High school guidance counselors are the first resource of college bound students who need advice on so many topics: how to prepare for the PSAT and SAT, when to take these standardized tests, how to identify best-fit colleges, how to assess the likelihood of being accepted by a particular college, how to write an effective essay, and how to file successful college applications.
While high school guidance counselors typically address all of these issues with college bound students, they are often stretched very thin. The average student-to-counselor ratio in New Jersey is 358 to 1, according to the American School Counselor Association. To make matters worse, public high school counselors, with a multitude of other responsibilities, reportedly spend only 23% of their time on college admission counseling with the average student receiving 38 minutes of personal college counseling over four years.
Back in 1975, administrators from fifteen colleges got together and decided to create one application that students could use to apply to any or all of their colleges. This was the birth of “The Common App” which continuously increased in popularity and, as of 2020, is accepted by more than 900 colleges and universities across the United States. Colleges popular with New Jersey students that are new to the Common App this year include Auburn, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Texas Tech, and University of Georgia. Typically, more than one million students a year use the Common App to file more than four million applications.
The Common App is an online application that asks a series of questions in several categories, including parents’ educational history and current employment, students’ SAT/ACT/AP test scores, senior year courses, high school activities, and intended college major. There is also an essay of 250 to 650 words that is required by the majority of Common App colleges. Students this year have a choice of seven essay topics, one of which states, “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.” So the topic options are truly limitless!
Create a “Shopify Store” and build your own online business. Gather the short stories or poems you’ve been writing and self-publish your own book via Amazon. Launch a podcast and share your passion for any topic at all.
Millions of students are finding themselves with something they’ve previously only had in their dreams – free time. With school, sports, and virtually all activities on hold, many young people have the opportunity of a lifetime to actually choose what they want to focus on for an extended period of time. Using it wisely can prove very beneficial to students and can also impress college admissions officers when the time rolls around to file applications.
If it were up to Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, students would use their time to learn coding. “This is a language that you can use to express yourself to seven billion people in the world,” stressed Cook. Statistics back up Cook’s emphasis on the importance of coding skills. The job search platform Glassdoor reports that more than a third of the highest paying jobs in the U.S. require some familiarity with computer programming.
The good news for high school students is that registration is now open for the August, September and October SAT exams. The bad news is that the demand is exceeding the supply. Many students and parents who logged into CollegeBoard.org as soon as registration opened ¬¬¬reported that the process took hours, and many were initially unsuccessful in their attempt to register.
Last year more than 2.2 million students took the test, recognizing its importance for college admissions, scholarships, class placement, and more. Anticipating that high demand for testing opportunities would be challenged by a limited seating capacity due to public health restrictions, College Board has asked testing sites (primarily high schools) to maximize their testing capacity. But there’s a simpler solution.
After months of waiting, certain students can finally register for an upcoming SAT exam. College Board is currently offering priority registration, until 8 pm on Wednesday, June 3rd, to students who had been registered for the June 6th SAT or Subject Test and didn’t cancel their registration and to students in the high school classes of 2020 or 2021 who do not have prior SAT scores.
At 8 pm on June 3rd, registration will open up to all high school students for the August 29th, September 26th and October 3rd scheduled exams.
Students should register as quickly as possible as there will likely be an extreme shortage of seats since the last test administered, in much of New Jersey, was back on December 7th, 2019. The high demand for testing opportunities will be coupled with a limited seating capacity due to public health restrictions.
Students who dream of taking courses with professors from the most elite universities around the world can make their dreams come true – at no cost. The most prestigious universities in our country -- including M.I.T., Georgetown, University of Chicago, Notre Dame, and every Ivy League institution -- offer online courses for free. So, too, do many prominent international institutions including the Sorbonne in France, Oxford in England, and the University of Hong Kong.
Two of the most notable sites for online education are edX and Coursera. Eight years ago, edX.org was founded by Harvard University and M.I.T. as an online learning destination to offer high-quality courses from the world’s top universities. It now offers more than 2,500 courses from 140 institutions. The courses are offered for free and have enrolled students from every country in the world. Those seeking a certificate (to boost college applications or resumes) are charged a nominal fee ranging from $40 to $160.
Choosing a college can be a daunting experience, especially when it comes time to figure out the financing. Families often wonder which college will be the most cost effective, and which will likely launch the student into a well-paying first job.
It’s not a secret that students can expect to earn different salaries based on the college they attend, the degree they earn, and the field they choose for their future career. But now, thanks to the “College Scorecard,” these numbers are concrete and not an abstract concept.
