LEE SHULMAN BIERER Imagine yourself on the other side of the college admissions desk. It’s not so glorious, apparently, or at least you need to be thick-skinned and good-natured. Joseph Connolly, a guidance counselor at New Oxford High School in New Oxford, Pa., wanted to know the pet...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by Wofford College/Mark Olencki One of the least favorite things a guidance counselor likes to hear from a senior in September or October is, “I am going to apply early decision, I just don’t know where.” Early decision is a binding proposition. A student...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER The world of college admissions is always full of surprises and changes. Veteran parents and younger siblings of students who have been through the process before are undoubtedly familiar with the Common Application. For the newbies, it’s precisely what its name describes – a...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo by UNC Asheville, which uses the Common Application. The Common Application, commonly referred to as Common App, a not-for-profit membership organization that is committed to advancing college access, recently added 38 new members. Four are from North Carolina: Appalachian State University, Barton College,...
LEE SHULMAN BIERER The dreaded wait-list. You weren’t rejected, but you weren’t accepted either. The wait-list means the colleges like you well-enough, they just don’t love you enough to accept you. They want to keep you hanging on until they find out if they’re loved back by...
This is it. Many students have either just made or will be making the big decision whether or not to apply Early Decision (ED) within the next day or so; November 1 at 11:59pm is the official deadline for most colleges and universities with an...
Applying early, does it make sense? Ready or not, the college application season has begun. And early or not is the question. I know I’m not the only one who feels the college application process seems to be creeping earlier each year. There used to be a...
You would have hoped that after you go through the college search process and you've identified a number of schools that represent a good fit that you wouldn't have to face another decision until students receive their thin and thick envelopes next spring. Unfortunately, that isn't...
Consider saying “no.” Being offered a spot on a college’s wait-list is stressful, unsettling, demoralizing and for some, just not worth the wait. One student who said “no thanks” to Harvard’s wait-list described it this way, “I didn’t like being wait-listed. It felt like a consolation...
Once you’ve planned your campus visits over spring break (see last week’s column www.collegeadmissionsstrategies.com) juniors and their families need to focus on the “three R’s.” No, not “Reading, (W)Riting and (A)Rithmetic,” but rather: Research, Resume and Recommendations. Research: Spend the time determining if a college represents a good...
