Mr. K's College Knowledge

Hey Everyone, This is a post from last year that I thought would be good to recycle...enjoy! As seniors are waiting for and receiving decisions for their Early Decision and Early Action applications for colleges, I wanted to share some tips to help when receiving admissions decisions from colleges. Ø    If you have been accepted to a school through Early Decision, you should  withdraw  your applications from any other colleges you have applied to or were planning on applying to. Remember, with Early Decision, you, your parent, and school counselor all signed an agreement, that if accepted this would be the school you would attend. Ø    If you have been deferred from Early Decision or Early Action to regular decision, do not get upset, as you still have a chance. For ED, you are no longer committed to attending the school, even if you are accepted through regular decision, so more options have just opened up. To be deferred means the college lik...

Here we are...October 4th, and the applications are flying and the confusion is intense. With so many different college deadlines, application types, writing supplements, and forms that need to be completed, I'd imagine students and parents are already wishing the college application process was over! Well, while the college process will not be official over until May 1st, I do have some good news. For the first time, the FAFSA is now open well before January 1st. You may be wondering why this is a good thing...just more paperwork right? Well that is true, but in the long run, this should be a benefit to students and families...hopefully. For the 2017-2018 college academic year, families can now complete the FAFSA using their 2015 tax return. In the past, families would need to wait until after January 1st, file their taxes, then use that year's information to complete the FAFSA. This would only give school's a month or so to receive the information and send families a ...

Hey Everyone, I hope the summer is going well for you and all of you rising seniors and juniors are making plans to visit colleges this summer, as you know, I feel it is the only way to truly know if the school is a right fit for you. I am currently in Williamsburg, Virginia in the middle of a 7-college tour. Yesterday, I saw the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond. Later today, I will be going down the street to check out the College of William and Mary, then I am off to Elon, UNC, Wake Forest, and Davidson to round out my trip. I will pick a few schools to blog about during this trip, so please check out the blog over the next couple of weeks, and if you have twitter, follow the Xavier Guidance Twitter account for live updates and pictures from my trip @XHSGuidance. Overall Information Today, I want to spotlight, the University of Richmond , located in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond is home to incredible academics, the Spiders as their mascot, and my wife's a...

Many of you know that I recently traveled to six New England colleges and universities to better acquaint  myself with the schools' academics, student life, location, and overall environment. I was able to tour the schools, chat with current students, and connect with admissions counselors at each stop along my trip. This was a great experience for me, as I was able to dig deep into each school, and truly understand what they are all about, and this will hopefully allow me to better guide and counselor future students going through the college search and application process. I also believe that the connections I made with the admissions counselors at each school will be invaluable in the coming years throughout this process. I am looking forward to sharing with all of you some information, personal insight, and a few pictures from each schools over the next two weeks. During my trip I visited Yale University, Trinity College, Harvard University, Boston College, Dartmouth College,...

As I am set to embark on a 3-day, 6-college tour of some of the more selective private colleges in New England, I came across this article from USA Today . Recently, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont officially introduced a new bill, titled the "College for All Act", which would eliminate undergraduate tuition at all 4-year public colleges and universities. Also, for all of those people who have graduated from college and are currently swimming in debt, the bill would also decrease interest rates on student loans, from 4.32 to 2.32%. This article describes how the bill would work, and the benefits for everyone. Please check it out, and let's all hope that this bill is a reality one day, or at least that the price of college gets under control. Enjoy the article, and as always, happy searching! Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

Hey Everyone, Please enjoy this article from the New York Times, entitled, "The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much" It is an interesting read about the continuing increase in tuition. Please click the link above to access the article. Enjoy! -Joseph D. Korfmacher

The next student written blog about the college process is from senior,  Gianluca Milea. He has a ton of great advice and experience to share. Enjoy! The college process can be very intimidating at times.  While it is very important to have numerous options, I found it difficult to apply to a limited number of schools.  Although Xavier does not put a maximum on how many schools to which you are allowed to apply, application fees are very expensive and at the end of the day you will only be attending one college.  To begin the process, I visited a myriad of schools, some of which were unrealistic options for me.  After visiting four schools in two days, I decided to create guidelines for my potential college.  While academic rigor is essential, there are many other factors that go into a final college decision: food, campus life, off-campus life, greek life, religious affiliation, athletic programs, housing, location and possibly two of the most i...

We are all familiar with the high costs associated with pursuing a college education. But remember, there are many options out there to collect scholarships and financial aid. And some are more out-of-the-box that you may expect. Take Raise.me for example. I recently had the opportunity to meet with a Raise.me rep, a new organization that is partnering with colleges across the country to help families rack up "micro-scholarships" against the astronomical costs of higher education. Starting in 9th grade, students can accrue these small, conditional scholarships from colleges for accomplishments such as getting an 'A' in science class, making the Varsity swim team, being involved in community service, partaking in various extracurricular activities, and much more. If you wind up attending a school you've selected through Raise.me, the micro scholarships you've built up will be applied to your tuition. The process is very simple; go to their website , creat...

