FAQ’s & College Application
Terminology

Regardless of where you are in the college admissions process, there are some basic aspects of
the application process you should know about. Here are some common questions and
definitions that may help you better understand what you’re doing.

FAQ’s

Why does my child need to work with someone other than his or her school counselor?
Many of today’s high school counselors have large student caseloads and cannot dedicate much in the way of individual time to students. In addition to handling your child’s college advice, they are also responsible, on a daily basis, for test administration, student discipline, family issues, course selection, and more! Many school counselors and administrators are pleased when parents collaborate with outside advisors because they know their students’ needs will be met.
Can the parent stay involved in the process?
We let that be a family decision as to how much you would like to be involved. However, we do like to say that this experience is meant to “Empower the student”, which means we set them up to make decisions they feel confident about regarding their future and college. After all, once they get to college, they will need to start making many decisions on their own and be able to feel good about doing so.
Is College Admissions Strategies an SAT/ACT tutoring company?
We do not tutor students on the standardized tests; however, we have programs to help them figure out where their strengths and weaknesses are with the SAT and ACT tests. We also have a great online test prep program that works to identify those weaker spots, so they focus on what they don’t know. We also have community partners that we collaborate with if the student needs additional in-person help.
How will my child find the time?
We get it! Students and families are busier now more than ever and trying to fit one more thing in can be overwhelming at times. We suggest an earlier start the better for our students, so they are not rushed to fit everything in before application time. However, everything we do is by virtual meetings, so we can meet when and where works best for your family. We work on a time management plan with the student so they know how much time will be needed to meet certain goals.

College Application Terminology

Early Decision

An early decision applicant applies to his/her dream college in the fall. However, there are crucial differences to note between early action and early decision! For instance, you can only apply to one school using the early decision option, and you should only apply to this one school if you really want to go there, because if you’re accepted then you’re committed to attending. If you’re a competitive candidate, you stand a better chance to be admitted under Early Decision.

Early Action

Students applying to a school using the early action option will usually submit their completed applications by mid-October or mid-November and hear back from colleges by January. However, being accepted via early action does not commit the applicant to that particular college or university, and students usually don’t need to inform the college of whether to expect them at orientation or not until May 1st. The acceptance percentage is higher than that of the regular decision pool.

Rolling Admission

An admissions policy whereby colleges/universities will accept applications at any time, up until a final deadline OR until all of their available spots are full – the window for applying is usually more than six months long.