By Lee Shulman Bierer I used to insist that students make an appointment with their teachers after school to request, in person, a letter of recommendation. I used to tell them to read the teacher's body language to make sure they would look at this as...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Whether I'm leading a workshop on navigating the college admissions process or getting stopped in the frozen food aisle at the supermarket, here are some of the most common questions parents ask. The easy A: Is it better to take a lower-level...
Early Admissions Trends: Class of 2024 With Class of 2024 results now coming in on the early admissions round at top colleges and universities around the country, here is our expert assessment on what we’ve learned thus far. We’ll continue to update our information as more...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Notifications for Early Decision (ED), Restricted Early Action (REA) and Single Choice Early Action (SCEA) have been delivered. This year, as in previous years, there were many more tears than fist-bumps. This following list prepared by College Kickstart (www.college-kickstart.com) was released and includes:...
By Lee Shulman Bierer There’s no wiggle room for stupid mistakes when some colleges are receiving over 30,000 applications and acceptance rates can be in the single digits. It’s true that not every school is as selective as those in the Ivy League, but gaffs that cause...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Last week I shared information about two early admissions programs: Early Action (EA) and Early Decision (ED). Early Action is where colleges have earlier deadlines (October 15 – December 1) and they notify students earlier (December – January) and students are not required...
By Lee Shulman Bierer It would be easy, to assume that with the increase in popularity of online applications (www.commonapp.org, www.mycoalition.org and www.universalcollegeapp.com, that a variety of decisions would be streamlined for college applicants. Unfortunately, it’s just not the case. Colleges appreciate the benefits of the common...
By Lee Shulman Bierer When students apply to college via Early Decision- ED (binding) or Early Action-EA (non-binding) programs there are earlier deadlines and earlier notification. Most students expect one of two outcomes: acceptance or rejection. So, some students are surprised and confused when they receive...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Letters of recommendation carry varying weight, depending on the perspective of the college or university and who writes them. The more selective colleges may ask for two or three recommendation letters. Questions abound: Who should you ask? What are they used for?...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Many students have either just made or will be making the big decision whether or not to apply Early Decision (ED) within the next few days. November 1 at 11:59 pm is the official deadline for most colleges and universities with an...
