A MESSAGE TO ALL SENIOR APPLYING TO COLLEGE THIS YEAR

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The College Admissions Consultant hopes that this message finds all  of you seniors are feeling great about the Early Decision and Early Action applications you’ve submitted. The statistics coming out indicate a surge in the early round this year. It’s been reported, for instance, that Duke DUKE had 2,716 early decision applications, a 23% increase over last fall. Johns Hopkins said it had received 1,440 applications to its binding program, an increase of nearly 8 % increase, and   nearly 1,800 applied through Dartmouth’s Early Decision program, a 2 % increase.  The competition this year is KEEN!

As we are working with students to help them  "perfect"  their applications, even as the 2011 application year draw to a close, it is still not to late late to let us assist you in reviewing your application(s) or offer you some Essay Guidance and Editing help. 

For those who have made an early strategy should still be honing your applications for the regular round in the event you get deferred or rejected, and regular applications are even MORE important for those of you who didn’t choose an early school. 

We are pleased to be able to continue offering our exclusive Application Review and Essay/Resume Guidance combined program.  We’ll only be offering this until December 15, 2011; so don’t delay. This is the perfect solution for those students who weren’t able to join us for our four-day Application Boot Camp in August.

For juniors, registration is now open for   our one on one individualize consultation and Summer 2012 Application Workships.  We are offering four sessions in Summer 2012. The sooner you sign up, the sooner we write your comprehensive evaluative report so you can use our strategies for the remainder of the year.

HARD DECISIONS FOR THOSE WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES

This is an article for anyone who has a child with learning differences to read.  We want to call them "Differences" instead of "Disabilities" because truthfully, they do not have a disability, they just learn in different ways.

When a family has hopes for a child, yet has to face those hopes  with learning differences, it makes for anxiety with all involved, but with the assistance of a good consultant that learns about different programs and travels around the country to visit these schools and what they have to offer, it can often help a family overcome a lot of issues.

If you have a child with ADD, ADHD, Aspergers or high functioning Autism, you may want to entertain the idea of your child going to a school where they can excell,  consider a college consultant who understands these issues.  We are here to assist you and your family.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/hard-decisions-for-learning-disabled.html

FROM COLLEGE APPLICATIONS TO THE PROM -- YOU ARE BECOMING AN ADULT!

During any given day,  I try to keep current with the events of the day within the confines of college counseling, but today,  I came across something a little different and I realized that with college applications comes in the back of most high school student's minds "THE PROM".  Prom Night is what separates you from child and adult as you begin to think about graduation and entering college.

The PROM is probably one of the most important nights as well as one of the MOST important events in your life.  You will always look back one these days for better or worse.  It will rank some there with the day you get married for the first time.

FOR FUN  take a moment out to relax and "Watch this video"!

http://screen.yahoo.com/father-daughter-dance-medley-27138015.html

Students who are interested in applying to SMU in Dallas, Texas and have been  affected by the snow storm in the northeast are being given  extra time to apply to  the University.   The school is extending their early action deadline for everyone to Tuesday, November 8. It's like the whole world  gets a snow-day!  

If you are applying to SMU,  you now have a few more days.   Apply by November 8 to receive your admission decision in December.   If you have been severely impacted by the storm and need additional time beyond November 8, please contact your admission counselor.

Navigating the college application process on your own can feel like making a solo cross-country trip with no road map.

While parents, school counselors and teachers are all great resources, some students want more intensive, personalized college admissions assistance.
If that’s you, what should you do? One resource that many students use is a personal college consultant.
Who are these people? What do they do? How much do they cost? Read on…

What Do College Consultants Do?

The goal of a college consultant is first and foremost to get you into the college of your choice. Many consulting firms claim a staggeringly high success rate. Even though a private consultant should be able to help you create strong college applications, there are no guarantees of acceptance.
A consultant will help you craft your application, ensuring that you play to your strengths as well as provide all the information and paperwork needed.

In addition to helping you improve your admission essays and other application materials, college consultants may offer SAT and ACT prep and tutoring and general college planning help and guidance. Some consultants can even offer you an analysis of your chances of acceptance to your top schools.

Some consultants  may even offer services like interview coaching, teaching you how to put your best foot forward in admissions interviews. Private education consultants are often retired or former admissions officers at colleges. One of the greatest advantages some consultants offer is their insider knowledge of the application process.

When Should You Start With a College Consultant?

For most students, starting with a consultant during junior or senior year of high school will be sufficient, as that is the key window for exam prep, choosing colleges and filling out applications.

For students with a lot of work to do, or those aiming for particularly competitive colleges, consulting is available for all four years of high school. Some programs are even available for middle school students.

 

What Will It Cost?

