The Two Most Important Letters in College Admissions

The Two Most Important Letters in College Admissions

Could not agree more with Rick Clark’s recent post about institutional priority. It’s something we talk about a lot with families and that needs to be taken seriously in the college admissions process. Who a college admits is ALL about them and their needs. 

If you are a senior, many colleges will release decisions in March. If you are denied from a selective college, my hope is you won’t question your academic ability or lose sleep trying to figure out what was “wrong” with you or what you “could or should have done differently.” IPs mean admission decisions do not translate to “We don’t think you are smart” or “You could not be successful here.”

Read more here!

 *Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Bard, Colorado College & RISD  leaving the U.S. News rankings

Bard, Colorado College & RISD leaving the U.S. News rankings

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, the U.S. News rankings are total garbage! 

Very happy to see selective schools opting out of this completely non-objective bogus list that emphasizes popularity and $$ over just about everything else. Read more about CC and RISD here. Bard here

William D. Adams also writes that it’s time for all colleges to follow the lead of Colorado College and drop U.S. News.

 *Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Columbia and William & Mary extend test-optional admissions policy

Columbia and William & Mary extend test-optional admissions policy

On Wednesday, Columbia University became the first Ivy League school to declare a full test-optional policy without any time limits. William & Mary, in Virginia, took the same step Thursday after analyzing the results of a three-year trial.

This is very good news for the pool of applicants who benefit from TO policies and for these colleges, who benefit from them the most. Do not be fooled: these changes are not all for or about students. 

It will be interesting to see who else follows their lead. Stay tuned! 

 *Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Colleges That Are No Longer Test Optional & Where it Helps to Have In-Range/High Range Scores

Colleges That Are No Longer Test Optional & Where it Helps to Have In-Range/High Range Scores

You’ll need [competitive] SAT or ACT scores to apply to the following schools:

Georgetown
Georgia Tech
MIT
Purdue
University of Georgia 
University of Florida (state-wide)
University of Tennessee (state-wide)

And we have found it highly beneficial to send high scores to most other test-optional schools in the top-top tier, especially if you attend a high school where the majority of students test [and test well]:

The Ivies (but obviosuly not Cornell’s test-blind schools)
Stanford
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
JHU
Duke
Rice
WashU
Notre Dame
Carnegie Mellon
Wake Forest
Tufts
Emory
USC
Boston College
Boston University
Tulane
NYU
Case Western
Villanova
University of Texas, Austin
University of Chicago
University of Michigan
University of Wisconsin
University of Virginia
University of North Carolina 
University of Illinois
University of Maryland

*Stay in the know! Subscribe

 

In trend reversal, Yale now rejects more early applicants than it defers

In trend reversal, Yale now rejects more early applicants than it defers

At the most selective US colleges, deferrals often end up as rejections, which is why we encourage most rejected applicants to see that decision as preferable. We hope other top colleges follow Yale’s lead on this—deferrals can be cruel!

Read more about Yale rejecting more applicants than it defers in the early round here. 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Choices and Options: A Blueprint for College Admission for Everyone

Choices and Options: A Blueprint for College Admission for Everyone

Everyone should read the Georgia Tech admissions blog. 

Read rick Clark’s recent post here. For juniors, this section for seniors is important. Read it now, and read it again this summer when you finalize your college list. 

Be reminded that your chances of being admitted to a school with an admit rate below 20% do not go up 20% by applying to 20% more of those schools. Trade out “dream school” for IRL colleges. Apply to a group of schools (you figure out the number but generally more than 2 and less than 10) where you know you will be thrilled to get in and excited to go.*

*and we might add: where you can actually get in! Thanks always, Georgia Tech, for keeping it real! 

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Sophomores and Juniors: College Planning Starts Now!

Sophomores and Juniors: College Planning Starts Now!

College counseling is not a program that you simply sign up for and “work”—it’s a relationship and a process that takes place over an extended period of time.

The majority of our work with students—which includes academic planning, narrative and extracurricular development (your academic and EC “story” for college), a strategic college list, and completing essays, app data, and an extended resume—starts in 10th or early in 11th grade.

Juniors (and some soph’s) can:

  • Start to prep for standardized exams. Don’t wait until spring of your junior year or later to begin prep. We have a small list of tutors who we can highly recommend; don’t leave who you work with up to chance.
  • Meet with your school guidance counselor. They will write one of your letters of recommendation for college, and the letter will be much more personal if you know each other.
  • Build your story! Have you been heavily involved with any of your extracurricular activities (other than sports, which can’t major in!!!)? Look for impact and leadership opportunities. More importantly, does your resume point toward a major or intellectual interest? What is your story, and how is it told on your resume?
  • Plan your summer wisely. You’ll want to use this summer to build your resume and make sure it’s pointed toward your intended major.
  • Visit the websites of schools you are interested in. Explore the admission and academic pages, start to attend virtual offerings and track your contact with schools. It should be exciting to kick your college research into higher gear. Don’t forget to connect with your reps, too.

Fill out the contact form to schedule a consult and find out how we can support you in your college planning and application process.

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Pre-Law Pathways, “Sample” College Classes, and Going Beyond Traditional Info Sessions

Pre-Law Pathways, “Sample” College Classes, and Going Beyond Traditional Info Sessions

Traditional virtual info sessions can get… repetitive. An excellent example of a school that is mixing it up and offering prospective applicants different opportunities is Syracuse! Check out some of them below:

Opportunities for Pre-Law
Hoping to pursue law school or interested in a law-related career? Discover the resources and opportunities available to all Syracuse students through our Pre-Law Advising Office and have your questions answered by Pre-Law advisors and current students.

Wednesday, December 7, 6-7 p.m. EST (click date for link, virtual)

Sample College Classes
Join us for one of our sample classes based on real courses taught at Syracuse University. These classes are open to all prospective students — no matter your desired academic program.

A Day in the Life of a Biomedical Engineer in the Hospital
Monday, December 5, 7-8 p.m. EST (click date for link, virtual)

Introduction to Cybersecurity
Thursday, December 8, 7-8 p.m. EST (click date for link, virtual)

Other virtual sessions this week:

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

Colleges Requiring SAT/ACT Testing for 2024 Admissions

Colleges Requiring SAT/ACT Testing for 2024 Admissions

Purdue just announced they are rolling back their test-optional policy, so we thought it was a good time to post about other schools that have done the same. We will try to keep this page updated as other schools likely re-institute testing requirements. 

MIT
Georgetown
*Florida public’s: University of Florida, Florida State, University of Central Florida, New College of Florida, etc.
University of Georgia
Georgia Tech
Purdue
University of Tennessee
The Academies (Naval, West Point, Air Force)

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*

High School Class of 2023 Early Decision & Early Action Notification Dates

High School Class of 2023 Early Decision & Early Action Notification Dates

From College Kickstart: Schools often post results in advance of official notification dates, so they’ve compiled the most recently updated dates where available, as well as last year’s notification dates for reference. Bookmark this page, as they will be updating it frequently over the next 30 days.

*Stay in the know! Subscribe*