Mark visits Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to showcase its energetic campus.
Continue readingEducational Consultant on Temple University: A Lively Atmosphere
Educational Consultant on Bates 4 of 5: An Outdoorsman’s College
Mark talks about the outdoor opportunities offered by attending Bates College.
Continue readingEducational Consultant on Bates 3 of 5: A Welcoming Community
Marks goes to the campus of Bates College to talk about its long-standing ethos of diversity and tolerance.
Continue readingWhat’s A Party School? Greek Life, Drinking, Making Good Choices
Every college in America is a “party school.” What’s important is to learn how to make good choices, and to keep your focus on your education.
Continue readingCarnival of College Admission–Chinese New Year Edition
Welcome to Montgomery Educational Consulting. We provide full-service counseling to Chinese students who seek to study in the United States.
We help you identify the best American university for you, and then we guide you through the entire application and admission process.
We are not paid a commission by the universities you choose. Instead, we are your personal guides through the very confusing and very complicated process of American univesrity admission.
For more information about our work, visit our homepage. Or you can read our Chinese pages. Or you can simply contact us. We travel to China often, and we would be happy to help you with make your dream to study in the US a reality.
Welcome to the 10th edition of the Carnival of College Admission. As always, we welcome our regular contributors, as well as a bevy of new folks.
In honor of my upcoming trip to Hong Kong to give a presentation on college admission in the US and to meet with clients, we’ll have a look at how the Lunar New Year is celebrated in Hong Kong. What does this have to do with college admission, you ask?
Not much. But the images are fun!
For those of you new to the Carnival, here’s the scoop. Twice a month, the Carnival of College Admission brings you the best of the blogs that touch upon the transition from high school to college. As you shall see, there is a panoply of presenters this week, so grab a cup of jasmine tea and enjoy what’s on offer.
College Search
Wassan Humadi is a new member of the Carnival community. She points out that debt, student loans, lower paying jobs for college grads, spiraling tuition costs, and excessive cost of books and campus life mean that many students are graduating already buried under debt. Her post,. Best Value Colleges and Universities in the United States posted at Al Jamiat Magazine, argues that it’s time for students to make better informed financial decisions about their education. Whether its choosing to go to an in-state college, community college for a year or two as a bridge to a 4-year institution, or fighting harder for a full or partial scholarship, there are some colleges and universities out there that are still a fantastic value.
In a much-heralded return to the Carnival, Wenchypoo reminds us that college is not for everyone in her post Rethink the Value of College posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket. It’s important to think about “return on investment” when paying for college.
Erika Collin is another new Carnival participant, and she presents 100+ Rankings to Pick Your School, City, Career, and More . You can find Erika at MatchACollege.com.
Another new participant, Jonathan Cifuentes writes about changes to admissions policies in University of California system, which he posts over at his College Admissions Help Blog. Indeed, the University of California system as a whole is under great strain, as state funding has fallen and applications have risen.
Dave Van de Walle, a Carnival stalwart, offers his post Highlights from Sunday Night Stickam Web Chat (1/25) posted at U Sphere Blog.Dave will be the host of our March 25th edition. Thanks, Dave!
Getting In: The Admissions Process
We’re pleased that the folks at the University of New Haven have joined the Carnival of College Admission. Gil Rogers offers some last minute admissions reminders for students, the most important of which is to READ the stuff the admissions office sends out to applicants. It’s amazing how people can forget (or neglect) to read. Appropriately, Gil’s post is entitled, PLEASE READ THIS!, which can be found at University of New Haven Blogs.
Eric Perron, one of our regulars, presents Consider Advanced Placement Studies for Admissions posted at Dream Strategy. He points out that kids who do well on the AP exams can get sophomore standing in college–a real cost savings. Keep an eye out for our next edition on February 25, when Eric will be our host!
Elizabeth King , an SAT prep guru, presents Why Spell Check is Your Enemy posted at elizabeth online. Her point is simple: those who can spell do better on the tests. And how does one learn to spell? Primarily by reading.
From myUsearch, the Honest College Matchmaker, admissions consultant David Petersam offers true stories of big mistakes real students have made on their college application. Appropriately, the post is entitled You Did What On Your College Application?, and can be found at myUsearch blog
Carleigh wonders Why A.P. classes are a hot topic today . Seems that Maryland has been cited for having the highest aveage AP scores in the nation. You can read more about it at Cramster.com Study Blog.
