APPLYING TO COLLEGES NOW?

Are you thinking about early action or early decision schools?  Are you still trying to figure out which schools will meet your goals?  Worrying about application deadlines?  Has the preparation or development of your essay brought you down? 

THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS CONSULTANT are college admissions consultants who are well trained and versed in the areas of early decision and early action schools, how to make an essay define a student, fist hand knowledge on many of the college campuses across the U.S,  have experience in working with gap year, college transfers, international, athletes, and learning disabilities.

If you know a student who is experiencing difficulty in the hair wrenching process, consider CAC.  We are here to assist studnets with the process, and offer a host of different opptions to help assist a student while keeping within budget. .

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AS YOU APPLY TO COLLEGE

Today, our mailbox was filled with many inquiries, not to mention some real shockers. The list of these shockers included people who specialize in preparing college tours for families and now are selling "do it yourself" college admissions kits, and private SAT/ACT prep class companies now offering "essay assistance" at cheap prices to make a student feel they know they have the magical answers to the admissions process.

These companies who are good at what their companies were originally created to do. The people who head these companies however are not college consultants nor do they have the training required to sincerely assess a student. Without any consideration as to the effect on the student, these companies are all of a sudden are jumping onto the bandwagon of promoting themselves as such and being able to get your child into top notch schools and making the process sound simple. Nothing can be farther from the truth. No counselor or consultant can guarantee admissions into any school.

School counselors in "back to school" nights, tell students and their parents in a sincere way that there is no need for outside consultants as they can provide all the information for "free". The question that comes to my mind is "how does anyone know what to believe and what not to?" School Counselors are amazing individuals who work very hard and do have all the information, however, they don't have the necessary time to give to each student. In the crunch that they face to help students, they use resources in hopes of reaching every student and their families. The presure is transferred to the family, and then it becomes real easy as a parent to begin to rip the hair out of your head when you look and see the amount of research you will have to do with your student to complete the admissions process.

Unfortunately, as high school counselors will tell you, not all college consultants are equal. Therefore, as a parent, you have to do your homework when you are considering hiring a consultant. Due to of this unequal balance, school counselors try to manage all of their students, losing some through the cracks along the way. While it is true that most the information you will need for free, you need not only the time, but ability to sort through it all and be very pro active in your approach, careful not to miss deadlines, and know how to break down the material you given, not to mention to know where links break down.

Some school counselors use their "honor students" to mentor students in the admissions process. The problem in using honor students is this: these are high school students who may or may not have truly experienced colleges or the campuses they are on, nor do these students know if the schools they are recommending are in fact a match for your student.

Other counselors use an email system to families. The send out emails starting in the summer months, and then give each student 5 minute intervals to discuss their college plans, SAT scores, transcripts, etc. and hope they can reach all of the students. If the parent does not get an email, or it is missed "OH WELL, we tried" is often a counselor's response. That error could cause a "NO" answer in the admissions process costing your student admissions into that school.

Then there are the services which promise you that if you buy their program, such as the service such as the FREE trial offer to try their kit today (which I did not find any better than what a school counselor could offer)who have one objective, get your money. This program is being marketed today as the "do it yourself" KIT that will get your child into their choice college or perhaps it is the SAT prep company who has hired an English Teacher tutor to "polish up" an Essay for you for $199.00 to broaden their spectrum. English teachers are great resources, but they are not trained counselors.

These services might appear to be helpful, but when they are not able to provide the true value of what a trained consultant can do for your student, and so for that reason alone, families along with the stressed out counselors at the high school are in a bind to know what to do to help the students and their families get into the "right fit" school.

An educational consultant is a skilled and well trained professional who provides counseling to help students and families choose a school, college, or other program that is a good personal match: one that will foster the consultant with student student's academic and social growth. The consultant is able to provide a student and family with individual attention, firsthand knowledge of hundreds of educational opportunities, and the time to explore all of the options. These consultants belong to professional groups to keep up to date with the latest trends in what the colleges are doing.

