If you applied in the Early Round of admissions (Early Decision or Early Action), you have probably heard back from your schools by now. If not, you should be hearing very soon.

What should you do if you were:

ACCEPTED

Congratulations! You did it. Enjoy the rest of senior year.  You now know that you're going to college next year.

If you applied Early Decision, which is binding, it's time to rescind any other applications you may have already submitted. If you haven't submitted any other applications yet, then you're all set. No need to apply anywhere else. It's time to send your deposit to your ED school.

If you applied Early Action, which is non-binding, be happy that you have one or more schools in your back pocket. If you would attend your EA school(s) over any other schools that you haven't submitted yet, there's no reason to submit any more applications. Save the money. You still have a few months to make your final decision. Make sure you are able to afford your EA...

If your child has any inclination to serve their country, consider two compelling paths that lead to graduating from college as a military officer (at little-to-no cost).

What are the options?

If your child wants to serve as a military officer in any of the branches, service academies and ROTC programs are two great places to start.

What do these programs have in common?

• world-class education
• unparalleled leadership training
• international travel
• high-prestige and reputation
• engaged alumni network
• emphasis on camaraderie and teamwork
• guaranteed summer jobs
• highly-transferable technical skills
• guaranteed job for 5 years after college
• paid a monthly stipend starting freshman year
• free education

Yes, a free (or nearly free) education. With the rising cost of college, these programs are becoming more and more competitive.  And with options like attending Harvard and Princeton on an ROTC scholarship, people are paying attention.

What are service academies?

Military service...

What is Early Decision?

Early Decision (or ED) is a binding agreement between a student and their ED school. A student admitted in the ED round (usually in mid-December) must retract all other applications and make a deposit to the ED school.

[Note: Students may only apply to one ED school]

[Note: ED is different from Early Action or Restrictive Early Action]

[Note: RD is Regular Decision]

The trend in applying ED is on the rise.

Here's what you need to know:

Who normally applies Early Decision?

• Recruited athletes who want to take advantage of "support" from a coach
• Legacy students who hope to keep their longstanding family tradition alive
• Students with a dream school that is their #1 choice by a long shot
• Students not worried about affordability (either their family can pay full-freight or they are confident they can live with the financial aid package)
• Students with no chance if they wait to apply Regular Decision (RD)

Why is it easier to get into a school by applying ED?

• ...

As applications are reviewed by college admissions officers, they must survive several "screens" to make it to the end. The more selective the school - the less porous the screens.  This week, we address the first two screens in the process.

Screen #1

1. GPA
2. Standardized Test Scores (SAT or ACT)
3. Rigor of coursework

Outcomes on these three criteria will dictate the "selectivity" of colleges to consider. 

Screen #2

When (and if) a student gets through Screen #1, the more selective schools dig deeper.

Next stop: Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular Activities include anything that happens outside the classroom:

• Sports teams
• Debate Team
• Part-time work
• Elder or childcare responsibilities
• Summer experiences
• Volunteer work
• Theater
• Travel

On the Common Application, there is room for 10 such Activities. The activities should be listed in the order of importance to the student. Space is limited (50 characters for the position and organization name and 150 characters for the...

Before we get too far into the new school year, I encourage you to perform an extracurricular activity audit with your 8th, 9th, or 10th-grader. Sounds like a blast, right?

This will either reinforce that you're on the right path, or open your eyes to a world you never knew existed.

Extracurricular activities are a critical component in the college admissions process - especially for very or most-selective colleges (Top 75).

Admissions Screen #1

There are 3 primary factors that determine whether or not your child will pass through the first admissions screen:

1. GPA
2. Rigor of course work (number of AP, Honors, IB classes)
3. SAT or ACT score

As you move up the selectivity scale, the holes in the screen get smaller and smaller.

Admissions Screen #2

Once your child gets through Admissions Screen #1, admissions officers will then review their extracurricular activities:

• sports
• clubs
• theater
• music
• family support (child or elder care)
• job
• summer experiences
• internships
• shadowing
• volunteer...

