The Best U College Admissions Consulting

The Best U College Counseling team  would be happy to meet with you to discuss your specific high school course selection process. We like to start with a free introductory call to learn more about your admissions needs and then we dive into a counseling meeting to discuss course selection in detail. Feel free to book a free call by going to  The Best U College Admissions Consulting

The Best U College Admissions Consulting  is a team of college admissions experts that use their experiences as university admissions counselors and high school counselors to take the guesswork out of the college admissions process. At the cornerstone of The Best U’s services is the importance placed on determining each student’s college admissions needs and empowering students to find their right next steps. To learn more, visit:   The Best U College Admissions Consulting

Summer is a great time to get ahead on your college applications. This is a great way to reduce stress during senior year and produce the best quality work for applications. Here are some ways to get ahead… College Applications & Essays You need time and a clear mind to present your best quality work to colleges. Writing your essays and filling out your applications over the summer will provide you with the quality time you need. Start with writing your Common Application essay and then work on your college supplemental essays. The Common Application and all of the college essay supplements will go live on August 1. The Common Application usually shuts down during the last week in July, but you can fill out the personal information prior to August 1. If you fill out the Common Application prior to the shutdown, then your information will be saved and rolled over. At times, they re-format the application and minor information can get lost, so it is easiest to fi...

Juniors, at the end of this school year, it is not a bad idea to start planting seeds with your teachers by asking them if they would write your letters of recommendation for your college applications. Check out this video to get important tips you need to know about teacher recommendations. To learn more, visit:  The Best U College Admissions Consulting

The Best U College Admissions Consulting  is a team of college admissions experts that use their experiences as university admissions counselors and high school counselors to take the guesswork out of the college admissions process. At the cornerstone of The Best U’s services is the importance placed on determining each student’s college admissions needs and empowering students to find their right next steps. Goal is to provide families with as much information as we can in order to help them navigate and manage their admissions process in a stress free and empowered way. The Best U is available for hourly meetings to help you with what you need, when you need it.   Details below! College Admissions Topics Covered In Meetings The Best U college counseling team members are considered college admissions experts, and their advice/professional perspective is through the college admissions lens. In meetings, the team can focus on any of the following aspects of the pr...

From a traumatic experience in my youth, I had to learn how to say “No”. This experience is now applied to teaching parents how to support their teenagers’ “No’s.” To learn more, visit:   The Best U College Admissions Consulting

We get many questions from students about whether they should work or not during the summer and/or school year. They think that colleges value other activities more than work. This is a myth. Check out this video about work and how it is viewed by colleges in the college admissions process. To learn more, visit:  The Best U College Admissions Consulting

In the wake of yet, more recent school shootings, including most recently at a K-12 school in Denver, Colorado and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, I wanted to provide insights from the perspective of a mother and college counselor. As a parent myself, I have many conversations with my own children about the shootings. After each shooting, they always have lots of questions and want to spend time discussing what happened and how they feel. Often after a shooting, they ask if they can miss school the following day. My children have told me that kids are constantly talking about the shootings at school and that teachers frequently lead conversations letting them know that they are safe. I noticed that my children feel more relieved when we acknowledge the occurrence and they are involved in open-dialogs at home and with their teachers at school. I did research on what we can do to support children and teenagers through the national epidemic we are facing. ...

Summer is a great time to get ahead on your college applications. This is a great way to reduce stress during senior year and produce the best quality work for applications. Here are some ways to get ahead… College Applications & Essays You need time and a clear mind to present your best quality work to colleges. Writing your essays and filling out your applications over the summer will provide you with the quality time you need. Start with writing your Common Application essay and then work on your college supplemental essays. The Common Application and all of the college essay supplements will go live on August 1. The Common Application usually shuts down during the last week in July, but you can fill out the personal information prior to August 1. If you fill out the Common Application prior to the shutdown, then your information will be saved and rolled over. At times, they re-format the application and minor information can get lost, so it is easiest to fill out th...