There are a large number and variety of consulting firms out there, and naturally, they vary greatly in price. Depending on which company you choose, how much guidance you need and for how long you need it, you can expect to pay anywhere between a few hundred dollars to upwards of $40,000 (for intensive, four-year assistance packages).

Most college consultants will advise that you buy a package deal, which will often include essay help, SAT and ACT tutoring, and admissions guidance. Some of these deals take the form of a series of workshops, while others offer a set number of hours of service.

Some companies also offer “a la carte” options. This is ideal for students who are confident in some areas but not in others, for example those who have good test scores but need help crafting an essay.

Some consultants will work on a per-application basis, giving you feedback on an application for roughly $150 to $500.

 

Is College Consulting Right For Me?

Only you can decide whether or not you need college admissions help, but here are a few questions you could consider:

• Is the cost feasible for me?
• Am I aiming for a highly competitive college, such as an Ivy League school?
• Do I usually struggle with writing effective essays or with high-pressure exams?
• Am I far enough along in the college planning process that I need consulting?

If you feel the cost of private consulting is too high, remember that there are numerous college resources available to you. In fact, sometimes the personal knowledge that your teachers, counselors and parents have might be the most valuable asset to your application process.

College Admissions: What Do Schools Really Care About?

Today, MONEY WATCH talked about the college admissions process.  You can watch it heere

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/spending/video/college-admission-trends/6320041/


Here are 15 things you should know and keep in the back of your mind as you apply---


1. The number of high school graduates peaked in 2008 at 3.3 million and will continue to decline through 2014-15, but the number of students enrolled in college is expected to continue to increase until at least 2020.

2. Approximately 20.4 million students are enrolled in college and that number is expected to swell to 23 million by 2020.

3. In every year since 1976, women have completed high school at a greater rate than men. Currently the gap is 1.2 percentage points.

4. Fifty-six percent of enrolled college freshmen are female.

5. During the last admission season, colleges and universities were accepting slightly fewer applicants. The typical school accepted 65.5% of its applicants. Back in 2001, the average acceptance rate was 71%.

6. Seventy-three percent of colleges and universities in 2010 experienced an increase in applications from the previous year.

7. One out of four teenagers submitted seven or more college applications.

8. The average application fee was $40. Larger institutions and more selective colleges tended to impose higher fees.

9. The typical school’s admission yield was down. Yield refers to the percentage of applicants that a college accepts who ultimately end up attending the school. The latest yield is 41% versus 49% in 2001. The shrinking yield is not surprising since students are applying to more schools.

10. Colleges typically spent $585 to recruit each applicant during the 2010 admission season.

11. Forty eight percent of schools used a wait list. Wait lists were far more popular with selective schools that accept fewer than 50% of its applicants. More than 63% of those schools used a wait list compared with less than 12% of schools that accept 50 % to 70% of its applicants.

12. The acceptance rate gap between those who apply early decision versus regular decision has shrunk. The acceptance rate for students who applied early decision was 57% versus 50% for regular-decision applicants.

13. While the college admission landscape has become tougher to navigate, getting help from high school counselors remain challenging. NACAC notes in its survey that federal statistics indicates that the average counselor/student ratio is 460:1.

14. The average public high school counselors spend just 23% of their time on college counseling, while the average private school counselors devote about 55% of their time to college issues.

15. Only 26% of public schools have at least one counselor who works exclusively on college counseling issues. In comparison, 73% of private schools have a dedicated college counselor.

A good and qualified College Admissions Consultant can assist your child and family in ways you can not imagine.  They can reduce your stress levels over the process, and offer ideas you may have never considered, including financial aid.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA APPLICATIONS OPEN TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 1ST

If you are the average student, you probably are a little overwhelmed by the application process as it is getting under way.  You are looking over the applications,  preparing your essay(s), sending out request for letters of recommendations and ordering transcripts.  You feel a little stressed out, it is harder that you may have thought, and then you hear...

TOMORROW, NOV 1st,  opens the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA application and admissions process.  You have ONLY 30 days in which to get everything listed and submitted.  If your application is not in by November 30th at 11:59pm,  you will have no choice but to wait till the following year.  This should put you into a sweat like never before, but wait,  there is good news this year for Califonia Students admist rising tuition costs!

According to the UC s,  About 90 percent of UC undergraduates are California residents. They are a vibrant and diverse group, encompassing the cultural, racial, socioeconomic and geographic richness from across the state.  This year,  California Students can breathe a sigh of relief as the UC s have changed their admissions policy for California Students.  If you are in the TOP 9% of the 2012 Class
and are not admitted to any of the UC campuses for which a student applies to, they will automatically be offered a spot at another campus where space is available.   This formula is called an "admissions index".

