As college commencements end across the country and we head into those sultry summer months, it’s important to note admissions trends and the best strategy for getting into your top choice college. The admissions market is tough for competitive colleges, but families who plan prudently can increase their odds of gaining admission to the best schools.

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS TRENDS

1. 2011 Was the Most Difficult Year on Record for Getting into College.

Even as the absolute number of students of college age begins a gradual decline, applications reached a new high in 2011. It is not unusual for students to now apply to 10, 20, or even 30 colleges. Bulging domestic American applicant pools have been bolstered by a surge of international applicants. Institutions as diverse as Brown, Michigan State, and William and Mary recorded increases of 10 percent, 13 percent, and 23 percent in international applications respectfully. Not surprisingly acceptance rates at the Ivies continue to plunge with Columbia accepting 6.9 percent and Harvard 6.2 percent of applicants in 2011. The daunting odds of getting into the most elite national universities have convinced many families to submit applications to the best state schools, and elite liberal arts colleges as Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore with commensurate increases in high quality applicants.

2. College waiting lists are expanding more than ever.

Admissions wait lists are expanding rapidly at many institutions, but applicants beware. At some institutions, the wait lists are used to appease legacy families, and high schools with which they have a close relationship. Few students from these lists make it into the freshman class. In 2010, Colby College in Maine, a top twenty-five US News and World Report national liberal arts school, placed 934 on the wait list and only took 21. Moreover, Johns Hopkins University, a national university power-house admitted a grand total of 1 student from its wait list of 3,667 students, and the University of Vermont accepted 218 of the 3,456 students relegated to the wait list.

3. Southern and urban universities are becoming more popular destinations.

Southern or mild climate destinations as Emory (Atlanta), Wake Forest (North Carolina), Vanderbilt (Tennessee), and the University of Southern California have become popular schools for students who want to bask in the sun. Cold weather urban universities as Boston University and Fordham in New York City have also witnessed a surge in applications contributing to a more competitive admissions process.

FIVE STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING THE ADMISSIONS ODDS AND GETTING ACCEPTED

As admissions odds for the most elite institutions increasingly resemble the lottery sometimes, what is the concerned family to do? A few basic initiatives beginning early in a student’s high school career will help increase your chances.

Step One: Starting in 9th grade with a focus on achieving a high GPA, students should take selective Advanced Placement and honors courses (or enroll in an IB Program if your school permits). It is also important to display a sustained multi-year commitment to a few extracurricular activities in which students can exhibit leadership.

Step Two: Draw up a list of colleges to research and visit no later than December of a student’s junior year when PSAT scores are available.

Step Three: Get some test prep and begin planning for either or both – the SAT and ACT exams. Contact Top Test Prep to learn more about how you can prepare for these exams.

Step Four: Visit at least 5 colleges in the spring of a student’s junior year and include back-up schools in the itinerary.

Step Five: Finalize the college list and complete any visits by October of the senior year. This will also provide you with the option of applying early decision (binding admissions) or early admissions (non-binding) to a favored institution, thereby increasing your admissions odds. The University of Virginia, Harvard, and Princeton will be reinstituting an early admissions program in the fall of 2011 rejoining the club of competitive institutions who use this strategem to attract their strongest candidates. If a student’s standardized test scores are not stellar, keep in mind that over 830 schools no longer require the submission of SAT’s and ACT’s. They include Wake Forest, a highly regarded national university, as well as Middlebury and Bowdoin, numbers 4 and 6 respectfully among national liberal arts college in the US News 2011 rankings.

CONCLUSIONS

Competition is no longer limited to America’s shores and college admission is no exception to this long-term development. Fatalists would throw up their hands in despair. Proactive families, however, will relish the opportunity and take the concrete steps to ensure that the next generation of students is prepared for a fast moving and dynamic international environment in which a quality college education will be at a premium.
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David Dickson is on the college admissions counseling team for Top Test Prep.

Top Test Prep offers private tutor programs and test prep for students applying to top schools. For more information, call (800) 501-7737.

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Spurred on by escalating college costs, concerns about the amount of learning on campuses, and that age old affliction known as anti-intellectualism, recent months have witnessed the emergence of vocal critics of mass college education. Peter Thiel and James Altucher in New York Magazine called upon Americans to avoid college and head into the work force. A Pew Research Center study revealed that a mere 40 percent of Americans believed that college was worth it, though 86 percent of college graduates expressed faith in its value. While arguments can be made on behalf of the intrinsic intellectual merits of college and the formal exchange of ideas, Americans are a pragmatic and results oriented people. Most Americans would ask how a college education will benefit them concretely over a life-time or “where’s the beef.” The answer is three-fold.

