EAST AND WEST COAST COLLEGE TOURS, AND COMPANIES THAT HELP YOU

As school days are looming closer, so are college applications. Schools will be out in full force starting September 1st, marketing their campuses to students across the county, and by the same token, students need to do the same with the schools.

Educational Unlimited (EU Tours) is hosting some tours and have special discounts available to students who sign up early.


Their schedule is as follows:

East Coast Tour
Boston to Washington, D.C.
October 7 - 12

East Coast Tour
Boston to Philadelphia
October 7 - 11

California Tour
S.F. to San Diego
October 14 - 19

California Tour
S.F. to L.A.
October 14 - 18

If you are interested, contact them at:

Education Unlimited
1700 Shattuck Ave #305
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-548-6612

If it impossible for you to go on one of these tours, or you are looking to create your own tour that will more closely define what you are looking at, try, Murray Miller"s Off 2 College Tours - http://www.off2collegetours.com/Home_Page.html

However, if you are unable to go on one of these tours to the scheduling of them, or they are not looking at the colleges you are interested in, CONTACT US for a list of tour companies that may meet your needs. We have several resource for you.

SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS LOOKING TO ATTEND U.S. COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

The College Admissions Consultant is pleased to announce the new hiring of our associate "Nicole", a recent USC Grad from China to assist us in helping those students in China who wish to attend colleges & universities in the U.S with their applications and translation of their transcripts.

Students who are considering attending U. S. Schools should like their U. S. counterparts, start the admission process as early as the 9th grade. Preparing for your new experience needs time and attention, and the expertize that an "agent" may or may not be able to provide to you.

We work with all international students, weather they are U. S. Citizen's who have been living abroad and attending schools in other parts of the world or Third Culture Students.

Remember that being an "international student" does not grant you automatic acceptance into a U.S. School. Agents are individuals who work with specific schools and while many are wonderful, you run the risk that they may have their interest in getting you into one school over another because of compensation they earn which varies.

We not only work with you to select a school that is right for you, we do not accept additional fees over and above the fees that we charge your U.S. Counterparts, and we will assist you in your resume, essays, and international financial aid.

THE SCHOOLS ARE LOSING COUNSELORS

This is not an article on the college admissions process, but one on how the schools are losing counselors, highly trained individuals who have been all effected by the sign of the times.

It makes me realize just how important my job as a consultant is becoming. If you have a student who is in the 10th, 11th, or 12 th, and seeking entrance into college.. check us out. We might be able to assist you.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR, NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE APPLICATION SEASON

The summer is flying by - and with August 1st approaching within days, half the summer is already gone.

While we know that you are trying to take in all the excitement and fun of the summertimes, we want to encourage all the you to start on preparing for the college application season that is almost around the corner, to start on your research and find the best schools that will best fit with your academic niche they are portraying on the application.

If you plan to complete the Common Application, you will note on the front page that there is a line which asks you for your “area of academic interest” – that’s where you want to announce your academic niche.

REMEMBER, your goal is to make it clear to colleges who you are and what you will add to their school on the academic front. Your goal is to show colleges and universities why the match is perfect!

Next to the essay, this is the most important part of the application process.

HOW A WELL TRAINED COLLEGE CONSULTANT CAN SAVE YOU MONEY

A well trained college consultant, while parents feel are expensive, can save a family several thousands of dollars in ERRORS or MISTAKES.

I just recently had a father come up to talk to me while I was having coffee --"I am so distraught, I don't know what to do. My daughter calls herself an "aspiring artist" and she was at UCLA but she has dropped out cause she says it is not the right school for her and that she does not feel like she can fit in-- I dont know what to do, I wish she would go back"

I hate to hear these stories, and this poor man is part of the UNDER employed in our country right now. He is trying to give his daughter opportunities, but he has NO CLUE where to start... so I asked to meet his daughter.

One look at her told me she did not belong at UCLA. I was not sure how she had been accepted, but she had and she had gone, and now we had to pick up the pieces. Her work is unbelievably good and she told me what she wants to do.

I sat down later in the day and looked at schools that might help her.. the two schools that jump out at me repeatively, and look to be a good fit are NYU and Otis/Parsons Institute.

I talked again to her father when I saw him and told him about these schools and he said,"you know my daughter visited NYU and loved it.. she wanted to go there, but I did not think it was a good idea because we dont have the money"


I asked him if he had applied for financial aid, and his daughter had a great award from UCLA...

So I asked him to consider letting me have a couple of hours with her to see if we can rework her educational efforts and see if we can get her on track.

This is a story I hear a lot, and it is no wonder that only about 52.% of all college students graduate in 5-6 years, after that no one knows. High School counselors had a different agenda, their goal is to matriculate students to college and then what happens, happens.

As a consultant, my goal is a little different. My goal is to not only matriculate the student to college, but help them walk through another graduation ceremony,

As for this man's daughter, I am hoping to work with her so that I can help her reach her goals. She lost one year going to UCLA, and hopefully we can transfer the units... so schools accept it, some don't --- and she has lost this year being lost.. so two years out, she is confused, lost time, and is looking for the next step.

I am confident I can salvage this situation and get this girl on track, but so many student's go down the same road.

Most of the time, students will follow their college search based on a best friend and their advice of where to go to school, followed by a good relative, sibling and then a parent.

A good college consultant can encourage a student to think through their selection and choices of schools. They can help a student blossom into the next stage of life and find a positive experience for both the student and family.

