The Common App is down. Oh no! What does that mean? Well, the Common Application is accepted by over 1,000 colleges, and with over 3,000 colleges in America, that makes up about one-third of our schools, though many of them…
This month we’re talking through some of the most common prompts colleges assign for those school specific supplemental essays. And one that we’ve seen a lot more lately is the diversity essay where a college asks why is diversity important…
This month we’re talking through some of the most common prompts colleges assign for those school specific application essays. One that we see a lot is: tell us about an extracurricular activity, or tell us about a community service activity…
This month we’re talking about the most common prompts colleges assign for those school-specific supplemental essays, with one of the most common being the “Why this college?” essay. This is your opportunity to demonstrate your interest and show them that…
This month we’re talking through some of the most common college essay prompts colleges assign for those school-specific supplemental application essays. And probably number one on the list is the “why this major?” essay; they want to know about your…
Today we’re talking about college ranking lists. August 1st is coming, and that’s when most college applications open. So ideally, you want to finish your college search and bring down your list to about five to ten colleges by then.…
Today we’re talking about one of the biggest changes coming to the new Digital SAT. Back in 2022, the College Board — that’s the folks that make the SAT, along with a number other products like the APs, GRE, and…
Today we're talking about how to spend your work-study money. If you filled out the FAFSA, your award letter from college may include an amount of money labeled work-study. That's a job you can work while you're in college that…
It’s a new year and it’s important to talk to our juniors about important upcoming 2023 dates. First, the last SAT and ACT of the school year are the June 3 SAT and June 10 ACT. Junior year is testing…
There are college opportunities for high school students that can increase their chances of getting into your top choice college. And, it’s possible you’d graduate earlier and save some money. One option is a summer program, which most colleges do.…
One question I get from parents is asking if they qualify for the FAFSA, and the answer is yes! Every American citizen and green card holder meets the FAFSA qualifications and can fill out the free application at FAFSA.gov. The…
The exciting of process college acceptance letters has begun! With them comes the pressure from each college to get you to commit and send in that deposit. If you apply for Early Decision, you will likely have to pay that…
The October PSAT scores are finally in! You can check your results on CollegeBoard.org. You’re going to see three scores: Evidence-based Reading and Writing, Math, and the sum of those two for your overall score. These subjects are scored from…
Today we are discussing how the SAT coming in March 2024 will change the testing timeline for today’s sophomores. Generally speaking, junior year is testing year. You have all school year to take the SAT two to three times to…
Last week we discussed the four numbers to consider when looking at colleges, and today we are talking about the four numbers to ignore when looking at colleges. The first number is their SAT and ACT score ranges. Colleges show…
Today, we are talking about the four numbers to consider when looking at colleges. The first is acceptance rate. If that number happens to be high it’s not a very selective college, and if that number is very low it’s…
Today, we are discussing the Superscore. About 90% of colleges will Superscore your SAT and, if you took it more than once, got your best-evidence reading and writing on one day and your best math on another day, these colleges…
Today, we are discussing college visits. Fortunately, most colleges are back to giving in-person tours and you definitely want to jump at the chance to go. But keep in mind when visiting colleges, they’re going to show you the best…
Today I am going to tell you how Financial Aid may impact admissions at some colleges and dive into Need Blind vs Need Aware. Some schools are what’s called “Need Blind”, which means the Admissions and the Financial Aid offices…
Today, we are discussing creativity. Some college applications specifically ask if you have an art portfolio or any curating experience you can link or upload. Sadly most students ignore this because they think it has nothing to do with their…
Today we’re talking about Early Decision vs Early Action college admission options, which are typically due November 1 or 15, and occasionally a little earlier or later. Applying early gives you a number of advantages in terms of getting accepted…
It’s PSAT Week! Most high schools will have their 10th and 11th graders take the PSAT during school on the week of Wednesday, October 12th. However, some high schools may add a handful of freshmen and some schools will have…
Today we have to talk about email, especially for sophomores. That’s because this is when you take the PSAT, start attending college visits and fairs, and eventually sign up by email for the SAT and ACT. All of these things…
Today, we are discussing Honors Colleges. Most four-year colleges have something called: Honors College. Some colleges call it a Fellows Program, Scholar School, but most call it Honors. In most college applications they ask if you’d like to be considered…
