,

“Test Optional” wasn’t intended to help students

One of the many impacts of COVID19 has meant a drastic change admissions policies related to the SAT and ACT. Colleges and universities have sold it to applicants as "test optional", and students and parents have taken that to mean that they…

2020-2021 College Supplemental Essay List

The 2021 College Application Season is here! Colleges across the country are beginning to release their supplemental essays, far in advance of their application deadlines.  Supplemental essays complement the longer Main Essay and provide…

ACT Announces Covid-19 Guidelines for June 13th and Beyond!

As of today, ACT has not cancelled the June 13th ACT test administration.  At the same time they released Covid-19 policies for test day.  Having said that, there is still a chance that the June 13th ACT will be cancelled;  we'll know for…
,

5 things high school Juniors should do right now

The June SAT has been cancelled, as were the March and May tests before it and the April ACT as well. At the time of writing this, ACT is adamant that they will be offering tests in June and July, even adding test dates to both months to accommodate…
,

COVID-19 Update: Schools Temporarily Using Test Optional Admissions

The following list is dynamic so please check back regularly. These are schools that, in response to the COVID-19 crisis are adjusting their application requirements for 2021 grads. There are also several cases where schools are "piloting"…

5 Steps for Getting Letters of Recommendation from Your Teachers

It's the time of year when high school juniors are starting to look at the long slog between Spring Break and the end of the school year with something between sighing resignation and outright panic. AP and IB exams will take up May with Final…
,

What you should know about Test Optional Policies

The typical press release from colleges who make the decision involves statements about how they recognize that students are more than a test score. That the college is committed to taking a look at the whole student. Those platitudes are noble, and in cases like the UChicago or Wake Forest or Bates,  they seem sincere. I'm not entirely convinced that the motives behind some of the recent announcements from Northern Illinois and Lourdes are quite as high-minded.

The problem with student debt

It's a tough conversation, but there are likely other, better options. At first it probably seems unfair. The student did all the right things. Isn't the reward supposed to be going to the school of their dreams? When they graduate with $75,000 of student debt, the dream becomes a nightmare.
a list of Alabama's out-of-state scholarships
, ,

College prep generates an amazing ROI

Spending $700 on a quality course where the student could get that 1160 would mean saving $40,000 over 4 years. That's 5700%.
,

The First Step in Test Prep

The first step in planning your test prep is understanding what score you're going to need in order to get into the school you want. The key to getting accepted into a specific school has as much to do with staying out of the “No” pile as anything else. The easiest way for an admissions officer to stamp “Denied” on an application is if a student’s GPA and test scores don’t match what they’re looking for.