As your child moves through high school, participation in after-school "clubs" can be a transformational experience - or a colossal waste of time.

Now would be a great time to sit down with your child to discuss how to think about after-school opportunities.

How After-School Clubs Can Help

High school clubs can benefit students in many ways:

• provide an affinity group to make and cultivate friendships
• provide a signal to colleges about what you are interested in
• provide a path to leadership within an organization
• provide a low-risk way to "test" a fledgling interest in a topic
• provide a structure to start your own club

In the context of college admissions, "Clubs" are considered Extracurricular Activities because they happen "outside of the classroom".  Other Extracurricular Activities include sports, jobs, music, theater, child care responsibilities, etc.

As you may know, there is room for 10 Extracurricular Activities on the Common Application. Especially at the more...

As you probably know, there is a lot hype surrounding the college admissions process - probably too much.

Yes, it can be tricky if you wait until junior or senior year to start the process. The "wait-and-see" approach can lead to anxiety and broken dreams.

It doesn't have to be that way.

As you know, my deep conviction is that the college admissions process should be introduced to teenagers gradually beginning in 9th or 10th grade.

This early introduction puts families in the driver's seat.

Here are three steps you can take to help demystify the process.

STEP 1: CAMPUS VISITS THAT INSPIRE

How can we expect our children to care about college if they've never stepped foot onto a college campus?

Campus visits can often spark interest and curiosity in the process. Motivation can be triggered by the strangest things - a certain vision, feeling, or personal encounter they experience during their visits.

Of course, there is no guarantee that visiting colleges will motivate your child, but...

Your number #1 priority this summer is to prepare for your official standardized test at the end of August or beginning of September.

This is what you should do:

• Select a standardized test to take (SAT or ACT)
• Register for the exam
• Study your face off
• Take the exam
• Never look back

Let me remind you why I recommend this strategy in case you start to waver on implementing any of these steps:

• An SAT or ACT score is a top 3 criteria for college admissions
• Summer provides maximum time and flexibility to study
• Studying for this test in the middle of junior year is a disaster
• Ability to maximize energy, sleep, and hydration before test
• Fewer distractions and potential scheduling conflicts
• Less-crowded testing sites
• Results provide an early indicator of what tier of colleges to consider
• Potential to score well and never take test ever again
• Ability to re-test later in the year if things don't go as planned
• If a re-test is necessary, the bulk of studying is already done
• Ivy League...

Under the Radar

I talk with a lot of people about college admissions issues - all day every day. And I would guess that only about 10% know anything about the service academies.

Some have a passing familiarity with the terms "Naval Academy" or "West Point" or "Annapolis", but that's about the extent of it. 

The goal of this post is to demystify the academies and provide you with information so that your child doesn't miss out on a big opportunity.

What are service academies?

Military service academies are 4-year colleges that are rich in military tradition, culture, and training. Their goal is to educate, train and inspire the future leaders of the U.S. military. These leaders are known as "U.S. Military Officers".

There are five service academies:

• U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, MD)
• U.S. Military Academy - aka West Point (West Point, NY)
• U.S. Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO)
• U.S. Coast Guard Academy (Groton, CT)
• U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY)

I won't...

Decision Time

Yesterday was the deadline for most high school seniors to make their final college choice. It shouldn't be as stressful as many people make it out to be.

Part of the reason can be explained here.

In this blog post, a mom wonders why so many highly-qualified students aren't getting into their dream colleges and what effect it will have on their psyches.

She also, within the first paragraph, blames:

• this "generation"
• the "system"
• parents
• Admissions Offices

This is a rough post. I agree with some of the sentiments, but not others. Here are my takeaways:

Managing Expectations

Just because your child's stat line reads: 1480 SAT, 4.3 GPA, varsity soccer team, student government, black belt, and quarterly soup kitchen volunteer doesn't mean they'll get into a highly-selective college. It just doesn't. Not even close.

There are thousands of kids just like this. They grow on trees these days. Just ask any parent. I'm not sure why so many people think that a high-performer like...