Years ago I worked as an International Student Advisor at an independent English language school in Boston. Our students ranged in their language skills and abilities; some simply hoped to improve their conversational English while other students, university-bound hopefuls, studied hard to improve their TOEFL scores. Their goal was to enroll at one of the many universities in the area. If you’re considering an intensive English program, it takes time to narrow down options and do your research. For many international students who want to pursue a degree in the United States, an English language school (ELS) is often the first step.

Computer science programs and majors grow in popularity every year. We’ll explain what they are, who they are for, and what they look for in applicants. In Office Hours, we’re talking through questions to ask on campus tours, whether you’re collecting information to determine which schools should end up on your college list or to figure out how you can afford to pay for them.

COVID-19 has turned the world on its head for most of us, but its associated cancellations and closures pose particular concerns for international students, both prospective and current. We’ve put together this brief Q&A, outlining tips and resources to help international students and their families navigate these uncharted waters.

Some students will see this as good news, while others may be less thrilled: CollegeBoard announced Friday that it will allow students to take AP exams at home. Originally scheduled for May, each exam will now be offered twice; those dates will be announced on April 3. In-home exams will be taken via computer, tablet, or smartphone, with an option to submit photos of completed work for those students who may have more limited tech access. The exams will be shorter than usual—just 45 minutes each—and will focus on content that most schools were able to cover by early March. Details regarding the logistics and security of this new model are currently limited, but CollegeBoard is expected to release more information in the coming weeks. They’re also striving to ensure that students without regular internet or device access can complete the exams.

Finding a job can be tough at the best of times, but what if you are a teen looking for your first job with no experience? In this video, our college admissions experts will provide some helpful tips to help first time job hunters land an interview! Tune in to the latest installment of the College Coach video series, We Can Explain, to learn how.

The Varsity Blues scandal hit the country on March 12, 2019. One year after the news exploded across this country and the world, we’re taking a look at what has changed, what has stayed the same, and how to avoid making these same mistakes moving forward. In college finance, we review the details of expected family contributions, or EFC for short.

Guest post by Briana Bennett, Bay Area Director of BlueStamp Engineering

It’s 2020 and as modern STEM technology continues to improve, it has branched out to become more interdisciplinary than ever before. If a student is interested in music, sports, medicine, fashion, sustainability, space travel, or any other profession they can imagine, they are probably going to be working with technology in some way. Though this is true, the opportunities available for high schoolers to get hands-on, real-world experience in engineering or technology are minimal in a traditional school setting. There’s just not enough time to cover all of the required subjects. If your student is interested in STEM, they may want to consider getting this experience through a summer camp.

Part of our job here at Bright Horizons College Coach is to keep an eye on all the news in college admissions and college finance so you don’t have to. We recently came across a terrific piece by our good friends over at Fortuna Admissions centered on the growing concern about the coronavirus and the opportunity to connect with business schools through remote interviews:

The Admission Office’s Perspective

First, the use of a waitlist at any given school can vary dramatically from year to year. A school might take 100 students from the waitlist one year and zero students the next. In general, more selective schools are less likely to use their waitlists because they will have a high percentage of admitted students who accept their offers of admission. They’re therefore much less likely to suffer from a shortage. For all schools, how they use the waitlist depends on the number of students who accept their offer of admission, and that’s not a question they’ll have answered until very close to or after May 1.

Guest Post by Julie Wolf

Talking with parents whose children were waitlisted at one of their top college choices, a handful of words came up repeatedly: Limbo. Nightmare. Horror story. False hope.

I had barely heard of waitlists before my daughter landed on three in spring 2019. The letters went something like this: “This year we saw more incredible applicants than ever before. You were among them. Congratulations! We are delighted to offer you a spot in the Class of 2023—if one opens up! We’ll be in touch after May 1.”