful way to find a new interest!

7. Ask questions.

STEAM is all about asking creative questions and trying to find answers. Observe the world around you and keep a list of questions you come up with throughout the day: How do stoplights work? Why do some trees lose their leaves and not others? Then work with an adult to find the answers.

8. Build something using recycled materials.

Gather items you normally would have thrown away – packaging, receipts, dried-out pen, etc. – and see what you can build out of the items!

9. Interview a scientist.

If you were a scientist, what kind of scientist would you be? Research to find someone who has your dream job, then write them a letter or email asking them about their work and how they got to be where they are.

10. See what IEA offerings are coming up!

If you’re local to the Pasadena area, check out our upcoming LABS workshops (7^th-10^th grade), check back for the Spring schedule of Academy classes (K-8^th grade) in a couple of weeks or mark your calendars for when the EXPLORE (10^th-12^th grade) externship program application goes live!

Celebrating a different way? Comment below!

In celebration of National Volunteer Week, we wanted to highlight a particular volunteer who has been a great help to us. Janet has been coming into the office twice a week since January. She supports IEA with everything from organization to developing teacher resource materials for our Academy program. We are incredibly grateful for the work that she does.

Here is a little about Janet:

1. Where are you from?

I am originally from California, but lived in Minnesota for seven years, and recently moved back to this warm sunny state (happily escaping the long cold winters!).

2. Describe your experience with education?

My journey in Education began when I was bitten by the travel bug after participating in Youth for Understanding for a summer during high school. That experience influenced my decision to pursue a degree in TESOL and I was lucky to have briefly taught abroad many years ago. I have always had a passion for the education field and how the brain develops, learns, and achieves creative feats. While in Minnesota, I worked with ESL and Early Education teachers as a trainer, and coach/consultant. These experiences changed my career direction towards Instructional Design.

3. Why do choose to volunteer with gifted kids?

My interest in gifted education began when I did my student teaching in a  5th/6th grade G.A.T.E. classroom. I enjoyed the depth, complexity, and exchange of knowledge that can be shared with the students.  I choose to volunteer because I believe in making a difference in this world. I feel that one way I can contribute positively is by sharing my knowledge and experiences, and by helping children reach their full potential so they too can make a positive impact on society.

4. What do you like to do for fun?

On my spare time I like to read, write poetry, Zumba, and explore other cultures.

In the words of Program Coordinator, Alexis Hopper: “Thank you for contributing your time, experience, skill and passion to IEA Academy, Janet! Your work to support our students, teachers, and staff has made an impact that is truly appreciated. Thank you for being a part of our team!”

Bonnie is the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Program Coordinator at IEA and has extensive experience working with gifted middle school students to find the high school that best fits their individual intellectual and personal needs.

When applying to competitive, selective independent schools, many things count, including grades, test scores, extracurricular activities and the interview. Here is a basic list that will help students and parents get through this important part of the admissions process and allow the applicant to show yourself as the accomplished, unique person you are:

Student Applicants

Don’t panic! If it’s difficult or impossible for you to relax, think of the interview as a friendly get-to-know-you conversation and an opportunity for you to learn more about a prospective school as well as the interviewer to learn about you off paper as a multi-dimensional person.

If possible, try to secure an interview in the morning, when both you and your interviewer will be fresh. You want to look and be awake and attentive. Get plenty of sleep the night before and eat a nutritious breakfast.

Dress according to, but slightly nicer than, the school’s dress code. No jeans. Girls, if you tend to play with your hair when you’re nervous, tie it up and secure bangs out of your face. Guys, brush your hair.

Don’t slouch. Always sit with your legs together.

When you meet the interviewer, give a firm handshake, smile, look him or her in the eye and clearly enunciate your first and last name.

Two important elements to bring to a school interview are honesty and curiosity. If a tour of the school precedes or follows the interview, listen attentively and ask questions. It will make you appear more interested in the school and gives you a chance to listen instead of talking. If you’re someone who, when nervous, can’t always think on the spot, make a list of questions ahead of time after you’ve researched the school on its website.

Be original in your answers and be yourself! Honesty, remember? Never try to present yourself as someone you think the interviewer “wants” to see.

Do not mention repeatedly that this school is your number-one-top-choice unless it absolutely is. Even then, don’t go overboard, as it may appear ingenuous to the interviewer.

Always remember to appear cheerful. Don’t mumble or look bored. Keep eye contact.

If your parents are part of the interview, look at them when they talk and don’t look annoyed or embarrassed by their remarks. It makes a very bad impression if you don’t seem to get along with your parents.

When the interview is over, shake the interviewer’s hand and say, “Thank you for your time.” If offered the interviewer’s card, accept it graciously. Say goodbye and thank you to the receptionist if he or she is on your way out.

Write a nice thank you note. It should be brief but express an aspect of the interview that was personal to you. In other words, not a generic thank you. For example, if the interviewer addressed your love of art, mention that in your note. If you liked a particular building’s architecture, note that.

Do not, under any circumstances: slouch, wave to people you know who might pass by, stare off into space, interrupt or talk about any other school.

Parents

In preparing your son or daughter for a school interview, it is a good idea to explicitly discuss what the expectations are with them. This conversation should include the etiquette of an interview such as greeting, leave-taking with thanks, shaking hands and appropriate dress, which will depend on the school’s style.

If it’s likely that your child will be asked questions directly, you may wish to practice, but not to the extent that your child’s responses come off as rehearsed or canned. This is about making your child feel comfortable and prepared—not robotic.

Do not over-emphasize the importance of the interview so that your nerves become transmitted to your child.

Commonly Asked Interview Questions

• Describe yourself or Tell me about yourself. This is a great way to segue into your interests, which should be an area you are comfortable talking about.
• What appeals to you about this school? Why do you want to enroll here?
• What extracurricular activities are you interested in?
• Why should we select you?
• What do you do in your spare time?
• How will you benefit from attending this school?
• Describe your family.
• Do you have any questions about this school?

Above all, everyone involved in the interview process should remember to be relaxed, genuine, and honest. This is one aspect of a multi-tiered application process to help determine if the applicant and the school are the right fit for each other, not the be all and end all towards the holy grail of school admission.

Have you or your kids participated in independent school interviews? What tips do you have for other applicants and parents preparing for them? Please share in the comment section below.

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