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...
By Lee Shulman Bierer If I could only give every family one piece of advice about college admissions and the college application process it would be this: Dare to be different. Be different from the beginning – don’t wait like so many other people until...
By LEE SHULMAN BIERER Photo courtesy of Lees-McRae Right about now is when the first stage of mild panic seems to start brewing for many seniors. They wish they had done more thinking, and writing, on their essays over the summer, but, well, it just didn’t happen. Now,...
By Lee Shulman Bierer Carolina College Bound file photo It would be easy to assume that with the increase in the popularity of online applications – www.commonapp.org, www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org and www.universalcollegeapp.com – a variety of decisions would be streamlined for college applicants. Unfortunately, that is just not the case. Colleges appreciate the benefits of...
By: LEE SHULMAN BIERER Many students unwittingly treat letters of recommendation as an afterthought. They ask teachers and recommenders late in the process and often fail to provide them with sufficient tools to get the job done right. Big mistake. Letters of recommendation can often play a critical...
