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.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
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.
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