The ACT Writing section (aka the essay) is new for the 2015-2016 school year. What’s the difference between the old and new ACT essay question? The old essay prompt was relevant to teenage issues and asked students to consider issues such as student dress code, curfew, whether or not students should be required to take PE or arts classes, or even whether or not texting while driving laws should be enforced. In other words, as the ACT puts it, … [Read more...]
Comparing University of Texas and Texas A&M: A Look at the Numbers
University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M at College Station are the best public universities in Texas. Many families have a strong preference for one college over the other. Whether it's the football team, the academics or the legacy, students usually favor one as well. To help families decide which college is right for their students, we'll take a look at the college's statistics and admissions data. University of Texas- … [Read more...]
Changes to the PSAT
Do you graduate in 2017 or after? If so, you’ll be taking the new redesigned PSAT, starting in October 2015, the new PSAT will be given to all juniors across the country. Some 9th-10th graders take this test as well. So what's new about the PSAT? Let’s dive into the changes being made to the redesigned PSAT. Changes in Format The new redesigned PSAT is 35 minutes longer than the old PSAT. It clocks in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, rather than … [Read more...]
Dept of Ed Announces Change Simplifying Application for Federal Financial Aid
Two weeks ago, President Obama announced a significant policy shift that will help low-income students access college financial aid by making the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) simpler to complete. This key administrative change will allow applicants to complete the FAFSA using income tax data from two years prior to the current year. This change is a major win for students, significantly simplifying the aid application … [Read more...]
Best College Business Program Rankings
Here are the rankings for the best undergraduate business programs at US universities in 2016, courtesy of the US News and World Report. Cost of tuition includes tuition and fees, but not room and board costs. OOS= out of state # College/ University Cost of Tuition 6 yr Grad Rate 1 University of Pennsylvania $49,000 98% 2 MIT $46,000 98% 3 University of California- Berkeley $13,000 in state $38,000 … [Read more...]
Factors That Help Students in College Admissions
Your high school grades are the #1 factor in the college admission decision. Other factors count, but the body of work you develop in high school is what matters most—as it should. Colleges do not choose students by the numbers only—they don’t simply take the students with the highest grades and test scores. Colleges use many other factors to add depth to the numbers, and to compare applicants with each other to build a class that fits the … [Read more...]
New College List Ranks by Service to the Community
US News College Rankings is the 'popular' college ranking lists, but since they use questionable data that skews towards the Ivy Leagues, many professionals in the field want more, a better list, more information. Washington Monthly has given that to us. Using new criteria, Washington Monthly has developed a ranking system based on the three issues that are most important to higher education: social mobility, research, and community … [Read more...]
Common App Essay Requirements
Update January 28, 2016- The Common Application has announced that the 2016-2017 personal statement essay prompts will be the same as the 2015-2016 prompts. Juniors should write essays the summer after junior year. The Common Application went live on August 1st so many rising seniors started filling in their apps. As soon as they added a college, most were able to see additional writing requirements and supplements. These are in addition … [Read more...]
Class of 2015 College Admissions Data
The Class of 2015 high school graduates are soon off to college and about to become the Class of 2019 (for the lucky few who will actually graduate from college on time). But do we know which colleges they are headed to? We do know the most recent college acceptance rates, number of applications and number of students … [Read more...]
Seven Texas Universities Named Best in the World
According to the 2015 Center for World University Rankings report, several Texas universities the made of Best Colleges in the World The University of Texas at Austin was the 30th best university in the world, according to the report. It topped the list of Texas schools that made the cut but moved down one spot from last year. #30- University of Texas- Austin #102- Texas A&M University #120- Rice University #121- Baylor University #139 … [Read more...]
