The most recent figures for early decision (binding) and early action (nonbinding) applications at top 25 institutions of higher learning, according to ratings from US News and World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” issue, follow.

Early Decision Schools Early Applicants for Fall 2012 Percent Change in Applications Over 2012
Brown (RI) 2,904 5.48%
Columbia (NY) 3,088 -5.68%
Cornell (NY) 3,609 3.74%
Dartmouth (NH) 1,791 2.11%
Duke (NC) 2,716 23.06%
Emory (GA) 879 17.36%
Harvey Mudd (CA) 186 30.99%
Johns Hopkins (MD) 1,440 7.64%
Middlebury College (VT) 597 -8.85%
Northwestern (IL) 2,450 15.90%
Pomona (CA) 304 33.30%
University of Pennsylvania 4,526 0.98%

Early Action Schools
University of Chicago (ILL) 8,698 24.97%
Georgetown (DC) 6,750 1.40%
*Harvard (MA) 4,245 NA
MIT (MA) 6,102 NA
Notre Dame (IN) 5,590 5.47%
*Princeton (NJ) 3,547 NA
*Stanford (CA) 5,880 -0.83%
University of Virginia 11,417 NA
*Yale (CT) 4,310 -18.01%

NA means not applicable. School did not have early action policy previous year.
An asterisk * is placed next to schools which have restrictive single choice early action admissions policy where students can apply to regular admissions elsewhere, but not early decision or early action.

David Dickson is an admissions counselor with Top Test Prep which offers expert private tutoring and test preparations and will help you gain admission to your top schools. Call 800-501-PREP to learn more about the admissions program.

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As old man winter approaches in many parts of the country, it isn’t too early to start thinking about summer pre-college programs (also known as summer enrichment programs) for junior and rising senior high school students. Many programs are booked by February or March so if you wish to find a good program for summer 2012, register as soon as possible.

What Are They
Summer programs are typically two to six weeks in length. Some offer scholarships, while others have costs ranging from $1,500 to $7,500. Students attending these programs experience college level work and a preview of college life. They choose their classes and live on campus. Pre-college programs may include courses taught by professors for college credit, themes of language and cultural immersion, or community service programs. Afternoons include leisure activities and weekends often include excursions to local areas of interest. Participation in these summer programs can assist students in making decisions about suitable colleges. You can also display the discipline and focus necessary to do the high level academic work which colleges look upon favorably.

How to Apply
If interested, research college web-sites or contact of college of your choice in the few weeks to see if they offer pre-college summer programs. It could be a summer to remember, and a road to your higher education goals.

David Dickson is an admissions counselor with Top Test Prep which offers expert private tutoring and test preparation who will help you gain admission to your top schools. Call (800) 501-Prep to learn more about admissions programs.

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Your middle school grades and activities won’t appear on your college application, but you can use seventh and eighth grades to set yourself up to have the strongest record possible in high school. This will, in turn, increase your prospects of getting into an academically strong college. Additionally, if you’re applying to private high schools, these tips will help you as you begin to prepare for the SSAT and/or ISEE exams.

Seven tips for maximizing your prospects for top schools follow.

1. Work on Building Study Habits
Middle school grades won’t appear on your college application, so you can use seventh and eighth grade to work on time management and study skills. Start longer-term assignments well ahead of time and learn to focus on your work in a quiet setting.

2. Read a plethora of books
The more you read, the stronger your verbal, writing, and critical thinking skills will be. Reading beyond your homework will help you do well in high school, on the ACT and SAT, and in college.

3. Take Challenging Courses
When senior year rolls around, you will want to have taken the most challenging courses available at your school. The tracking of those courses begins in middle school (or earlier). Position yourself so that you can take full advantage of whatever AP courses and upper-level math, science, and language courses your school offers.

4. Work on Foreign Language Skills
Most competitive colleges want to see strength in a foreign language. The more years of a language you take the better.

5. Get Up To Speed in Math and Science
Advanced math and science skills are increasingly crucial in college and in the work place. If necessary, get tutoring help in these areas in middle school so you can excel as you move into high school.

6. Explore Several Extra-Curricular Activities
When you apply to college, you should be able to display depth and leadership in one or two extracurricular activities such as music, athletics, or drama. By figuring out your passions in middle school, you can better focus on developing leadership skills and expertise in high school.

7. Explore and Enjoy
Keep in mind that your middle school record doesn’t appear on your college application. Don’t stress out about college. Instead, use these years to discover explore new things, discover what subjects and activities excite you, and develop good study habits.

