No, college admissions is not solely about perfect GPAs and testing. While good grades and high test scores can certainly help, there are many other factors that colleges consider when evaluating applicants. First, it might be helpful to understand the difference between holistic and non-holistic college admissions. Holistic Admissions Holistic college admissions is an approach…
Simply put, financial aid is money that helps you pay for college. This funding comes from a variety of sources but does not include money from family or personal savings or earnings. For many students, financial aid is essential to making college affordable. An important key to understanding financial aid is to recognize the vernacular…
Yes, you can add reading (or any other activity) to your college application. However, like many things in college admissions and in life, just because you can doesn’t mean you should. But what if you are stuck staring at the 10 allowed spaces for the “Activities” section of the Common Application and only have 9…
Colleges determine financial aid packages for admitted students based on the results of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and in some cases the College Scholarship Service Profile (CSS Profile). If your financial aid offer is lower than what you were expecting, requesting more financial aid – read, ask politely, is an option.…
If you’re a high school senior applying to college, January is usually a nice change of pace from the busy fall season, when you were likely scrambling to submit all your applications on time. Now, you’re hopefully just waiting for schools to release their admissions decisions. But what if you somehow realize that you made…
If you’re a high school student in the process of applying to college, there are lots of decisions to make along the way: where to apply, what to write about in your essays, and what activities and achievements to include in your applications, among many others. College applications are designed to provide a comprehensive picture…
Imagine this. It’s the summer before your freshman year in high school and you are attending an open house to meet your teachers, get your locker combination, have your ID made, and get a feel for the types of activities that are offered at your school. If you are like most students, it can be…
There you are. Sitting at your desk listening to your teacher go on and on about the Pythagorean Theorem and why it is important to master so that you test well and can get into college. Per usual, you struggle to focus and your mind starts to wander. In that exact moment, you begin to…
Clubs, and sports, and jobs oh my!!! With so many choices for extracurriculars, it can be very difficult to determine which activities are best. Maybe you are preparing to apply to college during the fall of your senior year and you’re wondering what activities to include n your activity list. Maybe you are in your…
The Common Application, The Universal Application, and Supplemental Applications for College It’s mid-August before your senior year and you’re feeling pretty good about your college applications. After all, your Common Application Personal Statement or Universal Application main essay is complete, your activities filled out and your letters of recommendation have been requested. You might just…