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The Insider: Your Expert Guide to College Admissions -
College Admissions Consulting

Essays on COVID-19; Selecting a College and Studying Abroad; Making the Most of the Summer Financially

COVID-19 looms large for all of us this year, including high school students. For many, it might be tempting to write their essays about their experiences—but should they? We’ll talk through this question and offer our perspective as former admissions officers who have read tens of thousands of admissions essays over the years. In other segments, we’ll go over how students can help themselves financially this summer and hear about one of our expert’s experiences selecting her college and studying abroad in London.

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July 15, 2020by College Coach
College Admissions Consulting

Adjusting Summer Plans in a Pandemic; PSAT Scores and Scholarships; Navigating the COVID-19 Challenges with Help

COVID-19 has disrupted many things in our world this year, including many high school students’ summer plans. We’ll be talking through how to adjust your activities with social distancing and cancellations in mind. For all those juniors who took the PSAT this past fall, we have information on how those scores will relate to scholarships available to students. Finally, if all the changes in admissions this year has you looking for assistance beyond our podcast, we have thoughts about how to evaluate your options.

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June 17, 2020by College Coach
College Admissions Consulting

2020: The Summer of Reading

reading-with-an-iced-coffee-in-summer-min

by Kara Courtois, former admissions officer at Barnard College

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” —Dr. Seuss

This is the summer of reading—or at least, it could be your best literary summer yet. With the change in many summer plans due to COVID-19, my fellow college admissions counselors and I are regularly encouraging students to focus on what is in your control. Enter—READING!

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June 16, 2020by Kara Courtois
College Admissions Consulting

Rising Seniors: Make the Most of Your Summer

pineapple by the pool

by Lauren Randle, former admissions officer at Georgetown University

It’s been a tough few months, but you weathered it, and the school year is finally wrapping up. For the juniors, you might be feeling exhausted from all that the last semester brought and the ways you’ve had to adapt. My sincerest hope for you is that you’re able to return to school next fall and resume the things that make a high school experience: activities, close friendships, traditions. I want you to have that time to enjoy as a senior with as little stress as possible.

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June 3, 2020by Lauren Randle
College Admissions Consulting

Summer of Science: In-Home Ways to Stay Engaged

online learning

by Sara Calvert-Kubrom, former admissions officer at Lewis & Clark College

Have a science enthusiast teen at home? Fear not! There are many exciting summer opportunities that can be done from home this summer.

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May 14, 2020by Sara Calvert-Kubrom
College Admissions Consulting

Level-Up in STEM: How to Choose an Engineering Summer Camp

engineering students

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.

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March 12, 2020by College Coach
College Admissions Consulting

9 Things Ivy League Colleges Look for in Extracurricular Activities

extracurricular activities

Students often wonder if their involvements outside of the classroom are impressive enough to help them get into a highly selective college. Is the boy who spends his weekends at yo-yo competitions more striking to the admissions committee than the girl who sits by a tree and writes poetry on Sunday afternoons? It’s all about the ways in which these students choose to present themselves. So, let’s think about the question this way: What do the Ivies and other highly selective colleges want to learn from a student’s extracurricular activities? What kind of people do these colleges seek?

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February 13, 2020by Amy Alexander
College Admissions Consulting

“Adversity” Score; Getting the Most Out of Your Summer Experience; Listener Q&A

Heard about The College Board’s new adversity score that will be accompanying test results at a pilot group of colleges this fall? We’ll share our thoughts about the score, including information about what it’s based on, why it was created, and what the impact will be for applicants this year. We’re also offering suggestions for getting the most out of your summer experience, whether a job, internship, course, or something else, and we’re answering your questions in Office Hours.

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June 12, 2019by College Coach
How to Pay for College

Kids and Money, Part 1: Summer Jobs for Students

summer job for high school student

This is part one of an ongoing series we’re launching on the Insider blog on “Kids and Money.” As you prepare to send your child off to college, you should also be thinking about how to foster in them the skills necessary to build financial independence. In this series, we’re going to discuss how students can earn, spend, save, borrow, and protect their money in a way that aligns with personal and family values. Type “Kids and Money” into our Search Box to find all installments of the series.

Whether your child is old enough for a “traditional” summer job or not, there are definitely ways that kids of all age—teens, tweens, and younger kids—can make money during the summer, put their time to good use, and start saving.

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June 5, 2019by Jan Combs
College Admissions Consulting

Summer Reading and Why It’s Important (and Can Be Fun!)

summer reading

“So, what have you been reading this summer that has been interesting?” I ask the unsuspecting 12 year old nephew sitting in the passenger seat of my mini-van. I often start sentences with, “I just read an article that said…” and my kids start to roll their pre-teen eyes. But in the mini-van, my nephew has entered my lair and my younger children perk up from the back seat waiting for his answer. No matter who gets in my car this summer, what that person is reading (or wants to read) is very likely going to be one of the major points of conversation. Over the years, I have found that it works especially well with middle school children to get the conversation going.

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May 7, 2019by Kara Courtois
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The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts is where College Coach experts weigh in on the latest college admissions topics. We cover everything from application timelines and strategies to tips on financing your child's education.

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