College Coach talking with parent and student

That time a client saved $80,000 on college

Victoria, our College Coach, shared a story with me the other day. One of our clients got into her first choice college and knew that was where she wanted to go. The parent received the financial aid award letter that offered about $12,000…
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The Reason for a Free Consultation

The college admissions process is confusing. In our free consultations, we help dispel some of that confusion.
Students looking at test scores on tablets or paper

What to do when you get your PSAT score back

2023 PSAT scores should start landing in students' College Board accounts around November 6th. What you do next largely depends on whether you're a Junior, Sophomore, or Freshman.
Breakdown of the numbers at Selective U
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What they’re not saying about college admissions

Back in 2018, Stanford made a big announcement that they would stop releasing acceptance rates. Lots of publications picked up on it. They wanted students to focus on finding the right fit not trying to get into a selective school. Some people…
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What they don’t say about test scores

Updated 21 June 2023 A big "thank you" to FairTest for using a screenshot of this blogpost in their recent research demonstrating that test scores can help students at 96% of institutions. I don't think they intended to make the case…

How can parents help students with the SAT or ACT?

This week I was talking with a parent whose student has plateaued at a certain threshold on the SAT and ACT. It happens from time to time and can be frustrating for everyone - the student most of all. It can be for any number of reasons, many…

The Most Important Conversation to Have about College

You can come up with a lot of reasons that the cost "makes sense" right now. However, those decisions are setting students and families up for huge burdens down the road. That's why having the conversation early about what the college will cost and how to pay for that cost is so important.
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8 steps to completing your college applications

When you have a list of things you have to do, tackle the least pleasant one first. If you have a plate full of delicious food and this one thing you don't want to eat, eat it first. You'll get to enjoy the rest of the food so much more than if you save the unpleasant part for last.

Some scary events in college admissions

Colleges are automatically placing students who applied without test scores in the developmental classes, classes for which they will not get any credit but will pay full price.
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4 questions to ask when you get your PSAT scores back

It's a weird year for the PSAT. If you took the test in October, your scores are due to come out the week of December 7th. College Board did announce an additional test date of January 26th which many schools are following. Those scores are…