Month: August 2020

Which College is Right for Me?

Posted on by Susan Ray
College Students

Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing Where to Apply to College

It’s your Senior Year of high school, and it’s time to apply to college, but where? 

How do you choose the schools in which to apply? What will be the best fit? Where will you be the happiest and excel academically? 

For a few students, these are easy questions- they KNOW where they want to go and have had their eyes set on a particular college since they were in middle school. For most students, however, the choice is not so simple.

The best way to decide where to apply is to ask yourself the questions below and evaluate what is most important to YOU when choosing a college. Ideally, the college you select is where you are going to live for the next four years, so you want to be happy there.

By asking yourself these questions, you can get a good picture of your ideal school. Once you’ve done that, start applying! 

Continue reading “Which College is Right for Me?” →

An Easy Way to Manage Your Time When Applying to College

Posted on by Susan Ray

Time Matters

Time Management is an essential, yet often overlooked, factor in successfully applying to colleges and obtaining scholarships. Deadlines sneak up and details get missed- details that could mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.

The Common App, the most widely used online college application, opens around the first of August when most high school seniors are still sleeping late, lounging by the pool, working part-time jobs, and staying up late playing video games or chatting with friends.

Most seniors are not thinking about college in August. But, early August is a GREAT time to start planning, creating a calendar, and beginning to work on the Common App (or whatever application the school of your choice requires).

 

Continue reading “An Easy Way to Manage Your Time When Applying to College” →

How Can an Education Consultant Help with College Admissions?

Posted on by Susan Ray

The college admissions process is a long road fraught with pitfalls and costly mistakes. 

Applying to a school at the last minute usually leads to an incomplete application and, thus, rejection. Forgetting to submit a transcript by the indicated deadline will land your application in the rejection pile without a second look. Applying only to the “safe” school may mean you never reach your potential nor feel satisfied. 

A college admissions consultant helps students and families avoid all of these scenarios and more! It is the consultant’s job to help families navigate all aspects of the college admissions process and reduce the overall stress created by this journey. The consultant helps students choose which schools to apply to, ensures that deadlines are met, and applications show an accurate, detailed picture of the student.

But, isn’t this what high school counselors do for free during school hours? Not really. 

According to the U.S. Department of Education, high school students receive an average of only 38 minutes of college counseling per year. High school counselors are forced to wear many hats on a school day, from providing individual, social, emotional counseling, group counseling, academic advising, crisis management, and now, in a virtual world, online content related to psychological health as well as educational guidance. Simply put, high school counselors do not have time to give students individual direction when applying to college. Continue reading “How Can an Education Consultant Help with College Admissions?” →

It’s August- What Should I Be Doing to Prepare for College?

Posted on by Susan Ray

It’s Time to start

 

August is here, and school is about to start, whether in person or virtual. Are you doing the right things to optimize your chances of attending the college of your dreams? Regardless of whether you are a freshman or a senior, there are things you need to do NOW to prepare for college.

Seniors