by Mandee Heller Adler
President and CEO of International College Counselors
The Florida Prepaid College Board is expanding its savings choices with the introduction of the 4-Year Florida College Plan. The 4-Year Florida College Plan prepays tuition, registration fees and local fees for 60 semester credit hours at a community college, now known as a Florida College, in addition to 60 semester credit hours at a Florida state university. This program was mainly designed to support workforce related undergraduate degrees in areas such as nursing, applied technology, and education.
When your child is ready for college, this Plan covers the cost at any Florida College. Or the value of the plan can be transferred to the majority of private or public colleges in Florida, technical schools and out-of-state colleges.
Financially speaking, families can now prepay the cost of earning a bachelor's degree for as little at $99 per month. Three payment options are available including monthly payments, a 55-month payment plan or a lump-sum payment plan.
For much more information on the new 4-Year Florida College Plan or to sign up online for any of the four Florida Prepaid College Plan options, families can visit www.myfloridaprepaid.com or call 1-800-552-GRAD (4723). Florida Prepaid's 2010-2011 annual acquisition period, when families can purchase a Prepaid College Plan at this year's plan prices, ends January 31, 2011.
The college advisors at International College Counselors are available to help you with either of Florida’s two prepaid college plans: the Florida Prepaid College Plan and the Florida College Investment Plan.
Contact International College Counselors with any questions you may have.
International College Counselors
Main office: 954.253.5719
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each student. Our college advising company works with domestic and international students. Let us help you make the best decisions in choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program
FLORIDA PARENTS AND STUDENTS:
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program has started accepting applications. International College Counselors recommends ALL SENIORS APPLY. It's better to have a Bright Futures Scholarship and not need it, then to need it and not have it. (And all our Florida seniors from Gainesville to Miami, college counselors at International College Counselors will tell this to you)
This program offers three levels of scholarship awards- the Florida Academic Scholars award (includes the Academic Top Scholars award), the Florida Medallion Scholars award and the Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award. Basic requirements and dollar amounts for each of these awards can be found here.
To apply for a Bright Futures Scholarship, you must submit a completed (error free) Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application during your last year in high school (after December 1 and prior to graduation). YOU MUST APPLY DURING YOUR LAST YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE GRADUATION or you will forfeit all future eligibility for a Bright Future Scholarship.
To apply on line, visit www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org , select "State Grants, Scholarships & Applications" on the side bar , then click "Apply Here" on the top bar. Then you can click "Initial State Student Application" to go directly to the application. Or you can link here directly.
The application gives the Florida Department of Education permission to evaluate your high school transcript and test scores for eligibility for state scholarships and grants, including a Bright Futures Scholarship. You may apply prior to meeting all requirements.
YOU SHOULD APPLY for a Bright Futures Scholarship even if you are considering not going to college, are planning to go out of state, are taking a few years off, or are enlisting in the military. Eligible students have up to three years from high school graduation to begin using the scholarship.
To qualify for a Bright Futures Scholarship, you must earn the minimum required test score for the award for which you wish to qualify. It may make sense to re-take your SAT or ACT just to reach the minimum.
The expert college advisors at International College Counselors are available to help you. Contact us with any questions you may have.
International College Counselors
Main office: 954.414.9986
FOR STUDENTS IN OTHER STATES:
Contact International College Counselors and one of our expert college counselors will help you source scholarships in your own state.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each student. Our college advising company works with domestic and international students. Let us help you make the best decisions in choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship program has started accepting applications. International College Counselors recommends ALL SENIORS APPLY. It's better to have a Bright Futures Scholarship and not need it, then to need it and not have it. (And all our Florida seniors from Gainesville to Miami, college counselors at International College Counselors will tell this to you)
This program offers three levels of scholarship awards- the Florida Academic Scholars award (includes the Academic Top Scholars award), the Florida Medallion Scholars award and the Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award. Basic requirements and dollar amounts for each of these awards can be found here.
To apply for a Bright Futures Scholarship, you must submit a completed (error free) Initial Student Florida Financial Aid Application during your last year in high school (after December 1 and prior to graduation). YOU MUST APPLY DURING YOUR LAST YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE GRADUATION or you will forfeit all future eligibility for a Bright Future Scholarship.
To apply on line, visit www.FloridaStudentFinancialAid.org , select "State Grants, Scholarships & Applications" on the side bar , then click "Apply Here" on the top bar. Then you can click "Initial State Student Application" to go directly to the application. Or you can link here directly.
The application gives the Florida Department of Education permission to evaluate your high school transcript and test scores for eligibility for state scholarships and grants, including a Bright Futures Scholarship. You may apply prior to meeting all requirements.
YOU SHOULD APPLY for a Bright Futures Scholarship even if you are considering not going to college, are planning to go out of state, are taking a few years off, or are enlisting in the military. Eligible students have up to three years from high school graduation to begin using the scholarship.
To qualify for a Bright Futures Scholarship, you must earn the minimum required test score for the award for which you wish to qualify. It may make sense to re-take your SAT or ACT just to reach the minimum.
The expert college advisors at International College Counselors are available to help you. Contact us with any questions you may have.
International College Counselors
Main office: 954.414.9986
FOR STUDENTS IN OTHER STATES:
Contact International College Counselors and one of our expert college counselors will help you source scholarships in your own state.
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE COUNSELORS
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each student. Our college advising company works with domestic and international students. Let us help you make the best decisions in choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
What College Admissions Officers Want...
Colleges are getting more and more applications each year. More students are looking to attend college. And the Common Application and similar applications have made it much easier for students to apply to more schools.
For college admissions officers, this means they have more work to do. Work they're making easier for themselves by coming up with easy ways to cut applicants who try to beat the admissions system by getting easy A's or plagiarizing their essays.
A summary of what admissions officers are now giving more weight to from an article in U.S. News and World Report:
"Recommendations and high school class rank matter less to many colleges, especially big public universities, than they used to. Instead, a growing number of colleges of all types are putting more emphasis on students' essays and the difficulty of applicants' high school classes."
In more detail:
1. Less reliance on recommendations. High school teachers and counselors have been turning in more generic recommendations. Reasons given are that they are overwhelmed with requests and they have too many students to get to know them all. The result is that these bland recommendations do not give admissions officers the personalized insight on a student that they're looking for.
International College Counselors strongly recommends that students still get to know one or two teachers well. Recommendations still count and if it comes down to you and similar student, a recommendation or two with thoughtful comments can put you ahead.
2. Less emphasis on high school class rank. You can thank high schools for this. More high schools are refusing to rank their students, so colleges are unable to give as much weight to this as an admissions factor.
International College Counselors always recommends you aim for the highest grades possible.
3. More emphasis on tougher high school courses. Growing evidence shows that students who take more rigorous courses in high school are more likely to succeed in college, so more weight is being given to grades in tougher classes. Admissions officer Kent Rinehart, dean of admission at Marist College, says he would prefer to "see a student challenge himself and get a B" than take an easy class to inflate a GPA."
International College Counselors recommends students take high school classes one level above their comfort level.
4. More emphasis on application essays. Without a doubt, the essays can make or break your application.
Students working with International College Counselors should finish their essays over the SUMMER, to get maximum time to have them perfected.
5. More attention to the applicant's senior year. Colleges no longer tolerate slacking off during the senior year. In fact, some want to see "acceleration of educational difficulty."
International College Counselors says, "don't ignore this fact. You've spent 11 years getting to where you are, don't blow it in the 12th."
6. More application auditing. A growing number of colleges are fact checking applications. One tool being used to do this is a plagiarism software program called Turnitin. It looks for phrases in essays that match those in millions of websites, articles and books.
Everything you work on with International College Counselors will be original.
Parents, as you can see, a lot has changed since you applied to college. International College Counselors can help your student choose the right schools and assist with the college admissions process. "Help us, help you!"
For college admissions officers, this means they have more work to do. Work they're making easier for themselves by coming up with easy ways to cut applicants who try to beat the admissions system by getting easy A's or plagiarizing their essays.
A summary of what admissions officers are now giving more weight to from an article in U.S. News and World Report:
"Recommendations and high school class rank matter less to many colleges, especially big public universities, than they used to. Instead, a growing number of colleges of all types are putting more emphasis on students' essays and the difficulty of applicants' high school classes."
In more detail:
1. Less reliance on recommendations. High school teachers and counselors have been turning in more generic recommendations. Reasons given are that they are overwhelmed with requests and they have too many students to get to know them all. The result is that these bland recommendations do not give admissions officers the personalized insight on a student that they're looking for.
International College Counselors strongly recommends that students still get to know one or two teachers well. Recommendations still count and if it comes down to you and similar student, a recommendation or two with thoughtful comments can put you ahead.
2. Less emphasis on high school class rank. You can thank high schools for this. More high schools are refusing to rank their students, so colleges are unable to give as much weight to this as an admissions factor.
International College Counselors always recommends you aim for the highest grades possible.
3. More emphasis on tougher high school courses. Growing evidence shows that students who take more rigorous courses in high school are more likely to succeed in college, so more weight is being given to grades in tougher classes. Admissions officer Kent Rinehart, dean of admission at Marist College, says he would prefer to "see a student challenge himself and get a B" than take an easy class to inflate a GPA."
International College Counselors recommends students take high school classes one level above their comfort level.
4. More emphasis on application essays. Without a doubt, the essays can make or break your application.
Students working with International College Counselors should finish their essays over the SUMMER, to get maximum time to have them perfected.
5. More attention to the applicant's senior year. Colleges no longer tolerate slacking off during the senior year. In fact, some want to see "acceleration of educational difficulty."
International College Counselors says, "don't ignore this fact. You've spent 11 years getting to where you are, don't blow it in the 12th."
6. More application auditing. A growing number of colleges are fact checking applications. One tool being used to do this is a plagiarism software program called Turnitin. It looks for phrases in essays that match those in millions of websites, articles and books.
Everything you work on with International College Counselors will be original.
Parents, as you can see, a lot has changed since you applied to college. International College Counselors can help your student choose the right schools and assist with the college admissions process. "Help us, help you!"
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Make Summer Count
Students who want to shine on their college applications should not forget about the summer. International College Counselors wants to remind students you don't need to go to Costa Rica to build huts, but you do need to do something that raises your APA (application point average). If you're not planning to take classes or attend an enrichment camp-get a job, volunteer or get an internship. Summer is coming up fast - and some summer programs have January deadlines - so here are some ideas to get you thinking about how to make the most of your summer.
Visit the International College Counselors blog to see our 2011 Summer Recommendations.
Get a great summer job or internship
Summer jobs and internships are great ways to show colleges, and your parents that you are successfully maturing into a responsible adult. And there are few better ways to earn a little respect and gain valuable real-world experience. In a tight job market like the one we're experiencing now, your best bet may be the internship. An internship is a pre-professional work experience that provides students with an opportunity to gain unpaid experience in a field you're interested in. So what you don't gain in cash, you gain in experience. Think of it as a summer course. But with persistence and luck, you can land an internship in your dream career. If you think you might like to try advertising, check with your local agencies to see what internship opportunities are available. Think you want to be a lawyer, see if you can work in a law firm. An internship is also great way to secure yourself a recommendation and get your foot in the door for future networking.
If you're looking for available internships opportunities here in Miami, college counselors at International College Counselors can help you. Opportunities can also often be found on company websites and social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
Volunteering gives back
It can be profitable to work for nothing. You can make a difference, gain experience and explore your interests. For example, if a career in medicine interests you, you could volunteer a few hours a week at a hospital or nursing home. Interested in animals? Volunteer at the local animal shelter. Feeling entrepreneurial? Start a non-profit of your own. The choices are endless and all your hard work and time can pay off. Colleges and universities truly adore students who can demonstrate that they make the effort to help others. You may not be making money but you can make friends, and networking connections. You'll also be creating fodder for those application essays. Then there's always the fact you will be doing good - a wonderful reason to volunteer in itself.
Attend a Summer Academic Program, Take a Virtual Class or Try Dual Enrollment
Flush out your resume and explore something new. Summer academic programs, virtual classes and dual enrollment programs offer you a chance to choose something you want to learn. Try out a course from a major you're interested in. Explore aeronautical science or 17th century literature. Academic programs allow students to explore their interests from business to engineering. These highly organized programs are designed to strengthen the academic skills of students who plan to enter a similar program in college. Many of these programs are residential and students travel from all over to attend them. At some schools, taking a virtual class or participating in a dual enrollment program can even help raise your GPA. Both can also help save you time and money if you take classes that count both for high school credit as well as college credit. Depending on their school, students who enter college with credit can reduce their course load per term or even graduate early.
