Admissions Anxiety

As the January admissions deadlines roll by, high school seniors are now starting to feel anxious.
As if the whole past year of selecting colleges and filling out applications wasn’t enough. Now seniors have to try to relax as admissions officers across the country decide their fate: admitted, denied, or (gasp!) wait listed.
An article in today’s New York Times explores this anxiety. The admissions process is described as “nutty” “a nightmare.” And it is, for everyone involved.
The article focuses on Connecticut and various college and universities in that state, including Quinnipiac, Fairfield, University of Connecticut-Storrs, and Yale. But the dynamics of the admissions process on both sides of the admissions desk remain the same all over the country.
That is why so many more parents are turning to professional, independent educational consultants to help them through this harrowing process.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
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Yale Follows Harvard in Beefing Up Financial Aid

An article in today’s New York Times reports that Yale University has followed the lead of Harvard in pumping $24 million into its financial aid budget. This will help reduce the squeeze on middle income families with incomes of less than $200,000. Financial aid packages for a large portion of current and future students will increase, making Yale more affordable.
While this is a huge boost to many families and kids aspiring for the Ivy League, I find that the hardest thing to convince parents is that private colleges really do have bundles of financial aid to give away to talented students.
Depending on the kid, and depending on the school, financial aid packages at private colleges can make the cost of attendance actually lower–or at least on par–with what the same family might pay at a state university.
I try hard to work with my clients to find the right college match. And one of the most important criteria is a good financial fit.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
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