Today we're talking about five words to cut out of your college application essay. The first is you. Students often describe their activities like, "you go to meetings and you do community service," but you is the reader, and that's…
Today we're talking about an important piece of the college admissions puzzle at many colleges that most students tend to overlook, and that's demonstrated interest. That's how you show a college that you are specifically interested in their school and,…
Today, we are discussing registering for the SAT and ACT with testing accommodations. If your student has an IEP, 504 plan, or other disabilities they may be eligible for testing accommodations. This includes extra time, extra breaks, or whatever they…
Today we are discussing Work Study, a job you have in college while you’re enrolled. Federal Work Study specifically is federal dollars given to your college to employ you based on what you filled out in your FAFSA and you’ll…
Today, we are discussing Community Service. That’s one of the many qualities colleges like to see in their prospective students because you’re going to be a part of campus life and that greater area. They want to know if you’re…
Today, we are going to discuss the three reasons to make a college admissions resume. An admissions resume is different from a job resume. A job resume is typically black-printed on one white sheet of paper listing your employment and…
Now that the college bill is due, it’s time to talk about the difference between Subsidized vs Unsubsidized student loans. If you filled out the FAFSA, you’re offered $5,500 in a direct loan that is often called the “Stafford Loan”,…
August 1st means the Common App is open! This is a great time to get to work on specific parts of your school's applications for the colleges on your list. Some schools will be late, but most are right on…
Today we’re talking about if you should apply to colleges “test optional,” which is an option some colleges offer but other colleges don’t—so make sure to read their requirements carefully. On most colleges’ websites, you can find their interquartile range,…
One question I get asked a lot is, “What if I’m not sure about my intended major?” It’s okay if—at 16, 17, or 18 years old—you’re not sure what you want to do for the rest of your life. In…
Today I want to talk to 10th graders about what they can be doing right now to build a great application resume for when college admissions time comes. One of the biggest myths is that colleges are looking for the…
Today we’re talking about student loans. New student loan rates are in for the ‘22-’23 school year, and like everything else these days, they’re going up. On the federal side, the Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loan, often called the…
Today I want to give you some do’s and don'ts about writing your college application essays. DO write on a topic you care about: your passions and your intellectual curiosity. DON’T write an essay on the topic you think colleges…
Today we’re talking about bad topics for college admission essays. Last week we did a video on what makes good essay topics, so if you haven’t watched that yet, do watch it next. The worst essay topic that’s gonna wind…
This week we’re doing a two-parter: this week and next week. This week we're talking about good topics for college essays. We’ve talked before about how grades and scores are what qualify for college, but at the end of the…
Today I want to tell you about two essays not to submit as your Common App essay. The Common App is going to give you seven prompts from which you can choose to write about one for your essay. But…
Today I want to give you 5 things every rising college freshman should know before starting college. Number 1: Every college has a math lab, a writing lab, all kinds of labs where tutors are literally standing by waiting to…
Today I want to tell you how rising 12th, 11th, and 10th graders can make the most of their summer break. Yes, you need to relax. You need a vacation. But you also need to make the most of your…
One question I get asked a lot is, “Where do colleges come up with their cost of attendence?” That’s what they call their “COA.” There are nine categories of expenses in that “COA.” Let’s run through these costs of attending…
Today I want to tell you the biggest difference between the SAT vs ACT reading sections. Section 1 on the SAT is called “Reading Comprehension.” That’s worth 400 out of the 800 points in your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score. …
Today I want to tell you why you don't need to go to an Ivy League college. Eight colleges make up the athletic conference called The Ivy League: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth and UPenn. This year, 2022,…
Today I want to talk to juniors about the college admissions timeline ahead. Summer is the best time to work on college applications and essays, which is a much bigger project than most people think, especially because more competitive colleges…
With this week's Ivy Decision Day, that means that every college you’ve applied to has given you an answer. That means we're getting a lot of questions this week about, “What do I do if I'm waitlisted?” Here are some…
Today I want to tell you 3 benefits and 3 cautions about taking AP, IB, and dual enrollment classes in high school. AP and IB—Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate—are put out by competing companies that provide college level courses to…
Today I want to talk to you about one section the SAT and ACT have in common that’s a little different from one test to the next - the writing & English. On the SAT, Section 2 is the Writing…
