As the college application cycle for this year’s seniors is in full swing, I decided to survey a few parents of college-bound high school seniors to see if they had any admissions tips or just thoughts on the admissions process that they would like to share. And they sure did! You will see that a…
By now, teens and their parents have all gotten the message that colleges like to see community service on students’ college applications. In fact, in some cases, not having any high school community service on their resumé can hurt students’ chances of being admitted. So, knowing that community service in high school can make a…
Both the Common Application and the Coalition Application are online college application platforms. The Coalition App is a relative newcomer, opening up for applications in Fall of 2016. In contrast, the Common App has been around since 1975 and has gone through numerous revisions since then. Let’s first talk about the similarities and differences in…
When it’s time to choose high school schedules, I get LOTS of questions about foreign language requirements for college admissions. If your student does not appreciate the importance of taking a high school foreign language when it comes time to apply to college, it’s time to make sure they understand it now! Here are my…
Okay, let me begin by saying that as I write this, I’m coming off of a tough weekend with my very own high school senior. And I recognize that “tough” is relative. It wasn’t tough because we were arguing about curfews or who he is hanging out with. It was tough because senioritis has sort…
I’ve heard students refer to their sophomore year of high school as being “the invisible year.” In some ways, they are correct. There is less excitement about this school year, as compared to their freshman year, when they were new to high school. And for the most part, during the sophomore year, they are also…
Hopefully, no matter how reluctant you feel about this upcoming milestone, you have begun taking a few steps. I’m an advocate of starting the process early to help alleviate as much of the stress as possible. Everyone hears the horror stories about the junior year of high school and certainly it is likely to…
The acceptance letters arriving in the mail or inbox are cause for celebration! But often, those acceptances bring some stress for students. Sometimes, students have sent in their applications six months (or more!) before receiving that acceptance. It may have been a year or more since they set foot on that campus. And in that…
There is no question about the importance of extracurricular activities when it is time to fill out college applications. But, there ARE lots of questions about how to handle extracurriculars on the college applications. Every student wants to appear accomplished and engaged. Some colleges would have students believe that most of their applicants have cured…
College entrance exams become a big topic when students enter high school. It used to be that students planning to apply to college took one of the two tests, either the ACT or the SAT, one time, and that was that. In some regions, students took the ACT and in others, students took the SAT. …