What many people want from college isn't too complicated. They desire a good education, a safe and comfortable environment, to be prepared for the workforce, and to not break the bank to attend the school. With soaring college costs and a competitive job landscape, it is more important than ever to find that perfect fit, where students will be challenged, graduate with marketable skills, and will not have loans to pay for the next 20 years. The website 'Money' recently came out with a list for colleges that are the best bang-for-your-buck. As you will see, many of them are some of the most selective schools in the country, but it is certainly worth a look. You can view the list here on their site . As always, happy searching! -Joseph D. Korfmacher, MA

As seniors are waiting for and receiving decisions for their Early Action and Early Decision applications for colleges, I wanted to share some tips on when receiving admissions decisions from colleges. Ø   If you have been accepted to a school through Early Decision, you should withdraw your applications from any other colleges you have applied to or were planning on applying to. Remember, with Early Decision, you, your parent, and school counselor all signed an agreement, that if accepted this would be the school you would attend. Ø   If you have been deferred from Early Decision or Early Action to regular decision, do not get upset, as you still have a chance. For ED, you are no longer committed to attending the school, even if you are accepted through regular decision, so more options have just opened up. To be deferred means the college liked what they saw in your application, but they need a little more information and time before potentially accepting you. For t...

As all of the seniors are in the busiest part of the college admissions process, I’m sure most people are counting down the days until they are finished with completing applications, writing essays, finalizing the college list, and paying for those application fees! Juniors most likely are just beginning to explore what colleges are out there and are beginning to think about what and where they want to study during their four years of higher education. Wherever you are in the college search and application process, I think it is always good to hear about more schools you may not have thought about. I recently was able to be part of a 2-day, 3-college tour with counselors from across the country. During the trip, we visited Wheaton College, Emerson College, and Providence College. These three very different colleges were an absolute joy to visit, and I want to share some information with you on all three of these schools. Trust me, there are some schools I would not recommend to my stu...

I am very happy to bring all of you some great information on Susquehanna University . I’ve personally visited their campus, and it is a terrific place for any type of student to spend their college years. Please take some time to read these highlights on the school, sent to me from their admissions team. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, and as always, happy searching! Susquehanna University, located in Selinsgrove, PA., educates students in the liberal arts and sciences and provides them with real-world, professional experiences through the School of Arts and Sciences and the  Sigmund Weis School of Business . The business school ranks among the top 5% of business programs worldwide to have earned AACSB accreditation, a marker of excellence. Recognized by the New York Times as one of the  10 most economically diverse colleges  in the nation, Susquehanna was also named a Best Northeastern College by the Princeton Review’s 2015 Best 379 Colleges. O...

Saint Peter’s University - This is a small (little over 2,000 students) in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is New Jersey’s only Jesuit University. Their top programs are business, criminal justice, and education, where students are licensed to teach in both New Jersey and New York upon graduation. They have a newly renovated school of education and school of business, with a new stock room. They offer a great study abroad program primarily in Barcelona and Seoul for interested students. Although 50% of students commute, housing is available all four years. 97% of students receive financial aid, but the merit scholarships are what make Saint Peter’s a great catch. All accepted students are awarded at LEAST a $12,000 scholarship towards tuition and $2,000 towards room and board. Also, students with a 3.5 GPA and 1300 SAT (Math and Critical Reading) are in the running for a full scholarship, in which 40 are given out each year. All applicants are also given free applications, which save y...

The fall is a busy time for everyone involved in college admissions, and for me, part of my job is to learn about new trends at colleges and help spread the word about interesting college programs and updates at schools across the country. As information comes across my desk and I listen to admission representatives speak to students during visits, I want to update families about the pieces of information I think everyone should know. These following “quick-hitters” should provide you with tips, trends, and general helpful advice about schools you may be interested in applying to. Hampshire College (Amherst, MA): Will now NOT accept test scores as part of the admissions process. While there are many test-optional schools out there, Hampshire is one of the first colleges to be test-blind, in that they consider all parts of the applicant, but will not look at SAT or ACT scores. St. Bonaventure (St. Bonaventure, NY): Fantastic business program, especially finance and accounting....

Seniors and parents, January 1 st has finally come. Yes, the holidays were great, and celebrating the New Year is always a blast…but the biggest event to celebrate is that the FAFSA is finally live. OK, so completing the FAFSA isn’t the most fun activity in the world, but it is important. In order to receive any financial aid for college, students and their parents must complete the FAFSA online. The website is www.fafsa.ed.gov and the very first word in FAFSA is “free”. There is a FAFSA.com out there, but there is no need to do this one. That website will charge you and offers nothing more than the real FAFSA. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid will use the family’s previous tax returns to estimate how much a family can afford to pay for college and how much aid they can receive. Government aid in forms of grants, loans, and scholarships can potentially come from completing the FAFSA. In the simplest of terms, a family will complete the FAFSA, and the system will even...

As you are all aware, this is both a stressful and exciting time in your lives as seniors and parents of seniors. Many of you have applied to colleges, and others are working on submitting their applications in the next couple of months. Now there is quite a bit of time between waiting for an admission decision, discovering the financial aid package, and selecting the college you will attend. In many cases, a big part of selecting a college will depend on the ability to actually pay for that school. Although most private colleges and universities will average anywhere from $40,000-$60,000 per year in total cost of attendance, the financial aid they offer will vary greatly from next to nothing, to a whole lot of dough. In order for families to be considered for any type of financial aid, families must complete the FAFSA (more information on this below) after January 1 st . Many schools also require families to complete the CSS Profile, which can be completed now. Both of these syst...