College Admissions

March 18, 2020

Depending on where you live, your high school may officially be closed for the next couple of weeks or (perhaps more likely) months. This is surely a tough thing...

March 10, 2020

As of the publication of this blog, there are far more unknowns than knowns regarding coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. What is known is that,...

January 30, 2020

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This well-worn idiom captures the mindset of the decision-makers at the Common Application who announced this January that the essay prompts for...

January 21, 2020

Welcome to College Transitions’ first look at early round acceptance rates at Ivy League and other highly-selective colleges and universities for the 2019-20 cycle. As of this posting in...

March 18, 2019

In the wake of the instantly infamous Varsity Blues scandal, our admissions consulting firm, College Transitions, has received a flood of interview requests from media outlets along with countless queries...

January 15, 2019

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This well-worn idiom captures the mindset of the decision-makers at the Common Application who announced this January that the essay prompts for...

January 1, 2019

For even the most academically gifted teen, the prospect of getting into an Ivy League or Ivy-caliber college is a tenuous proposition. In 2018, acceptance rates at the eight...

May 17, 2018

The results from the 2017-18 admissions cycle are still rolling in, but the data available thus far sends one very clear message—acceptance rates at highly-selective colleges are dwindling. Ivy...

March 26, 2018

“Holistic admissions, applications rise, demonstrated interest, SAT goodbyes…” There are enough hot-button issues taking center stage in the admissions world in 2018 to add a verse to Billy Joel’s...

June 15, 2017

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?...

April 17, 2017

Flowers blooming, the crack (or ping) of the baseball bat, the storing away of sweaters and jeans and the end of hibernation for piles of t-shirts and shorts—April is...

March 29, 2017

After battling through the epic journey of the college application process, with all its emotional twists and turns, the torturous anticipation, the potential heaven of acceptance or hell of...

March 5, 2017

At risk of sounding like famed 60 Minutes resident curmudgeon, Andy Rooney, the world has changed drastically in so many ways since 1986—landlines have been replaced by cell phones,...

December 15, 2016

You likely vowed to start planning for your son or daughter’s education back when he/she was only a baby. Your intention was to open up a 529 Plan and...

October 7, 2016

When we learn about Civics and Government in 8th grade, we are presented with the high-minded ideals of democracy—the Bill of Rights, our masterfully designed system of checks and...

September 27, 2016

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is generally understood by applicants and their families to be the most important step in financing a college education. Using a...

April 8, 2016

After battling through the epic journey of the college application process, with all its emotional twists and turns, the torturous anticipation, the potential heaven of acceptance or hell of...

November 11, 2015

In the early 1970s the U.S. auto industry received warnings from economic experts—if they continued to focus on the wrong thing, Japanese car companies would soon put them out...

September 1, 2015

As private college counselors, we are well-versed in the criticisms of school-based counseling.  Unavailable, inexperienced, misinformed—these are the words that some within our industry often use to describe the...

June 18, 2015

For many students and their families, attending a liberal arts college sounds like an expensive proposition. After all, liberal arts schools are known for their small class size, available...