Category Archives: admissions

admissions, college costs, college guidance, college planning, financial aid, parenting

Weighing Your College Options

college options

It’s that time of year when seniors will be weighing their college options. Choices will be made as parents and students evaluate colleges who offered admission.

The long wait is over and it’s time to make a decision. Which college will your student attend? This decision feels like the most important decision in his life up to this point and will weigh heavily on his mind and yours over the next month.

Before your teen makes the decision, however, you should weigh your college options. You would never purchase a home without determining its value, its fit for your family, or even its location. This college decision should be approached in the same manner. And to complicate matters, the decision has to be made in a timely manner—the National Candidate’s Reply Date is May 1st.

If your student didn’t get an offer of admission from his first or even second choice college, or he is accepted without enough financial aid, it’s time to re-evaluate the colleges on his list. Your teen should take a closer look at those schools on the list that weren’t on top. If he did his homework before applying, these schools should be more than sloppy seconds.

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admissions, standardized tests, test optional, test prep

Test Optional–What You Need to Know

test optional

Does your student want to avoid taking a standardized test? Do they bomb them every time they take them? Are you hesitant to pay for a test prep tutor? Good news. There are hundreds of schools, large and small, who will use the SAT or ACT for placement only or other minimal requirements.

Due to the 2020 pandemic, most colleges became test-optional because students were unable to take standardized tests. Rumors abound that this will have a future impact on the value colleges place on standardized tests or eliminating the test requirement altogether.

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admissions, financial aid, financial planning

5 Lessons We Learned From an Award Letter

award letter

After my daughter applied to colleges, we waited with anticipation to receive those offers of admission. But just as important, was the financial aid award letter. That letter could mean the difference between attending a college, deciding to incur debt, or attending a less expensive college.

When the letter finally began to trickle in, I realized that choosing the colleges to apply to was only the beginning of some very tough decisions. We learned some lessons along the way.

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admissions, SAT, test prep

The New Digital SAT

digital sat

Moving into the digital age, the College Board has made the move to provide students with a new digital SAT and PSAT.

The College Board is trying to retool the exam that has stressed out millions of students in the face of questions about whether college admissions tests are fair, or even necessary.

A growing number of colleges have eliminated the requirement that applicants submit scores from the SAT or the competing ACT, and the trend of “test-optional” admissions accelerated greatly during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1,800 schools did not require standardized test scores for 2022 admissions, according to the nonprofit organization FairTest.The number of SAT test takers declined from 2.2 million high schoolers who graduated in 2020 to 1.5 million in the class of 2021, according to the College Board. About 1.7 million students in the class of 2022 have taken the test to date.

Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of college readiness assessments for the College Board, said the changes would make the test more relevant.

“In a largely test-optional world, the SAT is a lower-stakes test in college admissions,” Ms. Rodriguez said in a statement. “Submitting a score is optional for every type of college, and we want the SAT to be the best possible option for students.”

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admissions, financial aid

What is a Financial Aid Appeal?

appeal

Just like any other large consumer purchase, college tuition prices are negotiable. The sticker price you see is very rarely the price you pay. Data collected by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) revealed that colleges discounted tuition for the 2018–19 school year by over 50 percent.This year, because of the pandemic, you can anticipate that many (but not all) colleges will be even more flexible in order to lure students due to low application numbers based on the fact that families are struggling financially.

When you appeal your financial aid award, you are simply asking for more money. Don’t be afraid to do this; the college will not be offended or react by rescinding their offer of admission. They may say no, but it does not hurt to ask. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by appealing your award.

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admissions, college planning, college prep, college visits

Moving Beyond the College Visit

COLLEGE VISIT

Believe it or not, colleges want to know you are interested in attending and many students simply stop with the college visit. This interest will influence their offers of admission. If they give you a coveted “accepted” slot, it only makes sense that those slots will go to the students who demonstrate interest. They are selling a service and they want interested customers, not casual shoppers. You can find out how much weight a college puts on “demonstrated interest” by researching the college’s statistics on College Navigator.

The college visit is a great place to start: taking the student-led tour and connecting with other students on campus. But if the college truly interests you, you should take that college visit a step further by considering these additional campus experiences.

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admissions, college guidance, college planning, social networks

Connecting With Colleges on Social Media

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social media

Data from the National Association for College Admission Counseling show there is a powerful tool students can use to improve their admission chances: demonstrated interest. How can social media play a part?

Social media makes it easier than ever to connect with colleges and their representatives. You can follow them on Twitter, friend them on Facebook, connect with them on LinkedIn, and follow their Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Demonstrate genuine interest and contribute to the conversations; but don’t flood their accounts with replies and questions. In this case, less is more.

When application decision time rolls around you should have established yourself as an interested candidate. College admissions officers should be able to look at their records and see that you demonstrated interest. Some will remember your face, look back on your interview and be able to recall any conversations they had with you during the admissions process. You will trump anyone who hasn’t expressed interest and was simply a casual shopper.

Here’s how you can leverage specific social media accounts and use them to communicate with colleges:

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admissions, college guidance, college planning

Evaluating Admission Decisions

admission decisions

It’s that time of year. Students who applied ED and EA have already heard from the colleges regarding their admission decisions. Students who are applying regular decision will be sending off those applications this month and hearing early in the spring. What happens next?

Colleges will provide your student with one of four responses: offered admission, wait-listed, deferred, or not offered admission. Today, students hear as the notices are posted online. The days of waiting for the letter are over. We live in an instant gratification world. You can expect, however, for your student to be hitting that computer refresh button on the day notices are posted!

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admissions, Demonstrated Interest

How Do You Impress a College?

college

The impression a college gets of your student will affect their admission decision. Dressing for success is so much more than the clothes your student wears to a college interview. It’s how your student presents himself to the colleges and what image they see of him as they look at the overall picture.

How do you impress a college? It’s a combination of showing interest, marketing yourself and making a positive impression on social media.

Show interest

Colleges want to know you are interested in attending. They don’t want to be just another name on your college list. They want to know that if you apply, and are offered admission, there is a good chance you will accept and attend. You can show interest by taking an official campus tour, connecting on social media, and meeting with an admissions officer for an interview. Colleges keep track of how many times you have showed interest.

Want to know how much emphasis a colleges places on your demonstrated interest? Check out this list from College Curators: https://thecollegecurators.com/list-of-colleges-that-consider-demonstrated-interest/

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admissions, college planning, college prep

Admissions Expert Sheds Light on What it Takes to Get Into College

admissions

From Ivy League admissions expert Dr. Aviva Legatt comes an insider’s college admissions guide that teaches students to identify and harness their authentic passions, stand out from the crowd, and achieve their dreams in college and beyond, “Get Real and Get In”

“Get Real and Get In” teaches readers to think outside of the box and focus on what admissions officers are really looking for—young people who dare to be their most authentic selves. Through engaging, accessible, and empathetic prose, this book forms an inspirational roadmap for readers to uncover their true passions and leverage them to create applications that truly stand out from the crowd. Aviva encourages students to look beyond just getting into a “good” college and focus more actively on identifying and attaining their long-term goals.

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