Should I use the Common App or the Coalition App?
Rising seniors who will be applying to competitive colleges this fall are almost sure to soon face the question, “Which is better, the Common App or the Coalition App?” This budding rivalry isn’t quite yet on par with Coke vs. Pepsi, Ford vs. Chevy, or…
Advice for College Recommendation Letters
Let’s engage in mental exercise intended to do something quite strange—help you imagine your teachers as real human beings. Don’t worry—there’s a purpose to this! Put yourself in your favorite English teacher’s shoes for a moment. Let’s call him Mr. Hemingway. Mr. Hemingway rises at…
Is There a Private School Advantage in College Admissions?
Prior to the 1920s, attendance at a top-flight prep school was nothing less than a prerequisite for admission into an Ivy League college.
Don’t Forget to Pick a Financial Safety School (FSS)
The act of drawing up college contingency plans is entirely antithetical to the passion-filled optimism pulsating through the average teenage brain. Counting on your son or daughter to put careful thought into their post-secondary backup plan is like expecting Romeo & Juliet to respond to…
Everything you need to know about Test-Optional Admissions
Rarely does a week pass without another well-known college or university making headlines by announcing that it will no longer require applicants to submit standardized test scores. This movement, known as going “test-optional,” actually began almost 50 years ago at Bowdoin College and has rapidly…
Great colleges for “B” students
Let’s play a game akin to the Guess your Age/Weight booth at a local county fair. If we’re wrong, you get the cheaply-made stuffed animal of your choice. Ready? If you clicked on this article, you have an SAT score somewhere in the range of…
Applying to college? Beware of Social Media
This past week, in a well-publicized story that made international news, Harvard University rescinded offers of admission to more than ten students who posted obscene, sexually explicit and racist memes in a private Facebook group. The chat forum where the offensive memes were discovered by…
“O Canada”: Five Reasons to Consider Colleges North of the Border
Want to know why international student applications are down at 40% of U.S. schools in the 2016-17 admissions cycle? To quote South Park—Blame Canada…at least in part. Of course, declining foreign applications are primarily attributable to international fears at the dawn of the Trump era….
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Downloadable Resources for your College Transition
