If you are about to enter your senior year of high school, chances are you are thinking about your college applications and your application essays. And if you are, you are probably planning to write about your experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
“The University of California Board of Regents today (May 21) unanimously approved the suspension of the standardized test requirement (ACT/SAT) for all California freshman applicants until fall 2024. The suspension will allow the University to create a new test that better aligns with the content the University expects students to have mastered for college readiness. However, if a new test does not meet specified criteria in time for fall 2025 admission, UC will eliminate the standardized testing requirement for California students.” Read more
This is the time of year when high school seniors have traditionally made their final college selections, mailed in deposits, bought college apparel, contacted their future roommates, and gotten ready to make the exciting transition to college.
But now students, their families and colleges all seem to be in the same pickle, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Here are just a few of the issues that have risen to the surface.
There are many reasons why it makes sense for this year’s graduating high school seniors to take a year off – a gap year – before starting college.
Students who opt for gap years could . . . Read more
“Thousands of Students In New York Face Shuttered Schools,” an article in The New York Times on March 10, 2020, reports that more schools could close because of the current Coronavirus scare. The article reports that public schools have closed in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York. And it you do a little searching online, chances are you will find that public schools near you are have either closed down temporarily or have contingency plans to do so if students, teachers or administrators become ill. Read more
Dozens of summer STEM programs are available for high school students. Many are held on college campuses. Some courses are taught by their regular faculty members, others by undergraduate and graduate students.
What subjects can your high schoolers study at these programs? Course offerings vary, but most programs offer courses like these: Read more
What is the single most effective way to improve the scores that you or a student will earn on the PSAT, SAT and ACT tests that are coming up in the new year?
There are many answers to that question, and most involve spending money on costly tutoring programs. But there is another way to dramatically improve the chances of earning a higher score on those tests – and it will cost you very little . . . Read more
With early decision and early action letters from colleges arriving in applicants’ mailboxes or on the way, this is a good time to review the basics of what early decision and early action programs mean. Read more
Are you applying to college in the coming year? Are you a parent of a student who will be applying, or are you counseling students who will be?
If so, it is important to remember that 2019 saw some of the biggest changes ever in college admissions – changes that will exert a major impact on the way colleges are evaluating applicants this year.
Here are some changes that we believe we can all agree will happen. Read more
As the 2019 holidays start, it is worth asking what the high school juniors you know can and should be doing now to get ready to apply to colleges.
If you think it is too early to get started – or if you think you shouldn’t expect your kids or students to do more than have another helping of turkey or hang with their friends – perhaps you should think again. You certainly don’t want to overburden juniors with too many stressful tasks. But the fact remains that the right activities now can make the rest of their junior years less stressful – and help them get into the right colleges next year. Read more