The Best U College Admissions Consulting

  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...

  Scholarships are on the minds of most parents thinking about how to pay for college. For many families, merit aid, awarded to a student for their academic or personal achievements, can be an important part of the college affordability equation. Whether a student is submitting applications in the next week, or just starting out in 9th or 10th grade, there are a few things you should know about merit aid right now. Read on for 3 keys to securing merit aid – #1 Start With Your Colleges. Students and families often think that the best way to gain scholarships is to conduct an online search and begin filling out scores of scholarship applications. While these kinds of scholarships can be a part of a student’s process, the most important place to start is with the colleges you are already considering or applying to. Go to the college’s financial aid website and review all of the available information about what we call “institutional aid,” merit aid and scholarships provided directly b...

  If you are in or approaching the college application process, you are probably eager to know what to expect as the admissions process seems to be changing year over year. Read on for insights from the TBU team on what we’ve seen so far, and where we think admissions is headed – TBU Managing Partner Lauren Dodington was recently interviewed for the College Database Find the Best Colleges in US | CollegeData article “7 College Admissions Trends to Watch in 2023.” We love diving deep in the data, watching the nuances of trends and anticipating where things are headed in the near future. Checkout the article for perspectives from Lauren & other admissions experts. Beyond these- here are three trends the team at TBU is keeping an eye on for the year ahead: 1. Test Optional Policies are likely here to stay. Columbia University was the most recent of the ivies to announce that their test optional policy will remain in place going forward. We expect to see more colleges making anno...

  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...

  William Cayer received his B.A. in Philosophy/Music from the University of Connecticut. He is a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). William began his career as a high school teacher with Teach for America in the Mississippi Delta where he developed a passion for higher education access and equity. He later served as an admissions representative at Post University, and then as a college counselor at Achievement First Amistad High School in New Haven, CT. Throughout his career, William has helped students find their voice through the admissions process and develop the foundation necessary to thrive at their best-fit college. William is the founder of Higher Access College Counseling, a company that provides admissions support to students across the country with an emphasis on the development of student writing as a vehicle to showcase their unique stories. William believes that...

  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...

  If you know a young person thinking about the prestigious U.S. Service Academies in their future, there is a lot to know. The candidate processes at Westpoint, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, & the Coast Guard Academy are unlike traditional college applications. Here are three things to know now if you are curious about these opportunities: Preparation begins now: While each service academy has its own expectations and profiles of their ideal admitted candidates, know that admissions is as competitive as the most highly selective colleges in the country. All of the academies are looking for students who are both excellent students and committed, accomplished athletes. They expect to see students taking rigorous courses and earning strong grades throughout high school, particularly in math and science. They look for students to compete in one or more sports as varsity athletes throughout high school. Prospective students will also need to complete health evaluations ...

Professor Laurie Santos at Yale University created a class known as the “Happiness Class”. It was in response to the stress level and mental health challenges that many young people are facing. It became one of the most popular classes at the school. Now the class is a free online course called “The Science of Well-Being.” These links include the link to the class as well as an article about the class. Check out this video to learn more about the class and why it is important for students and parents to consider watching – Click here   to Connect With Us.

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. Click here   to Connect With Us.

  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. During his 14 years of wor...

  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...