Early Action Could Aid in Admission, Report Finds

With November 1 just a few days away, we’re very busy helping our clients meet Early Application deadlines. However, despite evidence that it might be easier to be admitted in this round of decisions, the choice to apply early isn’t that simple. First, it can be argued that those students who submit early apps are some of the strongests candidates because they dont’ need grades from fall and winter terms to ... more >>

Building a Better College List

Ideas for our monthly columns come from many different places, but after the umpteenth conversation with my colleague, Tim, about people’s misguided notions that we can “just make a college list”, I decided to write about the considerations that we put in to each of the college lists we create for our clients. In truth, we never get “the list” right on the first try and, in fact, we don’t try do. Figuring out which ... more >>

Research Suggests a 'Gap Year' Motivates Students

We are finding that the college seniors we work with are increasingly interested in taking a gap year before they go off to college. Recognizing either that they really aren’t ready to take full advantage of their college experience or that this is a once in lifetime opportunity not to be missed, they are exploring possibilities from traveling around the country to volunteering abroad to working at the local pizza shop to save ... more >>

Does being "President of the Lady Gaga Fan Club" belong on your college resume?

High school students are encouraged to join clubs, take on leadership roles, be involved in community service – not just because these are wonderful opportunities for growth, but because they “look good” on the college resume. But where to draw to draw the line between a real experience and a whimsical hobby? If it is something the student is genuinely committed to, has been involved ... more >>

10 Steps to Writing Your Best Personal Statement

The Personal Statement demands a lot of the college applicant – to present themselves fairly but favorably, to articulate to those things that inspire them, to capture their character and personality, and to do it all in 500 carefully chosen words. No wonder so many find this to be a painful exercise. But with enough time, introspection, and careful editing, students sometimes learn as much about themselves as the reader does.

Pulling an all-nighter for the college application

Our goal for many of our college clients is for them to have most of their common application completed by the end of the summer. In July and August rising seniors have more time and fewer distractions so they can fully focus on completing the common app, and completing it well. The Fall is can be a very busy time and students should be focusing their energies on their classwork as this ... more >>

Drexel U. Brings On a New Wave of Applicants

Over the next few months, select high school seniors will be recieving “V.I.P. Applications” from colleges encouraging them, through a simplified process, to apply to their institutions. Colleges send out V.I.P applications to those students whose SAT scores fall within a certain range as a way of increasing their applicant pool as well as intentionally raising the average SAT scores of their applicants. Both these moves make colleges appear more selective. ... more >>

Admissions office probes applicants\' scary depths

It turns out that it’s not just me who thinks that sometimes seniors’ final choice of college is – let’s just say it – whimsical. After a year of visiting, touring, researching, discussing, and agonizing you’d expect a thoughtful, well-reasoned decision when the final college choice is made, but often when I ask them to explain why they made their choice, the reply is simply, “It just felt right.”

It turns out that, when making ... more >>

10 Tips About College Major

When we get to the question on the Common Application that asks students what their intended course of study is, more often than not they look at me blankly, with no idea how to answer. And that is probably exactly how it should be. With so many fields of study from which to choose, many of which they’ve had no exposure to, how can a typical 18 year old really know what they want ... more >>

A new set of rankings for colleges has just been have released. Payscale has compared the return on investment (ROI) for over 800 colleges and has posted the study on their website Average-cost-for-college-ROI. . With the high cost attending private colleges families are clearly questioning whether it’s worth the investment. We are certianly hearing that more and more in our offices and understand as well as appreciate the appropriateness of the question. While useful as one of the factors in ... more >>