1. COLLEGE IS A PRE-CONDITION FOR GOING FROM RAGS TO MIDDLE CLASS STATUS OR RICHES

A Brookings Study found the American dream of class mobility is improbable without a college degree. Only 14 percent of Americans from the bottom fifth of parental income without a college education climb to the top two fifths. In contrast, if they complete college 41 percent of this group penetrates the top two fifths.

2. COLLEGE GRADUATES HAVE MORE JOBS AND FUN

While the unemployment rate in 2010 was 5.4 percent for college graduates, it was almost twice as high at 10.3 percent of those with only a high school degree, and almost three times as high at 14.9 percent for those without a high school degree. Individuals with a masters degree had a 4 percent unemployment rate. That’s right college graduates get the jobs which means they generally have more fun because they’re able to make more money, build a career and eventually support their own families.

3. COLLEGE GRADUATES EARN MUCH MORE THAN THEIR NON-COLLEGE COUNTERPARTS OVER A LIFE-TIME

The life-time earnings gap between an individual with a bachelors degree and a person with a high school degree is almost a million dollars at $2.1 million and $1.2 million respectfully. A professional degree translates into life-time earnings of around $4.4 million. The wealth or total assets disparity between college graduates and non-graduates is even greater. The only American educational sub-group which did not see their wealth stagnate or decline over the last forty years were the roughly 27 percent of Americans with bachelor or graduate/professional degrees.

CONCLUSION

In the new millennium college is crucial for economic success and a relatively secure future. Those who discourage higher education are doing a disservice, in particular, to young people from non-college educated households who in the absence of education will find themselves marginalized and with little hope for a better life. Unlike Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, most of those who spurn a Bachelors degree will languish in low paying and transient positions struggling to meet basic needs. While higher education is always in need of criticism and reform, the non-college track is largely a dead-end.

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David Dickson is on the admissions and educational counseling team for Top Test Prep. Top Test Prep has several education experts who can help families navigate the path of college admissions and build futures for their families.

For more information on Top Test Prep’s private tutor and admissions counseling programs, call (800) 501-Prep.

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So, maybe you’re struggling to create a college admissions essay that will knock the socks off the admissions offices. Doubts grow as you ponder how you can come up with an original insight or an idea separating you from the pack. It’s now time to formulate a game plan for a college essay that will set off bulbs in the heads of staff members and place you on the path to acceptance. In pursuit of this goal, advice will be offered on how to start your college essay, and ways to structure your personal statement in a way that offers the admissions offices insight into your life. This will be followed by examples of essay prompts and closing remarks.

How to Start Your Admissions Essay

1. Go to the admissions website – or Common App – and find materials of the school to which you are applying. This is the absolute first step. Write down your favorite topics and begin to brainstorm.

2. Look inward and identify your strengths and best qualities. You may be determined or creative or empathetic. Identify the strengths that you want to convey to the admissions committee. Ask what differentiates you from most applicants, and how you can make this clear in a personal statement.

3. Incorporate your strengths into the essay. For instance, convey a story about a time or experience when you displayed these strengths. Produce alternative beginnings and conclusions as you work on the essay. Remember: the clearer your examples are, the better your essay will be viewed.

How to Structure Your Essay

The essay is designed to demonstrate that you can convey your thoughts in an organized and persuasive fashion. To facilitate this, the essay should have the following components.

1. An introduction with a central idea expressing the intention of the essay and supporting ideas that will be used to refine the main point.

2. A body with a few paragraphs, each of which would have a supporting idea. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence articulating its principal point. Stay within the stated page limits. Admissions essays are generally brief. Brevity beats verbosity!

3. A conclusion summarizing the essay, and reiterating the central idea and supporting ideas. A strong writer should look over the essay to check for coherence and to check whether you made a compelling case for gaining admission.

4. Consider having a peer review the admissions essay to get their feedback. You can also get admissions essay help from Top Test Prep’s programs.

Five essay prompts to get you thinking…

College admissions essay topics should be personal since you are selling yourself and why you are a good fit for that institution. Illustrations of possible topics include the following:

-Describe a significant interest or experience that has special meaning for you.
-Does any specific attribute, quality, or skill distinguish you from everyone else? How did you develop this attribute?
- What is your approach to life? Reveal your life philosophy.
-What is a major achievement in your life? Who and what assisted you in reaching your aim?
- Explain which of the negative features you possess you’d like to get rid of and which of the positive features you’d like to promote and enhance.

It’s time to find a quiet place and start deliberating on your admissions essays.
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David Dickson is on the college admissions counseling team for Top Test Prep. Top Test Prep offers private tutor programs and admissions counseling to help students gain admission to prep schools, colleges and graduate schools. Call to learn more: (800) 501-Prep.

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How to Create A College Brag Sheet

What Is a College Brag Sheet?

