Tag Archive for: college applications

“Why Us” Essays: The Do’s and Don’ts of “Why Us” Essays
Whether you are applying to UT Austin, Rice, Michigan, USC, UChicago, NYU—or any other selective school—this guide will help you avoid common mistakes and craft a response that feels specific, personal, and compelling.

Addressing Application Stress: Strategies for Students and Families
When College Dreams Meet Overwhelming Pressure
As spring rolls in, so does an invisible weight for many high school juniors: college application season is around the corner. This should be a time of excitement and opportunity. But for many…

The Ultimate Junior Year Checklist: How to Get Your College Applications Ready
The end of the Junior year will be here before you know it, and if you want to start Senior year stress-free, now is the time to get your college applications in order.

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…

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.

“Test Optional” wasn’t intended to help students
One of the many impacts of COVID19 has meant a drastic change admissions policies related to the SAT and ACT. Colleges and universities have sold it to applicants as "test optional", and students and parents have taken that to mean that they…

5 Steps for Getting Letters of Recommendation from Your Teachers
It's the time of year when high school juniors are starting to look at the long slog between Spring Break and the end of the school year with something between sighing resignation and outright panic. AP and IB exams will take up May with Final…

4 ways to prepare for your freshman year of college
As the first day of college draws nearer, here are a few tips to prepare.
Orientation
This tip is probably the easiest to embrace because for most colleges orientation is mandatory. However, this can be a pivotal couple of days. You get to…

College search services and your data
In exchange for that free account, those sites will be selling data associated with the account to colleges. I won't pretend to know all of the information the colleges are asking for, but you can bet there will be a connection between the college information showing up in your mailbox and that online account you set up.

5 steps to take to get better letters of recommendation
It's the time of year when high school juniors are starting to look at the long slog between Spring Break and the end of the school year with something between sighing resignation and outright panic. AP and IB exams will take up May with Final…