Getting a handle on financial aid
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Read MorePat’s Blog for Parents & Applicants
Building a realistic college list
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Building a list of colleges and universities begins with a reality check.
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Read MoreWriting a personal essay with feeling
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What are colleges looking for in an essay? A positive outlook and the ability to organize thoughts in clear and engaging writing are givens. But a memorable essay is one that makes the reader feel something.
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Read MoreApplication deadlines loom, and it’s still not (all) about the prompts.
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The standard due date for Early Action and Early Decision applications is typically November 1—two weeks from today. If your student plans to meet that deadline but has hit a wall with the writing sections, it may be time to find an alternate route.
Read MoreThe Costco essay
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Last month, a Business Insider article about a college application essay went viral. BI reported that because of her essay, Brittany Stinson of Wilmington, Delaware, was admitted to five Ivy League universities (Yale, Dartmouth, UPenn, Cornell, and Columbia) as well as Stanford, academic powerhouses with notoriously competitive acceptance rates.
Read MoreWhen are you at your most creative?
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My friend Gina Barreca, a syndicated columnist, often polls her Facebook followers, many of them professional writers, when she’s researching one of her columns. Recently, she asked friends to identify circumstances that allow them to do their most creative work, and I knew I would have to respond.
Read MoreIt’s not about the prompts.
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So, they’re out—the five essay prompts in the 2015-16 Common Application. Click here to give them a glance and get the gist. But don’t hit PRINT. I mean, sure, go ahead if you want to, but don’t post them on the fridge next to the calendar of July/August college visits. Forget about the prompts (for now).
Read MoreSo your student athlete wants to play in college...
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“There’s an opportunity for every high school athlete to continue playing in college,” Rob Chesney, associate athletic director at Montclair State University, told a group of students and parents recently. “The level you play depends on the school,” he added.
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