Many seeking admission to competitive colleges will produce a resume to include with their application. Leaving The Folks presents Avoiding Resume Mistakes wher rule number one is to avoid proofreading errors. Leaving the Folks , which is a new entrant to the Carnival of College Admission, is the online survival guide for anyone graduating college, leaving their parents’ house, or entering the real world for the first time.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Tom Tessin offers three helpful tips on Where to Find Unique Scholarships Online, which he shares with us at FCC Student Blog.
Todd Johnson points to some helpful charts that will help you figure out What Will Your College Cost You? The answer? It really depends on the college, because some are able to offer better deals than others. Read Todd’s post over at College Admissions Counseling.
In the same vein, Lee Anne Hannula presents Why You Can’t Get a Loan , which points out that many students choose a college for the wrong reason, and end up paying more than they should. Her post can be found at Student Loan Help.
Amanda Fornecker offers up a piece with lots of good reminders about the importance of getting the FAFSA done right, and getting it in early in her post, The Supply and Demand of Financial Aid fount at College – U. Got It?.
Lora Lewis is yet another Carnival Newbie (get this woman some cotton candy!), and she offers up a great post that explains the basics of the FAFSA. Every parent should read her post at Paying for College: FAFSA Fundamentals found on Lora’s blog, Keys to College.
And, last but not least in our burgeoning financial aid section (“It’s the economy!”), Mariana Evica from the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation offers some last minute advice on filing for financial aid. See her post, entitled Last Chance FAFSA Assistance. We’re glad to have you and the CSLF on board, Mariana! Want to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl with me?
Boarding Schools
Peter Baron, an expert on boarding schools and our heroic host of the previous edition of the Carnival of College Admission (didn’t see it? go here!) presents Interim Grades & Your Boarding School Application posted his Boarding School Blog. Brian Fischer, who is a regular feature on the AQ Boarding School blog, points out that is always best to do whatever the admissions office wants…if you are really serious about your application.
College Life
Yet another new participant in the Carnival of College Admission is John from ESN, who shares his secrets of How to Get Straight A?s in College (with Minimal Effort) . His tips are straightforward, but it’s amazing how many students don’t realize that they have it in their power to improve their own performance. See John’s post at Universities and Colleges.
Jen Himottu, star student blogger over at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, presents Tour Guide Season posted at True Life: I’m a WPI senior…. We loving having a student perspective at the Carnival…keeps us all young! Jen explains how one is chosen to be a tour guide at WPI. Very helpful info!
Karen Chenoweth, writing for the Britannica Blog presents Impatience with Bad Teaching. Let’s face it: there is an awful lot of bad teaching going on at all levels of our educational system. It’s one thing when the education is free, or at least inexpensive. But what do we do when we are paying $40k per year, and the instructor is lousy?
Edvisors presents A new CampusX Community for Colleges Students to Network posted at College Admission Guide College Search Advice. This is a new community on Ning, and is worth a look.
Dawn Papandrea, one of our Carnival Regulars (I think she is addicted to roller coasters!) presents CollegeSurfing Insider: 7 Things to Do After You’ve Been Laid Off posted at CollegeSurfing Insider. Dawn points out that even college students need to avoid complacency in this economy, because younger hires may be the first to be laid off if a company’s income drops.
The folks over at Unigo have been writing about the college dating. I should have read this stuff decades ago…might have improved my social life in college. Check out their site at Unigo.com.
Graduate Schools
Adam Markus is an independent admissions consultant specializing graduate business programs. Adam tells us what to do if you are waitlisted for Business school in 2009. His post is Waitlisted? Now what? can be found on his blog, Adam Markus: Graduate Admissions Guru.
Jared Maloney is a “fad buster:” he sheds light on assumptions and popular attitudes that may be plain wrong. In this post, he advises against the rush to law school that may be a product of the ecnomic downturn. See if you agree with him by reading Fad: Law School posted at Fade That Fad.
Online Colleges
OnlineCollege presents Walden, and 99 other Free Online Books posted at Universities and Colleges.
Heather Johnson presents a post that doesn’t deal so much with online colleges as with online, open source courses in her post 101 Free Open Course Classes to Learn How to Build ANYTHING posted at Best Universities. Whether you’re looking to supplement your own classroom instruction or just insatiably curious, have a look at these resources.
Other Cool Stuff
Alvaro Fernandez presents Learning about Learning: an Interview with Joshua Waitzkin posted at SharpBrains. Here you can catch a brain in full display. This stuff is really cool!