David Dickson is an admissions counselor at Top Test Prep; Top Test Prep’s educational programs and academic tutoring, allow students to improve exam scores and gain admission to top private schools, colleges and grad schools. Call TTP’s team today at 1-800-501-Prep.

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Many students applied this fall, through early decision programs at their top choice colleges and universities. Now, we’re currently conducting a survey of our admissions and test prep blog readers to hear whether you gain admission early decision.

If you do, simply tweet us @toptestprep and let us know your decision when it comes. If you do, you could win a $100 gift certificate.

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A survey conducted by the Annapolis Group of alumni from 130 liberal arts schools, the top 50 public universities and private universities reveals disparities in their assessments of the quality of their undergraduate educational experiences.

According to the study, 77 percent of alumni from liberal arts colleges rated their undergraduate experiences excellent, compared to 59 percent of alumni from private universities and 56 percent from the top 50 public universities. Liberal arts school alumni reported that their college experience made them better prepared for life after college including their first job, career changes, and graduate school than did alumni from other sectors.

The study places much of the credit for these outcomes on the smaller classes, enhanced faculty-student interaction, teaching focus, and greater emphasis on reading and writing of liberal arts college environments. Large public universities have attempted to compensate for their educational shortcomings by starting small honors colleges designed to offer a small college feel. Since a mere three percent of American college students attend liberal arts colleges, it is incumbent upon our private and public universities to improve the quality of the class-room experience for their students.

How Families and Student Applicants Can Identify Strong College Learning Environments
Families and students can find the best academic environments by paying attention to student selectivity, class size, attrition and four year graduation levels, and student and faculty resource figures found in US News and World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” issue. Additional inquiries can be made with the departments of possible majors on class size, the percentage of professors in the class-room who are tenured or tenure-track, and placements in strong graduate programs and good jobs.

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David Dickson wrote this article to help guide people as they choose between Liberal Arts colleges and traditional public/private Universities. For more information on Top Test Prep’s admissions experts and private tutors, call (800) 501-Prep.

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The Five Elite Small Liberal Arts Colleges; also, info on Liberal Arts Colleges’ Financial Aid Packages

As college sticker prices seemingly climb into the stratosphere, there are elite small liberal arts colleges which offer a better deal more than They place students in the best jobs and graduate programs while offering generous financial aid packages. Who are they?

Williams College, Williamstown, MA
US News and World Report “Best Colleges” Ranking: #1
Tuition (both instate and out-of-state) $43,000
Average Financial Aid Package: $10,440
Average Percent of Need Met: 100%
Williams College meets 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of all students eligible for aid including all out of pocket expenses. Required books as well as lab or art supplies are part of the package.

Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
US News and World Report “Best Colleges” Ranking: #12
Tuition (both instate and out-of-state) $45,000
Average Financial Aid Package: $10,263
Average Percent of Need Met: 100%
Vassar focuses on providing need based aid to its admitted students.

Amherst College, Amherst, MA
US News and World Report “Best Colleges” Ranking: #2
Tuition (both instate and out-of-state) $43,000
Average Financial Aid Package: $10,110
Average Percent of Need Met: 100%
Financial aid awards at Amherst College range from a few thousand dollars to the entire cost of attendance. Transportation costs are covered including airfare for one round trip.

Pomona College, Claremont, CA
US News and World Report “Best Colleges” Ranking: Tied for #6
Tuition (both instate and out-of-state) $40,000
Average Financial Aid Package: $9,259
Average Percent of Need Met: 100%
Pomona offers a work-study program, need-based awards, and merit scholarships to its students.

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
US News and World Report “Best Colleges” ranking: Tied for #6
Tuition (both in-state and out-of-state): $43,000
Average Financial Aid Package: $8,867
Average Percent of Need Met: 100%
Bowdoin attempts to avoid loans, when possible, and provide awards that don’t have to be paid back.

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David Dickson wrote this article on liberal arts colleges; he serves within the admissions team for Top Test Prep.

You can gain admission to the small liberal arts colleges, and thus attend some of the best colleges in the country. Call (800) 501-7737 or visit our private tutoring program and test prep instructors.

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Here are some numbers for the 2012 – 2013 early decision/early action admissions cycle:

As the deadlines approach for early decision and early action applicants at America’s most competitive universities, a few institutions have released application figures. They indicate significant increases in applications over previous years. Early decision university applicants are contractually required to attend that school, whereas early action applicants can apply to additional schools early action or regular decision. Early decision and early action applicants at elite schools have an acceptance rate which is, on average, two to two and a half times higher than regular admissions applicants.