Listed below are the freshman admission profiles summarize the academic qualifications of applicants and admitted freshmen to each UC campus for fall 2011. 

Please be cautious in drawing conclusions from this information.

The numbers are useful only as a general guide to selectivity and not as a predictor of your chances for admission to a particular campus. Keep the following in mind:

• Data for several colleges on a campus are grouped together, which masks the differences in the degree of competition for admission among them. Some campuses and colleges admit students directly into individual majors, and the degree of competition among majors may vary widely.

• The data reflect the selection process for fall 2011 applicants, not the 2012 applicants. The selection process may vary from year to year; therefore the results may differ significantly.

• GPA is defined as a student's grade point average in the "a-g" requirements. The average high school GPA listed for each campus is computed from 10th and 11th grade coursework, including up to eight honors courses. These GPAs are drawn from application data at the system-wide admissions office. Average exam scores are derived from the highest official reported scores from a single test administration.

UC  Berkeley(CAL)
Admit Rate — Overall: 25.8%
Admits*: 13,793
Applicants: 52,973
ELC Student Admit Rate: 57.3%
California Residents (% of admits): 68.2%
Averages
High School GPA: 4.14
ACT Composite Score: 30
SAT Critical Reading: 674
SAT Mathematics: 707
SAT Writing: 692


UC Davis
 
Admit Rate — Overall: 48.4%
Admits: 22,385
Applicants: 46,225
ELC Student Admit Rate: 99.0%
California Residents (% of admits): 85.5%
Averages
High School GPA: 4.00
ACT Composite Score: 28
SAT Critical Reading: 613
SAT Mathematics: 658
SAT Writing: 631

UC Irvine


Admit Rate — Overall: 47.6%
Admits: 23,476
Applicants: 49,287
ELC Student Admit Rate: 97.5%
California Residents (% of admits): 81.3%

Averages
High School GPA: 3.97
ACT Composite Score: 27
SAT Critical Reading: 593
SAT Mathematics: 644
SAT Writing: 612


UCLA


Admit Rate — Overall: 22.8%
Admits: 15,696
Applicants: 61,535
ELC Student Admit Rate: 61.9%
California Residents (% of admits): 70.3%
Averages
High School GPA: 4.11
ACT Composite Score: 30
SAT Critical Reading: 657
SAT Mathematics: 701
SAT Writing: 680

UC  Merced 

Admit Rate — Overall: 81.5%
Admits: 12,395
Applicants: 15,212
ELC Student Admit Rate: 98.9%
California Residents (% of admits): 87.7%
Averages
High School GPA: 3.56
ACT Composite Score: 24
SAT Critical Reading: 551
SAT Mathematics: 564
SAT Writing: 537

UC Riverside


Admit Rate — Overall: 68.9%
Admits: 19,363
Applicants: 28,094
ELC Student Admit Rate: 99.5%
California Residents (% of admits): 84.4%
Averages
High School GPA: 3.67
ACT Composite Score: 25
SAT Critical Reading: 551
SAT Mathematics: 595
SAT Writing: 564


UC San Diego 

Admit Rate — Overall: 35.1%
Admits: 18,744
Applicants: 53,467
ELC Student Admit Rate: 86.1%
California Residents (% of admits): 76.6%
Averages
High School GPA: 4.08
ACT Composite Score: 29
SAT Critical Reading: 632
SAT Mathematics: 681
SAT Writing: 653

UC Santa Barbara
 
Admit Rate — Overall: 46.4%
Admits: 23,041
Applicants: 49,655
ELC Student Admit Rate: 98.5%
California Residents (% of admits): 82.7%
Averages
High School GPA: 3.97
ACT Composite Score: 28
SAT Critical Reading: 613
SAT Mathematics: 647
SAT Writing: 629

 UC Santa Cruz


Admit Rate — Overall: 68.0%
Admits: 19,201
Applicants: 28,235
ELC Student Admit Rate: 98.4%
California Residents (% of admits): 93.3%

Averages
High School GPA: 3.75
ACT Composite Score: 26
SAT Critical Reading: 580
SAT Mathematics: 605
SAT Writing: 591


93.6% of admitted transfer students were from California community colleges.  For those transferring from another school or community college, the admit rates were very similar to those entering the individual schools.

If you feel overwhelmed by the process, we understand.  You are not alone. We specialize ot only in the Common Application with schools across the country but also California schools.  If you are a resident, college transfer or an international student,  The College Admissions Consultant has the ability and expertise to assist you with your application(s), essays, and school choice.  We also work with Learning Differences, Gap Year,  College Transfers, Athletes, International, and Grad School Applicants.  Check out our website at www.TheCollegeAdmissionsConsultant.com