Why Do Families Need a College Admission Consultant?

One of most frequent questions we get here at A2Z College Planning is “Why do I need a College Admission Consultant?” It comes in a variety of forms, but they all address the same thing – what value does a CAC bring to your family?

To answer the question simply – College Admissions Consultants save you time, money, and frustration, and ensure that you’re doing everything you can to help your child achieve his or her college dreams!

Won’t a College Admission Consultant cost a lot of money?
College is expensive, and there’s simply no getting around it. More than 100 colleges in the United States estimate first year expenses at over $50,000. More importantly, your student’s college experience has a tremendous impact on his/her success for the rest of his/her adult life! With that kind of importance placed on college admissions, parents place a high value on ensuring their child gets into the best school and the right school.

 College Admission Consultants work hard to provide a service that is cost-effective and ensures success. A2Z College Planning offers programs as low as $29.95 per month for college planning!

My student already has a Guidance Counselor; isn’t that enough?
Guidance Counselors are some of the most devoted and wonderful people in our high school systems, but the fact is that they’re frequently overwhelmed by the sheer number of students they have to support and limited in how much time they can spend with each individual.

College Planning Consultants provide the dedicated one-on-one  support that your student needs to get ahead in the college planning process, and they provide objective guidance on how they should structure their Junior and Senior years to achieve the best success. We work with your school counselor to provide the best advice for your student.

College planning takes so much time and effort! How can I manage one more thing?
College admissions and college planning do take time and effort, but it doesn’t have to be a daunting task! Parents often start early (as early as Grade 8) to build a plan that will ensure their child’s success.

College Planning Consultants share the burden of college planning with you and your student. More importantly, we provide experience, advice, and guidance that you may not find anywhere else, so you can direct your time and energy exactly where it’s needed to help your child achieve success.

How to Avoid Student Debt

A recent article by CNBC shows that student debt is reaching unprecedented levels – almost 1 TRILLION dollars! During a recession, it can be hard for families to deal with the escalating cost of college for a student. How can you avoid your child coming out of college with a crushing student debt?

1) Start Early. Your child maybe a little one now, but college can come up faster than you think. Parents often say “Where has the time gone?” when they find themselves faced with a teenager on the way to college, so start saving early for your child’s education. Most states offer substantial tax rebate incentives for college planning funds.

2) Know the Financial Aid Process. There are millions of dollars available to support college dreams in the United States. Are you sure that your child has access to all of them? Work with a College Admission Consultant to understand the Financial Aid Process and meet all the requirements and deadlines to support your child’s college dream.

3) Apply for Scholarships and Grants.  Colleges invest heavily in attracting the best, not the most affluent, students to their institutions. Each achievement in a student’s high school career can be one more dollar towards college tuition or expenses, if you both apply for the right scholarships and grants, and support that application with stellar high school credentials.

College is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be crippling. Make sure you’re accessing the right resources and boosting your child’s college dream with the correct financial planning going into the college admissions process.

5 Things Your Child Can Do At Christmas to Boost The College Dream

‘Tis the season to think about family, friends, and all you want to accomplish in the New Year. If your child is heading to college this year or next, take this opportunity to boost his or her college dream.

1) Volunteer – Colleges are interested in having the best and most well-rounded students as graduates of their colleges. Encourage your child to volunteer with a charitable organization and help those less fortunate while packing his/her application with current and relevant volunteer experience.

2) Fundraise – The holidays are packed with friends and family members who are looking to buy gifts for others. Your child can help his/herself and  others by fundraising for college expenses through bake sales, home crafts, or personal services like Christmas tree disposal.

3) Hit the Books – The holiday break at Christmas is a time of relaxation, but it’s also an opportunity to get ahead of course work. Ensure that your student is revved up for the New Year by spending a bit of time studying new course material for the coming semester.

4) Encourage Ethical Giving – Often friends and family members are stumped by what gift to get a teenager for the holiday season. If college is a few short months away, a donation to the child’s college fund is a perfect gift that will give for the rest of the year and beyond. The gift of a one-on-one College Admission Consulting through A2Z College Planning can be made simply by contacting us at info@a2zcollegeplanning.com

5) Get Organized – High school and college planning can be a stressful time for students, and its can be difficult to juggle deadlines for both college applications and high school course work. Help your student out by providing them with the necessary tools such as school materials or a personal organizer.

Happy holidays to all our readers!

Quiet Bragging: How to Get the Best Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are an important part of your college application process, and the first glimpse at your character that college admissions teams will have. Put your best foot forward by making the most of your letters of recommendation.

1)      Pick your references carefully. Often colleges will request recommendations from specific people, such as your teacher on a certain subject, or your school counsellor. Be sure to know exactly what the college is looking for, and deliver that. Choose current teachers who can speak positively of your performance, rather than going back to teachers from freshman year, as colleges want a snapshot of your current academic work.

2)      Give your references time. It’s easy to underestimate how much time it can write a letter of recommendation, but keep in mind that teachers and counsellors often are juggling multiple requests, as well as their own coursework! Give your references at least 1 month to complete their letters, and preferably longer than that to ensure that you get the most carefully thought-out and compelling recommendations. It helps if you put your request for a letter of recommendation in writing, including deadlines, and to follow up with your reference a couple of times during the process to keep them on track.