Early decision applications to Duke this fall have increased 23 percent over last year’s early decision applications.

Johns Hopkins early decision applications have experienced an eight percent increase over this period, and Dartmouth’s applications in this area are up two percent.

Princeton, which just re-instituted its early admissions option after a four year hiatus along with Harvard, revealed that 3,547 students had applied by its early November deadline, nearly triple the size of its freshman class.

Early decision and early action applications by students with their early deadlines, not only increase the odds of getting into the most competitive universities, but often increase the probability of receiving financial assistance.

The total pool of available money diminishes by the regular admissions deadlines at the start of the calendar year.

David Dickson is an admissions counselor at Top Test Prep which offers private tutoring and test preparation prep. Call (800) 501-Prep today.

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The following is an article on the Ten Most Environmentally Conscious Universities…

Here’s the college ranking:

1. University of Washington, Seattle
The hydro-powered campus runs three farms, an extensive recycling program, and the conservation-research hotbed Pack Forest.

2. Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT
The school’s agricultural projects are an experiment in fossil-free farming. Instead of tractors, draft animals do much of the work.

3. University of California, San Diego
The institution’s cogeneration plant provides up to 85 percent of the school’s electricity, and heats more than 6 million square feet of building interiors.

4. Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC
Students grow trees, alfalfa, and corn and raise cows, pigs, and chickens on the school’s 250-acre farm.

5. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Almost two-thirds of Stanford’s 8, 180-acre campus is undeveloped open space, including the 1,200 acre Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, where students and faculty learn how climate change affects local biodiversity.

6. University of California, Irvine
One of America’s most energy efficient campuses has a cogeneration facility that produces heat and electricity that meets most of its power needs.

7. University of California, Santa Cruz
The fight against trash includes eschewing dining trays and bottled water, contributing to a water diversion rate of 84 percent.

8. University of California, San Diego
The university excels in nurturing sustainable methods of food production and has a new Brewery, Winery, and Food Science Laboratory.

9. Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
With a goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2020, students pay a self-imposed fee of $1 each academic quarter to buy renewable-energy credits to offset the college’s electricity consumption.

10. Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
As part of its plan to be carbon neutral by 2016, the school installed a woodchip-powered cogeneration system that halved its oil consumption.

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David Dickson is a writer and admissions counselor for Top Test Prep; Top Test Prep offers exclusive private tutoring programs that helps students gain admission to top schools through private admissions counseling.

(credit also to: The Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group, has released its list of the ten most environmentally conscious universities)

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The Basics of Electronic College Applications

What should you know about college applications in the high tech era? A brief explanation follows.

I. How to submit your college applications (options):

The Common Application: With 456 participating schools, it allows you to fill out one application. State schools participating include the University of Michigan and UNC Chapel Hill.
The Universal College Application: The name is deceiving since it includes only 59 schools to whom you can submit a single application.
State and School Specific Electronic Applications: Many large state schools and selective private institutions such as Georgetown and MIT have their own applications that can be found on their web-site.

How to submit your high school transcripts:
An increasing number of high schools are using eDocs through Naviance to send the transcripts electronically to your schools. Paper forms for sending transcripts through the mail, however, can still be picked up at many high school guidance offices.

How to send test scores:
Students must request that test scores be sent to all of their colleges by the deadlines. You can request your scores through Request SAT scores, and Request ACT scores. When you sign up for the ACT’s or SAT’s, use the same legal name and e-mail for all subsequent application materials to avoid confusion.

Follow-Up is the Key
Assume it will take two to four weeks or your application to be processed. If its arrival has not been confirmed in four weeks, call to clarify its status and whether there are any missing pieces.

David Dickson is a counselor with Top Test Prep which offers tutoring and test preparation with admissions experts who will help you gain admission to your top schools. For information on SAT Prep Tutoring, and ACT Prep Tutoring, or general college admissions, call (800) 501-Prep.

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College Applications and Attendance Up As Value of College Degree Grows
Recently released findings from the National Association of College Admissions Counseling and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shed light on the state of American higher education and the continued value of a college degree.

1. College Applications Have Increased
In 2010, 73 percent of colleges saw an increase in the number of applicants. Only 19 percent of schools reported a decrease in applicants.

2. Matriculation is Up
In 2009, a record 20.4 million students were enrolled in a post-secondary institution. This number is expected to reach 23 million by 2020.

