Selam y'all!

It has been brought to our attention that many schools don't provide students with school ID's. If you're in that category, make sure to register for the upcoming session at St. Joseph before Friday 8pm (mishit 2 se'at) so that we have a list in handy to check off and let in students.

Also, for everyone who plans to attend the Saturday session but has not registered yet, this is a reminder to complete your registration by the same deadline on Friday.

You will find the registration link on the previous message.

Cheers!

Hello all,

A few announcements: For those of you who have registered for tomorrow's session, we look forward to seeing you at St. Joseph School. The workshop will begin at 9am (ከጠዋቱ 3 ሰአት) and will go on until 2pm (ከከሰአት 8 ሰአት) with a 30 minute break in between. Show up on time so that you don’t miss out on anything. We will also send out some important materials after the workshop through the email you used to sign up so keep an eye out for that.

Students who have not registered for the session cannot enter the premises of the school. Therefore, to avoid any complications, if you haven’t registered, please don’t show up tomorrow and ask to be let in. We have two more sessions coming up in the next two weeks so you can register for one of those.

መልካም ቀን!

Hello all, quick reminder that registration for the session at Nazareth School this Saturday ends at 8pm today.

Looking forward to seeing everyone who registered for tomorrow's session at Nazareth School. The workshop will begin at 9am (ከጠዋቱ 3 ሰአት) and will go on until 2pm (ከከሰአት 8 ሰአት) with a 30 minute break in between. Show up on time so that you don’t miss out on anything. We will also send out some important materials after the workshop through the email you used to sign up so keep an eye out for that.

Students who have not registered for the session cannot enter the premises of the school. Therefore, to avoid any complications, if you haven’t registered, please don’t show up tomorrow and ask to be let in. We have one more session coming up next week so you can register for that one.

Cheers!

Hello all,

Due to mock exams, and hence, unavailability of instructors, we are sorry to announce the third and last session that was planned to take place this Saturday (March 23) at Cathedral has been POSTPONED. Therefore, there will be NO SESSION THIS SATURDAY. We haven't set a date for the rescheduled session but we will make the announcement here once we decide on a date. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience and we will make sure to settle things as soon as possible and bring you a great final session.

All the best,
The CTP Team

Hello everyone,

This is a final reminder that the session that was scheduled for tomorrow (March 23) has been postponed. We will announce the alternate date here in the next few days. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Have a great weekend!

Hey guys, this week’s tip is on dealing with rejection and failure. It’s a bit long so please bear with us.

We’ve all failed at something at least once in our lives. And if you haven’t yet … you will. I personally have feared failure since I can remember, all the way back to kindergarten. I lived my entire life doing as much as I could to avoid failure. Why did I fear failure so much? Well I thought it confirmed all the worst things I thought about myself and exposed them to the world. I thought each failure would close a door until I was left with no options and no one to blame but myself. So you can imagine how terrible my college application experience was. I blamed myself for each rejection and was filled with regret. Maybe I should’ve spent more time on the essay, maybe I should’ve worked harder in high school, or maybe I should’ve read more books as a kid. Whatever reason I came up with, I thought it had ruined my life forever - I mean, how will I ever find the time to read all those books I should’ve read as a kid? I wish I could tell you I realized how silly this mentality was soon enough. But no, I took acceptances I got as indicating luck, you know … as much as rejections surely indicated incompetence, and went to college set on doing everything right and not giving myself anything to regret. I’m now in my junior year of college and I can tell you that that didn’t go so well. But after multiple sessions feeling sorry for myself and crying it out, I’ve learned lessons that I think are important for you guys to hear.

The best lesson I’ve learned is to NOT TAKE FAILURE OR REJECTION PERSONALLY. And this is especially important to keep in mind when you guys hear back from the colleges you applied to. As much hard work as it needs, getting in to a college also needs a fair amount of luck. Getting rejected from a college doesn’t mean the end of the world nor does it mean you are any less than your peers. The best thing you can do is take it for what it is - a story, a lesson, motivation. Roadblocks only make your final destination all the more sweeter.

Lesson 2 - Relax, have a little faith, everything is happening the way it should. It’s when you face these roadblocks that you are able to see the many paths you could take that lead you down an unexpected and beautiful journey. Imagine staying in Ethiopia … did you know that the location of the 2020 INTERNATIONAL Conference on Learning Representations(an artificial intelligence conference) is our very own Addis Ababa? Yeah guys, amazing things are happening in our country right now and not just in fields like Artificial Intelligence but numerous other fields as well. Staying in Ethiopia might actually open up more opportunities for you. Another option, if you can afford it, is community college. Community college is a great way to experience small classroom settings where you can get the attention that’ll allow you to prosper. And when the time comes you’ll be ready to transfer to the college of your choice. All I’m saying is, trust your struggles (I took this from a TED talk :-)).

This isn’t to say that you should give up on studying abroad, which brings me to lesson 3 - IT’S NOT TOO LATE. Take gap years for example, many of us don’t know who we are or what we want when we go to college and gap years are a great way to change that. And you know what happens when you know what you want … amazing things. Not only only will you be more effective and successful in achieving your goals moving forward, other people (aka admissions officers) will easily be able to see your passion and your application will stand out. How could it not with all those amazing things you could do when you have an entire year. Believe me, gap years are your chance to do something that’ll impress the hell out of admissions officers.