Cort Johnson of goSwoop gives advice to admissions offices on how to use communications tools to recruit students, especially international students. Check out this enlightening post on the goSwoop blog.
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Well, that wraps it up for this 10th edition of the Carnival. Our next edition will be open on March 25th, when our host will be Dave van de Walle over at Usphere. You can submit to the next edition by filling out our handy submission form. For the archives of past editions, please see our official home page.
As always, we welcome your comments, your suggestions, and your continued support of this online blogging community.
See you next time!
Mark Montgomery
College Coach
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Ten College Planning Tips For Tough Economic Times
I’ve received a number of questions from readers, clients, and friends about how to navigate the college admissions and financial aid process in tough economic times. By far the biggest worry on everyone’s mind is finding the resources to pay for college.
In some ways we have a perfect storm a-brewing. As personal savings and college funds shrink, colleges are tightening their belts, and are likely to be stingy with financial aid.
So where does that leave the student who will graduate this spring or next? What strategies does he or she pursue in order to get the best education at the best price?
Here are ten tips for weathering this storm.
1. Don’t panic. Keep a cool head. Do your homework. Get help, if you need it. While the statistics look bleak, you are not a statistic. Use every resource at your disposal to plan, prepare, and get the best deal for yourself.
2. Whether the market is up or down, good students always have more options than poor students. Good students with good grades and good test scores should not dampen their ambition or lower their sights.
3. Remember that if your assets and income have gone down, your federally-calculated financial need will go up. Come January, you will complete the FAFSA forms, which will calculate your family’s “Estimated Financial Contribution” or EFC. This is the amount the government calculates that you should be able to pay toward a college education–given your financial picture today.
4. Pay close attention to financial aid statistics reported by colleges, with special emphasis on the percentage of financial need that college has met in the past. Even in good financial times, many colleges have been unable to meet all of their student’s financial need with the usual combination of grants, work study jobs, and federal loans. Most rich, well-endowed colleges and universities can meet 100% of their students’ financial need. But some colleges have met only 80% or 65% or less of their students’ needs. These are the colleges that have relied heavily upon the willingness of students and families to take out huge loans on the private markets. As these loan markets have dried up, these colleges are the most panicked by the economic downturn. Yet even financially strapped colleges may offer big bargains to some students (see tip #6 below).
5. Redefine what a “stretch” or “reach” college will be for you. It’s not simply about getting accepted to college–it’s about being able to pay for it. The tougher it is for you to gain admission, the less likely you will receive adequate financial aid to attend that same school.
6. Develop a “top 25%” strategy that will help increase the likelihood you will get the aid you need. While there is a great deal of variation in financial aid policies, most colleges shower their best financial aid packages on those students in the top 25% of their incoming class. Colleges routinely report the average ACT or SAT test scores by identifying the “middle 50 percent” range of scores of admitted students. So if Elmer Fudd College reports an middle 50% ACT range of 22 to 26, this means 25% of students scored lower than 22, and another 25% scored 27 or higher. An applicant to Elmer Fudd College with an ACT of 29 has a much better chance of receiving a solid financial aid package than the applicant with a 22.
7. Remember that not all debt is bad debt. Racking up tens of thousands of dollars on a credit card is not the same as taking out a Stafford loan. The former is a drag on current and future spending, and high interest rates on credit cards lead to wrack and ruin. But a student loan is an investment in your future. The relatively low interest rate on these loans will allow you to increase your earning potential tomorrow by making it possible to get a good education today. The average student loan debt for graduating college senior is about $20,000, which is an acceptable amount for most students.
8. If you plan to take out a loan to partially finance an education, start shopping for that loan now. Do not wait until admissions decisions are made. Learn what loans are available (or not) so that you can make a realistic plan for how much you can borrow. This knowledge will make it easier to compare financial aid packages later when they are finally announced.
9. Don’t assume that your in-state colleges and universities offer you the best deal. As an example, see my post here about cost comparisons for a Colorado student considering University of Colorado vs. Montana State University or the University of Wyoming.
10. Students with less-than-stellar academic records in high school should consider getting their start at community colleges. Most states now have guaranteed transfer agreements between their community colleges and flagship universities. Go to community college, pay less, do well–and you can still graduate from a top-notch university. In fact, you have a better chance of getting accepted as a transfer if you do well in those general education courses at the community college.
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