Do I Need a College Counselor?
Do you need a laptop? Well, strictly, no, you don’t. You could use a desktop or a tablet. You could borrow one instead of owning it. It would sure make life easier if you had one, though, which is kind of what having a college counselor is like. There’s a big difference between need and
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How to Apply to the Right Colleges for You
Whether you’re applying to two colleges or twelve, you need to prioritize balance. We’ll tell you how to create a balanced college list that is likely to result in mostly acceptances. We also have some nontraditional advice about how to think about the college list, and it doesn’t include statistics. With a balanced college list,
5 MIN READ
How to Create a College Resume
High school pulls you in several directions at once. Coursework. Sports. Music. Clubs. Volunteering. Jobs. Having to pin all of that down on one single sheet of paper can feel like an overwhelming task. You might even feel tempted to skip out on taking the trouble to put together a college resume, especially if one
4 MIN READ
How to Choose a College Essay Topic
College application essay writing can feel like a full-time job. But it doesn’t have to be. Not if you’ve developed a great system for writing personal narratives that are engaging and authentic, personal and unique. The main purpose of a college application essay is to let your individuality stand out. We want to share our
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To Write or Not to Write: Taking the Essay Portion of the SAT® or ACT® Test
When you’re gearing up to take the SAT®test or the ACT® test, you’ll be faced with the dilemma of whether to sit for the essay portion of the test. On both tests, the essay is optional at registration, but it may be smart to take it. Read on to find out whether or not you
4 MIN READ
College Essays Don’t Write Themselves: How to Find the Time
The average reading speed can be around 200 words per minute. The average writing speed can be around 200 words per hour. (Many famous authors write even more slowly than that). College application essays are widely considered the hardest part of college applications because they’re so time-consuming. This is why it’s never too early to
4 MIN READ
Class Rankings: 3 Myths Debunked
Is it fair to compare a valedictorian of a class of 400 to a valedictorian of a class of 40? Probably not. And it’s not just because of class size. Just because two students have the same class rank doesn’t mean that they are equally prepared for college. Class rank is inherently imbalanced, but those
3 MIN READ
4 Ways NOT to Get a Head Start on Senior Year
It’s practically the end of junior year. You’re almost a senior. You can just coast from here on. (Not!) If you ignore these four easy tasks, you’ll definitely miss out on getting a head start on your senior year. On the other hand, you could always decide to make life easier on yourself next year
3 MIN READ
How to Make the Most of Your Summer
Freedom is just weeks away! Did we say freedom? We mean summer. After you give yourself a week to sleep until noon, you’ll be ready to jump back into summer activities. Because as wonderful as it sounds to spend the next three months on social media, you can (and should) make the time work for
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Do AP® Classes Even Matter?
Most colleges don’t require AP® courses or test scores. So, in that sense, AP® classes don’t matter for many students. But AP® courses do provide other benefits. So in five other ways, AP® classes matter a lot. Here are five ways that AP® classes can give you an edge in college admissions process. 1. GPA
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