Because of a College/Educational Consultant's extensive knowledge of schools and colleges, they can provide the vital help in weighing factors such as cost, location and curriculum. Therefore, a student has the opportunity to explore a wider variety of options and discuss possibilities in a meaningful way, and will not be tied to any specific school or college.

When you hire an Independent College Consultants, their services begin with an evaluation of where a student is. They then help the student identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as educational objectives, choices, and plans.

Some of the things that a College Consultant will do will include the following:

Testing: When appropriate, the consultant will recommend testing for purposes of psychological or academic assessment.

Options: The College Consultant will work with your family to consider the full range of educational possibilities, and provide a broad selection of pertinent information for consideration.

Advice: College Consultants give students and families unbiased advice and recommendations based on their professional judgement of a student’s needs and abilities.

Before you go out and purchase a "Do it yourself" guide, or hire someone just to polish up an essay, think about what you are getting.

If you are looking at top tier schools, have learning differences, are transfering schools, or are an athlete looking to be recruited or international student, make your dollars count. HIre someone who will make a difference!

Understanding Early Admission

Applying to college is a long process that involves so many elements. Are you taking the right courses? Are you involved in enough extracurricular activities? How can you get the best recommendation letter? How do you craft an essay that lets colleges know who you are and what you care about? With so many things going on at once, it’s hard to believe that you would want to speed up the process to get everything done months ahead of time. However, a growing trend among students is applying to colleges under an early admission plan. Even with so many students choosing to do this, it is important to understand the different early admission plans and whether or not any of them are the right option for you.

What is Early Admission?

More and more early admission plans have been popping up, but there are three options that are the most common; Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA) and Restrictive Early Action (REA). All three plans typically have application deadlines in early November, and acceptance decisions reach students sometime in December. However, there are important differences between them as well.

ED is binding, meaning if you apply to a school ED, you agree to attend that school and withdraw all other applications if accepted. EA is similar, except it is not binding. If you are accepted to a school, you can choose to commit immediately or wait until the spring to make a decision at the Regular Admission decision deadline. Unlike ED, you can apply EA to more than one school. REA is the same as EA except you may be restricted from applying ED, EA or REA to other institutions. College Board’s College Search is a great resource for finding out which schools offer which early admission options.

The Effect of the Early Admission Trend

While "Early Admissions" is still not the dominant admission trend, colleges and universities are seeing a definite growth in the number of early admission applications they are receiving, and with California's economy still struggling to gain momentum, many California Students are looking to out of state schools driving up the number up of applications across all states.

Why are so many more students choosing to do "Early Admissions"?

Students decide to do EA for a number of reasons, starting with FEAR and ANXIETY. It could be that they are feeling the pressure to apply early, thinking that it will better their chances of getting accepted. What students should consider is it is important to recognize the level of “competition” during the early pool, and what the numbers are applying and the numbers that are accepted.

Students may see higher early acceptance rates as compared to the school’s regular acceptance rates and think that it makes sense to apply early. The reality, though, is that often the students who are in the early pool are extremely talented. This idea allows colleges want to gain access to these students the opportunity to snap them up. Students are confronted and up against some of the best and brightest in the early pool.

If statistics are correct, this data tends to show colleges will accept a higher percentage of applicants applying under an early admission plan than during regular admission. Even if your dream school encourages you to do EAs, this should not be the real reason to choose to apply early. Early Decision, Early Action, and Early Single Action Admissions are not necessarily a bad policies. For some students it is a great choice; for others it is not. EA is not right for everyone, but with the new figures on admissions rates for those applying early, there are going to be a lot of students feel pressured to use as Early Decision card to gain admission.

Students should not apply for Early Decision or under any other early admission plan "just because" they are convinced they’ll have a better shot at being accepted. The Early Decision/Early Action process does not hold a "TRUMP" card that the strategic senior plays in order to win the hand.

Is Early Admission the Right Choice for You?

Early Decision applications are BINDING, meaning that if you are accepted to that school, that is where you are going. This decision is wonderful if, and only IF the school you are applying to the college that is right for you, and that the school is the one that you would choose to attend no matter what.

If you decide the Early Decision approach is right for you, be sure to apply to your other choices, even if it not what you want to do. Prepare your Regular Admission applications as a backup, so you won’t risk becoming overwhelmed right before those deadlines.

For students seeking financial aid, applying Early Decision, keep in mind "Financial Aid". It is not a good idea to apply ED and eliminate your chances to compare financial aid packages and opportunities of different schools, especially if you are in need of financial aid. If weighing offers is what you are really planning to do, then don’t risk being bound to a school with Early Decision Policies.

Applying Early Action or Early Single Action is a great way to get applications turned in early, and still keep your options open in the spring. Another benefit of EA is that by receiving acceptance decisions from schools, you can get a good idea of where you stand in terms of acceptance into similar schools, which can help as you apply Regular Admission. However, you shouldn’t apply early at all if you need to show more of your senior year work to colleges to help your chances.

The college application process comes with enough pressure as it is. Completing college applications requires a large amount of work, so be aware that between the research, writing and follow up, applying to college can be the equivalent to taking an additional course. Doing it early means more work in a shorter period of time, which can impact course work and other activities. While applying early can be beneficial, it should not be a reason to rush into a decision. Talk to your parents and counselor, research colleges and their application options and choose the admission plan that is the best fit for you, and best wishes.

Chegg Plans to Expand into $7 Billion College Recruiting Market and Increase Student Base By Over 3.5 Million

Applying to college is a daunting task, especially when it comes to the selection of schools. While computer programs can give you a rough idea of schools out there, and list the admissions officers, etc. they are a lot of points that it will miss.

Every year, I hear students or their families say they don't want to use a college consultant because they don't want to spend the money, but then after going through the college admissions process alone, Johnny gets accepted to a school that everyone is pleased with. They proof to themselves at that point that they did a good job, and then they have to deal with the financial aid packages that may or may not be good ones.

As Johnny goes off to the school, he surprises everyone when he returns home by December or June, and tells everyone he is not going back to Princeton, or Yale, or whatever school he is attending.

Johnny is now back home hating the school he attends, looking to attend the local community college while he gets accepted into another school that he thinks he may like better and making to same mistakes round two. He then learns how many credits will be dropped off his transcripts by the new university he is to attend because they can not accept the first school's credits. The family is out thousands of dollars, not to mention a lot of time because Johnny will be entering a freshman or sophomore college year when he should be in a junior year of college, thus costing a family a lot more money, not to mention time. It also puts a heavy impact on his financial aid awards.

The idea that Chegg, a digital programing company is mergering with another company may be good, and that combined these two companies will produce a new interesting tool, student's should not be fooled into thinking that this is to replace the value of a counselor or consultant.

Students and their families need to be aware that there is "tons of information" out there on the internet, and the college admissions process. With the competiton increasing each and every year and the applicant pools changing yearly; students need to know how to select the information they are relying on out there.

While technology is a great thing, and this program might be a wonderful tool to explore, do not use it as the "be all, end all" of the college admissons process.

School Counselors and Trained College Admissions Consultants are people who are able to add the human component that a digital program can not provide.

Check out Chegg, and watch for it as it hits the market in the coming months. (Read the article below)


Chegg enters into a definitive agreement to acquire Zinch, the leading digital network that helps high school students research, connect with and pay for college

SANTA CLARA, Calif., September 15, 2011 – Chegg today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zinch. The acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of this month. The acquisition will expand Chegg’s social education platform into high schools. Zinch, founded in 2007, connects prospective college and graduate students to scholarships, admissions officers and other students who have been through the same process.

The acquisition of Zinch, with over 3.5 million members, $1.9 billion in scholarships and over 5,000 school profiles, will significantly expand Chegg’s customer base and its social education platform. Colleges and students will be able to connect more effectively for less through Chegg, helping to streamline the college recruiting process globally. In addition, unlike any other company in the education space, Chegg will provide resources to students at every major milestone before, during and after their college career — including bridging the gap from high school to college.

