Special Gap Year Programs Benefit ManyGap year and gap semester programs have always been very popular in Europe and are quickly gaining popularity in the U.S. For some students, this hiatus from the lock step march through their academic careers provides a timely opportunity to tackle new challenges, pursue passions and become more self-confident, self-sufficient and self-aware through travel, work, study and community service. These benefits of a gap program are well-recited, but there are less obvious yet equally compelling reasons to take advantage of this experience.
Predicting who is more likely to retake the SAT
Does your SAT score end in "90"? Tomorrow Juniors head off to take the SAT with varying degrees of preparedness and nervousness. While most students will sit for the SAT and/or ACT at least twice, we don't encourage our students to take these tests over and over in pursuit of that ever-elusive "highest score possible". Standardized tests are only one piece of the college application. While an important part, they shouldn't be given undue time or weight.
Good luck, juniors!
Helping your child with the college process
Resolutions Worth KeepingHelping your own child with their college process can be a rewarding, bonding experience - but boundaries have to be drawn. Here's where I have resolved to draw the lines and I embark upon this process with my own daughter.
Essay Writing Tips
The Dos and Don'ts of Graduate School Essays Marybeth Gasman, who works in the admissions office at Penn's Graduate School of Education, offers some pointed advice about how to write a compelling essay. While her words of wisdom are directed at graduation students, most of the advice she offers could be well heeded by anyone applying to college. Among my favorite tips: Don't use the word "love" - ever, and don't make excuses.
Twitter coming soon to a classroom near you
The Social Media Revolution Social media tools are changing the way teachers teach, students learn, and the classroom is defined.
The gap between sticker prices and net tuition explained
The Real Price of College: Looking Beyond the Sticker Over the last decade the averge tuition and fees after adjusting for inflation) at public four-year colleges rose 72% and increased 35% increase at private four-year colleges. But after subtracting estimated average grant aid and federal tax credits and deductions received by full-time students, the average net tuition and fees students are paying are lower in 2010 dollars than they were a decade ago.
It's more than just backpacking
Study Abroad's New Focus is Job Skills We've always believed in the many merits of Study Abroad and have encouraged our clients to take full advantage of these opportunities. However, employers have not felt as warmly about these opportunities, often dismissing them as "a few months backpacking through Europe."
However, that tide is slowly turning and, thanks to people like Cheryl Matherly, the former assistant dean of students for career and international education at Rice University, who are helping students to describe their study abroad experience in terms of transferrable, marketable skills.
Hopefully, more and more employers will see that value that hiring a graduate who has spent time navigating their way through a foreign culture can bring to their companies.
Early applications deserve careful consideration
Early Action Could Aid in Admission, Report Finds With November 1 just a few days away, we're very busy helping our clients meet Early Application deadlines. However, despite evidence that it might be easier to be admitted in this round of decisions, the choice to apply early isn't that simple. First, it can be argued that those students who submit early apps are some of the strongests candidates because they dont' need grades from fall and winter terms to demonstate their full academic potential. Second, while the decision to apply ED must be made with thought and care because it is binding, the decision to apply EA, while non-binding should not be made lightly. To "just get the process over with" is not sufficient justification. We find that students lose momentum after they submit their early applications, which can lead to disasterous results if they are not accepted. And, for many reasons, students may be able to present a stronger application if they wait for the Regular Decision deadlins.
So, while in many cases submitting college applications can be the best choice, don't go into the decision without giving it careful thought.
Virtual Boarding School Fair on October 24th
Here's a tremendous opportunity to learn more about boarding schools with making the drive. This weekend you are invited to attend the Boarding Schools Expo from the comfort of your living room. In addition to a virtual tour of the campus, you will have opportunities to as questions of students, faculty an admissions staff. To sign up, go to http://boardingschoolexpos.com/ Boarding Schools Expo Sunday, October 24, 2010 2:00-8:00 pm Eastern
An opportunity to visit with over 60 boarding schools, Ask questions of school staff, students & alumni
Don’t miss a presentation on “Choosing the Right Boarding School & How an Educational Consultant Can Help” followed by a Live Q&A session starting at 5:45 in the “Auditorium.