The goal is to find the RIGHT situation so that the student completes their course of study and graduates.

DOES APPLYING TO A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY AUTOMATICALLY GIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS LIVING ABROAD AN EDGE IN GETTING IN?

Many families and students believe that just by being international, or applying from overseas, they have the golden ticket. I see this particularly in my American kids overseas.

Here’s the hard truth. If you are applying to a college that ranks "highly selective to very selective" , you are competing with highly accomplished students from the United States and abroad (International Students). Students, regardless of their national standing need to be just as competitive as any other student – noting that coming from overseas may add just one slight tip factor, but only if the rest of the application sings to the admissions committee.

For less selective colleges, or colleges that would like to attract more students from overseas, then yes, applying from overseas might be a very important tip factor. Therefore, if a student or family that thinks that merely applying from overseas is the key to an elite school like U.S.C., NYU, Columbia or Harvard, you may confidently and quickly put that myth to rest.

This is why students with American passports (all considered American Citizens by most colleges) want to know if they can check the “international” box on the application – believing it will give them an advantage, DON'T.

If you are abroad and need assistance with the application or are an international student and need assistance including I-20 forms, contact us, we may be able to assist you.

TWO SPOTS LEFT ON A NORTHEAST COLLEGE TOUR

I have just received an email regarding an EAST COAST COLLEGE TOUR is anyone is interested in the week of
July 16-22 ---------- it is a week away, and they have TWO SPOTS LEFT! it's not too late to join them! Here is the Email I received..... they are staying at the
Boston Park Plaza and Sheraton NY & Towers. If you are interested, contact them NOW! Let them know The College Admissions Consultant referred you!

"This is going to be a very special college tour, and with current arrangements we have space for just two more students! The trip runs July 16-22, and students arrive in Boston where they spend a full day sightseeing. Then, starting on day 2 of the trip, students visit an array of great schools such as Harvard, MIT and Boston College. Students go on to Providence where they spend the night, and after a morning visiting colleges there, they go on to stomp the campus of Yale University. The next night and day are spent in New York City, and students will visit such NY greats as Columbia and NYU. Day 5 students spend visiting Philadelphia and will get in some great sightseeing at the birthplace of our nation while seeing more world class colleges. The final day is spent in Washington DC, visiting more wonderful schools such as American University and Georgetown.

One of the many things that distinguish this trip from others that are offered is the exceptional array of hotels we will be staying at. While it's true that the main purpose of the trip is to see the colleges and their hometown cities, it's also true that it's awfully nice at the end of the long day to get a restful night of sleep in a world class hotel. While our fee for the trip is comparable to basic trips offered by other organizations. look at just a couple of the hotels we'll be staying at and compare these with the often tourist class, two star type properties that many such groups book for their participants and you will see our trip is in every way really in a different class from most, all for basically the same price:

Parents have often shared that the staff they encountered at Education Unlimited was even stronger than the information we provided, often dramatically so, and that we really should do more to tout the unusually strong staff we recruit. These are the two leaders for our East Coast College Tour who will take our little band of about 20 participants on what should be a powerful and important event, perhaps for some students a highlight of their year:

Nermin Kamel grew up in Southern California and received her Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science with a minor in Business from Whittier College in 1999. She later received a Master's Degree from California State University, Fullerton in Educational Administration. She taught English and speech/debate for 10 years at La Mirada High School in Southern California before going into school administration. She has served as assistant principal of San Ramon Valley High School for the past two years and is the newly appointed principal of Alhambra High School in Martinez, CA. Ms. Kamel comes to us with extensive experience in student travel having led delegations of students all over the United States and to more then 15 countries across Europe, Asia and the Pacific Southwest. In addition, for the past 8 years, Ms. Kamel has served as the vice-president of the California High School Speech Association directing the California High School Speech and Debate State Championships for nearly 2,000 students and coaches from throughout the state of California.

Janet Willford grew up in the East Bay and received her Bachelor of Arts in English from UCSB in 1993. She has been teaching and coaching since 1994. Currently, she teaches speech and debate and leadership at San Ramon valley high school. She has served as the activities director for San Ramon Valley High School for the past 12 years. Mrs Willford is married with two children, aged 4 and 1, and resides in Danville. As the winner of the Eukel Teacher's Trust award in 2004, the following was part of the extensive praise read in honor of Mrs Willford: One student said: “I have never known a teacher who cares so much about her students, their lives, and their school. She is truly the best asset San Ramon Valley High School has”. A departing senior told us “Students naturally gravitate to Ms. Willford. Whether I had a problem with a class, a friend, or a speech, she was there to listen and offer advice. Her classroom is not just a place to learn, but a home for many students.” A parent wrote: “Every mother dreams of a mentor to help their daughter blossom into a young woman. I could not have chosen a better woman for the job. Janet Willford is excellence on two feet”. And finally, one student who equated Janet with her own Mother told us :”Her spirit shines, her smile comforts, and her laugh makes you want to be around her. Janet is flat out amazing.”

Please join these great staff on the unique and extraordinary tour that we've arranged. There are only two spots remaining, so as soon as you are certain you want to attend you should sign up immediately. Once we are full, while we will try to arrange to fit in extra students, at this point it looks like further additions may not be possible. I'm including my email address below so that if you sign up and need confirmation that you've been accepted so you can book a flight, you will be able to reach me directly.


Matthew Fraser
Executive Director & CEO
Education Unlimited
mfraser@educationunlimited.com