Blog

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• Planning for Summer in the Dead of Winter – Use our early planning ideas to insure a summer that is fun, rewarding and constructive.
• Focus on Majors: Gerontology – With a rapidly aging population creating a rising demand for workers who understand the challenges of aging, this may be the perfect time for students to study gerontology.
• College Loans – After exhausting need-based and merit scholarships, many families find they must borrow money to cover the remaining costs of college.  Our guide to loans will help you determine what will be best for your family.
• How to Handle a Deferral – This year’s ED and EA pools have resulted in an especially high number of deferrals.   If you are still interested in a college by which you were deferred, here are some Do’s and Don’ts.

Download the Full Newsletter:  January 2019 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• Majors, Minors and Concentrations – Your guide to understanding the meaning of these terms, how they differ, and how to make your choices work for you.
• Majoring in Criminology – Criminology is the study of the attributes of crime, how and why it happens, why people commit them, the behavior of these people, and the nature of the criminal-justice system. If you’re fascinated by shows like NCIS and Criminal Minds, this may be the major for you.
• Searching for Scholarships – You don’t have to pay anyone to search for a scholarship for you, but it does require legwork and dedication on your part. Start here.
• Understanding and Using your PSAT Report – Although your scores on these tests are not reported to colleges, the results can help you better understand your academic strengths and weaknesses and suggest the skills you should focus on in preparing for college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT.

Download the Full Newsletter:  December 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• Predictive Analytics & Admissions – The rise of enrollment management programs is changing the face of admissions.  Take every opportunity to learn as much as you can about your colleges, understanding that they are spending a great deal of money to learn as much as they can about you!
• Focus on Majors: Peace and Conflict Studies –With the political climate in the United States so divisive at this time, a major that focuses on ways to solve problems peacefully may resonate with you.
• Maximizing Merit Aid – With the cost of college so high, is there anything you can do to improve your chances of getting merit aid from a college?  Here are some strategies you might want to try.
• Current Trends in College Admission – The annual The State of College Admissions report provides insights into trends in college admission. This article provides some important take-aways from the latest report.

Download the Full Newsletter:  November 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• 7 College Admission Blunders to Avoid –  The journey to college will likely go smoother if you avoid making these seven common mistakes.
• Focus on Majors: Geology – Fascinated by rocks and minerals and the forces that shape the earth?  Geology is an interdisciplinary science that involves not only a study of the physical makeup and history of the earth, but also how humans and other life forms are affected by the earth.
• The CSS Profile – About 400 colleges, universities and scholarship programs use a financial aid form, the CSS Profile, in addition to the FAFSA, to gather more information in order to award their own institutional funds to deserving students.
• Show Them Some Love – Through both your responses to application questions and your actions (numerous meaningful contacts with that college), you can influence your chances of acceptance at your top college choices.  Learn how here.

Download the Full Newsletter:   October 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• Decoding College Application Plans – Knowing when and how to apply to each college on your list is important. Here’s a quick rundown of the differences and a look at the pros and cons of each plan.
• Focus on Majors – Pre-law – Although there is no Pre-Law major, the term itself is not meaningless. It refers to advising programs that support students in preparing for and applying to law school.
• Filing the FAFSA – The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the primary form used by colleges to determine eligibility for need-based aid.  Here’s a guide to the FAFSA.
• “Doing” High School Well – What can you do to make sure that your high school years are truly special?

Download the Full Newsletter:   September 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• Adjusting to College Life – Understanding the most common challenges reported by freshmen – and what to do about them — can make the transition to college life go more smoothly for both students and their parents.
• Majoring in Landscape Architecture –  If you’re creative, interested in the environment and science, and enjoy working with people, landscape architecture may be just the career for you.
• Talking to Your Kids About Money – They use gift cards, credit cards, debit cards and apps such as Venmo and PayPal. Money, the green stuff, is not a meaningful part of many teenagers’ lives. Before your child leaves for college, a conversation about finances is in order.
• How Movies Can Help You Write Better Application Essays – The best college application essays don’t merely tell what happened to you, they also let admissions officers understand why what happened matters.  To do that in 650 words or less, it can help to think like a screenwriter.

Download the Full Newsletter:   June 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• Five Career Planning Ideas for High School Students –  Here are five things you can do now – while you’re still in high school – to start thinking about possible careers.
• Majoring in Art & Design – Do you have a passion for painting, drawing or designing but feel unsure about how you can turn your love of art into a career?  Bachelor’s programs in fine or visual arts or in design can help you achieve your goal of a fulfilling career.
• Does Attending College Still Make Financial Sense? –  Media stories about the rising cost of a college education and student debt, combined with the lingering economic effects of the recession, have led many people to question whether it still makes financial sense to attend college.
• Summer Campus Visits – While summer may not be the ideal time to visit, it frequently is the most practical time for busy families.

Download the Full Newsletter:  May 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• • Facts & Myths about Liberal Arts Education –  Ask twenty people what they think about the term “liberal arts education” and you’ll likely get twenty different responses.  Get the facts here.
  • Majoring in Nutritional Sciences –  The food industry is the fourth largest industry in the world.  Nutritional science is a great major for people interested in a health-related career, for those who want to work in the fitness industry, for individuals who love to cook and create recipes, and for budding entrepreneurs.
  • Appealing your Financial Aid Award – Are you short in funds needed to enroll at your first-choice college?  Consider appealing your financial aid award.
  • Handling Rejection – Advice for Parents –  College rejection happens to most students, but it doesn’t need to define the rest of their life. Here are some tips to help your teen deal with denial.

Download the Full Newsletter:  April 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• • Lessons Learned by Parents about Campus Visits – Some sage advice from parents who have “been there, done that”.
  • Dual Degrees: 3-2 Engineering Programs – For students not sure that they want to become engineers or those who wish to explore more of the liberal arts, a combined 3-2 program offers students the best of both worlds.
  • The Most Generous Colleges –  Students who are thoughtful and wisely apply to colleges that really fit their profile, and where they fit the colleges’ interests, may be pleasantly surprised by financial support offers heading their way through ‘Merit-based’ aid.
  • Maximizing Your Summer Break –  Summer provides the best opportunity for future college applicants to separate themselves from the pack.
  • Wallowing on the Waitlist – Nationally, only about 20% of waitlisted students are admitted each year.  If you really want to be among those who are, you need to be proactive.

Download the Full Newsletter:  March 2018 College Counseling Newsletter

ESSENTIAL TOPICS:

• Athletic Recruiting – Families may dream of “signing day”, but what are the realities facing prospective college athletes?
• Majoring in Statistics/Data Science – Data Science was just named the #1 career by Glassdoor and the “sexiest career of the 21st century” by the Harvard Business Review.  Could this be a career for you?
• Understanding Net Price –  Families often experience sticker shock when contemplating the cost of college, but it’s the net price, rather than the sticker price, that prospective students need to consider.
• Don’t Get Caught Up in Senior Slump –  Every year some students get a little too relaxed and cling to a false sense of teenage invulnerability. And every year, to the shock of these students, colleges across the country revoke a small but significant number of their acceptances.

Download the Full Newsletter: February 2018 College Counseling Newsletter