College Admissions Help Blog

The US Dept of Education's IPEDS (Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System) contains information on all 7,000+ officially-recognized institutions of higher education in the United States. We present a list of the 20 largest institutions of higher education by "12-month unduplicated headcount," meaning it is the number of unique individuals who enrolled in at least one class during the 12 months of 2009. Whether a system of individual campuses is counted as one or multiple institutions depends on how that institution is accredited and chartered. All data can be verified on the IPEDS system website. (more...)

Of all of the qualifying criteria a student is judged on, such as high school transcripts and extracurricular activities, standardized test scores seem to incite the most panic from college-bound students. Whether it is because it seems like such a definitive number to be judged on, or because you are not the “testing type”, it is important to know this isn’t the only factor colleges consider.  In this post we break down the relative importance of test scores in the college admissions process and offer a little more background about the tests to put you at ease! (more…)

Below are a list of options for network in the College Counseling, Admissions and Financial Aid Field.


http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=1771062  - "College Counselors : Admissions and Financial Aid"

https://groups.google.com/group/admissions-professionals?hl=en

http://groupspaces.com/NACAC/

Feel free to list others in the comments section below.

Below are a list of options for network in the College Counseling, Admissions and Financial Aid Field.


http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=1771062  - "College Counselors : Admissions and Financial Aid"

https://groups.google.com/group/admissions-professionals?hl=en

http://groupspaces.com/NACAC/

Feel free to list others in the comments section below.

Q: I’ve gone to a couple of college fairs, but I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do or what questions to ask. Do you have any advice?

A: If you’re like most high school students, navigating a college fair can be awkward, confusing, and frustrating. You’re bombarded with information but might not know where to turn exactly. This is why I am going to help you navigate the seemingly endless rows of college booths, in the hopes that you start your college search on the right foot.

Register

So let’s start at the beginning. In order to attend most college fairs, you will first need to register (unless it’s as a class field trip for example). The National Association for College Admission Counseling hosts national college fairs every spring and fall, and for many cities, you can register online. These fairs are free and open to the public, plus, you can get a list of colleges that will be exhibiting online before you go.
(more…)

F stands for FUN!!!!?
By Marcia Y. Cantarella, Author, I CAN Finish College: The Overcome Any Obstacle and Get Your Degree Guide.

Fun

Especially if you go away to college it is like all the blocks to fun are removed. No more parents watching and nagging about when you get home, no one checking how many beers you had or if you used a condom. Whoo whoo—college is a party! That is why there are those lists of the best party schools. And if your school is not on the list then you will fix that!

Truth is fun is fun. It is a good thing. We all need some of it in our lives. A good belly laugh or pick-up basketball game can even extend your life and keep you healthy. Relationships are supposed to be fun (not that they always are) and it is healthy to have strong social ties and networks for both professional and personal gratification. So hanging out is fun and good for you. I am all for fun. Do it myself a lot. But there is this other word—BALANCE. That is key when you think of fun. You cannot succeed in college and have all fun all the time. You need to work some, sleep some, eat some, and play—some. Balance it all out.

The worst case scenarios for college students are the ones that began as fun and ended badly. The drunken car accident that takes a life is not fun anymore. The fight that escalates to someone getting really hurt and hospitalized is not fun. Date rape is not fun. Throwing up is not fun. Being expelled is not fun. Falling off the campus monument and breaking a leg is not fun. Failing your courses because you were too hung over to get to class or do the work is not fun. Failing classes because you were in your room gaming is not fun. Explaining to your family that scraped and saved to send you to college why you are coming home because you were too busy having fun is not fun. Losing your financial aid because you failed classes having fun is not fun.

There is something in the hormonal make-up of those under 30 that, it is suggested, lead to feelings of invulnerability. The bad stuff happens to other people, but won’t happen to you. There is a reason young folks go to war. That invulnerability allows them to take risks that those of us older and wiser would call nuts. But bad stuff does happen. There are whole websites devoted to that bad stuff like hazing deaths and drunk driving outcomes and ugliness resulting from substance abuse. Things that start as fun when taken to extremes are not fun in the end.

So there is another word you need to learn in college and it is NO. That is no, thanks, no more beer. Or no thanks I can’t go out tonight. Or no that is nuts and I am not doing it. Or no that is wrong and I am not doing it. Or no this is not fun anymore. This is not to suggest that you have No fun. But that you have sane fun, balanced fun. Fun that won’t make you fail.

