The Best U College Admissions Consulting

  If you know a 12th grade student, chances are they are feeling stumped by a pesky supplemental essay question on their college applications right now. These essays, optional or required as part of an application to a specific college, can be tough for students to tackle. Here are three tips to help you write your best – #1 Don’t let optional fool you. Many additional essay or short answer questions asked by colleges within their applications are listed as “optional” or “not required.” Don’t let this fool you. Colleges are receiving more applications than ever before, and a thoughtful supplemental essay response is an important way to show the college you are invested and serious about attending! Don’t leave that opportunity on the table. #2 Think about why a college is asking this question. If a college is adding an essay that will increase the amount of reading they have to do for each application, they are asking that question for a reason. Take a look at the prompt and ask y...

  If you have a student in the college application process, you may already be aware of some recent ‘big’ announcements by big name universities: “ More colleges extend test optional policies” “UT joins the Common App!” “USC announces new early action option” While these shifts sound like they might benefit applicants, the reality is a bit more complex. Read on for our insights about what motivates these policies and what this means for applicants – What’s really behind making it ‘easier’ for students to apply? As colleges announce shifts in their admission requirements, deadlines, and application processes, we want every student and parent to have an honest look at the why behind these changes. Whether it’s accepting applications without test scores, offering an early action deadline where a college didn’t have one before, dropping supplemental essay requirements, or finally making it ‘easier’ for students to apply by joining the Common Application, each of these admissions offic...

Save the Date:  Does Testing Even Matter?:  Everything you need to know about college admissions testing October 12th: 8 PM ET | 6 PM MT  Join us for a live TBU Member webinar on understanding PSAT, ACT, SAT and the changing landscape of college admissions testing.  Click here to register Free opportunity, exclusively for TBU Members, please register to receive the webinar link. Not yet a member?  Click here to sign up .

  Some of the most common questions we hear from 10th and 11th grade students and their parents are “Which test should I take: the SAT or the ACT?” “Is one easier?” “Do the tests even matter anymore?” Read on for our recommendations about how to move forward with college entrance exam testing when we hear increasingly about “test optional” admissions – You have probably heard mentions in the news, through college admissions mailings, and your college visits over the last two years about colleges going ‘test optional.’ Most recently, the California State University system, the largest public university system in the U.S., followed the University of California system in announcing that they would become ‘test blind.’ You can read a recent post about CA college admissions here . While test optional policies offer student choice about submitting scores to be evaluated as part of the application, test blind policies remove test scores from consideration in any way in the application ev...