Accepted! Now what? Reacting to the advice of Yale Dean of Admissions

Jeff Brenzel recently posted on The Huffington Post his advice for students when they have been accepted to college. I thought that this was a great idea since even though it’s extremely important to discuss dealing with disappointment and roadblocks, it’s just as important to discuss what to do with those acceptance letters.

The Optional College Essay: YouTube Videos

Ladies and Gentleman. Presenting potential members of the Tuft’s graduating class of 2014. Applicant 1 Applicant 2 Applicant 3 Two weeks ago, NPR ran a feature on their popular program “All Things Considered” looking at the rise of video submissions as part of the college application process. And these students were not applying to select film schools or large universities that have excellent film departments; they were applying to schools such as Tufts and William and Mary. With the rise of YouTube, high school students have an opportunity to showcase hidden talents, passions, or simply help admissions officers put a face with a name. A verbal essay full of creative juices, a silver bullet to sway over admissions officers who might be on the fence regarding a particular applicant, these YouTube videos would appear to help students make a great case for the talents they could bring to those selected [...]

Worth a Return Visit

This is the first in a series of articles highlighting places you might have seen (and some you might have not seen) during the typical student-led college tour, that are all worthy of a second visit. The Library. A Shangra-Li for all things written, recorded, or documented, the typical prospective student should not discount the quality of a particular school’s library when deciding upon where to spend the next four years. Most tour guides will take their groups through the library’s entrance, guide them through one of the study lounge’s and then lead the group of out the library to ensure that there is time for the remaining sights on tour. What most prospective students do not realize is that they will be spending many weekday, and weekend evenings, and early morning hours in the library working through chemistry problem sets, writing final papers for the Philosophy 101, or simply [...]

An Alternative Spring Break

If you’re a high school junior, chances are your inbox and mailbox have been filled with letters from the marketing departments of colleges across the country. I also received those one page letters. And if you do not feel like waiting until the summer before your senior year to figure out whether you should apply to these schools, even better. And so it was during the spring of my junior year in high school that My Dad and I decided to take a road trip and visit some schools in the area who had been so kind to send us boiler-plate introduction letters. This time, “in the area” referred to schools beyond the city limits of Los Angeles, namely UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Sonoma Sate, and UC Santa Barbara. Below you will find some observations and tips from our trip should you choose to visit some schools during your spring [...]

For What it’s Worth: The Value of College

As Elizabeth mentioned, February is a month filled with opportunities for budding relationships (college acceptance letters) and heartbreak. (sigh…rejection letters). In some cases, these same letters may force some soon-to-be graduating high schools seniors to revisit a question they once confidently answered months before penning rough draft personal statements. What’s more, the answer to this question may not arrive after one discussion. The question is simple: “What’s the value of a college degree?” Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger attempted to answer that question. Below you will find excerpts from her December 2009 article as well as some great BetterGrads-inspired commentary. Finding work you love. College degrees can guide students’ career choices in subtler ways. Jason Wotman, 24, loves his work as a co-founder of Tailwaiters, a Great Neck, N.Y., startup that runs tailgate parties for clients at sporting events and concerts. “It’s mine, it’s [...]

After colleges make their decisions, it’s time to make yours

Ultimately, I was very happy with my final choice—though honestly, I know that I would have been happy with many of the schools to which I applied. After all of the stress of applying to schools, we sometimes forget that it can also be very difficult to hold the decision-making power. Here are some pointers that I learned from my own experience.

Facing FAFSA?

If you’re facing the dreaded-yet-necessary bemehoth of an application known as FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid), you probably have some questions. For many people, filing for taxes is a simpler process than ensuring that the FAFSA is completed accurately and thoroughly. The cumbersome umpteen-long FAFSA application process has been an easy target for complaining about the difficulties of securing higher education, but alas, Sallie Mae (one of the biggest student loan providers) has come to students’ aid… For securing that financial aid. Brand-spankin’ new, Sallie Mae’s February Resource Center is chock-full of advice, instructional videos, Twitter/Facebook links and even a chance to win $10,000. Particularly helpful, the site’s list of common financial aid myths dispel many notions that often prevent otherwise-eligible students for applying for money for college. When I applied for FAFSA in 2004, I relied on my dad’s independent-business-owning tax knowledge and school counselors for [...]

If the School Fits…

The Los Angeles Times ran an article, where fashion columnist Adam Tschorn interviewed Neil Patrick Harris from “How I Met your Mother” who discussed how much he loves his Paul Smith and Dolce & Gabbana suits, because they fit and flatter his tall and narrow frame like no other. The article reminded me of the time when I purchased a suit the summer before my first year of college. Though it was one size above my true suit size, the store manager said that I would grow into it. After four years, and some occasional ribbing by former co-workers who made a habit of noting that my suit was too big each time I wore it to work, I never, “grew into my suit.” At BetterGrads, we think the idea of a great fit extends beyond the fashion world. Around this time of year, when prospective students begin to receive [...]

How to raise cash for college

Millions of high school seniors await the wave of college acceptance and denial letters this spring. For most, the often grueling application process is over, allowing for a healthy case of senioritis to set in. Once those letters arrive, however, a whole new season of planning and decision-making begins. Paying for college. Many an eager applicant may encounter a temporary state of pride-induced mania after receiving a “Yes, we like you” letter from their top-choice school… followed by the more sobering news of tuition and living costs ballooning upwards in the tens-of-thousands. Yikes! The U.S. News & World Report recently (yesterday) their updated 10 Steps to Raise $15K or More for College Now, and here are some highlights from the article: Bigger and better tax breaks: The federal government estimates perhaps 2 million tuition-paying Americans will be able to get as much as $2,500 back on their taxes when they [...]

A decision you can sleep on

On Thursday, the New York Times ran an article describing a growing trend among senior citizens: sleep overs! After spending the daytime acquainting themselves with the facilities, retirement communities are offering prospective senior residents the opportunity to take in evening social events and the opportunity to spend the night. For senior citizens, this is a great way to gauge social life and other nuances associated with retirement homes that one could not glean from a brochure. Retirement communities are not the only institutions to offer this opportunity. Colleges do too! I dedicate this post to one of the great (and relatively uncelebrated) pre-college traditions: prospective student overnight visits! Why you should do it: College overnight visits offer prospective students (or more cutely known as, prospies) an unfiltered, in-your-face opportunity to experience collegiate social life in a way that guidebooks or facebook photos could never showcase. For example, such visits give [...]