Colleges weigh many factors at admissions time. Learn about the diverse range of factors that they will consider from the rigor of the high school curriculum to community service to demonstrated interest. Discover which application platform is the best for your student to use at application time.
As admissions decisions have come in this year, like every year, families will try to figure out why one applicant got admitted and another did not. The perception is that there is indeed a college admissions competition among applicants. But applicants are usually not competing for admission against who they think they are competing against. …
It’s true. I have lost count of how many times I’ve been told that a student plans to major in “Pre-Med” or “Pre-Law.” And then they are shocked when I explain that at all but a few colleges, those majors don’t actually exist. They are actually pre-professional advising tracks. Other pre-professional advising tracks include things…
If your student is finishing up their college applications on the Common Application platform, congratulations! Before hitting “Submit,” your teen might want to review some of the most common, Common App mistakes to make sure their application is ready to go. And if your senior has not yet begun working on their applications, it might…
I’ve said before that not everyone needs to hire a college admissions consultant. I stand by that. The information you need to know is all out there (even on this website) for those families that want to save some money and are willing to do the work themselves. But sometimes, the challenge is actually that…
Colleges advise students to take a rigorous high school curriculum, but don’t always explain what that means. Here’s the scoop.
As early admission decisions begin to roll in this month, it’s a good time to review what happens next in the admissions process. The most important consideration for next steps is whether your student is receiving a positive Early Action decision, which is non-binding, or whether they are learning their Early Decision result, which comes…
Most families have never been asked to waive their FERPA rights for any reason throughout their children’s years of school. And then suddenly, college applications contain a FERPA waiver that asks students to specifically give up their right to see a piece of their college application – their teacher recommendations. It may seem alarming. The…
Does the major listed on college applications play a role in whether or not a student is accepted? If you answered, “yes,” you are correct! And too often, students don’t know that. Many teens are not sure what to list as a major. In fact, sometimes, they’re overwhelmed by the possibilities when they check out…
It’s fall of your teen’s senior year of high school. They are busy. They are stressed. They are up late at night doing homework and working on their college essays. As a parent, you want to help, but feel like there is not much you can do. So, to relieve some of the burden, maybe…
(And Other Super Selective Schools) Know that the information I’ll talk about in this article does not only apply to Ivy league colleges. It will be true for any college that accepts only a small percentage of applicants, Ivy or not. But, since the question in the title is, “What does it take to get…