College Consulting Inc.

BIG MYTHS: Admissions

Lesley — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:19:29 +0000

Last year students faced great challenges in gaining an acceptance to the nation’s top colleges. Ivy League schools and other top colleges, like Stanford, had acceptance rates lower than ten percent.

There are often highly qualified students and their parents carrying myths about the admissions process, which simply make the process more difficult for them. One of the critical components of admissions advising here at College Consulting Inc. involves debunking all of the myths that students and parents have. This makes the overall process much more manageable and successful for everyone!

Knowing the most essential methods that are successful at each specific college and planning for the development and presentation of these within each separate application can garner a significant number of fat acceptance letters, making a single student the envy of others who receive lesser offers.

Every myth deserves to be discarded so that the student can move forward with great advice on what to do each step of the way in the most advantageous ways.

Take a look at two common myths!

One myth is that essays are not very important. The truth is that they are extremely critical to many college selection committees. If the essays are weak students may be eliminated even though they have great grades and admirable SAT and ACT scores. The better colleges and universities look comprehensively at all aspects of the application before making a decision regarding acceptance; essays can separate those who get in from those who are wait-listed.

A second myth is that a battery of extracurricular activities, volunteer experiences, sports and part-time jobs will exhibit how well-rounded a student is and provide for higher chances of getting in. The thinking is that having had myriad exposures to a wide variety of opportunities makes the student a more valuable member of the college class. Not true! It is more common for colleges to look for students who are driven and motivated in specific directions that are cohesive and continuous. When commitment and confidence are demonstrated through one or two passions over time, the student is seen as offering something extremely valuable to the college community. A well-rounded college class has many of these highly-focused students!

At College Consulting Inc. we are anxious to help students and parents debunk their myths so that each student can move forward in making the very best decisions and creating unique and persuasive applications. Make an appointment with us for a complimentary session or call us (847-505-9100) with questions about the best ways to prepare for the ultimate decisions and the best admissions processes.

We will help you to achieve at your highest level in moving toward your greatest aspirations. Our Director of College Consulting, Lesley Miller, will start you on the road towards success!

Successful Applications!

Lesley — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:33:36 +0000

College Consulting, Inc.

847 505 9100

Lesley Miller, MA, AC Ed

Successful Applications!

Having an expert in the college admissions process review your college applications prior to your submitting them is a great idea! Why?

You have excellent ambitions, but the requirement levels of the admissions applications of most colleges and universities has increased repeatedly in these past few years. The numbers of applications are higher and the qualifications of the average applicant are higher.

College Consulting Inc can give you wise advice about your approach and each of the elements of your application.

The Director of Services at College Consulting Inc, Lesley Miller, can give you this review so that you will submit your applications and related materials with the best of advantages. If your are nearly complete or approaching the completion of required materials, it is an ideal time to get some advice about the applications. Call 847:505:9100.

The evaluation from College Consulting Inc will identify any problem areas or inconsistencies and can be made. A discussion of these is available to all members of the family who are involved. The student resume, essays, personal statements, and overall detail of the application can be examined for potential improvements.

It may be that there is an essay that has not yet been developed or which needs significant revising in order to present the student at the highest level. Such a need can be met when a review is done for any number of the college applications a student intends to complete. Getting expert advice from Lesley Miller adds a tremendous amount of strength to each application and helps to represent the applicant in the most optimum ways!

Deferred? Take Action!

Lesley — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:54:15 +0000

College Consulting, Inc.

847 505 9100

Lesley Miller, MA, AC Ed

You applied Early Action or Early Decision and find now that you have been deferred! What should you do? Should you sit and wait passively to find out what the Admissions Committee will eventually assign you as you fate? Certainly not!

Most critical is your sense of purpose as you face the deferral. If you get highly emotional or angry, you are not doing yourself justice. You need to focus rationally on what you can do to improve your situation. Thoroughly examine all aspects of the application you submitted to the college that deferred you. If you want some expert help call College Consulting Inc. (847:505:9100) and Lesley Miller, the Director of College Consulting, will arrange time for an analysis of the application and determine what can be offered as a most advantageous response.

You might want to submit a unique form of update including information that was not already presented in the original application. Beyond that, there are many options for supplemental materials, which might be supplied by you or by another person or institution. A brainstorming session on potential supplements can bear powerful options.

Ultimately,after an initial session with College Consulting Inc, a great letter can be prepared and revised, then sent as an introduction to various forms of additional information that may sway the committee to re-evaluate your application. Sometimes this re-evaluation takes place shortly after the receipt of the letter or supplemental materials and you get your acceptance notice long before the regular decision applicants.

Remain positive in your thinking. There are always a number of options and you want to go with the best of them!

Perfect Essays

Lesley — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:13:21 +0000

College Consulting, Inc.

847 505 9100

Lesley Miller, MA, AC Ed

Gaining acceptances into most colleges becomes more difficult each year as more applications are made for a very limited number of spots. There are ways of improving your chances, but the primary change seen in applications each year is the addition or expansion of essay requirements. Your greatest opportunity to increase your odds in gaining an acceptance is to write superb, nearly perfect essays!

How you present yourself can set you apart from the other applicants. You can pique the interest of the reader and demonstrate how exceptional you are apart from test scores and grades. The essay component can make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.

For instance, you might focus on a significant accomplishment, a skill or an attribute. On the other hand, it might serve you extremely well to examine a book or work of art which has inspired you. College Consulting Inc. can provide you with expert guidance not only on the selection of an ideal topic, but also on the development and refinement of the overall essay, such that it is highly polished upon submission.

Our goal at College Consulting Inc. is to provide the absolutely best guidance in every unique case. Your case is unique, not like any other case. Often a topic is great, but the approach needs to be innovative to stand apart from the rest. Our goal is to help you persuade the admissions officers that you deserve to be admitted, that you are truly intriguing!

Every institution is unique also. So the essay that may work well at one college, may put you immediately out of consideration at another college. Our goals include assisting you in creating the essay so that it is consistent with each institution to which you are making application. We can help you accomplish all of this. Call Lesley Miller, at 847:505:9100.

Newest Acceptance Rates

Lesley — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:13:52 +0000

College Consulting, Inc.

847 505 9100

Lesley A. Miller, MA, AC Ed

Most busy high school students seek balance in their lives because of the multitude of demands made upon them. As they approach the college application process, the demands are significantly increased. Looking at last year’s acceptance rates at four year colleges, it is clear that there has again been a decline, this time by about 1 percent according to the recent 2011 State of College Admission Report published by the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Most colleges are accepting a smaller percentage of the applicants.

Along with this, there have been a number of changes to the college admissions processes which may be the result of the long-term global economic problems. The economy in the US has remained cloudy and has created change in the admissions practices at many colleges and universities.

Still, each student who pursues the college admissions process seeks to have an advantage and approaches each application with the objective of obtaining an acceptance. That is exactly what we do here at College Consulting Inc; we assist students in achieving acceptance to those colleges that would be an excellent fit for them.

A significant fact reported by the NACAC is that in recent years there has been a steady rise in the number of applications submitted by each student, making the process that much more complex. About 73 percent of the colleges reporting indicated that their application volume has been on the increase every year during the past decade.

In response to this, individual students must seek to prepare each part of the college application in its best possible form. To accomplish this, College Consulting Inc establishes a comprehensive plan that includes all parts of all applications for a single student, such that the elements are achieved with an organized flow. The timing of each application element is critical. We help the student to achieve balance while taking standardized tests, visiting college campuses, completing applications, engaging in interviews and writing essays. Of course, our planning simultaneously promotes success in classes, sports and extracurriculars.

Although it may seem complicated initially, the student who has our guidance reaches high levels of achievement and completes that application process under decreased amounts of stress. Both elements contribute to overall success in the college admissions process. Call us, 847:505:9100, for help in your college admissions goals.

Oct. Application Success

Lesley — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:11:51 +0000

There are many students who contact College Consulting Inc. in October in order to receive a thorough, comprehensive review of their applications including essays, personal statements and short answers. If you decide that you would benefit from such a review, just call 847 505 9100 and receive an appointment for a comprehensive review and much advice regarding your applications and how you can improve them. The often sought review is available through December, but you ought to schedule it now to assure the assistance.

Such a review includes applications regarding Early and Regular Decision schools, the Common Application, essays, and any supplements.

Specifically it includes:

A review of all your application components
Two hours of one-on-one discussion by phone, webcam or in-person to discuss ways to strengthen your application (suggested essay topic revisions, changes to your Common Application, etc.) and strategies (which schools you should consider applying to early, which schools are reaches based on your grades/scores, etc.) One hour will occur initially and the second hour will be follow-up.

Please submit all your materials, you will be contacted within one week to schedule both of your sessions.

Essays and Autumn

Lesley — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:18:21 +0000

College Consulting, Inc.

847 505 9100

Lesley A. Miller, MA, AC Ed

There is a “best plan” for Autumn for every high school senior! It includes a serious examination of the essays and personal statements that go along with all the college applications that await you. Do them in the order of your intent to submit applications.

Grades in the fall semester of senior year are critical to success in the application process and the semester will be filled with wonderful senior activities! In preparation, the truly smart senior is keenly interested in writing essays in each month of Autumn for early action and regular decision applications.

Start with yourself as you approach each essay. Ask yourself, “What unique part of me do I want to share with each college on my list?” Sharing those very special parts of your life can be extremely rewarding. College admissions officers want to feel they have gotten to know you better through your well-developed essay that focuses on an element of your identity!

So enjoy the days of Autumn in every possible way, while you are writing and while you are relaxing!

For expert help on your essays call College Consulting Inc at 847:505:9100.

Gap Year Planning!

Lesley — Sun, 22 May 2011 02:25:18 +0000

College Consulting, Inc.

847 505 9100

Lesley A. Miller, MA, AC Ed

The Gap Year! What an opportunity!

So you are considering the possible advantages of a gap year, which may help you to decide your career or college major. Maybe you did not get into your top choice colleges and accomplishing some impressive things with a gap year might put you ahead of the competition in the next application round.

Or you are happy with the school into which you have been accepted, but desire a break from the academic and extracurricular rigor that has encompassed every hour of your high school life and left you with little time to reflect on other aspects of life. Asking a college to defer a student’s entrance for a year is being done with ever increasing frequency.

Here at College Consulting Inc we have heard each of these scenarios often. What we can assist you with is putting together a gap year experience that takes into consideration your current situation, goals and aspirations and provides you with a plan that succeeds in implementing them fully.

In England gap years are very common; in the U. S. they are catching on at a rapid rate. Some students take the year off to make money to assist with college expenses; other students are essentially concerned with exploring aspects of life through service experiences or international travel. Oftentimes, combining two or three separate experiences satisfies goals and aspirations at a higher level. Each student can determine the goals of the plan. Implementing that plan may take strategy and hard work, but the rewards are plentiful! The results of the gap year experience lead to motivational drives which can be critical to higher success levels during the college years.

Parents need to be involved in the development and ultimately supportive of the student’s plan. They also need to play a critical role in determining the costs of a gap year. Some experiences can cost very little, while others can be quite expensive, so a range of budget to be allowed or a goal of income to be made needs to be considered initially.

Lesley Miller, the Director of College Consulting Inc, has broad experience in developing and implementing gap year experiences that elevate the student to a more advantageous position. Contact her or call 847 .505 .9100 to arrange a complimentary hour’s discussion of your situation and objectives.