Brag sheets are a student’s resume and are designed to assist teachers in writing recommendations and to accompany college applications. A brag sheet can help you gain admission to some of the best colleges in the country. It’s your chance to highlight all of the great things you’ve accomplished in high school, and what you’re likely to do once you matriculate at top schools.

There are a few types of admission brag sheets:

Activity based brag sheets focus on a student’s performance in areas such as extracurricular activities, employment, community service, honors, and awards. In narrative brag sheets students or parents respond to questions intended to provide insights into what makes students tick. For instance, what are a student’s proudest accomplishments or do you want to explain special student circumstances? Hybrid brag sheets combine a description of student activities with narrative oriented questions.

Overall Tips for Creating Your Brag Sheets

1. Find out if your high school or the colleges to which you are applying have a preferred brag sheet format with details on the information you are to provide. The school’s website may have this information. Adjust your brag sheet accordingly.

2. Focus on quality and brevity over quantity. A laundry list of non-prioritized activities or long answers to narrative questions will confuse readers. Your brag sheet should be about a page long and should highlight the activities in which you have excelled and the qualities which best capture your character. Ask yourself what sets you apart from others.

3. Start in chronological order with your most recent activities or awards and work backwards.

4. Detail what years you have been involved in each activity and specific time commitments. You can refer to hours per week or weeks per year in your explanation.

5. Point out what you have contributed to an activity and any leadership positions you have held. If you were the chief organizer of a high school dance to raise money for leukemia patients, emphasize that fact.

6. Review your brag sheet for consistency and clarity. Don’t say “I” in one area and “we” in another. Use active verbs such as “created,” “designed,” and “coordinated.”

7. Think about how what you write will be interpreted by the recommender and by the admissions office. It should distinguish you from other students and illuminate your strengths. It should also take into account the mission of the school to which you are applying as delineated on its website. If a college stresses community service, make this a prominent aspect of your brag sheet.
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This article about “How to Write a College Admissions Brag Sheet” should help students as they prepare to apply to colleges. It was written by David Dickson, who is on the the College Admissions Counseling team for Top Test Prep. For more information on Top Test Prep’s private tutoring and admissions counseling programs, simply call (800) 501-Prep.

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Internships, jobs, camp, test prep courses, a few trips to the beach or mountains… and essay writing! Yes, summer vacation is on its way. Juniors, this is the perfect time to begin drafting college admission essays. Preparing your essays now will help you substantially in the fall when admissions crunch time comes. How can you best utilize time in the summer to write college essays? Here are a few tips:

1. Give yourself a short break

Seems like a simple idea – to rest during vacation. But sometimes it’s hard to sit back and take a break when you know there is a surfeit of work to complete. Give your brain and energy time to rejuvenate after an arduous year. Allot a certain amount of time to rest after spring semester. When the rest period is up, you can begin work – and you’ll have more energy to put into it.

2. Use the entire writing process

Putting a pencil to paper, or fingers to a keyboard, is part of the end of the writing process. Even for simple writing assignments, you can begin clicking out phrases only after considering different ideas, ruminating, and planning. For your college essay, spend time in the foundation part of the writing process. Brainstorm, question yourself, jot down quick phrases and ideas. Spend time thinking and putting ideas together before you sit down to write. Don’t worry about paragraph order or specific sentences in the beginning. Let ideas emerge naturally.

3. Cultivate ideas – read good books

It’s true: we are what we eat. Set your standards high and feed your brain with good books, articles, and literature. Almost any genre will do, if well written. If you read only models of essays, you risk mimicking them instead of creating your own. There are general structures to follow, but you want your ideas to stand out. Reading well written material with intricate descriptions, a clear voice, and interesting storylines will help you with your own writing.

4. Keep it to yourself

Use the summer as your own writing time. Remember – this is your essay. The essay is a unique part of your college application where you can come through with a voice and personality. Wait until the fall to have a friend or teacher look it over. There will be plenty of time to edit, especially if you start the writing process now.

Best of luck. Happy writing!

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This post is titled, “Summertime = Essaytime.” It was written by Marta Casey, a writer on Top Test Prep’s admissions counseling team.

To learn more about Top Test Prep’s programs, call (800) 501 – Prep.

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You’re a high school student or a parent thinking about college options. Naturally, institutions with strong students and professors, classes where students count, and a staff, which goes the extra mile to retain them are appealing. Lifestyle is also important, however, and battling snowdrifts and months of freezing weather isn’t where you want to put your energy. You’ve heard about UCLA and the University of Southern California (USC), but you’re searching for additional high quality American college options in sunny or temperate locations. This piece is intended to assist you in this selection process. Schools found in warm or temperate climates, without the high national visibility which often comes from major Division I sports conferences, have been chosen. Four of our liberal arts colleges are found in Claremont, California, thirty miles from downtown Los Angeles. This is not an aberration since clusters of strong national institutions can also be found in less temperate regions as the Boston and Philadelphia areas, among others. Criteria for identifying quality schools are followed by an identification of schools that you can explore. Concluding comments then follow.