There are less students applying to more colleges in the United States. As a result, colleges in the U.S. are becoming more and more competitive each year. With the growing number of applications and the decrease in acceptance rates, more than ever it is important to have a well-balanced college list. A well-balanced college list looks like… 2 to 3 Likely/Safety SchoolsThe student far exceeds the admissions criteria/grades, testing, and more and may have a 60/70% and above acceptance rate. 2 to 4 Possible/Target schoolsThe student matches the admissions criteria or exceeds and may have a 40 to 60% acceptance rate. 2 to 3 Reach SchoolsThe student either matches or exceeds the admissions criteria and may have a 30% acceptance rate and under. The good news is that the majority of the colleges in the U.S. still offer roughly a 70% acceptance rate, so there are plenty of schools to apply to in order to have a well-balanced list. The problem arises when students want to apply ...

Juniors, at the end of this school year, it is not a bad idea to start planting seeds with your teachers by asking them if they would write your letters of recommendation for your college applications. Check out this video to get important tips you need to know about teacher recommendations. Learn more at-   The Best U College Admissions Consulting

Getting into college in the United States does not have to be hard according to the November 2018 Inside Higher Ed article called “New Data on Admissions: Criteria That Matter, Early Decision and More”. The article mentions that “the average four-year college admits nearly two-thirds of those who apply, and this is true from year to year in the study.” However, we are hearing a different story from the media and from many high school students that recently went through the college application process. Walking down the hallway at most high schools in the US and you will hear stories of high-achieving students not getting into their top choices. The truth is that it is still not hard to get into most colleges in the United States. However, for the students that apply to highly selective colleges (colleges with an acceptance rate lower than 20%), many of them experience unfavorable decisions rather than countless acceptances. Despite there being fewer students applying to colleg...

Juniors, at the end of this school year, it is not a bad idea to start planting seeds with your teachers by asking them if they would write your letters of recommendation for your college applications. Check out this video to get important tips you need to know about teacher recommendations. Learn more at   Letters of Recommendations from Teachers - The Best U

When visiting colleges, it can be a whirlwind of tours, admissions statistics, and classrooms. The information you learn during your college admissions visit can feel the same at every school. To learn more about the school during your college visits, check out these important reminders.  Learn more at The Best U College Admissions Consulting 

It is important to be active over the summer for your own personal development as well as to add interesting experiences to your college application. You don’t have to pay a lot of or any money to do interesting summer activities. Learn creative ways to design an interesting summer experience that does not cost any money.  Learn more at The Best U College Admissions Consulting

Grades and rigorous coursework are typically the most important pieces that colleges value in the admissions process. As a result, selecting the right classes can help you get the best grades possible and enhance your applications. The top two most important things to consider when selecting high school classes include: Always take five academic classes each semester and each year in high school including senior year. Increase the rigor of your classes each year and take more rigorous classes in your academic strengths and areas of interests (especially if the classes are foundational for particular majors like math and science classes for STEM majors, etc). When selecting high school classes, it is good to acknowledge the importance of receiving the best grades you can (an upward trend in grades matter) and maintaining a course load of five academic classes each year in high school. Academic classes are the five core subjects including math, social sciences, sciences, la...

The Best College For the Best You The college admissions process in the United States has changed so much over the years that many high school students and parents are confused and not sure where to start. At many colleges today, we are seeing growing numbers of applications, decreases in acceptance rates, and increases in college costs. As a result, many families are not sure how to find the best fit colleges, how to stand out in college applications, and how to navigate all of the moving parts. Nowadays it has become a complicated process leaving families with many questions like... “What colleges can I get into?” “How many activities should I be doing?” “Should I take the ACT or the SAT?” More and more families are seeking professional college counseling support and rightfully so. Here at  The Best U , a team of college admissions experts that use our experiences as former college admissions counselors and high school counselors to take the guesswork out of the...