Mr. K's College Knowledge

For the first time in recent memory, College Board is changing the months that they offer the SATs. Through this year, they have always held the SAT during the months of October, November, December, January, March, May, and June. However, starting this summer, there will be an August 26th SAT for students to take. They will continue offering 7 SAT dates, and will be discontinuing the January SAT . I think this is a great decision by College Board for a couple of reasons. For one, it gives seniors another opportunity at the beginning of the school year to take the SAT before college applications. Also, more importantly, the August date will give seniors more time , and will eliminate the rushed feeling and the anxiety that comes with the fall test dates. Many early application deadlines for colleges are November 1st. For many students, this only leaves them with the early October SAT. While this test date is usually fine for early application deadlines, there is always the worry that...

We are quickly heading towards February, and the college application season has been long, and draining. You most likely have put hours upon hours of your life researching, visiting, contemplating, and applying to colleges. This is a huge decision, and all the hard work will pay off. However, if you are not satisfied with your college list, you do not just have to settle with what you have now. There is still time to search for and apply to colleges across the country. Yes, January 15th was a big day for regular decision deadlines, but there are still hundreds of great colleges and universities that are still accepting applications. If you are not satisfied with your college list, or you have been accepted into a few colleges, but the the financial aid award letter doesn't offer as much as you like, keep looking. There are still a ton of schools that have deadlines in February, March, April, and even some that are rolling admissions and go into the summer. Below I will list a s...

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, financial aid packages, and students are finally starting to see themselves at one or two specific colleges…reality is beginning to set in! However, even though there are 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, the trend continues of schools becoming more and more difficult to get into, even for the most competitive students. With more students applying to college within our country and across the world, many college application numbers are going through th...

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 ·       ...