There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. As such, we are highlighting a new college each week in our School Spotlight series. Check out the college below, along with the other posts in our series, and you may just stumble upon your dream school!

School Spotlight: Montana Tech 
Butte, MT

There is a scholarship (or many scholarships) out there for everyone. Every student has some skill, interest, experience, or characteristic that may make them an attractive candidate for one scholarship or another. And while we often refer to scholarships as “free money,” scholarships don’t actually come for free. It takes work to thoughtfully consider your strengths and research the scholarships that might be most appropriate for you. While the effort that goes into finding and winning scholarships may be akin to a part-time job, we at College Coach want to make your job a little easier. This on-going scholarship series highlights a new scholarship each week. Check out the below, along with the other posts in the series, and you may discover a funding resource that will make covering that college bill a little (or a lot!) easier.

Guest Post By Sabrina Manville

This post is adapted from an article that originally appeared on Edmit’s site.

The coronavirus pandemic has seemingly changed everything, and college admissions is no exception. Students and graduates at every stage of life are adjusting, whether by doing virtual visits, considering test-optional colleges, or learning online when they did not expect to.

In a world in which everything seems to have changed overnight, what you have available to pay for college may have shifted drastically over the last few weeks. Appealing your financial aid offer may be more important than ever, and we have advice on the best way to go about that. For those students thinking about transferring, we have a personal transfer experience story to share. In Office Hours, we’re offering tips for determining which college program is the “best” one for you.

Guest post by Jackie Hebert, Executive Function Coach and Director of Marketing and Communications at Beyond BookSmart

As Executive Function coaches, we speak with worried parents of high school kids every day. The conversations usually go something like this: “My kid is smart. I see a world of possibilities awaiting them, if only they could be more organized (or stop getting distracted by their phones or be more disciplined about how they work or remember to hand in their homework…). How can I make sure they will be ready for the demands of college?”

There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. As such, we are highlighting a new college each week in our School Spotlight series. Check out the college below, along with the other posts in our series, and you may just stumble upon your dream school!

School Spotlight: University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

There is a scholarship (or many scholarships) out there for everyone. Every student has some skill, interest, experience, or characteristic that may make them an attractive candidate for one scholarship or another. And while we often refer to scholarships as “free money,” scholarships don’t actually come for free. It takes work to thoughtfully consider your strengths and research the scholarships that might be most appropriate for you. While the effort that goes into finding and winning scholarships may be akin to a part-time job, we at College Coach want to make your job a little easier. This on-going scholarship series highlights a new scholarship each week. Check out the below, along with the other posts in the series, and you may discover a funding resource that will make covering that college bill a little (or a lot!) easier.

Middle and high school students who are concerned about the environment and want to make our oceans a little cleaner, your idea could win you a scholarship! Be part of the change and use your creativity to inspire others to care for our world.

Scholarship: Ocean Awareness Scholarship

Many high schoolers are in the midst of planning their class schedule for the upcoming school year, and this course selection can come with a lot of anxiety. Students and the parents wonder if it is better to take more challenging courses, with the risk of earning lower grades, or to play it safe with the classes they know they can do well in. From a college’s perspective, is it better to get an A in College Prep or a B in Honors?

Congrats seniors: admissions season is in the homestretch. But just when you thought you would cross the finish line with no more issues, here comes COVID-19! We’re interviewing a senior who is in the middle of receiving admissions decisions and trying to figure out her next steps when she can’t visit any colleges to help her make her final choice. Another topic that’s top of mind this and all years are financial aid awards. We’ll take a look at how to compare them across different schools. Finally, for those underclassmen who are unexpectedly at home right now, we have thoughts on how to use some of this time to get ahead in the process.

In this complex time of high school and college closures, distance learning, standardized testing cancellations, financial upheaval, and great uncertainty, our team predicts that many colleges and universities will adjust their admission requirements for students applying to enroll in the fall of 2021. We anticipate that many colleges will become test optional (at least temporarily) and are keeping a close eye on changes to admissions practices and policies. Subscribe to the blog to stay in the know.

On April 1, the University of California, one of the largest university systems in the U.S., announced changes in their admissions requirements due to the disruption in schooling and standardized testing caused by COVID-19. The UC system is sensitive to the added stress on families right now, and decided on these temporary adjustments to alleviate college admission-related anxiety.