Common Application Goes Online August 1, 2010
July 1, 2010
The Common Application (commonly called the “Common App”) is going to be available to students applying to colleges starting on August 1, 2010. This is one full month later than usual so that secondary schools that close in June can use the Online School Forms System to submit their Final Reports through mid-July, according to the Common App’s website.
We highly recommend that students go to the Common App website and use the “preview” tool to review all that the Common App entails. Starting this year, the Common App has (1) a combined Activities and Work section, (2) a new Academics section with revised self-reporting testing instructions, and (3) online submission of NACAC fee waiver for students with limited financial resources and who also meet the National Association for College Admissions Counseling’s requirements for application waivers.
The Common Application membership association provides common, standardized first-year and transfer application forms for use at any member institution. Today, nearly 400 institutions are members in the association, which represents the full range of higher education institutions in the United States, including public and private institutions of every size and selectivity. With the press of a single button, you can submit your application to many colleges and universities. To see a list of all the member institutions, click here.
Many of our clients use a combination of the Common App and individual schools’ applications when applying to college. In addition, specific schools may have their own supplements that are required to be submitted in order for your application to be complete. You must pay special attention to all of the application requirements for each of your schools.
We welcome your feedback and ideas. Please submit a comment below, send us an email or give us a call at 973-243-1212.
What Is College Counseling?
June 2, 2010
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In this podcast, Mike Rivera, co-founder, college counselor and tutor with Top-Tier Tutoring, discusses what is, exactly, college counseling – and what it is not.
Mike Rivera, college counselor, with student
You probably have heard the term “college counseling” bandied about in several different contexts. During this podcast, Mike discusses what is encompassed by this term – guiding high school students through the college application process, understanding the student’s interests, goals and ambitions, recommending classes, extracurricular activities and volunteer work, crafting a college list, counseling about the required essays, obtaining recommendations, coordinating college visits, preparing for the college interview – the list goes on and on! College counseling also includes managing expectations and setting reasonable goals, both for the student and the parents. The best part of college counseling, Mike admits, is celebrating acceptances.
During the podcast, Mike does offer a word of caution. No college counselor can offer a guarantee of admission to a particular college or university. Please keep this fact in mind when looking for a qualified college counselor!
New Service: College Counseling Over The Internet
May 13, 2010
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In this
podcast, Mike Rivera, co-founder, college counselor and tutor with Top-Tier Tutoring, introduces our listeners to a new service being offered: College Counseling over the internet! Now, students who are not geographically located near our center in West Orange, NJ, will have access to the same outstanding college counseling as those living nearby!
Listen as Mike explains the logistics of how the service will work. Using Skype, the popular web-telecommunication free software made popular by Oprah Winfrey, Top-Tier Tutoring’s college counselors will be able to work directly with your son or daughter. Students will receive the same guidance, only instead of being across the table, your child will be looking at his or her counselor live via webcam. Of course, you can feel free to sit in on the session as well!
Guidance Counselor Realities
February 24, 2010
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Is 38 Minutes Enough?
In this podcast, Mike Rivera poses the question: “Is 38 minutes enough?” This question derives from a study by Dr. Patricia McDonough that found that an average student will spend only 38 minutes per year with his or her high school guidance counselor discussing college counseling and/or career counseling.
Now, this fact is through no fault of the high school guidance counselors themselves. It is based upon the realities of numbers. While the American School Counselor Association recommends 1 guidance counselor per 100 students, the national average is 1:315 (or much more) in public high schools and 1:241 in private schools.
During the podcast, Mike offers questions for parents to ask the high school office regarding this issue. He also recommends seeking external college counseling to best position the high school student for success in college and beyond.
Source: Sanders, B. (2008, January 18). Parents – Guidance at School May Not be Enough. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Parents---Guidance-at-School-May-Not-be-Enough&id=935539
As always, we welcome your feedback and ideas. Please submit a comment below, send us an email or give us a call at 973-243-1212.
Tips on Writing an Effective College Application Essay
October 7, 2009
So, you’re sitting down before a blank computer screen, trying to figure out what to write for your college application essay. You’ve already written what seems to be hundreds of essays for your high school teachers, but this one is different. You’re not summarizing a book, or commenting on a news event – you’re trying to write the most persuasive essay about yourself possible; one that will make you stand out, get noticed and hopefully accepted by the college of your choice!
In an effort to try to help you write an effective college application essay, we’ve compiled the following tips: Read more
Common Application Goes Online July 1st
June 26, 2009
The window for the Common Application (the “Common App”) will be opening on July 1st. What is the Common App, you ask? It is an undergraduate college admission application that students utilize to apply to any of the member institutions located within the United States. It serves to promote college admissions through the use of both subjective criteria (e.g., essays and recommendations) and objective criteria ( e.g., GPA and standardized exam scores). Simply put, the Common App streamlines the college application process for students choosing to apply to its member colleges.
