The Common Application platform for applying to college, has announced that they will be adding an optional question for students about COVID-19. Students are allowed to use 250 words to respond to this question: Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is…
While we are spending lots of time talking about the impact Covid-19 is having on high school seniors, we can’t forget about the juniors. There is no question that this situation is heartbreaking for seniors. But, while our seniors are missing their friends and major celebratory moments like their Homecoming dances, and senior banquets, juniors…
It’s nothing new for college students to study abroad. But, usually, American students only go for short terms, ranging from several weeks to a full semester. In fact, the number of students studying abroad for a year or less has been increasing rapidly – the number went up over 6%, to 341,751, in just two…
If you are like most people, your answer to the question in the title is “Not much” or even “Nothing.” But, your teen’s high school profile is a factor in college admissions, even if it isn’t often discussed. High school profiles give context to admissions departments when they are reviewing your child’s college applications. It…
Let’s face it – teenagers make mistakes for all kinds of reasons. Our best hope is that the mistakes they make won’t be life-changing ones. Sometimes, the mistake they make will result in disciplinary action from their high school. And usually, that means that it will wind up on their transcript, which will be sent…
It’s time to talk about something that many families don’t discover or understand until it’s college application time. Sometimes, families don’t even realize it then. But application time is often when you discover that your student’s high school GPA (Grade Point Average) is not necessarily the same GPA that colleges will look at for admission. …
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…
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…
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,…
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…