"Our mission has always been to save students time, money and help them get smarter," said Dan Rosensweig, president and CEO of Chegg. “With our acquisition of Zinch, we’re extending our mission to high school students through the $7 billion college recruiting market, while continuing to break down the barriers of a college education, from the high cost of tuition and textbooks to helping students make money, pick their courses and get the academic help they need."

At Zinch, over 3.5 million students have built online profiles to showcase themselves as “more than test scores” to shine in the admissions process, and to be matched with schools and scholarships that might be a good fit. Colleges and universities worldwide, including more than half of the US News top ranked national universities, use Zinch for cost-effective student recruiting and outreach.

Getting in and paying for school is daunting. Together, Chegg and Zinch can not only make higher education more affordable and accessible, it gives students an edge in finding the right school, getting admitted and reducing the cost. Students can put their best foot forward, be recognized for their achievements and be discovered by programs that fit their interests,” said Anne Dwane, CEO of Zinch.

The acquisition is subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

To learn more about Chegg’s social education platform and its network of services, go to www.chegg.com.

HOW IMPROVING YOUR STUDY SKILLS CAN HELP YOU WITH TEST ANXIETY

Study skills are the KEY ingredient to a successful school year. Here are some ideas to help you improve your skills and do better in the classroom.

1. Listen Actively‐ --- Move closer to the front, focus your attention, take thorough notes.

2. Learn to "Take Good Notes"‐ Record the speakers main points in your own words, listen for key words, review your notes as soon as you can after class. ( If you think you have a learning disability such as seeing letters backwards, not being able to comprehend what you read or find other sources to help you learn the material, let someone know so that accommodations can be made.... don't suffer through this alone)

3. Be brave! Get involved in class discussion‐ Come to class prepared, ask questions, and respect others’ opinions.

4. Make the most of Reading‐ Before you read preview the material, take notes as you read, sum up what you just read in your own words. Writing things down as you go along will help you learn the material better.

5. Budget your time wisely‐ Pace yourself. Studies show that reviewing for a few minutes every day is the best way to remember information.

As school is starting up once again, Prepare YOURSELF. If you are in grades 9-11, pace yourself and have fun. If you are a 12th grader and getting applications together for college, keep logs of what you are doing because the fall semester will become stressful, especially if you have not spent the past summer preparing for this time.

Tips for Avoiding Senioritis

SENIORITIS: This is a series of symptoms which show up year after year in High School Seniors. What is seniorities? It is the result of trying to balance extracurricular activities, a social life, college admission, and perhaps a part-time job. Somewhere along the way, home work begins to seem less important event.

As college acceptances start to roll in beginning in December of each year, students are getting accepted to college, they seem to feel a relief and put school on the backburner. After that, high school seems even less important. School work begins to slide—and so do their grades. The diagnosis? Senioritis.

Senioritis is easy to catch and hard to get rid of. It can also be endanger your plans for the future as colleges who see this happening to students can rescind their offers of admission, put students on academic probation, or change financial aid packages because of it.

Let's look at prior cases in prior years. At Wilkes University (PA) they gave some studnets merit-based financial aid based in part on class rank. Four students that year were awarded one merit level based on their class rank at the point of application, but their final transcripts showed that their class rank had fallen to such a level that they no longer qualified for the original merit level. The damage from seniorities ranged from $1,000 per year to over $3,000 per year in merit aid. In another case, nine (9) students had their acceptances withdrawn by the University of Washington, in the summer months between graduating from high school and beginning the fall freshman year.

A less obvious consequence of slacking off senior year is being less prepared for the challenges of college. Freshman year can be tough, even for students who kept up with their course work throughout high school. Imagine entering college with rusty study skills.

The habits that students learn early on life are often carried over into later stages of life and into college and the professional world. Therefore, students need to be aware that motivation cupped with hard work will always win out over basic intelligence.

What are the ways to cope with SENIORITIS?

Plan Ahead.

EAch student probably already knows what activities they want to be involved in this year. They know that college applications are due within weeks, especially if they are going to the early action or early decision schools.

