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.

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Florida’s State University System (SUS) – Free Webinar

Florida’s State University System (SUS) – Free Webinar

What does it take to get admitted to a state university in Florida? 

Join JRA Associates for a webinar at 7:00 PM Eastern on September 7, 2022

This session will specifically address Florida’s State University System (SUS). You can sign up here. Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • Admission criteria for all 12 state universities
  • How these universities recalculate GPAs
  • The latest happenings on the 12 campuses
  • How under-qualified students may still gain backdoor admission—legitimately
  • Florida’s state universities’ national ranking 
  • How to maximize your chances of admission

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Start Now: College Counseling for High School Juniors

Start Now: College Counseling for High School Juniors

We’ve seen too many students wait until the summer after 11th grade to try to develop and implement the strategies needed to tackle the college application process successfully and with ease. Often, there is just not enough time to do the pre-work that results in the most effective essays, outreach, and positive admissions outcomes.

The best time to start? Now.

Juniors, right now you can:

  • Develop relationships with admissions officers and regional reps (the people who make key decisions on your application) as well as current students and faculty (we can fill you in on why these connections are so important)
  • Open up a Common App account to get familiar with the system + complete the base data
  • Make the best of campus visits and leverage contacts at colleges on these visits
  • Craft a preliminary college list that maximizes the 5+ application plans colleges now use
  • Start brainstorming for the Common App essay (the MOST important essay of most apps)

We hate seeing the second half of junior year go to waste!

Contact us today to discuss what you can do now to always stay a step—or three—ahead of the game.

We are also co-hosting a free online event on March 14th at 8pm eastern. Join us to hear top tips and effective strategies for the college process + ask us anything in the live Q&A! Register today! 

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Free Event – Majors to Careers: Business

Free Event – Majors to Careers: Business

Exploring majors? Considering studying business? Join us to hear different viewpoints about studying and working in business – featuring current college students, career counselors and alumni in the field, as well as admissions professionals from Coalition schools. Come with your questions to this interactive panel discussion, and stay for a college fair to explore opportunities at a variety of Coalition schools.

 

Panel Discussion (7 to 7:45 p.m. ET)

Featuring admissions officers from Indiana University Bloomington, University of Michigan, and University of Notre Dame, along with student, alumni and career counselor perspectives.

 

College Fair (7:50 to 9 15 p.m. ET)

SESSION A. 7:50-8:30 p.m. ET

Room 1: Florida Southern College, Indiana University Bloomington, Skidmore College

Room 2: Southern Methodist University, University of Michigan, York College of Pennsylvania

Room 3: Maine Maritime Academy, Ramapo College of New Jersey, University of Notre Dame

Room 4: Johns Hopkins University, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, University of Dayton

Room 5: Hope College, Texas State University, Washington University in St. Louis

SESSION B. 8:35-9:15 p.m. ET

Room 1: Chatham University, St. Edward’s University, University at Buffalo

Room 2: Case Western Reserve University, Marquette University, University of Connecticut

Room 3: James Madison University, University of Massachusetts – Lowell

Room 4: Binghamton University, Lycoming College, University of South Carolina

Room 5: Lehigh University, UNC Charlotte, University of Vermont

 

Register

Consult the schedule above, then make your selections here.

Please note: Coalition schools may be in touch with you following the event based on the information you provide here.

Thanks for registering for our session, Majors to Careers: Business, which will take place Thursday, March 10 .

Please check your email (bmaschal@gmail.com) for the links to join the opening panel as well as your selected fair sessions.

In the meantime:
  • Invite a friend to join you at Coalition events! Share this link.
News of the Week!

News of the Week!

Dartmouth College announced an anonymous $40 million gift that will enable the college to offer need-blind admissions to international students. That brings to six the number of colleges with the policy: Amherst College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

Five students say leading colleges and universities are acting as an illegal “cartel” in violation of antitrust law. One of the students’ lawyers is a former prosecutor in the Varsity Blues case

Harvard is slow-marching the ACT and SAT into decline and diminished relevance

Some colleges reject the idea, but most appear to be allowing students to visit—with certain precautions.

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LGBTQ+ Virtual College Fair

LGBTQ+ Virtual College Fair

Attend NJACAC’s first annual LGBTQ+ College Fair (Sign up here!)!

From the New Jersey Association for College Admissions Counseling:

NJACAC has organized college fairs and college readiness events for decades, but we had yet to build a safer space for LGBTQ+ students to freely ask the questions that are most important to them. Will I fit in at this institution? Can I see myself as a student there? Will I matter?  

Each school in attendance today has taken an active step in building its LGBTQ+ communities. By participating in this fair, they have acknowledged wanting LGBTQ+ students in their greater communities. Additionally, we have utilized the Campus Pride Index to showcase an objective rating as to where the policies of each institution fall in terms of LGBTQ+ friendliness. The Pride Index is always a good place to start with your search but it should not be the only place you look.

At this fair, please ask questions. In a heteronormative society, it can be challenging to envision yourself in different places. Take this time to explore these schools. Ask the representatives about the experiences you hope to have. Share your concerns about the barriers you may face. Follow up with the representatives after this event and when it’s safe to, if you are able to, go see those campuses you liked in person.