Criteria for High Quality Colleges:

The institutions highlighted in this work are all in the top 25 of US News and Report’s 2011 rankings of the best national universities and liberal arts colleges. They receive at least a 75 on a scale of 100 for undergraduate academic reputation as delineated by presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions at peer institutions as well as selective public high school counselors. Moreover, the schools retain at least 90 percent of their freshman, have fewer than twenty students in at least 50 percent of their classes, and draw at least 69 percent of their freshman from the top 10 percent of their high school graduating classes.

Strong National Universities

• California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (http://www.caltech.edu): The almost two to one ratio of men to women in this school, which excels in engineering and the sciences, could be particularly appealing to science oriented women. The annual New-Years day ritual, the Tournament of Roses parade, takes place in this sunny locale.

• Rice University, Houston (http://www.rice.edu): This multicultural institution with a minority population of 40 percent is generous in its financial aid packages. In 2010, 41 percent of undergraduates received financial aid with the average package exceeding $25,000.

• Emory University, Atlanta ( http://www.emory.edu) This top twenty-five university retains 95 percent of its freshman. Its suburban setting in the economically dynamic Atlanta metropolitan area is an asset for undergraduates interested in creating job networks.

Strong National Liberal Arts Colleges

• Pomona College, Claremont, California (www.pomona.edu): Tied for number six among national liberal arts colleges by US News and World Report, Pomona is the highest ranked warm weather school in this category. Two thirds of this esteemed institution’s students are in classes with fewer than twenty students and 92 percent of its students come from the top tenth of their high school classes.

• Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina (http://www.davidson.edu): A top ten liberal arts school, Davidson has a proud academic tradition extending back to 1837. It is particularly strong in the social sciences and humanities and offers intimate classes with almost three quarters enrolling under twenty students.

• Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California (http://www.claremontmckenna.edu): Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War II, Claremont McKenna with its number eleven US News ranking has established itself as a premier national liberal arts school. It receives a highly respectable rating of 83 in the undergraduate academic reputation index.

• Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California (http://hmc.edu): With a student body of less than 800, this college offers high powered academics in intimate class-room settings. Its students, 94 percent of who come from the top 10 percent of their high school classes, are predominately drawn to engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences.

• Scripps College, Claremont, California (http://www.scrippscol.edu) An all-female school, Scripps is an ideal setting for students seeking individualized attention in a supportive environment. Over 80 percent of its classes have under twenty students. The social sciences and humanities are particularly popular.

Concluding thoughts…

Getting a first rate education in an institution devoted to undergraduate studies doesn’t have to translate into cold winter walks to classes. Year around sun bathing may not be the norm at all of our warm and temperate high quality institutions, but students won’t have to leave their shorts and T-shirts at home.

David Dickson is on the college admissions counseling team for Top Test Prep. For more information on Top Test Prep’s private tutoring and test prep programs, call (800) 501-Prep.

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How to Get off the College Admissions Waitlist: Tips and Strategies

If you’re waitlisted to your top college and still would like some help getting into your top choice college, there is hope. With these four admissions tips, you can improve your chances of getting off the waitlist and gaining admission to college.

(1) Follow-up with the admissions office. As soon as you receive your waitlist letter, immediately follow-up with the admissions office to indicate your interest. Often wait lists are first-come, first-serve on a rolling basis. If you don’t show interest early, you’re unlikely to gain admission.

(2) Create a new admissions portfolio. Yes, the admissions office undoubtedly received your common application with personal statement, but sometimes this isn’t enough. Write 250 to 500 words on one great thing you’ve done or accomplished in school, or an award you won that wasn’t mentioned on the college application.

(3) Arrange an informal interview with a regional college alum. You might not know this, but most elite colleges have alumni interviewers in most parts of the world who are ready, willing and able to meet with applicants. You should see if it’s possible to set-up a meeting with a local or regional representative. Be sure to be as informal as possible here and don’t be too pushy. Kindly request this meeting, and see if the admissions office goes for it.

(4) Consider re-taking the SAT or ACT. There are a couple more SAT and ACT exams open before the fall. If you’re feeling ambitious (which you should!) consider re-taking these exams and submitting your new SAT and/or ACT scores. This initiative will go a long way in proving your interest in that particular college.
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If you need help with college admissions counseling or test prep, don’t hesitate to contact Top Test Prep’s team. We’re open 7 days a week, and you can reach us by calling (800) 501-Prep.

This article was written by college admissions expert, Ross Blankenship.