3. Overall Acceptance Rates High, but Not At Competitive National Schools
While four-year schools accept 66 percent of applicants on average, this percentage drops to the low double and single digits at the most competitive institutions nationally.

4. Workers with College Degrees Earn Much More and Have Significantly Lower Unemployment Rates
A bachelor’s degree holder earns about $53, 976 annually on average, whereas a high school graduate averages less than $21,454 per year. Moreover, the unemployment rate for individuals with a bachelor’s degree was 5.4 percent in 2010, as opposed to 10.3 percent for those with only high school diplomas.

David Dickson is a counselor with Top Test Prep; To learn more about SAT private tutoring and ACT Private Tutoring, simply call 1-800-501-7737.

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[This article discusses how to approach getting the best college recommendations]

College recommendations are an important part of your college application package. Recommendations can set you apart from other applicants and provide the admissions committee with personalized insights. How should you approach them?

1. Read the Fine Print
The number of letters required and the positions of those who are to write them can vary from one school to another. Some schools provide hard copies of the recommendations forms, while others encourage online recommendations.

2. Plan Ahead
Know your deadlines and give as much time as possible. At least three or four weeks prior to the application deadline would be preferable.

3. Ask, Don’t Assume
Ask recommenders whether they can write a strong recommendation on your behalf and meet the deadline.

4. Assist Your Recommenders with the Process
Provide recommenders with a copy of your transcript and an information sheet, known as a brag sheet, which lists your honors, and extra-curricular and community activities.

5. Simplify the Process

Supply recommenders with stamped envelopes addressed to the college admissions office if they are not doing them online.

6. Consider Your Future Major
Solicit recommendations from teachers in your future major.

7. Evaluate Who Can Help You Most
It may be a teacher in a course in which you excelled or where you struggled initially but then turned things around. A teacher in the latter course could testify to your perseverance.

8. Reconnect with Your Recommenders
A week prior to the deadline, get in touch with your recommenders to confirm that the letters have been mailed.

9. Confirm Receipt
Follow up with colleges to ensure that your application folder is complete. If the college recommendations are being submitted online, note your user name and password for each college.

10. Express Thanks to the Recommenders
Send a handwritten note to your recommenders once all materials are in and provide them with the results of your college applications.

David Dickson is a counselor with Top Test Prep; Top Test Prep offers private tutoring and test prep to help students gain admission to top prep schools, colleges and grad schools. Call (800) 501-7737 to learn more.

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[This article helps students understand the right and wrong reasons for selecting a college.]

As a college faculty member and administrator for more than a generation and the father of a college student, I have seen too many families choose colleges for the wrong reasons. Here are a few common mistakes students make in choosing a college:

1. My Friends Are Going There
College is an opportunity to meet new people and have learning experiences outside as well as inside of the classroom. Broaden your horizons and avoid the temptation to replicate your high school social circle in college.

2. I Like the Climate
Few relish cold weather, but you can do Club Med during your vacation time or following college. Your focus should be on a school’s academics. Moreover, it is not regional prejudice to observe that a disproportionate percentage of America’s strongest colleges are in the relatively cold northeast, upper mid-west, and northwest regions. Freeze now and thrive later!

3. They Have Great Sports Teams
As an ardent college sports fan this is a difficult one for me to concede, but college is an investment in the rest of your life and academic quality must be prioritized. Besides, every sporting event you could desire is only a click away on ESPN or on your computer.

4. It Is Cheaper Than Other Schools
While one must have a consciousness of finances, cheaper can often mean fewer student and faculty resources and academic inferiority. It may be in your interest to make a short-term financial sacrifice so you can go to a more expensive but better school. The payoff will be superior graduate school opportunities and better paying jobs for the rest of your life. Moreover, elite private schools have more generous financial aid programs than their less expensive public or private counterparts. You might even ultimately end up paying less.
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What should you look for in a college? A short list of factors would include student selectivity, faculty and student resources, retention and graduation rates, and average class size, all of which can be found in US News and World Report’s annual “Best Colleges” issue. Additional factors such as class size in your possible major, and placement rates in strong graduate programs and good jobs will require you to make inquiries with faculty and staff members.

Top Test Prep’s academic counselors can assist you in finding and getting into your top colleges, and its private tutors and admissions programs can assist you in your test preparation.

David Dickson is a counselor with Top Test Prep; Call (800) 501-7737 or visit Top Test Prep education and test prep programs.

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