Aiming for Ivies? Straight A’s Are an Advantage, But Not a Guarantee

By |2024-07-14T17:12:59+00:00July, 16, 2024|College Admissions, College Applications, College Preparation|

As discussed in a recent blog post, grade inflation has exploded in the last several years.  This has resulted in grade compression, which means most students' grades are in the A/B range. A recent webinar from test prep and tutoring company Applerouth addressed these issues.  In it, Jed Applerouth, the [...]

Congratulations to the Class of 2024!

By |2024-05-10T20:05:44+00:00May, 14, 2024|College Admissions, Scholarships|

Discovery College Consulting’s 25 students in the Class of 2024 were admitted to 107 different colleges, which are pictured to the right (click the image to enlarge it).  They will be attending the following schools: Chapman University Creighton University Drexel University Macalester College Montana State University New Jersey Institute of [...]

Making Sense of Colleges’ Changing Test Policies

By |2024-04-27T18:26:00+00:00May, 1, 2024|College Admissions, College Admissions and COVID-19, College Admissions Tests|

Test-optional.  Test-flexible.  Test-blind.  The terms themselves are confusing, and recent shifts in colleges' policies are even more so.  If you're a high school student, or the parent of one, you may feel like you're experiencing whiplash in trying to keep up with the ever-evolving test requirements at U.S. colleges.  Before [...]

The Problem with Grade Inflation

By |2024-04-25T16:55:47+00:00March, 12, 2024|College Admissions, College Admissions Tests, College Grades, College Preparation|

Remember the movie The Incredibles? I’ll never forget the scene where Syndrome, the villain, is holding the superheroes hostage. He says, “When I’m old, and I’ve had my fun, I’ll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes, everyone can be super. And, when everyone’s super, no one will [...]

The Perils of “Achievement Culture”

By |2024-01-16T20:06:24+00:00January, 16, 2024|College Admissions, College Preparation|

In November, I attended a webinar with Jennifer Breheny Wallace, author of Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic and What We Can Do About It.  During the hour-long webinar, I typed nearly four pages of single-spaced notes, and while I will do my best to summarize them, I highly recommend [...]

Deferred? Demonstrate Continued Interest

By |2024-01-03T23:41:47+00:00January, 10, 2024|College Admissions, College Applications, College Fit, College Visits|

Many high school seniors received college admissions decisions in December.  Some were excited to be admitted, others were disappointed to be denied, and still others may have been confused because they were deferred.  If you applied early action or early decision and received a deferral, this means the college is [...]

When Writing College Essays, Read the Prompt

By |2023-11-08T21:23:04+00:00November, 1, 2023|College Admissions, College Applications, College Essays, College Research|

Have you ever sent a text or email asking someone two simple questions, such as “What day and time would you like to meet?” only to get a response which provides just one of the answers? It happens to me frequently. Not reading these sorts of questions carefully and failing [...]

Understanding Demonstrated Interest

By |2023-09-13T16:12:57+00:00September, 7, 2023|College Admissions, College Applications, College Essays, College Fit, College Research, College Visits|

When colleges consider applicants, they are interested in several factors. At the majority of institutions, the most important factors are whether students challenged themselves in high school and took the most rigorous classes available to them, as well as their GPA. But, colleges consider other factors too, such as letters [...]

How to Respond to Colleges’ Diversity Essay Prompts

By |2023-09-13T16:14:27+00:00August, 30, 2023|College Admissions, College Applications, College Essays|

In July, I wrote a blog post about the Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action in college admissions. One area impacted by this change is college essays. Because colleges which accept federal funding (almost every public or private institution) can no longer overtly consider an applicant’s race, many are [...]

The End of Affirmative Action in College Admissions

By |2023-07-09T21:29:33+00:00July, 11, 2023|College Admissions, College Applications, College Essays, Financial Aid|

In a 6-3 decision announced on June 29, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of race in college admissions (a.k.a. affirmative action) is unconstitutional. No matter your opinion, the Court's ruling will impact college applicants, colleges themselves, legacy admissions, financial aid and college essays. This blog post will summarize [...]

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