You’ve surely seen the headlines as colleges announced that they are now test-optional for applicants. In fact, lately it seems as though a new college announces this policy is here to stay, every week. According to FairTest, there are now over 1,800 test optional colleges in the US. That means that the vast majority of…
I often write about factors that colleges consider as they make admissions decisions. There is one factor that gets very little attention – financial need. Did you know that there are “need-blind” colleges, as well as “need-aware” colleges? Unfortunately, this is an aspect of the college admissions process that students have very little control over….
The question in the title is one that many students don’t even know they should ask. And the answer is often, “No.” Sadly, students frequently don’t realize until late in high school that simply fulfilling the basic high school graduation requirements is often not going to be enough to get into the college of their…
So, you’ve decided it’s time to take the first steps in the college search process. Maybe you’ve even read the Best Books about College Admissions. But now what? The next step for most of us is to turn to the internet in search of some online resources for college admission and the process surrounding it….
When it’s time to apply to college, students generally understand the importance of their grade point average (GPA) and college admissions test scores in the process. But does their class rank in high school also matter? What is Class Rank? Before talking about how colleges may or may not use high school class rank as…
As Mother’s day approaches, high school graduation day for my youngest is not far behind. It has actually put me in a reflective mood. My own mom might tell you that’s uncharacteristic of me. But as we approach this latest milestone, I’ve been thinking about all the moms that helped bring us to this place. …
If you’re reading this, you likely already know that colleges care about more than test scores and GPAs when it’s application time. The admissions team wants to get a full picture of who the student really is before making an admissions decision. One way they try to get an idea of what a student is…
Do you know what a college admissions yield is? It is the thing that keeps admissions officers up at night, especially in the month leading to national decision day, on May 1st. While March drags for students as they await admissions decisions, April is the month that feels endless for admissions officers. That’s because the…
It’s estimated that about 8% of teens now deal with food allergies – that’s 1 in 13. And 40% of them are allergic to more than one food. Meanwhile, 1 in 10 adults has food allergies, with 25% of those developing their very first food allergy as an adult. That means that some teens that…
Senior year – the culmination of all the hard work your student has been doing to prepare for college. Application time is when all that they have been doing to prepare comes together. Ideally, you and your student have followed all of the advice about starting the college admissions process early. But if you haven’t,…