The dreaded small envelope. It's white, thin and has no indication as to its contents except the return address of a college. For the high school seniors who receive it, it is almost always a rejection letter. I opened up my mailbox the other day and discovered a small envelope from Occidental College, a liberal arts school in Los Angeles that ...

As a homeschooled student, your trek to college has taken you off the beaten path. But even if you don't have the "typical" credentials colleges are looking for, you can still impress admissions counselors with a dazzling—and unique—application. Keep a Portfolio and a Logbook Without a transcript, it's hard for colleges to know about your academic background. So prepare a portfolio—a ...

So many colleges, so hard to find the best fit. Most students find that creating an expansive list of schools they’d like to go to is easier than winnowing down the list. Here are some tips from Dr. Kat to help narrow your focus. *1. Make sure the list is balanced*. Have a conversation with your high school college counselor to ...

Picking out the school that's right for you isn't always easy. If you're a student with a disability, you want to find out if the school provides the accommodations and resources to make your educational experience a success. Here are some questions to ask up front to make sure a college can meet your needs: Academics and Life After College Does ...

When it came to applying for scholarships, my search always came to a screeching halt because I felt unqualified for any of the opportunities. The awards that promised "big money" were usually for students who devoted their entire lives to fellowships and community service. For someone who had focused more on getting a job and playing sports, community service was not ...

As a student choosing a college to attend, you become a consumer. As you make this important decision in your life, you want to be aware of costs and attentive to your own needs. In order to assure that you will thrive at the college you select, you want to decide on a college with qualities that match your wants, needs ...

In 2005, studies showed that while only six percent of non-Hispanic students were likely to drop out of high school, that number was nearly 23% for Hispanic students. According to the ERIC Digest, “That third generation Latino youth perform not significantly better than their second generation Latino peers is very disconcerting. Since they have U.S. born parents, a much larger share ...

Some college applications require you to submit recommendations. Because this is such an important part of your application, you should be as organized as possible. To help you with this process, here is a list of things you should and shouldn’t do when asking for a recommendation. DO begin early. Most recommenders need at least two weeks, to write recommendations, maybe ...

During my senior year of high school, I was very thorough in my college search. There were many important factors for me to consider when choosing a college: location, cost, size and enrollment, professor/student ratio, resources, opportunities to study abroad and athletics, just to name a few. I looked at everything from public universities, to technical schools, to private institutions with ...

When choosing a college, you want to pick the school that fits you best. Size, location and price are important factors to consider. But many female students are considering an additional option: whether to attend a women's college or university. With about 60 women's colleges across the country, chances are there's one that's right for you. Benefits of Women's Colleges ...

College tours provide a great opportunity for you to visit campus and learn more about what a college has to offer. However, tour guides are told to stick with talking points and established routes to pass through the nicest parts of campus. To become an astute prospective student, you’re going to have to investigate off the beaten path. Here are ...

It's a long and bumpy road. It's a challenging road. It's definitely wide open for you to travel. Getting through the college application process involves a lot of time and effort, but the results can generate a significant investment in you. Use these tips to get moving on the path to college success. Rule #1 Adhere to the NACAC (National Association ...

It's December. All remnants of turkey and stuffing have been expunged from the fridge. The days are getting shorter and temperatures are dipping lower. Wal-Mart is drenched in red, white and pine needle green. Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" is being piped endlessly through every department store PA system on this side of the Rio Grande. But those familiar Christmas jingles mean ...

Spring is a great time for high school juniors to visit college campuses. Here are some “Dos & Don’ts” that students and their parents need to know before visiting universities. 1. *Do visit campuses during your Junior year, but don’t miss any classes*. Holidays, spring break and weekends are a perfect time to plan those college road trips. Before you leave, ...

Well, it’s the beginning of May and I can sense the tension of AP exam week in the air. AP exams are pretty important for me because my knowledge of my five AP classes will be put to the test. Literally. In addition, my performance on these tedious tests can get me out of some basic introductory classes at the . ...

Sometimes I get a bee in my bonnet — the kind that just keeps flying around and refuses to land. When it comes to my intellectual interests, I can be compulsive and downright obsessive at times. Such was the case several weeks ago when I attended a four-year transfer fair at my community college. After talking with several representatives from the ...

Life on a college campus is a relatively carefree time for students entering from high school. But there's a more stressful side to campus life for transfer or returning students -- many in the midst of career changes and some with families -- who enter with partial degrees from other schools or completed preliminary work at a community college. Shelly Brown, ...

In early June of this year, as my sophomore year of high school was drawing to a close, I realized several things. First, I was halfway through with high school, and had less than two years to make myself presentable to colleges. Second, I was coming up on my junior year, the hardest and most important year of my high school ...

1. Register for standardized tests NOW Most students wait until the summer after their Junior year to study and cram for the SAT/ACT. As a result, once you get your scores in October, you only have one or two more opportunities to re-take the exams to improve scores. Give yourself more time to improve by taking the tests early in the ...

What Is It? The SAT Subject Tests (also called the SAT II: Subject Tests) is a series of one-hour, multiple choice, standardized exams that test a student's knowledge of a particular subject. Up to three tests can be required for admission by some colleges while other colleges do not require any. Entrance requirements vary from college to college. SAT Subject exams ...