For most families with a kid away at college, Thanksgiving is the first time they will return home. This can be a great time to relax, see family and friends, and a great opportunity to have some important conversations. After letting your college kid catch up on sleep and get in touch with old friends, here are some topics to bring up before the whole family arrives for Thanksgiving dinner: 1. Academics By this time into the semester, students … [Read more...]
7 Tips to Start the High School Year Off Right
All high school students, from anxious new freshman to confident seniors, set their minds to making the most of the year. Four years may sound like a lot, but it's a short time considering you're setting the groundwork for the rest of your life. Goal: College! Here are 7 ways to ensure this school year provides the best support for your future choices and opportunities: 1. School course choices Consider your courses and teachers and decide … [Read more...]
When should you submit those college applications?
The short answer: as soon as possible. Most colleges start accepting applications August 1 or during the Fall semester of senior year. Even for colleges with Spring deadlines, it is strongly encouraged to submit applications during the Fall semester in order to be considered for scholarships. Plus, students who apply early are usually the ones who get a decision early! New Announcement: The Apply Texas application will open July 1st instead of … [Read more...]
What AP Score Do I Need?
Many students who take AP classes and exams are asking this question: Is my AP score good enough? The answer is complicated. AP scores are on a simple 5 point scale, but colleges are allowed to decide for themselves what score is required to get credit. The College Board defines the scores as follows: 5 - Extremely well qualified to receive college credit 4 - Well qualified to receive college credit 3 - Qualified to receive college … [Read more...]
Student’s and Parent’s Responsibilities in College Planning
Responsibilities of Students and Families While working with the college consultant, families and students have certain responsibilities in order to help the process run smoothly. The consultant's job includes guiding the student and family through selecting colleges, applying to those college, through the financial aid process, and to assist with college essays and scholarships. It is not within the consultant's services to write essays, … [Read more...]
Assured and Automatic Admissions at Texas Colleges
In 1997, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 588 – also known as the Texas Top Ten Percent Law – guaranteeing automatic admission to all state-funded universities for Texas students in the top ten percent of their public high school class. This law was later amended to allow universities to cap their admissions to the Top Ten Percent students as 75% of their freshmen 'seats'. This has allowed University of Texas Austin campus to restrict … [Read more...]
College Acceptances for Clients- Class of 2017
Yay! All of our college admissions decisions are in and all of our clients have selected their college for next school year. We assisted 27 current seniors, class of 2017, through the college admissions process, including 4 who were pro bono clients, mostly teenage moms. They received a total of 96 college acceptances, for a group of 23 students, that's an average of 4.2 each. Clients ranged from two college applications to 12! Some great … [Read more...]
10 Most Important College Financial Aid Terms
Your college education is an extremely important and expensive investment. Before you shell out thousands of dollars for an advanced education, you need to give yourself a basic education in the financial aid process. Navigating the college financial aid process can be hard enough even for the most highly educated people. So to help, I’ve put together a quick reference guide on the 12 most common financial aid terms used. 1. FAFSA (Free … [Read more...]
The 20 Biggest Colleges in the United States
Many students want to attend a large national university, with a strong football team and all of the perks that come along with it. But what size is too large? Some schools have over 40,000 undergraduates, making them the size of a small city. These schools can provide great opportunities to students, but they may also be a little overwhelming. Why So Many Students? Many of the colleges on this list are public state universities, which … [Read more...]
3 Things to Know About the 2016-17 Common Application
The 2016-17 Common Application opened on August 1. For those of you eager to get started, here are three key pieces of information to help you begin. And for those of you who aren’t quite ready to give up on summer, don’t worry. These tips will be just as useful in September. Your Account- If you previously created an account, it should rollover. Log in with your email address and password (be sure to write it down!), answer a few … [Read more...]
