January, 2016 - Magellan College Counseling

The College Explorer January, 2016
Quick Links Magellan Resources Page Sign up to receive this newsletter by e-mail here College Write-ups > in CA > outside of CA Connect with us! Recent Articles Interesting Majors What Colleges Are Looking For – Money Magazine The College Search Process (Evelyn’s guest post on Tier One Tutoring’s blog) SAT and ACT Next SAT: January 23, 2016. THIS IS THE LAST TIME THE ‘OLD’ SAT WILL BE OFFERED. You can still register now, with a late fee. We are advising clients NOT to take the March, 2016 SAT. Call to discuss if you have questions! Next ACT: February 6. Register by January 8. Next one is in April. Please call us for test prep and tutor referrals! Host a College Admissions Seminar for Friends Are your friends starting to think about (read: get anxious about!) college? Please get in touch if you are interested in hosting a college admissions information seminar at your home. We can tailor our presentation for parents of 8th, 9th, 10th or 11th grade students, or a combination. College Counseling Services Magellan’s comprehensive college counseling plan includes 35 hours of personalized guidance throughout the student’s junior and senior years. We also offer a limited-hours “mini-plan” for students who get a later start, towards the end of their junior year. Our 90-minute in-home consultation is $200, which we credit back to families who sign up for one of Magellan’s counseling packages.	Juniors – It’s Time To Start Your College Search! Every year, we get calls in August, September, October – usually from moms. They tell us they thought they could manage their child’s college search process, and they’ve just realized they can’t. Their kids have college lists that are usually 80% “reach” schools – or sometimes the entire list is “reach.” That means these kids have spent the entire year falling in love with colleges where they probably won’t be admitted. Not because they aren’t qualified, but because these are the kinds of schools that reject more students than they admit. Parents are shocked that UCLA and UC Berkeley, which each admit fewer than 10% of the students who apply for freshman admission, now fall into this category as well. With an “unbalanced” list, the students are destined to be heartbroken, and have few actual choices in the end. Every fall we do the best we can to help these students re-balance their lists and broaden their horizons, but it would have been so much smoother if we had started earlier, helping them see all of the options out there, and possibly “fall in love” with a variety of colleges where their chances of admission are higher – and where we know they will be challenged academically, and fit in socially. Creating this list takes time, research and effort, on our part as counselors, as well as on the student’s part. One mom who contacted Evelyn for the first time last October e-mailed us this, after a few phone conversations: Client email: "I feel so fortunate to have called you. I appreciate your honesty and expertise. I wish I had consulted w/ you months ago." — Evelyn Jerome-Alexander (@EvelynMagellan) January 6, 2016 Another big issue for many families today is paying for college, and this might come as a surprise: the vast majority of the money that is given out to help students pay for college does not come from private scholarship sources; *it comes from the colleges themselves. But you have to know which colleges give money and which do not. Reach schools won’t give money – and some don’t give based on merit at all. The right time to start thinking about cost is not after you apply – it’s before you create your college list. There’s money in the list – but the list has to be right! We help students create the right list with their family’s financial situation in mind. If you have a junior – it's not too early and it's not too late. Now is the perfect time to get started on the #college search! — Evelyn Jerome-Alexander (@EvelynMagellan) January 6, 2016 FAFSA – The First Step in Need-Based Financial Aid – Now Open for Class of 2016 The FAFSA is now available for parents and students in the Class of 2016. FAFSA stands for FREE Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the first step in applying for student loans, and grants, which are based on your ability to pay for tuition, room & board and other associated expenses. There’s a one-pager with some details and links on how to get started with the FAFSA on our Resources page. If you need additional help or information, Dana Klitzner on our team is available to help you with filling out the necessary forms. Plan Your Spring Break College Visits! The best time to visit colleges is when school is in session – that way you can meet with actual students, eat in the cafeteria and possibly sit in on a class. A drive-by “visit” does not tell you anything about a college (except if it’s attractive!)!!!* But many colleges have their spring break at a different time than high school spring break. So visit a few colleges! Locally, you can visit Loyola Marymount, Chapman, Occidental or University of Redlands if you’re looking for smaller colleges, or USC, UCLA, CSUN or Long Beach State if you are looking for a larger university experience. If you travel, make sure to visit a few colleges wherever you go, not just that one “name” school you know something about [if you go to Chicago, you can visit UChicago, Northwestern AND DePaul (or Lake Forest!); if you go to New York, you can visit NYU, Columbia AND Fordham (or Cooper Union!)]. Download a copy of the College Board’s “Campus Visit Checklist” on Magellan’s Resources page to help you keep track of what your student liked (and didn’t like) about each college. Make sure you reserve a spot on a tour on the Admissions or Visit webpage, and check in when you arrive. Many colleges keep track of student visits! Class of 2016 Update Magellan clients have already been admitted to over 50 different colleges and universities across the U.S. this cycle. While many students submit college applications through February, we try to help our clients apply early whenever possible, so that they begin to know what their options will be. Magellan clients have also been offered nearly $2 million in scholarship money this cycle!

