An Organized Timeline Eases Student/Parent Stress

As parents and students plan for a new school year, it’s important to realize, even in times of uncertainty, that having a carefully organized timeline can help avoid the stress of an anxiety-filled senior year.

A student’s path to success actually starts during the early part of freshman year. Colleges admire students who show longevity in their activities, so the sooner students identify their clubs, sports, volunteer work, or other activities of passion, the longer they have to build a track record of accomplishments.  Freshman year is the perfect time to take on a new musical instrument or sport that might make a student particularly attractive to colleges.  A demonstrated commitment to volunteer work could earn a 50% to 100% tuition scholarship to The College of New Jersey which seeks “Bonner Community Scholars” and expects 300 volunteer hours each college year.

Vital to Gather Information and Ask Key Questions

As campuses across the country start to re-open, college-bound students once again have the opportunity to visit schools and gather vital information as they seek to make one of the most important decisions of their life.

The first step, before embarking on any college visit, is to educate oneself by reading information that is readily available on college websites and in reputable publications such as U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges guide. Students and their parents can easily access data for each college such as the acceptance rate, average SAT scores of accepted students, percent of faculty who are full time, percent of classes with fewer than 20 students, percent of classes with more than 50 students, and so much more.

Students Should Register ASAP for the August SAT

Registration is open for the August 28th SAT exam, and interested students should sign up quickly. If past years are any indication, there will likely be a shortage of available seats in Central New Jersey and families may have to embark on a road trip to get a seat for this extremely popular testing date.

The August SAT exam is being offered for the fifth consecutive year after being eliminated back in the 1970’s.  It’s extremely popular with students who view summer as the perfect opportunity to prepare for the exam without the pressures of school, homework, and afterschool activities.  By taking the exam in August, students have the opportunity to put their newly acquired SAT strategies and skills to the test without waiting for the fall SAT exams, which are offered the first Saturday in October, November and December.

In-State Universities Gain Favor With NJ Students

New Jersey has long been known for its “brain drain,” due to the vast number of students who head out-of-state for college.  But if recent statistics are any indication, local students are taking note of colleges and universities within the Garden State.

The most popular colleges, along with the number attending, from Hillsborough High School’s 2020 graduating class included many New Jersey institutions: Raritan Valley Community College (109), Rutgers University – New Brunswick (72), The College of New Jersey (21), Rowan University (17), Stevens Institute of Technology (8), Montclair State University (8), Ramapo College of New Jersey (6), and Drew University (6).

Those who left New Jersey tended to favor nearby state universities, including University of Delaware (15), Penn State University (9), University of Maryland (9), and University of Pittsburgh (7).

Never Too Early to Start Writing College Essay

Most high school students start their college application process by completing, online, the Common Application that is accepted by more than 900 colleges.  It requires one essay, and students can choose from a variety of topics or devise one of their own creation. 

Although the Common Application “goes live” on August 1st of each year, students can actually start working on it as early as they want as the vast majority of answers roll over onto the updated application when it changes in mid-summer. As for the 250-650 word required essay, some of the prompt options change from year to year, and some remain the same. This year, six of the seven prompts are identical to last year’s options and a new one has been added.

One of the most popular prompts states, “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it.  If this sounds like you, please share your story.” This option allows students to write about almost anything of which they are passionate.

Universities Where Richest Grads Earned Degrees

The research firm Wealth-X identifies, each year, the universities with the highest number of “ultra high net worth” (UHNW) alumni.  To be included in that prestigious category, an individual must have a net worth greater than $30 million.

Of the twenty universities, worldwide, with the most UHNW alumni, 17 are in the United States.  The three complementing the list are University of Cambridge (ranked #7) and University of Oxford (#13), both in the United Kingdom, and INSEAD (#19), with locations in France, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and San Francisco.

To consider the information in context, it’s important to note that children from the world’s wealthiest families often enroll in the most prestigious universities. Also important to consider is that institutions are included on this list regardless of whether their alumni attended as undergraduate or graduate students.

Are Advanced Placement Courses Really Necessary?

Some 2.7 million students just finished taking 4.8 million Advanced Placement (AP) exams, according to The Washington Post.  These three-hour exams, offered in May of each year, mark the culmination of college-level courses offered to high school students. Currently, there are 38 AP courses in the Arts, English, History & Social Science, Math & Computer Science, Science, and World Languages & Cultures, although not all are offered at every high school. The curriculum for each of these courses is written by The College Board – the same folks who bring you the SAT exam.  Students who score 3 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 5) are offered college credits by many of the nation’s colleges and universities. 

Parents and students often ask, “Are AP courses really necessary?”  The answer is both yes and no –- depending on the student’s ambitions and college goals. When students apply to college, they are basically in competition with their peers.  Most colleges want a geographically well-rounded student body.  So college admissions officers will compare all applicants from the same high school and favor those with the most impressive academic record based on SAT scores, GPA, and competitive course load.  While there is no college in the country that outwardly states a requirement for AP courses, students are well aware that these higher-level courses, which indicate an ability to successfully complete college-level work, are viewed most favorably by college admission staff.