TIME MANAGEMENT is the key here. You want to make the most of your time with friends and family, without pulling your hair out, or falling into a depressed state of mind.

The best tool for seniors is to have calendar or day planner. Just like professions who have busy tasks, writing down all of the deadlines for applications, papers, tests, and so on will not only keep you organized, but keep your time managed better.

You also want to calendar in other activities such as your sports, drama or band rehearsal schedules, work schedules if you are working, any SAT or ACT test dates (though these should already be finished), any last minute college visits, and any other activities you might have to schedule.

Check your calendar daily. If you have a paper due, and a the big game is the night before the due date, plan to finish the paper a few days ahead of time. You won't have time to get it done the night before because you'll be leading the team to victory!

Don't obsess.
Don't spend the whole senior year obsessing about college admission process. Focus on you...being a good student and citizen, making wise choices for the betterment of your brain, body, and spirit offers more benefit for college admission strategy than some plan crafted to impress college admission officers.

Don't get involved in activities just to impress colleges, they might not notice. Do the things you love and drop activities that you're just not that committed to. Colleges are more interested in seeing you do the things you enjoy.

The senior year can be sad and exhilarating at the same time. This is your year of "lasts". It is the "last" year to be a child. It will be the "last" first day of school, the "last" High School football game or school dance. However, with the closing of your childhood years, comes the opening of a window. The window will give you a whole new world you nevr before knew, and it will be in this time that you will be embracing and looking forward to graduating and starting a new life at college.

Seniors should talk about their feelings which will probably range from fear of leaving high school to the stress that the college admission produces to excitement about the new experiences a new experience at college will bring. Talk to are your friends and your parents. If you are having a lot of anxiety or suffering emotionally, talk to your guidance counselor, and other adults whom you respect.

Celebrate their senior year! Have fun! Its been a long road, and you should do as much as you can to not only keep up your studies, but to enjoy it... there is no other year like this one!

California Is To Get A NEW Cal State Campus

In 2007, the people in the Antelope Valley Area decided to pull a group of people together and create an interest in opening a new 4-year university in the area.

Three sites were offered, with the most promising of these three plans being offered by Strata Equity Group, a San Diego Real Estate Development Firm) who created the Cal State San Marcos Campus in 1990 which is located in the San Diego Area. It appears that the reason this idea is so promising is that Strata has already purshaed 440,000 acres for this project and they have clearly been through this exercise before.

This plan was submitted for an environmental review in 2008, and with the economic climate that has come before us all, this development may be stalled for a short while until the economy strengthens, but strongly remains on the radar within this area. Additionally, the Economic issues that face California today do not appear to lessen the desire that this community wants to build a new university, not to mention that a university of this magnitude will build and create jobs within this community.

This project is now slated to be build at Highways 58 and 14, next to the Kia Proving Track in Mojave, Ca. with California City, California just a couple of miles north of the campus.

This project is being created with all private donations, and will be at no cost to the people of California. Go to this site to read more. Additionally, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law that 1/3 of the state's clean energy will come from this very area by 2016.

Students who are looking at colleges and thinking about science and engineering majors, may want to consider this new Cal Poly, Hi Desert Campus. Read the article provided at the website provided below to see what the project is for the next 5 years.

http://www.avbot.org/HIGH_DESERT_MASTER_PLAN.pdf

http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/8484

TIME MANAGEMENT IDEAS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

As you prepare to get back into the swing of things at school, keep in mind and learn these time management skills. Ready? Get Set… PLAN!

First, Determine the answers to these questions:
What kind of person am I?

When are you most productive and when you need down time?
(Are you a morning or evening person and plan accordingly.)

What are my goals? (line your activities with your goals)

How much rest do I need and when is dinnertime?

How much sleep do you require each night? (You will be much more productive and alert when you are eating right and getting enough rest.)

What if I don’t finish everything I have planned to do? (Build catch‐up time into your schedule.)

Scbedule playtime? You need a balance between work and fun.

This will help you alot as you face the stress of the application season.