Selam!
Trying to decide between two (or more) colleges is a good problem to have. It means you have options, and you probably have a couple of good ones. If you’re excited by more than one of the possibilities within your reach, if you have to decide between two colleges, making your final decision can be difficult. In fact, the days leading up to May 1,Decision Day, may be filled with dread, second-guessing, and nervousness. This week we picked up some tricks for students who find themselves in this situation.

The first and most important thing you would want to do is to compare your financial aid packages. in fact, it’s so important that it may make the decision for you. While comparing packages keep your eye out for your total family contribution. That’s the amount you’ll have to pay out of pocket.The bottom line is that if School A is offering to meet 100% of your financial need and School B is only meeting a small part of it, it’s usually a good idea to steer yourself toward School A. A college’s commitment to meeting most or all of their students’ financial need also means a commitment to serving a student body that is socioeconomically diverse.

Next you should get in touch with your prospective department. If you have already developed a specific academic interest, compare the departments of the two schools. If your potential major is in the sciences, look at the labs, research opportunities, and faculty. If your interests lie in the humanities, what are the department’s resources like? Get in touch with the professors of that specific department or even students you might know. Make a list of questions before you email, but be sure to ask that student about his or her personal experiences, too.

you’re likely making a decision not just about where you want to study but also where you want to live. So, unless both schools you love are located in the same neighborhood, look at the big picture. Sure, you’ll want to see what their campuses are like, but take time to investigate the towns in which they are located, too. Is the neighborhood walkable? What’s the crime rate? Are the living expenses affordable in that location? You’ll likely live in this town for four years, so be sure you can make the most of its location.

If your decision is this hard, it probably means you’ve received two wonderful offers. By all means, make an effort to visualize yourself at each, to explore the differences between the two schools, but the truth is, if you think both offers are amazing, they probably are. You’ll likely find happiness at either school. Go with your gut.

Hello everyone,
So, you’ve gotten your acceptance letters, and maybe by this point, you’ve already decided which school you’re going to commit to. (If you haven’t that’s perfectly fine too; take a look at last week’s tip for some advice.) Now what? If you’re going to college for the Fall 2019 semester, you still have a few months between now and then. To some of you, this might either seem like a really long wait or it might seem too close for comfort. Both reactions are completely understandable and very valid. But while dealing with those emotions and coming to terms with them, there are some steps you have to take between now and then to make sure your transition is as smooth as possible. First and foremost, if you’re still a senior in high school, you still have that to finish. Remember, just because you’ve gotten an acceptance doesn’t mean your admission is guaranteed. Most schools still ask for a final transcript and do look it over. So, a major drop in grades or a possible disciplinary action could affect your school’s decision. You’ve made it this far and even though senioritis is very real, don’t risk your future by completely disregarding school for the last few months. You’ve worked too hard for that. You also have your final national examinations, and though it might seem irrelevant to some at this point. It’s still important that you try your best. Your school might or might not ask for those grades (depending on where you applied) and even if they didn’t, it’s the culmination of all your education up to this point so a good grade wouldn’t hurt. It’d also make you and your parents proud. And one thing that you might take into consideration is that just in case something happens between now and enrollment, you still want to make sure you do well. In the hopefully unlikely chance that everything doesn’t work out, you can still enroll in top universities back home. And one more thing, as to your last few months in high school. Have fun!! Hang out with your friends, converse with your classmates and faculty. Make the most out of your last few months. They can be very bittersweet so make sure you make some memories. As unbelievable as it might seem, you’re going to miss some of it.

Next, make sure you’ve submitted everything for your applications. Some schools might ask for further documents for financial aid or ask you for documentation regarding vaccines and medical records. The earlier you get those out of the way, the more time you have to enjoy your summer.

And make sure to get started on arranging for your visa documents as early as possible. If you’re going to be on a student visa, make sure you’ve submitted everything that you need for your I-20 and get started on your visa application. There are multiple forms to fill out and most likely an interview to go through before getting that final stamp on your passport. Prep for your interview and make sure you have everything ready and you’ll be fine. Again, the sooner you get this out of the way, the less you have to worry about.

Selam everyone,

The third and last CTP Spring Workshop will take place tomorrow from 9am to 2pm (ጠዋት 3ሰአት - ከሰአት 8ሰአት) at Lideta Catholic Cathedral School (ካቴድራል ት/ቤት) in Piassa. We look forward to seeing everyone who registered for the session at 9am tomorrow.

Cheers!

Hello Everyone,

The CTP team would like to wish all of you who are the taking the SAT tomorrow all the very best! Make sure to check out the link below for tips on what to do before and on the test date.

Good luck!!

Hello all,

The application for the summer session is now live! We recommend that you take your time responding to the essay questions because they are one of the main criterias we use for the acceptance decision. The deadline for submission is June 2nd. Before completing the application, read through the document attached below to understand what the summer session is all about and to see details about the three sections we offer.

Best of luck!
The CTP Team