This past month, I drove down to White Plains, New York to give a presentation on “Beating the Admission Game” to the White Plains Football Association on behalf of College Coach.  The association was formed to help football players learn more about deadlines, standardized tests, financial aid, and other admission basics with respect to selective colleges and universities.  The association’s organizers determined that mentors who work with students and families are crucial in making sure everything gets done right in the application process.  I was brought in not only to inform families about the college admission process but to energize students, their families, and mentors, as to higher education possibilities.

College students won a small victory this week when Congress, facing a July 1^st deadline, extended low interest rates on undergraduate Subsidized Direct Loans for a year.

The Subsidized Direct Loan is a federal loan program for needy college students.  The loan is interest-free while the student is enrolled in school, and begins accruing interest at a fixed interest rate after the student graduates or drops below half-time attendance.  The interest rate, fixed at 6.8% in 2006, was gradually lowered for loans borrowed since 2008 to the 3.4% rate, in effect for the 2011-2012 academic year.  This reduced rate was set to expire on July 1^st, which would have doubled the interest rate for future borrowers.

College Coach Expert, Elizabeth Heaton, explores “5 horrible essay topics for your college application.”  To find out how you can avoid some of these application essay writing pitfalls, read her blog post in today’s USA Today.

As spring turns to summer, the challenge of applying for college ends and the challenge of paying for college begins.  Though that first college bill can be daunting, remember that you have 3 options to pay for college:  you can tap your savings (your accumulated past income), pay as you go (out of your current income), or you can borrow (committing your future income to pay down education debt).  Choose 1 strategy or combine all 3!

Are you looking for advice about curriculum choices and extracurricular activities?  Do you need assistance with a college list?  Are you hoping your child can complete as many of his application essays as possible before the end of summer?  Do you need an independent college counselor but aren’t sure how best to evaluate your options?

As a former admissions officer for the University of Pennsylvania and current independent college counselor, here are some questions I would ask:

Have you done admissions before?  Where did you work and did you participate in the decision making process?

College applications can be fraught with stress for both parents and students.  So how do parents avoid turning “help” with admission essays into “too much help”?  To guide us through this parental conundrum, we’ve turned to Jacob Palmer, student blogger and junior at American University, for some parent / student advice.  Jake relates to us his essay writing experiences and the impact his mother’s help had on the process.

How would you describe your relationship with your mom when it came to writing your essays?

I’d say it was strained, but in a good way.  Students are encouraged to be creative and take risks with their application essays, and conflict inevitably rises from that risk taking.  And while creative essays can work, oftentimes a student requires some guidance to make sure their essay doesn’t sacrifice message for originality.  I used my mom as a resource to bounce off ideas.

Looking at college marketing materials and websites, you may get the impression that every college campus in the country has an abundance of gleaming state-of-the-art buildings, classrooms full of students engaged in active discussion or incredible lab experiments, and a population of culturally diverse, perpetually happy individuals.  While some or all of these things may be true of many campuses, you can be sure that these images are carefully chosen to entice you.  Some are even staged.  So how can you discern what is real and what is a mirage?  Visit the campus and see for yourself!

It’s that easy:  go to the admissions page of a college’s website and find out the days and times of campus tours and information sessions.

Happy 529 Day — aka Educational Savings Day (5/29, get it?).  A toast to all the savers!

If you have a child enrolling in college, and you’ve saved for it in a 529 Savings Plan, congratulations!  It’s time to get your tax break!  While paying for college with 529 Plan assets is not difficult, there are a few things to keep in mind.  Here’s what you should know:

Earlier this month, my College Coach consultant colleagues Mary Sue, Lisa Albro, and myself, had a wonderful experience presenting to four small groups of 10 to 20 middle and high school aged students and their American Express Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors.

At our first meeting, Dawn presented to the 10^th graders, focusing on the preparation needed when applying to selective colleges and universities.  She covered deadlines, general application and financial aid information, and gave advice on the kinds of coursework for which colleges are looking during the college application process.

It’s a pretty common scenario, especially at larger high schools: guidance counselors not personally knowing each and every student to whom they are assigned.  This might not worry you much as a parent until you rummage through your child’s set of college applications and realize this same guidance counselor is required to write a letter of recommendation for her. But don’t panic, it’s not as dire a situation as you might think!  Our college admissions experts help students get over this hurdle every year.

Though it’s true a personal connection between guidance counselor and student might be helpful in multiple respects, the purpose of the guidance letter is not necessarily meant to be personal.  What information do school reports, as guidance recommendations are so often called, usually answer, then?  Colleges are most curious about: