Colleges have moved on from the traditional metrics of Safety, Reach and Target. So, if the evaluation criteria at the colleges have shifted, shouldn’t your criteria behind creating the college list be updated as well?

If you answer yes, you are allowing marketing statistics and comparison data to choose your journey.

The Common Application is a standardized template with text boxes and easy call to action, “Let’s get started.” The website/application is user friendly and even offers suggestions and tools to help students navigate the application.

As our class of 2022 practice their pomp and circumstance, let's reflect on the 2021-2022 admissions cycle and share our wisdom with the parents of rising high school students.

Whether you are attending on-campus or virtual tours, visiting schools is a crucial part of the college admissions journey. Many families use this opportunity to jump start the college conversation.

With colleges in flux, submitting test scores is a decision students make at the time of application. However, your college readiness process needs to include SAT or ACT test scores, so that you have all the pieces your application will need to allow you to make informed decisions.

Seniors have reached the halfway mark…and there is still plenty to do and not a minute to spare. A good place to start is to evaluate your goals (dreams) and assess your college application list. Here are some suggestions to follow up or consider as second semester begins.

Early Decision notifications will begin rolling out first week of December and will continue through the 3rd week December depending on a particular University and their admission timeline. The best advice during this waiting time is to be prepared and READ every email completely and follow directions.

Whether the college fair is online or in person, the students have an opportunity to hear (and hopefully meet) an admissions associate dean promoting their school and increase awareness. As well as mentioning a few key words to hopefully pique your interest. Depending on your high school year and where you may be on your college search journey, Fall college fairs can serve many purposes.

When it comes to prepping for the SAT, most students and parents view the PSAT, or Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, as a simple test-run of moderate importance. However, the PSAT—and your student’s results—wields more influence than you might realize.

Do we always meet or exceed our goals or do we ‘set our expectations too high’ and hence not meet them?

Setting up goals is important because it helps us organize and motivate ourselves. It is what drives us, allows us to keep going from failure to success, from one milestone to the next. But why do we fail to meet those goals?

This is a one year-long program that brings together 2-4 high school juniors who will work with our college counselor on their college paths. Vicky will guide and lead students through various group and individual discussions, activities, and assessments to help them understand who they are, what they are looking for in a college experience, what they need to do to accomplish that goal and get them ready for the competitive college admissions process.

College essays need to do a lot of heavy lifting in the fast-paced world of essay reviews. Opening the essay with a “hook” as a strategy was devised to draw the immediate attention of the reader in order to pull them right in. However, what was once a great idea has morphed into a very cliched and poorly used technique. The need to have the essay open with a “hook” overshadows the quality and depth so needed for the narrative essay.

Considering the four years of high school, Sophomore year is the quietest. However, it plays a pivotal role in setting the stage for future growth and maturity. Colleges consider this during the admissions process.

Summer is for college planning and in order for that to go smoothly, there are a few things High School Juniors (aka Rising Seniors) should take care of before they ‘check out’ of school. A resume in this case, is essentially a track record of all school activities you’ve been involved with, any awards you’ve received, and other extracurricular activities you’ve participated in during high school.

National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) conducts the National Merit Scholarship Program, an annual nationwide academic competition for high school students. The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) is the route of entry into the National Merit Scholarship Program. If you did not take the 2020 PSAT/NMSQT (offered in October 2020 and January 2021) due to illness, emergency, or other extenuating circumstance (including school closures) and you meet all other program entry requirements (given on the next page), you must follow the instructions specified below to enter the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Who is eligible for accommodations on the SAT/ACT? When should you begin the process? What are the different types of accommodations? How do colleges view SAT-ACT tests taken with accommodations?

A question students ask when preparing for the SAT and ACT is: “Should I take the test with or without writing?” The answer has evolved since the new SAT was introduced in March 2016.

The Essay was always optional on the ACT. Prior to the launch of the new SAT, the Essay was required. Scores from the Essay were combined with the scores on the SAT Writing section. Since the Essay was a required section on the Old SAT, students taking the ACT needed to take the ACT with Essay as well.