Visiting Ivy League Students — Presidio Education®

*Ryan Young, Harvard University Alumnus and Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, visiting the John Harvard statue at* *Harvard* *University. Presidio Education®, 2024.*

Accomplishing academic goals

All students have potential to succeed when they pour in genuine effort with academics. High school students especially must start high school with future goals in mind. They must envision where they might want to attend undergraduate school. Then, they must take productive, and consistent, steps to reach their goals. For example, if a younger high school student wants to get accepted into a particular undergraduate school, they should thoroughly evaluate what steps would be needed to gain acceptance. Perhaps that particular undergraduate school would value a certain grade point average (GPA), certain Advanced Placement (AP) scores for specific exams, or even a diverse range of extracurricular activities that emphasize leadership positions and volunteer service. Then, this particular high school student should take effective action to fulfill these expectations.

*Ryan Young, Harvard University Alumnus and Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, visiting Harvard Yard at* *Harvard University. Presidio Education®, 2024.*

Visiting Presidio Education® Alumni at Ivy Leagues

Visiting Presidio Education® alumni at Ivy League schools is quite wonderful. Seeing happy, and, of course, hard-working students attend their dream schools demonstrates that any student has the potential to succeed. But sacrifices and incredible drive are required. Unfortunately, many high school students desire to attend top colleges or universities but fail to put forth genuine time, effort and patience with obtaining their own lofty goals. All students must uphold realistic expectations at all times. Nothing comes easy. Only those that put in true effort will get accepted to the very best undergraduate schools.

*Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, visiting Presidio Education® Alumni at* *University of Pennsylvania. Presidio Education®, 2024.*

Watching former students succeed at higher institutions of learning is very rewarding. Listening to them talk about their next steps with graduate school or careers is also quite enjoyable. These students continue to strive hard in undergraduate school and think beyond the next several years after graduation. Their drive is evident. Their discipline is quite respectable.

*Ryan Young, Presidio Education® Founder & CEO, having dinner at Gutmann College House at* *University of Pennsylvania. The food was very tasty! Presidio Education®, 2024.*

Seeing the Big Picture

Oftentimes, planning future milestones can be difficult. Plans change. Ideas change. Goals change. But even though students may not exactly know what schools they may want to attend, or what careers they may be interested in, students must still prepare for great possibilities. Working hard and planning for contingencies are effective ways to build opportunities. Of course, students are free to change minds and pivot directions, but if they build strong academic foundations, they will have many options.

*Harvard Business School* at *Harvard University. Presidio Education®, 2024.*

Unfortunately, many students learn the hard way. They dream of high academic goals, but don’t work nearly as hard for their own dreams as they know they should. They waste precious time without building their future. Eventually, when these students realize that they never worked with realistic expectations, they feel regret and sadness. They will finally realize that their future options are limited because they didn’t put in the work. This is why students must remain determined, focused and realistic. Everyone is capable of success, but they can neither be scared nor lazy. They must build positive momentum with their academics and with their own mindset. In order to truly build character, students must be objective, reasonable, logical and open to critical feedback without becoming defensive. Working with respect, integrity and fairness will strengthen character and open many fantastic academic opportunities.

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Author: RYAN YOUNG

Ryan is the Head English Teacher at Presidio Education® and specializes in English language, literature, especially poetry, and writing. While Ryan is also trained with humanities, government and sustainability subject matter, he really enjoys training students for mock trials and debate. For U.S. Test Prep, such as the SSAT, PSAT, SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement (AP) tests and GRE, Ryan focuses on the applicable English and social science sections. As a former high school English teacher in California, United States, he now primarily teaches high school, undergraduate and graduate students. Ryan completed his undergraduate work in English with a minor in history, and completed his graduate work both in English and sustainability.