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Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of full US degree programs abroad conducted in English. According to the British-based Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, there are close to eighty US degree programs overseas where English is the language of instruction.  Over three quarters of them have opened since 1999.  Florida State University in Panama City is one of the exceptions. Its program dates back fifty years and now includes undergraduate degrees in computer science, international affairs, and environmental studies. New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) has branches in Abu Dhabi; Amman, Jordan; Manama, Bahrain; and Nanjing, China. The Nanjing campus includes degrees in international business, communication arts, and computer engineering. St Louis University, Madrid offers bachelors in fields like economics and communications. Qatar’s futuristic Education City hosts Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northwestern, Virginia Commonwealth, Texas A&M, and Cornell.  

In an interconnected world, what are the pros and cons of seeking US degrees and/or studying abroad and what is the author’s verdict on this trend?

Reasons you should study abroad:

One might ask, if foreign exchange programs of a semester or two are assets when applying for a job or graduate program, why not expand this approach to four years and reap the benefits of further exposure? The arguments on behalf of this strategy are multi-faceted.

First, the world of work in the private and public sector is increasingly borderless. Workers who are at ease with different foreign environments, and have actually lived there, are increasingly attractive in the corporate, governmental, and non-governmental organizational sectors. While a semester or two abroad is helpful, a few years in one or two foreign environments, contingent on the degree program, leads to a greater degree of comfort and depth of understanding.  

Secondly, US degree programs abroad normally enroll students from around the world.

American students are therefore exposed to students and professors from many cultures. In so doing, they enhance their ability to interact and work with a cosmopolitan work-force. This is the wave of the future both abroad and at home.     

Third, tuition at branches of US universities overseas is normally comparable to those at their US hubs. In effect, beyond travel expenses, students are rewarded with an international experience at prices equivalent to those back in the states. It is a relative bargain.

Reasons you shouldn’t study abroad:

Study abroad in US degree programs is not without pitfalls.

First, attracting quality faculty and students is not a given in all foreign environments.  Foreign students still find it more appealing to study in the US if they want a US degree. Faculty are often reluctant to be removed from extended family members, colleagues, and friends back home for a sustained period of time contributing to rotating staff with all of the problems therein.   

Secondly, foreign study venues are sometimes highly a-typical of their own regions thereby offering students a distorted view of regional culture. Foreign universities in the wealthy and cosmopolitan states of Qatar and Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf are symptomatic of this phenomenon.

Finally, American students may be compelled to adapt to local cultural norms on gender relations and personal conduct. This is the case in parts of the Islamic world, for instance.

The Verdict on Studying Abroad…

On balance is it worthwhile to explore US degree programs abroad? The verdict is yes, but students must be selective and discerning. All degree programs are neither created equally nor do they all evolve into strong ones. A few rules of thumb for choosing the right program deserve mention.

First, find out how long a program has been around. If it is a relatively new program in transition, caution and a consideration of alternatives would be in order.

Secondly, contact the institution to find out about their placements in post-graduation jobs and professional/graduate programs. If they haven’t tracked this information or stonewall you, move on to the next institution.

Finally, look into what is going on in the country which is hosting the institution. Also consider talking to regional specialists at your local university. If political instability is rampant, as embodied by Bahrain, it would be wise to look for a more stable environment.    

As interdependence grows exponentially around the world, it is imperative that the citizen and worker of the twenty-first century be prepared to work across national and cultural boundaries. US degree programs abroad can facilitate this goal, but the strong programs must be separated from the questionable ones.  

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 David Dickson is on the college admissions counseling team for Top Test Prep.    For more information on Top Test Prep, call (800) 501-Prep.

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It's no secret that admission counselors look at that small line on your transcript – your GPA. It's just a number, but it contains quite a summary of your academic work. Of course adcoms will weigh your GPA relative to the overall intensity of your school. But the stronger your grades, the stronger your academic base will appear to colleges.

So what should you do when faced with choosing a class: Take the AP (or IB) version and risk slicing your GPA, even by a few tenths or hundreths of a point, or take the regular course where you'll pull off an easy A?

1. Does your transcript already reflect a rigorous and competitive curriculum?

First, your 3.81 GPA won't mean much if you haven't challenged yourself. Adcoms notice challenging classes and appreciate them. Safety is not a great sign of intellectual challenge or college preparedness. So before you decline signing up for an AP class, make sure your transcript reflects challenges. An AP class with a B for a grade will likely mean more than an A- in the regular equivalent.

2. Will you be challenged in the regular class?

If you think the regular version of Latin will challenge you enough, that is ok. Choose APs based on your interests and foundation.If you have never taken an AP class before, take one in a subject you feel comfortable; you'll still be in for a challenge. If you are a natural in biology, try the AP version of the class. If you flounder in math but excel in music, skip AP statistics and take music theory. AP classes are meant to help students get farther, but make sure you have a good foundation in the subject. 

