The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts

Last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation covered the recently published “Turning the Tide” report, continued our students’ perspectives series, and perhaps most importantly, offered timely advice for appealing financial aid awards!

On last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, Elizabeth shared cautionary tales of parents who made more of an impression than their children, the myths behind financial aid for transfer applicants, and tips for what seniors should (and shouldn’t) be doing while they wait for their decisions to return.

By Abigail Anderson

Last week we began the discussion of Stanford’s 11-part supplement. We covered the seven questions requiring answers in the form of either a list or 50 words and how to answer the activities essay.

By Abigail Anderson

Stanford University has one of the longest and most time-intensive supplements in American college admissions and, if their application numbers are any indication, this has done nothing to dissuade nearly 50,000 students from applying just last year. Stanford’s reputation as an intellectual, competitive, entrepreneurial, quirky California powerhouse—in academics and athletics—can make these essays feel even more challenging than they ought to be. The short and sweet version of our advice? Be yourself. You’ll find that an open, honest response bears much more fruit than a manufactured answer that targets what you think the reader wants to see.

Sending Standardized Test Scores to Colleges: How and When?

You just hit submit on your last college application and now, the rest is up to everyone else. Your teachers are sending in their recommendations, your parents are working on the financial aid application, and the college counselor is taking care of your transcript and the school report. Time to kick back and watch some Netflix, right?

College reps and your high school teachers will invariably tell you that “there’s no such thing as a bad question.” But we all know the truth – there are absolutely bad questions, or at least there are better questions to ask than others. If you’ve already read Part 1 of our guide to college fairs, you’re in the right place. Today, we drill into all that face-to-face time you’ll have with college reps at your next fair. And we’re starting with the questions for you to avoid:

College fairs are a great opportunity for students and their families to browse a large number and diverse range of schools in one evening. Fairs are typically large gatherings and most often held in gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias, or even malls. The rooms can be noisy, warm, and over-crowded – but don’t give up! College fairs are an efficient and cost-effective way to “get to know” many schools in a few short hours.