The Best U College Admissions Consulting

With the cost of college increasing every year, the burden of paying for college is shifting to not only the parents. Check out this video to understand how colleges are expecting students to contribute to the cost of college. To learn more,  click here .

Despite the high caseloads that school counselors may face, many high schools are providing a variety of opportunities for students and families to learn more about the college admissions process without having to travel for college visits. In the fall, high schools open their doors for college representatives to conduct 30- minute presentations to high school juniors and seniors. Frequently, in the fall or spring, high schools will host college fairs for all high school grade levels and open them to students at any school in the region. Many school counseling teams will provide Financing College and/or College Nights during the school year for students and parents to provide important information about paying for college and/or how to coordinate the college admissions process with counseling staff. Counseling Offices tend to post resources around the school or the office, so students can learn about colleges and experiences they may not have previously heard of. Additional...

We help families learn how to navigate the financial aid and scholarship process. Topics Financial aid process – overview of the process, eligibility criteria, application timeline, deadlines, and strategies, how to read financial aid award packages, what to look out for, direction on how to fill out applications, and navigate special circumstances/financial aid appeals We bill in 15-minute increments for meetings, post-meeting notes, research, any type of correspondence, reviewing of essays and applications, and more. Overall understanding of cost of college and creating a college finance plan Services & Pricing Hourly meetings are offered for all age groups. We do charge for any time spent over 15 minutes for meetings, research, any type of correspondence, and more. 1st Client Meeting Rate With Jenna $200 per hour The 1st Meeting can be applied to a punch card. Hourly Rate With Jenna $200 per hour 4-Hour Punch Card – $700 8-Hour Punch Card – $1,200 ...

Navigating the financial aid landscape can be confusing and overwhelming. Here are some strategies to help you take advantage of the opportunities that are available. Research Institutional Funding: It isn’t too late to get funding from the schools. While many institutions award scholarships based on the admissions profile, there are also many that have separate supplementary applications for scholarships. These can be found through majors, financial aid offices, alumni associations, and other campus locations. Contact some of the schools on your list and ask how scholarships are awarded and if there are any other places on campus to look. Complete Financial Aid Applications: I recommend that families always complete the FAFSA and CSS profile every year no matter what. I suggest this for 2 main reasons: 1. You never know what will happen, financial challenges can happen and it is best to have the applications on file to best position you to receive financial aid. 2. Lots of sch...

When exploring colleges, it is important to consider the type of environment you want to be in. Do you want to be a big fish at the college you attend or a small fish? There are pros and cons to both. Check out this video to learn more about both options. Learn more at  thebestu.net

This is a tough question to answer because it all depends on the type of schools you want to apply to. A strong score for one school may be a noncompetitive score for another school. Instead of getting fixated on a particular test score being a “good score”, I recommend two things. Take practice tests so you can start to determine your testing abilities, strengths/weakness, and you can start to see what range you are testing within. Or work with a testing expert to help you to determine your testing goals, the scores you will most likely achieve, and determine testing abilities and limitations. Start identifying schools you are interested in and check out the average test scores. Typically colleges will either post the middle 50th percentile test score of their accepted or enrolled freshmen students. A great resource to use to check the average ACT and SAT scores for accepted students is by going to College Search, Financial Aid, College Application, College Scholarship, Studen...

Learn why it is important to shift your expectations around having a dream school and what is the best approach to building your college list within the current state of affairs of college admissions. Families from the USA and All Over The World – Schedule your free introductory parent phone call or online video meeting now! Schedule Here

Summer activities are a part of your overall extracurricular experience in high school. On college applications in the United States, you will have to fill out a list of your activities which will include both school year and summer activities. As you are making summer plans, keep your future application activities list in mind. Participating in summer experiences not only can be very rewarding to you personally but also, can make you a more interesting applicant. You will have a more in-depth activities list and you will have more to say in your college applications. Also, you have more time on your hands during the summer, so you can plan activities that you normally are not able to do during the school year. Colleges appreciate consistency and depth in extracurricular activities, so think about ways you can take existing activities and participate in them in new and more comprehensive ways. Avoid experiences that are a one-time opportunity. Activities such as leadership conf...

Meet Matt Waldman. Matt Waldman loves helping students and their families make amazing decisions during their college application process – especially when it comes to discovering the right college! He received his B.S. in Journalism from Ohio University and an M.Ed in Higher Education from Harvard University. Matt has a certification in College Counseling from Columbia University’s Teachers College. Additionally, he has served as an Associate Director of College Advising at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, CT and Senior Director of College Services at The Steppingstone Foundation in Boston, MA, where he created and directed a college advising program serving 480 students each year. Matt has also presented at national and regional conferences on the topics of nonprofit management, essay writing, and connecting to college admissions offices. His writing has been published by New Directions in Higher Education, a professional journal for the higher education field. Dur...

We help families learn how to navigate the financial aid and scholarship process. Topics Financial aid process – overview of the process, eligibility criteria, application timeline, deadlines, and strategies, how to read financial aid award packages, what to look out for, direction on how to fill out applications, and navigate special circumstances/financial aid appeals We bill in 15-minute increments for meetings, post-meeting notes, research, any type of correspondence, reviewing of essays and applications, and more. Overall understanding of cost of college and creating a college finance plan Services & Pricing Hourly meetings are offered for all age groups. We do charge for any time spent over 15 minutes for meetings, research, any type of correspondence, and more. 1st Client Meeting Rate With Jenna $200 per hour This meeting can be applied to and used as the first meeting of the package below and the prices will be the package rate only.” to the follow...

Our very own Best U college counselor,  Jami Silver , was recently interviewed on the “College Admissions Decoded” podcast sponsored by our professional association,  National Association for College Admissions Counseling’s (NACAC) National College Fairs. This episode is a valuable look at how parents can help support their children through the college admissions process and beyond. EPISODE FIVE: “AVOIDING THE PARENT TRAP: A COMMON-SENSE APPROACH TO COLLEGE ADMISSION” In this episode, admission experts—from both the high school and college sides of the desk—offer tips to help parents ensure their students remain the focus of the college admission process. The panelists discuss ways parents can help their children not only get into college but through it. Offering empathy and a common-sense approach to applying to college, the panelists share ways parents can be effective, supportive partners throughout the process. The episode features  Ashley Pallie,  ...