Enjoy your summer - wisely!
International College Counselors students: Call or email our office as soon as possible to make an appointment to discuss your summer plans.
Donna Klein students: Some summer programs require counselor nominations. Bring the forms to us, and we will fill them out for you. We will also be posting updated information on summer programs outside our Donna Klein office door. New information will be posted when we receive it, so remember to pass by often. Email us or call if you would like to apply to any of the programs. This week, we received a call for nominations for the Vanderbilt PAVE program (discussed on the blog). Stay tuned for more!
Visit the International College Counselors blog to see our 2011 Summer Recommendations.
Get a great summer job or internship
Summer jobs and internships are great ways to show colleges, and your parents that you are successfully maturing into a responsible adult. And there are few better ways to earn a little respect and gain valuable real-world experience. In a tight job market like the one we're experiencing now, your best bet may be the internship. An internship is a pre-professional work experience that provides students with an opportunity to gain unpaid experience in a field you're interested in. So what you don't gain in cash, you gain in experience. Think of it as a summer course. But with persistence and luck, you can land an internship in your dream career. If you think you might like to try advertising, check with your local agencies to see what internship opportunities are available. Think you want to be a lawyer, see if you can work in a law firm. An internship is also great way to secure yourself a recommendation and get your foot in the door for future networking.
If you're looking for available internships opportunities here in Miami, college counselors at International College Counselors can help you. Opportunities can also often be found on company websites and social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
Volunteering gives back
It can be profitable to work for nothing. You can make a difference, gain experience and explore your interests. For example, if a career in medicine interests you, you could volunteer a few hours a week at a hospital or nursing home. Interested in animals? Volunteer at the local animal shelter. Feeling entrepreneurial? Start a non-profit of your own. The choices are endless and all your hard work and time can pay off. Colleges and universities truly adore students who can demonstrate that they make the effort to help others. You may not be making money but you can make friends, and networking connections. You'll also be creating fodder for those application essays. Then there's always the fact you will be doing good - a wonderful reason to volunteer in itself.
Attend a Summer Academic Program, Take a Virtual Class or Try Dual Enrollment
Flush out your resume and explore something new. Summer academic programs, virtual classes and dual enrollment programs offer you a chance to choose something you want to learn. Try out a course from a major you're interested in. Explore aeronautical science or 17th century literature. Academic programs allow students to explore their interests from business to engineering. These highly organized programs are designed to strengthen the academic skills of students who plan to enter a similar program in college. Many of these programs are residential and students travel from all over to attend them. At some schools, taking a virtual class or participating in a dual enrollment program can even help raise your GPA. Both can also help save you time and money if you take classes that count both for high school credit as well as college credit. Depending on their school, students who enter college with credit can reduce their course load per term or even graduate early.
Enjoy your summer - wisely!
International College Counselors students: Call or email our office as soon as possible to make an appointment to discuss your summer plans.
Donna Klein students: Some summer programs require counselor nominations. Bring the forms to us, and we will fill them out for you. We will also be posting updated information on summer programs outside our Donna Klein office door. New information will be posted when we receive it, so remember to pass by often. Email us or call if you would like to apply to any of the programs. This week, we received a call for nominations for the Vanderbilt PAVE program (discussed on the blog). Stay tuned for more!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
How to Apply for Scholarships
HOW TO APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
by Mandee Heller Adler
Even if money grew on trees you'd have to work to get it with a ladder and a basket. The same goes for scholarships. They don't just come to you. You have to go out and get them. The good thing is there are a lot of them. Many more than there are money trees.
Our last International College Counselors newsletter let you know where to find scholarships. This is what to do once your child finds the ones he or she wants to apply for.
Applying for a scholarship is a lot like applying for college. There are a lot of choices that a student must go through in order to put together a list of worthwhile scholarships to spend time on.
International College Counselors Note: Make sure your student filters the scholarships during the search. Your child should only apply to the ones that match his or her skills, heritage, or other qualifications. Scholarships are very strict on this.
THE SEARCH
Start Early. The more time your student puts into looking for scholarships, the more choices they'll have. Your student will also need time to request necessary information and put the materials together. Scholarships requirements may include:
Transcripts
Financial aid forms like FAFSA
Essay(s)
Letters of recommendation
Standardized test scores
Proof of eligibility, such as U.S. Citizenship, birth certificate, or tribal
membership card
Stay Organized. Make separate folders for each scholarship and keep track of what is needed and when things are due.
Track the Scholarships on a Calendar. Make triple sure deadlines aren't missed.
THE APPLICATION
Follow the Instructions. Carefully. Count the words on the essay and provide the right materials. If your student has any questions about what the scholarship requirements are, or how to fill out a part of the application, have them call or email the scholarship sponsors. Many applications are eliminated because the directions were not followed to the letter.
Stay on topic in the essay(s). If the essay asks for the philosophic themes of an Ayn Rand novel, don't be clever by comparing her to Batman. Give them what they asked for. Don't give more. Don't give less.
Check and Recheck and Recheck the Application. Words must be spelled right and all the questions answered. Make sure it's signed and dated by the right people, for example, a teacher if that is what the application requests. And make sure all the words can be easily read.
Send the Application in On-Time. Make sure you do this!
***Scholarships DO Affect Financial Aid Packages***
Contact the financial aid office of any colleges your student is considering to find out the details. Each school has its own policy on which types of aid may be reduced or eliminated by the scholarship money. Different types of aid that may be affected by scholarship monies are loans, work-study and need-based grants.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
SOME SCHOLARSHIP SITES
International College Counselors Note: Legitimate scholarships and scholarship websites are free! If you are asked to pay money to apply for a scholarship, look elsewhere.
Scholarships.com
Fastweb
Scholarship Experts
Cappex
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
by Mandee Heller Adler
Even if money grew on trees you'd have to work to get it with a ladder and a basket. The same goes for scholarships. They don't just come to you. You have to go out and get them. The good thing is there are a lot of them. Many more than there are money trees.
Our last International College Counselors newsletter let you know where to find scholarships. This is what to do once your child finds the ones he or she wants to apply for.
Applying for a scholarship is a lot like applying for college. There are a lot of choices that a student must go through in order to put together a list of worthwhile scholarships to spend time on.
International College Counselors Note: Make sure your student filters the scholarships during the search. Your child should only apply to the ones that match his or her skills, heritage, or other qualifications. Scholarships are very strict on this.
THE SEARCH
Start Early. The more time your student puts into looking for scholarships, the more choices they'll have. Your student will also need time to request necessary information and put the materials together. Scholarships requirements may include:
Transcripts
Financial aid forms like FAFSA
Essay(s)
Letters of recommendation
Standardized test scores
Proof of eligibility, such as U.S. Citizenship, birth certificate, or tribal
membership card
Stay Organized. Make separate folders for each scholarship and keep track of what is needed and when things are due.
Track the Scholarships on a Calendar. Make triple sure deadlines aren't missed.
THE APPLICATION
Follow the Instructions. Carefully. Count the words on the essay and provide the right materials. If your student has any questions about what the scholarship requirements are, or how to fill out a part of the application, have them call or email the scholarship sponsors. Many applications are eliminated because the directions were not followed to the letter.
Stay on topic in the essay(s). If the essay asks for the philosophic themes of an Ayn Rand novel, don't be clever by comparing her to Batman. Give them what they asked for. Don't give more. Don't give less.
Check and Recheck and Recheck the Application. Words must be spelled right and all the questions answered. Make sure it's signed and dated by the right people, for example, a teacher if that is what the application requests. And make sure all the words can be easily read.
Send the Application in On-Time. Make sure you do this!
***Scholarships DO Affect Financial Aid Packages***
Contact the financial aid office of any colleges your student is considering to find out the details. Each school has its own policy on which types of aid may be reduced or eliminated by the scholarship money. Different types of aid that may be affected by scholarship monies are loans, work-study and need-based grants.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
SOME SCHOLARSHIP SITES
International College Counselors Note: Legitimate scholarships and scholarship websites are free! If you are asked to pay money to apply for a scholarship, look elsewhere.
Scholarships.com
Fastweb
Scholarship Experts
Cappex
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Grants, Scholarships & Loans for College Admissions
Parents. There are ways your student can go to college for free. Even to the best colleges in the country. Westinghouse scholars, Olympic champions, and tween founders of multi-million dollar companies all qualify.
But, there’s hope for the rest of us! It’s all about maximizing your financial aid and minimizing your costs.
Top ways the expert college counselors at International College Counselors recommend to make college more affordable include:
1. Government Loans
As International College Counselors wrote about in our last blog, the US government loans money to every student who needs it. To receive FAFSA aid, a student (or parent) needs to fill out and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (http://www.fafsa.gov). This federal application for financial aid is also used to apply for aid from other sources, such as your state or school.
For our clients with the United States from San Francisco to Miami, our expert college counselors recommend that ALL students fill the FAFSA out regardless of their house-hold income, if they even have the remotest need.
2. Grants
Grants are better than loans because students don’t have to pay the money back. (Free money!) But they’re not available to everyone.
Pell Grants are federal grants awarded strictly on the student’s financial need. Other federal grant programs include the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (also based on financials), and grant programs for students with good grades in competitive high-school programs or specific fields of study, such as math, nursing or teaching. States and colleges also have their own pools of grant money. Like loans, grants are awarded based on the FAFSA results.
3. General and School Scholarships
For students who are seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen, whether in public school, private school, or home schooled (meaning everyone in high school) scholarships are available. International College Counselors concur these scholarships are highly desirable because recipients do not have to pay them back and a good number of scholarships are not based on financial need.
Thousands of scholarships are available. Sources of scholarships can be national organizations, employers, corporations, professional associations, local clubs, contests, and the schools themselves. The trick is finding the ones that best match the student. If you’re not a Native American there’s no point in going for the scholarship. You’d be better off knitting a clever outfit out of wool, measuring less than 4’ 10” in height, having the last name Zolp. All are scholarship worthy. Here are the details on those scholarships and other unusual scholarships.
There aren’t many of these scholarships with unusual eligibility requirements, but it doesn’t hurt to see what may be out there. Some scholarships are based on financial needs. Others are awarded to students with special abilities qualified as academic, artistic, or athletic achievement. Still more are reserved for people who have certain religious affiliation, ethnicity, memberships, hobbies, or special interests.
School-specific scholarships, where a student can usually receive the largest amount of scholarship aid, are typically given to top athletes, top test score recipients, and other outstanding students. In order to apply for these scholarships, you need to contact each school individually. A rule of thumb is that if you are in the top 25% of the admitted class, there could be some scholarship money waiting for you. So, a student who can get into MIT with no scholarship money may receive a full ride at Georgia Tech (still a great school!), and a student who can get into Penn could get a full ride at Drexel (a terrific option!).
HOW TO FIND SCHOLARSHIPS & APPLY FOR THEM
Students don’t have to look farther than their computer to find scholarships to apply to. Several free scholarship databases are available online, offering millions of different scholarships worth billions of dollars. For International College Counselors students, please be sure to look to Naviance for scholarship options. With thousands of scholarships to choose from, any student can find a scholarship to which to apply.
For non ICC students, and for ICC students who would like an additional resource, ICC recommends the scholarship database FastWeb.com. It’s large, most often accurate and frequently updated. Students should also look to their high school’s website for LOCAL scholarship opportunities. Clearly, a scholarship for students at your school, or your community will be easier to get than one that draws a national applicant pool.
Please remember during your search, if you are considering a legitimate scholarship site or scholarship you will not be asked for any money to apply or receive details.
Florida students should not forget to apply to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program provides scholarships based on high school academic achievement, and could cover up to 100% of a public college’s tuition.
Scholarships pay off in more ways than just Free Money. College advisors can say with certainty that they also look impressive on your college applications.
Getting out of college with little or no debt is hard, but not impossible, and with initiative, you and your student don’t have to rob a bank to do it.
Next week, I’ll write about How to Apply for Scholarships.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
But, there’s hope for the rest of us! It’s all about maximizing your financial aid and minimizing your costs.
Top ways the expert college counselors at International College Counselors recommend to make college more affordable include:
1. Government Loans
As International College Counselors wrote about in our last blog, the US government loans money to every student who needs it. To receive FAFSA aid, a student (or parent) needs to fill out and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (http://www.fafsa.gov). This federal application for financial aid is also used to apply for aid from other sources, such as your state or school.
For our clients with the United States from San Francisco to Miami, our expert college counselors recommend that ALL students fill the FAFSA out regardless of their house-hold income, if they even have the remotest need.
2. Grants
Grants are better than loans because students don’t have to pay the money back. (Free money!) But they’re not available to everyone.
