Mr. K's College Knowledge

Hey Everyone, A big part of the college process for most families is finding a way to pay for the cost of tuition, room and board, meals, books, travel, and other expenses. If the total cost of college isn't terrifying enough, the search and application process for scholarships certainly is daunting, to say the least. Most colleges will offer merit scholarships to students just for applying to college and getting accepted, but for the majority of students, there is still a gap that needs to be met, and financial aid does not usually cover all of that. So because of that, most students are forced to sift through hundreds of outside scholarships, find out which ones they are eligible for and then spend hours completing the scholarship application, often requiring a ton of personal information and writing samples. This hard work often can result in receiving free money to use toward's college expenses, but in general, the entire process is arduous, time consuming, and students...

Hey Everyone! With Thanksgiving only two days away, the Christmas music will be starting in just three days. It is hard to believe, but we can now see the end of the college application season, with January 1st being one of the biggest college deadlines. January through the end of April will be filled with a lot of joy as acceptance letters roll in, and seniors begin making their plans for collegiate life in the fall of 2018. January, into the early months of spring also mean another thing in the world of college admissions: the cycle begins again for current juniors, as this will be the time the majority of juniors begin taking the standardized college entrance exams: ACT and SAT. Although a growing number of colleges are going test-optional , which means they do not require (really!) SAT or ACT scores to be considered for admissions or scholarship money, the vast majority of colleges still use scores as a major part of the admissions process. Below, I will first give you a f...

Key Stats: ·           Location : Santa Clara, California (about an hour from San Francisco, and right next to San Jose) ·           Type : Private, Catholic Jesuit University, in a defined campus with a suburban surrounding ·           Size : Just about 5,500 total undergraduates ·           The total  cost of attendance  is just over $64,000 per year, but SCU does offer a good amount of financial aid and merit based scholarships .  Admissions Stats: Santa Clara University is a top ranked university in the country, and is a fairly selective school to get into. Last year, SCU had almost 16,000 applications and accepted about 7,600 students for an acceptance rate of 48%. Their average SAT score range for accepted students is: 1270-1450 and the average ACT score range for accepted ...

Hey Everyone, I had the pleasure of speaking with a representative from the University of East Anglia yesterday, and it sounds like a great opportunity for students potentially looking to study abroad. University of East Anglia is a medium sized university in the relatively small city of Norwich, England. For many, it can be tough to imagine going to college anywhere but in the United States, but it is important to have an open mind, and consider options outside of the states. For one, it can be CONSIDERABLY cheaper to study abroad, and it is a great opportunity to be immersed in a completely different culture and environment, and students can get some of the best education in countries outside the U.S. Below you will find a few highlights of the University of East Anglia and their website, so take a look, give it some thought, and truly imagine yourself completing your undergraduate years in another part of the world! UEA is located in a quintessential English city, very cozy,...

Hey Everyone, Visiting colleges is the single most important part of the college decision process. It is so important for students (and parents) to get on campus, walk around, see the people, and experience the environment...both physical and social. Whether you are a senior trying to figure out which college is best for you to attend from the ones you were accepted, a junior beginning to visit colleges on your list, or a sophomore/freshmen just beginning to get a taste for college, visiting schools is a must. Almost all colleges allow for visits throughout the school year and summer. When scheduling a college visit, you will want to try to attend an information session and a campus tour. This can be done by going to the college website, and to their admissions page. Most of the time you can select from a set of dates and times that work best for you. Then all you have to do is show-up on time and let the college take care of the rest. You can learn a lot about a school from thei...

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...

Last weekend, I flew to Boston, and took a bus 30 minutes to Easton, Massachusetts to visit Stonehill College . I spent two days there, learning about their community, academics, and meeting students, administration, and faculty. It was a wonderful opportunity to truly engulf myself and get a true understanding of what Stonehill College is all about. While there, there were a few key values about the school that became very clear; the Stonehill community is a family, where students receive an incredible education, are friendly to others, and truly want to help others, while improving themselves along the way. Stonehill has a quintessential New England campus on over 400 acres, where students are genuinely happy to be and receive a top notch education. Here’s everything you need to know about Stonehill College, plus my personal perspective below. Key Stats: Ø   Stonehill is a Catholic, Private, Holy Cross institution (same as Notre Dame) Ø   Stonehill opened in ...

Hey Everyone, As November 1st nears, seniors (and counselors) are officially in the thick of it all...sending out applications, getting back the latest SAT and ACT scores, and finalizing the college lists. It is a very exciting time, but a little scary as well...take a breath though, we will all get through it! For juniors, you are just beginning to think about potential colleges, and starting to line up your own SAT and ACT schedule...the possibilities are endless right now, so enjoy this time! I think at times we imagine admissions counselors to be these mythological people that live in a far away play, deciding the fate of our youth. In reality, admissions counselors are real people, with similar lives to all of us...some even have their own children going through the college application process! The New York Times recently interviewed a few admissions counselors from colleges across the country to ask them the type of advice they are giving their own teenagers who are applying ...

During the last week of summer, I was lucky enough to be invited to Lafayette College along with four other NYC college counselors. I hopped into a minivan with the four counselors, and the Lafayette College admissions representative behind the wheel, and an hour and twenty minutes later I arrived in Easton, PA to Lafayette’s beautiful suburban campus.  I spent the day there, learning more about the school’s academics, admissions, and overall community. Here’s everything you need to know about Lafayette College, plus my personal perspective below. Key Stats: ·          Location : Easton, Pennsylvania (the first exit leaving New Jersey) ·          Type : Medium-sized, private liberal arts college with a very strong engineering program ·          Size : 2,500 students in a residential campus/suburban setting ·       ...

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 you are all enjoying the last month of your summer! I wanted to share with you a past Xavier student's recount of his college process, to hopefully help you as rising juniors and seniors. Below is the college process of Sal LaRussa '15 and his advice for all students going through it now. Enjoy! When many students begin the process of applying to college they are nervous, confused, and do not know what they want to do with the rest of their lives which is completely acceptable. This was true for me as well, and I hope to explain my college process and advice that I have for students. My college process first began when I received letters sophomore year from many colleges and I was completely confused. I had just gotten comfortable at Xavier and now I felt I was being kicked out. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life so I continued to keep up my grades and study. Junior year came by and I began studying for the SAT. Many of my friends were ...