BRITTANY MASCHAL CONSULTING

Let’s give non-Ivy Leaguers a chance to rule the world

By Brittany MaschalDec 23, 2016

Just read a great piece by Dustin McKissen, the founder and CEO of McKissen + Company, a strategy, marketing, and public relations firm based in St. Charles, Missouri.

Most of us know you don’t need to go to the right schools and come from the right family to change the world for the better. But, apparently, you do need to go to the right school if you want to change the world from Washington D.C.

By the time Donald Trump’s term ends in 2020, the country will have been led by an Ivy League graduate from 1988—2020. That’s 32 years of unbroken White House rule by graduates of schools that educate a statistically insignificant number of all college students. (It’s also 32 years of rising income inequality.)

A First Family preference for the Ivy League is nothing new: during 20 of those 32 years (the administrations of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama) the presidency was held by someone whose father also graduated from an Ivy League school.

Favorite takeaway: “Knowing your way to the Ivy League is not synonymous with knowing what you’re doing.”

Give it a read here!

Newscollege, college admissions, college counseling, Cornell, Harvard, Ivy League, White House

The Plague of ‘Early Decision’

By Brittany MaschalDec 22, 2016

Another great article by Frank Bruni on the craziness of college admissions, specifically, early decision.

But what worries me more is how the early-application process intensifies much of what’s perverse about college admissions today: the anxiety-fueling, disappointment-seeding sense that one school above all others glimmers in the distance as the perfect prize; the assessment of the most exclusive environments as, ipso facto, the superior ones.

That’s hooey, but it’s stubborn hooey, as the early-application vogue demonstrates.

Worth a read here!

Newsadmissions, college application, college college admissions, college counseling, early decision, Frank Bruni, New York Times

What Do Teenagers Want? Potted Plant Parents

By Brittany MaschalDec 19, 2016

Many parents feel that their adolescents hardly need them anymore. Teenagers often come and go on their own schedules, sometimes rebuff our friendly questions about their days, and can give the impression that interacting with the family is an imposition that comes at the cost of connecting, digitally or otherwise, with friends.

So here’s a complaint one might not expect to hear from teenagers: They wish their parents were around more often.

Interesting read on the importance of a parent’s physical presence on adolescent health. Check it out here!

Advice, News, NYT

NYT Student Contest – Write a Rap About the News of 2016

By Brittany MaschalDec 13, 2016

https://youtu.be/vomvO54P7oA

For the sixth year in a row, 13 to 19 years old anywhere in the world are invited to write a rap about the news that mattered most to them this year.

So whether you choose international or national news, politics or education, sports, science or technology, the arts or fashion, post your entry by 7 a.m. Eastern on Jan. 10, 2017. Then, the educational hip-hop experts at Flocabulary, our annual partner for this contest, will choose their favorite rhymes to publish both here and on their site.

Upcoming Early Application Decision Release Dates

By Brittany MaschalDec 09, 2016

It’s that time of year again!

TODAY (FRIDAY)
(12/9) Wiliams (PM), Bowdoin (PM), UPenn (3pm ET), Stanford (3pm PT)

SATURDAY
(12/10) Wesleyan, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon

SUNDAY
(12/11) Week of 12/11: Boston College

MONDAY
(12/12) Vassar (5pm ET), Columbia (6pm ET), Colgate (mailed)

TUESDAY
(12/13) Harvard

WEDNESDAY
(12/14) Brown (7pm ET), Dartmouth, Duke (7pm ET)

THURSDAY
(12/15) MIT (6:28pm ET), NYU (5pm ET), Yale (5pm ET)

Newsadmissions, college, college admissions, college application, early action, early decision, high school

You Just Took the PSAT—Now What?

By Brittany MaschalDec 09, 2016

PSAT scores are now available online for counselors and will open to students on Monday. Compass Prep has prepared a number of resources that can help with interpretation, provide context, and illuminate where to go from here. I suggest checking them out!

–Understanding Your Score Report

–Using PSAT Scores to Compare SAT and ACT

–National Merit Semifinalist Preview: Class of 2018

–PSAT National Merit FAQ: The Road to Becoming a Finalist

Academic Resources, News, Testingadmission testing, college, college admissions, College Board, Compass Prep, PSAT, standardized testing

Poets&Quants Undergraduate Business Ranking

By Brittany MaschalDec 07, 2016

And the top spot this year goes to…WashU, Olin Business School!

Love seeing a new name at the top of the list. The usual suspects follow in spots 2-5 and include Mendoza, Wharton, McDonough and Haas.

The full article is a must-read if you are considering an undergraduate business program.

Newscollege, college application, college counseling, Olin Business School, P&Q, Poets&Quants, undergraduate business, WashU

Early Admission Plan Changes for the Class of 2021

By Brittany MaschalDec 06, 2016

More insightful data from College Kickstart!

Many colleges and universities have begun updating their websites for the Class of 2021 (Fall 2017) admission cycle. While we expect the activity to continue into the late summer, several of the changes we’ve observed are worth noting.

In particular, roughly 20 schools have introduced changes to the early admission plans available to you this fall. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority have added binding early decision options, including the University of Chicago (Early Decision 1/2), Wake Forest and Wellesley (Early Decision 2) and Tulane (replaced Single Choice Early Action with Early Decision). Several also introduced/refined their Early Action programs, including Texas A&M (a new Early Action option for engineering applicants) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (revamped). On the flip side, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo eliminated Early Decision.

Be sure to check out this College Kickstart list as it may impact how you decide to apply this fall.

NewsBrittany Maschal, college, college admissions, College Kickstart, early action, early decision

College Board Simplifies Request Process For Test Accommodations

By Brittany MaschalDec 02, 2016

College Board Announces New SAT^®Testing Supports for English Language Learners

NEW YORK—The College Board has overhauled its request process for testing accommodations, making it easier for eligible students to receive the support they need on College Board assessments.

Beginning January 1, 2017, the vast majority of students who are approved for and using testing accommodations at their school through a current Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan will have those same accommodations automatically approved for taking the SAT^®, PSAT^™10, PSAT/NMSQT^®, SAT Subject Tests^™, and AP^® Exams. Most private school students with a current, formal school-based plan that meets College Board criteria will also have their current accommodations automatically approved for College Board exams. This streamlined process builds on the College Board’s August 2016 expansion of testing accommodations that can be approved directly by schools without the need for additional documentation.

Read full release here: https://www.collegeboard.org/releases/2016/college-board-simplifies-request-process-for-test-ccommodations?ep_ch=PR&ep_mid=11326140&ep_rid=163330058

Academic Resources, News, Testingadmissions, AP, college admissions, college application, College Board, college counseling, PSAT, SAT, testing

The Future of SAT Subject Tests

By Brittany MaschalNov 30, 2016

Why are Subject Tests required by drastically fewer colleges than a decade ago? Is the relevance and popularity of the tests actually diminishing? Are the tests likely to survive or will they be discontinued by the College Board?

The perceived necessity of College Board’s Subject Tests has been on the decline since 2005 when the SAT II Writing test was essentially folded into the SAT. Subject Tests are explicitly required (no substitutions or exceptions) by only five U.S. colleges, about 90% fewer than just a decade ago. Read more via this helpful Compass post.

News, Testingadmissions, college admissions, college application, College Board, Compass, high school, SAT IIs, subject tests, testing