Pell Grants are federal grants awarded strictly on the student’s financial need. Other federal grant programs include the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (also based on financials), and grant programs for students with good grades in competitive high-school programs or specific fields of study, such as math, nursing or teaching. States and colleges also have their own pools of grant money. Like loans, grants are awarded based on the FAFSA results.
3. General and School Scholarships
For students who are seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen, whether in public school, private school, or home schooled (meaning everyone in high school) scholarships are available. International College Counselors concur these scholarships are highly desirable because recipients do not have to pay them back and a good number of scholarships are not based on financial need.
Thousands of scholarships are available. Sources of scholarships can be national organizations, employers, corporations, professional associations, local clubs, contests, and the schools themselves. The trick is finding the ones that best match the student. If you’re not a Native American there’s no point in going for the scholarship. You’d be better off knitting a clever outfit out of wool, measuring less than 4’ 10” in height, having the last name Zolp. All are scholarship worthy. Here are the details on those scholarships and other unusual scholarships.
There aren’t many of these scholarships with unusual eligibility requirements, but it doesn’t hurt to see what may be out there. Some scholarships are based on financial needs. Others are awarded to students with special abilities qualified as academic, artistic, or athletic achievement. Still more are reserved for people who have certain religious affiliation, ethnicity, memberships, hobbies, or special interests.
School-specific scholarships, where a student can usually receive the largest amount of scholarship aid, are typically given to top athletes, top test score recipients, and other outstanding students. In order to apply for these scholarships, you need to contact each school individually. A rule of thumb is that if you are in the top 25% of the admitted class, there could be some scholarship money waiting for you. So, a student who can get into MIT with no scholarship money may receive a full ride at Georgia Tech (still a great school!), and a student who can get into Penn could get a full ride at Drexel (a terrific option!).
HOW TO FIND SCHOLARSHIPS & APPLY FOR THEM
Students don’t have to look farther than their computer to find scholarships to apply to. Several free scholarship databases are available online, offering millions of different scholarships worth billions of dollars. For International College Counselors students, please be sure to look to Naviance for scholarship options. With thousands of scholarships to choose from, any student can find a scholarship to which to apply.
For non ICC students, and for ICC students who would like an additional resource, ICC recommends the scholarship database FastWeb.com. It’s large, most often accurate and frequently updated. Students should also look to their high school’s website for LOCAL scholarship opportunities. Clearly, a scholarship for students at your school, or your community will be easier to get than one that draws a national applicant pool.
Please remember during your search, if you are considering a legitimate scholarship site or scholarship you will not be asked for any money to apply or receive details.
Florida students should not forget to apply to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program provides scholarships based on high school academic achievement, and could cover up to 100% of a public college’s tuition.
Scholarships pay off in more ways than just Free Money. College advisors can say with certainty that they also look impressive on your college applications.
Getting out of college with little or no debt is hard, but not impossible, and with initiative, you and your student don’t have to rob a bank to do it.
Next week, I’ll write about How to Apply for Scholarships.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
What you Need to Know About Financial Aid from International College Counselors
If you are looking to receive financial aid, now is the time to start getting your finances in order. The US government loans money to every student who needs it. Two of the most important and most common ways of getting access to government money are the FAFSA and the CSS/Profile.
To receive FAFSA aid, you need to fill out and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (http://www.fafsa.gov). This federal application for financial aid is also used to apply for aid from other sources, such as your state or school.
The CSS/Financial Aid Profile, CSS/Profile, or College Scholarship Service Profile is also an application that allows students to apply for financial aid. It is distributed by the College Board and is much more detailed than the FAFSA.
Most schools require BOTH the FAFSA and the CSS/Profile in order to eligible to receive financial aid.
The FAFSA determines Federal funding and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is set by the government. The FAFSA does not take into account home equity, medical expenses or change in employment.
The CSS/Profile helps determine institutional money, in many cases. The EFC calculation may vary by institution, and can take into account home equity, deductions for medical expenses and provisions for special circumstances.
International College Counselors recommends that ALL students who feel they need aid fill the FAFSA out regardless of their household income.
With both of these forms, it is important to fill them out as early as possible.
The CSS/Profile has varying deadlines depending on the school and becomes available in the fall. If you are applying early admissions or early decision, the CSS/ Profile is often due by November 15. The CSS/Profile can be found at the College Board website: https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp.
The FAFSA always becomes available January 1 and should be submitted as soon as data is ready. The FAFSA application can be found at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
If you have specific questions, much like with the CSS/ Profile, the folks at FAFSA are EXTREMELY helpful. Please do not hesitate to call the contact numbers.
FAFSA contact info. CSS/ Profile contact info.
A family should fill out BOTH of these forms each year if you desire aid for college. Be sure to check your specific school’s website for further forms or information. Only rarely are there additional forms, but we never know.
In our next email we will discuss grants, general and school scholarships, and other ways to maximize your finances and minimize your college costs.
For more information on financial aid, please contact International College Counselors to learn more. We would be happy to send you a personalized list of your particular financial aid “to – dos”.
Also, when beginning your FAFSA, please refer to the “Common Errors When Filing for Financial Aid” page in your binder. If you are missing it, please let us know.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
To receive FAFSA aid, you need to fill out and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (http://www.fafsa.gov). This federal application for financial aid is also used to apply for aid from other sources, such as your state or school.
The CSS/Financial Aid Profile, CSS/Profile, or College Scholarship Service Profile is also an application that allows students to apply for financial aid. It is distributed by the College Board and is much more detailed than the FAFSA.
Most schools require BOTH the FAFSA and the CSS/Profile in order to eligible to receive financial aid.
The FAFSA determines Federal funding and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is set by the government. The FAFSA does not take into account home equity, medical expenses or change in employment.
The CSS/Profile helps determine institutional money, in many cases. The EFC calculation may vary by institution, and can take into account home equity, deductions for medical expenses and provisions for special circumstances.
International College Counselors recommends that ALL students who feel they need aid fill the FAFSA out regardless of their household income.
With both of these forms, it is important to fill them out as early as possible.
The CSS/Profile has varying deadlines depending on the school and becomes available in the fall. If you are applying early admissions or early decision, the CSS/ Profile is often due by November 15. The CSS/Profile can be found at the College Board website: https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp.
The FAFSA always becomes available January 1 and should be submitted as soon as data is ready. The FAFSA application can be found at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
If you have specific questions, much like with the CSS/ Profile, the folks at FAFSA are EXTREMELY helpful. Please do not hesitate to call the contact numbers.
FAFSA contact info. CSS/ Profile contact info.
A family should fill out BOTH of these forms each year if you desire aid for college. Be sure to check your specific school’s website for further forms or information. Only rarely are there additional forms, but we never know.
In our next email we will discuss grants, general and school scholarships, and other ways to maximize your finances and minimize your college costs.
For more information on financial aid, please contact International College Counselors to learn more. We would be happy to send you a personalized list of your particular financial aid “to – dos”.
Also, when beginning your FAFSA, please refer to the “Common Errors When Filing for Financial Aid” page in your binder. If you are missing it, please let us know.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
How to Help your High School Junior
Junior year is the homestretch. The critical decisions that are made this year could have a major impact on the next five years of your life – and long beyond. This is the year students start narrowing lists of colleges and career paths. This is the last full year of grades that college admissions officers will review.
Expert college counselors at International College Counselors strongly recommend that parents continue making this college admissions journey fun and positive. For many students, the college admissions process can feel so overwhelming, they become frozen, missing deadlines and forgetting important details. With the right strategy stress can be minimized – it isn’t realistic to believe it will be eliminated. Approach this as a bonding discovery process for all involved. Parents: Let your child know that you’re proud of your child and you’re there to give your support.
Here are some other International College Counselors tips for parents:
Time Management
• Review your student’s schedule with him or her at the beginning of the school year. The goal is to have your child enroll in challenging classes that will help them prepare for college. If your student is aiming for the more competitive schools he or she must take college-prep classes, including advanced-placement. Care must be taken not to overload on classes or extracurricular activities as junior year courses and grades are critical. A college bound student should be aiming slightly above his or her comfort level. A student needs to show the college admissions team that he or she pushes him or herself.
• Make sure your student meets with a college counselor to discuss college plans and review his or her transcript and experience.
• Help your student keep a calendar. Work with him or her to update it regularly with any important dates and deadlines.
Standardized Tests
• Make sure your student stakes the PSAT/NMSQT again, which is given in October. If your student does well on the exam, he or she can qualify for a National Merit Scholarship
• As quickly as possible say expert college counselors, plan the junior year testing schedule. A student can take either the SAT or up to three SAT Subject Tests on one test day, or the ACT. Your student should take the SAT and the ACT tests before the end of their junior year. We always recommend that the student try BOTH the SAT and the ACT. The colleges accept them equally, and students often have a natural inclination towards one test.
• Invest in SAT and/or ACT test review material. Juniors should begin preparing for these tests as soon as possible so that the process isn’t rushed. SAT/ACT test prep can include an online course or traditional class, and practice tests. Make sure your student spends time studying the material for the test. Neither of these tests can be crammed for in one night.
Extracurricular activities
• Encourage your child to remain involved with extracurricular activities. This year is very important. Colleges want to see that a student sticks with something. Encourage your child to assume a leadership role in an extracurricular activity. If your child’s forte is sports or music, consider getting involved in regional, state or national competitions. Colleges aren’t looking for quantity in activities, but quality. And advancement.
College selection/ Application preparation
• Encourage your student to get to know the junior year teachers – and leave a positive impression on them. This is preparation for the all important college recommendations.
• Start narrowing down colleges and universities. Information can be gathered in books and on websites. Try to talk to alumni or current students. In the spring, your student should meet with his or her college counselor to draft a college list. Before the start of your student’s senior year, the goal is to develop a list of 15-20 colleges of interest.
• Talk about career choice(s). These may have a big impact on the list of potential colleges to be considered. The idea here is not to have a student commit to a career path, but to try and narrow down the career possibilities.
• Go on college campus tours with your student. Make sure you take a look at the whole range: public, private, large and small. Consider taking a college road tour over Spring Break. Schedule interviews with admissions counselors at the colleges your student is most interested in.
• Attend any college fairs that come to your area, as well as presentations by traveling college admissions officers.
Money
• Keep talking about financing college if you haven’t already. Talking about money helps students understand how much college really costs, and how they can help defray the costs through applying to private scholarships and getting good grades. Talking about money will also start introducing them to the adult concepts like financial aid and loans. Generally, if you treat your child like an adult now, chances are they will behave more like an adult later.
• Hop on the internet and research scholarships. Then help your student apply to them. Meeting deadlines is a must. Make sure everything is proofread.
Summer
• Help your student find a summer opportunity. This could include an internship, job or college program. Whatever it is, start early. You want to beat the competition. Many other students are going to be looking for opportunities, too. Do some networking on your student’s behalf. If your student is interested in medicine, see who is in your network that you might be able to call. The same goes for if your student wants to be a graphic designer or a lawyer.
• Help your student search online for summer school programs for high school students at colleges, if this is the route they choose.
All year round
• Encourage your child to read. It’s the best way to prepare for the SAT and all standardized exams. If they don’t have a favorite author? Take them to the local library to explore popular options within their age group.
• Hire a personal college advisor to provide the individualized attention any student needs to properly tackle the graduate or undergraduate college admission
process. Whether your student is the first person in the family to go to college or comes from a long line of Ivy League graduates, the dedicated advisors at International College Counselors can give your student the tools to find and get into the college of his or her dreams.
Most importantly: Be there for your child. Be present in his or her life. Listen to his or her hopes, fears and goals. Working together can make these dreams more real and much more possible.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Expert college counselors at International College Counselors strongly recommend that parents continue making this college admissions journey fun and positive. For many students, the college admissions process can feel so overwhelming, they become frozen, missing deadlines and forgetting important details. With the right strategy stress can be minimized – it isn’t realistic to believe it will be eliminated. Approach this as a bonding discovery process for all involved. Parents: Let your child know that you’re proud of your child and you’re there to give your support.
Here are some other International College Counselors tips for parents:
Time Management
• Review your student’s schedule with him or her at the beginning of the school year. The goal is to have your child enroll in challenging classes that will help them prepare for college. If your student is aiming for the more competitive schools he or she must take college-prep classes, including advanced-placement. Care must be taken not to overload on classes or extracurricular activities as junior year courses and grades are critical. A college bound student should be aiming slightly above his or her comfort level. A student needs to show the college admissions team that he or she pushes him or herself.
• Make sure your student meets with a college counselor to discuss college plans and review his or her transcript and experience.
