The Best U College Admissions Consulting

Too many high school students add more undue stress to their lives when it comes to college admissions testing. Learn why focusing on just one test, the ACT or the SAT can save time, money, stress, and energy.  thebest.net .

Jami Silver   received her Masters in Counseling with a specialization in Higher Education from Central Connecticut State University and a B.A. from Oberlin College. Since 2000, Jami Silver has worked in education and college counseling. Jami spent many years in the field of college admission and college access, working on “both sides of the desk” as an Admission Dean at Connecticut College and Wesleyan University and later worked as a college counselor at multiple independent day and boarding secondary schools and a public charter school. Jami regularly presents at national and regional conferences on topics related to college admissions, college access, and the college process. Jami volunteers with the Hartford public library to provide college counseling to kids, sat on the Board Member of the YMCA of Greater Hartford and has been an active volunteer for College Horizons, a college admissions workshop program for Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian stud...

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. Additionally...

Check out this video to learn from test prep expert, Brendan Mernin, of Noodle Pros, about which test prep strategy works best. Is it shorter more aggressive prep or test prep that is stretched out over longer periods of time? To learn more, visit:  The Best U College Admissions Consulting

The Common Application announced their college application essay prompts for next year. The big news is that the essay prompts and word length will remain the same! You will select one prompt for your essay and you have up to 650 words (usually equals one page). Plan on writing your Common Application essay over the summer, ideally in June and July, so you can dedicate August to college essay supplements, which are the additional essays each individual college may require you to write. Writing essays over the summer will absolutely make for a less stressful senior year. Trust me, ask any current high school senior who applied to colleges this year. They will tell you to WRITE ESSAYS OVER THE SUMMER. Check out the college essay prompts below. I receive this information directly from the  Common Application . Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, plea...

We help set the tone for what freshmen can expect in high school and what to do now to be ready for the admissions process later. Topics Extracurricular activities and summer plans Testing Plans – ACT, SAT, SAT Subject Tests, and more Course selection Majors and careers How to stand out in the college admissions process College exploration opportunities – college visits, networking with colleges, and more Free subscription to Custom College Plan – provides access to in-depth college research, college list development, application planning and timeline support Services & Pricing Hourly meetings offered for high school freshmen. We bill in 15-minute increments for meetings, post-meeting notes, research, any type of correspondence, reviewing of essays and applications, and more. HOURLY RATE Annaliese, David, Jami, Jillian, Lauren, and Matt: $200 per hour 4-Hour Punch Card – $700 8-Hour Punch Card – $1,200 Stacy $250 per hour 4-Hour Punch Card – $900 ...

Our family recently went through a big transition. We moved to a new city during the school year which included a transfer of schools for my children. As a parent, I desperately wanted the transition to go smoothly for my kids. In my mind getting life back to normal meant creating a routine that included after school activities and finding immediate social experiences for my kids to make friends. For the first month of the move, I became obsessed with finding activities and opportunities for my middle school kids to get involved in. Not only did I have the intention of getting them involved to socialize and make friends, but I had the hidden agenda of setting them up in middle school with activities to make the high school transition and then the admissions process easier. Colleges want to see students involved in well-established, in-depth, consistent activities in high school. Using the middle school years to explore activities that can then become consistent experiences in high ...

Annaliese Schroeder   received her B.A. in Economics at Colorado College and is currently pursuing her M.S.Ed in Education Entrepreneurship at the University of Pennsylvania. Annaliese was enthralled by the college search process from the moment she toured institutions as a high school senior. She found that a campus visit was the best way to truly get a pulse of the campus culture and student life. And each institution was unique. Fast forward to the present day and she has a breadth of experiences within the Admissions realm, from working as an Assistant Director of Admissions at a private boarding high school to her current role as an Admissions Counselor at Colorado School of Mines. She is energized by conversations with students that center around their ‘ideal college’ and is eager to suggest schools that could be a great fit. Beyond her 8-5 and graduate school, she volunteers with Denver Kids Inc. and serves as a mentor for youth within the community. She is dedicated t...

December and January are the typical months when colleges and universities in the United States will release Early Decision (ED) and Early Action (EA) decisions. March is when most colleges and universities in the United States will release final admissions decisions including Regular Decision (RD) applications and EA and ED deferred applications. Check out this video to understand how colleges announce decisions and the important next steps you need to consider when you have all of your admissions decisions. Learn more at  The Best U College Admissions Consulting

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...