Strategic Admissions and Financial Planning Advisory Service
Our team aims to educate families and walk them through the complex college planning process. We offer help to each family on maximizing financial aid options, minimizing out of pocket costs, and structuring finances to plan for college, without jeopardizing retirement in the process.
We understand that this is an expensive time for your family and we would love to help design a plan that works for you.
We know that each student is unique. As such, we tailor the college search to suit the individual academic, social, and financial needs of each applicant. We are available to students and parents by office visits, email or phone throughout the planning and decision making process. Our goal is to help each student present his or her abilities and talents in an authentic and positive way.
We will review grades, the rigor of the academic program, test scores, non-academic activities and interests, and other accomplishments. These areas of consideration can play a major role when deciding which colleges a student should research.
We will have several meetings during which we explore academic interests, extracurricular activities and educational goals in depth. Because we believe that parents have a significant influence in the college decision making process, we encourage their involvement. Our discussions will take parental ideas and insight into account, in addition to their financial preparedness.
Although colleges and universities take a variety of views concerning the SAT, ACT, IB and AP testing, it is important that they be a consideration in college planning. We counsel our students regarding how to plan for which tests to take, strategy of preparation, scheduling of tests, frequency of testing and evaluation of the results.
Keeping track of deadlines is a major part of the application process. We will personalize and pace student's process according to his or her relevant deadlines for testing, recommendations, essays, application completion. financial aid, scholarships, etc. We help students to understand the expectations of college admissions, what information should be included and how to present as clear a picture of him or herself as possible.
Because colleges are looking to build a diverse freshmen class and ultimately a well-rounded student body, it is necessary that they weigh a student's activities outside of the classroom. We advise students on extracurricular activities and how to represent them in an application. Such activities are not limited to athletics, art and music, but also include volunteer and community service, summer experiences and work. In some cases students have not kept a balance or have yet to find outside interests. The depth or lack of such activities may need to be addressed.
Personal essays are an important element of the college application because they are the one opportunity in which students can reveal their personalities. Brainstorming sessions are key to developing essay topics such that the student can creatively, effectively and distinctively showcase his or her passions and strengths. We encourage students to start early and to write as many drafts as needed. Our critique of essays will be with an eye on the overall topic, grammar, spelling and the flow of ideas and thoughts. Please note that we DO NOT write essays for our students. It is important for the student's voice to shine in an essay.
Although it is not always possible, we consider campus visits a valuable component in the college decision process. Visiting a school in person is often the piece that convinces a student that a school is definitely a good match, or that it is not! To that end we provide suggestions for scheduling visits and advice about what to look for during time spent on the campuses. We offer practice sessions for interviews, anticipating likely questions that may be asked by admissions counselors as well as questions the student might ask.
As the cost of a college education has increased faster than inflation it has become increasingly important to search for colleges that are affordable. When we determine the list of colleges for consideration, we will include institutions in which the student may be eligible for financial assistance in the form of merit aid. As part of our services we will help direct students and parents to sources of financial aid, both federal and private. We will make sure that there is an awareness of the deadlines for the FAFSA and the CSS Profile. Because essays for many scholarships are required, we will be available to edit, advise and critique, during post-application season and at our discretion.
After applications are submitted, our journey with our students is not complete. As acceptances are received we want to review the options and the original criteria established, We encourage our students to choose the institution that offers the best combination of intellectual challenge, social interaction and physical location, and that will give him or her confidence and maturity in his or her adult life. We provide guidance if a student is deferred or placed on a wait list. We will also be available to discuss financial aid packages if requested.
Based on criteria, credentials, interests, and goals, we identify institutions that meet the student's needs. There is rarely only one college that is suitable. Rather, there are usually a number of excellent schools at which a student can be challenged and happy, and yet not overwhelmed. Our goal is to recommend a spectrum of colleges that include a few colleges not assured, and if requested, one or two which constitute an academic reach. When forming the list we always take into account total cost, potential financial aid assistance and scholarship availability. We encourage students to apply broadly so that at the end of the admission process there is an opportunity to choose among a number of offers of admission. Although we pinpoint strengths and weaknesses of each college, the final application decisions are, of course, the student's to make.
Today's College Solutions believes that the strength of a student's application is based on the quality of the student's academic performance, test scores, essays, achievements, talents and community contributions. These are the qualities that make a student a competitive candidate for the college of his or her choice. Therefore, there are a few thing we cannot and will not do.
Specifically these are: