Mr. K's College Knowledge

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting with two admissions representatives from Saint Anselm College for a presentation about their school. Saint Anselm College is located Manchester, New Hampshire, only about 4 hours from Manhattan. Saint Anselm, also referred to as Saint A's is a Catholic Benedictine Liberal Arts College with about 1,900 underclassmen. I will admit that I did not know as much about St. A's as I do with other schools, but after learning more today, this is a school I am eager to visit, and will recommend to many students in the future. Saint Anselm is situated in the beautiful city of Manchester , on a picturesque campus in New Hampshire. The school is only 1 hour from Boston and the ocean, and only 10 minutes from the airport. This is a place that embodies what a true college community is all about. It attracts students who are eager to participate in a liberal arts education where they will be challenged, but supported by peers, professors, and administrato...

January is a great time in college admissions. Most of the Early Decision and Early Action decisions have come in, and seniors’ college landscapes are starting to be filled in. The majority of students have finally finished all applications, and will be patiently waiting for those regular decisions to come in, most likely in March or April. Many students are receiving many acceptances, academic scholarships, and students are finally starting to see themselves at one or two specific colleges…reality is beginning to set in! However, even though there is a ton of good things happening now, many students also received unpleasant decisions from colleges in the early round with either denials or deferrals. From my desk, I have seen a trend lately of schools becoming more and more difficult to get into, even for the most competitive students. With more and more students applying to college with our country and across the world, many college application numbers are going through the roof, mea...

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

The University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia has started a new initiative that will certainly help students during their summer breaks. Richmond is now guaranteeing all students will be given $4,000 for a summer research or internship experience. This is called the Richmond Guarantee , which will help all students have the “opportunity to pursue the internship, research experience, creative project, or service learning opportunity that best complements their academic pursuits - in any field of endeavor, and in any part of the world.” Richmond is a terrific school with great academics, and is often in the top lists for most beautiful college campuses. Only 5 ½ hours away from New York City, it is a perfect distance for students who want to get away, but not be too far from home. With just under 3,000 students, the school offers an abundance of majors, with business related degrees being their most popular. Richmond has always been a school worth considering, but the Richmond Guara...

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...

Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY) Total undergraduates: 6,900 students Middle 50% for acceptance SATs: 1640-1890, ACT: 23-27, Acceptance Rate: 59% This is a medium sized private school located on a suburban campus in Long Island, 25 miles outside of New York City. Campus is divided in two with the north side housing the residential halls (38 of them and 87% of students live on campus) and the south side housing all of the academic buildings. Hofstra has 143 different majors, with biology being their top major and business being one of their most popular. They have a state-of-the-art trading room, and internships are very big across all majors. They also offer a 5-year Journalism Master’s program. Class sizes are small with an average of only 21 students per class. 2014 will be the first year that Hofstra is going test optional in their admissions process. As long as the student has a good GPA, they are advised to not submit SAT scores below 1080 (Math and Critical Reading...

Le Moyne College is a small, liberal-arts Jesuit school of about 2,800 undergraduate students located in Syracuse, NY. Only 4 hours from New York City, Le Moyne is situated on a beautiful campus only minutes from the action of downtown Syracuse. They have many different majors ranging from business to psychology to engineering, and have some excellent partnerships with Syracuse University. They have a 3-2 Bachelors and Masters engineering program with Syracuse, a 4-1 Bachelors and Masters Forensic Science program with Syracuse, and a 3-3 Law School Program with Syracuse and Fordham. Students in this law program with a 3.65 of higher GPA after junior year can bypass the LSAT exam and go right into law school at Syracuse of Fordham. Specifically, at Syracuse, students will also receive a 50% discount on tuition for years 5 and 6 (students do not receive this discount at Fordham). Le Moyne also has a brand new business building and a 20 million dollar science complex was completed three...