3)      Give your references information and motivation. A short conversation with each of your references about what colleges and programs you’re considering will give them perspective for your letter. Remind them of times that you did a particularly good job on a project or essay, and even give them copies of your work if it jogs their memories. You want to give them all the information they need to write the best letter of recommendation. This is a good time to do a bit of quiet bragging and remind your references why they should be proud to recommend such an excellent college prospect.

4)      Thank your references. Be sure to follow up with each person who writes you a letter of recommendation to thank them for their work.

Students are often surprised at just how positive their letters of recommendation, so if possible, ask for copies to keep. They’ll serve as motivation throughout your college careers!

Race to the Deadline

With the deadlines for college applications coming up shortly, students often find that this time of year is a whirlwind of applications, essay writing, and test taking, in and amongst holiday prep and family time.

Here are some simple tips to avoid missing those important college application deadlines:

1) Start a calendar. It’s very easy to have a deadline sneak up on you, so be prepared! Having a simple calendar up on your wall, with all the important deadlines circled in red will ensure that you aren’t scrambling at the last minute to get your application out the door.

2) Prep early. College admission essays typically take at least 4 hours to research and write, and it’s important that you have a trusted advisor proofread and edit your essay at least once. Start your essay and other application material early, to avoid a late-night writing session that will result in work that’s less than your best.

3) Stay on your test results. SATs are stressful enough without worrying that your results might not arrive in time. Keep track of when you can expect results, and when results will be sent to your selected colleges.

4) Line up your materials. Financial aid applications are a separate process from your general admissions application and requires financial information about your family. Make sure that your parents are informed about the information that’s required and the deadlines for Financial Aid applications. Similarly, letters of recommendation may take time to write, so be sure to request them early to give your reference person time to write a glowing account of your abilities.

5) Stay on track. It can be easy to ignore your currently high school course work in order to manage your college applications, but final year grades are an important factor in your admissions process. Keep up with your current work and keep your eye on the prize!

It may be a sprint to the finish to hit your college admissions deadlines, but with a bit of forethought and consistent attention to detail, you can ensure that you never have to worry about missing out on your college dream!

How Students Can Use Goals to Set Priorities

It’s common for students to have many different, and sometimes conflicting, goals. Goals may include:

- Being made sports team leader (i.e. quarterback)
- Getting admitted to a great college
- Making money through a part-time job
- Being voted homecoming king/queen
- Mastering a musical instrument
- Being the best yearbook editor in the history of the school
- Winning a scholarship for college
- Being chosen as valedictorian
- Spending a much time as possible with friends
- Volunteering with a local charity

Start by writing down a list of at least 5 goals. Some will seem very important, and some will be less important. The important thing to realize is:

Your Goal List defines what you spend your time on.

Working from your Goal List, set priorities. Go through the list and pick the most important goal on the list. What is the one thing that you most need to accomplish? Note that the wording is what you “need” to accomplish, not what you “want” to accomplish. Everyone wants to master the piano like Mozart, or be a quarterback like Brett Favre. The focus should be on the one thing that will further your future, and in doing so, allow you the opportunity to achieve some of your other goals.

Chances are your top priority is going to be getting into a great college. That doesn’t mean that your other goals aren’t important – they’re very important! They may support your primary goal, or they may afford other rewards like personal satisfaction and personal development. But now you know what your top priority is, and you can firmly fix that in your mind. When you’re confronted with a tough choice between two activities, you can simply ask yourself:

“Which activity will help me achieve my top priority?”

The Waiting Game

One of the most difficult positions for students to be in is to find themselves admitted to the waiting list at their 1st choice college. Suddenly, the college admissions process becomes even more complex, as the student must weigh waiting for a spot to open vs. accepting an admission to a less desirable school.

Some of the things that students can do to make the most of their chances on the waiting list include:

1. Being informed as to what the “waiting list” means. Even if your child eventually gets accepted from the waiting list of the school, he/she may miss out on scholarship, housing, or internship opportunities that are available to first round students. If you were depending on Financial Aid to pay for a portion of tuition, this may be a deciding factor
2. Demonstrate enthusiasm. It can be hard to go back to the college that has placed you on a wait list and still demonstrate enthusiasm, but this may help rank you higher on the list. Send a letter of appeal to the Admission Board, not to argue the placement on the list, but simply to state that you’re still very eager to enroll. You may also wish to include referrals from your guidance counsellor or a mentor in high school who can vouch that you would be an excellent admission prospect.
3. Do a second interview. If you had a previous admission interview and you genuinely feel that you blew it (you were sick, you were late, you were stressed about something that day, etc), request a second admission interview with your ideal college and wow them. Your goal is to make them think “We made a mistake overlooking this student the first time!”
4. Make backup plans. The only thing worse than not starting September in your 1st choice college is not starting college at all! Re-assess your 2nd or 3rd choice colleges and seriously consider if you’d be willing to settle for them. Inquire as to their policies for transfer to other colleges – perhaps you can start your college career there, and transfer to your 1st choice college in the 2nd year.

Playing the waiting game can be stressful, but it’s not the death blow to a strong college dream. Make the most of the waiting list with these simple steps.