The Best U College Admissions Consulting

 Planning for college can be both exciting and overwhelming. This is true not just for teens, but perhaps doubly so for parents , who want to get it right while balancing your relationship with your child in the process. Read on for our perspectives on how to find your role as a parent in the process – As you are likely to have experienced, your teen is seeking more independence from parents as they move through middle and high school. This is a natural and important developmental step for teens to transition into adulthood. However, this can become tricky when the stakes of preparing for college feel high. As a parent, it’s easy to feel caught in the middle of keeping their future in mind, while trying to let them stretch their independence in their adolescent years. In over two decades working with teens in the college process, here are a few guiding principles we’ve learned that help families navigate with less friction and more growth. Start by doing your own homework While stu...

 If we look closely at the common threads shared by the students we see thriving in the college process, there are a few pieces that often define them. Does it surprise you to know that these are not grades or test scores? Undoubtedly, a strong academic curriculum in high school, taking advantage of rigorous classes, earning good grades, and to a lesser extent, performing well on standardized tests are common features of the applications of students who are admitted to the most selective colleges. However, if you were to examine the admissions pools at these colleges, you would find that likely 6 in 10 applicants share these similar ‘academic profiles.’ And yet, the acceptance rates at the most selective colleges are far less than 60%. So what distinguishes the 1 in 10 or even 1 in 25 who get in? The factors that distinguish them are often things that not only set their application apart, but in our view, are ways of seeing and being that have given them a more fulfilling high scho...

 With spring exams upon us, many students & parents wonder – how important is testing really in the college admissions process? While the pendulum swung to a fully test optional landscape just a few years ago, a slow swing back to testing has been underway, especially at the most intensely selective colleges. Here’s what to know to make your own best decisions about testing as you go forward – Where have we been, where are we headed? For those who are keeping track, the landscape at the most selective colleges has swung back in favor of requiring test scores as one component of a complete application. Among the group of 12 colleges known as the “Ivy Plus” Schools which include the eight Ivies plus Stanford, Duke, MIT, and University of Chicago, only four have retained test optional policies as of early 2025. Those are Princeton, Columbia, Duke and University of Chicago. While these schools get much of the attention, the reality is there are over 2100 colleges in the US that co...

 Figuring out the what, where, and how of applying to college is challenging enough. But when colleges are facing operational uncertainties that make it difficult to predict what to expect, it can be altogether overwhelming. Here’s how we encourage you to move forward in the college process in times of uncertainty – Refocus: What truly matters most to you in the college you call home? In chaotic times, sometimes we see with more clarity. If you are feeling overwhelmed or unclear about how to move forward in navigating college selection and planning, this is a good time to sit down and talk as a family, taking stock of what matters most in the college options you want to create. It is crucial for this dialogue to be open and transparent between parents and the student who is heading into the application process themselves. If priorities have shifted around distance from home, specific supports on campus, college costs, or the desire for particular experiences or opportunities, it’s ...