3. Do you need a course to pad your GPA?

On the other hand…. if you had a rough semester somewhere along the line and your GPA took a big hit, consider taking classes to restabilize your GPA. If you think that you have fully recovered and can put in the work, by all means, take an AP you are interested in – if you do well adcoms will see you gumption and persistence. But if you are afraid your GPA is already too low, be careful to put your academic credentials (i.e., your transcript and GPA) at risk.

Consider the above when choosing. Remember that adcoms will see challenges and risks, and AP classes stand out. When piles of applications are stacked in the fall, an AP (or IB) class might make the difference.

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This post is titled, "Is an 'A' or an AP Course Worth More?" and was written by Marta Casey, a writer on Top Test Prep's team.

To learn more about Top Test Prep's programs, please call (800) 501 – Prep.

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Talking to students informally about the rationale behind their college choices, one gets a wide array of answers including finances, academics, and climate. The University of California, Los Angeles’s Higher Education Research Institute has conducted a comprehensive survey of college freshmen for the past forty years which poses this question, among others, to students. The most recent survey conducted in the fall of 2010 incorporated 271, 441 freshmen from 393 institutions of higher learning. Results from this survey and a couple of lessons follow.

College Admissions Survey Results:

In the fall of 2010, 62.1 percent of student respondents to the UCLA survey agreed that “the current economic situation affected my college choice” somewhat or strongly. In the midst of the recent recession, according to the Chronicle of Education, one in six college bound students had to change their college plans. The academic reputation of an institution was cited by 62 percent of students in the UCLA survey as a major consideration in their college deliberations. It is unclear how students arrive at this judgment, particularly in light of the fact that only 16.7 percent of freshmen identified rankings in national magazines as a factor in their matriculation decisions. A belief that their chosen college would lead to good jobs was mentioned by 53.3 percent of freshmen, and financial assistance was identified as pivotal by 45.5 percent of students. Campus visits influenced the decisions of 41.8 percent of students, and the cost of attending college was treated as salient by 41 percent of them. A college’s reputation for social life influenced 39.5 percent of students, size was delineated by 38.7 percent of respondents, and the school’s proficiency in getting students into graduate and professional programs was identified by 32.2 percent of freshmen. Additional factors cited by students didn’t register beyond the teens in terms of support.

Lessons Learned:

A few lessons relate to the survey results.

First, academic reputation should be considered by students and their families as they evaluate their college options, but it is not in the eyes of the beholder. It largely corresponds to the academic rankings for national universities and liberal arts schools in US News and World Report’s (USNWR) annual “Best Colleges” issue. There is a strong relationship between an institution’s relative position in the national hierarchy and the resources available for financial assistance. Moreover, higher ranked schools generally do a better job than their lower ranked counterparts in placing students following graduation in jobs or desirable professional and graduate schools.

Second, students and their families are legitimately concerned about the availability of financial aid and college costs. Nonetheless, for a productive student experience they should also be conscious of faculty resources which affect class size and college financial resources that affect average spending per student on instruction and services. Both of these indicators of college quality can be found in USNWR.

Finally, the quality of programs within schools can vary and therefore students and their families are advised to visit campuses and set up appointments with departmental representatives of programs in which they are interested. Questions about class size, and post graduation job and graduate school placements can (and should) be raised at those meetings.

Overall…

In this era of media reality shows, students display an understanding of contemporary American realities in their college deliberations. They are largely choosing their colleges for the right reasons, but can maximize their chances for success by tweaking the factors they take into account.

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David Dickson is a college admissions counselor for Top Test Prep. This article discusses factors in how students select a college for matriculation.

To learn more about Top Test Prep’s admissions counseling and test prep programs, call (800) 501-Prep.

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In this article, we discuss when it’s better to apply early decision vs. early action to colleges, and some things for you to consider when applying…

What is Early Decision?

Recent buzz about the advantages of applying early decision as opposed to regular decision has created confusion among students and their families. They are interested in maximizing their chances of getting into a strong college, but are reticent about limiting their college choices.
Early decision applications for college are often due in early to mid-November of a student’s senior year. In fact, during this time, you must agree that you will apply early decision to only one institution. Admissions decisions will be made by mid-December enabling the completion of regular applications due in January or February, if necessary. If accepted, it is a binding decision unless financial aid is inadequate. If so, the institution can withdraw their offer of admission and you cannot apply again that academic year. The following observations are designed to assist students and parents wrestling with this issue.

1. The Early Decision Acceptance Rate is Considerably Higher than the Regular Decision Rates

Statistical evidence is clear that applying early decision increases one’s prospects of getting into strong institutions if your grades, exam scores, and extracurricular activities are up to par for that respective college. For example: Ivy League -Columbia University accepts 19.6 percent of early decision applicants and nine percent of regular decision applicants. Amherst College, which is rated second among national liberal arts institutions in the 2011 edition of US News and World Report’s Best Colleges, accepts 36.56 percent of applicants for early decision and 16 percent of regular decision applicants. This pattern generally holds at strong institutions. The applicant pool at these institutions is highly competitive, but you can improve your odds of admission through early decision.

