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  Letters of Recommendation are one of the few places in your college applications that someone who knows you well has the opportunity to bring your strengths, personal qualities and unique characteristics to life. So what do you need to know about teacher recommendations? Read on for our tips to making the most of this aspect of your application – How many letters should I have? Most colleges want letters of recommendation from one to two academic teachers and your school counselor . To be considered an ‘academic teacher’ – the teacher should have taught you at your high school in a core academic subject – usually considered to include: English/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Languages. Some schools will accept an “other” letter which is a non-academic letter of recommendation. These can come from a teacher who has advised you in a club, taught you in the arts, or been a coach or mentor who knows you well. Not all colleges will accept these. Keep the numbe...

  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...

  If you are the parent of a high school senior, you likely know all too well that this is the season for colleges to release Early Action/Early Decision/Restrictive or Single-Choice Early Action decisions. We know that this is both an exciting and nerve-wracking time. Year over year, the admissions decision we are increasingly seeing is the deferral . Read on for our guidance about what this means, and what you can do if an application is deferred from the early to regular decision review. Please know that this year, as the past several have been, is expected to be an incredibly competitive year for admissions, particularly at the most highly selective institutions. Decisions are not always a reflection of the individual applicant, but rather the challenging context of these highly competitive pools. Here are some next steps to know after receiving a deferral decision: What is a Deferred Decision? Being deferred still means you are in the running. It is a time to be realistic abou...

Balancing school, activities, and college admissions expectations can take up all of a student’s time. Learn what one of the biggest regrets former students’ have from their high school days. Click here   to Connect With Us.

  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...