The Best U College Admissions Consulting

  As you may have heard reported in the media, many colleges are accepting 50% or more of their admitted students through Early Decision admissions. This pathway is an agreement between the student, family, school counselor and college; if admitted, a student has committed through the submission of the application that they will enroll. There are a few key things to know in determining whether or not this is the right path for you. Here’s our best advice: What’s in it for colleges? First and foremost, college admissions offices have a goal to meet: enroll a full class that aligns to the college’s priorities, without over-enrolling. Many colleges like to fill a significant portion of their class from the Early Decision pool, because it’s guaranteed. They know who will enroll, and they know how they are ‘shaping the class,’ usually to showcase greater diversity and higher admitted student statistics. What’s in it for students? If 50% or more of the class is coming from a smaller, com...

  As 12th grade students prepare to start the school year, it is time to finalize the list of colleges where a student will apply for admission. This is a good time to remember that the goal is not competing with every applicant out there, but creating great fit options for themselves. As applicant pools grow and acceptance rates shrink, read on for our most important advice to ensure you are creating a balanced college list with the right college options for you – Here’s what you need to know: A balanced list has a reasonable number of options. We encourage every student to create enough college options for themselves to have choices, but not so many that the process of completing applications, managing follow up, and finalizing a decision is absolutely overwhelming. While there can always be exceptions, in our experience somewhere around a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 12 colleges is a good number for most students. A balanced list has sufficient options that are likely and poss...

  We provide strategic, hourly counseling support to self-directed students and their families who want to manage their admissions process independently. College Admissions Planning Support (college choices, college list building, college visits, test planning, high school course selection, networking with colleges, college majors/careers, activities, summer plans, resume development, application deadlines strategies, application timeline, college decisions) College Application & Essay Support (how to fill out applications, applications and writing essay support, interview prep) College Affordability Support (how to pay for college, financial aid, scholarships, and cost of college) Passion Project Support (assistance in exploring and planning an in-depth extracurricular activity that reflects your academic and/or personal interests) BRAVE & SAFE SPACE We honor and respect the multifaceted identities of our students including sexuality, gender identity, race, ethnicity, c...

  At TBU, we’ve been reflecting on young people and parents lately. This summer, we are seeing new challenges arrive for families navigating the college process that seem to be unique to this particular moment in time, following an unprecedented global pandemic and its impacts. If you are noticing that your child is exhausted, slow to get started on college planning tasks, or struggling to summon the motivation for thinking about their future, you are not alone. Here are some of our observations from working with many students and families this season, and some tips to support your child’s growth through this time : What we are seeing — While we can’t speak for all students and families, we are seeing some trends emerge: Students are exhausted . Following almost a year and a half of uncertainty and altered plans, students are weary and need the summer to decompress. This is natural and may look like a lack of motivation or follow through. In our experience, a dip in motivation is...

  The college essay is a daunting task for most high school students. For many, it’s the first time in their academic lives they are asked to write about…themselves. No thesis to prove, no sources to cite, no textual analysis. Just you, your life, and what you are learning about yourself and the world. For those who are struggling to start or move through the process, here are three fantastic tools we recommend to find your way. And if you are wondering when to write that college essay…the answer is now . So check these out to get unstuck– Read real essays: Often, students feel lost trying to get a sense of the shape and tone of this personal statement essay. A good way to understand what this is all about, is to read real college essays that ‘worked’ according to admissions officers. Fortunately, there are several colleges that make a regular practice of sharing a handful of these essays. You can check these out from Connecticut College, Johns Hopkins University, Hamilton College,...