by Steve Fernandez-Brennan, former admissions officer at Occidental College

When helping students prepare for college visits before COVID-19 I would encourage them to do their research, to know what they wanted to learn, to keep an open mind, and to have fun. Fourteen months into the pandemic, what would I say now? The exact same thing—with one addition: be polite!

Finding a job can be tough, especially if you are a teen looking for your first job with no experience. In this video, our college admissions experts provide some helpful tips to aid first time job hunters in their quest to land an interview. Tune in to the latest installment of the Bright Horizons College Coach video series, We Can Explain, to learn how.

by Karen Spencer, former admissions officer at Georgetown University

We are often asked how homeschooled applicants are evaluated in the admissions process, and the answer is, per usual (if you read our blog regularly), “It depends.” Some colleges have an admissions officer who reads all homeschooled applicants separately, whereas other colleges have each admissions officer read them alongside the rest of their assigned applicant pool (which is often divided by region of the country). I polled my colleagues who worked at an array of colleges across the U.S.—private and public, selective and not-selective—to understand more of the nuances behind this review process and just what it is admission officers hope to learn from homeschooled applicants.

by Kimberly Asselta, former admissions officer at Babson College

I was not the captain of my high school cheerleading team. I vividly remember the day my coach read the names of the 1993-1994 team captains. I was devastated when my name wasn’t called. My dreams of wearing that gold “C” on my uniform and being seen as a team leader came tumbling down. That was “way back in the 1900s” as my two middle school sons like to remind me, and I’m totally over it. Really. As I look back on my time in high school with the wisdom that over twenty years of life and work experience brings, I can recognize that the “C” on my sweater didn’t define me or my leadership ability. I learned a lot from that experience, but that’s for a different blog post!

by Elizabeth Heaton, former admissions officer at University of Pennsylvania

What a crazy year! Students fully remote or attending high school in-person part-time via a hybrid model. Courses graded pass/fail. Standardized tests unavailable in many locations. Sports and other extracurricular activities postponed or cancelled. This was a difficult school year—and year—by anyone’s standards. For the class of 2021, those difficulties extended further to college admissions.

Interested in majoring in business as an undergraduate? We’ll share information on coursework and activities that might help your application stand out. We’re also answering your college admissions and finance questions in our listener Q&A.

by Kimberly Asselta, former admissions officer at Babson College

I spent seven years as an admissions officer at Babson College, a business school ranked #1 in entrepreneurship for the last 24 years. It’s an amazing place, but when I started working there I honestly didn’t understand the world of business, much less entrepreneurship. It was 2004, five years before the first episode of Shark Tank aired, and the idea of creating a product or service and a business model around it wasn’t quite mainstream. But my time at Babson introduced me to the amazing opportunity these students were given to create their own path. Additionally my eyes were opened to just how broad and varied the study of business can be. There’s no “perfect” business student; our applicant pool was just as unique and diverse as many other colleges and universities. However, many of our best applicants did have a few things in common. Here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind if you are considering applying to a business college or program.

by Kennon Dick, former admissions officer at Swarthmore College

What the Waitlist Means

Some students would rather be denied than waitlisted and I don’t blame them. For many, the college application process has been a long and protracted ordeal; with a waitlist letter, it’s going to last a few months longer with far less certainty about how it will end.

by Elizabeth Heaton, former admissions officer at University of Pennsylvania

The news on college applications can feel a little scary this year—applications are up in huge year-over-year numbers at Brown (26%), Oregon State (40%), UC Berkeley (28%), University of Pennsylvania (34%) and Colgate (100%!). How to account for these increases?

Maybe you want to take it easy for the last half of senior year. Your college applications are in, right? So what harm will dropping a class do at this point? Before you make any hasty moves, check out this video tip from former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer, Elizabeth Heaton. In the latest installment of the video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert, Beth answers the question, “Can I drop a class?”