Admissionisms

College Admissions Consulting | Fort Lauderdale, FL

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College Admission

Common App Is Open: What’s Next? | Getting Started With Common App

We’re just days after another Common App Day! It’s early August as I type out this post. Back to school is literally just right around the corner. If you’re a rising senior, you’ve probably already aware of Common App. It’s the most widely used college application platform – the place where you will likely be submitting several applications. So Common App is officially open. Now what?

In my line of work, in working with high school seniors, I’ve found a few things to be consistently true:

  • They know they have to submit college applications
  • They know there are specific college application deadlines
  • They know they want to submit applications materials that stand out (…because, selective college admissions, where even if you have tip-top grades and test scores, it isn’t necessarily a silver bullet to getting an acceptance)

Here’s what they typically don’t know by the time Common App Day rolls around:
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Common App Day Marks The Start Of A Brand New Admissions Cycle

Every year, on August 1st, school counselors, admissions consultants (such as myself!), and college admissions staff unofficially observe Common App Day as the marker kicking off of a brand new college application cycle.

Common App Day

What Is Common App?

Common App is a widely-utilized web-based platform, in which prospective students submit their undergraduate college applications. As of today, Common App hosts applications for over 1,000 different colleges through the United States, as well as abroad. The use of an essential “one stop shop” for college applications makes everything much less cumbersome than it was when I first applying to college. Long gone are the days of filling out applications one-by-one (and mailing off applications via USPS mail!), as they did when I applied to college in the late 1990s, and shoot, even during my grad school days in the early-to-mid 2000s.

Every year, new colleges join Common App, which makes this the most popular college application platform in the United States. It’s not the only one, but the most popular one. (We’ll get into some of the other commonly used platforms in a separate post). Check the link for a quick rundown of which colleges have joined Common App for the 2023-2024 application cycle.

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Getting Ready for College Admission in the Wake of Coronavirus

It is mid-March 2020 as I type. Although it seems like the world around me has temporarily stopped due to the ongoing threat of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 – schools and colleges closed, businesses closing, social distancing recommendations to not gather in groups larger than 10 – the truth is that here in the United States, we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far and what lies in the coming days, weeks, and months remains to be seen.

But life must go on, right? At least eventually? Students must continue to be educated (hello, homeschooling and online learning!). High schoolers still have to take the necessary steps to prepare for college admission.

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All About Transfers: Community College to University

community college to university transfers

Sometimes where you start college is not where you finish. The students that I teach every day in the classroom are a testament to this fact. There are 28 colleges that belong to the Florida College system – one for each county in the state. The overwhelming majority of these students are associate’s degree seeking; they’ll earn their 2 year degrees before transferring to a 4-year university to complete their bachelor’s degree. When it comes to the college transfer process, these students often need additional, hands-on, and individualized guidance and support.

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What To Do After College Deferral?

what to do after college deferral

It’s normal and natural to feel anxiety over the outcome after submitting your college applications. Acceptance is a possibility, but so is rejection, and then there’s the possibility of deferral (if you have applied to meet the early decision or action deadlines).

What’s A Deferral?

Springer, Reider, and Johnson’s Admissions Matters describes a deferral as: “a decision by a college to delay a final response to an early action or early decision application until the regular decision cycle.”

Is a deferral bad news? Well, getting deferred is not a bad omen, if that’s what you’re wondering. Who gets deferred is not necessarily a sign of your strength as an applicant. It does not mean that you will not accepted to an university. What is does mean is that your application will now be evaluated amongst the pool of fresh new applications that come in during the regular decision application cycle….

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Qualifying For The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship [2023 Update]

qualifying for florida bright futures scholarship

Listen up and pull up a chair, if you are a resident in the state of Florida. Us Floridians have a wonderful gift in the name of college affordability. And it is called the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship.

Florida Bright Futures, created in 1997, provides a major incentive for top academically-performing students to stay in-state for college. It pays for the costs of college tuition for qualifying students. This scholarship award is also renewable. As long as GPA and earned credit hours stay above the cutoff, students can continue to apply the scholarship to cover tuition and applicable fees….

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My 2 BFFs When Creating College Lists

As I write, I am currently smack dab in the middle of my first official college application season as an independent counselor. All of my students happen to be Seniors. I’m semi-joking when I use the word “happen” because the realities (and extensive work involved) in applying to college becomes really real. Of course, they would come a-knocking on my door.

As I detailed in a previous post, I like to start this process at least a year earlier, to stave off an impending sense of time pressure and panic. Together, we can leisurely explore and create a solid list of colleges that the students will apply to.

College choice is the cornerstone of the application process, and formulating a well-thought out, balanced college list is where I typically devote many, many hours of care, attention, and deep research….

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6 Reasons To Start College Applications Before Senior Year

start college applications before senior year

College application season can get real serious, real quick, when deadlines are mere months away. High school seniors will need to balance regular coursework, taking SATs or ACTs, filling out applications and financial aid forms, securing transcripts and letters of recommendation, and the list goes on. (It really does.)

There is good news if your daughter or son hasn’t started Senior year just yet. You don’t have to haphazardly juggle each of these at the same time. Many portions of the college application checklist can be started well before Senior year begins….

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YouScience Career Assessments: Student Reviews Are In

youscience career assessments

A less-than-well-kept secret? I seriously geek out about career assessements. Maybe you would expect this of someone like myself – a psychologist turned independent college counselor.

Imagine my off-the-charts excitement when I was introduced to YouScience at this year’s Higher Educational Consultants Association Conference. Of course, I had to demo the assessment myself, and then in true researcher fashion, I asked a few students to try it out as a mini-experiment….

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