Top Tips for Selecting High-Impact Extracurricular Activities
Today’s students have to balance many competing obligations. With rigorous course loads, standardized test prep, family obligations, and after-school jobs, they often don’t have much time for extracurricular activities. Yet, as we’ve noted before, extracurricular commitments are a crucial part […]
The Legacy and Wealth “Hook” at Elite Colleges
We are often asked if being a legacy applicant is a benefit in admissions. “If my mom went to College X does it increase my odds of being admitted?” Typically, your parent having gone to the college to which you […]
March Madness: The College Admissions Edition
And so it begins. A little more than a week after Operation Varsity Blues was made public (a different kind of March madness), the NCAA’s annual men’s and women’s basketball tournaments took the country by storm with their Cinderella stories, […]
Athletic Recruiting: The Scandal and the Reality
Athletic recruiting in lower-profile sports programs was at the center of the recent admissions scandal, along with special accommodations and cheating on college admissions testing. Former Georgetown tennis coach George Ernst allegedly accepted bribes to help 12 students earn admission as […]
TTA Comments on Recent College Admissions Scandal
The admissions process at the nation’s most competitive colleges and universities is a confusing, stressful, and opaque one. The news about the national bribery and cheating scheme run by an individual calling himself a “college counselor” in Newport Beach, California, […]
Class of 2023: Regular Decision Notification Dates
Punxsutawney Phil predicted a rare early spring on Groundhog Day 2019. Here in the Northeast, thoughts of early spring give us hope… and remind us that regular decision notification dates are almost upon us! Waiting can be the worst, especially […]
The New “X” Factor for Getting into Top Colleges
post by Dr. Michele Hernandez Twenty years ago, admissions to top colleges was much more formulaic. Applicant pools were smaller, more homogeneous, and more self-selecting. Each college had its own application that students filled out by hand. Most high schools […]
Core Values and Fit: Key in College Admissions
Reflecting on the early admissions cycle that has just completed, we are drawn to this excerpt from Bowdoin’s decision letter. In it, Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule, signaled very clearly what Bowdoin values in its selection process and why. Operating […]
You’ve Been Accepted, Now What?
You’ve been admitted early to your dream school – now what? As you head back to school in the new year, you have that telltale spring in your step. Admitted last month to your dream school in the early admissions […]
Colleges Without Supplemental Essays
Back when the Common Application was newly launched, life was a bit simpler for our essay writing rising seniors! Supplemental essays used by colleges were practically an afterthought. With increased competition across the board at all colleges coupled with high […]