Grades and scores are the two biggest criteria top colleges use to determine which students are eligible for their college. A recent study by the CollegeBoard says that in 1998, 39% of high school students graduated with an A-average, but…
Today I want to talk to parents of seniors about your student financial aid award letters and how to get more. You’re starting to get some of those letters, and some of them may have a lot less free money…
We have to talk about the big announcement that the SAT is going to change and what those changes are. It's not really a big surprise; they do change about every decade, so much so that I’m currently teaching my…
Today I want to give you a longer explanation where I’m going to talk to every junior about the year ahead for college admissions. Right now it's January, and this junior year is going to be your year for college…
PSAT scores are out now, so if you’re a 9th, 10th, or 11th grader who took the PSAT in October in school, you can get those scores today at collegeboard.org. If you don’t already have an account there, create one now…
Today I want to answer a question I get asked a lot: How many times should I take the SAT or the ACT tests for college? About 90% of colleges will "superscore" your SAT, taking your best of each section…
Today we’re talking scholarships. Here are two places where you should look to find scholarships: One is from the college itself. Based on the strength of your application, like your essays, grades, and scores, maybe your extracurricular activities as well,…
One question I get asked a lot is, “What if I don’t know what I want to major in?” Applying for college when you are undecided is okay. It is totally okay to not know what you want to do…
Today I want to tell you why parents of every incoming college student should apply for financial aid by filling out the FAFSA, which is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at FAFSA.gov. In the 2019–2020 school year, the…
Today is October 1st, which means it’s the day that the FAFSA opens at FAFSA.gov and we can get a first look at the supposed changes. That’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and it’s your first step for…
Today I want to talk to you about college admissions interviews. Some colleges require applicants to do an interview. Some colleges offer interviews to applicants who want one. Some colleges say, "If we want to interview you, we’ll reach out…
Today I want to talk to seniors working their way through the mountainous process of applying to college. You may be working on things like your essays and your applications, but you want to keep in mind that you're not…
Today I want to tell you why the December round of the SAT or ACT is your last best first round of testing. Junior year is testing year. Ideally you want to finish all your testing by the end of…
Today I want to tell you about hidden supplemental college application essays. A lot of colleges, when you look at their application on the Common App, it tells you how many essays there are, how many extra writing assignments. But that…
Today I want to tell you why you do not need perfect SAT scores or ACT scores to get into your top-choice college. The fact is that top colleges in America turn away students with perfect scores all the time.…
Today I want to answer a question I get asked a lot: "Should my student take the SAT or should my student take the ACT?" In some states, every high schooler takes the SAT. In some states, every high schooler…
Today I want to tell you about the best calculator to use for the SAT and the ACT. Both tests will tell you right in the instructions that a calculator is permitted, but not required. And for the ACT, that’s…
Today I wanted to talk with you about how many colleges you should apply to. Ideally, when thinking about how many to apply to, you want to apply to somewhere between five and ten colleges, maybe fifteen at the absolute…
Today I wanted to talk to juniors about what to do with all the college mail you’re getting. For email, first, you want to set up a separate account just for this. That way, when you’re done with the whole…
I wanted to talk to you today a little bit about what test optional means vs what test blind means. There are a lot of schools that, either prior to the pandemic or because of the pandemic, have gone “test…
Today I want to talk to juniors about college recommendation letters. Most colleges ask for three letters: one is going to come from your guidance counselor, and the other two can come technically from whomever you want, but at least…
Today I want to talk to juniors and seniors about why and how top colleges pick these students and not those students. A lot of students get great grades and great scores, but then don’t wind up getting into their…
Today, I want to tell you about the testing timeline. Junior year is testing year. The SAT and ACT are designed for juniors, and if you can get both of these tests done by the end of junior year, you…
Today, I want to answer a question I get asked a lot about the science score section of the ACT. A lot of folks think you have to be able to do well in biology, or chemistry, or physics to…
We are nearing the decision day for most colleges, and some students are still struggling with, "What if I haven’t had a chance to visit some of the colleges I’m still weighing?" Although visiting colleges during Covid may seem impossible,…
One question I get asked a lot is what kinds of math are going to be tested on the SAT and the ACT. Both tests have a lot of arithmetic and a lot of Algebra 1. Yes, both tests have…