Reaches, Moderates, and Likelies - The College List
Building a Better College List Ideas for our monthly columns come from many different places, but after the umpteenth conversation with my colleague, Tim, about people's misguided notions that we can "just make a college list", I decided to write about the considerations that we put in to each of the college lists we create for our clients. In truth, we never get "the list" right on the first try and, in fact, we don't try do. Figuring out which colleges are the best matches is an iterative process, but the more the client understands their options, the more they learn about what is important to them, and the better the ultimate list will be.
Free Workshop-8 Steps for Acing the Job Interview
Title-8 Steps for Acing the Job Interview Join Susan Kennedy as she teaches college students and recent graduates what they can expect on a job interview and what they can do to excel
When-Monday, October 25th at 4:00 pm via webinar
Where-490B Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 01776
Free Workshop-Writing a Personal Statement That Shines
Title-Writing a Personal Statement That Shines Allison Matlack will address the nuts and bolt of the college essay for high school students and parents.
When-Monday, October 18th at 5:00 pm
Where-490B Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA 01776
Allison will be attending NEACAC's "The Ins and Outs of Getting into College"
September 29, 2010 at Bryant University, Smithfield, RI
Allison will be attending "The Ins and Outs of Getting into College"
October 5, 2010 at Roxbury Community College, Roxbury, MA
Spray and Wear: One size fits all
Fashion in a Can: The Clothes you can Spray On Well, I usually like to keep my blogs more pressing and pertinent topics, but on this rainy Friday afternoon this piece in Forbes about sprayable clothes better held my attention than the more timely article about "How the ACTs have caught up with the SATs".
Just the idea of "spray and go" clothing makes me smile - no more worrying if the pants are too snug, the skirt too short, or the shirt the wrong color. Sprayable clothing opens a world of fashion possibilities. The best part for me -the inventor was probably one of those hard to teach kids who never followed the rules, thought outside the box, and walked to the proverbial beat of his own drum. And look where he is now. So, to all of you who are frustrated by children/students/friends who are insist on drawing outside the lines, know that one day they may find a solution to a problem you didn't even know you had. And get rich doing it.
College - Don't Go! (Yet)
Research Suggests a 'Gap Year' Motivates Students We are finding that the college seniors we work with are increasingly interested in taking a gap year before they go off to college. Recognizing either that they really aren't ready to take full advantage of their college experience or that this is a once in lifetime opportunity not to be missed, they are exploring possibilities from traveling around the country to volunteering abroad to working at the local pizza shop to save money for college expenses. Generally it's a good idea to try a few different things during that gap year rather than just one, but focus on experiences that will build confidence, teach skills, give broader exposure to the world, and create opportunities to explore interests.
How to stand out from the rest of the admissions pool
Does being "President of the Lady Gaga Fan Club" belong on your college resume? High school students are encouraged to join clubs, take on leadership roles, be involved in community service - not just because these are wonderful opportunities for growth, but because they "look good" on the college resume. But where to draw to draw the line between a real experience and a whimsical hobby? If it is something the student is genuinely committed to, has been involved with over a period of time, has helped them to gain worthwhile skills, and reveals something appealing about the person, it should probably go on the resume. In this way, a resume can be used to help the college applicant stand out from the crowd.
Where the head hunters hunt
Top 25 Recruiter Picks Everyone seems to like a list - so if you're interested in a career in business, accounting, engineering or the like, here's a list of the college campuses from which recruiters draw heavily.
Math that Everyone Could Use
Tufts Students Learn to Numbers Crunch At Tufts University, students are learning how to figure out credit card debt, decide whether it makes better sense to lease or to buy their new car, and even how to balance their checkbook. Designed for those non-math types, this seems like a course that would be valuable to anyone.
What does "class participation" really mean?
What\'s the Problem with Quiet Students? In the days when I was teaching high school English, I put considerable effort into making sure that my students were actively participating in my classes. It was what I was encouraged to do - students had to be joining in class discussions, offering their ideas and opions, to be engaged in their learning. Over time, it occured to me that this might not be the case for every student. Certainly there are those who, for myriad reasons, choose to sit quietly and listen. Grades bore no evidence that the quieter students were submitting work of inferior quality to those who couldn't put their hands down. So I backed off, found other ways to egnage the quieter students in classroom activities, and focused on creating a classroom where each individual's learning style was respected.