Finding financial aid for college is one of the key to minimizing your expenses and getting the best education. Unfortunately, trying to navigate the maze of financial aid for college can be difficult, as you've got to wade through a myriad of scholarships, grants, government loans and private loans to find the right financial aid package for your needs. The truth is most people use several different programs to pay for college, including a combination of grants, scholarships and government and private loans.

Many of the professionals in the business will tell you that you start by filling out the FAFSA. However, it is not some arcane document signing your life away; it is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a required first-stop for many scholarships, private lenders and government programs.

Most qualified student's today qualify for government financial aid for college, you may receive assistance in the form of grants, government loans or work-study programs. Most of this assistance is FREE and does not need to be repaid, but some does, so it is important to know the difference.

Government grants are basically tuition gifts that you don't have to repay, but you must demonstrate great need to get a grant. If you don't qualify for a government grant, you may still be eligible for government loans with deferred interest, deferred principal and low interest rates, and various merit based awards.

Students and their family should start preparing documents well in advance of the FAFSA's due date. Some schools want your FAFSA before your taxes are due, so you and your family will need to do your taxes early. If that isn't possible, then you'll need to fill out the FAFSA to make the deadline, but you must make corrections based on your tax form later.

Many colleges and universities offer merit-based scholarship programs for students with exceptional achievements. College-sponsored scholarship programs are highly competitive, so it's not guaranteed that you'll get one for your financial aid for college. Hence, if you've got a background of achievements or interest in a specific field of study, it never hurts to apply for a college scholarship to augment your financial aid for college. If you're an exceptional athlete, you might be able to get a scholarship based on your athletic skill. Check with your college admissions and financial aid office for a list of school scholarships, and examine your options to add to your financial aid for college.

Another good source for free financial aid is to check with local organizations in your community. Tracking down scholarships on this level requires a lot of footwork, but a determined student can find hundreds or even thousands of dollars in scholarships by checking with local organizations. In some cases, your parents' employers may offer scholarships for college students. In other cases, you might qualify for a scholarship from your local church or city council. Start your search by talking with your local high school guidance counselor; they typically compile lists of local scholarships. If you exhaust your guidance counselor's list, try checking with your local library.

It's easier to qualify for local scholarships if you're active in a number of organizations; being an active student helps to differentiate you from other students for merit-based scholarships and helps to put you in touch with more organizations that could potentially offer scholarships. Some scholarships from local organizations may only award members as little as $100 to $300 per school year, but those small scholarships add up, and one of them by itself covers the cost for a college textbook.


Another source of funds might be found on databases online. With the popularity of the Web as a search venue, many databases have popped up to provide college students an easy way to search for financial aid for college. Some of these databases offer free listings, but many online financial aid for college databases require a subscription fee. If you opt to get a paid subscription to a scholarship database, look for one that includes a free trial, so you can check and see whether the database includes comprehensive and current listings for financial aid for college. While some people argue against using a subscription-based service, as long as it's a reasonable fee and offers valuable information, it may be worthwhile to consider it. If a $50 subscription leads to a $5,000 scholarship, the math simply speaks for itself, however it is important to know that no one with legitimate scholarship fund EVER asks for funds upfront.

Another popular source of financing is work-study, provided by many colleges for students who need financial aid. You can work in various college capacities, such as in the library or other on-campus offices for about 10-15 hours per week, and these funds are NON taxable.

Government work-study options are based on demonstrating financial need, but college students can often find on- or off-campus employment even without government work-study programs. Another advantage of work-study is that you might find a job that gives you experience in your chosen field. For example, if you are interested in chemistry, you might find a work-study position in a campus lab.

Loan Forgiveness Loans are available to some, however they come with some strings attached. Some government, state and private organizations are willing to provide educational loans and then forgive them if students are willing to work in a specific office or industry for a specified time period. Industries that often offer loan forgiveness programs include education, nursing and some government positions. The programs that offer loan forgiveness options typically don't pay as well as more competitive industries, but they're vital to our social structure and offer great personal satisfaction in addition to the financial aid benefits of loan forgiveness.