2. Early Decision is Not for Those Ambivalent about an Institution

If you’re not sold on the academic and non-academic dimensions of an institution, early decision is not for you. Uncertainty about the wisdom of your decision is not a good psychological state as you head into a challenging freshman year. You don’t want to apply early decision unless you’re 100% committed to attending that school.

3. If you are uncertain about apply early decision, early action is a non-binding option for you

If you are not fully committed to attending an institution, consider early action. With this option you can commit to a college on the spot or wait until the spring while applying to other institutions . Early action, however, is less common than early decision at the strongest national colleges and universities.

4. If you are considering early decision or early action, you need a head start on exams, interviews and the college application.

If you are considering early decision or early action, students are advised to jump start their exam, interview, and application schedule. Standardized tests, college visits, and interviews should take place in their junior year. Early decision applications should be completed by September of a student’s senior year. November is a common due date for early decision and early action applications, but follow the deadlines of the institution in which you are interested.

Deliberation and research are pre-conditions for the successful college search. Early decision applications are not for the faint-hearted and must be pursued in keeping with the guidelines of your target institution.
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This article was written by David Dickson. David is a college admissions counselor with Top Test Prep. For more information on Top Test Prep‘s programs call (800) 501-Prep.

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Have the urge to immerse yourself in a foreign country and learn a new language? The personal and academic benefits of studying abroad are hard to overstate, and spending a significant amount of time abroad in high school will set your application above many others.

But what should you look for in a study abroad program? What factors will indicate a successful, competitive program?

1. Immersion – not life in an American bubble

Make sure the program you choose will immerse you in the language and culture and local life. This can be done either through taking classes at a local school, or by living with a host family. “Island programs” are American programs abroad that are self-contained, which means you could be at any US institution… you just happen to have a foreign address. Get out of the American bubble and make sure you gain real cultural experience.

2. Academic competitiveness

Grades abroad can be confusing – and taking classes abroad even more so. The advantage of an island program is that a program can retain AP courses and highly competitive classes (but if you go this route, live with a family instead of in a dorm). If you want to take AP tests or have them on your transcript, consider this when looking at programs. If you are abroad in the summer, this may not be a huge issue, but you should still look at the course contents.

3. Successful past students

Look at programs' reputations and alumni track records. If a program is known as a vacation abroad, skip it. You could load up a backpack and travel for a long time based on the price you’d be paying for a packaged vacation atmosphere. Ask where alumni go, and what they do. Alumni are a good indicator of any program and colleges will know some programs based on successful alumni. Ask to talk to alumni, too, if you have questions.

4. A location that appeals to you

Finally, make sure you choose a place that appeals to you! Personal investment and motivation are essential. A competitive program will be useless and the experience not as fulfilling if your heart is set on Italy but you decide to go to China. Really. It is important to push your boundaries, but go where the language, culture, or some aspect of the place – not just classes in a program – appeal to you.

Best of luck – bon voyage!

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This post is titled, “What Makes a Good Study Abroad Program?” It was written by Marta Casey, a writer on Top Test Prep’s team.

To learn more about Top Test Prep’s programs, call (800) 501 – Prep.

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How to select your APs/IBs and Honors Courses in High School…(and how many you should take)

Recent studies including one conducted by the Department of Education have challenged the value of advanced high school courses. The lines of attack have varied somewhat, but the bottom line is that they don’t carry much “bang for the buck.” Despite a tripling of enrollments in rigorously labeled courses over the last two decades, national standardized test scores in math and reading have not improved. Scores on the Advanced Placement exams on a scale of 1-5 have seen a steady rise in low scores of 1 and 2 over the last decade. Skepticism has been expressed by educational experts and parents alike about the rigor of these courses and their value. As opposed to giving up and accepting a diluted curriculum, students and their parents would be wise to consider the following guidelines when choosing college preparatory courses in high school.

Here are some things to consider when deciding on AP/IB and advanced courses in high school:

1. Don’t focus on the course title itself. Move beyond the label of a course and clarify whether a course is part of a formal Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) program. These programs are standardized by national and international organizations outside of your school and their content is reviewed periodically by subject specialists. A fancy title does not necessarily translate into a rigorous course.

2. Find out the quality of the instructor. Talk to strong students who have studied with a teacher to get their impressions of the course and to find out how they fared on the AP or IB exams. Contact your school or school district to see if statistics are compiled on how students in your school fared on these tests. You can sometimes trace these results to individual instructors.

3. Speak directly with the instructor about how they teach the course. College students sometimes approach their teachers ahead of time to ask about class content and their teaching methods. There is no reason why this can’t be done by high school students during breaks and after school or by parents during non-teaching periods. If the instructor declines a discussion, it is a sign that you should consider an alternative course.