( For more on this topic in detail see I CAN Finish College chapters 6, 8 and 9. www.icanfinishcollege.com)

F stands for FUN!!!!?
By Marcia Y. Cantarella, Author, I CAN Finish College: The Overcome Any Obstacle and Get Your Degree Guide.

Fun

Especially if you go away to college it is like all the blocks to fun are removed. No more parents watching and nagging about when you get home, no one checking how many beers you had or if you used a condom. Whoo whoo—college is a party! That is why there are those lists of the best party schools. And if your school is not on the list then you will fix that!

Truth is fun is fun. It is a good thing. We all need some of it in our lives. A good belly laugh or pick-up basketball game can even extend your life and keep you healthy. Relationships are supposed to be fun (not that they always are) and it is healthy to have strong social ties and networks for both professional and personal gratification. So hanging out is fun and good for you. I am all for fun. Do it myself a lot. But there is this other word—BALANCE. That is key when you think of fun. You cannot succeed in college and have all fun all the time. You need to work some, sleep some, eat some, and play—some. Balance it all out.

The worst case scenarios for college students are the ones that began as fun and ended badly. The drunken car accident that takes a life is not fun anymore. The fight that escalates to someone getting really hurt and hospitalized is not fun. Date rape is not fun. Throwing up is not fun. Being expelled is not fun. Falling off the campus monument and breaking a leg is not fun. Failing your courses because you were too hung over to get to class or do the work is not fun. Failing classes because you were in your room gaming is not fun. Explaining to your family that scraped and saved to send you to college why you are coming home because you were too busy having fun is not fun. Losing your financial aid because you failed classes having fun is not fun.

There is something in the hormonal make-up of those under 30 that, it is suggested, lead to feelings of invulnerability. The bad stuff happens to other people, but won’t happen to you. There is a reason young folks go to war. That invulnerability allows them to take risks that those of us older and wiser would call nuts. But bad stuff does happen. There are whole websites devoted to that bad stuff like hazing deaths and drunk driving outcomes and ugliness resulting from substance abuse. Things that start as fun when taken to extremes are not fun in the end.

So there is another word you need to learn in college and it is NO. That is no, thanks, no more beer. Or no thanks I can’t go out tonight. Or no that is nuts and I am not doing it. Or no that is wrong and I am not doing it. Or no this is not fun anymore. This is not to suggest that you have No fun. But that you have sane fun, balanced fun. Fun that won’t make you fail.

( For more on this topic in detail see I CAN Finish College chapters 6, 8 and 9. www.icanfinishcollege.com)

By Marcia Y. Cantarella, PhD, Author of I CAN Finish College: The Overcome Any Obstacle and Get Your Degree Guide

When we think of F the word that comes to mind is failure. (Then there is the other “F” word, but we will not go there here…) When you think of F in relationship to college life it is a screaming panic letter invested with all kinds of power. Who knew that your entire life was wrapped up in one little letter of the alphabet? But in reality F before it becomes failure (which is not, by the way, a terminal state) also can stand for Fear, Finances, and Fun. Those other F words are the ones that can lead to failing to complete college or to failing grades—which can also lead to failing to complete college.

(more...)

It’s that time of year again when students are patiently awaiting their college acceptance letters. By this point, you have hopefully completed and filed your FAFSA, so now all you have to do is wait, right? Not quite. There are still some important tasks to complete during these upcoming weeks.

Check your Student Aid Report

For those students who filed their FAFSAs way back in January, by now you should have your Student Aid Report. It is imperative that you look over this document carefully, as any errors can affect the amount of aid you are offered. Should you find an error, make sure to get it amended ASAP.
(more…)

Edvisors Announces Acquisition of College Admission Website CollegeToolkit.com

Quincy, MA (Vocus/PRWEB) February 09, 2011

Edvisors (www.edvisors.com) recently expanded its scale and resources with the addition of CollegeToolKit to its network of sites. More than 2.4 million students visit CollegeToolkit every year in addition to the 15 million students who visited the Edvisors network in 2010. The site delivers innovative and exciting college admission products and services to the high school and college student demographic. CollegeToolkit specifically has the best catalogue of calculators and PDFs. These valuable resources will now be available to 10 times as many students as part of Edvisors.