The number and percentage of high school students who go on to four-year college have been rising steadily for years. But as the costs of college increase and many college graduates see only middling job prospects, more and more families are asking the question: is college the best choice for everyone?
A great college admissions coach can help reduce the stresses of applying to college and make the process much easier to navigate.
The key to making a good college list is to focus on finding colleges that are good fits, rather than chasing after the highest ranked one. Most rankings are arbitrary and don’t reflect an institution’s true educational quality. Focus on finding an authentic balance: of likelihood, cost, earnings, educational program, culture, and other factors.
For high school students all over the country, summer vacation can be a moment to take a break after all the AP exams, standardized tests, and an intense school year. But it’s also a time to really focus on college admissions and college planning. Why? Because once fall semester starts, the calendar moves really fast!
Here’s a great list of things parents and students can do over the summer!
College is a consequential decision, and the admissions process can be complex and stressful. To give families a head start, we at LifeLaunchr compiled this selection of insider tips from college admissions counselors in the country – people who have helped thousands of students find and get into great-fit schools.
LifeLaunchr is proud to join in the College Signing Day initiative. Our students have been accepted into top public universities including the Universities of California, Oregon, Arizona, Georgia, and Texas, Sonoma State University, and San Francisco State University. And they have been accepted into private universities including Bard College, Hampshire College, the University of San Francisco, Massachusetts Institute of Technology to Oxford University. Some are headed to great two-year colleges and some to gap years. We’re proud of all of them!!
The deadline for applying to U.K. universities for Fall 2018 admission is coming up fast, on January 15, 2018. That’s also the deadline to apply for deferred admissions for Fall 2019. LifeLaunchr’s recent webinar “Applying to College in the U.K.? Meet the January 15 deadline!” helped parents and students by providing expert advice on U.K. college admissions from LifeLaunchr coach Amy Garrou.
At many high schools, counselors don’t start engaging with students about planning for college until spring of junior year.
But if you’re a parent or student, waiting till spring of junior year makes college planning harder for many reasons. In fact the best advice for parents is to start early: as early as possible, in freshman year if you can. College planning really starts the first day of high school, since its when all the work your teen will do starts making a difference.
Parents I speak to often ask “What’s the best university to study engineering?” or “Where is the best place for my daughter to study biomedicine?” There are many ways to answer this question. The answer I always give is: “It depends on your child.” I tell them to focus on fit, not rank.
For teens starting out in life after high school, or parents helping them, remember: your first gig after college doesn’t have to be your final “true passion,” but it does have to pay the bills so you can keep searching. So find a way to balance pragmatism and passion in your choice of college and major.
The high school courses you take, and the grades you get on them, are the most important part of your applications to colleges. Here are some tips to help you choose wisely.
If you’ve got a student in middle or high school, here are five tips to help you get started on your college financial plan today!
College planning really starts in freshman year, so building a four-year roadmap for college is very important. For students, freshman year in high school is when grades and courses start to matter, in the sense that someone at a university will see them and might use them to make a decision about their admissions. For parents, it’s when you’ve got to start helping your child make good decisions about how to use their time. It’s also when saving money for college becomes critically important.
While the benefits of a college education outweigh the costs by a lot, the cost is daunting. Here are six tips on how you can cut the cost of college by tens of thousands of dollars.
Career centers on campus are an under-utilized resource. They can make the difference between an education that pays off vs. one that doesn’t.
Scholarships matter a lot for students headed to college because college is so expensive. But myths about scholarships hold people back from finding and applying for scholarships.