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High School Planning: Your Road to Success

High school planning is a must if you're looking for a competitive edge when applying to college. Ask yourself, "What do the most successful high school students have in common?" They plan ahead. Early in your high school career, you should…
female student in lecture hall taking notes for ap class

What’s Better: An A in a Regular Class or a B in an AP Class?

Colleges want to see students get good grades in tough classes. This seems like a pretty tall order, but it makes sense: Students who can get good grades in hard classes are more likely to be able to succeed in college courses. This tug of…

SAT and ACT Scores: What College Admissions Officers Look For

This month, we’ve been talking about the top three factors that college admissions officers consider when making admissions decisions. So far, we’ve covered the first two: grades and course rigor. Today, we tackle the third most important…

Strength of Curriculum: What College Admissions Look For

When the National Association of College Admissions Counselors surveys college admissions officers across the country, they always ask about the most important factors in admissions decisions. In Part 1, we talked about the top factor, student…
college admissions counselor

Student Grades: What College Admissions Look For

College admissions: confusing, complicated, not fun… These are just a few ways to describe the college admissions process. To help you out, we’ve created a three part series that will give insight into what colleges actually look for…

Applying to College: When Should I Start?

When should you apply to college? It seems like such a simple question. I mean, obviously you’ll apply by the application deadline, right? But which deadline? Many colleges offer more than one application period: An early application…

What is the National Merit Scholarship?

The National Merit Scholarship program began in 1955. Since then, it has become known as one of the most prestigious academic awards a student can earn – and with good reason: Just a small percentage of test takers will become finalists in…

Applying to College: What You Need to Know

Road signs and mailboxes may be literally melting in the summer heat in some parts of the country, but for rising seniors, summer break is over. It’s time to start working on those college applications. We’re here to help! Keep reading…

10 Tips For A Great College Application Essay

Sometimes the blinking cursor on the screen can seem like a curse (pun intended). It just keeps flashing, on and off, on and off, mocking you. Never is this truer than when you’re trying to start your college admission essay, a high-stakes…