Private Loans should always be the last resort to provide financial aid for college. While government loans offer perks to college students who can demonstrate financial need, such as low interest rates and deferred interest and principal, these programs are still loans and must be repaid after school.

Private lenders sometimes offer the same deferment options as government loans, but they often underwrite loans at much higher interest rates than government loans. If you do opt to use loans to finish financing your college, keep in mind that education loans are not eligible for discharge through bankruptcy.

We offer assistance with financial aid when applying to the colleges of your choice. Contact us for additional information.

WHEN RESEARCHING SCHOOLS, CHECK OUT THE COLLEGE'S BLOGS

As you begin to apply to colleges, keep a finger on the pulse of admissions at your top schools by checking out these college admissions blogs. Check out each of the school's blog below.

These blogs can provide you a little more insight on the information you may be looking for, not to mention something about the college process through posts on the website for the blog.

The plus side of these blogs is that the current students often offer their input, giving you an in-depth look at the school from a student's perspective.




Amherst https://www.amherst.edu/admission/mttg/student_blogs

Bates http://www.bates.edu/bateslife.xml

Brandeis http://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/blog/

Brown http://blogs.brown.edu/admissions/

California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) http://www.caltech.typepad.com/

Carleton http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/blogs/

Carnegie Mellon http://www.enrollment.cmu.edu/admission/blogs/

Case http://blog.case.edu/admission/

Claremont McKenna (remember there are 5 schools in the Pomona College line up)
http://cmc.edu/admission/blogs1.php

Connecticut College http://outoftheblue.conncoll.edu/2011-spring-p.html

Cornell http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/

Dartmouth http://dartmouthperspectives.blogspot.com/

Davidson http://forum.davidson.edu/explore/

Emory http://www.emory.edu/admission/about_emory/student_and_faculty_blogs.html

Grinnell http://www.grinnell.edu/admission/voices

Hamilton http://www.hamilton.edu/journals

Harvey Mudd http://www.hmc.edu/admission1/whymudd1/community.html

Haverford http://www.haverford.edu/admission/blog-profiles.php

Holy Cross http://admissions.me.holycross.edu/

Johns Hopkins http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/

Julliard http://blog.juilliard.edu/

Lafayette http://voices.lafayette.edu/

Lehigh http://lehighadmissions1.blogspot.com/

Middlebury http://blogs.middlebury.edu/seniorfellows/

MIT http://www.mitadmissions.org/blogs.shtml

Northeastern http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/campuslife/studentblogs.html

NYU http://blogs.nyu.edu/admissions/ambassadors/

Pitzer http://www.admission-unpeeled.blogspot.com/

Princeton http://blogs.princeton.edu/paw/2011/02/early_admission.html

Rhode Island School of Design http://welcome.risd.edu/

Rhodes http://connect.rhodes.edu/blog/admissions-office/

Rice http://admission.blogs.rice.edu/

Sarah Lawrence http://www.slc.edu/magazine/hardway/index.html

Smith http://www.smith.edu/admission/blog/prod/

Southern Methodist http://www.smu.edu/Admission/ConnectWithUs.aspx

Stanford http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idnUskNdBSU

Swarthmore http://www.swarthmore.edu/x15365.xml

Tufts http://tuftsblogs.com/freshmanperspective/

UCLA http://blog.admissions.ucla.edu/

UNC http://unc-admissions.blogspot.com/

University of Chicago https://blogs.uchicago.edu/collegeadmissions/

University of Colorado http://admissions.colorado.edu/undergraduate/blogs/heatherk

University of Oregon http://music.uoregon.edu/admission/welcome.htm

University of Southern California http://dornsife.usc.edu/admission-blog-home/

UVA http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/

UVM http://adms.blog.uvm.edu/

Vanderbilt http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/

Vassar http://blogs.vassar.edu/admissions/

Wake Forest http://rethinkingadmissions.blogs.wfu.edu/

Wellesley http://web.wellesley.edu/web/Admission/GetToKnowUs/studentblogs.psml

Wesleyan http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/

William and Mary http://www.wm.edu/blogs/index.php