College admissions isn’t just about getting in, it’s about finishing and thriving in life. That’s why it matters that you find a great fit college.
Why Finding a Great Fit College Matters
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Freshman
Take a College Virtual Tour and Save Money and Time
Visiting colleges can be expensive. Between airfare or gas, hotel rooms, rental cars, parking and food, you could end up spending thousands of dollars. So before you fly, travel in the virtual world. College virtual tours can be a great way to screen colleges and find your fit.
Building a Compelling College Application Portfolio: Four Keys
Here’s how to focus students’ attention on a few areas of interest and aptitude and build an outstanding college application portfolio.
Concerned About the Coalition Application? Five Things You Need to Know as a Parent or Student
The Coalition Application is one of the biggest changes in the college application process this year. Here’s what it means for you.
How to Make Sense of College Rankings
Each September, the week the vaunted U.S. News and World Report college rankings come out, you’ll find parents looking over them anxiously. For many universities as well, these rankings are critical, since universities vie for top spots on this widely-publicized evaluation of their quality. For parents and students, the report adds to the complexity of decision-making about college. Here are tips on how to think about college rankings.
Is College The Best Choice for Everyone?
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?
Five Things Teens and Parents Should Know about College Admissions: Part 5
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.
Five Things Teens and Parents Should Know about College Admissions: Part 4
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.
Five Things Teens and Parents Should Know about College Admissions: Part 3
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.
Five Things Teens and Parents Should Know about College Admissions: Part 2
It’s the time of year when students have just picked the colleges they will attend, and when many are preparing for AP Tests. In the students we work with, we see the effects of college admissions stress every day.
Much of this stress is driven by parents who, out of the best of motivations, want to give their child the best. But the lessons students learn in the process can be harmful, not just to their college plans, but to their life.
So prioritize early, and prioritize often, to reduce college admissions stress. Here’s how.
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