myUsearch blog

Welcome to your senior year. It’s an exciting time full of change and celebration. Many people have probably told you how unimportant your senior year is. For example, they maybe told you that your grades don’t matter one iota, although usually you should do better in the first semester than the second. Or maybe they told you that colleges will not look at your grades from senior year because they already have accepted you based on your 9th-11th years.  Well, my young, goal-oriented high schooler, THESE ARE LIES. Your senior year counts. Not only does your senior year count towards your high school graduation, it counts towards the trend that you have worked so hard to set over the past three years and that you promised you would continue to achieve when you applied to college. (more…)

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Because Top 10 lists may be the most popular thing this side of Tiger Woods, I think it’s appropriate that I use one to explain what I’ve learned over the past year from the stressful college admissions process.

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If there is one demographic that is highly sought after by colleges and universities around the country, it’s the first-generation college students.  Because the financial aid process is so tragically unclear and never certain, first-generation college students are likely to stay close to home and attend a public university. In most instances, this is just fine.  However, limiting your applications to schools close to home can be risky because you won’t know what the financial aid package will be until you are admitted.  In other words, don’t hesitate to apply to your dream school just because it’s too expensive on paper.  Although the process seems tedious, don’t let it break your spirit.  Move forward, continue pursuing your dreams . . . (more…)

You’re a college senior. Believe it or not, at this time next year, you’ll most likely be preparing to attend the college of your dreams. Now the question is, how are you going to get into your dream school? What should you be doing to prepare yourself for those all-too-fast approaching college application deadlines?

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Last time, we discussed how to approach the college essay. Now, before you take a pen to paper (or keyboard to monitor), there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind as you write your application masterpiece.

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Of course, like everything, every student has different needs.  It is not universally true that every high schooler undergoing the college application process needs to hire an admission “expert”. Granted, hardly any who call themselves such truly know much more than any guidebook could tell you.  There is, however, one thing that is indisputable: all young people need advocates in their lives.  Sadly, a common trend in education, private and public, alike, is that the high school guidance and college counseling departments are too overworked and underfunded to offer much more than one or two generic meetings to discuss the local and in-state university landscape.  Not to mention, they all too often quickly dismiss certain universities as unrealistic and impossible for the student to gain admission.  There have been very few instances that I can recall where I have said to someone that he/she can’t gain admission somewhere.  It’s just not a good habit to practice.  With the constantly changing state of the college admission process, you might want to look into hiring a private counselor if you meet any of the following criteria….

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You’ve accomplished a great GPA, you’ve made hash of the standardized test, and you’ve managed to squeeze in some great extra-curricular activities. But suddenly, you come to a screeching halt as you stare at a blank page, facing the ultimate test.

The college application essay.

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I started seriously looking at college applications last summer. A year ago, I never would have guessed I’d end up going to Yale. It wasn’t even on my list. If there’s one thing I learned about the college admissions process, it’s to always keep an open mind.

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While sparkling SAT test scores and a flawless transcript put you in the running for Ivy League admissions, your college essay can make or break your application. There are a few important things to keep in mind when writing your college essay.

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No matter how much anyone tells you that you can prepare for the college application process beforehand, it’s inevitable that it will, ultimately, feel like a time-crunch. Too often, the process seems like a race against the clock. And, along with everything else going on during the senior year, organization is essential if you want to enjoy the admissions process or more importantly, enjoy your senior year.

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So you’re contemplating applying to an Ivy League school. Getting into the “elite of the elite” –Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Yale— is extremely difficult, but its not impossible. The following is a list of tips to help you win the Ivy admissions game. Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee your admission, but these tips will certainly provide you with solid direction in your application process.

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With college applications at an all-time high and fierce competition for top-ranked schools, many students are turning to admissions consultants to gain a competitive edge. But before you pull out your checkbook, make sure you understand what an admissions consultant does …..or should be doing. (more…)

There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it’s easy. –Unknown

There is no question that applying for college is possibly one of the most important and intimidating decisions of your life. I know it was for me. My parents always told me I would regret it if I didn’t go, but they never told me how complicated applying for and choosing a college could be.

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College applications. Two words guaranteed to strike fear and anxiety into the heart of every high school senior. All the information, dates and pressure are enough to drive you crazy. As someone who’s been there and done that, every student should follow this list of college application tips to help you stay sane:

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Today I get a call from a local parent concerned about financial aid for their daughter. The parent is pretty frustrated because they feel their daughter is not getting the quality service from the financial aid department that she deserves. It bothered me to hear the parent (more…)

If you’ve decided to resume school after time off, than there’s no reason to be afraid of the admission process. If you’re a transfer student, a mom, a worker bee, a veteran…it doesn’t matter, the school application process is not as demanding as you would think and can be done with ease.

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When I began applying for graduate schools, I had the admission process down to a science. Well, maybe, not a science because I was never good at science…so more of down to an easy process. I had already gotten my undergrad U to send out my transcripts before, so I was familiar with the process (a simple online request form). And my personal essay only took me an hour or so as I had decided I write more of a creative piece (part poem/part dream/goal essay). And then, there was the recommendations. I had a former employer who agreed to help me out. A friend of the family and a mentor from my school days.

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Trying to get admitted to school can cause your nerves to fry. The process can be a bit tortuous. There are recommendation letters to collect, personal essays to write not to mention assembling a resume and getting transcripts. The process can be tense but it doesn’t have to be. For those in need of some “admission therapy” there are some tips and tricks that will make the process much less painful.

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So, you want to go back to school?  Many nontraditional students are faced with an application process that doesn’t really fit their needs.   Traditional schools compare applicants based on their GPA, SAT scores and extracurricular activities, but how do they compare the students that have spent the last ten years working and raising a family?  (more…)