College admissions is getting more and more competitive, mainly because of ever increasing number of applications received, which lowers the rate of acceptance. Here are the numbers of students who applied, students who were admitted, and the acceptance rate for some of the best universities in the U.S. … [Read more...]
How soon should we begin working with Brand College Consulting?
The earlier in the process, the better! The best, most helpful college planning starts before or during freshman or sophomore year of high school. This allows time to flesh out the student's ideal academic program, delineate interests and lay the foundation for a progression of directed summer and extracurricular activities. Many of the interesting and most helpful courses and electives have prerequisites that need to be taken by freshmen and … [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...]
How to Prepare for the ACT Test
The ACT is a national college admissions examination that consists of subject area tests in: English (grammar) Math Reading (passages and comprehension) Science (charts and graphs) The ACT Plus Writing includes the four subject area tests plus a 30-minute Writing Test. The ACT includes 215 multiple-choice questions and takes approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete, including a short break (or just over four hours if … [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...]
50 Colleges That Create Futures
The college search is complicated and confusing. There are hundreds of ranking list, but many include student happiness as a factor. Parents and students want to know which colleges will actually prepare students for the real world, for employment, and which colleges go beyond the classroom. A new book by Princeton Review, Colleges That Create Futures: 50 Schools That Launch Careers By Going Beyond the Classroom is aiming to do just … [Read more...]
College Dorm or Apartment?
The choice between living on- or off-campus can be as difficult as choosing which college to attend. Just as you debated the pros and cons of each college campus and how each one best served your academic needs, similar consideration should be given to your housing choice. For incoming freshmen, the choice will probably be made for you; many colleges require first-year students to live on-campus. But if you are a sophomore or … [Read more...]
When Are Admission Decisions Released?
Here's When Colleges Are Releasing Regular Admissions Decisions for the Class of 2016 It’s March and there’s finally a light at the end of the admissions tunnel for anxious high school seniors – colleges will soon start releasing their regular admissions decisions! Here are regular application decision notification dates for current seniors, class of 2016, or soon to be- the Class of 2020. Expect these dates to change as we draw closer to … [Read more...]
Texas A&M Changes Admissions for Class of 2017
Students in the Class of 2017 have dealt with many changes in the past year: FAFSA, a new SAT, a possible Coalition application, and now A&M is changing its admissions for Engineering students. Texas A&M University is introducing an Early Action deadline of October 15 for students wishing to major in Engineering fields. Its regular deadline of December 1 will still stand for all other applicants, although A&M always suggests … [Read more...]
Guns on Texas College Campuses
Texas Campus Carry- Guns on College and Universities Campuses in Texas 2016 Update March 2016- Dallas News Publishes Campus Carry Tracker, which provides an interactive that shows where on each camps that guns are allowed. Update February 2016- UT Releases Gun Policy and UH Faculty Hold Safety Seminar and told to alter curriculum and limit access to students to avoid being shot. Senate Bill 11, passed in 2015, allows for the possession … [Read more...]