The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts

Whether your school is public or private, big or small; whether you have an independent counselor or are working with the counselors at school, one truth remains: this is your college process. Independent and school counselors are there to help, but the more you put into the college process, the more you’ll get out of it. So be proactive and seek out opportunities to work with a college consultant. There are plenty of things you can do to help yourself get the most from the college counseling you have available.

When it comes to deciding what to do for your summer activities, it can be hard to make sense of what matters to colleges and what doesn’t. Given the wide range of options, what are the best things to do? How should students prioritize? And when is the right time to get started?

In Part One, which we published on Wednesday, we discussed the early stages of the athletic recruitment process. Today, we will talk about the next steps for aspiring college athletes.

Many high school students are interested in participating in college athletics, but many are unsure what to do and where to start.  Adding athletic recruitment to the college application process not only requires additional work on the part of the athlete, but it actually moves up every part of the college application timeline. In addition, one of the biggest surprises for aspiring college athletes is that recruitment rarely provides the financial impact on college costs that many families are led to expect. There are huge differences in athletic recruitment from sport to sport, and between Divisions I, II, and III, that will affect financial benefit. What is most important is that with talent, tools, and time, students can find an athletic program that will fit their  abilities at a school that can provide them with a wonderful college experience.

Staying Ahead of Your Applications | Part 2

Wondering which courses will look better on your child’s application? Have questions about filing the FAFSA? Curious to know what admissions officers are looking for in the college essay? Elizabeth Heaton, College Coach admissions expert and former admissions officer at University of Pennsylvania, is hosting a new radio program where she will discuss these topics and so much more with college admissions and finance experts as well as top industry professionals.

So You’ve Been Deferred… Now What?

It’s devastating. Whether you were deferred from your first choice school or one of your safeties, receiving a deferral can feel worse than an outright rejection. You want to cling on to hope that you’ll be accepted come spring, but you can’t help but feel that you should simply move on and accept the inevitable. In a few days time, when your feelings aren’t so raw and you can think about your remaining college options with a bit more clarity, follow the steps below to improve your chances of acceptance after being deferred.

So you’ve just submitted your application and you’re patiently waiting to hear a response when – beep! – a surprise email lands in your inbox. “Greetings!” the email begins. “My name is Mary Jones, and I’m the alumna assigned to conduct your interview for Grand University.” Whether the idea of an alumni interview puts you completely at ease, or if you’re feeling nauseous at the prospect of impressing an alum, here are six secrets you should know to best prepare for your alumni interview.

That loud exhalation you heard over the weekend was the sound of tens of thousands of high school students submitting their first round of college applications before early deadlines on November 1. For those of you who have confidently put your personal statements and supplements in the hands of admissions officers at your first-choice colleges, congratulations! You’ve earned a well-deserved break from essay writing and resume building, and may even want to share your status with your friends on Facebook or your followers on Twitter. But before you publish that tweet, take a step back, and think about the door you may be opening.