Mr. K's College Knowledge

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...

S o you are officially a senior...this is exciting right? Only one more year of high school and then you are off to pursue the major of your choice at hopefully the college of your choosing! Although many students would like the college application process to be over already, you still have many months left. Some of the more important months throughout this process are June, July and August. The summer is a crucial time to prepare, search, and begin to formalize your college application plans. It is definitely not a time to sit around and do nothing. So look at these following tips on ways you can best utilize your summer days to best prepare yourself for the fall when you finally apply to college! Get Involved:  Depending on the selectiveness of the colleges you are applying to, admissions counselors are looking for applicants who have done something positive during their time off. Whether it is traveling, taking a pre-college summer class, volunteering, or working, make sure...

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,...

The next student reflection on the college application process is written by senior, Sean Drennan. Enjoy! The college search and application process seems like a daunting task to many rising seniors. To myself it seemed like I had to get over a 10 foot fence. First researching and finding colleges that you would like to visit is a tough task. Getting down the location, size, and type of college you want to attend seems like an easy task but there's so many options that you don't even know where to start. After finding the list of colleges that you want to apply to, the application process comes into play. This was actually the easy part of the process for me. In order to make this part easier many schools that I applied to had rolling admissions or the deadlines were spread out from the months of November through January. This made the essays I had to write easier to spread out thus making them better for the admissions representatives. Another tip for college essays i...

So you are officially a senior...this is exciting right? Only one more year of high school and then you are off to pursue the major of your choice at hopefully the college of your choosing! Although many students would like the college application process to be over already, you still have many months left. Some of the more important months throughout this process are June, July and August. The summer is a crucial time to prepare, search, and begin to formalize your college application plans. It is definitely not a time to sit around and do nothing. So look at these following tips on ways you can best utilize your summer days to best prepare yourself for the fall when you finally apply to college! Get Involved: Depending on the selectiveness of the colleges you are applying to, admissions counselors are looking for applicants who have done something positive during their time off. Whether it is traveling, taking a pre-college summer class, volunteering, or working, make sure you ...

As many of you know by now, the SAT is getting a facelift in the next couple of years. These changes most likely will only affect current freshmen and the classes after them, as the new SAT will not appear until spring of 2016. However, I wanted to give you a breakdown of the basics of the changes that are coming our way. Overall, the SAT wanted to create a test that is tougher to prep for and is more relevant to what students are learning in the classroom. Below are the big changes: ·          The SAT is going back to 1600 points coming only from math and critical reading (2400 points had a good run, but it will be no more starting in 2016) ·          The essay will be optional (as with the ACT, the essay will be optional, but I would imagine students will want to take this part of the SAT) The essay will also be a combination of reading, comprehending, analyzing, and writing. ·   ...

The Common Application is new and there have been problems. This is no surprise. Hopefully, these following trips can help over the course of the next few weeks when many students are submitting their applications.  Early Decision agreements and outside recommenders: If you are applying to a school via early decision, you, a parent, and your counselor must approve this through signing an electronic document. This is done through the ‘assign recommenders’ section of the member school part of the CA. You will indicate that you are applying ED to one school, and then you will invite a parent. Make sure you accurately input their name and their email address. Then when you are done, you must assign the parent. Both of these steps must be done in order for the ED agreement to be sent. As long as you do your part on the CA and indicate on Naviance that you applying ED, your counselor will be able to submit his portion of the agreement. For additional outside recommenders, the s...

With the start of senior year only a few weeks away, take a moment to review the following list to put yourself in a good position to begin the college application process! Continue to visit schools: If you are able to get to college campuses during the school year, that is great, but it is not always possible. Although high school does not begin until September, many colleges start during the last week or two of August. It is best to see the school in session, and get the feel of the student body and what the school has to offer. Make sure to contact the undergraduate admissions office prior to the visit, to see if they offer an information session or guided tour while you are there. Work on narrowing down your college list: With application deadlines right around the corner, it is now time to eliminate some colleges from your list. You should end up with about 8-10 colleges on your list. Make sure to have at least 2-3 colleges that you are certain you will be accepted in...

    For current juniors, the next year will be a whirlwind of activity during the college application process. There are numerous elements of a student’s application profile that will be scrutinized by admissions counselors across the country. The transcript, testing scores, résumé, and many others will all be submitted and reviewed. While the transcript and testing scores are important quantitative measures for students, the college essay is often the most important qualitative measure that colleges will look at while reviewing a student. Admissions counselors put a ton of emphasis on this part of the application because it gives them an inside look into who the student really is as an individual. Of course, it will help them see how the applicant is as a writer, but more importantly it hopefully will allow them to connect to the student on many levels. If the admissions counselors are impressed with the essay, it can often be the turning point for students being accepted i...