Student Finds Perfect College With Help of Expert College Counselor in Denver

It’s so fun to hear from students who have successfully found the perfect college…a place that really fits their academic and personal interests and abilities.

This short video was created by one of my former students who is now at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.  His family hired me as their college counselor to help this young man figure out what he wanted.  After several  months of getting to know one another, of exploring various options, and pulling together essays and applications, he was able not only to get into a great college, but win some scholarship money, too boot!

Perhaps I should just let him speak for himself.

If I can help you or someone in your family find the best college for them, please send me a shout.

Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant in Denver

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Menlo College: A Tiny, Focused Business College in Silicon Valley

Last week I was able to visit Menlo College in Atherton, California.  I was part of a tour organized by the Independent Educational Consultants Association. Our tour began with a fine lunch in the dining hall—where the food is organic and the head of dining services has a commitment to serving local products, when possible.  It’s hard to know whether the food is always as good as it was that day, but I was happy to stoke up on a couple of nice Asian dishes over rice.  Lunch was followed by a tour, and then a brief presentation and question-and-answer session with the College’s Provost (the fancy term for chief academic officer).

Here’s a bit of what I learned.

  1. As the Provost said, Menlo is not a small college, it’s a tiny college.  With each entering class made up of about 125 students, the total campus population is just under 600.  The campus is pleasantly verdant and compact, and classes take place in only two buildings, one of which is dedicated solely to business courses.
  2. The focus at Menlo is on business.  Most students are majoring in some flavor of business administration, though some pursue degrees in psychology or other liberal arts disciplines.
  3. Most Menlo students hail from California, with a smattering of students from other Western states.  Fifteen percent of students come from abroad, with most of those coming from Hong Kong and China.
  4. Menlo is a teaching college, where each faculty member is expected to teach four courses per semester.  While some faculty complain about the work load, the Provost gently reminds them that with the tiny size of the College and the small size of classes, most instructors teacher fewer than 50 students per semester. Thus faculty members are able to build close connections with faculty—because such relationships would be unavoidable.zi6_03481
  5. Menlo has only 30 full time faculty, and is trying to expand that number to 50. The Board of Trustees has given the Provost the directive to pay competitive salaries to attract and retain top faculty.  In addition, because of Menlo’s location in Silicon Valley, the College has access to an excellent pool of experienced and qualified adjunct instructors to teach in its business programs.  Twenty-one faculty members actually live on campus (and all faculty and staff may eat in the campus dining hall free of charge all year long!).
  6. Menlo’s location also gives students the opportunity to pursue part-time jobs, internships, and summer employment in the high-tech industry of Silicon Valley.
  7. Despite its tiny size, Menlo competes in NCAA Division III sports, and 40% of the students participate in varsity athletics.
  8. Historically, Menlo has had a strong set of services for students with learning differences. While the College is happy to serve students with a wide variety of learning styles, it is refocusing itself and has made the decision not to be a school that specializes in serving the needs of students with learning differences.zi6_0349
  9. Menlo’s President and current leadership team seems to have a strong, unified vision of how to transform this small college into a focused, ambitious little place—like the choo-choo train in the story, The Little Engine That Could.

I was pleased to finally visit Menlo.  I had met Bob Wilms, Menlo’s amiable and able director of admission, on several occasions.  While Bob is a great representative in extolling the virtues of Menlo, there is no substitute for walking the campus and meeting the people that form the core of the College.

Mark Montgomery
College Consultant

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Study in the USA from Guangzhou, China

During a recent trip to Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China, I met with hundreds of students and their parents to explain the American higher education system.  I participated in college fairs, presented at education expos, and gave lectures.

As this short video explains, there is a dearth of good information about how to study in the USA, and many misconceptions about what it means to study in the United States.

Have a look!


Click here to read more about how I explain how to study in the USA in Chinese.


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Millsaps College–Distinctive Features and Admissions Priorities

I recently visited Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, to find out for myself why this small, liberal arts college is included in Loren Pope’s book, 40 Colleges That Change Lives.  I was able to spend some time talking to the director of admission, Mr. Mathew Cox.

This short video highlights three distinctive features of Millsaps.  It’s a wonderful place.

Mark Montgomery
College Consultant

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Montgomery guides students, parents though college admissions maze

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 or  liberal?  And the tasks seem endless, from choosing the right high school courses, to registering and studying for tests, researching colleges, completing applications, writing essays, college visits and interviews.
 
Montgomery Educational Consulting helps to de-mystify the process, providing expert advice to students and their families as they navigate the college selection process.
 
“I do the same thing that a college counselor does, but on a much more personal level,” said Mark Montgomery.
 
The counselor in an average public high school serves more than 300 students, and the ratio is even higher in larger schools. Counselors have little time to provide the individual attention that is often needed.
 
“I work with students and their  parents to develop a college plan based on the student’s abilities, needs, interests and aspirations,” he said.  “I help guide them through the admissions process and develop a college plan and strategies for college visits.  I show students how to write essays that stand out in a crowd, and, as a  part of strategizing, I can also help with scholarship applications.”
 
A cum laude graduate of Dartmouth, Montgomery received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and his professional Teaching License and coursework in Educational Administration from the University of Northern Colorado. He has been an associate dean at the University of Denver, admissions counselor at Fort Lewis College, and external evaluator for teaching and learning programs at other universities, including Yale University and the University of Kansas.
 
“Since college is such a major investment, making the right choice at the beginning is important,” he said.  “Colleges are becoming more and more selective.  For example, last year, Harvard accepted only 7 percent of applicants, making this the most difficult year ever.  Families are turning to people like me to get ahead of the game and help them understand how the admissions game works.”
 
In Holly Hills area,” Montgomery added, “about 25 percent of students go to a private four-year college.  It’s important to find the right fit.  A student came to see me recently, a liberal freethinker who was looking at a very conservative college.  It worked in terms of SATs, but in terms of environment, he probably would have been miserable and transferred before long.”
 
Montgomery also points out that the popularity of a school does not affect the quality of education.
 
“Not all clients are Ivy League bound.  I work with a variety of students, average kids and kids with disabilities.  What’s important is to find the best fit,” he said.
 
Montgomery also does some pro bono work for Montbello and Adams City high schools and provides help for graduate school students and veterans from the war in Iraq.
 
“I generally work with two groups, those who start planning for college early and those who don’t much think about it until the last  minute,”  he said.  “Of course, it’s always better to start early, even freshman or sophomore year, and plan your courses accordingly.  But even for those who wait, there’s no need to panic.  We can help.”