• Help your student keep a calendar. Work with him or her to update it regularly with any important dates and deadlines.
Standardized Tests
• Make sure your student stakes the PSAT/NMSQT again, which is given in October. If your student does well on the exam, he or she can qualify for a National Merit Scholarship
• As quickly as possible say expert college counselors, plan the junior year testing schedule. A student can take either the SAT or up to three SAT Subject Tests on one test day, or the ACT. Your student should take the SAT and the ACT tests before the end of their junior year. We always recommend that the student try BOTH the SAT and the ACT. The colleges accept them equally, and students often have a natural inclination towards one test.
• Invest in SAT and/or ACT test review material. Juniors should begin preparing for these tests as soon as possible so that the process isn’t rushed. SAT/ACT test prep can include an online course or traditional class, and practice tests. Make sure your student spends time studying the material for the test. Neither of these tests can be crammed for in one night.
Extracurricular activities
• Encourage your child to remain involved with extracurricular activities. This year is very important. Colleges want to see that a student sticks with something. Encourage your child to assume a leadership role in an extracurricular activity. If your child’s forte is sports or music, consider getting involved in regional, state or national competitions. Colleges aren’t looking for quantity in activities, but quality. And advancement.
College selection/ Application preparation
• Encourage your student to get to know the junior year teachers – and leave a positive impression on them. This is preparation for the all important college recommendations.
• Start narrowing down colleges and universities. Information can be gathered in books and on websites. Try to talk to alumni or current students. In the spring, your student should meet with his or her college counselor to draft a college list. Before the start of your student’s senior year, the goal is to develop a list of 15-20 colleges of interest.
• Talk about career choice(s). These may have a big impact on the list of potential colleges to be considered. The idea here is not to have a student commit to a career path, but to try and narrow down the career possibilities.
• Go on college campus tours with your student. Make sure you take a look at the whole range: public, private, large and small. Consider taking a college road tour over Spring Break. Schedule interviews with admissions counselors at the colleges your student is most interested in.
• Attend any college fairs that come to your area, as well as presentations by traveling college admissions officers.
Money
• Keep talking about financing college if you haven’t already. Talking about money helps students understand how much college really costs, and how they can help defray the costs through applying to private scholarships and getting good grades. Talking about money will also start introducing them to the adult concepts like financial aid and loans. Generally, if you treat your child like an adult now, chances are they will behave more like an adult later.
• Hop on the internet and research scholarships. Then help your student apply to them. Meeting deadlines is a must. Make sure everything is proofread.
Summer
• Help your student find a summer opportunity. This could include an internship, job or college program. Whatever it is, start early. You want to beat the competition. Many other students are going to be looking for opportunities, too. Do some networking on your student’s behalf. If your student is interested in medicine, see who is in your network that you might be able to call. The same goes for if your student wants to be a graphic designer or a lawyer.
• Help your student search online for summer school programs for high school students at colleges, if this is the route they choose.
All year round
• Encourage your child to read. It’s the best way to prepare for the SAT and all standardized exams. If they don’t have a favorite author? Take them to the local library to explore popular options within their age group.
• Hire a personal college advisor to provide the individualized attention any student needs to properly tackle the graduate or undergraduate college admission
process. Whether your student is the first person in the family to go to college or comes from a long line of Ivy League graduates, the dedicated advisors at International College Counselors can give your student the tools to find and get into the college of his or her dreams.
Most importantly: Be there for your child. Be present in his or her life. Listen to his or her hopes, fears and goals. Working together can make these dreams more real and much more possible.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Get your Invitation to College Visits/Information Sessions
So, you heard that Penn was in town this weekend....after the fact. How did the other families and students know?
Well, it doesn’t really matter. Why your student did not receive an invite can be attributed to a number of factors. It could be something like a test score or that the other family knows an alumnus.
It’s not worth getting anxious over.
It’s better to focus your energy on getting invited to the information events your student interested in.
To get the invite all you need to do is ask. (Or have your college admissions counselor ask for you).
Getting invited to college information sessions is as easy as going to the website and signing up on the admissions page to learn more. Every school that our college admissions counselors know of (except Harvard) has such a list.
For younger students in particular, International College Counselors recommends "group" college visits. This way a student can learn about a number of schools at one time.
Please click the link below to register for a group information session from SUNY Binghamton, University of Vermont, Miami University (in Ohio) and Clemson. www.selectivecollegetour.com
The expert college counselors at International College Counselors recommend you go to as many information sessions as you can.
What are information sessions?
Information Sessions are a chance for prospective students and their families the opportunity to learn more about a university’s academic and student life from members of the admission staff. These university representatives travel around the U.S. and the world reaching out to students. At these sessions, students also gain insights into the admission, financial aid and scholarship process. The goal of each session is to provide a comprehensive overview of the school and answer any and all questions students or their parents may have. Generally, each session lasts approximately a hour. Current students and/or alumni may attend depending on where and when the information session is held. Sometimes food is served, and sometimes it’s not.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college. Our offices will allow you to work with a Miami college counselor, Dade College Counselor, Broward college counselor, Palm Beach College Counselors, Boca College Counselor and/or a Ft. Lauderdale College Counselor.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Well, it doesn’t really matter. Why your student did not receive an invite can be attributed to a number of factors. It could be something like a test score or that the other family knows an alumnus.
It’s not worth getting anxious over.
It’s better to focus your energy on getting invited to the information events your student interested in.
To get the invite all you need to do is ask. (Or have your college admissions counselor ask for you).
Getting invited to college information sessions is as easy as going to the website and signing up on the admissions page to learn more. Every school that our college admissions counselors know of (except Harvard) has such a list.
For younger students in particular, International College Counselors recommends "group" college visits. This way a student can learn about a number of schools at one time.
Please click the link below to register for a group information session from SUNY Binghamton, University of Vermont, Miami University (in Ohio) and Clemson. www.selectivecollegetour.com
The expert college counselors at International College Counselors recommend you go to as many information sessions as you can.
What are information sessions?
Information Sessions are a chance for prospective students and their families the opportunity to learn more about a university’s academic and student life from members of the admission staff. These university representatives travel around the U.S. and the world reaching out to students. At these sessions, students also gain insights into the admission, financial aid and scholarship process. The goal of each session is to provide a comprehensive overview of the school and answer any and all questions students or their parents may have. Generally, each session lasts approximately a hour. Current students and/or alumni may attend depending on where and when the information session is held. Sometimes food is served, and sometimes it’s not.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college. Our offices will allow you to work with a Miami college counselor, Dade College Counselor, Broward college counselor, Palm Beach College Counselors, Boca College Counselor and/or a Ft. Lauderdale College Counselor.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Truth, Plagiarism & the Consequences on College Applications and Essays
Mandee Heller Adler, president of International College Counselors, was quoted in The New York Times in an article titled, “If You’re Going to Be Edited, Be Sure the Result Is Still You“. She discusses the business of professionally edited college admissions essays.
Overall, the article concludes that professionals helping students with college admissions essays are performing an ethical service as long as they don’t write the college admissions essay for a student. The best college counselors allow students to just be themselves, but “a somewhat more interesting, more attractive, more eloquent” version of themselves.
As any parent or student who has worked with International College Counselors knows, what Adler says in the article is true, “she has parents sign a form, part of which establishes that her counselors will ‘review, not do’ the essay.”
“I’m not going to write an essay,” she tells the Times readers. “It’s an ethical question and it’s a line I won’t cross. Of course, it’s a fuzzy line, but I have to feel comfortable that I haven’t crossed it.”
It goes without saying that a student shouldn’t have someone else write their entire college admissions essay for them, whether it’s a friend, parent, college advisor, or a professional writer. But what about the fuzzier areas, like when a student portrays himself or herself as better than they are?
Say International College Counselors: No matter how desperately a student wants to get into a school, don’t lie on the college application. If a university finds out a student has lied on an application or essay - even a little - they’re getting rejected, almost guaranteed.
How does a school know if a student fibbed/fudged/lied? Colleges are doing research of their own. A common practice is for college admissions officers to call up high schools to verify a student’s activities and awards. College admissions officers have also called jobs, internship organizers, and places where students have performed public service.
Thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to see if a student really has received a major award or a significant ranking, whether it’s in music or sports. Some universities like MIT have even hired private investigators to check up on student claims. While there is a chance a student won’t be caught, do they really want to risk it.
Embellishing the truth isn’t good either. If a student delivered meals to homebound senior citizens in their community, he or she shouldn’t write that they ended world hunger. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with presenting yourself in a positive way. This is where a student’s ethics (and clever adjectives) need to kick in.
Plagiarism is always wrong and schools are getting better at detecting it. Penn State, for example, is using an admissions essay service offered by Turnitin. This software service has been used by professors to check their students’ class work - with much success. College application essays are now being compared to a huge database of collected information and what’s already on the web. While most schools don’t publicize whether or not they use this detection system, at Penn State 29 students were rejected in 2010 because of plagiarism on the college application.
College essays are about the student. Who they are and not who they’re not. At International College Counselors, we believe that every student has a gem of an essay within them. What they need to do is find that kernel of truth - and remember to proofread.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college. Our offices will allow you to work with a Miami college counselor, Dade College Counselor, Broward college counselor, Palm Beach College Counselors, Boca College Counselor and/or a Ft. Lauderdale College Counselor.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Overall, the article concludes that professionals helping students with college admissions essays are performing an ethical service as long as they don’t write the college admissions essay for a student. The best college counselors allow students to just be themselves, but “a somewhat more interesting, more attractive, more eloquent” version of themselves.
As any parent or student who has worked with International College Counselors knows, what Adler says in the article is true, “she has parents sign a form, part of which establishes that her counselors will ‘review, not do’ the essay.”
“I’m not going to write an essay,” she tells the Times readers. “It’s an ethical question and it’s a line I won’t cross. Of course, it’s a fuzzy line, but I have to feel comfortable that I haven’t crossed it.”
It goes without saying that a student shouldn’t have someone else write their entire college admissions essay for them, whether it’s a friend, parent, college advisor, or a professional writer. But what about the fuzzier areas, like when a student portrays himself or herself as better than they are?
Say International College Counselors: No matter how desperately a student wants to get into a school, don’t lie on the college application. If a university finds out a student has lied on an application or essay - even a little - they’re getting rejected, almost guaranteed.
How does a school know if a student fibbed/fudged/lied? Colleges are doing research of their own. A common practice is for college admissions officers to call up high schools to verify a student’s activities and awards. College admissions officers have also called jobs, internship organizers, and places where students have performed public service.
Thanks to the Internet, it’s easy to see if a student really has received a major award or a significant ranking, whether it’s in music or sports. Some universities like MIT have even hired private investigators to check up on student claims. While there is a chance a student won’t be caught, do they really want to risk it.
Embellishing the truth isn’t good either. If a student delivered meals to homebound senior citizens in their community, he or she shouldn’t write that they ended world hunger. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with presenting yourself in a positive way. This is where a student’s ethics (and clever adjectives) need to kick in.
Plagiarism is always wrong and schools are getting better at detecting it. Penn State, for example, is using an admissions essay service offered by Turnitin. This software service has been used by professors to check their students’ class work - with much success. College application essays are now being compared to a huge database of collected information and what’s already on the web. While most schools don’t publicize whether or not they use this detection system, at Penn State 29 students were rejected in 2010 because of plagiarism on the college application.
College essays are about the student. Who they are and not who they’re not. At International College Counselors, we believe that every student has a gem of an essay within them. What they need to do is find that kernel of truth - and remember to proofread.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college. Our offices will allow you to work with a Miami college counselor, Dade College Counselor, Broward college counselor, Palm Beach College Counselors, Boca College Counselor and/or a Ft. Lauderdale College Counselor.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Big Changes in SAT Subject Test Policies
By Mandee Heller Adler, president of International College Counselors
Just like that, Harvard, Georgetown and a few other Universities changed the rules. Until now, these schools had application policies that required all students to take and submit scores for three SAT Subject Tests (aka SAT II).
Harvard will now require only two SAT Subject Tests for Fall 2011 class applicants. Georgetown went from requesting three Subject Test Scores to strongly recommending them.
When applying to schools, expert college counselors say, note the change in language. Universities used to require or request the submission of three SAT Subject Test scores as part of a complete application for admission. Now at many schools, like Georgetown, the language on the test policies has been changed to strongly recommended.
The testing policy at Stanford University states: "We recommend taking at least two SAT Subject Tests, as such information will assist us in our evaluation process. Applicants, however, who choose not to take SAT Subject Tests will not be at a disadvantage in the admission process."
