Great College Advice

Yesterday Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed reported in a lengthy (but characteristically thorough) article that despite the economic downturn, the number of early decision applications to many expensive, private colleges is up this year over last. Mr. Jaschik offers the following possible explanations:

1.  Colleges are better communicating that college fit matters, so students [...]

Brad Ward and his colleagues in the admissions office at Butler University put together a short, little video about what happens to your college application when it arrives in their office.

While the video is meant for students applying to Butler, it’s a great explanation of the process in place at most smaller, privat colleges.

Mark Montgomery
College [...]

Clients have asked me repeatedly to explain the relationship between the financial aid and admissions offices, and to help them to understand how financial need is factored into admissions decisions.  Usually these questions revolve around whether a college is “need blind” or “need aware.”  So in this post, I’ll try to shed some light on [...]

The press is full of startling articles about the impact of the economic downturn on financial aid.  For example, George Washington University is likely to transfer a portion of its financial aid budget for next year to students currently enrolled.  The private university fears that a significant portion of its student may have to leave [...]

The Chicago Tribune ran a story on Monday about the lengths to which some parents will go to get their darlings into college.  The whole process of selecting and applying to college is certainly stresseful.  And there is no doubt that the competition is fierce.

It’s also true that in some school communities, the competition is [...]

A parent of a senior asked me the other day about college visits.  When is the best time to visit?
The answer is, “from whose perspective?”
There are two different reasons for visiting college.  The first is the student’s need to get an idea of what life would be like on that campus.  Students often have a [...]

Generally speaking, investing in yourself is a smart idea. More education usually leads to more opportunity, better jobs, and higher income. However, many students have no idea how to think about the investment in financial terms.
For example, does it make sense to spend $100,000 and take on tens of thousands in loans [...]

Montgomery Guides Students, Parents Through College Admissions Maze
by Rosemary Fetter
The Villager Newspaper
9 October 2008, p. 26

Reprinted with permission.

For many high school students and their parents, selecting the right college can be very confusing and even anxiety producing.  There are so many choices to be made:  Public or private college?  In-state or out of state?  Conservative [...]

My clients who aspire toward a career in fine art know that they need to prepare a portfolio of their work to present to admissions officers.  These portfolios need to show off their best work, and provide a window into their creative thought processes.

Most students interested in admission to a school of art and design [...]

I just finished reading Jeremy Miller’s article in the September issue of Harper’s. It’s entitled, “Tyranny of the Test:  One Year as a Kaplan coach in the public schools.”

The focus of the article is Kaplan’s corporate foray into the tutoring business, which has mushroomed since the implementation of No Child Left Behind, which requires school [...]