From the News:
- College Financial Aid Drops – Families Pinched, San Francicso Chronicle October 23, 2013
- Is College Tuition Too High? Of Course (Not), Higher Education Data Stories Blog October 15, 2013
- So Many Students – So Little (Counseling) Time, Sacramento Bee October 28, 2013
From Clients:
- On-going Common Application Technical Issues: From recommenders not being able to submit forms or even view sent invitations to a lack of paragraph breaks in copied and pasted essays, clients are sharing a multitude of frustrating glitches with the new Common Application interface. As a result, college admissions offices have multiple contingencies in place for applicants to not only complete their application, but submit all required documents within the deadline. Generally, college admissions offices are waiting for the Common Application to resolve many of the issues, and not holding applicants responsible for any technicalities. Contacting each college admissions office separately can help reduce stress, as well as establish a record that the applicant did all possible to make sure their application was received on time.
- Take Notes: is a common homework assignment and classroom expectation for middle and high school students. But, when were students taught how to take notes? Knowing the key information to seek in a textbook or listen for, during a lecture, can develop over time; yet, with instruction students can also be taught a framework. Generally, students copy down what the teacher includes on a Power Point slide or writes on the white board, but what the student does to review or fill in “missing” facts can be unknown. A tip for parents wanting to offer note-taking strategies to their maturing (sometimes resistant) teenager, consider the similarities and differences of a parent’s and child’s learning styles to help the conversation be as effective as possible.
- Which test do I take, the SAT or the ACT?: Taking both tests can help college applicants put their most competitive foot forward in the admissions process. Since, the format of each test is different, as well as how questions are worded, some students respond to each format differently, showing higher scores on one test than the other. Then, because college admissions officers will consider the higher of the two tests scores, when determining admissions, the applicant will be sure to have the greatest chance for an acceptance to the college of their choice.