Of course, as expert college counselors know, the subtleties in language are important, especially at schools where admissions are highly competitive.
International College Counselors note: When a highly regarded university requires only two Subject Tests, our expert college counselors highly recommend you take more to make yourself the most highly qualified candidate.
According to the Harvard website, applicants may take any two subject tests. But to meet these requirements students should not submit two Subject Tests in mathematics, and "candidates whose first language is not English should ordinarily not use a Subject Test in their first language...All students are encouraged to submit additional Subject Tests (which may include one in a student's first language)."
Additionally, applicants are encouraged to show evidence of the "breadth and depth of their academic interests" by taking additional Subject Tests and to submit Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) test results that provide evidence of academic accomplishment.
Further complicating the evolving role of SAT Subject Tests, a few colleges, like NYU and Colby College, are allowing the Subject Tests and other standardized tests and/or AP and IB tests to be submitted instead of SAT and/or ACT scores.
The College Board currently offers SAT Subject Tests in 20 areas, including history, literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry and a variety of languages.
Charles Deacon, dean of undergraduate admissions at Georgetown, explained via e-mail for Inside Higher Ed: "Georgetown, like Harvard and other selective schools, finds SAT IIs to be quite predictive of academic success at a high school level and we feel they are a valuable addition to SAT Is or ACTs. However, we are aware that for a variety of reasons, students may find it difficult to submit these results so we want to make it clear that they can still apply and we will do our best to consider them fairly based upon the information they are able to provide."
For the most accurate and current information on standardized test policies for each college, International College Counselors recommend that students visit individual college websites or contact us at 954-414-9986 or at barry@internationalcollegecounselors.com.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college. Our offices will allow you to work with a Miami college counselor, Dade College Counselor, Broward college counselor, Palm Beach College Counselors, Boca College Counselor and/or a Ft. Lauderdale College Counselor.
Just like that, Harvard, Georgetown and a few other Universities changed the rules. Until now, these schools had application policies that required all students to take and submit scores for three SAT Subject Tests (aka SAT II).
Harvard will now require only two SAT Subject Tests for Fall 2011 class applicants. Georgetown went from requesting three Subject Test Scores to strongly recommending them.
When applying to schools, expert college counselors say, note the change in language. Universities used to require or request the submission of three SAT Subject Test scores as part of a complete application for admission. Now at many schools, like Georgetown, the language on the test policies has been changed to strongly recommended.
The testing policy at Stanford University states: "We recommend taking at least two SAT Subject Tests, as such information will assist us in our evaluation process. Applicants, however, who choose not to take SAT Subject Tests will not be at a disadvantage in the admission process."
Of course, as expert college counselors know, the subtleties in language are important, especially at schools where admissions are highly competitive.
International College Counselors note: When a highly regarded university requires only two Subject Tests, our expert college counselors highly recommend you take more to make yourself the most highly qualified candidate.
According to the Harvard website, applicants may take any two subject tests. But to meet these requirements students should not submit two Subject Tests in mathematics, and "candidates whose first language is not English should ordinarily not use a Subject Test in their first language...All students are encouraged to submit additional Subject Tests (which may include one in a student's first language)."
Additionally, applicants are encouraged to show evidence of the "breadth and depth of their academic interests" by taking additional Subject Tests and to submit Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) test results that provide evidence of academic accomplishment.
Further complicating the evolving role of SAT Subject Tests, a few colleges, like NYU and Colby College, are allowing the Subject Tests and other standardized tests and/or AP and IB tests to be submitted instead of SAT and/or ACT scores.
The College Board currently offers SAT Subject Tests in 20 areas, including history, literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry and a variety of languages.
Charles Deacon, dean of undergraduate admissions at Georgetown, explained via e-mail for Inside Higher Ed: "Georgetown, like Harvard and other selective schools, finds SAT IIs to be quite predictive of academic success at a high school level and we feel they are a valuable addition to SAT Is or ACTs. However, we are aware that for a variety of reasons, students may find it difficult to submit these results so we want to make it clear that they can still apply and we will do our best to consider them fairly based upon the information they are able to provide."
For the most accurate and current information on standardized test policies for each college, International College Counselors recommend that students visit individual college websites or contact us at 954-414-9986 or at barry@internationalcollegecounselors.com.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college. Our offices will allow you to work with a Miami college counselor, Dade College Counselor, Broward college counselor, Palm Beach College Counselors, Boca College Counselor and/or a Ft. Lauderdale College Counselor.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
How to Help your High School Freshman. Tips from International College Counselors.
Many parents ask our expert college counselors at International College Counselors how early their students need to start preparing for the college admissions process. The answer from our expert college counselors: as soon as possible, especially if your student is looking at competitive schools.
The secret is to make the process fun. And not stress your student out too early or too much. College admissions stress is inevitable but it can be minimized even if your child is aiming for the Ivy League. Plus, expert college counselors know, the journey towards a college degree can be a bonding discovery process for all involved.
Here are some International College Counselors tips for parents:
• Review your student’s schedule with him or her at the beginning of the school year. The goal is to have your child enroll in challenging classes that will help them prepare for college. Help your child be less afraid to reach slightly higher than their comfort level. Build your child’s confidence and offer your support. But, expert college counselors understand, be mindful of the realities and don’t push your student too far above his or her level.
• Make sure your student meets with his or her counselor to discuss college plans. Students tend to procrastinate. (You don't need to be an expert, or a college counselor, or work at International College Counselors to know this.)
• Help your student start a calendar. Work with him or her to update it regularly with any important dates and deadlines.
• Encourage your child to get involved with extracurricular activities. Who knows your child best, but you? Take what you’ve observed over the past 13 years and encourage your student to explore their interests. Water polo, bowling, harp playing, choir, drama, debate, or starting a business. Explore interests outside the school as well. Is your child interested in science? Have them check out volunteer opportunities at a local science museum or center. If your student likes to write, maybe there’s a place for him or her to cover high school activities for the local paper. If a child has an interest in an activity, there’s a greater chance they’ll stick with it and accomplish something. Colleges like to see that a student stays with something and moves up in it. If you're in Broward, Palm Beach, or Miami, college counselor at International College Counselors know you have many, many options.
• Start talking about financing college. Talking about money helps students understand how much college really costs, and how they can help defray the costs through applying to private scholarships and getting good grades. Talking about money will also start introducing them to the adult concepts like financial aid and loans. Generally, if you treat your child like an adult now, chances are they will behave more like an adult later. Even in 9th grade there are scholarship monies available to use towards college. Topics expert college counselors at International College Counselors suggest include how much money they'll need for college, how much they should try to save, and ways to reach their goal, whether it’s part-time work or more AP classes.
• Familiarize yourself with the SAT Subject Tests and help build your child’s confidence in his or her strong subjects. Encourage him or her to take the tests as soon as they finish the course so the material is still fresh to them. Subject Tests include World History, Literature, Biology E/M, and Chemistry.
• Help your student find a summer opportunity. Do some networking on their behalf. If your student is interested in medicine, see who is in your network that you might be able to call. The same goes for if your student wants to be a graphic designer or a vet. Many businesses wouldn’t mind a free volunteer. Suggest opportunities around the community your student might not have considered. Students tend to be so caught up in their own world, they may not even realize there may be a cool museum nearby to volunteer at and gain the kind of experience college admissions officers smile upon.
• Help your student search online for summer school programs for high school students at colleges, if this is the route they choose.
• Encourage your child to read. It’s the best way to prepare for the SAT and all standardized exams. If they don’t have a favorite author? Take them to the local library to explore popular options within their age group.
• Go on college campus visits with your student. At this point in the game, it’s low pressure. Make it fun. When you go on any family vacations, make it a point to visit college campuses around your destination. Even if the schools are not on your child’s radar, these visits will give everyone a chance to get a feel for the options.
• Hire a personal college advisor to provide the individualized attention any student needs to properly tackle the graduate or undergraduate college admission
process. Whether your student is the first person in the family to go to college or comes from a long line of Ivy League graduates, the dedicated advisors at International College Counselors can give your student the tools to find and get into the college of his or her dreams.
Most importantly: Be there for your child. Be present in his or her life. Listen to his or her hopes, fears and goals. Working together can make these dreams more real and much more possible.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
The secret is to make the process fun. And not stress your student out too early or too much. College admissions stress is inevitable but it can be minimized even if your child is aiming for the Ivy League. Plus, expert college counselors know, the journey towards a college degree can be a bonding discovery process for all involved.
Here are some International College Counselors tips for parents:
• Review your student’s schedule with him or her at the beginning of the school year. The goal is to have your child enroll in challenging classes that will help them prepare for college. Help your child be less afraid to reach slightly higher than their comfort level. Build your child’s confidence and offer your support. But, expert college counselors understand, be mindful of the realities and don’t push your student too far above his or her level.
• Make sure your student meets with his or her counselor to discuss college plans. Students tend to procrastinate. (You don't need to be an expert, or a college counselor, or work at International College Counselors to know this.)
• Help your student start a calendar. Work with him or her to update it regularly with any important dates and deadlines.
• Encourage your child to get involved with extracurricular activities. Who knows your child best, but you? Take what you’ve observed over the past 13 years and encourage your student to explore their interests. Water polo, bowling, harp playing, choir, drama, debate, or starting a business. Explore interests outside the school as well. Is your child interested in science? Have them check out volunteer opportunities at a local science museum or center. If your student likes to write, maybe there’s a place for him or her to cover high school activities for the local paper. If a child has an interest in an activity, there’s a greater chance they’ll stick with it and accomplish something. Colleges like to see that a student stays with something and moves up in it. If you're in Broward, Palm Beach, or Miami, college counselor at International College Counselors know you have many, many options.
• Start talking about financing college. Talking about money helps students understand how much college really costs, and how they can help defray the costs through applying to private scholarships and getting good grades. Talking about money will also start introducing them to the adult concepts like financial aid and loans. Generally, if you treat your child like an adult now, chances are they will behave more like an adult later. Even in 9th grade there are scholarship monies available to use towards college. Topics expert college counselors at International College Counselors suggest include how much money they'll need for college, how much they should try to save, and ways to reach their goal, whether it’s part-time work or more AP classes.
• Familiarize yourself with the SAT Subject Tests and help build your child’s confidence in his or her strong subjects. Encourage him or her to take the tests as soon as they finish the course so the material is still fresh to them. Subject Tests include World History, Literature, Biology E/M, and Chemistry.
• Help your student find a summer opportunity. Do some networking on their behalf. If your student is interested in medicine, see who is in your network that you might be able to call. The same goes for if your student wants to be a graphic designer or a vet. Many businesses wouldn’t mind a free volunteer. Suggest opportunities around the community your student might not have considered. Students tend to be so caught up in their own world, they may not even realize there may be a cool museum nearby to volunteer at and gain the kind of experience college admissions officers smile upon.
• Help your student search online for summer school programs for high school students at colleges, if this is the route they choose.
• Encourage your child to read. It’s the best way to prepare for the SAT and all standardized exams. If they don’t have a favorite author? Take them to the local library to explore popular options within their age group.
• Go on college campus visits with your student. At this point in the game, it’s low pressure. Make it fun. When you go on any family vacations, make it a point to visit college campuses around your destination. Even if the schools are not on your child’s radar, these visits will give everyone a chance to get a feel for the options.
• Hire a personal college advisor to provide the individualized attention any student needs to properly tackle the graduate or undergraduate college admission
process. Whether your student is the first person in the family to go to college or comes from a long line of Ivy League graduates, the dedicated advisors at International College Counselors can give your student the tools to find and get into the college of his or her dreams.
Most importantly: Be there for your child. Be present in his or her life. Listen to his or her hopes, fears and goals. Working together can make these dreams more real and much more possible.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Friday, July 9, 2010
How to Choose an Independent College Counselor
by Mandee Heller Adler
President of International College Counselors
Why work with a private college counselor?
Whether you're in New York or Miami, a private college counselor can help stressed-out parents find ideal academic fits for their students. One can also help families save money by matching students with scholarships and schools that fit a family’s budget AND student’s goals. Putting an independent college expert at the helm of the application process is not a bad idea for family relations either. As parents of teenagers most likely already know, it’s better to have someone else helping your student stick to a plan of action and look over their shoulder or hold their hand through the process. Choosing the right expert college adviser in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach or elsewhere is the important first step
Something to consider about private college counselors.
There is no shortage of individuals and firms willing to help you get your student into college. However, just because someone calls themselves a Palm Beach or Miami college expert doesn’t always mean they are. Many people consider themselves a single source for all things college admissions oriented: college, scholarships, admissions, testing and more. The best independent college advisers know enough about each of these to be helpful, the worst ones can be harmful.