*Copyright © 2016 Magellan College Counseling*

The College Explorer

January, 2016

Quick Links

Magellan Resources Page

College Write-ups
> in CA
> outside of CA

Connect with us!

SAT and ACT

Next SAT: January 23, 2016. THIS IS THE LAST TIME THE ‘OLD’ SAT WILL BE OFFERED. You can still register now, with a late fee.
We are advising clients NOT to take the March, 2016 SAT. Call to discuss if you have questions!
Next ACT: February 6. Register by January 8. Next one is in April.
Please call us for test prep and tutor referrals!

Host a College Admissions Seminar for Friends

Are your friends starting to think about (read: get anxious about!) college? Please get in touch if you are interested in hosting a college admissions information seminar at your home. We can tailor our presentation for parents of 8th, 9th, 10th or 11th grade students, or a combination.

College Counseling Services

Magellan’s comprehensive college counseling plan includes 35 hours of personalized guidance throughout the student’s junior and senior years. We also offer a limited-hours “mini-plan” for students who get a later start, towards the end of their junior year.

Our 90-minute in-home consultation is $200, which we credit back to families who sign up for one of Magellan’s counseling packages.

Juniors – It’s Time To Start Your College Search!

Every year, we get calls in August, September, October – usually from moms. They tell us they thought they could manage their child’s college search process, and they’ve just realized they can’t. Their kids have college lists that are usually 80% “reach” schools – or sometimes the entire list is “reach.” That means these kids have spent the entire year falling in love with colleges where they probably won’t be admitted. Not because they aren’t qualified, but because these are the kinds of schools that reject more students than they admit. Parents are shocked that UCLA and UC Berkeley, which each admit fewer than 10% of the students who apply for freshman admission, now fall into this category as well. With an “unbalanced” list, the students are destined to be heartbroken, and have few actual choices in the end.

Every fall we do the best we can to help these students re-balance their lists and broaden their horizons, but it would have been so much smoother if we had started earlier, helping them see all of the options out there, and possibly “fall in love” with a variety of colleges where their chances of admission are higher – and where we know they will be challenged academically, and fit in socially. Creating this list takes time, research and effort, on our part as counselors, as well as on the student’s part.

One mom who contacted Evelyn for the first time last October e-mailed us this, after a few phone conversations:

Client email: "I feel so fortunate to have called you. I appreciate your honesty and expertise. I wish I had consulted w/ you months ago."
— Evelyn Jerome-Alexander (@EvelynMagellan) January 6, 2016

Another big issue for many families today is paying for college, and this might come as a surprise: the vast majority of the money that is given out to help students pay for college does not come from private scholarship sources; it comes from the colleges themselves. But you have to know which colleges give money and which do not. Reach schools won’t give money – and some don’t give based on merit at all. The right time to start thinking about cost is not after you apply – it’s before you create your college list. There’s money in the list – but the list has to be right! We help students create the right list with their family’s financial situation in mind.

If you have a junior – it's not too early and it's not too late. Now is the perfect time to get started on the #college search!
— Evelyn Jerome-Alexander (@EvelynMagellan) January 6, 2016

FAFSA – The First Step in Need-Based Financial Aid – Now Open for Class of 2016

The FAFSA is now available for parents and students in the Class of 2016. FAFSA stands for FREE Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the first step in applying for student loans, and grants, which are based on your ability to pay for tuition, room & board and other associated expenses. There’s a one-pager with some details and links on how to get started with the FAFSA on our Resources page. If you need additional help or information, Dana Klitzner on our team is available to help you with filling out the necessary forms.

Plan Your Spring Break College Visits!

The best time to visit colleges is when school is in session – that way you can meet with actual students, eat in the cafeteria and possibly sit in on a class. A drive-by “visit” does not tell you anything about a college (except if it’s attractive!)!!! But many colleges have their spring break at a different time than high school spring break. So visit a few colleges! Locally, you can visit Loyola Marymount, Chapman, Occidental or University of Redlands if you’re looking for smaller colleges, or USC, UCLA, CSUN or Long Beach State if you are looking for a larger university experience. If you travel, make sure to visit a few colleges wherever you go, not just that one “name” school you know something about [if you go to Chicago, you can visit UChicago, Northwestern AND DePaul (or Lake Forest!); if you go to New York, you can visit NYU, Columbia AND Fordham (or Cooper Union!)]. Download a copy of the College Board’s “Campus Visit Checklist” on Magellan’s Resources page to help you keep track of what your student liked (and didn’t like) about each college. Make sure you reserve a spot on a tour on the Admissions or Visit webpage, and check in when you arrive. Many colleges keep track of student visits!

Class of 2016 Update

Magellan clients have already been admitted to over 50 different colleges and universities across the U.S. this cycle. While many students submit college applications through February, we try to help our clients apply early whenever possible, so that they begin to know what their options will be.

Magellan clients have also been offered nearly $2 million in scholarship money this cycle!