We hope after this event, you are one step closer to obtaining what every student hopes to find in a college; the best fit for you.

Sign up here!

In addition to the college fair, sessions include:

Should I Come Out in My Personal Statement (And If So, How)?

LGBTQ Students and the College Search Process

 

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Junior Jumpstart: Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams

Junior Jumpstart: Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams

Event Alert!

The college search is already challenging for students and families. So Amherst, Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Williams are putting their rivalries aside, and hosting a series of virtual events for students, families, and counselors.

Students: RSVP for the events that interest you, and browse recordings of previous sessions at the bottom of the page. You can also fill out one easy form to get admission information about each school.

Image: sixcolleges.org

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Sunday 3/7: NACAC Virtual College Fair (STEM Focus)

Sunday 3/7: NACAC Virtual College Fair (STEM Focus)

The Common Application is collaborating with the National Association for College Admission Counseling to offer NACAC Virtual College Fairs. 

—Event Info from the CA below:

The NACAC Virtual Colleges Fair for students interested in STEM majors and careers will take place this Sunday, March 7. Registration is free.

These fairs offer students an incredible opportunity to connect with colleges and universities in all 50 states and more than 15 countries. Hundreds of colleges will be available on each fair date to offer Zoom sessions and one-on-one appointments, so students can easily explore their options. 

Students are encouraged to sign up now at virtualcollegefairs.org. They’ll want to start tagging the sessions they want to attend.  

To help get the word out, please visit the counselor resources page for ready-made resources such as social media graphics and sample text. Also available are links to a how-to videotips for STEM students and a PDF list of participating colleges.

As we all look for new ways to explore colleges, NACAC Virtual College Fairs offer an easy and accessible way to connect counselors, students, and families with colleges and universities around the world. We look forward to seeing you online!

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February Action Plan – By Grade

February Action Plan – By Grade

Seniors:

  • Once your applications have been submitted, track the status of each app online to ensure all of your application materials were received. Follow up with your school counselor ASAP if a college is missing your transcript or a letter of recommendation. Check your junk email folder regularly (daily), so you do not miss correspondence from colleges.
  • Interviews! Sign up for interviews for all of your RD schools as soon as possible (where available/and if still open), if you have not done so already.
  • For RD schools, consider writing interest letters to schools that welcome additional information. It might even be beneficial to have an extra LOR sent if you did not send one within the Common App. 

Juniors:

  • Keep prepping for standardized tests (ACT, SAT) and working hard in all of your classes; your grades this year are very important.
  • Do you know what major(s) you will mark on your application? Do you have a clearly defined academic interest or set of interests for your college apps? This is a critical part of your application that should be determined now.
  • Continue working on your resume. Some summer programs, internships, and interviewers may ask for this, so it’s useful to have it handy.
  • Next summer is a wonderful opportunity to do something really meaningful, perhaps even fun, that will help you tell your story for college! Get those plans in place now.; there is still a lot of uncertainty because of COVID, so having multiple plans/irons in the fire is a good idea. 
  • Meet with your school counselor about your preliminary college list and go over your goals and plans for college visits/outreach.
  • Take a college tour via CampusReel. Visiting campus in person is great, but you won’t be able to tour all of the schools on your initial list. Plus, formal campus tours can be a bit limiting! CampusReel is one of my favorite ways to get a real insider look at colleges.
  • Tired of online tours? Sign up with one of our Peer Guides!!! 
  • Start to think about your senior year schedule. Do you know what you will be taking? Your senior classes should be the most challenging of your four years.
  • If you’d like to start your Common App essay early, now is the time. If you are not working with us and would like to on your essays, reach out via the contact form. We help quite a few juniors finish their CA essays over the winter/spring, especially those with busy summer/fall schedules. 

Sophomores and Freshmen:

  • An impressive academic record is the most important admissions factor at most colleges. Work on creating smart study habits this year.
  • Will you be starting your SAT or ACT prep this spring/summer? Begin to decide on a testing schedule and plan for how you will prepare for these exams.
  • Many 2021 summer program applications are now open. Please begin thinking about your plans for summer and work on applications if needed.
  • Start to think about next year’s course schedule. Do you know what you will be taking? Your classes next year should be more challenging than this year.
  • Now is the time to build your academic profile for college, and this means pursuing what interests you academically and intellectually outside of your classes. Have you gotten more involved with any academic extracurricular activities? Have you thought about what you might want to major in? Think about ideas for new and different activities or how to get more involved in your favorite activity (academic and non-academic); exploration now will help you begin determining what you might want to study in college. A great place to start exploring your academic interests is Khan Academy or TedX.
  • One way that your “story” is conveyed in your app is through your resume. Keep working on yours this month.

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SoCal College Collab Event: Chapman, Pepperdine & University of San Diego

SoCal College Collab Event: Chapman, Pepperdine & University of San Diego

Admission representatives and current students from each school will serve as panelists to provide you with an introduction to the unique aspects of each institution, from academics to student life.

Programming will include overviews of each university, current student interviews, and application advice. The last 30 minutes will be a Q & A session with the school of your choice.

Please register here.

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