What to look for when you’re choosing a private college counselor?
1. Make sure you have a good, comfortable rapport with the college counselor. Feel you can trust them because, essentially, what you’re doing is entrusting them with your child’s future. Also it’s important that the student and the expert college adviser have workable chemistry.
2. Ask about the students with whom the college expert works. Are they all valedictorians, or does she have some underachievers too? Some expert college advisers have a high rate of success getting students into Ivy League schools because they’ll only work with students who would be getting into a top university anyway.
3. The best kind of private college counselor will spend time learning about your teenager and finding out their likes and dislikes: academically, socially, and geographically. The aim is to get your child into the best school for him or her, which may or may not be the most prestigious school possible.
4. The best college experts work with your student’s individual strength and weaknesses to prepare them to get into the college of their dreams. And they should encourage them in a positive and constructive way. A student should not be forced to participate in extra-curricular activities and classes that provoke anxiety or increase the risk of burnout. In other words, if your student is not gravitating towards rowing, there are always bassoon lessons.
5. Look for an independent college counselor who understands scholarship and financial aid.
6. Ask the college advisor what qualifies her to offer college admissions advice. Look for a planner who has proven experience with college admissions and who has the right relationships. Don’t underestimate relationships whether they’re with college admissions offices or top SAT tutors. Determine what steps the advisor takes to stay current with changes and developments in college admissions. Also check what schools the college advisor has attended and what relevant professional organizations she belongs to, including those like NACAC and the IECA that will keep her in the local and national educational loops.
The answers.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
President of International College Counselors
Why work with a private college counselor?
Whether you're in New York or Miami, a private college counselor can help stressed-out parents find ideal academic fits for their students. One can also help families save money by matching students with scholarships and schools that fit a family’s budget AND student’s goals. Putting an independent college expert at the helm of the application process is not a bad idea for family relations either. As parents of teenagers most likely already know, it’s better to have someone else helping your student stick to a plan of action and look over their shoulder or hold their hand through the process. Choosing the right expert college adviser in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach or elsewhere is the important first step
Something to consider about private college counselors.
There is no shortage of individuals and firms willing to help you get your student into college. However, just because someone calls themselves a Palm Beach or Miami college expert doesn’t always mean they are. Many people consider themselves a single source for all things college admissions oriented: college, scholarships, admissions, testing and more. The best independent college advisers know enough about each of these to be helpful, the worst ones can be harmful.
What to look for when you’re choosing a private college counselor?
1. Make sure you have a good, comfortable rapport with the college counselor. Feel you can trust them because, essentially, what you’re doing is entrusting them with your child’s future. Also it’s important that the student and the expert college adviser have workable chemistry.
2. Ask about the students with whom the college expert works. Are they all valedictorians, or does she have some underachievers too? Some expert college advisers have a high rate of success getting students into Ivy League schools because they’ll only work with students who would be getting into a top university anyway.
3. The best kind of private college counselor will spend time learning about your teenager and finding out their likes and dislikes: academically, socially, and geographically. The aim is to get your child into the best school for him or her, which may or may not be the most prestigious school possible.
4. The best college experts work with your student’s individual strength and weaknesses to prepare them to get into the college of their dreams. And they should encourage them in a positive and constructive way. A student should not be forced to participate in extra-curricular activities and classes that provoke anxiety or increase the risk of burnout. In other words, if your student is not gravitating towards rowing, there are always bassoon lessons.
5. Look for an independent college counselor who understands scholarship and financial aid.
6. Ask the college advisor what qualifies her to offer college admissions advice. Look for a planner who has proven experience with college admissions and who has the right relationships. Don’t underestimate relationships whether they’re with college admissions offices or top SAT tutors. Determine what steps the advisor takes to stay current with changes and developments in college admissions. Also check what schools the college advisor has attended and what relevant professional organizations she belongs to, including those like NACAC and the IECA that will keep her in the local and national educational loops.
The answers.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors has college counseling Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade college counseling offices. International College Counselors handle undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors in Miami, tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advisors, Miami Florida based, work with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
The answers.
Come in for a free consultation with International College Counselors. Or get 5 friends together and we will come out and hold a private seminar just for you and your friends. Just call us at 954-414-9986 or contact us at International College Counselors by email.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Monday, June 21, 2010
High School Athletes: How to get recruited
The question many talented high school athletes come to International College Counselors with is: How do I get recruited?
The expert college counselor’s answer: An athlete needs to get noticed by the right coach.
It’s easier in some sports and cities. Athletes in AAAAA and AAAA football and baseball have scouts come regularly to their games. If you’ve ever seen Friday Night Lights, you’ll know that for some sports, and in some cities, whole counties come to games. In metropolitan areas, many sports are regularly covered in widely distributed newspapers or newscasts.
But, every year, thousands of other outstanding athletes are overlooked for one simple reason: the coaches didn’t know they were there.
Have a power drink and breathe. Whether you participate in baseball, bowling, cross country, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, skiing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, softball, volleyball, water polo, or wrestling, there are ways that you can help yourself be recruited.
1. Depending on your sport, start contacting coaches and building relationships with them as early as possible. Perhaps even in junior high if you’re competing in a sport like gymnastics. Try to get them to know your name without being annoying. For example, send them the occasional newspaper article about you and the teams you play for.
2. Create a professionally prepared resume that highlights your athletic and academic achievements. Then post it online.
3. Make a high-quality sports video of yourself in action. There is a real probability that a college coach will never see you play in real life until you play for him or her. The best video is a combination game video and skills video.
4. Use the Internet. Visit college sports sites and college sites and collect as much information about the different sports programs as you can. You’re looking for a school that will be a good fit for you and your talents, athletically and academically.
5. Get evaluated if you can. Many third-party people serve as the eyes and ears of the coaches who don’t have time to see every player. Get to know the evaluators in your area. Coaches and evaluators face immense pressure to fill their slots with the most gifted athletes they can find. Their jobs depend on it. Your pro-activity actually can make their job easier from their perspective.
6. Attend college sports camps if you can. The director of the camp is usually the college head coach. It’s also recommended that you gain experience by competing in any tournaments you can.
7. If a college does show interest you, answer any request they have immediately. If a coach or school is requesting more information chances are you are probably being seriously considered. Ask your high school coach to complete any requests for information about you as soon as possible, as well.
A BRIEF FOUR-YEAR TIME LINE
Freshmen: Take this year to grow and develop your skills. Also, plan your academic calendar. You want to make sure you meet the academic eligibility at the end of your high school career. Even a high school sports superstar is not be eligible to play as a college freshman if he or she does not have a transcript with the right high school courses. Athletes and parents of athletes, make sure you read the NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete (free PDF to download)
Athletes and their parents can also contact us at International College Counselors to arrange a meeting with one of our college counselors in Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County and we can help you plan your high school sports career.
Sophomores: Get serious if you are interested in competing in college. Start working on raising your visibility and building a reputation as a mature, hard-working, team player. This is also the year you should start researching the ins and outs of recruiting, regulations, colleges, coaches, and sports programs.
This is an ideal year for International College Counselors to help you, as well.
Juniors: This year is your most important one. It is the accomplishments of your junior year that will get the recruiting phone calls later in the year. Get on the coaches’ radar screens as soon as possible to better your chances of successfully getting recruited. Boost your visibility by reaching out to coaches with notes and calls, visiting schools and meeting coaches. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t hear from coaches. NCAA rules prevent them from contacting or calling you until late in your junior year.
Seniors: Make sure that you are eligible by completing all the classes you need for academic eligibility. Show continuing development in your sports skills. Don’t slack off until after you’ve received and signed the “Letter of Intent” and, even then, if you really screw up, they can drop you.
Talented athletes, good luck and take care of your body. Keep working hard to get stronger, faster and fitter. It’s a competitive environment out there – but if you’re a true athlete at heart – knowing that should only push you more.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
The expert college counselor’s answer: An athlete needs to get noticed by the right coach.
It’s easier in some sports and cities. Athletes in AAAAA and AAAA football and baseball have scouts come regularly to their games. If you’ve ever seen Friday Night Lights, you’ll know that for some sports, and in some cities, whole counties come to games. In metropolitan areas, many sports are regularly covered in widely distributed newspapers or newscasts.
But, every year, thousands of other outstanding athletes are overlooked for one simple reason: the coaches didn’t know they were there.
Have a power drink and breathe. Whether you participate in baseball, bowling, cross country, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, skiing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, softball, volleyball, water polo, or wrestling, there are ways that you can help yourself be recruited.
1. Depending on your sport, start contacting coaches and building relationships with them as early as possible. Perhaps even in junior high if you’re competing in a sport like gymnastics. Try to get them to know your name without being annoying. For example, send them the occasional newspaper article about you and the teams you play for.
2. Create a professionally prepared resume that highlights your athletic and academic achievements. Then post it online.
3. Make a high-quality sports video of yourself in action. There is a real probability that a college coach will never see you play in real life until you play for him or her. The best video is a combination game video and skills video.
4. Use the Internet. Visit college sports sites and college sites and collect as much information about the different sports programs as you can. You’re looking for a school that will be a good fit for you and your talents, athletically and academically.
5. Get evaluated if you can. Many third-party people serve as the eyes and ears of the coaches who don’t have time to see every player. Get to know the evaluators in your area. Coaches and evaluators face immense pressure to fill their slots with the most gifted athletes they can find. Their jobs depend on it. Your pro-activity actually can make their job easier from their perspective.
6. Attend college sports camps if you can. The director of the camp is usually the college head coach. It’s also recommended that you gain experience by competing in any tournaments you can.
7. If a college does show interest you, answer any request they have immediately. If a coach or school is requesting more information chances are you are probably being seriously considered. Ask your high school coach to complete any requests for information about you as soon as possible, as well.
A BRIEF FOUR-YEAR TIME LINE
Freshmen: Take this year to grow and develop your skills. Also, plan your academic calendar. You want to make sure you meet the academic eligibility at the end of your high school career. Even a high school sports superstar is not be eligible to play as a college freshman if he or she does not have a transcript with the right high school courses. Athletes and parents of athletes, make sure you read the NCAA Guide for the College Bound Student Athlete (free PDF to download)
Athletes and their parents can also contact us at International College Counselors to arrange a meeting with one of our college counselors in Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County and we can help you plan your high school sports career.
Sophomores: Get serious if you are interested in competing in college. Start working on raising your visibility and building a reputation as a mature, hard-working, team player. This is also the year you should start researching the ins and outs of recruiting, regulations, colleges, coaches, and sports programs.
This is an ideal year for International College Counselors to help you, as well.
Juniors: This year is your most important one. It is the accomplishments of your junior year that will get the recruiting phone calls later in the year. Get on the coaches’ radar screens as soon as possible to better your chances of successfully getting recruited. Boost your visibility by reaching out to coaches with notes and calls, visiting schools and meeting coaches. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t hear from coaches. NCAA rules prevent them from contacting or calling you until late in your junior year.
Seniors: Make sure that you are eligible by completing all the classes you need for academic eligibility. Show continuing development in your sports skills. Don’t slack off until after you’ve received and signed the “Letter of Intent” and, even then, if you really screw up, they can drop you.
Talented athletes, good luck and take care of your body. Keep working hard to get stronger, faster and fitter. It’s a competitive environment out there – but if you’re a true athlete at heart – knowing that should only push you more.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Going to College without Going Broke
by Mandee Heller Adler, president of International College Counselors
You can't afford not to go to college. But, taking on too much debt and ending up living in your parent's house after college is not the only option. You could become a Westinghouse scholar, Olympic champion, or dictator of a small country. Then you'd get a free ride.
For the less driven or genetically gifted, there's hope for you too: you need to maximize your financial aid and minimize your costs.
Top ways the expert college counselors at International College Counselors recommend to make college more affordable include:
1. Government Loans
The US government loans money to every student who needs it. To receive FAFSA aid, you need to fill out and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.gov). This federal application for financial aid is also used to apply for aid from other sources, such as your state or school.
The only catch to the FAFSA is it's one long application that requires detailed information. Don't leave it until the last minute and it'll all be OK.
Not just for our clients in Miami, college counselors at our firm recommend that ALL students who feel they need aid fill the FAFSA out regardless of their house-hold income.
2. Grants
Grants are better than loans because you don't have to pay the money back. (Free money!) But they're not available to everyone.
Pell Grants are federal grants awarded strictly on the student's financial need. Other federal grant programs include the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (also based on financials), and grant programs for students with good grades in competitive high-school programs or specific fields of study, such as math, nursing or teaching. States and colleges also have their own pools of grant money.
