When we tell people what we do as independent college counselors, they usually have one of three reactions: Wow, I wish someone had done that for me when I was in high school. Wow, I wish I met you two years ago when my son was going through that. Wow, you must have the most … Read more
Students and parents frequently ask us how they can highlight their community service in college applications. While community service is not required for admission to highly selective colleges, it is definitely one way to show colleges your involvement in your community, your values and the way you choose to spend your time. Here are five … Read more
[Note: this is a pretty long article – but chock-full of great info if you are applying to the UCs!] Lisa Przekop’s son was denied admission at UCSB a few years back. She’s in good company – many students were not admitted – but she’s the Director of Admissions at UCSB. Admission to the University … Read more
Are you deep into college essay writing at this point? YOU SHOULD BE! It’s time to get those essays going, so you don’t have to spend your entire Thanksgiving (and winter?!) break working on your college applications. Just a little time each day will add up to save you a chunk of time later! Here … Read more
As your high school senior (eek! we’re a senior now!) moves through college applications, you may find yourself with a question that hadn’t occurred to you before: Which test scores should I send to colleges? The answer (frustrating, we know – this is the answer to most every question parents ask us!) is “it depends.” … Read more
Five things an independent #college counselor can do to help your high school student explore and apply to college! http://t.co/mxp156AcXZ — Evelyn Alexander (@EvelynMagellan) January 29, 2015 Spend the time that you AND your student need to understand the process and come up with the best results. Unfortunately, public school counselors have such large caseloads … Read more
College financial aid is a complicated issue, and it seems like there’s almost too much information out there, making it difficult to figure out what applies to your family’s situation. We’ve curated some resources here to try to simplify the issues, and so you can have a number of resources related to college financial aid … Read more
This is your step-by-step, section-by-section guide to completing the Common App! Below you’ll find instructional videos that will guide you through each section of the third “tab” in the Common Application – which is the heart of the application itself. We hope these short videos will answer your questions about each section of the Common … Read more
As college counselors, we frequently meet with test prep professionals who work both in person and online. Several test prep companies are offering special discounts and packages as the summer winds down. Take advantage of these opportunities! Catalyst Prep founder Jared Friedland offers an 8-session online test prep course this month. See the flyer below … Read more
Many people mistakenly believe that applying to a larger number of “reach” or top-tier schools increases the chances of being admitted to one. There are two big reasons why this belief not only is wrong, but jeopardizes students’ chances of admission to even one of the top schools on their lists. Reason #1 Why You … Read more