Mom looking at daughter on daughters wedding day
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To the Moms in My Village…and Yours Too

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. …

Hand writing word recommendation on glass
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What You Need to Know About Teacher Recommendations

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…

students in front of college building
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Why Does the College Admissions Yield Rate Matter?

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…

female hands working on laptop
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Your College Applications Timeline for Senior Year

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,…

Stack of best books on college admissions
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Here Are the 5 Best Books About College Admissions

Are you looking for more resources to guide you as you undertake the college admissions process with your child? Here are some of my favorite books about college admissions to get you started. Initially, I had only four favorites listed here because I just couldn’t come up with a fifth favorite to recommend. But recently,…

parents embrace their new graduate
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Parents Share College Admissions Tips and Lessons Learned

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…

Thumbs up from four people wearing volunteer tshirts
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High School Community Service – What You Need to Know

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…

male student looking at laptop with headphones
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Is the Common App or Coalition App a Better Option?

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…

high school classroom students working together
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High School Foreign Language – What You Need to Know for College Admission

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…