4. Focus on quality, not quantity, in selecting your high school courses. Colleges will not reward you more for taking four AP courses in a semester as opposed to two or three that you perform well in. Don’t focus on numbers alone, but on the quality of the learning experience.

5. Colleges may not accept AP or IB courses, but you should still take them. Colleges vary on whether they will reward student credits for AP or IB courses. Elite private and public institutions may have different standards for awarding college credit for AP courses and may require significantly higher test scores. For example, some state universities will award college credit for an AP score of 3 while another institution would require a 4 or even a 5. There are also differences in which courses receive college credit. Science and math courses in particular may not earn college credit even with a score of 4 or 5 on the AP examination. Don’t expect to shorten your college career through AP courses since they may not fit specific requirements. The students focus therefore should not be on accumulating college credits, but on expanding their knowledge base and critical thinking skills. This into itself is the best preparation for college.

Overall, all advanced and honors courses are not alike. The inquisitive student and parent, however, can construct a curriculum which serves as a solid foundation for college and beyond.

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David Dickson is an admissions counselor for Top Test Prep, and also a graduate of both Bowdoin College and Harvard University, respectively. Call to learn more about Top Test Prep’s program at (800) 501-Prep.

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The 1^st Annual “Fear No SAT!”Tournament 

Who:  Top Test Prep, a local SAT and ACT prep company, will be holding its 1^st Annual “Fear No SAT!” tournament, bringing students from the best schools in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia to compete for prizes and the crown of Washington DC’s top SAT school.

What: Students in grades 9-12 from local private and public schools will compete in a tournament called “Fear No SAT!”  Students will have the opportunity to take free practice tests and win great prizes. 

When:  The tournament will be held on Saturday, June 18, 2011.  There is no entry fee.

Where:  Top Test Prep’s local headquarters located at 3615 Wisconsin Ave, NW Washington DC 20016.

Why:  The student with the highest overall scores through the Finals wins a new iPad 2. 

The school with the winning student will win a trophy, and the school’s PTA with the greatest number of entries will receive a $500 donation.

How:  To enter the tournament, parents/students should simply call Top Test Prep at (202) 618-4474.   

Interested schools can post the announcement for their students via email and website.  The deadline to register for the tournament is June 11, 2011.

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Does Legacy Status Matter in College Admissions?

It is a lurking variable that appears in subplots of college admissions stories: legacy status. The myth says that having a parent (or sometimes, another close relative) as an alumnus/a of a university will help students, even C-average students, gain admission to Yale or Harvard, Stanford or Brown.

Whether legacy admissions constitute a form of discrimination based on status, whether legacies add to an institution's history and reputation, or whether a student would rather be "Joe Diggins" not "the son of Alex ('69) Diggins" – legacy status can be an important part of the college admissions process.

But will legacy status help a student gain admission to the most selective colleges in the USA? How much does legacy status matter, really?

The idea of giving preference to a student based on bloodline seems, at its base, ultimately un-American in principle. In recent years, universities have been working to reach out through financial aid and publicity campaigns in an effort to demonstrate their open doors. They want the best students, not just the students from the best or most traditional backgrounds.

Legacy status does matter and can help a student in the admissions process.

A study led by William Bowen of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation found that within a given range of SAT scores, legacy increased admission likelihood by 19.1 percentage points. Furthermore, children of alumni typically comprise 10 – 25% of the student body at selective institutions across the country. Almost three quarters of selective research universities, and almost all elite liberal arts colleges use legacy status in the application process. It is one line on the application, but one line that can make an applicant more distinct.

Legacy status is no substitute for strong grades, high SAT scores, and overall experience.

While alumni parents can be a boon, students who are legacies are often rejected by top universities, too. The student and his or her oevre of academic work, life experience, and commitment to different groups and activities will be the one under scrutiny – not the parents or their reputations. And competition at the top is tougher than ever. The tale of a competitive student rejected – even with an alumnus parent – is not completely uncommon. However, with strong credentials, the rejected U Penn student may have been accepted elsewhere – Brown, Dartmouth, and Princeton, for example.

The bottom line: legacy status can help a student but is not a guarantee.

Counting on legacy status to convince admission counselors to gloss over 200 missing SAT points or a weak semester in school is foolish, and arrogant. Legacy status can help students, but only if students are in a competitive admission position on their own. Furthermore, while most people think of the Ivies first in legacy admission discussions, legacy status is actually a phenomenon in many institutions, from the top all the way down. Competition at the top remains tight no matter who you are, or who your parents are. Prepare accordingly.

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This post is titled, "How Much Does Legacy Status Matter?" It was written by Marta Casey, a writer on Top Test Prep's team.

To learn more about Top Test Prep's programs, call (800) 501 – Prep.

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