3. General and School Scholarships
Scholarships are terrific because students do not have to pay them back and many are not based on financial need.
Thousands of scholarships are available. Sources of scholarships can be national organizations, local clubs, contests, and the schools themselves. The trick is finding the ones you're in the best position to win. If you're not a Native American there's no point in going for the scholarship. You'd be better off making a clever prom outfit with duct tape or becoming a champion at duck calls (both skills are scholarship worthy).
School scholarships are typically given to top athletes, national-merit finalists, and other outstanding students. In order to apply for these scholarships, you need to contact each school individually.
4. Transfer
For students with their hearts set on an elite, expensive school, your best bet may be to attend an affordable school like a public university or a community college first. Credits earned at these less-expensive schools can often be transferred to other universities - even the priciest. For your first two years, they're mostly core classes you'll be taking anyway. And in the end what you're really after is that framed diploma office décor. So it's the last two years that really count.
5. Work
Many students take a part-time job in order to pay for college and the things they will need such as books, housing and bean-bag chairs. Colleges offer thousands of work-study jobs that can be on-campus or off-campus. They are designed to allow students to study while they work. Waiting tables and taking Advanced Astrophysics never complemented each other so well.
For the foreseeable future, college grads can also cancel some or all of their federal education debt by working in public-service jobs - lower-paying professional jobs that serve low-income communities - or by volunteering.
Other tips include buying used books, living off-campus or at home when you can, and accelerating your degree - knocking off a year or even a semester by taking more courses per semester or loading up on the APs while in high school.
Getting out of college with little or no debt is hard, but not impossible, and with initiative, you don't have to rob a bank to do it.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
You can't afford not to go to college. But, taking on too much debt and ending up living in your parent's house after college is not the only option. You could become a Westinghouse scholar, Olympic champion, or dictator of a small country. Then you'd get a free ride.
For the less driven or genetically gifted, there's hope for you too: you need to maximize your financial aid and minimize your costs.
Top ways the expert college counselors at International College Counselors recommend to make college more affordable include:
1. Government Loans
The US government loans money to every student who needs it. To receive FAFSA aid, you need to fill out and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.gov). This federal application for financial aid is also used to apply for aid from other sources, such as your state or school.
The only catch to the FAFSA is it's one long application that requires detailed information. Don't leave it until the last minute and it'll all be OK.
Not just for our clients in Miami, college counselors at our firm recommend that ALL students who feel they need aid fill the FAFSA out regardless of their house-hold income.
2. Grants
Grants are better than loans because you don't have to pay the money back. (Free money!) But they're not available to everyone.
Pell Grants are federal grants awarded strictly on the student's financial need. Other federal grant programs include the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (also based on financials), and grant programs for students with good grades in competitive high-school programs or specific fields of study, such as math, nursing or teaching. States and colleges also have their own pools of grant money.
3. General and School Scholarships
Scholarships are terrific because students do not have to pay them back and many are not based on financial need.
Thousands of scholarships are available. Sources of scholarships can be national organizations, local clubs, contests, and the schools themselves. The trick is finding the ones you're in the best position to win. If you're not a Native American there's no point in going for the scholarship. You'd be better off making a clever prom outfit with duct tape or becoming a champion at duck calls (both skills are scholarship worthy).
School scholarships are typically given to top athletes, national-merit finalists, and other outstanding students. In order to apply for these scholarships, you need to contact each school individually.
4. Transfer
For students with their hearts set on an elite, expensive school, your best bet may be to attend an affordable school like a public university or a community college first. Credits earned at these less-expensive schools can often be transferred to other universities - even the priciest. For your first two years, they're mostly core classes you'll be taking anyway. And in the end what you're really after is that framed diploma office décor. So it's the last two years that really count.
5. Work
Many students take a part-time job in order to pay for college and the things they will need such as books, housing and bean-bag chairs. Colleges offer thousands of work-study jobs that can be on-campus or off-campus. They are designed to allow students to study while they work. Waiting tables and taking Advanced Astrophysics never complemented each other so well.
For the foreseeable future, college grads can also cancel some or all of their federal education debt by working in public-service jobs - lower-paying professional jobs that serve low-income communities - or by volunteering.
Other tips include buying used books, living off-campus or at home when you can, and accelerating your degree - knocking off a year or even a semester by taking more courses per semester or loading up on the APs while in high school.
Getting out of college with little or no debt is hard, but not impossible, and with initiative, you don't have to rob a bank to do it.
If you need help, contact a private college counselor at International College Counselors to help you with college admissions and finances.
Join our Mailing List
International College Counselors
(954) 414-9986
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Graduation Wisdom for All
by Mandee Heller Adler, private college counselor, president of International College Counselors
High school students, college counselors are only among the first professional advisors you'll hear from throughout your life. In four years (for most of you), you'll hear from your commencement speaker (the guest speaker at your graduation). Some will be witty and some serious, all will hopefully leave you a little bit wiser.
Gradspot.com made a list of "The All-time Best Graduation Speeches". Whether they're the "best" is debatable, as are all "-est" lists, but they're all really entertaining. Read the full article on The Top Ten All-Time Best Graduation Speeches from gradspot.com.
CNBC also made a list of The Ten Best Graduation Speeches of All Time.
Only three people made both lists, and Will Ferrell is one of them!
They're all inspiring, so enjoy!
One thought from International College Counselors:
Go out and be successful, but include ethics in your definition of success.
From Mandee Heller Adler, president of International College Counselors, and the other expert college counselors: Good luck to all graduating seniors, in college and beyond.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go." ~ Dr. Seuss
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
High school students, college counselors are only among the first professional advisors you'll hear from throughout your life. In four years (for most of you), you'll hear from your commencement speaker (the guest speaker at your graduation). Some will be witty and some serious, all will hopefully leave you a little bit wiser.
Gradspot.com made a list of "The All-time Best Graduation Speeches". Whether they're the "best" is debatable, as are all "-est" lists, but they're all really entertaining. Read the full article on The Top Ten All-Time Best Graduation Speeches from gradspot.com.
CNBC also made a list of The Ten Best Graduation Speeches of All Time.
Only three people made both lists, and Will Ferrell is one of them!
They're all inspiring, so enjoy!
One thought from International College Counselors:
Go out and be successful, but include ethics in your definition of success.
From Mandee Heller Adler, president of International College Counselors, and the other expert college counselors: Good luck to all graduating seniors, in college and beyond.
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go." ~ Dr. Seuss
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Get started on 2010-11 college applications
The College Application preview is now available. International College Counselors recommend that all students take a look at the app.
High school juniors who want to get a head start on college applications can see a preview of the entire 2010-11 Common Application.
The new Common App goes online on August 1. Until then, students can familiarize themselves with what information they will need. And, they can start working on it.
Where can I find a preview version of the Common Application?
A preview version of the 2010-11 Common Application has been posted at: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/SchoolFormsFAQ.aspx
What is the Common Application?
The Common Application is a not-for-profit organization that provides an admission application – online and in print – that students may submit it to any one of 414 member schools that accept it, including 47 public institutions.
The full list of schools that accept the Common Application can be seen here: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Members.aspx
What are the benefits of the Common Application?
The Common Application is intended to ease the admissions process for students by reducing the number of separate applications a student has to complete when applying to numerous colleges.
Note from International College Counselors: Many colleges still require additional information, including more essays.
Is there a Common Application for transfer students?
Yes. You can preview the transfer application here: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/SchoolFormsFAQ.aspx
There are six choices of topics for student essays and the minimum length is 250 words. This essay should be the same for all colleges – so make sure it’s the best you have! Students working with International College Counselors, please call us at 954-414-9986 as soon as you possible and we will help you get started.
High school juniors who want to get a head start on college applications can see a preview of the entire 2010-11 Common Application.
The new Common App goes online on August 1. Until then, students can familiarize themselves with what information they will need. And, they can start working on it.
Where can I find a preview version of the Common Application?
A preview version of the 2010-11 Common Application has been posted at: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/SchoolFormsFAQ.aspx
What is the Common Application?
The Common Application is a not-for-profit organization that provides an admission application – online and in print – that students may submit it to any one of 414 member schools that accept it, including 47 public institutions.
The full list of schools that accept the Common Application can be seen here: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/Members.aspx
What are the benefits of the Common Application?
The Common Application is intended to ease the admissions process for students by reducing the number of separate applications a student has to complete when applying to numerous colleges.
Note from International College Counselors: Many colleges still require additional information, including more essays.
Is there a Common Application for transfer students?
Yes. You can preview the transfer application here: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/SchoolFormsFAQ.aspx
There are six choices of topics for student essays and the minimum length is 250 words. This essay should be the same for all colleges – so make sure it’s the best you have! Students working with International College Counselors, please call us at 954-414-9986 as soon as you possible and we will help you get started.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
How to Make the Most of your Summer Internship or Job
By president of International College Counselors, Mandee Heller Adler, Dade College Counselor
Summer is almost here. For those of you with jobs or internships, Dade college counselors at International College Counselors recommend you take the time to plan on making the most of your opportunity. Mentors and people who you may want recommendations from are almost always on the lookout for promising young talent. One of your other goals should be to turn your experience into a resume builder.
Stand out with your professionalism. Do what you can to show the company you’re the one they should be watching and giving the plum assignments to. Be professional, serious and responsible. This should earn you more respect and responsibility. Be on time for work, meetings, conference calls and team building exercises. Even better - come early. Make sure you dress for success, too.
Reset your expectations. It’s good to have personal goals but sometimes realities don’t match our expectations. Rather than dwell on any negatives of the job or internship, seek out and embrace the opportunities offered. Chances are you won’t be given that assignment that saves the company and makes you a star. But, that’s not why you’re there. You’re there to learn, expand your horizons, and add to your resume. No matter what, always be enthusiastic and upbeat.
Be proactive. If your job or internship appears to be a sea of repetitive tasks like making photocopies or coffee, don’t complain. Ask to have a meeting with your supervisor to ask about new opportunities or projects. If there is a job you want to try, ask your supervisor if you can join the team, observe the meetings or otherwise contribute in some way. You won’t know, unless you ask. Even if they say no, you will gain the respect and attention of your older colleagues. Interns and employees who identify their employer’s needs and ask for new challenges demonstrate the initiative and motivation that companies want.
Learn about yourself. You’re there to watch and observe. Use this time to find out more about yourself. See what kind of people you relate to. What kind of work you like to do. Compare yourself to people on the job who you admire. Do they have skills you lack or can work on acquiring?
Build up your resume. Volunteer for extra tasks and look for opportunities to take advantage of. To do this, the best first step is to prove that you’re responsible and resourceful. Then, let’s say, you’re working in an ice cream shop and your boss needs to leave a few hours early, volunteer to be put in charge. If you’re given the responsibility to lead, this counts on your resume as Management. If you’re working in an advertising firm and think you might want to be a copywriter, ask for the current assignments. Write the ads then ask for feedback. Who know, they may even love your ad so much, they’ll run it.
Ask questions. Always remember that a summer job or internship is a learning experience for you. While your employer expects to get some work from you, you are expected to be interested in what’s going on. So ask questions. This is your chance to get advice and learn.
Make connections. Build up personal relationships. Find a mentor. After the summer is over make sure to stay in touch with the people you met and connected with - and stay connected. It’s never too early to start building your professional network. A professionally geared site like LinkedIn.com is a good place to keep in touch.
Develop your professional people skills. Hone in on people you admire. Study the qualities you admire in them. Take notes on their dress and what character traits put them ahead. Then try to emulate those traits.
Learn to take criticism gracefully. No one likes to be criticized, but you’re sure to encounter many negative opinions throughout your life and career. Criticism can help you. Follow up a negative assessment by asking for their thoughts on what you could have done better. Are there resources you don’t know about? Is it true you need to be more detail-oriented. And then put that information to use. The best part about a summer job or internship is that you’re not expected to know everything. Both you and your employer know that you are there to learn.
Always, always stay enthusiastic and positive!
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Summer is almost here. For those of you with jobs or internships, Dade college counselors at International College Counselors recommend you take the time to plan on making the most of your opportunity. Mentors and people who you may want recommendations from are almost always on the lookout for promising young talent. One of your other goals should be to turn your experience into a resume builder.
Stand out with your professionalism. Do what you can to show the company you’re the one they should be watching and giving the plum assignments to. Be professional, serious and responsible. This should earn you more respect and responsibility. Be on time for work, meetings, conference calls and team building exercises. Even better - come early. Make sure you dress for success, too.
