College Prep

What Gen Z Needs is What SuperCamp Offers!

University presidents agree: what Gen Z students need is what SuperCamp offers and has taught students for more than 35 years—“how to learn throughout their lifetimes.”   Middle school and high school students, also known as Gen Zs, are significantly different from millennials and face very unique challenges in school as well as later when they […]

summer activities for high school students

15 Great Summer Activities for High School Students

While many students think that their summer break is never long enough, in truth, there’s actually enough time to fit in three important elements: fun, growth and relaxation. With summer already underway, we thought we would share our suggestions on summer activities in each of these three areas.   Fun Activities We don’t think students […]

What College Prep Really Means

With the recent addition of a College Prep category within our blog and a number of posts already written on the topic of college prep, we thought it would be useful to share our definition of college prep. One of the most important things to understand when considering how to define college prep is that […]

What College Admissions Officers Look For in Students’ Community Service Work

SuperCamp helps high school students and middle school students gain the skills to prepare for success in their volunteer and community service work that college admissions officers look for in college applications.   First, let’s clear up one popular myth that exists regarding students’ community service commitment. There isn’t a direct correlation between the number […]

College-bound students need good character for college admission

Character a Priority in Colleges’ Admission Decisions

A newly-released survey conducted by the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), in which members were asked what criteria they find are most important in colleges’ admission decisions, revealed that “a demonstration of character and values” is now in the top 10 criteria.   The IECA points out that character, as a discreet factor, had largely […]

Much of what has been written about soft skills, also known as transferable skills and 21st-Century skills, focuses on their importance in the workplace. There is no doubt that tomorrow’s workforce needs these soft skills in order to survive and thrive. We’ve written about it in our blog. But the reality is that students will begin to benefit from acquiring soft skills while they’re still in school, particularly once they reach college. It begins in college with motivation and commitment—having a positive attitude and working hard in each of their classes to succeed. Being determined and having the self-discipline without a parent looking over your shoulder to see if you’re doing your homework and studying for tests and exams. Attending class on a regular basis is another aspect of this soft skill. A related soft skill is being enthused about their education and having ambition. This includes showing engagement in the classroom through participation in group discussions and asking questions of the professor. It also is seen in college students who understand that success in college is more about what you learn and how you can apply what you learn than it is about obtaining a piece of paper on graduation day. Similarly, being goal-oriented in college is a soft skill that drives one’s results and ultimate productivity, just as it does after college, in a career. Developing and fully utilizing a particular talent or talents in college can be considered a soft skill. A talent does not necessarily have to be some exceptional trait or ability; it’s as simple as having and applying such learning skills as writing, listening, note taking, time management and studying. Effective organization and preparation are soft skills often absent in your average college student. Clearly, these soft skills align closely with several other soft skills, notably motivation, commitment, enthusiasm and ambition. Strong interpersonal skills are a key to college success in most academic areas and an indicator of future success. The more one can hone these skills in college by being personable, friendly, tactful, and a solutions- and resolution-seeker, the better equipped they will be as they embark on their career. Thinking, in and of itself, is a soft skill. Everyone thinks, so how can that be a skill, you may ask. But there is a skill to thinking—applying past learning to current situations, thinking critically to solve problems, analyzing and evaluating information. A college student exhibiting these soft skills has a much greater chance of being successful in their post-secondary academic life. But students who head off to college don’t miraculously acquire these skills on the first day of class. They have to learn them in their high school and even in their middle school years. They also have to use them and ingrain them, particularly in high school, so that when they begin college, these soft skills have become part of their DNA. For the most part, however, these transferable or soft skills aren’t taught or nurtured within schools. One exception is schools that have embraced Quantum Learning methods. Development of a student’s soft skills is a core aspect of the learning and life skills training in QL schools. But, for most middle school and high school students, they have to look elsewhere to learn these soft skills. Enter SuperCamp, which delivers Quantum Learning training to all students enrolled in our summer academic programs. Every one of the soft skills outlined above is covered directly or indirectly at SuperCamp. The indirect aspect of the learning comes from building students’ confidence and motivation, which in turn, strengthens their commitment to succeed and focuses their goal-setting and their ambition to achieve those goals. The thinking, studying, reading, writing, note-taking, test-taking and interpersonal/communication skills comprise the majority of the SuperCamp curriculum. Students graduate from SuperCamp with a thorough understanding of these skills and, through practice and year-long follow-up from SuperCamp, they further ingrain these skills. By the time a SuperCamp grad heads to college they have the soft skills that will set them up for success.

How Soft Skills Contribute to Career and Academic Success

Much of what has been written about soft skills, also known as transferable skills and 21st-Century skills, focuses on their importance in the workplace. There is no doubt that tomorrow’s workforce needs these soft skills in order to survive and thrive. We’ve written about it in our blog.   But the reality is that students […]

Students attend academic achievement camp

In Pursuit of Academic Achievement

Over the years, SuperCamp has been labeled an academic summer camp, a learning and life skills camp, a summer enrichment camp, a college prep camp and a student empowerment camp—some labels coming from us and some from others. As they say, it’s all good—because we are all of these things … and more.   In […]

College Prep Programs for College Success

A College Prep Program Progression Just like students who wait until the last minute to cram for an exam, many parents don’t focus on college prep summer programs until it’s quite late in the game. Most high school college prep programs are geared to high school seniors and juniors. Some ACT and SAT prep courses […]

Preparing Students for College and 21st-Century Success

Studies abound with statistics reporting the growing number of students who begin their college careers grossly unprepared for college-level work. The cost to the colleges and the students is significant, as the schools are forced to establish remedial courses and the students are forced to come up with additional tuition to pay for these courses. […]

Why Your Child Needs More than Prep Classes for Good SAT and ACT Test Scores

  I always get the gardening bug in February. It hits like clockwork every year. We enjoy a week or two of spring-like weather here in Southern California, and I find myself irresistibly drawn to the local nursery. This year went down like every other—at the nursery, I piled a wheelbarrow full of bulbs, mint, […]

Quantum Academy: The Secret to Success for College Prep

Quantum Academy’s college prep accelerated learning techniques are helping college students compete in today’s workforce. Limited seats still available for a short time. In this fiercely competitive job market, college students must prepare every way possible to enter the workforce, starting with a successful and timely college degree. College students today must make the most […]