Reset your expectations. It’s good to have personal goals but sometimes realities don’t match our expectations. Rather than dwell on any negatives of the job or internship, seek out and embrace the opportunities offered. Chances are you won’t be given that assignment that saves the company and makes you a star. But, that’s not why you’re there. You’re there to learn, expand your horizons, and add to your resume. No matter what, always be enthusiastic and upbeat.
Be proactive. If your job or internship appears to be a sea of repetitive tasks like making photocopies or coffee, don’t complain. Ask to have a meeting with your supervisor to ask about new opportunities or projects. If there is a job you want to try, ask your supervisor if you can join the team, observe the meetings or otherwise contribute in some way. You won’t know, unless you ask. Even if they say no, you will gain the respect and attention of your older colleagues. Interns and employees who identify their employer’s needs and ask for new challenges demonstrate the initiative and motivation that companies want.
Learn about yourself. You’re there to watch and observe. Use this time to find out more about yourself. See what kind of people you relate to. What kind of work you like to do. Compare yourself to people on the job who you admire. Do they have skills you lack or can work on acquiring?
Build up your resume. Volunteer for extra tasks and look for opportunities to take advantage of. To do this, the best first step is to prove that you’re responsible and resourceful. Then, let’s say, you’re working in an ice cream shop and your boss needs to leave a few hours early, volunteer to be put in charge. If you’re given the responsibility to lead, this counts on your resume as Management. If you’re working in an advertising firm and think you might want to be a copywriter, ask for the current assignments. Write the ads then ask for feedback. Who know, they may even love your ad so much, they’ll run it.
Ask questions. Always remember that a summer job or internship is a learning experience for you. While your employer expects to get some work from you, you are expected to be interested in what’s going on. So ask questions. This is your chance to get advice and learn.
Make connections. Build up personal relationships. Find a mentor. After the summer is over make sure to stay in touch with the people you met and connected with - and stay connected. It’s never too early to start building your professional network. A professionally geared site like LinkedIn.com is a good place to keep in touch.
Develop your professional people skills. Hone in on people you admire. Study the qualities you admire in them. Take notes on their dress and what character traits put them ahead. Then try to emulate those traits.
Learn to take criticism gracefully. No one likes to be criticized, but you’re sure to encounter many negative opinions throughout your life and career. Criticism can help you. Follow up a negative assessment by asking for their thoughts on what you could have done better. Are there resources you don’t know about? Is it true you need to be more detail-oriented. And then put that information to use. The best part about a summer job or internship is that you’re not expected to know everything. Both you and your employer know that you are there to learn.
Always, always stay enthusiastic and positive!
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Choosing the college that's right for you
by Mandee Heller Adler, president of International College Counselors
From New York to Miami, college counselors know that choosing the college you’re going to go to is not easy. Seriously, how many high schoolers really know what profession they want to pursue? But give yourself credit. You’ve gotten over 30,000 college and universities down to a few choices.
Now we’re down to the final answer.
Our Miami college experts say, to make it easier, you’ve got to consider the BIG two:
1. Will the experience fit you? Will you be comfortable there? Does it offer the curriculum you want and have the kind of people with whom you can make friends?
2. Will you be able to get a good paying job after college, or will you be able to get into your graduate school of choice?
A college is not necessarily the right one for you because its name is familiar. That may appear painfully obvious, but many students correlate educational quality with the big name recognition.
To figure out if you’re a good fit for a college, you must visit the schools. Invite family members to go with because it gives you an extra point of view and people with whom you can discuss your impressions.
Trust your gut as well as the facts. If everything you’ve researched says the school is a big, impersonal party school, it most likely, most definitely will be.
Also remember, if you really truly believe you made the wrong choice after a year or two, you can always transfer.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
From New York to Miami, college counselors know that choosing the college you’re going to go to is not easy. Seriously, how many high schoolers really know what profession they want to pursue? But give yourself credit. You’ve gotten over 30,000 college and universities down to a few choices.
Now we’re down to the final answer.
Our Miami college experts say, to make it easier, you’ve got to consider the BIG two:
1. Will the experience fit you? Will you be comfortable there? Does it offer the curriculum you want and have the kind of people with whom you can make friends?
2. Will you be able to get a good paying job after college, or will you be able to get into your graduate school of choice?
A college is not necessarily the right one for you because its name is familiar. That may appear painfully obvious, but many students correlate educational quality with the big name recognition.
To figure out if you’re a good fit for a college, you must visit the schools. Invite family members to go with because it gives you an extra point of view and people with whom you can discuss your impressions.
Trust your gut as well as the facts. If everything you’ve researched says the school is a big, impersonal party school, it most likely, most definitely will be.
Also remember, if you really truly believe you made the wrong choice after a year or two, you can always transfer.
International College Counselors provides expert college counseling on undergraduate and graduate college admissions, financial aid, tuition, essays, and college applications. Mandee Heller Adler, lead college admissions consultant and Founder of International College Counselors tailors her wide range of college counseling and college coaching services to address the goals, needs, and dreams of each individual student, whether Florida college or Ivy League university. Our college advising company, based in Miami-Dade, Florida, works with domestic and international students. We also work with high schools. Our college counselors are in Miami, Boca, Broward and Palm Beach. Let us help you make the best decisions choosing, getting into, and paying for college.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Our Broward/ Dade/ Miami College Counselors are pleased to announce that Kaplan is presenting a Free Webinar on "The Most Commonly Asked Admission Questions" featuring Mandee Heller Adler on Tuesday April 13th at 8pm.
The link to register is below!
http://www.kaptest.com/College/Getting-into-College/free-practice-tests-workshops.html&utm_source=kaptest&utm_medium=promotiles&utm_content=pc-home-lol-rally&utm_campaign=promotions
We look forward to seeing you there.
The Team at International College Counselors
The link to register is below!
http://www.kaptest.com/College/Getting-into-College/free-practice-tests-workshops.html&utm_source=kaptest&utm_medium=promotiles&utm_content=pc-home-lol-rally&utm_campaign=promotions
We look forward to seeing you there.
The Team at International College Counselors
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Making decisions now that the thick envelopes are in
by Mandee Heller Adler
International College Counselors
The envelopes are in.
If you have more than one thick envelope in your hand you’re now in the driver’s seat. The colleges have taken their sweeeeet time choosing you, and now it’s your turn to choose them. They’ve given you the month of April to make your choice. Far beyond the glossy paper of the brochures, here are some things Miami college counselors at International College Counselors know you should consider:
Economics. It’s hard to deny that this may be a factor for many students. If you’ve been offered a generous financial aid package or a scholarship, it’s going to be hard to ignore this “bonus”. However, the price tag may not be so much a factor in some cases. The Ivies and a small number of other schools across the country have policies that allow students to meet the full need of students and allow them to attend irrespective of their ability to pay.
Fit. Where do you feel like you will fit in best? Some students thrive at universities where the city itself plays an important role in one’s overall education. Cities included on this list include New York and Boston and, as you can imagine, the cultural and internship opportunities are enormous. However, city schools tend to be more impersonal and cities aren’t as conducive to a school community atmosphere. Residential campus schools like Williams College or Gainsesville’s University of Florida (college counselors know) pride themselves on providing everything you need right there on campus, from cultural activities to social life. They have more of a community atmosphere.
Academics. Do you have an idea of what you want to do in the future? Then you need a school that offers a major or program that will allow you to explore that option to fullest. Also be aware that there can be real differences in the course of study at various places. Some schools like Columbia University and the University of Chicago require students to take a core curriculum. The mandatory courses can take up to two years to complete. Open curriculum schools, like Amherst, Brown and New College, have no required courses. Instead they require that students take one of a list of first-year seminars. Guidelines and advisors at these schools help students with their course choices.
Culture. Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan College presents this consideration excellently:
“The evolution of student culture over many years that comes to define the way a place feels to the young men and women who spend these transitional years on campus. Students - not teachers and officials - make that culture. At Duke, for example, there are extraordinary programs and deep research going on. But over several weeks of the spring semester (especially this year), it’s Blue Devil basketball frenzy that takes over campus culture. At Middlebury, there is currently an energetic student debate about the meal plan, which many students see as a defining element in their campus experience. At USC, the entertainment industry seeps into the fabric of the place, even when the subject areas are quite distant from Hollywood. At Wesleyan, the students have created vibrant music and film contexts that seem to fuel independent rock and hip-hop on the one hand, and popular film and TV on the other. Although most students here study neither music nor film, the energy of these areas percolates around campus.”
Only you will know what is truly important to you. What this college counselor suggests is that you create a list of all the questions you want answered and then you go visit the school. If you’ve already visited the schools, then visit your top two choices again. Take a good hard look at the school. Can you see yourself fitting into the culture? Do you feel comfortable? This is going to be your home away from home for the next 4 years.
Specific questions you may want to ask if you haven’t already: How hard is it to get into the classes you want? How small or big are the classes? Are there internships, and how does the school help students prepare for life after college whether that means career placement or help with graduate and professional programs? Does the school offer the athletic opportunities you want to participate in or cheer on? What will it mean to be an alumnus of George Washington University rather than the University of Miami? College counselors can help guide you to the right decision but ultimately, you should be looking for the campus energy that matches your own.
No doubt about it. Choosing your college is a big decision. Congratulations from International College Counselors to all the students offered this decision to make.
Reach deep down inside and make the best decision for you!
Mandee Heller Adler
International College Counselors
International College Counselors
The envelopes are in.
If you have more than one thick envelope in your hand you’re now in the driver’s seat. The colleges have taken their sweeeeet time choosing you, and now it’s your turn to choose them. They’ve given you the month of April to make your choice. Far beyond the glossy paper of the brochures, here are some things Miami college counselors at International College Counselors know you should consider:
Economics. It’s hard to deny that this may be a factor for many students. If you’ve been offered a generous financial aid package or a scholarship, it’s going to be hard to ignore this “bonus”. However, the price tag may not be so much a factor in some cases. The Ivies and a small number of other schools across the country have policies that allow students to meet the full need of students and allow them to attend irrespective of their ability to pay.
Fit. Where do you feel like you will fit in best? Some students thrive at universities where the city itself plays an important role in one’s overall education. Cities included on this list include New York and Boston and, as you can imagine, the cultural and internship opportunities are enormous. However, city schools tend to be more impersonal and cities aren’t as conducive to a school community atmosphere. Residential campus schools like Williams College or Gainsesville’s University of Florida (college counselors know) pride themselves on providing everything you need right there on campus, from cultural activities to social life. They have more of a community atmosphere.
Academics. Do you have an idea of what you want to do in the future? Then you need a school that offers a major or program that will allow you to explore that option to fullest. Also be aware that there can be real differences in the course of study at various places. Some schools like Columbia University and the University of Chicago require students to take a core curriculum. The mandatory courses can take up to two years to complete. Open curriculum schools, like Amherst, Brown and New College, have no required courses. Instead they require that students take one of a list of first-year seminars. Guidelines and advisors at these schools help students with their course choices.
Culture. Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan College presents this consideration excellently:
“The evolution of student culture over many years that comes to define the way a place feels to the young men and women who spend these transitional years on campus. Students - not teachers and officials - make that culture. At Duke, for example, there are extraordinary programs and deep research going on. But over several weeks of the spring semester (especially this year), it’s Blue Devil basketball frenzy that takes over campus culture. At Middlebury, there is currently an energetic student debate about the meal plan, which many students see as a defining element in their campus experience. At USC, the entertainment industry seeps into the fabric of the place, even when the subject areas are quite distant from Hollywood. At Wesleyan, the students have created vibrant music and film contexts that seem to fuel independent rock and hip-hop on the one hand, and popular film and TV on the other. Although most students here study neither music nor film, the energy of these areas percolates around campus.”
Only you will know what is truly important to you. What this college counselor suggests is that you create a list of all the questions you want answered and then you go visit the school. If you’ve already visited the schools, then visit your top two choices again. Take a good hard look at the school. Can you see yourself fitting into the culture? Do you feel comfortable? This is going to be your home away from home for the next 4 years.
Specific questions you may want to ask if you haven’t already: How hard is it to get into the classes you want? How small or big are the classes? Are there internships, and how does the school help students prepare for life after college whether that means career placement or help with graduate and professional programs? Does the school offer the athletic opportunities you want to participate in or cheer on? What will it mean to be an alumnus of George Washington University rather than the University of Miami? College counselors can help guide you to the right decision but ultimately, you should be looking for the campus energy that matches your own.
No doubt about it. Choosing your college is a big decision. Congratulations from International College Counselors to all the students offered this decision to make.
Reach deep down inside and make the best decision for you!
Mandee Heller Adler
International College Counselors
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